Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

What do you mean, Egypt?

Whilst in Egypt, the Israelites found themselves in a country where the potential of the whole nation was restricted bypolitical, religious and economic systems of oppression and slavery. It is important to understand that human beings can be enslaved by philosophies, ideas, religious and political views and inflexible mind-sets. Anything that confines our potential and reduces our awareness of the true nature of our lives is our personal Egypt. The idea or concept of freedom for an Israelite is foundational for our existence as a distinct people. All oppressive systems are based upon limiting and forcing human beings, who were all created in the image of Elohim to be less than what they should be. It was for this reason that Yahshua said in John 8: 32, “And you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Any culture or social order that does not appreciate or improve the image of Elohim and potential of every individual within its way of life, will be unpredictable and will eventually be replaced with a system that allows freedom from control or repression. YHVH created mankind in His image physically to eventually learn to become like Him spiritually, and as Elohim and King of the universe He wants His children to eventually administer/rule the entire universe, as witnessed in Genesis 1: 26, in this way: ‘Then Elohim said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” King David also realized this when he wrote Psalm 8, saying in verses 4 – 8: ‘What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him? (5) Yet Thou hast made him a little lower than Elohim, and dost crown him with glory and majesty! (6) Thou dost make him to rule over the works of Thy hands; Thou has put all things under his feet, (7) All sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field. (8) The birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.’

 

The author of the book of Hebrews (who I believe was none other than Rav Shaul) give us a clearer picture of our purpose by discussing what King David wrote in Psalm 8, in a short discussion in Hebrews 2: 6 – 11, saying: ‘But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU REMEMBEREST HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU ART CONCERNED ABOUT HIM?(7) THOU HAST MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; THOU HAST CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAST APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS;(8)THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.”  For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him (lower-case ‘h’ meaning mankind). (9)But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Yahshua, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of Elohim He might taste death for everyone. (10)For it was fitting for Him,for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. (11)For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.’Many have overlooked this portion of the Scriptures in the past, without understanding that what the author was explaining here is our ultimate destiny as Israelites returning to the way of Elohim to become spiritual children of Elohim, in the same way Messiah became the Son of Elohim as witnessed in Romans 1: 1 - 4,as follows: Shaul, a bond-servant of Messiah Yahshua, called an apostle, set apart for the gospel of Elohim, (2) which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures, (3) concerning His Son, who was born a descendant of David according to the flesh, (4) who was declared the Son of Elohim with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness, Yahshua Messiah our Master.’ Note that in verse 8 of Hebrews 2Rav Shaul is explaining that even though in our present state we are only placed to rule over the things in our environment, he explains in verses 9 & 10 that Yahshua our Messiah came to show us the way back to Elohim, but also to ultimately become like Him when He returns to rule the world from Jerusalem as headquarters, as he concludes in verse 11. 

 

Unfortunately, very few people could explain this section of the Scriptures correctly in the past and as a result most have been deceived to believe false doctrines taught by those who went before us, thereby enslaving us by religious, economic, and political systems from which it is extremely difficult to escape. Freedom is a mindset and unless and until we understand the very basic questions in life, overlooked by the majority of people, we will remain captive in the culture, or ideas we were taught by our parents and the religious leaders who went before us. It was for this very reason that Jeremiah wrote a prophesy about returning Israelites in Jeremiah 16: 11 – 19,saying:‘Then you are to say to them, “it is because your forefathers have forsaken Me,” declares YHVH, and have followed other gods and served them and bowed down to them; but Me they have forsaken and have not kept My law.(12)You too have done evil, even more than your forefathers; for behold, you are each one walking according to the stubbornness of his own evil heart, without listening to Me. (13)So I will hurl you out of this land into the land which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I shall grant you no favor. (14)“Therefore behold, days are coming,” declares YHVH, when it will no longer be said, “As YHVH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt,” (15)but, “As YHVH lives, who brought up the sons of Israel from the land of the north and from all the countries where He had banished them.” For I will restore them to their own land which I gave to their fathers. (16)“Behold, I am going to send for many fishermen,” declares YHVH, and they will fish for them; and afterwards I shall send for many hunters, and they will hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and from the clefts of the rocks. (17)For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. (18)And I will first doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable idols and with their abominations. (19)O YHVH, my strength and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of distress, to Thee the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, “Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, futility and things of no profit.”’  We have to realize that we were captive in the mindset and culture of our predecessors. The difference is that we followed them blindly and even became worse than they were, and should therefore after coming out of the false systems which enslaved us, confess that we have followed nothing but falsehood, futility and things of no profit, as per verse 19 above.

