News Letter 5846-046
11th day of the 10th month 5846 years after creation
The 10th Month in the first year of the third Sabbatical Year
The Third Sabbatical Year of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
December 18, 2010
Shalom Brethren,
From last week’s News letter came this lead to another European tradition of Christmas. It is in reference to Krampus who is Santa Claus’s companion when he travels. http://krampus.xanga.com/
The Weather continues to be the leading News items recently. Here below is video of huge hail in Australia, and Snow continues to cause chaos in Europe. At home here in Ontario Canada, just a few minutes east of me they had 4 feet of snow in one 24 hour period of time and the Barrie area continues to get more each day. To the west of me north of London, they got 6 feet of snow in two days. To the west of this they have had snow squalls, which trapped over 200 people on the 402 Highway, some for as long as 24 hour. They were rescued by helicopters. One man who left his car was found frozen. My wife was to come home in this storm from visiting our granddaughter. All the roads in the area were closed due to these Snow Squalls for three days.
I was in a snow squall in this same area not to long before I learned about the Sabbath in 1982. It was the first time I really prayed. It was the first time I thought I was going to die.
The snow drifts as as high as some houses in certain areas.
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/video/world-22186928/raw-video-giant-hailstones-pound-sydney-23530928.html
So I have been busy everyday for at least an hour shovelling snow this week. Sometimes in the morning before going to work, so if I have not replied to your emails you now know why.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_2010_lunar_eclipse
A total lunar eclipse will take place on December 20/21, 2010.[2] It will be visible after midnight Eastern Standard Time on December 21 in North and South America. The beginning of the total eclipse will be visible from northern Europe just before sunrise. The end of the total eclipse will be visible rising at sunset for Japan and northeastern Asia, it also appears very visible to the Philippines just after sunset (as in Partial lunar eclipse). It will be the first total lunar eclipse in nearly 3 years, the last being on February 20, 2008. [3]
It is the second of two lunar eclipses in 2010. The first was a partial lunar eclipse on June 26, 2010. It is also called the Christmas lunar eclipse. It will be the first total lunar eclipse to occur on the day of the Winter Solstice (in the Northern Hemisphere; Summer in the Southern) since 1638.
You should look for a blood moon at this time as well.
From the Trumpet.com this past week was a number of articles I want to bring to your attention. The great geopolitical game of chess is being played out and the USA seems to be acting as if it had no clue as to what is about to happen. How are you doing in this life or death game of chess? Do you see the potential three or four moves ahead or do you only play in a reactionary style?
Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela
Hudson New York, Anna Mahjar-Barducci | December 8
Iran is planning to place medium-range missiles on Venezuelan soil … according to an article in the German daily, Die Welt, of November 25. According to the article, an agreement between the two countries was signed during the last visit of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez to Tehran …. The previously undisclosed contract provides for the establishment of a jointly operated military base in Venezuela, and the joint development of ground-to-ground missiles. …
According to Die Welt, Venezuela has agreed to allow Iran to establish a military base manned by Iranian missile officers, soldiers of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and Venezuelan missile officers. In addition, Iran has given permission for the missiles to be used in case of an “emergency.”
In return, the agreement states that Venezuela can use these facilities for “national needs”—radically increasing the threat to neighbors like Colombia. The German daily claims that according to the agreement, Iranian Shahab 3 (range 1,300-1,500 km) will be deployed in the proposed base ….
Venezuela has also become the country through which Iran intends to bypass UN sanctions. Following a new round of UN sanctions … Russia decided not to sell five battalions of S-300pmu-1 air defense systems to Iran. … Now that these weapons cannot be delivered to Iran, Russia is looking for new customers … it found one: Venezuela.
Novosti reports … that if the S-300 deal with Venezuela goes through, Caracas should pay cash for the missiles. … If Iran, therefore, cannot get the S-300 missiles directly from Russia, it can still have them through its proxy, Venezuela, and deploy them against its staunchest enemy, the U.S. …. If a missile base can be opened in Venezuela, many U.S. cities will be able to be reached from there even with short medium range missiles.
The situation that is unfolding in Venezuela has some resemblance to the Cuba crisis of 1962. …
Among the nations that aspire to become world powers, Iran has certainly the best capabilities of posing a challenge to the West. … Iran is soon going to have a nuclear weapon, and there are no signs that UN sanctions will in any way deter the Ayatollah’s regime …. Now we learn that Iran is planning to build a missile base close to the U.S. borders. …
Wiki Leaks.
From Wiki leaks we have learned a great deal of what is being said behind the scenes.
One of those leaks shows us just how scared Saudi Arabia is of Iran. Know and understand that Saudi Arabia is a Sunni Muslim Country and Iran is a Shia Muslim Country. Saudi has been saying publicly that it would attack Israel if they attacked Iran. Privately they have been begging the USA to attack Iran and remove the regional threat.
We also know that Iran can cut off the Saudi Oil at the Straits of Hormuz.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straight_of_Hormuz
The Strait of Hormuz (Arabic: ???? ?????—Mad?q Hurmuz,Persian: ???? ????—Tangeh-ye Hormoz) is a narrow, strategically important waterway between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.
The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (29 nmi) wide.[1] It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, an average of about 15 tankers carrying 16.5 to 17 million barrels of crude oil normally pass through the strait every day, making it one of the world’s most strategically important choke points. This represents 40% of the world’s seaborne oil shipments, and 20% of all world shipments.[2]
The wiki leaks also helped us to understand the problems going on in Yemen. Terrorist activity is on the rise and is being shown to be sponsored by Iran. So the question is why is Iran interested in the country of Yemen? It is another choke point to cut off oil being shipped out of Saudi Arabia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bab-el-Mandeb
The Bab-el-Mandeb (variously transliterated Mandab or Mandib, and with article “el-” given also as “al-“, with or without connecting dashes) meaning “Gate of Scars” in Arabic (??? ??????), is a strait located between Yemen, on the Arabian Peninsula, Djibouti and Eritrea, north of Somalia, in the Horn of Africa, and connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It is sometimes called the Mandab Strait in English.
Bab el-Mandab acts as a strategic link between the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, via the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. In 2006, an estimated 3.3 million barrels (520,000 m3) of oil passed through the strait per day, out of a world total of about 43 million barrels per day (6,800,000 m3/d) moved by tankers.[1]
If you go to http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.html You will see that Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest oil importer to the USA. Notice the fifth is Venezuela. You should also take special note that Asia is the number one oil export market for Saudi Arabia, followed by Europe, and the United States.
By controlling these choke points Iran can control the amount of oil the rest of the world has access too. By controlling Yemen you also indirectly control the Suez Cannel.
We have been telling you about the coming threat of Europe led by Germany. Oil is going to be one of the reasons the world is drawn into the next major war, as we have just shown you.
Again in Wikileaks we learned that Iran wanted Saudi Arabia to join them in a mass missile attack in Israel. Saudi Arabia declined stating it was not strong enough for such action.
From the wiki leaks we also learned that some intelligence experts are now seeing the threat of the renewed German dominance.
For example take Stratfor’s European analyst Marko Papicand what he has to say, after recent observations on what the leaked U.S. diplomatic dispatches have “revealed” concerning Germany.
Papic wrote, “We have also seen the German-Russian relationship grow and in particular this has given Berlin an impetus to evolve its relationship with its nato member state allies”
There is another observation that Papic made that should ring in our ears, “The 2008 financial crisis and the subsequent 2010 eurozone sovereign debt crisis have allowed Germany to exert more influence on EU affairs. In particular, Berlin has looked to reshape and reformulate European Union and the eurozone in its own image”.
The WikiLeaks revelations on the growing tensions between Germany and Washington, which Stratfor’s Marko Papic concluded as being perhaps “the most significant and yet the least understood geopolitical issue of the moment” is, in reality, the greatest of non-leaks.
This has been in your bible and you could read of it at anytime. In fact we just showed this to you last week in the O TANNENBAUM article.
Also note the following article
German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg argued for greater European military cooperation on December 9 as he met with other European defense ministers in Brussels. “The commitment to European defense must be more than just lip service,” wrote Guttenberg in an article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, published on the same day. “By intensifying our military cooperation, we will all benefit in the end.” Guttenberg worked with Swedish Defense Minister Sten Tolgfors to present EU defense ministers with a plan to streamline Europe’s militaries as nations cut their defense budgets. The “scarcity of resources in all nations,” wrote Guttenberg, means that nations need to pool their military equipment. A lot of politicians have talked about integrating Europe’s militaries, but often it has yielded little results. In the short time that Guttenberg has been German defense minister, however, he has begun a complete revolution of the German military. His advocating European military cooperation could well achieve significant results.
Brethren you need to be awake because the world is plotting to kill us and is manoeuvring to do just that. You need to be aware and plan for the well being of your family in accordance with Yehovah.
Germany will lead a United Europe into a secret pact with the Muslim world. They will come down and put down some kind of civil unrest in Egypt, Ethiopia and Libya. At this time they will unite in the Holy Roman Empire that was once here so long ago.
Germany along with Iran-The Iron mixed with clay. Are you ready? You need to read The Prophecies of Abraham and watch the DVD at https://sightedmoon.com/sightedmoon_2015/?page_id=251
I wrote to my brother Johnny in prison and suggested that he listen to the interview I did with Jono which I have shared with you all last week. Here is his reply.
