Messianic Myths of the 21st Century (2): Incidents of God Changing His Own Law

[Rebbe]

MESSIANIC MYTHS OF THE 21ST CENTURY (PART 2)

INCIDENTS OF GOD CHANGING HIS OWN LAW

Copyright © BRI 2012,2018 All Rights Reserved Worldwide
by Les Aron Gosling, Messianic Lecturer (BRI/IMCF)

CAUTION: BRI/IMCF Yeshiva notes are not available to the general public. They are not for distribution. They are not for reproduction. The notes may also bear little or no resemblance to the actual recorded BRI/IMCF Yeshiva lecture.

We have seen in Part One of this series that the idea of the Torah of God as being "eternal," "immutable," and "unchangeable" -- that it is set in concrete -- is an utter nonsense. That God changed the laws He gave to Moses, that in the days of the prophet Ezekiel they were again changed, and that this occurred still yet again when Ezra (the prophet Malachi) updated the commandments for a more "modern" society is obvious to anybody who reads the sacred texts. Some very few Messianics have come to realise, too, that Our Lord Yeshua also changed and adjusted existing Torah commandments to more appropriately reveal the true heart of His Father God. I can illustrate this FACT plainly and will do so over the next few lectures as I announce them.


At the risk of being accused of prodigious repetition, please be reminded that there were five covenants, or contracts, associated with Israel, the chosen people of God.

The five covenants are...

(a) the Abrahamic Covenant.

(b) the Zion Covenant.

(c) the Davidic Covenant.

(d) the Mosaic (Sinai) Covenant.

(e) the New Covenant.

Despite the fables promulgated by those who hold to Replacement Theology, these covenants/contracts were unconditional covenants. Indeed, the Zion and Davidic covenants were amplifications of the original Abrahamic Covenant. The only Covenant that was entirely conditional was the Mosaic Sinai Covenant.

The Mosaic, or Sinai, Covenant was made with Israel by God in an indirect way through the agency of angelic beings. In our modern terminology, we would call these angelic beings "extraterrestrials." Recall from other lectures on the Covenants of God that I have shared over the past 40+ years, that Rav Shaul assessed Israel's covenanted dealings with heaven through the Sinai contract as "a religion of angels" (Col 2.18). Paul uses a Greek noun -- threeskia -- which has been mistranslated in a number of popular Bibles as "worship" or similar. But it is not really worship as such, but the means or channel of worship, the ceremonial form or ritual, in other words "religion." It is the same identical word used in Ac 26.5 & Jam 1.26,27. Notice it now:

"They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion [Gk. threeskia] I lived a Pharisee" (Acts 26.5).

"If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one's religion [Gk. threeskia] is useless. Pure and undefiled religion [Gk. threeskia] before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from [the ways of] the world" (Jam 1.26,27).

None of us must shrink from the obvious biblical revelation that the Judaisms of the Second Temple Period were fragmentary residues of an earlier, powerful cultus: the original religion of Moses which came into an existence through the intermediary channel of extraterrestrial beings. Judaism was a religion of angels, short and sweet! Some of us may not like the implications of this assessment but it is the truth of the matter, and history establishes this to be a fact.

This is a primary reason why the unknown author of the circular letter to the Hebrews  denounces angels and exalts Yeshua and the liberty and freedom which he brought to those who had accepted him. The Sinai covenant is seen to be of lesser import than the new covenant which Yeshua brought.

