What Is The Hebrew Roots Movement?

What is the Hebrew Roots Movement?

A Response to Common Misconceptions ©2013 Steve Gustine, Ada, Oklahoma All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

Scripture quotations are primarily from the New American Standard Bible, © 1995, The Lockman Foundation, Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Other scripture quotations are from the King James Version Bible, or from the Complete Jewish Bible, David H. Stern, © 1998, Jewish New Testament Publications, Clarksville, MD. ISBN-13: 978-1491019597

Preface While doing some online research, I stumbled across an article attempting to explain and refute the basic beliefs of those of us in the “Hebrew Roots Movement.”

You can read the article in its entirety on the at: http://www.gotquestions.org/Hebrew-roots.html

You can also read the article as well at the end of this booklet. My response to this article is below.

May it be a blessing to all who read it. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

What is the Hebrew Roots movement?

By: S. Michael Houdmann While he is not the author of every article on GotQuestions.org, for citation purposes, you may reference our CEO, S. Michael Houdmann Comments from Article by: S. Michael Houdmann ________________________________________________

Rebuttal: Steve Gustine, Congregation Leader Olive Branch Fellowship, Ada, OK .

Rebuttal comments are in blue text.

Question: "What is the Hebrew Roots movement?"

Mr. Houdmann comments: Answer: The premise of the Hebrew Roots movement is the belief that the Church has veered far from the true teachings and Hebrew concepts of the Bible.

Steve’s reply : I agree with that, in general, most of those in the Hebrew Roots movement believe that the majority of the 41,000 different Christian denominations around the world have veered far from the teachings of Messiah. Make no mistake, we believe that there is only One Truth, One way and yes Yeshua was his Aramaic name that His mother called him, so we see no problem calling him by His name, though our congregation does not get hung up on the names and we occasionally still use the name Jesus so people will know who we are talking about. In the same way no one knows for sure exactly how the Father’s name is pronounced, so some times some of us will use Yahweh, Yah, Yaveh, Yehovah,Yahuah,or simply spell His name, the Tetragrammaton, YHVH or YHWH. Mr. Houdmann comments: The movement maintains that Christianity has been indoctrinated with the culture and beliefs of Greek and Roman philosophy and that ultimately biblical Christianity, taught in churches today, has been corrupted with a pagan imitation of the New Testament gospels.

Steve’s reply : But rather the church has given up her foundation of Yah’s Instruction manual for life, found in the Torah, the

first five books in their bible. These books are called the “Books of Moses,” starting with Genesis. We also believe that believers were taught over 1700 years ago to forsake their Hebraic Roots to take on the mantle of pagan sun god worship, through practice that started in the days of Constantine.

This is where the Saturday Sabbath was made illegal and all believers were bound by law to forsake the biblical Sabbaths, Feast Days of the Lord, eating biblically as God outlined in His instruction manual, separating what was clean from what is unclean. These are some of the first lessons He teaches His children on how to be Holy, as the word Holy is Kodesh in Hebrew and the meaning of this word is to separate out the clean from the unclean.

We cannot be a separated out, a Holy nation unto Yah, if we are still partaking of the abominations of Babylon. He tells us to be hot or cold, one way or the other, don’t be lukewarm or He will vomit us out of His mouth. (Rev 3:16) Mr. Houdmann comments: Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers.

Steve’s reply : Yes, this is very true. Let’s take it one step at a time. Lets see where some believers take one scripture out of context and twist it “to their own destruction,” as the Apostle Peter said about Paul’s writings: 2Pe 3:16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. KJV

Steve’s reply :

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Now one verse they will use is this one: Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. KJV

Steve’s reply : So this is where they say that Jesus is the end of the law, but is that what Paul is really saying?

G5056 τέλος telos tel'-os From a primary word τέλλωtellō (to setout for a definite point or

goal); properly the point aimed at as a limit, that is, (by implication) the conclusion of an act or state (termination [literally, figuratively or indefinitely], result [immediate, ultimate or prophetic], purpose); specifically an impost or levy (as paid): - + continual, custom, end (-ing), finally, uttermost. Compare G5411.

One of the definitions of the word telos is “the conclusion of an act or state,” but another meaning of the word is a “GOAL.” Now lets read a more honest translation of what this verse is really saying.

Rom 10:4 Forthe goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah, who offers righteousness to everyone who trusts.

So we see here that Jesus was not the end of the law, as a simple reading might have indicated, but rather that Jesus was the Goal at which the Torah aims. For everything in the Torah is all about the Messiah, as Jesus stated.

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Heb10:7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Steve’s reply : Which was a quote of: Psa40:7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, Jesus also tells us that the Books of Moses are written about Him and if we don’t believe Torah, the books of Moses, then how are we going to believe what Jesus tells us?

Joh5:46For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me.

Joh5:47 But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?

Now let me answer the second part of his assumption.

Mr. Houdmann comments: Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers.

Steve’s reply : The New Testament is called the “B’rit Chadashah in Hebrew, meaning the “Renewed Covenant.” The word B’ritmeans “covenant” and Chadashah means “Renewed.” So how do we get Renewed?

1Sa 20:5 And DavidH1732 saidH559 untoH413 Jonathan,H3083 Behold,H2009 to morrowH4279isthe new moon,H2320 Ok, so he is taking an issue with us in the Hebrew Roots movement saying the New Testament is a Renewed Testament, and I have to completely confess that I do believe this. We find one of the first instances in the scripture that the word “new” is used as in “new moon.” This word in Hebrew is Chodesh.