Shalom Joseph,
I don’t have access to the internet, so I can’t listen to it. I wish I could. I think I told you we looked at all of your DVD during the feasts. The brothers loved it. I also have been spreading your book throughout the BOP(Bureau of Prisons). Like Five different brothers at different spot have the book and have been commenting on it in a good way. My mother sent them those books. Thanks a lot. I have really been reading your e-mails(newsletters). They have been getting more and more powerful. We are keeping the fifth night of Khanakah according to the ancient way. We don’t light the candles or nothing like that. We know it is paganism. We are going over Maccabees again as we do every year. By the way, the last few nights along with Maccabees I have been teaching on some of the things contained in your most recent newsletters. I think Nehemiah Gordon has a good basic understanding about Khanakah as you mentioned in your newsletter. It is not a commanded feast by the Torah, but it nothing the matter with keeping it, especially the Yasharaalay(the Israelites). We went over the Tomb of David and Solomon article. That was super powerful. The brothers were super activated(edified) after going over that teaching. They loved it. We combined it with how 2 Maccabees 2 speaks on the ark being revealed in the last day as hidden by YeremYah the prophet. The basis of the story was how that a lot of things are going to be revealed in these last days. We also went over how the riches from the Copper Scroll may eventually be discovered also. I always felt David tomb would be discovered soon even before reading that article. After reading Josephus I was sure the tomb would still be there. It is fascinating about how the Sword of Goliath, etc might be there also. We went over how David accumulated 100,000t talents of gold for the temple and 1,000,000 talents of siver. This is not including all the wealth that Solomon came into after becoming King. I showed the brothers how there is a secret teaching contained in 2 Maccabees 15 about how the High Priest Onias was seen in a vison and it was spoken about Jeremiah appearing with a golden sword in his hand as he gave it to Judas Maccabees and told him to go forth conquering with it. When you read Matthew 16:13,14 we will see when Yahwshua took a poll on what people were saying about him, some said he was John the Baptist and some said Elijah. What a lot of people dont focus on is the third most popular prophet they compared him to was Jeremiah. Why Jeremiah and not Isaiah or Moses or someone like that. A lot of people dont know why. One of the reasons is because Yahwshua was of course like a weeping prophet, but also because they were studying Maccabees during the Messiah’s time and they were familiar with the Jeremiah vision story. We see this is true because when we read 1 Maccabees 2 we see the same pattern outlined that the Messiah spoke of in Matthew 24:15-21. We see they fled to the mountains. They didnt go back for anything. The Abomination of Desolation was set up(which is to happen again). They were attacked on the Sabbath day. The Messiah spoke about all of these things in due order. When the Messiah said he came not to bring peace, but a sword, they had to flash back to 2 Maccabees where the vision of Jeremiah was seen with a golden sword. With that sword the Messiah came to conquer. 🙂 We know that sword is the sword of separation and judgement. Jeremiah is also associated with secret things being revealed as seen in 2 Maccabees. You also confirmed this in your newsletter when you said that the last few chapters of ZekaraYah was actually from Jeremiah. That was deep. I would like your source for that information. I am not saying it is wrong. We know the quote in Matthew 27 from Zechariah is attributed to Jeremiah. Also, we went over the Library of Nehemiah in 2 Maccabees 2 and how we believe that it is associated with the Dead Sea Scrolls(DSS) that were found in the caves. We also believe the Library of Nehemiah has been revealed in this end time. It says Nehemiah had commentaries in his Library. We believe this is associated with the seven prophetic pesharim(commentaries) that were found in the caves. I.e. The Pesher of Habakkuk, Hosea, Nahum, Malachi, Amos, Malachi, and Isaiah. The bonus one was the pesher/commentary on Psalms which describes the battle between the Teacher of Righteousness and the wicked priest. This was a breakdown of mainly Psalms 37. The Mowreh La Tsideqah vs. The Rashi Kahan. We went over how the seven sectarian scrolls we need to study from the Dead Sea Scrolls are the Manual of Discipline/Community Rule, The Zadokite Fragments/Damascus Document, The Temple Scroll, 4QMMT, The Melchizedek Scroll,, The War Scroll, and The Copper Scroll. We also believe the Messianic Rule fits in there also. We talked about the New covenant Apocrypha of the Apocalypse of Peter, The Epistle of Barnabas, The Shepherd of Hermes, The Gospel of Peter, Clement, etc. and what significance they have but any. We went over the ancient breakdown of the 22 books of the Old Covenant as recorded by Josephus, exposing the canon was not set at the council of Nicea. We went over the first five books(the Torah). The 6th, Joshua. The 7th, Judges and Ruth, which was always one book until Jerome broke it up in the 4th century AD, exposing how the Jewish practice of read the five books for the feasts(Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, etc.) is false and a rather new innovation. That practice is not recorded to be happening in the first century. It is a man made innovation(Ecclesiastes 7:28,29). They did that with five other new covent books(separated them into two books, as we shall now see). 1 and 2 Samuel was the 8th book. 1 and 2 Kings was the 9th book. 1 and 2 Chronicles was the 10th book. Ezra and Nehemiah was the 11th. Esther was 12. Job was 13. Psalms was 14. Proverbs was 15. Ecclesiastes was 16. Song of Solomon was 17. Isaiah was 18. Jeremiah and Lamentations was 19. Ezekiel was 20. Daniel was 21. The 12 prophets were 22. It was confirmed that they were all originally on one scroll because it was found that was among the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is the count Josephus had. Some wonder why in 2 Esdras(Ezra) did he say that there were 24 old covenant books(2 Esdras 14). This is easily seen because along with the 22 books there were two books that had high status back on those times though they were not accepted among the 22. Those two books were the books of Enoch and Jubilees. I believe the seven thunders of Revelation 10 have something to do with the Book of Jubiless and the little book of Revelation 10 has something to do with the book of Enoch. Please meditate on that. We know the New Covenant Assembly were studying these two book because Jude Says Enoch 1:9 is an authentic quote from Enoch, not a pseudepigrapha. Galatians 3 speaks about Moshe receiving the torah through the hand of a mediator angel. That is recorded in Jubilees. I think we also need to do a little study on the 364 day solar calender of the Essenes. For some reason, I just feel like we do. It is also recorded in Enoch. Please meditate on that also. As you can see we have been doing some serious studying. I could talk to you about so much more, but we are getting ready to go to service. Yahawah willing we shall talk another time and I will go into further detail about some things. I look forward to the things you have to share with me also. If you could get a transcript or something like that of the radio show I would love to receive it. Anything else you would like to send, share, etc. it greatly appreciated. We believe in the first command that was given to mankind to be fruitful and multiply. Shalawam. You can feel free to share this in your e-mails and/or newsletters. The Spirit of Truth is not copyrighted. 🙂 (John 16:13,14; 1 John 4:6). Oh yeah, before i go, I think we also need to do more study on the Spirit of truth and the spirit of Error. Some of those who be e-mailing you are waaayyy out there. They need to study much more before they go about attacking you. They read to read that so feel free to put that in print also. 2 Timothy 3:7 is manifesting in their lives. We will build some more. Much love for you Joseph my brother.
Shalawam,
Johnny
This can be shared with others.
Brethren if only the rest of us could be as diligent as these men in prison are and to study everything down to the last dot. Do keep them in your prayers as they have to deal with many things in order to keep the faith. Also know that the prisons are a major recruiting facility for the Muslim faith.
While some of you may be thinking of it, that these men have done some bad things, I urge you to read Mathew 18 about how Yehovah has forgiven you your debts, yet you will not forgive others their debts. Read it and think about it.
Another email from South Africa said the following;
Shalom Joseph
Haven’t spoken for some time, have we?
Just wanted to take some of your time and thank you once again for you work each week and each day.
I still believe that you have truly been touched by the Spirit of Yahuah. The insight you have into certain maters astonishes me continually!
I’m making good progress with The Prophecies… My apologies for reading at a snail’s pace! Still trying to figure out how to get to everything I want to. But my ducks are slowly starting to line up I believe.
Every time I read, Can’t help thinking to myself how it is that you are able to see into each matter so deeply and clearly. And of course I do realize that you put in many hours of hard work and studies each week! But its not just that. And of course you have this long background of studying and seeking the truth, but its not just that either. That’s why I say you have been blessed by Yahuah himself my friend. And it is a privilege and an honor to know you, even as remotely as we do know each other!!
I can’t believe people, who claim to be righteous followers of Yahushua, can say the things they do to you! They must have some other version of scripture than me, ‘coz that nowhere close to Yahushuah in my scriptures!! Anyhow, they have no right getting personal with you, just because they can’t accept defeat, that’s a coward in my books! You my friend are a spiritual warrior of the highest ranks! Fighting for the weak and upholding the glory of our father with your very life!
I greatly respect you and I bless you in the Name of Yahuah!!
If I may offer my opinion on the last few newsletters… I absolutely agree with you on rebuking Yahuda, but just be careful of estranging people from them too much. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe you taught me that ultimately we are supposed to reunite with our brother..?
Keep up the good fight.
And may congratulations GRANDPA!! 🙂
Blessing and Shalom my friend!
André & Carreen
Yes we are to reunite with Judah our Brother, but not to another false religion like the one we came out of. This unification will not come about until the Messiah comes. Only then will it take place.
I now want to share some other things with you which may be a little helter skelter; First the USA economy. This just in- a link to the world debt as per GDP. Even these people say we are going to go to war because we can’t pay the debt even at 0%. Check it out. http://scarletwhore.com/?p=2167
Keep in mind the USA is on the verge in 2011 of being downgraded from a ‘AAA’ credit rating due to its massive debt. What this means is it will affect the USA’s ability to borrow or even result in higher borrowing costs.
Theoretically, the difference between AAA and AA could cost about $230,000 on a $100 million bond over 10 years. Now multiply that by the trillions of debt the USA has. The slippery slope of debt is getting worse faster than it is getting better.
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/
The Outstanding Public Debt as of 22 Nov 2010 at 09:13:52 PM GMT is: $13,802,062,378,229.40
The estimated population of the United States is 309,527,930 so each citizen’s share of this debt is $44,590.68.
The National Debt has continued to increase an average of $4.17 billion per day since September 28, 2007!
Glad I am not American. Good Luck in paying this off real soon.
Unemployment Rate:
9.6% in Oct 2010 is equivalent to 29,714,681 People who are not working not counting those who are on a Pension and over 65. People under 20 years of age made up over a quarter of the U.S. population (27.3%), and people age 65 and over made up one-eighth (12.8%) in 2009.
