Learn from history or be doomed to repeat it.

Concerning current events, it's a safe bet that the eyes of the world are on Egypt. While I do not claim to be a Prophecy Expert, like most Christians I do know that there are hundreds of prophecies in the Bible. Many have already been fulfilled such as, Daniel prophesying the coming of the Medo-Persian, Greek, and Roman empires, Alexander the Great, and the details of many military battles. Ancient writings also prophesied that the people of Israel would be scattered to all the nations of the world and be persecuted, but one day return to their own land,( which we saw come true on May 14, 1948 when the world recognized the modern state of Israel). Then, of course, we have all the prophecies in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah Who would come, while the New Testament shows how Jesus (Yeshua --[ yeah-SHOO-ah]) fulfilled all of these prophecies. So, it is fair to say that God has a pretty good track record of fulfilling prophecies, don't you think? Okay, back to Egypt - from a human standpoint, I may sympathize with the protesters demanding their freedom (which, of course, harkens back to our own American Revolution). That said, I have seen, posted online, a CNN taped interview with several of the protesters on the streets of Cairo. Amid the hysteria there is loud and definite anti-Israel hatred. Some of the people say that once they - the protesters - "are free" and the country settles down "we will be able to destroy Israel". However, in the 19th chapter of Isaiah, God seems to have other plans. God said: 2 “I will stir up Egyptian against Egyptian— brother will fight against brother". Planning to "destroy Israel"? God says : "I will bring their plans to nothing". As far as God's plans for Egypt: 14 "The LORD has poured into them a spirit of dizziness; 15 There is nothing Egypt can do, they will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them." And, as far as Egypt "destroying Israel" God seems to have the opposite in mind: "And the land of Judah will bring terror to the Egyptians; everyone to whom Judah is mentioned will be terrified, because of what the LORD Almighty is planning against them."vs. 17. I don't know what you're thinking right now, but It might actually be helpful for the Egyptian protesters to study the Exodus and the plagues that God sent upon their ancestors. Don't get me wrong, I don't want anyone to suffer and live under a dictator and I want everyone to have the basic freedoms they should have. But when you say you want to be free so that you will then be able to 'destroy Israel', it kind of feels like the keepers of the pyramids have dug in this sand before, doesn't it? Well, they say history repeats itself. .....Anyway, Shalom !

The Church is the new Israel -- right?

While digging up the Hebraic roots of Christianity I learned that it is a common opinion among Christians that the Christian Church has “replaced Israel” as God’s Chosen People and that the Church is actually the “New Israel” – the new and improved people of God. I also used to believe that the world-wide Church inherits all of God’s blessings, while Israel inherits only curses because the Jews were disobedient and they later rejected Jesus the Messiah. Looking at Israel ,it is as if many Christians say “You blew it bigtime, now we’re teacher’s pet !” This is called Replacement Theology (the Church has replaced Israel in God’s eyes), and also Supersessionism (the Church has superseded Israel as God’s Chosen People). This is not a new theory - Justin Martyr, martyred at Rome around 165 A.D. was the first to view the Christian church as “the true spiritual Israel”. Replacement Theology through the centuries has energized Medieval anti-Semitism, Eastern European persecution of the Jews, the Holocaust and contemporary hatred for the modern state of Israel. Wherever Replacement Theology has flourished, Jews have had to run for cover, having experienced all kinds of atrocities throughout Christian history. However, at no time did God ever negate the Jews as His Chosen People. There are really no Scriptures to support this theory. Here’s what Deuteronomy 7:7 says about God’s love for the Jews: “The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples”. And - , "For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." (Deuteronomy 7:6) . These verses don't mean that God loved Israel while hating everyone else, -- He intended to use Israel as His means to love and bless everyone. Isaiah 49:6: I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth." The Israelites may have been the people Chosen for a big job, but God loves us all and it was His plan from the beginning to bring forth the Messiah through Israel to act as the savior for all of us. There is much more that can be said on this topic, but I will just say that I no longer agree with Replacement Theology and I now see it as a very damaging belief that is responsible for anti-Semitism. The Church has certainly not replaced the Jews as the new and improved people of God.

Where is there a "delete" key in the Bible?

