New to ‘Roots?
Or, you are asking, “What’s this all about?”
Pretty simple, really.
While this blog explains different pieces of what I believe in greater detail, here is the ‘crash course.’
Christianity has significantly wandered from its roots. Through the ‘wisdom of men’ (here, not a good thing) parts have been added and parts subtracted from the ‘faith once delivered to the saints.’ The result is a syncretistic soup that has a lot of truth in it, but also a good bit of falsehood.
The ‘church’ today is decidedly NOT the church of the book of Acts. The belief system and outworking of that faith as exampled today is decidedly NOT what was going on in Acts. The results, both inwardly and outwardly testify to this fact.
The basics are similar, but the Truth has been well hidden beneath centuries of tradition and false teaching. (Yes, tough pill to swallow, but do the research. Don’t believe me, see what the Scriptures really say.)
- I believe in salvation by grace through faith in Yeshua (Jesus’ Hebrew name…), but I also believe a saving faith will do/be something!
- The Bible is ONE book, not two. It is ONE covenant, not two. (The most useless page in your Bible is the one separating the ‘old’ and ‘new’ testaments. It presents an artificial divider that Yahweh (God) never put there or intended.) Further, one cannot understand and rightly apply the end of the Book until they grasp the beginning of the Book.
- Yahweh’s promises are as good today as the day He made them… He does not change, nor do His promises. This radically alters churchianity’s false understanding of prophecy among other things.
- Scripture was written by Hebrews, from a Hebrew mindset and meant to be understood in that context. The Greek dualistic mindset that wants to spiritualize everything it doesn’t understand is anathema to a true understanding of the revealed Word of our God.
- The blessings, joy and peace from obedience to all of Scripture are without comparison. Truly, this is a most joyful transformation when we let go of tradition and simply follow our King as He leads.
If you yearn for a deeper walk that is Truth at its core, if you desire to taste of the Root of Jesse, then I encourage you to dig deeper on this site and through the Resources page to test everything and encounter the Messiah you never knew.
I would recommend the Reformation Thought series of articles as a great place to start. It is designed to help you get the whole picture, one bite at a time. Read them in the order they were written to see the foundations of Truth. You will see Scripture in its true light and fit the way Yahweh intended.
Another ‘one page’ stop that has all the basic links and tools to begin learning is Teshuva Ministries ‘Getting Started‘ page. Highly recommended.
And, still another excellent overview page with a very well-done video series exploring the identity of the Messiah, see Chad Gleaves’ The Missing Messiah Report.
May Abba bless you with His Shalom,
Pete
natsab 
You’re sharing a lot of Truth here, blessings to you!
LikeLike
Thank you. I see some good stuff on your blog, too!
We pursue a healthy lifestyle that includes organics as well as natural oils, etc… MUCH preferred to pharmakia!!
Blessings.
LikeLike
I loved every part of this, except where Luke doesn’t count. He was a Greek writing in Greek.
Laurel
LikeLike
Thank you for linking to T’shuva – we appreciate it. Shalom
LikeLike
Thank YOU for compiling and hosting that excellent introductory page. I appreciate your work and stand! Shalom!
LikeLike
Dude… this is very cool. Constantly seeking for truth in understanding scripture. It seems that we’ve been lied to about most things because of the suppression of truth and the rewriting and hiding of history. People are like sheep (dumb/ignorant/lost), We are responsible for our salvation and sadly most don’t even consider it after being “born again” . Once saved always saved :can’t find that in the bible. I read every day and I am glad to find this site. My hat is off to you! thank you again!!!!!! –
LikeLike
You are welcome! This is a journey that we share! Lots to learn and help reveal to others!!
Shabbat shalom!
LikeLike
One day Pete, I will ask you some questions to help me along the way. Coming from the other side of the fence, i sense that I am up against the masses. As you described in your own awakening. I do love what I am learning and discovering. Thank you for your heart, your faith, and your passion.
