2023 New Testament Epistles Commentary

Romans 1, Romans 2, Romans 3, Romans 4

The righteous will live by faith, which is obedience to God because of a belief in what He has done for us. Works of charity or "love" gestures do not save us, though they certainly ought to be done. All ought to know God by contemplating the complex elegance of creation, for it is beyond evident that He created the heavens and the earth and everything in them. It takes a leap of faith to believe that our intricate reality could form on its own. And those who rebel against God by worshipping his creation are also evident, for they fall into a downward spiral of sin that destroys them and everyone else around them. To approve of their actions, even while not doing them, is in itself sin worthy of death. Hell is coming to those who do evil or turn their faith toward something other than God, but He will give eternal life to those who persevere in faith. Now that Yeshua has died as a propitiation for our sin, and risen, we who abide in Him will do the will of the Father as He did, and we become Jewish by His blood. But those who have descended from Jacob will be judged by Gentiles if they reject the Word of God. All must endure in faith through Messiah Yeshua, and all must abide in His Will, for the law is established through faith.

Romans 5, Romans 6, Romans 7

In 2 Peter 3:15-16, the Apostle Peter warns us to watch out for Paul's writing. As a Torah scholar, and Pharisee of Pharisees, as he called himself, Paul's brilliant writing is very high-level theology and very difficult to understand. It is not meant to be taken literally, but is full of nuance and metaphor. To sum up today's reading, which cuts the flow of Paul's thought in artificial parts that we ought to be mindful of, Paul is saying that men are either following after the world and the lusts of their own flesh, which by its very nature violates God's Torah, and this is what he calls "the law of sin," or they are following after the Holy Spirit of God, which gave Torah to man, which is the "law of the Spirit." Paul says in Romans 7:14: "The Torah is Spiritual," and by miraculous salvation through Yeshua, we fulfill Torah when we learn it and then live according to it by the Spirit of Messiah. Our sin nature was crucified with Messiah, our former sins were crucified with Messiah, and any sin that we might still commit was crucified with Messiah, so long as we live with humble and contrite hearts that are always looking to the Father through Messiah's death and resurrection to guide us according to His will. The law informs us what is sin, and the Savior with His Spirit helps us turn away from sin and abide in the Truth, which is the Torah as exemplified by Messiah Yeshua.

To understand Paul's writing—particularly, what he is not intending to communicate, we have to look for his "anchor statements," or the places where Paul discerns that a reader may misunderstand what he's writing. Paul periodically throws down an anchor to latch on to the Truth so the stormy winds of doctrine cannot take someone off to a false mindset. We saw the first one in Romans 3:31: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!," and the next in Romans 6:1, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not!," which is similar to Romans 6:15: "What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!" Next, Romans 7:7 reads: "What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law." Then Romans 7:13: "Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not!" The point is, the Torah is not what saves us from sin, but Yeshua is our savior through grace. But because we have been saved by grace, we ought to follow Yeshua and fulfill the law, fulfilling the will of the Father. The grace that saves us gives us a clean slate from which to become obedient by choice.

Romans 8, Romans 9, Romans 10

Romans 8 completes the thoughts of the previous section of Paul's letter to the Romans, noting that to live according to the flesh, one lives in violation of God's law and will suffer judgment, while when one is living in Messiah Yeshua, the Holy Spirit helps each of us to abide in the law of God, which is one in the same with the law of Christ. The Spirit instructs us in righteousness, which was specified and identified by the Torah and exemplified by the Son. The Father has predestined all people to walk in the Spirit in the newness of life, but not all people will choose this path, and He will allow some to fall away due to the hardness of their hearts.

Such is the case for some of the Jews, as we get into Romans 9-11, a section about God's chosen people. The good news is that God has chosen a remnant from among them to believe. Importantly, Paul notes that both Ishmael of Hagar and Isaac of Sarah were children of Abraham, as were the other six born of Keturah, but Isaac was the son of promise, the one who was chosen and who chose to follow the LORD. Likewise, Esau and Jacob were both born of Isaac, but Jacob was chosen as the promised Son, and Esau chose to rebel against God. In the same way, some sons of Jacob—Israel according to the flesh—have not decided to follow the promised Son Yeshua, but rather they have rebelled against Him. But those who are sons by His blood, whether grafted-in from among the Nations or born from the line of Jacob, these are now the sons of promise, one Body in Christ. Whether Jew or Greek, there is only one people in Messiah, brothers and sisters to Him who was raised from the dead and exalted on high.

Romans 11, Romans 12, Romans 13

As the Romans 9-11 section concludes in Chapter 11, we see Paul make his glorious conclusion, that Gentiles are grafted-in to Israel when they take on faith in Messiah Yeshua. The Church is NOT Israel, but rather, Israel is Israel, the children of Jacob. Some children of Jacob were broken off of the Olive Tree, which is Israel, and have fallen down into rebellion, potentially to be burned up, but a remnant of the natural branches remain producing fruit from the tree. As Gentiles, we are grafted-in to the Olive Tree and become brothers and sisters of the Jews who believe. Paul is sure to point out that we ought to be humble in this identity as sons of Israel, for we too can be broken off the tree, just like the native branches were if we fail to walk in the way of our Messiah. And just as we were grafted in, so too can natural Jews be grafted back into their native Olive Tree when they accept Messiah Yeshua for who He is. This ought to be our heart, to bring the Jews to repentance and to bring along as many Gentiles as the LORD permits, until their fullness is grafted in and there are no more to be assimilated.

Paul leads perfectly from these points in Romans 11 into the next logical point in Romans 12, and that is this: How do we graft-in those natural branches that were broken off and how do we find more wild branches to add into the fullness of the Olive Tree? We do this by presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice to the LORD, to be transformed into His image so that we can do God's will in our lives, and we ought to use the measure of faith allotted to us to do the work of the LORD, the great commission, to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and teaching them the commandments of God. We ought to prophesy, teach, exhort, give, lead, show mercy, and love, detesting what is evil while clinging to that which is good, as God has specified by His Torah. We ought to give preference to our brothers and sisters in the faith, showing diligence, fervor, service, hospitality, rejoicing, honor, hope, perseverance, and uniting in prayer and in helping one another make it in the Christian walk. He doesn't leave out the unbelievers, though, for we ought to love our enemies also for the purpose of bringing them to repentance. When heaping coals on their head, this conviction will either bring them to the healing grace of Messiah or drive them further out in the hardness of their own hearts.

The ruling authorities of the faith ought to be obeyed, for they teach Torah, our instruction. When we do what is good according to Torah, they have no reason to condemn us.  When we do evil against Torah, their condemnation is valid. It may be that when we obey God first and do His will that even the governing authorities of the synagogues and the churches that are errant may repent and come to faith in Messiah Yeshua—to walk as He walked. This principle applies to the civil authorities also, but only so much as we maintain our faithfulness to Christ. Obedience to God must come first, but in this obedience we ought to obey the authorities so long as they do not lead us to violate Torah, which is disobedience to Christ. When we do good, there is nothing to fear for God will reward those who diligently seek Him. We must rid ourselves of the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light, walking about in daylight, doing good rather than shameful things. When we love the LORD and love our neighbors, we fulfill Torah, so long as we love according to it, for the Torah is what defines love and the Spirit helps direct us according to it. When we put on Messiah Yeshua, and we rely on Him for everything, He helps us do this.

Romans 14, Romans 15, Romans 16

Clean meat vs. vegetables, Monday and Wednesday as fast days vs. Tuesday and Thursday; these things were controversies in Paul's day, but ultimately, we must not be contentious over such light matters. All clean meat is clean so long as it is in accordance with God's Torah, and those who won't eat it are not to be begrudged for it. We must follow through with the Holy Spirit's conviction on our own heart as we read Scripture, but we also must understand that our hearts are desperately wicked, and without Messiah's leading through His Word, we are sure to go astray if solely following our own desires. Our obedience to Torah, or lack thereof, ought not cause an occasion to puff ourselves up, for grace alone saves. Our obedience ought to serve as an example of our love for  God, for the LORD seeks out those who love Him and walk with Him. If obeying in the love of Messiah, others will see our joy and want to follow Yeshua also, and this ought to be our goal. There are so many obedient followers of Yeshua at this point, Paul speaks to those who are more advanced, so they do not to allow a weaker brother or sister to fall away. Love covers a multitude of sins.

1 Corinthians 1, 1 Corinthians 2, 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 4

What is the mind of Messiah Yeshua? Is it not to abide in the Father and to do His will? For there is wisdom in His Word and in His Ways, but there is no wisdom in the philosophies of men or the ways of man. Many puff themselves up today with high and lofty "scientific" theories of how the world began or how man came to be, but God has already told us the Truth and it is both plainly evident and easily accessible to all. A true teacher of God will point to Messiah Yeshua, rather than to himself, and if we admire a teacher of God, it is because He points to Christ and the law of God as the only Truth we need. The LORD uses His teachers to do His will, and those who submit to Him will effectively communicate His work to those who need to hear it. Ultimately, though, their work ought not be judged by us, but its fruitfulness will be revealed in the Day of the LORD. We ought to regard one another as fellow workers in Messiah, stewards of God's mysteries, and we must be found trustworthy as those who humbly pursue the LORD's commandments and lead others to do the same, for this is what it means to live a life "in Christ." If we are truly living in Messiah, then we should be exhibiting His power, and His power should be seen shaping our lives.

1 Corinthians 5, 1 Corinthians 6, 1 Corinthians 7, 1 Corinthians 8

Regarding sin within the Church, Paul says remove the sinner who is unrepentant so that they do not harm the whole Body. In fact, he writes, cast them out for Satan to deal with, hopefully bringing them to repentance and a desire to turn back to Messiah. Some believe this principle is to be used sparingly, but I wholeheartedly disagree. I think it should be used strictly, for any sin that is allowed to fester within a Church can become cancerous and destroy the whole Body. It MUST be rooted out immediately, and all sin rebuked so that a person can come to repentance, and so that the Body can be protected from temptation that leads to death.

