I will provide
two more examples of how to apply spiritual intent in light
of The Law in the context of liberty: Tattoos and trimming
our beards both common practices these days. I have been
condemned by very conservative Jews and Christians alike for
the fact that I have tattoos and I have a trimmed beard (a
goatee)… condemned to hell literally by them. However, what
if it can be demonstrated that “spiritually” Yahuah has
engraved (tattooed) my name on His hand? What if it can be
demonstrated that at the time of the end, some of the called
out ones will “write on their hand” or tattoo the name of
Yahuah? If it is true that spiritually and physically
Yahuah and his sons engrave each other’s name on their
“skin”, then we must look at the restriction in The Law more
closely. We must apply “spiritual intent” to that Law to
understand it.
I want to make
clear that this is an example of my liberty
that is between myself and my Father. From my
understanding the restriction on such things as
tattoos and trimming the edge of your beard and other such
restrictions in The Law were levied not because in and of
themselves such things are "sin" but because of Idolatry
(the basic fundamental of all sin). They were defined by
the act in The Law and now have been transposed to spiritual
intent like all things in The Law.
Yahuah tattooed? His sons tattooing themselves with His
name?
It is
interesting to note in full disclosure that Yahuah,
anthropomorphically speaking of course, "engraved on the
palm of His hand" the Elect and they too "write on their
hand" they belong to Him.
Isaiah
49:16
See, I have
engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever
before me.
Isaiah
44:5
One will say,
'I belong to Yahuah'; another will call himself by the name
of Jacob; still another will write (amplified
Bible says tattoo) on his hand, "Yahuah's," and will
take the name Israel.
We see from
the above Scriptures that the act both in the Spirit and in
the flesh of “engraving” or tattooing names on our flesh
with the proper intent is a righteous act. We must
remember, the physical "act" is not judged but rather the
"attitude of heart" behind the act. What would you say to a
man who had "Yahuah" and "Yahusha" tattooed on his shoulders
in Hebrew in honor of Yahuah and His Messiah (the attitude
behind the tattoos) for all the world to "see" just as
Isaiah 44:5 says as he takes his place among the chosen
Remnant Israel. That man, of course, would be me. I also
"cut my beard" too with the “intent” that I don’t like the
feel of a long beards not in an act of idolatry.
The Laws restricting tattoos
and trimming beards
The Israelites
were fresh out of Egyptian bondage where for hundreds of
years they had been mimicking the traditions of the
Egyptians. They were shaping their beards like Pharaoh who
was considered a god and tattooing themselves like Egyptian
gods etc. When looking at "why" or the attitude of heart
behind tattooing and trimming beards in ancient Egypt, we
find that it was in fact an act of worship to their gods. In
as much as the Israelites were mimicking the Egyptians...
Yahuah had to forbid them from the act of doing such things
it as it was Idolatry in their hearts.
We now are to
seek out the "spirit" behind the "letter" as no longer is it
the act that Yahuah judges but the attitude in our heart
behind it. Like “food” Yahuah is not impressed or
concerned about the physical as your physical body will not
inherit The Kingdom of Yahuah:
1
Corinthians 15:50
50 I declare
to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit
the imperishable.
So let us do
just that concerning tattoos and trimming beards and the
Torah restrictions. Let us examine the “attitude of heart”
behind the act at that time that lead to the restrictions.
Why were the ancient Israelites tattoos their bodies and
cutting or trimming their beards?
From:
http://www.touregypt.net/egypt-info/magazine-mag11012000-mag4.htm
Why do people
get tattooed anyway? Modern individuals may do it for all
sorts of reasons; trivial or profound but ancient and
traditional societies possess serious and conscious
reasoning. The traditional reasons for tattooing include:
·
to connect with the Divine.
·
as a tribute or act of sacrifice to a deity.
·
as a talisman, a permanent amulet that cannot
be lost, to provide magical or medical protection.
Many
traditional cultures also use tattoos on the flesh as a sort
of passport to the world after death, although
interestingly, with all the emphasis on the next world in
ancient Egyptian culture, there is no indication that this
was the case there.