So now take that 9.6% who are not working and the 27.3% who are under age, and 12.8% who are over 65 and you have a total of 49.75 of the US population who do not contribute to the National Debt nor GDP.
So instead of each citizen paying 44,590.68 to the Debt., you now have 155,537,785 people who are working and can pay the debt.
This means each working citizen owes the US Gov $88,737.68 and for each day you do not pay you then owe an additional $26.81 to the pot.
This does not include the illegal aliens in the USA. As they are ILLEGAL, there are no records to actually establish a number. The LOW estimate crowd acknowledges at least 12 million, while the HIGH estimate crowd says it is more like 20 to 30 million.
I said good luck before. Your luck is fast running out. You will soon need to turn and Pray like you have never prayed before to Yehovah the only one who can help you now.
I wrote this on FB on November 22, 2010. The debt at that time was;
$13,802,062,378,229.40 and the debt as I write this on December 5, 2010 is
$13,853,483,555,339.09 So as you read this go to http://brillig.com/debt_clock/ and see what it is by the time I get this posted and you read it.
Each working adult in the USA owes almost $90,000 in debt on top of their own mortgage, and credit cards and car loans.
And the US dollar is dropping in value and is no longer considered the fiat currency of the world as other countries begin to dump it and replace it with gold.
Most other countries are no better off. Portugal’s debt, has been given life support by a bail out, as has Ireland and Greece. The PIG countries that were feared would topple the European union. Now Spain’s Debt is again under scrutiny as well as other countries in the European union. And Ireland has just been downgraded today as I go to post this article.
Over the past number of years gold has climbed in value up to on December 5, 2010 it was worth $1413.55 In US funds.
I am telling you this so you know how the US Dollar is dropping. Just ten years ago in 2000 the price of gold was just below $260 an ounce. It is now over $1413.
The amount of value you get for each dollar is fast depreciating and soon your dollar will not be able to buy you much of anything as inflation and hyper inflation kick into gear.
If the US Dollar collapses then all these other nations like Europe and China and Japan which hold vast amounts of Dollars will end up holding worthless paper. So they all prop up the dollar just so they do not get caught with money that they can’t do anything with.
Next I want to share this bit of information.
Baruch ata Yehovah, Eloheinu Melech ha’olam, hamotzi lechem, min ha aretz.” “Blessed are You, Yehovah our Elohim, King of the Universe, Who has brought forth bread from the earth.”
At the beginning of the family meal, this blessing is said as the bread is broken. The blessing is referred to as “the breaking of bread”.
During Passover Yehshua said in Luke 22:19 “And he took bread and gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them and said, ‘This is my body, which is given for your sake; this do in remembrance of me”
Yeshua said the following, referring to himself as Torah in John 6:25 And having found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You come here?” 26 ????? answered them and said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were satisfied. 27 “Do not labour for the food that is perishing, but for the food that is remaining to everlasting life, which the Son of Ad?am shall give you,1 for the Father, Elohim, has set His seal on Him.” Footnote: 1See vv. 35, 48, 51, 58, and Mt. 4:4. 28 So they said to Him, “What should we do to work the works of Elohim?” 29 ????? answered and said to them, “This is the work of Elohim, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30 So they said to Him, “What sign then would You do, so that we see and believe You? What would You do? 31 “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, as it has been written, ‘He gave them bread out of the heaven to eat.’ ” 32 Therefore ????? said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, Mosheh did not give you the bread out of the heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread out of the heaven. 33 “For the bread of Elohim is He who comes down out of the heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to Him, “Master, give us this bread always.” 35 And ????? said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall not get hungry at all, and he who believes in Me shall not get thirsty at all. 36 “But I said to you that you have seen Me, and still do not believe. 37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out. 38 “Because I have come down out of the heaven, not to do My own desire, but the desire of Him who sent Me. 39 “This is the desire of the Father who sent Me, that all He has given Me I should not lose of it, but should raise it in the last day. 40 “And this is the desire of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him should possess everlasting life. And I shall raise him up in the last day.” 41 Therefore the Yehud?im were grumbling against Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down out of the heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this ?????, the son of Yos?ph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down out of the heaven’?” 43 Then ????? answered and said to them, “Do not grumble with one another. 44 “No one is able to come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I shall raise him up in the last day. 45 “It has been written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by ????.’ Everyone, then, who has heard from the Father, and learned, comes to Me. 46 “Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from Elohim – He has seen the Father. 47 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me possesses everlasting life. 48 “I am the bread of life. 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died. 50 “This is the bread which comes down out of the heaven, so that anyone might eat of it, and not die. 51 “I am the living bread which came down out of the heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever. And indeed, the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Yehud?im, therefore, were striving with one another, saying, “How is this One able to give us His flesh to eat?” 53 ????? therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Ad?am and drink His blood, you possess no life in yourselves. 54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood possesses everlasting life, and I shall raise him up in the last day. 55 “For My flesh is truly food, and My blood is truly drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood stays in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me shall live because of Me. 58 “This is the bread which came down out of the heaven, not as your fathers ate the manna and died. He who eats this bread shall live forever.” 59 He said this in a congregation, teaching in Kephar Nah?um
We read in John 1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim. 2 He was in the beginning with Elohim. 3 All came to be through Him,1 and without Him not even one came to be that came to be. Footnote: 1Eph. 3:9, Col. 1:16, Heb. 1:2, Heb. 11:3, 2 Peter 3:5, Ps. 33:6. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.
Here we have just read that Yehshua was the word and He also was the bread from Heaven. This Torah is the word and it is the bread of life that has come down from Heaven for you to eat. It is the Manna.
In John 21 we read how Peter was to feed His sheep. 15 When, therefore, they had eaten breakfast, ????? said to Shim?on K?pha, “Shim?on, son of Yonah, do you love Me more than these?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Feed My lambs.” 16 He said to him again, the second time, “Shim?on, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” He said to Him, “Yea, Master, You know that I love You.” He said to him, “Shepherd My sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Shim?on, son of Yonah, do you love Me?” K?pha was sad because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Master, You know all, You know that I love You.” ????? said to him, “Feed My sheep.
What was Peter to feed the sheep with? The Living word of Torah. The Bread of life.
Now I want to go back to the days of Nehemiah. I have received many questions over the past few months and as I prepared this I found all of these answers in this one chapter.
Many Christians when they are trying to get you to give to their ministry quote this part of the Chapter 13 about giving to the Levites who had to go back to work a secular job in order to survive because Israel was not giving them the tithes of the land. But they never quote the rest of this verse which answers when the Sabbath is to begin. It starts at Sunset and ends at sunset and I have met many people lately who have struggled with this understanding.
I have also been asked about mixed marriages and the answer comes here in Nehemiah 13.
So read it carefully.
1 On that day was read from the Book of Mosheh in the hearing of the people, and in it was found written that an Ammonite and Mo’ab?ite should not come into the assembly of Elohim forever, 2 because they had not met the children of Yisra’?l with bread and water, and hired Bil?am against them to curse them, although our Elohim turned the curse into a blessing. 3 And it came to be, when they had heard the Torah, that they separated all the mixed multitude from Yisra’?l. 4 And before this, Elyashib? the priest, having authority over the storerooms of the House of our Elohim, was a relative of Tob?iyah, 5 and he had prepared for him a large room, where previously they had stored the grain offerings, the frankincense, and the utensils, and the tithes of grain, the new wine and the oil, which were commanded to be given to the L?wites and the singers and the gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 But in all this I was not in Yerushalayim, for in the thirty-second year of Artah?shashta sovereign of Bab?el I came to the sovereign. And after some days I asked leave from the sovereign to return, 7 and I came to Yerushalayim and learned of the evil which Elyashib? had done for Tob?iyah, in preparing a room for him in the courts of the House of Elohim. 8 And it was very displeasing to me. Therefore I threw all the household goods of Tob?iyah out of the room, 9 and I commanded them to cleanse the rooms. And I put back into them the utensils of the House of Elohim, with the grain offering and the frankincense. 10 And I learned that the portions for the L?wites had not been given them, for each of the L?wites and the singers who did the work had gone back to his field. 11 Then I contended with the deputy rulers, and said, “Why is the House of Elohim forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their place. 12 And all Yehud?ah brought the tithe of the grain and the new wine and the oil to the storehouse. 13 And I appointed as treasurers over the storehouse Shelemyah the priest and Tsad?oq the scribe, and Ped?ayah of the L?wites. And next to them was H?anan son of Zakkur, son of Mattanyah. For they were reckoned trustworthy, and it was on them to distribute to their brothers. 14 Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this, and do not wipe out my kind deeds that I have done for the House of my Elohim, and for its charges! 15 In those days I saw in Yehud?ah those treading wine presses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food. 16 And men of Tsor dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the Sabbath to the children of Yehud?ah, and in Yerushalayim. 17 Then I contended with the nobles of Yehud?ah, and said to them, “What evil matter is this that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18 “Did not your fathers do the same so that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added wrath on Yisra’?l by profaning the Sabbath.” 19 And it came to be, at the gates of Yerushalayim, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I commanded the gates to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 And the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares spent the night outside Yerushalayim once or twice, 21 and I warned them, and said to them, “Why do you spend the night around the wall? If you do so again, I lay hands on you!” From that time on they came no more on the Sabbath. 22 And I commanded the L?wites that they should cleanse themselves, and they should come, guarding the gates, to set apart the Sabbath day. Remember me, O my Elohim, concerning this also, and pardon me according to the greatness of Your kindness! 23 In those days I also saw Yehud?im who had married women of Ashdod?, Ammon, Mo’ab?. 24 And half of their children spoke the language of Ashdod?, and could not speak the language of Yehud?ah, but spoke according to the language of one or the other people. 25 Then I contended with them and cursed them, and smote some of them and pulled out their hair, and made them swear by Elohim, saying, “You do not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. 26 “Did not Shelomoh sovereign of Yisra’?l sin because of them? Among the many nations there was no sovereign like him, who was beloved of his Elohim, and Elohim made him sovereign over all Yisra’?l. Even him foreign women caused to sin. 27 “Should we then hear of your doing all this great evil, trespassing against our Elohim by marrying foreign wives?” 28 And one of the sons of Yoyad?a, son of Elyashib? the high priest, was a son-in-law of Sanballat the H?oronite. And I drove him from me. 29 Remember them, O my Elohim, because they have defiled the priesthood and the covenant of the priesthood, and of the L?wites. 30 Thus I cleansed them from all that is foreign. And I appointed duties to the priests and the L?wites, each in his task, 31 and for the wood offering and the first-fruits at appointed times. Remember me, O my Elohim, for good!
