But, didnt AKA Jesus abolish the Law and those 613 original commandments? An important foreword: God wasnt cursing man when He gave man rules to live by! (Our God doesnt do anything without good reason - and, as a matter of fact, He didnt number those 613 commandments himself; MAN did!) These commandments taught man right from wrong and how to obey God and worship Him properly. Most of the 613 commands were for the priests of that day; 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); some were only for a certain point in time or for a certain situation; and some were forever as indicated in the verses that say do this forever or this is to be a permanent regulation..... The main ones that were meant for everyone, were the ones GOD eventually consolidated into the Ten Commandments - which all pointed back to the Torah. Yet, many Gentile/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 Torah hangs on those two commands! Matthew 22:36. Teacher, which Commandment in Torah is the greatest? 37. And The Messiah said to him, that You should love Master EhYeh Asher Ehyeh your God 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. Note, Torah HANGS on those two commandments. It doesnt say they REPLACED the Torah! Most Gentile/Christians dont mind adhering to the Ten Commandments (even though they dont bother to keep even the Fourth Commandment concerning the seventh-day Sabbath) which are part of Torah/Law, as well. Man has always liked to pick and choose when it comes to Gods Word, but its 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 - and the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Biblical Feasts are among them.... 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 God may become perfect and complete for every good work. So did AKA Jesus abolish those 613 commandments? In a word: NO! Many Gentile/Christians, in order to show Torah observant believers the error of their ways, gleefully and with undertones of sarcasm bring up the fact that no one can keep those old 613 commandments. Fact is, hardly any of these Gentile/Christians realize what the 613 commandments were, in the first place, nor that no one (including The Messiah) has ever kept them all - because most were for the priests; some were only for men while others only for women; some were only for a certain point in time; some for Nazirite vows, and 200+ related to the Temple which is not standing! They also dont realize that the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) were more of a man-made tradition rather than an actual number of commandments sent down by GOD. The idea originated in the Talmud which says there are both positive and negative mitzvot (dos and donts) which can be divided into 365 Negative Mitzvot (to remind us not to do bad things every day of the year) plus 248 Positive Mitzvot (the number of bones in the human body - for a total of 613. In this way, we are able to obey the mitzvot with our entire body. Similarly, the tzit-tzit (knotted fringes) of the tallit (prayer shawl) are also connected to the 613 commandments. Torah commentator Rashi declared that the number of knots on a tzit-tzit (in its Mishnaic spelling) has the value of 600. When doubled over, each tassel has eight threads and five sets of knots, which totals 13 - for a grand total of 613. This concept reminds tallit wearers of all Torah commandments. The above way of tying the knots is done by the Ashkenazi Jews, whereas the Sephardic Jews tie the knots in a way that causes them to spell out the Name of GOD. Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a numerical value; consequently, the knots of the tzit-tzit on the four corners of a tallit spell out the name of GOD. When The Messiah returns as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords (Rev. 19:11-13,16), the tzit-tzits of His tallit will fall - where else, but across his thighs when He returns to earth. The world needs to be made aware of the fact that, while God gave us many commands to follow, including the Ten Commandments, He did NOT do away with Torah (His Divine Instructions in Righteousness found in the first five Books of the Bible without which man would have NO blueprint for moral, holy living). The Messiah attempted to abolish the rabbinical, man-made stuff - the opinions and traditions that kept people in bondage. Neither He nor His apostles ever spoke against Torah nor suggested that after The Messiah death Torah was to become null and void! (That is a strictly Gentile/Christian concept which cannot be verified in the Scriptures!) Paul (upon whose much-misunderstood writings Christianity has based its entire theology) verified this when he said: Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Romans 3:31) Where does one find those original 613 commandments? They come straight from the Torah. You can see them sprinkled throughout the Torah in places such as Gen 26:2-5; Ex 15:25-27; Ex 16; Ex 20:6; Lev 22, 26, 27; Num 15, 36; Deut 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31. There are more, but you get the picture: God was very adamant about people following all His teachings and commandments. Why is it important for us to know about Gods original commandments? Everything GOD tells us to do is important and we are required to follow His orders. Obviously, some of the original commands cannot be followed today because they were dealing with the king, the Temple, the priesthood, or living in the Land; some pertained to the rabbis, some only to men, and some only to women. However, GOD forever commands (seventh day Sabbath, Biblical Feasts, etc) still stand, and Christians, as part of Israel through the blood of Messiah, MUST do exactly as the Jews: 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. Some insist that Torah was only for the Jews, but as we can see from the above, that is not true. The foreigners include everyone who has chosen to believe in The Messiah! The Bible tells us God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8); that The Messiah is GOD-Come-in-the-Flesh; and that He and His disciples were all Torah observant, seventh day Sabbath and Feast-keeping, kosher Jews. The Bible also tells us that His original followers in the First Century (before Catholicism came to pervert the Word), were all Torah observant, as well. So what supposedly happened to change that? The answer is: Mans opinions got in the way.... Jeremiah 31:32 tells us that GOD made His new covenant with