LikeLike
Any time. I’m always happy to share, discuss, even debate… All in love! Drop me a note through my contact page and I’ll shoot you my phone number.
Shalom!
LikeLike
Just found the website and so great to connect with similarly minded believers returning to the faith of the Apostles and Hebrew roots. However regarding Hebrew language, I can’t understand why God’s name is constantly proclaimed as Yahweh by so many, when there is no ‘w’ sound in Hebrew (nor ‘th’ for that matter) and therefore clearly not the right pronunciation? Nobody can be 100% certain of how to pronounce YHVH but surely the use of Yahweh will only continue to promote the error and set those starting out on this journey wanting to be more accurate with terms, in the wrong direction. All of us have had to make adjustments as we learn more. Would you address this issue, please?
LikeLike
Thanks, Graftedin2.
We don’t get hung up on a particular pronunciation of the Name. We prefer Yehovah, however in early days on this journey (and blog) we used Yahweh.
It is an issue we trust Abba and/or His Messiah will sort out in the future. For now, we do not allow it to impede fellowship…
Blessings and welcome!!
LikeLike
“The Bible is ONE book, not two. It is ONE covenant, not two.”
Pete, I must respectfully disagree with you, at least in part. There are many covenants in the bible, but there is only one covenant that promises salvation, and it’s not what most call the Old Covenant, more precisely the Mt. Sinai added covenant. The Mt. Sinai covenant was added later because of transgressions. The Everlasting covenant has existed since the garden, if not just prior. The covenant of Promise that God made with Abraham, the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood and the New Covenant that God will make with Israel and Judah in the future is a continuation of that one, Evelastinf, Salvation covenant. The Mt. Sinai added covenant (Gal. 3) only lasted till the Seed, Jesus came. It is no longer relevant to christians, God’s law has existed long before Sinai.
Kevin McMillen
***************
Why I Keep God’s Sabbaths
By Kevin McMillen
The heart to obey is what God desires (Deut. 30:2, Deut. 5:29) and the blood of Jesus Christ is the only means for the remission/redemption of sin, not law keeping.
I personally have been a Sabbath and Feast (moedim) day keeper for over 50 years. I believe there is much misunderstanding about keeping the Sabbath, even among Sabbath keepers. I have tried to remedy that among Sabbath keepers as best that I can but way too many are Old Covenant legalists, though they’d vehemently deny it. I can assure you that I’m not.
Way too many Sabbath teachers teach that we are to keep the Sabbath because God commands it in the fourth commandment. Their problem is that the Bible clearly says that the Ten Commandments are the words of the Covenant, the Old Mt. Sinai Covenant is the context of that verse (Ex. 34:28). To claim to keep the Sabbath because the fourth commandment commands it is placing oneself under that Covenant which ended at Jesus’ death according to Gal. 3:19.
Now you’re probably thinking “If you understand that, then why do you keep the seventh day Sabbath?”. Easy, Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man (the Greek word for man is anthropos), meaning all of mankind. The Sabbath wasn’t made at Sinai; it was made and sanctified in the garden of Eden. It will also be kept by all flesh in the millennium according to Is. 66:23.
Now the question is, “Is the Sabbath a command under the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood?” Luke 22:20, the answer is no. However, the New Covenant doesn’t command against murder, stealing, lying etc. either. If the New Covenant “required” obedience to these things then the first time that we break any of them would mean that we’ve broken the covenant.
