News Letter 5845-020
18th day of the Fourth month 5845 years after creation
The Fourth Month in the Sabbatical Year
The Second Sabbatical Year of the 119th Jubilee Cycle

July 11, 2009

Shabbat Shalom Brethren,

This week we continue with our teachings on Paul and his misunderstood messages. But first I want you to all take a look at this preview of the Exodus Conspiracy that is to come out later this fall. This has an all star cast of people being interviewed. I was very impressed with it and the things they are going to show us. Just follow this link. http://www.exodusconspiracy.com/

This week we begin with 3 short articles on the growing swine flu epidemic. We follow this with 2 more articles on the economy. Sorry to tell you but this is not going to be over for some time.

Then I want to introduce you to Maria Merola. I have been reading some of her articles on her web site of http://www.doubleportioninheritance.com Maria has also interviewed me a few times on her radio show. She is extremely knowledgeable about the scriptures although again I do not agree with everything she teaches.

When she posted the article I am going to post here today it received over 400 comments, mind you it was posted to the Christian community. So I hope you enjoy her views and can learn from her as well.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,520611,00.html?test=latestnews
CDC: 100,000 AMERICANS LIKELY INFECTED WITH SWINE FLU
Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Government officials say it’s likely that 100,000 Americans are infected with the new influenza strain that is worrying health experts around the world.

Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the more than 5,400 confirmed and probable swine flu cases and at least six deaths in the United States were “the tip of the iceberg.”

The new strain of H1N1 is also putting a worrying number of young adults and children into the hospital — as many as 200 people have been hospitalized in the U.S. — and hitting more schools than usual.

“That’s very unusual, to have so many people under 20 to require hospitalization, and some of them in (intensive care units),” Schuchat told reporters in a telephone briefing.

“We are now experiencing levels of influenza-like illness that are higher than usual for this time of year,” Schuchat added. “We are also seeing outbreaks in schools, which is extremely unusual for this time of year.”

It killed a vice principal at a New York City school over the weekend and has spread to 48 states. While it appears to be mild, it is affecting a disproportionate number of children, teenagers and young adults.

http://www.news24.com/Content/World/News/1073/b33a76c24b104914b8057ce7fc26f461/100_000_H1N1_flu_cases_a_day
‘100 000 H1N1 flu cases a day’
2009-07-02 19:06

London – Britain could have more than 100 000 cases of H1N1 flu a day by the end of August if the current rate of infection is maintained, Health Secretary Andy Burnham said on Thursday.

“Cases are doubling every week, and on this trend we could see over 100 000 cases a day by the end of August, but I stress this is only a projection,” Burnham told the House of Commons, the lower house of parliament.

He said Britain now had nearly 7 500 cases of H1N1 flu and was moving into a new “treatment phase” as hundreds of new cases were confirmed every day.

http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking+News/Singapore/Story/STIStory_389578.html

June 12, 2009
H1N1 flu pandemic
H1N1 hits young the worst
By Liaw Wy-Cin

THE old may not be so weak and feeble after all, at least when it comes to keeping the new flu bug at bay.
The 21 people in Singapore who have caught the new H1N1 flu are aged 10 to 50, with the largest group in their twenties.
This is in contrast to seasonal flu, which tends to strike the elderly more severely, said director of Singapore’s Health Ministry’s communicable diseases division, Dr Lyn James.

And while the disease has so far been relatively mild in these patients, certain groups are at higher risk of developing complications, even death, she said on Friday.

The observations here mirror the profile of H1N1 patients in the United States, said Dr James.

About 70 per cent of those in the US, Canada and Mexico who developed complications severe enough to warrant hospitalisation had pre-existing medical conditions such as a weakened immune system, asthma or heart disease, she said.

‘The risk groups for H1N1 are similar to seasonal flu, except for the notable absence of the older age group of 65 and above,’ said Dr James.

In Singapore, half the number of cases are aged below 23, and the other half are above 23. In New York City, half the number of cases are below 19, and the other half, are above 19. In California, this median age is 27.5 and in Canada, it is 17.

