Perfect Torah

    The Master’s Torah is perfect,
          restoring the inner person.
          His instruction can be trusted,
          turning thoughtless fools into wise men.

The Master’s precepts are righteous,
       giving joy to the heart.
       His commandments are pure,
       giving light to the eyes.

The fear of the Master is clean,
       standing the test of time.
       His judgments are true
       and altogether righteous.

They’re more desirable than gold,
       even pure gold;
       they’re sweeter than honey,
       even drippings from the honeycomb.

Through your commandments I, your servant, am warned;
       what great reward in keeping them!

-King David, in Psalm 17

Preach it, King David!

Shabbat shalom, fine blog readers.

Former gentiles, because Messiah abolished the Law?

So last week we looked at a curious Pauline quote from the Christian Scriptures that suggests something profound:

Gentiles who believe in Messiah have undergone a metamorphosis. They’re no longer far off from God, they are no longer aliens to Israel, no longer foreigners to the covenants God made with Israel.

You fine blog readers sure had your opinions on these bits!

Reader Societvs was convinced Paul is not saying gentiles become Jews,

“I do not believe we become Jewish at all – this is not what happens in real life. I do not become a Christian and all of a sudden ‘poof’ I am Jewish too.”

Longtime reader Efrayim brings up the point about our fuzzy understanding of Jew and gentile, and how they fit into God’s people Israel,

Before you can have any meaningful discourse about this subject you must first define your terms.

What exactly is a "gentile"?

What exactly is a "Jew"?

And most important of all, Who is Israel?

Another reader, Jeff, also comments on the blurry understanding of Jew and gentile,

I often have fun with this statement of Paul. I ask "What is the opposite of a Gentile?" The answer is usually "Jew". Then I show them this quote of Paul where we are to be former Gentiles. Then I watch their head spin. :)

Longtime reader and friend Lou Vasquez comments on the confusion surrounding terms like Jew and gentile,

Most of the confusion comes from the English translations and doctrine over the past 2000 years. It’s like the word “law” in scripture. Every time it is said it does not necessarily mean Torah. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t.

So too with the word Gentiles. Sometimes it means “Physical bloodline” other times it means “Nations that don’t know God”.

Look at the scripture,

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Does this mean that when we are “in Christ”, woman are no longer female? Of course not.

So I believe that what is being said by Paul is God is about reconciling, and they have now (Gentiles) come into the household of God.

Messianic Jew Gene Shlomovich has a different take on things,

I do not interpret that passage in the way you did, nor I believe that Paul meant for it to be interpreted this way at all - to say that Gentiles are no longer such.

All it says, the Gentiles in the flesh were once (formerly) alienated from the covenants of Israel. The formerly part speaks about their lost CONDITION, not their past or current ethnic identity. It doesn't say that they are no longer Gentiles.

And not to be forgotten, Todd, our resident Catholic, adds his 2¢,

The early church fathers often divided people into 3 categories: Jews, Christians, and Gentiles. In Greek the third word is literally translated "nations" I believe. And could also be translated as heathen or pagan. But as you probably know, the oldest Jewish term of the non-Jewish people is probably "the nations". Basically, from their Jewish-Christian teachers the gentile Christians learned that they had become something else...in that sense they were "former gentiles". And of course in a mysterious sense they were joined to Israel and in another sense the "New Israel".

Wow! So we have a lot of varying opinions. My own opinion of this Scripture is something I’m working out as I continue to study this and align it with the rest of Scripture.

Before we interpret the first part, however, we must understand the whole of what Paul’s saying. Here is the rest of Ephesians 2, which contains some big theological swords!

For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

-Paul, in his letter to Ephesus

Uh oh.

Houston, we have a problem.

I guess I should stop celebrating the Father’s feasts, because it looks like Paul is saying Messiah has abolished the Torah, which includes the Feasts I’ve been so gung-ho about. And somebody better tell all those Jews who are keeping the Torah because God said it would be an "everlasting, eternal convenant" with Israel - I guess God just meant "eternal, until Jesus comes".

Didn’t Paul get the memo where Messiah said he wouldn’t abolish the Torah? Are Paul and Messiah in conflict?

Stay tuned. Later on we’ll get out our scalpel and dissect this sucker.

In the meantime, what do you fine blog readers think Paul is saying here? Has Messiah abolished the Torah so that Jews and gentiles can together become one?

Preggo love

A little over 1 month to go before Kess Ezriel Himango is born.

