“Behold, the days are coming, the Word of HaShem, when I will fulfill the favorable matter that I spoke concerning the House of Israel and the House of Judah. In those days, at that time, I will cause a sprout of righteousness to sprout forth for David, and he will administer justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will dwell in security; and this is what people will call Jerusalem: ‘HaShem is Our Righteous One.’ For thus said HaShem: ‘There shall not be cut off from David a man who sits on the throne of the House of Israel. And for the Kohanim, the Levites, there will never be cut off a man from before Me who offers burnt offerings and burns meal offerings and performs feast offerings all the days.'” Jeremiah 33:14-18
In my opinion, I believe most people would agree today that the world as we know it, is falling apart all around us. The pressures of life are consuming us day by day and there never seems like there is enough time in a day to get done what must be done. The demands of life are growing more intense by the day and those we are employed by are piling the work on more and more as each day progresses. Health issues are progressing and intensifying and from a pure fleshly perspective, it does appear, to the naked eye, that all hope is lost, but is that truly the case?
As I write this Op, it is 25 January 2020, Shabbat and the Torah portion for today is ‘Va’era’ which is found in Shemot (Exodus) 6:2-9:35. It is the Torah portion where HaShem responds to the cries of enslaved and oppressed Israel, under the crushing hand of Pharaoh in Egypt.
HaShem then utters to Moshe the most hopeful words anyone could ever hope to hear when He says in Shemot 6:5-6 “Moreover, I have heard the groan of the Children of Israel whom Egypt enslaves and I have remembered the covenant. Therefore, say to the Children of Israel: ‘I am HaShem, and I shall take you out from under the burdens of Egypt; I shall rescue you from their service; I shall redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.'” Can you imagine the exhilaration in hearing those words that very soon everyone will be set free and loosed from the bonds of oppression? Imagine hearing those same words today?
People today would say “but no one is under bondage and oppression like what is described in Exodus!” I strongly disagree. Oppression has many flavors per se! Entertainment, electronic gadgets, social justice causes, etc, all lead to oppression and bondage as we see here in America today. To add insult to injury, many people today are so oppressed spiritually they are unable to see the bondage they are being crushed under or worse yet, the indoctrination centers of Replacement Theology, i.e. the Churches, have convinced them the crushing oppression is actually what HaShem gave us so we could live in freedom i.e. His Torah!
So the questions must be asked, ‘What HaShem had designed from the beginning to be His people, is it encapsulated in what we see today as being a part of the Replacement Theology indoctrination centers or is it something much more? Did He reveal His plan much earlier than what is commonly taught?’ When we answer these questions, I am prayerfully hoping people will do what I did and slap their hand to their head and say ‘Duh! HaShem made it so simple, it was always in front of me this whole time!’
But before we can begin to tackle these questions, always remember the following because they are vital in our walk with HaShem:
– HaShem never changes per Num 23:19/Mal 3:6/Hebrews 13:8/James 1:17
– His Word is firmly established per Psalm 119:89
– He reveals the end out of the beginning per Is 46:10
– He does nothing without first revealing it to His prophets per Amos 3:7
– He says there is nothing new under the sun per Ecclesiastes 1:9
– He says His Torah is eternal per Proverbs 3:19 and Psalm 119:160
– He says His Torah is perfect and restores the soul per Psalm 19:7
– He says His Torah makes the simple one wise per Psalm 19:7
– He says His Torah Is freedom and liberty per Psalm Ps 119:45 and James 1:25
– He says His Torah is the only good doctrine there is Proverbs 4:2
– He says His Torah will add length of days and years of life and peace per Proverbs 3:2
– He says all of the ways of His Torah are ways of pleasantness and peace per Proverbs 3:17
– He says His Torah is for our good and well-being per Deuteronomy 6:24
– He says His Torah is health for our lives per Proverbs 3:8
– He says His Torah is life to our soul and a graceful ornament for our neck per Prov 3:22
– He says His Torah is better than pearls and all desires cannot compare to it per Prov 8:11
– He says those who walk with His Torah are praiseworthy per Psalms 119:1
– He says observing His Torah is how we purify our path per Psalms 119:9
– He says His Torah is better than thousands in gold and silver per Psalms 119:72
– He says His Torah brings abundant peace to those who love Him and His Torah per Psalms 119:165
– He says there is one Torah for all per Exodus 12:49/Leviticus 24:22
– He says those who hate His Torah love death per Proverbs 8:36
In order to answer these questions I posed above, I will have to make statements and comments which may offend some. Please understand it is NOT my intention to offend anyone. It is my intention to make these statements and comments in order to hopefully cause some to stop, examine for themselves and reflect. Now for the record, let me state it again, I do NOT believe that everyone who is in the indoctrination centers of Replacement Theology is lost or outside of the Kingdom of HaShem, simply because I do not have that authority to declare it so. Only HaShem knows where everyone’s hearts are truly at. This all said, let’s begin.
