 |
Web Hosting by Netfirms | Free Domain Names by Netfirms |
|
|
|
Shavuot (Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks) is the festival of the giving of the Torah. The Torah, which is commonly known an the Pentateuch, consists of the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. This may surprise you, but the Torah is an integral part of the "New" (RENEWED) Covenant found in the New Testament. You may find this likewise shocking, but the "New Covenant" will NOT become effective until a Shavuot Festival, some time in the future. I will say something that will shock most Christians but I challenge any Christian to prove the following statement incorrect: The Christian is not at present under any "New" Covenant but rather only under a "previously existing re-newed Covenant."
Many Christians talk about the "new" covenant, or testament. This is a topic of frequent conversation by most Christians as they try to find authority for their religious belief system which is diametrically opposed to much of what the Jewish Scriptures that Jesus used teaches. You may find it surprising, but the Greek word for "testament" is "diatheke" meaning "mutual undertaking between two parties or more, each binding himself to fulfill obligations." In the New Testament, the use of "diatheke" means: 1). a promise or undertaking, human or divine, 2). a promise or undertaking on the part of God, and 3). an agreement, a mutual undertaking, between God and Israel (notice it does NOT say the a mutual understanding with the Gentile church).
Hebrews 8:10 says: "For THIS the covenant," quoting from Jer. 31:31, renders "this" in the Greek language as "SAME." In other words, "this---the same" covenant, as was spoken by Jeremiah (that was originally instituted with an earthly Priesthood) has now been RENEWED and NOT REPLACED!
In other words, the "New" covenant of the "New Testament" is the "same covenant" (NOW RENEWED AND NOT REPLACED) that existed to which Jeremiah referred even in his day.
Now pay attention. Jeremiah 31 states that the day will come when this "RENEWED" covenant will be made with Israel and Judah, not with Judah and the church!
Answer for yourself: Where is Israel? Judah is in the land of Israel since 1948, but where are the ten tribes of Israel today? More on that later!
Secondarily this "New" testament is often used to refer to a collection of books written by the Apostles. While we all talk "about" this new covenant, most folks do not know the terms that make up this "New" covenant. Since most folks consider the "New" covenant as an important part of their religion, it becomes clear that we "ought" to know the terms of this "New" (renewed) covenant. Since this is a legal document and has an impact on our lives, we certainly should be intimately familiar what the terms of this covenant.
First let me tell you what the "New" covenant is not. It is not the collection of books commonly known as the New Testament.
Answer for yourself: How do we know this? We know this because a covenant, or testament, is a contract between two parties. Webster's unabridged dictionary defines "testament" this way:
"In law, a writing, under seal, containing the terms of agreement or contract between parties..."
Since the collection of books merely quotes the terms, and since most of the writings of the New Testament do not contain the terms of this covenant, it would be poor scholarship to refer to this collection of Apostolic Writings as the "New Testament."
The ceremony commonly known as "communion," which is mistakenly practiced by most Christian churches as a substitute for the Festival of Passover, is not the new covenant because this ceremony does not mention the words that make up this agreement. While this ceremony mentions the seal of the new covenant, it does not mention the actual words that make up this agreement.
Answer for yourself: What exactly are the words, or terms, of this "New" covenant of which the New Testament speaks? The words, curiously, are found in the collection of books sometimes referred to as the "Old" covenant or the Jewish Scriptures.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote down the words of this agreement in Jeremiah 31:31-34:
"The time is coming," declares the LORD (Yahweh), "when I will make a new (renewed) covenant with the house of Israel (we must never forget that Israel had been dispersed and was being assimilated into Gentile nations for over 200 years when Jeremiah spoke this prophecy) and with the house of Judah. In other words, you cannot find Israel when Jeremiah spoke this prophecy, as these ten tribes were literally becoming "Gentiles-heathen" since their captivity and were no longer "God's people." Let me explain. Since their captivity, the people of Israel were becoming inter-married with pagans, being influenced and yielding to paganism, accepting and replacing, or at least mixing pagan religious beliefs with those given to them by God at Sinai, thus no longer following the "faith once given to the saints".
