Restoration Times Magazine September-October 2011

C O N T E N T S

RESTORATION Magazine TIMES

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VOL. 2 | No. 5 | September-October 2011

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A R T I C L E S

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3 | Cultivating Our Lives

by Joel Wirl

10 | Prophetic Days of Worship Part 1

by Randy Folliard

5 | What Must I Do to Be Saved?

by Donald Mansager

7 | Back to the Basics

by Alan Mansager

13 | Come Out of Babylon

by Robert Wirl

20 | The Two Resurrections

by Alan Mansager 24 | A Big Problem with the Rapture Teaching

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Restoration Times expounds the close ties between the Old and New testaments. We teach the continuity and harmony that extend from Yahweh’s actions anciently down through His present activity in Yahshua the Messiah. This was also the conviction of the early New Testament Assembly.

This publication is sent free of charge, made possible through the tithes and offerings of those who desire to see the truth of Scripture restored in our day. © 2011 Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry

25 | Questions and Answers FRONT COVER: Image of travelers leaving Egypt depicting false worship.

27 | Letters

Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry PO Box 463 Holts Summit, MO 65043 Telephone: 573-896-1000 Fax: 573-896-9248 www.yrm.org info@yrm.org

Cultivating Our Lives

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by Joel Wirl

any love to garden.

Gardens are wonderful because the produce is fresher and the flowers smell sweeter. Gardens are not without problems, however, mainly in the form of weeds and the multitude of weather conditions that affect the plants.

Now this is not going to be a lesson on how to garden, but a lesson from gardening. Yahweh’s wisdom is so great that He puts it right in front of and all around us. Many times in the Bible farming and the description of nature were used as a lesson for us. This is another such case where we can learn to cultivate the gardens of our lives.

Get Rid of the Weeds Those who have gardened or farmed know that weeds are a nuisance. They deplete the soil of the nutrients the plant needs. Yahshua illustrated this point in His parable of the sower in Matthew 13:7 when He talked about the seed falling on various types of soil.

The passage reads, “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.” The thorns or weeds represent the things that destroy us— the seed or plant.

What do some weeds look like in our lives? This answer can be generalized as harmful behaviors, but is much more specific towards each individual. Each person has a certain weakness inherent within, which means the weed can be a different thing for each person, but the effects are just as harmful. A weed can come in the form of entertainment, an insulting remark about someone, intentionally flirting with a married man or woman, or many other things

that might seem small at first, but later turn into big problems.

T h e w e e d s i n our lives are not going to go away.

All gardeners know that you can pull up the weeds one week and the next week it looks as if your work was for nothing. Weeds will continue to come since we are still flesh and sinful in nature. Yet, we have the power to control whether we feed the weeds and also have control so that some of the weeds don’t come back. It takes much discipline, though, and we must be constantly vigilant.

It starts by controlling what comes into our minds. What we watch, read, and experience can be either harmful or helpful to our lives. Second, it comes from controlling our actions. We can have complete knowledge of the Bible but if we don’t act our knowledge is worthless. By guarding what goes into our minds and what comes out in our actions, always with a focus on Yahweh, the weeds will become weak and die. As we eliminate the weeds the plant should be fed every day.

The Root of the Problem What if we have some weeds in our lives, how are we to treat them? When you pull a weed, just yanking from the top will often not destroy the whole

weed, especially if the weed has large roots. You have to dig deep and yank out the weed by the roots, otherwise it will grow back again. We can’t play nice with weeds but be totally committed to eradicating them, otherwise they will keep coming back.

Others may see our garden without the weeds as a garden only of produce and beauty, but you know that below the surface is a different story. Isaiah 1:16-17 reads, “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from My sight.

Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” Remove the weeds.

How do we know what is a weed and what is a vegetable plant? A boy was asked by his mother to pull some weeds in their garden. Their garden included cucumber plants. The boy Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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didn’t know what cucumber plants looked like and pulled up cucumber plants with the weeds. The mother, not understanding why her cucumber plants weren’t surviving, planted cucumbers two more times, but he continued making the same mistake. Needless to say there were no cucumbers that year for the family.

Our culture in its depraved state tells us what it thinks is right and wrong. So much bad media fills our minds that it sometimes gets difficult to distinguish truth from fiction. Yahshua is to be our model in life.

Paul in Ephesians 4:14-15 writes, “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Messiah.” If you have trouble, look to Yahshua, look to the Bible and the weed will become more easily seen and differentiated from the plant.

Help the Plant Grow It’s not enough to just pull the weeds of wrong from our lives, but we must fill up our lives with good as well.

An example of this principle is found in Luke 11:24-26, “When the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’

And when it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and takes along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”

What the man failed to do was fill himself with helpful habits and behaviors. We must replace bad behavior with a good, something that will benefit our lives and those in our lives.

Plants need water to grow. Just as the average person can’t live more than a few days without water, spiritually

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we can’t live without nourishment from Yahweh. What kind of spiritual nourishment do we need in our lives?

One very important type of nourishment that we need is a consistent dose of Scripture reading.

Usually we hardly ever miss a meal during the day because we get hungry and weak, but do we take this same approach with our spiritual lives?

In Deuteronomy 8:3, when Moses was addressing Israel, we read, “He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh.”

Everyday we must feed on Scripture by reading and meditating upon it.

Power of Prayer Another great dose of spiritual nourishment comes from prayer. Prayer is such an important aspect of our spiritual development, and Satan knows it. In Daniel 6, when the commissioners and satraps caused an evil law to be created so that they could destroy Daniel in the lions’ den, what did the law prohibit? It prohibited prayer.

If Satan can cause us to stop communicating with Yahweh through Yahshua Messiah, then so many things in our lives become disoriented. If we don’t praise Yahweh and look to Him for our blessings, we become arrogant.

If we don’t thank Yahweh for all that He has given us, then we become envious of others, complacent, and bitter. If we don’t pray for others’ needs, then we become selfish and only interested in ourselves.

Prayer also can transcend reading of Scripture because prayer can be done anywhere or anytime. It keeps us connected to Yahweh, keeps us humble, keeps us thankful, keeps us unselfish, and so many other things.

Even Yahshua, our Savior and King, found time to pray to Yahweh. If Yahshua, a man whose character was flawless and perfect, found it important

to pray, then we too should take time to pray.

Help from Brethren Lastly, we need good, spiritually oriented people in our lives for our spiritual development. Proverbs 27:17 reads, “Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”

We will become dull in righteous living if our only contact is with people who do not strive to live righteously.

Unless our resolve is strong enough, their habits will influence and rub off on us in a negative way.

It is in our human nature to want to belong, to have a connection to people.

We need each other so that when we feel weak others can strengthen us, and when others are weak, we can strengthen them.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 says, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.”

Satan desires us to sin in strife, jealousy, and lies toward each other because it tears us apart, but in righteousness we become stronger together through Yahshua. Even if one is isolated from believers in Yahshua, finding a way to communicate or associate with believers will make a huge difference in a person’s life.

The gardens of our lives require much attention and constant work. If we are not vigilant, the weeds will choke out the good things in our lives, and we will not have enough nutrition to keep the plants thriving and fruitful.

Thankfully, we are not alone in this great endeavor; Yahshua is there to guide us through this process. He is a true friend and companion who loves us all, and He will be with us as our lives become cultivated for good. n

What Must I Do to Be Saved?

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A prevailing attitude among many is that the only requirement of a convert to Yahshua the Messiah is to believe. by Donald Mansager

elieving in the words of the taught these in John 15. We are likened Each will assume a specific part of the Scriptures and believing to branches and Yahshua is likened to covenant and each is to do his part. the admonitions given us a vine. Branches can be removed from Too many modern clerics portray entail much more than is the vine if necessary by the Father Yahweh as a great sovereign who commonly accepted by certain groups who prunes the vine. The good branch without any expectations of man who contend that we are saved by is one that “brings forth fruit.” The rescues him from a burning hell. They grace. branch produces fruit by abiding in the would have us believe that the whole Certainly we are saved by grace. vine (truth). If a branch fails, it withers world had potentially been saved since There is nothing that we could do to and is cast away. the death of Yahshua the Messiah. On merit salvation. Through the gift of Yahweh made His creatures. He the contrary. To believe in the promises Yahweh we are called to salvation. is called the husbandman. He can of the Bible requires effort. One has Yahshua's choosing of those who will rightfully expect fruit from those that to study and prove to oneself that the become a part of His Body, however, are in the vine. Scripture says, “The Bible is true. The promises offered in entails considerably more the Bible carry with them certain They would have us believe that the obligations. than merely believing that He whole world had potentially been saved is the Redeemer of Israel.

The writer of Hebrews since the death of Yahshua the Messiah. Examples of Belief says, “Therefore leaving the The Philippian jailer in Acts 16 principles of the doctrine of Messiah, husbandman waits for the precious asked Paul and Silas what he must do let us go on unto perfection; not laying fruit of the earth and has long patience to be saved. Paul responded, “Believe again the foundation of repentance from for it,” James 5:7. on the Savior Yahshua the Messiah dead works,” Hebrews 6:1. Clearly we and you shall be saved and your are to continue on with more than mere Belief Is Not Enough house,” verse 32. According to just this repentance and reveling in the grace Believing and trusting in Yahshua the statement, belief would not only save that we are given to become a part of Messiah is the first requirement to the Philippian but also his family. If the Body of Messiah. becoming a part of the Body of Messiah. this man had 10 children, all of these Belief is vital. It is the necessary starting and his wife would have been converts Of Fresh and Rotten Fruit point without which no one could be or followers of the Messiah the moment The 15th chapter of John has one main saved. But we cannot stop there. Many the Philippian jailer believed on the theme – growth. Development and have failed to recognize that Yahweh Messiah. This seems logical if we were progress in Yahweh's ways are not the Father EXPECTS something from to select only this passage, isolating it mere desires or requests made by the man for his part in the covenant. from all other Scriptures.