Regarding disputes among church members, Paul says these should be handled internally. No court of law or civil authority should be involved in church matters ever, for at the End of Days, we will judge angels. How could it be that we can't judge ourselves? Paul continues by noting that it is the duty of the Church to correct people in violation of God's law, for unrepentant sinners will not make it into Heaven. Too many of today's Christians are deceived by a false doctrine of grace, which is permissive and allows sin within the Church to its own destruction. When we are washed clean by the blood of Messiah, we are to follow after the LORD and be sanctified by His Spirit, leaving our sins behind us. We cannot sin against our bodies or against one another, for we are the Temple of God, and God will not dwell with those who are caught up in sin. We must take heart to glorify God with our bodies and with everything we do.

Regarding marriage, Paul interjects some of his personal opinions and makes it clear that he believes it is better for a Christian not to marry but rather be devoted to Messiah for their entire lives. However, he says that for those who desire to marry, to procreate, and who have the desire for the opposite sex, they ought to marry within the faith and remain faithful. While a believing spouse can edify an unbelieving spouse and bring him or her to repentance, this is not ideal. It is better for a man and woman to be equally yoked in Messiah Yeshua and fully devoted to Him together.

Regarding food sacrificed to idols, Paul notes that he gives no place to idols and thus food that might have been sacrificed to an idol is of no consequence to him. However, we know from Acts 15 that the early church ruled that eating food sacrificed to idols is sin, and even new believers ought to avoid such food on day one of their walk with Yeshua. This is Torah, also, and it is something developing Christians ought to understand as an evil to be avoided (i.e., eating Halal, or food sacrificed to Allah, or eating food at a restaurant with a Buddha statue or similar idol—we shouldn't be doing this). Paul's point is that the idols themselves have no power over us, and they don't if we are truly following Messiah, but for the sake of those who give them power, we ought to avoid eating the food. Chapter 8 can be very confusing to people who don't understand Paul's point. Paul is not permitting us to eat food sacrificed to idols, and he doesn't have the authority to do so, either. He is simply saying the idols are powerless against a true believer in Messiah Yeshua. Nevertheless, we should not eat any food known to be sacrificed to idols, for we must not give God an occasion for jealousy, nor our brother or sister an excuse to sin.

1 Corinthians 9, 1 Corinthians 10, 1 Corinthians 11

Paul is clear that pastors ought to be taken care of financially by their flocks, but he does take pleasure in the fact that he supports himself. In fact, he said it would be better for him to die than for him to be supported by the ministry. I agree with this mindset, and likewise enjoy the ability to give all to God and the flock without compensation on account of my own financial tent-making business, for like Paul, I am a "tent-maker" or "skénopoios (σκηνοποιός)," of sorts—I help people get their financial house in order. As Paul said, however, "woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel," and so it is true, and I would not desire for any other way, for the only reward I want is from God in His kingdom. Paul's point in Chapter 9 is only that it is right for a pastor to be supported by his flock, and that congregants should not complain about this, so long as there isn't covetousness involved in the pastor's heart. He qualifies this by noting that he is not asking for money, as some might believe based on these words. At the end of the day, Paul's desire is to go out and reach all people by mirroring and matching them in their environment, but without sin. His struggle is to do all of this without temptation, for if he were to fall into sin, particularly covetousness, in his walk with worldly men, he might lose his own salvation. He must teach them while remaining blameless.

And in Chapter 10 he warns the church not to not make the same mistake as the Fathers, who had the law but failed in it through a lack of faith. Though they had access to salvation and even to Messiah Himself, who led them through the wilderness, they denied Him through fleshly cravings, through idolatry, through sexual immorality, through unbelief, and through complaining, and so too might we fall by these things. But none of these temptations has power over us if we have Messiah dwelling in us, who can help us escape with endurance. We must flee from idolatry at all costs. In an example of idolatry, with the Passover Feast approaching, Paul exhorts the Church in Corinth to treat the LORD's supper, which would have happened annually at Passover, with utmost respect. They were not to partake in idolatry or worldly traditions in any way and then come to the Passover feast and receive the cup of the LORD. We cannot mix the Holy with the profane, for this double-mindedness leads to death. In fact, Paul writes that those who do not treat the Passover Seder in remembrance of Christ with utmost honor and holiness are suffering from illnesses and death on account of their irreverence. This celebration is not to be taken lightly.

In Chapter 11, Paul exhorts those who have been trained by him according to the traditions of the Gospel passed down from Messiah Yeshua, who fulfilled the law in all things, to understand we are in a spiritual battle. We must remain blameless in Messiah Yeshua. The elohim that God created, who fell, the demons of old, are out and about, and increasingly coming back into power today. We must be mindful of this and be sure to protect our women and children from them, for that is our role in Messiah Yeshua. As men we cannot cover ourselves except in Christ, for to do so presents weakness to the enemy. We must be mighty men, and women must be women of valor, looking to their husbands who model Christ, and fully invest in the life that He calls us to. Paul clarifies, saying that women aren't independent of men and men are not independent of women, expressing equal value for all people. He wrote that we must be mindful of our roles and use them to serve God in the proper way, and he wrote this specifically because the pagan cultures around him that were teaching a blending of the sexes and transgenderism, much like ours today. Ishtar was a transgender demon. We must be mindful to do the will of the LORD, rather than the will of demons.

1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Corinthians 14

Chapters 12-14 are related in that Paul is urging edification of believers as the highest end within the church, which is rooted in the Truth expressed with love. What struck me most in today’s reading was this: “You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led.” Paul is literally saying that the spirits of demons lead pagans to worship things that are dead in order to lead them to death. In contrast, when we come to know Messiah Yeshua and declare Him LORD, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we ought to be led by His Spirit to bear fruit within the church for the edification of other believers, and for unbelievers conviction and repentance for the forgiveness of sins in all humility, which brings them in to the Body as a new member who worships God. This is accomplished through prophesy, which is the righteous Holy Spirit led interpretation and application of the Word of God.

While there are many gifts of the Spirit and many offices within the Church, the gift of prophesy is the one that all should desire, for it is what accomplishes the most good. Tongues, which was overemphasized then and overemphasized now, is useless without understanding, and that understanding comes through prophesy and interpretations. No matter where anyone is in their faith, they all have purpose for the Body as a whole, and each provides their own gift while receiving the gifts provided by others, so long as they do not become cancerous (lawless), needing to be removed. Anyone building into the health and development of the Body ought to be encouraged and strengthened with Truth in Love, while those who are tearing down or causing division need correction, and if they cannot be corrected, dismissal. Clashing gongs and clanging symbols cannot edify if there is no order to their use. Only when played in harmony with the other instruments can they produce a good sound.

1 Corinthians 15, 1 Corinthians 16

Chapter 15 reveals the mysteries of the Resurrection, the coming Kingdom, and the way we will be changed into spiritual beings, such as the angels in Heaven. Yeshua and the Father will be seen as one at that point, which is why He will be subject to Him. A hand is subject to the body it is a part of, and Messiah is the arm of God. When Zechariah 14:9 reads, “And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be—“The Lord is one,’ And His name one,” it is my opinion we will call Him Yeshua in that day and forever, and this mystery will finally be revealed to all. We must believe this promise of God, for to be without belief is to not receive the Truth that sets us free. When we believe that Yeshua is Yahweh, we are free indeed, and await this marvelous Day that will be like no other. He was Resurrected as the First Fruits during Passover week, and at the appointed time, the last Day of Trumpets, we too will be resurrected, whether dead or alive.  This is an elementary principle of the Faith, and one that helps us to endure. It is the Truth by which we ought to comfort one another. Because of this Truth, we must endure in our faith, keeping the commands of God, walking in the footsteps of our LORD until He comes.

2 Corinthians 1, 2 Corinthians 2, 2 Corinthians 3, 2 Corinthians 4

When I attended seminary for a brief three months, the first thing they taught us was the commentaries, which plainly state that Paul wrote three letters to the Corinthians. This, among a myriad of other things, I believe to be error, and it was on account of my desire to avoid learning repeated errors that I decided to leave the seminary and follow God and His Word alone. Thanks be to God that I had the support of my overseer/mentor in this decision. The common interpretations of Paul's letters are so misleading, I try to avoid them, and I often urge people not to read or hear them at all. They cause blindness, a return of the veil so even the Gospel's meaning is lost. Paul may have studied in seminary under Gamaliel, but he also rejected a lot of this teaching because the teaching of men, when it is elevated above Scripture, is simply error. The teaching we receive must be in alignment with Scripture, and with the Holy Spirit, and only then can the veil be taken from our eyes so we can see the Glory of God, which is in His written Word, from Genesis to Revelation, as well as in His living Word, which dwells within us, convicts us, guides us and instructs us in the ways of righteousness, helping us apply Scripture to our lives.

Paul's 2nd letter to the Corinthians is a follow-up to his 1st letter, in which he rebuked the Corinthians about many things in harsh form, most likely causing the tears he describes. I've done this with brothers in the church, and there is nothing more painful. I pray for repentance and correction, as the Corinthians exhibited, but sometimes separation is the only possible result, because we cannot worship with unbelievers lest their spiritual cancer spread to us, and Paul's first letter made that clear. In this second letter, he brings the believers in Corinth both encouragement and further exhortation to smooth a few rough edges and commend them for the growth that they have exhibited. We both experience the suffering of Christ as well as the comforts of His Spirit, which gives us abundance in both spiritual and physical blessings, though the physical blessings are always paired with further tribulation to keep us humble. Tribulation can become so extreme, as it was clearly with Job and by implication with Paul, that we despair even of our lives. But Paul points to God who raises us from the dead, both in this life in the Spirit, and in the age to come into His Kingdom, and so we set our hopes on this promise of God and endure.

