Gentile: The True Meaning
What is a gentile? If you look today in Google or other search engines for the meaning of this word, which is a Latin word, what you will normally get is “someone that is not a Jew, or a heathen.” You will have to do a bit of digging to discover the truth because there has been an evolution of the meaning. It is a Latin word that has been adopted into other languages with various meanings, which can be sort of related to the original meaning depending on when they were adopted into that particular language. “Gentile” derives from the Latin gentilis, which itself derives from the Latin gens, meaning clan or tribe. Gens derives from the Proto-Indo-European ǵénhtis, meaning birth or production. The original meaning of “clan” or “family” was extended in post-Augustan Latin to acquire the wider meaning of belonging to a distinct nation or ethnicity. Later, the word came to refer to other nations, ‘not a Roman citizen.’
I am quoting from Wikipedia. The similarities between Genelia, genealogy, genetics, etc., should be obvious. After much research, I would sum up the meaning as people of your tribe, family, or origin who are in the nations. This would fit very well with what Yahushua (the true name of the Christian Jesus) says in Matthew 15:24: “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” Yahushua is referring to the House of Israel or the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The Ten Tribes were separated from Judah and Benjamin after Solomon’s reign because of Solomon’s sins.
What we see at this time for a definition of the word gentile came from a change in the 14th century when the Jews said that the House of Israel, the Northern ten tribes, do not know who they are anymore, and we do not know who they are either. So, they are no longer a nation before Elohim. The Christians jumped on the wagon and changed the meaning of Gentile to a heathen. The adversary is so good at what he does. This set up the dichotomy of two separate people groups, the Jews and Gentiles. Our Father in Heaven and His Son are not about dividing His chosen people. They are chosen to bring all the seeds of Adam that will come to Him. Israel is the Nation chosen to do this job. They are His first-born Nation as follows.
Exodus 4:22 “And you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus said YHWH, “Yisrael is My son, My first-born,
Exodus 4:23 so, I say to you, let My son go to serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, see, I am killing your son, your first-born,”
The order of the firstborn is the Melekizedek order. The first-born son in each family becomes the Priest, Sovereign, and Judge of that family as long as He lives. Israel in the preceding has been declared a first-born nation. It is their job to be Priests, Sovereigns, and Judges to the rest of the nations of the world. This is witnessed in the following.
Exodus 19:5 And now, if you diligently obey My voice, and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples – for all the earth is mine –
Exodus 19:6 ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set-apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisrael.”
Exodus 19:7 And Mosheh came and called for the elders of the people and set before them all these words which Y HWH commanded him.
Peter witnesses that this is still valid as follows.
1Peter 2:1 Having put aside, then, all evil, and all deceit, and hypocrisies, and envying’s, and all evil words,
1Peter 2:2 as newborn babes, desire the unadulterated milk of the Word, in order that you grow by it,
1Peter 2:3 If indeed you have tasted that the Master is good (Psalms 119:16).
1Peter 2:4 Drawing near to Him, a living Stone – rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim and precious.
1Peter 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through Yahushua Messiah.
1st Peter 2:6 Because it is contained in the Scripture, “See, I lay in Tsiyon a chief corner-stone, chosen, precious, and he who believes on Him shall by no means be put to shame” (Isaiah 28:1).
1st Peter 2:7 This preciousness, then, is for you who believe; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone” (Psalms 118:22).
1st Peter 2:8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock that makes for falling,”(Isaiah 8:14) who stumble because they are disobedient to the Word, to which they also were appointed. Reference John 3:36 and Hebrews 3:18.
1st Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, (Deuteronomy 10:15) a royal priesthood, (Isaiah 61:6) a set-apart nation, (Exodus 19:6) a people for a possession, (Isaiah 43:2) that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light, (Isaiah 43:20 and 66:21, Deuteronomy 7:6, Exodus 19:5, and Titus 2:14.)
1st Peter 2:10 who once were not a people but now the people of Elohim; who had not obtained compassion, but now obtained compassion
1stPeter 2:11 Beloved ones, I appeal to you as sojourners and pilgrims to abstain from fleshly lusts which battle against the being,
1stPeter 2:12 having your behavior among the nations good so that when they speak against you as evil doers, let them, by observing your good work esteem Elohim in a day of visitation (Reference Matthew 5:16-19).
Exodus 32:31 And Mosheh returned to YHWH (God’s Name) and said, “Oh, these people have sinned a great sin, and have made for themselves a mighty one of gold!
Exodus 32:32 “And now, if You would forgive their sin, but if not, please blot me out of Your book which You have written.”
Exodus 32:33 And YHWH said to Mosheh, “Whoever has sinned against Me, I blot him out of My book (Daniel 12:1).
Exodus 32:34 “And now, go, lead the people to the place of which I have spoken to you. See, My Messenger goes before you. And in the day of My visitation, I shall visit their sin upon them.”
The day of His visitation is near. Notice that the problem is a transgression of His commands, His Word. Violation of the Torah is lawlessness, and lawlessness is sin (1st John 3:4).
Please read every reference in the above-quoted scriptures for a holistic understanding. The reference in 1st Peter 2:8 to Isaiah 8:14 is very important.
Isaiah 8:14 “And He shall be for a set-apart place, but a stone of stumbling and a rock that makes for falling to both the houses of Yisrael, as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Yerushalayim.
Notice that just before Yahushua’s return, both Houses of Israel are stumbling at the stone. The House of Judah is rejecting the living Word, and the House of Israel (the lost sheep) is rejecting the written Word. Seven times in Revelation, it says that the remnant people at the end have the commands of the Father and the witness of Yahushua. All believers certainly want to be part of that remnant.