This "same covenant," seen in Hebrew 8, "will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the LORD. I will put my law (Torah) in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Answer for yourself: As stated before, how does God intend His laws to be written on our hearts? Let us never forget that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. When those former Israelites (now inter-married and assimilated into Gentile nations where they were forgetting the faith of their fathers) would once again be instructed concerning the covenants and laws of God, then the product of their hearing the Laws of God would indelibilize the words in their "minds" which would then become engrafted into their hearts. See Nehemiah, chapter 8, for a perfect example of former Jews, who being influenced by pagan cultures, had forgotten the Word of God; yet when taught by Ezra for the first time, cried, repented, and returned to God with broken hearts as this "renewed" Word was "written on their hearts" as they heard with their ears and understood with their minds.
I would again like to call your attention to the names of the parties that "WILL" made this covenant in the future. The first party is called "the house of Israel" (currently assimilated Hebrews intermarried and intermingled genetically with Gentiles when spoken by Jeremiah) and "Judah" (still in the land Israel when Jeremiah prophesied, but would shortly be taken into Babylonian captivity). The other party to this "RENEWED" covenant is God. God is referring to Himself as Yahweh. So, if you (believing Christians) are not of the house of Israel or Judah, then this "new" or RENEWED covenant has no effect on you UNLESS YOU FIND YOU IDENTITY WITH ISRAEL AND NOT YOUR CHRISTIAN DENOMINATION OR NON-DENOMINATION WHICH ESPOUSES RELIGIOUS BELIEFS THAT ARE TOTALLY FOREIGN AND CONFLICTING WITH THE COVENANTS GOD MADE WITH ISRAEL AND THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEF SYSTEM.
Answer for yourself: Then how do you relate then as a Christian to this particular Covenant renewal mentioned by Jeremiah that is ONLY FOR JUDAH AND ISRAEL and NOT DENOMINATIONAL GENTILE CHRISTIANITY? This is problematic for a thinking believer who calls himself and identifies with Gentile Christianity today. It is one thing to say you are under some sort of "new covenant" but it is entirely another to exegete the text and find that you have absolutely no foundation for claiming this "new" covenant for yourself especially in light that you pride yourself in not being under any "law" as a typical Pauline Christian usually confesses.
In other words, the church finds her validity as she is grafted into Israel, not the converse, where Israel is being grafted into the church.
Answer for yourself: If your expression of your faith as a typical Christian is devoid of Israel’s heritage, her Sabbaths and her Biblical Festivals, her ethical Monotheism, her Laws and Commandments, should you feel secure that you will be included in this Renewed-covenant when it occurs?
Take a minute and ponder which I just said, then ask yourself this question: am I grafted into Israel as a non-Jewish believer as taught in the New Testament, or is Israel grafted in my corner church?
On the other hand, if you are convinced that the "New" covenant applies to you, then somehow you must be a part of the house of Israel.
This covenant, between the house of Israel and God, is quoted, verbatim, in Hebrews 8:8-12. This is the only other place where the words, or terms, of the new covenant are spelled out so expressly in the New Testament.
If you carefully read this contract, or if you were to take this contract to your lawyer, you will learn that this contract (Covenant) has not yet taken effect!
This contract cannot take effect until the Gentile Christian understands, believes, and practices the faith of Jesus as if he truly believes that he is grafted into Israel, thereby rightfully entering into the "renewed covenant" of Jer. 31.
Ye who have ears to hear, hear what the Spirit says to the church! Also, this contract-covenant can only become effective when everyone knows the Lord (that's what it said). "Until everyone knows the Lord" means knowing and understanding His ways which are revealed in the covenant contract...the Torah. The tragedy is that most Christian churches teach that the LAW (our covenant contract) has been passed away. Not only do we have to be content with looking forward to the time when this contract is put into effect, but we must unlearn lies taught as truth. We must understand that the Law is still in effect, only the Priesthood has changed since the destruction of the Temple. We must understand and cherish our "marriage certificate with God," His Torah, His Law, and take our rightful place as Gentile believers as "part" of Israel, not the replacement of Israel.
The actual terms of this renewed covenant appear to be the same terms of the covenant that God made with the house of Israel at Sinai! We can deduce this by noticing that the "Torah" will be written on our hearts instead of stone. This refers to God's command when He gave the Torah.
