Jan 27, 2015 Posted by RobSkiba2 in Law and Grace

Obedience to YHWH is too hard and keeping the Appointed Times is too difficult?

Published by Rob Skiba January 27, 2015 at 12:52 PM

Deuteronomy 30:

1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee,

2 And shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that I command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul;

3 That then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.

4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

5 And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.

6 And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.

7 And the Lord thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.

8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

9 And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers:

10 If thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

11 For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off.

12 It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

13 Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?

14 But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.

15 See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil;

16 In that I command thee this day to love the Lord thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it.

17 But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them;

18 I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, and that ye shall not prolong your days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it.

19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:

20 That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.

Most of the questions I get regarding the Law and the Appointed Times (Feasts) are easily resolved when you recognize that we are still in the YHWH ordained exile that began in about 720BC and was solidified in 70AD. As the “lost sheep of the house of Israel” we have NOT collectively returned ALL of our hearts back to Him. Thus, HE has not yet re-established the “nation” of Israel in the land (1948 was established by Rothschilds, Illuminists, Zionists and Freemasons in fulfillment of Zeph. 2:1,2, NOT Isaiah 66:8) for us to return to it. Could the Jews still do what was required while in the Babylonian captivity? No. They could only do so in their hearts and minds. They could NOT just go to Jerusalem and participate in things with NO Temple in place and the land in ruin, etc.. All they could do was turn their hearts back to YHWH with a DESIRE to get “back on His page” again. Then, at the APPOINTED TIME, YHWH brought them out of their captivity and back into the land, which was then restored as well.

We – as Ephraim – are only now beginning to wake-up from a 2700+ year-long slumber in the pagan pig pen of our extended diaspora that began with a desire to NOT do things YHWH’s way, but rather our own way. MANY of us are still holding on to the very things that got us booted out to begin with. Others, are only now beginning to let go of those things. ALL of us are still trying to figure out what “getting on YHWH’s page” even means. In short, as a whole, we are only now beginning the process of true repentance, with a heart to FINALLY start obeying YHWH again. And just like with Judah, there will come a time when the Father will say, “OK. Let’s go back to the Garden and try this again.”

So, then are we who are trying to observe the things found in the Torah – such as the Feasts – in disobedience because we don’t go to Jerusalem for 3 of the Appointed Times as commanded? In short, no, I do not believe we are in “disobedience” for not going to Jerusalem, because the TRUE Jerusalem has not yet been established in accordance with Lev. 26, Jeremiah 23, 30, 31, Hosea 2, Isaiah 65-66, Ezekiel 37 (and numerous others). Nor have we been regathered by “the hand of YHWH” and pulled from the four corners of the earth back to the land yet either. Therefore we are all limited by the reality established by YHWH Himself. As such, we cannot be in disobedience when total obedience has been rendered utterly impossible. We are all (unfortunately) still stuck “in Babylon” though many of us are desperately trying to get out – at least in our hearts and minds, if not physically. Again, the physical part will happen by the “hand of YHWH” and it is still off in the future yet to happen according to the Scriptures. Thus, we can only do what we can do, where we can do it.

As for the animal sacrifice argument, Yeshua became the final sacrifice for sin. He then became our new High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. His blood became the last of that which needs to be spilled for atonement. Numerous Scriptures confirm this (especially in Hebrews). So, all the “hard work” has been done. We have nothing more to do but CELEBRATE as best we can, where and how we can!

Was it ever “too hard” to participate in X-mess and Ishtar celebrations? No. So, why complicate the TRUE HOLY-days of YHWH? Why create a “burden” that is NOT meant to be there regarding these things?

1 John 5:

1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.

2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

His commandments are NOT too far off. They are NOT too difficult. They are NOT “grievous” or burdensome! As seen in Deuteronomy 30 and 1 John 5, both Moses and John CLEARLY state that following YHWH is NOT something too hard for us, but rather it is supposed to be easy and full of life-giving blessing. So, if you are finding it too hard and too burdensome, you are doing something wrong… and you are likely listening to the lies of the enemy.

