Keith Johnson & Nehemia Gordon – Border Busters
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Beautiful we must and love to Hallow -Sanctify His Glorious Name HalleluYahweh!!!
I am disappointed in not being able to see the video but thoroughly enjoyed the audio portion.
It confirms many of my positions re Torah and the New Covenant and how to minister the WORD to the world w/o seeming to pontificate.
Shalom,
Rick
A controversial topic for sure! I have nothing personally against Nehemiah and Keith, but……..
Forgive me if I am wrong, but doesn’t Nehemiah clearly state quite often that he does not believe that Yeshua is the Son of YHVH and the Messiah? Nehemiah says he has read the report concerning Yeshuas witnesses explaining who he is and what he claimed and rejected the truth of it, or am I mistaken?
Be careful with the reasoning of men for YHVH has said “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” Co Exist and interfaith dialogue are deceptions that lead to death. As Yeshua said “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” That’s the true boarder.
1 John: “Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.”
2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
John 5:23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Israel has many Gods according to the bible and will not have one God until the fulfillment of the New Covenant of lawfulness. Many repeat the prayer “hear oh Israel the lord our God the Lord is one” but the fact remains hearing they hear not and seeing they see not. Those who think they believe in YHVH but do not believe in Yeshua as the Son of YHVH are blind leaders of the blind. Yeshua said if you have not the Son you have not the Father.
Yeshua is the “Light to the Nations” John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. Yeshuas Disciples are also by extension the light of the world, John 1:9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
Those who do not have Yeshua are not a light to anyone. John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
Let’s not pretend the darkness of unbelievers is light. The Boarders were set by Yeshua and no man calling himself a teacher should teach busting them. You are with us or against us, gathering or scattering, the boarder is clear.
My advise is to reject inter faith dialogue, you can’t reason with Satan, he will never understand or agree with you. Those who believe can be taught truth, those who do not believe can not be taught truth. Even the little bit that they have will be taken from them.
And yet my hope is that Nehemiah will one day believe in him who YHVH has sent.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of YHVH! Yeshua haMashiach.
Shalom
G’day Rick, the video is in the right hand side bar of the website, enjoy 🙂
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14). If Yeshua is the personification of the Word, is not his light the light of Torah? This being so, which is of weightier importance, to believe the Word of YHVH or to believe that Yeshua is the Messiah? The Constantinians believe that “Jesus is the Christ” yet they do not believe the Word. What then of someone who believes the Word and yet is not persuaded as to the identity of the Messiah? I know who I would rather keep company with. Yeshua said in Matthew 10:21, “For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother…” I agree with Yeshua, after all, “Whoever calls on the name of YHVH shall be saved” (Joel 2:32, Acts 2:21, Romans 10:13).
Right on Jono!
good comment Jono.
Steven, your comments show your intense commitment to Yeshua, but consider this…too much salt can make the food taste bad…Yeshua used harsh words only to those who were outright misleading people with traditions of their own and away from Torah. Nehemia shows respect for Yeshua and certainly does nothing to lead people away from Him…instead he joins Yeshua in pointing people to YHVH and Torah…recall Paul’s advice that we should not become haughty toward our Jewish brothers…they are still the root and we are grafted in…
Your comments would make sense if I were a gentile.
Nehemia seems to me to walk in the Light he has been given. I recall when I had a testimony of Yeshua but no light on written Torah. Since Yeshua is the Living Torah, to reject the Written Torah is just as much rejecting Yeshua as the sin you accuse Nehemia of. One of the main reasons today for the Jewish people rejecting Yeshua is the false teachings and the bloody tactics of the so called Christians.
I would prefer to show Nehemia the love of Yeshua by being gentle and trying to lead him to Yeshua rather than posting very public comments condemning the man.
Steven, hammering a man with proof texts will do nothing but make him ignore you.
I would prefer that Nehemia had a strong testimony for Yeshua. However, I will not reject him because I see him as a Torah observant soul who is Yhudah my brother who only needs to do as Thomas did and put his fingers into His Side and behold the nail prints in His Hand, then he will say, “My Adonai! My Eloheim!
Whether or not Nehemia is outside of the will of YHVH for his life at this point in time is not for us to judge. Nehemia is doing a great service for the Messianic Brethren in this world by working with Keith and others.
Nehemia, if you read this, I pray that you do come to the knowledge that Yeshua is who He say’s He is and bow the knee quickly so that your walk will be full and your salvation secure.
Steven, we need to temper our dogma with love.
Everything word written here is tempered with love, just not the sloppy pathetic kind many use to shut up the work of YAH. Yeshua has little patience for those resistant to the truth. Time is short and those who bear the sword are not using it to tickle ears. So hear this warning and ignore it at your own peril.
Only someone who believes Yeshua is Messiah believes the word. Yeshua taught this!
I comment as a Son of Abraham who believes in Yeshua as Messiah the Son of the Living God, not as a gentile, but part of the root you speak of. When I speak, I speak of my own people including Nehemia.
How can anyone show respect to Yeshua by saying he did not tell the truth about who he is and claim he is not the son of YHVH and not the Messiah? Ridicules! That’s not respect by any stretch for the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Commander of YHVH’s armies and the one sitting at the right hand of the Father.