You may notice that I am sometimes redundant. I feel that repeating certain things is good because I have noticed that people usually do not totally grasp what is being said until they hear it three times.
The Restoration of Adam
I think this is an appropriate time to address the question of restorations. Isaiah 46:9 and Isaiah 48:3 tell us that Elohim has told us the end from the beginning. In the beginning, Adam was placed in the Garden of Eden. Then, he became two through the creation of Eve. They fell from their created position, causing them to fall into the kingdom of sin and rebellion, which I would venture to say was ruled by satan (Hebrew meaning adversary). This situation created the need for a second Adam, who is also the last Adam. Without going into a lot of detail about how this works, I will say now that the second and last Adam was the Kinsman Redeemer of the entire progeny of the first Adam.
At the flood, Adam’s progeny was reduced to three men: Shem, Ham, and Yapheth, Noah’s three sons. Noah set a hierarchal order for his sons: Shem was above the other two. Yepheth was to dwell in Shem’s tents, and Ham was to be a servant to Shem and Yepheth. From Shem comes Abraham, who is to be the chosen progenitor for the line of the Messiah. Something I will say here that is explained in depth in the article “Noah and Ham, What Happened” is that ten generations after Shem, Abraham was chosen to replace the fourth born of Noah, that could not happen because Noah’s wife was defiled.
As said, through Yahushua, the Messiah (meaning anointed) of our Heavenly Father, Adam’s progeny is being restored to Adam’s original relationship with his Heavenly Father. The process of Adam’s progeny being brought back to the garden is as follows. Elohim (the Father and Son) chose a nation to be their firstborn nation. The firstborn represents Elohim to the family through the order of Melchizedek, who is the Priest, Sovereign, and Judge of the family. The nation of Israel was declared to be Elohim’s firstborn nation, as seen in the following verses.
Exodus 4:22 “And, you shall say to Pharoh, ‘Thus said YHWH,’ Yisrael is My son, My firstborn.
Exodus 4:23 so, I say to you, let My son go to serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, see, I am killing your son, your firstborn.“’”
Exodus 19:5 ‘And now, if you diligently obey My voice and shall guard My covenant, then you shall be My treasured possession above all the peoples—for all the earth is mine—
Exodus 19:6 ‘and you shall be to Me a reign of priests and a set apart nation.’ Those are the words which you are to speak to the children of Yisrael.
The witness that all the above are still valid to this day is as follows.
1st Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a set apart nation, a people for a possession, that you should proclaim the praises of Him who called out of darkness into His marvelous light.
The Restoration of Israel
Israel was divided into two nations after Solomon’s reign because of his sins. The firstborn blessing was divided between Ephrayim, Joseph’s secondborn, to whom Jacob-Israel bestowed the priestly double fruit blessing portion of the firstborn blessing, and Judah, whom Israel gave the Sovereign and Judge portion of the blessing. This created the Northern Kingdom, still known as Israel, and the Southern Kingdom, known as Judah. These two Kingdoms must be reunited before they can fulfill their declared mission to redeem their brothers in the nations. This can be seen in Ezekiel Chapter 37. Please read it now.
The restoration of all the progeny of Adam
When the two houses of Israel become one again in the land, which is made again into the Garden of Eden (Isaiah 51:3 and Ezekiel 36:35). The complete return of both Houses of Israel and them becoming one nation again begins in a period of time just before the return of Yahushua and the beginning of His Millennial Kingdom on earth. Their return is said to be so large that the first exodus will not be spoken of anymore (Jeremiah 16:14-15 and 23:7-8). In His Reign, Israel is to take Torah to the nations and bring all righteous seed of those from Ham and Yapheth.
The punishment time for Israel
There are many ideas about how long it will be before this restoration of Israel and the return of Yahushua. I explain in much detail all that can be seen about all that I have spoken above about restoration in “Seeds,” “Generational Curses,” “The Day and Hour,” “The Restoration of the Reign of Elohim,” and “Addendum to the Restoration of the Reign of Elohim.” I have done this brief explanation now because I want the readers to understand there is a punishment time for Israel. During this punishment time, there are things that have been taken away from Israel (Hosea 2:11.) YHWH divorced the House of Israel. Still, He did not divorce the House of Judah, even though they became worse than the House of Israel (Jeremiah 4:8). Judah has preserved the Torah to this day, even if they keep it in apostasy (Romans 3:1-2). I say that the House of Israel, which is in the incubator known as Christianity, is the Spiritual witness of all Israel, and Judah is the Earthly witness. It is said seven times in Revelation that the end times remnant of Israel will have the commands of the Father and the witness of the Messiah.
Lawlessness
In Matthew Chapter 13:41, the stumbling blocks are those that are lawlessness. In Zephaniah 1:1-4, the stumbling blocks are those that transgress against YHWH. 1st John 3:4 says, “Everyone doing sin does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” In 1 John 5:16, a sin unto death is mentioned, and it is the sin of lawlessness. In each of these mentions of lawlessness in the book of 1st John, the Greek word is the same word, hamartano G266, in Thayer’s Concordance.
In 2nd Thessalonians 2:8, there is something very interesting. The end times man of perdition is referred to as the lawless one. The word used here for lawless is not the normal word for lawless, that means against any law, anomia. In this case, the word is anomos, which means devoid of and against the law of Moses. This is our way of identifying the anti-messiah.
Notice what is said about those who follow this doctrine of lawlessness, as follows.
2nd Thessalonians 2:10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved.
Psalms 119:142 Your righteousness is righteousness forever, And Your Torah is truth.