Certainly,
the connection between tattoos and the divine existed in
ancient Egypt. Beyond the geometric designs so favored, the
other designs discovered so far are intrinsically connected
to religion. Mummies dating from roughly 1300 BCE are
tattooed with pictographs symbolizing Neith, a prominent
female deity with a militaristic bent. These are the only
tattoos that at this point seem to have a link with male
bearers.
The earliest
known tattoo, which is not an abstraction, which is clearly
a picture of something, is an image of the demi-god Bes. Bes'
image appears as a tattoo on the thighs of dancers and
musicians in many Egyptian paintings. Female Nubian mummies
from around 400BCE have been discovered with Bes placed
similarly on their flesh.
The
restriction on tattooing was, in fact, actually to restrict
the Israelites from mimicking Egyptian gods. We see below
the restriction on trimming your beard was not to trim it to
look like Pharaoh who was considered a god. Beards were
trimmed in Egypt (and by the Israelites coming out of Egypt)
to mimic their pagan gods:
Again from:
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/beards.htm
Yet there
remains a mystery associated with beards, evident in art and
religion. Despite the apparent low esteem of facial hair
during life, the beard was considered to be a divine
attribute of the gods, whose closely plaited beards were
"like lapis lazuli". In accordance with this religious
formula, the pharaoh would express his status as a living
god by wearing a false beard secured by a cord on certain
occasions. Such beards were usually wider toward the bottom,
as in the triad statues of Menkaura. So prevalent was this
type of beard in formal royal portraiture, that even Queen
Hatshepsut is depicted wearing a false beard. In death, the
kings were frequently portrayed wearing the divine Osird
form of the beard, which was a long, narrow beard of several
strands plaited like a pigtail with the end jutting forward,
as on the gold mask of Tutankhamun. Even deceased non-royal
men were shown with short, tuft-like beards. However, this
is not a clear cut indication, for the dead king was not
always presented with this type of beard.
It is in
this context of idolatry coming out of Egypt, that
Yahuah presented to the Israelites the restrictions on the
customs of the Egyptians which were done is acts or worship
to other pagan gods. You have to remember, Israel was in
Egyptian captivity for nearly 500 years. That is a LONG time
in which to adopt pagan customs. So in that light, what they
were doing; trimming their beards and getting tattoos were
in context acts of Idolatry against Yahuah. As such the
acts themselves were forbidden. It would take a long time
to address the “intent of their hearts” and extend
liberty.
The difference
between me and the children of Israel coming out of Egyptian
bondage is "attitude of heart" behind the acts and
liberty. The very point of The Yahushaic Covenant
was the transposition of The Law from physical act to
"attitude of heart" as Yahusha elevated The Law from written
in stone to "Written on our Hearts". We are Spiritual
beings only passing through in this physical body
temporarily. These "physical acts" mean nothing to a
Spiritual being, only the attitude behind them. That is
what The Yahushaic Covenant is all about.
I have no
doubt, that as Yahuah has my name "engraved on his hand"
spiritually and I too have His Name engraved on me
physically. I let The Law reign in the "attitude of my
heart" and that is what drives the "acts of my hands".
As I attempt to please Yahuah and be obedient to His
Commandments, the attitude or spirit behind them is the
perfection that I seek. I did not get these tattoos until
my mid 30’s when I was given the liberty in my maturity. I
was very careful in what I chose and every tattoo glorifies
Yahuah, Yahusha, and the family of Yahuah. Again this
“liberty” is mine and is not given to everyone so I run the
risk of “causing my brother to stumble” if I am not careful.
This is not to
say that all tattoos that people get are righteous. The
vast majority of them are idolatry… marks on their body for
the Antichrist Jesus Christ. Or vanity marks on their
bodies, marks to pagan gods, other men they worship, and in
some cases Satan himself or their girlfriends. While the
physical act of tattooing is not the issue, these
tattoos would be sin, as the intent of their heart is
not to worship Yahuah. It is the attitude of heart that
Yahuah judges not the physical act.
