4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up
is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.
Here is the
one verse in the Tanak (O.T.) that says, “The just shall live by faith,” and
that has been quoted by Rav Sha’ul (Paul) in numerous occasions (Rom. 1:17;
Gal. 3:11; Eph. 2:8-9), and is foolishly used by Christians to say that the
Torah (Law) is obsolete and has been done away with. Let me ask if you are
justified or have found grace or unmerited favor in the eyes of your spouse?
Most can say yes. Does that mean then that you can ignore your wedding vows or
consider them obsolete and flirt or sleep around with others? “Absolutely not,
that’s crazy!,” you say. Why? Because you made a promise, vows to your spouse
that you would be “FAITHFUL”
to your spouse, not to do those sorts of things. For us, G-d is the Bridegroom,
we are the Bride (this is even a prominent Christian view) and the Torah is
seen as our wedding vows. I am not making this up; this has been a long
standing view in Judaism. Mount Sinai is even seen as a wedding chupah, a
wedding canopy. All of Israel and even the mixed multitude which were with them
said, in essence, “I DO!,” to the terms of Torah. The arguments that the Torah
are “works” and we are not justified by them, we do not have to do them to be
righteous. I beg to differ, Ya’akov (James) says that faith without works is
dead (James 2:17, 20, 26). The point is that we are not “saved” by “works.” Our
marriage foundation doesn’t rest souly on what we do, but by faith, belief and
trust in the declarations we made to each other through our wedding vows.
However, what we do backs up and gives one proof to our wedding vows, same goes
with Torah. There is a thing called “faith righteousness” and “works
righteousness” and both have to be present in the life of a believer. Yes, I am
saved by faith in the work of Messiah on the Roman cross, but I back up that
faith by what I do.
Faith, not
feelings is the Key to understanding here.
Jer. 17:9
The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], and desperately wicked: who can
know it?
Just as I
don’t “feel” like getting up in the morning to go to work, because I love my
wife and daughter and wish to provide for their needs, I do. Yeshua being God
in the flesh said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments (John 14:15)”
and Yeshua being God that cannot lie (Titus 1:2) and is the same yesterday,
today and forever (Heb. 13:8) an does not change (Mal. 3:6) Yeshua’s
commandments are the same as Abba ADONAI’s. So we keep the Torah, our wedding
vows to God because we love Him and want to show and prove our love, not
because we “feel” like it or “feel led.” Feelings have little to nothing to do
with it, but Faith is the Key here.
I like how
the Stones Tanak puts it, “But the righteous person shall live through his
faith.” Meaning through his faithfulness to the wedding vows of Torah.
The Full
Life Study Bible says, “…The righteous are contrasted with the proud and
ungodly, whose lives are not upright. The hearts of the righteous are tuned to
God, and they desire to be His children, to have close fellowship with Him, and
to obey His will (AKA: TORAH)… The righteous must live in this world by faith
in God, here, “faith” means a steadfast trust in God that His ways are right,
(again this is talking about the Torah) a personal loyalty to Him as Savior and
Lord, and a moral steadfastness to follow His ways (Torah)…” – (Parenthesis
mine)
II Thess.
2:3 “Let no man deceive you by any means: for except there come a falling away
first, and that the man of sin revealed…”
I Jn.3:4
Defines what sin is. “Whoever commits sin transgresses also the law (Torah) for
sin is the transgression of the law (Torah).”
Mt.7:21-23
“Not everyone that says, “Lord, Lord,” shall enter into the kingdom of heaven,
but he that does the will of my Father which is in heaven.”
What is the
will of the Father? Torah!
V.22 Many
will say to me in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your Name?
And in Your Name cast out demons? And in Your Name done wonderful works?” v.23
And then I will profess unto them, “I never knew (Hebrew: have been intimate
with) you: depart from me you that work iniquity (Torahlessness).”
Iniquity is
defined as, “Lawlessness” (Torahlessness) Greek: Anomia. A= Anti, against or
another. Nomia= law. (Strong’s: 458)
The “Jesus”
of Catholicism and Christianity is seen as a Leonardo Divinci painting,
Hellenistic, Greco-Roman looking, toga wearing, long haired, fair skinned, blue
eyed, British speaking, zombified, hippy guru, rebel, who came and did away
with Torah, and started a strange new religion. Like a bad, “Queer Eye for the
Straight Guy” make over, they have turned Yeshua into something He’s not.
