Christianity VS the Mosaic Law
This post is in response to the countless Christian pastors who I have heard speak on the relevance of the Law and the Old Testament for believers in Messiah, and how badly our current generation has been mislead as to its intended purpose, and the fruit of following it. It was never meant to condemn anyone. It was not given to the Jews because “They were evil and God wanted to punish them.” It was not “done away with at the cross.” From the very beginning, every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth is good, and holy, and life-giving. If death came from the law, (which plenty has) it was not because the Law was flawed, but that our hearts as men and women were twisted and we twisted the life-giving nature of God’s commands into something they were never meant to be. If death is coming out of something good, we don’t change the good thing, we change our relationship with it, until it brings life instead. Many well-meaning Christians have been misled with the belief that the stories of the Old Testament are intended to depict the Old Testament and its judgment and shame, and that the New Testament depicts the way of the New Covenant; grace, forgiveness, and mercy. I would like to take a deeper look at some of the pivotal concepts and verses here and re-evaluate, and see if they hold any water. I am going to do my best to draw the connections necessary between the Old and New Testament to show us what the intended relationship between the New and Old Testament are.
At the end of the day, my desire is not to sound intelligent or prove my point, but to share the understandings and the fruit that God has fed me with as I dug into His scriptures. Before you weigh my words, weigh my actions. If I have acted haughty or “better than thou” then please let me know so I can change my approach. My intention in everything I do is to show the love that I have for everyone around me, for God, and for myself. Jesus said that the whole of the law could be summed up in love, so if I have done a good job at showing love, please approach my thoughts with an open mind, as they will likely provide an approach to scripture that you have not yet seen. Jesus said that you would know a tree by its fruit; so, I ask you, if you disagree with me, before dismissing what I say, if my love has shown through to you, pray about it, and give it some consideration. That is all I ask. If you still disagree with me after consideration, I would be thrilled to talk about it with you and hear what you have to say.
This subject is vast. The main reason that I have continued to pick up the project of putting this down on paper and quit so many times was because I continued to realize I didn’t have a deep enough understanding of the fundamental principles to learn the key discrepancies in theology, and so my attempts to draw any meaningful and provable conclusions eventually hit a dead end at every attempt. I didn’t have any structure for the connections I had drawn, so the only place they could live was in my head. When pen hit paper, I came up with a jumble of ideas, words, verses, and it wasn’t pretty.
Jesus and the Law
The first, and most vital question to ask when digging into the difference between the Old and New Covenants is, “What did Jesus say on the matter?” As the ultimate authority and king over his people, his words need to be investigated first, in comparison to the Old Testament passages before turning to any other source. I think everyone will agree with me when I say that everything Jesus said was incredibly intentional and poignant. His words and actions regarding the law and the Covenant are foundational. If Jesus says one thing, and Paul, or your pastor, or your parents say something else, I can take a good guess at who is right, and who is wrong. This was the first question I had when I set out to answer the question of the disparity between the perception of the law in the Old and the New Testaments. It didn’t seem right to me that the two parts of God’s own book would be so deeply contradictory to itself. If God doesn’t change, you should be able to see one single thread of thought all the way through the Scriptures. The old and the New should both be saying the same thing, unless God changes his mind and his personality, which I fervently believe is not the case. Wherever they seem to say something different, I have made it my goal to deeply study these disparities and figure out how they each fit into the whole.
To begin, I will start with a list of some of the things Jesus said about himself:
-He is the Light of the World- John 8:12
-He is The Word- John 1:1
-He is the Good Shepherd -John 10:11
-He is the Living Bread from Heaven- John 6:35
-He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life – John 14:6
-He is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega- Revelation 22:13
-He is faithful and true- Revelation 19:11
These are only a few of the titles given to Jesus, but they are sufficient to set a solid groundwork for the purposes of this commentary. Anyone who has read the Bible has probably realized that most of the time, when Jesus talked, his words had face value, but they always had a deeper, hidden meaning as well. In proclaiming himself to be the holder of these titles, he was pronouncing to his people that he was the one prophesied about who would save them from sin. I believe most would agree with me on that point; however, he was alluding to something else. He was making a statement that only those who truly knew the scriptures and prophecies would understand. So what was this hidden message? Let’s investigate that! Let’s take a look at the passages he was drawing from, so that we can get some context.
As with most concepts, it’s best to start from the beginning. In this case, the beginning says a LOT.
In Genesis 1:8, Adam and Eve heard God walking in the garden, and hid from his presence. Initially, this doesn’t cause a lot of thought, until you take into consideration that Jesus states in John 1:18 “No man has seen God’s presence and lived.” This theme continues on through the entirety of the Old Testament. In Judges 2:1-4, the Angel of The Lord appears to Israel and states that HE led them out of Egypt, and that HE had promised to never break his covenant with them. This angel can be none other than Jesus, or he would have been committing blasphemy in taking God’s credit for what he had done. This Angel pops up ALL THROUGH the Old Testament. In Joshua 5:14-15 this angel is described as a man who appeared to Joshua. When he told Joshua that he was the Captain of the host of heaven, Joshua fell on his face and worshiped. The Angel then commanded him to remove his sandals, reiterating what he told to Moses at the burning bush with the phrase, “you are standing on holy ground.” In verse 2 of the following chapter, it changes the dialogue and calls the mysterious man “The Lord.” This makes complete sense in the progression of the narrative; at first Joshua only sees a man, and once he reveals his title, the writer changed his description and addressed the man as God. In Exodus 3:2, we are not told that God himself appeared in the burning bush, but, you guessed it, The Angel of the Lord.
