| Dear fellow believers:
I am aware of not creating a October newsletter. I plan on writing two newsletters in December to cover October. In the future, if you don't receive a newsletter for the month, please understand I will do the best I can to make up for it. Ever since my emergency move in the month of May, I have had to make some significant changes and it has affected the ministry (service) that Yah has called me to do.
I have had to endure and continue to endure persecution-even from people who claim to be believers. I'm not surprised because the Master stated the following about the 21st century:
"At that time many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other, many false prophets will appear and fool many people; and many people's love will grow cold because of increased distance from Torah. But whoever holds out till the end will be delivered." (Matthew 24:10-13)
In the above scripture, the Master stated the following:
1. Many will be trapped into betraying and hating each other
2. Many false prophets will appear and fool many people
3. Many people's love will grow gold because of increased distance from Torah
The above are significant traits of the 21st century. We must be aware of these wicked devices of HaSatan and avoid them.
I know the message I preach is not a popular one. I preach the message of the prophets. Remember, Yeshua is a prophet and I support His message 100%. Likewise, I support the other Yah approved prophets in the Bible 100%.
One of those prophets, Elijah was falsely accused of causing trouble:
"And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim." (1 Kings 18:17-18 KJV)
The prophet Micaiah was persecuted because of telling the truth:
"Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah the son of Imlah. And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramothgilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king's hand.
"And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. So he came to the king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramothgilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD?
"And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace. And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil?
"And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son; And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you." (1 Kings 22:6-28 KJV)
The prophet Ezekiel was told the following:
“As for you, son of man, the children of your people are talking about you beside the walls and in the doors of the houses. And they speak to each other, each saying to his brother, ‘Please come and hear what the word is that comes from יהוה.’ “And they come to you as people do, and they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them. For with their mouth they show much love – their hearts pursue their greedy gain. “And see, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice and playing well on an instrument. And they hear your words, but they do not do them. “And when it comes – see, it shall come – then they shall know that a prophet has been in their midst.” (Ezekiel 33:30-33 The Scriptures)
The prophet Zachariah, with the inspiration of Yah, stated the following:
"Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets, when Jerusalem was inhabited and in prosperity, and the cities thereof round about her, when men inhabited the south and the plain? And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets: therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts." (Zechariah 7:7-13 KJV)
Stephen stated the following before he died:
"Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who told in advance about the coming of the Tzaddik, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers! —you! — who receive the Torah as having been delivered by angels — but do not keep it!" On hearing these things, they were cut to their hearts and ground their teeth at him." (Acts 7:52-54 CJB)
- In these end times, the persecution of prophets, or those who preach the prophets' messages (including Yeshua's messages because He certainly is a prophet) will continue. Again, preaching the Word of Yah (another name for Yeshua because He is the Word of Yah - Revelation 19:11-13-Yeshua is the Chief Prophet of the prophets) will generate persecution and can even get a believer murdered. As a matter a fact, the two witnesses (who are prophets) will be murdered and many in the world will rejoice because of their death:
"And when they have ended their witness, the beast coming up out of the pit of the deep shall fight against them, and overcome them, and kill them, and their dead bodies lie in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Seḏom and Mitsrayim, where also our Master was impaled, and some of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations see their dead bodies for three and a half days, and not allow their dead bodies to be placed into tombs, and those dwelling on the earth rejoice over them and exult. And they shall send gifts to each other, because these two prophets tortured those dwelling on the earth." (Revelation 11:7-10 The Scriptures)
- If you increase your distance from Torah, then your mind will become warped and you will think evil is good and good is evil (Malachi 2:17). Certainly, avoiding fellowship with the brethren on Shabbat, when you have brethren you can fellowship in your local area, contributes toward increased distance from Torah.
We learn and spiritually grow by fellowshipping with one another:
"What we have seen and heard, we are proclaiming to you; so that you too may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Yeshua the Messiah. We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. And this is the message which we have heard from him and proclaim to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him — none! If we claim to have fellowship with him while we are walking in the darkness, we are lying and not living out the truth. But if we are walking in the light, as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of his Son Yeshua purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:3-7 CJB)
- To simplify, when we fellowship with each other, then we are fellowshipping with the Father and the Son. Fellowshipping contributes toward purifying us from all sin.