Ask Nehemia directly if Yeshua spoke the truth about who he is and Nehemia will tell you Yeshua was wrong. You call that respect? You want to disrespect our Father so you can placate to a denier of his Son?
My words may seem harsh to you but they are the truth. Does anyone know better than Yeshua? Yeshua used harsh words to those who knew the scripture but refused to accept the ones Yah sent to them even his own son putting him to death. And Jesus said they would not hear him because they “can not” hear them.
My people rejected YHVH in the wilderness and that generation will not enter into his rest. My people rejected YHVH to rule them when they asked for a King instead of Samuel. “He came to his own and they received him not” My people rejected Yeshua long before any “false teachings and the bloody tactics of the so called Christ”, some just like Nehemia, which Yeshua was speaking of when he said this:
“But you do not have His word abiding in you, because whom He sent, Him you do not believe. 39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”
Jono asked “What then of someone who believes the Word and yet is not persuaded as to the identity of the Messiah? Such a thing is not possible, there is no such person! Yeshua answered this very issue when he said his word does not abide in those who do not believe in whom He sent.
Yeshua said to my people Israel, my brothers including Nehemia: “I do not receive honor from men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you. 43 I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive. 44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God? 45 Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
I do not accuse Nehemia to the Father, Moses does! It is not possible to believe Moses and NOT believe in Jesus. Jesus said those scriptures speak of HIM so to deny HIM is to deny the scriptures.
If Nehemia would like to confess Jesus as the Son of the living God, before men openly let him do it speedily. Matthew 10:32 “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven.
Christ Brings Division not interfaith dialogue and coexistence.
“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’
This is the truth: If any Israelite believes Moses, he believes in Yeshua as the Son of God, and he believes the works Yeshua did. Yeshua said that to Israel, my people so stop talking to me as grafted in. What advantage does the Jew have? Much in every way!
I am not haughty and boasting against my brethren for those who accuse me. I understand that YHVH and Yeshua both spoke the truth of Israel when he said we are stubborn and hardhearted and always resistant to the truth. It is time to wake up and accept Yeshua’s teaching if you want to be a true disciple.
As a Son of Abraham I say these things to you. Nehemia must accept Yeshua or reject him, he can not do both. A Tree is known by Its Fruit. Matthew 12: 33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.
Just for the record, I am not trying to convert Nehemia to the truth so I don’t need tactics. I am not concerned if he ignores me. Like Yeshua said, “they have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them!” For surely they will not believe though one came to them returned from the grave.
Steven, I have not heard that Keith teaches that Yeshua is not the son of God or the Messiah. If that is true, then what you say and the scriptures you posted are very appropriate. I did watch the 6 minute video called “His hallowed name” and in it he seemed to say that everyone, Muslims included, are his brothers. Well I disagree that if they are presently believing Muslims, then they are not our brothers. Hopefully they will repent and become believers in Yeshua, but until that happens they are not brethren.
1 Jn. 2:22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
Jn.8:24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
Jn.8:58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.
Of course, people that believe that Jesus is not God will say that the KJV is not really the word of God and that there are many mistranslations in it. Or we must know some special Hebrew name or pronunciation of Gods name to really please Him. Jesus said to call Him “Father”. I think that God knows who His children are and when they call out to their Father in heaven, He knows who they are referring to.
I think too many people are getting caught up in Hebrew roots and forgetting the Gospel. There is a reason the gift of tongues or languages was given, so that men might hear the word of God in their own language, imagine Paul and Barnabas going around giving Hebrew lessons to the Gentiles, ha, ridiculous.
David,
Nehemia himself repeatedly states he is an unbeliever and denies Yeshua is the Son of God in public so it is no secret brother. Why would you put this on me as though I am the accuser and doing something wrong by commenting on it? Why do you imply I am judging my brother which is against Yeshuas teaching? I do not judge Nehemia; I know who he is because he says very clearly and very often who he is. By his words he shall be judged and by his words he shall be condemned. So shall we all. I stand by my words, your correction is unjust.
Nehemia, I do not judge you or accuse you before the Father as is implied in this thread but Moses does! Repent for the Kingdom of YHVH is at hand!
One last comment then I will rest on this thread. Reducing Yehsuas words to “proof text” when he says they are SPIRIT and they are ETERNAL LIFE can only be offensive to our Father.
John 14:24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.
He said to them, “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”
I was not hammering anyone with proof text but quoting some of the Spirit and Eternal Life spoken by the mouth of YHVH. It will not return void but will accomplish all it was sent to do.
Shalom
Repent? Repent of what? Sin? After all sin is transgression of Torah. Thus to turn from sin is to turn to Torah, the Word of YHVH. I’m sure Moses would agree and I think you would too Steve.
Once again, if Yeshua is the Word, as John 1:14 claims, and one turns from the transgression of Torah to adherence to YHVH’s Word then what is lacking in faithfulness? Is not their faithfulness to the Father’s will the same faithfulness of Yeshua? Isn’t that how John describes those set-apart, “those guarding the commandments of Elohim and the faithfulness of Yeshua” (Rev 14:12)? Indeed there is always more to learn in Scripture and revelation of the Word is put into practice by those who uphold it. But as Paul said, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12). I look forward to seeing clearly and knowing in full.
Sorry, I just want to comment again, not quite ready to rest!
Jono, you ask repent of what as though you don’t know?
Of unbelief in the Son of course!
