Olive Tree Image

Olive Tree Image
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction,
upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

1 Corinthians 10:11 (NASB95)

Tuesday, January 31, 2006

Feast of Purim Talent Show

PURIM TALENT SHOW: February 12, 2006 Sunday

1:00 pm – 4:00pm

Bring Finger Food
103 E. Belt Line Rd. DeSoto, TX

Exit 35 at exit #414, Belt Line Rd. Head west for 2 miles, a gray building with blue awnings will be on the right just before Hampton Rd. If you see Dominoes on your left you have gone too far.

Everyone's invited!

Evolution vs. Creation

Q .What do you think about Creation versus Evolution?

A. Well, one is a fact and the other a theory. Isa 4.12 says that their leaders were like children, with little wisdom when it came to governing by spiritual guidelines. This has never been truer today. America’s Supreme Court has forbidden the teaching of creation in favor of the theory of evolution. Evolution is just like the fairy tale about the frog that turned into a prince. No child in the world would ever believe that the story is true. The only difference between that fairy tale and evolution is time. Time is the god of the evolutionist.

They are teaching a fairy tale because they can’t explain why nothing can reproduce itself outside of it’s kind, and people have crossed different kinds the result is sterile (mules for instance). If a person can’t see a designer in the world, no argument from me is going to convince them. Evolutionists don’t even believe their own logic. If I told an evolutionist that the watch that was on my wrist just evolved there, that nobody designed it or put it there, he would look at me like I was crazy. But tell him the wrist that watch sits on, which is more intricate than the watch, was created and had a designer, and he’ll again think you are crazy. Well, that’s what the evolutionist wants you to believe, and I don’t. You don’t have to be a scientist to see that this world had to be designed, and have a creator. The evolutionist can’t find God for the same reason a burglar can’t find a policeman.

You don’t have to understand the mind of unbelief, there is no logic to it. There was a story the other day about a woman who found cockroaches in her food, and is suing the restaurant. Then she’ll go out and spend 10.00 a pound on lobster, and they basically do the same thing. Both are Arthropods. One lives in the ocean and the other on land, but they eat about anything organic and clean up their respective environments. The fact is, this country does not trust God, I don’t care what it says on our coins. This country passes laws that deny His existence because He demands that we obey Him and we want to sin. It’s not that the burglar can’t find a policeman, he doesn’t want to because he’ll get caught and have to change his behavior. It’s the same thing with an evolutionist.

They don’t want to be accountable to a holy God, so they try to deny His existence by adapting fairy tales and calling it science. But, the Lord will have the final word on all this because we all will have to account for ourselves. Those that are true believers will be in His Kingdom, and those that don’t will have an eternity in the Lake of Fire to think about the chances they squandered in this life to repent and come to the Lord their Creator and God. The issue isn’t creation or evolution, the issue is the heart of every man. What we believe helps reveal where our hearts are. What we have accumulated in this life shows where our hearts have been. Like the commercial says, “What’s in your wallet?”

Saturday, January 28, 2006

What Would Jesus REALLY Do? (WWJRD?)

JEWS AND GENTILES
Q: What did Jesus REALLY do concerning the Jews and Gentiles?
A: In Genesis 12:3 and Numbers 15:14-16, we see that with God there is no difference once a Gentile (stranger) has joined himself to Israel.

In Acts 9:15, Acts 10:45-48; Acts 11:17-18; Acts 13:47; Acts 15:7-9; Acts 26:17-18; I Corinthians 1:23-24; I Corinthians 7:19; Ephesians 2:11-13; Ephesians 21:9-20; and Ephesians 3:5-6, the Bible clearly shows that there should be no distinction between Jews and Gentiles once they have accepted Yeshua (Jesus) and follow what the Bible REALLY teaches.