Deuteronomy 32:46 records for us: "Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law.
We should also notice what is being written on the hearts. It is God's Law, His Torah. It is God's instructions or laws. The implications of this are staggering! This means, that when this is done, we will no longer disobey God. We will desire to obey the Law that most Christians are taught today to hate because they have been told that it brings bondage.
This erroneous teaching is due to errors in manuscript transmission as well as cleverly placed words and additions to your Bibles that are meant to lead you to the pre-formed theological opinions of those who printed your Bible as well as who forged much of the New Testament. It just so happens that this belief, which has been cleverly written into our Bibles and New Testament that were not there in the Greek manuscripts from which the English translation is derived, is in total conflict with the words of Jesus as well as Paul in the Bible.
Let us take a minutes and look at Ephesians chapter 2. We must understand that as Gentiles, Eph. 2:11-12 applied to us as non-Jewish believers:
"Wherefore REMEMBER, that you in times past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision (symbol for Gentiles) by that which is called the Circumcision (Jews) in the flesh made by hands; that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and WITHOUT GOD in the world."
Sounds pretty bleak...we were destined to Gehenna (KJV calls it Hell). It goes on to tell us in vv. 13-16 that "now in Messiah Yeshua (through the legacy of the ministry of the anointed Rabbi Yeshua) you who once were far off are made nigh by the blood of Messiah (due to Yeshua’s death came a ministry into all the world to reach the non-Jews concerning God, Torah, and Israel). For he (Yeshua) is our peace (for both Jew and Gentile), who hath made both one (Jew and Gentile), and hath broken down the middle wall of partition (separation that existed due to bigotry of the Jews toward the non-Jews as well as misunderstanding of the Jews by the non-Jewish races)." Let me interject that "between us" is added (italicized) to the KJV for better understanding, and these words never appear in the Greek manuscripts from which your Bible was translated. Normally, these "minor" additions are quite harmless because they help the text to flow better for purposes or reading and understanding, BUT SOMETIMES THEY WERE ADDED TO CREATE THEOLOGIES THAT TAKE US AWAY FROM THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE, LET ALONE THE RELIGION OF JESUS. Let us keep examining the text.
Now for the truth! Ephesians 2:15 is possibly one of the worst translations in the whole Bible, and is primarily responsible for teaching you the lies and heresies you have been taught in traditional Christian churches that teach that the "LAW" has passed away. Let me quote this verse correctly from the KJV, omitting the words added that have brain-washed the majority of Christians I know: "Having abolished in his flesh (Jesus and the cross) the ENMITY." Stop!
If you look this word up in any Greek dictionary, Vines wordbook, etc., you will find the word means "hatred toward, opposition toward...something." So, first of all, the death of Yeshua abolished hatred by "SOMEONE OR SOME GROUP" TOWARD SOMETHING!
Now, notice carefully, "EVEN" is in italics (added and not in the Greek manuscripts) in your Bibles if you have a KJV. My whole life I read my Bible as if these "italicized" words were given by God in my Bible. If we were to read Eph. 2:15 and include "even" in the verse, then we find (incorrectly I might add) that the death of Yeshua on the cross abolished through his flesh, "even" the commandments and ordinances. If "even" is added and read with the verse, it is easy to see that Jesus destroyed the hatred for the Law by destroying the Law. By doing away with the Law (which violated his saying that we were never to think that he had come to destroy the Law..Matt. 5:17), he destroys the Law. THERE IS ONLY ONE MAJOR PROBLEM: "EVEN" IS NOT IN THE GREEK MANUSCRIPT!
Correctly understanding the GREEK from which our English is derived, the verse states emphatically that Jesus' death DESTROYED THE HATRED AND OPPOSITION TOWARD (SOMETHING), EVEN THE COMMANDMENTS. Notice also, that the next word is in italics as well, being added and not in the Greek manuscripts from which we translated our Bibles. It would seem if we read these italicized words in the text, that Yeshua abolished on the cross not only mankind's "hatred and opposition" to the Law, but THE ACTUAL LAW AND ORDINANCES THEMSELVES! But, these words do not exist as given by the Holy Spirit, only as given by man!
