The Christian Letter, Volume One: Chapter 9
“For this command which I am commanding you today, it is not too hard for you, nor is it far off. It is not in the heavens, to say, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ Nor is it beyond the sea, to say, ‘Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it to us, and cause us to hear it, so that we do it?’ For the Word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart—to do it.” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14).
Take some time, perhaps a week, away from this book to ponder the following questions; however, for now, do not answer them.
Why is keeping the Sabbath such an aversion to Christians?
Why did Yahoweh so swiftly give us the Sabbath?
Right now you may not see it as important, like a lost man may not see the Messiah as important … until he accepts Him enough to be like Him. Let us, therefore, prepare our hearts and minds to give His Word true allowance. Take the time. Consider the questions. Then come back.
As always, it is best to start at the beginning. In Genesis, we see Yahoweh Almighty Himself keeps His Sabbath. Adam and Eve, along with the early priests, kept the Sabbath. The Israelites, before Mount Sinai, went out to keep feasts unto Yahoweh. Moses, kings, and prophets all spoke in favor, just as David did.
Skipping ahead a little, we see the Gospels show Yahoshuah, the Rabbi of those who diligently seek Him, keeping the Sabbath. I should not need to remind you that He said, “Follow Me.”
The very fact that the Messiah keeps Sabbath should be enough for us. We also see in Hebrews, Thessalonians, and other Scriptures, that we are to keep the Festivals (1 Corinthians 5:6-8), including Sabbath.
Now let’s now look at the revelations and the prophecies. Those living in the end times will once again keep the Sabbath, and Yahoweh will bless them for it. He would not bless people for it if it were no longer to be kept! In addition, with the revelations and prophecies, we see that in the Kingdom of Heaven we will keep these feasts. If these were done away with, or were a, “burden of the law,” then why would this, “done away with burden,” be in … Heaven? All stops, from creation to Heaven, we see the Sabbath is good. I wonder: What about today? Should we act as Messiah did / does / will?
“And when this people, or the prophet, or a priest, asks you, ‘What is the burden of Yahoweh?’ you are to answer them, ‘What burden?’ ‘I am throwing you off,’ declares Yahoweh. ‘As for a prophet, and the priest, and the people, who say, “the burden of Yahoweh,” I will punish that man and even his household. Thus, when you speak with your neighbour, and with your brother, say, “What answer has Yahoweh given?” or, “What has Yahoweh said?” Don’t say, “burden of Yahoweh” anymore; for every person’s own word will be his burden; for you have changed the Words of the living Elohim, of Yahoweh of Hosts, our Elohim! Thus, this is what you say to the prophet, “What has Yahoweh answered you?” or, “What answer has Yahoweh given?” But since you say, “the burden of Yahoweh” then here is what Yahoweh says: “Because you say this word, ‘the burden of Yahoweh,’ after I have already sent you the order to not say, ‘the burden of Yahoweh,’ therefore, I—I—will utterly tear you out and cast you, and the city that I gave you and your fathers, away from My presence. And I will bring an everlasting reproach upon you, and an everlasting shame, which shall not be forgotten.’” (Jeremiah 23:33-40).
“And it shall be that from New Moon to New Moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ declares Yahoweh.” (Isaiah 66:23). All flesh? Yes, even the beasts of the land and the birds of the air will worship Him. But what about the gentile? Surely they won’t “have to.”
Many have proclaimed, as their reason for breaking the Sabbath: “It’s Jewish.” However, the Messiah said the Sabbath was made for us, yet, if we reject Sabbath based on it being Jewish, then we likewise refuse the Messiah, for He is Jewish.
“The woman of Samaria, therefore, said to Him, ‘How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman? For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.’ Yahoshuah answered her, saying, ‘If you knew the gift of Elohim, and Who it is Who says to you, “Give Me to drink,” you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.’” (John 4:9-10).
We are under the authority of the Scriptures. See, I can say we are under the authority of the Scriptures, and it’s fine, but if I said we are under the Torah, even though they are one in the same, eyebrows are raised. Some are afraid of becoming a Jew like the Messiah if they keep the Sabbath. However, this should not matter. I do not care what title anyone goes by as I have seen agnostics follow the Messiah (unknowingly) better than many who claim to know Him. Too many care more about what name they are called than they do about His Name. Too many care what branch of the church they belong to, rather than truly being grafted into His branch. Let us put our obedience, trust, and love, where it rightly belongs: in our Jewish Saviour, the Master of Sabbath.
