HEBREW ROOTS LIE # 1 --- Christians DISREGARD TORAH

Pray for the peace of JERUSALEM;
They shall prosper that love thee.
Psalm 122: 6 

ALL SCRIPTURES COURTESY OF BIBLEGATEWAY.COM

The specific TORAH, the specific 5 books of Moses, is read and parts memorized by all the various groups of Hebrew Roots Believers.  Many of the groups "teach" the Hebrew names for these 5 books... as a better way to say them... rather than using the Latinized or Greek-rooted names for the 5 books of Moses.  

The HR groups, although quite varied in intensity, hold this in common: they accuse ALL the Followers of JESUS of being

• Against the teachings of Moses ( TORAH )
• Against the Law found in the other books of the Old Covenant
• not mindful of keeping any of the commands found in the Old Covenant
• unwilling to even READ the Old Covenant

There are 613 Laws in the books of Moses' Law, called the TORAH, specifically. [ Some claim "TORAH" means all the Law found in any book of the Old Covenant, hence I have clearly designated that when I am addressing  ONLY the books of Moses, I use the term " specific." ] 

What is odd is this: 

the HEBREW ROOTS movement 

does NOT publish which of the 613 Laws 

the Hebrew Root groups 

themselves observe. 

In Andrew Roth's Appendix [ Aramaic-English New Testament ] starting on page 845, of the mis-pagination edition,  is a listing of the "248 POSITIVE mitzvot / commandments" of TORAH."  This appendix is entitled, appropriately enough: 

"How Much Torah Do Christians Already Keep ?"

However, there is no corresponding appendix listing how much TORAH the Hebrew Roots movement observes. 

If one looks carefully at the wording of this section, one sees the words POSITIVE commandments, which are Mr. Roth's designation for only 248 of the 613 commandments in the TORAH.... which is only 40 % of all the Laws listed in specific TORAH !  

Thus, even if ALL of the "POSITIVE" TORAH commandments are kept ... not even HALF of the TORAH will be observed that is written in the 5 books of the Law of Moses ! 

For whosoever shall keep the WHOLE law, 

and yet offend in one point,

 he is guilty of all. 

James 2:10 

James 2:10 in Mr. Roth's AENT states this: 

"For he that will keep the whole TORAH* 

and yet fail in one aspect of it, is an enemy to the whole TORAH*. "

( *Namusa, in the Aramaic/Syriac TEXT has been arbitrarily translated as "TORAH" instead of "LAW" in Mr. Roth's AENT. ) 

Thus, we see that the Apostle James, the head of the Early Church in Jerusalem, writes clearly in this verse AND IN THE CONTEXT of this verse in both the Peshitta and the Greek Manuscripts what the KEEPING OF TORAH demands.  

Now, let us look at the words of our LORD  Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA in Aramaic/ Syriac, YESHUA+ HA MOSHIYACH in the Hebrew tongue, JESUS CHRIST in English. 

  

  Did not Moses 

give you the law, 

and yet none of you 

keepeth the law?

Why go ye about to kill ME+?

 The people answered and said, 

THOU+ hast a devil: 

who goeth about to kill THEE+?

Y'SHU+  answered and said unto them, 

I+ have done one work, and ye all marvel.

 Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; 

(not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) 

and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.

If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, 

that the law of Moses should not be broken; 

are ye angry at ME+, 

because I+ have made a man 

every whit whole on the sabbath day?

 Judge not according to the appearance, 

but judge righteous judgment.

 ~ ~ ~  Recorded in John 7:19-24

Listen to the words recorded by Luke in Acts 15, when Paul and Barnabas went before the Elders and Apostles in Jerusalem to determine the question of circumcision being laid upon the Gentile Followers of Y'SHU+  the MESHIKHA by Jewish Christians.... in addition to their Salvation by faith.

But there rose up certain 

of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, 

saying, 

That it was needful to circumcise them, 

and to command them to keep the law of Moses. 