Father. They are absolute necessities.

The salvation of man is not a one- In establishing any doctrine, how A follower of Yahshua must adhere sided affair in either cost or profit. For ever, we are required to incorporate all to certain requirements in order to salvation, a covenant is entered by pertinent Scriptures. The foundation continue as a believer. Yahshua plainly two individuals – Yahweh and man. stone of our belief must rest not upon Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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one verse, one chapter or one book of the Bible. Our doctrines and belief in the Scripture must rest upon all Scripture. The entire Bible is given by inspiration of Yahweh, 2Timothy 3:16.

In the time of Yahshua the Messiah some believed on Him but failed to continue to act on that belief. We read in John 12:42, “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on Him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue.” Here were men who were convinced deep down in inside that this was indeed the promised Messiah. Yet they feared what others would say about their belief and therefore did not confess Him before men.

If all the Philippian jailer had to do was to believe, then because all the chief rulers also believed they were saved as well, no matter what they did.

But is this conclusion biblical? Even the devils believe, James 2:19.

Yahshua answers in Matthew 10:33, “But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.”

These chief rulers denied Yahshua not because they did not believe on Him, but because they placed a greater value upon the praise of men than upon Yahweh. They were embarrassed to have acknowledged before all men that they believed He was the Messiah.

Rather than risk ridicule, they decided it was better not to make public their belief in Him. Salvation Is Doing Yahweh's Will Believing in Yahshua the Messiah and accepting His Word as truth is not the entire prerequisite expected of Yahweh's people. Yahshua said in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone that saith unto Me, 'Rabbi, Rabbi,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say unto Me in that day, 'Rabbi, Rabbi' ... I will profess unto them, 'I never knew you.'”

Mere belief does not make us a

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part of the Body of Messiah. Belief in Yahshua merely opens the door to becoming children of Yahweh.

“As many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of Yahweh, even to them that believe on His Name,” John 1:12. There is a great difference in having power to become something and actually becoming it.

When we believe in Yahweh's Word, we naturally act upon that belief.

When we accept His Word as true, then acting on it shows that we do in fact believe it. Paul said he had not yet come to a point at which he felt secure. Notice his words in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I was apprehended of Messiah Yahshua. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended... I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of Yahweh in Messiah Yahshua.”

Paul admitted that he had not yet attained his high calling, but was making every effort to reach it. Further, in 1Corinthians 9:25- 27, Paul says, “Every man that strives for the mastery is temperate in all things. I therefore so run. . . I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” Paul boldly states that the Messiah's vine and branches – believers – are to bring forth fruit or be cut off.

He wrote to the Romans, “Know you not that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey?” Romans 6:16.

Paul also pleaded with the believers in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of Yahweh, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto Yahweh which is your reasonable service.”

Very clearly in the eighth chapter of Romans Paul warned that we cannot live a worldly life and expect to be totally acceptable to Yahweh. Notice his terse comment, “They that are in the flesh cannot please Yahweh. If you live

after the flesh you shall die,” verses 8 and 13. Paul clearly says that we must live our lives for Yahweh day by day, seven days a week, every week of the year.

John Recognized a Duty John was the disciple “that Yahshua loved,” Scripture says. He had every reason to believe in the grace Yahweh has for His people. But notice the obligations He mentions in 1 John 2:4, “He that says I know Him and keeps not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” In verse 3, John says to know Him is to keep His commandments.

In the first chapter he places the condition for the covering of the blood of Yahshua upon our walk in the light.

Notice, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Yahshua Messiah His Son cleanses us from all sin,” verse 7. Clearly, there is no cleansing by the blood of Yahshua to anyone who fails to walk in the light.

We have an obligation and a duty.

Becoming a disciple of Yahshua the Messiah is a lifetime occupation.

Living for Him is a constant growth and overcoming effort. We are to become closer followers of Yahshua day by day. We are to bear fruit for the Heavenly Father. By our fruits we are known. The fruits become obvious as physical manifestations of Yahweh's Spirit work through us.

We find the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22 as “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.” All of these require effort and demonstrate Yahweh's Spirit taking hold of our lives. We must allow His influence to dominate us to the point that our own wills give way to the Spirit of Yahweh's goodness.

When we have achieved this goal then we can say that our lives are in harmony with Yahshua’s. n

Request our booklet Your Salvation is Not Assured Until the End for an in-depth look at the subject of salvation. To read, visit yrm.org/literature to request see back cover for details

Back

to the Basics

by Alan Mansager

S

uppose you started a new job.

How long would you remain employed at that job if you insisted on coming to work only when it was convenient and fit into your schedule?

And what if you told your employer that you would decide your own responsibilities while at work and how much he will be paying you?

Additionally, if you didn’t feel like working at all for a year or two, you still expected a paycheck.

Ridiculous? Certainly. Since when does a subordinate call the shots?

Everyone knows that the servant does the bidding of the one served. That’s self-evident.

But it is not evident at all to millions of professing Bible believers who make their own rules when it comes to their worship. They decide when and how they will worship; they decide the question of obedience and even decide for themselves what name to call the Supreme Creator of the universe. They

don’t consult the Scriptures, but just do what they want, often following others doing what they want. Does that sit well with Almighty Yahweh?

Not on your life. Worship approved of Yahweh means learning and then doing His will, not our own. We cannot make Him in our image and expect His blessings. That is the definition of idolatry.

Worship is not about what we want.

Our goal is not to please ourselves.

Our desire as True Worshipers is not self-satisfaction but His-satisfaction.

Worship that centers on pleasing the worshiper is pointless and useless.

Millions live out their entire lives never knowing who their Creator is, what His actual Name is, and what He requires of them. They have no idea that Yahweh has a purpose for this earth and has a mind-boggling future awaiting those who sincerely seek Him. He is a Power so infinite that all the trillions of stars in all the billions of galaxies obey His every command

according to physical laws He established. Nehemiah 9:6 reads, “Thou hast made heaven, the earth and all things therein, the seas and all things therein and Thou preservest them all.”

The only segment of His creation that resists obeying their great Creator is mankind.

Discovering Him starts with obedience. “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments,” 1John 2:3. The laws that He thundered from Mt. Sinai for all who would worship Him define who He is. Keeping them defines who we are – either worshipers or rivals, depending on whether we submit to His will or resist Him. Only HIS Days Honor Him The sincere seeker of Yahweh understands the critical importance of aligning his life with Yahweh’s mandates, which includes His commandments, His ordained calendar and His Feasts days. His Feasts are special Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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observances that define His salvation plan. Observing them means being a part of His salvation’s plan here and now.

One particular observance – the Feast of Tabernacles – is a time Yahweh set aside for learning who He is by spending a week apart from the world and interacting with His chosen people. This Feast is a veritable taste of the Kingdom.

You have the opportunity to taste it now, while the vast majority will remain unenlightened until after the thousand years of millennial rule are over and they are brought up in the second resurrection. (See The Two Resurrections, p. 20) If you are convicted to keep the Feasts then you are responding to His call and have a desire to know and serve Him in Truth. Let nothing stand in your way of obedience.

Realize that you will need to overcome the obstacles that the Evil One will throw in your path to keep you from being faithful. Above all, haSatan knows that the Bible’s Feasts are of utmost importance to Yahweh and that they clearly separate the earnest believer from the passive one.

“Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of Yahweh, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are MY FEASTS,” Leviticus 23:2.

Most think that the Bible’s feasts are Jewish, but the Scriptures say they are His feasts! These days are to be taught and observed as unique, solemn, holy gatherings in honor of Yahweh.

Man’s days are invented by man, but the Bible’s Feast days are designed and ordained by the Giver of Life.

Discovering Yahweh All sin stems from ignorance of Yahweh. People sin because they have no fear of Him. If they did they would be fools to defy His direct commands.

Children who obey their parents have a healthy respect for their parents and fear the consequences of rebellion. But

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those who deliberately break Yahweh’s laws don’t know Yahweh and don’t fear the consequences. “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

Romans 6:16.

Most are driven by tradition and blindly do what tradition teaches without looking into the facts. For millennia men thought that the sun revolved around a flat earth. Does it make any sense that we should continue this thinking simply because it’s traditional?

Many grew up with a religious affiliation. For the vast majority of them that fact is all that is required to continue holding on to what they grew up believing. They refuse to

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Did You Know?

he Moabite Stone bears what is generally thought to be the earliest extra-biblical Semitic reference to the name Yahweh. It reads on lines 17 and 18: “I took the vessels of Yahweh, and I dragged them before Kemosh. And the king of Israel had built Yahaz, and he dwelt in it while he was fighting with me...” French scholar André Lemaire has reconstructed a portion of line 31 of the stele as mentioning the “House of David.”

The stone was discovered at the site of ancient Dibon (now Dhiban, Jordan), in August 1868. Local villagers smashed the stone during a dispute over its ownership, but a paper-mache impression had been obtained by Charles Simon Clermont-Ganneau, and most of the fragments were later recovered and pieced together by him.

look into other views. Such rationale keeps hundreds of millions in the dark.

