We are in the midst of the High Holy Days as described in the Scriptures.

Last Friday, September 14th, was Rosh Ha shana and Yom Kippur is Sunday, September 23. The Feast of Sukkot begins September 28 and concludes October 5th. Many people are not aware of these festivals or know very little about them. But did you know that believers and unbelievers are going to be involved in their fulfillment whether they like it or not? So, in light of the High Holy Day season I wanted to write a brief summary of these festivals and what their implications are.. This may be the only place you will ever hear of this because most Bible teachers don’t know it, believe it or teach it. I want this to be informative but it is also a warning . The Lord has said if you see judgment coming and you don’t warn the people then he will require it from you. So I am “shouting this from the rooftops” if you will. In summary, these festivals teach the coming of Yeshua and have not been fulfilled as yet. There are seven biblical festivals God has commanded us to observe in Leviticus 23.1-44 and there are several Hebrew words to understand . In Lev. 23.2 the Hebrew word for ‘appointed times” is “moed” because these festivals are the “appointed times” of the Lord. These are not Jewish festivals but God’s and He has an appointment (moed) with his people on these days. Of course many so- called believers have “done away with the Law” including these festivals and have told the Lord that” even though we have an appointment, I’m not coming!” Queen Vashti in the book of Esther is a picture of these professed believers and we know what happened to her! The other word used in v2 is the word for “convocation” which is the Hebrew word “mikrah” and it means “rehearsal.” So, when you keep these festivals you are rehearsing what they stand for. But a rehearsal is not the real thing. People in a Broadway play rehearse for many weeks but there comes a day when it is for real and that is exactly what these festivals are for. There will come a day when all the rehearsing will be over and the Lord will actually fulfill what they mean. The spring festivals begin with Passover and end with Shavuot (Pentecost). They teach the first coming of Yeshua and were fulfilled to the letter. He was crucified as our lamb on Passover, buried on unleavened bread, rose from the dead on First Fruits and sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. After the long growing and harvest season we come to the fall festivals. Rosh ha Shana (head of the civil year) is biblically called Yom Teruah or “day of the awakening blast” (Num 29.1). The shofar (rams horn) is blown on this day (Num 10.1-10) to “wake” us up, to warn us of danger physically and spiritually. In the Temple the shofar was blown over the burn’t and peace offerings of the day as reminder of the people before God. That is why this day is also called the Day of Remembrance (Num 10.10). The term “teruah” can also mean “shout” and it is a particular note blown on the shofar. One of the main themes of this festival is the resurrection of the dead believers and the catching- away of the ones who are ‘alive and remain” in what is called the Natzal (deliverance) and commonly known as the “rapture”. This concept is not new and has been known and taught for centuries and the Apostle Paul taught it (1Cor 15;1Thes 4, 2 Thes. 2). The prophets allude to it in Isa 26.1-20; Zeph. 2.1-3; Joel 2.23 and many more places. The Jewish people associate the resurrection of the righteous with Rosh Ha Shana ( day of the awakening blast, remember?) and shofar’s have been found on headstones in ancient Israel. There are several other themes for this day including the wedding and coronation of the Messiah and judgment. This festival is known by several names and these are used in the Scriptures. One is the “Last Trump” and “the day no man knows” because it is the only festival that occurs on a new moon. You can’t start the month without the new moon and so Rosh Ha Shana is the first day of Tishri which begins the civil year, but you need to sight the new moon first. The current Jewish calendar is a concoction of the rabbis 1500 years ago and it does not go by the new moon but is calculated and adjusted. For instance Rosh Ha Shana this year was celebrated on the accepted Jewish calendar on September 12 but there was no new moon. How can you have a month start (Tishri 1) without a new moon? The traditions of men still invalidates the Word of God in Judaism as well as in Christianity. This festival will begin the last 1000 year period known as the Lord’s day, or day of the Lord in the very near future. Yom Kippur teaches the second coming of Yeshua to Jerusalem and the death of the false messiah. The feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) teaches the coming Messianic Kingdom and the reign of Yeshua on earth. There is no way to go into all the details surrounding these festivals but many are virtually unaware of them, including many believers , but didn’t the Lord and the Apostle Paul say that these things would come upon many like a “thief in the night?”. If you are not aware of the prophetic implications of these festivals I would advise you to find some information about them and search out these things for yourself. That which has happened before is going to happen again, there is nothing new under the sun (Ecc 1.8-9; 3.15; Rom 15.4). If Yeshua fulfilled the spring festivals exactly as they have been rehearsing them for 1500 years, I have no reason to doubt that he will fulfill the fall festivals exactly as they are rehearsed, on the day they are celebrated. So, if these concepts are new to you then you are not being taught the things the Lord wants you to know. All the information one could possibly need about these festivals is available to anyone who wants to know.