Now I want to share something else with you.
According to some of the large Messianic ministries certain huge prophecies were to take place on the Feast of Trumpets or there about this year in 2010. I know of three large ministries where this is all they talked about for the last number of years all based upon the Daniel timeline and the destruction of Damascus. Now I am also hearing of many Evangelical Ministries that are saying Jesus is to come back on Dec 25, 2010. Again most of them base this on the Nation of Israel coming to Statehood in 1948. They then add 62 years to this and arrive at 2010 and then add 7 years to get to 2017 as the end of the tribulation. At least according to them. The Messianics said The Feast of Trumpets because of their knowledge of the Holy Days, and the Christian Evangelicals said Christmas because they do not keep the Holy Days and therefore have no clue as to Yehovah’s plan and how and when He works.
I have written on this false teaching of Daniels Timeline many times. I also told you and warned you where it would lead people. Yet people continue to follow and support these ministries. Now many Christians are hoping the messiah will come back this Dec 25 and they have no clue about the appointed times when Yehovah shows us what is to happen and when. And Dec 25 is not one of them. Yet on Dec 27 many of these followers will continue to follow blindly those who have spread this lie also.
When I got back from Sukkot in Israel I received a phone call. This person told me they could not afford to go to the Feast and spent the Feast at home alone. They then told me that they had paid over $300 dollars to tune in over the internet to listen to certain of these other teachers. They had to pay to listen to the Feast messages. I could not believe it. And wanting to be a part of the Feast they paid the money.
I listen to many other Christian and Messianic teachers as I work my full time job. I glean some and see what they are saying and check to see if it matches with scriptures. But lately all I have been seeing or hearing is them asking or demanding and begging for money for this or that. They get millions and spend it just as fast as they can. One Ministry is asking for 1.2 Million by the end of this month. Then next month they will be back and ask for more again.
Let me tell you what we have done here at Sightedmoon as I tie all these articles above together.
During the Sabbatical year of 2009-2010 I forgave the debts of those who owed me money. They no longer owed me anything. The slate was wiped clean. This is a commandment of the Sabbatical year and I obeyed it. With three other men we read the entire Torah at the Water Gate in Jerusalem during Sukkot. I did not see anyone else doing this as we are commanded to do during the Sabbatical year as we just read in Nehemiah. Nehemiah did the same thing during the Sabbatical year and read the entire Torah to those in Jerusalem.
This year at the Feast we were able to record most of the teachings that we had there and we posted them online and let you know about them and never charged a penny for them. We held tours in Israel during Sukkot and hired buses and took people around the land. We charged only what the costs were. We made no profit on any of this. When we asked for donations to cover the cost of tables and chairs we were given extra and that is to be used for next year. And we did this in cooperation with other ministries together. With other Ministries, working together for the Feast; Unheard of, but we did it.
I have made The Prophecies of Abraham available on my web site in the news letters for everyone to read. I have also made the DVD about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years available on the web site for all to watch. I have not charged one penny for this. It is all there and it is free to you if you choose to read it.
You can order the DVD which does cost you money but again I do not receive one penny for it. You can order the book which has all the teaching of The Prophecies of Abraham in one place and I do make a few dollars from this.
Then I have had many people plead with me to send them a copy of the DVD or the Book. They cannot afford it. I have sent them what they asked for at my expense around the world. I have on occasion enclosed some other money inside because they said they were hurting so bad and I have not heard back from them for over six months. They had not bothered to watch it or read what was freely given them and only discovered the money six months later. And only then wrote to thank me for the book or DVD and still others have not watched or read it, even though it was given to them for free.
What I have found is that to those whom it was given it was not as valuable to them as it was to those who bought it.
Others have promised to pay for the book later if I send it to them now and they never have. So I keep on working to pay my bills and feed my family and to continue to share those teachings I have come across. Many of you have said you are will fed by those things you have read here.
Also the web site www.sightedmoon.com continue to receive a thousand hits each day and growing. We will soon hit the million hits mark.
I had asked for donations over a year ago to help in the Uniting of Ephraim. I wanted to share it with other leading groups to bring us together. No money was sent in for that cause. But I continued to meet other men who were working a full time job and teaching many things in common with me. I have grown close to some of them and feel a real brotherly bond with them. This is unique.
I later asked for donations to begin the Farm project in Israel. After writing The Prophecies of Abraham I realized that food was going to be getting more and more scarce as we go forward. I also realized that the Proverbs 31 woman who is Israel went out and bought a field and grew her own food and made a profit and took care of her family and never became a burden for her husband who called her blessed.
You should read it yourself. 10 Who does find a capable wife? For she is worth far more than rubies. 11 The heart of her husband shall trust her, And he has no lack of gain. 12 She shall do him good, and not evil, All the days of her life. 13 She shall seek wool and flax, And with delight she works with her hands. 14 She shall be as the ships of Tarshish, She brings in her food from afar. 15 She also rises while it is still night, And provides food for her household, And a portion for her girls. 16 She shall consider a field and buy it; From her profits she shall plant a vineyard. 17 She shall gird herself with strength, And strengthen her arms. 18 She shall taste when her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out by night. 19 She shall stretch out her hands to the distaff, And her hand shall hold the spindle. 20 She shall extend her hand to the poor, And she shall reach out her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, For all her household is dressed in scarlet. 22 She shall make tapestry for herself; She is dressed in fine linen and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. 24 She shall make fine linen and sell them, And shall give girdles for the merchants. 25 Strength and splendour are her garments, And she rejoices in time to come. 26 She shall open her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the Torah of kindness. 27 She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. 28 Her children shall rise up and call her blessed; Her husband too, and he praises her: 29 “Many daughters have done nobly, But you have risen over them all.” 30 Loveliness is deceptive And prettiness is vain, A woman who fears ???? is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.
The woman here is Israel the bride of Yehshua.
I had a good response to this request for donations and I asked some of you who wanted to send large amounts not to send me your money just yet, but to wait. Some others did. And some have told me of their special skills that they have to operate a farm style business.
So now I want to update you on what has happened so you are aware.
With some of the money which some of you gave me I spent $1000 dollars on the web site. The upkeep and maintenance and renewal fees.
I have asked my IT guy to move the web site to a larger one and then to move it out of the USA. With the USA closing down wikileaks I can now see how vulnerable I am to whims of the USA government or any other government. We are in the process of moving the site to a number of host countries where we hope the site will survive the coming wars and destruction of the USA. We also hope the web site will survive the attacks from the beast power when that time comes. This is going to cost on an ongoing basis and I now have the figures; about $600 to set up and then on an ongoing monthly basis of $180 a month to maintain the various sites plus the emails server.
But this is what we are doing so that it will be there during this whole upcoming time of trouble. We are also going to employ some stealth procedures so that the web site will not be able to be taken down and so that nothing can be traced. Again the wiki leaks fiasco has revealed many things to be aware of. And we are acting in faith to preserve this site for the many yet to be called in the years ahead.
The past year I have been looking for a farm in Israel that would keep the Holy Days according to the sighted moon and the barley being Aviv to begin the year. I was looking for people to live on this farm who were willing to let me help and were willing to keep the Sabbatical years. I was looking for people who were residents of Israel. I was looking for brethren who believed in Yehshua and did not have some really weird teachings.
I contacted a number of people and I asked around. One of the first people I asked wanted to pray about it. They did for over a couple of weeks. I then prayed about it again after this. My fleece was that the people Yehovah wanted would contact me and that we were of the same mindset. They did contact me and we are on the same page for much of what the Torah teaches.
I then asked for a second fleece to confirm these people and that very night it was confirmed by someone else who was responding to a very old conversation and they told me to contact the people I had already spoken too.
Now because of the threats I have received and the hate mail I have received I will not be telling you who these people are or where the farms are once we have bought or rented them. I do not want to endanger them in any way. But they like me want to help Ephraim come home. We are looking at a large farm and another a short distance away and a kibbutz.
I am also going to be looking for something in Jordan.
I have received a number of emails from people who have special skills and who want to help this come about. Well now we are ready to begin to take that first step. If you know of people in Israel and in Jordan who are interested in this then let them contact me so we can talk.
That first step is to now raise the money to buy the farm and build the greenhouses. On Sightedmoon.com we have about 7000 readers. Each week you have been well fed according to the emails you have sent to me. You have feasted on the bread of live, the Torah. You may not have liked everything I sent you but you still liked how I have challenged you to expand your tent pegs.
When you go to the store each week you buy enough bread to feed your family for the week. Then the next week you do the same. Since Passover 2007 each week I have given you the bread I had to share without cost; without charging anything for it. Each time I have shown people around Jerusalem I have done so without charging anything for the entire time. I have been so pleased to do my Fathers will and feed His sheep.
Compare all those DVD’s you have bought from your favourite teacher. Each time they have something to share you have paid about $30 dollars for it. Count them all, add them up. How much do you have invested in them? Now add up all the DVD’s and books that I have sold to you and then add the weekly News letters to this list. And how much have you sent me. And when you call for an hour’s talk or when you seek an answer to a question by email. All these things take time; My time which I have not charged you for. I only seek to help you grow to higher level of understanding in the Torah.