The day of rest is for His people. Are you His? Then accept in joy that His Word remains: “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done. Whoever, then, breaks one of the least of these commands, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the reign of the heavens; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the reign of the heavens. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens.” (Matthew 5:17-20).
Now some read, “Do not think,” and stop thinking right away; however, the Saviour said He did not come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. He didn’t come to do that, therefore, it would be accurate to say womever attempts to abolish the Torah must be an anti-Messiah. Yahoshuah goes on to proclaim He will interpret the Torah and the Prophets correctly, or, complete them, which by no means abolishes them. The Messiah interprets them correctly, not incorrectly by abolishing them. After all, He cannot abolish Himself. This Passage doesn’t mean you don’t keep the teachings of Yahoweh, but, rather, that you keep them all the more. Not even a little stroke of the pen, let alone a whole Commandment, will disappear until everything is done. Is everything done? Has the Messiah come back yet? Are we in His Kingdom? I feel the Messiah gives a challenge when He says, “Until Heaven and earth pass away,” to those who would love to do away with walking as He walked. It is as if He is asking: Can you make Heaven and earth disappear? Even to the casual observer the Torah remains.
I spoke briefly about our names in the Kingdom of Yahoweh in my letter to you concerning His Name. If anyone, including you, speaks against even the least commandment, even a single stroke of the pen, they will be called false, or as many translations say, “least.” Least? What does least mean? What is the least portion of a cow? Her life? The calves she bears? It’s much less than this. Her labour? The protection she provides to the heard? Oh, it is much less than this. Picture greeting someone in Heaven saying, “Shalom, Great John, Servant of Yahoweh.” Only to hear in return, “Oh, it’s you, the least … the manure.” Oh, but it is much less than this, too. The Scriptures say they will be called the least, not that they will be there. To speak against the Spirit given Word, is to be known as something worse than manure.
We need the Messiah, but do we accept the Messiah by forfeiting His Word? Let us never subtract from the Messiah, for it is by Him alone that we are given righteousness. By Him alone we are saved; therefore, let us not reject even so much as a letter within a word of Who He is.
So am I telling you to keep Sabbath for salvation? A good question to consider is: are we true disciples of the Messiah if we do not do as He says to do? Can we claim to be servants of the Most High if we are servants to the sin of greed? Do we claim Yahoweh as our Father by our actions or do we cry out, “No! I don’t want to rest. I’ll rest whenever I want to. You can’t tell me what to do because you’re not my real dad!” … Tell me, are we saved because we do not love His Son enough to emulate Him? Are we saved if salvation is all we are after?
I wonder, though, at times, if those who feel the Sabbath was done away with, which Yahoweh said was eternal, have secretly hidden doubts and fears that they may be wrong. After all, who among us believes that the eternal kingdom of Yahoweh is only going to last a few thousand years? So why then should His anointing on Sabbath disappear?
“Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city. But outside are the dogs and those who enchant with drugs, and those who whore, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and all who love and do falsehood.” (Revelation 22:14-15).
There are three faulty reasons that are commonly given for keeping Day 1 (Sunday), rather than the Sabbath Yahoweh keeps, and one more that a foreigner who does not know Him can easily be ensnared with. Let us consider these, lest we fall.
There are two feasts that are on the first day of the week; First Fruits, when the Messiah rose from the dead (He is our First Fruits), and Shavuot, or Pentecost, as it is more commonly known (when the Holy Spirit was given). These are once a year Levitical festivals that do not mark a change in the weekly Sabbath.
Side note: It may be a surprise to know the Messiah did not rise from the grave at first light on sun-day morning, but rather, right as the sun set earlier that night, after Sabbath, on the Feast of First Fruits. The Gospels tell us when the people arrived, but not when He rose, save you look to His Feasts and see He is the First Fruits risen from the Dead. See 1 Corinthians 15:20. I will share more of this amazing miracle unbeknownst to most, Christians or Jews, at a later time.