the House of Israel and with the House of Judah; He did not make a new covenant with the Gentiles because He did not have an old covenant with the Gentiles. He did, however, extend His grace and mercy to the believing Gentiles who, as believers in The Messiah automatically become part of Israel! And God told Israel: I give you good instruction: Do not forsake my Torah (Proverbs 4:2). Okay, so how did the New Covenant change the way we were to worship? Lets check it out: Although the COVENANT changed, the following did not: Torah GODs provisions The penalty for disobedience GODs promises Psalm 119:89 Your word continues forever, ADONAI, firmly fixed in heaven; 90 your faithfulness though all generations; you established the earth, and it stands, 91 Yes, it stands today, in keeping with your rulings; for all things are your servants. (Sterns Complete Jewish Bible) So, what HAS changed? The Steward: The Messiah is now the steward, releasing Moses of that responsibility, and thereby fulfilling the prophecy of Deuteronomy 18: Deuteronomy 18:18 I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their kinsmen; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I order him. 19 Whoever doesnt listen to my words, which he will speak in my name, will have to account for himself to me. (Sterns) The Torah written on our hearts: The Torah is presented and managed (not replaced - GOD never said He was replacing Torah!) under a new covenant which is written on our hearts via the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit), which fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 31: Jeremiah 31:32 For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says ADONAI. I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Sterns) Please note that Torah written on our hearts means we are willing to follow GODs instruction and learn and obey Torah; not that we are born with an innate knowledge about His teachings and commands which we can ignore at will! The priest: Instead of an Aaronic high priest, the high priest is one after the order of Melchizedek- The Messiah; which fulfills the prophecy of Psalm 110 in which King David wrote: Psalms 110:1 ADONAI says to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. 2 ADONAI will send your powerful scepter out from Tziyon, so that you will rule over your enemies around you. 3 On the day your forces mobilize, your people willingly offer themselves in holy splendors from the womb of the dawn; the dew of your youth is yours. 4 ADONAI has sworn it, and he will never retract - You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek. (Sterns) The sacrifice: Innocent animals were sacrificed under the Mosaic covenant. But, under the new covenant, The Messiah Himself is the Sacrifice, thus fulfilling the foreshadowing of Psalm 40, which relates to animal sacrifice: Psalm 40:7 Sacrifices and grain offerings you dont want; burnt offerings and sin offerings you dont demand. Instead, you have given me open ears; 8 so then I said, Here I am! Im coming! In the scroll of a book it is written about me. 9 Doing your will, my God, is my joy; your Torah is in my inmost being. (Sterns) We need to remember, as Paul said, The Messiah was our final SIN offering, and the only way to obtain eternal life is to believe in His shed blood on the cross. When Torah observant believers talk about walking in Torah and keeping the feasts, however, people jump to conclusions and accuse of us doing it in order to receive eternal life; this is absolutely not true. Man is not saved by works! We must keep Torah because GOD commanded it; and because we want to (once it is written on our hearts); and because God never did away with His original divine teaching and instruction! Matthew 5:17 Dont think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete. 18 Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah - not until everything that must happen has happened. 19 So whoever disobeys the least of these mitzvot and teaches others to do so will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven. But whoever obeys them and so teaches will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness is far greater than that of the Torah-teachers and Prushim, you will certainly not enter the Kingdom of Heaven! (Sterns) Psalm 89:33 But I wont withdraw my grace from him or be false to my faithfulness. 34 I will not profane my covenant or change what my lips have spoken. 35 I have sworn by my holiness once and for all; I will not lie to David... (Sterns) John 14:15 If you love me, you will keep My Commands; (Sterns) John 14:21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me, and the one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and reveal myself to him. (Sterns) Jeremiah 31:33 For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says ADONAI: I will put my Torah within them and write it on their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Sterns) Ezekiel 11:19-21 ... I will put a New Spirit in them ... I will give them a heart of flesh, so that they will keep My Laws and respect My Observances and put them into practise. Then shall they be My People ... Matthew 5:17 I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one little stroke shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved.... Lets also remember Romans 3:31 which says: Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law.... A good question for a doubter to ask himself is: Are there ANY passages in the Old Testament or in the New Covenant that suggest Messiah would bring with Him a new religion? He fulfilled GODs New Covenant that would ensure eternal life for those who believed that The Messiah was the final Sin offering, but NOTHING suggested a new religion or the instructions to ignore Gods original FOREVER covenant! The bottom line is: The Messiah arrival, and ultimate death on the cross did NOT abolish Torah! He said so, Himself. He kept the feasts; He ate only kosher foods; He worshipped and taught in synagogues. Everything He did was completely and thoroughly Jewish and exactly according to Scripture - and He instructed His disciples to do the same. So, what exactly were the original 613 commandments? GOD gave us 248 positive Mitzvot/Commandments (the Dos), and 365 negative ones (the Donts). They are as follows: All Glory To The God of Israel...
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 05:58:03 +0000
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