Watchman Of The Torah - Natsarim Israel

01/23/2023

The difference from true Messiah and those who follow the false Messiah of today

02/07/2022

ARE YOU FOLLOWING THE TRUE FAITH ONCE DELIVERED TO YESHUA’S TALMIDIM (DISCIPLES).

I came to what I believe to be the True Faith Once Delivered To The Elect (Saints) Of God about 11 years ago. Up until then I had been a Confused Member of the Roman Catholic Church. I say confused becaue I had always had questions, such as what’s the deal with Mary worship and if the Bible says the way to God is through Jesus Christ and He is our intercessor between us and God. Yet the Papacy and priests tell us Mary is the intercessor between us and God.

Being one who searched the scriptures for myself, I was shown the errors of their teachings over time. I have come to see the danger (idolatry) of these errors and how blind I was before I sought and found the truth. One thing they have right is that there is one Elohim, but his name is not Jesus Christ.

Had I been content with what was being riveted in my head as being the truth, I would still be lost in the false religion of Christianity and specifically Roman Catholicism. I would still be lost in the idolatry worship. Had I not listened to others apart from those in my organization, I would still be in darkness.

Having been there and done that, I feel it for all Christians. Each denomination has its share of false teaching. In my search, I have seen none, no not one denomination that is not tainted by the mystery religion of Babylon under the leadership of Rome.

As a result, it is my sincere desire to see all Christians at least come into the truth that I have found so far. That is the reason I write this article.

Of course, I would be deluding myself if I thought I got it all right. The web of deception seems to be never-ending as I discover more and more lies as time goes by. Satan is indeed a formidable opponent!

The Wide Gate vs The Narrow Gate
This presentation will consist of two main parts. Firstly, we will look at the fallacy of Christianity to show you that Christianity is indeed a gross error. We must do that to show you that Christians are headed for the wide gate (that leads to destruction).

Then, we will look at how to find the narrow gate that leads to life, by following the true way given in the Bible.

YHVH is Not the Author of Confusion
Now almost all the articles on this website highlight some misunderstanding or false teaching of the religion called Christianity. Never forget, Ruach HaKodesh (the Holy Spirit) was given to GUIDE US INTO ALL TRUTH (John 16:13).

A religion of so many errors cannot be the work of YHVH through his Holy Spirit (that guides us into all truth). Why? His Holy Spirit will not guide us into some truth and some error. No way!

Confusion and deception is the ‘trademark’ of the enemy.

Indeed, with over 40,000 denominations worldwide, Christianity is modern Babylon (confusion) and YHVH is not the author (causer) of confusion in his assemblies:

1 Cor 14:33 For YAHWEH is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all assemblies of the saints.

Therefore, it does not take a rocket scientist to see the confusion and figure out that something is terribly wrong with Christianity.

Messiah Never Came to Start a Religion
Indeed, the problem begins with religion: the Messiah never came to start a religion. He came to show us a way of life that is in him (John 14:6).

Religion is not of YAHWEH but is the strength of the enemy.

Indeed, much of the Messiah’s teachings in the New Testament are based on verbal battles between himself and the religious orders of the day: the scribes, Pharisees and Sadducees.

Now don’t forget how this battle ended: they never relented until they had him killed!

If he was on earth today, he would have his hands full fighting both Judaism and its younger sister, Christianity.

Why It Is Hard for the Religious to Let Go of Religion?

The sad fact is that very few religious people actually let go of religion. The only ones who will let go are those who have eyes to see, ears to hear and a heart to understand.

It is only those who really want to give up self in order to serve the Most High who will flee religion. Self (with its lusts, desires, wants, and ambitions) is why the religious are content with being religious.

That is why the Messiah said if we want to follow him, we first must deny ourselves. More on this later.

Why Write This Post?
This post is designed to give an understanding of what the one true way is and how we should go about following that one true way. It is for those who want to serve YAHWEH in Spirit and in truth according to his will.

Do you want to save your soul and not be blindly led into a ditch to your destruction? This is for you.

Are you satisfied to follow what you know, even if it is a false doctrine? Well, this post will make you uncomfortable.

The Early Believers Were Not Christians
Never ever be deceived. The early believers were not Christians! The Way we will show in this post is the way the Apostles and first-century disciples followed before the faith was forcibly polluted by Rome, which gave us Christianity.

Before modern Christianity came, the believers were called followers of the way or Natsarim (Nazarenes), which means branches (See John 15:5: I am the vine, ye are the branches). They were so named after their king Yeshua of Nazareth (from whom we got the name Natsarim).

They were not initially called Christians, neither did they call themselves such. In fact, there were Christians long before the Messiah came on this earth.

The followers of Serapis Christus were also called Christians (in their language), as were the followers of Chrestas Mithras. We will look more at that soon.