The third of the three is this: “And we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas in five days, where we stayed seven days. And on the first day of the week, the taught ones having gathered together to break bread, Sha’ul, intending to depart the next day, was reasoning with them and was extending the word till midnight.” (Acts 20:6-7).
These passages do not say they met on the first morning of the week, but shows that they were breaking bread at the end of the Sabbath. Days, remember, are from sunset to sunset. The first “day” has always been at sundown. Paul spoke into the night, which would now be the first day of the week, and then woke on what was still the first day of the week, and traveled. It is a common Sabbath occurrence to speak late into the night on both the eve, and end, thereof. There is no mention of Sabbath being changed in this verse. Nowhere is Day 1 called, “Sabbath.” Rather, we see that Paul kept the Feast of the Unleavened and probably shared much about it.
Now, some try to make a doctrine out of this even though he wasn’t speaking on the morning of Day 1, and nor was Sabbath mentioned. It seems folly to me to make a doctrine out of nothing. I’d hardly call eating food a proof text, let alone a questionable one. However, some still wonder if coming together to break bread constitutes a meeting that includes the observance of partaking in Yahoshuah’s body.
“And all those who believed were together, and had all in common, and sold their possessions and property, and divided them among all, as anyone might have need. And day by day, continuing with one mind in the Set-apart Place, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising Elohim and having favour with all the people. And the Master added to the assembly those who were being saved, day by day.” (Acts 2:44-47). Breaking bread was not, and is not, an uncommon thing to do on a daily basis. It was one of the customs in those days to eat their “daily bread.” Even Yahoshuah said, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
Search the Scriptures, from Genesis to Revelations, and you will not find a single verse that says His Sabbath was changed to a different day. Nowhere is it said that the Ten Commandments should be forsaken. And there are no prophesies of these events occurring! From Beginning to End, to the Everlasting Kingdom, His Program has the seventh day as Sabbath, for there is no doctrine able to rewrite what He has written in stone.
“And the ten horns are ten sovereigns from this reign. They shall rise, and another shall rise after them, and it is different from the first ones, and it humbles three sovereigns, and it speaks words against the Most High, and it wears out the set-apart ones of the Most High, and it intends to change appointed times and law, and they are given into its hand for a time and times and half a time.” (Daniel 7:24-25). Only the wicked would claim to know Him and yet desire a different walk from that of the Saviour’s. Who attempts to “change appointed times and law”? Oh, sure, we could point fingers at the devil, and even the church, but are we following their changes, or are we being changed into a new creation by following after the Messiah?
However, there was one more: What of the snare a foreigner who does not know Him could easily be ensnared with? “He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them concerning these things. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do also the other writings. You, therefore, beloved ones, being forewarned, guard yourselves, lest you are led away by the errors of lawless men and fall from your secure position,” (2 Peter 3:16-17).
Lawlessness? What does it mean to be lawless? “Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.” (1 John 3:4). Lawlessness is breaking the Law—the Torah—the Word Who became flesh. Peter warned us, that even though we’d love to claim wisdom, each of us are like sheep who can be lead astray with the greatest of ease. Therefore, “guard yourselves,” and bring not the breaking of the Messiah into your home by following after the, “errors of lawless men.”
Peter wrote this to the Galatians for a reason. Often when someone boldly proclaims, “Walk as He walked—even if the church doesn’t!” then people cry out for them to read the letter Paul wrote to the Galatians. (I covered this in its entirety in a verse-by-verse study on Galatians). Indeed, Paul’s words were a great confusion to the gentiles, but more easily understood by Jews.
However, since many point to Paul, and claim he changed the Sabbath, I feel it is only fair to look at the man and see if he truly did walk away from the Saviour. But first, let it be known: “What I mean is this, that each one of you says, ‘I am of Sha’ul,’ or ‘I am of Apollos,’ or ‘I am of Kepha,’ or ‘I am of Messiah.’ Has the Messiah been divided? Was Sha’ul impaled for you? Or were you immersed in the name of Sha’ul?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13).
If Peter were to write this today, what would he say? The same thing, though, perhaps, slightly different words: “What I mean is this, that each one of you says, ‘I am a dispensationalist,’ or ‘I am a Charismatic,’ or ‘I am an Orthodox this or that,’ or ‘I am of Messiah.’ Has the Messiah, the Word Who became flesh, been divided into Old and New? Did a vision of Paul become your Saviour? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?”