Something new from First Fruits of Zion

I really love First Fruits of Zion organization. They’re intellectual yet readable and approachable. They are firmly grounded in the Scriptures while shying away from many of the conspiracy theories that afflict some of the hard line Christian and Messianic circles.

Boaz Michael from FFOZ writes about their new undertaking, TorahPortions:

Yesterday my family walked to a friend's home a couple of miles from our house. While walking down the road, I read aloud the book of James. We entered into discussion on various points throughout the reading. Something different stood out to each person. Each person was convicted in a different area as the Word was read.

There is something powerful in simply hearing and reading the Word. The Lord has the opportunity to speak to each of us, where we are at, and with what He desires teach us.

I am pleased to announce a new resource that we have developed to help spread the message found in God's Word using the weekly Torah reading schedule. The website is called, TorahPortions. At this time, the site has one simple goal--to get people to simply read and listen to the Word of God.

Its design is friendly and approachable for our Christian friends and brothers. The core biblical text is the highly acclaimed English Standard Version (ESV) which is one of the key translations used in our publications at First Fruits of Zion. This translation is conservative, literal, yet very readable. It is a solid translation that is widely accepted.
Let's let God do the work. Let's simply read and hear the Torah, the Prophets, and the Gospels. God will do the Work of convicting, prompting, and revealing his Torah to those of us that will simply listen.

I would greatly appreciate your feedback on this new site; I would greatly appreciate you spreading the word about this new resource. Let's get reading and listening. The first portion is this week! Click to Read / Listen to B'reisheet [Genesis].

Read “Jesus & Torah” on their homepage for an explanation of why reading and hearing the Torah is important for Messianics and Christians alike.

More Thoughts On Former Gentiles

Just some quick thoughts on this Friday as we enter God’s sabbath…

We talked about Paul’s naming of gentiles who come to God through Messiah as “former gentiles”.

Doing some more study on that verse, something jumped out to me:

Wherefore, remember, that you once were the nations [gentiles] in the flesh, called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands,

that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;

and now, in Christ Jesus, you being once far off became near in the blood of the Christ.

Heh. Paul is saying that before Messiah, you were apart from Israel and the covenants.

Now you’re not. You’re no longer an alien to the commonwealth of Israel, nor a foreigner to the covenants made with Israel. Am I reading this right?

We’ll cover the rest of Paul’s thesis, including the last half of Ephesians 2, next week.

Shabbat shalom, fine blog readers.

You, as former gentiles…

Are you a gentile Christian? Are you a former gentile?

A gentile performing a strange religious ritual.

Ephesians 2:11-13 contains a curious quip from Christianity's favorite theologian:

Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)— remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

-Paul in his letter to Ephesus, NIV translation

How do you interpret this?

At first glace, I think he’s saying gentiles are no longer gentiles. What do you think?

Sometimes I like to go to the unadulterated literal translation. Fewer biases in the translator (or so we hope!):

Wherefore, remember, that you once were the nations [gentiles] in the flesh, called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands,

that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;

and now, in Christ Jesus, you being once far off became near in the blood of the Christ.

-Paul in his letter to Ephesus, literal translation

Let’s pick this apart.

The first thing I notice is that it starts with “Wherefore”, or perhaps more modernly translated, “Therefore”. Paul does this a lot. I call it the argument/consequences pattern. (Not a real name, just trying to sound smart.) It goes like this:

[X is good. Here’s why…] <—This is the argument

Therefore, [because X is good…] < – This is the consequence

The problem with interpreting this curious verse is that we’re starting dead-smack in the middle of the consequence. We’re missing the whole argument!

I won’t post the whole argument: go read it for yourself. Here’s my summarized interpretation of it:

You used to follow the ways of the world, sinning like crazy. You were dead. You were separate from Israel.

But God loved us, so he saved us by giving us Messiah. He did it to show how great He is. It's all Him, we sure didn't warrant it!

Good, now we have context.

You used to sin like crazy, doing the ways of the pagan gentiles without remorse. God saved you from that. <—This is the argument

THEREFORE!

Therefore what? His consequence is hard to read because Paul has these long run-on sentences. It’s hard to identify what’s the subject and what he’s getting at.

you once were the nations [gentiles] in the flesh, called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands,

that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;

and now, in Christ Jesus, you being once far off became near in the blood of the Christ.

Notice the long sentence with lots of details in the middle. The details are how terrible your life was as a unrepentant gentile in the nations: uncircumcised, cut off from Israel, foreign to God's covenants with Israel, no hope, no God.

