Tsiyon Messianic Radio Newsletter - Vol 20.21 - 03/07/6025
TAM - 06/03/2025 AD
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From Eliyahu
Are you a sinner? Of course you are! We all are sinners, according to
Scripture, as this verse explains:
"But now beside the Torah, a righteousness of God has been revealed,
being testified by the Torah and the Prophets; even the righteousness of
God through faith in Yeshua the Messiah to all and on all those who
believe. For there is no distinction, for all have sinned, and
fall short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that is in Messiah Yeshua." (Romans 3:21-24)
What a comfort to know that despite the fallen state of all mankind there is
grace for each of us to be freely forgiven through faith in Yeshua the
Messiah. This is solid Biblical truth on which our faith in redemption and
salvation itself is based.
That's all joy. However, that joy gives way to fear and confusion for some
folks when they come across these words of Yeshua:
"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but
the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever
speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but
whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him,
neither in this age, nor in that which is to come." (Matthew 12:31-32)
This passage speaks about the concept of an unforgivable sin - blasphemy
against the Holy Spirit. That passage sets some folks into a bit of a
tizzy, that goes something like this:
"What? There is an "unforgivable sin" that will never be forgiven?
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? What is that? That sounds kind of vague.
Maybe I did that somehow. That's really scary!"
To those folks who may be in the midst of this reaction let me suggest that
if you are that concerned about the issue then you are likely not a person
who fits into the category Messiah is speaking about in these verses. Let's
take a closer look at the context to better understand what Messiah was
really saying.
The context of this statement is crucial: Yeshua had been healing people,
and Matthew as the narrator explained this by quoting Isaiah 42:1, which
says of the Messiah "I have put My Spirit upon Him."
After this Yeshua
encountered a man who was blind and mute due to being possessed by a demonic
spirit. Yeshua cast out the demon, and the man was instantly healed. On
seeing this, instead of acknowledging that what they had seen was a
fulfillment of the prophetic word, and therefore done by the power of the
Spirit, the Pharisees brazenly accused Yeshua of using demonic power to cast
out the demon.
Their actions brought the subject of blasphemy into the picture. Remember,
this was in 1st century Judea and the Pharisees were seen as experts in the
Torah and the Prophets. Yeshua was speaking to them in their language by
drawing on a passage from the Torah that speaks about blaspheme. Here are
the essentials of that passage:
“‘When you shall err, and not observe all these commandments, which YHWH has
spoken to Moses, even all that YHWH has commanded you by Moses, from the day
that YHWH gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations; then it
shall be, if it be done unwittingly ...The priest shall make atonement for
the soul who errs, when he sins unwittingly, before YHWH, to make atonement
for him; and he shall be forgiven. “‘But the soul who does anything with a
high hand, whether he is native-born or a foreigner, the same blasphemes
YHWH; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Because he has
despised the word of YHWH, and has broken his commandment, that soul shall
utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.’” Numbers 15:22-31
From this we glean that according to the Torah unwitting sins could be
easily atoned for and forgiven. However, sins that 'despised the word of
YHWH' that had been committed with a "high hand" were viewed as blaspheme
that could not be atoned for. A "high hand" is akin to raising one's hand
toward heaven and shaking the fist in defiance of God in an act of rebellion
before others, meant to engender the same rebellion in the camp. This was
unforgivable, and the rebel traitor was to be "utterly cut off from among
the people." [Examples: Korah, Dathan and Abiram]
The Pharisees fit this description. They were following their foretold
Messiah around, just to observe His miracles and teachings, to constantly
twist everything He said and did before the eyes of the people, to turn the
people against Him. Surely, that qualified as meeting the definition of
blaspheme in Numbers 15. Clearly, they were in rebellion with a 'high hand'
against the Spirit of the Living God and His Word. Seeing this, Yeshua was
drawing on the righteous principals behind Numbers 15:22-31 in His statement
to the Pharisees:
"Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the
blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. Whoever speaks a word
against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against
the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in
that which is to come." (Matthew 12:31-32)
That is, such a person will be "cut off" permanently - forever - just like
the devil.
As I said before, you are a sinner. We all are. Yet, if we repent and put
faith in Yeshua and follow Him we are redeemed. There is one exception to
this: If you take up a rebellious campaign against the Spirit of God with a
'high hand' you will be 'cut off' forever. Avoid that, and behavior leading
to that, and this will never apply to you.
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Now we turn to a much more joyful topic, our next online meeting, which will
be the evening of June 3. The Hebrew day after that is Shavuot, also known
as Pentecost, which falls this year on sundown of June 4th until sundown of
June 5th.
