10/04/2014

Parashat 34 Portion 98 B’Midbar 2:14-3:13 Yesh 8:18-22 Yoh 6:26-51


Blessing of Torah.
Hebrew: Baruch atah YHVH eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher kideshanu b'mitzvotav, v'tzivanu la'asok b'divrei Torah. V'ha'arev na YHVH eloheinu et divrei toratecha befinu uvfi amecha beit Yisrael. V'niyeh anachnu v'tze'etze'einu v'tze'etza'ei amecha beit Yisrael kullanu yodei sh'mecha v'lomdei toratecha lishmah. Baruch atah YHVH hamelamed Torah le'amo Yisrael. Baruch atah YHVH Eloheinu melech ha-olam, asher bachar banu mikol ha'amim venatan lanu et torato. Baruch atah YHVH, notein haTorah.

English translation: Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, who has made us set apart through His commandments and commanded us to actively study Torah. Please YHVH, our Elohim, sweeten the words of Your Torah in our mouths and in the mouths of all Your people Israel. May we and our offspring, and the offspring of Your people, the House of Israel, may we all, together, know Your Name and study Your Torah for the sake of fulfilling Your desire. Blessed are You, YHVH, Who teaches Torah to His people Israel. Blessed are You, YHVH our Elohim, King of the universe, , Who chose us from all the nations and gave us the Torah. Blessed are You, YHVH, Giver of the Torah.




Yahveh only has a plan A – there is no plan B – because Yahveh never fails. His plan and His redemption are revealed through His people – Yisrael.

Jer 31:35  Thus said יהוה, who gives the sun for a light by day, and the laws of the moon and the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, and its waves roar – יהוה of hosts is His Name:
Jer 31:36  “If these laws vanish from before Me,” declares יהוה, “then the seed of Yisra’ĕl shall also cease from being a nation before Me forever.”
Jer 31:37  Thus said יהוה, “If the heavens above could be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I would also cast off all the seed of Yisra’ĕl for all that they have done,” declares יהוה.

The church created a plan B – it’s called “replacement theology.”

Many Jews believe they can have plan A, without the Yahshua Ha Moshiach.
Both are terribly deluded and may soon face the frightening result of their refusal to embrace YHVH’s only way of redemption.

Heb 13:8  יהושע Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and forever. (He has always been plan A)

Joh 14:6  יהושע said to him, “I am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Joh 14:7  “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father too. From now on you know Him, and have seen.”………..vs 9 ….He who has seen Me has seen the Father…

Mat 15:24  And He answering, said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Yisra’ĕl.”

And only in Messiah do we get grafted into the House of Yisrael.

Eph 2:12  that at that time you were without Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Yisra’ĕl and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no expectation and without Elohim in the world.
Eph 2:19  So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the set-apart ones and members of the household of Elohim,1 Footnote: 1Rom. 11:17-24, Isa. 14:1.

Many of the Apostolic Writings (what is called New Testament by the church) were specifically addressed to the 12 tribes of Yisrael.

James (Ya’aqov) 1:1  Yaʽaqoḇ, a servant of Elohim and of the Master יהושע Messiah, to the twelve tribes who are in the dispersion: Greetings.

1Pe 1:1  Kĕpha, an emissary of יהושע Messiah, to the chosen, strangers of the dispersion in Pontos, Galatia, Kappadokia, Asia, and Bithunia,

1Pe 2:5  you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual house, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual slaughter offerings acceptable to Elohim through יהושע Messiah. (THIS IS NOT SPEAKING ABOUT THE CHURCH BUT ABOUT THE RESTORED HOUSE OF YISRAEL)

Mat 19:28  And יהושע said to them, “Truly I say to you, when the Son of Aḏam sits on the throne of His esteem, you who have followed Me in the rebirth, shall also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Yisra’ĕl.
Mat 19:29  “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My Name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
Mat 19:30  “But many who are first shall be last, and the last first.

Mar 10:28  And Kĕpha began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and we have followed You.”
Mar 10:29  יהושע said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for the sake of Me and the Good News,
Mar 10:30  who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come, everlasting life.
Mar 10:31  “But many who are first shall be last, and the last first.”