Where I fail
Him, the blood of the lamb covers me in my ignorance. So if
I am wrong in this area, I am confident Yahuah is just and
will honor the sacrifice made for me by my Eternal High
Priest Yahusha the Messiah. Then again, maybe I am one of
those spoken of by Isaiah that in the end times..
Isaiah
49:16
See, I have
engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever
before me.
Isaiah
44:5
One will say,
'I belong to Yahuah'; another will call himself by the name
of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, "Yahuah's,"
and will take the name Israel.
The liberty to
do this is mine and between me and my father alone. I’ll
leave this as the only example of my personal liberty as it
provides a good example of how to apply spiritual intent to
the letter of the law.
Transposition of The Law
The Law as I
have pointed out throughout this book series was transposed
from written in stone where sin was defined by physical act
to written on our hearts where sin is defined by spiritual
intent of the heart. I cover the transposition of The Law
in great detail in Chapter 11 of my book The Kingdom
of Yahuah.
The degree to
which each of us studies The Law will be determined by The
Spirit of Holiness which is training each of us for our
destined position within Yahuah’s Kingdom. Those who teach
The Law will be greatest (have the most authority) and be
called to higher positions in His Kingdom.
Matthew
5
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 keeps and
teaches The Law, he shall be called great in the
kingdom of heaven.
20
For I say to you, that unless your
righteousness in keeping The Law exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by
no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
That is
because The Law is the governing constitution of His Kingdom
and the foundation of righteousness. My intention in this
section is to explain The Law and the various categories
within The Law. I want to establish His Commandments i.e.
the Ten Commandments as the beginning foundation of
obedience that applies to every man, woman, and child. We
are to obey His Commandments first and foremost.
In addition to
keeping His Ten Commandments we are to keep His Ordained
Festivals. As we bring our lives into obedience; first to
His Ten Commandments, then to His Ordained Festivals the
Yahuah through His Spirit of Holiness will guide us into
loving obedience to all the commands, law, and ordinances
that apply to us.
Ezekiel
36: 26,27
I will give
you a new heart (for my Law and
write my Law on it) and put a new spirit (of
loving obedience) in you; I will remove from you your
heart of stone (legalistic
observance of The Law without love) and give you a
heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and
move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Not everyone
is “under” every one of the 613 Laws. The Laws of Yahuah
just like laws of man are jurisdictional and not everyone
falls under the jurisdiction of every law:
·
There are laws that pertain to women only.
·
There are laws that apply to men only.
·
There are laws that apply to Kings, Priests,
and Judges that don’t apply to the average person.
·
The Laws of the Priesthood and Sacrificial
Laws have been transposed over to Yahusha who serves as
Melchezidek. These laws don’t apply to us as they have been
transposed to Heaven to define the role Yahusha plays as
High Priest.
This is why
the entire Law was summarized into the Ten Commandments
because those are the commandments that apply to and have
jurisdiction over everyone. I bring this to our attention
because “Christians” often mock those who seek to be
obedient to Yahuah in love as “legalistic”; and they condemn
us for not keeping “the whole law”. Christian’s favorite
accusation is: “if you keep The Law, why aren’t you
sacrificing animals?”. These Christians show a complete
disconnect with The Yahushaic Covenant and do
not know Yahuah.
As I stated
earlier in this Chapter The
Law is a term used for all 613 “instructions” in
righteousness found in The Torah. The Law contains very
distinct categories:
·
His Commandments (Ten
Commandments)
·
His Ordinances/Laws (Dietary,
Priestly, Sacrificial, Ritual Purity, Sacrificial, Judicial,
Moral, Agricultural, Business, Sabbatical, Community,
Prohibition, Tithes/Offerings, etc.)
·
His Decrees (Judicial Judgments
amounting to a Certificate of Debt against us for our
disobedience to His Commandments and His Laws)
We who are in
covenant with Yahuah through The Yahushaic Covenant
and have a loving heart of obedience toward His Law can
eliminate His Decrees against us. Those death decrees are
covered by the blood of the Lamb. That reduces the number
significantly from the 613 “laws” and leaves only the
commands and ordinances. Then there are MAJOR violations
called “sins unto death”:
1 John
5
16 If you see any brother or sister commit a sin
that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will
give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to
death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying
that you should pray about that.