Here is Apostle Sha’ul (Paul) telling us who the early believers were:

Act 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after THE WAY which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

Just as important as to who they were, is what they believed in. Did they believe that the law is done away with as much of Christendom now says? No! Sha’ul said: “believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.” That means they obeyed the Torah (the law)!

Here below, hidden in plain sight in the book of Acts, we have Sha’ul being described as the leader of the sect of the Nazarenes (Natsarim):

Act 24:5 For we have found this man (Shaul) a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes:

Act 28:22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect (of the Nazarenes/Natsarim), we know that every where it is spoken against.
There is nothing new under the sun. Just as the sect of the Natsarim was spoken against then, so it is spoken against today. Very few of us are willing to go through the narrow gate that leads to life. Most of us will choose the wide gate of religion.

But most importantly, we see that the faith was not Christian, which is why I am not a Christian. Like Apostle Sha’ul, I am a follower of the way, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets.

If we don’t follow this way, Sha’ul said in Gal 1:8-9 that we are accursed. It is this way, the one, and only way, that I present to you today.

What About Antioch?
It was at Antioch that they were first called Christianianos, which is a condescending nickname meaning “poor fools.”

The actual word that means “retard” or “idiot” is derived from CHRISTIANIANOS: cretin – a term of scorn:

The American Heritage Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary tells us the etymology for the word CRETIN:

cre-tin (kre-tin, kret’n) n. 1. One afflicted with Cretinism. 2. A fool; an idiot. [French, cretin, from Swiss French, crestin, CHRISTIAN, hence human being (an idiot being nonetheless human).]

Cretinism is dwarfism and or retardation. Cretin is simply the word that is derived from the word CHRISTIAN, crestin. Source.
With Christianity came false European additions to, and subtractions from the word. Now YHVH told us not to add to nor subtract from the word!

It is therefore imperative that we find that one true way. The Father warned us about adding and taking from his word and the Messiah warned us more than once, that there will be false messiahs impersonating him:

Mat 24:4-5 And Yeshua (Jesus) answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Messiah; and shall deceive many.

Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

So since we have been so warned, it is a must that we find the one true way. We must find the one true Messiah of the Bible, the one that warned us to let no man deceive us.

There Were Christians Before the Birth of the Messiah

Previously, I touched on the fact that there were Christs and Christians (in their own languages) before the Messiah was born. One of them was the Greco-Egyptian god called Serapis Christus c.a. 135 BC. The marble image in the London Museum (shown below) is one of the images they use for Jesus Christ today.

Serapis Christus

The following was taken from an article on the Sabbath Covenant website:

Very few people realize that the term “Christian” was a very popular pagan label associated with many pagan cults long before the Messiah lived and died! In fact, the followers of Mithras, Helios, and Osiris… all “Christians” or “Chrestos” in Greek:
Chrestos Mithras
Chrestos Helios
Chrestos Osiris
Krishna (is Sanskrit for Christ)
All followers of pagan “Christs” were called “Christians”. The followers of Yeshua the Messiah were called by a very specific name and it was never “Christians” it was “Nazarenes” see Acts 24:5 and Acts 28:22.

The question that begs to be asked is the following:

“What would a bunch of Jewish Israelites that practice the Torah of Yahweh and followed a Jewish Messiah (which means anointed King) be doing with a Greek term used by Pagans as a label for themselves?” … they wouldn’t and they didn’t.

Syncretism

Now let us look at what Christianity is really about. Daniel prophesied that in the last days, knowledge shall increase. Knowledge reveals that Christianity is the result of syncretism, which is the fusing together of different beliefs. Here is another excerpt from the Sabbath Covenant which explains this.

christian-monument syncretism

Through the pagan cult of Christianity, we have elevated Tammuz (under his pagan names Hesus Horus Krishna which evolved into Jesus H. Christ) and the unholy Trinity of I.H.S. (Isis/Horus/Seb the pagan god names of Semiramis/Nimrod/Tammuz) in our hearts as God above Yahweh (The Abomination of Desolation).

And in that name, Jesus, which is a false image of the true messiah, we have abolished the Feasts/Torah/Sabbaths and are guilty of the Great Apostasy and have fallen away from Yahweh in totality (The Transgression of Desolation).

We have become lawless following the lawless one (the name in which The Law has been abolished) Jesus Christ (the false image of Yeshua) and where there is no law there is no sin, where there is no sin there is no Grace.

Because we have committed the Transgression of Desolation, Yahweh has given us over to believe a lie. We have replaced Yahweh/Yeshua/Passover/Sabbath with a pagan Babylonian lie of The The Lord/Jesus/Easter/Sunday and we are guilty of committing The Abomination of Desolation!