Don’t get me wrong, as Christians we are to obey God’s/Jesus’ commandments but we’re not to keep them because they’re “required” by any Covenant; we’re to obey them because they’re “required” by our Creator, God/YHWH. They’ve been required by God from creation and to not obey is sin. It is a sin to break any of God’s laws. The New Covenant, as a “requirement”, doesn’t command any law, because its sole purpose is to remove the penalty of breaking the law. The law demands our death, both Jew and Gentile, for we have all sinned or broken God’s law. Sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). Jesus died to redeem us from death which the law demands when broken. The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
The erroneous idea that God had one set of laws for the Jews and another set of laws for the Gentiles is not Biblical and it’s caused nothing but confusion. God has one set of laws which he gave at creation. How else did Abraham know God’s laws, statutes, commands, etc? (see Gen. 26:5)
It is only logical that at creation God gave Adam and Eve laws and commands to obey, and that he taught his kids, and they taught theirs, but eventually over time they forgot or just refused to obey. While this is nowhere stated in the Bible it would be irresponsible of God to condemn mankind without telling him why. The fact that there’s no evidence of this proves nothing; we have no records from creation other than what Moses wrote 2,500 years later. Do we really know that Adam and the people prior to the flood had no writings? No. The laws of God were remembered, at least in part, (probably because Adam wrote them down) by Abraham’s parents and they taught him. Because of his obedience God made a covenant of Promise with him that Jesus would come from his seed. After Abraham’s initial obedience, God, as a condition of that Promise covenant, didn’t “require” continual obedience from Abraham’s kids. God would fulfill the Promise no matter what, solely because of Abraham’s faithful obedience. However, obedience was required for the simple fact that God was their Creator. As he is ours.
However, 430 years later, because disobedience/law and commandment breaking (transgression) got so bad, (Gal. 3:19) God made a separate covenant with Israel. It had to be separate because God couldn’t add to the original covenant because it was already ratified years earlier (Gal. 3:17). This second covenant was only to last until the Seed should come (Gal. 3:19).
God gave Israel his laws, statutes, judgements etc. at Mt. Sinai and also made a way to be physically forgiven if they sinned (Lev. 4:20, 26, 31, 35). The priesthood and sacrificial system was this physical system. Those sacrifices did not forgive Israel completely, they pointed to Jesus.
The question though is, why would God add laws that weren’t being transgressed if that was the main purpose of the Mt. Sinai covenant according to Paul in Galatians 3:19? (added because of transgressions)
Obviously the Sabbath was a law of God long before Sinai and as I’ve shown will continue to be a law for all flesh during the millennium (Is. 66:23).
The problem now is the misunderstanding/confusion that most have about the New Testament scriptures. Most have been taught that Jesus was resurrected on Sunday because of a mistranslation. Where the bible says “First day of the week” the Greek says, transliterated mia ton sabbaton translated precisely as “First the sabbaths”. Proper exegesis is needed to understand this phrase.
One must understand that Jesus died on Passover, the 14th day of the first biblical month, (Ex. 12:1-6, Lev. 23:5) next one must understand that seven Sabbaths were to be counted (Lev. 23:10-16) from the morrow after the Sabbath during the days of “unleavened bread” (while the Bible doesn’t say this, Jesus’ resurrection during the days of unleavened bread is our example), which most in error call the entire eight-day feast Passover. This was the count to Pentecost. The correct understanding of mia ton sabbaton is the “first day of the weeks” (plural) which is also the first day which started the 50 day count to Pentecost. First day of the weeks or sabbaths because seven sabbaths/weeks were to be counted from that day.
The “first day of the week” or more accurately “first day of the Sabbaths” is not the biblical name for every Sunday of the year; it’s the Biblical name for one Sunday a year. The day the wave sheaf was to be offered (Lev. 23:11). This wave sheaf pictured Jesus as the first of the firstfruits (1Cor. 23, James 1:18, Rev. 14:4). That was the day that Jesus was resurrected and it had been celebrated by Israel for 1500 years before Jesus came to earth.
There is absolutely no biblical reason to keep Sunday, the day that Jesus was resurrected had been a special day of God’s from at least Lev. 23 (truthfully God’s feasts, Hebrew word moedim, are first mentioned in Gen. 1:14). Should we keep this day yearly? Sure. Weekly? No.