Psalms 119:151 You are near YHWH, and all Your commands are truth.
These two Psalms tell us what truth is. So, those who do not have a love of the Torah or YHWH’s commands are given a delusion to believe the lies. What are the lies? For the Jews, the lie of satan is that Yahushua was not the Messiah when He came. For the Christians, the lie is that Yahushua came to do away with the Torah. Once again, The Torah is Truth, and YHWH’s Commands are Truth, and Yahushua is the living Word.
The one that divides Elohim’s people is the adversary (satan).
The adversary (ha-satan in Hebrew) has been about dividing the power of Israel ever since they were declared a first-born nation. This is not just about dividing Israel; satan is dividing all the seeds of Adam. If he can keep all the nations of the world divided and fighting each other, they will never recognize the real enemy. The following is one of satan’s most significant victories to date.
False doctrines that divide YHWH’s people
John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern Dispensationalism and Futurism. Pre-tribulation rapture theology was popularized extensively in the 1830s by John Nelson Darby and the Plymouth Brethren and further popularized in the United States in the early 20th century by the wide circulation of the Scofield Reference Bible.
These are the most damaging doctrines in modern Christianity. Darby also popularized two salvations. Before going into the proof that there is only one chosen people and one salvation for all people, let us look at a curious statement Yahushua said in the following.
Who are the lost sheep of Israel, and when will their deliverance come?
Why would Yahushua be sent only to the House of Israel? Because the Northern Kingdom of Israel never had one righteous King in 208 years, with 19 Kings across nine different dynasties. When they were finally destroyed as a nation in 722 BC, approximately. They were scattered among the nations by the Assyrians. At first, they were completely taken from the land of Israel, but the people groups put in Israel cried out to the King of Assyria that the beast of the fields was destroying them and asked for some of the people of Israel who knew the Elohim of Israel to be returned so they could appeal to Him for relief from the beast. So, he did so, and some of the House of Israel was returned. They were still recognizable during Hezekiah’s reign because he invited them to Pesach (Passover Leviticus Chapter 23), and many came. Also, the woman at the well Yahushua spoke to identified as a descendant of Abraham. The place is identified as Jacob’s well in Shechem, the land he gave Joseph (John 4:5-6). She identified as Israel by saying that our fathers worshiped here (John 4:20), so we know some of them were identifiable at the time of Yahushua. The Jews were correct in saying Israel was no longer a nation before Elohim because He divorced them (Jeremiah 3:8). Read all of Jeremiah Chapter 3, along with Ezekiel Chapter 37. According to the Torah, a man cannot remarry a woman he divorced. Also, when a covenant was broken by one of the covenants, the one who broke the covenant had to die. Israel refused the instructions of Elohim (Torah) and followed the nations around her by worshiping idols. Even sacrificing their own children. YHWH Eloah says in Ezekiel Chapter 20, in a nutshell, that Israel turned from His Sabbaths (Ezekiel 20:12 & 20:20) and disobeyed all His Torah. We can see in Isaiah Chapter 56 that even a total foreigner or Idol worshiper who turns and keeps His Sabbaths and does right ruling will be accepted in His House, for His House is a House of Prayer for all the nations. Yahushua quotes this in Mark 11:17. Isaiah Chapter 56 is a prophecy for the very end time, which can be seen in the following. Isaiah 56:1 Thus said YHWH, “Guard right-ruling, and do righteousness, for near is My deliverance to come, and My righteousness to be revealed.
Notice what is said in Revelation Chapter 12 as follows.
Revelation 12:7 And there came to be fighting in the heaven: Mikael and his messengers fought against the dragon. And the dragon and his messengers fought,
Revelation 12:8 but they were not strong enough, nor was a place found for them in the heaven any longer.
Revelation 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who leads all the world astray. He was thrown to the earth, and his messengers were thrown out with him.
Revelation 12:10 And I heard a loud voice saying in the heaven, “Now have come the deliverance and the power and the reign of our Elohim and the authority of His Messiah, for the accuser of our brothers, who accused them before our Elohim day and night, has been thrown down.
Revelation 11:15 says basically the same thing at the seventh trumpet. So, we can see that Isaiah Chapter 56 is just before the return of Yahushua because, in verse 1, it is said that His deliverance is near to come, and in Revelation 12:10, just after satan is thrown out of heaven, it is said that His deliverance has come. Also, Isaiah 56:8 says that He gathers others to Him besides those who are gathered to Him as follows.
Isaiah 56:8 The Master YHWH, who gathers the outcasts of Yisrael, declares, “I gather still others to him besides those who are gathered to him.”
Those who are not blood Israel but grafted into the one and only chosen nation
So, who are these others? They are those in the nations that are not blood Israel who, through their belief and acceptance of Yahushua, followed by immersion into the death of Yahushua, come out of the water a new creation. That new creation becomes a part of the commonwealth of Israel as follows.
Ephesians 2:11 Therefore, remember that you, once nations in the flesh, who are called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called ‘the circumcision’ made in the flesh by hands (1st Corinthians 12:2).
Ephesians 2:12 At that time, you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisrael and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Messiah Yahushua you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah.
Ephesians 2:14 For He is our peace, who has made both one, and having broken down the partition of the barrier,
Ephesians 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity the Torah of the commands in dogma – to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making peace (Colossians 2:14 and 2:20, Acts 11:1-3).
Ephesians 2:16 and to completely restore to favor both of them unto Elohim in one body through the stake, having destroyed the enmity by it.
Ephesians 2:17 And having come, He brought as Good News peace to you who were far off, and peace to those near. (Isaiah 57:19).