“There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death,” Proverbs16:25.

Deciding on your own which way to go in worship can have serious consequences should you get it wrong.

Yahweh as ruler of our lives decides what is right. How can we be righteous in His sight if we do not do what He directs, and instead follow opposing practices? This includes keeping the seventh-day Sabbath and holy the days that He commands us to observe because He says doing so is His will.

Sin is doing what the Word of Yahweh commands against, such as ignoring His will. Not keeping His Feasts is sin because it transgresses the command of His law, 1John 3:4.

Even the Pagan Understands There is nothing more basic than pleasing the one you worship. Doing what He wants and not what we may want is the definition of True Worship.

Worship means devotion at all times, day in and day out.

The principle of obeying the one you worship is no mystery to the pagan.

The classic trait of a pagan is one who diligently tries to placate his “deity” by doing what he thinks the deity wants.

That might include sacrificing children to Molech, burning fires in December to the sun god Mithras or coloring eggs in April in honor of the fertility goddess Astarte.

Each rite constitutes a key part of the heathen’s worship, and he would never think of not conscientiously carrying out his religion’s pagan rites year after year.

If even a heathen can understand the principle of personal duty and obligation in worship, why does today’s nominal worshiper think that he is exempt from anything clearly mandated in the Word for his own worship?

Yahweh repeatedly tells us to obey Him, which doesn’t mean just think nice thoughts about it. Paul asks in

Romans 9:21, “Has not the potter power over the clay…”?

A correct understanding of the Bible and what is required of us is unattainable unless we know its author.

We cannot worship in truth unless we understand and seek the will of the One who is Truth personified.

The more we understand who Yahweh is, the more we will live and worship correctly according to His will. The less we know about Him, the more likely we will be worshiping in ways He rejects.

If we are not pleasing Him by our lives and worship then we are wasting our time.

Our very example and Guide to salvation, Yahshua the Son, said He came to do His Father’s will, John 4:34. That is what we must do – live as the Son did by obeying every command of His Father as taught in the Old Testament.

He is our model, the pattern for proper worship. “For even hereunto were you called: because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps,” 1Peter 2:21.

Yahshua kept the scriptural Sabbath and observed the clean foods, feast days, and commandments. He never kept Christmas, Easter, Halloween or any other man-made observance. We are to follow His lead, the apostle said.

You can’t grasp a discipline without knowing the basics. The religious establishment today approaches worship backwards. Without providing the fundamentals to proper understanding, clerics introduce the Heavenly Father without instruction as to who He is, what He stands for, or what HE expects of His worshiper. The first of the Ten Commandments establishes the foundation for True worship: “Thou shalt have no other mighty ones before me,” Exodus 20:3.

The wrong question about worship is continually being asked: “What’s in it for me?” The right question is, what is His will for His people, and how can I be a part of it? That is the proper approach to truth and True Worship.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss Ask the average person what he expects at death. “To go to heaven” he may answer. And what will he do there? He has no idea. Not a clue. And most don’t care even to find out what the salvation plan is! All they know is that they will stumble into it somehow. What foolish thinking.

Perhaps at the root of their desire to remain ignorant is a fear that if they find out too much they may have to do something about it. They may need to change their ways and live life to please the One they purport to worship.

Human nature resists making lifealtering reforms. The Adversary wants everyone to continue down the slippery slope of obliviousness to insure that no one will become enlightened and turn to Yahweh.

Millions who say they believe the Bible are completely ignorant of its most basic requirements. They hardly know Yahweh or the Bible at all. No wonder He has no influence on their behavior. Yahweh is not taken seriously when commitment to their faith is lacking. Incredibly, in spite of it all they still believe they are saved!

Judah didn’t take Yahweh seriously most of the time, either. The prophet Jeremiah warned that their rebellion would bring consequences.

“And though they say, Yahweh liveth; surely they swear falsely. O Yahweh, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of Yahweh, nor the judgment of their Elohim,” Jeremiah 5:2-4.

It is time to learn about the true Father in heaven and what He expects of His people. He has a Name, a family, and a plan to build that family to expand to the ends of the universe itself – starting now with called-out and faithful Believers who love Him enough to obey what He tells them. “For this is the love of Yahweh, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous,” 1John 5:3.

He Judges Our Behavior We find in the prayer of Hannah in the writings of the prophet Samuel this warning, “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let [not] arrogancy come out of your mouth: for Yahweh is an Elohim of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed” (1Sam. 2:3).

Continued on p. 17 Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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Prophetic Days of

Worship Part I

by Randy Folliard

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ne of the most striking truths we find in Yahweh’s Word pertains to His days of worship. Not only do these days serve a practical purpose, but they also reveal Yahweh’s plan for mankind; each day represents a significant part in Yahweh’s design for His Creation. Those who disregard these days suffer a two-fold loss.

Choosing not to observe Yahweh’s set-apart days not only relinquishes the natural and spiritual blessings, but also forfeits the prophetic insight that these days offer. It is the intent of this article to show in detail the prophetic truths in the observances found within Yahweh’s inspired Word. (All references are taken from the Restoration Study Bible (RSB) The Apostle Paul states, “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 sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to

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come; but the body [is] of Messiah,” Colossians 2:16-17.

Some have understood Paul to say here that we should not be judged for ignoring or dismissing the Old Testament days of worship. However, a close examination of Paul’s words will show the opposite to be true; Paul is admonishing New Testament believers not to allow the disobedient world to judge or condemn them for their faithful obedience to the days that Yahweh established.

In verse 17 Paul states that these days are a shadow of things to come.

Some modern translations render this as, “were a shadow.” The correct word is “are,” placing the context in the present and future. The phrase, “shadow of things to come,” points to the prophetic nature of these days. As noted, these are not only days of worship, but also days of future importance.

Within the Word we find seven appointments that Yahweh established

for His people: Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day. The first three of these observances have been fulfilled in both Old and New Testaments, with the latter awaiting future fulfillment.

Let’s begin with Passover.

Passover’s Release In Exodus 11:4-6, Yahweh revealed to Moses what would happen on Passover evening. “And Moses said, Thus saith Yahweh, about midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.”

When the death angel went through Egypt on the 14th of Abib at midnight, all the “unprotected” firstborn of Egypt died. Those spared were those who did as Yahweh commanded through Moses; those who placed the saving blood of the lamb on the doorposts of their homes were spared. As the root word for Passover expresses, the death angel “passed” or “skipped over” those homes. As such, Passover for the Israelites will always be remembered as the night that Yahweh released Israel from Egyptian bondage.

In the Old Testament the Passover lamb was a token of salvation. Through its blood Israel was saved or spared from the wrath of the death angel. In the New Testament we find another Passover lamb. Paul, in 1Corinthians 5:7, identifies this lamb as Yahshua the Messiah: “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us.”

Yahshua, through his own death, fulfilled the role of the Old Testament Passover lamb. The Old Testament lamb brought to Israel freedom from the death angel and their later release from the sin of Egypt. Yahshua did the same spiritually. When Yahshua died and shed His blood, He justified, or freed us, from our previous sin; he removed the shackles of death by purging our iniquities. Yahshua’s death was the prophetic fulfillment of the Passover or the shadow that was to come.

Week-long Lessons from Bread The next observance in the Biblical calendar is the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This celebration immediately follows the Passover, beginning on the 15th of Abib: “And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto Yahweh: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto Yahweh seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile

work therein” (Lev. 23:6-8).

Unlike the Passover, which is a oneday memorial, the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a seven-day observance.

Another difference between the Passover and this Feast centers on agriculture, as most of Yahweh’s Feast Days are agriculturally based. This truth must be understood if one is to comprehend the significance of these days.

This Feast commemorated the barley harvest, which was the first grain harvest of the year. During this Feast the priest would wave the omer offering of barley, representing the firstfruits of the harvest, to Yahweh. Leviticus 23:9-11 explains this process: “And Yahweh spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When you be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest: And he shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you: on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.”

There are different views on what is meant by “Sabbath.” Some interpret this as the first high-Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and others as the weekly Sabbath. The word “Sabbath” in verse 11 is shabbath and refers exclusively to the weekly Sabbath (except for Atonement). For this reason, the Sabbath mentioned here most likely refers to the weekly Sabbath.

This places the waving of the sheaf on the first day of the week within the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Once the sheaf was waved, Israel could commence with the barley harvest, again depicting the agricultural importance of this observance.

In the New Testament we find that Yahshua fulfilled this Feast through offering up of Himself as the Firstfruits.

Before we consider this, however, it is expedient to review the timing of his death. Luke 23:50-56 offers a chronology of this event: “And, behold,

there was a man named Joseph, a counsellor; and he was a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) he was of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of Elohim. This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Yahshua. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women also, which came with him from Galilee, followed after, and beheld the sepulchre, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.”

Let’s review the events in chronological order. On Wednesday evening, Joseph took Yahshua’s body and laid it in a new tomb, vv. 5054. The next day, Thursday, was the Sabbath or first high-Sabbath of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, v. 54.

On Friday, the women prepared the spices and ointments and on the next day rested on the weekly Sabbath, vv.

55-56. Luke 24:1 states, “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.” According to the RSB: the word “‘week’ is a mistranslation of the Greek te mia ton sabbaton, and should have been rendered ‘first day of the Sabbaths.’

Leviticus 23:15-17 shows that this ‘first day’ is the first of the Sabbaths in the count of the seven Sabbaths to Pentecost. On this day, therefore, the ‘Savior’ became the firstfruits of ‘Yahweh’s’ resurrection harvest…” (p.