We are to keep the seventh day-Sabbath. Not because of the Old Covenant or the fourth commandment; we’re to keep it because it was made at creation for mankind. Jesus said so. He also said that He’s the Lord of the Sabbath, making the seventh day Sabbath the Lord’s Day, not Sunday.
We don’t obey God to be saved as we all have earned death. Thankfully Jesus has given the only way to be forgiven, which is His shed blood. Do we now go out and sin because we’re under grace? Sabbath breaking is still a sin and not because the fourth commandment says so. It’s a sin because God, at creation, set that day aside (sanctified, made holy) by ceasing and made that day for us, mankind. (Jesus said so!) Yes, it pictures our rest in Jesus as it has for almost 6,000 years. That rest won’t completely take place until he returns to establish his reign in the millennium, the 1,000 years that the seventh day Sabbath pictures (Col. 2:16-17). This is why all of God’s Sabbaths are shadows of things to come. They foreshadow future events in God’s plan of salvation for all of mankind.
But most importantly, the seventh day Sabbath reveals exactly which God we worship (Ez. 20:12). The seventh-day Sabbath is a sign that the God who created all things, the God who ceased on the seventh day of creation, the same God that sanctified the seventh day also sanctifies us.
That is why I keep God’s Sabbath and Feasts! (Lev. 23:2)
Kevin McMillen
Kevinmcmillen64@gmail.com
LikeLike
Kevin, simply, the NewCovenant is not in effect, yet.. We get a taste of it and we have access through Yeshua’s blood, but it is not yet writ on our hearts… else, you wouldn’t be on my blog trying to teach… simply, Jeremiah 31:31-34 give the signs of its fulfillment, and those signs are not met.
LikeLike
Pete, Paul in the book of Hebrews, would very much disagree with you.
Heb 8:13 – In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
The Greek for “he hath” is perfect tense, which means an action that has already taken place, not one that will take place in the future. Jesus has already made that New Covenant in his blood with the church. The future covenant with Israel and Judah is irrelevant to the church. But as I said, they are merely a continuation of the only covenant that promises salvation, called an Everlasting covenant in the bible. The Mt. Sinai covenant has ended. We are not still under the Mt. Sinai covenant. To teach we are is a lie. Not having read much of your blog I don’t know if you are teaching that or not, I’m just saying that we are not under the Mt. Sinai covenant. Many Hebrew Roots people refuse to understand this, I hope you’re not one of those. Don’t forget, this is from a guy who has kept the Sabbath, Feasts and clean and unclean for 50 years, so I’m not teaching a protestant type of New Covenant.
If you have God’s spirit dwelling in you his laws are written on your heart, if you don’t have that spirit, well…Nuff said.
LikeLike
Brother, the word ‘covenant’ does not appear in the Greek in Hebrews 8:13. That’s inserted by the translators.
Yeshua said that not a single letter will passfrom the Law and the Prophets until heaven and earth passed away.
I just checked outside and they are still here!
He further said, to be LEAST in the Kingdom, annul and teach to annul the least commandments…. Hmmm…
Selah.
LikeLike
Seriously? Is that your argument? So what was Paul meaning when he said “A new he hath made the first old. A new what? Car? House?
Could you please tell me what Jesus is saying here?
Mat 26:28 – For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Yes Pete, that word testament is covenant. What is this New Covenant that Jesus is talking about? He sure isn’t talking about Jer. 31.
Also, I can’t figure out your reference to Matt. 7 since I’ve made it clear that I believe that God’s law has existed from the garden and will exist forever. Your problem is that you don’t want to understand that God’s law has nothing to do with Sinai except for the fact that it was a condition of that temporary covenant.
You’re not in a discussion with a protestant, I’m a sabbath and feast keeper. And as I’ve said clearly, I don’t keep the sabbath or the feasts because the Mt. Sinai covenant commands them. They were part of God’s law long before Sinai.