It is important to note that in Revelation, when John bowed to an angel, he was firmly rebuked, and told “I am a fellow servant with you.” A simple angel cannot receive our worship, and they certainly cannot take any claim for what God had done. In John 1:1, we are told that “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the Word was God. And the word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” Once you begin to look, you see Jesus in every story throughout the Old Testament. It was the Angel of the Lord who spoke to Abraham, (Genesis 18). It was the Angel of the Lord who wrestled with Jacob, (Genesis 32:24-30) spoke to Sampson’s parents, (Judges 13) stood in the path of Balaam, (Numbers 22:25) and sent Gideon on his conquest. (Judges 6:12) The proof texts continue on and on, but these serve as a solid foundation. The main point is that Jesus shows himself at every pivotal point in Israel’s history from the earliest point in the Bible. One common thread between all of these encounters is that when people learned who he was, they all fell flat on their face, worshiped him, and expressed worry over having “seen God’s face.” These people all knew that none could see God and live. Yet, they did see God, and they did live. This is a powerful illustration of the sanctifying power that Jesus had over those he chose to reveal himself to, even back to the very first passages of the old testament. Whenever God appears up until Moses, he refuses to tell his name to any who ask him. In fact, when Jacob asked his name, he even scoffed, saying “Why do you ask my name?” It was then, that he renamed Jacob Israel, which means “He who struggles with Elohim/God.” The point I want to direct your attention towards is this: We know by this point that Jesus did in fact appear as God’s mediator between the Father and his people. He was the very one on the mountain who confirmed the covenant with Israel through Moses. This is huge!! From THE VERY BEGINNING, it was Jesus who espoused himself to the nation of Israel. This is where it gets interesting. In Zechariah 7:4, Zechariah accounts that The Word of the LORD came to him and delivered a message. The language he uses is not consistent with the language someone would use had he simply heard a voice, like Samuel. No, instead, he accounts a visit from the Word. John tells us that the Word is Jesus. Once this connection is made, all the prophets gain so much more depth. Instead of imagining a man sitting under a tree and randomly hearing a voice, they all say the same thing: “The Word of the Lord came to me.” Now we begin to see the prophets of the Old testament as men and woman whom were personally visited by Jesus, in order to tell them to deliver a message. Depending on who is writing, Jesus is described as either A man, The Word of the Lord, the Angel of the Lord, or in some cases, such as with Abraham, just calling him “The Lord” Exodus 33:11 tells us that “The Lord spoke to Moses face to face as a man would speak to his friend.” Yet, later, when Moses asked to see God’s face, God declined, saying that it wasn’t possible, but that he would pass by and let Moses see his back, while God proclaimed his name to him. This seems like a contradiction. Or is it? There are countless verses where it tells us that the Word of the Lord spoke to Moses and told him to tell the Children of Israel something. It is vital to recognize that these encounters were none other than Jesus appearing to Moses and teaching him about himself and the Father. In fact, he tried to show himself to the whole community of Israel and forgo the Middle-man, but Israel was afraid, and chose a system of slavery to the flesh instead. There was nothing wrong with the system God set in place, but rather, it was the people’s relationship to the system that was faulty. This is why Hebrews 8:8 says that he found fault with them, and established a better covenant built on better promises. All of those laws and regulations passed down through Moses literally came right out of Jesus’s own mouth. It was his very own finger that carved the ten commandments into the tablets of stone, after all! (Exodus 31:18) Please bear with me, we will get back to the New testament soon! Before we can jump forward though, a few other things need to be brought to light. All of those things Jesus said about himself were purposeful quotes from the scriptures. Let’s take a look and see what secrets they hold!
The Light of the World
In John 8:12, Jesus tells the people, “I am the light of the world, and any who follow me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” What did he mean by this statement? We know by now that the only scriptures in play in Jesus’s day, were the Law, the Prophets, and the writings. In other words, the Old Testament. From the age of five, Jesus was sitting in the synagogue with the rabbis and teaching them profound insights from the scriptures. He did not make any allusions to the scriptures by accident. So what passages was he alluding to here?
Proverbs 6:23 reads:
“The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light. Reproofs of instruction are the way of life.
And Psalm 119:105:
“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”
Matthew 5:14-16 makes this comparison completely unavoidable.
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
Wow! Are you hearing this? This was not done by accident! Jesus has called himself the light of the world. Any that have him within them become lamps for the world to “see your good works.” If you continue reading on through the next couple verses, it becomes even more unavoidable. Let’s see what he says next. Verses 17-22 reads as follows:
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. 20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.
