What I Believe!

((This is the Foreword to a brief article written by my good friends Matt and Susanne Byers. The original reason for this letter was because Susanne’s mother was trying to understand what it was that she and Matt believed. The only things I have added is this Foreward, the Hebrew lettering for both YHVH and Yeshua’s Names and the red highlighting of the Scriptures to make it easier to locate in the body of the text. Just a word about the Byers;
Matt and Susanne are both Masters level educators who have taught and been the Head Master of a Christian Academy, in addition to homeschooling their own eight children. In addition, Susanne is a very talented keyboard musician and several of their children have entered into or are studying for the ministry. I am very happy to call them my friends and family. One last thing, Matt and Susanne have been laboring over the definitive history of the Netsarim, the early believers in Yeshua Messiah. I have read a proof of it and it is AWESOME! I will announce here on Codgerville when it is ready for release.))

THE SABBATH:

I believe we are supposed to keep the Sabbath, which is the 7th day of the week:
Exo 31:15  ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.
Exodus 31:13 declares that keeping the Sabbath is a sign “between me and you” throughout your generations. This is not only for Israelites by birth, but according to the New Testament, anyone in Messiah has been grafted into the Vine and we are all spiritual Israel.
Scripture is clear that the Sabbath is the 7th day of the week (Saturday), and the typical Christian worship day is the first day of the week, (Sunday). History proves that the day was changed by the Catholic Church, back in the 300’s, during the time of Constantine. They wanted to change it due to their hatred of the Jews, who kept the seventh day Sabbath. When this law to only worship on the 1st day of the week (Sunday) went into effect, anyone who was caught worshiping on the 7th day (Saturday) was killed.

FEASTS-GOD’S APPOINTED TIMES vs. PAGAN HOLIDAYS

We have Feast Days, or holidays (holy days, set-apart days) already designated by God.  There are seven appointed times (Feasts of God), that we are commanded to keep:
1.    Passover (Pesach)
2.    The Feast of Unleavened Bread (Chag HaMatzot)
3.    First Fruits
4.    Feast of Weeks, Pentecost (Shavuot)
5.    Feast of Trumpets (Yom Teruah)
6.    Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)
7.    The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot)

This is what God( יהוה or YHVH) says about Passover and all of the other Feasts:
Exo 12:14  ‘And this day shall become to you a remembrance. And you shall observe it as a festival to יהוה throughout your generations – observe it as a festival, an everlasting law.
It says everlasting, which means eternal, never-ending, endless.  We are supposed to keep His set-apart holy days forever.  Here is what Zechariah says will happen in the Millennium:

Zechariah 14:16 And it shall be that all who are left from all the nations which came up against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year to bow themselves to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, and to celebrate the Festival of tabernacles (Sukkot).
Zec 14:17  And it shall be, that if anyone of the clans of the earth does not come up to Yerushalayim to bow himself to the Sovereign, יהוה of hosts, on them there is to be no rain.

God commanded us to keep the feasts forever (Ex. 12:14), and Jesus ( יהושע or Yeshua) kept his father’s commands and kept the feasts, and the nations will be keeping the feasts in the Millennium (Zechariah 14:16-17), so I believe we should be keeping all of God’s feasts/holy days now too.
Many Christians don’t keep the feasts because they don’t believe they have to follow the old testament commands even though God says they are eternal and to be kept forever by all generations. They keep Christmas, Easter and other pagan holidays instead because they were deceived by the Catholic church and Christian tradition.

The apostles didn’t celebrate Christ’s birthday or Christmas.  The early believers, founding fathers, and Pilgrims didn’t celebrate it either. In fact, it was illegal to celebrate Christmas in Boston, MA in the 1600’s. Christmas was instituted by the Catholic Church and Constantine, around the same time as they abolished the 7th-day Sabbath. This time they wanted to get all the various pagan forms of worship together under one roof.  All of the sun gods’ birthdays were celebrated on December 25th, so why not celebrate Christ’s birthday then as well?  But God never told us to celebrate the Messiah’s birthday, especially not on the pagan sun god’s birthdays.  So Christmas is just a man-made pagan holiday. Many people believed Jesus was actually born during the fall feasts because the shepherds were still in the fields, and also because John 1:14 says “And the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us”.

The word easter comes from and is named after the pagan fertility goddess named Ishtar. The tradition of coloring of eggs came from pagan worship when they would dip the eggs in the blood of infants who were sacrificed to Ishtar so the land would be fertile. Rabbits/bunnies are a symbol of this fertility goddess. Ishtar, also known as Semiramis, had a son (Tammuz), who was hunting and got killed by a wild boar (pig).  This is where the 40 days of lent come from. They had 40 days of weeping for Tammuz, and at the end of this, they eat the boar (ham).
Most Christians do not recognize the actual Feast Day, Passover, where we eat lamb (instead of ham), and explain/focus on the sacrifice of God’s son and God’s deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt. Passover/Firstfruits is not focused on Easter Bunnies or Easter Egg hunts, or painting of eggs, all of which have pagan worship at their roots.

