144,000 in the Torah?

Q. 144 thousand is where in Torah?

A. Its not. It is in Rev. 7 &14. Is it possible that 12 tribes of Israel multiplied by the number 12 times 1,000 (aleph) that represents His Government ?  These 144,000 will be His Earthly Agents of His Government during the Tribulation. They will have the Name of the Father and Son. The Shem/Attributes/Torah.   I see the number 144 as a picture of Great, Impenetrable Strength like the walls of the New Jerusalem are 144 cubits in Rev. 21:17.  Could it be a number that speaks to His Great and Impenetrable Strength that will exist Forever?  Olam / Forever,  Aleph multiplied by Aleph to the power of Aleph !

Yeshua, our Unleavened Bread from Heaven

When was the first Biblical account of unleavened bread?

Abraham with the 3 Heavenly Visitors.  Gen. 18:6

How do we know that this bread was unleavened?

Look at the word "cakes"=uggah=disc or cake of bread. Cake baked on hot stones.

Notice the word "uggah" is used 7 times in the entire Bible.  The context of all of the verses that this word is used in is with unleavened bread. 

This includes Matzah, Manna and Lechem ( Dan. 5:1 uses Lechem as meaning Feast. A feast of Food)..  All 3 words can give a picture of Yeshua, the Bread of Life.  Sinless...  No Leaven....  Most, if not all of these verses have an urgency to them and Chametz (Leaven) doesn't appear in connection with them. 

Please look up these 7 references.  Genesis 18:6; Exodus 12:39; Numbers 11:8; 1 Kings 17:13; 19:6; Ezekiel 4:12; Hosea 7:8..

Within the Feast of Unleavened Bread we see the pattern of the 7.  Perfection, Completion.  To be "sinless" all the days of our life".  But in the world, Leaven is all around us..

Beware the Leaven of the Pharisee's, Sadducees, and Herod: Hypocrisy and Murder..  It is pernicious and tends to infect others...

Mat. 16:6-12; Mk 8:15; Luke 12:1

We need to get rid of the Leaven and partake of the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.  1 Cor. 5:6-8

Although Leaven generally is a picture of Sin or Corruption, however it doesn't always point to "sin".  Leavened Bread can also refer to the Good News, Yeshua, the Bread of Life, spreading..  Mat. 13:33; Luke 13:21.

Yeshua is the Bread of Life.  Unleavened/Sinless and also Leavened with Sincerity and Truth.

Matt. 26:26; (Mark 14:22; Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24.); John 6:32,33, 35, 48, 51.

Man shall not live by bread alone: Dt. 8:3, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of G-D.  Matthew 4:4..  "Word" in Greek is "Rhema"=speech, what is uttered from a living voice, any sort of message, a narrative, a spoken matter of command...  by meaning, "Rhema" is related to "Logos"...

Who spoke and who Created?  John 1:1-5,14; Colossians 1:16.

The LOGOS...  The Davar/Dabar.  The Speaker and that which was Spoken, that which Created and that which causes everything to exist...  

THE TORAH !  The Torah/Word made Flesh...  Yeshua !

I believe the lesson that we are to receive from unleavened bread is that of living a "sinless" life, all the days of our life', through Yeshua, The embodiment of The Torah. The Bread of Life.   Maranatha, John

Asceticism & Antinomianism

Gnostic Asceticism and Antinomianism was prevalent in the days of the first century.  This, along with Rabbinic Judaism was Paul's main contentions.  The letter to the Colossians is a perfect example of his struggle with the Gnostics.   If you read the book of Colossians without knowing and staying within context, it can be twisted around and interpreted as talking against the Torah and Torah keepers. It is Not. On the contrary it is to encourage those who are trying to walk in Torah Truth so they won't lose heart and fall back into their old "pagan" ways.   Worldly traditions, philosophies and false knowledge were the order of the day during the Apostle Paul's ministry.  I see it still alive and well today and is what is being taught by most "churches" of today...  Maranatha, John