It’s like
calling Dr. Phil the Messiah yet painting him to look like Sigmund Freud, and
Taking, and reading Dr. Phil’s book and yet not doing one thing he said to do,
and on top of that interpret what he has said to say something entirely
different from what he meant.
This is NOT
my Messiah! This is NOT the Jews Messiah! Hopefully it is not YOUR Messiah.
This according to II Thess. 2:3-12, is a description of the anti-Messiah! It is
no wonder that the Jewish people will not accept this “Jesus” as the Messiah.
And rightly so, because He’s NOT! The Jews look at the Tanak (“Old Testament”)
and it tells what their Messiah is supposed to be like, and they see the
“Jesus” portrayed in Catholicism and Christianity, and immediately dismiss him.
Why? Because the “Jesus” they see doesn’t line up with the Torah.
Most
Catholics and Christians today believe and claim that the Law has been
abolished by the work of Christ on the cross. However, this “Christ” Himself
who died on that cross said this about the Law.
Mt.5:17-20
“Think not that I am come to destroy the Law (Torah) or the Prophets: (Nevi’im)
(Both are the Tanak or the “Old Testament”) I am not come to destroy but to
fulfill.” The word fulfill in v.17 does NOT mean, to complete, as in to put an
end to something. It DOES mean to fill up, to bring and render its full and complete
meaning, to perform. In other words Yeshua came to show us the true meaning of
the Torah so we could live it out as He did. In Yeshiva, when Jewish students
are learning to interpret Torah, in Yeshua’s day and now, a Rabbi would give a
passage for the students to interpret and the students go away and hash the
passage out and then would come zealous and excited back to the Rabbi and say,
“Rabbi, this is what this passage means!” and if they would give wrong answer
the Rabbi would say, “No, you have abolished or made void the Torah by your
interpretation!” Then the students would go and study the passage again and
come back meeker and say, “Rabbi, we believe the passage means this.” And if
they were correct the Rabbi would say, “Well done, you have brought fulfillment
to the Torah, you have given this passage its full and correct meaning.” I
believe that this know custom is what Yeshua was drawing from when He said
this. V.18 For verily (Truly, Most assuredly) I say unto you, till heaven and
earth pass…[Get up right now and look outside. Is the sky still up there? Is
the earth still out there?]…not one jot… (Jot is Yod in Hebrew, the smallest
letter. Looks like an apostrophe.) … or one tittle… (Tittle is the tiniest
extension of the Hebrew letter Dalet, that differentiates it from another
similar Hebrew letter, the Resh. It can also refer to the decorative flare on
any given Hebrew letter.) …shall in NO wise pass from the Law (Torah) till ALL
be fulfilled (preformed fully). V.19 Whosoever therefore shall break (Greek: to
loose or destroy) one of the least commandments (according to the rabbinical
sages of blessed memory, Deuteronomy 22:6 is the least of all commandments,
concerning the disturbance of a birds nest.) And teaches men so… (“Ah, go
ahead, it’s alright, we’re not under the Law anymore, but under grace.”) …he
shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall DO and
TEACH; the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. V.20 For I say
unto you that except your righteousness … (Not the righteousness of Messiah
bestowed upon a believer, but YOUR righteousness, meaning your works!)… shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees… (performing all the
commandments with ALL your heart and mean it! Not only on the outside, but on
the inside as well)… you will in no wise enter the kingdom of heaven. V.20 of
Matthew 5 mentions righteousness and connects it with works. Although we are
not saved by works, but by faith in Messiah's sacrificial death in our place,
we must prove, show, and back up our faith by our faith-full-ness to His Torah.
Speaking of Torah, Yeshua said in John 5:46-47, “For if you believed Moses, you
would believe Me, (The Living Torah) for he wrote about Me. But if you do not
believe his writings, how will you believe My words (Which is no different from
the Written Torah)?”
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Messiah and YHWH are one (Jn.17) so
Yeshua’s commandments are no different from YHWH the Father’s. So Yeshua didn’t
teach anything new, He just taught Torah, and taught us how to live it
correctly.