Ephesians 2:18 Because through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Ephesians 2:19 So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens of the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim (Romans 11:17-24 and Isaiah 14:1).
No one comes to Yahushua except the Father brings him, and no one comes to the Father except through Yahushua. This happens through the process above, which ultimately brings you into the citizenship of the chosen nation, Israel, chosen to bring the rest of the righteous of the world to the Father and Son in the thousand-year reign of Yahushua on earth. Then the new Jerusalem comes down when all those who will come have come. Before going further into the thousand-year reign, I want to move on to the second witness that there are not two salvations or ways to obtain salvation.
Next is what is said in Galatians Chapter 3 as follows.
Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of Elohim through belief in Messiah Yahushua (Romans 8:14-17).
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were immersed into Messiah have put on Messiah.
Galatians 3:28 There is not Jew nor Greek, there is not slave nor free, there is not male and female, for you are all one in Messiah Yahushua.
Galatians 3:29 And if you are of Messiah, then you are the seed of Abraham, and heirs according to promise.
The promises to Abraham are all based on his obedience to Avinu’s commands, or because he has done so and taught them to his family.
Genesis 26:4 “And I shall increase your seed like the stars of the heavens, and I shall give all these lands to your seed. And in your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed,
Genesis 26:5 because Abraham obeyed My voice and guarded My Charge: My commands, My laws, and My Torot” (Torot – plural of Torah, which means teachings).
So, those who are interested in being heirs according to the covenant promises to Abraham must be obedient to all that Elohim commanded because all the promises were contingent upon obedience to the Torah of Elohim. In all the covenants it is always said, if you do, I will do.
In Malaki 3:6 YHWH says, “I am YHWH, and I do not change.”
In Ezekiel Chapter 20, as follows.
Ezekiel 20:37 “And I shall make you pass under the rod and shall bring you into the bond of the covenant.
Ezekiel 20:38 and purge the rebels from among you, and those who transgress against Me. From the land where they sojourn, I bring them out, but they shall not come into the land of Yisrael. And you shall know that I am YHWH.”
To be bound by the covenant means you will obey it, or not enter back into the Garden of Eden (Isaiah 51:3 & Ezekiel 36:35).
The whole of Galatians Chapter 3 is speaking of belief that has to come first, because no covenant can annul one that came before it.
It does not matter who you are, your ethnicity, or your place in the hierarchy. If you are a descendant of Adam, through Yahushua, you become the seed of Abraham, which follows down through Isaac and Jacob, who becomes Israel, then through His twelve sons. At this point, you are heirs to the covenant promises. Every single covenant to Abraham was contingent upon his obedience to all the commands of YHWH and teaching these to his whole house. The same is true of all of Israel.
There are not two people groups nor are there two roads to salvation. The road to salvation is first belief, and then obedience to all YHWH has commanded for His righteous followers. Like I said, belief is always first, followed by obedience. Abraham always believed YHWH and obeyed Him.
Acts Chapter 15
Acts Chapter 15 is pivotal to those who have taken on the Gentile identity, thinking of themselves as different from Israel, therefore having different requirements for salvation. The following verse is all they feel they have to do. Notice that three of these requirements are dietary laws from the Torah.
Acts 15:20 but that we write to them to abstain from the defilements of idols, and from whoring, and from what is strangled, and from blood (Exodus 22:20, Leviticus 17:7, Deuteronomy 32:17, 32:21, 1st Corinthians 10:14, 10:20-21. Numbers 25:1-3, Leviticus 17:7, 17:10-14, Genesis 9:4, Ezekiel 33:25, and Proverbs 21:25.) Strangled is one way of saying eating meat with blood,
Acts 15:21 “For from ancient generations Mosheh has, in every city, those proclaiming him – being read in the congregations every Sabbath.”
The governing body did not create these requirements; they got them from the mouth of YHWH, as follows.
Ezekiel 33:21 And it came to be in the twelfth year of our exile, in the tenth month, on the fifth of the month, that one who had escaped from Yerushalayim came to me and said, “The city has been stricken!”
Ezekiel 33:22 And the hand of YHWH came upon me the evening before the man came who had escaped. And He had opened my mouth before he came to me in the morning. And my mouth was opened. And I was no longer silent.
Ezekiel 33:23 Then the word of YHWH came to me, saying,
Ezekiel 33:24 “Son of man, they who inhabit those ruins in the land of Yisrael are saying, ‘Abraham was only one, and he inherited the land. But we are many, let the land be given to us as a possession.’
Ezekiel 33:25 “Therefore say to them, ‘Thus said the Master YHWH, “You eat meat with blood, and you lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
Ezekiel 33:26 “You depend on your sword, and you commit abominations, and each of you defiles his neighbor’s wife. Should you then possess the land?”
What is given here by YHWH are the minimum requirements to dwell in the congregation of Israel, which on the return of Yahushua will be made again like the Garden of Eden (Ezekiel 36:35 and Isaiah 51:3). These coming to Yahushua are told to do these minimum requirements, then go and learn the Law of Moses every Shabbat (not Sunday) in the Synagogues and grow into the fullness of the image and likeness of YHWH. Considering there were no chapters and verses in the original writings in either Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic, see what happens just after the council and just before they were going to deliver the message to the assemblies, as follows.
Acts 16:1 And he came to Derbe and Lustra. And see, a certain taught one was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed – but his father was Greek –
Acts 16:2 who was well spoken of by the brothers who were at Lustra and Ikonion.
Acts 16:3 Shaul wished to have this one go with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Yehudim who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
Acts 16:4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the regulations to keep, which were decided by the emissaries and elders at Yerushalayim.