As for rightly dividing His Word, I assure you that if His Word of 4,000 years ago was old 2,000 years ago, then it stands that His Word of 2,000 years ago is old today. This is not rightly dividing His Word. What is? Well, a bad translation can cause the right question to become the wrong one. 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches us, “Do your utmost to present yourself approved to Elohim, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly handling the Word of Truth.” So, let us “rightly handle His Word” by emulating the Messiah in love, for if that is against your doctrine—you have the wrong doctrine!
Yahoshuah never said, “Take up your cross and follow Paul.” I ask this with all sincerity: If Moses, Noah, Jeremiah, Solomon, David, John, Paul, Peter, Matthew, and every other man and woman in the world that has ever been, said it was okay to steal and murder, would it make a difference? Yahoshuah said it was not acceptable, and Yahoweh personally wrote in stone that He is against these actions. Why, then, do some people believe nine remain, but not the Sabbath—the one commandment we were told to remember by doing? Why do they choose to live differently than their Saviour? Is it that they do not know how to, or is it because they do not like Him? Please continue, and please consider.
We must not call His Word a burden. His yoke is light, and, in truth, it is uplifting. Do not fall from your high position by the errors of lawless men, for I do not desire this to be written of us: “And then the lawless one shall be revealed, whom the Master shall consume with the Spirit of His mouth and bring to naught with the manifestation of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:8-10).
Still, many people look to Paul, so let us also take a moment to look at Paul in order that we may see if he kept the Sabbath, and, if so, why he kept the Sabbath, and if he thinks we ought to. Did Paul keep Day 1, or Sabbath? We have the Scriptures, so there is no need to take anyone’s word for it when Yahoweh’s Word is so near. “And having passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonike, where there was a congregation of the Yahudim. And according to his practice, Sha’ul went in unto them, and for three Sabbaths was reasoning with them from the Scriptures, explaining and pointing out that the Messiah had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, ‘This is the Messiah, Yahoshuah, whom I proclaim to you.’ And some of them did believe, and a large number of the worshipping Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Sha’ul and Sila.” (Acts 17:1-4).
Paul’s custom, like the Messiah’s in Luke 4:16, was to attend Sabbath service with both Jews and Greeks. Paul never considered the twenty plus years that had passed from Yahoshuah’s death, resurrection, and ascension, to change the Sabbath. The doctrine that says the Jews have their day, Sabbath, and the gentiles have theirs, Day 1, is foreign to Scripture. Paul kept Sabbath with both Jew and Greek.
Sabbath – 3 / Day 1 – 0
“And having put out from Paphos, Sha’ul and those with him came to Perge in Pamphulia. And Yohanan, having left them, returned to Yerushalayim. But passing through from Perge, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the congregation on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the Torah and the Prophets, the rulers of the congregation sent to them, saying, ‘Men, brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, speak.’” (Acts 13:13-15).
Sabbath – 4 / Day 1 – 0
“And when the Yahudim went out of the congregation, the gentiles begged to have these words spoken to them the next Sabbath.” (Acts 13:42).
Now here is a perfect situation for Paul to tell these gentiles, “Just come back tomorrow, and here on out we’ll keep the Sabbath on the first day of the week!” But we don’t see this written anywhere in Scripture.
“And when the meeting of the congregation had broken up, many of the Yahudim and of the worshipping converts followed Sha’ul and Barnabah, who, speaking to them, were urging them to continue in the favour of Elohim. And on the next Sabbath almost all the city came together to hear the Word of Elohim.” (Acts 13:43-44). The disciples attended service on the day that Yahoweh sanctified.
Sabbath – 5 / Day 1 – 0
“Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrake, and the next day came to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is the principal city of that part of Makedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days. And on the Sabbath day we went outside the city by a river, where there used to be prayer. And having sat down we were speaking to the women who met there.” (Acts 16:11-13).