So, what are we to make of this dialogue? First, we bear witness to Jesus calling HIMSELF the law. And he will continue to do such in almost everything he says. He is drawing upon verses that every Israelite knew and had learned as children. He tells them that he is the living law; he then tells them that any who follow him will never be in darkness, because, he is the true light. Remember the parable of the ten virgins? I could get way off track talking about the oil and the olive tree, but I will do my best to keep this simple. The virgins are waiting in the dark, and five of them had enough light. They had enough of Jesus, and of his ways. Five of them were not prepared and had to go “study up” when they heard the bridegroom coming, and ultimately missed the wedding party. In saying that he fulfilled the law, Jesus was making a simple statement, and that statement was “I will bring it to its fullness.” This is what Paul meant when he said that Christ is the goal of the law. The law is the shadow, and Christ is the reality. The physical, living, breathing law. If Jesus annulled the law at his crucifixion, why would he have contradicted himself by saying until heaven and earth pass away, not a single letter will pass away from the law OR the prophets until all is fulfilled. Once we understand that he is the living law, which I will further prove as we progress, it becomes much easier to understand that clearly, not one letter of the law can pass away, any more than HE can pass away. I realize that this flies in the face of a LOT of conventional theology, but stay with me as I continue to draw out the reality of this truth. Once you begin to see the pattern, you will see it EVERYWHERE. To me, that’s an indication that I’m on the right track. Once you see this pattern, you will be able to open to any place in the Bible and the message will be the same message. The message didn’t change at the cross. The method is what changed. The message was always about grace and forgiveness. The entire Old Testament builds upon the theme of salvation from sin, and God’s perfect loving kindness. Both the New and Old testament go to great lengths about the importance of obedience among God’s people. Some things DID change at the cross; It would be impossible and foolhardy to deny that. However, many of the changes that we are told about, are actually in contradiction to scripture point blank.
It is important to note at this point, that salvation and sanctification NEVER came through observance of the law. We are told that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness. Rahab and Noah were also saved by faith. They all listened to the word of God and believed; their belief became apparent because they acted upon what they knew to be true. True faith requires action. Noah wasn’t accounted as righteous because he built the ark, but because of his righteousness, he obeyed God’s command, which was given for his protection, as well as the protection of his family and all the animals on the earth. Rahab was not accounted as righteous because of what she did, but her actions showed her faith. She believed Israel had been given Jericho by God, and she put in her lot with them. She risked her life to protect the spies, and we are told that after the events of Jericho, she and her family lived out the rest of their lives among Israel, as Israelites. From the very beginning, God made concession after concession for the foreigner who wanted to come into covenant with him. All through the old testament, this theme keeps re-occurring; the same theme Jesus kept telling his followers. No one who wants to join himself to God and join into his covenant was meant to be turned away, according to the Scriptures. Jesus never once spoke against the law, or of obeying it. In fact, in the last passage I quoted, he stated blatantly that any who kept the law and taught others would be great in the kingdom of heaven. His problem with the Pharisees is made clear in Matthew 15:1-7.
The Pharisees came to Jesus and accused him and his disciples of breaking the law for eating without washing their hands. Jesus’ reply is “and why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your own traditions?” He just turned the tables on them! What Jesus said to them without saying was simple. He said, God commanded you not to add or take away from the law which I have given you. (Deuteronomy 4:2) Yet here you are, adding to my laws, and teaching it as doctrine. My body isn’t defiled by not washing my hands! My body is defiled by the immorality that comes out of the heart! Lies, adultery, theft, slander, and the like. The Pharisees picked up on this message, and were offended! Whenever they accused Jesus of breaking the law, he always replied the same way. He pointed out that he was in perfect observance of the law as it was written, and that they were the ones in transgression because their traditions were superseding God’s commandments. In fact, the rabbis held as doctrine, that any law that they added to the scriptures was so binding that heaven itself had to bow to its authority. So here comes Jesus, walking onto the scene, telling them something to the effect of: Oh, not only am I the manna and the son of God sent from heaven, but I’m not bowing to your blasphemous laws. In fact, I rebuke you! Naturally, they were livid at this blatant disregard for their so-called authority.
John 1:5 tells us that “The light shone in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not.”
Once again, Jesus is the word, the light, and those who knew the Scriptures did not miss the brazen comparison to the Biblical verses calling the law a light. Why do you think the Pharisees called him a blasphemer at every possible chance? They had no idea what to do with a man who called himself the Word of God!
Bread of Life
In John chapter 6, Jesus is having one of his many show-downs with the Pharisees, and he is trying desperately to get through to them about his identity as the bread of life, and what that really means in a spiritual sense. It’s a very long chapter, so I won’t quote it here, but I encourage you to read the chapter at some point.
Jesus states at least 5 times in this conversation that he is the bread of life who came down from heaven, directly after the Pharisees asked him for a sign of his identity, saying “Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness. As it is written, he gave them the bread out of heaven to eat.”
Jesus is quick on the draw, as usual, and immediately makes a distinction. Let me clarify this for you, he says. It was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my father who gives you the true bread of heaven. And that bread gives life to the world. The Pharisees were fixated on the law, and Jesus wanted to make sure they got the point. It wasn’t Moses who fed them. It was God. Well the Pharisees’ interest is immediately piqued, and they take the bait. “Lord,” They say, give us this bread always!” Jesus pounces with his left hook. “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never thirst.” At this comment, the Pharisees knew exactly what he was saying. Had Jesus been anyone else, this comment was pure blasphemy to anyone who knew the Scriptures. He is alluding here to Deuteronomy chapter 8:3-6 where it says:
He humbled you and allowed you to be hungry, and fed you with manna, which you didn’t know; that he might teach you that man does not live by bread alone but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. Your clothing didn’t grow old on you, neither did your foot swell, these forty years. You shall consider in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the Lord your God disciplines you. You shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in his ways and fear him.