Yahshua clearly calls us to leave everything that is opposed to the Father’s Kingdom. The Father’s kingdom comprises of the restored 12 tribes of Yisrael and Yahshua as the Prince and king of Yisrael.
Anyone who responds to His call to become part of this kingdom will pay a price.

Rev 18:4  And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.1 Footnote: 1Jer. 51:6 & 45.

THERE IS ONLY ONE COVENANT AND SET OF RULES FOR CITIZENS OF THE KINGDOM.

Num 15:15  ‘One law is for you of the assembly and for the stranger who sojourns with you – a law forever throughout your generations. As you are, so is the stranger before יהוה.

When will the restoration of these 12 tribes take place?

Rabbi Yehuda Loewe (d. 1609), the "Maharal of Prague". taught that we will never discover the tribes by searching. He explained that the exile of the ten tribes is a divine decree that will not be rescinded until the messianic era. Even knowing their whereabouts would already be a measure of reunification, and G‑d has decreed that there not be reunification until the time of the final redemption. In other words, ultimately it is G‑d’s decree that is holding us back from discovering the ten lost tribes.

And so our Torah portion begins.

Num 2:14  Then the tribe of Gaḏ, and the leader of the children of Gaḏ: Elyasaph, son of Reʽuw’ĕl.
Num 2:15  And his army with their registered ones: forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty.
Num 2:16  All the registered ones of the camp of Re’uḇĕn, according to their divisions: one hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty. And they are the second to depart.
Num 2:17  And the Tent of Meeting, the camp of the Lĕwites, shall move out in the middle of the camps. As they camp, so they move out, everyone in his place, by their banners.
Num 2:18  On the west side: the banner of the camp of Ephrayim according to their divisions, and the leader of the children of Ephrayim: Elishama, son of Ammihuḏ.
Num 2:19  And his army with their registered ones: forty thousand five hundred.
Num 2:20  And next to him the tribe of Menashsheh, and the leader of the children of Menashsheh: Gamli’ĕl, son of Peḏahtsur.
Num 2:21  And his army with their registered ones: thirty-two thousand two hundred.
Num 2:22  Then the tribe of Binyamin, and the leader of the children of Binyamin: Aḇiḏan, son of Giḏʽoni.
Num 2:23  And his army with their registered ones: thirty-five thousand four hundred.
Num 2:24  All the registered ones of the camp of Ephrayim, according to their divisions: one hundred and eight thousand one hundred. And they are the third to depart.
Num 2:25  On the north side: the banner of the camp of Dan, according to their divisions, and the leader of the children of Dan: Aḥiʽezer, son of Ammishaddai.
Num 2:26  And his army with their registered ones: sixty-two thousand seven hundred.
Num 2:27  And those who camp next to him: the tribe of Ashĕr, and the leader of the children of Ashĕr: Paḡʽi’ĕl, son of Oḵran.
Num 2:28  And his army with their registered ones: forty-one thousand five hundred.
Num 2:29  Then the tribe of Naphtali, and the leader of the children of Naphtali: Aḥira, son of Ěnan.
Num 2:30  And his army with their registered ones: fifty-three thousand four hundred.
Num 2:31  All the registered ones of the camp of Dan: one hundred and fifty-seven thousand six hundred. They depart last, with their banners.
Num 2:32  These were registered ones of the children of Yisra’ĕl by their fathers’ houses. All who were registered according to their divisions of the camps: six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty.

This Torah portion reminds us that YHVH counts (gulguletam) Yisrael – past, present and future. The tribes of Yisrael are gathered and guided by the Levites – a law forever throughout all generations.