Q. I had a discussion a week or so ago about the biblical food laws. My friend did some research with his pastor over the dietary laws and gave the fo

A. Well, let’s take them one at a time. I appreciate your question because it perfectly illustrates the false teaching out there and how God’s word has been perverted. Your friend and others who believe this have a false premise to begin with. They think that Yeshua and Paul ate pork and unclean creatures so these scriptures are interpreted to fit that false premise. Let me say again, Yeshua never ate pork, catfish, shellfish or any unclean creatures and he never taught anyone to do so either. And I’ll give two reason why. First, when his enemies were trying to find fault in him they couldn’t. If he ate the creatures or was teaching others to do so, don’t you think they would have accused him of it when they had a chance. Your friend and his pastor are accusing him of it or they would not have quoted the passage in Mark. Secondly, Peter said in Acts 10 that he never ate unclean creatures. Now, if Yeshua taught Peter he could because the “Law has been done away with” why didn’t he obey Yeshua and eat them after the Cross? Maybe Yeshua wasn’t a very good teacher and Peter didn’t get it, but I don’t think so. Or maybe Yeshua never taught it to begin with! The 1st century believers were Torah observant and were a sect of Judaism. Paul himself said in several places he never departed from the Torah (Acts 28.17; 24.14).That means they all ate kosher. Your friend and his false shepherd have a premise that is in error to begin with. No knowledgeable student of 1st century history will tell you that they disregarded the dietary laws found in the Torah. With that said I am going to approach these scriptures they gave from the premise that they were Torah observant and ate biblically kosher food. Let’s look at the first scripture briefly.



Col 2.16-17: The Colossians were living in a pagan society and were being criticized (like your friend and his pastor) for eating biblically kosher and keeping the biblical festivals. Paul is encouraging them to ignore their criticism because what they were doing meant something (obedience to God) and the festivals taught eschatology and about the end times and pointed toward Messiah (Jn 5.39-47).



Rom 14.3-8: This chapter deals with how to relate to others in the Roman synagogue which was made up of unbelieving Jews (weak ) and believing Jews and Gentiles (strong-Rom 4.19-20;10.2). This chapter deals with Jewish” halakah”(how to walk-practice)in that synagogue. Apparently non-believing Jews would not eat meat or wine from believing Gentiles in that congregation, which was the common practice in the 1st century and is the practice with some today. I know of many Jewish (unbelievers and believers) and Gentile believers in Yeshua who will not eat “common” food (not according to strict rabbinical standards) even to this day. This chapter is not about someone eating pork and others should not judge him, like your friend and pastor say. It is about the Jewish practice of not eating meat or wine from a Gentile because they thought it was “common”. Peter said as much in Acts 10.14 and God showed him in that vision, using unclean creatures to symbolize the Gentiles, that it was acceptable to accept the Gentiles who had faith in Yeshua. He still had a problem with this concept in Galatians when he withdrew from table fellowship with Gentile believers when other strict adherents to his practice came to Galatia (Gal 2.11-15). Paul is merely dealing with a related problem in Romans. He is telling them not to get upset over that issue or look with contempt towards others over food. That is their opinion (v1) and if that is what they want to do God accepts the actions of the “weak” and the “strong”. Remember they did not eat unclean creatures to begin with so can’t be the issue in Romans. We are commanded to say something when we see others doing wrong, and eating creatures that God commanded not to eat is something that should be pointed out. The issue in Romans is about kosher meat, vegetables and wine.