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H2320 ‫חדׁש‬ chôdesh kho'-desh From H2318; the new moon; by implication a month: - month (-ly), new moon.

So this word Chadashah “New” as in “New Covenant,” has its root meaning coming from Chodesh, which is what the new moon each month is. Now let me ask you a common sense question: When the Moon waxes into a full moon and then wanes until there is no moon showing, and then becomes visible again to the naked eye (a new moon), is it a completely NEW moon, created from scratch? Or is the moon just renewed again each month? Of course is just renewed.

Same way with the New Testament, it is the Renewed Covenant that Yeshua (Jesus) came to make to add to the covenant given at Sinai. Because we know that the Covenant of Yah cannot be made void.

Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak in terms of human relations: even though it is only a man's covenant, yet when it has been ratified, no one sets it aside or adds conditions to it.

Paul is saying here that NO ONE can TAKE AWAY the Covenants of God, they are eternal.

Concerning Passover and Unleavened bread this is what the King of Israel, the Creator of the Universe has to say about His Royal Law. Exo 12:24 "And you shall observe this event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.

Now as I have said a million times…what do we not understand about the word FOREVER?

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Even James the brother of Yeshua did not call God’s Law bondage; he called it Royal.

Jas 2:8 If, however, you are fulfilling the royal lawaccording to the Scripture, "YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF," you are doing well.

Now lets see what Paul has to say about the Torah.

Paul’s Confession of Faith in the Torah Act 24:14 "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the God of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law (Torah) and that is written in the Prophets; NASB

Steve’s reply : But wait a minute! I thought we were told that Paul taught that the Law-Torah was done away with, because we are under Grace now and not under the Law? Now let’s look at it this way.

If Paul really was saying that the Law was abolished and done away with….

Then he would be in direct contradiction of his own words… and we know what the Bible says about that.

James 1:8 A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.

Is Paul Double Minded?

So if Paul really was saying that, saying two things out of the side of his mouth, then he would be double minded and scriptures tells us not to listen to him.

But that is not what is going on here.

I submit to you that the problem is not what Paul is saying, but rather that we do not understand what he is saying.

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For too long we, the believers have been relying on the information being fed to us out of the pulpits.

We need to study and learn the Word for ourselves.

Now lets think about this.

Paul just admitted that he believes everything written in the Torah and Prophets.

So what this means is that all the evidence in the NT about what Paul believed had better line up with everything written in the Torah and the Prophets.

That means that Paul had to keep the Sabbath.

He had to keep the Feast of Yahweh.

He had to eat Kosher or Biblically Clean.

He had to do and teach others to do everything written in the scripture…because this is what he believed in.

And if Paul did not follow everything in the Torah and Prophets, then Paul is a liar, because he admitted to believing ALL THINGS. You can’t argue with the scripture, it is written this way in every translation out there.

Now let me answer the third part of his assumption.

Mr. Houdmann comments: Those of the Hebrew Roots belief hold to the teaching that Christ's death on the cross did not end the Mosaic Covenant, but instead renewed it, expanded its message, and wrote it on the hearts of His true followers Steve’s reply :

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So he is accusing us of saying that the New Covenant in Yeshua’s blood expanded the Torah message and wrote it on our hearts.

First off I don’t think that any believer in Jesus would deny that they consider themselves New Covenant believers, but unfortunately they do not have a clue as to where in scripture the New Covenant is even talked about, let alone its purpose.

Let’s again go to God’s word to see what He has to say about the New Covenant and whom it was for and the purpose of it.

Jer31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jer31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: Jer31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Steve’s reply : Ok, wait a minute. We first see that the New Covenant was not made with something called the Christian Church. It was made with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. So who are these two guys? I am thinking maybe we should investigate and learn a little bit more about who these guys are, as this is to whom the New Covenant was made. Trying to tackle this subject is too much information for this article, but I would advise maybe watching some of our other teachings like “Who am I?” or “The Lost Sheep.”

You can watch these videos on our website at: www.OliveBranchAda.com.

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What did Yeshua mean when He said: Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Who are these “Lost Sheep?” Who exactly is the “House of Israel?” We should study this, as Jesus said this is the only group that He was sent to and this is also one of the groups the New Covenant was made to.

When we get to the pearly gates, there is no gate called the Baptist Gate, there is no gate call the Pentecostal Gate, there is no Methodist Gate, there only 12 gates named after the 12 tribes of Israel. I submit to you that maybe we should start learning how to relate to these tribes somehow…just maybe?

Now going back to the part about it being written on our hearts, the Lord God of Israel says Jer31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

Steve’s reply : So we see right here evidence of what the New Covenant’s purpose was for, to put the Torah (God’s Law) in our inward parts and to write it on our hearts. I confess YES! I believe Yah, I believe His Word, I want this for my house, as we will serve the Lord of Hosts, Yahweh Tzevaot. I want to be part of the New Covenant, so I want His Torah to be written on my heart as well…don’t you? Why wouldn’t you?? That’s the question that always boggles my mind!

Mr. Houdmann comments: They teach that the understanding of the New Testament can only come from a Hebrew perspective and that the teachings

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of the Apostle Paul are not understood clearly or taught correctly by Christian pastors today.

Steve’s reply : Peter himself confesses that the writings of Paul are hard to understand as we have already learned in 2Peter 3:16.

I also have to ask you another fundamental question. When the Apostle Paul says this: 2Ti 3:16 Allscriptureis given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

Exactly what scripture was Paul talking about that was good for doctrine, good for reproof, good for correction and also good for instruction in righteousness? Think about it, there was no New Testament at this point in time; in fact the New Testament didn’t even come about until a hundred or so years after the time of Yeshua and His disciples.