That abominable sacrifice is the blood of the Ishtar Pig on our hearts (the Altar) instead of the blood of the Passover Lamb as each year we sacrifice a pig (eat ham) on Easter (celebration of Ishtar) instead of a lamb on Passover.

We put our faith in the Good-Friday/Easter Sunday “Jesus” instead of the Passover of Yeshua!

One is the “Earthly Pig of Ishtar” literally by name ); the other is The Lamb of Yahweh literally by name.

This abomination each year causes the daily sacrifices and oblation of The Passover Lamb (Yeshua) to cease on our behalf which causes the destruction of our bodies (The Temple of Yahweh). Please see my book Abstract for more on this topic.

What occurred from the time of The Messiah’s death until now is called Syncretism and the result is called Christianity:

Syncretism (definition): is the combining of different (often contradictory) beliefs, often while melding practices of various schools of thought. Syncretism may involve the merger and analogizing of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths.

None Other Name Given Among Men By Which We Must Be Saved

So now that we have seen that Jesus Christ is of pagan origin and therefore not the son of YHVH, let us look more into the name. You must understand that the statement below was made almost 2000 years ago.

Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
Kefa (Peter), the person who spoke it was a Hebrew. He was speaking to Hebrews.

Act 4:8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,
That one true name must, therefore, have been a Hebrew name. Remember, there is none other name under heaven (on earth) given whereby we must be saved! So a new name, Jesus Christ, that is less than 500 years old could not be the name of which Kefa spoke.


Is the Name Jesus a Translation?
Now you may say, “oh, that is just the English translation of the name.” Really?

To answer that, I will not even focus on the fact that names are not translated for us to pronounce them in our language. A man is not called Pedro in Mexico and when he comes to Jamaica, we call him Peter. His name is still Pedro wherever he goes. So why should we translate or transliterate a precious “one name” by which we must be saved (re Acts 4:12)?

I will ignore that reality and focus on the fact that the English translation of his true name is not even Jesus!

His name was Y’shua/Yahshua/Yeshua. He had the same name as a famous man in the Bible. That Yeshua brought the children of Israel into the promised land.

Polluted Name Jesus
You see, the English equivalent of Yeshua or Yahshua is Joshua. It is not Jesus! Jesus is totally unrelated to Yeshua and is a contrived name given to us by pagan sun worshippers! Please take the time to check out the two short videos below.

And it gets even worse when we see the true underlying meaning of the name.

Meaning of Yeshua
What is the significance of the name Yahusha? Like all Hebrew words, it has meaning. Jesus has no biblical meaning.

meaning of Yahshua/Yeshua
Yahusha is a composite of YAHU (from the name of the Father YAHWEH ) and Yasha (salvation/deliverance). That gives us Yahu-Sha.

So Yahusha actually means YAHWEH is salvation or YAHWEH delivers.

This is why he said this:

Joh 5:43 I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name (Jesus), him ye will receive.

Jesus has come in his own name, as his name has nothing to do with the Father and that is why there is salvation in no other name but Yahusha, as Yahusha literally means YAHVEH is salvation.

My point? You cannot follow the way and follow an invented pagan name. Both names are miles apart in opposite directions!

False Name Comes With False Attributes
The problem with the name Jesus Christ as well is that it comes with false attributes. The name usually comes with a combination of the following doctrines which result in disobedience, rebellion and countless abominations:

Law is done away with
Sabbath was done away with
Feast days are done away with
Feast days replaced with pagan holidays (Christmas, Easter, etc)
Eating abominable meat (including swine, shellfish, etc)
Worship of the image of Jesus Christ
It is okay to sin
All these are in total opposition to the law and the prophets, and we must never ever forget:

Isa 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.
And so our faith cannot be in opposition to the law and the prophets, as Sha’ul (Paul) confessed his faith as believing ALL THINGS written in the law and the prophets:

Acts 24:14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the Elohim of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:

So Christianity that goes against the law and the prophets cannot be the one true way! At the same time, we see that the name is absolutely important.

Persons who follow the one true way, cannot follow these Christian teachings so they cannot follow a false banner (the name Jesus Christ) that stands before these false teachings.

How to Follow the Way
So in John 14:6, the Messiah Yeshua told us that there is only one way to the Father. One means one, not two or three or many. One.

John 14:6 Yeshua saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Most importantly, no one has access to the Father except through him, Yeshua, that one true way!

As such, it is the task of Satan, the enemy of our souls, to provide us with other ways to the Father apart from the one true way. In so doing, he sets up himself to get worship and for us to disobey YAHWEH

He achieves this through many strategies, which include giving us:

False messiahs
False prophets
False teachers
Organized religions that point us to false messiahs, prophets and teachers.
Religious denominations that tell us we must be followers of these religions to enter the kingdom (these religions now become the way. eg. Jehovah’s Witnesses, SDA, Pentecostalism)

False church system that breeds thousands of denominations preaching different things (confusion)

The enemy is helped by our sinful nature (Romans 7) which breeds stubbornness and a desire for the legalistic repetitions that come with religion. You see, we are comfortable in religion as it gives us a set of dos and don’ts.