Prayer cannot be overemphasized, for in writing to these Corinthians Paul expresses that in the midst of his afflictions and suffering, he desires nothing more than their help through prayer, because through prayer God grants his favor, which is grace. Paul notes that he is confident that he has conducted himself "in holiness and godly sincerity," which is obedience to the Torah, "not in fleshly wisdom but in the grace of God," which is faith in our salvation through the grace offered through Messiah Yeshua, and this is how he instructs us to live, also, relying on prayer through it all. If we live in this way, Paul writes, then we ought to encourage one another to endure in this life all the way until we are glorified into God's Kingdom. He writes, "I hope you will understand until the end." It does appear that Paul, Silvanus and Timothy visited Corinth to preach to them between the two letters, and this letter's purpose is to reemphasize that teaching. The people of Corinth desired another visit that did not occur, and Paul explained how they ought to focus on doing the work themselves, rather than rely on Paul. Prayer is the bridge between all believers; we ought to hold our fellow workers up in prayer when we are apart.

In Chapter 2, Paul notes that he the godly sorrow he brought in his first letter had its intended effect. The man having relations with his father's wife was cast out, and this caused sorrow, but now in this man's repentance Paul explained they should welcome him back in to the community, forgive him and comfort him. In fact, they ought to "reaffirm" their love for him, so he isn't consumed by overwhelming sorrow, so Satan cannot take advantage of the situation to tear apart the flock that fails to forgive.

Toward the end of Chapter 2, Paul brings in weighty theology that comes from the Book of Enoch, which was read by the First Century believers and quoted in the book of Jude, where the apostle declared Enoch a prophet. In Enoch Chapter 24, the prophet explains that the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge both give off an odor that emanates from those who eat from them. When we are given the Tree of Life in the Kingdom that is to come, "The sweet odor shall enter into [our] bones; and [we] shall live a long life on the earth as your forefathers have lived; neither in [our] days shall sorrow, distress, trouble, and punishment afflict [us]," we read in Enoch 24:10. Thus, Paul explains that God through us reveals the fragrance of the knowledge of Yeshua, which gives life to life in those who hear and understand, but death to those without faith.

Thus in Chapter 3, Paul explains that we become a living letter of commendation, showing through our very lives that Messiah Yeshua has written His law on our hearts, and by His living Spirit we exhibit this righteousness in everything we say and do. Any of this righteousness does not come from anything we personally have achieved, but it comes from the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua acting on us, which convicts us to act in accordance with Torah, just as He did. Our ministry in Messiah Yeshua is far more glorious than the ministry that lacks faith in Him, for the Torah is just words that make no sense without the Spirit of God and our faith in Him. There can be no understanding of Moses's law without the Spirit that gives us this understanding. A veil remains over all people, whether Jew or Gentile, when they do not have faith in Messiah Yeshua, for He is the mercy and grace of God that has offered life to us through Him, and when we have Yeshua dwelling within us because of our faith, we are free from sin and capable of walking in the freedom of God's righteousness. We cannot be convicted by the law because we abide in it, and we abide in it because Messiah Yeshua has transformed our hearts by His Spirit to do so, if we are truly in Him.

And in Chapter 4, because of the mercy and grace we have received through Messiah Yeshua, we do not lose heart, but rather verbally renounce all of our sins and all of the bondage that Satan once held us under, and openly proclaim the Truth of God's Word both in our words and in our actions so that all can see, including God, that we are indeed dwelling in Him. Even the Gospel of Christ itself will be veiled to those who are perishing, because Nachesh, the Serpent of old, who we call the Devil or Satan, has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so they cannot see the Gospel of Messiah, who is the image of God. We're called to reach the lost, but we don't boast in our own actions, rather in the actions of Messiah Yeshua as well as what He has done in us, so that perhaps the LORD will reveal His light in their darkness. This journey will not be without persecution; it will be full of it, for the enemy does not want to let his captives free. This persecution works to our advantage when we rely on Messiah Yeshua to help us endure, and it is this very example that helps to save souls. When grace spreads to more and more people, our only response ought to be thanksgiving to Almighty God, who calls us to eternal life in Messiah Yeshua.

2 Corinthians 5, 2 Corinthians 6, 2 Corinthians 7, 2 Corinthians 8, 2 Corinthians 9

Such beautiful understanding flows from Paul's writing, and like him, I desire to be absent from the body and present with the LORD, but whether I depart now or in 40 years, I will still wait for that same Day when we are raised up together upon Messiah's return. He has given us His Holy Spirit as a down payment for the eternal kingdom we will dwell in with Him, and there is no pretense here about the Kingdom of Heaven somehow being fully realized until then. It is nonetheless our duty to be pleasing to God while we are here, because we will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. For this reason, we ought to live for Messiah Yeshua, not for ourselves, so that we do not receive the grace of God in vain. No matter the cost, our life with Him is worth it. We are to give up all that we have, if necessary, just to obtain that precious pearl that is our promised relationship with Yeshua forever. We ought to be a people set apart for Yeshua, and not resemble the rest of the world in any way. Our culture is evil, and the days are dark and growing darker. We must avoid what is unclean, we must dwell among those who are equally committed and keep all darkness from infiltrating our midst.

Paul continues, stating that in this life we must "cleanse ourselves from defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." This is more plainly stated: trust in the salvation offered through Messiah Yeshua and keep the commandments of God. Whatever it takes to communicate this to the church, this must be our course. If we make some sorrowful, even hurt, so be it. The sorrow of the world produces death, but not in us, for we seek Godly sorrow that leads to repentance without regret, which brings salvation. If there is any among us who longs for the world rather than for God, perhaps they should not be among us any longer? To follow Yeshua means to throw off the world and its lusts and be earnest in this, no matter what hardship this brings upon ourselves. We rejoice in the righteousness of Christ that lives within each another through faithful obedience to God's commandments, because of the redemption we have been given by His blood. In our obedience to God, we ought to tithe (10%) to the church we attend, we ought to give more to those in need on top of our tithe, and we ought to care for one another within the church most of all, for this is the will of God, and we ought to obey Him joyfully.

2 Corinthians 10, 2 Corinthians 11, 2 Corinthians 12, 2 Corinthians 13

How do we destroy arguments and arrogance raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to the obedience of Messiah? Read the Word of God, Speak the Word of God, and Live the Word of God, as our LORD exemplified. We may all boast about our accomplishments or even concerning the gifts given to us from on high, and we certainly ought to boast that we know Yeshua, but we ought to instead live humbly with repentance a life that resembles our Savior's life; one that follows Him in all of His ways and shows through our actions that we belong to Him. Does the written Word come across with strength? Is it confusing? Come and see that the LORD is good and His mercy is everlasting. Put Him on the throne of your heart and live out the commandments of God on account of this, showing others meekly what is right. We are betrothed to Messiah, and so let us be pure virgins, not driven astray from the simplicity of the commandments God asked us to follow into legalistic complexity or fleshly lawlessness. There is another Jesus who looks away from sin and deflects worship, but the Biblical Jesus commands us to repent from sin and worship Him as God Most High—for without His mercy we have no hope, and He is worthy to be praised!

Galatians 1, Galatians 2, Galatians 3, Galatians 4

In his letter to the Galatians, Paul was addressing a very specific thing: Jews were telling Gentiles they must be circumcised in order to be saved. This was a remnant of Pharisaical conversion laws that crept into the early Messianic faith. To be a proselyte Jew, one must be circumcised, according to the law of men. Paul's whole point is that we receive the LORD by hearing the Gospel, by accepting Messiah as LORD, and by believing in His death and resurrection. That's it. This grace is a gift of God, and it is what justifies us before God, for we have all fallen short and violate the Torah, no matter who we are. These points apply specifically to the call on Gentiles to be circumcised, and do not apply to our call to obey Torah once we have been saved, and this study's devotional or any interpretation that says otherwise puts Paul above Jesus Christ Himself, elevating Him above God. It's blasphemy, but it's not what Paul is saying. And he clarifies this in Galatians 2:17-18 with an anchor statement: "“But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Far from it! For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a wrongdoer.”

As Yeshua said in Matthew 5: The law will not pass away for anyone who follows Him, but we must all fulfill it. As He said in Matthew 7: Those who practice lawlessness will not inherit the kingdom of God. Once we are saved through the free gift that Messiah Has offered us on the cross, it is incumbent on us to follow Yeshua by keeping the commandments of God, which are akin to the law. This is not something we do through our own strength, but as He explained in John 14:15-18, when our heart is to obey God, He will send His Holy Spirit to help us obey the law. Circumcision was a sign of the Old Covenant, it is not a law that is required for all converts, and no such law was ever written by God. The sign of the New Covenant is receipt of the Holy Spirit, and that very Holy Spirit's whole purpose in us is to convict us of sin and lead us toward the righteousness of Messiah Yeshua. Acts 15 explains we must do four things immediately upon becoming Christians, and then we will learn the law of Moses as we come to the meeting place each Sabbath to worship and hear from Torah. As we learn the law, the Spirit convicts, and as the Spirit convicts, the one who is truly following Christ will obey the law, for only the one who is not IN CHRIST will be "under the law," meaning held accountable to it. To be in Christ is to live in accordance with Torah.