The only thing that Paul and the other disciples considered to be Holy Scripture was the Old Testament, the Tanach in Hebrew. There was NO New Testament. I think a lot of people are really shocked when they finally realize this.

Mr. Houdmann comments: Many affirm the existence of an original Hebrew-language New Testament and, in some cases, denigrate the existing New Testament text written in Greek. This becomes a subtle attack on the reliability of the text of our Bible. If the Greek text is unreliable and has been corrupted, as is charged by some, the Church no longer has a standard of truth.

Steve’s reply : To be honest, there are some in the movement who have a problem with the Greek NT text, but they would be in the minority. There may very well have been an original Hebrew-

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or Aramaic-language NT; however, the majority of us, myself included, do not believe that the New Testament is in any way compromised in the least by the Greek. We feel it is in perfect accord with the writings of the Hebrew Old Testament if a proper exegesis is done when studying out certain subjects. Context is also key—read a verse in the context of the complete chapter, and that chapter in context of the theme of the book that it is contained within, and that book within the light of the whole of scripture. Not one word contradicts it self, it cannot and does not. If it seems to, it is because of a lack of understanding on our part.

We believe that the Old Testament is the dictionary for the New Testament. It is the foundation of the whole of scripture. You wouldn’t want to build your house on a pile of sand would you? You need a firm foundation and the Old Testament is the foundation.

Mr. Houdmann comments: Although there are many different and diverse Hebrew Roots assemblies with variations in their teachings, they all adhere to a common emphasis on recovering the "original" Jewishness of Christianity. Their assumption is that the Church has lost its Jewish roots and is unaware that Jesus and His disciples were Jews living in obedience to the Torah. For the most part, those involved advocate the need for every believer to walk a Torah-observant life. This means that the ordinances of the Mosaic Covenant must be a central focus in the lifestyle of believers today as it was with the Old Testament Jews of Israel. Keeping the Torah includes keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week (Saturday), celebrating the Jewish feasts and festivals, Steve’s reply : OK, I have to interrupt his thought right here. Notice, that he calls them the “Jewish feasts.” Let me ask you a question.

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Who was it that was camped at the base of Mt. Sinai when God gave the commandments to the children of Israel?

Where they all Jews? No, of course not. The term Jew is slang for those from the House of Judah, as Jesus and His disciples were all Jews from Judah. Paul was a Benjamite though, but that is another long story.

So for the short story, Judah (the Jews) were only 1/12th of all the tribes of Israel. There were eleven more tribes there that were given all the commandments, along with strangers and sojourners (remember the “mixed multitude” of the Exodus?). The Lord calls these His Feasts, not the Feasts of the Jews.

Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, eventhese are my feasts.

Lev 23:3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

Lev 23:4 Theseare the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

So we see right here these are not strictly Jewish feasts, even though the Jews are primarily the only group of people on the planet who are trying to celebrate these feasts, except for those of us non-Jews who are waking up, reading the bible for ourselves, learning what God really said in His Holy Word, and not blindly following the words of those who stand in the pulpits telling us that all of this stuff is bondage and done away with. Boy, the enemy has really pulled the wool over the eyes of believers for way too long… but it is over! The God of Heaven and earth is revealing His True Word to those who will not accept the status quo, those who want all that God has to offer His people and want to walk in His blessings instead of the curses.

Now, continuing the article where we left off:

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Mr. Houdmann comments: keeping the dietary laws, avoiding the "paganism" of Christianity (Christmas, Easter, etc.), and learning to understand the Scriptures from a Hebrew mindset.

Steve’s reply : Well yes I confess again! If anyone wants to learn about the origins of Christmas and Easter, all the information is out there. It is very easy to find out that just about every pagan sun god was born on or around December 25, and I can assure you one thing: The God of Israel would have chosen ANY other day than that day for His son to be born—of that I am very confident. Easter is the celebration of the pagan fertility goddess Astaroth, which she is given many other names in the scriptures as well. Just look up the “Origins of Easter,” and you will be amazed at what you will learn. Jesus did rise from the dead, but that day was not Easter, it was Yom HaBikkurim, or First Fruits, one of God’s appointed times, one of the seven “Feast of Yahweh.” And about the dietary laws: God said it. We should do it. Period. It’s that simple.

Mr. Houdmann comments: They teach that Gentile Christians have been grafted into Israel, and this is one reason every born-again believer in Jesus the Messiah is to participate in these observances.

Steve’s reply :

Yes again, I agree, because Paul said: Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Rom 11:18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Rom 11:19 Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off,

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that I might be graffed in.

Rom 11:20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: Rom 11:21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Mr. Houdmann comments: It is expressed that doing this is not required out of legalistic bondage, but out of a heart of love and obedience. However, they teach that to live a life that pleases God, this Torahobservant walk must be part of that life.

Steve’s reply : Yes, I agree, as we are never saved by keeping God’s instructions (commandments/Torah) on living a blessed life. We are saved only by Grace, through faith. But I will tell you this, Grace is your redemption, it gets you into the Kingdom, into the house. Keeping the commandments keeps you in the house. Let me try to explain it this way.

Grace But by Yeshua’s Grace you were grafted in and made part of the Olive Tree called Israel.

You have been redeemed by His blood, as He was the Passover Lamb that redeems those in bondage and slavery to sin, and you were made “free in Messiah” but that does not make you free from any of His instructions.

In fact we are His bondservants at that point.