This is the same verse he used to combat Satan’s temptation when he spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness, walking out in perfection the failed attempts of Israel. Later in the passage in John, the Pharisees grumble that Jesus is telling them to eat his flesh and drink his blood. Jesus tries to get it through their thick skulls that what he is saying, is that they were meant to get sustenance from “every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth,” and that he was that very word. He was the physical fulfillment of the manna that God sent from heaven. Bread was the primary food back in that day. Bread was life. It was sustenance. But God showed Israel that their sustenance wasn’t’ ever intended to be in the physical. Manna was a symbolic fulfillment of God’s words. Psalm 119:103 proves this connection, saying:
“How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” Exodus recounts that the manna tasted sweet like honey wafers, and Jesus, again, is the word made flesh. Taste and see that the Lord is good!”
The first account in Matthew 14:13-21 recounts Jesus feeding 5,000 men with only five loaves and two fish. Once a few pervading Biblical associations are explained, this becomes a simple matter of plugging in the meanings.
Psalm 19:7 helps make the sustenance word picture clearer “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring life.” Think back on the story of David taking the show-bread from the high priest, for his men to eat. They were hungry, and the bread gave them life and strength to carry out their mission. It is not a stretch by any means to associate bread to life, especially if you can put yourself in the shoes of a man or woman in the ancient world.
Jesus clearly depicted himself as the living, breathing Law, or word of God, and the association with the law was bread; feeding the hungry and restoring life and vitality.
When Jesus fed the 5,000 men with five loaves, he was symbolically feeding them with the words of God, the bread of heaven. remember the symbolic number 5 being the number of books contained in the Law. Five loaves, one for each book of the law. To further draw out this point, it becomes much more evident when you compare the numbers used in the association. there is only one other account in the entire Bible where the number 5,000 is mentioned. That fact is poignant because it almost necessitates a spiritual connection. The account is from Joshua 8, Israel’s attack on the city of Ai. To summarize the main points, Joshua and his men attack the city and are defeated on the first attack, so Joshua took 5,000 men and set them behind the city to ambush it once the occupants came out to fight Israel’s army. The story ends in a total victory, and a decimation of their enemies, because they were walking in obedience to God’s Word.
Let us move on to the next account, and see if this connection holds any water.
The account with the 4,000 appears in Matthew 15:29-39.
Jesus and his disciples gather another crowd, shortly after the events of the 5,000, and Jesus feels compassion on them and decides to feed them. But this time, when he asks how much food is available, his disciples bring him seven loaves. At this, he breaks it and passes it to the crowd of 4,000 men. What is the association with the number 7? A cursory look forward will provide some insight on that matter:
Matthew 16:5-12:
“When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread. “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
If you recount basically any event where Jesus goes toe to toe with the Pharisees, he is always making the same point: That they are breaking God’s law by adding their own laws to his. He said countless times, “Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your traditions?”
His grounds for accusation here was Deuteronomy 4:2 “Do not add to what I command you, and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.”
Deuteronomy 12:32 states the same thing in slightly different phrasing. But the point is, that adding to the Law was just as bad, if not worse than subtracting from it. If you are familiar with the Oral Torah of the Jews, you will know that the rabbis had two separate books or “Mishnahs” of additional laws, taught by different sects of Judaism. These two teachings were tacked on to the original 5 books of Moses.
Isn’t that interesting? Now we see the priests and the Pharisees “puffing up” the original law with yeast, and turning the five loaves into seven. The yeast is added into the dough, before it is baked, and causes it to rise and expand in an unnatural way. If this train of thinking is accurate, there should be a linking Old Testament story to prove the disparity.
Once again, the specific number 4,000 is only used one other time in the entire Bible. The passage is 1 Samuel Chapters 3-4.
The account goes into God’s calling of Samuel and pronouncing judgement on Eli and his house, because they were living in active rebellion and disdain for God and his way/laws. As a result of this pronouncement, God sends the philistines against Israel and 4,000 Hebrew men are killed in the battle. The ark of the covenant is also lost, which is the biggest blow of all, as the ark was the symbol of God’s presence in Israel. Here is story that depicts the other side of the coin. When Israel ignores his commands, or adds to them, it leads to defeat, and death. Not only death, but a removal of God’s protection and presence over his people.
Now the final element is in the number of baskets picked up after each encounter. In the feeding of the 5,000 with 5 loaves, they collected twelve baskets after everyone was satisfied. This is no coincidence, as the nation of Israel consisted of 12 tribes. With obedience came fullness and satisfaction for the whole of Israel. In the second account, they collect only seven baskets; the same number as loaves. The only reasonable explanation for this comparison is that once the Pharisees have added their yeast, and the law has been multiplied, there is only excess for the scribes and pharisees who sell their bread to the people for a price.
To summarize, Jesus has proven the connection between himself and the law he gave to Moses. When God created the universe, he did it by speaking. He spoke the world into existence with his word. Every word of God stands forever, and Jesus is a perfect example of that. He came to show us that his words were meant to bring life, love, and healing. Not bondage and slavery. In fact, how ridiculous would it be for God to free his people from slavery in Egypt only to re-establish a new type of bondage for those people by giving them a set of laws that were meant to enslave them. The Christian doctrine on this point is pure heresy against the love the Father has for his people, and his desire to have them free and fulfilled. Jesus first showed us that he was personified in every word that God ever spoke; to Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, and all the prophets. Once his word emanates from his mouth, it stands forever. (Psalm 119:89/160) Jesus is the bread of life, and the manna from heaven. He is the Word of God made flesh, who dwelt among us to show us how to follow him. Jesus fed the crowds to draw out a very powerful message. He was the word that feeds us, and we can get sustenance from his words and our life will be multiplied; but on the other side of the coin, if we take his words and add the yeast of the Pharisees (traditions and laws tacked onto his words), the multiplication effect is severely damaged, and it leads to a removal of God’s blessing.