James 1:22
“Be DOERS of the WORD (Torah) and not hearers only…” v25b “…a DOER of the work,
this man will be blessed in his deed.” (Deut.27-28) James 2:17-18 “Even so
FAITH, if it hath not WORKS is dead being alone. Yes, a man may say, “You have
faith, I have works: show me your faith without works, and I will show you my
faith BY my works.””
Yeshua and
all the apostles were Torah observant, and because Yeshua was Torah observant,
I don’t have to ask myself, W.W.J.D.? I simply D.W.Y.D.! (Do What Yeshua Did)
• He was
circumcised. Lk. 12:21. He was dedicated and named at his circumcision. Lk.
2:22-24,39-40
• He kept
the feasts. Lk. 2:4, 9:28-36 Jn. 10:22-23
• He was
Torah trained. Lk. 2:46-52 • He was “mikvahed”. (baptized) Mt. 3:13-17
• He kept
Sabbath. Lk.4:14-21
• He went to
the Temple. Lk. 19:47
• He went to
the Synagogue. Lk. 4:16,44
• He read
and taught a portion of the annual Torah and prophetic reading cycle.
(Parashat) Lk. 4:14-21
• He most
likely prayed the ancient set of Jewish prayers, prayed 3x’s a day, called the
“Amidah” meaning, “To stand.” He refers to this very prayer in Mark 11:25-26,
“When you STAND to pray....”
• He said
the Shema the Jewish declaration of YHWH’s Oneness said every day by faithful
Jews, from Duet. 6:4: Mark 12:29,30.
• He was a
Rabbi. Lk. 10:25-28, Jn. 20:16
• He taught
Torah. Lk. 24:44-45
• He wore
tzitzit. (fringes) Lk. 8:43-44, Jn. 19:23-24
• He kept
Torah. Jn. 15:10
• He taught
us to live out Torah. Mt. 5:17-20, Jn. 14:15, Lk. 5:14
• He lived
and died as a Jew. Jn. 20:6-8, 19:40
• He left as
a Jew. Lk. 24:50-51
• He is
returning as a Jew. Rev. 19:13,16
• He will
reign forever as the Jewish Messiah. Rev.21:1-6, 22:3-5
There were
two schools of Jewish thought. The school of Hillel, and the school of Shami.
Hillel was conservative. Shami was ultra conservative. Yeshua sided with
Hillel and agreed with everything the Pharisees (which was from the school of
Hillel) taught, except, on the issue of divorce, (Mt. 19:1-9) and the issue of
tradition, oral torah, rabbinic law, which nullified the Torah. (Mk. 7:1-13)
Yeshua even kept traditions except when it conflicted with Torah itself (Lk.
2:52). During the “Last Supper” Messiah held a Passover Seder for His Talmidim
(disciples) and made the traditional blessings over the tirosh (non-alcoholic
grape juice) and matzah, (for everything even the wine was without yeast or
leaven) and followed the traditional order of the Passover Seder haggadah (the
program and order of the Seder).
All of the
apostles were Torah observant; all His followers were Torah observant as well.
Let’s take a look. Acts 21:20 talks about how they were all ZEALOUS for the
TORAH!
Jim Myers
has this to say concerning the early Jewish believers in Messiah Yeshua, from
his article, “Would Your Church Really Allow You To Be Like Jesus?” Found at: http://www.biblicalheritage.org/Jesus/would.htm
“The book
of Acts provides us with some very valuable information. Acts 21:17-25 records
Paul's return to Jerusalem and his meeting with the leaders of the
"church." Keep in mind that these were the men who had been
personally taught by and lived with Jesus. Their words provide us with some
very enlightening information. The translation given below is based on a
cultural and historical methodology. Your translation most probably reflects
the doctrines of the Roman church and therefore may differ.
"You
see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have become faithful (observant). All
of them are zealous for the Torah (Law). They have been informed that you have
taught the Jews of the Diaspora to not keep the Torah, that they should not
circumcise their children or live according to the Jewish religion.... Take
these men and do the following... so that everybody will know that there is no
truth in these reports about your teachings, but that you yourself are living
an observant lifestyle and keeping the Torah."
A quick
summary provides us with some very significant information. Is your church
producing the same results?
(1) Jews
became more faithful (observant) Jews because of the message.
(2) They
became zealous for the Torah (Law).
(3) They
kept the Laws of Moses (the Torah).
(4) They
circumcised their children.
(5) They
lived according to the traditions (Jewish religion).