A custom is that if ten men do not show for synagogue then it would be closed and people could fellowship at home. This could very well be why there were women meeting by the riverside for prayer. Nevertheless, we see that the disciples sought a place to meet on the Sabbath, and that they did. The seventh day is called, “the Sabbath Day,” in this passage, not Saturday, nor was it Day 1, or a random day.
Sabbath – 6 / Day 1 – 0
“And after this Sha’ul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Yahudi named Aqulas, born in Pontos, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla—because Claudius had commanded all the Yahudim to leave Rome—and he came to them. And because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and was working, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he was reasoning in the congregation every Sabbath, and won over both Yahudim and Greeks.” (Acts 18:1-4).
Paul is among both Jews and Greeks, attending the Sabbath services, not out working on a “tent.” This says that Paul was there every Sabbath sharing the Truth about Messiah with both Jews and Greeks; therefore, it had to be more than once.
Sabbath – Over 7 / Day 1 – 0
Now if only we knew how long Paul was in Corinth, reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath, then we would know how many Sabbaths he actually attended. Well, a novel idea is to look at the next verses.
“And when Sila and Timothy came down from Makedonia, Sha’ul was pressed by the Spirit, and earnestly witnessed to the Yahudim that Yahoshuah is the Messiah. However, when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood is upon your head, I am clean. From now on I shall go to the gentiles.’ And having left there he came to the house of a certain man named Justus, who worshiped Elohim, whose house was next to the congregation. And Crispus, the ruler of the congregation, did believe in the Master with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were immersed. And the Master spoke to Sha’ul in the night by a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent, because I am with you, and no one shall attack you to do you evil, because I have much people in this city.’ And he remained a year and six months, teaching the Word of Yahoweh among them.” (Acts 18:5-11).
A year and six months! If we counted this by a modern day calendar, then that would give us 52 Sabbaths in a year, plus 26 Sabbaths in the following six months, which gives us 78 Sabbaths! Now let’s add this to the 6 Sabbaths Paul had kept already:
Sabbath – 84 / Day 1 – 0
Which team won?
Let’s not forget what is said in 1 Corinthians 1:12-13: “What I mean is this, that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow the Pope,” or “I follow a different Theology,” or “I am of Messiah.” Has the Messiah been divided? Did the church offer herself for you? Or were you immersed in the brand name of a congregation?” Okay, I admit that is not an exact translation, more of a paraphrase, but you get the idea.
While Paul kept the Festival, what does Yahoweh Himself have to say about the gentile, and whether he should keep the Sabbath? “‘Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it, guarding the Sabbath lest he profane it, and guarding his hand from doing any evil. And let not the son of the foreigner who has joined himself to Yahoweh speak, saying, “Yahoweh has certainly separated me from His people,” nor let the eunuch say, “Look I am a dry tree.”’ For thus said Yahoweh, ‘To the eunuchs who guard My Sabbaths, and have chosen what pleases Me, and hold fast to My covenant: to them I shall give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters—I give them an everlasting name that is not cut off. Also the sons of the foreigner who join themselves to Yahoweh, to serve Him, and to love the Name of Yahoweh, to be His servants, all who guard the Sabbath, and not profane it, and hold fast to My covenant—them I shall bring to My set-apart mountain, and let them rejoice in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their slaughterings are accepted on My altar, for My house is called a house of prayer for all the peoples.’” (Isaiah 56:2-7). (Eunuch is another way of signifying those who were, “cast away,” or, “cut off,” and does not always refer to actual castration).
To the foreigners, the gentiles, and to those cutoff, Yahoweh will give a name greater than sons and daughters—they will be present in His house of prayer—but … there are some stipulations: We must serve Him, we must love Him enough to call Him by His Name, to be His and His alone, to keep from profaning Sabbath, to hold fast to what pleases Him, and to uphold the convent that will even be present in Heaven. If you have not bound yourself to Him, then you do not get to keep His Sabbaths. “Therefore, since a promise remains of entering into His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1). “So there remains a Sabbath-keeping for the people of Elohim. For the one, having entered into His rest, has himself also rested from his works, as Elohim rested from His own.” (Hebrews 4:9-10). Just as Yahoweh does, let us also do.