The Carpenter's Board

Concerning Judah and Israel in Ezekiel 37:16-17, notice that Judah and "the sons of Israel, his companions" is written on one "stick" and the other for Joseph, the stick of Ephraim and all the house of Israel, his companions".  You have "Israel" within both of the "sticks".  The Sons of Israel and all of "the House of Israel".  Both are Israel, but one is "Son" and the other is "House".   Most of the studies that I have ever read or heard only speak of Judah and Ephraim becoming Echad or becoming Unified.  But, as you can easily see, there is more going on here than with just Judah and Ephraim.  Within them is the "Sons" and the "House".  Ezekiel 37 is a prophetic vision of the Redemption of the people of Israel before Messiah comes to set up His Kingdom and reign for a 1000 years.  Reading all of Chapter 37 really fits with this line of thinking.  I also see this making sense because Ezekiel 40 thru 48 are concerning the Temple during the Messiah's reign as King on Earth.  I also found something else interesting.  In Ezekiel 37:15 etc. when the English rendering says "stick", in Hebrew it can mean "wood", like a carpenter's board or piece of wood as it is rendered in the English of the TaNaK.  They actually have a note to the side that says "One tablet-- one Nation".   If we read all of the writings of Hosea, we get an understanding of why Judah and the Son's of Israel and Ephraim and the whole house of Israel's names are written on two tablets of wood and then made into one.  They both committed idolatry and transgressed the Torah.  The story is about their restoration back into the Whole House of Israel when they repent of their sins.   I think that what really matters here is that all of the "sons" and "houses" which make up Israel are to become Echad, or One in Unity.  One mind, one language, one Torah, one identity...  12 Tribes or Houses in complete Unity in Mashiyach Yehoshua (Messiah Yeshua).  This is when the B'rit (Jeremiah 31:31-34) will be in it's fullness, because our Master, Himself will be here with us and no man will have to witness to an unbeliever, because all will "Yada'at" Him.  All of this will happen "in that day".  I see it as everything coming back around full circle till finally all is restored to our Father's original intention for His Creation before the onset of Sin and Rebellion.  Galatians 3:28-29 seems to sum it up pretty well and I think that we could probably even say that since we are descendants of Abraham through Messiah and heirs to the promise, then we are Truly "Hebrew".  As Abraham "crossed over", we have also through our "Shema", (hearing, believing, obeying) of the Anointed Word of YHWH...  

Maranatha,  John

Darkness to Light

Our physical life begins in darkness. When we are born we move from darkness to light through water and blood.  Our spiritual rebirth, or being born again begins in darkness or spiritual blindness and lack of the knowledge of Yahweh. We are birthed out of the darkness into the light of truth through the Water of Baptism and the Blood of Yeshua.   Maranatha, John

Ho, Ho, Ho....

So when Santa Claus says: "Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas".  What he is really saying based on the meaning of the original language is: "Ha Ha Ha, Happy Christ Death".  Now think about this.  At the time of Messiah's (Christ's) death on the Cross, who would have been happy about the death of Messiah (Christ)?  Here is a hint.  Take the word "Santa" and take the "n" out of the middle and put it at the end....  Like it or not, when you say "Merry Christmas", you are saying "Happy Christ Death.  Come out of Babylon and Live!  Maranatha, John

Another Look at Christ-mas(s)

Another Look at Christ-Mas(s)