Notice that
Paul did as he was requested - he wasn't teaching the Jews to abandon their
religion. Paul was "under the law" and lived an observant lifestyle.
How then could he have been the author of a doctrine that advocated rejecting
the law?
I don't
mean to linger on this point forever, but are you really getting the importance
of this message?
(1) The
message of the apostles caused Jews to repent and become observant Jews who
practiced Judaism faithfully.
(2) The
apostles were causing Jews to become eager for the Torah and to pursue it with
fervor. It is clear that they were not teaching them that "they were under
grace and no longer under the law." This one point is in complete
opposition to most fundamental teaching of every modern Christian doctrine.
(3) The
Jewish members of the early church continued to circumcise their children. In
other words, they continued to see themselves as participants in the Abrahamic
Covenant, just as every practicing Jew does today. Their children were Jews,
not members of some new mystical religion that replaced Judaism.
(4) The
Jewish members of the early church continued to practice Judaism. They did not
switch to a new religion.”
Further
examples of the Torah observant lifestyle of the apostles:
Kefa (Peter)
– prayed Mincha (afternoon) prayers and he kept kosher. (Acts 10)
Rav Sha’ul
(Paul) – said “I am (not was) a Pharisee…” He kept the traditions and customs
of the Jewish people. (Acts 23:5-6, 28:17) He made an offering after Yeshua’s
death and resurrection. (Acts 21:17-26)
One day the
temple will be rebuilt and sacrifices will resume. During the millennial reign
of Messiah everyone will keep the feasts. (Is.66:22-24) Yeshua said he didn’t
come for the ones who were already keeping Torah. He came for the ones who
didn’t keep Torah. (Mt. 9:9-13, Mk. 2:13-17, Lk. 5:27-32) These are but a few
examples:
Daniel 2:21
and 7:25 is giving a description of the Anti (against or another)- Messiah.
“He shall
speak great words against the Most High (How? By speaking against His Words,
His Torah!) and shall wear out the saints of the Most High and think to change
TIMES (the Feast of the LORD) and LAWS (Torah) (Forbidding Sabbath observance
and Biblical Festivals, and enforcing Christianized pagan holidays, like
Christmas and Easter just like the “Christian” Roman Emperor Constantine did!
May his name and memory be erased!), and they shall be given into his hand until
a time and times and the dividing of times.”
How many
Catholics and Christians today are Torah observant? How many keep all of the
Feasts commanded by ADONAI in Leviticus 23? Almost none! Most Catholics and
Christians keep Sunday, not Sabbath. Most Catholics and Christians go by a
Roman solar calendar, instead of the traditional Hebrew lunar one. Most
Catholics and Christians keep pagan rooted holidays (Christmas and Easter etc.)
instead of the Feasts of the ADONAI.
The
Anti-Messiah (Anti-Christ) is called the man of lawlessness or we could say,
Torahlessness. (2 Thess. 2:3-12) Because of this, I believe many Catholics and
Christians will be deceived. He’ll agree with the majority of Catholicism and
Christianity and say that the Torah has been done away with. Remember, sin is
anything against the Torah, (I Jn.3:4) Elohim’s standards for holiness.
Matthew
24:24 tells that the Anti-Messiah (if it were possible will deceive the very
elect!) will not show up with horns, pitchfork, pointed tail, with 666 blazing
across his forehead. He couldn’t fool anyone like that. No, he’ll look just
like the “Jesus” of Catholicism and Christianity, working miracles, making
peace everywhere, changing laws and holy day observances, making Temple worship
to cease as if to say, “I am the Messiah. You don’t have to sacrifice anymore,
I’m here, I have fulfilled it all!” (Mt.24:15, Dan. 9:27; 12:11). All because
Most Catholics and Christians believe today that most, if not all, the Torah
was done away with in the death of Christ. NO! The penalty of death has been
done away with, NOT the LAW itself! (Rm.7:7-13; 24-25)
Matthew
5:17-20 paints the TRUE picture of the Messiah, that non-believing Jews NEED
and MUST see! Are you “Taking ADONAI’s Name in vain” by living like the
Catholic and Christian “Jesus”, contrary to His Word, Thus Soiling His Name ?
Or are you living like Yeshua, the Jewish, Torah observant Messiah? Will you,
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may SEE YOUR good WORKS, and
glorify your Father in heaven (Mt.5:16).”
