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We have covered a great deal of material up to now about Covenants. I believe at this time a quick review is in order before we go on.
A "Gentile" is a term signifying a non-Jew, who is only subject to the seven Noahide Laws. Once a Gentile came to the understanding of the one true God, he would turn from idols and worship the God of Israel. These were the "God fearers", who accepted certain basic Jewish obligations along with the Noachide precepts. This picture is verified over and over again by the New Testament if you know what you are looking for. According to this, idolatry, shedding of blood, and grave sexual sins were forbidden to Gentile believers. These were originally the Noachide precepts accepted also by the Synagogue on which the Gentiles were obliged. Let me remind you that we see in Acts 15 (at least 25 years after the death of Jesus) the admonition for the Gentiles to adhere to Noachide Laws to be accepted in the believing community of Israel (it was James as leader of the Jerusalem church who referred back to the Noahide Laws in addressing the question of Gentile salvation). It is logical that the Apostolic Church of Jerusalem should accept the view of the Synagogue on the conditions which Gentiles needed to fulfill in order to be saved and accepted in the "family of Israel". It can be easily shown that the fulfillment of other commandments of Judaism were not prohibited to Gentiles. On the contrary, the Noachide precepts were only seen as the minimal condition for Gentiles to be recognized as "God-fearers". These were so understood by the uncircumcised "God-fearers" themselves, who were attracted to the Jewish way of life and accepted many Jewish commandments without becoming full proselytes (Sabbath, festivals, Tallith, etc). This was also the attitude of Gentile Christian "God-fearers", as may be seen from the Epistle to the Galatians; many of them wished to observe as many Jewish precepts as they could. We need to understand right now that Paul was not opposed to non-Jews voluntarily observing "Jewish" commandments over and above the Noahide minimum like the Sabbath for instance; he was opposed to only one "Law" being put upon the non-Jews and that was that the commandment of circumcision which was imposed on non-Jews for inclusion into the Israel of God by bigoted Jews who hoped that such a procedure would cause the non-Jew to rethink his decision and they would not have to have social or religious contact with them. Paul knew such a commandment was never a part of the Covenant of Noah given to all Gentiles and was purposely used by bigoted Jews and it was this bigotry which enraged Paul and kept many non-Jews from drawing close to the Creator. His Galatians epistle is against the law of circumcision only and we need to realize that Paul was not against the non-Jews acquiring other mitzvoth as the pattern of the New Testament shows. It is evident that, while the leadership of the mother Church in Jerusalem decided to lay no burden upon the Gentile believers beyond the Noachide precepts, it did not object to their voluntarily observing more (Col. 2:16-17). Among the figures of the early Church who instructed Gentile Christians to observe more precepts than these essential "Noahide" ones was Peter, as we know from Paul's criticism of him for demanding that Gentiles live like Jews (Gal. 2:14). Rather than interpreting the apostolic decree of Gentiles adhering to the Laws of Noah as a minimum, Paul would later change in his views after the Antioch incident and would see in the Noachide precepts the maximum obligations of Gentile Christians. Rather than Peter being incorrect, a more comprehensive understanding of the Bible reveals Paul to be incorrect. You will see this when we study the Antioch incident next in this series.
Paul remarks in a letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor. 7) that the circumcised (Jews or converted Gentiles) should not remove the marks of circumcision, nor should the uncircumcised (Gentiles become Jews) circumcise themselves. Wait a minute. Paul contradicts himself (like a lot of preachers today). In Galatians 5 he says "if you Gentiles get circumcised" and then he says "don't do it", can't he make up his mind? Dear one when you begin to draw a line down the middle of a sheet of paper and write out the sayings of Paul you will be amazed at how a great number of Paul's sayings are directly in opposition to each other. If you have not seen this for yourself then I suggest you begin to look for them for your inability to see them so far does not invalidate the FACT that they exist and they exist in abundance in the New Testament. This is just one of the problems I have with the New Testament for if a document is truly inspired and inerrant and given by God as the New Testament is touted, then God is not schizophrenic and has the ability to carry a clear and concise thought. Paul cannot!
In Acts 16 Paul circumcised his disciple Timothy.
Answer for yourself: Timothy was not a Jew was he? If he was a Gentile why bother, right?
This contradiction of Paul is very puzzling.
Answer for yourself: Sadly many have incorrectly interpreted Paul as teaching that circumcision was abandoned with the coming of Yeshua the Messiah, but was it?