You were not raised in Torah so perhaps you do not understand from the Torah perspective, but I was raised in Torah and have studied and struggled with it all my life.
My beef is not with any individual person but with the ways of the antichrist which is interfaith dialogue and coexistence. Both concepts are huge movements in the world today and a Google search will bring many items to prove that. What was discussed here today was not Torah or Truth. Israel, my people have been repeatedly warned against this due to the result would be worshiping false gods. My other beef is unbelief of the Truth that was sent down from heaven.
The work of God is that we believe in the Son.
John 6: Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”
28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”
30 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’
32 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us this bread always.
”
35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen Me and yet do not believe. 37
All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 39 This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. 40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Nehemia and all my other unbelieving brothers need to repent of not coming to belief in the Son. As his brother I am obligated by Torah to rebuke him to return to the Father by believing in Yeshua who was sent and ultimately be raised up at the last day.
‘You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.
I say what I do because I am obeying the commandment to love my neighbor as myself. I love him enough to tell it like it is and what you don’t understand about my brothers that I do understand, they have forsaken YHVH.
Psalm 141:5 Let the righteous strike me; It shall be a kindness. And let him rebuke me; It shall be as excellent oil; Let my head not refuse it. For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
Thank you Steven. Can you show me in Torah a verse where Yah commands to believe in the Son, thus making not believing a transgression of Torah?
Would it be perhaps Deuteronomy 18:15?
Such as sad and heart breaking question for a multitude of reasons it would take all day to list.
Here is a scripture commandment of Torah that forbids interfaith dialogue and coexistence and commands we believe, hear and obey Yeshua all in one.
Deut 18: When thou art come into the land which Jehovah thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do according to the abominations of those nations.
10There shall not be found among you he that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, that useth divination, that useth auguries, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer,
11or a charmer, or one that inquireth of a spirit of Python, or a soothsayer, or one that consulteth the dead.
12For every one that doeth these things is an abomination to Jehovah, and because of these abominations Jehovah thy God doth dispossess them from before thee.
13Thou shalt be perfect with Jehovah thy God.
14For these nations, which thou shalt dispossess, hearkened unto those that use auguries, and that use divination; but as for thee, Jehovah thy God hath not suffered thee [to do] so.
15Jehovah thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him shall ye hearken;
16according to all that thou desiredst of Jehovah thy God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, saying, Let me not hear again the voice of Jehovah my God, neither let me see this great fire any more, that I die not.
17And Jehovah said unto me, They have well spoken that which they have spoken.
18A prophet will I raise up unto them from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.
19And it shall come to pass that the man who hearkeneth not unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him.
Jesus said he was that prophet. The commandment is to hearken to that prophet who is the Son. One cannot keep the commandment to hearken unto that prophet and YHVH’s words, spoken in YHVH’s name if they deny the son.
Israel is not hearkening to the commandment of Duet 18 and that requires repentance.
Only those whom he Father brings to understanding exactly who that prophet is can come to the son and ultimately obey the commandment to hearken. That is what Jesus is talking about when the disciples ask:
Why do you speak in parables “lest they should hear with their ears and see with their eyes and repent and I should heal them”
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘ Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.
Jono, it’s awesome you knew the commandment before you asked the question. Good job brother!
If it is acceptable for Nehemia to be considered a brother because he keeps Torah –My question is this – if there is only one way to the Father for all people then aren’t we setting up 2 separate ways yet once again.
The jews have the commandments and the rest have Yeshua?
I was raised in churchanity but praise YHWH I am now part of His family Israel. I would not be if I did not accept the sacrifice of Yeshua.
He is my blood sacrifice and my teacher as such Yeshua has taught me to call on the name of YHWH and to be obedient to the commands of YHWH. By accepting the blood sacrifice of Yeshua I am allowed to boldly call on the name of YHWH.
I cannot accept the sacrifice if I am not obedient to YHWH’s commands. So it all goes hand in hand.
As scripture says – the set-apart ones are those that keep the commands AND the testimony of Yeshua.
Not one or the other but both.
I cannot consider someone as part of Israel who wilfully chooses to be disobedient and not do both. My understanding is that this is grieving the set-apart spirit.
I know there are many who do not know they are to keep Torah – I was once one of those. I loved YHWH but did not know he had a name.
I went to church and served with all my heart. YHWH knew my heart and knew I sought him. Because of this He revealed the truth of His name and Torah to me. After much prayer I saw the truth and accepted it.
I would assume that the same could be said for those of Jewish descent who keep Torah with a heart for YHWH. He knows their heart and because of such will reveal the truth of His son to them. It is up to them to accept that truth. If they willfully choose to reject that truth they are rejecting YHWH.
It seems harsh but YHWH has said there is no middle ground. The church is already trying the adaptation route. We must be careful not to do the same.
I hope this has not come across harshly or hatefully because that is not my intent. I just desire to be obedient to YHWH even if it isn’t easy.