1376). Based on this explanation, the day that the women came back to the tomb was the same day that the priest sacrificed the omer offering.

From John’s evangel, Miriam saw Yahshua on this day: “And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Yahshua standing, and knew Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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not that it was Yahshua. Yahshua saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away” (John 20:14-15).

Why would Miriam suppose that Yahshua was the gardener in this passage? The answer may be that he was waving the firstfruits to Yahweh.

Yahshua became the firstfruits of those who would be resurrected. “But now is Messiah risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept” (1Cor. 15:20).

out of your habitations two wave loaves of two tenth deals: they shall be of fine flour; they shall be baken with leaven; they are the firstfruits unto Yahweh…

And the priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits for a wave offering before Yahweh, with the two lambs: they shall be holy to Yahweh for the priest” (Lev. 23:17, 20).

While there is much debate as to what these two loaves represent, it’s been suggested that they may symbolize Jew and gentile. In addition to the agricultural connection, it is also speculated that at this time Moses received the Law from Sinai. Exodus

While the law defines the morality and truth of Yahweh, the Spirit helps believers to distinguish and rightly apply the Law. Feast of Weeks (Firstfruits) The latest Feast to be fulfilled in both Old and New Testaments is the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost. According to Leviticus 23:15-16, this day was observed fifty days from the wave sheaf offering: “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto Yahweh.”

The Feast of Weeks is exactly seven complete weeks plus one day or fifty days from when the priest waved the omer offering. Since the sheaf was waved on the Sunday during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks is always observed on the first day of the week.

Similar to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, this Feast commemorated the wheat harvest. As wheat was more valued than barley, this was an important harvest for Israel. On this day Israel was told to make two loaves with fine flour or wheat and have the priest wave them before Yahweh, analogous to the omer offering: “Ye shall bring

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19:1 offers indication of this event: “In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they into the wilderness of Sinai.”

Israel was at Sinai in the third month, the same month as the Feast of Weeks. Based on this, it is probable that Moses received the commandments on this Feast. In addition to Scripture, Jewish tradition also holds to the law being delivered on this day.

Furthermore, almost all major events in the Old Testament were connected to a Feast observance. It would seem rather strange or out of place to find no connection with the giving of the Law at Sinai and an Old Testament Feast.

Assuming that the commandments were received on the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, an interesting parallel is found in the New Testament.

In Acts 2:1-4 we find the outpouring of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost: “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto

them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

Yahweh’s Spirit was poured out on the day of Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks. As confirmation of this momentous event, through the Spirit those gathered received the gift of tongues or the ability to speak in other languages. As a matter of fact, it was through this Spirit and gift that led to the saving of the 3,000 souls in verse 41.

It is important to note that the Holy Spirit completes the Law. While the law defines the morality and truth of Yahweh, the Spirit helps believers to distinguish and rightly apply the Law. The two complement one another.

From the evidence it is reasonable to conclude that the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost was fulfilled through the Old and New Testaments by the giving of the Law at Sinai and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Jerusalem. As seen, the two loaves may also depict the grafting in of the gentiles with Israel, see also Romans 11:11-24.

In part 2 in this series, we will explore the remaining fall feasts, which foreshadow events connected with Yahshua’s Second Coming, Yahweh’s Millennial Kingdom, and the Great White Throne Judgment.

Don’t Be Left Out To those who have not committed to Yahweh through the keeping of His Feasts, we invite you to join us for this year’s fall Feasts. For general information on upcoming Feasts, visit http://www.yrm.org/calendar.htm.

For information on the Feast of Tabernacles, you can visit http://yrm. org/registerforfot.htm.

Don’t be left out, it is not too late.

Make plans now to join Yahweh’s Restoration Ministry for these prophetic days of worship! Your life and your Bible understanding will never be the same as you receive Yahweh’s blessings for your obedience. n

Come Out of Babylon

You may think that Babylon is long gone, a victim of ancient corruption. But Babylon has always been with us, and is now stronger than ever. by Bob Wirl

A

t various times in the history of Israel the work of Yahweh’s true ministry reached a point where drastic changes needed to be made.

These changes were necessary for the preservation of truth and righteousness.

Corrupt influences rooted deep in man-made worship stretching back to Babylon crept in and threatened to destroy Yahweh’s true work.

Men such as Noah, EliYah, Jeremiah and even our Savior Yahshua the Messiah were called upon to oppose the corrupt forces at work in the organized ministry and take a stand for what is true and right. As this degeneration has occurred repeatedly in the past, there should be no wonder that it occurs now in these end-times as well. As such, this is an important issue that needs to be addressed and understood by all True Worshipers.

Come Out of Babylon Yahshua the Messiah has warned us to come out of the corruption of this world by coming out of Babylon.

Realize that Babylon encompasses all of corrupt religion. It includes all

religious groups that are not keeping the Truth in accordance with the Sacred Scriptures no matter how great or small their defection is from the Truth.

Consider this fact in light of the prophetic plea that Yahshua makes to his people in the Book of Revelation.

“After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, ‘Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!

She has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.’ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and Yahweh has remembered her iniquities. Pay her back even as she has paid, and give back to her

double according to her deeds; in the cup which she has mixed, mix twice as much for her’” (Rev. 18:1-6).

Yahweh will severely judge Babylon and those associated with it. Babylon the Great represents grossly corrupted religion. But it applies also to groups like the Pharisees of Yahshua’s day. As the caretakers of the sacred Scriptures within the confines of synagogue worship, the Pharisees were part of the corruption of Babylon. Being a close counterfeit of the Truth made them the greatest threat to True Worship.

Yahshua chastised them for following the traditions of men (which were derived from Babylon) rather than keeping the true commandments of Yahweh.

Notice what Yahshua says in Mark 7:5-10. “The Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, ‘Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?’ And He said to them, ‘Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrine the precepts Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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of men. Neglecting the commandment of Yahweh, you hold to the tradition of men.’”

He was also saying to them, You are experts at setting aside the commandment of Yahweh in order to keep your tradition.

We must especially beware of those modern-day Pharisees who pay lip service to the Truth while they teach the doctrines of a man or men while they neglect the commandments of Yahweh.

Any association with them will bring judgment from Yahweh. The time for separation is now!

Breaking from Corruption Those of us who have been involved with Truth-oriented organizations need to thoroughly examine the workings of those groups to see if indeed they are “True Worship.” Just because they keep the Sabbath and feast days, just because they use the Sacred Names, just because they eat clean foods, and just because they even keep the sabbatical year, does not in and of itself mean that these groups are in fact True Worship.

As the saying goes “The proof of the pudding is in the eating,” and the proof of doctrine is in the doing.

“Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Master, Master, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness,’” Matthew 7:22-23.

It is an incredible thought that Yahshua will reject many who practice lawlessness even though they use His Name. There are modern-day Pharisees who outwardly are totally circumspect with keeping the law. Inwardly, they lack the true love of Yahweh. They therefore are guilty of practicing lawlessness. “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all,” James 2:10.

The brethren involved with this ministry have made a break from

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the corruption of former religious affiliations. Some tried their best (without success) to remove what polluted those bodies. It therefore became necessary to follow the precept of Revelation 18:4 and come out of the corruption of Babylon.

This ministry is in fact not something new. It is a continuation of Yahweh’s True Worship. Just as Yahshua separated himself from the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees of his time so we have separated ourselves from their modern equivalents.

End-time Prophetic Fulfillment We have seen the fulfillment of various prophetic passages of Scripture. This has caused us to join as a body of believers for the purpose of preserving Yahweh’s True Worship in these endtimes. It is our intention to warn others of the corruption that they face in their religious affiliations and to offer those who heed that warning a place in which to go.

The Apostle Paul cautioned his disciple Timothy of this subversive corruption today. “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron” (1Tim 4:1-2).

We are living in the latter days spoken of here. It is important to our salvation that we be aware of how this prophecy applies to us as Yahweh’s end-time believers. Yes, the fallen ones are at work as they follow deceitful spirits instead of the Holy Spirit. They teach their own ideas rather than sound Biblical doctrine.

A corrupt leadership makes void the Law of Yahweh with oppressive doctrines of demons. They forbid marriage of some and advocate abstaining from food which Torah legislates as being clean. Consequently, they are guilty of transgressing the covenant by adding to and diminishing

from Yahweh’s Word, Deuteronomy 4:2.

What the Apostle Paul writes here ties in with what we have already learned. These hypocrites teach counterfeit and confusing doctrines that come from the paganism of ancient Babylon. The doctrines of demons are in effect the teachings or policies of any man that take precedence over the Word of Almighty Yahweh. Yahweh will always further His Truth by bringing forth His true people from the spiritual Babylon of the modern-day Pharisees.

In Spirit and Truth During His ministry, Yahshua was continually being confronted by the religious establishment of his day. For the most part that was the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees were of the priestly Aaronic aristocracy.

They controlled Temple worship and were strongly associated with King Herod and his governmental control.

On the other hand, the Pharisees functioned on the local level, as they were the ones who controlled the synagogues. Yahshua’s ministry was totally separate from these groups.

He recognized that it was impossible to reform them because of their corruption. He chose rather to bring forth a continuation of the Truth from the various followers of those groups who chose to join his ministry.

This is key. Yahshua did not start something new. He brought forth purity from that which was corrupt. “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; otherwise the patch pulls away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear results. No one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins” (Mark 2:21-22).

