The most important thing we need to understand about the Sabbath day or in Hebrew, Shabbat, is that God Himself created it, not man. He created it as a day for all of His creatures to rest from their work as He rested from His. Therefore, the Sabbath is locked into universal time forever by the Creator. It can never be changed or abolished. We first learn about the Sabbath in Genesis 2:1-3, where on the seventh day of creation, God rested (ceased, desisted) from His work

The word Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat) appears in at least one hundred thirteen verses of our Bible. Fifty-two of these verses appear in the New Covenant. Because of this frequency, we believe God is trying to convey to us the importance of this “appointed time.” Therefore, as followers of Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) the Messiah, we must strive to understand what He is teaching us through His Shabbat. The Shabbat is not superficial as some may think. As with all of God’s appoin

It has always been God’s plan to include people from the nations of the earth in His family. This plan did not begin when God chose Israel to be His priesthood and covenant people, or with the coming of Messiah Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). About 2000 years after the creation of Adam and Eve, God communicated His plan to a man named Abram (Abraham) on how He would include (bless) all nations. We read in Genesis 12:3: “Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country,

Let’s look at what Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) said in Matthew 5:17-20 about God’s Law and the writings of the Prophets. First, He clearly states that He did NOT come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. This statement appears to be straightforward, meaning He would not delete, remove, or wrongly interpret anything from God’s Law or its application. Second, the phrase, “to fulfill” cannot contradict the meaning of “destroy,” and third, “all is fulfilled” is talking about in

In support of our article entitled: “Was Messiah’s Resurrection on the ‘First Day of the week’ – Sunday?”, we want to provide additional reasons why we believe Yeshua’s resurrection occurred on the 7th day of the week and NOT on the 1st day (Sunday). All the details surrounding Yeshua’s three days and three nights in the tomb must align, and be in complete agreement with the chronology of events in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. As well, we must also understand God’s way of

One important rule of biblical hermeneutics is to interpret Scripture within the “unity of Scripture.” If we separate a word or verse from its context; we could misinterpret the application for which God intended it to be used. This is extremely important when understanding Paul’s direction to non-Jewish believers in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) for keeping biblical commandments like Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. His foundational position would be based upon Lev

Paul’s letter to the assembly at Galatia has been used by many teachers to discourage those who believe in Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) from obeying all of God's commandments. Modern teachers divide God’s Law (Hebrew Torah) into ceremonial laws and moral laws to justify their position. They teach that their selected set of moral Laws are the only ones non-Jewish followers of Yeshua are obligated to observe. We strongly disagree with their views! Nowhere in the Hebrew Bible doe

Most of us grew up in an environment where we were taught to fear a burning place of fire called “hell” more than learning about how to love our Heavenly Father. We received our theology from movies, songs, and religious teachings that taught us that hell is a place where people who do not profess a faith in Messiah and the wicked go after they die. They all receive eternal life and are forever tortured by the “devil.” The good news, and the Biblical reality, is this type

Many Christian teachers/scholars use Paul’s phrase, “under the law,” to teach that Paul was speaking about God’s Torah (Hebrew for Law), the Torah that God gave us through Moses on Mt. Sinai, in a negative or abolishing way. We contend that this is not true. TRANSLATION DIFFICULTIES Paul was fighting salvation legalism and lawlessness in these assemblies in the diaspora (in the nations). He also wrestled with communicating Hebraic expressions and Hebrew words in the Greek spe

Everyone agrees that when you look at a Gregorian calendar, Sunday is definitely identified as the first day of the week. Was this true in the first century? Yes, the majority of people today would agree, including the Pope and the Chief Rabbi of Israel. On the opposite end of the week from Sunday, we find the seventh day, which God called the Sabbath (Hebrew Shabbat) in Genesis 2. The same groups of people would agree with this statement. This brings us to our discussion,

Many use the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Covenant, both Jewish and Christian sides, to say the practices and beliefs of modern Christianity are based upon the letters of Paul. He wrote to several groups including: Romans, Corinthians, Thessalonians, Ephesians, Galatians, and other groups outside the land of Israel. Everyone knows how easy it is to misunderstand or misinterpret someone’s letters, especially if we don’t know the author, the purpose of their letter, and t

Why is Paul's defense of God-Fearers important when many have never heard of this group called God-Fearers? We believe it will become more evident when we understand the history of people from the nations/Gentiles who were joining the Jewish people in the worship of the one true God. We also believe many of the conflicts Paul was addressing in his letters were primarily concerning the requirements for God-Fearers in the first century. So, this is important when trying to u