Some Christians who study the Hebraic roots of Christianity say they are now Torah Observant. (The Torah is the Old Testament, most notably the first five books from Genesis – Deuteronomy). It is also called the Law, but should more correctly be called God’s Instructions for Holy Living. The word Torah comes from the Hebrew root word for “arrow” - if you study and live by the Torah, you are a straight arrow for God and will be right on target . To sin is to miss the bullseye. When I began to dig at those Hebraic roots, I, thought the correct thing to do would be to be Torah Observant. However, I think it’s wiser to be “All-Scripture observant”. The Old Testament does not trump the New Testament, and vice versa. How do I know this? Because of II Timothy 3:16 – “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for training in righteousness.” When the great Apostle Paul wrote this to Timothy, only the Torah had been recorded so when he said “All Scripture” Paul was referring to the Old Testament. Now we have the New Testament Scriptures as well, so I submit to you that BOTH the Old Testament AND the New Testament should be studied since both are God-breathed and will train one in righteousness.

Just as in the New Testament Paul says that all Scripture is awesome, in the Old Testament David says practically the same thing in Psalm 119:160 – “All your words are true; all your just regulations will stand forever.”(“forever” -not just until the New Testament comes into play).

Red Alert : in the beginning of the Bible in the Torah - we are cautioned “ be careful to obey all the commands I give you. You must not add anything to them or subtract anything from them.”( Deut. 12:32). In one of the last verses of the Bible we are similarly warned : “And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city" (Revelation 22:18-19). I don’t know about you, but I think it’s pretty important to take ALL of the Bible under serious consideration, and not toss out the verses that we don’t agree with. And, in case you’re one of these people that thinks “well, God meant that THEN, but not for NOW”…… look at this: " I, the Lord, do not change” (Malachi 3:6) So, it’s pretty clear to me that God’s Word - both Old and New Testaments - is all good, stands forever, and should not be disregarded in order to suit our opinions or political correctness…..Shalom

Should I call Him Jesus?

Well, yesterday I had the nerve to tell you what I have unearthed about God's real Name as I'm digging up these Hebraic roots of Christianity. He is Yahweh, most commonly pronounced in English as YAW way, though, since in the Hebrew the emphasis is usually on the last syllable, some people pronounce His Name yaw WAY. It is just my personal belief - and I am not a Theology Ph.D. or anything impressive --- but I believe that, even if we don't get it 100% correct, that God appreciates our efforts. The Bible tells us He looks upon our hearts, so He certainly knows our intentions. So, some of us who love Him will call Him God, YAW way,or yaw WAY. In our society, the most common is, of course, "God", so I will use that Name to keep things simple, though, after studying this topic, I strongly prefer to refer to Him as Yahweh, with the emphasis on the first syllable - YAW way, and often spelled YHWH. But, what about His Son? Is His Name really Jesus? I have concluded that the answer to that is yes, and no. The English form Jesus is derived from, and can be traced back to, the New Testament Greek name Ihsouß, pronounced "Yesous" which is of Hebrew origin. But why use a Greek name derived from the Hebrew, when we can just use the Hebrew name itself? It kind of cuts out the middle man so to speak, or save us a step. The Hebrew name would then be Yeshua -- pronounced yea SHOO a. Digging up Hebraic roots of Christianity has infected me with a compulsion to learn details correctly. There are varying opinions as to the absolute correct Names for "God" and "Jesus", - as I've read, "wherever two Jews are gathered there will be three opinions" and I've discovered that the same holds true for Messianic Believers of both Jewish and Gentile descent. However, as for me, I've landed on the spot marked "Yahweh" for God and "Yeshua" for Jesus. You don't have to know Greek and Hebrew to be Spiritual, and God is not confused by our prayers if we mispronounce something. I just like to know these things, don't you? I think its evidence of a good attitude to say "If there's a more correct word, way, or wisdom, then I want to know it !"

Tomorrow (Friday) evening at sundown Shabbat (Sha BOT) begins. Until then I pray that Yahweh will bless us all, in Yeshua's Name, Amen ....... Shalom.

"God" is not His Name.