Yahshua is proposing here the continuation of the Truth by putting new wine in fresh skins. The religion of the Pharisees would have represented

one aspect of the old wine skins that cannot hold the new wine. Mainstream Judaism for the most part had the Truth, but they obviously lacked important spiritual aspects.

Yahweh seeks out people who will worship him in a specific way. They must be new wine skins if they are to hold the new wine. They must worship Him in both spirit and truth. “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.

“Yahweh is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24).

We see from this passage two main components of True Worship. They are the Holy Spirit of Yahweh and the

from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from Yahweh; he who knows Yahweh listens to us; he who is not from Yahweh does not listen to us.

By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error” (1John 4:1-6).

The Word of Yahweh shows repeatedly that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. See John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13 and 1John 4:6. Each of these verses refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Truth! True Worshipers will always have the Holy Spirit of Yahweh along with the Truth.

The Fruit of the Spirit Those who have the Holy Spirit of Yahweh are keeping Almighty Yahweh’s commandments, Acts 5:32.

Along with that, they are bearing

Outwardly, what many of these groups teach is very close to the Truth. Inwardly, these organizations are corrupt.

Truth of the Word. There are many truth oriented religious groups. But, having the Truth alone is not enough. The true body of the Messiah must have the Holy Spirit along with that Truth. Bear in mind that it is possible to have the Truth and not have the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle John has warned us that there is the Spirit of Truth and the spirit of error. Once again, we must beware!

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from Yahweh, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of Yahweh: every spirit that confesses that Yahshua Messiah has come in the flesh is from Yahweh; and every spirit that does not confess Yahshua is not from Yahweh; this is the spirit of the antimessiah, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world. You are from Yahweh, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak as

the fruit of the Spirit. Love is at the forefront of the fruit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Messiah Yahshua have impaled the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another” (Gal. 5:22-26).

It is our desire to possess the Spirit of Truth along with the fruit of the Spirit. For this reason we have separated ourselves from former religious affiliations.

Ironically we have seen firsthand how the corruption of the Pharisees is still

at work.

Outwardly, what many of these groups teach is very close to the Truth.

Inwardly, these organizations are corrupt. We would not argue against teaching that the leaders of these groups are the ones who presently sit in Moses seat. We totally agree with Yahshua’s assessment of them, their position, and their corruptness due to hypocrisy.

People in this category are not bearing the fruit of the Spirit.

“Then Yahshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them. They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger. But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments.

They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called Rabbi by men.

But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers.

Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.

Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Messiah.

But the greatest among you shall be your servant.

Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted” (Matt 23:1-12).

Sadly, we have had to face the fact that those like this and the organizations that they control are not reformable.

They lack the humility to admit that Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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Woe to Hypocrisy Salvation is not to be found with these people. They obviously lack the Holy Spirit in their lives. Yahshua strongly denounces them for their hypocritical leadership.

“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

“Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, that is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple is obligated.’ You fools and blind men! Which is more important, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? And, Whoever swears by the altar, that is nothing, but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ You blind men, which is more important, the offering, or the altar that sanctifies the offering?

Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and by everything on it. And whoever swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him who dwells within it. And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of Yahweh and by Him who sits upon it.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the

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weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.

You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.

So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and impale, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation” (Matt 23:13-36).

Considering what Yahshua brings out against the Pharisees, it is no wonder that He choose not to reform them. Instead, he rose up a continuation

of the Truth from the perverseness the Pharisees had created. By having the fruit of the Spirit and most importantly by having true love, Yahshua and his disciples were in opposition to the Pharisees and all that they stood for. He showed the distinction by His life.

Yahshua’s life was a living testimony to what the Apostle Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 13.

He teaches that regardless of the greatness of a person, if he doesn’t have love, he doesn’t have anything. Love is the great barrier between Truth and error. Obviously ancient and modern Pharisees still lack the important fruit of love. n

they are making mistakes and to correct those mistakes. Outwardly, as they pay lip service to the Truth, they appear to be perfect. Inwardly they are something quite different, hypocrites who refuse correction.

Amazing

Bible Facts

T

here have been more than 25,000 archaeological discoveries relating to places, people, and events mentioned in the Bible. Amazingly, not one of them has contradicted the Bible’s historic accuracy.

Sir William Ramsay, was a British archaeologist who questioned the historical accuracy of the Bible. In his quest to point out inconsistencies of scripture through archaeology, he actually discovered archaeological evidence to support the Bible’s truths. He said: “Luke is a historian of the first rank; not merely are his statements of fact trustworthy...[he] should be placed along with the very greatest of historians.”

Back to the Basics - continued from p. 9

Two key phrases are crucial to our relationship with our Heavenly Father.

He is “an Elohim of knowledge” and “by Him actions are weighed.” Whose actions? Ours! Here Samuel applies Yahweh’s wisdom, His understanding, His knowledge to OUR actions.

Yahweh says through Hosea in 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” He adds, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, that you shall be no priest to me.”

To know whether we are pleasing Him we need to look at our behavior. Are we eager to please Him through obedience or do we seek loopholes to get out of our obligations?

A reverential respect of Yahweh will lead us to greater knowledge. He promises it.

“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom,” the Psalmist wrote, “A good understanding have all they that do his commandments” (Ps. 111:10). The reverse is also true.

A person who will not obey and do His commandments will have poor understanding.

This life is training for the Kingdom, according to Revelation 1:6. A Biblical priest is well educated in the office he holds. His life is a proving ground.

He knows Yahweh and knows what Yahweh requires.

Pointless Pursuits of Pleasure We were not put on this planet to seek entertainment. The believer is a temporary resident of this world and has higher goals than to waste life in constant pursuit of pleasure. Yahweh has an incredible purpose for His chosen. And because of that, the Word tells those being called now, “I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation,” 2Corinthians 6:2. Now is the time to work out your salvation in preparation for an eternal future serving Yahweh.

Revelation 2:26 says, “And he that overcomes and keeps my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” Rulership in the Kingdom is promised to those who obey the Scriptures today! The promise is the same now as it was when John received it on Patmos. Yahweh has not changed His mind.

In fact, in Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, Yahweh says, “I am Yahweh, I change not; therefore you sons of Jacob [Israel] are not consumed.”

There is one body, not many, according to Ephesians 4:4. One Master, one faith, one baptism.

We can learn a great deal about our Heavenly Father by just studying His commandments. What He instructs us to follow reveals His own values, standards, and principles. It is the same as discovering the values of a parent by

take anything or anyone’s word for granted.

We are responsible for our own understanding or lack thereof.

Ignorance can only lead to trouble.

Why? Because then we don’t realize the importance of applying what the Word says to our personal lives, behavior and actions for which we will one day be accountable.

From the New Testament, Paul writes, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good,” 1Thessalonians 5:21.

Why? Because what you know you act on, and if what you know is wrong, your worship will be wrong. Your faith will be in vain.

He Responds Accordingly Many wonder why they are having so many personal problems and trials in their lives and why they are not being blessed. Others pray for health and

A reverential respect of Yahweh will lead us to greater knowledge. He promises it. what that parent expects of his or her children. If a child is taught not to steal, then we safely assume that his parents oppose stealing.

A Command to Study But this presents a rather difficult problem for some. Many say or think that they do not know the Bible well enough to understand what is truth and what is not. They are unwilling to take the time to study it out for themselves.

Despite their reluctance, the command remains. You can find Yahweh’s inspired words, for example, in 2Timothy 2:15: “Study to show yourself approved unto Elohim, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In order to have the approval of our Creator, then, we are to study His Word.

And rightly apply what is there to our lives. Bible study is not just an option, it is a command. We must prove all doctrine from Scripture itself and not

financial help to no avail.

Both could be because they refuse to obey Him and put Him first in their lives. John writes, “Now we know that Yahweh hears not sinners: but if any man be a worshiper of Yahweh, and does His will, him He hears.”

Sin is disobedience to His laws and commands, 1John 3:4.

Are you willing to obey your Father in Heaven? Do you do His will? If you do, then He will answer your prayers.

He will be your Guide, your help, and your happiness. He will bless you in this life and in the Kingdom to come.

But you have to take that first step to answer His call.

The prophet Malachi wrote over 2,000 years ago: “Even from the days of your fathers you have gone away from Mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, says Yahweh of hosts.”

You must take the first step.

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knows us better than those who live with us: our spouse and children. They spend time with us, day after day. They do what we do, go where we go. See what we see and see how we respond in all sorts of circumstances. That is how we come to “know” someone.

The Scriptures say that these things are necessary: “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that says, ‘I know Him,’ and keeps not His commandments, is a liar, and the

truth is not in him. But whoso keeps His word, in him verily is the love of Elohim perfected: hereby we know that we are in Him…Brethren I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning,” 1John 2:3-5, 7.

Basic to knowing Yahweh is realizing His identity: “Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that does speak: behold it is I,” Isaiah 52:6. The prophet Joel (Heb. “YahEl”) said that whoever calls on the Name of Yahweh will be delivered, 2:32.

Knowing Him means calling on His personal Name in worship, not just to say, “Oh, I heard the Name taught once and I know it.” That is not the kind of

knowing the Bible talks about.

Faith + Obedience A fact of life is that each of us has a name. Surely the very One who created us and taught us what names are – telling Adam to name all the animals on earth – would Himself have a personal name that identifies Him! Knowing Yahweh and His Son means obeying them. It is no different from a son who obeys his father because he knows and honors his father and clearly understands what his father expects of him. Yahweh’s own Son tells us, “Not every one that says unto Me, ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that does the will of My Father which is in heaven,” Matthew 7:21.