Also compare the prices these other leaders charge you to come and spend a week in Israel with them showing you around. And then each week they harp at you for more money. I have only asked a few times.
I am asking now and not for myself. Each week when you buy your bread at the grocery store, think of the bread I have shared with you for free. And then think of this farm project we would like to get started now. When you buy your oranges and other fruit think how nice it would be to have a farm that kept Torah growing these fruits and vegetables.
With 7000 readers it would only cost each of you $150 dollars one time to raise 1 million dollars. Not everyone is going to take part. Some will give more and some will give less. It does not matter, but I hope you will give and let Yehovah bless you for your small part in this. Even 1000 people who gave 100 a month would add up to 1 Million in less than one year.
We are going to plant an Olive tree this year of 2010 which is very symbolic. It is the first year of this Sabbatical cycle. It is also the end of the 390 year curse on the Northern ten Tribes of Israel and we can now go back home. If we do not then we will come back after we go through the Captivity that is soon going to come. Yes I know full well how difficult it is to go to Israel. But the giving birth of a child never happens without some pain. So bare down and push. Help us to make this happen and pray for the protection and blessing of this project.
Help us to turn your money which is becoming more worthless with each passing week, into real trees and animals and crops. Something you can touch and visit and help others with.
We have sent some money to begin this process. You can use PayPal for small amounts, which PayPal charges for, but if you have a large sum you would like to give please send a cheque or money order made out to Joseph F Dumond. Your assembly or church or home group can raise the money as a group.
I am not a charity. I do not issue tax deductible receipts. You are going to have to trust me; If you do not then please do not send anything. You have seen what I have to say over the past four years; You have seen what we have done at Sukkot the past two years. You have come to know me a little each week.
If you have read The Prophecies of Abraham and if you have watched the DVD on the Sabbatical and Jubilee years then you will know that in just 6 ½ years the USA and the UK and Canada and Australia are going to come under attack by the European and Muslim forces. You will also know that by 2020, they will have successfully defeated the USA and UK Commonwealth nations. I have shown in the beginning of this News letter just how Iran is strategizing around the world in preparations for this upcoming battle.
If you wait until then to see if what I am saying is going to come true then it well be too late for you get out and to have some place to go. If we do not prepare now while we have time then when we need somewhere to go we will not have it available to us. If you think you can withhold your funds now and walk in later, keep in mind Yehovah is not mocked.
In the interview I did just a couple of weeks ago on Jono at www.truth2u.org Jono had interviewed a farmer with a bumper crop and it was being destroyed by the rains and locusts and even the hail as the interview is taking place. Jono had asked me about this bumper crop two weeks before and I told him it would not last because the Australians had not repented and returned to Yehovah. It was a powerful moment to hear this farmer say that he was being humbled by this disaster that was hurting his family. The tone in his voice was so sad. Will this be you in the years ahead because you did not believe what Yehovah has shown you in the Chronological Order of Prophecies in the Jubilee or in The Prophecies of Abraham? Again Yehovah is not mocked.
James 2: 14 My brothers, what use is it for anyone to say he has belief but does not have works? This belief is unable to save him. 15 And if a brother or sister is naked and in need of daily food, 16 but one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” but you do not give them the bodily needs, what use is it? 17 So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead. 18 But someone might say, “You have belief, and I have works.” Show me your belief without your works, and I shall show you my belief by my works. 19 You believe that Elohim is one. You do well. The demons also believe – and shudder! 20 But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the belief without the works is dead? 21 Was not Ab?raham our father declared right by works when he offered Yitsh?aq his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that the belief was working with his works, and by the works the belief was perfected? 23 And the Scripture was filled which says, “Ab?raham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” And he was called, “Elohim’s friend.” 24 You see, then, that a man is declared right by works, and not by belief alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rah?ab? the whore also declared right by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so also the belief is dead without the works.
What would have happened to Abraham had he of said I will wait and see what happens and stayed in Haran? He would have died just like his brother did when Nimrod went on his war path just five years later. What would have happened to Rahab had she waited outside on the walls watching the Israelites marching around instead of going to the place where she was told to wait? What would have happened to Lot had he not left when he was told to leave.
And Brethren what is going to happen to all of you who do not believe these things in the Prophecies of Abraham and The Sabbatical and Jubilee year teachings which show us that war is about to come. In fact even the laws of Niddah show us this which I am about to share with you in the next few weeks.
If you believe what I am sharing then your faith is showing you these things. Now it is time to put your works to work and begin to prepare. Help us to prepare.
All the sources I am reading show me that soon you will not be able to help. We can hope these things will not come true, but if they do then what is your plan “b”.
Proverbs 29:18 Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.
Triennial Torah Cycle
We now return to our 3 1/2 year Torah studies which you can follow online
We are now in our 40th week since we began this first year of this 3rd Sabbatical cycle of the 119th Jubilee cycles since Adam and we began at Aviv 1 which was March 20, 2010 on the Gregorian calendar. I do hope you are reading each of these chapters as we come to them and not just my own comments on them. Read it yourself and let Yehovah inspire you. If you go to our Newsletter Archives Page you can find each of the studies we have done so far since 1st of Aviv/March 20 of this year 5846.
Gen 42 2 Sam 13-14 Ps 85 Luke 4:31 – 5:39
Gen 42
This week we are reading about the great famine that has now taken hold of all the land. And the sons of Jacob now go to Egypt to buy food.
We see the brothers bowed down to Joseph just as he had said in his dream. And in the second year of the famine which we are told of in Gen 45:6 Joseph Reveals who he is.
In The Prophecies of Abraham this famine begins in the middle of the 5th Sabbatical cycle when Israel is in captivity. It is brought on by the two witnesses who demand that the Beast power allow Israel to return to the land. It does not rain for 3 ½ years by their words.
But here we see Joseph revealing himself in the second year of the famine. That year is two years before what I have been teaching you about Shabbat Shuva or the year of return in 2030. While all ten tribes are in captivity and the famine is growing, the tribes of Israel will come to know who they are. It will be at this time that another person will come on the scene to lead the imprisoned Israelites back from the Beast power of European and Muslim forces and the great second exodus will begin and they will all be back in the land of Israel by Passover of Shabbat Shuva in the year of 2030.
OK I am off on a bit of a tangent but go with it.
Cutting in on an article about the second exodus we read at http://www.cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/PW/k/1251/Second-Exodus.htm
After seventy years in Babylonian captivity, the Jews began returning to Canaan. Under Ezra and Nehemiah, the wall around Jerusalem was rebuilt, and the Temple was restored under Zerubbabel and Joshua. However, the northern ten tribes of Israel never returned. After a long sojourn in and around the areas of their captivity, they migrated north and west into the European continent, eventually spreading from there into the United States, Canada, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.
However, this migration of Israel will reverse in the days ahead. The Bible shows in many prophecies that a second exodus will occur, and God’s people will return to the land promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
The first exodus, when God brought the children of Israel out from Egypt, is a defining event for both Israelites and Christians. Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, and even Pentecost all commemorate God’s sovereignty, providence, and grace in liberating His people (see Deuteronomy 16:1-12). Yet, as remarkable as this spontaneous movement of millions of people from a plundered Egypt to a bountiful Canaan was, the Second Exodus will be so momentous that the original exodus from Egypt will pale by comparison:
“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.” (Jeremiah 16:14-15; see also 23:7-8)
In Isaiah 11:11-12, the prophet also tells of this time when the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left. . . . He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
God tells Jeremiah, “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers” (Jeremiah 3:18).
During the first exodus, a few million Israelites left Egypt and headed for the land of Canaan, a relatively short distance away. Today, Israelites number in the hundreds of millions, and their current homelands are thousands of miles from Canaan. They cannot re-migrate to the Promised Land as a single group, for their movements have left them in numerous countries around the globe. Only the sovereign God can orchestrate such a regathering.
While some prophecies speak of Israel returning from every compass point (Isaiah 11:12; 43:5-7), Israel is most commonly foreseen returning from the north and the west (of the Promised Land) (Isaiah 49:12; Jeremiah 3:18; 16:15; 23:8; 31:8; Hosea 11:10; Zechariah 2:6), reversing the path of their migration thousands of years ago.
Regathered to Zion
The prophet Isaiah gives numerous descriptions of how this exodus will take place, such as the individual attention that will be given: “And it shall come to pass in that day . . . you will be gathered one by one, O you children of Israel” (Isaiah 27:12). He speaks of “a highway for the remnant of His people who will be left from Assyria, as it was for Israel In the day that he came up from the land of Egypt” (Isaiah 11:16). A similar road appears in Isaiah 35:8-10:
A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go astray. No lion shall be there, nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it. . . . But the redeemed shall walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. (see also Isaiah 43:16-21; 51:10-11)
Not all of Israel will be able to travel back via this Highway of Holiness, however. Isaiah 60:8-9 asks:
Who are these who fly like a cloud, and like doves to their roosts? Surely the coastlands shall wait for Me; and the ships of Tarshish will come first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them, to the name of the Lord your God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because He has glorified you.
Isaiah 66:20 describes this massive undertaking further:
“Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the Lord out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem,” says the Lord, “as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the Lord.”
Jeremiah 30 and 31 give a broad overview of what God will do to bring back Israel and the rest of Judah, and restore the Promised Land to them. This was not fulfilled in the 1940s, when hundreds of thousands of Jews returned to their historical land and founded the modern State of Israel, for only Judah took part in that. The prophecies regarding the Second Exodus clearly speak of both Judah and Israel. Notice, for instance, Jeremiah 30:1-3:
The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Thus speaks the Lord God of Israel, saying: ‘Write in a book for yourself all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘that I will bring back from captivity My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘And I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.'”(emphasis ours)
God refers to both kingdoms here—the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel as well as the southern kingdom of Judah. The return of Israel will be the larger migration because, aside from the 70-year captivity in Babylon, some of the descendants of Judah have always resided in the Promised Land. Today, the State of Israel is predominately made up of the descendants of Judah.
