The Two Covenants of the Torah
by James Trimm
Many of us have missed an important truth. The New Covenant has been in the Torah all along! And this amazing truth is a major key in understanding the writings of Paul. There are in fact two covenants in the Torah and two Mosaic Covenants. The first Mosaic Covenant was made at Mt. Sinai at Horev.
The Second Mosaic Covenant was made at Mt. Nebo at Mo’av. This was a second covenant which YHWH made with the people of Israel through Moses which was made shortly before the death of Moses and the entry of Israel into the Land. This covenant was made near the end of the Torah:
These are the words of the covenant which YHWH commanded Moshe to make with the children of Yisra’el in the land of Mo’av, beside the covenant which He made with them in Horev. (Deut. 28:69 (29:1)) Note that this Covenant at Mo’av was made besides the Covenant made at Sinai.
Rashi makes an important comment about the significance of this word “besides”: besides the covenant [Namely,] the curses [which appear] in Lev. (26: 14-39), which were proclaimed at [Mount] Sinai. (Rashi on Deut. 28:69)
Rashi sees that these are two different covenants and that the word besides is intended to distinguish the Covenant at Sinai, characterized by “the curses” with this new Covenant made at Mo’av which is characterized not just by curses (Deut.29:16-29) but by blessings as well. This covenant was centered around repentance (30:2, 8) and its rewards included a promise of a regathering of Israel from among the nations (30:3-4), a circumcised heart (30:2, 6), Israel would be his people and He would be their Elohim (29:13); a promise of land (30:5) and life (30:6, 15, 19).
This Covenant also includes Torah observance: if you shall hearken to the voice of YHWH your Elohim, to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this Book of the Torah; if you turn unto YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul. (Deut. 30:10)
Continued...
NOTE: Not to be confused with Dual Covenant Theology
Sunday, December 30, 2007
The Two Covenants of the Torah, by James Trimm
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Friday, December 28, 2007
The Peaceful Majority, by William Haynes/Yoel.Ben-Avraham
The Peaceful Majority- - - - by Yoel.Ben-Avraham
I used to know a man whose family was German aristocracy prior to World War Two. They owned a number of large industries and estates. I asked him how many German people were true Nazis, and the answer he gave has stuck with me and guided my attitude toward fanaticism ever since.
"Very few people were true Nazis "he said," but many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.
"We are told again and again by "experts" and "talking heads" that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace.
Although this unqualified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam.
The fact is that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history.It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars worldwide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is that the "peaceful majority" is the "silent majority" and it is cowed and extraneous.
Communist Russia comprised Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China's huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people.
The average Japanese individual prior to World War 2 was not a warmongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of killing that included the systematic murder of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And, who can forget Rwanda , which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were "peace loving"? History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points:
- Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence.
- Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don't speak up, because like my friend from Germany , they will awake one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun.
- Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Serbs Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late.
As for us who watch it all unfold; we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.
Lastly, I wish to add: I sincerely think that anyone who rejects this as just another political rant, or doubts the seriousness of this issue or just deletes it without paying heed to it, or sending it on, is part of the problem. Lets quit laughing at and forwarding the jokes and cartoons which denigrate and ridicule our leaders in this war against terror. They are trying to protect the interests and well being of the world and it's citizens. Best we support them.
William Haynes
ENGAGE - For a Secure Israel (ESFI)
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Friday, December 21, 2007
The Bread Basket... "His Presence" Among Men
I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
This was especially so in the case of the Showbread, and one aspect of its function was indeed to elicit Divine guidance and providence. The sages teach that since these loaves were in essence the vehicle for fulfilling G-d's commandment, and they were used to accomplish His will, special blessing could be found in it, and indeed, the Divine blessing was seen and felt particularly in the context of the Showbread. The Talmud describes that a miracle took place every week: When the priests came to replace the breads with new loaves every Sabbath, they found that those of the previous week remained fresh and hot upon the table, like the moment they were baked. This miracle was seen as a clear confirmation that the Divine Presence indeed rested in this holy place."
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Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Preach It, Brother! A Shocking Message...
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2002 Youth Conference
American Christianity may steal your soul!
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Monday, December 17, 2007
Saturday, December 15, 2007
...You Meant Evil Against Me, but God Meant It for Good...
23 "For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing.
24 "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!
25 "And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span?
26 "If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters?
27 "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
28 "But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith!
29 "And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.
30 "For all these things the nations (pagans) of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things.
