Grafted into Israel and Understanding Torah

Regarding the question of whether saved believers remain Gentiles — according to the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2, once you are saved by the blood of the Lamb, you are no longer a Gentile. You are brought into the Commonwealth of Israel. Read Ephesians 2:11–13, Romans 11, and Galatians 3. You are grafted in. We are one new body and one new man, all together in the Commonwealth of Israel — the Kingdom of Israel. The Jewish people are as well; Jew and Gentile grafted in together. The Old Testament gives us great prophetic pictures of Gentiles being included: Jacob's blessing when he crossed his hands in Genesis, and Ruth, who is a wonderful example of a Gentile crossing over to the God of Israel — leaving her Moabite gods behind and embracing the God of Israel. That is a great question and something we all need to understand. You do not want to stand before the Lord as a Gentile. You want to be in the Commonwealth of Israel, which belongs to Him, and the Jewish people are part of it as well.

Regarding tomorrow night's prayer, I was going to do it at 6 PM, but if you prefer 8 PM, let me know. We will get online and I will have a Zoom link so we can have more privacy from some of the trolls we have had lately.

On the question of God's wrath and the Rapture — I totally believe we are not destined for God's wrath. The difference of opinion concerns the distinction between the Antichrist's wrath and God's wrath. I believe we are not appointed to God's wrath, and in my studies I believe His wrath specifically refers to those final days of judgment, while the Antichrist's wrath spans three and a half years. But God knows best and we all simply have to trust Him and see. We need to live in what I call "pan-trib" — trust that it will all pan out — and continue doing our part in God's kingdom. The Rapture is our blessed hope and we look for it, but we cannot be so consumed with wanting to be raptured away that we neglect our responsibilities. We have a job to do in God's kingdom. As Linda Castro rightly said, the Great Commission and soul winning — that is our job. The Rapture will take care of itself. I promise you it will, and it will be on the Feast of Trumpets, because that is the feast associated with the day that no one knows. That is the feast it points to.

Regarding the Feast of Trumpets itself — it is plainly in scripture in Leviticus 23. It has different names: Rosh Hashanah simply means "the head of the civil year," and Yom Teruah is the Hebrew name. Just as Jesus is called by different names, the feast days are called by different names. That does not make them invalid or anti-gospel in any way. Read Leviticus 23. Read Genesis 1 regarding the calendar. These are divine appointments, and that is very important. They are in the Bible, and all the traditions I have mentioned — the priest, the thief in the night, no one knowing the day or the hour — you can confirm all of those online. This feast is certainly not pagan. It is a divine appointment of the Lord.

Now regarding what Paul meant when he said we are no longer under the curse of the Torah — this is an important distinction. We are saved by grace through faith; that is certain. But Jesus himself tells us that if we love Him, we keep His commandments. The New Testament had not yet been written when He said that, so He was pointing us back to the Hebrew scriptures, because those are His commandments. And in fact He added even more to the Torah in the New Testament, so those who want to be rid of the Torah need to ask the Messiah Himself in prayer why He added to it.

To directly answer the question: Paul says we are saved from the curse of the Torah. That does not mean we are saved from the Torah itself. The Torah teaches us how to be good believers — love your neighbor, love the Lord. These are beautiful things. We are saved from the curse of the Torah because when we fall short, when we miss the mark, we have grace. We have the blood of the Lamb. That is not a license to sin; it simply means that none of us can perfectly follow the Torah because we are all sinners. That is why the Lord sent His Son — to save us from our sins, because none of us are consistent enough on our own. Paul is saying you are saved from the curse, not saved from the Torah itself.

For further clarity, look at Romans 3:31. Paul poses the question himself: does our faith nullify the Torah? And he answers with an emphatic no — your faith establishes the Torah. He came to fulfill it, and he came to establish it on the earth. "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." He is telling us He wants our ways to mirror His ways in heaven, and that is the original revelation of the Torah.

We are saved from the curse of the Torah because we all fell short — and that is where grace comes in, where the blood of the Lamb covers us, corrects us, and calls us to do better. It all hinges on the two greatest commandments: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. Because the entire Torah hangs on those two commandments, if you truly love the Lord with everything in you and truly love your neighbor, you will not have idols, you will not break the Sabbath, you will not dishonor your parents, you will not murder, steal, covet, or bear false witness. You will keep the Ten Commandments. You will understand the feast days. You will follow the Torah as a guideline — as boundary lines for being good human beings and good believers.

The switch of mindset we need is simply this: the Torah is love, because that is exactly what Jesus said it was when He summarized it in those two great commandments. But mankind has proven over and over that he cannot obey the commandments and the ways of the Lord on his own. That does not make them obsolete — it means we all need a Redeemer. We need salvation through Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah.