The First and the Last
If what I have theorized about Jesus and his words regarding the law are accurate, the rest of the Bible should bear testimony to their truth, or to their invalidity. There can be no inconsistency in the Bible, so the rest of the scriptures and prophecies will cross-reference and it all should fall in line perfectly.
Isaiah 46:10 is the foundation of this leg of the study.
I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, my purpose shall stand, I will do all that I please.
In this section, we will compare the approach to the law in the scriptures, relating to the very beginning of time, and check them against the prophecies of the last days and the millennial kingdom of Jesus. He is the first and the last; and in such a way he has told us what he desires through the ages.
As with all stories, it is important to start at the beginning, so that is where we shall begin.
Our first verse is Genesis 2:1-2:
Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
We are told by Church doctrine that the Sabbath day was first given to the Jews as part of the Old Covenant, and that When Jesus rose from the dead he changed it to Sunday. However, the Sabbath day was a blessing from God from the very beginning of time for all of mankind.
This is why Hebrews 4:11 says that we should make every effort to enter into his rest; it was given to help us remove ourselves from our own works for a time and remember that his works are the ones that truly give us life.
Mark 2:23-28
Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began to pluck the heads of grain. And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?”
But He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”
And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. Therefore, the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”
We know that Jesus was part of the creation process, and he was there with the Father in the blessing of the seventh day. Of course Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath! From that very first moment when he blessed the Sabbath, he made it FOR man. He created a pattern in that moment; a pattern of creation, exertion, and then relaxation once the work is complete. When he commanded Israel to observe the Sabbath, it was, once again, a command for their own benefit. It was the day where they gained relief from their hard work. Yes, at Jesus’s resurrection, he brought the imagery of the Sabbath to a fullness that had never before been seen. He is our Sabbath rest, and he will be our rest for 1,000 years when he reigns on earth. A day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day to God, and this concept is put into application here. From the beginning of the Bible to where we are now, we have come to the sixth day of history and prophecy. When the sixth day reaches its fulfillment at the chosen time, Jesus will initiate his final rest and rule on the earth. We will enjoy a full millennium of rest with Jesus as our king. But the question needs to be asked: When Jesus fulfilled the Sabbath, did he leave us any indication that the physical act of resting and honoring his blessed day should still be kept? Instead of speculating, I will look to the scriptures to answer this vital question. This is where the prophecies about the time of judgment and reign, become incredibly powerful, because they clearly depict how things will operate when the whole world is firmly under Jesus’s rule.
Isaiah 66:19-23
And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.
“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the Lord, “so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord.
I am continually surprised by how many people have never read or heard this passage from Isaiah. This is an end-times prophecy, clearly depicted by God referring to the New Heavens and the New earth. It is an account of how things will be at Jesus’s return to judge the earth. After he is finished judging, not only does he appoint new priests to minister before him, but he assures us that in his kingdom, all flesh will come to Jerusalem from Sabbath to Sabbath and from New Moon to New Moon, to worship before him. It simply would not make sense for God to consecrate and bless the seventh day at creation, only to abolish it at Jesus’s crucifixion, and then change his mind and re-instate it in his millennial reign. Our God is a God who never changes, and although it may contradict modern theology to say that the Sabbath remains valid and important for his people from the beginning of time to the end of time, it does line up with what we know about God’s unchanging character, and all of the scriptures on the subject seem to validate the idea. But what about some of the other hot button subjects, such as the feast days that Jesus fulfilled or clean and unclean foods? If he remains unwavering in one area, one would expect to see an unwavering approach in all subjects. Let’s see what the scriptures have to say on these key issues.
Another foundational end-times passage is from Isaiah 2:2-4, reading:
It shall happen in the latter days, that the Lord’s house will be lifted up on top of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills, and all nations shall flow to it. Many peoples shall go and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.” For out of Zion the Law will go out, and the Lord’s word from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will decide between many peoples; and they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.”
If the law has been done away with at the cross, why is it going out again from Jerusalem once Jesus takes the throne? The answer lies at the heart of this entire discussion. The New Covenant. But we aren’t ready to tackle that subject quite yet.
Zechariah 14:16-20 is set immediately after Jesus comes back at the end of the age to save his people from the nations who are attacking them. After his enemies have been put under his feet, all the nations fall under the law of his rule. This particular passage specifically draws out the importance of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, and to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord Almighty, they will have no rain. If the Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. The Lord will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles.
Once again, there can be no doubt of the time-frame of this passage. During Jesus’s rule. At no other point in time will the whole world be expected to come worship at Jerusalem. These were requirements for Israel’s covenant with God, but God’s plan is to bring all nations on the earth into that covenant. The final judgment will be the final act to fulfill that promise. (Psalm 110:1)
In Genesis 7:2 we have an interesting paradox:
“Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate…”
This command was given to Noah, LONG before the law was given on Mount Sinai. Clean and unclean animals in Noah’s day? What’s more, God didn’t have to explain it to Noah. He said clean and unclean, and Noah knew exactly what was meant. Could this be an indicator that the whole issue goes back farther, and is much more complicated than our current theology makes it out? I think that at the very least, it needs further investigation at this point. Genesis 8:20 recounts Noah and his family disembarking their cruise from hell, and Noah builds an altar to God, sacrificing one of every clean animal in thanks and gratitude. This begs the question, if clean and unclean animals only became clean and unclean at Mount Sinai, it is a rather arbitrary commandment in the first place. Yet, as we know, nothing God says is arbitrary. From the beginning, those that followed God knew the difference between clean and unclean animals, and this was far before God gave us permission to eat them in the first place! Permission to eat animals wasn’t given mankind until Noah got off the ark. (Genesis 9:3) Yet Noah already knew that there were some animals which God considered clean, and some which he considered unclean. Think about that for a minute.