The Deception of Religion
We do what our religion says and we think we are saved, so we just legalistically strive to go through the routines.

We go to church, we tithe, we take communion, sing on the choir, call ourselves Christians. We might even belong to one of the denominations that tell us that as long as we are members of their denomination, then we are set for heaven.

We also hear that once we are saved, we are always saved.

Some even tell us that all we need to do is believe (in our minds) and have to do nothing else or we go into works. Then, according to them, we are fallen from grace. So the only way to have grace is to do nothing.

So many beliefs to choose from and all are false!

Why false? There is no great emphasis on following the one true way, the one true Messiah of the Bible, Yeshua of Nazareth. His way is the narrow path that is a joy to the spiritual man, but a pain to the carnal (religious) man.

That is why the false messiah Jesus Christ is so readily accepted. He gives us easy salvation. Nothing much is required of us after we say we believe. We can go back to living in sin to some degree and have the assurance that we are saved.

The Great Religious Delusion

Unfortunately, if we decide to believe a lie and not believe the truth, this stubbornness results in YAHWEH giving us a great delusion. But we absolutely must understand what a delusion is:

Delusion: something a person believes and wants to be true, when it is actually not true:
So delusion is based on our desires. We want it to be true, so YAHWEH will let it appear to be true. The bible tells us that YAHWEH will send us a GREAT delusion, a big lie simply because we refuse to accept his truth.

This is a fact ignored by Christians to their detriment. This is why we have to prove all things and hold fast to that which is good (1 Thess 5:21).

That is why we cannot follow a religion, but follow biblical truth, which is embodied in the way shown to us by the true biblical Messiah. The way of the false Greco-Roman created Jesus Christ will, therefore, be the way of delusion!

In fact, YEshua said he will even choose the lie that we believe if we refuse to believe his truth!

Isa 66:4 I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not.

Psa 81:11-12 But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels.

Again this threat, this time referred to as a “great delusion” was repeated in the new covenant:

2Th 2:8-12 And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Master shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

And for this cause YAHWEH shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.


So we will be there thinking our way is the right way when we are actually following a great lie! Do you see how dangerous it is to not seek the truth? Indeed we were warned:

Hos 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy Elohim, I will also forget thy children.


To avoid all of this delusion and rejection? He advised us to seek him diligently:

Jer 29:13 And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

Heb 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to YAHWEH must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


So it is not a simple case of just believing what we heard and that’s it: game over. Not at all. There is a reason we were advised to:

1Th 5:21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

So the word has given us everything we need to overcome the devil and find the one true way! However, most of us choose religion over the way.

Instead of following Messiah Yeshua who said not one jot nor tittle shall pass from the law till all be fulfilled, Christians follow a false Messiah Jesus Christ who said the law is done away with, no more Sabbaths, no more feast days, no more clean food, etc.

Since sin is breaking the law (1 John 3:4), we end up being lawless, workers of iniquity (repetitive sin). For this we will end up being told:

Mat 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Mat 7:23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
lost - delusion

So to help prevent us from being rejected on that day, this post is designed to point us back to the one true way; to the one true Messiah of the Bible:Yeshua HaMashiach. This is meant to remove the deception of organized religion and show exactly what we need to do to overcome. To hear instead on that day, well done, though good and faithful servant.

Did You Know That There is No Christian Salvation, Inheritance or Kingdom?
Can I tell you that there is no Christian salvation, no Christian inheritance, and no Christian kingdom? That is a lie from the Father of lies who controls all organized religions.

Take a look at this study we did showing without a doubt, that Christian salvation and inheritance in the kingdom is a myth. Indeed:

John 4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Yahudym (Jews).

The Bible speaks of salvation for Israel (Luke 1:68-69) through a Messiah sent for Israel. This salvation is through the Messiah Yeshua who was a Yahudym (Jew) of the tribe of Yahudah (Judah).

Zec 8:7-8 Thus saith YHVH of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their Elohim, in truth and in righteousness.


There was no promise to save a people who follow a Roman messiah, whose image is shown below. Somehow Rome has gotten us to worship this image, thereby breaking the first and second commandments:

Exo 20:3-6 “You shall have no other gods before me.

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for Yahweh your Elohim am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Why Is It Important to know that salvation is for Israel?

Now idolatry aside, it is important to know that salvation is only for Israel and those who join themselves to Israel (Isa 56:6-8, Num 15:16). See: Let My People go! How Christianity Now Has Israel in Bo***ge (Spiritual Egypt).

Furthermore, Israel must walk in obedience to YHVH’s commandments and laws.