SABBATH
Q: What did Jesus REALLY do concerning the Sabbath?
A: Genesis 12:1-3 and Exodus 20:8-10 tell us exactly which day to observe as the Sabbath. Refer to Mark 1:21; Mark 6:2; Luke 6:6; Luke 13:10; Acts 13:13-14; Acts 13:42-43; Acts 15:21; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4; and Collossians 2:16-17. The Bible clearly shows that Yeshua and His followers kept and continued to keep the SEVENTH DAY as the SABBATH (which begins at sunset on Friday).

LAWS AND COMMANDMENTS
Q: What did Jesus REALLY do concerning the Laws and Commandments?s
A: The first five books of the Bible clearly gives the Laws and the Commandments of God. So, what did Yeshua REALLY do? Refer to Matthew 5:17-19; John 14:15; John 14:21; John 15:10; Acts 21:20-24; I Corinthians 7:19; Timothy 1:8-10; Hebrews 8:10; Hebrews 10:16; I John 2:3-4; I John 5:2-3; 2 John 1:6; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 14:12 and Revelation 22:14. The Bible clearly states that Yeshua and His followers kept all of the laws of God.

FEASTS AND FESTIVALS
Q: What did Jesus REALLY do concerning the Feasts and Festivals
A: Leviticus 23 lists the festivals given by God. So, what did Jesus REALLY do? Refer to Matthew 26:17-19; Luke 2:41; John 2:13; John 5:1; John 10:22-23; John 11:55-56; John 12:12; Acts 2:1; Acts 18:21; Acts 20:16; Acts 27:9; I Corinthians 5:8 and I Corinthians 16:8. The Bible clearly shows that Yeshua and His followers kept all of the feasts and festivals of God at the appointed times.

Source: www.otwaxahachie.net
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Wednesday, January 11, 2006

Did Jesus Ever Claim to be God?

Q. Did Jesus ever claim to be God?

A Not directly by saying “I am God’”, but He did many things that only God can do. Many times, Yeshua let you make up your own mind about Him, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest He was. In Jn 10.33 and 8>59 the Jewish authorities were ready to kill Him because they thought He was making that claim. Thomas, after the resurrection, declared him to be his God (Jn 20.28). Paul calls Yeshua God in Titus 2.13 and at the beginning of many epistles (Eph 1.2, Phil 1.2, Col 1.2, 1Thes 1.1, 2 Thes 1.2 he puts Yeshua on equal status with the Father. In Acts 5.31 and Col 3.13 Yeshua is said to have the power to forgive sins.

In Jn 11.25 Yeshua does not simply say that He gives life, but that He IS life. It is a present reality within Him. Only God could pay the penalty for the sins of the whole human race (1Jn 2.2). Now, I can’t explain the “triune” concept of God and neither can anyone else, but it’s there and it is not from paganism as some say. The Father initiates, the Son is the agent through whom the Father works creation, revelation, salvation and the Ruach ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit) is the power of God. There is an internal “order” to this “unity” as well. The Holy Spirit (Ruach) is subordinate to the Father and the Son.

The Son is subordinate to the Father, but that is not the issue we have here in your question. I said all that to set up the answer. In Revelation 19.10, John is told by the angel not to worship him because he is just a fellow servant, and that he was to worship God only. Now, in Matt 2.11, 14.33, 28.9-17, Lk 24.52, Jn 9.38 and other passages, Yeshua is worshipped. The word for worship in Revelation 19.10 is the same word used in the other verses. Yeshua does not stop them like the angel did. Worship is reserved for God only, therefore, by Yeshua’s own actions we see a direct claim to what rightfully belongs to the Lord only, so, in my opinion, I believe Yeshua is God Himself manifested in the flesh.

He accepted worship, forgave sin, grace and mercy come from Him, and He is life itself. These things can only be said of the Lord. So, we have the witness of the Father, Yeshua’s witness, the witness in the Scriptures of those that knew Him, and the witness of His enemies that Yeshua is the Lord Himself.