Mark 7.14-23: This passage is about Jewish halakah (practices) again and it plainly tells you that in v 3-5. Some believed that you had to ritually wash your hands before you ate. Jewish and non-Jewish people who follow the strict dietary laws of the Rabbis still do it today. Yeshua is saying that these regulations are man-made (v8) and that the food is clean if one eats it without ritually washing their hands according to the tradition of the elders. He is simply making a ruling on their halakah (practices) not saying that a person can eat pork or unclean creatures. If your friend and pastor think he is saying that then the messiah they have is a false messiah. Yeshua’s enemies would have pointed this fact out at his trial but remember “they found no fault in him” so he never taught that a person can eat pork, shrimp, lobster or any biblically un-kosher meat or creature.



1 Cor8.12-13: Your friend and pastor need to read the whole chapter to get what Paul is saying. The issue is eating meat sacrificed to idols. Some thought that food was “defiled” somehow if it was offered to an idol and therefore unlawful to eat(v 7). There is no divinity in idols, but one God so there is nothing that one “carries over” from a so-called idol. But, if a weak (unbeliever) sees you eating meat he knows was sacrificed to idols you may defile is conscience and encourage him to do likewise (v 10-12) and that is forbidden. It was decided in Acts 15.28 that Gentiles were not to eat meat sacrificed to idols, and that is based on the Torah in Lev 17 and 18 and that is the reason for what he is saying in this chapter.



I Tim 4.1-5: These verses are saying that many will abstain from food God already allowed us to eat. This is not saying that you can eat anything you want. The key verse to understand what food Paul is talking about is v 5. “for it (the food Paul had in mind) is set apart (to eat) by the word of God ( the acceptable creatures/unacceptable creatures list in Lev 11.1-47 and Deut 14.1-22) and prayer (blessings before and after meals).” The only word of God Paul could be talking about is the Torah and it tells you what to eat and not eat. Your friend and pastor apparently have another list.



Heb 8.6-7,9.910,10.1: Hebrews is another misunderstood book. Paul (who probably wrote it) is making the case that the Torah is a shadow (picture) of the spiritual (substance). That doesn’t mean the shadow has been done away with. If you do away with the shadow (The Torah) there is no substance. You can’t have one without the other. They both exist at the same time!. I know there is the substance (Messiah) because THERE IS a shadow! The Temple, it’s sacrifices and festivals (shadow) was valid. The scriptures never taught they took away sin. The 1st century believers went to the Temple daily. Paul offered animal sacrifices 30 years after Y eshua and after he wrote the book of Galatians (Acts 21.15-26; 24.14-18). Hebrews was written to Jewish believers ( that’s why it’s called Hebrews) who were being taught that the Temple services were abolished when Yeshua came (early Ebionites) or that the Temple and the priesthood should be rejected because it was corrupt (Essenes), which basically what your friend and pastor believe. There was also teaching that Yeshua should be rejected altogether. Paul is validating the Temple and the services ( the book is written in the context of Yom Kippur) and was advising them not to forsake them (10.19-25) and to not forsake Yeshua (10.25-39) despite all the pressure and persecution they were experiencing and to think about all the suffering Yeshua went through to relieve the pressure to encourage themselves (12.1-17). This book is written in the present tense in Greek so he is talking about how the Temple and the priesthood is a valid, present day(1st century) picture of spiritual things that should not be neglected. This book does not and never did teach that the Torah was done away with because the guy that wrote it went out of his way to attend the festivals at the Temple (Acts 20.16), offered animal sacrifices, paid for others to do animal sacrifices( Acts 21.24) and kept the commandments( Acts 28.17) and taught others to do the same (1Cor 11.1-2). No doubt your friend and or his pastor will say Paul did this because of Jewish pressure and he was “all things to all men.” But, Paul said himself that he came to Jerusalem to offer animal sacrifices and give alms( Acts 24.17). Secondly if Paul was weak and compromised the truth he shouldn’t be trusted. There is no way your friend and his pastor can justify their beliefs. If your friend and pastor believe that Yeshua did away with all this, Yeshua himself doesn’t believe it because when he returns he builds another Temple, institutes a priesthood and the sacrificial system (yes, animals!) and celebrates the festivals in the Messianic Kingdom (Isa 66.18-24; and read the last 9 chapters of Ezekiel, Zech 14.16-21).



