SABBATH – DAY ZERO
Just wanted to share this: Yahweh woke me up at 3:30 am this morning, Wednesday, February 13, 2013 CE with this question, “What was I doing on the day BEFORE the first day of creation?” Huh? Now isn’t that just like our Hebrew Heavenly Father? Teaching us with questions! Of course, He was shabbating with Yahshua and Ruach HaKodesh! I would imagine they were discussing how much fun they were going to have over the next week, creating a universe and dogs and humans and stuff. I should still think more like a computer programmer, how could I forget about DAY ZERO? Yahweh was enjoying Sabbath on the Shabbat BEFORE He began to create our cool universe! Sabbath is an eternal spiritual Kingdom of Yahweh principle. It has always been, it will always be, just like Yahweh. Sabbath is a part of Yahweh’s nature, it reveals things about Yahweh to us. It is a shadow picture of the state of rest found in the Kingdom. Yahweh performed His creative work from a state of rest. Yahshua performed His salvation work from a state of rest. Why would anyone not want to learn to rest in Yahweh and Yahshua?
Ever since Satan first sinned, and then tempted Adam and Eve to sin, Yahweh has been trying to bring our world back to a state of rest. Let’s let Him finish that work, which is that rest in the Book of Hebrews. Yahshua’s work of salvation may be finished on the execution stake, but getting the whole Kingdom back to the original state of rest, before Satan fell, that’s not done yet. The eternal rest in the Kingdom of Yahweh is another fine piece of our hope for the future. We should be rehearsing our Shabbat for our future.
Are you worshiping our Heavenly Father, Yahweh? Or are you worshiping God, a title, on sun-god-day, Sunday? I would be very careful about throwing out accusations about a little leaven leavening the whole lump, especially if you are in direct violation of the Fourth Commandment of Almighty Yahweh.
Here’s Yahweh’s question to you, again, were you, the wild olive branch, grafted into the Hebrew root of the natural olive tree, or were you, the wild olive branch, grafted into the wild olive tree of Roman Catholicism, including her daughter denominations of Protestantism?
For the first three hundred years of “Christianity”, the Church, or Assembly of Yahweh, was a Messianic assembly. Once the Catholic Church changed Sabbath to Sun-god-day worship, the Church of Yahshua has been messed up, messed over, and almost brought to complete ruin.
Replacement Theology is heresy. Hear and heed the words of your King and Savior, Yahshua HaMashiach, from His sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:17-20 (NKJV) “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets [the Torah, the Tanach, the Old Testament]. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill [to demonstrate to the full, to explain to the full, to live by example to the full]. 18For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law [Torah] till all is fulfilled. 19Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.”
That Greek word for fulfill means to make replete, which means to satiate, satisfy, permeate. Yahshua satisfied all the requirements of the Torah, that’s what qualified Him to be our perfect substitutionary sacrificial Lamb of Yahweh. That word destroy means to loosen down, disintegrate, or demolish. Yahshua came to level up the hollow places in the written Torah, He means to tighten up the Torah, not loosen down the Torah. Mercy, grace, faith, and salvation are a huge part of what Yahshua came to level up about the Torah. The Torah could not provide salvation. Yahshua IS salvation. Yahshua IS Torah.
John 1:1-5 (NKJV) “In the beginning was the Word [Torah, Yahshua], and the Word [Torah, Yahshua] was with Yahweh, and the Word [Torah, Yahshua] was Yahweh. 2He was in the beginning with Yahweh. 3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Our sin stained minds and hearts still have a hard time comprehending our blessed Savior and soon-coming King, Yahshua. Yahshua is our Logos, Yahshua is our Rhema Word!! It’s all about being grafted into His family, not Satan’s family. There is an ongoing feud between the two families, to this very day.
Yahshua’s family was Torah observant. John the Baptist’s family was Torah observant. Paul’s family was Torah observant. Didn’t Paul interrupt his Christian missionary journeys just to run/sail/walk back to Jerusalem to celebrate those old Feasts of Yahweh? Hmmm. Wasn’t it Yahshua’s custom to teach in the Temple or a synagogue on Sabbath? Didn’t the women that watched Yahshua’s crucifixion and burial rest on the Sabbath AFTER the crucifixion, according to the commandment? Hmm. Didn’t Peter preach one of his greatest sermons on Pentecost, that old Feast of Shavuot? Hmmm. Why did Yahshua and the old saints do those Hebrew things? Because that is Yahweh’s way and they desired to please Him. Their salvation experiences in Yahshua did not change their Hebrew lifestyles, their salvation experiences only enhanced and expanded them.
We don’t celebrate Sabbath to get saved (legalism), we celebrate Sabbath BECAUSE we are saved into the Family of Yahweh (lawfulness)! We choose to obey Yahweh, just like Yahshua, Peter, James, John, and Paul. Romans 11:5-8 (NKJV) “Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. 6And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work. 7What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8Just as it is written: “Yahweh has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.”” We need salvation in Yahshua for the very simple reason that we CANNOT keep Torah perfectly, in order to gain salvation by works!! Did you catch verse 20 of Matthew 5 above? We have to be more righteous than the Pharisees in order to enter the Kingdom of Yahweh. Of course, that can only come through the blood of Yahshua, exchanging our sin for His righteousness!
What does being a disciple mean? It means learning to walk as our Hebrew Heavenly Father walks. Work when He works, rest when He rests, celebrate Feasts when He celebrates His Feasts. It’s not rocket science, it’s a walk by faith in His grace, learning His ways moment by moment! I spent over 20 years in denominational Christianity and I got nowhere spiritually. Since I found my Hebrew roots about 10 years ago, the revelation just keeps on rolling. I can’t study enough, or fast enough, or type fast enough to contain all that He shows me. The universe cannot contain the books that could be written concerning our walk of faith in Him.
I’m a nobody, a broken, humbled, old man who loves Yahshua. Yahshua is the Torah, Torah is the mark, sin is missing the mark, or missing Torah. 1 John 3:4-10 (NKJV) “Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness [sin is Torahlessness]. 5And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him. 7Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness [Torah] is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Yahweh was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil [See, Yahshua came to destroy the works of the devil, like sun-god-day worship. He did not come to destroy Torah.]. 9Whoever has been born of Yahweh does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of Yahweh. 10In this the children of Yahweh and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness [Torah] is not of Yahweh, nor is he who does not love his brother.”
Do you see it my brothers and sisters? Yahshua gives us His grace to help us observe Sabbath. Instead of executing us when we miss Sabbath observance, He forgives us and gives us another chance to get it “right” next week. Of course, grace and mercy are given only to repentant sinners, not to rebellious Torah-resistors. We must ask for forgiveness, it’s not just automatic since Yahshua suffered on the execution stake.
Did you read my Manna Miracle blog? Yahweh gave the Exodus generation 2,084 Sabbath week lessons over 40 years and 1 month, and the entire Exodus generation still missed it and died in the wilderness. That’s a mind blower for me. I’m glad their children got it. It only took a week to get the children of Israel out of Egypt, then Yahweh tried to get Egypt out of the children of Israel for 40 years. Only two of the adult escapees made it, Joshua and Caleb, the remnant. Yahweh is still trying to get Egypt, Babylon, Catholicism and the world out of us today.
Reaching for greatness in the Kingdom,
Gene Benjamin II
February 13, 2013 CE