Acts 15:5

Forasmuch as we have heard, 

that certain which went out from us 

have troubled you with words, 

subverting your souls, 

saying, 

Ye must be circumcised, 

and keep the law: 

to whom we gave no such commandment: 

Acts 15:24

Now hear the words of the Apostle Paul, a zealous Jewish Pharisee, who met Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA and was eventually sent to the Gentiles. 

For neither they themselves 

who are circumcised keep the law; 

but desire to have you circumcised, 

that they may glory in your flesh. 

Galatians 6:13

Were Luke, the Jewish-Pharisee Christian Apostle Paul, and the Jewish Christian Apostle James all WRONG about the rightful understanding of the Law of Moses, the TORAH,  as they lived for Y'SHU+ the  MESHIKHA? 

WAS ...

Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA, 

YESHUA+ HA MOSHIYACH, 

Our LORD JESUS CHRIST

... in error in HIS+ statement that 

"None of you keep the Law " ? 

WHO , then , is RIGHT?

The Hebrew Roots Law-keepers

or 

Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA...

our LAW-INCARNATE+ ?

QUESTION: So then... which TORAH commandments of the 613 Laws do Followers of Y'SHU+ keep ? 

ANSWER:  We keep them ALL when Y'SHU+ the MESHIKHA lives within our hearts because HE+ was the Word made Flesh. 

The HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT --- UP or DOWN ?

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem ! Thou that .... 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!  Matthew 23:37   ~  Words of The LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

The HEART of the matter:  The Hebrew Roots Movement seems to be a cry for DISCIPLESHIP from serious-minded Christians.  

Some Christians, seemingly from every branch of Christianity, are desiring a WAY to become more SOLID in their walk.  Most likely, these Christians have been raised with "easy Grace " in their years in churches. 

"Easy" GRACE, however, does not satisfy the hungry soul or the one who wishes to have a deeper walk with The LORD JESUS CHRIST. 

Because persecution has not yet hit this generation of Christians in the Americas or Europe, there is nothing to rout out "easy" Grace .... except some kind of serious discipleship in one's daily walk.

"Easy" grace allows believers to NEVER CHANGE their life-styles, never adjust their values, and never interrupt their careers.  This life-style allows for sharp words and harsh attitudes against ANYONE who disagrees with them.  

"Easy" grace Christians are easy to spot:  they look like the world, talk like the world, act like the world, and never separate from the world... excepting to go to church on Sundays, usually. 

They are found at all the ball games, the eateries, the dress shops, the sports arenas and race tracks, and ... alas... at some of the seedier places of society. 

Why ?  

They indulge themselves this life-style because their church has TAUGHT them that "easy" grace  ALLOWS them to "be all they ought to be"  and to "do all they want to do". 

They  have been taught, "JESUS understands and HE+ loves you so much !  HE+ would not want you to feel bad about yourself,  would HE+ ? " 

Some BELIEVERS, however, react to such self-indulgence... much to their credit.   

Thus, when something comes along which appears MORE SOLID  and more PLEASING unto The LORD --- like the Hebrew Roots Movement seems to be --- then these hungry souls are drawn to it , with rejoicing. 

Who can blame them 

for trying 

to escape the worldliness 

of this present 

church system ? 

Unfortunately for them, though, they must accept certain "standards" before they can fully entrust themselves into the HEBREW ROOTS MOVEMENT.  

Alas, by doing this, 

they have replaced 

one piece of dead wood 

for another. 

We will look at the common techniques and "standards" used by the Hebrew Roots Movement groups in the next few posts. 

And then, we will look at the need for TRUE CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP: the Antidote for the Hungry Who are not being fed by their church.   

The Law.... INCARNATE + !

Photo courtesy of SERMON VIEW

The Law INCARNATE+ ... Our Righteousness ...   YHWH  TSIDKENU

1. 