It has been commonly taught over the centuries that the ‘Church’ began on Pentecost with the falling of the Holy Spirit as is read in Acts 2 in the Apostolic Writings. This entity called the ‘Church’ somehow replaced Israel, separated itself from anything “Jewish”, tossed out the Torah, changed the Feasts of HaShem to Christmas/Easter, changed His Shabbat to any day of the week and declared all unclean foods now clean to eat. Then at the same time claim the ‘Church’ is the embodiment of people HaShem always desired and now will condemn Israel and save the ‘Church.’ This pretty much sums the doctrine of Replacement Theology, but is there any truth to this doctrine? Let’s research this a bit further and find out.
Yeshua makes some interesting comments in Matthew 16:13-20 which says “Now when Yeshua came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His talmidim (Students/Apostles) ones, saying, ‘Who do men say the Son of Adam is?’ And they said, ‘Some say Yochanan (John) the Immerser, and others Eliyahu (Elijah), and others Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘And you, who do you say I am?’ And Shim’on Kepha (Peter) answering, said, ‘You are the Mashiach, the Son of the living Elohim.’ And Yeshua answering, said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Shim’on Bar-Yonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father in the heavens. And I also say to you that you are Kepha, and on this rock I shall build My assembly, and the gates of She’ol shall not overcome it. And I shall give you the keys of the reign of the heavens, and whatever you bind on earth shall be having been bound in the heavens, and whatever you loosen on earth shall be having loosened in the heavens.’ Then He warned His talmidim that they should say to no one that He is Yeshua the Mashiach.”
Now for many centuries, Replacement Theology has used these verses as the basis for the establishment of the ‘Church’ as being something separated from Israel and devoid of anything HaShem had established from the beginning. On a side note: What is interesting is even Yeshua acknowledges this revelation of His mission is only by HaShem. Why is this interesting? Because it proves once more Yeshua is NOT HaShem in the flesh….again it challenges the doctrine of Replacement Theology. I digress.
If we jump to Acts 2, we read about the Feast of Shavuot (Erroneously called Pentecost) when the talmidim of Yeshua were all in one place in Jerusalem after He had ascended from the Mt of Olives. It is here read about the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit) of HaShem that fell upon them all and empowered them. Again, these verses are used by Replacement Theology to teach the ‘Church’ was established on this day and it is completely separate from Israel, devoid of anything HaShem had established from the beginning. Is this true?
Consider this event in Acts 2 occurred on the Feast of Shavuot? Why is this interesting? Because if Yeshua’s mission was to free Israel from the Torah as Replacement Theology teaches, then shouldn’t this event have occurred on a non Feast day in order to establish the foundation of breaking away from the Torah?
Consider Acts 6:7 which says “And the Word of Elohim spread, and the number of talmidim increased greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of the Kohanim (Priests) and Leviim (Levites) were obedient to the belief.” So here we have a great many Jews in Jerusalem to include the Kohanim and Levites who officiate the Temple Services, all acknowledge Yeshua as being the Messiah and yet they all continue to perform their duties in the Temple to include offering up Chatat (Sin) Offerings! Point is, clearly there is no conflict between Yeshua and the Temple, Torah, Feasts, Shabbat, Offerings, etc. In fact it is just the opposite in that clearly you cannot have a belief in Yeshua without the Torah of HaShem!
Consider another verse from Acts, specifically Acts 21:20 which says “And when they heard it, they praised the Master (Yeshua). And they said to him (Shaul), ‘You see, brother, how many thousands of Yehudim there are who have believed, and all are zealous for the Torah.'” Again, we see the believers in Yeshua are all Jews who did NOT give up the Torah, Temple, Feasts, Shabbat, Offerings, etc!
Now consider what Yeshua said in Yochanan (John) 4:22 which says “You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because the salvation is of the Yehudim.” What was He saying? He was telling the woman He was talking too that the Yehudim (Jewish) definition of what salvation/deliverance is, is the only correct definition. Meaning to try and define salvation from a non-Torah perspective is wholly incorrect and will lead to what we see today with Replacement Theology and all of its various doctrines and ideas of what salvation is and how to obtain it.