Acts 16 is over 20 years after Yeshua's death and Paul is still circumcising!
Answer for yourself: Evidently we have failed to understand properly, so what is the clear truth of the matter?
Yeshua and his Apostles did not wish to destroy the Torah (Law) from Israel, God forbid; for it is written so in Matthew 5:17, Jesus having said, "Do not suppose that I have come to abolish the Torah. I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. I tell you this: So long as heaven and earth endure (do they yet exist today?), not a letter, not a stroke, will disappear from the Torah (the Law) until it is achieved. If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Torah's demands, and teaches others to do the same (the majority of Pastors who preach the contemporary Christian message as well as Paul later in his ministry), he will have the lowest place in the Kingdom of Heaven, whereas anyone who keeps the Torah, and teaches others so, will stand high in the Kingdom of Heaven."
It never ceases to amaze me that the vast majority of Christianity today follows Paul instead of Yeshua; they follow the "least" more than the "greatest". The witness for Paul being "least in the Kingdom of God" comes not only from his doctrines as taught in the New Testament but also from James, the head of the Jerusalem Church, who informs us in Acts 21:21: "And they are informed of thee [Paul], that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs]. Dear ones this is historically accurate as will be proven to you beyond any shadow of a doubt when we look at the Antioch problem for it is here that Paul, having previously needed the Jerusalem's Church authority for "his" gospel, completely severs himself off from the Jerusalem Church and literally become a renegade among the non-Jews in an attempt to build a ministry to prove the validity of his apostleship to those in Jerusalem who yet considered him dangerous and not "apostolic" material at all.
Bet Emet Ministries teaches Gentile and Jewish commitment and observance to the Torah, not because we desire to be "high" in the Kingdom of God, but because we love God and His Word, and would never think of destroying it by misinterpreting it or failing to study to arrive at the correct meaning of these truths for the people of God today.
It is therefore exceedingly clear that Jesus never dreamed of destroying the Torah as have the majority of churches today that carry his name but substitute "another Gospel" for the true Gospel of Yeshua.
In reality Paul does not contradict himself because of his circumcision of Timothy, for the latter was the son of a Jewish mother, and a Gentile father (Acts 16), and Paul knew that the child of a Jewish mother is considered a "full Jew", even if the father should be a Gentile. Paul thus acted entirely in accordance with the Halakhah (interpretation of Jewish Law) by circumcising Timothy. This would be in line with his position, following the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 in 50 A.D., that no longer will Gentile believers be required to "become fully converted Jews through circumcision" in order to be accepted into Israel; that the Gentile believers could now remain as "uncircumcised God-Fearers" and be accepted fully by the Jews (1 Cor 7, Acts 15). Gentiles no longer had to "convert and be circumcised" to be a part of Judaism and become "fully Jewish by circumcision" for inclusion with equal standing within the Israel of God. The Gentiles as "God-Fearers" were to also be accepted as grafted into Israel (as demonstrated by Cornelius in Acts 10 who was a "God-Fearer" and who had not yet been circumcised). It is important to note that as a "God-Fearer", Cornelius in Acts 10 yet observed the Noahide Laws, honored the Sabbath (over and above the minimum requirement of his Covenant), and ate kosher (proper killing, dressing and preparation of animals intended for food as well as the removal of all blood…again over and above his Covenant stipulations). The baptism of Cornelius into the Holy Spirit as had been the Jews earlier in Acts 2 during the Festival of Pentecost was the evidence needed to convince the Jerusalem church that the middle-wall of partition was being removed between Jews and "unclean Gentiles". From this we learn that obedience to the Noahide Laws, without circumcision (to remain only as a "God-Fearer" and not fully convert to Judaism), was no longer to be a barrier between the "unclean Gentiles" and the Jews. For example, table fellowship at the Shabbat (Sabbath observance) and the Festivals could now be shared together! This was understood from Peter's vision in Acts 10 concerning "unclean foods" which the Lord cleansed (symbolic of cleansing of men, and not the animals designated as unclean in Leviticus). We will later see Peter eating with uncircumcised Gentiles in Antioch; he learned the lesson. Shammai's "Eighteen Measures" (one of which commanded Jews not to eat or enter into the homes of Gentiles-remember Shammai hated Gentiles) was overturned by God with the revelation at Cornelius' home. God corrects Shammai and those that followed his teaching. Peter's vision of the unclean foods represented the "unclean Gentiles" which God had cleansed; the vision was not meant to tell Peter that God had cleansed the "unclean foods". Let us not confuse this issue as have millions.