God has established clean and unclean animals from the very beginning of the Scriptures. But what about the end?
Isaiah 66:14-18
When you see this, your heart will rejoice
and you will flourish like grass;
the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants,
but his fury will be shown to his foes.
See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his chariots are like a whirlwind;
he will bring down his anger with fury,
and his rebuke with flames of fire.
For with fire and with his sword
the Lord will execute judgment on all people,
and many will be those slain by the Lord.
“Those who consecrate and purify themselves to go into the gardens, behind the one in the center, who eat the flesh of pigs, rats and other unclean things—they will meet their end together with the one they follow,” declares the Lord.
“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
Where even to begin with this passage? I find it incredibly powerful when realizing that his cleansing of the earth follows the same pattern as his cleansing of mankind. He first cleansed it with water, removing the evil and the dirt; Only then does he come and purify with fire to make it new and holy as it was before the fall. (Mark 10:38, James 1:2-4, 1 Peter 1:7, 1 Peter 4:12) In Matthew 3:11, John the Baptist promised the people that the one who came after him would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with Fire. There are only two accounts of worldwide judgment in the Scriptures, and they follow this pattern of water followed by fire. So also, Elijah himself depicted this truth by dousing the altar with 12 jars of water, filling the trench around it, and soaking the sacrifice. Only then did he pray for the fire of the Almighty to fall and consume the offering. This word picture can be seen time and time again. Water cleanses, and only after something or somebody has been cleansed with water, can they be purified by fire. In the medical industry, and in modern science we know this truth to be evident. When surgical tools have been used on a surgery, they have to be washed with water first to clean off the blood and other refuse, and only after washing with water can they be sterilized and cleansed of the invisible bacteria with fire. If you try to sterilize before washing with water, all the gunk gets baked onto the utensil and the tool is no longer good for anything except the garbage dump. In this instance, the whole world is the stage for this lesson. Getting back to the original topic though, Jesus is first extending comfort and protection over his people; assuring them that he is coming in love for them. But he then turns his fiery gaze to the nations who have persecuted and misled his flock for so long, killing and abusing them. He doesn’t mince words as he lays out his intentions; and as we know, once God has spoken, and his intention has been defined, nothing in the world will annul the word that he speaks. He comes to judge the nations for the sake of his people, and in order to restore peace to the world. It is impossible to miss the fact that he expresses fury over those who he finds “Eating the flesh of pigs, rats, and other unclean things.” Now hold on a minute. If Jesus made all things clean at the cross, he is completely insane to come back and be angry that people are eating those things. I don’t want a king who tells me something is okay, and then comes to judge and kills me for eating the very thing he told me was okay to eat! This simply does not make sense. There MUST be a more realistic understanding to make these verses fit together without contradicting. Just like the Sabbath, the precedent was set all the way at the beginning of the scriptures, and is re-affirmed at the end of the age. Are we to believe then, that Jesus came in the middle of that to temporarily change the way he did things? Establish a foundation, tear it down, and then return and build it again? I believe that as we keep digging, the answers will make themselves more clear.
We have addressed the beginning and the end of the unclean debate, but what about the middle? What does Jesus have to say on the subject?
Clean and unclean meat was not something that Jesus directly spoke about, simply because it wasn’t a question for debate. The Pharisees accused him of being defiled by eating with unwashed hands, but that was simply oral tradition. It had no foundation in God’s law, which is why Jesus so easily dismissed it. He was never accused of eating unclean meat, because he clearly did not do it. Had he eaten unclean meat, he would have revoked his title as the Messiah, as he had to be a sinless sacrifice. We know from 1 John 3:4 that the definition of sin is transgression of God’s law. So the silence on unclean meat is a powerful indicator in the manner. The Rabbi’s were looking for anything and everything they could possibly find to accuse him with, and had eating unclean been something he did, we would have all heard about it. But we need more before we can draw a solid conclusion.
In Matthew 8:31, right as Jesus is about to cast the legion of Demons out of a man, they beg him not to cast them into the pit, but to send them into the herd of pigs nearby. Jesus grants this request, and sends them into the pigs. This story raises all kinds of questions and ideological concerns; the first of which is, If demons can inhabit a pig, can they inhabit any unclean animal? Can they go in and out at will at will, or do they have to be sent? You see Jesus casting demons out of people, but you never see him blessing or casting them out of any animal. If you eat the flesh of a pig whom a demon had inhabited, are you giving that demon access to your body? I don’t have answers to these questions, but my first thought was of alarm when I read from every gospel account that the demons BEGGED Jesus to send them into the pigs. You never hear any other place in the Bible where demons inhabit an animal, much less beg to be sent into them. After reading the passage in Isaiah, I believe there is a warning for us. God instructed us not to eat these animals because there was danger in it, not because he wanted to give us arbitrary laws. If there was danger in eating certain things before the cross, the danger is still there, as the physical nature of the world has not changed. We know not to eat certain plants because they are poisonous, and we know not to pick up a snake with slitted eyes and a pointy head, and these things have not changed, nor will they until Jesus completes his mission on earth. At his first coming, he laid the groundwork. He completed the first half of the prophecies about him. His first coming was prophesied to be in the manner of the suffering servant, following the picture of Joseph. His second coming will complete all things as he comes in the manner of King David; the ruling and conquering King. Many Christians have been taught to expect a passive, quiet, peaceful Jesus to return, and they are going to be surprised and upset when he comes to rule with power and authority wielding a sword and blood soaked garments. We are told that at his second coming, the lion will lie down with the wolf, and the small child will put his hand in an adders den, and not be harmed. (Isaiah 11:6) Until that time though, God’s word contains a list of warnings to his children of all the danger in the world; things to avoid for our own good, and the good of his body. It’s his “Don’t touch the stove” speech, to oversimplify the matter.