Here's a bit more about Shavuot:
Shavuot, one of the three major pilgrimage festivals of Israel, commemorates
the giving of the Covenant to Israel at Mount Sinai and marks the
culmination of the Counting of the Omer, the seven Sabbath-cycles that begin
on the day after Passover and ends on the next day after the seventh Sabbath
cycle after that. That is to say, it occurs the day after the first Sabbath
cycle of the 3rd Hebrew month. In biblical times in the Land, it was also an
agricultural festival, marking the wheat harvest in the Land of Israel.
(Exodus 19, Deuteronomy 16:9-12)
Occurring when it does, Shavuot coincides with the momentous event of Israel
receiving the Covenant, and binding themselves to it. YHWH presented the
Covenant to them through Moses : "All the people answered together, and
said, All that YHWH has spoken we will do. Moses reported the words of the
people to YHWH." This clinched the deal, so that forever after that Israel
was and is constituted as the Covenant nation of YHWH. (Exodus 19:8, Jer
33:24-26)
When we observe Shavuot it is a renewal of our commitment to the Covenant.
It is often likened to a wedding between YHWH and Israel, emphasizing the
eternal bond between YHWH and Israel. The giving of the Covenant in the form
of the Ten Commandments, and later the entire Torah, as commemorated at
Shavuot has helped to maintain that unique bond for many generations.
The celebration of Shavuot by the majority of the tribes of Israel scattered
through all the nations of the earth has been largely forgotten by most of
them, along with the rest of their Israelite heritage. However, in these
last days the scattered remnant of the tribes of Israel are beginning to
wake up to their true identity, so that more and more of them are taking up
all of the appointments of YHWH, including Shavuot.
On the other hand, the Tribe of Judah and those with them have largely
maintained Shavuot and have developed and continued related customs. Some of
these include:
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All-night Torah study: Many Jews stay up all night studying to honor
the gift of the Torah.
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Reading the Ten Commandments: The commandments are read in
synagogues, reaffirming the covenant between God and Israel.
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Eating dairy foods: Traditional foods such as cheesecake and
blintzes are enjoyed, symbolizing the purity of the Torah.
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Decorating homes and synagogues: Greenery and flowers are used to
adorn spaces, recalling Mount Sinai's lush surroundings.
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Reading the Book of Ruth: This biblical story is read, highlighting
themes of loyalty and devotion.
Shavuot, called Pentecost in Acts 2, marks a further step forward in the
significance of that special day. Israelite believers in Yeshua were
gathered together in celebration of that day, as were many thousands of
other Israelites from Judea and the whole Roman empire.
By that celebration all of them were reaffirming Yah's Covenant with Israel.
However, another feature was added for the believing followers of Yeshua on
that occasion. That is when the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them,
enabling them to KEEP the Torah that was now written in their hearts by that
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This fulfilled prophecy concerning the
New/Renewed Covenant promised through Jeremiah the prophet. He wrote:
"..But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
after those days, says YHWH: I will put my Torah in their inward parts,
and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they
shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor,
and every man his brother, saying, Know YHWH; for they shall all know
me, from their least to their greatest, says YHWH: for I will forgive
their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. Thus says YHWH,
who gives the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and
of the stars for a light by night, who stirs up the sea, so that its
waves roar; YHWH of Hosts is his name: If these ordinances depart from
before me, says YHWH, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from
being a nation before me forever." Jeremiah 31:31-36
That Pentecost was not the start of a new religion called Christianity. It
was actually a renewal of the nation of Israel by the power of YHWH from on
high - based on faith in Israel's Messiah. Since Israel is forever, this
remains so today. All who embrace Israel's Messiah must embrace Renewed
Israel as well, in Covenant with Him.
For this Shavuot we have scheduled some important presentations to be
broadcast from our radio station at
Tsiyon.Org. Once you are
on the site, just scroll down to the schedule to find programs and times
that work for you. Here are some of the relevant programs that will be
playing that day:
Eliyahu Bet Midrash – 60 – Covenant Concluded
On the Road to Tsiyon – 66 – Messianic Pentecost/Shavuot
On the Road to Tsiyon – 69 – Pentecost/Shavuot Early Rains
We pray you will have a wonderful Shavuot!
Now that you know about Shavuot, lets talk about tonight's meeting. Above I
gave you the Torah basis of the unforgivable sin from Matthew 12. There will
be more about that tonight, along with other amazing things Yeshua taught us
in that chapter of Matthew. Messiah's Mighty Men will be bringing us
a panel discussion that I think will bless us all.
This
will be streamed from our member website at
Tsiyon.Net, at 8 PM Central, and
on other popular streaming platforms. Please join us tonight, and feel free
to bring your friends.
Eliyahu
Tsiyon.Org
Join us tonight!
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"Let them build Me a Sanctuary, that I may reside in their midst." Ex
25:8
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