31 "But seek His kingdom, and these things will be added to you.
32 "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.
33 "Sell your possessions and give to charity; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.
34 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
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Friday, December 14, 2007
Behold, Thy Salvation Cometh...
A picture is worth a thousand words, but a video is worth much more. Here, Hamas presents their children, who are already well steeped in hatered for all Zionist, Jew and Christian alike, for Israel and America. At the end, a pretty little girl says, "We will wipe out all the people of Zion. Not one of them will be left." I would like to call her a "beautiful" little girl, but for me, beauty exudes from within... her parents and her community have already stolen her beauty through her Islamic, Jihadist indoctrination... and their belief in a moon god may steal her life one day along with the precious lives of some Israeli people. O LORD, forbid this!!!!
There's not much time left before Messiah comes - we see the signs everywhere on a global scale. Many, many Scriptures come to mind as I watched this video: 2 Chronicles 20, Isaiah 62, Ezekiel 37, Joel... to name a few. But we know this: the battle is the LORD's. He, Himself, takes up Israel's cause. Let us humble ourselves before Adonai and pray in the advent of Messiah's coming... and wait... be still and wait for and trust in the LORD!
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In the eyes of all the world, I am proud to be named a Zionist and be counted among God's chosen people. I, for one, am standing in the gap and praying for Israel and God's chosen, covenant people, the Jews. I, for one, will advocate for Israel and the Jewish people unto my last breath! We need to continue to educate ourselves regarding these issues and the era in which we are living... this is it... Messiah is coming, He's right around the corner! Pray and wait, wait and pray!
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10 Go out through the gates!
Prepare the highway for my people to return!
Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders;
raise a flag for all the nations to see.
11 The Lord has sent this message to every land:
“Tell the people of Israel,[e]
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”
12 They will be called “The Holy People”
and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”
And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place”
and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”
(Isaiah 62:10-12)
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As you know, I recently heard Avi Lipkin speak and he repeated something that Golda Meir said when asked, "When do you think the violence will come to an end?" To which she replied, "When Palestinian mothers start loving their children more than they hate the Jews."
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Palestinians serve a false god named "allah", and like Molech, apparently allah requires that they sacrifice their children to him. Like Avi said, Islam suffers from a psychosis just like the Nazis did. They think they can defeat the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and wipe away His chosen people from the face of the earth... sorry, Charlie, it ain't gonna happen! Truly, Islam is possessed by Satan... Satan has always sought to destroy God's people via peoples outside the covenant with God. Our comfort lies in knowing our God is the One, True God, who keeps His promises!
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Praise God, He is so good! Aren't you exceedingly glad we serve a good and loving God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who loves LIFE? Yes! Bless His Holy Name forever and ever!
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Tuesday, December 11, 2007
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and Ransom Captive Israel
Lyrics:
O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
***
Baruch HaShem! Oh, yes... ransom Your people, Israel! Bless Your people, Israel!
10 Moreover the LORD spoke again to Ahaz, saying, 11 “Ask a sign for yourself from the LORD your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.” 12 But Ahaz said, “I will not ask, nor will I test the LORD!” 13 Then he said, “Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.[b] (Isaiah 7:10-14)
6 “Yet I have set My King
On My holy hill of Zion.”
7 “I will declare the decree:
The LORD has said to Me,
‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You. (Psalm 2:6-7)
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your holy one,[b]
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
20 I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are my Father,
My God, and the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him My firstborn,
The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him. (Psalm 89:19-28)
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:33)
Amen v' Amen!
And my favorite song since childhood... The Little Drummer Boy, by Josh GrobanGod bless you, Josh... you play your drum well for your King and Messiah!
Another beautiful song by Josh, O Holy Night...
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My Jewish and Christian Zionist Friends...
If you have the opportunity to catch Avi Lipkin during his tour of the U.S. and Canada and invite him to your synagogue or church, I guarantee he is worth the effort!
God has blessed me in placing me in Houston, Texas, where there is a group of dedicated Christian Zionist, Hineni Ministries, whose hearts are turned toward God, Israel, and the Jewish people. This group typically meets once a month to hear and support Jewish guest speakers, Israeli and non-Israeli alike. I have had the privilege of sitting in meetings and listening to Ari Abramowitz, International Center for Biblical Zionism, and Avi Lipkin... just to name a couple of the excellent guests our group has hosted.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Happy 18th Birthday, My Precious Michaela!
Posted by Deborah 5 comments