We are living in an age where knowledge and transportation abound. The ability to research history and the religious practices of past societies is at our fingertips. We are more accountable than previous generations, who may not have known how mythology and fables infiltrated their worship of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Our Bible speaks against worshiping God in the same way the nations of the world worship their gods, called idols. It also warns against mixing wor

Many are not aware of the importance of the little-known Biblical holiday called Purim. This holiday originated when the Jewish people, living in captivity under the Persian Empire, were threatened with annihilation. This event is recorded for us in the Book of Esther. Purim is observed every year by Jewish people, and the God Fearers attached to Israel, to remember there were, and still are, people like the wicked man Haman who wanted to destroy the people of Israel. It i

Why do we need to understand the "Counting of the Omer?" First, we need to understand there are seven appointed times (feasts) which the God of Israel gave His people to observe throughout the year. The counting of the omer occurs between two of these appointed times: Passover (Hebrew Pesach) and Pentecost (Hebrew Shavuot). As with all of God's appointed times, He uses these special days to: meet with His people, mark them, and set them apart from the rest of the nation

Today, with the absence of an operating Temple in Jerusalem, we believe that God’s commandments concerning Temple “tithes” cannot be applied to local assemblies throughout the nations. These tithes were primarily used for supporting the physical Levites who served in God’s Temple in Jerusalem. They were also used to support the needy within the Land of Israel. Most modern assemblies use these commandments as a basis for their funding, but the situations are not the same. W

In these last days, God is in the process of restoring a better understanding of His ways to His people. Hopefully, our understanding of the “Temple Sacrifices/Offerings is close to the original meaning God revealed to Moses and His people at Mt. Sinai. This subject should be extremely important to us since: It is a major part of His Torah (Hebrew for Law); We believe Messiah Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus) was the Law-Giver; Our understanding of it affects our position in His com

In order to follow Yeshua’s (Hebrew for Jesus) perfect example, every detail is important, including “how” a commandment like water baptism (immersion) was performed. In this article, we want to examine how Yeshua and His first century followers, including those from the nations, would have physically carried out a water baptism, and how it aligns with the methodology that Christianity and Judaism use today. Water baptisms are mentioned throughout the Bible but we are not pr

This “Letter to the Hebrews” has been used by many teachers to take away from, or twist, God’s own words about His covenant and His Aaronic Priesthood. They slander the very system that God, through Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus), established in His Torah (Law). Instead of trying to understand the Hebraic-ness of this letter; they look at it with a Greek mindset and uphold centuries of misinterpretation. Peter tells us in 2 Peter 3:16, that some were already doing the same to Pa

One of the greatest promises in the Bible is given in Deuteronomy 31. The children of Israel were camped on the east side of the Jordan River preparing to cross over into the Promised Land, when God told Moses to speak to them, and tell them: He would be with them, He would never fail them, and He would not forsake them. In Deuteronomy 31:6, Moses says: “Be strong, be bold, don't be afraid or frightened of them, for ADONAI your God is going with you. He will neither fail you

There are many titles and synonyms used in the Bible for our Messiah Yeshua (Hebrew for Jesus). However, many people are not familiar with the verses that describe Him symbolically as parts of a plant, such as: branch, root, sprout, and bud. We believe the Prophet Isaiah provides us with many details of Yeshua’s first coming about 2,000 years ago as the suffering servant. The prophet Isaiah uses some of these plant terms in Isaiah 53:1-4: “Who believes our report? To whom is

The title “New Testament” does not exist in the Scripture and was first used in the 2nd century (as agreed by most scholars) in the writings of “Melito of Sardos,” who died around 180 CE. This is recorded in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 4.26.14. Although some say that Melito “does not explicitly reference a new testament, but rather by implication as he mentions the old testament.” We know that this phrase was later used by Tertullian, who lived between 155 to 240 CE,

Believers in the Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) know Him as the “Lamb of God;” the one who paid the price for their salvation. They also know that He was: born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), raised from the dead (Isaiah 53:9-10) and is God’s son (Psalms 2; Proverbs 30:4). But, many do not know that He was: Creator (as part of Elohim); The one who walked in the garden with Adam and Eve; The one who walked with, and negotiated with, Abraham; The one who pro

All of us will eventually have health issues as we get older and will need to consult a doctor. The primary health issues today seem to be high cholesterol, heart conditions, and diabetes. The first thing a doctor usually tells you, after an examination is: “you need to go on a special diet.” Even if you are skinny, you get the same direction. The doctor then provides you with a brochure with a list of foods to stay away from and a list of foods that are good for you. This i