How about what Yeshua said in Matthew 23:3 which says “Therefore, whatever they (The Scribes and the Pharisees) say to you to guard, guard and do. But do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do.” Yeshua is acknowledging the HaShem given authority of the Sanhedrin and that we are required to do what they rule on. Further, to defy the Sanhedrin is to defy HaShem Himself! The caveat He makes as it pertains to the Scribes and Pharisees of His time, is they spoke and taught correctly, but they did not live it out thus His constant hypocrite charge against them! He condemned them because they were not living out the Torah in their own lives! They were teaching the Torah and ruling correctly, but again, their hypocrisy was their undoing just as it is for any of us today!
So what is the point I am trying to drive home? That the assembly of HaShem is NOT what we see within the indoctrination centers of Replacement Theology, but is a Ruach empowered, Torah observant, Feast keeping, Shabbat keeping, Kosher eating, entity that has NOT tossed aside what HaShem has established from the beginning, but has embraced everything He established! Exactly as Yeshua taught and lived Himself!
Who is the Adversary enraged with in Revelation 12:17? “And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, THOSE GUARDING THE TORAH OF HASHEM AND POSSESSING THE WITNESS OF YESHUA MESSIAH.” Does the Adversary concern himself too much with the indoctrination centers of Replacement Theology today? Not too much, he just has to make sure the lying, signs and wonders are still prevalent and active.
So now the question which must be tackled is: ‘Did HaShem reveal what His assembly would be?’ The answer is YES!
Now let’s explore Devarim (Deuteronomy) 18:15-16 which says “A prophet from your midst, from your brethren, like me (Moshe), shall HaShem, your Elohim, establish for you, to him shall you hearken. According to all that you asked of HaShem, your Elohim, in Chorev (Another name for Sinai) ON THE DAY OF THE ASSEMBLY, saying, ‘I can no longer hear the voice of HaShem, my Elohim, and this great fire I can no longer see, so that I shall not die.'”
These are very powerful verses in Devarim simply because they are prophetic in nature in that these are speaking of Mashiach, Whom HaShem will raise up out of Israel, Who will teach what Moshe taught i.e. the Torah. Further, we read that it was at the event of HaShem giving the Torah at Sinai, HaShem labeled it as being ‘The Day of the Assembly’ or in Hebrew ‘Yom HaQahal!’ In other words, it is here at Sinai where HaShem establishes His Assembly and NOT in Jerusalem on Pentecost! Why is this so important to understand? Because when we refer back to Matthew 16 and Yeshua states He will build His assembly, that word in Hebrew is ‘Qahal’, the exact same word used here in Devarim! Point is, the Assembly of HaShem is ISRAEL! It is Torah observant. It is keeping His Feasts. It is keeping His Shabbat. It is to use the phrase, very Jewish in nature! It does NOT embrace Replacement Theology, but just the opposite in that it opposes Replacement Theology and the one Replacement Theology fashioned for itself i.e. Jesus Christ. Remember, I have laid it all out in previous Op’s how Yeshua and the Jesus of Replacement Theology are two different persons, represent two opposing systems. Yeshua represents the Torah, the Feasts, His Shabbat, etc and points to HaShem. Replacement Theology Jesus points to himself, claims to be HaShem, separates from Israel and replaces everything HaShem gave from the beginning. He is the embodiment what HaShem describes as being the False Messiah He warns us about.
So with this all said, we can see, hopefully a little bit clearer, what HaShem desired from the beginning? We need clarity, now more than ever, with all the deception, lies, falsehoods and debauchery consuming the world today. Plus, more importantly, it draws us a little bit closer in our relationship with HaShem and helps us understand the function of Messiah Yeshua vs falling for the lies of the False Messiah.
This is just another short Op and hopefully we can see HaShem truly is unchanging and reveals the end from the beginning. With the world falling apart around us more and more each day, I believe it to be very soon the Greater Exodus will occur and HaShem will rescue all of His people scattered into all the World and bring us all back home into the Land. May it be VERY soon in our days!
Much to consider!
Shabbat Shalom.
SOURCE MATERIALS
- The Scriptures by the Institute for Scripture Research
- The Stone Edition Chumash by Artscroll
- The Milstein Edition of the Chumash with the Teachings of the Talmud Devarim by Artscroll
- The Milstein Edition of the Prophets Jeremiah by Artscroll