We have completed the season when most followers of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA have forsaken their normal routines  and stopped --- at one point or another --- to remember His+ Incarnation, around the time of the Roman taxation of the Jews living under the rule of Rome in Israel  ... most likely after the time of the in-gathering of the fall harvest.

Whatever we choose to call it --- "Christmas" or "Advent" or The Incarnation+ Season --- , we simply remember the approximate time of His+ coming to earth, being born as a babe in a humble setting, and donning the human robe of flesh to become the SECOND ADAM+.

It pleased Our FATHER Who art in Heaven to deliver mankind from sin, death, the satan, Sheol, and the grave through Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA. 

Thus, HE+ became Incarnate as the SECOND ADAM+ to suffer human death ... but this human death was unlike any other: HE+ rose triumphant, bodily. 

Death had NO dominion over HIM+. Furthermore, neither did the satan because the wicked one could find NO UNRIGHTEOUSNESS in HIM+. Death, then , could not hold HIM+.

In addition to that wondrous fact, The Risen LORD was pleased to bring all the Righteous Dead out of Sheol with HIM+, taking captivity itself captive and moving it 

up... up... up ... 

out of the heart of the earth and into the Paradise of GOD (ALAHA ), which is in Heaven ... that Heaven in which no un-righteousness dwells.

According to Scripture, however , Our Incarnate LORD did something else for us when HE+ submitted to the Crucifixion ... something that some followers of Y'SHU+ have missed !

Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA 

became the LAW INCARNATE+ 

... as precisely as HE+ had become The WORD+ Made Flesh, The Living MILTHA+ of ALAHA , as the Aramaic / Syriac states.

For, what IS the WORD+  .....

 but the LAW INCARNATE+ ? 

That WORD+ is the LIVING Word+ which became flesh and dwelt among man, full of Grace and Truth.

+  +  +

Syrian IRENAEUS Describes the 5 POINTS of HIS+ CROSS...

In detail, IRENAEUS  describes 

the 5 points 

of the CROSS 

Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA 

               Photo courtesy of  Mustard Seed International
     The Brazen Serpent Monument 
over-looking Mt. Nebo, Jordan

+  +  +

IRENAEUS, ( c. 120 - 202 ), Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1,  Irenaeus Against Heresies , Book 2, Chapter 24, Section 4.  ~  In dealing with heretics, "The Folly of Arguments Derived by the Heretics from Numbers, etc." 

4. But that this point is true, that that number which is called five, which agrees in no respect with their argument, and does not harmonize with their system, nor is suitable for a typical manifestation of the things in the Pleroma, [yet has a wide prevalence,] will be proved as follows from the Scriptures. 

Soter is a name of five letters; Pater, too, contains five letters;

Agape (love), too, consists of five letters; and our LORD, after blessing the five loaves, fed with them five thousand men. 

Five virgins were called wise by the LORD; and, in like manner, five were styled foolish. 

Again, five men are said to have been with the LORD when He obtained testimony from the FATHER, — namely, Peter, and James, and John, and Moses, and Elias. 

The LORD also, as the fifth person, entered into the apartment of the dead maiden, and raised her up again; for, says [the Scripture], “He suffered no man to go in, save Peter and James, and the father and mother of the maiden.” 

The rich man in Hell declared that he had five brothers, to whom he desired that one rising from the dead should go. 

The pool from which the LORD commanded the paralytic man to go into his house, had five porches. 

The very form of the cross, too, has five extremities, two in length, two in breadth, and one in the middle, on which [last] the person rests who is fixed by the nails. 

Each of our hands has five fingers; we have also five senses; our internal organs may also be reckoned as five, viz., the heart, the liver, the lungs, the spleen, and the kidneys. 

Moreover, even the whole person may be divided into this number [of parts], — the head, the breast, the belly, the thighs, and the feet. 

The human race passes through five ages first infancy, then boyhood, then youth, then maturity, and then old age. 

Moses delivered the law to the people in five books. Each table which he received from GOD contained five commandments. 