Deuteronomy 4:6-8
Observe [these laws] carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations, who will hear about all these decrees and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.” 7 What other nation is so great as to have their gods near them the way the Lord our God is near us whenever we pray to him? 8 And what other nation is so great as to have such righteous decrees and laws as this body of laws I am setting before you today?
From the very beginning, God intended his laws to be for protection and instruction in wisdom. He established them as a covenant of peace with the whole world. The church fathers taught that the laws were given to the Jews because they were evil and God wanted to punish them, but that for the Christians, God loved them without them having to do anything at all. This teaching is so backwards, so anti-Semitic, and so contrary to the entire scripture, I could write an entire book on the subject. Suffice it so say, God loves ALL mankind and ALL of his laws are good for the whole of creation. The Hebrews were meant to take those laws and shine the light to the world so that they saw how good and loving the God who gave them was, yet the people rebelled and refused, using them for personal gain and twisting them into slavery and bondage for the people. When evil men twist what is good, we cannot afford to throw the baby out with the bathwater; it is incumbent on us to divide the good from the bad, accept the good, and reject the evil.
Acts chapter 10 is where most people within the Christian faith see a clear depiction that we are not held to the letter of the old law anymore, and that God intends us to eat whatever we like. I would like to investigate this matter. In light of full investigation, we need to look at all the elements of Peter’s vision.
Acts 10:1-31
At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment. He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly. One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!” Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God. Now send men to Joppa to bring back a man named Simon who is called Peter. He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.” When the angel who spoke to him had gone, Cornelius called two of his servants and a devout soldier who was one of his attendants. He told them everything that had happened and sent them to Joppa.
About noon the following day as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the roof to pray. He became hungry and wanted something to eat, and while the meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance. He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles and birds. Then a voice told him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not, Lord!” Peter replied. “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” The voice spoke to him a second time, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This happened three times, and immediately the sheet was taken back to heaven. While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate. They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there. While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them.” Peter went down and said to the men, “I’m the one you’re looking for. Why have you come?” The men replied, “We have come from Cornelius the centurion. He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people. A holy angel told him to ask you to come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.” Then Peter invited the men into the house to be his guests.
Peter at Cornelius’s House
The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”
While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”
Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter.
Several principles jump to the forefront of this passage upon the first glance. The narrative starts out following Cornelius, a roman centurion who follows God devoutly. According to the tradition of the rabbis, it was unlawful for a Hebrew to associate with a gentile, because they feared becoming unclean. From the very beginning, however, this was not the case. The biblical accounts from the Old Testament show us that any man or woman who joined himself to the Lord was grafted in to the tree of Israel. The stories of Ruth and Rahab are proof enough of that. A woman from Moab, one of the nations Israel was at war with for a good part of their history, became one of the women in Jesus’s own lineage! Rahab and her whole family were saved because of her faith, and we are told that a “Mixed multitude” Left Egypt with Israel, unifying into one nation. (Exodus 12:38) So you see, even in the Old Testament, the Gospel message was meant for the whole world, yet Israel took their light and put it under a basket. Jesus told them to shine their light to the whole world!
Cornelius gets word from God to send for Peter, and he sends three men to find him. When the narrative turns to Peter, he is on the roof waiting for the meal to be prepared, and he has a vision where a blanket full of unclean animals is lowered down and he is told to eat. Peter responds with shock and horror, and all three times he refuses. While Peter is still contemplating what this vision could mean, the three men Cornelius sends arrive. The vision repeated the call to eat three times, one for every gentile at his door. Peter immediately understood what the spirit was telling him. “Call no man unclean.” In the following chapter, he is criticized by the leaders in Jerusalem for going to the house of a gentile, and he repeats the vision, reiterating the call that the spirit put upon him: You shall call no man unclean.
Nowhere was food mentioned, aside from the picture that God needed to use. Peter and the Jews had been blinded to the true nature of the gospel, by the yeast of the pharisees and saw all gentiles in the same light as they saw unclean animals. They wouldn’t even touch them! By associating the uncleanness of the animals with the gentiles, God clearly told Peter three times, that he was to go speak the message to every gentile who would follow God. It is actually surprising that Peter didn’t learn this lesson during his time with Jesus, as Jesus healed the Centurion’s daughter, and blessed the Canaanite woman. The Scriptures are full of passages that state the same thing: any foreigner who wanted to join themselves to God’s covenant would be accepted. (Isaiah 56:3-8)
It could be argued that God meant to send both messages with this vision, but there is still one piece of evidence to assess.