Certainly, the Sinai Covenant was arranged at a time when the founder of Knossos had received from a god on a holy, cloud-covered mountain the Cretan law (Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 2.61). Ancient Babylonians accepted at face value that Hammurabi, also on a mountain, received his famous laws on stone tablets from the very hand of the Assyrian winged-disk god Shamash (Robert Graves [Intro]., New Larousse Encyclopaedia of Mythology, 1959, 53). A recently deciphered stele unearthed at Babylon depicts the Mosaic parallel as noted in The Clarendon Bible (Oxford University Press). Lycurgus likewise received the laws of Sparta from Zeus (Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica, 126.23,25; Herodotus, History 1.65) while Zoroaster on Mt Sabalan obtained the Persian laws from Ahura-Mazda (Joseph Gaer, How the Great Religions Began, 1929, 127). The sixty-eighth Psalm in verse four rejoices, "Sing the praises of God [Hebrew, elohim - gods, angels] and extol him who rides on the clouds." The Psalmist adds, a little later, "The chariots of God [elohim] are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels." An alternate text reads "The chariots of God [elohim] are twenty thousand, and thousands of thousands" (Ps 68.17). Ugaritic texts refer to Ba'al as "Rider of the clouds" (Gleason L. Archer Jnr, A Survey of Old Testament Introduction, 1964, 1974, 168, n.2). The Scriptures of the Qumran Community make mention of the "Watchers" and "Holy Ones" descending from the heavens to interfere in the schemes of mortals (cf. Dan 4.13,17,23; Strong's Exh.Conc., Heb #5894 "a watcher, ie., an angel as guardian").

Have you ever noticed that the letter to the Hebrews opens with an introduction demoting angels? All through the letter there is a marked preference for the Mashiach. "If THE WORD [TORAH] SPOKEN THROUGH ANGELS proved steadfast... every transgression and disobedience received a just reward... how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation... spoken by the Lord" (Heb 2.2). Again, "Being made so much better than the angels... he has obtained a far more excellent name than they... to which of the angels said he at any time, You are my Son... let the angels of God worship him... and of the angels he says, He makes his angels serving spirits, flames of fire... to which of the angels says he at any time, Sit on my right hand...they are serving spirits...unto the angels has he not put in subjection the world to come... you have made man a little lower than the angels [and] has placed all things under man's subjection... he took not on himself the nature of angels..." (Heb 1.4-7,13,14; 2.5-8,16).

Hebrews denounces the realm of angels. All students of biblical history know that angels dominate the Second Temple Period -- indeed, their presence in the Jewish religion dates from the 2nd century BCE and continues to run right through to the end of the 1st century CE. But in the Messianic Movement of that period there is a pronounced shift away from anything to do with them in a religious way. Yeshua rather is elevated to a primacy, and angels are downgraded. As the rest of the letter to the Hebrews makes manifest, the association of angels with Sinai precludes any further recognition of the Sinai covenant. Even Moses takes a nosedive in respect of Yeshua. And so also does the Temple service and the Levitical priesthood.

The book of Jubilees, itself a very ancient document, stresses that angels penned the entire Torah for Moses. "And He said to THE ANGEL of the presence: Write for Moses from the beginning of creation till My sanctuary has been built among them, for all eternity" (Jub 1.27-28).

Stephen, Christianity's first recorded martyr, claimed that the Torah of Sinai was delivered, not by HaShem, but by angels: "Who have received the Torah BY THE DISPOSITION OF ANGELS, and have not kept it" (Acts 7.53). Earlier, in this same defense, Stephen clarifies that the "God" who spoke with the prophet Moses at Sinai was only an angel: "And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai AN ANGEL OF THE LORD in a flame in a bush" (Acts 7.30). He adds, "This is he, that was in the ekklesia in the wilderness with THE ANGEL WHICH SPOKE TO HIM IN MOUNT SINAI, and with our fathers: who received the living oracles [the Torah] to give to us [Jews]" (Acts 7.38). Paul adds to the Gauls in Galatia, that the Torah -- which was "holy, just and good" (Romans) -- was "put in place [or, ordained] through angels" (Gal 3.19 ESV. See also Josephus, Ant., XV, 136). The angels gave the law (Deut 33.2 LXX) upon the mountains of Sinai in the right hand of the predominant Messenger of God during a turbulent and chaotic period which almost eclipsed the human race in the second millennium BCE.

That "extraterrestrials" are associated with the giving of laws to various peoples on desolate holy mountains in the myths of antiquity and in legends of ancient races should surprise none of us. The book of Daniel associates specific elohim with the nations of Persia, Greece and Israel (Dan 10.13,20; 12.1). And Moses, according to the biblical revelation, had some form of social intercourse with angelic powers. Although written specifically about the God of Israel, all interpreters since have understood that the holy Spirit was referring to angelic (or, alien) creatures.