The veil covering the holy of holies had five pillars. 

The altar of burnt-offering also was five cubits in breadth. 

Five priests were chosen in the wilderness, — namely, Aaron, Nadab, Abiud, Eleazar, Ithamar. 

The ephod and the breastplate, and other sacerdotal vestments, were formed out of five materials; for they combined in themselves gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen. 

And there were five kings of the Amorites, whom Joshua the son of Nun shut up in a cave, and directed the people to trample upon their heads. 

Any one, in fact, might collect many thousand other things of the same kind, both with respect to this number and any other he chose to fix upon, either from the Scriptures, or from the works of nature lying under his observation.

+  +  +

The folly of arguing that there IS NO "CROSS" upon which Y'SHUA+ the M'SHIKHA was crucified is apparent. 

Is it not folly to CHANGE a word in the Holy Writ ... without some linguistic authority to do so ?  

Yet, the Netzarim Publishing house's version of the New Covenant, translated by Mr. Andrew Roth , has done this very thing. 

Is it not folly  to  IGNORE the Early Church apologists who wrote about Pre-Nicene Christianity in the 100 to 200's AD ... and pretend we know better than these early followers of Y'SHU+ who obviously were taught by men who were taught of the Apostles and Evangelists and Disciples of Y'SHU+ ... firsthand ?  

Yet, the AENT published by the Netzarim Publishing House has done so. 

Is it not folly  to cast aside the wisdom of Justin Martyr, Ignatius, and Irenaeus .... and establish one's own doctrine which conflicts with these martyrs of Y'SHU+ ? 

Yet, the Netzarim's AENT has done so.

+  +  + 

In the coming months and years, fellow followers of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA, we will 

ALL NEED TO ADHERE 

to sound doctrine and to each other, 

as the kingdom of the 10 Kings of Revelation 17:12   wreak havoc with us all... beheading us, driving us from our homes as the Syrians have been driven, marking us and our homes with the "N" for Nazarene , as has been done in Iraq.

Times are NOT going to become "better" but rather, worse as the time approaches of His+ 2nd Appearing. 

Be wise, be wise. Tolerate only the TRUTH+... for in HIM+ will be our only place of safety on planet earth.

Thousands have already paid the price .... just like the Early Christians did .... for following Y'SHU+.  Do not think for a moment that we will escape the wrath and demonized policies of the 10 kings, set to destroy the human race. Christians and Jews especially are targeted. 

Maranatha, LORD Y'SHU+, Maranatha. 

CROSS in Pre-Nicene Writings .... a CROSS-beam Attached to a Pole

Photo courtesy of  Mustard Seed International The Brazen Serpent Monument  over-looking Mt. Nebo, Jordan

The Pre-Nicene Early Christian writers, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1: 

• Justin Martyr (c. 110-165 AD,  of Samaria ) and 
• Irenaeus ( C. 120 - 202 AD, approximated dates, of Syria; later made Bishop of Lyons, France ) 

both had much to say regarding the Crucifixion of Y'SHU the M'SHIKHA ( JESUS CHRIST ) in their apologies for The Way + ... the Way+ of the CROSS ... not the " stake."

CROSS photo by the Order of the GOOD SHEPHERD+ 

Yes, it is crucial to realize Our LORD died innocently as the Sacrificial LAMB+ of ALAHA to deliver us from sin, hell, and death, by whatever means HE+ and His+ Heavenly FATHER chose to use. 

It is also crucial to realize the CROSS was presented as a pattern and type throughout the Old Covenant .... 

so that... 

His+ IDENTIFICATION could be readily established for those awaiting the Messiah+, when the true M'SHIKHA+ became incarnate upon this earth. 

Scripture accounts tell us there were some false Messiahs who proclaimed themselves and they too were slain or taken captive. But, the false Messiahs did NOT fit the pattern of identification which was established in the Old Covenant.