Jas 1:1 James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings NASB In the House

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This was a great analogy I heard on day from a very profound teacher of Torah.

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Let’s suppose you were to invite a homeless person into your home and allow him in.

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You gave the person your name and adopted him in and even gave him part of your inheritance.

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And all you ask of him is for him to obey the rules that you have established for him to stay in your house, the same rules anyone living under your roof must obey.

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He has been grafted into your house out of grace by your mercy.

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Now what happens if the person you let into your house, the person you adopted and made part of your family, willfully rebels against your house rules that you set down?

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If he willfully rebels and disobeys you, are you going to continue to keep him in your house?

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Let’s be honest here; if he doesn’t change his ways, you are going to throw him out, aren’t you?

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Will you still love that person? Of course you will, but it is the condition of his heart that causes the consequences of his actions, for him to be “outside the house,” isn’t it?

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Now if he repents and amends his ways, then you will let him back in--if he is really sincere about changing his ways.

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You will let him back in IF he submits to the rules, or commandments, that you have established to be part of the house again.

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Now let’s think of it another way.

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If you expect this type of behavior out of your children for them to obey your rules you set down in your house, shouldn’t our Father in Heaven be able to expect the same thing from us, His children?

Mr. Houdmann comments: The Hebrew Roots assemblies are often made up of a majority of Gentiles, including Gentile rabbis. Usually they prefer to be identified as "Messianic Christians." Many have come to the conclusion that God has "called" them to be Jewish and have accepted the theological position that the Torah (Old Testament law) is equally binding on Gentiles and Jews alike.

Steve’s reply : Some of us in the movement do feel called to adopt a Jewish identity. However, most of us never try to be Jewish. We realize our identity as being adopted into the Household of God, the Commonwealth of Israel. That is the problem with most of the Church today; they do not realize their identity in Messiah. They think they are the church, and that the church is a new thing, which was born at Pentecost. I know, I used to teach this false doctrine in the Assembly of God Church that I attended, as that is what I was taught. But the truth is that the Church was NOT a new thing born at Pentecost, it started way back at Mt. Sinai when God gave the commandments to His children. We use the New Testament again as a witness to this Truth.

Act 7:38 This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us: Act 7:39 To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt,

So again, we see proof text in the New Testament that the Church was born at Mt. Sinai, when the commandments were

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given—the same commandments that modern day preachers tell us are bondage for us.

Another question we have to ask ourselves: Do we believe that Jesus is really God? John in the NT tells us that He is.

Joh1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. So if Jesus is God, then wouldn’t He be the same God that was at Mt.Sinai giving the commandments to the children of Israel?

Deu6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: So if Yeshua (Jesus) is God, then what do you think He meant when He said: Joh14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Joh10:30 I andmyFather are one.

Joh14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Mat 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven

Steve’s reply :

So much for just doing the two commandments we are told Jesus gave us, to love God and love our neighbor. We see right here Jesus telling us that those who do the “Will of His Father” in heaven will be the ones given the right to enter into the kingdom of heaven. These are not my words, but the words of Jesus. Look them up for yourself. You cannot argue with scripture. And we know the will of the Father is to keep His commandments, which are found in the book they tell us is Old and obsolete…the Old Testament.

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The Father did not have one set of commandments and Jesus had another set of commandments…trust me. You know what? Do not trust me! Study it out honestlyand find out for yourself. I dare you.

Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

It seems to me the NT is stating the Fathers will, His commandments are still in effect here and not done away with by Jesus as we have been taught in error all these years.

Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.

Wait a minute; I thought we only had to believe in Jesus! I didn’t know we were going to be rewarded by what we actually do.

Mar 10:17 As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and knelt before Him, and asked Him, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"

Mar 10:18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good?

No one is good except God alone.

Mar 10:19"You know the commandments, 'DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, Do not defraud, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"

Wait a minute! There He goes telling us to obey those Old Testament commandments again? Maybe He didn’t come to nail them to the cross, just maybe?

Also in the book of Revelation speaking of the end days what does John give for a description of the True believers in the God of Israel? Lets see what he says.

Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and

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went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here arethey that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

So again we see two witnesses from scripture they give us a hint as to who the saints really are, those that keep the commandments of God and also have the testimony of Jesus. It takes both of these things according to scripture. Anyone can believe in Jesus that he existed, even the demons believe and tremble it says. But from a Hebraic mindset, believing is putting your faith into action through doing something with your faith as James says: Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Jas 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

I think James pretty much sums it up‌don’t you? As I have said so many times before, keeping the commandments is NOT your salvation, it is just the evidence of your salvation.

Mr. Houdmann comments: They often wear articles of traditional Jewish clothing, practice Davidic dancing, and incorporate Hebrew names and phrases into their writing and conversations. Most reject the use of the name "Jesus" in favor of Yeshua or YHWH, claiming that these are the "true" names that God desires for Himself.

In most cases, they elevate the Torah as the foundational teaching for the Church, which brings about the demotion of the New Testament, causing it to become secondary in im-

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portance and only to be understood in light of the Old Testament. The idea that the New Testament is faulty and relevant only in light of the Old Testament has also brought the doctrine of the Trinity under attack by many advocates of the Hebrew Roots beliefs.

Steve’s reply : I am not going to cover most of this, as I feel I have done so in my previous comments; but yes, some of us do find a deep enrichment of our faith by wearing traditional garments such as the tallit--the same type of garment that that Jesus and His disciples might have worn during their time here on earth in their “Prayer Closet.” Yes we find a great connection through our praise and worship by worshipping Him in the dance.