Friday, January 6, 2006

Comments

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False Messiah & the False Bride?

Q. You mentioned the false messiah in past articles. Is there a case to be made for a false bride he is coming to get? Would you cover this subject? Clarence

A. The false messiah is an eschatological character who will appear before the coming of the real Messiah. He is one of the main characters in the end times with volumes of information about him in the Scriptures. This subject has been dealt with in past articles so I won’t get into major details here, but there are numerous chapters, verses and personalities in the Scriptures that can give us a picture of him. Pharaoh, Absalom, Antiochus Epiphanes are major pictures. Dan 7-12, Ezek 29, Ezek 32, 2 Thess 2, Rev 13 are some obvious references to him. But there are thousands of indirect and subtle references that we have, and by putting them all together you can get a composite view. He will come and have many convinced that he is “Jesus” and change the Torah and festivals of G-d (Dan7). That has already been done. The spirit of the false messiah is already here in apostate Christianity. He will come and delude people into thinking he is the messiah of the Scriptures. He will come looking like people think”Jesus” looked like. Did you know that the Shroud of Turin is thought by many to be what artists used to paint pictures of what they think Yeshua looked like.

The long hair, the face are all similar to pictures we have of “Jesus”. But, it has been proved that the face on the Shroud of Turin is the exact replica of the face of Antiochus Epiphanes, A scriptural picture of the false messiah. Now, Antiochus forced people to turn from the commandments and follow pagan worship. He forced people to eat pig, roasted a sow on the altar in the Temple, changed the biblical festivals and so on. That is exactly what is being done today, although not by physical force yet, but that is coming. Right now, this turning away from the Torah is taught as institutionalized replacement theology in seminaries and churches.

When the false messiah comes, he will be saying exactly what the preachers and Christian theologians are saying now. He will be saying that he has” done away with the Law” and people will believe him then because they are being taught it now. There is nothing new under the sun. The false messiah will not be a Moslem or some crazy minister somewhere who oppose orthodox Christianity. The false messiah will actually have people convinced he is the true messiah because his theology will be just like what is taught today, confirmed by signs and wonders, which people will also follow. So, in a sense, he does have a false bride. That bride includes anyone who rejects the true Messiah, follows the teachings of man rather than the Torah, believes the Law has been done away with.

The false messiah will be so like the real messiah that if it were possible he would deceive the very elect, but he can’t because they will follow the Scriptures and that is how you know he is false. Anyone who teaches you to forsake the Sabbath, keep pagan festivals like Christmas, says you can eat whatever you want, tells you that the biblical festivals have been done away with is not from G-d. That is the teaching of the false messiah. It doesn’t matter what you feel like, what matters is what is institutionalized replacement theology is exactly what G-d’s enemies have been trying to do since Eden. Convince others that G-d didn’t really mean what He said and get people to turn away, for whatever reason. Being convinced you can eat pork is no different than eating the forbidden fruit of Eden.

And yet, people are told it’s alright, “you shall not surely die”, “has G-d really said” and so on. It’s the same lie that Satan told Chava and it is being told today because he knows it works. That is what the false messiah will do. Rev 12.17 says that Satan, the power behind the false messiah, will persecute those who believe in Jesus (Yeshua, the real one) and keep the commandments of G-d. Those that don’t will be following the false messiah and be the persecutors, just like it always has been. There is nothing new under the sun. The false messiah, it is believed by many going back to the 1st century, will be from the tribe of Dan. The world is being set up for him right now. In every community, every newspaper, in every church that follows apostate Christian teachings, every source you can imagine is preparing the way. I can recognize it for what it is, and I try to warn people about it.

But, his teachings, his spirit, his ways, his theology, his likeness is already here. In our congregation, this subject is dealt with extensively through the year. There is so much detail in the Word on this it would be impossible to go into here. So, everyone who is reading this has been forewarned to find the truth and to get out of any system that teaches you to do away with the commandments, any of them. All don’t apply to everyone, but they have not been done away with. Many are following the false messiah right now because the power behind him is Satan and he is the one who deludes the people, so it doesn’t really matter whether the false messiah is on the scene right now or not.