However, neither Israel nor Judah has truly possessed the land since the time of their respective captivities. Despite some of Judah having returned to the land, ever since the Babylonian captivity, she has only rarely and intermittently held sovereignty over it.
After Judah was taken into captivity, Babylon ruled the Promised Land under Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon later fell to the Medo-Persian Empire, which then became sovereign over Jerusalem and the Promised Land. Because of their vassal status, the Jewish captives that returned from Babylon had to ask permission from Cyrus and Darius, the Persian kings, to rebuild the wall and the Temple. The Jews enjoyed a measure of peace, but their freedom depended on the favor of the ruling Persian emperor.
After Alexander the Great conquered Medo-Persia, the Greeks became the new overseers of the Land of Promise. Jews under the Maccabees gained a measure of independence until Rome took control of the area. Thus, during the time of Christ, Jews lived in the land and even worshipped in the Second Temple, but they did not really possess the land because it was under Roman jurisdiction. Since the collapse of the Roman Empire, notwithstanding some temporary Crusader holdings, the Promised Land has been under the sway of various Arab and Muslim nations—notably the Ottoman Empire—down to modern times.
Even now, the state of Israel does not control all of the land. Jerusalem is a divided city, and the Israelis have not dared claim all of the Temple Mount for themselves (even though they had the opportunity immediately following the Six Day War in 1967), because they know that it would result in an all-out war with the Muslims. Even though the Jews regained a considerable amount of land when it declared statehood in 1948, gaining even more during the Six Day War, the ownership is endlessly argued. Judah is not truly sovereign yet. It does not yet “possess” the land in the fullest sense of the word.
But first, Tribulation
Even though Israel and Judah will ultimately be restored to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they will first go through a time of tremendous tribulation and hardship:
For thus says the Lord: “We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace. Ask now, and see, whether a man is ever in labor with child? So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins like a woman in labor, and all faces turned pale? Alas! For that day is great, so that none is like it; and it is the time of Jacob’s trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.” (Jeremiah 30:5-7; emphasis ours)
This is what must happen before the Second Exodus. Notice that it is called “Jacob’s Trouble,” not either “Israel’s Trouble” or “Judah’s Trouble.” Both houses will experience it. God causes Jacob’s descendants to be greatly troubled because of their sins. This time of unprecedented crisis—”none is like it”—corresponds to the time of “great tribulation” of which Jesus Christ warns:
“Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. . . . For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Matthew 24:15-16, 21-22; emphasis ours)
Luke’s version of the Olivet Prophecy uses different language to describe the same time and events:
But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. . . . For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:20-24; see Revelation 11:2; emphasis ours)
Just as Christ reassures us in Matthew 24:22 that this will not be the complete end of mankind, Jeremiah promises that Jacob will be saved out of his trouble. Even though that “day” is great, and like nothing we have seen before, it will not be the end of Jacob.
Jeremiah 30:5-7 does not detail why that time is one of tribulation. The only clue we have in these verses is that God compares it, not just to a woman in labor, but to a man in labor. This is certainly an unusual symbol, but the picture of the sorrows and pains of labor and childbirth elsewhere helps us to understand what it portends. For example, Isaiah 13:6-8 prophesies:
Wail, for the day of the Lord is at hand! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. Therefore all hands will be limp, every man’s heart will melt, and they will be afraid. Pangs and sorrows will take hold of them; they will be in pain as a woman in childbirth; they will be amazed at one another; their faces will be like flames.
A similar illustration appears in Isaiah 26:16-18:
Lord, in trouble they have visited You, they poured out a prayer when Your chastening was upon them. As a woman with child is in pain and cries out in her pangs, when she draws near the time of her delivery, so have we been in Your sight, O Lord. We have been with child, we have been in pain; we have, as it were, brought forth wind; we have not accomplished any deliverance in the earth, nor have the inhabitants of the world fallen.
Paul also uses this symbol in I Thessalonians 5:1-3:
But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. (see also Isaiah 66:6-24; Jeremiah 4:31; 13:20-27; Hosea 13:12-16; Micah 4:9-10.)
Overall, the symbol is one of anguish, sorrow, intensity, great discomfort, and pain. The prophets contain scores of examples of God’s anger at the sins of His people. It is with good reason that the prophecies mention that only a “remnant” will return: Even though the descendants of Jacob will ultimately be saved, the percentage of the current hundreds of millions of Israelites and Jews who survive that trouble will probably be small (see Isaiah 10:20-21).
However, how this illustration is applied is interesting. When it applies to God’s enemies, the emphasis is clearly on the pain, anguish, sorrow, and fear of what is ahead (Jeremiah 49:20-24). But when it refers to Israel, as in Jeremiah 30, there is always hope that the pain will be turned to joy, just as with a physical birth (Isaiah 66:8-9). It is painful, but a tremendous blessing is promised to come when it is over (compare Jesus’ use of this metaphor in John 16:21).
A hint of this hope appears in Jeremiah 30:7: “But he [Jacob] shall be saved out of it.” The pain and the anguish will not end in total annihilation. Certainly, a dear price will be paid in human lives, but the peoples of Jacob will survive and be blessed—both physically and spiritually, as we will see.
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2 Sam 13-14
In 2 Samuel 12:10 we recently read 10 ‘And now, the sword does not turn aside from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriyah the H?ittite to be your wife.’
And now in Chapter 13 we see where this curse upon David is coming true. Absalom kills Amnon two full years after Amnon had forced himself upon Tamar. We went into this rape in great detail in News Letter 5845-038 in September of 2009 where we showed you how the rape of Tamar and the rape of Danah are used to show us this Doctrine of Balaam which is said to be amongst us in these last days in Rev 2. This is a great study to go back and review if you have not read it recently.
Here we see a perfect example of the Laws of Yehovah. David had sinned with Bathsheba. Once he was confronted with it by Nathan, David repented. Yehovah was about to kill David as Nathan had said now you will not die. But the baby did die. And the punishment on David for this sin was that the sword would not depart from his own house. Even though David repented the penalty still was going to have be paid. We all need to meditate on this, and recall it when temptation is inviting us to sin. What is the price we will have to pay for it?
I found chapter 14 challenging and had to look elsewhere for an understanding of what was going on here. http://www.enduringword.com/commentaries/1014.htm
And indeed Brethren as you study, please do not just read something and keep on going as if you had to get to the end of the chapter by 9 o’clock. We have this great tool today of the internet and you should use it to see what others have said on any given subject. You can glean so much by doing this. Compare teachings and keep what is good. Be Berrien in your studies.
a. Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king’s heart was concerned about Absalom: David was obviously troubled by his estranged relationship with Absalom. Joab, David’s chief general, perceived this and decided to do something to bring David and Absalom together.
i. “In the case of Absalom and the king, the relationship remained virtually deadlocked, neither side having the spiritual incentive to break it.” (Baldwin)
ii. We know that Joab was fiercely loyal to David and he may have done this to protect David. Joab figured that it was dangerous to have Absalom stewing away in a distant country, and felt that the safest thing to do was to bring about reconciliation between father and son.
b. Joab sent to Tekoa and brought from there a wise woman: Joab decides to soften David’s heart towards Absalom by bringing a widow before him with
a similar story of estrangement from her son.
a. Help, O king! In ancient Israel those felt that their local judges didn’t treat them fairly had access to the court of the king himself.
b. Deliver him who struck his brother, that we may execute him for the life of his brother whom he killed: The woman of Tekoa speaks of the custom of the avenger of blood. The avenger of blood had the responsibility of avenging the death of a member of the family.
i. The cities of refuge mentioned in Numbers 35:9-34 were meant to protect someone guilty of manslaughter from being killed by an avenger of blood before the case could be heard properly.
c. As the LORD lives, not one hair of your son shall fall to the ground: This is what the woman – and Joab behind her – waited to hear. Now David ignores the cause of justice for the sake of family sympathy and loyalty. In personal relationship it is a good and glorious thing to be generous with forgiveness and mercy when we are wronged. But David had a responsibility as the king and chief judge of Israel, and he was being sorely tempted to forsake that responsibility.
i. “He guaranteed safety at the expense of justice, and immediately the farsighted woman captured him in her trap.” (Redpath)
a. The king does not bring his banished one home again: The woman of Tekoa speaks boldly to David, confronting his sin of not initiating reconciliation with Abasalom. Because he was estranged from David and growing more and more bitter, Absalom was a threat to Israel and David allowed it (Why then have you schemed such a thing against the people of God?).
i. David had some responsibility to initiate reconciliation. If David approached Absalom he might be rejected, but he still had the responsibility to try. Yet as king and chief judge of Israel, he had a responsibility to both initiate reconciliation and to do it the right way. David will not succeed in this.
ii. “He is willing to pardon the meanest of his subjects the murder of a brother at the instance of a poor widow, and he is not willing to pardon his son Absalom, whose restoration to favour is the desire of the whole nation.” (Clarke)
b. We will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground: The woman of Tekoa is wisely speaking to David about the urgency of reconciliation. “David, we all die and then the opportunity for reconciliation is over. Do it now.”
c. But He devises means, so that His banished ones are not expelled from Him: The woman of Tekoa means, “Find a way to do it, David. God finds a way to bring us back to Himself.” It is true that God finds a way – but not at the expense of justice. God reconciles us by satisfying justice, not by ignoring justice.
i. This is one of the best gospel texts in the Old Testament. If we are under the chastening of God, we may feel like banished ones. Yet we can put our place of being His banished ones, belonging to Him and trusting Him to bring us back to Him.
ii. God has devised a way to bring the banished back to Him, that they might not be expelled from Him. The way is through the person and work of Yehshua, and how He stood in the place of guilty sinners as He hung on the cross and received the punishment that we deserved.
a. Is the hand of Joab with you in all this? David somehow knew that a plan this subtle had to come from the hand of Joab.