Again, if no one else upheld His Sabbath, it would never change that He did / does / will! To a true believer and follower of the Messiah, that’s enough. Early believers kept the Sabbath for hundreds of years until the fear of men, and of death, made some people forfeit the Sabbath for Sun-day. However, regardless of the times, the truth remains: “If you love Me, you shall guard My commands. And I shall ask the Father, and He shall give you another Helper, to stay with you forever—the Spirit of the Truth, Whom the world is unable to receive, because it does not see Him or know Him. But you know Him, for He stays with you and shall be in you.” (John 14:15-17).
“And not with you alone I am making this covenant and this oath, but with him who stands here with us today before Yahoweh our Elohim, as well as with him who is not here with us today. For you know how we dwelt in the land of Mitsrayim and how we passed through the nations which you passed through, and you saw their abominations and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were with them, lest there should be among you a man or woman or clan or tribe, whose heart turns away today from Yahoweh our Elohim, to go and serve the mighty ones of these nations, lest there should be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood. And it shall be, when he hears the words of this curse, that he should bless himself in his heart, saying, ‘I have peace though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart,’ in order to add drunkenness to thirst. Yahoweh would not forgive him, but rather, the displeasure of Yahoweh and His jealousy shall burn against that man, and every curse that is written in this book shall settle on him, and Yahoweh shall blot out his name from under the heavens. And Yahoweh shall separate him for evil, out of all the tribes of Yisra’el, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in this Book of the Torah.” (Deuteronomy 29:14-21). The convent was made with those there and with those not there. Were you one of those two? Do not lie inwardly by believing your own choices are right—that surely you will not be cursed.
Many Christians no longer think some things matter; after all, they have grace. I have received numerous assaults verbally for what I lovingly speak to the Christians. They say, “It doesn’t mean that to me.” I have heard these six words literally thousands of times, usually as a response to pointing out the Biblical warning against pagan rituals associated with the Babylonian holy days (holidays in modern English).Sometimes they’ll say, “Jesus has changed all that.” (Matthew 5:17 is my response.) Another is “Oh, I know it has dark origins, but the kids love it.” (Exodus 23:24 is my response.) However, they all ring of an excuse, and the Truth does not need one. “All we need is the freedom and grace we have in the Messiah.” (This to them is a justification for behaving in whatever fashion suits the moment.) Those who have added, “It doesn’t mean that to me.” into their vocabulary, may have a new phrase they hear on judgment day that will ring in their minds for all eternity, found in Luke 13:25-28. And as they are being sent into outer darkness with the devil and his followers, the lost Christians will undoubtedly follow in Satan’s footsteps, and resort to twisting Scripture before Elohim, if they dare. They will say, “But Lord, your Bible promised that all I ever had to do was just say that prayer, and accept you into my heart.” Wouldn’t it be ironic, if Yahoweh would then say to those who refused to listen to His repeated warnings, “It doesn’t mean that to Me!”
“When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Master, Master, open for us,’ and He shall answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you or where you are from,’ then you shall begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ But He shall say, ‘I say to you I do not know you or where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Yitshaq and Ya‘aqob and all the prophets in the reign of Elohim, and yourselves thrown outside.” (Luke 13:25-28).
Consider something for a moment: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the prophets are in Heaven, as are Moses and Elijah, according to the transfiguration on the mount. It would be fair to inquire of our hearts: Did they go to church every Sunday? Did they eat an easter ham? Or did these people obey what Yahoweh told them to obey because of trust and love? “Yahoshuah said to him, ‘Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One Who is good—Elohim. But if you desire to enter into life, keep the Commandments.’” (Matthew 19:17).
Questions:
1. Please name the exact time and place where the Law was done away with.
2. Explain, in utter simplicity, why some of the Laws remain, and some don’t remain? How, exactly, do you tell?
3. Why do people, even if they have the same brand name church, disagree with each other concerning the answers to the questions above?
Perhaps I answered the question by asking the question. No one can explain why he or she walks differently than the Messiah, save he or she denies the Messiah Himself, or by simply refusing to answer. I will answer you! There is no magic formula or time when the Word Who became flesh was done away with. His Torah remains! His Teachings will never die! Those who fight this—are fighting the Word Himself!
“It has delighted Yahoweh, for the sake of His righteousness, to make the Torah great and esteemed.” (Isaiah 42:21).