You’ve come partially to the truth but you are so wrapped up in Hebrew Roots that you won’t come all the way. That’s sad. You really need to study Gal. 4 and learn about the two covenants that Paul speaks of. He isn’t talking about Sinai and the Jer. 31 covenant. He’s talking about Sinai and the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. And yes, God’s law is still in existence under the New Covenant in Jesus’ blood. Not because the covenant requires it but because God requires it. To not keep God’s law is sin. Again I want to emphasize that God’s law is not the Sinai covenant, the Sinai covenant was about obeying God’s law. There is a difference which babes are unable or unwilliing to understand.
Sinai was an additional covenant, added to the covenant of Promise because of disobedience, and it ended with Christ’s death. Christ’s death didn’t end the law it ended the Sinai covenant!
How can a 50 year sabbath and feast keeper be accused of annulling God’s law? It can only occur by someone who is unable or unwilling to comprehend what I’m saying.
Kevin McMillen
LikeLike
The entire book of Hebrews us about the new High Priest. If Yeshua is correct in Matthew 5:17-19, then we can expect Ezekiel 36-49 to be fulfilled in the future… possibly very near future. MANY other prophecies hang on those events.. Amos, Micah, Hosea, etc… and, the prophecies clearly teach the Levitical laws will be implemented and enforced by Yeshua.
Therefore, SinaiCovenant is not annulled. And, it won’t be until heaven and earth pass away. Not my words.
The blood of Yeshua gives redemption and entry or re-entry into the covenant. Judah and Israel will be gathered and returned to the Land. The King will be seated on His throne and rule with Torah. Isaiah 2, Micah 4.
The whole of Torah is true, perfect and everlasting, Psalm 119, and those who walk in it are blessed, Psalm 1, 19, 119, Deuteronomy 5-8, 12, 13, 28-30.
Your disagreement is not with me, neither is it theological semantics. Your problem is that you ignore large swaths of Scripture contrary to your ‘temporary covenant’ theory.
Shalom.
LikeLike
I ignore large swaths of scripture? What a hoot, it’s you who ignore scripture because of your confusion with semantics. Yes, it’s semantics whether you want to admit it or not. If you think Matt. 5 says that the Sinai covenant will not be annulled then that proves your semantic bias. Did God’s law exist before Sinai or not? I say yes, so the continuation of God’s law is not dependent upon the continuation of the Sinai covenant. You’re a babe who refuses to acknowledge that you shouldn’t be teaching law until you understand it better.
Since you’ve shown that you refuse to be taught, that you think that you know it all, then I’ll bow out as I said.
Happy future sabbaths (I’m not Hebrew so I don’t feel the need to say shabbat shalom and may our Father and Jesus bless you and yours, Eli, YHVH, Abba and Yashua are not necessary for English speaking people.
Kevin
LikeLike
By the way, I didn’t come here to argue. So if you come back with a false claim again, like I’m annulling God’s law then I’m out of here. People misunderstood Paul so I’m not surprised that people misunderstand me. Paul was a law keeper as am I, but he was not under the Mt. Sinai covenant else Gal. 4 would make absolutely no sense.
Kevin
LikeLike
Pete, do you teach all males are commanded to go to Jerusalem three times a year? If not you’re breaking the Sinai covenant!
LikeLike
I have been to Israel many times and yes, the Torah says that… ‘when you come into the Land… ‘ so, it has limited application right now, but you refer to Isaiah 66 and Zechariah 14…. and going to Jerusalem for feast observance. Hmmm… consistency?
LikeLike
Pete, do you teach that all males are commanded to go to Jerusalem three times a year? If not you’re breaking the Sinai covenant. Zech. 14
LikeLike
What do you mean by questioning my consistency? I mention Is. 66 because it proves that the sabbath will be kept in the millennium. That has nothing to do with the Sinai covenant. I mention Zech. 14 because it proves that the Feast of Tabernacles will be kept in the millennium, also has nothing to do with Sinai. I’m a firm believer that Adam and Eve kept the sabbath and the feasts. Guess what, there was no Sinai covenant. I’m a firm believer that Abraham kept the sabbath and feasts, again no Sinai covenant. This proves that God’s law exists without the Sinai covenant. It’s time that you grow up in Christ and learn what Paul was saying. The Sinai covenant has ended, it was temperary, but God’s law continues. God’s law is not dependent upon the Sinai covenant!