Steven, if you can restrain yourself from your pronouncements of judgment against everyone who sees things a little differently than you, take some time to read and pray over John chapter 17 and 1st Corinthians chapter 13. I’m sure you know what they are about, but maybe you could spend some time thinking about how to balance your interactions with others with that principle of “love” which Yeshua stressed so fervently. I think He intended for us to use His teaching and the Torah as a candle to lead people out of the darkness, not a club to beat them over the head and drive them even further from the light. Jews today have even more reason to doubt Yeshua after the lack of love that has been shown them by so many so called “Christians”. The crusades, holocaust & other persecutions were fueled by people who had let their belief in Yeshua become a club and a means of pronouncing judgement on “non-believers”. We see it still today in some Christians and certainly in Islam…only YHVH can and will determine who He accepts in His House…Yeshua asked His followers to spread the “good news” of what He has done for us all in love and obedience to YHVH His Father. Put simply, you could serve Him better by tempering your pedantics with His Love.
I would like to bring up two points or questions regarding ‘His Hallowed Name’ by Keith Johnson.
The first is the use of ‘Hallowed’. Why would a true believer use this word for? After reading ‘Come out of her my people’ by C.J Koster (if you have not read this, then please get hold of a copy, it’s not your salvation, but do we not want to please the Father), we learn that the name ‘Hallow’, ‘Hallowed’ or ‘Sanctify’ are all (according to C.J.Koster, and you can check it out for yourselves by studying this) words used instead of the Hebrew word Qo’desh, and the equivalent Greek word Hagios, and their derivatives. Qo’desh can be used in a positive sense or negative sense. Someone is, or something is set-apart unto YHWH, or he/it is set-apart unto evil cultic prostitution. Thus the word qo’desh applies to both.
This quote from his book, “Why then, if the Hebrew word, Qo’desh, as well as the Greek Hagios both mean “Set Apart,” why has the word “holy” been used instead?” Also “Hallowed”: Identical to the above is another derivative of this word originating from the “divinely honoured sun.” In our versions the word “hallowed” is also a translation of qo’desh or qa’dash, and hagiazo. The word is also found in “Halloween” or “Hallow-even,” an old pagan British festival which was adopted by the church. The great Sun-image of the Krom-krauch was specially worshipped at this season. Here again, the word “hallowed” in our versions should be “koshered” to read: “set apart.”
The second thing I would like to ask is about the Name. In Jeff A. Benner’s book “Ancient Hebrew Lexicon on the Bible (“Bible”, that’s another disputable word), Hebrew letters, words and roots defined within their ancient cultural context”, we see that he states the following. “WAW”, the Modern Hebrew name for this letter is “vav”, a word meaning “peg” or “hook”. If the Modern Hebrew letter appears as a (vav with holam- cannot insert the vav here), it is the vowel sound “ow” and if it appears as (vav with dagesh), it is the vowel sound “uw”. When used as a vowel the ancient pronunciation was also an “ow” or “uw”. In each of the consonant/vowel letters of the Ancient Hebrew language the pronunciation of the consonant is closely related to the pronunciation of the vowel such as “hey” is “h” and “eh” and the pronunciation of the letter “yud” is “y” and “iy”. For this reason, it is probable that the original pronunciation of the “vav” was with a “W”. In Modern Arabic language, this letter is also pronounced with a “W”. Therefore, the original name of this letter would have been “WAW” instead of “vav”. YHWH.
My apologies to those who missed the last 10 minutes of the interview. For some reason it was missing. But I have reloaded the interview and it is all there now 🙂
But seriously brother, Man up! The Dragon is coming to make war with the Saints, not have a tickle fight.
George, I was just imagining that the great biblical characters had read your comment to gently hold a candle and lovingly lead people out of darkness. I am sure if they can read it they are all laughing hysterically right now like I am. No offense brother, but really that’s just too funny.
Consider the harsh words of Moses, the actions of Phineas, Ezekiel who prophesized the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah who turned the people to repentance by telling them their sin, John the Baptist who lost his head because he told the ruler what was not lawfull and called the Pharisees and Sadducees “brood of vipers” and told them to repent just like I did, Stephen who was stoned for his intemperate pedantics when he told the Elders all the sins of their fathers and said “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you.” and Yeshua himself who made a whip and drove out the money changers, who called the leaders whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones, called the ruler of the synagogue a hypocrite, insulted Herod the Great calling him “that fox”, who told the people if they did not repent they would also perish.
I think YHVH said it best to Isaiah when he said “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and declare unto my people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that doeth righteousness, and hath not forsaken the ordinance of their God; they ask of me the ordinances of righteousness, they take delight in approaching to God:
Thanks for the laugh! I just can’t get the image of Yeshua taking a warm little candle and walking over to the money changers and saying with a sweet little voice “now friends, don’t be offended, please let me lead you out of darkness with my little candle, we want to pray here now and you are making such a fuss.
Smiling face means don’t get offended because I love my brethren and just poking fun to make a point. If you feel I have trespassed against you can forgive me as our Father has forgiven you.
Pedantics……….That might be my new favorite word!
Shalom
Regarding Nehemia’s position of faith – Mat.7:13-23 holds a perspective most are unaware of. Yahshua says a v:23 ‘depart you … (lawless) I never knew you’ – not to take anything away from the finished work of Yahshua – Still look carefully at what Yahshua said – “I never knew you” – NOT – ‘you never knew me’ – For Yahshua to have said it that way opens the door to the distinct possibility that – The Covenant LawFullness of most Jews will fair much better than the LawLessNess of most Christians. Which agrees with such verses as Jn.14:6 – We have to remember that He is sovereign and we are not. He will have mercy on whom He will have mercy.