b. He put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant: Joab orchestrated this with precision. He knew exactly what strings to pull in David. Joab was loyal to David, but it was not a selfless loyalty.
a. Bring back the young man Absalom: Joab got what he wanted and what he thought was best for the nation of Israel. He hoped that Absalom’s reconciliation with David would prevent a rebellion.
b. Let him return to his own house, but do not let me see my face: David was over-indulgent with his sons in the past (as when he did nothing against Amnon in 2 Samuel 13:21). Now David is too harsh with Absalom, refusing to see him after he had been in exiled in Geshur for three years (2 Samuel 13:38).
i. When parents don’t discipline properly from the beginning, they tend to over-compensate in the name of “toughness.” This often provokes the children to wrath (Ephesians 6:4) and makes the parent-child relationship worse.
a. In all Israel there was no one who was praised as much as Absalom for his good looks: This begins to explain why Absalom was popular in Israel. Israel was attracted to King Saul because he was a very good-looking man (1 Samuel 9:2).
i. Absalom was also a man of political destiny. He was the third son of David (2 Samuel 3:2-5). The firstborn Amnon was gone, and we hear nothing more of Chileab, the second born. It is likely that Absalom was the crown prince, next in line for the throne.
b. He weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels: Absalom had such a great head of hair that he cut five and one-half pounds of hair off his head every year.
i. “He was extremely proud of his long hair, and he lost his life because of it.” (Redpath)
c. One daughter whose name was Tamar: Absalom was a man of deep and sympathetic feeling. He memorialized his wronged sister Tamar by naming a daughter after her.
a. Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, but did not see the king’s face: During these two years we can imagine that Absalom grew more and more bitter against David. He was reconciled but only partially; David offered only a partial, incomplete reconciliation.
i. Absalom was banished from Israel because he murdered his brother Amnon (2 Samuel 13). Yet Absalom felt entirely justified in killing the man who raped his sister. His sense of justification made the bitterness against David more intense.
b. Joab’s field is near mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire: Frustrated that he can’t see his father, Absalom burns Joab’s fields to get his attention. This shows how brutal and amoral Absalom was.
i. It’s hard to think of a greater contrast than that between Absalom and the Prodigal Son of Yeshua’s’ parable. The Prodigal Son came back humble and repentant. Absalom came back burning Joab’s fields.
ii. At the same time, sometimes God gets our attention by setting our “barley field” on fire. “He, knowing that we will not come by any other means, sendeth a serious trial – he sets our barley-field on fire, which he has a right to do, seeing our barley-fields are far more his than they are ours.” (Spurgeon)
c. If there is any iniquity in me, let him execute me: This statement reflects Absalom’s sense that he was fully justified in what he did.
a. So Joab went to the king and told him: As brutal and amoral as Absalom was, it worked. Burning Joab’s fields got his attention and made Joab intercede on Absalom’s behalf.
b. He came to the king and bowed himself on his face to the ground: Absalom outwardly submits to David, but David’s two-year refusal to reconcile left a legacy of bitterness in Absalom that will turn out badly for David, for Absalom, and for Israel.
c. Then the king kissed Absalom: David offered Absalom forgiveness without any repentance or resolution of the wrong. In personal relationships it is often a sign of love and graciousness to overlook a wrong. Proverbs 10:12 says, Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. But as King of Israel this was more than a personal matter with David. He was the “chief judge” of Israel and David excused and overlooked Absalom’s obvious crimes.
i. “He should have kicked him rather; and not have hardened him to further villainy.” (Trapp)
ii. “David’s forgiveness of Absalom was completely inadequate, leading to a further outbreak of sin. God’s forgiveness of a man’s soul is completely adequate, and a great deterrent to continued sin.” (Redpath)
iii. “May God write it on your soul: if the pardon you want is that God should wink at your sin, He will not do it.” (Redpath)
Ps 85
Psalm 85, another psalm of the sons of Korah, is a lamenting plea for national restoration. Its specific setting is unknown. God has here forgiven His people and returned them from captivity (verses 1-3) but the effects of His wrath—as the lingering consequences of their sins—are still being felt (verses 4-7). This could describe the end of some foreign oppression during the period of the judges. Or it could conceivably apply to the time of King Hezekiah’s reforms following the captivity and return of 200,000 Jews at the hands of the northern kingdom of Israel in alliance with Syria during the reign of Hezekiah’s father Ahaz (see 2 Chronicles 28). Yet it could also fit with the later return from Babylonian captivity. “Many believe that vv. 1-3 refer to the return from exile and that the troubles experienced are those alluded to by Nehemiah and Malachi. Verse 12 suggests that a drought has ravaged the land and may reflect the drought with which the Lord chastened his people in the time of Haggai (see Hag 1:5-11)” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on Psalm 85).
After pleading for revival, mercy and salvation (verses 6-7), the psalmist states that he will hear what God has to say, trusting that God will “speak peace” to His people—that is, with peaceful intent or directing them in the way to peace—as long as they don’t ignore His words and turn back to the foolishness of their sins (verse 8). God’s salvation, prayed for in verse 7, is available to those who fear Him (verse 9)—that is, who with the appropriate mind frame of awe and respect will heed and follow whatever God says.
In verse 10, “the union of God’s mercy and truth and His righteousness and peace describes the way things ought to be, or the state of peace spoken of in v. 8. The blending of the ideals of truth and righteousness in v. 11 suggest a vision of the kingdom of God (see Is. 11)” (The Nelson Study Bible, note on verses 10-13). As noted above, verse 12 may indicate a period of drought and assurance, on one level, that the land will yield physical produce. Yet the picture here is primarily figurative, as verse 11 shows truth as the crop that is produced—thanks to the figurative sunlight and rain of God’s righteousness from above.
Truth springing out of the earth may also be a messianic reference (compare Isaiah 53:2). Notice the final words of Psalm 85, wherein God’s righteous footsteps become the path for us to follow (verse 13). Jesus the Messiah has set the example for us of how to live, that we “should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). And this pathway, as the highway to Zion in the previous psalm (84:5-7), leads to the glorious Kingdom of God—so that all of us may be part of the harvest of truth.
Luke 4:31 – 5:39
I want to point out that Yehshua was preaching in the Synagogues on the Sabbath. It was His custom to keep the Sabbath and to teach on it. Just something I like to point out to those who keep Sunday as the Sabbath. They have no scriptural legs to stand on.
In chapter 5 we are shown how Simon was told he would be a catcher of men; a fisher of men. This is a huge teaching for those who have ears on. I explain this teaching and this warning to you in the article THE HUNTERS AND THE FISHERS; THE HUNTERS COMETH!
Then in chapter 5:12-14 Yehshua heals the leper. Here we have a clear example that the Law was not done away as many Christians teach. Here we see Yehshua telling the man to go and make an offering as the Law of Moses commanded.
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 This shall be the law of the leper in the day of his cleansing: He shall be brought unto the priest: 3 And the priest shall go forth out of the camp; and the priest shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be healed in the leper; 4 Then shall the priest command to take for him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop: 5 And the priest shall command that one of the birds be killed in an earthen vessel over running water: 6 As for the living bird, he shall take it, and the cedar wood, and the scarlet, and the hyssop, and shall dip them and the living bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the running water: 7 And he shall sprinkle upon him that is to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and shall pronounce him clean, and shall let the living bird loose into the open field. 8 And he that is to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and shave off all his hair, and wash himself in water, that he may be clean: and after that he shall come into the camp, and shall tarry abroad out of his tent seven days. 9 But it shall be on the seventh day, that he shall shave all his hair off his head and his beard and his eyebrows, even all his hair he shall shave off: and he shall wash his clothes, also he shall wash his flesh in water, and he shall be clean. 10 And on the eighth day he shall take two he lambs without blemish, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish, and three tenth deals of fine flour for a meat offering, mingled with oil, and one log of oil. 11 And the priest that maketh him clean shall present the man that is to be made clean, and those things, before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation: 12 And the priest shall take one he lamb, and offer him for a trespass offering, and the log of oil, and wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 13 And he shall slay the lamb in the place where he shall kill the sin offering and the burnt offering, in the holy place: for as the sin offering is the priest’s, so is the trespass offering: it is most holy: 14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 15 And the priest shall take some of the log of oil, and pour it into the palm of his own left hand: 16 And the priest shall dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and shall sprinkle of the oil with his finger seven times before the LORD: 17 And of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering: 18 And the remnant of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall pour upon the head of him that is to be cleansed: and the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD. 19 And the priest shall offer the sin offering, and make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed from his uncleanness; and afterward he shall kill the burnt offering: 20 And the priest shall offer the burnt offering and the meat offering upon the altar: and the priest shall make an atonement for him, and he shall be clean. 21 And if he be poor, and cannot get so much; then he shall take one lamb for a trespass offering to be waved, to make an atonement for him, and one tenth deal of fine flour mingled with oil for a meat offering, and a log of oil; 22 And two turtledoves, or two young pigeons, such as he is able to get; and the one shall be a sin offering, and the other a burnt offering. 23 And he shall bring them on the eighth day for his cleansing unto the priest, unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, before the LORD. 24 And the priest shall take the lamb of the trespass offering, and the log of oil, and the priest shall wave them for a wave offering before the LORD: 25 And he shall kill the lamb of the trespass offering, and the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot: 26 And the priest shall pour of the oil into the palm of his own left hand: 27 And the priest shall sprinkle with his right finger some of the oil that is in his left hand seven times before the LORD: 28 And the priest shall put of the oil that is in his hand upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering: 29 And the rest of the oil that is in the priest’s hand he shall put upon the head of him that is to be cleansed, to make an atonement for him before the LORD. 30 And he shall offer the one of the turtledoves, or of the young pigeons, such as he can get; 31 Even such as he is able to get, the one for a sin offering, and the other for a burnt offering, with the meat offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for him that is to be cleansed before the LORD. 32 This is the law of him in whom is the plague of leprosy, whose hand is not able to get that which pertaineth to his cleansing.