Your friend is “blind” and his pastor is “a blind leader of the blind” and I would caution you not to “toy around” with false prophets and the teaching that tells you that the “law has been done away with” when it comes to keeping the Sabbath and the festivals and eating un-kosher meats/creatures until you are ready to defend the faith once delivered to the saints (Jude 3). I do want to commend you, however, on having the insight to question their doctrine- keep it up!

Q. Is it necessary when someone becomes a believer to immediately follow the Torah? If they don’t are they in sin?

A. The answer to your question is in the question. How can you become a believer without repentance, and then the question is repentance from what. A person must realize he is a sinner so he has to know what sin is. The Scriptures say that by the Torah comes the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3.20). In other words if a person doesn’t know the Torah how will he know what sin is. In 1 Jn. 3.4 it says that sin is the transgression of the Torah. Unless one realizes what sin is, he cannot truly repent. In many congregations a person believes that Yeshua is the Messiah but is taught that the Torah has been done away with. So, in reality he is not taught to turn away from sin (through the Torah comes the knowledge of sin), but to keep doing it. They are taught pagan concepts and festivals, they eat creatures forbidden by the Torah and not fit for human consumption and the list goes on and on. Now, you aren’t saved by observing the Torah and the Torah tells you that, nobody ever was and it is not a Bible doctrine. The Torah is our instruction manual from the Lord on how to live. It tells us how to love the Lord and our neighbor. How can you truly say you trust the Lord, then mistrust what He said. There is not one Scripture that says we are not to obey the commandments as given in the Torah, and as they apply to each of us. On the other hand, we are all familiar with the theology taught to most new believers that when you believe in Yeshua you don’t have to keep the commandments because they have been done away with. That never made much sense to me. Preachers will quote the Torah about sin and repentance, and then once they have you walking down the aisle, they tell you are free from the Law, then tell you the opposite again if you get out of line. They rebuke presidents for adultery, but don’t keep the Sabbath. Why is the Sabbath done away with for them, but adultery isn’t for presidents? If the Law has been done away with, how do you know what sin is. There is not one preacher who really believes that the Law has been done away with and they deceive many. Go commit adultery or steal and see what they say. What they really believe is “some of the Law” has been away with, and there is no Scripture to back that theology up so they are in error again. A new convert gets confused very quickly. He is told to read the scriptures, then is told don’t believe them, that “doesn’t apply anymore.” When you really examine this theology you will see the commandments that look too “Jewish” are the ones they tell you not to observe. In reality, there are no “Jewish” commandments, they are God’s. So, in answer to your question, how can a person really turn to God unless he hears the truth, and someone is sent to them with the truth. I believe Paul said the same thing in Rom 10.12-15. Much of the “gospel” preached today is not the gospel of Yeshua, Paul and the Apostles. But the Lord is not stopped by false teachers, that is why a new believer should find a place that believes that Yeshua is the Messiah and teaches the commandments (Rev. 12.17).