But "even" and "contained" are added, and the Holy Spirit never put these words in the inspired revelation. Now, let us read this beautiful verse as God intended you read it:
"having abolished in the flesh (through the death of Yeshua on the cross) the ENMITY (hostility toward, opposition toward).....what? THE LAW! Jesus abolished the hatred and opposition toward the Law of God.
Answer for yourself: Dear Christian, have you been told to hate the Law? Do you hate the Law?
You see, the Law kills only when you violate it, not when you obey it. When you obey, God rewards you and blesses you, as your obedience to the Law of God is your expression of the will of God for your life. And let us not forget that these particular Laws of which I speak frame the very Covenant God gave the non-Jew and your standing and acceptance with God is dependent upon the very obedience that you manifest toward your Covenant and the Laws contained within it! This has all the more importance when you realize that as non-Jewish Christians you don't have a "New Covenant yet" but are under the Covenant of Noah and always have been whether you knew it or not!
Now you have to ask yourself a big question and think for yourself.
Answer for yourself: Who was opposed to the Law of God...the Jew or the Gentile?
Acts 21:20 informs us that James, the head of the church of Yeshua (Jesus) in the first century, would state (approximately 60 A.D.-notice it was about thirty years since his brother's death on the cross): "Thou seest, brother (Paul), how many thousands and thousands of Jews there are which believe (in Yeshua the Messiah of Israel); AND THEY ARE ALL ZEALOUS FOR THE LAW." That's right, the LAW HAD NOT PASSED AWAY FOR THE CHURCH BEARING JESUS' NAME IN THE FIRST CENTURY as it has for most of us today. DID YOU HEAR THAT?
Ephesians, chapter 2, informs us that it was not the Jew who had opposition and hatred for the Law, for Paul would state that the Law was "holy, just, and good," and David states repeatedly in the Old Testament that he "delights in the Law and meditates in it day and night."
Answer for yourself: So, who were those who were opposed and had a hatred for the Law in this verse?
The answer is simple. The Gentiles, as stated before, were "without Messiah (until evangelized and taken the mandate to 'observe those things that I (Yeshua) have commanded..." These Gentiles were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise (notice not covenants of bondage), had no hope, and were without God in the world. Romans 9:2 strengthens the point as it states it was to Israel, and not the Gentiles, to whom God gave the adoption, the giving of the Law, the service (worship) of God, and the promises (covenants). It was the Gentile who had lived his whole life in debauchery, idolatry, sexual immorality, thievery, murder, fornication, etc. When presented with the Torah (Law); and understanding that before Yeshua's death, the Gentile had few options but to submit to "circumcision" if he wished to convert to the religion of Israel, many obstacles stood in the way of Gentiles accepting God's Law. Thus his hatred for the law as circumcision was imposed upon him to receive Eternal Life as taught by Jews who hated the Gentiles and used circumcision to keep the Gentile's at arm's length. But again as you have learned the Covenant of Noah gave the non-Jew relationship with God without circumcision and Eternal Life...but this was not taught to the non-Jews by Israel in the first century...that is until Yeshua's disciples repented of their bigotry and began to teach it to the Gentile world in fulfillment of the Great Commission as seen in Acts 15 and Acts 16!
Thus, for an adult Gentile, the prospect of circumcision was definitely a commandment of the Law that a (Gentile) would have "hatred toward, opposition toward." Besides circumcision, the Gentile was confronted, for the first time in his life with a Living Authority (a living God) that required of him "do's" and "don'ts." You can easily see the scope of taking upon oneself the whole of the Law (613) was less than agreeable, thus we have a hindrance in taking faith in the One God of the world to the Gentile nations.
But, now through Yeshua, the hatred and opposition toward the Law was removed for the Gentile, because no longer (following the cross) are Gentiles required to convert to Judaism to become children of God as taught by the Messianic part of Judaism. Circumcision is no longer required of Gentiles to be in covenant with God. With the lessening of man-made requirements, the Gentiles found a more attractive Judaism (Monotheism) as he was not to be held responsible for 613 Mitzvoth, but only the Laws (Mitzvoth) Of Noah. Thus, the Jew and Gentile could become one through the legacy of Yeshua, thus making peace between Jew and Gentiles who had not previously accepted the Torah-Law. The failure of the Gentile to adopt and accept the Torah's commandments, had previously separated the Jew and Gentile. Now, as a modified life-style that came because of the death of Yeshua and those who followed his charge to take to all the world those things he commanded, the Gentiles began to accept and follow a life-style from which they were previously alien toward.