That is why they were in need of salvation because they did not obey the laws of the Most High. As a result, they were given over to their enemies and placed under the curses of the law (Deut 28:15-68).

To redeem us from the curses of the law, the Messiah YESHUA was sent (Gal 3:13). Through belief in him, we will walk as he walked (1 John 2:6) in obedience to the laws and commandments of his Father (John 15:10).

There is no provision in scripture, nor prophecy, that a people will walk in disobedience to him and be his people. None!

Eze 36:26-27 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

The promise of the new covenant is that the Holy Spirit will cause us to walk in obedience to his statutes and judgments (his laws). Is the Law done away with? YHVH forbid! Christianity is an invention of the Romans.

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

02/06/2022

Always keep Ha Emet (The Truth) in your Lev (heart)!

The Torah (Law) written on our Lev (Heart) is the B’rit Chadasha (New Covenant/Testament)!

Jeremiah 31:30 “Behold, days are coming”
—it is a declaration of YHVH— “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 31 not like the covenant I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
For they broke My covenant, though I was a husband to them.” it is a declaration of YHVH. 32 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days! -it is a declaration of YHVH—
“I will put My Torah within them. Yes, I will write it on their heart. I will be their God
and they will be My people.

01/07/2022

End Times Remnant & The First Century Followers of Messiah Yeshua are and we’re called the Natsarim (Nazarene’s) or The Watchman Of The Torah (Law).

11/29/2021

Make sure and checkout our video titled “Messiah Yeshua & The Mystery Of Hanukkah”

Yeshua (Jesus) was conceived on Hanukkah/Feast Of Dedication/Feast Of Lights. We see that it falls on the 24th day of Kislev, which is the longest night of ...

11/27/2021

This Sabbath's Torah Portion (Bible Study)
Torah Parashah or Portion 9
Vayeshev (He continued living)
Torah - Genesis 37:1 through 40:23.
Haftarah (Writings and Prophets): Amos 2:6 through 3:8.
B'rit Hadasha (New Testament): Acts 7:9-16.

Tanach Scriptures are from Stern's Complete Jewish Bible; B'rit Chadash Scriptures from the Aramaic English New Testament.

Welcome "newbies" and "oldies!" By now you all know that Torah was written by Moshe (Moses) and consists of the first five Books of the Bible which contain God's original Divine Instructions in Righteousness. Since this is a Natsarim (Nazarene/Messianic) website, we refer to God by His proper Name: Yud-Hey-Vav-Hey, transliterated into English as YHWH, and most likely pronounced "Yah-way" (see Exodus 3:13-15). His Son's Name is Y'shua (most likely pronounced "Ye-shoo-ah"). Enjoy this week's Torah portion!

In last week's Torah portion we saw Ya'akov (renamed Israel) going back to his homeland. By that time he had twelve sons who were to become the twelve tribes of Israel. His father Yitz'chak (Isaac), our second Patriarch, died at the age of 180, and Ya'akov (our third Patriarch) and his twin brother, Esav, buried him.

In this parashah beginning in Genesis 37 we find Israel's (formerly known as Ya'akov/Jacob, Genesis 32:28) son Yosef (Joseph) as an object of jealousy for his brothers who realized that their father loved Yosef more than any of them. After revealing a series of dreams that seemed to indicate Yosef would eventually be their leader in some way, his brothers plotted to kill him - but ultimately sold him to the Goyim (Gentiles) after his oldest brother Reuven insisted they simply throw him into a cistern. Reuven planned on rescuing him later, but the story took a turn when the brothers decided to sell Yosef to a passing caravan which took him on to Egypt. Take a look at how the story unfolds:

Genesis 37: 1 Ya'akov continued living in the land where his father had lived as a foreigner, the land of Kena'an. 2 Here is the history of Ya'akov. When Yosef was seventeen years old he used to pasture the flock with his brothers, even though he was still a boy. Once when he was with the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives, he brought a bad report about them to their father. 3 Now Isra'el loved Yosef the most of all his children, because he was the son of his old age; and he made him a long-sleeved robe. 4 When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than all his brothers, they began to hate him and reached the point where they couldn't even talk with him in a civil manner. 5 Yosef had a dream which he told his brothers, and that made them hate him all the more. 6 He said to them, "Listen while I tell you about this dream of mine. 7 We were tying up bundles of wheat in the field when suddenly my bundle got up by itself and stood upright; then your bundles came, gathered around mine and prostrated themselves before it." 8 His brothers retorted, "Yes, you will certainly be our king. You'll do a great job of bossing us around!"And they hated him still more for his dreams and for what he said. 9 He had another dream which he told his brothers: "Here, I had another dream, and there were the sun, the moon and eleven stars prostrating themselves before me." 10 He told his father too, as well as his brothers, but his father rebuked him: "What is this dream you have had? Do you really expect me, your mother and your brothers to come and prostrate ourselves before you on the ground?" 11 His brothers were jealous of him, but his father kept the matter in mind. 12 After this, when his brothers had gone to pasture their father's sheep in Sh'khem, 13 Isra'el asked Yosef, "Aren't your brothers pasturing the sheep in Sh'khem? Come, I will send you to them." He answered, "Here I am." 14 He said to him, "Go now, see whether things are going well with your brothers and with the sheep, and bring word back to me." So he sent him away from the Hevron Valley, and he went to Sh'khem, 15 where a man found him wandering around in the countryside. The man asked him, "What are you looking for?" 16 "I'm looking for my brothers," he answered. "Tell me, please, where are they pasturing the sheep?" 17 The man said, "They've left here; because I heard them say, 'Let's go to Dotan.'" Yosef went after his brothers and found them in Dotan. 18 They spotted him in the distance, and before he had arrived where they were, they had already plotted to kill him. 19 They said to each other, "Look, this dreamer is coming! 20 So come now, let's kill him and throw him into one of these water cisterns here. Then we'll say some wild animal devoured him. We'll see then what becomes of his dreams!" 21 But when Re'uven heard this, he saved him from being destroyed by them. He said, "We shouldn't take his life. 22 Don't shed blood," Re'uven added. "Throw him into this cistern here in the wilds, but don't lay hands on him yourselves." He intended to rescue him from them later and restore him to his father.

Jealousy can make one do strange things. Cain killed Abel over jealousy because God had accepted Abel's sacrifice and not his own (Genesis 4). Psalm 106 tells us the Israelites in the wilderness became jealous of Moshe and Aharon who were being used mightily by YHWH Himself. In the Gospels we see that the Pharisees were jealous of Y'shua - and their jealousy eventually nailed Him to the stake. In Galatians 5:19-21 we see that jealousy is considered a "work of the flesh." And here, in this parashah, we see the jealousy of Yosef's brothers driving them to the point of wanting to kill him. However, because YHWH was with him, they ended up selling him into slavery in Egypt, instead.

Genesis 37: 23 So it was that when Yosef arrived to be with his brothers, they stripped off his robe, the long-sleeved robe he was wearing, 24 and took him and threw him into the cistern (the cistern was empty; without any water in it). 25 Then they sat down to eat their meal; but as they looked up, they saw in front of them a caravan of Yishma'elim coming from Gil'ad, their camels loaded with aromatic gum, healing resin and o***m, on their way down to Egypt. 26 Y'hudah said to his brothers, "What advantage is it to us if we kill our brother and cover up his blood? 27 Come, let's sell him to the Yishma'elim, instead of putting him to death with our own hands. After all, he is our brother, our own flesh." His brothers paid attention to him. 28 So when the Midyanim, merchants, passed by, they drew and lifted Yosef up out of the cistern and sold him for half a pound of silver shekels to the Yishma'elim, who took Yosef on to Egypt. 29 Re'uven returned to the cistern, and, upon seeing that Yosef wasn't in it, tore his clothes in mourning. 30 He returned to his brothers and said, "The boy isn't there! Where can I go now? 31 They took Yosef's robe, killed a male goat and dipped the robe in the blood. 32 Then they sent the long-sleeved robe and brought it to their father, saying, "We found this. Do you know if it's your son's robe or not?" 33 He recognized it and cried, "It's my son's robe! Some wild animal has torn Yosef in pieces and eaten him!" 34 Ya'akov tore his clothes and, putting sackcloth around his waist, mourned his son for many days. 35 Though all his sons and daughters tried to comfort him, he refused all consolation, saying, "No, I will go down to the grave, to my son, mourning." And his father wept for him. 36 In Egypt the Midyanim sold Yosef to Potifar, one of Pharaoh's officials, a captain of the guard.

Verse 36 above kicks off a whole wonderful series of events for our hero, Yosef as we will see in future chapters. The story of Yosef bears some astounding similarities to Yeshua.

In Genesis 38, Moshe (recorder of the Torah) briefly veers from the story of Yosef to show us what happened in the life of Yosef's brother, Y'hudah (Judah). In this chapter we once again see that YHWH "chooses" certain people, in spite of their humanity and their imperfections and shortcomings.

In this story we see Y'hudah take a wife who gives birth to three sons: Er, Onan and Shelah. YHWH viewed as evil Er (the oldest son who had a wife named Tamar), and He killed him. Y'hudah then ordered Onan to take Tamar as his wife so the bloodline could be continued, but Onan had other ideas, and so YHWH killed him, too:

Genesis 38: 6 Y'hudah took a wife for 'Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But 'Er, Y'hudah's firstborn, was evil from ADONAI's perspective, so ADONAI killed him. 8 Y'hudah said to Onan, "Go and sleep with your brother's wife - perform the duty of a husband's brother to her, and preserve your brother's line of descent." 9 However, Onan knew that the child would not count as his; so whenever he had in*******se with his brother's wife, he spilled the semen on the ground, so as not to give his brother offspring. 10 What he did was evil from ADONAI's perspective, so he killed him too.