In Revelation 14:12 the saints are defined as those who “keep the commandments of Yahweh, and have the faith of Yahshua.” Paul writes in 1Corinthians 6:2 that the saints will judge the world in the coming Kingdom. Therefore it is the saints, the obedient ones, who will be in the Kingdom, not the disobedient.

In fact, Paul says clearly in 1Corinthians 6:9 that the unrighteous – meaning sinners – will not inherit the Kingdom. Those who practice sin will be shut out of the Kingdom if they don’t stop it and repent.

Isn’t it time you came to know the One you worship by calling on His revealed Name and following His commands to His people as His own Son did? These are the actions that lead to salvation and the great things in store for those who love Him. n

Knowing Means Complying A True Worshiper has a childlike innocence, willing to do whatever he or she is expected to do. Yahshua said that the Kingdom of Heaven will be given to those with a similar attitude of unquestioning obedience, much the same attitude as innocent children have (Matt. 19:14).

We please the One we worship by doing what He tells us in His Instruction Book. This is not some half-hearted profession about accepting the Messiah as your personal Savior and then forgetting about it, thinking you are now saved.

He will not accept anything less than a real, honest commitment in our everyday lives to walk in the footsteps o f Yahs hua the Messiah. To obey all that He said to obey.

Day in and day out until it becomes second nature.

Yahshua chided Satan, “It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Elohim,” Matthew 4:4. “Every word” includes both Old Testament and New. The Apostle Paul said that even our very thoughts should conform to the obedience of Messiah Yahshua, 2Corinthians 10:5.

To know Yahweh is to know True Worship. We often hear people ask, “Do you know the ‘L-rd’?” Rarely do they explain what they mean by that.

Know Him how? By His revealed, true Name? By what He taught and expects from us? By becoming like Him in every respect? By obedience to the Son as He Himself obeyed His Father?

In fact, doing these things will certainly help us “know” Him. No one

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The

Two Resurrections

by Alan Mansager

T

oday is the only day of salvation,” the evangelist trumpets. “Answer the saving call NOW or forever be lost in the cold darkness of hell’s pit. I implore you, believe and be saved today, before it’s too late.”

Faces of deceased loved ones who never came to the truth of the Word race through the mind, the pain almost unbearable thinking that they are forever lost.

Or are they? Is it rational to believe that billions will be destroyed for eternity because they never had the opportunity to grasp the essentials of Yahweh’s Truth? Is Yahweh fervently trying to bring everyone to saving knowledge now?

As with other widely embraced myths, the notion that today is the only day of salvation has zero basis in Scripture. An essential key to proper understanding of salvation is in the Bible’s teaching about the resurrection.

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Not One But Two The fact that there are two resurrections distinctly taught in the Word provides resolutions to otherwise problematic issues such as: • How all must appear before the judgment seat, as the Apostle Paul revealed. (But what if most are ignorant of the Scriptures? Is it fair to judge one’s ignorance?)

• Why Yahweh is merciful and patient with the unenlightened and the unknowing, desiring that all be saved and come to the Truth, 1Timothy 2:4.

• Why not everyone is being called now (“For many [not all] are called, but few chosen,” Matt. 22:14).

• Why the Scriptures speak of firstfruits who rise first (presupposing secondfruits who will follow later).

• Why a rapture doesn’t fit the salvation blueprint, let alone prophetic events, and is nonexistent in the Word.

These issues and many others are solved by understanding that there is

more than one resurrection.

A basic understanding of Yahweh’s Word is the antidote to a plethora of questions and popular fallacies. Many misunderstand key doctrines because of gaps in their knowledge. To solve that problem the entire biblical teaching on a subject must be pursued from start to finish.

Most are unwilling or unable to embark on such a task, however, and just accept popular or traditional teachings that invariably conflict with the Scriptures. Let’s take a look at the subject of the resurrection from the beginning.

‘Resurrection’ in Old Testament Many who have never taken a close look think that the concept of a bodily resurrection was unknown in the Old Testament. The resurrection was nothing new to the religious elite of the early New Testament, who obviously learned it from the Old.

As with most fundamental, Biblical truths the resurrection has its basis in the foundational books of the Old Testament.

Following are Old Testament passages clearly teaching a resurrection: • Isaiah 26:19 - “Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, you that dwell in dust: for your dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.”

• Ezekiel 37:13 - “And you shall know that I [am] Yahweh, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves.”

• Daniel 12:2-3 - “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

• Hosea 13:14 - “I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be your plagues; O grave, I will be your destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.”

NT Teaches the Resurrection In Yahshua’s day denial of the resurrection was a flaw in the doctrine of the priestly class, the Sadducees (Matt. 22:23).

In contrast to the Sadducees, the Pharisees believed in a resurrection of all faithful Jews, which became a doctrine of the rabbinic period (70-500 CE).

By the Roman period, however, many Jews believed in a future restoration. This was not immortality of the soul in heaven. Resurrection to them meant resuscitation of the body itself on earth. Yahshua and His disciples taught a kingdom rulership on earth by the saints changed to spirit beings.

In one of the clearest descriptions in the New Testament of the resurrection,

Paul explains when and how those found worthy will receive their reward.

“For if we believe that Yahshua died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Yahshua will Elohim bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of Yahweh, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Master shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Master himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of Elohim: and the dead in Messiah shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Master in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Master,” 1Thessalonians 4:14-17.

This is the Second Coming of our Savior when He will gather His elect, those “in Messiah,” from the four corners of the earth, Matthew 24:31.

This event is not a rapture (see p. 24).

This is the first resurrection of both living and dead. There would be no point of rapturing the dead.

What happens to those not “in Messiah” and not raised to meet Yahshua at His return in this first resurrection? Many worry about family and friends who never knew or followed truth. Are they and billions like them on a collision course with hell-fire?

Yahweh is not a callous tyrant.

He didn’t put us on this planet just to watch us self-destruct. He created us for a purpose – to join Him one day in His Kingdom family and serve Him for eternity in responsible positions in a government that will defy description and that will encompass the universe.

As an earthly father loves his children, Yahweh desires every individual on earth to serve Him both now and in the Kingdom under Yahshua the Messiah. He wants everyone to become like Him in mind and heart by obedience to His standard of righteousness, which is His laws.

Peter wrote, “Yahweh is not slack concerning his promise, as some men

count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” 2Peter 3:9.

Sadly, not everyone who comes to the Truth will prove worthy in living a set-apart life. Once we grasp His truths the ball is in our court with a clear mandate to live by them – or else. Fully grasping the Truth is one thing but ignorance of it is quite another.

A Second Resurrection Yahweh is merciful, especially to the ignorant. This fact forms the framework for another resurrection that comes a thousand years after the first one at Yahshua’s return. Because most people are not being called today, most have no concept of what is happening now with Yahweh’s plan of salvation.

Yahweh will offer them a chance after the millennial Kingdom is over to choose Him over death.

The Father in heaven is no compromiser. He has repeatedly made His mandates known. He has promised blessings for living by them and curses for not doing so. It’s entirely His prerogative, and it’s our job to get on board. Our salvation depends on it.

Since the days of Eden Yahweh has been telling His human creation to walk in His ways, not in our own.

That’s not complicated. If you follow Him you will be blessed eternally. But if you rebel and turn away from Him and live life your own way, you will be in utmost danger. That’s the thrust of salvation in the Scriptures.

Endless doctrinal disputes arise when someone tries to circumvent Yahweh’s commands. In doing so they reject His preeminence and authority.

Man instinctively hates having to obey anything. In fact, widespread DISobedience is the order of our day.

His ways are not hard to understand: Yahweh sees obedience as good, disobedience as rebellion. He rewards obedience, He punishes disobedience.

It’s the same for any parent bringing up a child.

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Experience proves that widespread disobedience results in societal breakdown. Yet common anti-law teachings advocate that His laws be ignored as obsolete.

Let’s look at the resurrection in light of fundamental, biblical fact.

Rewards in First Resurrection The apostle tells us in 2Corinthians 5:10: “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Messiah; that every one may receive the things [done] in [his] body, according to that he has done, whether [it be] good or bad.”

Many have read this verse believing that everyone will go through a great final judgment and be sentenced. But notice 1Corinthians 15:23: “Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of Yahweh and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years. But every man in his own order: Messiah the firstfruits; afterward they that are Messiah’s at his

obey not the evangel of Elohim?” The faithful are undergoing judgment right now. Their good behavior is a witness for them and bad behavior a witness against them, 1Peter 4:17.

The ignorant and unenlightened are not under judgment yet because they are not being called now. They are busy living for themselves. That is why the True Worshiper must never let the ignorant society set his or her standards.

The secular world is not “in the game” and therefore their example or advice about obedience is not creditworthy.

Traditional notions lead to the belief that judgment is a mere sentencing where the gavel drops and a trap door opens to hellfire – or a ladder to heaven appears for those wearing halos.

Judgment is a process, just as it is in any trial proceeding. As the proceedings go on, the judge or jury draw conclusions as to the guilt or innocence of the accused. Those who will be the chosen are being judged in their lives now.

Yahshua Himself promised an eventual resurrection of all the dead, revealing more than one resurrection. coming” How can He gather His chosen before they are formally judged?

He reveals that if you are in the first resurrection that the second death has no power over you. Therefore you are already judged if you are in the first resurrection.