Those are important details, but the abundance of details makes it hard to read what he’s getting at. Let’s hide these details for a moment and cut to the chase:

You once were the gentiles in the flesh, called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands,

that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;

and now, in Christ Jesus, you being once far off became near in the blood of the Christ.

That's easier to read. But notice the redundancy: “you were once the gentiles” and “you being once far off”. Let’s temporarily hide the redundancy.

You once were the gentiles in the flesh, called Uncircumcision by that called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands,

that you were at that time apart from Christ, having been alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope, and without God, in the world;

and now, in Christ Jesus, you being once far off became near in the blood of the Christ.

That’s Paul’s consequence in a nutshell: You were once sinful gentiles, but now because of Messiah’s atoning blood sacrifice, you’re set right with God.

If we can take summaries of both the argument and consequence, it would look like this:

You used to be gentiles: doing the sinful things of the world, separate from God’s dealings with Israel. But Messiah saved you from all that. Sheer gift of God. [argument]

So, now you’re set right with God. [consequence]

Is Paul saying you’re no longer a gentile? Is he saying you're part of Israel? The answer lies in the next half of Ephesians 2. Ironically, the next half has been used as a weapon against Torah observance, with some translations reading that Paul is abolishing the Torah. Wheh!

In the next post, we’ll cover the last bit of Ephesians 2 and see if Paul really has abolished the Torah, and whether gentiles are Israelites. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, I’d like to hear what you fine blog readers think about this. Are you a former gentile?

Funny Guy

Stumbled on some pics from last year of my son Connor. (He's already 8! soon to be 9! yikes!) I love his faces in these shots...

Messianic Jews on Israeli News

Israel's Channel 2 featured a news segment on the Messianic Jews in Yad HaShmona, Israel:



I have some family going to Yad HaShmona during the Feast of Tabernacles this week - it's cool to see some of the stuff God's doing in that place, indeed, in the whole land of Israel.

Dog Gone

Handsome pup, ain't he? The little doggie T-shirt, his upright stature, his bare naked belly, his glowing eyes. Umm, those glowing eyes are a little spooky, but yeah. Data is a good dog.

My Dad's blogging!

Give him a visit at Tabernacle of David.

Yom Kippur – God’s Day of Atonement

The 10th day of the 7th month is Yom-Kippur (“Atonement Day”); you are to have a holy gathering, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring a fire offering to the Lord.

Don’t do any work on that day, it is Yom-Kippur, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.

Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people; and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people.

You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent law through all your generations, no matter where you live.

It will be for you a Shabbat of complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on your Shabbat from evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening."

-The Lord, speaking to Moses

Yom Kippur starts on October 10th 2008, that’s this Friday at sundown.

How do we figure the date? According to Scripture, the new moon as seen in Israel signals the start of a new month, thus the Biblical 7th month conveniently starts on October 1st this year. Since Yom Kippur is the 10th day of the 7th month, that makes Yom Kippur fall on October 10th this year.

What is it?

Yom Kippur (“yohm kee-pur”) is Hebrew for “day [of] atonement”. The Hebrew word could also be translated "cleansing" or "washing away". It also goes by the name of Yom HaKippurim, “Day [of] the atonements”. It's called the High Sabbath, or a Sabbath of Sabbaths; it’s a solemn day of turning and repenting for the sin you’ve done through the year. It is considered the holiest day in Judaism.

Unlike the other Feasts of God, Yom Kippur is less of a feast and more of an appointed time of solemn observance, when God makes atonement for the sin of his people.

Modern religious Jews observe Yom Kippur it in a variety of ways, usually including:

• Fasting
• Intensive prayer
• Spending most of all of the day in the synagogue
• Repenting to God for sins committed against God
• Repenting for sins committed, knowingly or unknowingly, against others
• Public confessions of guilt and petitions for forgiveness
• Greeting one another with, “May you be sealed in the Book of Life”
• Wearing white clothing to symbolize purity
• Abstaining from eating, drinking, and sex

Some of these are extra-biblical; they are Jewish traditions passed down through generations. Jewish tradition holds that God’s Book of Life is closed and sealed for the year on Yom Kippur, thus some call this the Day of Judgment.

Check out Derek Leman’s first-hand experience in an Orthodox synagogue on Yom Kippur.

