The Wild Olive Branches

Monday, August 27, 2012

Jim Staley - Teshuvah

Shalom!!!

Thursday, August 23, 2012

Orthodox Rabbi Reveals Name of Messiah,"Yehoshua" or "Yeshua"

The letter J has only been around for about 500 years. So, Jesus is a transliteration of Yeshua so the english is really Joshua. Just like Joshua or Yehoshua, in the Hebrew, brought the Israelites in so will Yeshua bring us in.

Shalom!!!

The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus by Nehemia Gordon

Blessings!!!

Monday, August 20, 2012

Why Hasn't the Temple Been Rebuilt?

For years I understood that we should have nothing to do with a new temple being built, if it was to happen. "We are now the temple so not needed", I was told. But hold on. Where will He officiate from? He will reign for a thousand years. I don't think He is going to be renting office space in downtown Jerusalem. You know? So, that means at sometime it will be built. And yes, it will be done by Him when He returns. How do I know that?

Zec 6:12-15 “And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the YHWH of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the YHWH: Even he shall build the temple of the YHWH; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. And the crowns shall be to Helem, and to Tobijah, and to Jedaiah, and to Hen the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the temple of the YHWH. And they that are far off shall come and build in the temple of the YHWH, and ye shall know that the YHWH of hosts hath sent me unto you. And this shall come to pass, if ye will diligently obey the voice of the YHWH your Elohim.”

Another reason why the temple can't be built yet is that it can only be built during a time of Peace. Remember, David couldn't build it because he was a man of war, 1 Kings 5:3-4. But to Solomon He had been given rest on every side. There was peace. The sages of Israel teach that the story of the wells is the story of the three Temples. Just as the first two wells were built amidst strife and conflict with Isaac’s neighbors, Israel’s neighbors eventually destroyed the first two Temples! The third well, which was characterized by peace between Isaac and his neighbors, is similar to the third Temple, which will be built when Messiah comes. It will be built at a time when Israel is at peace with her neighbors and it will not be destroyed. (excerpt taken from http://restorationoftorah.org/WeeklyParsha/MBMReeh.pdf)

Another reason is the return of the ten tribes. It is known among the Jews that they need all the children there in Israel for this to happen. I came across an interesting article at www.beingjewish.com where the gentleman said that the return of the ten tribes is a part of the Final Redemption. You can read the entire article here. Check it out!

To The Jew First: A Christian Version

Slowly but surely people are seeing. Interesting!!!

New Moon Sighted August 19,2012

Nehemiah Gordon, our Israeli friend, reports the New Moon sited in Israel today, August 19th at 7:37pm. Even though the Jewish Calendar has today as the 1st of Elul, the 6th month of the year, in terms of actually "sighting" the moon the month begins tonight. You can find photos on his Facebook site.

In the early 1990s David Horowitz, founder of United Israel World Union (see unitedisrael.org) urged all those who share the common cause of love of YHVH, Torah, and the prophetic hope of the re-gathering of the "lost" tribes of Israel with Judah unite once a month, whenever the New Moon falls according to the standard Jewish Calendar, in praying together a special Prayer for Redemption. He saw it as a fulfillment of the Prophetic call found in both Zechariah and Malachi, both of whom spoke to the returning Exiles: Turn to Me and I will turn to you! Those of you who know him know that he so often quoted this verse.

The following prayer for the New Moon was drawn from various texts of the Hebrew Bible:

God of gods, Lord of lords, the Great, the Mighty, the Awesome, whose Name alone is YHVH, the Eternal God of Hosts, God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, Our Father, we fervently call upon You.

Ah Lord God, we are but dust and ashes! We are ashamed and embarrassed to lift our faces to You, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens. It is not on account of our own righteousness that we offer these supplications before You, but on account of Your great compassion. What are we? What is our life? What is our goodness? What is our righteousness? What is our strength? In Your presence, Oh God, we are as nothing.

Yet You have declared Yourself merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and faithfulness. You made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You. You are the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, keeping covenant forever, showing mercy to thousands who fear Your Name and keep Your Commandments. Now for a brief moment you have shown grace to us in leaving an escaped remnant who sigh and cry over all the sins of Israel and the nations.