Psa150:4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

The time for being Anti-Semitic is over. We have to learn to get along with our brother Judah. This does not mean we have to become Jews or convert to Judaism. The opposite is true. We have to make Judah jealous for what we have.

Rom 11:11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

We will never do that as long as we are teaching our young children about the Easter bunny and Santa Clause and Jesus; when they grow up and learn that daddy and mommy have lied about Santa and the Easter bunny, why would they continue to believe what we tell them about Jesus? One of my congregants brought this point out to me a long time ago.

Why would our brother Judah want any part of our Messiah, the Messiah that we said came to do away with the Torah?

They know there is NO WAY that the true Messiah would ever do away with the very thing He gave us from the begin-

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ning. That theology is not biblical and makes absolutely no sense to them. As long as we continue to teach such erroneous things, we will never become one in Messiah as Paul tells us our future will be. For more on the subject study Ezekiel and the two sticks.

Eze37:15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Eze37:16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: Eze37:17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.

Mr. Houdmann comments: As opposed to what the Hebrew Roots movement claims, the New Testament teachings of the Apostle Paul are perfectly clear and self-explanatory. Colossians 2:16,17 says, "Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day – things which are a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ."

Steve’s reply : This one is a long subject and we won’t go deep on this one as it could take an hour. You first have to find out whom this “no man” is that he is talking about.

Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbathdays: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ So who is the NO MAN that Paul is talking about? Well, lets read a few more scriptures talking about this person.

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Col 2:4 And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words.

Col 2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, Col 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward Colossians was written by Paul the Apostle to the Church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea, about 100 miles from Ephesus in Asia Minor.

So, looking at verse 17: Col 2:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ Steve’s reply : It says that these things ARE a shadow of things to come, not were a shadow of things to come.

This “no man” that Paul is talking about in Col 2:4… does this sound like one of the brethren in good standing in the church congregation, or something else? Who would beguile someone with enticing words?

What about in verse 8? Does this guy sound like someone good in the congregation who would “spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit?”

What about in verse 18? Is this one of our good brethren in the congregation who would beguile us of our reward?

This is somebody that is outside the congregation, trying to come in and confuse the body. To make a long story short, these were a group of Jewish believers in Messiah called the “influencers” that were trying to teach that to get saved you had to do it their way. You have to believe in Yeshua, BUT you also had to legally convert to Judaism to be saved, and this is where Paul says NO WAY, this is not how it is and this

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is not how it is going to be. The Gentiles do NOT have to convert to Judaism and learn thousands of Pharisaic commandments that were NOT part of God’s written Torah to begin with. This was called the Oral Tradition or the Oral Torah.

Jesus never one time comes against any of the Laws and Commandments of God, anywhere, period.

But He does come against many of the extra “laws” and traditions that the Pharisees added to—and elevated above— God’s Law. Mat 15:6 ….Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.

Mar 7:13 Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye.

Mat 15:2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.

Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teachingfordoctrines the commandments of men.

It was the Oral Tradition that the Pharisees added to the Word of God that Yeshua took issue with over and over again.

And in our Churches today we still have this same problem, as we do not go only with God’s Word for our doctrine; we are still adding to what He said and making doctrine out of it.

This is why we have today 41,000 different Christian denominations. Isn’t it time to get back to the Truth? God is not doing a “new thing” today, as we are often told; on the contrary, He is wanting us to do an OLD Thing! Consider the words given by God to Jeremiah: Jer6:16 Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

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Mr. Houdmann comments: Romans 14:5 states, "One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind." Scripture clearly indicates that these issues are a matter of personal choice. These verses and many others give clear evidence that the Mosaic Covenant laws and ordinances have ended. Continuing to teach that the Old Covenant is still in effect in spite of what the New Testament teaches, or twisting the New Testament to agree with the Hebrew Roots beliefs, is false teaching.

Steve’s reply : Lets take a look at the context We see the context in which Paul writes is that “One man regards one day above another, another regards every day” is evident that Paul is addressing a situation of men’s differing opinions. We find this by reading the very first verse in this set of passages.

Rom 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions. NASB We know that Paul would not be giving his own opinion here, but just restating what must have been the opinions of others that were attending the synagogues within Rome at the time.

If we continue reading the rest of the set of scriptures here, it is clearly evident that both opinions seem to be valid and Paul does not side with either one of them. Another very important thing we must come to grips with is that Paul would never have handled the issue of Sabbath observance or any other Torah commandment within the realm of opinion.

Within the two main Pharisaic houses that controlled most of Judaism in that day, the House of Hillel and the House of Shammai, there were many opinions on how one was to keep the Sabbath; but there is no historical record anywhere of

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any type of debate on IF the Sabbath should be kept.

Lets state this another way: The guarding or keeping of the Sabbath could never have been an issue of an opinion in the days of Yeshua and Paul, as Sabbath keeping was one of the most highly observed of all the commandments, with the next being those commandments concerning the laws on purity.

The importance of keeping Sabbath was held to the highest levels within all the different sects of Judaism. And don’t forget Paul never called himself a Christian; he called himself a follower of “The Way” which was a sect of Judaism.

Act 24:14 "But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect Those who argue that the Sabbath has been abolished in favor of Sunday usually tell us that the basis for such a change is the cross, that the death of Yeshua changed the emphasis from creation (Sabbath) to redemption (Sunday, the day they try to tell us that Yeshua arose from the grave). The only problem with this scenario is the math does not add up.

There is no way to get three full days and three full nights in the grave from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. Children in kindergarten can add better than this. I submit that Messiah died on a Wednesday and rose from the dead right after Sabbath had ended, on Saturday evening, right at dark.

