Inquiring Minds Want to Know

I’ve received a number of email inquiries over the last couple years from various listeners and readers asking the meaning of the title “The Messianic Torah Observer.”

Allow me to break this bad-boy down for you.

To begin with, I consider myself to be a Torah Observant Believer—or Follower if you will—of Yahoshua Messiah.

The Messiah Yahoshua/Yeshua/Jesus

Who is Yahoshua Messiah?

Well, don’t get freaked out over my use of the Hebrew name for Christ. Churchianity working in cahoots with Judaism entered into a conspiracy of silence on the use of the Names for both our Creator and our Master. Thus, most of the world has been conditioned to reject the personal, Hebrew Names of Father and Son. Titles were put in place of the Hebraic, personal Names for Father and Son: God, Adonai, LORD, Christ (shockingly some Christians actually believe that Christ is Jesus’ last name), and Lord just to name a few.

Yahoshua is the formal, Hebrew name, of the Person Christianity famously refers to as Jesus, the Christ—Christ which actually means “Anointed One.” A competing Hebrew name that you may come across from time-to-time these days is Yahusha, and sadly, a number of lesser referenced Hebrew-sounding names for the Master.  An informal rendering of Master’s Hebraic Name is Yeshua. There are Hebrew-based scholarly reasons why the Name is rendered in such a fashion, but I’m not inclined to get into it in this installment. Suffice to say that you will generally hear me use the Names Yahoshua and Yeshua when referring to the Master.

Now: Yahoshua/Yeshua/Jesus’ title—His role and purpose in the Father’s great plan of redemption is Messiah. In Hebrew, Messiah is Mashiyach (often rendered as Moshiach or something close to this). In the Greek, of course, Messiah is rendered as Christ, which we’ve sort of touched upon just a second ago.

Messiah/Messianic Defined

Messiah—Christ—is simply defined as “anointed.” I could certainly spend a couple installments of this program getting into the true meaning of the title Messiah and I’m certain there are more than enough books on the market explaining the deep and expansive meaning and implications of this title for our Master, Yeshua.

The point I wish to make is that, apart from Savior, the overriding title held by our Master Yeshua/Yahoshua/Jesus is Messiah or as I often prefer to say, Mashiyach—the Anointed One. Again, so much more is tied to this title than I could ever do justice in fully and accurately explaining, but Messiah is Master’s key title.

Yeshua asked His disciples while assembled at the foot of Mount Hermon (located in modern day southern Turkey) shortly before His crucifixion:

“’Concerning me, who do men say that I am, merely a son of a man?’ And they said, ‘Some say Yochanan the Immerser (i.e., John the Baptist), but others Eliyahu (i.e., Elijah). And others Yirmeyahu (i.e., Jeremiah) or one of the prophets.’ He (being Yeshua) said to them: ‘You are the Mashiyach, the Son of the Living Elohim (i.e., God).’ Y’shua answered him and said, ‘Blessed are you Shimon, the son of Yona (i.e., Peter), because flesh and blood have not revealed this to you but my Father who is in heaven. I say also that you are Keefa (the rock), and on this Keefa I will build my assembly and the gates of Sheol will not subdue it’” (Matt. 16:13-18; Roth Aramaic).

So important was the revelation of who Yahoshua truly was that He declared that the very Truth of that revelation given to Peter—that He was the Messiah/Mashiyach/Christ, the Son of the Living Elohim/GOD—that it would be the Truth upon which His assembly of called out ones would be founded upon. More importantly, when the times of oppression and tribulation come upon the called out assembly of believers, that evil onslaught will not be able to overcome the Body. Indeed, in the end times, many of us who are members of the assembly of called out ones will suffer martyrdom and great persecution and tribulation. Nevertheless, the assembly overall will successfully overcome the hoards of evil beings (the hasatan—the satan–title for the fallen spiritual beings; not just for Lucifer).

A Man on Multiple Missions

You see, what most believers and members of the Body do not realize is that our Master—Yahoshua/Yeshua Messiah came to earth on more than just one mission. Churchianity would have us believe that Jesus came to save us from our sins and through His sacrifice afford us eternal life. That is indeed true. However, that was just one of a few missions the Master had when He became flesh and tabernacled with us.