Once we come out of the false religions of the world, we need to consider all the wrong things that we have done in the past, and confess them to YHVH. If you come from the Roman Catholic Church you have to realize that before you decided to follow the way of Elohim, you did exactly what YHVH said will happen to us because of the idolatry of our forefathers in Deuteronomy 4: 28, saying:“And there you will serve gods, the work of man’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see nor hear not eat nor smell.” At the time when you were ‘worshiping’ in that church, you thought you were serving J*e*s*u*s* when you bowed to a wooden or stone idol that you thought looked like C*h*r*i*s*t* wearing a thorny crown half naked on a cross, something YHVH specifically commanded that we should not do. You have to understand that that was sin, breaking (YHVH)’s commandments.Similarly Christians have been taught to contradict what Messiah taught, in that most of them believe like the Muslims that ‘good’ people go to heaven at death, whilst the wicked will be tormented in an eternal hellfire. Messiah clearly taught about a rebirth to live in the coming kingdom of Elohim here on earth eternally as spiritual beings in John 3: 13, saying: “And no one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven, even the Son of Man.” Churchianity further contradicts Messiah when they say He abolished or kept the Torah for them, and they are therefore not obliged to obey it any longer, since He taught just the opposite in John 5: 46 & 47, saying:“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. (47) But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” As returning Israelites, we need to forget most of what we were taught by Churchianity and those who came before us. The purpose of this teaching is therefore to help returnees, not only to come out of Egypt, but to take Egypt out of the Israelites.

But, as returnees we need to understand that it is going to take a great deal of effort, to remove the last vestiges of Egypt out of us. Because we have been brainwashed to do certain things since birth, it is very difficult to get rid of thepagan cultures and mindsets that enslaved us without even realizing it. The Roman calendar and law under which we were all born, is a system that dictates when we go to work, when we go on holiday, when we go to church, and leaves us with very few choices. At the year-end we all go to visit our families, since that is dictated by this same system into which we were born. We all get together on the so-called birth of C*h*r*i*s*t and eat the foods dictated by the customs of the people amongst whom we as Israelites were scattered. These foods might include a Xmas ham, fruitcake and the givingof gifts to one another, if you please, on someone else’s birthday. To most westerners this might sounds normal, but the fact is we even taught the Gentiles amongst whom we live, to do as we do and even more so, in that they now expects people to give them gifts.Those who have come to understand Messiah’s main purpose for coming to earth the first time; that He came to bring us back to the covenant relationship we together with Judah made with Elohim at Mount Sinai, need to realize that we have to return to Judaism. But, we can only do so through Messiah, since we have forgotten what sin is because of rejecting Torah in the past. We need to understand that the basis of Torah and the coming of Messiah are centered upon Israel’s emancipation from bondage and oppression. In fact every Feast Day including the weekly Sabbath ordained by Elohim commemorates the account of Israel’s exodus out of Egypt. Freedom is available and also possible for every individual, but more so collectively for the children of Israel.

However, the reality of this freedom requires a paradigm shift or complete re-orientation of truth that surpasses ‘what is’ with ‘what should be’. It is this total re-orientation that shatters the comfort zone of individuals and entire communities. Dictators and rulers of oppressive systems are taken aback by their inability to rule over such people. The concept of such freedom is unique in that it insists in the freedom on an individual, in order to devote himself without restraint in service to YHVH and the fulfilment of His will. This is exactly what Rav Shaul explains in Romans 6: 4 – 7 and 16 – 18, saying:‘Therefore we have been buried with Him through immersion into death, in order that as Messiah was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.(5) For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, (6)knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin;(7)for he who has died is freed from sin.’ (16) Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? (17) But thanks be to Elohim that though you were enslaved of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, (18) and having been freed from sin you became slaves of righteousness.”