While the beautiful Jewish style of observance may be beneficial, the Scriptures have very explicit commandments straight from God about how to observe this:

• Have a holy gathering
• Deny yourself
• Give a fire offering to the Lord
• Don’t work
• Detailed commandments for the High Priest regarding atonement

We’ll discuss these. But first…

Why should I care?

Does Yom Kippur matter to Christians? Why would you, a gentile Church-goer have anything to do with Yom Kippur?

“Foolish Judah, don’t you know Jesus atoned for our sins? He fulfilled Jewish things like Yom Kippur, so we don’t need to observe it anymore.”

The above statement is one I’ve heard from many Christians, and the problem with it is 4-fold:

1. It assumes “fulfill” means “abolish” or “end”.
2. It assumes Messiah completely fulfilled it.
3. It suggests Jesus’ actions lead us to lives contrary to God’s commandments.
4. It puts forth the belief that our interpretation of Jesus’ acts are more important that God’s direct commands.

If you stay tuned, I’ll show you how these are false assumptions and faulty thinking.

Fulfill Yom Kippur = abolish Yom Kippur?

Consider this: Paul says that Messiah fulfilled the Passover, yet commanded Corinthians to keep the Passover. Messiah fulfilled Pentecost, yet the apostles, including Paul, continued to celebrate it.

More compelling yet, Messiah said this:

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

-Messiah, in his “fundamentals of faith” Sermon on the Mount

Did you catch that? Messiah contrasted abolition and fulfillment. He then says the Law (including the Feasts) will not disappear until “everything is accomplished, until heaven and earth pass away.”

Messiah makes it succinct and clear: fulfillment is not abolition!

Fulfill ≠ abolish

Fulfill = make full, complete

We come to the conclusion that should Messiah completely fulfill Yom Kippur, we still should observe it out of obedience; Messiah's fulfillment doesn't cancel God's commandment. But did Messiah fulfill it?

Did Messiah fulfill Yom Kippur?

Messiah’s own sacrifice-death took away the sin of the world. Does that mean we don’t need atonement anymore? Does it mean we don’t need forgiveness anymore? Is sacrifice all there is to Yom Kippur? No, Atonement is about more than sacrifice.

Atonement is being reconciled with God. Atonement is setting us right with God. Atonement is vindication of the righteous. Atonement is putting evil in its place. Atonement is judgment. If atonement is all these things, did Messiah fulfill all these things?

No, not yet. I don't see vindication of the righteous, for example. This world is all about putting down righteous people. I don't see judgment of the wicked, either. This world is in a never-ending wickedness contest, with prizes handed out to those who do the worst things best!

I believe Messiah isn't finished yet. He hasn't finished his fulfillment of Yom Kippur.

Look at the 7 Feasts of God and their fulfillment in Messiah. In chronological order,

Feast Name	Date	Messianic fulfillment
Pesach (Passover)	1st month, 14th day	Messiah, whom John called the spotless “lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” was sacrificed on Passover.
Unleavened Bread	1st month, 15-21st days	Messiah, the unleavened bread, was buried in the ground during Unleavened Bread.
First Fruits	1st month, day after Sabbath following Passover	Messiah was raised from the dead, or as Paul puts it, "Now Messiah is risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of those who sleep." He rises on the Feast of First Fruits.
Shavu’ot (Pentecost)	50 days after First Fruits, usually in the 3rd month	Acts 2 describes the apostles gathered for the Feast of Pentecost and Messiah, as promised, sends his spirit down on them and they begin speaking many languages, proclaiming God to peoples in their native tongue.
Yom Teruah (Trumpets)	7th month. 1st day	???
Yom Kippur (Atonement)	7th month 10th day	???
Sukkot (Tabernacles)	7th month 15th day	???

Note that Feasts 1-4 Messiah fulfilled in real-time – that is, he fulfilled them on the actual day, in chronological order. We believe this was not a coincidence.

Now notice the last 3 feasts: Messiah didn’t do anything special to fulfill these on the day. There is evidence from the Scripture that suggests Messiah will fulfill these by:

• Sounding the Great Shofar blast on Yom Teruah, signaling the beginning of the end.
• Judging all the nations on Yom Kippur, possibly returning on Yom Kippur.
• Dwelling with us for 1000 years on Tabernacles.

This would fit well; there are prophecies in the Scripture about Messiah which have not been fulfilled. (In fact, anti-Christian missionary organizations such as Jews for Judaism often cite these “missing fulfillments” as evidence that Jesus was not the Messiah.)