Galatians 4, Galatians 5, Galatians 6

James 2:14-26 makes it clear: "faith without works is dead." Yeshua Himself said that when He returns, He will judge each man (or woman) according to his or her works (Matthew 16:27). Paul agrees in Romans 2:6: "He will judge each according to His works." In Matthew 7:21-23, Yeshua said those who practice lawlessness will be cast out, even if they call upon the name of the LORD. In 1 John 3:4, we learn, "sin is lawlessness," or in other words, sin is violating the law in your heart. For 1 John 2:4 makes clear, that we are liars if we do not keep His commandments, which are articulated in the law. In Matthew 5, Yeshua said the law is fully upheld—every jot and title, for He came to fulfill it, not to nullify it, and He said "follow me." This means He came to show us how to fulfill the law properly, so that we could do it, too, with the help of His Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18). Clearly, via Ephesians 2:8-10, we are saved "by grace," the grace given by Yeshua on the cross, and this is Paul's point in Galatians, but this salvation "by grace" is "through faith," and in this case, "faith" is a verb and is better rendered "faithfulness." It means works; specifically, the works of the law.

Scripture does not contradict, thus Galatians does not mean what many Christians believe it means. Peter lets us know in 2 Peter 3:15-16 that Paul's writing can be confusing, so we had better not twist it to our destruction. Paul's letter to the Galatians is about the Jews who insisted Gentile adults be circumcised when they converted to follow Yeshua, which was the "oral law" of the Pharisees relative to becoming a Jew. Yeshua often and regularly rebuked the oral law, but He fully upheld the commandments of God, which is Torah (Matthew 15, Mark 7 being the most prominent). Now, once we contemplate these things and understand that all of Scripture testifies to God's children being obedient to the law, not by blind obedience, but by the Spirit of God through faithfulness in following Yeshua, then the verses in Galatians that clarify Paul's points become more apparent, particularly in Galatians 5: Yeshua set us free, so we should not be yoked again to bondage. He's talking about being free from the punishment of sin, which is defined by the law; not freedom from the law itself. Rather, he writes: "do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery." In other words, do not fall under the law by sinning, but follow Christ and walk in righteousness according to the law.

All this being said, I repeat: It is Christ who justifies. Only by God incarnating in the flesh and sacrificing Himself on behalf of our sin (Philippians 2) is it possible for sin to be forgiven. Without this forgiveness, there is no salvation and no hope for any one of us. And without Yeshua's identity as God, there is no forgiveness. God who created us in His image to be good also gave us the option to choose what was evil and apart from Him. Because He is only good—in Him there is no darkness—He cannot abide with any creature that sins, not even once. This is why He had to be accountable to His creation and come Himself in the flesh, for God could not send a substitute to atone for sin. No animal sacrifice would do, and not even the sacrifice of a man would do. If Yeshua was just a man, then there is no forgiveness of sins. God abhors human sacrifice, and says so many times. He must be God, and He was, is and always will be God, for only in this do we have any chance of redemption by His blood. But that redemption does not give us license to sin and walk in lawlessness. Our Redemption gives us FREEDOM to follow Yeshua into the Kingdom of God through obedience in the Spirit to the law that is now written on our hearts.

Paul is even more clear as Galatians comes near it's end about the letter's purpose: Anyone who seeks circumcision as a way to convert to Christianity must then follow the "whole law," meaning the whole law of the Pharisees—the oral tradition—what is now the Talmud, the Mishna, etc. In other words, they have to become Rabbinical Jews, and in so doing they deny Messiah Yeshua who freed us from the commandments of men so we could obey the commandments of God. He writes: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love." Faith working through love is simple, for Yeshua said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." To have faith here, we must confess that Yeshua is Yahweh and believe that God rose Him from the dead, and to have faith working through love (faithfulness), we then keep His commandments on account of what He has done for us. This controversy about circumcision was becoming so vile between the Pharisaical Christians and the rest that Paul said, "I wish that those who are troubling you would even emasculate themselves." He might be saying: if you're going to command circumcision, just take the whole thing off so your position cannot be reproduced.

But he makes a distinction: We were called to freedom, to love our neighbor as ourselves, to walk by the Spirit. The opposite is to walk according to the flesh. If you walk by the Spirit, you are not under the law because you're keeping it, but if you walk by the flesh, you are under the law because you are NOT keeping it. He then gives examples. The works of the flesh are all direct violations of the law and all can be cited directly from Torah: "sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these." Similarly, the works of the Spirit are all expressing obedience to the law, and can all be directly cited from Torah: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." Against these there is no law, because when this fruit is in you, you are obeying Torah, which was exemplified by Christ.

In the next chapter, he marvelously concludes: "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a person sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit." He then adds: "Let’s not become discouraged in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not become weary." What is good? "There is none that is good but God, but if you want to inherit eternal life, keep the commandments," Yeshua said. It ought to be our deepest desire to be obedient to God, for Yeshua died for us so that we can be clean. How dare we think to crucify again the LORD and insult the Spirit of grace by in any way discarding the law that defines His very nature. We are to cast off the world, the flesh and the pride of life, but take on Christ. When we follow Yeshua, we walk in the way He walked, which was to be perfectly obedient to God, and He said: "Be perfect as my Heavenly Father is perfect." Can we do it? Not without help. But thanks be to God for Yeshua, that He is with us always and He has sent the Holy Spirit of the Father and the Son to help us.


Ephesians 1, Ephesians 2, Ephesians 3

In Ephesians 2:14-16, in the Common English Bible, we read that Yeshua "canceled the detailed rules of the law so he could create one new person out of the two groups," referring to Jews and Gentiles. Better wording is in "The Scriptures" 2009 translation, for it uses a direct translation from Greek to English: “having abolished in His flesh the enmity – the torah of the commands in dogma – so as to create in Himself one renewed man from the two, thus making peace." Paul is explaining that Jewish Pharisaical interpretation of Torah is incorrect and no longer applies. The dogma, or belief system, that these Jewish leaders had devised from Torah was abolished by Yeshua on the cross, and a new interpretation of Torah is now available to us through Yeshua, who gave us a living example. In fact, Yeshua had torn down "the barrier of hatred that divided us" or "the barrier of the dividing wall" or "the middle wall of separation." Do a web search for the word: "mechitza." This is what Paul is referring to. There was a literal wall separating Jews and believing Gentiles who were not circumcised as well as women in all places of worship. Now, in Messiah Yeshua, all could worship together as one body in Messiah Yeshua.

Importantly, through Yeshua, Gentiles were welcomed into Israel; to become a part of the Body of Yeshua, a Jew, because of the victory He accomplished over both sin and death. At Babel, the nations were disowned by God, and Ephesians 2 explains that Gentiles were “separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” This was a spiritual reality, and all Gentiles before Christ who did not become Jewish had no chance of eternal life. Now, through Yeshua, all Gentiles who call upon His name and follow after Him by keeping the commandments of God can be a part of Israel. Thus in our reading, it is the "enmity" or "hostility" that Yeshua has abolished, which was caused by a false interpretation of the law. God's separation of the sheep from the goats would now be between those who believe in Yeshua and follow Him and those who fail to do both of these two things. Now, the LORD has given us opportunity to become sons and daughters through Yeshua. We are given the Holy Spirit as a down payment, and at the Resurrection of the Dead we will receive our new spiritual bodies forever and ever.

Ephesians 4, Ephesians 5, Ephesians 6

Paul urges us to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling," which means to follow after Yeshua, but according to the Spiritual gifts and roles that He Himself assigns. We ought not get tossed by every wave of doctrine nor by the trickery of men who teach tradition, but rather we ought to speak the Truth in love. We ought to renew the Spirit of our minds, to put on our new self in the likeness of God in righteousness, holiness and truth, ridding ourselves of falsehood. We do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit and cause God to depart from us. We must become obedient sons, just like our Master Yeshua; imitators of God. We must be careful to avoid sin, vulgarity and even joking, for to walk with God is to give thanks at all times for all things. We have to avoid false prophets, who deceive with empty words or disobedience to God's commandments, and instead walk in the light, for goodness, righteousness and Truth are among the pleasing deeds of light. Because the days are evil, we ought to speak in psalms, hymns & spiritual songs with melodious voices, exposing deeds of darkness. Not only this, but we ought to put on spiritual armor to defeat the flaming darts of the enemy. In all ways we ought to submit to the LORD and to one another.

Armor of God: Isaiah 11:5: "Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist."
Isaiah 49:2: "And He has made My mouth like a sharp sword; In the shadow of His hand He has hidden Me, And made Me a polished shaft; In His quiver He has hidden Me.”
Isaiah 59:17: "For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak."

Ephesians 6:14-18: "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—"

Philippians 1, Philippians 2, Philippians 3, Philippians 4

Philippians 1:1-11 are the words of prayer that a sister offered for our church, First Fruits Ministries, and they are coming to fruition in building us up into a place where the name of Yeshua is being made famous for changing the hearts, minds and lives of all His faithful servants. Praise and glory to His name! No matter our circumstances, we ought to preach the Gospel of Messiah Yeshua with boldness and encourage all believers to pursue the Truth of God's Word, and so let us exalt the LORD in all things. There is no end that can possibly deter us, for to live is for Messiah, and even to die is gain, for the very next moment we will know upon death is the resurrection into eternal life. And so let us encourage one another in Messiah Yeshua, and be of the same mind, love, spirit and purpose of Messiah Himself, and not for ourselves but for Him and one another. For Messiah Yeshua is God who created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in them, but He humbled Himself into the flesh and lived as a man, even dying, though sinless, a sinners death, so that we might be saved through His resurrection into the fullness of eternal life and follow Him there by imitating Him in every way. For this reason, we ought to proclaim Yeshua is Yahweh, and worship Him as our God, and every tongue will confess this in the end, to the glory of Elohim, our Abba.