 

Rav Shaul talking about the Law of Inheritance in Galatians 3: 29(see the notesattached at the end), wrote: ‘And If you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to (the) promise (made to Abraham, that through His one seed namely Messiah, we too are now able to become spiritual children of Elohim, to live eternally in the Promised Land as co-rulers with Messiah {obviously after His return}, as Rav Shaul continues to explain in Galatians 4: 1 – 7, saying: ‘Now I say as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, (2) but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. (This is similar to when a father sets a date or age when his oldest son will inherit his farm – whilst the son is under the age stipulated by the father, he has to work on the farm like a normal farm worker, even though he will eventually own the farm.) (3) So also we, while we were children(in the world), were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. (4) But when the fullness of the time came, Elohim sent forth His son born of a woman, born under the Law, (5) in order that He might redeem (or buy back the piece of the Promised Land which the house of Israel inherited through Abraham, but lost because of idolatry) those who were under the Law(that in the year of the Jubilee {Leviticus 25: 9 & 10} on which Messiah came the first time He bought back our inheritance as sons of Elohim for us), that we might receive the adoption as sons. (6) And because you are sons, Elohim has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying “Avinu! Father!”(7) Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through Elohim.’Rav Shaul explained the same thing to the Roman congregation in Romans 8, but to understand the context better, we will begin in verses 28 & 29 and then go on to verses 14 – 17, as follows: ‘And we know that Elohim causes all things to work together for good to those who love Elohim, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born[1] among many brethren. (14) For all who are being led by the Spirit of Elohim, these are the sons of Elohim. (15) For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Avinu! Father!” (16) The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of Elohim, (17) and if children, heirs also, heirs of Elohim and fellow heirs with Messiah, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him.’The exile of Israel from Egypt is a type of the universal human condition. The redemption from our spiritual Egypt is the first phase of the true Messianic Redemption of the Israelites’ mind from its slavery of an inner blindness.

 

When Moses shared the good news about their exile with the ancient Israelites, it did not fit into their experience as slaves to the system in Egypt. The people wanted to believe what Moses told them, but they became despondent when Pharaoh increased their workload in response to the message Moses and Aaron brought him form the Elohim of Israel. As can be seen from Exodus 6: 9, their reaction was cynical realism, as follows: ‘So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on account of their despondency and cruel bondage.’ There is no doubt, these people were in bondage, but we need to remember that they lived in their own homes, in their own city Goshen. But over time these homes became their prisons. It is also common in long-term hostage situations, that the hostage, while wanting to go free, develops an affinity with his/her captors because he/she came to be dependent upon them for his/her daily survival. How many people are like that? They may realize they are in bondage, even want to go free, but they cannot understand how they can survive without a boss, or credit, or any of the things of this world. They know Xmas is pagan, but believe quietly ‘Elohim knows my heart.’ They often ask: ‘How can all these clever clergy have it wrong?’Fellow believers, we need to be seekers of truth, we should do our homework and side with Elohim, rather than to be enslaved by falsehood. The Israelites definitely did not have the sort of faith described in Hebrews 11; 1 – 3, in this way: ‘Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (2) For by it the men of old gained approval. (3) By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of Elohim, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.’Ultimately Israel’s fear instead of faith resulted in a resistance to the good news of freedom. As human beings we forget that all we see is not all there is. Faith always lives in the potential and not in the present of what is. It is terrifying to sever the connection to the powers that be and to be at odds with them and the power structure. No matter our position in life, we understand that to challenge the way things are, we will be worse off than we are at present. This fear separates our connection with Elohim’s supremacy of the natural order. We may lose our jobs, friends, family, and will be mocked by those in power. Some might call us misguided or crazy, but when we become a threat to the powers that be, by our success, we will start facing exile, torture or even death. Challenging the powers that be will bring down their wrath, but it will be worth the risk, since we are promised eternal life in Elohim’s coming kingdom on earth, where we will one day rule over those who are presently persecuting us.

 

Every Israelite is faced with these questions. Should we join this group who is going into the proverbial wilderness in order to escape our slavery, even though they have no economic security, food or place to go? Do we really want to be landless and homeless to follow a dream? Do we want to give up the fleshpots of our Egypt for an uncertain life of commitment to something that might not occur in our lifetime? We also read from Exodus 16: 2 & 3: ‘And the whole congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness. (3) And the sons of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by (YHVH)’s hand in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat, when we ate bread to the full; for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”’  However, Yahshua made it clear in Matthew 6: 24, 25 and 32 – 34, saying: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve Elohim and mammon.  (25) For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? (32)For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. (33)But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you. (34)Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.’ The Israelites suddenly discovered that the spiritual journey to freedom did not depend upon the support of the physical world. No, the familiar support systems that pacified the body and kept the mind ensnared, was taken away. What was ahead was uncertain with no guarantee of success.