Ultimately, the TRUTH will torment you if you avoid obeying the instructions of the GREAT and ALL-POWERFUL Yah.
The Truth (which is the Torah and the words of Yah - Psalm 119:142; John 17:17), is not a popular message for mankind (Isaiah 59).
- Believers, who preach the TRUTH, will be greatly persecuted. You can't judge the success of their ministries by numbers or whether or not believers consistently give to them because very few people will even listen and obey the commandments of Yah in this evil age (Matthew 7:13-14). Plus, Yah prophesied people would be stingy when it comes to tithes & offerings in these end times (Malachi 3:8-10). When you don't consistently give to Yah's Ministers or Torah teachers you are consistently robbing Yah.
Some people have falsely accused me of trying to get money from people. First of all, please understand Yah (not me) commands believers to give to Torah teachers (1 Corinthians 9:14). So, if people have a problem with ministers or Torah teachers asking for money, then you need to speak to Yah about it. He created the law of tithes & offerings. And, as a Torah teacher, I will teach people to give to me and other Torah teachers.
Since Yah called me to ministry in 2004, I estimate I have only generated about $5,000 (or slightly more then that) from the tithes & offerings of my students. Plus, I understand based on the scriptures, ministers (or Torah teachers) should work in addition to having a ministry. Yeshua is a carpenter (Mark 6:1-3), Paul was a tent maker (Acts 18:1-3) and the other Apostles worked secular occupations (1 Corinthians 4:9-12).
Rabbis, in the 1st century, worked secular occupations while ministering or serving.
"Fair is the study of the law, if accompanied by worldly occupation: to engage in them both is to keep away sin; while study which is not combined with work must in the end be interrupted, and only brings sin with it (Sketches of Jewish Social Life, by Alfred Edershem, p. 175)."
"The great Hillel was a wood-cutter, his rival Shammai a carpenter; and amoung the celebrated Rabbis of after times we find shoemakers, tailors, carpenters, sandalmakers, smiths, potters, builders, etc.-in short, every variety of trade. Nor were they ashamed of their manual labour (Edershem, pg. 174)."
"For, in point of fact, with few exceptions, all the leading Rabbinical authorities were working at some trade . . . (Edershem, pg. 173)."
"Hoping to emulate the patterns from ancient Jewish tradition, in which the community's leaders and teachers were themselves also engaged in earning their own livings, I too declined to accept a salary from the congregation. I decided that instead of being a paid rabbi, I would earn my living in business. With the support of my new bride, I worked for several companies, including Merrill Lynch, supporting my family while gaining business experience. Later I formed my own real estate finance company . . . my wife, Susan, and I enjoyed the enormous benefits of being our congregants' friends rather than their employees. This rabbinic status, common in Talmudic times but rare today, also granted me some other valuable benefits. I was able to regulate admission to my Torah study lectures, of which I delivered seven each week. Because I was not a congregational employee, I felt free to welcome those who stimulated me and those whose presence contributed to the intellectual excitement of the sessions." (Thou Shall Prosper Ten Commandments for Making Money, pp. 15-16 by Rabbi Daniel Lapin)
The secular occupation of a Torah teacher should not interfere with ministry.
If you would like to know what my secular occupation is, then I can clearly define it as being a Business to Business (B2B) sales writer. Sales writing is my trade. My trade website is: www.IncreaseProspectsandProfits.com
My trade is a home based business (currently, there are 15 million home based businesses in the United States) and does not interfere with ministry.
- I am available during the day via e-mail or phone calls for those who have questions about the Bible and living a Torah based life. Plus, I serve every Shabbat at Bayith Tephillah (the House of Prayer) in Columbus, Ohio. I am one of the elders of the assembly. I encourage those who live in the Columbus, Ohio area to come and fellowship with us every Shabbat. Please e-mail me or call me if you live in the Columbus, Ohio area (or are visiting) and are interested in attending.
- I produce an Internet radio show every Sunday. I consistently write Biblical articles that help explain the Bible and I consistently expand my Biblical knowledge so I can improve my Biblical teaching ability.
Additionally, I am consistently learning to improve my skills and abilities so I can generate more monies to help others. We work so we can help those in need (Ephesians 4:28).