Even after Jesus’ resurrection, we still see the disciples and even Paul still going to preach the gospel on the Sabbath.

Act 13:42 As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

Act 13:44 Thenext Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

So evidently the Sabbath must have still been in effect here and not done away with or changed by Paul.

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Act 15:21 "For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.

Here is evidence of the Torah, the books of Moses still being taught in church every Sabbath to the believers, years after the resurrection of Yeshua. I am simply amazed that more people don’t read their bibles and see the things that I see.

Mr. Houdmann comments: There are aspects of the Hebrew Roots teachings that certainly can be beneficial. Seeking to explore the Jewish culture and perspective, within which most of the Bible was written, opens and enriches our understanding of the Scriptures, adding insight and depth to many of the passages, parables and idioms. There is nothing wrong with Gentiles and Jews joining together in celebrating the feasts and enjoying a Messianic style of worship. Taking part in these events and learning the way in which the Jews understood the teachings of our Lord can be a tool, giving us greater effectiveness in reaching the unbelieving Jew with the gospel. It is good for Gentiles, in the body of the Messiah, to identify in our fellowship with Israel. However, to identify with Israel is different from identifying "as" Israel.

Steve’s reply : The one problem here is that most believers do not have a clue what their identity is in Messiah. We are no longer considered to be gentiles once we have accepted Jesus as the Messiah of our lives. We are not some new participants in something new called the Church. We have been grafted into the Olive Tree Israel and are now joint heirs to the promises given to Abraham. We have been given a land; we have been given promises and provisions for blessings, IF we obey. We are now to consider ourselves as part of the commonwealth of the nation of Israel.

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Eph2:12 That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now that we have Christ we are no longer aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel. We are joint heirs. In Messiah, we are not considered to be two groups any longer--us and them.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. KJV Mr. Houdmann comments: Gentile believers are not grafted into the Judaism of the Mosaic Covenant; they are grafted into the seed and faith of Abraham, which preceded the Law and Jewish customs.

Steve’s reply : Again, I am not sure where he is finding that any of us say we are grafted into Judaism. We say we are grafted into the Olive Tree Israel.

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; Israel is the Olive Tree.

Jer11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.

S. Michael Houdmann said: They are fellow citizens with the saints (Ephesians 2:19), but they are not Jews. Paul explains this clearly when he tells those who were circumcised (the Jews) "not to seek to be uncircumcised" and those who were uncircumcised (the Gen-

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tiles) "not to become circumcised" (1 Corinthians 7:18).

There is no need for either group to feel they must become what they are not. Instead, God has made Jews and Gentiles into "one new man" in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:15).

This "new man" is referring to the Church, the body of Christ, which is made up of neither Jew nor Gentile (Galatians 3:2729). It's important for Jews and Gentiles to remain authentic in their own identity. In this way a clear picture of the unity of the body of Christ can be seen as Jews and Gentiles are united by one Lord, one faith, one baptism. If Gentiles are grafted into Israel, becoming Jews, the purpose and picture of both Jew and Gentile, coming together as one new man, is lost. God never intended Gentiles to become one in Israel, but one in Christ.

Steve’s reply : Boy, the twisting of word again. He says; Mr. Houdmann comments: “If Gentiles are grafted into Israel, becoming Jews, the purpose and picture of both Jew and Gentile, coming together as one new man, is lost.”

Steve’s reply : The whole purpose of this again is NOT to become Jews, the purpose of this is to become part of God’s Chosen people Israel.

To have a Kingdom, such as the Kingdom of God, 1. You first have to have a King. We do, in Messiah Yeshua.

2. Next you have to have a land. We do, in the land of Israel, promised way back to Abraham.

3. Next the King has to have subjects. And he does, us, his chosen people Israel, NOT just the Jews; this is anyone who

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decides to join themselves to Israel. They are to be considered as the native born Israelites.

Lev 19:33 And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall not vex him.

Lev 19:34 But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

A sojourner is one that came into the camp of Israel and agreed to follow the laws (Torah) of the nation of Israel, which was Yahweh’s Torah; this was their national constitution they used to govern their nation.

Exo12:49 One law shall be to him that is home born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.

So we see here that there was never two sets of laws, one for the native born Israelite and a separate set of laws for the sojourner who joined himself to the God of Israel. There was only one set of rules for both, one Law, God’s Law… period.

Mr. Houdmann comments: The influence of this movement is working its way into our churches and seminaries.

Steve’s reply :

Hallelujah!!!!

It's dangerous in its implication that keeping the Old Covenant law is walking a "higher path" and is the only way to please God and receive His blessings.

Steve Gustine said:

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Well, lets see what God has to say about it, in the book that we are supposed to throw away, because it has been done away with and abolished.

Deu11:13 And it shall come to pass, if ye shall hearken diligently unto my commandments which I command you this day, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, Deu11:14 That I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil.

Deu11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.

Deu11:16 Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them; Deu11:17 Andthen the LORD'S wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, and that the land yield not her fruit; and lest ye perish quickly from off the good land which the LORD giveth you.

It seems pretty straight forward and simple to me what the Lord says. Are you still wondering what we should do, how we are to live, what we are to consider our instructions for living a blessed life here on this earth? After all when all of this is over and Yeshua comes back, He is going to be teaching Torah from Jerusalem. Does it make sense that God would give us His Torah, then take it away when Jesus comes, just to bring it back again in the Millennial reign of Christ?

Does this make any sense to you?