If you want more confirmation, Eph. 2:16 re-states for the second time that God "might reconcile both (Jew and Gentile) unto God in one body (Body of Messiah) by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby (notice it does NOT SAY the cross slew the Law). Notice, that again reference is made to the ENMITY, the hatred and opposition toward something. This verse is not as specific as before, but nowhere does it refer to a Jew's hatred toward the Law, rather, the hatred that Jew and Gentile had toward each other, mainly because of the erroneous perceptions that the Gentile had toward the Law which caused him to refuse accepting the Law as his absolute authority for life, thus separating the Gentile from the Jew, even in the face of Gentile revelation and faith. This separation of the Gentile from the Jew and Israel was usually manifested in anti-Semitism! God desired that the Gentile become "one" with the Jew, "one" with Israel.
For our final proof text, we turn to Colossians, chapter 2, verse 14: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." For years I heard preachers tell me repeatedly that Yeshua took the Law which was contrary to me and nailed the Law to the cross, thus the Law is passed-away, we are under grace! We are under both!
Let us remember what we have learned up to now, that Paul said in Romans 7:12: "Wherefore, the Law is holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good." Paul would also say in Rom. 2:13: "For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the Law shall be justified." With this understanding we will examine Colossians 2:14. As stated before, Yeshua abolished in his body (through his death and his followers outreach to the non-Jews by taking them the Noah Covenant) the Gentile's hostility toward the Law of God, by allowing Gentiles entrance into the Kingdom Of God without becoming circumcised and adopting all 613 of the Laws of Israel. Our Bibles state that he also "blotted out the handwriting of ordinances which were against us in the Law, and nailed those ordinances "which were against us" to the cross as he had previously done with the "hatred toward the Law."
Let us ask ourselves some revealing questions.
Answer for yourself: Which, if any, commandments given by God are contrary to us? To answer this question in a manner whereby all can understand, let us continue.
If you are parents, your loving intention for your children should be for them to not to be harmed by the hurts so prevalent in this dangerous world. In order to safeguard them, you give them instructions and teachings (called Torah, law) that you set down to guide their conduct, whereby, if they obey, they will be assured of safety and they will prosper. However, you also find it necessary to limit their conduct at times by training their minds through restrictive teachings, designed to limit the expression of their behavior. Thus, as parents, we give our children both positive and negative instruction, commandments, Mitzvoth, and laws. One thing is in common with all which we tell our children, that it is in their best interest that they obey their parental authorities as they lovingly set down for them the "law", as it will be best for them if they do.
Likewise, when God commanded us not to commit adultery, I can hear Him say: "Oh, please don't do that, you might get a terrible disease and die for just a moment of fun." Likewise, when God commanded us not to kill, I can hear Him say: "please don't kill another who is created in My likeness, for if you do, then you will have to die also for your transgression." Easily, we can see that God, as did the parents in the example above, desire our best, and gave us commandments, both positive and negative commandments, both "thou shalt do" as well as "thou shalt not do". The goal of such loving protection and caring instruction in the giving of mankind His law was to assure for us standards, which if followed, would not only bless us, but others as well.
Understanding these examples, you can easily see that the commandments of God for His people were not, according to Colossians 2:14, "handwriting of ordinances that was against or contrary to us."
Answer for yourself: Then, what was contrary to us in this handwriting of ordinances (Law) that was taken out of the way, and "nailed to the cross?"
Answer for yourself: If these "holy, just, and good" laws, properly understood, were for our good and not for our harm, then what part of the Law was contrary toward us that was taken out of the way and nailed to the cross?
That's easy. The only part of the Law that was contrary to us is the "DEATH PENALTY" which came to us when we broke the Law for the first time, and subsequently reinforced by our further rebellion to God's Law.