Acts 16:5 Then, indeed, the assemblies were strengthened in the belief and increased in number every day.
This is important to have an understanding of Paul. At no time is he telling anyone to abandon the Torah (Law), which defines sin, but he is adamant that it condemns you because we all sin. The Torah brought death to us before Yahushua saved us from the law of sin and death that came through the sin of Adam (Romans 8:2). He is saying that works of the law cannot save you. Apart from the redemption of Yahushua, we are dead if we count on works to save us. Paul is saying belief in Yahushua, followed by obedience, is what saves us; then we learn our Heavenly Father’s rules for living life to the fullest in perfect harmony with each other and nature. At the time of Acts Chapter 15, going to the Synagogues where the Torah was taught was the way for the new believers to learn what sin is (lawlessness).
Is the law done away with?
Does our redemption through Yahushua abolish the Torah? Let’s examine what Yahushua says first, and then we will discuss what Paul says.
We will start in Matthew 5:17-19 as follows.
Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. (The Law and the Prophets is a term used for the pre-Messianic Scriptures.)
Matthew 5:18 “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one yod or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done (Luke 16:17.)
Matthew 5:19 “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.
This is as plain as it gets. Heaven and earth are still here, so it is still valid. When the subject of the law comes up with a Christian, not one time in nineteen years have any of them quoted Yahushua. Instead, they quote Paul, so let us look at what Paul says on this subject.
What does Paul say about the Torah?
Romans 2:13 For not the hearers of the Torah are righteous in the sight of Elohim, but the doers of the Law shall be declared right. (Reference Matthew 7:21-27, James 2:14-24).
Romans 7:7 What, then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? Let it not be! However, I did not know sin except through the Torah. For also the covetousness I knew not if the Torah had not said, “You shall not covet (Exodus 20:17 Deuteronomy 5:2.)
Romans 7:8 But sin, having taken the occasion through the command, did work in me all sorts of covetousness. For apart from Torah sin is dead.
Romans 7:9 And I was alive apart from the Torah once, but when the command came, the sin revived, and I died.
Romans 7:10 And the command which was to result in life, this I found to result in death.
Romans 7:11 For sin, having taken the occasion through the command, deceived me, and through it killed me.
This verse is explained in the following verses to 24. The sin he does not want to do is what is killing him because it causes him to violate the Torah (1st John 2:3-4).
Romans 7:12 So that the Torah truly is set apart, and the command set-apart, and righteous, and good.
Romans 7:13 Therefore, has that which is good become death to me? Let it not be! But the sin, that sin might be manifest, was working death in me through what is good, so that sin through the command might become an exceedingly great sinner.
Romans 7:14 For we know that the Torah is Spiritual, but I am fleshly, sold under sin.
Romans 7:15 For what I work, I know not. For what I wish, that I do not practice, but what I hate, that I do.
Romans 7:16 But if I do what I do not wish, I agree with the Torah that it is good.
Romans 7:17 And now, it is no longer I that work it, but the sin dwelling in me.
Romans 7:18 For I know that in me, that is in my flesh, dwells no good. For to wish is present with me, but to work the good I do not find.
Romans 7:19 For the good that I wish to do, I do not do; but the evil I do not wish to do, this I practice.
Romans 7:20 And if I do that which I do not wish, it is no longer I who work it, but the sin dwelling in me.
Romans 7:21 I find therefore this law, that when I wish to do the good, that the evil is present with me.
Romans 7:22 For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man (Psalms 19:16.)
Romans 7:23 but I see another torah in my members, battling against the torah of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the torah of sin which is in my members.
Romans 7:24 Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death (Revelation 12:10 Yahushua delivers us from all evil also (Reference Matthew 13:24-43).
Romans 8:1 There is, then, now no condemnation to those who are in Messiah Yahushua, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:2 For the Torah of the Spirit of the life in Messiah Yahushua has set me free from the Law of sin and of death.
Romans 8:5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the matters of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the matters of the Spirit.
Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.
Romans 8:7 Because the mind of the flesh is enmity towards Elohim, for it does not subject itself to the Torah of Elohim, neither indeed is it able,
Romans 8:8 and those who are in the flesh are unable to please Elohim. Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Messiah, this one is not His.
Paul here is following closely what is said in Deuteronomy Chapter 30. I am trying to keep this article short and concise, but that is difficult. I will show all of Deuteronomy Chapter 30 because it speaks directly to us today, just as Paul does in Romans Chapter 8. These promises in Deuteronomy Chapter 30 are the same promises that were given to Israel when they entered the promised land. Our Father in Heaven’s plan is to bring all of Israel back to the promised land in a second exodus that will be so great that the first exodus will no longer be spoken of (Jeremiah 16:14-15 and 23:1-8 mentioned earlier). Please read these references for the time is near. When Israel entered the land, and these promises were given to them, their King was Yahushua in the Name of YHWH, which His Father gave Him. Israel wanted a fleshly King, so they got one, and to this day, we suffer from that. In Deuteronomy Chapter 30, what is happening is that Israel (all the tribes) in all the nations where He has driven them for their transgressions are recognizing that they have suffered the curses and received the blessings. Then, they turn back in obedience to His Torah commands. They have elected to have Yahushua, who comes in the Name of YHWH, as their King again, so the same promises are again activated. We are returning to the garden of Eden (Isaiah 51:3 and Ezekiel 36:35).
In the articles “The Day and Hour” and “The Two Adams,” I explain how at that time, we are delivered from all evil and made into the image and likeness of Elohim. Now, here is Deuteronomy Chapter 30, with the important verses in bold italics.