 

In addition to this, the comfort the Israelites derived from their daily routine came to an end. They like most of us found it hard to believe that Elohim will work to undo our sense of safety, when He starts to move us out of the comfort zone we have created for ourselves, reminding us that this world operates according to spiritual and not just physical material concerns in our life. It makes us aware of the spiritual reality that far transcends our abilities to understand. Elohim’s goal for our lives is to become the embodiment of that Divine Energy and to link our existence to the well-being of His entire creation, as Rav Shaul wrote in Romans 8: 18 – 23, saying: ‘For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (19) For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of Elohim. (20) For the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope (21) that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of Elohim. (22) For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. (23) And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.’ To discover the deeper meaning that we are in the image of Elohim, help us realize that within each of us there is the possibility of radical transformation, as described by David in Psalm 17: 14 & 15 where he tells us about his future inheritance, saying: ‘From men with Thy hand, O YHVH, from men of the world, whose portion is in this life; and whose belly Thou dost fill with Thy treasure; they are satisfied with children, and leave their abundance to their babes. (15) As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake.’The Exodus dissolves the false security that people find in the religions of the world and we as did Moses, tremble before the revelation of YHVH our Elohim.

 

YHVH is the Elohim who ensures that the way things will be, need not be the way they have been in the past. He will enable the united nation of Israel to break the chains of negativity and pain that links us with past generations. But, we must come out of our own Egypt, our conceptual universe of our own creation, in order to help others to be set free from their enslavement. We are no longer slaves in Egypt, and we cannot go back there. Israel separated themselves from those who did not share their understanding and revelation of YHVH. They could now recognize Elohim and the image of Elohim in one another. Only those who recognize YHVH can feel commanded, because being commanded is recognizing your role as a partner with Elohim in the repair of the world, and ultimately the universe. The Torah was never to be observed in fear of punishment or mere rituals, but rather in a higher consciousness of the recognition of mankind with the highest potential to be (YHVH)’s agents on the earth, and not slaves to a repressive system. Think about it!

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End Notes:

1. Rav Shaul is discussing the Law of Inheritance (which is in Torah) in Galatians 3: 29 – 4: 31, and as the law of inheritance comes to a point where when the requirements of the law is met,the clause restricting the son from giving the orders as owner is done away with, but it does not suddenly make the rest of Torah obsolete.

2. In a similar way to what Rav Shaul discussed the Law of inheritance in this section, he discusses a number of specifics in Torah, such as the Law of marriage and divorce in Romans 7: 1 – 4 (where the law that binds a woman to her husband comes to an end when her husband dies); and the sacrificial law in Galatians 3: 17 – 25 (where the sacrificial law in respect of sin came to an end when Messiah became the sacrifice). Even so, because of a lack of understanding all these instances they are incorrectly interpreted by teachers in Christianity to mean that the entire Torah came to an end.

3. Let’s also at this point discuss other areas where Christianity teaches the Torah is done away:  In Galatians 3: 13 we read: ‘Messiah redeemed us from the curse of the Law.’ The curse spoken about here is the punishment due to us breaking the law, asthe Torah is made up of Commandments, Statutes and Judgments. Statutesrefer to the part of Torah which magnifies (expands) the commandments and give more details about them, for example the commandment: ”You shall not commit adultery’ is magnified by adding details such as:  “You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father”; “None of you shall  approach any blood relative of his to uncover nakedness”; You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister”;  “You shall not marry a woman in addition to her sister”; “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female”; “You shall not have intercourse with any animal” etc. Judgmentsin turn specifies the punishment due for breaking Elohim’s commandments and statutes, for example: “If there is a man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, one who commits adultery with his friend’s wife, the adulterer shall surely be put to death”; and “If there is anyone who curses his father or his mother, he shall surely be put to death.”  When we return toYHVH in the latter days as He promised in Deuteronomy 4: 29 & 30 and we are immersed into Yahshua’s saving name (accepting Him as our personal Passover since He died in our place on the impalement stake), He removes the punishment due to us for breaking Elohim’s Torah teachings from us, but from then on expects us to learn to obey Him fully.

4. This is also what Rav Shaul is telling returning Israelites in Colossians 2: 14 saying:“having cancelled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us(the punishment due to us for breaking the law, demands that we die for certain sins which is certainly hostile to our very existence); and He has taken it out of the way(Messiah paid the penalty for our sins which was punishable by death), having nailed it(the punishment) to the cross.”Rav Shaul also repeats the same message to the Ephesians in Ephesians 2: 14 - 16, saying: ‘For He(Messiah) Himself is our peace who made both groups(meaning the house of Israel and the house of Judah – since He came specifically to bring the lost sheep of the house of Israel back to the covenant relationship both groups had with Elohim at Mount Sinai)into one, and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity(or punishment due to us for breaking Elohim’s commandments), which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances(meaning the Judgment portion of the commandments), that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to Elohim through the cross, by having put to death the enmity(or punishment due to us who did not at the time knew we were sinning).’ From this point forward YHVH wants us to learn to obey Torah applicable to us fully.