There are many people who write to me who do so just so they can hear themselves being all pious. If I respond to them I often say you no longer need those things I am teaching, and then I quote Luke 31 for it is the sick that need a doctor and not those who are already saved. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. As so should all of you. Go and find those who do not know the Torah. Stop trying to convert others to your own righteousness and go and find those who are so messed up in sin they need to be shown the truth.
Now concerning the old and new patches and wine skins, there is so much false teachings about doing away with the old law to replace it with the new grace doctrines in Christian circles. I have to address this.
Hebrews 10:14- For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (15) And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, (16) “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” (17) then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”
Jeremiah 31:33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (34) And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Brethren when you come to this new understanding of the Torah and you begin to walk in it, so many of us, and I include myself in this, but so many of us find Torah and see the truth and we then add it to our traditions and the way we used to walk. Some people do not even change anything. They just add to the wrong doctrines those truths they do understand and mix them all together.
Instead of bringing all your backage from the former ways, leave it at the lost and never hoped to be found station. Start with a new wine skin. Do not add new cloth to your old clothes. Put on the clothes of righteousness and put on the truth undiluted with the former teachings. Drop them al and study the Torah and it alone. Put the new teachings in a new body of true belief.
The 613 Mitzvot
We now continue to study the 613 laws of Torah which we can read at http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm
We are doing 7 laws each week. We shall study laws 276-282. We also have commentary, with editing from me, again from http://theownersmanual.net/The_Owners_Manual_02_The_Law_of_Love.Torah
276 To return lost property (Deut. 22:1) (CCA69).
(276) Return lost property. “You shall not see your brother’s ox or his sheep going astray, and hide yourself from them; you shall certainly bring them back to your brother. And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall remain with you until your brother seeks it; then you shall restore it to him. You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself.” (Deuteronomy 22:1-3) Finders keepers, losers weepers doesn’t cut it with Yahweh. Love your neighbor is more His style. In an agrarian society, one’s most valuable possessions can tend to wander off all by themselves. Yahweh’s instructions, if you should happen across somebody’s lost fuzzy four-hoofed Rolex, are to return it immediately if you know who it belongs to. If you don’t, you’re to keep it safe, alert the neighborhood, try to find the rightful owner, and give it food and water as if it were your own. It’s the golden rule all over again: handle lost property you’ve found just as you’d want done to something of yours that got lost.
277 Not to pretend not to have seen lost property, to avoid the obligation to return it (Deut. 22:3) (CCN182).
(277) Do not pretend not to have seen lost property, to avoid the obligation to return it. “…You shall do the same with his donkey, and so shall you do with his garment; with any lost thing of your brother’s, which he has lost and you have found, you shall do likewise; you must not hide yourself.” (Deuteronomy 22:3) The temptation for the ganab, of course, is to try to convince yourself that whatever your neighbor lost is actually yours—or more to the point, that given enough time, no one will remember whose it really is. That’s nothing but theft in slow motion, and like any theft, it betrays a lack of trust in Yahweh’s provision. As we’ve seen, there was to be no theft, deception, or falsehood among Yahweh’s people. We are to be holy, for our God is holy.
Criminal Laws
278 Not to slay an innocent person (Ex. 20:13) (CCN32). See Life.
(278) Do not slay an innocent person. “You shall not murder.” (Exodus 20:13) Here we go again. You wouldn’t think the rabbis could screw up anything as simple as the Sixth Commandment, but they did. There is no such thing as an “innocent person.” Yes, there are people who have done nothing to merit a death sentence. (On the other hand, read the list below—I could be wrong about that.) But that isn’t what Maimonides said. A harmless mistake? No. This mitzvah was purposely designed to confuse the issue of innocence versus guilt (obfuscating the need for a Redeemer) and to elevate the self-appointed arbiters of holiness, the rabbis, in the eyes of their victims—excuse me, their followers. As Solomon put it, “For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20)
Yahweh had written with His own finger, “You shall not murder.” That is, you are not to take the life of a fellow human being without just cause—a cause defined by Yahweh in the Torah. These causes include murder, adultery, incest, bestiality, homosexuality, extra-marital sex (usually), the rape of a betrothed virgin (the rape of a non-betrothed virgin was punishable by marriage without the possibility of parole; see #301), kidnapping, witchcraft, offering human sacrifice, striking or cursing a parent, blasphemy, Sabbath desecration, prophesying falsely, propagating false doctrines, sacrificing to false gods, refusing to abide by the decision of the court, treason, and sedition. Warfare in a just cause (such as clearing the Land of Ba’al-worshiping Canaanites) was not considered murder. Clearly, the Sixth Commandment doesn’t mean “Thou shalt not kill,” as it reads in the King James Bible.
Murder, however, also has an underlying, metaphorical meaning, pointing out a deeper truth. Yahshua makes it clear in His tirade against the Pharisees: “If God were your Father [as you claim], you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.” (John 8:42-47) A “murderer” in this sense is someone who prevents a person from having life through a relationship with Yahweh.
Yahshua here is saying that the Pharisees (read: rabbis) are children of the devil because of their false teaching. Their lies are “murdering” people in a spiritual sense, defining the Pharisees as the offspring of the original murderer, Satan. This explains why prophesying falsely and propagating false doctrines were offenses punishable by death in theocratic Israel. In fact, each of the “death penalty” crimes listed above has a similar symbolic counterpart in the spiritual realm. As Moses discovered at Kadesh (Numbers 20:11-12), it’s not a good idea to mess with Yahweh’s metaphors.
279 Not to kidnap any person of Israel (Ex. 20:13) (according to the Talmud, this verse refers to stealing a person, distinguished from Lev. 19:11, regarding the taking of property) (CCN33).
(279) Do not kidnap any person of Israel. “He who kidnaps a man and sells him, or if he is found in his hand, shall surely be put to death.” (Exodus 21:16) Judaism 101 refers the Eighth Commandment (“You shall not steal”) but notes: “According to the Talmud, this verse refers to stealing a person, distinguished from Leviticus 19:11, regarding the taking of property.” The Hebrew text begs to differ. The word for “steal” or “kidnap” is the same in all three passages: ganab, meaning to steal, kidnap, or deceive. The emphasis of the word is on being sneaky or secretive. The Exodus 21 passage I’ve quoted specifically prohibits stealing a man (Hebrew ish: a human being, male or female), so kidnapping is clearly meant there.
The passage does not specify the nationality or race of the prohibited kidnapping. No one was to be kidnapped, for any reason. It didn’t apply exclusively to Israelites. It’s ironic, though, that Muhammad financed his rise to power through the kidnapping for ransom, rape, and the slave trade of Jews living in the Arabian city of Yathrib. In fact, it’s hard to find a precept in the Torah whose violation isn’t extolled by command and example in the Islamic scriptures.
280 Not to rob by violence (Lev. 19:13) (CCN35).
(280) Do not rob by violence. “You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him.” (Leviticus 19:13) A corollary to the Sixth Commandment is stated here. Where ganab there is a broad term whose emphasis is on sneaky theft, this verse uses two other words to get the point across. “Cheat” is the Hebrew word ashaq, meaning “to oppress, violate, defraud, obtain through violence or deceit, to wrong, or extort.” (S) “Rob,” on the other hand, is gazal: to tear away, seize, plunder, rob, or take by force. Yahweh isn’t leaving the potential thief any wiggle room here. We aren’t to take (or even covet—see Exodus 20:17, Mitzvah #282) what doesn’t belong to us. One’s neighbor, as Yahshua pointed out, is anyone who falls within our sphere of acquaintance. If he’s close enough to steal from, he’s your neighbor.
281 Not to defraud (Lev. 19:13) (CCN37).
(281) Do not defraud. “You shall not cheat your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of him who is hired shall not remain with you all night until morning.” (Leviticus 19:13) Moses goes on to give an example of ashaq and gazal—one that the ordinary Israelite might not have considered to be such a heinous crime: keeping a hired man’s wages beyond the customary deadline. In that world, if a man went and labored in your field or vineyard, he expected to be paid at the end of the workday. He counted on it. Yahweh says that to withhold his wages—even just overnight—was tantamount to stealing from him. Even if you eventually paid him the money he was owed, you had still robbed him of his peace of mind.
This of course has applications in today’s world. Pay your bills when they’re due (or even before they’re due—see our discussion on Matthew 5:38-42 above). If you’re a merchant, don’t “price-gouge.” If you’re an employer, pay your employees and vendors on time. Pay your taxes. Don’t take—even temporarily—what isn’t yours, whether by stealth, dishonesty, force, or extortion. If God is truly Yahweh Yireh (our provider), then trust Him to provide for your needs—all of them.
282 Not to covet what belongs to another (Ex. 20:14) (CCN40).
(282) Do not covet what belongs to another. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.” (Exodus 20:17) The Tenth Commandment is a biggie for us Americans. We have a multi-billion dollar advertising industry designed to promote covetousness. Yahweh is telling us to be satisfied with what we have—with what He has provided—and to rely on Him to take care of us in the future. He designed us; He knows we have needs. Covetousness, however, goes beyond the meeting of needs. It is looking at the world around us and wishing other people’s possessions were ours—and that’s wrong.
The word translated “covet” is the Hebrew chamad. Literally, it means to desire, to take pleasure in, to delight in, to covet, or to lust after. There is a fine line between appreciating something for its intrinsic worth or beauty and desiring to own it. I could admire a shiny, sleek, chrome-encrusted custom motorcycle all day long. But I don’t want to own one. Especially yours. Covetousness is like sheol—there’s no bottom to it. Somebody’s wife (or husband) will always be prettier than yours; there will always be someone with a better car, job, house, or whatever. Learn to appreciate and be thankful for what Yahweh has already given you. Remember, he who is faithful with little will be entrusted with more.
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