Torah put in simple terms

Most would agree that the most important thing anyone can do is to find their way to God...but there is a second part to it: OBEYING Him. Most people have no clue that they are NOT obeying Him; they are under the false impression that all we have to do is "believe in Jesus," and nothing else. That is one reason why there are around 40,000 Christian "denominations" today.

Many Christians who have been taught that "Jesus nailed it to the cross" don't seem to understand exactly WHAT was nailed to the cross. For some reason they are under the mistaken impression that "Torah" - Yahweh's Divine Instructions in Righteousness - was somehow abolished on the cross, which is a dangerously off-the-mark assertion that on Judgment Day will render "lukewarm" many who thought they were "right" with God. And Yeshua said he would spit those people out of His mouth (Revelation 3:16)....

In order to properly worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, we must re-read the Gospels to see exactly what Jesus did. And what he did was obey the Will of His Father. Jesus - whose given, Hebrew Name was Yeshua (which means "Yahweh is Salvation") - always did exactly what the Father told him to do; he did NOTHING on his own; everything he did was in the realm of obedience to the Father.

He was completely Torah observant and - contrary to popular opinion - neither he nor his Father ever said that, after the death of Messiah Yeshua, all of the Torah (Divine Instructions in Righteousness) would become null and void. Neither was it suggested that God's commanded Seventh Day Sabbath REST (which, on our Gregorian calendars, happens to fall on Saturday) should be moved to the "first day" (which, on our Gregorian calendars, happens to be Sunday). He never said that His commanded Feasts (all of which foreshadow His Messiah) were to be ignored so that man could concoct their own "holy days"! Yeshua has so far fulfilled the first FOUR of the SEVEN feasts, and the next one will be what Christians are calling "the rapture".

By the way, many Christians keep insisting "Jesus fulfilled it all"...But the thing is, what He "fulfilled" was the need for man to kill innocent animals to atone for their sins. Yeshua was our Final SIN "Offering"; he martyred Himself on the stake on our behalf so that all that would be required to enter heaven was "belief" in him. This in no way negated the need to OBEY God's forever commands!

(NOTE: Our use of the term "martyr" is intentional because traditional Jews love to point out that "G-d never required human sacrifice!" Well, Y'shua wasn't a "human sacrifice" because nobody "sacrificed" Him. He was our Divine "Offering" - He redeemed us - and he willingly went to the cross/stake. As a human being, he had the choice to obey YHWH or not. As we see time and time again, he CHOSE to obey - because he KNEW who He was....)

By the way, "fulfilled" never meant "abolish" or "put an end to." For instance, when you were born you fulfilled your mother's dream of having a child. Did that put an end to her dream? No! It was fulfilled because she now had a real child in her arms and could continue her "dream" for her child's life (school, home, family, grandchildren, etc.) It means you were now here in the world and there was a purpose for you beyond "being born" - which was part of your mother's dream for a child in her life....

After you were born, in order to grow and thrive you needed to learn some rules and regulations to make it through life safely. (Don't touch that hot stove for you'll get burned, and don't stick your finger into an electrical outlet because you the jolt might kill you.) Those rules were never negated, right? They were instructions on proper and safe survival in our dangerous world.

The same thing holds true with our heavenly Father, Yahweh. He gave us certain instructions for life, and we don't have the right to simply ignore them! They were never "suggestions"!

Yahweh has rules that apply to all who choose to believe in Him and His Divine Messiah! He gave us rules on how to live holy, righteous lives - and yet most people seem to think Jesus abolished them! It doesn't make any sense because SIN is transgression of Torah (I John 3:4). Without Torah we have NO rules for holy, moral living!

Many insist, "all that Old Testament stuff was just for the Jews" - while not realizing there were no Jews before Jacob had a son name Judah (who became the "Tribe of Yehudah/Judah")! Remember, Adam and Eve (Gen. 2) weren't Jews; Cain and Abel (Gen. 4) who offered sacrifices weren't Jews; and neither was Noah (Gen. 6) who knew the difference between "clean and unclean" animals. Neither were Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And yet, ALL believers in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were Torah observant! Why? Because God SAID so! They obeyed Him!