Timothy had to be circumcised since he was Jewish (because his mother was Jewish) and, therefore, was required to observe all the commandments of the Torah (613). Gentiles who observe the Noahide Laws are forbidden to observe "ALL" the Torah like a Jew is required, unless they desire to be circumcised and identify totally with the Jew and his Torah (full-conversion); if so then they are no longer "God-Fearers" but have become full-fledged Jews and undertake all the 613 Commandments. Following Immersion into Israel (after circumcision & mikveh called baptism) the Gentile is no longer considered a "Gentile", he is now Jewish (either partly or completely depending upon circumcision). Today such a sacred rite has been perverted by almost all of Gentile Christianity and made to do more with church membership than grafting into the Israel of God! All non-Jews who become circumcised following immersion were bound by all the commandments (613) as "full-coverts" to Judaism. Understanding the immersion process is crucial for the Christian; once you are immersed into the Israel of God, you emerged from that watery womb and tomb as a Born-Again "God-Fearer" who is grafted into Israel. You became "Israel" and are a Spiritual Jew (regardless if you were aware of it or not). You are not considered a "partial-Jew" unless you are uncircumcised. If you are circumcised you are then considered a "Full-Jew"!
Answer for yourself: Did you hear that? Of course that was back then and today just because one is circumcised at birth as a matter of routine has no bearing on such a "decision" to convert. That is why today when a non-Jew wants to "convert" to Judaism the Rabbi pricks the end of the male's penis to draw blood as a symbolic "circumcision" as a notation of one's conscious decision and pseudo-circumcision.
The majority of you set in your churches thinking you are "Christians" or "Baptists, Methodists, Catholics, etc.) and God's Word says you are "Jewish" (children of Abraham) and are the Israel of God. You have not replaced Israel, your denomination is not in competition with Israel; when you first believed in God you became a part of believing "Israel". You are not a Baptist or a Methodist or a Catholic;…you are part of Israel! Now is the time that you begin to go by the Bible more than your denominational doctrine. Either way as part of Israel you are obligated to observe the Torah (that part of the Laws of your Covenant that refers to you) and, because of your lack of study, you have let your unlearned pastors and teachers tell you repeatedly that you are "under grace" and "not under Law." You are under both! I just showed you that a proper understanding of immersion and a proper understanding of the teachings of Yeshua from the Jewish perspective of Jewish rites tell you otherwise. These were Jews who gave us these truths and they better than any can explain their meaning. You can either accept them or reject them; but to rely upon your experience as a correction for Biblical truth is not advised!
Now, let me ask you as a Christian an important question.
Answer for yourself: Who are you going to believe; your pastor, your Gentile Church, your experience or the message of Jesus?
Answer for yourself: With such an obligation to the "Christian" who now becomes aware that he is either "part-Jewish" (Judaism is not a race but a religion; the religion of Jesus) what are you to do concerning the Commandments which are addressed to you in your Covenant…the Covenant of Noah?
Answer for yourself: What will you now do since you have seen for yourselves the pattern in the Old Testament as well as the many examples in the New Testament where Jew and non-Jew had the same law regarding observance of the Festival of the Passover, Hag HaMatzah (Festival of Unleavended Bread), HaBikkurim (First Fruits), Shavuot (Festival of Pentecost), Rosh HaShannah (Jewish New Year), Yom Teruah (Festival of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), and Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles)?
Surely you should want to begin to observe and keep them according to Scripture. Failure to do so goes completely against the pattern of worship of God given to both Jew and non-Jew!
Christian scholars have assumed from certain passages in the Gospels that Jesus wished to give a new Torah to take the place of the Torah of Moses. I want you to understand that Yeshua could not unless he sinned for such an action would be considered the breaking of many Commandments.
Answer for yourself: How could Jesus have then said explicitly that he came only to fulfill the laws of the Covenant?