Num 2:33  But the Lĕwites were not registered among the children of Yisra’ĕl, as יהוה commanded Mosheh.
Num 2:34  And the children of Yisra’ĕl did according to all that יהוה commanded Mosheh. So they camped by their banners and so they departed, each one by his clan, according to their fathers’ houses.
Num 3:1  And these are the generations of Aharon and Mosheh when יהוה spoke with Mosheh on Mount Sinai.
Num 3:2  And these are the names of the sons of Aharon: Naḏaḇ, the first-born, and Aḇihu, Elʽazar, and Ithamar.
Num 3:3  These are the names of the sons of Aharon, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to act as priests.
Num 3:4  And Naḏaḇ and Aḇihu had died before יהוה when they brought strange fire before יהוה in the Wilderness of Sinai. And they had no children. So Elʽazar and Ithamar acted as priests in the presence of Aharon their father.
Num 3:5  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 3:6  “Bring the tribe of Lĕwi near, and set them before Aharon the priest, and they shall serve him,
Num 3:7  and shall guard his duty and the duty of all the congregation before the Tent of Meeting, to do the service of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:8  “And they shall guard all the furnishings of the Tent of Meeting, and the duty of the children of Yisra’ĕl, to do the service of the Dwelling Place.
Num 3:9  “And you shall give the Lĕwites to Aharon and his sons. They are the given ones, given to him from among the children of Yisra’ĕl.
Num 3:10  “And appoint Aharon and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. And the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”
Num 3:11  And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 3:12  “Now look, I Myself have taken the Lĕwites from among the children of Yisra’ĕl instead of every first-born who opens the womb among the children of Yisra’ĕl. And the Lĕwites shall be Mine,

Behold, I have take the Levites from amongst the children of Israel... and the Levites shall be Mine (3:12)
Not only the tribe of Levi, but any man of all the inhabitants of the earth whose spirit has moved him and whose mind has given him to understand to set himself aside to stand before G-d to serve Him, to worship Him, to know G-d and walk justly as G-d has created him [justly], and he cast from his neck the yoke of the many calculations that men seek--this man has become sanctified, a holy of holies, and G-d shall be his portion and his lot forever, and shall merit him his needs in this world, as He has merited the Kohanim and the Levites. (Maimonides)

Num 3:13  because all the first-born are Mine. On the day that I struck all the first-born in the land of Mitsrayim, I set apart to Myself all the first-born in Yisra’ĕl, both man and beast. They are Mine, I am יהוה.”

Just before he died Dr. Francis Schaeffer, one of the major prophets of our day, was asked what he believed about the promises of God to Israel, and this is his reply. He says,

"I believe that if God can revoke his promises to the nation Israel then I have no assurance of my own personal salvation. I believe that at the end of the present age the Lord will return and establish his kingdom for one thousand years and the purpose of the millennium will be to demonstrate conclusively that man's problem is himself, and not Satan. Evil is present during the millennium, even though Satan is bound because evil in man is a result of the fall unless there be a regenerated experience. When Satan is released he will find thousands who will immediately respond to his call to mount a final rebellion against God."

Baruch atah YHVH, Eloheynu, Melech ha-‘Olam, asher natan lanu Toraht-emet, v’chay-yeh o’lam nata-b’tochenu. Baruch atah YHVH, noteyn ha-Torah. Ameyn.”
(Blessed are you YHVH, our Elohim, King of the Universe, you have given us your Torah of truth, and have planted everlasting life within our midst. Blessed are you, YHVH giver of the Torah – Ameyn

Please note these notes are under construction and are subject to correction and are in no way a final authority on any subject.

An Additional Teaching on the Canon:
As both its critics and its champions would probably agree, Roman Catholicism has been the decisive spiritual force in the history of Western civilization.

Quotes
"Look, the fact is, the only reason you and I have the New Testament canon is because of the trustworthy teaching authority of the Catholic Church. As Augustine put it, ‘I would not believe in the Gospels were it not for the authority of the Catholic Church’ (Against the Letter of Mani Called "The Foundation" 5:6). Any Christian accepting the authority of the New Testament does so, whether or not he admits it, because he has implicit trust that the Catholic Church made the right decision in determining the canon.” 

"The fact is that the Holy Spirit guided the Catholic Church over time to recognize and determine the canon of the New and Old Testaments in the year 382 at the synod of Rome, under Pope Damasus I. This decision was ratified again at the councils of Hippo (393) and Carthage (397 and 419). You, my friend, accept exactly the same books of the New Testament that Pope Damasus decreed were canonical, and no others.”