The global death rate for the new H1N1 flu is up to 2 per cent of confirmed cases, so far. So far, about 74 per cent of deaths in the US have been in those aged 19 to 60.

There have been almost 29,000 cases worldwide so far, including 144 deaths, in 77 countries, triggering the World Health Organisation to officially declare a flu pandemic on Thursday.

Day of Reckoning
by Martin D. Weiss, Ph.D.

This is a day of reckoning for California and, ultimately, for all of America.

Will our nation’s largest debtors meet their massive financial obligations? Or will many ultimately default?

In California, the answer given by the state Treasurer’s office was a commitment never to default, seeking to directly refute my forecast issued here 13 days ago under the headline “California Collapsing.”

According to the BusinessJournal:
“The California’s state Treasurer’s office on Monday refuted an analyst’s recommendation last week that investors dump California municipal bonds and that the state is likely to default.

“Analyst Martin Weiss of Weiss Research said in a June 22 report that California’s financial woes create ‘a very high probability’ that California will eventually miss debt service payments.

“Mr. Weiss’ analysis and recommendation, to put it kindly, is misinformed,” responded Tom Dresslar, a spokesman for state Treasurer Bill Lockyer. “Even the credit rating agencies said, in announcing possible downgrades, that the likelihood of default is low.”

Ironically, just two days later …

California Defaulted on Its Short-Term Debt Obligations

In lieu of cash, California issued i.o.u.’s to meet obligations to vendors and citizens, postponing payments on its current liabilities.
But current liabilities are short-term debts. Ergo, based on this standard definition, California is already defaulting.

It’s not the same as defaulting on its bonds. But for reasons I’ll explain in a moment, I’m now more convinced than ever that a bond default is also coming.

Consider the importance of this week’s events …

If California’s creditors had a say in the issuance of i.o.u.’s, Sacramento officials might be able to deny they’re in default by implying mutual consent. But that’s far from the facts. The creditors had nothing to do with this decision. It was unilateral, a telltale aspect of debt defaults.

If the i.o.u.’s were as good as cash, Sacramento might also deny the D-word. But the sad reality is that, if you’re among those stuck with California i.o.u.’s, you have only two choices: You have to either hold them while you sweat and cross your fingers or you have to sell them at a steep discount — exactly the same choices facing bond investors after a default.

If all major financial institutions accepted California i.o.u.’s, that might also help Sacramento justify a continued denial of default. But the reality is that most banks are not accepting the i.o.u.’s, and no one could argue their reasoning is financially unsound.
Why accept a piece of paper at face value when it’s worth significantly less than face value on the open market? The nation’s largest banks already have enough troubles with toxic mortgages, toxic credit cards and toxic loans on commercial real estate. They’re not exactly anxious to pile on toxic California paper.

If, as in past episodes, California’s budget mess were mostly due to a political snafu, it could be argued that the i.o.u.’s are merely a temporary stop-gap. But that’s clearly not the case either.

To the contrary, California’s budget crisis is rooted in an unprecedented economic depression with 11.5 percent unemployment and the greatest concentration of mortgage delinquencies in the nation. Even if the i.o.u.’s are ultimately paid in full, California’s debt troubles are not going away.

Why I Expect a Default on California’s Bonds

Short of an 11th-hour rescue from Washington — where political resistance to bailouts has grown dramatically in the wake of recent federal rescues — it will be extremely difficult for California to avoid a default on its bonds.

The fundamental reason: A vicious cycle of budget tightening and falling state revenues.

The state cannot balance its books without inadvertently making the California economy — and its deficit — even worse.
When it cuts spending, it merely creates more unemployment and forces consumers to slash their own spending or default on their own obligations, driving the economy into a still deeper depression. And when it raises taxes, it has a similar impact.
Either way, the end result is lower revenues flowing into the state’s coffers.

But now California has over $28 billion in bonds coming due between now and October. How will it come up with the cash is a great mystery to me. Bond holders are certainly not going to be among those accepting i.o.u.’s.