Read on - the story gets even more bizarre!

Genesis 38: 11 Then Y'hudah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, "Stay a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up"; for he thought, "I don't want him to die too, like his brothers." So Tamar went and lived at home with her father. 12 In due time, Shua's daughter, the wife of Y'hudah, died. After Y'hudah had been comforted, he went up to be with his sheep-shearers in Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the 'Adulami. 13 Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law has gone up to Timnah to shear his sheep." 14 So she took off her widow's clothes, completely covered her face with her veil, and sat at the entrance to 'Einayim, which is on the way to Timnah. For she saw that Shelah had grown up, but she still was not being given to him as his wife. 15 When Y'hudah saw her, he thought she was a pr******te, because she had covered her face. 16 So he went over to her where she was sitting and said, not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, "Come, let me sleep with you." She answered, "What will you pay to sleep with me?" 17 He said, "I will send you a kid from the flock of goats." She said, "Will you also give me something as a guarantee until you send it" 18 He answered, "What should I give you as a guarantee?" She said, "Your seal, with its cord, and the staff you're carrying in your hand." So he gave them to her, then went and slept with her; and she conceived by him.

Please note that pr******tes in those days covered their faces. (Ironically, Muslims force their women to cover their faces....)

Genesis 38: 19 She got up and went away, took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes. 20 Y'hudah sent the kid with his friend the 'Adulami to receive the guarantee items back from the woman, but he couldn't find her. 21 He asked the people near where she had been, "Where is the pr******te who was on the road at 'Einayim?" But they answered, "There hasn't been any pr******te here." 22 So he returned to Y'hudah and said, "I couldn't find her; also the people there said, 'There hasn't been any pr******te here.'" 23 Y'hudah said, "All right, let her keep the things, so that we won't be publicly shamed. I sent the kid, but you didn't find her." 24 About three months later Y'hudah was told, "Tamar your daughter-in-law has been acting like a w***e; moreover, she is pregnant as a result of her prostitution."Y'hudah said, "Bring her out, and let her be burned alive!" 25 When she was brought out, she sent this message to her father-in-law: "I am pregnant by the man to whom these things belong. Determine, I beg you, whose these are - the signet, the cords and the staff." 26 Then Y'hudah acknowledged owning them. He said, "She is more righteous than I, because I didn't let her become the wife of my son Shelah." And he never slept with her again.

We weren't told why Y'hudah hadn't given his youngest son to Tamar to be her husband, but it's interesting to note that Tamar took matters into her own hands in order to keep the bloodline going!

At this point it is important to mention that, before Yeshua came into the world as our Final Sin "Sacrifice"/Offering, YHWH used to kill disobedient people (as in the case of Y'hudah's first two sons, above). If you'll remember, He also killed the sons of Aaron in Leviticus 10:1-3 for daring to alter YHWH's commands concerning offerings. Since Yeshua's death, however, we see no more instances (with the exception of Annanias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10 who were killed by the Spirit of YHWH for lying regarding the money for selling the property). Our Judgment, however, will come on Judgment Day, and that is why we must all strive to follow YHWH's commands to the best of our ability.

Moving on to Genesis 39 where we return to the life of Yosef, who by that time had become the slave of an Egyptian named Potifar: Yosef pleased his master so well that he was eventually made manager of the household, and made wealthy in his own right. Unfortunately, Potifar's wife was attracted to Yosef and did her best to seduce him - actions which he steadfastly rebuked.

Genesis 39: 11 However, one day, when he went into the house to do his work, and none of the men living in the house was there indoors, 12 she grabbed him by his robe and said, "Sleep with me!" But he fled, leaving his robe in her hand, and got himself outside. 13 When she saw that he had left his robe in her hand and had escaped, 14 she called the men of her house and said to them, "Look at this! My husband brought in a Hebrew to make fools of us. He came in and wanted to sleep with me, but I yelled out loudly. 15 When he heard me yelling like that, he left his robe with me and ran out." 16 She put the robe aside until his master came home. 17 Then she said to him, "This Hebrew slave you brought us came in to make a fool of me. 18 But when I yelled out, he left his robe with me and fled outside." 19 When his master heard what his wife said as she showed him, "Here's what your slave did to me," he became furious. 20 Yosef's master took him and put him in prison, in the place where the king's prisoners were kept; and there he was in the prison. 21 But ADONAI was with Yosef, showing him grace and giving him favor in the sight of the prison warden. 22 The prison warden made Yosef supervisor of all the prisoners in the prison; so that whatever they did there, he was in charge of it. 23 The prison warden paid no attention to anything Yosef did, because ADONAI was with him; and whatever he did, ADONAI prospered.