Truth seekers are appearing before the judgment seat right now. They are being evaluated by how they live today. This has major implications for obedience. This is the key to conforming to Yahweh’s commands and not just relying on His grace and living life any way you choose.

Peter Confirms a Judgment Now The Apostle Peter wrote, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of Elohim: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that

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Judged By What We Do By what criteria are we judged?

Yahshua the righteous Judge says, “I will give unto every one of you according to your works,” Revelation 2:23. Works means how we conformed to His will. His will is expressed by His laws and commands relating to those laws.

If we are saved by grace and faith alone, with no requirement on our part, then there is no need for a judgment.

There is no point or purpose in examining behavior if it’s a foregone conclusion that we are saved regardless.

All we need is a simple confession and we are home free. James contradicts that.

“But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continues [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but

a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed,” James 1:25. He says further in 2:12: “So speak, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.”

An assessment of our lives determines our worthiness for the Kingdom and our rewards in it. And that is a key reason obedience to Yahweh’s laws is mandated, not optional.

Judgment would be impossible without a way to gauge behavior.

Without posted speed limits it would be ludicrous for a police officer to stop anyone for speeding.

The first resurrection involves those who remained faithful to Him now, in this life. It includes both the chosen living and the chosen dead. They are considered “in Messiah.” They are the faithful saints who will have persevered and stood fast until the end.

To be in this first resurrection all must already have been judged righteous and worthy. “As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear,” Matthew 13:41-43.

Combine this passage with Revelation 20:6 (a parallel to 1Cor. 15:23): “Blessed and holy [is] he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Yahshua Himself promised an eventual resurrection of all the dead, revealing more than one resurrection.

He described the first resurrection as one “to life,” meaning those who would be raised or changed from flesh to spirit essence. Those in the first resurrection will be immortal.

salvation. Paul recognized that this first resurrection is highly prized and not easy to come by. “If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead,” Philippians 3:11. The great evangelizing apostle was uncertain even of his own salvation.

Those worthy to be resurrected at the return of Yahshua are firstfruits.

Theirs is a resurrection built on better promises and greater rewards, Matthew 16:27. It is a resurrection to spirit essence to be forever with Yahshua.

Second Resurrection Later Another resurrection takes place a thousand years later. Those in this resurrection will be brought back as flesh and blood to live on a physical earth.

The prophet Daniel speaks of it in 12:2: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

The second resurrection precedes what is called the great white throne judgment that follows. John sums up the two resurrections in the Book of Revelation.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them

that were beheaded for the witness of Yahshua, and for the word of Yahweh, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.

This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (20:46).

Those judged unworthy in the second resurrection will be destroyed in the lake of fire, where their existence ends forever in what is called the second death. Those deemed worthy of life from this second resurrection will be given lesser rewards than those worthy of the first resurrection.

It will be a great day when Yahshua returns and sets up His kingdom. He will put down all rule and authority. The saints will be tested and tried for a better resurrection, Hebrews 11:35.

Make the days of your life count by doing what the Word commands. n

John 5:28-29: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto damnation.” He spoke of judgment that will come a thousand years later in a second resurrection.

Paul, in his defense before Felix, stated there would be a resurrection of two groups. “And have hope toward Yahweh, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” Acts 24:15.

Notice here that the just are resurrected before the unjust. The just are those believers who keep striving to obey the commandments, statutes and judgments. That’s what makes them “just.”

The Greek for just is dikaios and means: “righteous, observing divine laws; in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of Elohim.”

Yahshua promised that in the first resurrection, those who were obedient would then be blessed. “And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just,” Luke 14:14.

Paul was hopeful of being in that first resurrection. Writing to the Philippians he referred to a resurrection from the corpses. In other words he hoped to be raised from the dead (known as the “out” resurrection).

Too many treat the gift of everlasting life flippantly as if by reciting a few words they have guaranteed

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“ruin, lifeless body, corpse.” The word for “eagles” refers more accurately to vultures. Eagles are not carrion eaters as are vultures.

Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament says about the word eagles in this passage, “Eagles. Rev. puts men slept, his enemy came and sowed vultures in margin. The griffon vulture tares among the wheat, and went his is meant, which surpasses the eagle in way. But when the blade was sprung up, size and power.” Millions will die when and brought forth fruit, then appeared the angel comes to separate and destroy the tares also. So the servants of the the wicked first. householder came and said unto him, The New English Bible translates Sir, did not you sow good seed in your Matthew 24:28: “Wherever the corpse field? from whence then has it tares? is, there the vultures will gather.”

He said unto them, An enemy has done Goodspeed reads, “Wherever there is this. The servants said unto him, Will a dead body, the vultures will flock.” you then that we go and gather them The New International Version reads, up? But he said, Nay; lest while you “Wherever there is a carcass, there the gather up the tares, you root up also vultures will gather.” the wheat with them. Let both grow Does this sound like a glorious place together until the harvest: and in the of safety to which the saints will be time of harvest I will say to the reapers, taken in a rapture? On the contrary, Gather together first the tares, and Yahshua told His disciples that those bind them in bundles to burn them: but taken first, meaning the wicked, will be gather the wheat into my barn” (Matt. taken and destroyed just as they were 13:24-30). The wicked will be taken in the flood. The righteous Noah and first and burned. family remained.

A parallel account of the Second With the wicked gone and the chosen Coming is in Luke 17:35-37, where remaining, the earth can be remade Yahshua said, “Two women shall be into the paradise it was meant to be in grinding together; the one shall be Yahshua’s millennial kingdom. taken, and the other left. Two men shall Just as Noah was protected on earth be in the field; the one shall be taken, during the catastrophic flood, and Israel and the other left. And they answered, was protected in Egypt during the Where, Master? And he said unto them, passing over of the death angel, Yahweh Wheresoever the body is, thither will promises the same kind of earthly the eagles be gathered together.” protection for His people during the What did He mean by “body” and tribulation preceding Yahshua’s coming: “eagles”? This verse is a mistranslation “And to the woman were given two in the KJV which, when cleared up, wings of a great eagle, that she might makes understanding crystal clear. Let’s fly into the wilderness, into her place, go back to Matthew 24 for clarification where she is nourished for a time, and of the same account in Luke 17:35-37. times, and half a time, from the face In verses 27-28 of Matthew 24 we of the serpent. And the serpent cast find: “For as the lightning comes out of out of his mouth water as a flood after the east, and shines even unto the west; the woman, that he might cause her to so shall also the coming of the Son of be carried away of the flood. And the man be. For wheresoever the carcase earth helped the woman, and the earth is, there will the eagles be gathered opened her mouth, and swallowed up together.” the flood which the dragon cast out of Here the translators used the more his mouth” (Rev. 12:-16). correct “carcase” in translating the What was done in the past is a word ptoma, which in Greek means pattern for the future.

A Big Problem With the Rapture Teaching

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n

W

hen Yahshua returns the final trumpet will sound and He will gather His elect. “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other,” Matthew 24:30-33.

Was Yahshua speaking of a rapture of the elect from the earth? Note that first the “tribes” of the earth will mourn at the sight of His coming. Why? He said earth’s final events will be just like those in Noah’s day. “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be,” Matthew 24:37-39. Were righteous Noah and his family raptured from the planet to be saved from the devastating floodwaters? No. Yahweh had guided Noah to prepare a place of earthly protection — a giant ark of safety floating on destructive flood waters.

Note what happened to the wicked.

We read that Yahweh “took them all away.” They were taken and destroyed in the waters and only Noah and his family remained.

Yahshua said it will be the same way at the end of the age: “Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.” In the same manner at Yahshua’s coming the wicked will be removed first and the righteous will remain.

Another account is Matthew 13:2430 where Yahshua said, “The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while

in Scripture Will we see Yahweh in eternity? – CL, email The resurrected saints will definitely see Yahweh as they serve Him in His Kingdom. Note the following: In Psalm 17:15 David wrote, “As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.” In Matthew 5:8 Yahshua said, “Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see Elohim.” Revelation 22:3-4 tells us: “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of Yahweh and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name [shall be] in their foreheads.”

How Do I Observe the Feasts?

I have just recently become aware of the Feasts and Sabbath that I, as a follower of Yahshua, should be observing. I’m not sure how to go about this. Do I just go by what is written in the Old Testament and omit the sacrifices? If I don’t have a shofar, how do I keep the Feast of Trumpets?

There is no group where I live that follows the Sabbath/ Feasts of Yahweh.

Can you give me any advice on how to do the Feasts? –TF, email

It’s uplifting to read about your newfound interest in the Sabbath and Feasts and desire to keep them.

One of the best ways to understand proper observance of these days if you can’t be with us in person is to watch them being observed live on our Webcasts. In the case of the Feast of Tabernacles, we encourage you to join us, as we are commanded to leave our homes and stay in booths or temporary dwellings (Lev. 23:42).

Here are links to our live Webcast and Feast of Tabernacles information; http://yrm.org/yrmchannel.htm http://www.yrm.org/registerforfot.htm Should I Keep All 613 Laws?

A friend told me that if I keep the Sabbath then I must also keep all 613 laws of the Old Testament. Is this true?

I didn’t know there were that many.