Repentance and Forgiveness
Deuteronomy 30:1 “And it shall be, when all these words come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall bring them back to your heart among all the nations where YHWH your Elohim drives you,
Deuteronomy 30:2 and shall turn back to YHWH your Elohim and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, with all your heart and with all your being, you and your children,
Deuteronomy 30:3 then YHWH your Elohim shall turn back your captivity, and shall have compassion on you, and He shall turn back and gather you from all the peoples where YHWH your Elohim has scattered you.
Deuteronomy 30:4 “If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under the heavens, from there YHWH your Elohim does gather you, and from there He does take you.
Deuteronomy 30:5 “And YHWH your Elohim shall bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. And He shall do good to you and increase you more than your fathers.
Deuteronomy 30:6 “And YHWH your Elohim shall circumcise your heart and the heart of your seed, to love YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being, so that you might live,
Deuteronomy 30:7 and YHWH your Elohim shall put all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you.
Deuteronomy 30:8 “And you shall turn back and obey the voice of YHWH and do all His commands which I command you today.
Deuteronomy 30:9 “And YHWH your Elohim shall make you have excess in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground for good. For YHWH turns back to rejoice over you for good as He rejoiced over your fathers,
Deuteronomy 30:10 if you obey the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to guard His commands and His laws which are written in this Book of the Torah, if you turn back to YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your being.”
The Choice of Life and Death is the same as in Romans 8:6-7.
Deuteronomy 30:11 “For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off.
Deuteronomy 30:12 “It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it so that we do it?’
Deuteronomy 30:13 “Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’
Deuteronomy 30:14 “For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart – to do it (Romans 8:5-10 quotes this).
Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil (Romans 8:4-10),
Deuteronomy 30:16 in that I am commanding you today to love YHWH your Elohim, to walk in His ways, and to guard His commands, and His laws, and His right-rulings. And you shall live and increase, and YHWH your Elohim shall bless you in the land which you go to possess. We are returning to our inheritance when He returns.
Deuteronomy 30:17 “But if your heart turns away, and you do not obey, and shall be drawn away, and shall bow down to other mighty ones and serve them,
Deuteronomy 30:18 “I have declared to you today that you shall certainly perish, you shall not prolong your days in the land which you are passing over the Yarden to enter and possess.
Deuteronomy 30:19 “I have called the heavens and the earth as witnesses today against you: I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Therefore you shall choose life, so that you live (Romans 8:6-7), both you and your seed,
Deuteronomy 30:20 to love YHWH your Elohim, to obey His voice, and to cling to Him – for He is your life and the length of your days – to dwell in the land which YHWH swore to your fathers, to Aḇraham, to Yitsḥaq, and to Yaakov (Jacob), to give them.”
Take note of what is said in verse 19 above: “I have called heavens and earth today as witness against you.” This is exactly what Yahushua called as the witness for how long Torah would be enforced in Matthew 5:17. Then he says the following about those who do not follow the commands and teach others not to.
Matthew 5:19 “Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens.
This applies to anyone breaking the least of His commands and teaches men to do so. This is a witness in Tanak (called the Old Testament) and a witness in Matthew from the mouth of the Messiah. According to Deuteronomy 17:6, 2nd Corinthians 13:1, and 1st Timothy 5:19, the Messiah Himself says we are to follow the Torah, which are the Kingdom rules. Every kingdom has rules, but Christianity says the rules were done away with. Paul says in Romans 3:20…through the law comes the knowledge of sin. Romans 7:7 says I would not have known sin but through the law. Every kingdom has rules, laws, and judgments. No one can be part of a kingdom if they do not follow the laws.
What did Peter say about Paul?
2nd Peter 3:14 So then, beloved ones, looking forward to this, do your utmost to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless,
2nd Peter 3:15 and reckon the patience of our Master as deliverance, as also our beloved brother Shaul wrote to you, according to the wisdom given to him,
2nd Peter 3:16 as also in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these matters, in which some are hard to understand, which those who are untaught and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other Scriptures (Reference 2nd Corinthians 2:17).
2nd Peter 3:17 You, then, beloved ones, being forewarned, watch, lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the delusion of the lawlessness.
The areas where Paul is speaking that get twisted are where he is telling us that you cannot be saved by works, as said above. It is impossible because we were not created to know evil, yet evil dwells in us. We cannot overcome this until the knowledge of evil is removed from us (Matthew 13:24-43). He is not leading us away from obedience to the teachings of our Heavenly Father and His Son; he is just telling us that belief comes first. We must first believe Yahushua is the Son of the living Eloah (singular for Elohim, which is always the Father alone) and that He came in the flesh, died, and was raised by Eloah, His Father, to sit at His right hand on the throne with Him. Then, we follow in obedience. There are supposedly 613 commands in the Torah. 389 of them are to the Levitical priest; another 200 cannot be done to some degree without a temple. What are left that can be followed are His Sabbaths which He has given us to be a sign between Him and us that we are His people (Exodus 31:13 and Ezekiel 20:12 and 20:20). Also, we have the ten commandments, the moral laws, and the cleanliness laws. Most people who have not studied the Torah do not realize that the cleanliness laws are ritual. They are about being able to be in the presence of Elohim. If you are unclean, He turns away. He even turned away from His own Son on the stake when the breath of life was about to leave Him because a dead body is the grandfather of all uncleanliness. The idea that we cannot do His Torah is proved wrong by Deuteronomy 30:11, mentioned on page 6. Zechariah and Elizabeth were said to be perfect before Him, and Paul said he was perfect according to the Torah, and Job was declared perfect before Him. Abraham was told in Genesis 17:1 to walk before Him and be perfect. Matthew 5:48 says the same thing. The understanding of this is not what we are taught in our Greco-Roman mindset, but it means if you sin or allow sin to manifest in your body, then you repent. Before Yahushua’s redemption, Israel was required to bring the proper offering to atone for their transgression. Now, we pray for forgiveness, and we are cleansed. Read 1st John 5:17-18.