Q. What were the three things that Paul was instructed by the Jerusalem Council to tell the Gentiles?

A. If I understand your question I believe you are referring to Acts 15. The chapter deals with what to do with Gentile converts . Do they get circumcised and convert to Judaism (become Jewish) or not. A certain sect of the Pharisees (15.5) believed they should and other believers like Paul, Peter, Barnabas and others believed that they did not have to undergo ritual circumcision (become Jewish) to be saved. Paul and Peter gave evidence that God was saving Gentiles without it. After much heated debate it was determined by the elders that the Gentiles did not have to become Jewish (get circumcised) to be saved. However, they did not say they did not have to obey the Torah. They determined that the new Gentile converts had to begin to observe several things, not only because it was sinful, but to have fellowship with other believers, especially in the synagogues. They are listed several times in the chapter. They were instructed to abstain from idolatry, from eating carrion (things strangled), from eating blood and sexual immorality. These were minimal standards found in the Torah and given to them to start observing immediately. Then in 15.21 the council instructs them to go to the local synagogues and learn Moses (Torah) and begin to observe what applies to them. After this was decided, the elders of the Messianic community sent a letter by the hands of Paul to Antioch, Syria and Cilicia and the decision was read before the congregations and it was received with much joy.

Every so often I like to remind our assembly why we have a congregation in Waxahachie.

But it’s not limited to just those who attend but those in the community need to know so I’d like to explain it this week to those who read these articles. In the 1st century many gentiles were coming into the faith and there were basic instructions given in Acts 15. These 4 instructions were the basic requirements in order to have fellowship with other believers but it was not limited to that. In v 21 it says “for Moses (Torah) from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath”. The main reason we have a congregation in Waxahachie is because Moses was not being taught anywhere. In fact, he was being taught against and that bothered me. I am quite familiar with the “we are free from the Law” theology and I have spoken out against this for years. Believers in the 1st century went to synagogues to hear Moses and to learn how to walk in Messiah. This practice has never changed but there was no place to go in Waxahachie. So I began to ask the Lord about it and asked for a sign. This was June of 1996 and I was involved in a Bible study since the late 80’s. It was a typical hot Texas summer with little rain. My father had open heart surgery in Wisconsin and I couldn’t go right away so my wife, who is a nurse, flew up to help my mother and was gone for 3 weeks and had a lot of time to concentrate on this impulse in my heart. I had a compulsion to start an assembly for quite some time and even tried to get something going several times but it never lasted, but I couldn’t shake it. I needed to confirm this one way or another. I was attending some mandatory job training in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex and during a break I looked outside and it was sunny and bright so I asked the Lord to make it rain for 15 minutes if He wanted a congregation that taught Moses to be started in Waxahachie. Now keep in mind this was a hot Texas summer. After several hours the training for that day was over around 5p.m. and I got into my car and drove down I-35 towards Waxahachie and I could see this little dark cloud going north right down I-35, coming right at me. From the time the rain hit my car to the time it stopped was 15 minutes! The Lord wanted Moses taught in Waxahachie! I didn’t say anything to anyone at first, I didn’t need to. But, we needed a place to meet so we could get out of private homes first and finally a building with a small meeting room opened up in April of 1997, 10 months after the Lord confirmed what he wanted and we moved in. The weekly Bible study began to meet there and I began to go on Saturday mornings alone, stayed alone, prepared for what was coming and left. When everything was ready and it was the Lord’s time a recovering drug addict and a homeless guy named Monty started coming. The people in the Bible study didn’t even come at first and there were some who tried to discourage me in one way or another, but I never listen to people like that and still don’t because I knew what the Lord had showed me. Slowly one would come, then another and people have been coming ever since. Some stay, some don’t but that has always been up to the Lord. Taking the example from the model of the 1st century synagogues that Paul and the Apostles set up we wanted a place where spiritual and physical needs could be met and people could serve the Lord in their particular gifts. This is not a “lifestyle” to us but our Life! It is not a place to “act holy”, we are holy, but not because of anything we do but because of what the Lord has already done. We are saved by God’s grace through the gift of faith. It begins with Him and ends with Him. There is nothing we have done to merit this salvation. The desire to obey the commandments is a sign we have the genuine gift of salvation. It is to be place where symbol is in line with the substance, balanced. We do not say “that was fulfilled so we don’t do it anymore” as many teach. Fulfilled does not mean “done away with” it means “to give meaning to, to confirm” and that is what we try to do. The Torah has many symbolic things and we try to give them substance by obeying them, the “word of God becoming flesh” if you will, finding out what the Lord was teaching through them. Nobody keeps the commandments to gain righteousness in our congregation.

