2024

 

Our new year, 5784, arrived in late 2023, and yet we are again, celebrating the start of another new year, 2024 on the Gregorian calendar.

    It was a very healthily stealthy incoming civil year for me, with only a few neighbours letting off the usual fireworks in the area. Pets really do get awfully afraid of the sound and there have been many sad and tragic injuries and deaths of beloved animals because of said pyrotechnics. That's why it's illegal to set these things off in residential areas. But do people obey the law? Sadly, not everyone.

    Which brings me to another Law - that of the Instruction God has given us so that we may know how to live holy and Godly lives here on earth. Rabbi Kefa (Simon Peter to those who don't know his Jewish Messianic identity) says: 

    2 Peter 3:11-12a: "Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives, as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming."

        So what does this mean? Let's break it down.

Rabbi Peter - (yes, there is unequivocal proof that Simon Peter was much more than a simple fisherman. He was a Jewish leader in the Jewish Messianic movement of the 1st Century) - was referring to the End of Days or Acharit HaYammin, the days of the end of all things as we know them, so as to make ready for the Jewish Messiah to return. Can we not see the beginnings of those things happening today, in our time? COVID-19, Lockdown, the war in Israel, the rise of violent Islam all over the world, and the skyrocketing anti-Semitism are all markers that God is shouting to the world to repent and return to Him.

    So what can we do? How are we supposed to respond to these events that are leading up to the final war of Gog and MaGog?

    There is one overarching Truth that needs to be applied to our lives. We should live holy and Godly lives. How do we do that? 

    Rabbi Shaul (Paul the Apostle) tells us the Torah is holy and good. Too many people make the mistake of thinking the "Law" was nailed to the cross with Yeshua when He gave up His life for us - (this is called Mesirut Nefesh, willingly giving up your life to save others. This is a very well-known concept in Jewish literature and holy books) - it was NOT the Torah, which is good and beautiful and beneficial to all mankind for all time - but rather it is the curse of the Law that was nailed to the tree with Yeshua. The curse of the law is the list of curses that will befall God's people should they turn away from God's holy laws - the list is in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. Here is a link that will show you the Hebrew and English text as well as some of Rashi's commentary:

https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9992/showrashi/true/jewish/Chapter-28.htm

   

    There are A LOT of really nasty curses here. It is these curses that Yeshua has nailed to the cross and that will no longer apply to us IF WE TURN TO HIM!

    I walked with Jesus for over 30 years in the church. That is the name I got saved into and I am eternally grateful for His rescue of me. Yeshua said: "I am the door". We don't enter a house through the door and then continue standing in the doorway. We walk into the house and meet the people there and communicate and build relationships. So it is in the Kingdom. When we enter the House of Israel through Yeshua the Jewish Messiah, we must continue walking on the path and go deeper with Him.

    We are, in essence, adopted into the House of Israel. In the natural world, when we adopt a child that is not of our blood into our nuclear family, that child will grow up and learn and act according to the culture of the house he or she was adopted into. So it is with us as Believers. When we come into the House of Israel through Yeshua the Jewish Messiah, we cannot bring our old ways with us. We must follow the ways of the House of Israel, who is, of course, the Bride of the Messiah. That is the nation as a whole, including everyone contained within it. The church as an entity does not replace the nation of Israel. The church as an entity is not the bride of Christ. We have to be grafted into Israel. How? Through Yeshua.

    Realising Jesus, who I had served for so many years, was a completely different One than who I had at first thought Him to be. It was a somewhat difficult transition of mind and soul, but in the end, when one is confronted by the Truth, it must be accepted.

    So how does living a holy and Godly life help us in the end days? And what exactly is it anyway?

    In short, it is doing exactly what Yeshua told us to do: "If you love Me, you will keep my commandments." 

    Which ones? ALL OF THEM! The Torah are the very words of God, spoken to Moses, passed down through the generations so that we still have them intact today. Following Torah is a beautiful and fulfilling way to live. It is unparalleled to anything I ever knew for the first 30 years of my walk with Him.

    So, how does it help us in these last days to keep God's commandments? In doing the Mitzvot, we bring the Light of God to the world and help establish His Kingdom, in preparation for His return. The darkness in the earth is growing exponentially now, just as in the days of Noah. As the Bible teaches us, we have a mandate from God Himself to do Mitzvot and Good deeds so that people will see our actions and praise our Father in Heaven.

May HaShem, the Only and Living God, bless your year ahead,💖