People have the “mark” of the beast by rejecting the L-rd’s commandments anyway, and the Scriptures are clear about this. What all this comes down to is unbelief It doesn’t matter if you wrap it in Christmas paper, reindeers, Santa Claus Christmas trees or whatever, it’s still unbelief. Are you one who has been deluded by this or are you letting the Spirit of G-d lead you out of Egypt? Time will tell, but time is running out.

Tuesday, January 3, 2006

The Temple's animal sacrifices

Note: A Messianic group has formed in Cedar Creek Lake (Henderson County) for those living in that part of Texas. Contact information for that is as follows:

Attn: Skip Smith
Skip Smith Insurance Agency
416 E. Cedar Creek Parkway
Seven Points, TX
903-432-4144


Q. Once the Temple is rebuilt, should animal sacrifices be resumed? I assume they will be resumed by non-believers, but if believers consider Yeshua’s ultimate sacrifice the only one needed, should believers go up to the Temple to participate? Elissa

A. This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the Scriptures among believers. So, let’s go through some of the main points to understand. Most of the misunderstanding about the sacrifices comes out of the false teaching called “Replacement Theology.” That subject has been dealt with at length over the years in these articles, so it won’t be discussed now, but it basically says that the “old” testament has been replaced by the “new” covenant. Now, to answer the first part of your question, yes, animal sacrifices will be resumed in the coming Temples. The one I want to focus on is the Messianic Temple that Yeshua will be a part of.

The Scriptures are clear on this point. Being a believer has nothing to do with the point that these sacrifices will continue. So, let’s do some back round. The word “sacrifice” is not really a good word for the Hebrew word “korban” which means “to draw near”. These korbanot were what biblical worship was. We know from Acts 21 that believers in Yeshua continued to off the korbanot. Paul was coming out of a Nazarite vow (Acts 18.18) and was coming to Jerusalem to offer the required animal sacrifices (Acts 24.17). This was 30 years after Yeshua, and he paid the expenses for the sacrifices of 4 other messianic believers coming out of their Nazarite vow. He did this to put an end to the rumor that Paul has teaching that believers needed to forsake the Torah and the teaching of Moses ( Acts 21.20-28), which is exactly what the Church teaches today.

Paul was against that teaching and proved it by supporting the Temple and the sacrifices. Once Yeshua returns, there will be a messianic Temple. Ezekiel Chapters 40-48 describes the worship which includes animal sacrifices Ezekiel 45.17 tells us why they are done, which is for “reconciliation”, or atonement. Now, there are two levels of atonement. The higher level of atonement was accomplished by Yeshua at the cross where he fulfilled the Yom Kippur sacrifice on Passover. The second level is reconciliation and that will continue till the end of the Messianic Kingdom. Zechariah 14.16-19 says that the nation that does not come up to Jerusalem to keep the feast of Booths will have no rain and receive a plague, and that the L-rd will “smite the heathen that does not come up to keep the feast of Booths”.

To say that these korbanot (sacrifices) were done away with after Yeshua is saying that the blood of these animals took away sin, which the Book of Hebrews clearly teaches that they did not. These sacrifices never did take away sin, so Yeshua’s death had nothing to do with them being “done away with” as many teach today. These concepts are not hard to understand, but because believers have immersed in false teaching for so long they find it hard to comprehend. But, the L-rd is clear about this and with a proper understanding of the Scriptures and what exactly Yeshua did, it becomes clearer and understandable. So, in conclusion, the animal sacrifices, or korbanot (drawing near to G-d) will continue in the coming Tribulation Temple ( Dan 9.27) and in the Messianic Temple dedicated by Yeshua Himself on the Chanukah following his return (Dan 12.11-12).