We believe that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Holy Spirit is not a “sideshow” who performs at our bidding. The manifestations of the Spirit are evident and often, but they are not for our entertainment but for edification and comfort. We want people who want to serve the Lord with their whole hearts. We are not interested in people who want to make “contributions” but commitments to love the Lord and our neighbors, to lay our lives down for each other which does not include petty bickering and complaining. We are not interested in personal agendas or someone peddling their own religious bigotries or doctrines. If Moses is taught consistently and correctly the wolves in sheep’s clothing are eventually identified and dealt with by the Lord Himself. We have very seldom had to lift a finger in our own defense, the Lord is a good shepherd and an olive tree needs to be trimmed every so often. Another reason for our assembly is we know that 10 righteous in a city can deliver that city from judgment and we’ll never know in this life what catastrophes, if any, have been avoided in this city. All of the Scriptures teach that every generation was to hear the voice of God that spoke from that mountain so long ago and that is what we try to do when Moses is read in our congregation. It was Yeshua’s custom, it was Paul’s custom and every Torah observant believer’s custom to go to a synagogue in the city they were in to hear the Scriptures in the 1st century. Is our assembly perfect? No, not by a long shot. As long as people are involved there will be mistakes, errors and problems of some sort or another but with the Lord’s help and humble, repentant and pure hearts you can know that there is a lamp-stand still burning and standing in Waxahachie and that is why there is a congregation in this city. Like the commercial says, “we’ll keep a light on for you”, Lord willing!