Yah’s Esteem
Steven …wow….love your comments. agree with you 100 %. We have to bve very careful who we listen to. I ahve a real problem with the Kairites. The have stated in their own writings that there are 100 reasons why Yeshua is not Messiah. Now we know that is rubbish..but they are at least part of the Synogogue of Satan that call themselves Jews but are not. They denied being Jews during the Holocaust…and got away with it because even Hitler knew they were not Jews. They are probably from Abraham though….but more the Ishmael side. Why do so many messianic believers follow them..becasue they are so deceptive ..kind of like wolves in sheeps clothing.
I stand with my brother, Steven and sister, Latrece, and cry Amein. Amein, amein, amein. Let EVERY man be a liar and YHWH’s WORD be true.
Please seek Abba to KNOW if your emotional response – your love of unrepentant Judah/Jews is really love, when you vow (by your claim to love them!!!) to rebuke in love, yet cower at the snare of the enemy who beguiles you into thinking that you must continue fellowship with one who denies Y’shua.
Yes, it is the Father who draws – and ONLY the Father. There is only ONE Way to the Father.
He uses His servants to deliver messages, rebuke, reprove, serve and many other tasks. So why why why do we all keep committing the same errors over and over WHEN the Truth is spoken? Eyes darting to find a Scripture that backs up OUR understanding of love? Leaning on our own understanding? NOT taking ALL thoughts captive to the OBEDIENCE of Y’shua?!
We ALL must seek HIM —-FIRST —- in ALL things and stop this emotional, politically correct diatribe against those who speak the Truth. Instead? PAUSE and take your emotions, thoughts and reaction TO the OBEDIENCE of Y’shua, testing ALL things and ALL Spirits.
There. That pedantic enough for the naysayers? YHWH have mercy on us.
🙂 OK, now I get it…you fancy yourself to be a prophet…and you think Yeshua wants you to go around beating people over the head with His Word and/or Him. That you could so totally distort His sacrifice is not funny at all. You seem more like Paul, before his conversion.
Blessings and I pray you will find more joy in Yeshua and less anger.
Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
This scripture means that keeping only Moses does not give you eternal life. We still have to eat the bread of heaven.
(Just to qualify in case of misunderstanding…I keep the Torah in spirit and in truth and believe in every commandment and every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yah and teach others to do so)
Wow, sorry I am hoggin the blog.
David Perry, your pemise is wrong. Yeshua said he knows all his sheep and call them all by name and is known by them.
There is no middle group, you are with us or against us.
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
Yeshua does not intend to Coexist with anyone!
A little leaven leavens the entire lump! Stay out of the house of the antichrist, bowing yourselves down to pray in the house of the enemy is shameful, it brings no honor to YHVH.
1 John 2:22 “who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son”.
What is taught in a Mosque the house of the antichrist?
1) “he is Allah, the one and only. Allah, the eternal, absolute, he begets not, nor is he begotten and there is none comparable unto him”
2) “There is no God except Allah; Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”
3) “Jesus was a messenger, not son of God”
4) Qur’an, Surah 9:30-33 “The Christians say: the Messiah is the son of Allah. That is their saying with their mouths; they but imitate what the unbelievers of old used to say. Allah’s curse be on them. How they are deluded away from the truth. They have taken as lords beside Allah their rabbis and their monks and Christ the son of Mary’ yet they were commanded to worship but one Allah, there is no god but he”
“Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; but whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
I think we can all agree that YHVH is a Holy God and a Jealous God and separate from sinners. Honor YHVH, separate yourselves from the world, you are in the world but not of the world. If you were of the world the world would love you, but because you are not of the world the world will hate you.
Let it be so!
Well Steven, I think that your close minded outlook of things will prevent you to learn much in life. The jewish religion has very insightfull teachings abaut Torah that i dont like to dismiss merely because they dont believe in Yeshua.
I live in Israel and have always thought how much closer a religious othodox jew is from accepting Yeshua than an evangelical christan from accepting the Torah.
And what Yeshua will tell many of the latter ones in that they, will be “I never knew you, you workers of inequity (or Torahless ones)”
So if you give more credit to Benny Hinn or Joel Osteen because they say that “Jesus is the Son of God” than to people that didnt have the revelation of Yeshua but yearn for Torah and for doing the will of Yah, go for it. But that’s a very superficial judgement.
Yeshua said anyway, that nobody comes to him unless the Father reveals them the Son.
And specially if you are jew, you should be able to understand that the blindness of the jews is for the sake of the gentiles, and then, all of Israel will be saved.
Yeshua said, beware of the leavan of the pharisees, and this is the “adding to”, he didnt say beware of the flour nor the water.
You went like rav Shaul, from extreme right to extreme left, but there is a balance.
Shalom
Good comment Tzvi…I think Steven needs our prayers. As you state there is a balance and Steven needs to find it.
Firstly I would like to thank all listeners for their comments. Secondly, I would like to ask listeners who comment to refrain from using antagonistic language. I have seen an increase in these kind of comments and I think it is something we are, more or less, all guilty of. By all means express your views but please respect the views of others. You have the right to disagree with somebody but it is an immature and ugly thing, not only to bait somebody with antagonistic language, but also to take the bait and up the aggression. I have published all comments so far…I hope that doesn’t have to change.