Wall Street Rating Agencies Also in Denial

The business model of Moody’s, S&P and Fitch is to sell their ratings to bond issuers; the ratings are bought and paid for by the very institutions being rated, including the state of California.

After multiple investigations of the Wall Street ratings agencies, Congress and the Obama Administration are proposing radical changes. But right now, it’s business as usual, and the egregiously conflicted business model of the Wall Street rating agencies still stands.

I believe that’s a key reason the rating agencies have not yet fully recognized the obviously dire state of California’s finances. And that’s why California’s state Treasurer can still claim Wall Street “doesn’t agree” with more realistic analysis like ours.
In effect, the state virtually pays them to hold their punches.

But despite these blatant conflicts of interest, the truth cannot be bottled up forever. Here’s what I see coming next:
1. Downgrade massacre: A series of multi-notch downgrades by Fitch, Moody’s and S&P, making it extremely difficult — if not impossible — for California to roll over maturing debts at any cost.

2. Worsening deficit: Surging interest costs and greater than expected declines in cash inflows, bloating California’s deficit even further.

3. Washington snub: A last-ditch effort to persuade Treasury Secretary Geithner and President Obama to reverse their earlier decision not to bail out California.

But Washington’s arguments against a California bailout are relatively firm: They’re already giving California billions through the stimulus package. If they bail out California, what will they say to the dozens of other states that line up on the White House lawn asking for theirs?

In contrast, arguments supporting a federal bailout of California sound like a hollow rerun of last year’s “bailout-or-meltdown” ultimatum by former Treasury Secretary Paulson to Congress. It’s a long-ago discredited approach to financial emergencies.

4. Default on California bonds: Despite Sacramento’s official mantra that a default is impossible and unthinkable, it happens.

5. Cascade of defaults: If giant California can default, the new assumption is bound to be that almost any issuer of tax-exempt securities can do the same. A cascade of downgrades and defaults by other states and municipalities ensues.

What to Do …
If you’re a U.S. citizen or resident — whether in California or not — don’t count on borrowing money. Prepare yourself for a return of last fall’s environment in which consumer credit was either too expensive or unavailable.

Pinch pennies. Sell off unneeded assets and possessions. And raise as much cash as you can — for emergencies and for your family’s future.

If you’re a bond investor, better to be safe than sorry. Unload your tax-exempt bonds and tax-exempt mutual funds. With few exceptions, the benefits do not justify the rapidly growing risk.

And if you’re a more aggressive investor, seriously consider transforming the inevitable market volatility of this crisis into a series of substantial profit opportunities.

The key: Timing the market!
Martin

Unemployment, Not the Stock Market, Distinguishes a Recession From a Depression
by Claus Vogt

What are the most important and enduring characteristics of the Great Depression? And what should we monitor to determine how severe today’s situation really is?

The stock market will give important clues. But the economy, especially unemployment, defines depressions.

That should be obvious. However, after the stock market rallied off its March 2009 low, the media and many pundits seem to be fixated on the financial markets to determine the severity of the crisis and to call its end.

To see if the bulls’ hopeful thinking holds water, let’s go back to 1929 and have a look at the stock market’s behavior during those horrific times …

The Bear Market Rally of 1929/30
Yes, there was a spectacular stock market crash in 1929. But a stock market crash does not a depression make. Remember 1987? There was a very similar crash … but no depression. Not even a mild recession.

The crash of 1929 proved to be only the prelude to further heavy losses in 1930-1932. After the initial crash from 381 to 199, a huge rally emerged. Prices rose all the way back to 294 for a 48 percent bear market rally. Hence initial losses were roughly cut in half!

Unfortunately, investors didn’t recognize this rally as a selling opportunity. Instead, they listened to the bullish advice of Wall Street pundits and the government’s declarations that the worst was over and prosperity was right around the corner.
As we all know, this optimism proved to be, well, premature. The huge rally turned out to be just a bear market rally … soon the market started to tank again.