"Furthermore, the reason you accept the books you do is that they were in the Bible someone gave you when you first became a Christian. You accept them because they were handed on to you. This means you accept the canon of the New Testament that you do because of tradition, because tradition is simply what is handed on to us from those who were in the faith before us. So your knowledge of the exact books that belong in the Bible, such as Philemon and 3 John, rests on tradition rather than on Scripture itself!” 

"The question you have to ask yourself is this: ‘Where did we get the Bible?’ Until you can give a satisfactory answer, you aren’t in much of a position to rely on the authority of Scripture or to claim that you can be certain that you know how to accurately interpret it.”

"After you answer that question—and there’s really only one answer that can be given—you have some other important questions to ask: ‘If the Bible, which we received from the Catholic Church, is our sole rule of faith, who’s to do the interpreting?’ And ‘Why are there so many conflicting understandings among Evangelicals and Fundamentalists even on central doctrines that pertain to salvation?’" 

Baruch Ha Shem YHVH, the Catholics could not tamper with the TORAH. 

We understand that many things that happened during Yahshua’s life and after his death were not passed down to us.

Joh 21:25  Now there is much else that יהושע did. If every one of them were written down, I think that the world itself would not contain the written books. Amĕn.

However we see that the church has sadly interfered and obscured precious truth from reaching us.
Quote
“The Roman Catholic Church contends that it is their right to determine which books belong in the canon of Scripture. Do they have the right to determine which books belong in the New Testament canon?
Those who argue that the Roman Catholic Church should have authority in matters of biblical authority and interpretation usually list the following reasons.
1. God Established The Church As His Voice Upon The Earth
God established the Roman Catholic Church as His voice upon the earth. It alone has the power to speak for Him on all matters. Therefore it has the right to determine which books belong in the canon.
2. The Church Existed Before The New Testament
Since the church came before the New Testament, the church should have authority over it. Therefore the final authority on all matters of faith should come from the church.
The Roman Catholic Church, therefore, may add or delete things to Scripture as the need arises. It alone has the keys to properly understand the Bible. “ end quote.

Examples of other letters not included in the Apostolic scriptures:

The Gospel of Thomas is not a narrative of the life of Jesus but rather a listing of 114
of his “sayings” or teachings. Saying 12 reads as follows (Remember that this is a translation and the translators translated the Hebrew names into English names instead of the Hebrew names of each person. If we could translate this again, we would restore the names to its original- but it is a quote):

The disciples said to Jesus, “We know you will leave us. Who is going to be our leader then?” Jesus said to them, “No matter where you go you are to go to James (Ya’aqov) the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being.”

Here we have an outright statement from Yahshua himself that he is handing over the leadership and spiritual direction of his movement to his brother James! The Roman Catholic Church made certain that Peter was seen as the leader and first pope of the Church.

The Didache or “The Master’s teaching of the twelve apostles”: The Didache is basically a set of step-by-step instructions for a Believer’s life. The first section is on how Believers should apply the commandments of YHVH – the Torah.

"The Gospel according to the Hebrews" was a work of early Christian literature to which reference is frequently made by the church Fathers in the first five centuries, and of which some twenty or more fragments, preserved in their writings, have come down to us. The book itself has long disappeared." 

Other forbidden epistles were excluded because they were said to cause sexual arousal. This of course was in line of the church’s (Roman) views on sexuality and the vow of celibacy nuns and priests made in order to serve there “God” in a more acceptable manner.

There are many other ancient documents excluded from the scriptures by the Roman Catholic Church – some may be justified others not. The aim of the Roman church was always clear – to blot out any trace of its Jewish identity.

Maybe the ‘Bride of Messiah’ are those who have heard the voice of the True Shepherd and followed Him - after rejecting the false authority of false shepherds and false teachers.

The Torah remains the ONE TRUE TEST FOR ALL SPIRITUALITY AND REVELATION FROM YHVH.