One of the other great missions of the Mashiyach/Messiah/Christ was to deliver the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world. Churchianity has erroneously taught us that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (i.e., of Yehovah/Yahuah/Yahweh) was a gospel about Jesus Christ—His death, burial and ultimate resurrection. Indeed, the Gospel of the Kingdom did entail an element of the Personage and ultimate sacrifice of the Messiah on behalf of fallen mankind. However, the bigger understanding of the Gospel of the Kingdom has to do with coming Kingdom of God/Yehovah. Master Yeshua came to re-establish Paradise Lost, which came about when Adam disobeyed the Creator’s Torah—His instructions.

When Adam hearkened to the lies of the enemy, he by default handed over to the fallen messengers, the title deed of this world and forfeited his privileged existence in the presence and Kingdom of the One True God. Let us not overlook the fact that the god of this world is NOT the Creator of the Universe, Yehovah/Yahweh/Yahuah.

It was the Apostle Paul (i.e., Shaul) who brilliantly affirmed the identity of the ruler of this world when he wrote the following:

“And even if our gospel is veiled (i.e., hidden), it is veiled to those who are perishing (i.e., lost), in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel (i.e., the good news; the besorah) of the glory of Messiah, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (2 Corinthians 4:4; NASB).

Even our Master Yeshua noted the reality of the ruler-ship of the hasatan whom He called the prince of this world when He after speaking to to a group of Gentiles commented:

“’Now my soul is deeply troubled, but what shall I say? Father deliver me from this hour? No! This is the very reason that I came to this hour! FATHER, GLORIFY YOUR NAME!’ Then there came a voice from heaven, saying, ‘I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The people that stood by heard it. Some said that it thundered. Others said that an angel spoke to Him. Yeshua said, ‘This voice came not for my sake, but for yours. Now the world can be judged. Now the prince of this world can be cast out. And I will be lifted up from the earth and will draw all men to me’” (John 12:27-32; Rood Chronological Gospels).

So the primary mission of the Master was to “legally” reclaim the title deed of creation from hasatan and restore it to the original owner, which is Yehovah/God. Right now, the world belongs to hasatan, the fallen angels—hasatan’s government; humans are held captive to hasatan’s government, with the exception of those who have been freed by the blood of Yahoshua HaMashiyach (i.e., Jesus Christ). In other words: Yeshua primarily came to defeat the works of the Evil One.

For those of us who fall within that segment of the world’s population who have been freed from the governance of hastan, that’s fantastic news. It’s one of the reasons Master came to this earth—to free the lost.

A War Unlike Any Human Struggle

Yet, there is an ongoing war being waged on the earth and in the heavenlies for the hearts, minds and souls of the human race. Churchianity has erroneously indoctrinated us to believe that the devil—Lucifer (often referred to as Satan) is the only opposing, evil creature of this world. Truth be told, there are many satans—many evil beings and creatures, that control this world. In fact, it was the Apostle Paul who famously instructed the Ephesian Assembly of Believers in Yeshua to put on the whole armor of God for one main reason:

“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities; against powers; against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:12; KJV).

If we really think about the full meaning and ramifications of this verse, we are compelled to adopt an understanding that the war for the hearts, minds and souls of every man, woman and child on this planet does not simply rest with the schemes and work of just Lucifer. What we’re talking about is an extensive, well organized and powerful system of beings that have been working to overturn the Will and Works of the Creator for millennia. And this is another great mission that our Master took on when He came to this earth: to wage war against this evil system: to undo their powerful hold over the souls of men; to overturn their evil deeds and plans on and for this world; to punish them for their rebellion against the rightful ruler-ship of the One True God—Yehovah/Yahweh/Yahuah.

The Creator’s Plans Revealed

The entire Plan of God for this world and all of creation rests upon the reality of Messiah/Mashiyach—plain and simple. That which Kefa (i.e., Simon Peter) said of Yeshua at the base of Mount Hermon on that day that Master threw down the gauntlet at the feet of the evil powers of this world (you see, Mount Hermon is ground zero for the fallen watchers on this earth—but that’s a story for another day) holds so much more meaning to us as disciples of Yeshua than Churchianity has fully understood and taught. Everything begins, currently exists, and will end with Messiah—the anointed one.