17 All wrongdoing is
sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death.
Many of these
“sins unto death” were extracted out of the 613 Laws and
organized into The Ten Commandments as they are those sins
that cost us our eternal life.
There are
other “sins” not “unto death” which are the laws that
pertain to our physical bodies and health such as the
dietary laws. Violating these laws has physical
consequences to our health not our eternal life. Laws
that apply to agriculture, business, community, and so forth
are all laws that if violated effect our relationships
with others, our reputation, the ability of
the land to regenerate etc. They do not impact our
eternal life. There are laws given as physical to spiritual
parallels that teach us through physical examples what it
means to be “set apart” such as the restriction on
clothing. There are laws given that were specific to the
time the Israelites were taken out of the land of Egypt to
prevent them from committing idolatry such as The Law
prohibiting tattoos and trimming our beards as I
demonstrated already in this book.
All these
laws, as Paul said, are profitable to us in our earthly
lives and instructing us in righteousness as we study them
from the standpoint of spiritual intent. Anytime you see
the word “Scripture” in the Bible it is referring to The
Law, The Prophets, and The Writings we in error call The Old
Testament. The Hebrew scriptures are the true Word of
Yahuah. There was no such thing as The New Testament for
another 300 years from when these letters were written.
2
Timothy 3:16
All (Hebrew)
Scripture is given by inspiration of Yahuah, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness,17 that the man of Yahuah may
be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
We should all
study The Law in its entirety to understand Yahusha’s role
as High Priest, to become better people in general, to stay
healthy, and to prepare ourselves for our roles as Kings,
Priests, and Judges in the coming Kingdom.
When we read
“keeping His commandments” in the New Testament that phrase
is almost always referring to the Ten Commandments. Like I
said; they are the commands that have jurisdiction over
every man, woman, and child:
Luke 18
18 Now a
certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I
do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Yahusha said to him, “Why
do you call me good (Yahusha was
again denying Incarnation)? No one is good but (the)
One (God), that is, Yahuah (Yahusha
is declaring The Shema again). 20 You know (to
keep) the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do
not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’
‘Honor your father and your mother.’ (the
Ten Commandments)”
The Apostle
Paul also mentions the Ten Commandments exclusively. Paul
confirms that that the “Law of Love” is a summary of the Ten
Commandments. There is no such stated “Law” in 613 Laws, it
is a divine truth derived from The Commandments:
Romans
13:8
8 Owe no one anything
except to love one another, for he who loves another has
fulfilled The Law (the first 5
commandments are how to love Yahuah, the second 5 are how to
love your neighbor).
9 For the (last
5) commandments, “You
shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You
shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,”
“You shall not covet,”
and if there is any other commandment, are all
summed up in this saying, namely,
“You shall love your neighbor as
yourself.”
10 Love does no harm
to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of
the law.
Many
Christians believe that Yahusha abolished The Law and that
Yahusha’s new “law” that replaced Yahuah’s Law is the “Law
of Love”. That was a term used by both Yahusha and the
Apostle Paul to summarize the entire Law of Yahuah not
abolish it.
When Yahusha
demonstrated transposition into spiritual intent, he
referred mainly to the Ten Commandments and laws that apply
to everyone in Matthew Chapter 5. Yahusha begins with the
“beatitudes” or rather what your attitude of heart should
be to first establish the proper attitude of heart when
approaching The Law.
Matthew
5
3
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4
Blessed are those who mourn, For
they shall be comforted.
5
Blessed are the meek, For they
shall inherit the earth.
6
Blessed are those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7
Blessed are the merciful, For they
shall obtain mercy.
8
Blessed are the pure in heart, For
they shall see God.
9
Blessed are the peacemakers, For
they shall be called sons of God.