A disturbing trend that is going on in the United States is the lack of assembling to worship.
- Brethren, if we don't understand the importance of worshipping together whenever we can (especially on the Shabbat and the Holy days of Yah - Leviticus 23), then it will be extremely difficult to overcome the tremendous trials the world will face in the near future.
Recently, I wrote an article proving Yeshua fasting for 40 days and 40 nights does not void the commandment in Leviticus 23:2-3 to assemble on the Shabbat. I wrote this article because there is an article on the Internet that incorrectly states that Leviticus 23:2-3 is not referring to commanded assemblies. Click Shabbat fellowship to read the article.
Brethren, in these end times, the deception will be so strong that you will need to carefully study the Word of Yah.
"For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear. Yes, they will stop listening to the truth, but will turn aside to follow myths. But you, remain steady in every situation, endure suffering, do the work that a proclaimer of the Good News should, and do everything your service to God requires." (2 Timothy 4:3-5 CJB)
Brethren, the time for some believers being deceived by false teachings is now. Please be very careful when reading, viewing or listening to any teachings (this includes my teachings-I can make mistakes and will correct any teaching if there is Biblical proof that justifies a change). Always check the Bible to see if the teaching is supported by the scriptures. I use a Bible program called e-Sword to instantly look up every scripture that contains a specific word. Plus, e-Sword has the Hebrew and Greek meanings of the English words-it is FREE.
"Now the people here were of nobler character than the ones in Thessalonica; they eagerly welcomed the message, checking the Tanakh every day to see if the things Sha'ul was saying were true." (Acts 17:11 CJB)
Please take the following warning seriously:
"When this man who avoids Torah comes (the anti-Messiah-emphasis mine), the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 CJB)
Brethren, we must receive and LOVE the Truth to enter the kingdom of Yah.
And, we must HUMBLE ourselves to enter the Kingdom of Yah:
"And said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become as little children, you shall by no means enter into the reign of the heavens. “Whoever then humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the reign of the heavens. “And whoever receives one little child like this in My Name receives Me." (Matthew 18:3-5 The Scriptures)
"Don't you know that you people are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? So if anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you yourselves are that temple. Let no one fool himself. If someone among you thinks he is wise (by this world's standards), let him become "foolish," so that he may become really wise. For the wisdom of this world is nonsense, as far as God is concerned; inasmuch as the Tanakh says, "He traps the wise in their own cleverness," and again, "Adonai knows that the thoughts of the wise are worthless." (1 Corinthians 3:16-20 CJB)
"And let us keep paying attention to one another, in order to spur each other on to love and good deeds, not neglecting our own congregational meetings, as some have made a practice of doing, but, rather, encouraging each other. And let us do this all the more as you see the Day approaching. For if we deliberately continue to sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but only the terrifying prospect of Judgment, of raging fire that will consume the enemies. Someone who disregards the Torah of Moshe is put to death without mercy on the word of two or three witnesses. Think how much worse will be the punishment deserved by someone who has trampled underfoot the Son of God; who has treated as something common the blood of the covenant which made him holy; and who has insulted the Spirit, giver of God's grace! For the One we know is the One who said, "Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay," and then said, "Adonai will judge his people." It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" (Hebrews 10:24-31 CJB)
"You are light for the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Likewise, when people light a lamp, they don't cover it with a bowl but put it on a lampstand, so that it shines for everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before people, so that they may see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven." (Matthew 5:14-16)
How can we let our lights shine before people if we avoid fellowshipping with other believers and other human beings?
Let's use the time of Hanukkah to re-dedicate ourselves and "clean out" the wickedness in our temples and let's not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
Shalom.
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"Don't you know that those who work in the Temple get their food from the Temple, and those who serve at the altar get a share of the sacrifices offered there? In the same way, the Lord directed that those who proclaim the Good News should get their living from the Good News." (1 Corinthians 9:13-14 CJB)
Your tithes/charity/tzedakah (za da kah)/almsgiving & offerings will help pay for basic necessities.
We are not a 501(c)3 Church or Religious Organization that is associated with the Federal or State government of this world. Therefore, your contributions to this work of Elohim (God) are not tax deductible. However, we appreciate any tithes, offerings or donations you are willing to give to this work of Elohim. Click Tithes & Offerings to give.
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