I want to relate to God in the respectful way He deserves. Regrettably, I have not always been a model child of God. Now, in digging up Christianity's Hebraic roots, I long to "get it right." If I stumble, God will at least appreciate my efforts, and I know that His Son "got it right" for me a long time ago, so this isn't about earning Heaven by passing some kind of Theology test.. That said, I wondered what to call my Creator. Does He have a name? Why do some people write G_d or G-d, or even Gd for His name? Is that what I'm supposed to do too? Digging away at those Hebraic roots, I find that God, indeed, does have a name, and guess what ---- His name is NOT "God". He IS a god, and He is the one true God, but that is not "His name". I am a woman, but "woman" is not what people call me, that is not my name. Hebrew sages thought His Name too holy to speak and wanted to suppress it, and some scholars say that is why the confusion about what to call Him, and why we have the spelling that leaves out letters, such as G_d. But in the third chapter of Exodus, the smoke clears a bit at the burning bush:

13 Then Moses said to God, "Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I shall say to them, `The God of your fathers has sent me to you.' Now they may say to me, `What is His name?' What shall I say to them?"

14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM"; and He said, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `I AM has sent me to you.' And God, furthermore, said to Moses, "Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, `The Lord, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.

This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations."

This is how God's Name looks when written in Hebrew: The pronunciation of the English transliteration is Yahweh, shortened to the letters YHWH , and it sounds like this: YAW way. Proper meaning: " He who is the self-existent One, Who is ever becoming what He is". So, now I know that He wants us to know His Name - He put it in the Old Testament almost 7,000 times. If I tell you my name 7,000 times, you better believe that's the name I want you to call me.! Actually I would probably never have the patience to tell you my name more than a few hundred times! Yahweh...spoken softly as you exhale it sounds like a prayer in itself, go ahead, try it. ....... Shalom (sha LOAM)....

We find what we look for.

Digging up the Hebraic Roots of Christianity has revealed many new Scriptural treasures for me. I guess I'm just one of these people with an overwhelming compulsion to get this Christianity thing "right". I want to know God and to know what He wants, expects, and approves. I can't just "wing it" on this earthly journey. Living the Christian life is not about taking the lazy way and guessing at things, or trusting my own opinion or the opinions of others. Deuteronomy 4:29 says that "You will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." Psalm 14:2 tells me that God looks down from Heaven to see if I am seeking Him. Psalm 105:3 tells me that my heart will rejoice if I seek Him. Proverbs 2 says that if I seek God, I will find the knowledge of Him. And Hebrews 11:6 confirms that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. One way to seek God is in His Scriptures for He reveals Himself to us in them. I think that Biblical ignorance leaves us starving Spiritually. I read somewhere that, to the Jews, the highest form of worship is to study the Word of God. That just makes sense, doesn't it? Some of the Scriptures can be more difficult to understand, yet if it is important enough to us to understand His word, then we will do the study and the digging and He will reveal this knowledge, again - "you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart..." No time or effort spent seeking God in His Word is wasted because "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." To sum it up, I guess my favorite verse about this topic is: “Now set your mind and heart to seek the Lord your God.” (1 Chronicles 22:19) (Funny, I thought I was going to write about the Names of God today, but this topic took over completely. I guess "seeking" was supposed to be today's subject, God must think it's pretty important.) Maybe I'll do the Names tomorrow( if God doesn't have other plans for me). Anyway, .....Shalom.