Here's the thing:

Nobody is suggesting that YHWH's love is conditional. He loves us, no matter what. But why would that negate obedience to His rules? Where are we given permission to ignore His "forever" commands, just because "Jesus died"? Where did Jesus personally ever say that His death was to negate His Father's Torah? In Exodus 12:49 and Numbers 15:13-16, we see how adamant YHWH is about obedience:

Numbers 15: 13 "'Everyone who is native-born must do these things in this way when he brings an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 14 For the generations to come, whenever an alien or anyone else living among you presents an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to the LORD, he must do exactly as you do. 15 The community is to have the same rules for you and for the alien living among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the alien shall be the same before the LORD: 16 The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the alien living among you.'"

Please re-read the above in case you missed it: Any Torah-less non-Jew/Hebrew/Israelite who does not yet believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is an "alien"/foreigner. However, if they do wish to accept Him, then they are to do exactly as those who are already belong to Him!

"Living among" means not necessarily physically, but rather, it refers to all those who have accepted the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They MUST be Torah observant, just like the Houses of Israel and Judah were with whom God made His New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:32)!

Romans 10: 12. And in this, it discriminates neither Jews nor Gentiles. For there is one, Master YHWH, over them all, who is abundantly generous towards every one that calls on him. 13. For everyone that will call on the name of Master YHWH, will have life.

In view of the above, it would seem that those who claim to "love" God would WANT to obey His "forever" commands instead of coming up with their own rules, as did "the church." Christianity has blatantly ignored God's commands and categorically denies Torah because they erroneously believe "Jesus nailed it to the cross" without realizing that what was nailed to the cross was not God's Divine Instructions, but rather, our certificate of debt, along with the legalistic and man-made "stuff" that had crept into man's worship.

Let's view this from another, simpler perspective:

Your children "believe" in you, too, and you love them unconditionally. But does that mean that they don't have to mind you anymore just because they "believe" in you? Does "believing in you" give them a blanket authority to forget your teachings on right and wrong, good and bad? Does this mean they can now cross the freeway without first making sure there are no cars coming, or to kill someone at will if they're angry? That's basically what Christians are implying when they insist they are not obligated to obey God's "forever" commands! Sure, you love your children unconditionally, but they have rules to follow that keep them safe from harm; they don't have the right to ignore your rules just because they "believe" in you.

Another example is our pets. They are safe and sound as long as they stay within the boundaries of your fenced-in property. But, from the moment they decide to climb over that fence, there is no guarantee they won't get hit by a car or shot by a mean neighbor.

The Torah is full of rules - how to worship God, how to treat each other according to Him, what we can and can't eat. (Have you ever noticed that all the animals, birds and fish that God considers "unclean" are the carnivores who eat anything and everything including - in the case of birds - disease-laden garbage and roadkill?).... Yet the church has decided all "old" stuff that is just for "the Jews"....

Our Creator loves us, but He has RULES we are to follow - and that never was an option!

Let's discuss the beginning:

Yahweh has, since the beginning, tried to teach us right from wrong. He had rules for man to live by: (Paraphrased from Gen. 2:15-17) "Adam, work the garden, but do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the Garden; you will die if you do!" "Do's" and "Don'ts" - TORAH! - from the very beginning!

So, we see that Divine law and priesthood have ALWAYS been around, as far back as Adam. And when Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from the Garden (banished and not killed - because of God's grace!), God imposed even more rules on mankind because, now that man had partaken from tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was destined to reap the consequences. And the consequences required sacrifices and offerings to God.

The sacrifice for sin was always the shedding of innocent blood. Why blood? Because it is life-giving liquid. Without it, we die. Why an innocent animal? To make man feel the anguish over the loss of an innocent life! Their life for your life.

The Bible doesn't tell us how, but God obviously taught Adam and Eve about sacrifices because we know that Cain and Abel offered sacrifices to God in Genesis 4:3-5. At that time a high priest was not required to handle the sacrifices because of the limited circumstances of human life when Adam's family circle for centuries formed the only population of the earth. At that time, every obedient man offered his own sacrifice and, in essence, was his own priest, as appears in the case of Abel, Noah, Melchizedek, Job and Abraham.

The need for a high priest - an intercessor between God and man - arose when Israel's population began to grow. The duties of the high priest and his special vestments are outlined in the books of Exodus and Leviticus, the chief references being Ex. 28: 6-42; Ex. 29: 6; Ex. 39: 27-29; Lev. 6: 19-23; Lev. 21: 10. Messiah Yeshua ultimately became our High Priest! He was not a "new god" or someone who came to replace YHWH, the Father! He was the SON who came to do his Father's Will. But unlike the other high priests, Yeshua offered his own, divine blood on our behalf and thus bore the sins of ALL of us permanently - and the only thing required of us, in return, was to "believe" (Hebrews 3:1; John 3:15-18; 1 Peter 1:18-19; John 10:8-9; John 10:10; 2 Cor 5:17-18; Matthew 1:21, Isaiah 7:14); thereby becoming new creatures in Messiah who DESIRE to follow God.