Our faithfulness to the LORD ought to be executed as we continue to live in Messiah Yeshua, for we must "work our [our] own salvation with fear and trembling" as God works in us by His Holy Spirit to sanctify us. As we do this, we ought to rejoice in the LORD and do so always, even while battling with the enemies of God and the trials and tribulations of the world and of the flesh. Paul's exhortation to "forget what lies behind and reach forward to what lies ahead, to press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua" is something we all must grasp. We must escape the spiritual bondage of our former sins, our failures, our fallings away, and even our own false notions, for God forgives the one with a humble and contrite heart completely and then expects us to change to become increasingly more like Him. We ought to have a changed life that looks nothing like the rest of the world, and we ought to strive further toward this life toward the example of Yeshua and His apostles. This includes the pagan festivals, the unclean foods and all of the other things we used to do. We must give these up for God, lest we too make our palate a god that is more important to us than the LORD. We must cast off earthly things, for our citizenship is in Heaven and our future is there where we will be made fully into the likeness of Yeshua.

Nothing in this world ought to make us anxious enough to forget our calling in the LORD, and we ought to rejoice always and pray without ceasing with gentleness. Rather than bemoan what we do not have, we ought to be thankful for everything the LORD provides and simply build relationship with Him letting Him know our needs as we pursue Him, and He will bring such peace it will surpass understanding and bring forth what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy in our lives so that we may continue to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him. He created the Heavens and the Earth and everything in them and He is capable of giving us our every need. We just need to ask with faithfulness in faith. We must also practice those things that are righteous, for Yeshua did not die so we could continue to live as sinners, but He died while we were sinners so we could change the way we live and become more like Him.

1 Colossians, 2 Colossians, 3 Colossians, 4 Colossians

I did a comprehensive look at Colossians last year, and would like to share that with you again if you are interested. Particularly for Chapter 2, this document should help disambiguate several misconceptions about this book, which were repeated in the devotional. Here's the file to download, which I will also paste next in a standalone note to make it easier for you to copy and paste: https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1cuqb5fuki0lsm/2022_ColossiansStudy.pdf?dl=0

Colossians is a concise, but complicated, letter that encourages the Colossians to walk away from their lawlessness (idolatry, sexual immorality, infighting) on the one side, and the legalism of Pharisaical (Rabbinical) Judaism on the other side, and instead walk the narrow path of Messiah Yeshua, which is to keep the commandments of God fully by following after our Master, whom we are to imitate in faith and deed. Our belief in Yeshua's identity, actions, and promises saves us, the beginning of a long-road of sanctification by His Spirit, which teaches us how to keep the commandments of God in the many situations that present themselves in our lives, until He comes to bring us home into His kingdom forever. We are to be filled with the knowledge of God's will, which comes from Scripture, in spiritual wisdom and understanding, which comes through reliance on God's Holy Spirit, so we can walk in a manner worthy of the LORD according to His law, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good WORK and then increase in knowledge so we can be strengthened by the POWER of God that He gives freely to those who trust Him, so that we can persevere with patience, joy, and thankfulness for all that He has given and promised to give.

It is remarkable that Yeshua literally rescued us from "the domain of darkness" and transferred us to the "kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." This is not just a saying. Satan literally had us trapped in the bondage of sin and death until we put our faith in Christ, and at that point our chains were loosed. This is the beginning of a long road that requires perseverance and patience, because Satan does not want to let his prisoners go and will try to get them back. Don't forget this, for it will keep your eyes on Yeshua. And Yeshua is, as Paul put it, "the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation: for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible ... all things have been created through Him and for Him." First born means first to be resurrected from the dead; this is akin to "begotten." He is our Creator God—"all of the fullness" dwells in Him—"in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form"—and He did all these things for Himself, so that He might dwell in the company of those who choose to serve Him because they know it is for their own good, and He will mightily bless those who make this choice.
 
We must watch out for the persuasive arguments of those working for Satan who are trying, indirectly or directly, to bring us back into bondage. Philosophies of Greek paganism, empty deceptions of human traditions created by Pharisaical Jews, mysticism that focuses on the creation instead of the Creator are three things that might lead us astray. We were circumcised by the Holy Spirit—"the circumcision made without hands"—and so the Jews who seek to circumcise the flesh of the convert's foreskin is yet another lost soul trying to recapture them into bondage. Yeshua made us alive with Him through His Spirit, by cutting out our sins from our heart permanently and nailing them to the cross, and directing us toward the righteousness of Christ.

Because of this, we ought not accept the oral traditions of the Jews who command certain things to be done regarding eating and drinking, or during festivals, new moons or Sabbaths. The Rabbinical laws of today are a nightmare to follow—"do not handle, do not taste, do not touch"—and this is NOT what Yeshua called us to do.  He said in Mark 7 and Matthew 15 to honor the commandments of God, rather than the commandments of men. Torah is simple. Yeshua calls us to eat clean food, honor the Sabbath and festivals by stopping all work and resting in Him, and take in the fullness of joy that comes from being obedient children of the Father through Him, and He will strengthen us in this. The substance is Messiah and speak to both His accomplishments and His promises, which are yet to come.

We ought to seek the kingdom and treasures that are above in this life, where our King Yeshua sits forever. We will be revealed in Him when He comes in His glory. We are to put off all "sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed," which amounts to idolatry. This is just a violation of the first, second and fourth commandments, and God's wrath will strike those down who teach wrongly, which violates the third. We are to get rid of "anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene speech," for doing these things violates the later commandments. We are to put off all "evil practices," those things that violate God's commandments, and instead put on our new self, which is modeled after the image of Messiah in "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience... and love." Peace will dwell in our hearts when we are grateful for all things, and this will inspire us to worship with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. We must put others before ourselves, and put God first before anything else, for we serve Messiah Yeshua. Toward outsiders, we must be wise and proclaim the mystery of Messiah with gracious words seasoned with Truth. Otherwise we should be in prayer always, offering thanks and praise to the LORD.

1 Thessalonians 1, 1 Thessalonians 2, 1 Thessalonians 3, 1 Thessalonians 4, 1 Thessalonians 5

Paul writes a letter that could be to me, one working in the faith, persevering in it, and yet not quite at the destination, which is to enter the gate of the Kingdom with Yeshua leading the way. No one who has ever lived is in that place, actually, for Paul makes it clear that the dead will rise and the living who remain will be brought up together to be with the LORD, all on the same Day at the same time. Thus our duty is to persevere in our faith by following Messiah Yeshua and doing the will of the Father, avoiding sin and lawlessness by following the Torah as the Spirit leads. The only way to do this is to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, to offer Yeshua thanksgiving and praise, for even this is God's will for us. When the whole world is shouting out the slogan, "peace and safety," we know that the time is near. But in the meantime, we must persevere with love toward God and one another, encouraging one another, for the days are evil.

2 Thessalonians 1, 2 Thessalonians 2, 2 Thessalonians 3

The LORD's return will be preceded by a great apostasy of believers, which is increasingly present. Many are following after lawlessness and falsely calling evil what is actually good; namely, the commandments of God. The lawless one will be revealed, also. This man won't be like all the other sons of destruction who opposed and exalted themselves above all other objects of worship, but will be head over the entire world and will sit in the temple of God. There are many possibilities for what this means without seeing a physical Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. "Don't you know that you are the temple of God." Will AI be introduced into the Human body, even into the church? Will it control every man, woman and child who becomes transhuman? If possible, even the elect would be deceived. Pray it is not you or me. How many "Christians" will imbue themselves with AI? How many took the vaccine? Will this one being—Satan—literally possess every man and woman through this tech—mark of the Beast—no chance for redemption afterward—in an imitation of the Holy Spirit? It's possible, but we don't know and won't know until it is revealed at the appointed time. As for you and me: "Don't grow weary of doing good," no matter what trouble comes.

After this, the restrainer will be taken out of the way. Many believe this is the indwelling Holy Spirit that will be "removed" when Christians are raptured. I don't lean toward this interpretation, though I don't rule it out. More consistent to me is that the restrainer who prevents us from seeing into the Spiritual realm will be removed so that everyone on the Earth will literally see God sitting on His throne in the Heavens, including the invisible angels and demons. This is also when we will see Yeshua coming on the clouds of Heaven because the restrainer will be removed from our eyes. We will literally see both physical and spiritual and no longer have any doubt about who is in charge. This lines up with the many other verses that indicate men will be hiding in caves from the sight of God Most High and then the evil one will literally lead his army against the LORD. Think back to 2 Kings 6:17 to when Elisha prayed for his servant to see the armies of God surrounding Him, and the LORD took the restrainer away so he could see. He "opened his eyes." This also aligns with Revelation 1:7, which reads, "every eye will see Him" when He comes, and every tongue will confess that Yeshua is LORD. It will be unmistakable when the restrainer is removed, and on that day the faithful will be with Him forever, whether resurrected from the dead or changed in the blink of an eye. The rebellious and lawless will be destroyed.

1 Timothy 1, 1 Timothy 2, 1 Timothy 3, 1 Timothy 4, 1 Timothy 5, 1 Timothy 6

1 Tim. 1 has some key phrases worth repeating. 1) "We know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully." 2) "the law is not made for a righteous person but for those who are lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and worldly,..." He then lists several violations of the law, including the phrase "whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine/teaching." We should not use Torah to create controversy; rather as instruction in righteousness. The law is not made for a righteous person because a righteous person obeys the law—this is what defines righteousness. The law is made for those who are lawless because it identifies the very manner by which a person sins. Thus, we can and must look to the law, the Torah, the Pentateuch, to determine the very manner in which God defines righteousness, and then live that way. Thanks be to God that has provided Yeshua HaMashiach in the flesh to strengthen us, consider us faithful by His grace, put us to work for Him in the world to save souls, and forgiven us our own sins, for this is the work of His Holy Spirit in us. Thus we ought to demonstrate perfect patience in obedience to God as an example to those who would and could believe, with endurance in our own faith.