The Significance of the Mixed Multitude

When I was a kid watching my favorite movie, Charleton Heston climbed the thundering mountain and delivered the Ten Commandments to the Hebrews. Now that I am digging up the Hebraic Roots of Christianity I find myself reading the Scriptures much more carefully. Who actually received those awesome Commandments from God Himself, given to Moses at Mount Sinai? When Pharaoh finally granted Moses permission to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt, a "mixed multitude" made that trip. This mixed multitude was not just the tribes of Israel, but included anyone who wanted to join up with them --Gentiles, Egyptians, slaves from many countries conquered by the Egyptians -- a true kaleidoscope of people: "Whoa Moses, I've been watching what your God has been doing to the Egyptians with all those plagues....your God is greater than the gods of Pharaoh, I'm going with YOU man, I know a winner when I see one !" (well, okay, that's just my weird paraphrase, but it works ) These sojourners did not join the expedition as people groups, nations, or Ethnic groups - "Okay all you slaves from Timbuktu, let's take a vote, all in favor of joining the Hebrews signify by a raising of hands", they joined as individuals. All individuals who had a heart to take part in this great exit -- Hebrews and the rest of the "mixed multitude" -- made up what is later called in Exodus chapter 12 "all the congregation of Israel". When they received the Ten Commandments, they became one physical nation under one constitution - God's Torah. This motley group of individuals and families that departed Egypt were on the ground floor of God's nation-building. The Exodus number would have been between one and two million individuals; Non-Hebrew exited Egypt and walked the wilderness with Hebrew and made up the Commonwealth of Yisrael. When they stopped to make camp, the Scriptures tell us that they broke up into sections according to Hebrew tribe. We are not told that there were sections separate for Gentiles to segregate them from the Hebrews. All were welcome. All were led by God and received His loving instruction -- His Torah. His Ten Commandments, including the commandment to observe His set-apart Sabbath, were given to the mixed-multitude Commonwealth of Yisrael and I submit that they are valid for the mixed multitude that seeks to follow Him today. Or, as the Master Himself said in John 10:27 - "My sheep hear my voice and they follow me."

So, what about that Sabbath thing?

When I seriously dedicated myself to investigating the Hebraic roots of Christianity --- "digging up my roots" as I like to say --- one of the very first roots I ran smack dab into was the Sabbath. Or, in the Hebrew - Shabbat, (pronounced sha BOT) . All of my Christian life, which is a convoluted journey of many decades, I considered the Sabbath to be a bygone deal. Meant for the Jews only. Not relevant today. "nailed to the cross" with the "old law" as Christians like to dismiss (erroneously, by the way). However, after earnest digging into Scripture, the only conclusion at which I could arrive is that the Sabbath is very much for today. How do you like that ---- I realized that God really meant what He said when He commanded something. One of the things I like about God is His conviction. When His kids are playing at the park and He says " it's time to go", you never hear God saying "Okay now...one........two........." He's not "a counter" like a wimpy parent. When He says it, He means it. "This is what I want you to do", end of story. No "one........two........"in order to weakly give His kids permission to decide whether they will respect and obey Him or not. But I digress. The Sabbath -- definitely for today. I always thought the Sabbath was commanded on Mt. Sinai and meant for the Hebrews. Dig a little deeper and you find that ² By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all His work. ³ Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done. (Genesis 2)

During the first week of creation God gave just three blessings. He blessed the birds and sea creatures on the fifth day. He blessed Man, both male and female,on the sixth day, and He blessed the seventh Day - the Sabbath. Not only was the Sabbath a set-apart "special" day, but it was also blessed by God Himself, and the Sabbath did not just pop up as one of the Ten Commandments that Charlton Heston ....er...Moses received on Mt. Sinai, the Sabbath actually existed from the very beginning of creation - before there were Jews, the Torah, or Israel. Well now, as the serpent said to Eve in the Garden --- "how about them apples"?!! Since man was created on the sixth day, his first full day of life he got to observe God's set-apart Sabbath Day. And, since we are commanded not to work on the Sabbath, and his first full day of life was a day off, Adam probably said "Man, this is really livin' !!"

Shabbat Sholom (sha BOT sha LOAM -Hebrew for Peaceful Sabbath) everyone.

The profound meaning of the word Torah.

I am saved by God's grace. I cannot earn my salvation. However, the Torah(the Old Testament Law) is God's guidelines for holy living. Observing the Torah does not save me, but helps me to know how to please and honor the One I love. To make it clear, being Torah Observant is not a means to salvation or an attempt to work my way to Heaven. The Messiah has already paid the price for my sins and made it possible for me to go to Heaven. Having said that, I would like to share with you a discovery that thrilled me:

Hebrew is read from right to left. Modern Hebrew looks a little different than ancient or Paleo Hebrew. The original Hebrew written during the time of Moses would have been the Paleo Hebrew. The word "Torah" in ancient Hebrew is the graphic you see below. Here we have the Hebrew letters tav, vav, resh, and hey. Reading right to left they are a cross, meaning to seal or covenant. Then a peg or nail, meaning to secure. The second letter from the left is a head, meaning a person, then the first letter on the left is a person with hands raised which means to behold, or it can also mean what comes from. When these symbols are combined, the ancient Hebrew word for Torah is quite profound: "behold the man who secures the covenant." It can also be read as "what comes from the man nailed to the cross." Think the Torah has no relevance for Christians today?