Isa 2:3 Many peoples will go and say, "Come, let's go up to the mountain of Adonai, to the house of the God of Ya`akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths." For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of Adonai from Yerushalayim. CJB

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Mr. Houdmann comments: Nowhere in the Bible do we find Gentile believers being instructed to follow Levitical laws or Jewish customs; in fact, the opposite is taught. Romans 7:6 says, "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." Christ, in keeping perfectly every ordinance of the Mosaic Law, completely fulfilled it. Just as making the final payment on a home fulfills that contract and ends one’s obligation to it, so also Christ has made the final payment and has fulfilled the law, bringing it to an end for us all.

Steve’s reply : First off I will not go into all the details here, but Yeshua cup of redemption that was presented at His last supper was NOT the final payment, but rather the down payment of the New Covenant. If we were to do a thorough reading of Jeremiah 31:31, we will see that the New Covenant has not been completely fulfilled as of yet. As it says at that time, that all men will know God and we know that hasn’t happened yet.

Rom 7:5 For when we were living according to our old nature, the passions connected with sins worked through the Torah in our various parts, with the result that we bore fruit for death.

Rom 7:6 But now we have been released from this aspect of the Torah, because we have died to that which had us in its clutches, so that we are serving in the new way provided by the Spirit and not in the old way of outwardly following the letter of the law.

We have not died to the Torah, but to one aspect of the Torah, which is the law of sin and death. This is what Yeshua

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nailed to the cross, our penalty of our sin. Not the Law of God itself.

Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; KJV Col 2:14 He wiped away the bill of charges against us.

Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the execution-stake. CJB What was nailed to the Tree? The Greek word used here is “cheirographon.”

G5498 χειρόγραφον cheirographon khi-rog'-raf-on Neuter of a compound of G5495 and G1125; something handwritten (“chirograph”), that is, a manuscript (specifically a legal document or bond (figuratively)): - handwriting.

The “Cheirographon” was nailed to the tree. Cheirographon is handwriting against us, the book of our sins and trespasses that the Father will open up on the Day of Judgment when we stand before him. We better hope that we have an advocate with the Father, because only our advocate, or lawyer, Yeshua, will be able to defend us from the wrath that is due us.

For a more detail in-depth analysis of this subject please see our article of “What was nailed to the Cross.”

Mr. Houdmann comments: It is God Himself who has created a world of people with different cultures, languages and traditions. God is glorified when we accept one another in love and come together in unity as "one" in Christ Jesus. It's important to understand

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that there is no superiority in being born Jewish or Gentile.

We who are followers of Christ, comprised of many different cultures and lifestyles, are all of value and greatly loved because we've entered into the family of God. Steve’s reply : Finally I have a statement here that I could not agree more with…you have said it, brother, AMEN! There’s one more thing I’d like to add regarding this topic of, whether or not the Law of God is done away with today for the modern believer.

If we were to put Jesus, His disciples and Paul on a graph, who would be on top of that graph. Whose words carry the most weight? Do we listen to Paul first and then the disciples and then finally Jesus? Or do we put the authority of Jesus’ words as utmost in authority, then the words of the disciples who walked with the Master every day for three years, and then finally Paul’s words? Personally, I think that the words of Yeshua (Jesus) have the utmost in authority in our lives.

So lets see what the Master has to say concerning this issue of the Torah, the Law of God being done away with.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Now let’s take this one step at a time. This is the verse that is used to support the idea that Jesus came to do away with the law because He fulfilled it. So if the word fulfill means to destroy and do away with, then what Jesus is saying is: “I did not come to destroy and do away with the Law, but I came to destroy and do away with the Law.” Now think about it, does that logic make any sense to you? This is what they have been teaching us for over 1700 years, that fulfill means done, completed, over. But let’s take a look at that word fulfill again. That word fulfill is Pleroo, Strong’s number 4137.

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G4137 πληρόω plēroō Picture caption

play-ro'-o

From G4134; to makereplete, that is, (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furWhose words carry the most weight? nish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.: - accomplish, X after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.

We see right here that one of the meanings of that word Pleroo is to complete, end and expire, BUT another meaning is to FULLY PREACH. In Romans 15:19, Paul also uses the word pleroo, but, for some reason, this instance of the word was translated into English as “fully preached.”

Rom 15:19 ThroughG1722 mightyG1411 signsG4592 andG2532 wonders,G5059 byG1722 the powerG1411 of the SpiritG4151 of God;G2316 so thatG5620 fromG575 Jerusalem,G2419 andG2532 round aboutG2945 untoG3360 Illyricum,G2437 IG3165have fully preached [pleroo]G4137theG3588 gospelG2098 of Christ.G5547

So I wonder how we might determine which meaning best fits the use of pleroo in Matthew 5:17? Well, why don’t we read the rest of the verses that follow, in order to extrapolate the correct meaning of the word, instead of pulling that one scripture out of context to make it say what we want it to say? Just a thought.

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Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Ok, so Jesus has just told us until heaven and earth pass away and all be fulfilled, not one minute piece of the Torah, the Law of God will be done away with. Now let me ask you a question, has heaven and earth passed away yet? Has all been fulfilled? I hope you would say no. So the Law of God must still be in effect.

Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teachthem,the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

So this one is pretty simple, which do you want to be? Do you want to be least in the Kingdom? If you do, then go on breaking the commandments of God. Keep on refusing to honor and keep holy His Sabbath day. Keep refusing to put away those pagan festivals of sun god worship (Christmas) and fertility goddess worship (Easter). And don’t even think about celebrating the Feasts of the Lord. Remember, He never called them the “Feast of the Jews,” He called them His feasts.