5. Galatians 5: Because repentance is a process during which we continually discover new areas where we have broken Elohim’s commandments in the past, Rav Kepha explained that new believers in our Nazarene Jewish faith(meaning returnees to Judaism through Yahshua), are at the beginning of their walk required to meet the initial four requirements given in Acts 15: 19 & 20, namely to abstain from the pollutions of idols, from fornication, from what is strangled, and from blood, before they are taught about the other requirements of Torah, when as they attend services in a synagogue or ministries like ours, where they will learn to obey Torah fully and out of their own will come to the decision to be circumcised, as discussed in Acts 15: 21. The idea is that as our relationship with Elohim develops over time, we will get to know more about what He requires of us when we begin to be guided by His Set-apart Spirit, ensuring that our thoughts and deeds become acceptable within the scope of His Torah. This is basically the message that Rav Shaul was trying to get across in Galatians 5, stressing that even though Messiah has set us free from sin, the Set-apart Spirit is the necessary agent for enabling righteousness. For the sake of clarity let’s also discuss the four initial prohibitions to be taught to new believers namely:

   1. The requirement ‘that they abstain from things contaminated by idols.’?The ten tribe nation of Israel was taken captive because of idolatry, as witnessed in Hosea 8: 3 & 4, in this way:  ‘Israel has rejected the good; the enemy will pursue him. (4) They have set up kings, but not by Me; they have appointed princes, but I did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for themselves, that they might be cut off.’Note that things offered to idols are not only restricted to meat, but may include such items as Easter Eggs, hot cross buns and Xmas cake. The point to remember is that the idolatry which was the cause of Israel’s captivity, resulting in them becoming like Gentiles, had to do with keeping Feast Days at different times to what the Scriptures ordain, especially those that are a month later than the Feast Days kept in Judah, but also the feast days of pagan religions, such as Xmas and Easter.

   2. The requirement ‘that you abstain from blood’ refers to those areas given in Torah how to deal with various blood issues. One such issue is that we should not eat meat with any residue blood in it: Only meat from specific species is permissible and the blood of such animals should be poured to the ground and ‘buried’. Excess blood must be removed as much as possible by soaking the meat in salt water. The next blood issue is equally important for husbands and wives in a totally kosher marriage relationship to abstain from each other when the woman is menstruating. This means that for any new believer who come into the faith, it becomes immediately important to get to know what the Torah has to say about these ‘blood issues’.

   3. The requirement ‘that you abstain from things strangled.’ This is another Torah command which has to do with how believers ought to prepare the meat of kosher animals before it is ready to be cooked. Animals should according to point (b) be properly slaughtered and the blood should be let out on the ground and covered with soil, and should therefore not be strangled. How many believers are sure that the meat that they buy conforms to these requirements? How many of our ladies soak meat in coarse salt or brine, before cooking it? Many Messianic/Nazarene and likeminded believers know about these requirements, but never followed them.

   4. Finally, we get to the prohibition against ‘fornication’. This is yet another Torah command, implying that new believers should start studying and obeying certain Torah commands, such as the Law of marriage and divorce prior to immersion, and as they continue studying after immersion, will learn to eventually obey all the Torah teachings applicable to them.

6. Believers in Messiah must come out of  previous false doctrines which they believed and refrain from distorting the Scriptures to further their own views as Rav Kepha warns in 2 Peter 3: 13 – 16, saying: ‘But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (14) Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, (15) and regard the patience of our Master to be salvation; just as also our beloved brother Shaul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, (16) as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.’

7. To conclude, ladies often want to know why the requirement of circumcision is only applicable to men. The answer is found in first Timothy 2: 15, as follows: “But women shall be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.” Obviously this is talking about a woman believer in Messiah, who regards marriage as sacred, and will during the consummation of her marriage to a fellow believer lose her virginity, in a process to have children, even if she does not actually have a child. Enough said!

 

 

 

[1]Yahshua is the first ‘human being’ to the born again from the dead, as we read from Colossians 1: 18, as follows: ‘He is also head of the body, the congregation; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.”