Acts 15:28 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things (referring to the Laws of Noah); (KJV)
By taking the Torah and the Covenant of Noah to the nations, in lieu of Acts 15 which would come later when James would command that “these necessary things” and "which seemed good to the Holy Spirit" be given to all non-Jews, then not only would repentance become available to the non-Jew but the ordinances within the covenant would become available to the non-Jew through the Great Commission whereby the non-Jews were taught “to observe those things I have commanded you.” They were taught the commandments of God, which when obeyed, would assure proper relationship with God. Upon learning what God required, and repenting of breaking the commandments, of which they had little if any prior knowledge before being taught in the wake of Jesus’ death by his followers in the Great Commission, the non-Jews were assured of forgiveness with HaShem.
Now understand what is said next correctly. Symbolically and allegorically the non-Jews’ "death penalty" were carried by Yeshua, taken out of the way, and was nailed with him onto that cross. Things would be different after his death and the ministry of his followers whereby the non-Jew, through the teachings of Messianic Judaism where the Covenant of Noah and the Laws of Noah were taken to the Gentile world in the Great Commission, would be welcomed into Judaism and the Israel of God without full conversion and without required circumcision.
Symbolically Yeshua took the non-Jews’ death penalty (the soul that sinneth, it shall die); nailed the death sentence found within the Law to the cross, and left the blessing of obedience to the Law intact (the Laws such as "thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shall not kill, thou shall not steal, etc.). Yeshua, by taking those things contrary to us out of our way (laws like circumcision imposed upon the non-Jew for acceptance in the Israel of God) provided for the non-Jew that we shall never have to face spiritual death and eternal alienation from God if we repent and accept God's Covenant made with the non-Jew (the Covenant and Laws of Noah which would be again taught to the Gentile world through his disciples and followers. By this was was put aside the mandatory death penalty upon Gentile mankind because after his death the non-Jewish world would receive through his followers the Torah and the Covenant of Noah containing that parts of the Torah pertinent to them as given by God as seen again in Acts 15 and Acts 16.
The opportunity for salvation and obedience to the Torah as found in the Covenant of Noah and the Laws of Noah would be made available to the non-Jewish nations through Yeshua's name.
It is easy to see then, that all that remained within the Law was for our blessing then, and not for our cursing ("blessed are you if you obey"....).
Answer for yourself: We must again stop and think...what part of the Law is contrary to us?
Today, nothing remains that is contrary to us! Whereas before they didn’t even know there be a law to be obeyed or a covenant given, in the wake of the death and outreach of Yeshua’s followers the non-Jew would come to know God.
Back to the covenant of Jeremiah, chapter 31. Jeremiah teaches us that in the economy of this RENEWED COVENANT mankind will no longer sin! There is one further implication that can not be ignored.
Answer for yourself: Since this is what God created in Eden, and this is what God will do in the kingdom of Heaven, what ought we to be doing now? Obviously, we ought to be obeying God by writing His Torah on our hearts and thereby obey it! God's obvious desire is for us to be obedient to His instructions now!
Many folks believe that God's Torah was abolished. They believe that it was replaced with something better. Such desires to not be restricted by the Laws of God by godless men found their way into religious documents that today many look to and credit with Divine authority; never understanding the perverseness of such written words as found in the New Testament in various places. The writer to the Hebrews anticipated this when he commented on this new (renewed) covenant and changed the idea of Jeremiah from "renewed and reestablished Covenant" to one that was "new as in replaced."
If we look carefully, we will find out that the problem with the old covenant was with the people, not with God's law.
Let us take time to read Hebrews 8:1-13.
Heb 8:1-13 1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; 2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. 3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. 4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law: 5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount. 6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. 8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: 11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. 13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Why do I have the words "covenant" in verse 7 and verse 13 highlighted? Simply again because the word "Covenant" is in italics meaning that is is not found in the Greek manuscripts but was later added by those who published the Bible you own that contains these italics. They basically are writing in their own personal theology and have deviated from the original texts of the New Testament for theological reasons.
Answer for yourself: What does all this mean to me a Christian?
The writer of Hebrew would have you believe by his textual manipulation: "For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. Please take time to notice in your New Testament that “covenant” is in italics, and not in the original Greek.
Answer for yourself: So what does this mean?