We suggest that they are evidence of 2 comings of the Messiah: one as the priestly lamb, another as the political kingly warrior. Very different roles!

Messiah has not fulfilled the Reigning King role of Messiah. For example, the coming judgment of the world, the political King who reigns from Jerusalem, brings lasting peace, brings the whole world together to celebrate the Feasts in Jerusalem, making Torah go forth from Zion so that everyone knows the Lord -- these things haven't happened yet. I suggest Messiah didn’t completely fulfill Yom Kippur. Not yet.

But what about Jesus’ sacrifice?

The theology that Jesus ended/abolished Yom Kippur by his death is Scripturally unsound. It's true, Messiah's atonement is permanent, and his sacrifice is perfect and once-and-for-all-time! 

I further propose that His perfect sacrifice is harmonious with God's Feasts, not contrary to them, nor abolishing them in any way.

Consider the Scripture regarding Yom Kippur:

It is a permanent law through all your generations, no matter where you live.

That’s a tough one to squirm out of, dear Christian!

We must state plainly that God’s Feasts should be kept, no matter how long ago God told this to Moses, no matter how far away we live from Israel. God told us this in plain language when he gave us the Torah. (See for yourself in Leviticus 23!)

Even the most adamant gentile would have to concede that for Israel, Yom Kippur is a permanent law. It’s not going to end, ever! Why would it, after all, it is not one of man’s feasts – it’s not a Jewish feast – it’s one of God’s! And God’s things are eternal.

Speak to Israel and say to them: 'These are My appointed feasts, the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you’re to call holy.’

-God speaking to Moses

If the Feasts belong to God, and God told his people to call them holy, forever, what reason do Christians have for dismissing it? Who told you God’s eternal Feasts have been made into temporary Jewish holidays? Who lied to you and said God’s Feasts aren’t for you?

Was it Messiah? No, the gospels records that Messiah kept the Feasts.

When the time came, Yeshua and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to celebrate this Passover with you before My suffering. I tell you, I will not celebrate it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."

-Yeshua the Messiah, speaking to his disciples

Was it the apostles? No, the apostles kept God’s Feasts, even after Messiah’s death.

The festival of Shavu'ot (Pentecost) arrived, and the believers all gathered together in one place. Suddenly there came a sound from the sky like the roar of a violent wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then they saw what looked like tongues of fire, which separated and came to rest on each one of them. They were all filled with the Ruach HaKodesh and began to talk in different languages, as the Spirit enabled them to speak.

-Acts of the followers of Yeshua the Messiah

Was it Paul? No, Paul kept God’s Feasts himself.

For Sha'ul (Paul) had decided to bypass Ephesus on his voyage, in order to avoid losing time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), if possible in time to celebrate Shavu'ot (Pentecost).

-Acts of the followers of Yeshua the Messiah

Paul even told gentile believers to keep the Feasts.

Get rid of the old hametz (leaven), so that you can be a new batch of dough, because in reality you are unleavened. For our Passover lamb, the Messiah, has been sacrificed. So let us celebrate the Passover Seder not with leftover hametz, the hametz of wickedness and evil, but with the matzah of purity and truth.

-Paul, in his letter to Corinth

God’s Feasts – not Jews' Feasts – are for you, gentile follower of Messiah.

How blessed is the man who keeps God's commandments and appointed times.

A shadow of things to come

Messiah’s sacrifice-death atoned for the sins of not only Israel, but the whole world. As the book of Hebrews puts it, Messiah has become the great high priest, the Cohen HaGadol, in heaven, interceding before God on our behalf.

For every cohen gadol (high priest) taken from among the Levites is appointed to act on people's behalf with regard to things concerning God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He can deal gently with the ignorant and with those who go astray, since he too is subject to weakness. Also, because of this weakness, he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as those of the people. And no one takes this honor upon himself, rather, he is called by God, just as Aharon was.

So neither did the Messiah glorify himself to become cohen gadol; rather, it was the One who said to him,

"You are my Son; today I have become your Father."

Also, as he says in another place,

"You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek."

During Yeshua's life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions, crying aloud and shedding tears, to the One who had the power to deliver him from death; and he was heard because of his godliness. Even though he was the Son, he learned obedience through his sufferings. And after he had been brought to the goal, he became the source of eternal deliverance to all who obey him, since he had been proclaimed by God as a cohen gadol.

We have this hope as a sure and safe anchor for ourselves, a hope that goes right on through to what is inside the parokhet, where a forerunner has entered on our behalf, namely, Yeshua, who has become a cohen gadol forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.