You have declared, YHVH, our God, RETURN TO ME, AND I WILL RETURN TO YOU. We do RETURN O God! We fervently call upon You, we cry out to You, to SEND THE REDEEMER, to regather the lost sheep of all Israel, to crush the evil ways of the wicked. We long for that day when the Torah will go forth from Zion to all the nations, when darkness will flee away, when the veil will be removed from all Israel and the nations, when the saints of the Most High will receive the Kingdom, when You will destroy the destroyers of the earth, when wars will be forever abolished, when justice and righteousness will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea, when “YHVH will be King over all the earth, and His Name One.”

Oh YHVH our God, God of Abraham Your friend, we call upon You together on this day, at this hour. Oh YHVH hear! Oh YHVH forgive! Oh YHVH hearken and act! Oh YHVH delay not! For Your sake and for Zion, and for Your people, and for all humankind. In the appointed TIME you will hasten it, for it will certainly come, it will not delay. We bow the knee, we sigh and cry, we turn to You, YHVH, our Rock and our Redeemer. Hear our prayer!

Reading and Meditation:

Zechariah 1:2-4
Malachi 3:16-24 (Hebrew)

Daniel 9:1-19; chapters 2 & 7

Ezra 9:5-15

We invite all of you who are so moved to join us in this prayer this evening (August 19/20) whenever it fits your schedule as the sun sets and the "evening and the morning" bring Day 1.

The new moon on August 19, 2012 sighted from Kfar Eldad at 7:40pm. Photo by Yoel Halevi of Hebrew in Israel.

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Statutes and Judgements, What are They?

When we read these words in english we generally pass over them.
The word statutes is translated from the Hebrew word, chukim —the singular is chok. Some versions of the Bible translate this word as statutes, or decrees. What are statutes (chukim)? Statutes are laws from the Holy One that are constant and never change. Jeremiah 31:35-36 "Thus saith the YHWH, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The YHWH of hosts is his name:
If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the YHWH, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever."

The word ordinances is actually derived from the Hebrew word chok. These verses capture the true essence of chukim. Chukim are statutes that will never pass away. They are constant and as predictable as the laws of nature governing the movement of the heavenly bodies. Did you know that the Holy Days—Mo'edim—are referred to as chukim in Leviticus 23? Now that you know the Scriptural definition of a chok, if someone said to you, "The Biblical Holy Days were only valid until the death and resurrection of Yeshua," what should your response be? Not True. The Moedim are instructions defined in the Torah as Chukim, which are statutes that will never pass away. They are constant and predictable as the of nature governing the movement of the heavenly bodies. Therefore the Moedim could not have passed away with the death and resurrection of Yeshua.

The word judgments is translated from the Hebrew word mishpatim. Some versions of the Bible translate this word as judgments, ordinances or laws. What are judgments (mishpatim)? A judgment (mishpat) is a decision/judgment that must be made between two claims.

The word commandments is translated from the Hebrew word mitzvot--the singular is mitzvah.

Deut. 11:26-32 "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the YHWH your Elohim, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the YHWH your Elohim, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known. And it shall come to pass, when the YHWH thy Elohim hath brought thee in unto the land whither thou goest to possess it, that thou shalt put the blessing upon mount Gerizim, and the curse upon mount Ebal. Are they not on the other side Jordan, by the way where the sun goeth down, in the land of the Canaanites, which dwell in the champaign over against Gilgal, beside the plains of Moreh? For ye shall pass over Jordan to go in to possess the land which the YHWH your Elohim giveth you, and ye shall possess it, and dwell therein. And ye shall observe to do all the statutes and judgments which I set before you this day. "
What is the main understanding of Deut. 11:26-32? Those who obey the commandments (mizvot), the statutes (chukim) and the judgments (mishpatim) will receive the blessing. Those who do not obey will receive the curse.

The primary function/purpose of the Torah is to bring LIFE to those who obey it and that those who disobey the Torah will receive DEATH. This verse continues that theme. Obedience or lack of obedience to the Torah is a matter of LIFE AND DEATH!

Great explanation on statutes, judgements and commandments from Restoration of Torah, http://restorationoftorah.org/WeeklyParsha/MBMReeh.pdf