Think of it this way: if you are a parent, what if your child disobeyed you constantly? Would you simply never correct them because you love them? No — the scriptures actually say that if you spare the rod you hate your child. A good father corrects and purifies out of love. In the same way, our Father in heaven cleanses and purifies us out of love, to bring us into His ways. His ways are not burdensome, as the Apostle John tells us. Messiah Himself says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." Each person needs to ask himself — what are His commandments? He is the Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation. When He returns, He comes back with the Word of God written on His thigh.

You cannot set aside the Torah, and here is why: those who would do so must reconcile Isaiah 2 and Micah 4. If the Torah were truly invalid, why is He sending it out from Jerusalem during the Millennial Kingdom when He returns? Isaiah 2 and Micah 4 are clear on this. We must understand that if anyone thinks the Torah is done away with —

The Torah was not made invalid. Why would Yeshua send it out to the nations during the Millennial Kingdom? Because these are his ways — perfect ways for all of us to be good human beings. The Torah was crucified and resurrected with Yeshua the Messiah. He came to fulfill it and to establish it on this Earth, and when he returns at the second coming and reigns during the Millennium, he will send it out to the nations.

Consider Isaiah 2 and Deuteronomy 33. What does it say? He comes with a fiery Torah in his right hand. That is a Millennial Kingdom, second coming scripture. Those blessings from Deuteronomy 33 have not yet occurred — Moses never came from Sinai with ten thousand saints as the scripture describes. That will occur at the second coming. So the blessings Moses pronounced over the tribes in Deuteronomy 33 will be fulfilled at his second coming and Millennial reign, with a fiery Torah in his right hand.

Please review these scriptures and let the Holy Spirit lead you. The Holy Spirit is going to confirm the Torah. You cannot separate the Holy Spirit and Torah — they were given on the same day, though years apart. We are safe from the curse of the Torah, not from the Torah itself. How is anyone going to be judged without the Torah? There is no judgment without law, and if "law" is the translation of Torah, then go read Matthew 7, Matthew 24, and Matthew 25, where Yeshua says, "Get away from me, all you who practice lawlessness" — or Torah-lessness. That is critical to understand.

The Torah is freedom. It is liberty when you are under the blood of the Lamb. Yes, there are around 613 laws, but we must understand them both biblically and with common sense. The Torah is not telling you to go sacrifice animals in your backyard — only the high priest does that. No one on Earth today is keeping the Torah completely, because to do so you must have a temple, be in Israel, and have a high priest. Most of us do not live in Israel, we have no temple, and we have no literal high priest today — though we will, and he will perform all these things.

What we must grasp are the principles: the Ten Commandments, the feast days, understanding the covenants. If you are a judge, do not take a bribe. If you are a farmer, let your land rest every seventh year and feed the poor. These are great commandments. If someone wants to throw out the Torah entirely, then when someone steals from you, there should be no justice — there is no law. That makes no sense. The Torah is where justice is. That is where righteousness is found. If we eliminate it, we embrace lawlessness: theft, murder, adultery, idolatry. The Torah is a guide for living — for judges, farmers, priests, whoever you are. If a specific commandment does not apply to your role or station, it does not bind you. A non-priest does not need to sacrifice animals.

The Ten Commandments are beautiful. The feast days are beautiful. They are commandments, but they are wrapped in love. We keep them because we love him, not because we have to. We do not keep them to be saved — we keep them because we are saved. These are not bondage. When you live within them, covered by the blood of the Lamb, it is freedom and liberty. Without that covering, yes, the letter kills — but Paul must be read in context. He says your faith establishes the Torah in Romans 3:31. People must reconcile that with the other scriptures they selectively quote, or else heed Peter's warning: do not take Paul out of context for your own destruction. As Peter wrote, some of what Paul says is hard to understand, and people twist it — "The law is done away with, I've got Jesus, I can do whatever I want." That is not how it works.

Yeshua said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." That is Revelation 22, written after the crucifixion and resurrection. Revelation 22:14 says, "Blessed are those who do his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city." There is a contingency upon entering the New Jerusalem and inheriting the tree of life — it is dependent on keeping the commandments. That is the Apostle John writing in Revelation 22. These are scriptures. Read them for yourself.

This is not only for Jewish people. All of us are required to worship God, honor his divine appointments, and keep the Ten Commandments. People want to make it complicated because they do not like to obey. Mankind loves to worship itself — look at history, look at the man-made traditions that have infiltrated the church. Every other part of creation does exactly what the Lord has ordained: the sun, the moon, the stars, the birds, the trees. The only part of creation that disobeys is mankind — his greatest creation, and the one that lets him down the most.

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I want to express deep appreciation to everyone who has stayed with us through this long broadcast. Even where we disagree, we can all agree on this: Yeshua is King, he is the Messiah, and if you are saved by Jesus the Messiah, you are entering the Kingdom of Heaven — which is ultimately the Kingdom of Israel. We can agree to disagree on things we cannot reconcile, and that is okay. God knows best, and he will correct us all. We are here to edify one another, all trying to reach the same destination.