Be blessed and be a blessing,
jono
1 Kings 18
Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?
And Elijah answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim.
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
The reason Elijah had to make this demonstration that antagonized the prophets was due to interfaith dialogue and coexist.
It was Elijah’s intention to separate the Holy from the profane, due to mans desire to mix worship. I would submit to you that it is still Elijah’s intention. Will you know Elijah when he comes?
If Yehsua is God follow him!
If God has no son…………..Follow another, all of which say God has no son!
Thanks for the warning Jono, I will do my best not to be personal.
Surely no one objects to Jesus words so let’s discuss what he had to say on the subject.
Concerning the Holy Spirit I would like to give some scripture to answer the question: Do followers of Yeshua need some additional insight from those who reject the Son and do not have the Father or the Holy Spirit? These are Jesus words if we could only understand and believe them.
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) 40Many of the people therefore, when they heard this saying, said, Of a truth this is the Prophet. 41Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee? 42Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?
43So there was a division among the people because of him. 44And some of them would have taken him; but no man laid hands on him. 45Then came the officers to the chief priests and Pharisees; and they said unto them, Why have ye not brought him? 46The officers answered, Never man spake like this man. 47Then answered them the Pharisees, Are ye also deceived? 48Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed on him? 49But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed.
John 16: These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3And these things will they do unto you………., because they have not known the Father, nor me.
And if we have the Holy Spirit do we need insight from one who knows not the Father or the Son?
John 14: If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall……… teach you all things………., and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 15: But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Are we keeping the borders that our Master Yeshua set in his teachings? Am I in need of prayer because I teach we are required as disciples to follow Yeshua’s words and teachings?
Isn’t it those who “have not the Father and the Son” who are “torah less” according to Jesus own statements? Isn’t it written, it is not keeping the letter of the law that gives life. It is the Spirit of the law which testifies of Yeshua and gives life.
It was Jesus who said “to have the son, is to have the father” and said “to reject the Son is to reject the Father” So, according to Jesus we can answer the question:
Who are those who are torah less?
The least of the Kingdom of Yah are whosoever break the least of the commandments and teach others so but still have the Father and the Son.
Who does not enter the Kingdom of Yah? Those who do not know the Son and are not known by him.
Yeshua came to save his people from destruction of sin and death. His people are those who believe in him. Who shall be saved? The upright and pure in heart, those who accept Jesus and eat the bread of life.
Who enters eternal destruction? Those who do not have the Son.
It is no wonder that “a religious orthodox Jew” seems better than some to receive Jesus. They are masters at appearing clean on the outside. But if we can believe our Master, “they are whitewashed tombs full of dead men’s bones”
My call is to repentance, a ‘return to YHVH’ via ‘the way of truth’ which is the “Son of YHVH”. We must wash our robes white and to take part in the Heavenly Calling of Life.
Revelation 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
What I have written here on this blog is the true border, set by the Son of YHVH who got his words directly ‘face to face’ from the Father.
You are with us or against us. Not my words but the Father’s who sent his Son into the world that whosoever might be saved.
Who is Israel but he who receives Yeshua haMashiach? Some who claim to be Israel are the “sons of their father who is the devil”. Again, not my words but Jesus said that.
If they are Israel they will come to the Son.
Yeshua told the rich young ruler “If you would enter into life, keep the Commandments.”
The Gospel is/was “Repent, for the Reign of YHWH is at hand.” Repent, as in return to Torah. Unless I missed something …
Don’t discount the truths Nehemia Gordon brings to this movement. If it wasn’t for his work with Michael Rood I would never have known who the Pharisees really were/are. Not to trot him out as a display for our purposes, but this man is a valuable source of anti-Constantinian inoculation. The courage of conviction to keep Shabbat and leave Romish religion behind came to me from such facts.
Sha’ul told Timothy the Scriptures are able to make one wise unto salvation (Yeshua). It isn’t over for Nehemia Gordon yet.
To the objecters here, you are correct, if he doesn’t accept Yeshua he has a problem. But he is following the lamp unto his feet, so give it time. The drunkard/whoremonger/thief who “comes to Jesus” is still practicing lawlessness in his local Baptist tabernacle every Sunday. That one still has to repent, as well.
Anyone who accepts the Tanakh as truth already believes YHWH has a Son. (Ps. 2:12, Pr. 30:4) It is belief in Yeshua as “that” Son that is the issue. Certainly not irrelevant, but a different category than the Christian who believes in a Son of God who destroyed Torah. I don’t think I stick my neck out saying THAT Son doesn’t exist.
Question: Why did Jesus pray to the Father “I have given them your name” if they already had it? The Tetragrammaton was well known at Jesus time. So what name could he have given them?
What does it mean when we pray his name be Holy? Does it mean set apart? Set apart from what? And isn’t ‘border busting’ just the opposite of ‘Holy’?
Do we profane the name of the Father and make it common through interfaith dialogue and agreement to coexist with people of false gods?
There are plenty who accept Jesus that don’t come to a full knowledge of Torah on this earth. I have met some of them. One, a woman I grew to know very well who was fighting drug addiction but loved the lord. She opened her house to anyone in our town that did not have a place to stay. It was not unusual for her to have 10 or 15 of the towns unwanted sleeping all over the living room. Any food she had she would share with whoever was hungry. She was a mother to many homeless teenagers. She didn’t know about the Sabbath and Gods Holy Days. But the Kingdom is laid up for her. I also know many who think they keep Torah who would not go and get someone off the street and bring them home and feed them, let them use their shower, but this woman did. She understood the Spirit of the Torah.