10
Blessed are those who are
persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Then Yahusha
declares he did not come to abolish The Law but to bring it
to its fullness in Spirit (fulfill it) as it is written on
our hearts. He then gave us examples we are to follow and
how we are to understand The Law from the standpoint of
spiritual intent. Yahusha didn’t go in and explain all of
The Law of Yahuah, he just demonstrate the concept. We all
should continue this process as we study The Law and let the
Spirit of Holiness guide us in love as to how each law
applies to us individually. We need to discern which laws
are physical to spiritual parallels.
Once Yahusha
established the “attitude of heart” we should have in
approaching The Law of Yahuah (the beatitudes) he then gave
us the following examples to assist each of us in our own
study of the entire Law:
Murder Begins in the Heart
21 “You have heard that
it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder,[a]
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[b]
shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his
brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But
whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
23
Therefore if you bring your gift to the
altar, and there remember that your brother has something
against you,
24
leave your gift there before the altar,
and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and
then come and offer your gift.
25
Agree with your adversary quickly, while
you are on the way with him, lest your adversary deliver you
to the judge, the judge hand you over to the officer, and
you be thrown into prison.
26
Assuredly, I say to you, you will by no
means get out of there till you have paid the last penny.
Adultery in the Heart
27 “You have heard that
it was said to those of old,[c]
‘You shall not commit adultery.’[d]
28
But I say to you that whoever looks at a
woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with
her in his heart.
29
If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck
it out and cast it from you; for it is more
profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for
your whole body to be cast into hell.
30
And if your right hand causes you to sin,
cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more
profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for
your whole body to be cast into hell.
Marriage Is Sacred and Binding
31 “Furthermore it has
been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a
certificate of divorce.’
32
But I say to you that whoever divorces his
wife for any reason except sexual immorality[e]
causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a woman
who is divorced commits adultery.
Yahusha Forbids Oaths
33 “Again you have heard
that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear
falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’
34
But I say to you, do not swear at all:
neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
35
nor by the earth, for it is His footstool;
nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.
36
Nor shall you swear by your head, because
you cannot make one hair white or black.
37
But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your
‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil
one.
Go
the Second Mile
38 “You have heard that
it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’[f]
39
But I tell you not to resist an evil
person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the
other to him also.
40
If anyone wants to sue you and take away
your tunic, let him have your cloak also.
41
And whoever compels you to go one mile, go
with him two.
42
Give to him who asks you, and from him who
wants to borrow from you do not turn away.
Love Your Enemies
43 “You have heard that
it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor[g]
and hate your enemy.’
44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless
those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray
for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,[h]
45
that you may be sons of your Father in
heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the
good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
46
For if you love those who love you, what
reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47
And if you greet your brethren[i]
only, what do you do more than others? Do not even
the tax collectors[j]
do so?
48
Therefore you shall be perfect, just as
your Father in heaven is perfect.
It is not my
position to tell each of us what each command and ordinances
should mean spiritually. Since Yahusha did not assume that
responsibility either will I. That is each of our roles
individually as we work out our salvation with fear and
trembling and strive not to just finish this race but win
it! That means prepare ourselves for His Kingdom by knowing
the constitution of that Kingdom:
Philippians 2:12
So then, my
beloved, just as you have always obeyed (The
Law of Yahuah), not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with
fear and trembling;
1
Corinthians 9:24
Do you not
know that those who run in a race all run, but only one
receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.
For this
reason I am only going to categorize The Law and give a
general summary of the categories. I leave it up to all of
you to begin your journey of sanctification and strive for
righteousness that is found in obedience to Yahuah’s Law.
Begin that journey by bringing your life into obedience to
the Ten Commandments. The next step is to find the joy in
keeping His Festivals. Finally apply yourselves to study
and grow in wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Further
equip yourselves for service in The Kingdom of Yahuah
by studying all of His Laws from the
standpoint of Spiritual Intent. Let the Spirit of Holiness
guide you in how to apply them to your lives.
Ezekiel
36: 26,27
I will put my
Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be
careful to keep my laws.
Next:
The Law is jurisdictional
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