I just want to say that it doesn't offend me if someone chooses to celebrate christmas, but I think that it is important for all professed believers to realize what Our Heavenly Father thinks of the combination of Idolotry/Occultic practices mixed with an attempt to Worship HIM.  This is why HE says that HE Hates the Nicolaitans.(Rev. 2:6,15-16).  The Nicolaitans taught compromise and that it was ok to combine the things of GOD with  Idols and the Occult..  For me, it is a matter of coming out of "Babel" or "Babylon".  In the Hebrew language, the word "Babel" comes from the root word "balal", which means "to mingle, mix, confuse, confound"... The call of Revelation 18:4 should speak loudly to us today.  Every year our study group goes through the entire Torah, and every year it is reaffirmed to me that our GOD does not accept Worship that is a mixture.  Hear and Obey is what HE expects.  I know that it is hard to make the change out of long held traditions, but we need to take a hard look at our decisions and ask ourselves if we are sinning and also if we are in the group that HE knows and takes to be with HIM or the group that HE doesn't know and doesn't take to be with HIM. (Matthew 7:21-23)  Check out the Bible's definition of what sin is and look deeper than the English translation to see the connection between these verses.  1 John 3:4;  Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 2:12-13...  Here is a hint.  "Iniquity", "without the law" and "Lawlessness" are the same thing...  Notice the Greek is the same word/root word...  Remember Sin is Bondage, but the "Law"/Torah (GOD's Instructions) is Liberty/Freedom.  Romans 7:14;  James 1:25, 2:12; Psalms 119:44-45...  I know that this is surprising and most likely not what you have thought, but this is just what the Bible says, not my opinion.   At this point is when most come back with the phrase "we are not under the law"...  To that I would ask which Law?  The "law of sin and death", "the rabbinic oral law", "the Law/Torah/Instruction" of our Heavenly Father?  In Greek, "under the law" is either "en nomos" or "hupo nomos", and if you look at all of the potential verses that use the phrase "under the law" (Rom. 2:12, 3:19; 1 Cor. 9:20-21; Gal. 3:23, 4:4-5,21; 5:18), and consider the context and what was going on in the 1st century and with each area to which Paul's letter was written, you should see that being "under the law" would be likened to speeding in your car and you get pulled over by an "officer of the law", at that point you are "under the law", because you broke the boundary of the Law.  The officer will "handwrite" the ordinances that are against you, and give you a "certificate"/Ticket and then at that point you owe a debt in the form of a fine and if you don't pay it, you will be arrested and put in jail...  This a good modern example of being "under the law"..  If you had not been speeding, you would have been "within the boundaries" of the law, but speeding is "outside the boundaries" and places you under the penalties of the law that was broken... Now, let's say you get to court and you are before the Judge and you don't have the money to pay the fine, usually you will get jail time, community service etc.., but instead the Son of the Judge steps up and says to HIS Father, that He has Paid your debt/fine and the handwritten certificate has been blotted out and you no longer are "under the law".  Colossians 2:14...  Do we then make void the Law that we broke, NOPE. Romans 3:31, 7:7...  It is still there for us to Obey.... John 3:36....   We Stop Sinning.  We Obey instead.   Believing and Obedience work together.  We must remember that GOD wants our Heart, and we need to realize that our Heart is where the Law/Torah of the "New Covenant"/B'rit Chadashah is to be written.  Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Psalms 40:8; Hebrews 10:16-17...  Yeshua (Jesus) did not do away with the Torah/Law of HIS Father,. HE rightly interpreted it or fulfilled it.  Matthew 5:17-20...  Fulfill/Pleroo doesn't mean perform and then discard, it means to act out to give proper meaning.   Look at it like this...  If I have the opportunity today to steal from someone but I choose instead to "fulfill" the commandment "You Shall Not Steal" (Ex. 20:15) by not stealing, does that mean that tomorrow I can steal all that I want because yesterday I didn't?  Of Course not.  The command is still there to be obeyed over and over.  It is there to show us what sin is and how to live "right-eously"..  Try telling your wife that you had the opportunity to commit adultery today, but you didn't, thus fulfilling the commandment to not commit adultery (Ex. 20:14)  and you are no longer bound by that commandment and from this day forward you will be committing adultery and it is not a sin since you "fulfilled" it the previous day..  We all know that is not gonna fly.  See the point?  We don't obey to be Saved, we should want to do so for the sake of LOVE!  Also, remember that in the Bible, GOD looks at idolatry/occultism as the same as committing adultery against HIM. (Ezekiel 23:37-49; James 2:11; Rev. 17:2, 2:22, 18:10)...  Also consider: Exodus 23:24; Deut. 8:19, 11:16, 30:17; 1 Kings 9:6; 2 Chron. 7:19; Psa. 97:7; Jer. 25:6, 35:15.    Some say at this point, "ok John that is not for us today, we are under "Grace" and not the Law.  To that I say... Consider what Grace is.  It is un-merrited favor.  You don't deserve the good that HE gives, but HE does because of HIS SON paying your debt for you.  Mercy is HIM not giving you what you really deserve, (the penalty/curse) also because of HIS SON paying your debt.  Do we continue to sin because of Grace or Mercy?  GOD FORBID! Romans 6:1, 6:14....  Consider now what Romans 6:14 is really saying...  "Sin shall not master or control you, for you are not under the condemnation of the law, because the Judge's Son has paid the debt/penalty for you.  Shall we continue in sin after this, may it never be"...   I will close with this... People mistakenly think that we don't need the writings in the "Old Testament", to this I would say to carefully read  1 Corinthians 10 and really consider verse 11.    My call to you is this.  If this short study pricks your Heart and you see that this is not a game and that it does matter to GOD, then don't be afraid to step out and do as my wife and I did a few years back.  Take down the Tree and come out of her and not partake of her sins....  I know that this is hard to hear and goes against the grain of tradition that you have grown up with.  But, I hope you will pray and study further to see if these things be so.        With the Love of Messiah,  John