In Ezekiel 4:9-15, Ezekiel receives a similar command from God as Peter. He is told to lay on his left side for 390 days, one day for every year of Israel’s rebellion, and another 40 days on his right side, for the rebellion of Judah. Then God commands Ezekiel to cook himself bread over human excrement during that time, to symbolize the unclean food God’s people would eat among the nations in their exile. Yet Ezekiel is appalled, and responds in the same way Peter did. He says “Not so, Sovereign Lord! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No impure meat has ever entered my mouth.” God makes a concession for him, and tells him to use cow dung instead. In both instances, God makes a point with the unclean food, but he doesn’t force his prophet to go through with eating it, as it was his initial command to NOT eat it that they are following. With Ezekiel, he made a concession, and with Peter, he removed the blanket back to heaven, as the purpose of the vision had been met. There was no need for Peter to actually eat the unclean animals, only to understand the picture that they presented. If God had not changed his mind about unclean foods with Ezekiel, it is illogical and unfounded to believe that Peter’s vision did either. God is a God of precedents, and his precedents don’t change just because he uses them to prove a point.
So far, all of the verses on the subject back up Jesus’s judgment as accounted in Isaiah. He does have the right to judge those who eat impure things, because he never changed his mind. He is the Righteous and Holy King, and he can choose to judge the world by whatever standards he chooses to judge by.
Which of these two variations of God is more gracious? One who always made room for anyone of any nation to be saved and accepted since the beginning of creation, or one who snidely rejects anyone who isn’t a “Jew” until he suddenly had a change of heart and then out of nowhere removed his standards completely, realizing how impossible and insane those standards were? The Queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s wisdom from the ends of the earth, and came to pay homage, and SHE was praised by the Master Yeshua more loudly than many of those who were Jews by blood. There is no wonder we have so many atheists in this world; logical people who want to serve a logical creator read the mishmash of church doctrine, and see the rampant abuse and neglect of the poor and needy in the church and they run the other way; for good reason!
Neither churches, nor individual members of God’s assembly can have a “commandment buffet”, where they choose whatever laws are appealing to them while rejecting the ones that they don’t like. The people in Yeshua’s wedding parable who were not wearing the proper attire were kicked out of the feast and sent out into the cold. Revelation tells us plainly that the righteous deeds of the saints equate to white, linen robes, which are constantly washed in the blood of the lamb. I am NOT saying that it is possible to be righteous by keeping the laws, so don’t misunderstand me here; instead, as we learn the commands of our Messiah, we continually kill our flesh as we learn to obey his commands and seek life, becoming more in tune to his life giving ways as we go through cycles of sin and repentance. You continually ask him to search your heart and sift out the bad, and show you what wickedness is hiding out in your inmost depths, and when he shows it to you, you roll up your sleeves and begin working alongside him to stop behaving that way.
Psalm 139:23-24
Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
24 And see if there is any [m]wicked way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way.
Ezekiel 20:25-30
because they had not obeyed my laws but had rejected my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes lusted after their parents’ idols. 25 So I gave them other statutes that were not good and laws through which they could not live; 26 I defiled them through their gifts—the sacrifice of every firstborn—that I might fill them with horror so they would know that I am the Lord.’
27 “Therefore, son of man, speak to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: In this also your ancestors blasphemed me by being unfaithful to me: 28 When I brought them into the land I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings. 29 Then I said to them: What is this high place you go to?’” (It is called Bamah[a] to this day.) 30 “Therefore say to the Israelites: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Will you defile yourselves the way your ancestors did and lust after their vile images? 31 When you offer your gifts—the sacrifice of your children in the fire—you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. Am I to let you inquire of me, you Israelites? As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will not let you inquire of me.
Traditional church doctrine has made most people fearful of even attempting to be obedient to God’s laws, as they tell you you have to keep ALL 613 commandments if you try to keep any, and if you fail at that you will go to hell; so don’t even try, rest in the blood and completed work of Jesus. This teaching is heretical at best, and has been accepted by the masses because it tickles the ears and sounds easy, yet it actually makes your life MUCH harder because in exchange for the easy laws that God gave, to those who refuse to align themselves with HIS laws, he will send them masters who will rule over them ruthlessly, like the pharisees and kings of today, and who will give them laws that they are not able to keep. It is important to mention that while there ARE 613 commandments, not all of them were for every person. Most of the laws were for the king and the priests. Some were for men, some were for women, some were for children. But all of them were meant to be utilized in creating an easy, fulfilled, satisfied life without strife or conflict.
Deuteronomy 30:11-14
For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?
If your pastor or teacher tells you that these laws are too hard to keep, then point blank, they are calling God a liar. (Although many of them we are no longer able to keep, because God has removed his presence and his temple from the earth until we learn to obey the spirit and intention behind these laws. I will get into that in another, subsequent post.) If God himself says that these commands are good for you and will give you life if you apply them correctly, no man on earth, be he the pope or your own father can discount that truth. If that is how they see God’s laws, they are viewing him as an unjust and unfair father who enjoys the suffering of his children. I, for one, refuse to view my heavenly father that way. I have tested these laws in my own life, and have continually asked him to show me my failures. I have worked to attune myself to his understanding and in every instance his commands have saved me from all kinds of mistakes and suffering.
This really and truly is just the tip of the ice-burg. There is so much confusion relating to the new Covenant and what it means for believers of Jesus today, and that is the next subject that I will dig into.
Until next time, blessings! and thanks for tuning in.