In addressing the nation of Israel’s rejection of Yeshua as the Messiah, the Apostle Paul wrote to the Roman Assembly of Believers:

“My heart’s deepest desire and my prayer to God for Isra’el is for their salvation; for I can testify to their zeal for God. But it is not based on correct understanding; for since they are unaware of God’s way of making people righteous and instead seek to set up their own, they have not submitted themselves to God’s way of making people righteous. FOR THE GOAL AT WHICH TORAH AIMS IS THE MESSIAH (i.e., traditionally rendered: the end of the law, which has led many to erroneous believe that Christ brought an end to Torah—the Law), who offers righteousness to everyone who trusts (i.e., believes)” (Romans 10:1-4; CJB).

Exclusive Focus On Torah at the Expense of Excluding Yeshua the Messiah

One of the biggest problems I see facing the Hebrew Roots/Messianic Faith Community is its exclusive focus on Torah at the expense of just about rejecting Yeshua Messiah. As we can clearly see from this Pauline passage, the goal of Torah is Messiah. In other words, Torah is the instrument by which we live according to the Will and Ways of the Creator. Yeshua is the prototype of the way we are to live: to be true sons and daughters of the Creator of the Universe.

In his writings to the Assembly of Believers in Galatia, Paul described Torah as being our schoolmaster (i.e., our Guardian) until Yeshua would arrive on scene (Galatians 3:24). Once Yeshua arrived on scene, He—through His living, teaching and sacrifice, brought Torah to its fullest potential as related to mankind (Matthew 5:17). Unfortunately, our Faith Community has been so caught up in the keeping of Torah, some sects have all but rejected Yeshua, or for that matter, relegated Him to a minor role in their lives.

This has become a dangerous problem. For when our Faith Community relegates Yahoshua Messiah to a secondary, or tertiary level of importance in their lives, they have the natural tendency of falling into Torah worship. Yes, many in our Faith Community have fallen into the trap of worshiping Torah. Torah becomes their only focus and they often end up becoming Pharisaical in their leanings and way of life. Simply look at the state of our Community on social media. It’s not uncommon to find so-called Hebrew Roots/Messianic folks going off the deep end with Torah; judging any and all who do not keep Torah in the way they feel or believe it should be kept. These are not above abandoning the love of Yeshua, which should be held by every disciple, and going about, ruthlessly tearing apart those who do not possess the same level of understanding of Torah that they possess; or who do not practice Torah the same way they practice Torah; or who simply fellowship with others who are not cut out of the same spiritual fabric that they’re cut from. It’s a tragedy to behold and it’s for that reason that I’ve drastically reduced my interactions on social media to the place where I use it to advertise these posts and to share interesting news articles. Otherwise, social media has become a rather unsafe place to fellowship. Nevertheless, I will get off my soapbox and move on with the discussion.

What is a True Torah Observer

And that brings me to the second element of my title: Torah Observer.

As disciples of Yeshua/Yahoshua Messiah, we are compelled to obey the commandments of our Creator and the teachings of our Master. Master made it very clear when addressing His disciples around the dinner table during the Last Supper:

“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15; NASB).

Now, Churchianity has once again, conditioned its adherents that Jesus gave only two-commandments: (1) love one another as one would love themselves; and (2) love the Father. Yet, what Churchianity has neglected to do is to break down for its adherents what it means to love one another and to love the Father. It’s certainly one thing to tell someone to love each other and to love their creator; it becomes a whole other aspect of the love game when one understands how to love one another and how to love the Creator.

Master explained very clearly in this same verse how to love Him, did He not? He said, you love me by keeping my commandments.

So other than the general theme of love, what were the commandments of Yeshua our Master? The Master was clear as to what those commandments are: they are the Father’s commandments—the Father’s instructions. Master stated:

“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He (i.e., I am who I have all along claimed to be—the Messiah, the Son of the Most High Elohim—the Real Deal), and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28; NASB).

Therefore, it doesn’t take many brain cells to recognize from this key verse of Scripture, that Master’s commandments are His Father’s commandments—for He spoke only those things that His Father taught Him. Furthermore, we can easily conclude that Father’s delivered teachings to Yeshua had to, by default, be Torah—the Father’s instructions for living according to His will and ways. Thus it fell to Yeshua to take the Torah that was taught to Him by His Father, and model and demonstrate it for us in a way that was not tainted by the agendas and biases of men. You see, Judaism took Torah and erected an extensive structure (i.e., a religion) around it for alleged purposes of helping Jews to not violate Torah. What ended up truly happening, however, was that the man-made traditions, doctrines and teachings of Judaism over time began replacing the primacy of Torah. This gradual replacement of Torah, according to our Master, had the effect of nullifying the instructions of the Creator (Matthew 15:2-6). Instead of being children of God, the Jews, in effect, became children (or even slaves) of their religion and of their religious leaders.

Plan A versus Plan B–All Return to Plan A

This one aspect of Yeshua’s many missions here on earth, was aimed at bringing mankind in alignment with Father’s original plan—what I like to call Plan A. From the very beginning, Plan A was for mankind to become members of God’s family—being His children. Being the Creator’s children required, like human, biological children, that humans be replicas of their Father; that humans conform to the image of their Father in every way.

It was Father’s initial intention when He rescued the Hebrews from Egyptian captivity and brought them to the base of Mount Sinai, to personally teach them His ways and fashion them into a royal nation of Priests and the Creator’s special possession (peculiar treasure) above all peoples of the earth (Exodus 19:5). This nation of priests would behave and grow into the image of their Creator over time. Sadly, it didn’t quite work out that way for the Israelites rebelled against the covenant that Father had made with them—you know, the covenant that the Hebrews had agreed to (Exodus 19:8).

Thus Father brought out Plan B, which involved Him giving His Laws—His Torah—His instructions to Moses who in turn relayed them to the children of Israel. Even under the auspices of Plan B, the children of Israel rebelled and ultimately proved they were incapable, for the most part, in adopting the True Ways and Will of the Creator.

Were Plans A and B a complete and utter failure. Absolutely not! Father knew that the Hebrews would fail to keep their end of the bargain and adopt the ways and will of the Creator. Yet Father used the Hebrews to bring the knowledge of His Torah, as well as to introduce the Messiah to the world.

Torah is a Shadow of Good Things to Come

Certainly, Father could have simply delivered His Torah to us by any number of means. Instead, He used the Hebrews to bring His elect unto Himself through delivery of His Torah and through the work and sacrifice of Yahoshua Messiah.

Torah, as I’ve mentioned, is Father’s instructions—Father’s house-rules if you will. Churchianity has conditioned its adherents to reject Torah, citing a number of proof-positive passages in the New Testament, that erroneously abolishes Torah. Churchianity has elected to ride the coat-tails of the grace perversion that erroneously teaches that God’s inputted grace is all that is needed to satisfy the Creator’s requirement for righteousness. Indeed, Churchianity got a portion of the doctrine of Justification correct. Yehovah’s grace through the shed blood of our Master Yeshua, covered our sins and stayed our eternal death-sentence. This provision comes only to those of the human-race who choose to adopt the ways of the Creator and the teachings of Yeshua Messiah. Yeshua’s sacrifice was not a universal atonement per se. In other words, if one does not personally accept—claim the Master’s sacrifice on their behalf; and does not repent from their sins and take up a life of discipleship and obedience to the will and ways of the Creator, then Yehovah’s grace provision through Yeshua Messiah does not—will not directly apply to them.

Yes, there are those who might take exception to this perspective on justification and the Father’s Plan of Redemption for mankind. Many who are outside Faith resent the thought that there are millions who have lived and who currently live on this planet who may never know and accept Yeshua’s sacrifice will be destined to fulfill their death sentence and that just doesn’t set will with some folks. I get that. However, I am a firm believer, that the those who have never had the opportunity to accept this true provision of the Father, will have an opportunity to do so at some point in the future. I would suggest that opportunity will come at the second resurrection (cf. Revelation 20:6). But that’s a discussion for another day.

Thus, as part of Yehovah’s overall plan of redemption, it becomes the responsibility of every elect soul to adopt the ways and the will of the Creator. The ways and will of the Creator are embodied in His Torah. Although elements of Torah are found throughout the whole of Scripture, Torah is primarily contained in the first five books of the Old Testament (i.e., the Tanakh).

Torah Should Be Followed By Every Believer in Yeshua–But Can It Be Kept As Delivered to us in Scripture?

Without going to deep into it, the whole of Torah as outlined in the first five books of the Old Testament, cannot be kept as originally recorded, for various reasons. The Levitical Priesthood has been superseded by the Melchezedian Priesthood, headed by Yeshua HaMashiyach. In addition, the various sacrifices required by Father to address transgressions of His instructions were superseded by the once and for all sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah. Also, the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 68-70 C.E., makes it impossible for us to keep certain ceremonial elements of Torah as written in the Bible.

Nevertheless, the spirit of those ceremonial elements of Torah can and should be observed and kept by every disciple of Yeshua. To observe Torah means to keep; to do; to honor Torah. Thus, True Disciples of Yahoshua Messiah observe/keep/guard/honor Father’s commandments—instructions—Torah, not to earn our salvation, but to express our love (as Yeshua instructed at the Last Supper) for our Master and by default, our love of the Father. Those elements of Torah that we cannot keep as articulated in the Bible, we do the best we can to the full extent of our spiritual understanding, to honor—to keep—to teach others—the meaning and relevance of those instructions. Every instruction given by Father has a reason behind it.

Can Believers Really Keep Torah

The disciple of Yeshua, in order to not fall into the error of the Hebrew forefathers, receives the Holy Spirit that comes to live within them upon their acceptance of the gift of salvation offered through the sacrifice of Yeshua Messiah, repentance from sin, adopting a life of discipleship, and being baptized. The indwelling Holy Spirit in the life of the believer, assists him or her in living out God’s instructions—His Torah—in the midsts of this corrupt, evil and dying world.

Summing it all Up

Therefore, the Messianic Torah Observer—in my humble opinion—is one who recognizes the centrality of Yahoshua in their chosen life of discipleship. That discipleship entails keeping and demonstrating the things—the commandments—given to us by Yeshua Messiah. The disciple of Yahoshua Messiah keeps the Master’s—and by natural default the Father’s—instructions; those instructions being Torah. The same disciple of Yahoshua Messiah keeps these commandments out of a reverence, respect, fear and love for the Father and His Son. The disciple of Yeshua then embarks upon a life that is far beyond the norm of any human—any man, woman or child on this planet. It is a life that functions in the midst of a world that is currently ruled by fallen watchers—former angels who chose not to submit themselves to their Creator. This life beyond the norm is one that sheds light to all the world and beckons any who would abandon their Babylonian enslavement and accept a life of freedom—true freedom where Truth, peace, love and justice reigns and where the promise of eternal life and true sonship/daughtership of the Most High God/Elohim serves as the motivator. It’s walking out the Father’s original plan for mankind, that He established before the foundations of the earth were laid. It’s not religion. It’s the one true life abundant that Master came to bring us (John 10:10). [I examined what a life beyond the norm looks like in my post Living a Life Beyond the Norm. I invite you to check it out.]

Indeed, this is not a life that most will ever adopt in this dispensation. For man’s natural—carnal—sinful inclination is to abhor-reject the ways and will of the Creator. It’s the very same spirit/mindset that attached itself to Lucifer, who sought to overthrow His Creator. Thus, the enemy is naturally adverse to the ways and will of the Father, as is most of the unconverted human race. So the life of a Messianic Torah Observer is beyond the norm for the whole of the human race.

Call To Action

The whole point of this program is to celebrate, examine and publicize this extraordinary life that Master Yeshua Messiah has called us to. If you are by chance searching for Truth and the True Faith once delivered, then becoming a Torah Observant Believer in Yeshua Messiah is the place you want to be. If you are not already one, I invite you to become a Torah Observant Believer in Yahoshua Messiah. It’s the only life that will ever matter on this earthly plain—or any plain for that matter. If you are already a Torah Observant Believer in Messiah, I encourage you to keep on keeping on. I know it’s difficult at times to walk out this Faith. The world naturally hates us, as they hated our Master. In addition, the past and present world system is definitely not conducive to such a lifestyle. But Master promised us blessings beyond our wildest imagination if we are faithful to walk out this journey to the end (Matthew 19:29; Mark 10:29). Let us hold to this Faith of ours with all our strength, heart and minds and see this thing to the end.

Contact me if you are searching for Truth or if you are new to this Faith. I’ll be more than happy to help you figure this thing out. Stay tuned to this podcast program and ministry for weekly/monthly updates to the issues, topics and trends affecting all Torah Observant Believers in Yeshua Messiah.

Until next time, stay blessed and within the confines of the Father’s perfect will for your life as a Disciple of Yeshua Messiah.

Shalom.

Faithfully Submitted–Rod Thomas