The bigger, more holistic view
Now, I want to delve into the bigger picture of what is happening. To begin with, I want to go back to Egypt. Israel was put in Egypt to save many lives and to grow into a great nation. Joseph recognized that he was sent ahead of them to save many lives and said this to his brothers. When Israel came out of Egypt, they had a lot of Egypt on them. Egypt was an incubator that Israel was put in to grow into a great nation. They were kept together and blessed to be in the best land in Egypt. When YHWH was ready for them to fulfill their destiny, He brought them out of Egypt, but first, they needed to be put in slavery and oppressed so that they would want to leave. Otherwise, they would have been content to stay there.
Yahushua came to earth early to save many lives until He comes back. To keep Israel in one family until His appointed time to come back, He put Israel (the lost sheep) in what is called the church. It has been an incubator for the lost sheep of Israel to grow into a great nation again. Look at the parallels between Joseph in Egypt and Yahushua. This is a really enlightening study that I am just touching on to show how Yahushua did the same as Joseph. If He had not come early, we would have most likely all been hopelessly lost in pagan worship by the time He will come to destroy all evil. Because the House of Israel (the lost sheep of Israel) had almost totally lost its identity by the time Yahushua came. The message of salvation had to go to the whole world to get to them. Anyone who has heard the message and accepted Yahushua, and followed in obedience, became grafted into the commonwealth of Israel (Ephesians 2:11-19 and Romans Chapter 11). He is coming back at or near the end of the sixth thousandth year from the fall of Adam. He will then rule and reign over the earth for a thousand years, then comes the new Jerusalem (see article “The Two Adams.”)
According to the genealogies in the Masoretic text, we are fast approaching His return. Now is the time to come out of the incubator and return to what you had in the beginning.
Revelation 3:1 “And to the messenger of the assembly in Sardis write, ‘He who has the seven Spirits of Elohim and the seven stars, says this, “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.
Revelation 3:2 “Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete before Elohim.
Revelation 3:3 “Remember, then, how you have received and heard. And watch and repent. If then, you do not wake up, I shall come upon you as a thief, and you shall not know at all what hour I come upon you.
You would think we do not know why their works were not complete before Elohim, but I think we can. Now I will show a comparison with James 2:17-20.
James 2:17 So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead.
James 2:18 But someone might say, “You have belief, and I have works.” Show me your belief without your works, and I shall show you my belief by my works.
James 2:19 You believe that Elohim is one. (Deuteronomy 6:4) You do well. The demons also believe – and shudder!
James 2:20 But do you wish to know, O foolish man, that the belief without the works is dead?
Sardis has belief without works and that is why Yahushua says Sardis is not alive but dead.
Notice, that this is exactly what Yahushua tells the Assembly of Sardis, an end-time Assembly. He does not find their works complete before His Father, and the result of that is that He will come on them as a thief, and you will not know the hour. We have two witnesses that we should know the day and the hour of His coming as follows.
1st Thessalonians. 2:1-5. Many say we can not know the day and the hour because of what is said in Matthew Chapter 24, but the day and hour when the earth is destroyed by fire at the end of the millennial reign of Yahushua is what no one knows, not the Son or the angels, only the Father.
Origins of the church that evolved into what we see today
Now, I want to explore the origins of the Church, as Christianity is now called. Firstly, the original worship of the apostles was no different than the Jews except they believed Yahushua was the Messiah son of Eloah, His Father in Heaven. We can see that in Acts Chapter 15. The new believers are told to go to the Synagogue. A close look at the first and second centuries shows a great falling away from their roots. Ignatius of Antioch sent seven letters to the same seven assemblies that Yahushua sent letters by the hand of John. Ignatius, in his letters, told the assemblies that we are to separate ourselves from the Jews and all that they do, including the Torah and Sabbaths (both weekly and the seven High Sabbaths each year). He said nothing was valid unless done by a Bishop, including baptism and all other ritual things. He labeled this new thing the Universal (Catholic in Greek) Church. He is known for the beginning of the hierarchy, which eventually evolved into what we know as the Roman Catholic Church. Most think Constantine, Emperor of Rome, was responsible for changing the Sabbaths and Holy Days to Greek holidays where they worshiped their gods, but this began long before Constantine and the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD.
This was the beginning of the great falling away from the true worship of the apostles. Irenaeus, an early Bishop, shortly after the death of John, the apostle, wrote a book called “Against Heresies.” He was very adamant about teaching the understandings that came from the apostles and other eyewitnesses only. He was very upset that Origin, the Bishop of Alexandria, Egypt, was telling all the Bishops that they could decide what scripture meant instead of what the Apostles said the meanings were. Irenaeus said all the Apostles and eyewitnesses taught were lost because of Origen’s teachings and his popularity. What is called the church today inherited ideas that were not what the apostles said they meant. The Protestants are still following the Church of Rome. They are doing exactly what Jeroboam 1 did after Israel was divided into two Houses. He created new days of celebration that were not in the Torah and appointed priests who were not of the family of Levi.
The holidays that Christians observe all originate in the pagan feasts of Rome and other nations. Just Google the origins of Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, and Halloween. They think they are making them holy now, but that is not what YHWH says.