Why is keeping Sabbath on the Sabbath so important? “And Yahoweh said to Mosheh, ‘See, I am raining bread from the heavens for you. And the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, in order to try them, whether they walk in My Torah or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.’” (Exodus 16:4-5). The Sabbath is a test to see if we love Him enough to keep His Torah, His teachings. Let’s put it this way: if you won’t “rest” when He says to, let’s face it, you certainly are not going to do the “work” He requests, so why would He bother making it known.
Without Torah, men are not convinced of their sin, nor do they know a need for repentance and salvation in Yahoshuah the Messiah. “What, then, shall we say? Is the Torah sin? Let it not be! However, I did not know sin except through the Torah. For also the covetousness I knew not if the Torah had not said, ‘You shall not covet.’” (Romans 7:7). It is through the knowledge that we are sinners wherewith comes the yearning for salvation. Like finding you have a deadly illness and yearning day and night for the cure. Without the Torah many would just claim to know Him, but in truth: “And by this we know that we know Him, if we guard His commands. The one who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not guard His commands, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked. (1 John 2:3-6). If you do not strive to keep His known Torah … you do not even know Who I am talking about. You do not know the Saviour. We ought also walk, even as He walked!
Yahoshuah walked in the Father’s desires. If you love Him, then you know the reason why we ought to keep the Torah. The Messiah kept Sabbath. That’s reason enough. Still, many are concerned only with salvation. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’” (Matthew 7:21-23).
People, thinking they walked a righteous life, stand before the Almighty, only to hear Him say, “I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!” In Hebrew, whenever you see a word written twice in a row, it either signifies screaming that word, or it is an oath. Also, lawlessness in Greek is anomos. “A” means “without” and “nomos” means “Torah.” Lawlessness thus means “without Torah.” The church is the only group trying to do mighty works in the Messiah’s Name—that also knowingly practices lawlessness. There is a name given in Second Thessalonians for those who have the spirit of separation from Torah. Dear friends in the church I do not yearn it to be said of you. The name? Anti-Messiah, commonly referred to as: Antichrist.
At the beginning of this letter, I asked you to consider two questions, and to pray. I ask you to consider them again, and to pray once more. Also consider: if you will not hear His commandments, then why should He hear your requests? Communication is a two-way event. What then, do we communicate to Him if we refuse to walk as His Son walked? “He who turns away his ear from hearing the Torah, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Proverbs 28:9). Pray. Just know that the “for what” of that prayer will change your life.
“I love them that love me; and those who earnestly seek me do find me.” (Proverbs 8:17).
“And you shall seek Me, and shall find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Through all the debate, Yahoweh’s Word in Exodus 20:8-11 remains unchanged. His Word is Command. His Command is Blessings. The Sabbath, according to the Hebraic calendar used in the Word of Yahoweh, is from Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. I will send more on this soon. Why? Am I obsessing about it? No. Just as we read, Sabbath is a test of obedience to His Holy Spirit, to His Word. Calling on His Name is a test to see if we love Him enough to call Him by His Name. These simple things are two of the largest of all stumbling blocks Satan has before you. He will not just throw, “The Greatest Trap,” at you; Satan will throw all traps at you. I say this so you may prepare for war if you have accepted His Word as the reason to change. I will write again, dear brothers and sweet sisters, on how to keep this day holy, in honor and love of He Who loves beyond measure.
Be Blessed and be a Blessing.
Shalom
-Valentine Thalken Billingsley
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Additional Scripture References:
Exodus 16:22-30, Nehemiah 13:15-21, Ezekiel 20:11-21, Psalms 92, Proverbs 22:6, Jeremiah 17:21-22, Isaiah 58:13-14, 66:23-24, Lamentations 2:5-7, Matthew 4:4 and 12:1-21, Mark 2:23-28, Luke 4:16, 14:5, John 5:17-18, Acts 1:12, Romans 14:7, Colossians 2:15-17, Hebrews 4:1-11, Exodus 20:10, 35:3, Numbers 15:32, Jeremiah 17:21, Amos 8:5, Hebrews 12:7-11, John 4:23, John 6:63, Nehemiah 9:13-14, 13:15-18, Luke 23:54-56, Leviticus 19:30