Paul commands prayer, intercession and thanksgiving to God for all people. He explains that church leadership is by appointment, not election, and the appointment comes from God, not man, and the test of this is whether the leader teaches the Truth of God's Word or not. A woman should not be a church leader, but she may teach (not from the pulpit) when she is under the headship of a male overseer to ensure she is teaching rightly. The overseer Himself is a man who has one, faithful wife, which is not to say she cannot be his second wife, but that he must be in a faithful relationship. Paul lists his other requirements: he is temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, skillful in teaching, not a drunkard or drug user, not a bully, gentle, not contentious, free from the love of money, he must manage his household well, he ought not be a new convert, and have a good reputation as one who is obedient to God. These characteristics are his present state, for if we were to say that he always had to be describable in this way, Paul himself would be excluded. Deacons have similar characteristics, and the wives of such elders also must be above reproach.

Paul specifically mentions the controversies of vegetarianism vs. the eating of clean meat, and the Essenes were the target of this admonition, for they taught vegetarianism, even twisting the Scripture to do so. Likewise, they taught against marriage for believers, a practice later adopted for certain priests, and this is contrary to the Word of God as we can see here. Instead of get caught up in such foolishness, we ought to discipline ourselves for godliness through the Word of God and prayer, hoping at all times in the living God who works through us for His own purposes, offering Him thanksgiving and praise. When we do find ourselves in the midst of controversy, we ought to use a combination of boldness and gentleness; which is to say that we cannot let sin go on and fester, lest it destroy the church, but we also should not mistreat sinners, for this will not change their hearts and may repel others. Paul explicitly instructs that we are not to help "the poor" in general, but only those who are truly in need and also are members of the church, who have shown hospitality themselves and given themselves into the church with all that they have. Families ought to take care of one another before going to the church for help.

2 Timothy 1, 2 Timothy 2, 2 Timothy 3, 2 Timothy 4

Paul served God "with a clear conscience in the [same] way his forefathers did;" that is, by keeping faith in God and obeying His commandments, keeping justice, righteousness and mercy, while also keeping the Sabbath and the other Holy Convocation days, eating clean, and all of the other things Christians are called to do when they accept Yeshua the Messiah as their LORD and savior. This life of obedience to God in faith is alien to the world and all who are perishing, and because Satan tempts men to destroy the ways of righteousness, those who are evil will seek to destroy men who follow Christ. Paul exhorts Timothy, one who is doing this (and all of us), to walk with "power and love and discipline," and without shame to the testimony of the Gospel, which often brings condemnation from the world, but life everlasting with God due to the grace we are offered through Messiah Yeshua. Even those we once called brothers and sisters will abandon us, because—like Demus—they love the world more than Yeshua. The fall of Demus is one of several New Testament examples that saved Christians can lose their salvation.

But Paul calls for Timothy and all of us to be strong in the grace that Yeshua has given us, to suffer hardship as needed, to stay out of the affairs of the world (no matter which friends or family members walk away from us because of it), and walk in the faith with one intent alone: to be glorified with Messiah Yeshua when He returns. To win this prize, we must "compete according to the rules," which God specified throughout Scripture. Because we died to our sins through our faith, we also live in Christ because of that. Paul explains: "IF we endure, we will also reign with Him," but if we deny Him (by Word or by deed), He will deny us. He will endure with us to come along with Him when we are weak in our faith, and He exhorts us to grow stronger each and every day, accurately handling the Word of Truth. “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to keep away from wickedness.” Let us all be kind to all, skillful in teaching, patient when wronged, correcting with gentleness, for perhaps God will grant the wicked repentance on account of the Word that He gave us and they will escape the bondage of the evil one.

Based on the description in 2 Timothy 3, we are living in the last days now. Because of this, we must double down in following the LORD's teaching, conduct, purpose, faith, patience, love, perseverance in persecutions and sufferings, with godliness, with all faith in Yeshua. We have the Scripture to help us, with the Holy Spirit, and ought to use it for teaching, rebuke, correction, training in righteousness, for this equips us for every good work. Again, Paul tells Timothy and also each of us to "preach the word," to "correct, rebuke and exhort, with great patience and instruction," whether it is the time of feasting or the usual days of the year. We must watch out for the false teachers, who follow after teachings that "tickle their ears." In other words, any interpretation of Scripture that defies the commandments of God or allows us to live how we want, rather than how God instructs, is false, and we must instead use self-restraint and fulfill our ministries given by God, with all praise, glory, honor and gratitude due to the one who gave us and gives us life: Yeshua.

Titus 1, Titus 2, Titus 3, Philemon

Paul preached "godliness" to Titus, according to the commandment of God our Savior, and instructed him to appoint "elders," or pastors, who are beyond reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not rebellious or indecent, even by accusation. An overseer must be "beyond reproach," a steward for God, not self-willed, not quick tempered, not overindulging in wine, not a bully, not greedy, but hospitable, loving what is good, self-controlled, righteous, holy, disciplined, holding firmly to the Word of God so he can exhort sound doctrine and correct those varying from it. Is your priest or pastor like this? If not, find a new church. Is your teacher heaping up the commandments of men, the traditions of the elders, or Jewish (or even Christian) myths that command human conduct? Run for the doors and don't look back. We must obey the commandments of God, not the commandments of men, proclaiming what is fitting for sound doctrine by word and by deed. Salvation is available to all people who believe, but this faith ought to lead to obedience through the example of good deeds. We must be gentle in our approach.

Philemon was a slave, and Paul considered both him and his master to be Christian brothers. After "borrowing" Philemon for a time, Paul sent him back to his master, pleading with the man to free him through the Word of the Gospel. What happened is unknown, but Paul's intent is clear: freedom in Messiah Yeshua for both master and servant.

Hebrews 1, Hebrews 2, Hebrews 3, Hebrews 4, Hebrews 5, Hebrews 6

Hebrews speaks about ministering angels, whose purpose is to minister to God and men, but it also speaks about "angels" who brought the Word of God to all of us before the Son brought it Himself. The word "Angelos" in Greek refers both to the spiritual beings who minister to God and man and send messages to the prophets as well as the human messengers selected by God to deliver His Word to the masses, called prophets. It speaks about one additional "Angel," which is the "Angel of God," and this messenger is the pre-incarnate Yeshua Himself, whom Jacob worshipped, and He is the one who brought the commandments to men on Sinai. After all, He said, "if you love me, keep MY commandments," for He is the one who gave them. Thus, when He spoke as a messenger on Sinai, He did not directly provide these commandments to every man but to His prophet Moses, and then through His prophets, but in the flesh He provided it directly to those who would listen to Him, and afterward He wrote it on the hearts of those who would put their faith and trust in Him so that they might keep these words forever through faith.  

And this very truth is why the writer stresses this important truth: "If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts as in the days of the rebellion" in the wilderness. His voice is recorded in Scripture, and with the Holy Spirit, its interpretation and application is written on our hearts. We have such richness in that we can use a computer screen, a tablet or even a hand-held "phone" to access the Word of God and read it in its fullness, everywhere we go, and yet how many who are so rich are actually quite poor because they never even read a word? But for those of us who do read it, we must harden not our hearts as the children of Israel did in the wilderness. This means no grumbling or complaining in the midst of trouble, but always praise and thanksgiving for all things. For Yeshua has come in the flesh for us, God Himself, so that He could defeat Satan once and for all and call His own children to follow Him into His Kingdom. The Sabbath was created to be a prophetic rehearsal for this great appointed time, for God rested on the seventh day of creation, and Yeshua entered that symbolic rest Himself after His resurrection, and now He is preparing to bring us into His rest on the symbolic seventh day, if we do not harden our hearts and rebel against Him. It has been said that the way we treat the Sabbath Day is the same way we will experience eternity with Him, for it is a rehearsal of our eternal rest, a day to devote to the LORD of the Sabbath.

The calls for endurance are not without purpose, for our faith can waiver if the cares of the world, the lust of the flesh or the eyes, or the pride of life take us away from our "first love," which is Messiah. We also must move beyond elementary principles, the milk of the word, and mature into followers who teach and reach other folks who do not know the LORD. The principles all Christians should master before maturing are these: We repent from "dead works," or sinful behavior, and then walk with Messiah in righteousness. We do this through faith toward God, who created all things, who died for us and rose again, redeeming us, and who has promised to return to bring us to the place He has prepared for us. We are baptized by choice as adults to wash away all of our former sin and determine to go and sin no more. We lay hands on one another to heal, to appoint to leadership, to send off, and to ask for God's mercy. We understand that we will all be raised up on the Last Day to eternal judgment, the righteous to eternal life and the lawless to eternal damnation. This is Christianity 101. From there, we must walk forward in faith, not falling away into lawlessness again, blaspheming the Holy Spirit that Yeshua has sent to do His work in us. For Messiah Yeshua is not a minister of sin, but a mister of righteousness to life everlasting.

Hebrews 7, Hebrews 8, Hebrews 9, Hebrews 10

Regarding the King of Righteousness and the King of Peace, Melchizedek, king of Salem; I believe He was the pre-incarnate Messiah Yeshua. How else was he eternal, and never to die? Did God have more than one Son? His name is His description. When Yeshua came in the flesh, after the order of Melchizedek, our King of Righteousness and King of Peace brought the New Covenant to fruition through His earthly ministry, becoming both King and High Priest, the Mediator and the Intercessor, for all people who would call upon the name of Yeshua. This New Covenant is better, because we do not rely on mortal men and mortal sacrifices but God, who gave Himself as a one-time sacrifice to heal sins forever. It is on account of this amazing event that we are called to devote ourselves to following Him in all of His ways, following the Torah as He did, and not falling ourselves into sin, lest we be judged by Him as sinners rather than righteous followers. The old covenant has been replaced by the new, but now our King and Priest ministers the law to us on our hearts, through the letter interpreted by the Spirit, and His sacrifice covers sin so we can become a new Temple, a new Sanctuary, a new Tabernacle, fully embracing the presence of God.