So, it seems whatever Yosef did, ended up well, and he always came back, stronger than ever - even after the following happened:

Genesis 40: 1 Some time later it came about that the Egyptian king's cupbearer and baker gave offense to their lord the king of Egypt. 2 Pharaoh became angry with his two officers the chief cupbearer and the chief baker. 3 So he put them in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, in the prison, in the same place where Yosef was kept. 4 The captain of the guard charged Yosef to be with them, and he became their attendant while they remained in prison. 5 One night the two of them, the king of Egypt's cupbearer and his baker, there in prison, both had dreams, each dream with its own meaning. 6 Yosef came in to them in the morning and saw that they looked sad. 7 He asked Pharaoh's officers there with him in the prison of his master's house, "Why are you looking so sad today?" 8 They said to him, "We each had a dream, and there's no one around who can interpret it."Yosef said to them, "Don't interpretations belong to God? Tell it to me, please." 9 Then the chief cupbearer told Yosef his dream: "In my dream, there in front of me was a vine, 10 and the vine had three branches. The branches budded, then it suddenly began to blossom, and finally clusters of ripe grapes appeared. 11 Pharaoh's cup was in my hand, so I took the grapes and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and gave the cup to Pharaoh." 12 Yosef said to him, "Here is its interpretation: the three branches are three days. 13 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office: you will be giving Pharaoh his cup as you used to when you were his cupbearer. 14 But remember me when it goes well with you; and show me kindness, please; and mention me to Pharaoh, so that he will release me from this prison. 15 For the truth is that I was kidnapped from the land of the Hebrews, and here too I have done nothing wrong that would justify putting me in this dungeon." 16 When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was favorable, he said to Yosef, "I too saw in my dream: there were three baskets of white bread on my head. 17 In the uppermost basket there were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds ate them out of the basket on my head." 18 Yosef answered, "Here is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days. 19 Within three days Pharaoh will lift up your head from off of you -he will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you." 20 On the third day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, he gave a party for all his officials, and he lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his officials. 21 He restored the chief cupbearer back to his position, so that he again gave Pharaoh his cup. 22 But he hanged the chief baker, as Yosef had interpreted to them. 23 Nevertheless, the chief cupbearer didn't remember Yosef, but forgot him.

In next week's parashah, Yosef's luck will change for the better!

What we learned in today's lesson:

(1) Yosef, who was a good and righteous person, repeatedly encountered people who interfered with his righteousness - yet he never wavered, and that interference never altered YHWH's ultimate plan for Yosef.

(2) This is the exact opposite of what happened to some of today's "idols" such as golf sensation Tiger Woods and General David Petraus and myriads of Hollywood "stars" who have been caught in adultery or other crimes. Yosef stood on his morals and principles, never giving in to the carnal things, and he was ultimately rewarded by YHWH.

Today's "heroes', on the other hand (including people like Michael Jackson who was accused of child molestation several years before he died; and Lindsey Lohan who is constantly in trouble with the authorities for one reason or another), have been "knocked off their pedestals" when the world discovered they had committed adultery, etc. Everyone who does not follow the Divine Instructions contained within Torah eventually falls. This is also why every "great empire" has fallen...

B'rit Chadasha readings:

Our Brit Chadasha reading echoes the events in the Torah portion:

Acts 7: 9. And our fathers were jealous of Yosip and sold him in Misrayin. But Elohim was with him, 10. and He delivered him from all his oppression. And He gave grace and wisdom to him before Pharaoh king of Misrayin (Egypt), and appointed him ruler over all Misrayin and his house. 11. And there was a famine and great affliction in all Misrayin and in the land of Canaan, and our fathers had nothing to sustain (them). 12. And after Ya'akov heard that there was sustenance in Misrayin, he sent our fathers first, 13. and when they went the second time, Yosip made himself known to his brothers and the nationality of Yosip was made known to Pharaoh. 14. And Yosip sent for his father and brought Ya'akov and all his family. And they were seventy and five souls in number. 15. And Ya'akov went down to Misrayin and died there, he and our fathers. 16. And he was moved to Shechem and was placed in the tomb that Awraham had purchased with money from the sons of Khamor.

There is so much more that could be said about today's study, and we wholeheartedly urge you to read the cited scriptures through, if you haven't already done so. If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to write! Thank you for reading our Torah study notes for this week, and we pray for you a blessed week ahead, that may you ever grow in your knowledge of YHWH. And, as always, please let us know if you ever see anything in our studies that sounds "off the mark"! Nobody has the market cornered on absolute Truth; we are all learning and obeying to the best of our abilities....