For me, and my albeit limited, but growing understanding of all of this, I find NO burden in…

1. RESTING on the Sabbath instead of working 12+ hours like I normally do.
2. Eating lamb, bitter herbs and unleavened bread for Passover as I CELEBRATE and REMEMBER what the final Lamb did for me.
3. Cleaning my house of leaven as I examine my own heart and mind for the same. If anything is “hard” it is the latter, for my flesh can be weak and it often “likes the leaven.” But this is just part of the normal walk with Christ and the war between flesh and spirit that we all have to deal with every day.
4. Recognizing that I am among the “First Fruits” redeemed by Yeshua.
5. Celebrating (and EATING) on the day that YHWH married us and the day the Holy Spirit came to fill OUR personal temples.
6. Having a big party with friends and family, blowing shofars, singing and praising YHWH as we look forward to His return.
7. Taking a day off for fasting, praying and examining my heart as I THANK YESHUA that He paid the price for my atonement.
8. Camping, eating and having a LOT OF FUN with friends and family during the most pleasant time of the year (here in Texas) for a week.

What’s so hard about any of the above? It’s just a lot of eating, resting, rejoicing, playing and examining my heart before YHWH – all while learning TREMENDOUS amounts of UNBELIEVABLE and AMAZING things I did not know or understand about the Savior I claim to believe in, through the Holy Spirit inspired Scriptures I say I trust to lead me to Him!

I don’t have over $7,000 to fly myself and my family to the counterfeit United Nations established land going by the name of “Israel.” YHWH has not yet seen fit to provide what is needed for me to go there, nor has HE even re-established the land after cleansing it for our return anyway. Until HE ushers us (collective Israel) back into the land, NO ONE is “required” to go anymore than the Jews were while in their 70 year captivity. So, unless YHWH shows me otherwise, I am quite content that we are in obedience (as best as we CAN be) in “observing” the various Appointed Times while still in the diaspora. The rest of it – for me anyway – is all about purging those things that got us dispersed from the land in the first place from my heart and mind. There has to be a spiritual exodus from within before we’ll see the Second Exodus from without. When HE re-establishes the land and HE gathers us by His outstretched, mighty arm, then and only then will we actually be ABLE to fully comply with all that we have been told to do while operating in HIS KINGDOM, which has been purged of all that is not of Him.

Many try to show me various videos and articles and webpages and FB Notes, etc. to argue to the contrary. I appreciate the effort, but here’s the thing you need to understand: I’ve been a Believer for nearly 40 years now. I have ALWAYS studied the Word – since age 7. I can’t remember a season in my life when I did not. I practically lived in the church. It was my home away from home. I’ve been in some form of ministry my WHOLE LIFE. I was a good Sunday morning (2 services), Sunday night and Wednesday night, regular church-goer of the Baptist faith. If the doors were open, I was not only there, but often an active participant in whatever was going on. For the most part, I lived, breathed and taught what they believe and taught (though I have always disagreed with Cessation Theology). During all but about the last 5 years worth of that time, I was FULLY IMMERSED in the very things people try to show me here. Again, I used to teach a LOT of that stuff myself. I can watch about 5 to 10 minutes worth of a video or read a few paragraphs worth of text or listen to a few minutes of dialogue and generally tell exactly where the person’s general point of view is headed. Honestly, I have yet to see/hear/read something sent to me that I didn’t already once at least entertain at some point in my life. I’m not trying to be arrogant or prideful. I just don’t have the time nor the desire to subject myself to that which I have come out of. People debate my current views all the time, but they aren’t saying anything new to me. In fact, I’ve used MOST of the same counter-arguments MYSELF until the scales finally fell from my eyes and I could only recently see what I had previously been so blinded to before. But now, I just can’t see ANY justification in the mixture of paganism and the vain traditions/doctrines of men with the true ways of YHWH. That’s why I simply will not waste my time on anything that is contrary to being obedient to YHWH as clearly laid out for us in the Scriptures.

It’s more than just the X-mess trees, Santa and Easter Bunnies. It’s all of that totally UNBIBLICAL mess we’ve all participated in, while immersed in standard 20th and 21st Century “Christianity.” It’s anything that would steer me AWAY from obedience through lame justifications and “hermeneutical” mental gymnastics, which twist and grossly distort Scripture. After nearly 40 years of justifying my own garbage, why would I want to listen to/read/watch someone else continuing to justify theirs? My teacher is the Holy Spirit through Scriptures. He is telling ME to get out of that old stuff. I’m just doing my best to comply. I post stuff here on Facebook simply to share what I think I’m learning as I begin to realize what “coming out of Babylon” really looks like. You have your journey. This is mine. Take it or leave it, but I’m not going back. I’ve found WAY too much joy in “getting back on YHWH’s page” doing things His way instead of my way.

His way is easy and His burden is light. Amen and praise Yah!

– Rob Skiba