First, stocks tumbled back to the crash-lows, where a second and shallower rally emerged. Then after this bout of hope had evaporated, the market cascaded lower for another two years. From the high during the summer of 1929, the losses mounted to a staggering 89 percent.

Now, let’s fast forward to …

The Bear Market Rally of 2009
After having lost more than 50 percent off its October 2007 high, a huge stock market rally started in March 2009. This rally amounted to 43 percent and had all the typical characteristics of a counter trend move. Especially noteworthy was the low and diminishing volume, which is typical bear market rally behavior.

Just as in 1929, this rally led Wall Street and official sources to conjure economic optimism. This is not a coincidence … the stock market and sentiment measures are highly correlated. But rising sentiment does not forecast a betterment of the economy.

Instead a rising stock market foregoes rising optimism.

Now it looks like this bear market rally is over …
There is technical support around 880 in the S&P 500. A break below this mark would ignite another sell signal and confirm the end of the rally. The next support level is around 800. If this line doesn’t hold, it’s back to the March lows. And if these lows do not stop the slide, a very important message concerning the economy will have been given: “Depression ahead.”

I think that the next few weeks and months will not only be very interesting, but also very important. Yet hardly anybody on Wall Street seems to think about the possibility of a new, stock market low.

They should. And so should you. Remember …
Employment Is Much More Predictive Of Recessions and Depressions Than the Stock Market …

Since the start of this crisis, world industrial production and world trade have been following the pattern of the 1930s very closely. But unemployment is the most important indicator to distinguish a recession from a depression.
Year Unemployment Rate
1929 3.2%
1930 8.7%
1931 15.9%
1932 23.6%
1933 24.9%
1934 21.7%
1935 20.1%
1936 16.9%

Take a look at the table on the right to see the unemployment situation during the Great Depression.
Where do we stand now concerning this all important indicator?

The official U.S. unemployment rate rose from the cycle low of 3.4 percent in 2007 to 9.5 percent as of June 2009.

But the Bureau of Labor Statistics computes a second unemployment rate. This broader measure includes all forms of job market slack and is a whopping 16.5 percent. Yes, one in six Americans is unemployed or underemployed right now. That’s a horrible number! And it will not go away soon.

If you look at the chart below, showing the civilian employment to population ratio, you can see that the downtrend had already started in 2000. Then the stock market bubble burst. This was just the first act in a much longer drama …

The bursting of the real estate bubble was act two. And more is sure to follow. California’s default may be a harbinger of what the third act may look like.

The second chart shows the median duration of unemployment. Here you can see how long it takes Americans to find a job …

These statistics clearly show the severity of the current situation. Here you can easily see why this is not a garden variety post-WWII recession, but something very different.

The current plunge is structural, not cyclical. Most of the jobs lost will never come back. The real estate bubble severely distorted the economic structure. Now the world economy has a lot of rebalancing to do. And this process will last much, much longer than the “green shoots” crowd deems possible.

My suggestion for you today is to watch the stock market for hints of the beginning of the next stage of this crisis. Watch unemployment and world trade as reliable indicators of the severity of the slump. And then watch California to get a feel for the next important act of this economic and financial drama: The government funding crisis and all its related repercussions.
Best wishes,
Claus

Grace Establishes the Law
By Maria Merola

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

The Apostle Paul illustrates here that through faith in Messiah, Yeshua, the Law/Torah/Instructions (5 books of Moses) is all the more ESTABLISHED! He admonishes us that we do not make void the law because of our faith in Messiah, contrary to what many in today’s Christian church have done.

There are many people in today’s Christian Church who are misinterpreting Paul’s writings. Paul warned about the last days when many would “fall away” and they would give heed to the man of sin and his “Mystery Religion” which would promote lawlessness. In 2nd Thessalonians 2, he calls this the MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, and in Paul’s day this religion of lawlessness was already “at work.” So what is this “Mystery of Iniquity”?

In the Strong’s Greek Concordance, the word Iniquity is defined as follows:

#458. anomia an-om-ee’-ah from 459; illegality, i.e. violation of law or (genitive case) wickedness:–iniquity, X transgress(-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.