To Ashish in Nepal — good to see you, my friend; happy Feast of Trumpets to you and your family. To Mark C. — Shalom, my friend.

Regarding upcoming gatherings: we will be doing a prayer tomorrow night. It was scheduled at 6:00 PM, but I feel led to move it to 8:00 PM to keep it on the same time schedule as our other gatherings. I know some of you were ready for 6:00, and I apologize — but 8:00 will serve the West Coast better. If you cannot make it live, it will be on replay, and it is just the same either way. We will also do a prayer right before Yom Kippur, when the books are sealed — likely around October 3rd or 4th. Yom Kippur falls on the evening of October 4th through October 5th, so I will post the schedule on YouTube so everyone knows how to gather.

We are in an important transitional season. The Feast of Trumpets, Rosh Hashanah — it marks the beginning of a new month, the beginning of a biblical year on the civil calendar, and the beginning of a new seven-year cycle, looking ahead to the Jubilee year on Yom Kippur ten days from now. This is a wonderful time of transformation.

Let us focus less on the debates over the Rapture or the Torah and focus instead on the Lord and on this appointed time — the Feast of Trumpets. The books are open right now and will be sealed on Yom Kippur. The stories of Joseph, Nebuchadnezzar, and Belshazzar all point us to this season: when verdicts are decreed, delivered, and sealed. This is an important time to purify, to refine, to cleanse ourselves, to repent, and to seek favor with the Lord for the coming year — for ourselves, our families, and the body of Messiah.

Remember the Hebrew letter and the constellation of Libra — we are waiting for the scales to be balanced during this time. On October 3rd we will begin our devotional series on the Hebrew letter, which launches our purification journey leading into Yom Kippur. Then on Yom Kippur we close out the ten days. Five days later comes the Feast of Tabernacles — the honeymoon — eight days of rejoicing as we enter the new year. Trumpets calls us to repent. Yom Kippur calls us to be redeemed. And Tabernacles is when we rejoice together, filled with love and the grace, mercy, and lovingkindness of the Lord.

Maranatha — come, Lord, come. On the Feast of Trumpets, in some future year — on the last year of the tribulation — our Messiah will return. He will come with a sword, with a circle of fire, and there will be a ten-day war. We will go deeper into that when we reach Yom Kippur — Isaiah 63 and Revelation 19 as we trace those prophetic ten days from Trumpets to Yom Kippur.

Friends, I love you all. Feel free to email me with anything, including prayer requests. For those joining us tomorrow for the Courts of Heaven prayer, we will go through the document and the prayer itself, and when we reach the petitions I will allow approximately fifteen to twenty minutes for personal petition time.

For those of you petitioning your own cases, I will give you an example of how I approach it, though of course each of you will petition in your own way. I want to encourage you: whatever you may be praying about, find two or three scriptures in the Holy Bible to establish the matter in the courts of Heaven. Remember, by the mouth of two or three witnesses it will be established. Whatever topic you plan to bring before the Lord, have two or three scriptures to substantiate it in the courts of Heaven. I promise you, friends, it will move your prayer life — it has for me. This is not the only way to pray; I am simply sharing what I and those close to me have experienced. It is really just the Word of God organized in a courtroom manner, and it has deeply enriched my prayer life and the operation of spiritual gifts.

Tomorrow night at 8 PM we will be congregating again. If you would like to continue any conversation or have questions you would like answered privately, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I would love to network with you, connect on these topics, and explore ideas together. That invitation is open to everyone — prayer requests, testimonies, whatever is on your heart. I have already received a few testimonials and it is simply beautiful. The Lord is moving, the Holy Spirit is moving, and we are living in remarkable times. It is an honor, a privilege, and a blessing to be alive and to pursue these things with the Lord. This is intimacy with Him at its finest.

We will see you tomorrow night at 8 PM on YouTube, and all other broadcasts will follow the table of contents in the book. The dates on the left column are listed in order, and that schedule reflects when the live videos will take place.

Thank you all — it has been a long night, and I know it has been for everyone. Happy Feast of Trumpets. Rosh Hashanah. Yom Teruah. Whatever name you call it, blessings over every one of you.

To download the book, visit faithfulperformance.com. You can also email [email protected] and I will send it to you directly. It is a free book. Do not forget the music as well — many of the songs are already on YouTube, and we are finishing the mastering and mixing of the remaining tracks, which we hope to release around Yom Kippur. Those will be free as well. The songs span different styles — worship, jazz-influenced, Christian rock — but all carry spiritual lyrics and, I pray, genuine inspiration. They were created in collaboration with my good friend Taylor Strickland, who handles the vocals and musicianship. I write the lyrics and arrange the music, content to stay in the background, and I hope the songs truly bless you.

Have a wonderful night. May God bless you and keep you. May His face shine upon you and grant you His grace. May He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His everlasting shalom, forevermore.