-The author of Hebrews, speaking to Messiah’s Jewish followers

As believers in Messiah, Yom Kippur is unique for us in the symmetry of old and new: the day of Atonement in the Mosaic covenant, and the final judgment and atonement Messiah will make when he returns.

But we've only scratched the surface! We haven't explored the detailed commandments to the Cohen Gadol in carrying out the atoning sacrifices, and how they're a picture of things coming in the future. We haven't talked about the miracles that occurred every year in the Temple during this time. We haven't talked about the 2 goat sin offerings, one of the Lord, another for Azazel. We haven't talked about how the priest would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat of the holy Ark of the Covenant inside the Temple's deepest sanctuary, the Holy of Holies, where God's awesome presense, His Sh'khinah glory, resided. We've barely scratched the surface.

The Feasts are so deep, especially this holiest of holy days, Yom Kippur. I can only encourage you to start digging and be blessed in keeping God's Feasts. Let’s keep this God-commanded, God-instituted feast. It’s one of God’s appointed times, so let us not miss our appointment with Him.

You’ve convinced me. What do I do?

Perhaps the best recommendation is, “Read God’s word. It’s the manual for keeping God’s Feasts.” Here’s a brief summary of the explicit commandments God gave to the people, to carry out in “all our generations, everywhere you live”:

• Have a holy gathering
• Deny yourself
• Give a fire offering to the Lord
• Don’t work

A holy gathering: get together with some folks who understand this Feast. Gather with them. Maybe it’s a church (unlikely) or maybe a Messianic synagogue, or a home group, or just friends. Have a Yom Kippur gathering with other believers in Messiah.

Deny yourself: in a rare moment of near-universal agreement, almost everyone understands this to mean “fast”, that is, don’t eat food during Yom Kippur. Acts 20 in the New Testament suggests Paul was fasting on this day. However you carry this out, honor God by denying your fleshly needs for one day and focus only on the Lord.

Give a fire offering: Ok, so without a tabernacle or Temple, we can’t really carry this out. But perhaps an acceptable offering is the offering of worship and praise. King David famously wrote in one of his psalms,

Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation!

Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness, Master, open my lips; then my mouth will praise you.

For you don't want sacrifices, or I would give them; you don't take pleasure in burnt offerings.

My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won't spurn a broken, chastened heart.

Don’t work: Honor God by resting completely, no work at all. Take time out of your hectic life and focus on Him and His atonement.

Shalom, may you honor God’s Feasts, even among the gentiles, and may your name be written in the Lamb’s Book of Life this Yom Kippur.

The new Jerusalem has no need for the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God's Sh'khinah gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. Its gates will never close, they stay open all day because night will not exist there, and the honor and splendor of the nations will be brought into it. Nothing impure may enter it, nor anyone who does shameful things or lies; the only ones who may enter are those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

-Messiah’s Revelation to John

I want a bailout

The US economy is looking pretty ugly right now, 'case you haven't heard. A bunch of big banks are going down the toilet, and the government is looking to spend $700 billion to bail them out.

$700 billion dollars. The number 7 with 11 zeros attached. $700,000,000,000

To put some context on things, I've grossed about $470,000 in my entire working life. (And most of that's been taxed, of course, so I don't see half of it.) The government is spending about 1,500,000 times the amount I've made in my entire life to bail out these corporations.

If the government changed their mind and decided to give that money to US citizens, they could write a check to every US citizen for $2,325.58. Yes, over $2000 per US citizen. And that's counting children. Counting only US adult citizens over 18, it'd be 2 or 3 times that amount.

I don't know about you fine blog readers, but I could sure use 2 grand. Bail me out!

Good to Israel

Some beautiful music to take us into shabbat and the weekend, Avner & Rachel Boskey's Good to Israel:

Raise up high a banner

For all the world to see

Make these words our holy anthem:

Surely God is good to Israel

Surely God is good to Israel

Surely You, Lord, are good to Israel

Shabbat shalom, fine blog readers.

You clicked them! You really clicked them!

You fine blog readers gave me $2.18 yesterday by clicking the ads on this blog. Thanks for the lunch money! Heheh.

4 years out and still chuggin'

4 years ago today, I married my first and only love.

I love you today, honey, as much as I did then. These years have been the best years of my life because of you. It's hard to believe it's been 4 years; feels like we were dating not too long ago! Here's to another 4 years with you, love.

:cheers: