The will of God in the New Year…

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Pete Rambo

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Many want to know the will of God.  Like several other places, the psalmist clearly says His will is the Torah.  What will you do in the new year?

http://bible.com/100/psa.40.8.NASB

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New Year’s Resolution…

Posted on January 1, 2016 by Pete Rambo

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The everlasting unchanging Word of God? Or, was the author of Psalm 119 just a misguided dreamer when he said, ‘forever?’

I suggest you RESOLVE to keep the Torah, including the statutes and judgments!!

http://bible.com/100/psa.119.111-113.NASB

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Happy New Yea… What?

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Pete Rambo

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Who’s calendar are we on, anyway? 

http://bible.com/100/exo.12.2.NASB

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The Way : A Documentary

Posted on December 31, 2015 by Pete Rambo

The Kickstarter Campaign has already been all over the internet and the trailer is a ‘must-see!’  I have had communication with the Producer and the Director for The Way and I feel VERY good about where this documentary is going and the story it is going to tell.

The campaign reached its goal in 36 hours, but now, having exceeded its goal, it is reaching for additional funding that will further improve the final product.  If you are curious about a hard look into this movement, or want to see THE Story told, here is an opportunity to help out with a pledge.  And, pledges have benefits… 

I would ask this of my readers: Would you be willing to forego your personal name and picture being on the poster and instead, have the name ‘B’ney Yosef’ put in to draw attention to the BIG picture?  The Two Stick Prophecy and the fact that an organization exists that is actively seeking to gather the Sheep of the House of Joseph is part of this story!  We can draw attention to this fact by having the name appear in the credit…

We and several here have made gifts to that end.   Our goal would be a dozen or so gifts that create a ‘pool’ resulting in an Executive Producer label for the B’ney Yosef Congress.  When the email comes requesting a name and picture for the poster, we will simply answer that we desire that ‘B’ney Yosef’ be listed.

Please join me!

 

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Updates on Progress with B’ney Yosef

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Pete Rambo

Much is happening across North America with B’ney Yosef and initiatives that spilled out of the First B’ney Yosef National Congress that took place in May 2015 in Ariel, Israel.  Friend and fellow laborer, Al McCarn, has written an interesting report and recap of several events as well as some hints at future happenings in a recent article posted on the Hebrew Nation Radio blog.  At the end of the article, the blog editor adds some insightful thoughts.  Enjoy this newsy update.

B’ney Yosef Awakening in North Texas

Are we living in the time of the end that humanity has anticipated for millennia? It seems so, at least according to the wars and rumors of war and all the other signs students of

Pictured above: B’ney Yosef Region 35 Conference which took place on December 4-6, 2015 with 100 attendees gathered in Denton, Texas.

Pictured above: B’ney Yosef Region 35 Conference which took place on December 4-6, 2015 with 100 attendees gathered in Denton, Texas.

prophecy have expected. Yet it is also the time of the beginning. In Messiah Yeshua’s discourse recorded in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 He spoke of these things as birth pangs. What is being born? Isaiah helps us understand:

Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. “Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord. “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb?” says your God. (Isaiah 66:8-9 NASB)

Isaiah and Yeshua speak of the birth, or rebirth, of the nation of Israel, YHVH’s chosen people through whom He will work redemption for all nations. Part of that nation has already come into being: the Jewish part known as the State of Israel, which is the restored House of Judah. What the world is awaiting now is the restoration of the rest of the nation: the non-Jewish tribes of the House of Joseph, also called the House of Ephraim, who have had no national existence since the Assyrian Empire annihilated the Northern Kingdom of Israel over 2,700 years ago.

And yet Scripture addresses the rebirth of Ephraim and their reunification with Judah more than any other prophetic topic. The Almighty Himself even stakes His own Name and reputation on fulfilling this mighty act (Deuteronomy 7:7-8; 9:5-6; Jeremiah 16:14-21, 32:41-42; Ezekiel 36:22-32). The “time of the end” therefore must really be a “time of the beginning” as these children of Joseph (in Hebrew, b’ney Yosef) awaken to their identity and begin to come together as a nation once again.

That is precisely what is happening before our eyes in the “Torah Awakening” that has brought so many Christians to an understanding of their identity as Israelites grafted into the nation through the atoning work of Messiah Yeshua.  (Continue reading at Hebrew Nation Radio)

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The 153 Fish of John Chapter 21

Posted on December 30, 2015 by Pete Rambo

Have you ever wondered what the significance of the of the 153 fish in John 21:11 is?  I mean, why would holy inspired writ include such a detail?  What is the significance for the believer?

Ray Gardner sent me a terrific study that is well worth the 6-8 minutes it will take to read it.  I tried to convert the format to simply paste it in as a post, but that didn’t go so well…  So, here it is for download as a pdf that you can read and/or print.

John 21 and 153 fish

If you find that you like his writing and study style, I highly recommend his weekly studies in first five books of the Bible.  Just go here for a number of deep studies into stories and passages you are familiar with.  These will enrich your understanding of the whole Bible and the person and work of the Messiah.

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Dear Dad,

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Pete Rambo

How I wish I could sit and talk to you.  It has been some 17 years since we laid you to rest and I miss you more today than the day we buried you.  You were a prince of a man and I Family circa 1984speak often of you to my sons.

You had many terrific qualities, not the least of which was your most inquisitive mind.  Your thirst for understanding and your willingness to question things led you to several inventions and to find many unorthodox solutions to perplexing problems. I remember you telling me one time that to occupy your mind on the mail route you would intentionally ponder ‘out of the box’ solutions for known problems.  In particular, that day you said you were trying to come up with multiple different ways to supply power to a rotating warning horn, an odd, but challenging mental exercise.  As with most things, you weren’t satisfied that the best answer had been arrived at.

Maybe it was was your minor in philosophy that made you question, or maybe it was because you loved hard questions that you minored in philosophy, but either way you sought truth, no matter where it took you, and that made you very special.  I never realized how incredibly special until the last several years. Continue reading →

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Portion Notes for Sh’mot are up…

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Pete Rambo

See Torah Portion Page.

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Who are the Dry Bones of Ezekiel 37?

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Pete Rambo

dry bonesA theme that has been coming up over and over in recent reading and study is Ezekiel’s Dry Bones.  Last weekend in our study of Genesis 47:28- 50:26 we again ran into the Dry Bones.  (Long story…)

Christendom has been feeling some of the same call in a broad sense as exampled by this terrific Lauren Daigle song, ‘Come Alive.’  ….but, who are the Dry Bones?

37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.’ 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Continue reading →

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Until The Two Become One (Must read, by Ken Rank)

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Pete Rambo

Following is a terrific article by Ken Rank explaining the Two Stick Prophecy of Ezekiel 37, a passage that is largely overlooked by theologians in its significance.

Until the Two Become One

by Ken Rank

What the herders did not see before them was their brother. In fact, before Joseph finally reveals himself to his brothers, they had spent at least many hours with him, dining, being entertained, and also being berated and yet they saw only an Egyptian. To anyone who joseph-brothersmight have been standing at a distance, looking upon Joseph and that family of herders, being able to see that they were family would likely have been impossible.

The Prophet Ezekiel gives us a similar end-time picture in that we have two players who might just as well stand in such contrast. In chapter 37, verse 16, where we read the following:

“And you, son of man, take a stick and write on it, For Judah and for his companions, the sons of Israel. And take another stick and write on it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and all the house of Israel, his companions.”

What is easy to miss in the above verse is that Ezekiel takes two blank sticks that represent people and he is to identify who the two sticks are. The first he determines as Judah and those who are joined with Judah. The second stick is said to be for Joseph, but a stick that is Ephraim, and it includes the House of Israel and those joined to Israel. So we have a lot going on in this one verse. Most scholars believe that these two sticks represent the Whole House of Jacob, what was once a great nation that divided into two Kingdoms, Judah and Israel. But why the use of those names?  Continue reading at United2Restore

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Did Israel sanctify pagan altars?

Posted on December 25, 2015 by Pete Rambo

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Or, did Yehovah command them to destroy the altars and NOT approach Him as the pagans approached their gods?  Can we take pagan practices and “Christianize” them?  If so, why don’t we use temple prostitutes?  If not, why do we insist on evergreens, balls, wreaths, eggs and bunnies?

Please.  Do the serious research.  “Christmas” was around 1500 years before Messiah Yeshua was born…

http://bible.com/100/deu.12.30-31.NASB

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Prophesying to the Dry Bones…

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Pete Rambo

Shema line 1 Shema line 2

Ez. 37 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and He brought me out [a]by the Spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of IMG_20151205_073732866_HDRthe valley; and it was full of bones. 2 He caused me to pass among them round about, and behold, there were very many on the surface of the valley; and lo, they were very dry. 3 He said to me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” And I answered, “O Lord [b]God, You know.” 4 Again He said to me, “Prophesy over these bones and say to them, ‘O dry bones, HEAR [shema; שְׁמַע ] the word of the Lord.’ 5 Thus says the Lord God to these bones, ‘Behold, I will cause [c]breath to enter you that you may come to life. 6 I will put sinews on you, make flesh grow back on you, cover you with skin and put breath in you that you may come alive; and you will know that I am the Lord.’”

Last Shabbat, I posted a quick note about a global praying of the Shema asked for by a Rabbi on behalf of Judah and the need for the Mashiach to be revealed.  In that post I stated that in addition to being a prayer, Continue reading →

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Fifty steps from terror

Posted on December 24, 2015 by Pete Rambo

In May, Kelly and I had the special opportunity to spend a few days in Jerusalem.  On a brilliant Wednesday afternoon, after lunch at the Quarter Cafe in the Old City along with our small group, we slipped into the world famous Shorashim Shop where the proprietor, Orthodox Jew Moshe Kempinski, locked us in, told us to grab a stool while he put on a small headset.  He then spend about 20 minutes telling us, ‘I know who you are…’ as he acknowledged our coming to Torah and a clear understanding of who Ephraim is, etc…  I remember my eyeballs sweating a good bit as he told us how much he loved us and looked forward to our rising as a fulfillment of prophecy.shorashim_biblical_shop1

Moshe and the Shorashim Shop have had a special place in my heart ever since.

Each week the Shop sends out a newsletter with Torah notes, thoughts, adverts and a few relevant articles from around the web.  This week, one article in particular hit me as I could picture every detail of the location of a terror attack.  We stood in these very locations a few short months ago Continue reading →

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Portion notes are up!!

Posted on December 23, 2015 by Pete Rambo

Notes for Va’ye’chi are up!  Enjoy both insightful sets!!

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Difficult verses in the ‘Christmas’ story, p.4

Posted on December 21, 2015 by Pete Rambo

in the beginningIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.

No reading of the ‘Christmas’ story is complete without John 1, yet these verses pose a sizable challenge to Christian theology if we stop and really take a look at them.

Have you ever considered the implication of these verses?  Jesus, or by His Hebrew name, Yeshua, was with God in the beginning and was (is) God.  Easy, right?  Not so fast, my friend!

What are the implications of the Messiah being present from the beginning? Continue reading →

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