FOOD, WHAT GOD SAYS
God declares many unclean animals that are not to be eaten in Leviticus 11, pigs are one of them.  Here is what He says about pigs:
Lev 11:7  and the pig, though it has a split hoof, completely divided, yet does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
Lev 11:8  ‘Their flesh you do not eat, and their carcasses you do not touch. They are unclean to you.
This is what God’s feelings are about those who eat swine’s flesh in the last days:
Isa 65:2  “I have held out My hands all day long to a stubborn people, who walk in a way that is not good, after their own thoughts;
Isa 65:3  the people who provoke Me continually to My face, who slaughter in gardens, and burn incense on altars of brick;
Isa 65:4  who sit among the graves, and spend the night in secret places, who eat flesh of pigs, and the broth of unclean meat is in their pots,
Isa 65:6  “See, it is written before Me: I am not silent, but shall repay, and I shall repay into their bosom,

Why do most Christians eat pork?
They believe that Peter’s vision in Acts 10 of the unclean animals in the sheet and God telling him to kill and eat makes it alright to now consume the flesh of unclean animals.  God is really trying to get Peter to understand that Gentiles are acceptable to come into the Kingdom of God, not that we can now eat what God had already called an abomination in His law.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever and His word does not change.

Here is how Peter interpreted his own vision after he had it:
Acts 10:28 And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is a prohibited thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God has showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean.

The message in the vision was about people not food.  Peter did not start eating unclean animals after the vision, he instead went to the gentiles and welcomed them into the family, just as Moses had done when he left Egypt with Israelites and a mixed multitude.
The Pharisees had placed a wall of separation between Jew and Gentile and God was telling Peter that this was wrong and Gentiles could indeed join together with the true Israel.

I BELIEVE WE ARE REQUIRED TO KEEP THE TORAH (LAW OF GOD)
Who is Satan trying to destroy in the last days?

Rev 12:17  And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to fight with the remnant of her seed, those guarding the commands of Yahovah and possessing the witness of Yeshua Messiah.
Rev 14:12  Here is the endurance of the set-apart ones,1 here are those guarding the commands of Yahovah and the belief of Yeshua.

These passages are from the New Testament. Who are the people of God who Satan is trying to destroy?  Those who are guarding God’s commands (keeping Torah) and believe in Yeshua Messiah.

Here are some scriptures that speak about God’s law and the lawless people that do not keep it:

Psa 19:7  The Torah of יהוה is perfect, bringing back the being; The witness of יהוה is trustworthy, making wise the simple;
Psa 119:160  The sum of Your word is truth, And all Your righteous right-rulings are forever.
1Jn 3:4  Everyone doing sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness.

Mat 7:21-23 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Master, Master,’ shall enter into the reign of the heavens, but he who is doing the desire of My Father in the heavens. “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness!’

God’s Torah (Law, Instructions for righteous living) is perfect, it is truth, those who keep it are called righteous and those who do not are called lawless.  What does Yeshua say to those who work lawlessness? Depart from me, I never knew you.
I believe Yeshua (Jesus) is God’s Word (Torah) made flesh.  He kept Torah perfectly and is our example that we are to follow.  This is what Yeshua says about God’s Law (Torah):

Mat 5:17-18 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete. “For truly, I say to you, till the heaven and the earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall by no means pass from the Torah till all be done.

Heaven and earth have not passed away, Yeshua did not come to destroy the Torah or the Prophets, he came to complete it, (put the finishing touches on it) and to show us how to keep Torah.  He is the living Torah (the living Word), he did not nail the Torah to the cross and tell us that we did not have to keep it.  He repeatedly tells us to keep his Father’s commands as he did.  Remember the garden of Gethsemane, he did not want to suffer on the cross but said, “not my will, but thy will be done.”

((Remember, this was written to be a brief explanation of what Matt and Susanne believe and not an in-depth study of the subject. I hope to continue my series of article on the Feast Days in early/late Fall, perhaps after the fall feasts so I will have more time available, hopefully.))

Num 6:22 And יהוה spoke to Mosheh, saying,
Num 6:23 “Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, ‘This is how you bless the children of Yisra’ĕl. Say to them:
Num 6:24 “יהוה bless you and guard you;
Num 6:25 יהוה make His face shine upon you, and show favour to you;
Num 6:26 יהוה lift up His face upon you, and give you peace.” ’
Num 6:27 “Thus they shall put My Name on the children of Yisra’ĕl, and I Myself shall bless them.”

Ahavah,

CC