The truth of the matter is that Yeshua never came to abolish Judaism, but only that he came to re-establish the religion for "lost sheep of Israel" which at that time included many assimilated Jews from the captivities who had literally become "Gentiles" from pagan influence and who at that time were spread throughout the nations. His message was one of repentance and return to the roots of their ancestor's faith; not to follow a new one as sadly what has happened with Gentile Christianity. He came to reestablish from that time onward the faith that God had given from the beginning-Noahidism and the Laws of Moses which built upon them! Let us not forget that this religion new, but actually ancient; it being the observance of the Seven Commandments of Noah, which were forgotten purposefully by Shammai and his students as they wanted to keep the non-Jews at arms length through enforced circumcision upon non-Jewish males. Such men like Shammai were influencing the people of Israel in Jesus' day; thus Jesus came not for those who are well but those who need a physician and who are sick; sick with hatred for the Gentiles whom God loved and to whom He had called Israel to be a light unto to show them the Torah (the Noahide Laws). God had intended for the Gentiles to be redeemed all along. Jesus came for the "lost sheep of the house of Israel"; who had lost their way. These truths were not only for them, but the Gentiles as well. It is important to understand that as there were "people who were lost" in Israel, there were others like the Essene Menahem and the Hillel Pharisees who had not "lost their way" and needed little if any correction by Yeshua!
Jesus's Apostles, in fulfillment of the Great Commission of their master, established these Seven Commandments anew (Acts 15, Acts 21). However, those born as Jews (with Jewish mothers), or those Gentiles where were immersed and circumcised as "full-converts" to Judaism (Ex. 12:49; one law shall be to him that is home-born, and unto the stranger) are obligated to observe all 613 of the commandments of the Torah without exception.
For the uncircumcised Gentile God reserved the Seven Commandments which they have always been obligated to fulfill. It is for that reason that they were forbidden pollution of idols, fornication, blood, and things strangled (Acts 15). Yeshua's Apostles also forbade them circumcision (to do so would mean full conversion) and the Sabbath observance (exactly like the Jews observed it). The mandatory observance by "God-Fearers" was similar, but not exactly alike the Jewish observance.
This may sound so different from what your traditional Christian message has been, but your Christian message is incorrect if it does not agree or line up with the Apostle's Doctrine. Maybe this does not matter to you at all, and if not, then you should check your heart! All of what I have shared with you is in accord with the law and custom of the Torah, as expounded by the Jewish sages, the true transmitters from Moses at Sinai, and understood by Jesus of Nazareth in the first century (they sit in Moses' seat...listen to what they say). Our understanding today is incorrect if it violates the truths as Jesus understood them. We do not know more about salvation than Jesus or the Jews. It was to the Hillel Pharisees Jesus referred to in Matt. 23 who set in Moses' seat and to whom we are to listen for correct doctrine. We are not to follow the examples of any leaders if they do not line up with the Apostle's Doctrine of Acts 2:42. This teaching on immersion and conversion is Apostolic Doctrine as Yeshua taught his disciples, and any other interpretation other than his is NOT correct. We are not to follow any Pharisee's examples unless they live what they preach (that means the Pharisee Preachers of today who fail to teach and live the truth of Apostolic Doctrine)! Jesus tells us not to follow them unless they agree with him! Good advice.
This same admonition is given in Deut. 17:8 ff., where the authority to teach and lead the people were given to the religious leaders God put over the people of "Israel". These occupy Moses' seat.
Answer for yourself: Do the Baptists, Methodist, Catholics, Assemblies of God, or any other denomination or non-denomination occupy Moses' seat? No.
The Catholic and Protestant denominations are far from being Jewish and in fact the majority of their doctrines are anti-Jewish or should I say anti-Biblical. Salvation is of the Jews according to Yeshua. Do you dare tell him he made a mistake?
It was these Sages and Pharisees who said that it is forbidden to circumcise a Gentile who does not accept upon himself the yoke of "ALL" the Commandments. In America male babies are circumcised apart from the truths of God's Word (we are commanded to circumcise on the 8th day and no within the first 2-3 days of a newborn's life) and thus their circumcision would not apply. That means circumcision that does violate Scripture does not automatically make you a "full-fledged" Jew. You are still a "God-Fearer". Identification with Israel is by faith and free will. You must choose to stand at your personal Sinai and say to God "I will do all that you say".
Answer for yourself: Do you want to obey God? Do you want to honor His Name with your life? Going to churches that teach error does not accomplish anything. It is bondage just like Egypt!
Answer for yourself: Have you ever been to Sinai? Will you ever go? Have you chosen to return to your Egypt of ignorance and false traditions and false religion that amount to idolatry?