Consistency has nothing to do with your inability to understand what I’m saying. The problem is your stubbornness. You’re unwilling to admit that you could be wrong. Which you are. You arrogantly patronize your family with an insincere apology, thinking that your understanding of the bible is so much beyond theirs, and you’re to egotistical to acknowledge that you’re not as learned about the bible as you think.
You remind me of the stubborn Israelites spoken of by Paul in Hebrews. Bible translators have ruined what Paul was saying, but here’s the gist.
Heb 4:11 – Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
The word unbelief should have been translated “stubborn rebellion”. The Greek word is, transliterated, apeitheia, and it literally means:
ἀπείθεια apeítheia, ap-i’-thi-ah; from G545; disbelief (obstinate and rebellious):—disobedience, unbelief.
Outline of Biblical Usage
obstinacy, obstinate opposition to the divine will
Israel thought they were obeying, but they were obeying their own rules. That’s why God said he hated their sabbaths and feasts, while they were keeping them, they weren’t obeying the way that God wanted.
That’s why God divorced Israel. Stubborn rebellion. Though he didn’t divorce Judah, he died, thus ending the covenant relationship. It was the Word, the one who came in the flesh as Jesus who made that covenant at Sinai. He is the great I Am and Jesus revealed that he was the I Am. When Jesus died, the covenant ended. He will not make another covenant with Israel and Judah until the kingdom. That is the Jer. 31 renewed covenant. Not a renewal of the old Sinai covenant but a renewal of the Everlasting covenant that has existed from before the foundation of the world. When Jesus was slain from the foundation. The whole plan was laid out before God even created Adam.
That’s the renewed covenant that we’re under, the Everlasting covenant, not the old Sinai covenant. That doesn’t mean that God’s law has ended. God’s law has eternally existed.
Maybe this analogy will help you understand. Consider the earth as being God’s law. It has existed for a long time. Now take a one acre plot of land. Before there was ever a United States of America the land existed. Once the USA became a nation the land/earth was the same. Then let’s say that you buy that acre of land and a deed is made up, a contract, a covenant. That one acre of land exists outside of that contract. Now enter the future when the earth exists but no one owns land. That deed that you had made up long ago means nothing. The land exists outside that deed. The deed being terminated because you died and the USA no longer existing doesn’t mean the land doesn’t exist, nor does it mean that someone in the future would have to have that deed before living on what was once your acre.
Sinai was like a deed, a contract, a covenant about obeying God’s law. It isn’t God’s law. God’s law exists outside of that covenant and will exist when that covenant is long gone. That covenant ended 2,000 years ago no matter your denial. Paul in Gal. 3 says that plainly, it was added “until” the Seed came. Now we are no longer under that covenant, but God’s laws remain.
The only reason that I’m continuing this is because I so much want you to understand this simple concept. There is simplicity in Christ, you are complicating a simple fact. God’s law exists without all the extras that Sinai added to it. The Sabbath, the Feasts exist as long as there is a man in the flesh.
Please quit worshipping a long gone covenant!
Kevin McMillen
LikeLike
Mr. McMillen,
Just where do you learn the details of keeping Shabbat or keeping the feasts? Oh, yeah… the Sinai Covenant.
And, within that covenant are many details as to how God expects His people to act… forever details that remain unchanged.
Now, I seem to recall that somewhere in the midst of your spamming spree, you said you we leaving. Do you need help finding the door?
Shalom.
LikeLike
Where does one learn to obey God? The entire bible, not just the old Sinai covenant!
LikeLiked by 1 person