I know a Catholic lady that was pretty well off and lived in the best neighborhood in Seattle. One night I got a call that a woman who had been put out of her house onto the streets with her daughter and 2 granddaughters. I called this woman thinking there was no way she would help. When I asked her if these homeless could stay in her house she did not hesitate to say yes. The entire neighborhood resented her for bringing in the rift raft. She didn’t care what they thought, she honored Jesus. The kingdom is hers. She understood the Spirit of the Torah.
I know a homosexual man who came to Jesus. He would not raise his eyes to heaven but stayed on his face so to speak. There wasn’t a law of God he had not broken before he repented. If he had 2 coats he would go out on the streets and not rest until he found someone who needed a coat. If he had 5 dollars he would go to the streets and give them away to the homeless. He was spit on and mocked by those who went to church each week but he forgave everyone who hurt him. The kingdom is his, he understood the Spirit of the Torah.
I know an old preacher who spent his life preaching the Gospel on Sunday. He would go to the local jail and sit outside the cell and tell the prisoners about a man named Jesus. He told everyone he met about the Lord. He always had a bible in his hand and was the first to testify of all the good our Father had done in his life. He never kept the Sabbath that I know of but he repented of the sin he understood. Before he died he said to me “Steven, I wish I had never backslid” I told him, “Its ok, its just dirty clothes, made clean by the blood of the lamb. The kingdom is his, he understood the Spirit of the Torah.
Many of Yeshuas little lambs do not know the law of Torah but know the Spirit of the Torah from the Holy Spirit. They have been taught they are done away with. But they fulfilled the Torah in some way.
I dare to question of all the people I meet in Messianic Torah Observant groups who know to keep the Sabbath and the Holy days, do they have real love? Do they bring the homeless into their houses? Are they concerned for who is hungry or cold today and how they might fill the need? Do they having a second coat give it to someone who has none? Do they share their only meal? Do hey love a brother who is homosexual enough to share Gods grace with them? Sharing the truth about Jesus and the eternal life he offers them? Will they see a sister in the prostitute, one Jesus loves? Don’t they rather spend all their time worrying about what name to use, how to count the moon sightings, how to determine the jubilee, the financial collapse, the troubles in the middle east, circumcision, Sabbaths, ripe barley and a host of other things? I can’t remember the last time I heard anyone discuss visiting the sick, feeding the hungry, prison ministry, etc in the “Torah” community. Isn’t that shameful?
“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
I agree there is no such Jesus who teaches the Law is abolished. But there is a Jesus who has mercy and compassion on those who come to him thirsty for the water, hungry for the bread. There is a Jesus who eats with sinners. There is a Jesus who understands those the enemy has beaten up, bleeding and left for dead on the side of the road. There is a Jesus who cares for his little ones even if they do not know the entire Torah. He did not come for the righteous.
I stand with the sinners Jesus came for to give Salvation. It is better to come to Jesus not having understanding of the law, than to have the law and reject our Lord.
It is the Spirit of the law that gives life. The letter of the law brings death.
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3 He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9 And they[a] made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.
11 He shall see the labor of His soul,[b]and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors
Dear Brothers and Sisters the Barley nears ripening for harvest, a picture of resurrection to life. We near the upcoming Passover and we count the days and search the fields; we search the house for leavening and do spring cleaning. We prepare plans for the High Days and an offering for YHVH as commanded. We gather to special meals, tell stories of the Exodus and break bread, light candles, drink cups of the fruit of the vine and make special prayers. It is a very special season and we should prepare to eat the Passover meal as though it may be our last in sincerity and truth. Eat with your staff in your hand and your sandals on your feet and give thanks if you can eat it in peace for our time is short and the Dragon comes to make war with us. We will leave this world one way or the other, but with a high hand out Lord leads us out. The way you know!
Don’t forget Yeshua! For all our obedience to YHVH and his Torah, we are sinners who need a savior. God forbid we should despise his little lambs he went to the cross for just because we have more knowledge of the Truth than they do. We were not chosen because we were wise or mighty. We were not chosen because we are special or more important than others. We were called because HIS strength is made perfect in weakness. We were called so HIS Glory would be revealed in us. We are the recovering pathetic, sick, week, lawless, prostitutes, ungodly, homosexuals, liars, murders, thief’s, backbiters, gossipers, lonely, adulterers, drug addicts, drunks, haters of YHVH and haters of men.
We are those who needed a Savior. We are those who he is washing. We are those who he teaches. We are those who are given a hope and a future, those who once had none. We are those who for the most part didn’t excel much in this world but are prepared for a world to come. He takes us from our prisons and sets our feet on a solid rock to dwell among princes. God willing we will rule over many cities!
While we take care to obey all the Torah we can understand, don’t forget the reason for it all. It is all meaningless if we don’t remember the reason he came is for us.