The Sages likewise said that the Gentile is commanded NOT to "fully" observe the Sabbath as does the Jew (yet he is to remember and keep it). Acts 20:6 recounts for us the Gentile believers and how they were taught by Paul to remember and keep the Sabbath. It is here we find under Paul's instruction the Gentile Church keeping Jewish ordinances well over thirty years after Yeshua's death.
Answer for yourself: What would later change this pattern?
As far as the Gentiles ("God-Fearers") were concerned, they were not commanded to observe all the Torah (the 613 mitzvoth). The Gentile "God-Fearers" did not have to accept all the 613 mitzvoth and are not enjoined to observe all of the 613 commandments. However, it is completely different as far as Jews are concerned, for they became obligated to fulfill the Torah because God delivered them from the bondage of Egypt to be the people of His possession. Therefore they and their children became subject to it forever and so are those Gentiles who make full-conversions to Judaism.
It should be easy to see that Jesus and his Apostles never meant to abolish the Torah of Moses from one who is born a Jew. Likewise, did Paul write in his letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 7) that each should adhere to the faith in which each was called. They therefore acted in accordance with the Torah by forbidding circumcision to Gentiles, according to Halakhah, as it is forbidden to one who does not accept the yoke of the commandments (all 613 would mean conversion to Judaism whereby then one would be obligated to all 613). They knew that is would be too difficult for the Gentiles to observe all the Torah of Moses especially living in non-Jewish settlements and lacking background in Biblical faith. Let us not forget that the Gentiles never had the Revelation of the Torah at Sinai, the Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, the Two Tablets, the prophets, or the Temple & Tabernacle services as were given to Israel. The Gentile's only experience was that they were strangers from the Covenant promises of Israel, aliens for the commonwealth of God's people, without hope and without God in the world.
The rabbis thus took the Gentiles the revelation of God and instructed them not to be circumcised unless they wished to be fully converted to Judaism (this had no bearing upon immersion since it was required for "partial" as well as "full" conversion). It would suffice that the Gentiles observe the Seven Noahide Commandments, as commanded upon them through the Halakhah from Moses at Sinai. This was the minimum requirements for inclusion into Israel and the minimum requirements of the non-Jew's Covenant with God.
Rabbi Emden was correct; Jesus brought a double kindness into the world. One the one hand, he strengthened the Torah of Moses majestically (Acts 24:20 states that many thousands of Jews were believers in Yeshua as Messiah and zealous for the Torah (Law); this was over 30 years after Yeshua's death and resurrection). The ministry of Jesus helped return the "children of Israel back to their Fathers; the Patriarchs and their faith" and thus fulfill Malachi's prophecy.
On the other hand, Yeshua did much good for the Gentiles. Yeshua obligated his Apostles to fulfill the Great Commission by taking the Gentiles (as a minimum) the Seven Commandments of Noah so that they should not be as the beasts of the field and continue to live their lives as pagans and animals. He also bestowed upon them ethical ways, and in this respect he was much less stringent with them (66 laws) than the Torah of Moses was for the Jews (613). In is not necessary to impose upon Jews many such ethical practices, since they have been obligated to the yoke of Torah since Sinai. Israel took the oath at Sinai and are already trained in proper practice and nature of the Second Tablet of the Law (ethical monotheism and the horizontal relationships man-to-man). It would be for Paul to constantly correct, reprove, teach Apostolic Doctrine, and instruct the Gentiles in his travels since it was to his audience he would write "you are strangers from the Covenant promises, aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, without hope and without God in the world".
If Christians would study they would understand what I have detailed in this teaching. No longer would the Church be allowed to erroneously teach the abolishment of the Torah of Moses along with the Laws of Noah if the people in the pew would elevate their Biblical knowledge. Such would be impetus for the Pastors to study more and get off the golf courses. Such sin and false doctrines and foolishness would cease.
Because of these errant scholars, hatred has increased toward the Jews who are blameless of any guilt concerning Yeshua's death and proceed innocently to observe their Torah with all their heart (intellect), soul (dedication and commitment to action) and might (resources and property). The leaders of the Churches of Jesus Christ should study to learn correctly for themselves before they lead their people into sin and astray from the will of God for their lives. The Jew is the brother of the Christian. Ephraim (the grafted-in Gentile) and Judah make up Israel. As members of the Christian faith, how good and pleasant it might be if you would observe what was commanded to you by your first teachers, sent directly to you by Yeshua, with his message, and not the message that anti-Semitic Christianity has created these last 2000 years.
Now for the next article in this series.