Hebrews 11, Hebrews 12, Hebrews 13

We have the faith of so many witnesses that have done amazing things for the LORD through their faith in Him, which is the certainty of things hoped for and a proof of things not seen. Rahab, a prostitute Gentile of a land that was annihilated, caught my attention today. If she can be counted among men like Noah, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, named in such high honor as this, consider our own hope through faith in Yeshua. None of these men or women are in Heaven today; they all rest in the grave, and the same is true of any of our loved ones who died in the faith. Through Yeshua, we will join them on the Last Day in the Resurrection of the Dead. Because of our faith, then, we ought to live with confidence in Yeshua, believing in His power that He promised to our fathers and mothers and now promises to us, with even greater asurity, in that the Holy Spirit helps us directly and is available to all flesh. We must not sin, but we must act out in love, helping all who are brothers and sisters and working to bring those who are not among us into the faith. We ought to remain thankful always, content with what we have, and praise His hame, for He will never leave us nor forsake us, and pray without ceasing, for this is the will of God.

James 1, James 2, James 3, James 4, James 5

There may be no better letter than Jacob's that clearly explains what it means to be a Christian. We must endure. We must pray, not for things of this world or with doubt, which pass away, but for Godly wisdom and love, which endures. We must be obedient to the "implanted law" of God, which is His commandments of Torah, now interpreted by Spirit and by Truth. Any violation of the law is sin, and when we sin we must repent. We must flee temptation, and run away from sin. We must treat all brothers and sisters in the faith the same way, no matter how they appear. If we don't do the works God commanded, we are liars and do not have faith, for faithful men and women obey the LORD. When we believe in Messiah Yeshua, it is credited as righteousness when we follow Him. We must guard our words, so as to not use the LORD's name in vain. We must not fight over doubtful things, nor concerning fruitless doctrine, but we should stand firm in the Truth of God's Word. We must stand against the world, no matter what. We must jealously desire God's Spirit, for by the Spirit our faithfulness affords us grace from the Father through Yeshua. We must submit to God, and be not double-minded, content with what the LORD provides, for His Kingdom comes.

1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 2, 1 Peter 3, 1 Peter 4, 1 Peter 5

Our salvation is ready to be revealed in the last time, through Messiah Yeshua, and God the Father has shown us mercy through the Son, and by His Spirit we are led to Him, whom we love. The Spirit of Messiah is within us, and this Holy Spirit of God will lead us through sufferings with endurance so that our minds will be ready for action. This action ought to be done according to the holy example of the LORD, when He came in the flesh, and as obedient children we must experience changed, obedient lives that embrace the Truth of God's law, so that we will no longer embrace sin; for by continuing in sin we forsake the blood of Messiah. Our flesh is temporary, and so we must endure in the Word of God alone, and rest on the Corner Stone so that we can be built up into the Temple of God for all eternity, while we diligently seek to show the love of Yeshua through our every word and deed in every circumstance. There is no reward in the suffering that comes from sin, for it leads to death alone and the LORD does not listen to sinners, but suffering for the LORD and what He has told us is good will bring eternal reward, and He will hear our prayers in the meantime.

We must be harmonious, sympathetic, loving, compassionate and humble, returning blessing for any evil against us, turning away from evil to do good, praying without ceasing. There will be trials and tribulations, and we ought not fear them, but embrace them, and rejoice that we might suffer for the sake of our Savior. We must not forget this: "It is with difficulty that the righteous will be saved;" it is not easy, but a narrow road and narrow gate; there are few who will find it. We must entrust our souls to our faithful Creator in doing what is right. Our leadership of others must be voluntary, according to the will of God, showing example to them in patience what it means to follow Yeshua. Let us be humble so God will exalt us, for Satan will take advantage of every opportunity to ensnare us, and he will devour those who are caught up in sin, doubt, despair, discouragment and disillusionment. We must resist this Nachash, this sorcerer, this deceiver, by standing firm in our faith, despite any suffering. Let our hearts rejoice and be at peace in Messiah Yeshua, who is calling each and everyone of us to Himself.

2 Peter 1, 2 Peter 2, 2 Peter 3

Faith in Yeshua is the beginning, not the end, of salvation, for from faith we turn to the knowledge of God through His holy Word, by hearing the law given to Moses in the meeting place every Sabbath (Acts 15:18-21) and reading it day and night, as commanded, allowing the Holy Spirit to convict us and bring us to repentance, which is what it means to follow Christ. Upon daily gaining this knowledge, we ought to learn self control accordingly, and then persevere in that obedience to God by the help of His Holy Spirit. This practice of righteousness, as the Apostles all wrote about, leads to godliness, which is the point of victory over temptation, when we turn to seek God and obedience to His commandments out of a deep desire to please Him as part of our intimate relationship with Him. This is when kindness, brotherly love and sacrificial love are born, and these higher fruits of the Spirit are born out of that deep desire to seek after Yeshua and follow Him along the narrow Way. When we have these qualities, and they are increasing, we must lean in further to the LORD in diligence, practicing righteousness even more, so that we will not stumble and ultimately make it into God's kingdom forever on that Day He comes to call us home.

All prophesy comes from God for the glory of God. False prophets, however, will teach "destructive heresies," even denying the Master who bought them with His blood. They will teach lies, saying the commandments of God are no more, that pagan festivals can be covered by Christ, that the world evolved over millions of years, or even that Yeshua Himself is only a man. They preach these things so they can sin without guilt, elevating themselves as gods, but God has explained what is good. We either obey Him and prove our faith in Yeshua, or disobey Him and prove ourselves liars without faith. The ungodly will be destroyed, ultimately, as Scripture exemplifies. How much worse will it be for men like Esau and Saul in the OT, or Demas, Ananais and Sapphira in the NT, who knowing the LORD and experiencing His salvation, turn away from Him to follow after their own hearts. The LORD will return at the appointed time to judge the living and the dead, and at His second coming He will show no mercy to sinners and the apostate. Those who want to continue in sin overemphasize the LORD's delay to discredit Him, not knowing that the LORD's patience is their only chance for redemption. The time to repent and follow after Yeshua is today.

1 John 1, 1 John 2, 1 John 3, 1 John 4, 1 John 5

John concludes: "And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Messiah Yeshua. This is the true God and eternal life." In complicated language, John confesses: Yeshua is God, and this too I confess, for Yeshua Himself said "I and the Father are one," and "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." Once we understand this, it's easy to understand the rest of John's letter, for it is clear that the commandments given from the beginning are the commandments of Torah, and these are the ones we must do to walk in righteousness. To sin is lawlessness, or to walk against the law of God. Those born of God—born again in Yeshua and baptized by the Holy Spirit through the circumcision of sin from the heart—these are those who are convicted by the Holy Spirit to walk according to God's commandments. Yeshua, when He came in the flesh as the Son, gave us a perfect example of how to obey God's commandments perfectly; He even showed us how to pray and how to praise Him. He then gave a new commandment, which was to "love one another as I have loved you." In other words: Follow My example—follow Me. We all fall short of obeying God, but this is why He came, to cleanse us from iniquity when we repent. From there, we must "go and sin no more."

2 John 1, 3 John 1, Jude 1

John writes in 2 John: "Now I ask you, lady, not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had from the beginning, that we love one another. And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, that you are to walk in it." In Deuteronomy 13 (please read this), the LORD explains that anyone—a prophet, a parent, a sibling, a spouse, a child, a teacher—tells you that you don't have to obey God's commandments and worship God, they are from Satan and must be cast out. In the Torah, the person ought to be put to death. Interpreted in Spirit and Truth in the Gospel age, the person ought to be cast out of the church and fully ignored. This is what John teaches quite directly. He adds that anyone who says that Yeshua has not come in the flesh is a false teacher and antichrist. If Yeshua was just a man, this statement is illogical. All men come in the flesh. Yeshua is God, and thus it is confession of this Truth that GOD has come in the flesh is essential to both begin and complete our faith, and it comes with a reward: eternal life. We must remain in the faith—which means that we can lose it—by remaining in the teaching of Messiah, and His teaching is simple: "If you love Me, keep My commandments," He said in John 14:15.

In 3 John, we learn that Diotrephes has elevated himself above others and does not accept the Truth of the Gospel that God has come in the flesh, died for us, and rose up to His former glory, and that we must keep the commandments of God with love by the power of the Holy Spirit. He has no tolerance for anyone who disagrees with him, and throws them out. Demetrius, on the other hand, is a living testimony to the Truth, as we should also be.

Judah presents a similar message to John, stating that the faith involves obedience to the law and faith that Yeshua is both our Master and LORD, meaning that He is God who came in the flesh. He speaks out against ungodly people who deny one or both of these things, and give examples in Scripture and in extra-canonical works of what happens to scoffers who deny God's Word or deny His commandments. Our duty as believers is to hate even the clothing that has been polluted with sin, but convert sinners, who are unbelievers, to believers, some gently, but others with urgency, pulling them out of the fire with steep warning for destruction will come upon those who do not repent. We must be careful about scoffers, who deny one or both of the testimonies of Truth, for they cause divisions and have more desire for the world, for sin, or for their own glory than they have for God. We must remain steadfast and blameless, full of joy, dedicated to our LORD Yeshua.

Revelation 1, Revelation 2, Revelation 3

Without a Hebraic understanding of Scripture, it's impossible to interpret Revelation, but with that understanding, it makes a lot of sense. John, who was worshipping God from prison on the Sabbath, saw the Risen Messiah in a vision. Yeshua confirmed that He IS the Ancient of Days, He is the beginning and the end, He is the One who created all things, for He is God Himself, and there is no other. We have ONE God, and He came in the flesh to die for our sins, rise from the dead, and reign eternally, for "death could not hold Him." He is the Son in that He came in the flesh. Yeshua then proceeded to give a message to His complete Church, which stands as light in the world in Messiah Yeshua. Each of the seven churches were historical communities of believers that John ministered to, but they also represent the seven different ways a church can exist, whether in full obedience to the LORD or in apostasy to one degree or another. The LORD makes it clear that there is time for the churches in apostasy to repent, but that time will come to an end. As individuals in churches, we ought to consider this message fully, to identify where we ourselves stand. These seven churches may also represent church ages from the time of the Resurrection to the time of the end. Happy studying!