– KS, CA The Talmud lists the number of laws at 613, although that total is disputed. The laws of the Old Testament were the constitution of Israel as a theocracy or nation under a religious government headed by Yahweh. We today are under a nonreligious Roman system and therefore many of the Old Testament governmental laws are impossible to keep today. Many laws are also to regulate a worship system centered in

the Temple, which doesn’t exist today and therefore we are unable to perform them. But the majority of those “613” laws are moral/spiritual in nature and are incumbent on us, such as: not to bear a grudge (Lev. 19:18); not to wrong any one in speech (Lev. 25:17); not to curse a father or mother (Ex. 21:17); and to carry out whatever one has said one would do (Deut. 23:23). And of course there are the Ten Commandments.

These kinds of ordinances apply to everyone’s personal behavior and are meant to mold us into the image of Yahshua the Messiah (Deut. 28:9).

Many laws were given to Israel for their particular place and time and which have been usurped by the governments in power today. These include: to appoint judges and officers in every community of Israel (Deut.

16:18); not to execute one guilty of a capital offense before he has stood his trial (Num. 35:12); not to sell a field in the land of Israel in perpetuity (Lev. 25:23); never to settle in the land of Egypt (Deut. 17:16); not to allow a witch to live, Exodus 22:18.

These kinds of laws are governmental or judicial and are out of the personal jurisdiction of today’s believer.

Then there are laws specific to men and women that are not intended for the other sex.

We find laws regarding the priesthood and temple worship, which are impossible to observe today or that were changed with Yahshua’s sacrifice and role as our High Priest. Such laws include: not to tear the High Priest’s Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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robe (Ex. 28:32); a person with a physical blemish shall not serve in the Sanctuary (Lev. 21:23); to carry out the ordinance of the red heifer so that its ashes will always be available (Num. 19:9); and all the laws regulating animal sacrifice.

Certain laws are for health and cleanliness, such as: the leper shall shave all his hair (Lev. 14:9); a woman’s running issue of blood defiles (Lev. 15:25-27); to have a place outside the camp for sanitary purposes (Deut.

23:13).

Other laws are for safety and are specific to a historical time, like to make a parapet (perimeter fence) on your roof because a person’s roof was a living space in Israel (Deut. 22:8); A general guideline is, if the laws deal with our worship as defined in the New Testament, and if they are moral/ spiritual laws of behavior and decency, they must be observed just as Yahshua and His followers observed them in the New Covenant.

What About the Vernal Equinox in the Calendar?

I have been following the barley Biblical calendar for years. A friend told me that beginning the year with the vernal equinox was the correct biblical calendar. Could you please tell me if you agree/disagree with this? – J M, email You will not find “vernal equinox” or even spring equinox in the Scriptures.

The argument has been attempted that the vernal equinox corresponds to the Hebrew word tequphah, which is found several times in the Bible. The definition of tequphah (Strong’s Concordance No. 8622) is: “A revolution, i.e. of the sun course (of time) lapse: circuit, come about, end.” From the definition, we find it next to impossible to attach any firm connection of tequphah to a spring equinox. The meaning of tequphah

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Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

points to the end of the year, not the beginning.

The following passages contain the verses where the Hebrew word tequphah is found, as well as its meaning in the context of each: • Exodus 34:22 (Feast of ingathering at the “year’s end”) • 2Chron. 24:23 (Syria attacked Judah at the “end of the year”) • 2Chronicles. 24:23; 36:10 (“end of the year/year was expired”) Brown, Driver, Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon defines the tequphah (Strong’s No. 8622) as: “coming round, circuit;–Ex. 34:22, adv., at the circuit (completion) of the year, so 2Chron.

24:23= pl. cstr. 1Sam. 1:20; sig. Sf. Of finished circuit of sun.” p. 880 Brown, Driver, Briggs says about the root of tequphah, No. 5362 naqaph: 1. An intransitive verb meaning to surround something… (Isa. 29:1, let feasts go around, i.e. run the round (of the year). 2. make the round, i.e. complete the circuit. Job 1:5 when the days of feasting had completed their circuit.

The closest we have in the Hebrew to spring as a season is 6779, tsamach, a primitive root meaning to sprout, bear, bring forth, bud, grow, cause to spring (forth, up). Yahweh again reveals that the time for His Feasts is attached to the growing of crops, the barley, not to the scientific vernal equinox.

When the Roman church deliberately acted to separate Easter from Passover, it ruled in 325 CE in the Council of Nicaea that Easter would fall on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This establishment of an observance was entirely man-made, and appropriately applied to the manmade holiday of Easter. The Roman church on its own volition, therefore, bestowed a legitimacy on the vernal equinox as a calendar marker where it had none before –at least not in any kind of Biblical context.

That does not mean, however, that the vernal equinox had no significance

among ancient pagans and their calendars. Note the following: • “Easter, too, celebrates the victory of a god of light (J-sus) over darkness (death), so it makes sense to place it at this season. Ironically, the name ‘Easter’ was taken from the name of a Teutonic lunar Goddess, Eostre (from whence we also get the name of the female hormone, estrogen). Her chief symbols were the bunny (both for fertility and because her worshipers saw a hare in the full moon) and the egg (symbolic of the cosmic egg of creation), images which Christians have been hard pressed to explain. Her

holiday, the Eostara, was held on the Vernal Equinox Full Moon. Needless to say, the old and accepted folk name for the Vernal Equinox is ‘Lady Day.’ Christians sometimes insist that the title is in honor of Mary and her Annunciation, but Pagans will smile knowingly.” – Lady Day: The Vernal Equinox, by Mike Nichols.

• “The most important festival in Babylonia was the New Year, which occurred at the Spring equinox.

This was the akitu, a twelve-day ceremony in which the King, as the son and representative of the divinity, regenerated and synchronized the rhythms of nature.” – Tales of the Vernal Equinox, by Robin DuMolinc.

Yahweh’s calendar is agricultural, and begins with green barley ears.

Feedback His Name Is Very Important – to Him “I just recently read your booklet, But I Speak English. It is a very informative piece and very good writing style.

I agree with you on this matter. And to me it is very important to know, to call upon, to remember, to exalt, His Name.” –AS, NC It is also critically important to Yahweh Himself, and that is what truly matters.

–ED On the Edge of Their Seats “My husband witnessed to a fellow at work last week. The co-worker was so excited that he immediately went out and ordered (literature). This morning he stopped into Bruce’s office and said that he can hardly wait for the materials.

Over the weekend he Googled “Yahweh” and came up with your Website. He and his wife were stuck there all weekend, listening to the videos, reading all the material....hardly got anything else done.

They loved it but he wanted to check whether Bruce had heard of you and if it was on track. How hilarious. Bruce said it was definitely one of the websites that he would recommend.

“Isn’t that incredible! It is encouraging to see someone that hungry now days. I thought you’d like to know that your efforts to spread truth are working.

“You might also be interested to know that this couple kept Sabbath for the first time, and after only just finding out about it! They had initially just intended to read some material on your website, then they heard the music and pretty soon they were sitting on the edge of their chairs listening to the message. How absolutely awesome. Maybe this gives us a picture of how eager people will soon be for Torah? We shouldn’t have to convince people to comply with

Scripture....real truthseekers will hear and obey.” -email Your last line says it all. The true heart won’t need to be persuaded to obey Yahweh’s ordinances, but will aggressively seek out every possible way and opportunity to do so. We read that in the last days there will be a resurgence of truth-seeking: “Thus saith Yahweh of hosts; In those days [it shall come to pass], that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew [yahûdîy – “praiser of Yahweh,” Gen. 29:35], saying, We will go with you: for we have heard [that] Elohim [is] with you,” Zechariah 8:23. –ED I Need Correct Baptism But...

“I live in Portland, Oregon, and attend a Seventh-Day Baptist church on the Sabbath and want to be baptized in Yahshua’s Name as Acts 2:38 tells me.

The Baptist pastor who is not using Yahweh’s Name in the services says he is willing to baptize me in Yahshua’s Name if I want. He says he knows the holy Names even though he still does not call on their Names in service. It seems to me…the baptism would not be valid.”

–DV, OR We agree with you. You didn’t say whether after baptism you intend to start observing the Scriptures as commanded. This is the crux of the issue and is part of the serious immersion commitment. By being immersed into Yahshua’s Name you are confessing a belief in the entire truth Yahshua brought us.

Yahshua called it fulfilling all righteousness. Your minister observes little of Yahshua’s truth and is only offering to immerse properly because you want it, and of course to keep you in his church.

Every proper immersion in the Scriptures was performed by ordained believers

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totally committed to Yahweh. An important part of immersion is the prebaptismal counseling that candidates go through at YRM, where we explain these important things that others will not.

You should untangle yourself from your situation and start keeping Yahweh’s Feasts with YRM. At each pilgrim Feast we have an immersion service. There the Truth is taught and commitments to obedience are made in Yahshua’s Name.

The next one is the Feast of Tabernacles, October 13-20, 2011. –ED Eager for Bible, Tabernacles It is so exciting to be so close to this beautiful addition to our studies! This Bible (Restoration Study Bible) will be an amazing blessing to everyone using it.

I know I have said this before but many thanks to all who took time to bring it to completion. I cannot believe how fast the FOT is approaching. I can’t believe it’s been a year since we officially met everyone at YRM. We truly had no idea the blessings that awaited us when we met you and began worshiping with everyone. Yahweh truly blessed us with a beautiful spiritual family that cannot be imitated or replaced. The love, support, growth and teaching in the Word are so valued. It’s great to be a part of YRM. It will be great to spend a week out of this crazy world and worship and fellowship with Yahweh and HIS people at the Feast of Tabernacles. The only problem....it’s too short and goes too fast! –KP, OH Restoration Times Magazine September/October 2011

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