#459. anomos an’-om-os from 1 (as a negative particle) and 3551; lawless, i.e. (negatively) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by implication, a Gentile), or (positively) wicked:–without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked.
Did you get that?

INIQUITY = NOT SUBJECT TO JEWISH LAW!

In all of Paul’s Epistles, he was not preaching lawlessness, contrary to what most people in today’s church have come to believe. He was actually making a distinction between the DOCTRINES AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN, versus the LAWS OF GOD, which are now WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS UNDER THE NEW COVENANT!

In the book of Galatians, Paul addressed this problem with the Jews in his day trying to force outward circumcision upon Gentiles in order to accept them into their fellowship. In the Torah, it is written that if a stranger wants to sojourn with Israel and he wants to keep the Passover Feast with an Israelite, he must first become circumcised. And so this is where the contention started in the book of Galatians.

The Rabbi’s were making circumcision the pre-requisite to salvation when it is not. No place in the Torah (5 books of Moses) does it say that one must be circumcised in order to be saved! God always intended outward circumcision to be a sign of circumcision of the heart:

Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.

Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

And so under the New Covenant, we have circumcision of the heart as the “sign” that we have been become “Jewish” (belonging to the tribe of Judah) through Yeshua’s blood covenant:

Romans 2:

25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.

26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?

27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?

28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;

29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.

Paul was telling those who were circumcised outwardly that it does not profit them if they are outwardly circumcised if they fail to keep God’s laws. Likewise he said that if an uncircumcised Gentile does obey God’s laws, his “uncircumcision” is then counted as “circumcision” because he obeys God’s commandments. And so in this way, Paul was teaching that we are truly “Jewish” if we are circumcised inwardly by the Holy Spirit, who removes the foreskin of our hearts and then writes the Law/Torah in our hearts and in our minds.

Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

We are justified by Grace through Faith, but then Grace does not only JUSTIFY us, but Grace also SANCTIFIES us and writes the law in our hearts and minds. This is the sign of the New Covenant, that we have his laws in our hearts and minds. Many believers today are making the classic mistake of confusing JUSTIFICATION with SANCTIFICATION. But they are quite different.

When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, this is a picture of salvation. But when he took them into the wilderness and taught them his statutes and precepts (Torah/Instructions) this is a picture of sanctification (being set apart and called to holiness). But many are doing the classic thing that most Christians do, of confusing these two works of Grace and treating them as the same thing.

God did not deliver Israel out of Egypt and then leave them in the wilderness without his instructions on how to live. He taught them his laws. But they came to us in Stone Tablets (which were corruptible or breakable). But now under the New Covenant on Pentecost he presented those same laws to us, only now in “fleshy tables of the heart” (2nd Corinthians 3:3). The Holy Spirit gave us the very same law but now in an incorruptible form which is a new nature. We now possess the nature of Messiah himself which is the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, these are the same laws only now in an incorruptible form. Messiah is the Living Law (Living Word) and the corruptible form of the word/law was crucified but now the same word/law has been resurrected into an incorruptible form, which is called the “law of the spirit of life.”
Notice 3 types of law below:

1.) Law of the Spirit of Life
2.) Law of Sin & Death
3.) Law of God in Stone

Romans 8

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

3 For what the law (in stone) could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Many Christians love to quote Romans 8:1 but they only quote half of the verse and leave the latter part of the verse out:

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Notice that there is a CONDITION to those who are not under CONDEMNATION. The condition is this: They walk in the power of the Holy Spirit! And what does the Holy Spirit do? He frees us from our inability to keep the law! The law of the Spirit of Life (the Holy Spirit’s power in us to keep the law) has freed us from our inability to keep the law (the law of sin and death). Because God’s laws (in stone tablets) were only weak because of the fact that they were INCOMPATIBLE with our corrupted human nature.