Abolish Schmabolish, is it true?

In my search for truth, I came to realize that the Torah goes into great detail on who God is, how He wants us to worship Him, how He wants us to celebrate His Feasts and how these Feasts foreshadow Jesus, how He wants us to behave, and even how He wants us to eat. The Torah is a blueprint given to us for moral and Godly living, and to keep us safe. Yet, as a Christian I was taught and encouraged to believe that, despite all the trouble God took to make His will known in the Torah, that He threw it all out the window when Jesus was born and crucified. It just didn't make sense to me. God: "Here's my Law people, I want you to follow it and obey it." then later on "Hey folks, I've changed my mind, you know that Torah thing I gave you? Scratch that. Even though my Son is the living Torah and was Torah observant His whole life." In truth, in Matthew 5:17 Jesus actually stated "I have come not to abolish Torah but to fulfill it." "Not to abolish the Torah", ---I got it ! I also noticed in reading the Torah that many of the commands include the word "forever". Does God mean "do this forever.......or at least until I change my mind."? What about the Scripture in Malachi 3:6 that tells us "I the Lord do not change." On the one hand, Christians are taught that the Torah -- which is the first five books of the Old Testament and include the Ten Commandments - is not for today. Some people also consider the entire Old Testament to be the Torah. Some people also claim that these writings were given only to the Jews and do not relate to Christians at all. It's funny, because they're saying that the Old Testament is not for Christians today but that Christians should be tithing --- a practice taught in the Old Testament ! Kind of ironic and hypocritical don't you think? But one of the most influential Scriptures for me as I began my research into the Hebraic roots of Christianity is II Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." I have heard this verse many many times in Christian churches relating it to the New Testament. Yet, when Paul wrote this oft-quoted verse,there was no New Testament, the only Scriptures in writing at that time were the Torah. A fair paraphrase would be to say then that "The Torah is God-breathed and useful for training in righteousness."

The "Law" is a Biblical term for the first five books of the Bible, also called the Books of Moses, and collectively called the Torah. Torah means "instruction". God's intention for giving me the Torah was not to hold me back or make me a slave to His LAW, but to instruct me in holiness. Exodus 24:12 - "the law....which I have written for their instruction." For over 1,400 years, from Moses to Jesus (Yeshua), the Torah was the standard of godliness for His chosen people. The Torah is God's rulebook and if I do not know it, study it, or apply it, I am playing by some other rules, not God's. I can claim to be a good Christian, but if I am ignorant and - through my neglect - disrespecting the Torah, I am not applying Biblical Christianity to my life. Through the years, while in the professional ministry, many people have told my husband and me "well, I'm just not a reader, so that's why I don't read the Bible." However, we should all take responsibility to study the Scriptures, ask questions, learn, and grow. It is not Spiritually healthy to take anyone's word for our beliefs, it falls upon all of us to take personal interest in our beliefs and Spiritual growth. The lazy way, ( the way which will gain us no rewards), is to take on faith what a priest, pope, preacher, or rabbi says without searching the truth out for ourselves. Many many copies of God's Word can be had practically for pennies, in modern easy-to-read translations. There are no excuses for not knowing the instruction of God. This, of course, includes the study of the Torah. Knowing the Torah is to know the full Biblical heritage of the Christian, to make us better disciples of the Jewish Messiah. The Torah is the foundation of the Bible, yet woefully neglected by Christians, to their great disadvantage. Nothing in the New Testament cancels the Torah. The Torah reveals God's wisdom and His will. Even before I knew the first five books were called the Torah, I would read and study these books knowing that in them I would get to know God intimately. They became the books I studied more than any other in the Bible, and became my Theological foundation. As a Roman Catholic and later as an Evangelical Christian I would say to myself "why don't we get into these books more deeply in Bible studies and pulpit messages?" I knew we were missing something very very important. I will be bold here and state that to know Torah is to truly know God. His mind, His will, and indeed, His Son.