“But God found fault with the people” (NOTICE HE DID NOT FIND FAULT WITH THE COVENANT OR LAW, BUT WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE COVENANT) and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new (RENEWED) covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time (remember they are dispersed, literally now Gentiles due to inter-marriage; many today setting in Christian Churches unaware of their heritage), declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Now please pay close attention! By calling this covenant "New," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
Answer for yourself: What is the subject of the sentence?
The true meaning of the passage is as follows: The Greek of this verse, states that the first (priesthood), the Mosaic Covenant containing a Levitical Priesthood, was "slowing passing away," and it was in the days when Hebrews was written, that the Levitical Priesthood was slowly passing away, because the Temple would be destroyed in only a short time. The only Priesthood remaining would be the Priesthood of the order of Melchizedek, filled by Yeshua and his disciples (Melchizedek was a Gentile priesthood)!
The publishers of your New Testament have added the words “covenant” in places where the Greek manuscripts don’t have them. This erroneously leads you astray in your thinking and causes you to depart from the Covenant given by God to one of men's making. Understand for Rome to do what it did with the faith and religion of Jesus it has to do away with the Covenant given by God to all Gentile mankind. They did this by altering the revelation and creating a book full of forgeries and purposeful misquotes as I am showing you in this and many other articles on our ministry's websites. Understand again that it is not the Covenant which is slowly passing away that we see if we remove the italicized word, but if we read the context we can clearly see that it is the Priesthood which is passing slowly away and would do so in 70 C.E. when the Temple is destroyed.
So, if there is nothing wrong with God's Torah, or law, then there is nothing to fix in His Torah. Therefore, God will fix that which is broken: His people. After He fixes us, He will again give us His Torah (Law, teaching, instruction) on a new heart and this is the fix for a "broken people" whose iniquities and transgressions of the Laws of Moses and the Laws of Noah have separated them from their God!
Shavuot, therefore, is the festival of the giving of the Torah. Thirty-three hundred years ago, God gave us His Torah written on stone, on the Festival of Shavuot. Two thousand years ago, God gave us the Living Torah, as seen in the life and ministry of Yeshua, who taught us great insights into the written Torah. Before these two events God gave this "same Covenant" in part to the Gentile nations as found with Adam and later reiterated to Noah where the commandment to eat eat but not the limb of a living animal was added. As shown in other articles on this website these same laws were reiterated by Moses at Marah and Sinai before being elaborated upon by God as He gave the Laws of Moses to Israel (613 and not longer 66 as previously given to the Gentile nations). On a future Shavuot, God will write His Torah on our hearts in a new an dynamic way which will prepare us for eternity. We have the down payment of the Holy Spirit that guarantees it. Lets celebrate this Shavuot (Festival of Pentecost) by renewing our commitment to obey God and His Torah which frames our Covenant with God; whether Jew or non-Jew.
We at Bet Emet would have you understand, for starters, that since the Law has not passed away, and we have demonstrated that repeatedly as seen here as well as before, then as Christians we are under Law, under Grace, under the responsibilities to obey God's Commandments such a found in our Covenant as non-Jews. This Covenant has a name and is called the Covenant of Noah which contains 7 categories of Covenant stipulations which when obeyed guarantee our good relationship and acceptance by God. Over and above these 66 Commandments we as non-Jews can learn from Isa. 56 where we as non-Jews can "choose those things pleasing to God" and acquire other Commandments and Mitzvoth over and above the minimum like keeping the Sabbath on Saturday, keeping and observing the Festivals of the Lord and not the pagan holiday which have been substituted for the truth, and practicing the Tithe correctly whereby we no longer rob God as you unknowingly do every time you give you 10% to traditional Christian churches. I know of no Christian Church in America that obeys the Tithe correctly as stated in Scripture. If you know of one, please inform us.
Answer for yourself: Where is the place that obedience should play in response to faith? If we are to obey, as a greater measure of love for God than anything else, then understand the Law (teachings, instructions) is the picture God gave us to know of His will for us and is intended by Him for us to obey.
If you would like to learn more about the Jewish Jesus, and the Jewish Messianic Church, which was the pattern God gave for Gentiles to follow, contact Bet Emet Ministries and we will be glad to help you be conformed into the image of Yeshua, and not a reflection of him that has been blurred by traditions of men, deception, and selfishness for more than 1700 years. Shalom