But now that the Holy Spirit gives us the law in an INCORRUPTIBLE FORM, which is a NEW NATURE, THE NATURE OF MESSIAH HIMSELF, we are now able to FULFILL THE LAW just as Messiah completely fulfilled the law! This means we have been given power from the Holy Spirit to live exactly as Yeshua Messiah lived!

You will see that what Paul is saying is that the law in stone was weak because of our sinful nature, but the law of the spirit of life (the law of God written in our hearts) has now freed us from this other law that works in our members that makes us want to break God’s laws. So now the “righteousness of God’s laws are able to be fulfilled in us” by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words we are now able to FULFILL THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW by the Holy Spirit’s power in us!

This is a common mistake that many in the church make because they are viewing Paul’s writings with a Western-Greco, Roman mindset instead of a Hebraic mindset.

When I ask most Christians how they would define sin, they don’t have a well defined answer. They usually say “well, ummm, uhh, it means disobeying God….”

But they don’t know exactly how to define what it means to “disobey” God. But scripture gives us a well defined answer as to what sin really is:

1st John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

And what is the penalty for breaking God’s laws?

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

When Paul spoke of “another gospel” he was rebuking those who would follow the doctrines and commandments of men, not the laws of God!

Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

The Jews in Galatia were making outward circumcision the PRE-REQUISITE TO SALVATION, but it is not, AND NEVER WAS EVEN UNDER THE OLD COVENANT!

But now many Christians want to misinterpret Paul’s rebuke to the Galatians as if he was telling them not to keep the law of Moses any longer, but this is completely false!

Some of the Jews were falsely accusing the Apostle Paul of teaching the Jews to no longer keep the laws of Moses and to stop circumcising their baby boys.

Acts 21:21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.

But Paul was not teaching Jews to stop circumcising their baby boys. Paul merely preached that adult male Gentiles did not need to get circumcised in order to enter into covenant with God.

But that did not mean that it was a sin for Jews or Gentiles to circumcise their baby boys. As a matter of fact, it is still recommended to circumcise baby boys on the 8th day because of health reasons. But in order to show the Jews that these rumors about him were false and that he was still very much a Torah observant Jew keeping the Law of Moses, he shaved his head and did a purification ritual according to the Law of Moses. The Jews wanted him to make an open demonstration that these rumors about him were false so he did as they asked him to do:

Acts 21:

23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;

24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.

26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.

Acts 21 proves that the Apostle Paul was still very much a Torah-observant Jew and that he was not teaching people to break the Law of Moses at all. The Apostle Paul did not contradict the Law of Moses ever once! Paul was fully a Torah observant Jew. Paul was always making a distinction between God’s laws and the man-made laws of the Rabbi’s. What most Gentiles don’t understand is that the Rabbi’s made up their own man made interpretations of God’s laws, and they called their own traditions “The Torah.”

And so there is “God’s Torah” and then there is the “Mock Torah” of the Pharisees. So when the Apostle Paul speaks of the “law” in the scriptures, you must look up the original Greek word to determine if the word is “dogma” (man made traditions) or if it is “Pentateuch” (the 5 books of Moses).

Yeshua clearly teaches us that until “heaven and earth pass way” (have they passed away?) not one punctuation mark of the law will be done away with until ALL IS FULFILLED! Not all is fulfilled yet, because we have only received “the first fruits of our redemption until we receive the redemption of the body.” (Romans 8:23)

Matthew 5:

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Many have inaccurately stated that the Laws of God put us into bondage, but that is not what puts us into bondage! What puts us in Bondage is THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH! And Messiah has redeemed us from the CURSE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP THE LAW!

God’s laws are now transferred from STONE INTO FLESHY TABLES OF THE HEART, and his laws bring LIBERTY!

James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.

Paul never once taught LAWLESSNESS, he taught that we all the more ESTABLISH GOD’S LAWS THROUGH FAITH!

Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

We must not make the common mistake that the Protestant Church has learned from Rome which teaches that we no longer have to keep the law because of Faith. This is APOSTASY!

Matthew 19:17 “…..but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.”