Deuteronomy 12:30 guard yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire about their mighty ones, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their mighty ones? And let me do so too.’ (Reference Deuteronomy 18:9, Leviticus 18:3, Jeremiah 10:2, Ezekiel 11:12, 20:32, Ephesians 4:17, and 1st Peter 4:3).
Deuteronomy 12:31 “Do not do so to YHWH your Elohim, for every abomination which YHWH hates they have done to their mighty ones, for they even burn their sons and daughters in the fire to their mighty ones.
YHWH is saying do not do this to me!
Sunday worship was so deeply ingrained when the reformers broke away from the Church of Rome that the protesters did not change it back to the biblical Shabbat. The reformers Luther and Calvin both became murderers. Luther thought that the Jews would come to Yahushua after they broke away from the Roman Church. When they did not, he grew to hate them bitterly. He was personally responsible for burning two Synagogues with all the men, women, and children in them. If you study Luther, you will see he was very mentally disturbed. Calvin was no better. He burned two men alive, beginning with Michael Servetus. He used green wood and put a crown of thorns on his head. The eyewitnesses said it took a half hour for him to die. Michael Servetus was a young Spanish physician who went to Geneva to see if Calvin would debate the matter of the Trinity. This is what Calvin burned him alive for, disagreeing with him. These are your reformers. Luther said sin, sin, and sin more, murder, lie, be an adulterer so that grace may abound. Calvin said once saved, you are always saved no matter what you do, and it appears he felt he was the one to decide if you were saved or not. They both were staunch followers of Augustine, who was picked and trained by Ambrose, who was a Roman general before becoming a Bishop. Ambrose said if you disagreed with him, you were a heretic, and to kill you was to love you. Luther and Calvin both idolized Augustine, who was 18 years a Knostic priest before becoming a Bishop. We think it is an evil world in which we live now. Here, we have three men, two of which are called the reformers and are those who formed present-day Christianity that were all murders. They were all three insane. In spite of all that, our Father in Heaven and His Son have used this institution as an incubator to keep Their people in ’til the partial blindness they are in is removed (Romans 11:25-27). This happens when the Lost Sheep of Israel regain their identity (Ezekiel 37).
I want to follow this with, “I love Christians and Jews.” In Israel, we came to know the Orthodox Jews, who are wonderful people. We grew up in Christianity and love the people. Scripture tells us over and over that the problem is the shepherds. The Christians have taken the Torah to the nations. Even if their converts are told that Jesus did away with the Torah, they have it in their Bible. When the heart is circumcised, they will see the truth. Zacheriah 12:10 tells us when the Jews will see Yahushua was Messiah, which is just before His return, and Romans 11:25-27 tells us when the Christians will see that Yahushua did not die for our punishment and redeem us from death and deliver us from all evil so we could be sinners. Both of these awakenings are when He removes the darnel, the sin that dwells in us and circumcises the hearts of the descendants of Adam, which happens on Shavuot (Greek Pentecost). “Generational Curses” is a brief summary of what happens from the creation of Adam till the return of Yahushua. “The Day and Hour” goes into great detail about the same. Finally, “The Restoration of the Reign of Elohim” goes into the numbers that reveal the purpose and destiny of Adam and his progeny.
The Rapture
It really appears we are very near the time of His return. One more thing I want to address is the rapture. Here, I will share some verses that I do not see how you can ignore. This is exactly what Darby did by creating two groups of people and two salvations.
Proverbs 2:21 For the straight shall dwell in the earth, And the perfect be left in it;
Proverbs 2:22 But the wrong shall be cut off from the earth, And the treacherous ones plucked out of it.
Psalms 37:9 For evil doers are cut off; But those who wait on YHWH. They shall inherit the earth (Psalms 37:11, 37:22, 37:29, 37:34, and Matthew 5:5).
Psalms 37:22 For His blessed ones inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him are cut off.
Psalms 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the earth, And dwell in it forever.
Psalms 37:34 Wait on YHWH and guard His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the earth – When the wrongdoers are cut off, you shall see it.
Luke 17:34 “I say to you, in that night there shall be two in one bed, the one shall be taken and the other shall be left.
Luke 17:35 “Two women shall be grinding together, the one shall be taken and the other shall be left.
Luke 17:36 “Two shall be in the field, the one shall be taken and the other shall be left” (Reference Matthew 24:40).
Luke 17:37 And they answering, said to Him, “Where, Master?” And He said to them, “Where the body is, there also the vultures shall be gathered together” (Reference Matthew 24:28).
Yahushua says that the ones who are gone are dead
To sum this all up, there is only one chosen nation in the entire Bible, and that is Israel. Yahushua never refers to anyone being chosen except Israel. Israel is His inheritance (Deuteronomy 32:9). They are chosen to be the servants of our Heavenly Father and His Son to bring the rest of the righteous that are in the nations to Him. Their job is all servitude. They are to teach the Torah to the nations, protect those who come to Him, and judge among them according to the Torah as was given to the apostles. Anyone who creates another way into the kingdom is not coming through the door but is coming in another way, as a thief does. Anyone doing so shall be found without wedding garments and thrown out (Matthew 22:12-13).
John 10:1 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter through the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up by another way, that one is a thief and a robber.
John 10:2 “But he who enters through the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
John 10:3 “The doorkeeper opens for him, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.”
The only way to the narrow path is belief and obedience. The very idea that He came to this earth in the flesh and died a horrible death and redeemed us from the death sentence from the fall of Adam, so we could be lawless and eat foods that are declared abominations to Elohim seems crazy to me. Try it with your children.
Shalom and YHWH bless you.
Conner
sevenmoedim@outlook.com