Q. Is the current struggle over the Temple Mount a sign of the end times?

A The answer to that would be “yes” and “no” so let me explain. The struggle over the Temple Mount is nothing new. It has been going on for thousands of years. Solomon predicted that if Israel ever turned away from the Lord and His Torah the Temple Mount would be a proverb among the peoples (2Chr 7.16,19-21). Battles over the area predated Moses going back to Abraham (Gen 14.1-18). Deut 12.10 says that when Israel finally has rest from their enemies a Temple would be built and they would worship Him there. King David fought over the Temple Mount and finally secured peace. I Kings 12 documents how Israel lost access to the Temple through rebellion and even set up another religious system to keep people from going south to Jerusalem to worship. Pharaoh Shishak plundered the Temple and it’s treasuries in 1 Kings 14. We have the episode in 2 Chr 22 with Baal worship in the Temple, Joash abandoning the Temple and serving idols in 2 Chr 24. Not to mention obvious battles with the Assyrian, Babylonian and Roman conquests spanning over 800 years. For nearly 1900 years Israel and Jerusalem were conquered by different nations. In our lifetime we have seen British control of Jerusalem then Israel becoming a nation in 1948 which leads us up to your question. So, you can see that struggling over that area is nothing new and it will even continue into the Birth-pains and Messianic Kingdom (Rev. 20.9). The next question would be “What can we expect in the near future?” I believe a possible scenario will look something like this and this is based on what has happened before. The High Holy Days will fit prominently into the timing of all this. Everything discussed from now on will be based on Scripture and/or history. Israel will very soon gain total control over the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock will be removed. They will feel secure enough to erect a Temple. Seven days prior to the korbanot (offerings) services beginning, the area, the Altar, the vessels, the priesthood , the worshippers will need to be cleansed with the ashes of the Parah Adamah (red heifer-Num 19). This will begin on the 24th of the month of Elul (Hag. 1.15). The korbanot will begin to be offered on Tishri 1, year 6001 from creation (Ezra 3.1-6) which will be the first significant Rosh Ha shanah to Yom Kippur of the Tribulation but the foundation for the Temple will not be laid yet. You do not need a Temple building to offer the korbanot, all you need is the Temple Mount and the Altar. It is believed by some that the day the offerings begin on the Temple Mount Altar the believers will be caught up to Heaven in the Natzal (catching away) . True believers will see the acquisition of the Temple Mount, the red heifer and the cleansings according to the Torah before this event happens giving them ample warning to prepare and warn others of the impending events, mostly falling on deaf ears and scoffing.. When you see this start happening there will be at least seven days before the time for the Natzal and the Birth-pains begin. Unbelievers ,PETA and professing believers will go out of their minds when this happens. Many false teachers will condemn Israel for the” barbaric practice”. Theologians will go on religious and secular talk shows to discuss why the Temple services have been done away with and how this is such a tragic event. Israel will be hated among the nations and apostate Christianity will be at the forefront, as she always has been. The media will stir up the masses to try and pull political strings to stop this from happening with major opposition coming from America. But America’s days are numbered and the opposition here will be quickly silenced by God Himself. There is no escape or pardon for this nation. The United States will be destroyed by a Russian attack 8 to 9 days after these offerings begin. Our nation’s crimes before God are too numerous to mention. This sets up the scenario for the false messiah to rise to power in Europe because of the sudden power vacuum left by the destruction of America. He is given immediate power to defend Europe from an attack and he signs a defense treaty with Israel on Yom Kippur, beginning the 2,520 days of the Birth-pains or Tribulation period. Three years later the second significant Rosh Ha Shanah to Yom Kippur begins and Russia will invade Israel. Russia has tried to invade Israel before on a Yom Kippur in 1973 and will now return to finish the job but will be destroyed (Ezek 38-39), leaving the false messiah in power in the west. The powers of the east and south come against him for the remaining three and a half years culminating in his final defeat during the third significant Rosh Ha Shanah to Yom Kippur of the Tribulation period. So as you can see the struggle over the Temple Mount is ancient, present and future. There is nothing new under the sun.

Q. In Luke 16.9 it says “make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness, that when it fails they may receive you into the etern

A. This verse is part of a parable that was addressed to the scribes and the Pharisee’s (v14). To get the basic idea let’s go through the verses. Yeshua starts out talking about a steward (scribes/Pharisees) who worked for a certain rich man (Lord). The rich man calls the steward to account for himself about why he was squandering his possessions. God repeatedly did this through the prophets, John and Yeshua. They had corrupted the Word, committed acts of theft and covetessness. The devoured widows houses (Matt. 23.14), tried to obtain land and worldly things and squandered God’s possessions. Fearing that his stewardship was going to be taken away (v3) he began to forgive some the debt owed to his master to try and secure their favor so that he had a place to go once he was relieved of his duties. Finally (v8) the master praised the steward for his shrewdness saying the sons of this world are more shrewd in securing a worldy place to live than the sons of light are about their heavenly home. They are wiser in temporal things than believers are in spiritual things is the point. So now we come to v 9 and the basic meaning is this. We should turn money to our “spiritual” advantage by showing mercy to the poor, helping the orphans and the widows, giving to those in need. Then, as a result, in life and death those that were relieved and helped will rise as a witness on your behalf at the Judgement on the Last Day. In other words, with the same wisdom, energy and creativeness we invest in earthly things, lay up our treasures in heaven which will have eternal benefits not just temporary ones. The scribes and the Pharisees were interested in securing a place of honor in this world and exploited the Word of God, the Temple and the land for personal gain using some in-genius interpretations and machinations to secure a place of honor in this world. Yeshua was saying that they should’ve used the same wisdom in securing a heavenly inheritance. He is clearly aiming this parable at them because in v14 it says that the Pharisees were lovers of money and were listening to this parable began to scoff at Yeshua. They knew he was talking about them, but the meaning carries over to today. The scribes and the Pharisees are alive and well today but this parable and it’s teaching has practical application to all of us.