Also pertinent to this discussion is the problematic use of STAKE instead of CROSS  found throughout the Netzarim Publishing House's Aramaic-English New Testament by Mr. Andrew Roth ... in spite of all linguistic and lexical authorities ! 

Herein is the CRUCIAL issue: By changing CROSS to "stake,"  Mr. Roth changes the stake to STAFF ~  and hence extrapolates that to a staff of authority !  

Matthew 10:38, AENT, verbatim ~ supposedly words of Y'SHU+ (JESUS, in English):  

"And anyone that does not take up his staff (107) and come and follow me is not worthy of me."  

Footnote 107 shows the AENT's purpose in changing CROSS to "stake" and "stake" to "staff."  It states: 

"Take up your staff and follow means to exercise your personal authority .  A staff is a symbol of authority that is used for mobility and protection ( see B'midbar / Numbers 17:1-10 or 17:16-25 in Jewish versions). Christian versions insert "cross" here which does not appear in either Aramaic or Greek texts. See Pole, the Standard , in Appendix. " [ Unfortunately for his readers, this statement is inaccurate in all points regarding the Aramaic and Greek texts.  SrJH.  + + +]

At this point, let me insert a note of interest. "NES"  is the transliterated Hebrew word for POLE , that pole upon which Moses was ordered to place the brazen serpent for the healing of the Hebrews bitten by poisonous serpents.  



In fact, this "NES" was not a sturdy up-right timber, like a modern telephone pole. Rather, it was a frame-work for a BANNER, the kind with a cross-pole affixed to an upright pole. The banner was NOT like a pennant flying at the top of a sports stadium, but rather a rectangular banner going before a group with its family crest or ensign upon it. See this pictured above of that "pole" at Mount Nebo, Jordan.  

So now, let us look at what Justin Martyr states in his writings about the PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION of the CROSS of Y'SHU+ the M'SHIKHA.  

Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, 

pg. 214-215

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XL.-He Returns to the Mosaic Laws, and Proves that They Were Figures of the Things Which Pertain to Christ.

"The mystery, then, of the lamb which God enjoined to be sacrificed as the passover, was a type of Christ; with whose blood, in proportion to their faith in Him, they anoint their houses, i.e., themselves, who believe on Him. For that the creation which God created-to wit, Adam-was a house for the spirit which proceeded from God, you all can understand. And that this injunction was temporary, I prove thus.

 God does not permit the lamb of the passover to be sacrificed in any other place than where His name was named; knowing that the days will come, after the suffering of Christ, when even the place in Jerusalem shall be given over to your enemies, and all the offerings, in short, shall cease; and that lamb which was commanded to be wholly roasted was a symbol of the suffering of the cross which Christ would undergo.

 For the lamb,(108) which is roasted, is roasted and dressed up in the form of the cross. 

For one spit is transfixed right through from the lower parts up to the head, and one across the back, to which are attached the legs of the lamb.

And the two goats which were ordered to be offered during the fast, of which one was sent away as the scape [goat], and the other sacrificed, were similarly declarative of the two appearances of Christ: the first, in which the elders of your people, and the priests, having laid hands on Him and put Him to death, sent Him away as the scape [goat]; 

and His second appearance, because in the same place in Jerusalem you shall recognise Him whom you have dishonoured, and who was an offering for all sinners willing to repent, and keeping the fast which Isaiah speaks of, loosening the terms(109) of the violent contracts, and keeping the other precepts, likewise enumerated by him, and which I have quoted,(110) which those believing in Jesus do. And further, you are aware that the offering of the two goats, which were enjoined to be sacrificed at the fast, was not permitted to take place similarly anywhere else, but only in Jerusalem.

Justin’s Dialogue with Trypho, 

pg 244-235 

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XCI.-

The Cross Was Foretold in the Blessings of Joseph, 

and in the Serpent that Was Lifted Up.