Keeping God’s laws are not the PREREQUISITE TO SALVATION, but obeying his laws are ESTABLISHED ALL THE MORE ONCE WE HAVE FAITH!

Paul’s Epistles are pointing to the man made laws of the Rabbi’s which they used to REPLACE GOD’S LAWS. Yeshua/Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they REJECTED GOD’S LAWS, and instead brought in their own traditions:

Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.

The Apostle Peter warned that many men would twist Paul’s words to their own DESTRUCTION:

2nd Peter 3:15-16

15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;

16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

The laws of God are all the more established now under the New Covenant because of Faith in Messiah. They are not abolished or “nailed to the cross” as many misunderstand Paul’s letter to the Colossians:

Colossians 2:

13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Okay so what was actually NAILED TO THE CROSS? The HANDWRITING CONTAINED IN ORDINANCES! But what does the word “ordinance” mean? In the Strong’s Concordance we find that it is a civil decree, in other words a MAN MADE LAW:

#378. dogma dog’-mah from the base of 1380; a law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical):–decree, ordinance.

So you see Paul was not telling us that God’s Laws were nailed to the cross, he was telling us that the man made religious systems WERE AGAINST US, and so it was the DOCTRINES OF MEN that have been NAILED TO THE CROSS!

If Paul was teaching us that God nailed his own commandments to the cross, he would be in direct contradiction to Yeshua/Jesus in Matthew 5:17-19 and this would make Paul a false prophet! And even if Paul was preaching lawlessness (which he is not) then why do Christians want to listen to Paul instead of Jesus?

The Rabbi’s made brand new laws of their own and which superseded “The Torah” and this is what Paul was addressing when he taught that we are no longer “under the law.” (under the law of the Pharisee, or under the manmade laws)

He was addressing the problem with people being “under rabbinic law” instead of the Holy Spirit who now teaches us to keep God’s laws under the New Covenant. If we are UNDER THE SPIRIT we are not under RABBINIC LAW. That is what Paul was talking about. He was telling us that the Holy Spirit will teach us to obey God’s laws not rabbinic or man made ordinances.

Yeshua has given us the resources whereby we are able to be PERFECT AS OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT:

Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

But some will say “but nobody is perfect….” Yes, this is true when we are walking in the flesh, but through the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to be PERFECT. Messiah would not command something of us that he would not have given us the resources to accomplish it.
What is Grace?

The word “Grace” in the Greek Concordance is “charis” which means “the divine influence upon the heart.” So what does this divine influence do to the heart?

Titus 2:

11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,

12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

Grace not only brings us salvation, but grace is our TEACHER! Grace teaches us to DENY UNGODLINESS and LAWLESSNESS, and teaches us to live RIGHTEOUSLY!
The New Covenant More Strict than the Old Covenant?

The Old Covenant gave us only the “bare minimum” requirements to follow, but under the New Covenant, we are required to give 100% of our lives to Yeshua by offering up ourselves as a LIVING SACRIFICE! Why is the New Covenant more strict? Because Yeshua has given us all of the resources we need by offering up his life for us. We now have two things that enables us to keep the marriage covenant:

1.) The Blood Atonement of Messiah which cleanses us when we slip and fall.

2.) The Gift of the Holy Spirit who deposits the Law into our hearts and minds, thereby enabling us to obey the commandments.

Now with the resources that we have been given, we are without excuse. Under the Old Covenant, if someone broke the Law of Moses, they died at the testimony of two or three witnesses. But under the New Covenant of Grace, Hebrews 10:29 says: HOW MUCH GREATER PUNISHMENT SHALL WE RECEIVE IF WE DO DESPITE TO THE SPIRIT OF GRACE?

Hebrews 10:

26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:

29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

And so this begs the question: If you claim that you are “under grace” yet you are still breaking God’s commandments, can it be that what you thought was “grace” is actually LICENTIOUSNESS & LASCIVIOUSNESS?

May Yahweh watch over you and guide you in your spiritual growth and to know only the truth.

Shabbat Shalom

Joseph F Dumond
www.sightedmoon.com