We need to remember that, just because Moses was the first one to present Yahweh's teachings as "Torah" (referred to by Christians as "law") YAHWEH GOD, not Moses, is the author of the Torah! God personally spoke to Moses and allowed him to see and share and teach His wisdom to the Israelites and those who had followed Moses out of Egypt, who were absorbed into one of the 12 Tribes.

It is imperative to recognize that - unlike what "the church" teaches - Yahweh wasn't "cursing" man when He gave us those "613 rules" to live by! (By the way, God didn't number those "613" commandments; MAN did!) Those commandments taught man right from wrong and how to obey God and worship Him properly. Most of the "613" were for the Levite priests; some were only for men; some only for women (i.e., to sleep outside the camp whenever they had their periods - which made sense since in those days women had no way to keep clean during their menstrual cycle).

The main ones that were meant for everyone, are common sense: Seventh Day Sabbath, Feasts, eating "clean" foods. And, of course, we also received the Ten Commandments - which all point back to the Torah! (Yet, many Christians today believe they only have to bother with TWO Commandments - love God and love your neighbor as yourself - without ever connecting the fact that those two "hang" on Torah!)

Matthew 22: 36. "Teacher, which Commandment in Torah is the greatest?" 37. And Y'shua said to him, that "You should love Master YHWH your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might and with all your mind." 38. This is the first and the greatest Commandment. 39. And the second is like it. That "You should love your neighbor as yourself." 40. On these two commandments hang Torah and the prophets.

Yes, they HANG on Torah. It doesn't say they REPLACED the Torah! Most Christians don't mind adhering to the Ten Commandments (even though they don't bother to keep even the Fourth Commandment concerning the seventh-day Sabbath) which are part of Torah, as well. Man has always liked to "pick and choose" when it comes to God's Word, but it's time to realize that seventh-day Sabbath command, along with His seven Biblical feasts were NEVER abolished - on the cross, or anywhere else! There were parts of Torah that God said would endure FOREVER....

2 Timothy 3: 16. All Scripture that was written by the Spirit is profitable for instruction and for decisive refutation, and for correction, and for deep extensive learning in righteousness; 17. that the man of Elohim may become perfect and complete for every good work.

Yeshua attempted to show the people that MAN-MADE traditions and teachings had twisted God's Word. The teachings of the rabbis in "Biblical times" (just as the teachings of today's pastors!) had clouded the things God had actually said! This is backed up by the much-misunderstood teachings of Paul:

Colossians 2: 14 He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to the execution-stake.

What does the above refer to? Our SINS! Did Rav Sha'ul (Paul) say "the Law" (Torah) was nailed to the cross? No! Yeshua was our REDEEMER; that is all. He taught us about the things of God, how to live with each other according to God's will; and then to offer himself by shedding his divine blood. Yeshua wiped away the documented opinions of men (bill of charges) against us, and took them from our midst....He even said he came NOT to abolish Torah, but to fulfill it. "Fulfill" does not mean abolish!

The Torah is holy, righteous and good. To suddenly have it "nailed to the cross" as Christians would have us believe, suggests that the things of God were originally evil, something to be done away with.

The bottom line is: Torah contains exactly what God wanted us to know about Himself, how He wants to be worshiped, and how we are to live our lives and treat each other according to HIS commands.

Ezekiel 20: 10 "So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. 11 "I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man (notice He said MAN, not JEW...) observes them, he will live. 12 "Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.

Now, pay CLOSE ATTENTION to this one:

Isaiah 66: 22 "As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares the LORD, "so will your name and descendants endure. 23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me," says the LORD. 24 "And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."

God said His Torah would stand FOREVER (2 Chronicles 7:14-22). Forever didn't end when Christianity came onto the scene. On Judgment Day He will ask you why you chose to ignore His Torah, why you changed His seventh-day Sabbath, and why you didn't keep the feasts that He commanded to be kept forever, and which will be continued in heaven:

Exodus 31: 13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you."

Exodus 31: 16 "Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.'"

In closing, we ask that you please pray about the information contained within this article, and allow the Holy Spirit to lead you to ADONAI's Truth.