"And God by Moses shows in another way the force of the mystery of the cross, when He said in the blessing wherewith Joseph was blessed,

 `From the blessing of the Lord is his land; for the seasons of heaven, and for the dews, and for the deep springs from beneath, and for the seasonable fruits of the sun,(356) and for the coming together of the months, and for the heights of the everlasting mountains, and for the heights of the hills, and for the ever-flowing rivers, and for the fruits of the fatness of the earth; and let the things accepted by Him who appeared in the bush come on the head and crown of Joseph.

 Let HIM+ be glorified among his brethren;(357) his beauty is [like] the firstling of a bullock; his horns the horns of an unicorn: with these shall he push the nations from one end of the earth to another.'(358)

 Now, no one could say or prove that the horns of an unicorn represent any other fact or figure than the type which portrays the cross.

 For the one beam is placed upright, from which the highest extremity is raised up into a horn, when the other beam is fitted on to it, and the ends appear on both sides as horns joined on to the one horn. 

And the part which is fixed in the centre, on which are suspended those who are crucified, also stands out like a horn; and it also looks like a horn conjoined and fixed with the other horns. [ Apparently, this is in reference to what the Eastern Orthodox and other churches term the "sedle" upon which a body rested during the death throes while hanging upon the cross. SrJH  + + +]

And the expression, `With these shall he push as with horns the nations from one end of the earth to another, 'is indicative of what is now the fact among all the nations. For some out of all the nations, through the power of this mystery, having been so pushed, that is, pricked in their hearts, have turned from vain idols and demons to serve God. But the same figure is revealed for the destruction and condemnation of the unbelievers; even as Amalek was defeated and Israel victorious when the people came out of Egypt, by means of the type of the stretching out of Moses' hands, and the name of Jesus (Joshua), by which the son of Nave (Nun) was called. 

And it seems that the type and sign, which was erected to counteract the serpents which bit Israel, was intended for the salvation of those who believe that death was declared to come thereafter on the serpent through Him that would be crucified, but salvation to those who had been bitten by him and had betaken themselves to Him that sent His Son into the world to be crucified.(359) For the Spirit of prophecy by Moses did not teach us to believe in the serpent, since it shows us that he was cursed by God from the beginning; and in Isaiah tells us that he shall be put to death as an enemy by the mighty sword, which is Christ.

FIRST APOLOGY OF JUSTIN pg. 174

Courtesy of www.biblestudytools.com

Chapter XXXV.-Other Fulfilled Prophecies.

And how CHRIST after HE+ was born was to escape the notice of other men until HE+ grew to man's estate, which also came to pass, hear what was foretold regarding this.

There are the following predictions:(67) -"Unto us a child is born, and unto us a young man is given, and the government shall be upon His+ shoulders; "(68) which is significant of the power of the cross, for to it, when HE+ was crucified, HE+ applied His+ shoulders, as shall be more clearly made out in the ensuing discourse.

And again the same prophet Isaiah, being inspired by the prophetic Spirit, said, "I have spread out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people, to those who walk in a way that is not good. They now ask of me judgment, and dare to draw near to God."(69)

 And again in other words, through another prophet, He says, "They pierced My hands and My feet, and for My vesture they cast lots."(70) 

And indeed David, the king and prophet, who uttered these things, suffered none of them; but JESUS CHRIST stretched forth His+ hands, being crucified by the Jews speaking against Him+, and denying that HE+ was the CHRIST.

And as the prophet spoke, they tormented Him, and set Him on the judgment-seat, and said, Judge us. And the expression, "They pierced my hands and my feet," was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in His hands and feet.

And after He was crucified they cast lots upon His vesture, and they that crucified Him parted it among them. And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.(71) And we will cite the prophetic utterances of another prophet, Zephaniah,(72) to the effect that He was foretold expressly as to sit upon the foal of an ass and to enter Jerusalem. The words are these: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass."(73)

Next Post:  
The CROSS words of Irenaeus 
from the Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume 1.