Today, I want to express the warnings that Yeshua gives in Revelation 2-3 so we can see what manner of persons we ought to be in Holy conduct and godliness.

Ephesus labors and perseveres in the faith, they do not tolerate sin within their community, and they successfully reject false teachers; however, they forget their relationship with Yeshua, "their first love." We must lean in to the LORD always, for the greatest commandment is to love God. We must cultivate and develop our relationship with Him in our lives, for this is what He desires most from us.

Smyrna is a suffering church, one in tribulation and poverty, much like we might see in China, India, or the Middle East or Africa today. These churches might also be under pressure from Rabbinical Jews who want to enforce the commandments of men in their midst, rather than the commandments of God. There are Christian churches that also do this today, enforcing catechisms or dogma above the commandments of God. Matthew 15, 23 and Mark 7 deal with this problem. The LORD exhorts those under the thumb of legalists to be faithful until death, despite persecution, prison or death itself.

Pergamum holds firmly to the name of Yeshua (Jesus) as their LORD and God, and they do not deny His name regardless of the pressures against them to do so, even though there is paganism, witchcraft and every manner of evil all around them in their society. However, some of these members are getting caught up in the business of church, putting numbers in church pews and counting the amount of tithing raised. They may even preach a prosperity gospel for worldly wealth. They disregard God's laws and eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality, perhaps overemphasizing God's grace to their own destruction. This church must repent, the LORD says. We cannot practice lawlessness and expect salvation. It's not going to happen.

Thyatira focuses on works of community service, and they do great deeds in the world for other people, bringing good to many people, whether they are believers or not, and through this many are attracted to the faith. But they teach false doctrine and tolerate the mixing of Holy things with the profane, perhaps even celebrating pagan feast days and calling them "Christian." They also practice idol worship within their walls, thinking they honor God. This church also must repent, according to the LORD. Those within this church that ignore her false teachings will endure.

Sardis is the "spirit-filled" church, full of people who put on great shows to express their "faith," but none of it is real. They "teach" others who would believe to practice their "signs and wonders," but it's all fake. Christians in such communities ought to lean in to what is real—the Word of God, the authentic work of the Holy Spirit—and begin to practice the commandments of God in their lives to strengthen any faith they actually do have. Their deeds are not completed, and thus they must repent. There are a few in these communities who truly do have the Spirit and are led by Yeshua's righteousness, but it is a rarity. These must overcome all of the falsehood and press into what's real.

Philadelphia is keeping their faith in Yeshua and practicing the commandments of God; they "have followed My word and they have not denied My name." This group is most oppressed by Rabbinical Judaism—those who claim to be Jews but don't know the LORD and preach commandments of men as superior to the commandments of God. However, even some of these legalists will be pulled out of the fire and will turn to the Way of Truth because of the example of perseverance of this True Church. This is the True Church and all of the people who follow God in this way will be saved, so long as they hold firmly to what they have and overcome the world. These will be pillars in God's Kingdom.

Laodicea is fully deceived by the riches and cares of the world, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, and yet they cry out "LORD, LORD"—they use the Name of the LORD in vain. These are not willing to do what the LORD says to do, they compromise at every chance they get, and they have put themselves first above God. They truly are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked." They look to worldly blessings and rewards and don't see anything beyond them. These must repent, by selling all they have in this world for the Kingdom to come. They must put off their sinful ways and repent, becoming holy like God is Holy. They must seek wisdom from God's Word, praying for their blindness to be healed, but they will not see unless they accept the LORD's rebuke and discipline. Those caught up in this false church must "be zealous and repent." Leaving this type of church for a True church is the only way to go. The LORD will knock on their hearts, but only they can answer the door to walk in the newness of life.

Revelation 4, Revelation 5, Revelation 6, Revelation 7, Revelation 8

I had never seen the differentiation between what John heard, and then saw in his vision before. That's a great find! The LORD does abundantly more than we can ever imagine, and His mercy endures forever. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah is the Lamb who was slain, His eyes look into the hearts of all men and women on the Earth, and He knows who are His. He is Holy, Holy, Holy, worthy to be praised forever and ever, the One Who was, Who is and Who is to come. At the appointed time, He will bring about finality to His promises for His people and will have dominion forever. The judgments of pestilence, the sword, famine and the Beasts of the Earth will come first, then martyrdom of the Saints. After this, the Heavens will peel back like a curtain or a scroll, and every eye will see God on His throne. He will come down from there to judge the heavens and the earth on the Last Day. A great multitude of Saints will stand before God on that Last Day, who had just endured the full Tribulation, some martyred, others caught up alive in the clouds, and the LORD will pour out His wrath on the Earth. In the end, there will be a New Heaven and a New Earth for the Saints to dwell with God forever and ever, and we will worship Him day and night.

Revelation 9, Revelation 10, Revelation 11

I find it astounding that people who witness the very judgment of God against them and their neighbors do not repent; rather they double-down and look to fight against their own Creator. It truly astounds me the arrogance of Man, and yet I see it happening before me in the halls of government and technology. Arrogance upon arrogance. God will destroy it all at His appointed time. We can see more detail here from earlier, when the heavens were peeled back like a scroll and the men of the earth hid in caves. The LORD will be seen on His throne, with the Ark of the Covenant, which contains the commandments of God. Men will be judged by these commandments. Those who worship Yeshua and follow the commandments of God will be singing His praises at this time. This is Judgment Day being described, when the Saints will be brought into God's Kingdom, where Yeshua will reign forever, and the rebellious will be destroyed. I pray for the time to plant as many seeds for the Gospel as possible prior to this day, so that more will stand before the LORD and praise His name forever.

Revelation 12, Revelation 13, Revelation 14, Revelation 15

The woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet is Israel, who gave birth to Yeshua, and she is protected by God in the Spirit when she remains faithful to Him. Likewise, her offspring, those grafted-in, who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua, will also be protected by the Spirit of God. The sun represents the light of Christ, while the moon represents the darkness that Yeshua subdued through His blood. Satan, for his part, rules over the earth at this point, having been thrown down from heaven at the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua, and this dragon has persecuted the woman and her offspring from the point of Yeshua's ascension until today. He hates those who obey and love God, who don't even love their own lives to the death knowing that everlasting life awaits the faithful. The dragon will try all means to get his way, using the Beasts of the Earth, the governments of man, in an attempt to destroy Yeshua's people. He will try the carrot approach first, but then the stick, bringing murder on those who won't worship him or do what he says. Just like in the garden, the serpent deceives, kills and destroys, seeking to convince men and women to forego the commandments of God, which also curbs faithfulness.

The Saints will obey God and keep His commandments, wearing the mark of God on the forehead and on their right hands, for we obey the Sh'ma in Deuteronomy 5 to love the LORD our God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and strength, and both think about Him and His law at all times and do His will and His law at all times, with the help of His Holy Spirit. Those wearing the mark of the beast think and do beastly things, those things of the world; the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life. Yeshua will come to judge among these two groups, taking the Saints with Him and destroying those who rebel against Him. The blood of the rebellious will be so deep that it will rise up to the horses' bridles, and Yeshua's robe will be soaked in it. And so we ought to heed the warning of Revelation today, and "fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of judgment is before us; worship Him who made the heaven and the earth, and sea and springs of water," for Babylon, the world system controlled by Satan, is coming to an end. We who are victorious over the world, over the beast and over the flesh will worship God at His throne. We will sing the song of Moses, and of the Lamb, a song of victory, "Great and marvelous are Your works, LORD God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!"

 Revelation 16, Revelation 17, Revelation 18, Revelation 19

Just like Pharaoh hardened his heart in Egypt as God brought plagues to the whole land, not repenting but blaspheming the LORD who created all things, so too will the people who worship the world system in the end. And just like Israel was in Goshen untouched by the plagues, present for them and observing them, but spared from them through faith, so too will the people of God be spared of God’s wrath while witnessing every bit of it. We must stay awake and keep our clothes; which means to love the LORD, with all faith and trust, and keep His commandments. The rebellious think they’re going to win against God; Satan still thinks he will be victorious. He’ll lead an army of the damned with one purpose against the Saints and the returning King and His army, but all the LORD will need to do is open up His mouth and all of the enemy will be destroyed. Only those under His protection, following His will can be spared. The world headquarters of the Beast will rise up in smoke forever and will become a prison for demons. For any involved in the world system and its religion today, the LORD says, “come out of her, My people.” We are to be set apart. When all is said and done, those who endure will sing, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let’s rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, because the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself.” The Last Day is going to be an exciting time.

Revelation 20, Revelation 21, Revelation 22

It appears that martyrs will reign with Yeshua for 1000 years on the earth, the Seventh Day of creation, the Day of rest, and then at the end, the judgment of all people who ever lived will come, when your name is in the Book of Life or its not, determining your eternal disposition. The sheep and goats are separated by their deeds, for our obedience to God's commandments is a sign as to whether we love Yeshua or not. He said, "If you love Me, keep my commandments." Our faith in Him cannot just be lip service, but our faith must cause us to change our lives to align with God's Way of doing things, which He has specified in His Word. We cannot add to the Word, lest the plagues be added to us, nor take away from it, for eternal life is taken away from any who do this. Let this be a stern warning to anyone who wants to say we don't have to Keep the Commandments of God, or who add commandments of men. God says otherwise, and Yeshua has made this clear through His angel, who spoke with John. The New Heaven and New Earth, a New Garden of Eden, await all people who have faith in Yeshua and keep the commandments of God, and it sounds like a place we won't want to miss. Today is the day we must seek God's Kingdom with all of our hearts.