He came for us, you and me. If he kept a record of every time we broke his Torah who could stand? Let us make up our mind to return to helping and sharing and giving and widows and orphans. Be a friend to the lonely. Give a seat at your Seder to the man of low degree and do not honor the rich and important. Show those at your table that you are a servant willing to wash the feet of the lowliest. Stand up and show that he did not waste his precious blood on you by exhibiting the character of our Master, Yeshua haMashiach
Yeshua, Jesus, Savior, King, Master, We love you with all our heart, We wait breathlessly everyday for your return, We thank you for your willing sacrifice to die so we could be clean even though we don’t fully understand your Torah. Help us to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, bring the homeless into our own houses, heal the sick, cast out demons, preach the Good News of the coming Kingdom of YAH.
Make us ready for your return so we can open immediately the door when you come.
Look for Elijah; it’s time to prepare straight paths for Yeshuas feet! Prepare ye the way of the Lord!
Shalom and Blessings
We do enjoy this interview, especially appreciate the strong caring bond we sensed between Keith and Nehemia.
A shame not many of us are as sensitive to each other’s feelings, and sacrifice/s.
Shalom all!
First of all, I want to say I enjoyed the interview very much and agree that there is a need for more unity and interfaith dialogue. This is a subject that has been a burden on my heart, so I would like to share a few thoughts:
I refuse to believe that salvation is dependent on knowledge. That is, I do not think that someone who does not have the understanding of the means of salvation will be judged for that. What matters is the heart. To quote C. S. Lewis from his Narnia series:
Emeth the Calormene: “So I went over much grass and many flowers and among all kinds of wholesome and delectable trees till lo! in a narrow place between two rocks there came to meet me a great Lion. The speed of him was like the ostrich, and his size was an elephant’s; his hair was like pure gold and the brightness of his eyes, like gold that is liquid in the furnace. He was more terrible than the Flaming Mountain of Lagour, and in beauty he surpassed all that is in the world, even as the rose in bloom surpasses the dust of the desert. Then I fell at his feet and thought, Surely this is the hour of death, for the Lion (who is worthy of all honour) will know that I have served Tash all my days and not him. Nevertheless, it is better to see the Lion and die than to be Tisroc of the world and live and not to have seen him. But the Glorious One bent down his golden head and touched my forehead with his tongue and said, Son, thou art welcome. But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of Thine but the servant of Tash. He answered, Child, all the service thou has done to Tash, I account as service done to me. Then by reason of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites. I take to me the services which thou hast done to him, for I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if a man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.”
If you’ve never read Narnia, the series is an allegory in which Aslan is a form of God and Tash is a false god. These same ideas are echoed in Matthew 21:28-32. I believe Nehemia’s answer of “When Messiah comes as King, I will accept him whether he be Yeshua or Rabbi Schneerson” will be accepted. Or was Thomas condemned because he did not believe until he saw with his eyes? If Thomas is granted grace, then why not others?
My second point is about the term “Constantinian religion.” Please don’t take this the wrong way, but I believe that use of that term is a barrier to interfaith dialogue. Part of encouraging the interfaith dialogue is we need to tear down the stereotypes we make of religions including Christianity. A dedicated Christian does keep a large portion of the Torah including the weightier commandments. I don’t think their lack of understanding of Sabbath, feast days, etc. is any worse than the Jewish people’s lack of understanding of Messiah or my lack of understanding of the Scriptures (cause I am sure there are things I am doing wrong due to incorrect understandings). I have met Christians that take a deep interest in the Old Testament, who have an amazing understanding of the concept of obedience, and encourage interfaith dialogue (I ran into the pastor at an interfaith dialogue on campus). They think the “ceremonial” commandments have changed, but their heart is there. They show a greater love for God than many Messianics.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. I guess the big thing for me is love for our brothers and justice for the oppressed. I think we should be able to get along with anyone who is dedicated to these values both in word and deed. Doctrines, beliefs, and rituals are secondary.
Hmmn… I have listened to Nehemiah’s teachings, own the book “A prayer to our Father,” subscribed to his newsletters and Aviv-Barley reports, and I can in all honesty say that none of it has served to draw me closer to Yeshua (in relationship), and I wonder if any non-believer would be drawn to Yeshua, based on his materials alone. Yes, it has served to enlighten me on the evils of “Pharisaical Judaism” and “Constantine Christianity,” as well as some good information and insight into the Hebrew language, but beyond that?
Unlike other Torah observant Jews who have never had the benefit or opportunity of hearing good Torah teaching in relation to Yeshua, Nehemia has spoken in conferences and congregations along with most of the well-known Messianic teachers, being exposed to just about every teaching showing the signature of the Massiach in the Tanakh. In fact in some cases he has spent considerable time with some of these teachers. I find it incredible that the very teachings that drew me from Sunday Worshipping, Christmas/ Easter celebrating Christianity leave him unconvinced that Yeshua is the Messiah. And he will never be able to say he didn’t know.
The story of the rich young ruler continues, for though he kept the commandments he could not let go of his life (possessions) and follow Yeshua.
Rev.14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Steven, I am a gentile – and not raised in the ways of Torah; much of what you said has fallen on fallow ground within my heart and I wish to learn more. I have been a ‘Christian’ most of my life, but recently have been in question regarding church government, in fact I do not consider myself of any denomination. I have been taught that we are free from the law, that Yeshua came to fulfill it and replace it with His grace. I would like to correspond with you on the subject of the Torah, the Sabbath, etc… I truly wish to follow the path Yeshua has for me…is there a medium wherein we could converse?