Lev 23:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerningthe feasts of the LORD, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these aremy feasts.

And as far as His dietary laws go, this is where believers will fight you. Don’t mess with their bellies. This is part of their fleshly desires, this is where the Nefesh resides, this is the soul part of man. The mind, will and emotions, this is what gives us the desire to procreate, to hunt for food, our hunger, without it we wouldn’t survive. It is a good thing, but it must be dealt with and never let it have the upper hand concerning the Spirit of God that dwells within us.

So, if you want to be least in the Kingdom, keep on eating anything you want to eat. It doesn’t matter what God says on

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what is food and what is not food. It doesn’t matter what He tells us is unclean for us and to stay away from it, does it?

Yahweh says that eating the unclean is an abomination unto Him. So, keep on eating ham, bacon, shrimp, oysters, crawfish, lobsters and catfish, because that is what Jesus died on the cross for, so we could eat anything we want to now, right? No, I submit to you Yeshua died on the cross for the remission of our sins.

You say sins? What is sin according to the bible? Well let’s see what God says sin is.

1Jn 3:4 Everyone who keeps sinning is violating Torah — indeed, sin is violation of Torah.CJB Lev 11:7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Isa 66:17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.

Because Yeshua is putting such importance on doing and teaching the commandments, it is obvious to me in Matthew 5:17-19 that pleroo doesn’t mean finished, done away with.

I truly pray and hope that this dialogue is helpful to someone out there, contemplating these issues. I hope and pray that you diligently seek out His Word and study the matter out for yourself and be the good Berean.

Act 17:2 And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, Act 17:11 Now these (the Bereans) were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. NSB

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So, we see right here the Bereans didn’t just take Paul’s word for anything…they searched the scriptures out to find out if the things he was telling them were so, according to the scriptures.

We are going to post an article that is posted from “The Eclectic Blog. This might give a bit of insight as to what the Messianic Jews that believed in Jesus, had to confess to, to convert to Christianity, thus saving their lives. This also might give you a clue as to why the Church as veered away from the “Jewish Roots.” Remember one important thing to keep in mind, Jesus, all His disciples, and were all Jews. All the converts for the first 12 years to the faith were also all Jews, until the first gentile convert Cornelius.

The Constantine Creed “I renounce all customs, rites, legalisms, unleavened breads and sacrifices of lambs of the Hebrews, and all the other feasts of the Hebrews, sacrifices, prayers, aspirations, purifications, sanctifications, and propitiations, and fasts and new moons, and Sabbaths, and superstitions, and hymns and chants, and observances and synagogues. absolutely everything Jewish, every Law, rite and custom and if afterwards I shall wish to deny and return to Jewish superstition, or shall be found eating with Jews, or feasting with them, or secretly conversing and condemning the Christian religion instead of openly confuting them and condemning their vain faith, then let the trembling of Cain and the leprosy of Gehazi cleave to me, as well as the legal punishments to which I acknowledge myself liable. And may I be an anathema in the world to come, and may my soul be set down with Satan and the devils.” (Stefano Assemani, Acta Sanctorium Martyrum Orientalium at Occidentalium, Vol. 1, Rome 1748, page 105) Furthermore, any follower of the “Jewish Messiah” (Yeshua HaMashiach) who wished to join this “holy community” was compelled to adopt a different set of rules and customs. Subsequently special creeds were drafted, to which the Christian would have to swear such as:

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“I accept all customs, rites, legalism, and feasts of the Romans, sacrifices. Prayers, purifications with water, sanctifications by Pontificus Maxmus (high priests of Rome), propitiations, and feasts, and the New Sabbath “So! dei” (day of the Sun, ), all new chants and observances, and all the foods and drinks of the Romans. In other words, I absolutely accept everything Roman, every new law, rite and custom, of Rome, and the New Roman Religion.”

Additionally, in approximately 365 AD, the Council of Laodicea wrote, in one of their canons: Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day. Rather, honoring the Lord’s Day. But if any shall be found to be Judaizers, let them be anathema (against) from Christ”.

Note: Protestants are included as they still observe the holidays and sabbath of Rome, as in “are you going to church this coming Lord’s day”.

Concerning Antiochus Epiphanes… He set up an image of Zeus in the Temple which was the Abomination of Desolation spoken of in Daniel 11. For 3 years, he continued to desecrate the Temple.

These were the new laws that Antiochus set up: Thou shall profane the Sabbath Thou shall change the set times (festivals) and laws Thou shall set up idols Thou shall eat unclean animals Thou shall not circumcise Thou shall forget Torah.

Roman Emperor Constantine © Depositphotos.com/Vladimir Korostyshevskiy

years and 2 months later, the Temple was taken back and rededicated. This is known as the Feast of Dedication, or Festival of Lights, or Hanukkah.

What’s really is ironic…..these laws were created by an antichrist

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Antiochus, and are the same things Constantine would later repeat and this is what people want to live by today. Totally going against God’s Word. People today are living under laws created by Antiochus and Constantine; an antichrist.

Steve’s Reply: Isn’t it time that maybe you should re-evaluate your understanding of your faith in the God of Israel and see if what you have been believing in actually lines up with the Word of God? Is it worth betting eternity on?

If you believe you have any biblical evidence on anything that we stated here or have missed, or made a mistake on please contact us by email at: info@OliveBranchAda.com I pray that this information might entice you to dig into His Word and find a deeper relationship with the Creator and His Son Yeshua, who died for our sins, that we might live in eternity with our King and our God. Shalom, Steve Gustine

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