Aristides (circa 120 CE), a Christian writing in defense of his faith, even tells us: "The Jews too have gone astray from accurate knowledge. They suppose they are serving God, but in the methods of their actions THEIR SERVICE IS TO ANGELS and not to God, in that they observe [Torah injunctions, yet] which things not even thus they perfectly observe" (Aristides, Apology, XIV).

Indeed, HaShem stated through the prophet Ezekiel 20.25: "I also gave them statutes that were not good and ordinances [judgments] by which they should not live."

These are not heathen laws and rules and regulations as some Messianics would wish. These are by HaShem's admission precepts (given by angels) which did not (in the long run) serve Israelite interests. Think for a moment of the entire sacrificial system. Think of the MILLIONS of innocent creatures from little lambs to cooing doves that had their throats slashed and their blood poured out for nothing more than a reminder of sin. Think too of the policy of extermination of non-Israelite tribal peoples who had to be eliminated so that Israel could take the land these natives had long occupied. And, moreover, does the keeping of the Torah of God save anyone? Physical blessings (and some spiritual blessings) came as a result of obedience to God in this life, but in no place in the holy Scripture is such an idea of salvation by works espoused. Indeed, nothing could be further from the truth of the matter. Salvation has ever and always been by FAITH ALONE. A little careful research will reveal that the promise of salvation by faith was made by God to our Father Abraham long prior to the giving of Torah on Sinai under Moses. Not only so, it formed a precious section of the Abrahamic Covenant which still remains (Gal 3.16-18).

If this is the case, what was the Sinai Covenant?

The Sinai Covenant was a legal MARRIAGE AGREEMENT (contract) between HaShem and Israel. It was arranged through the intermediary of extraterrestrials!

In spiritual terms, God MARRIED Israel at Sinai. Recall that Israel said to God, "All that you have spoken, we will do" (Ex 19.1-8)

"In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, on the same day, they came to the Wilderness of Sinai. For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the Wilderness of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness. So Israel camped there before the mountain. And Moses went up to God, and HaShem called to him from the mountain, saying, Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel. So Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which HaShem commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, All that HaShem has spoken we will do. So Moses brought back the words of the people to HaShem."

And THEN what happened? God (an angel, according to the NT apostles and Jewish authorities) gave Israel the Ten Words (commandments) and then Moses splashed the people in the front row with a bucket of blood!

"So Moses came and told the people all the words of HaShem and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, All the words which HaShem has said we will do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. Then he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the Lord. And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the Book of the Covenant [the marriage contract] and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, All that HaShem has said we will do, and be obedient. And Moses took the blood, and splashed it on the people, and said, This is the blood of the covenant which HaShem has made with you according to all these words" (Ex 24.3-8).

HaShem says to Israel, through the prophet Jeremiah: "I am married unto you" (Jer 3.14). "I swore unto you, and entered into a covenant [contract] with you [Israel], and you became mine [Israel became God's wife]" (Eze 16.8). The blood symbolised the broken hymen of Israel, the virginal wife of HaShem.

God married Israel. And because the Sinai Covenant was a marriage agreement there were (in the very nature of the case) obligations to be met by both parties to ensure the success of this relationship. This is a reason why, from the very start of these lectures on the Covenants, that I have laboured to associate sexual themes in conjunction with the necessity of intimate contracts. But, like many modern relationships, this marriage (made in the heavens) was doomed from the start.

The failure of His marriage to Israel was a huge disappointment to Heaven, and so HaShem finally divorced her. "When for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce" (Jer 3.8).

Yes, ideally, divorce should not occur under any circumstances. But here HaShem himself has been shown to resort to a divorce because of Israel's broken contract with her husband. Note the qualification: Israel is described as "backsliding" so this is not a "one-off" incident of breaking the marriage covenant. Israel was refusing to change, and in fact because of her innate nature to be a complete dunderhead it was in actual fact a marriage that just could not last. No matter how much HaShem may have loved Israel, Israel was unable to meet the high standards HaShem had set emotionally, intellectually and psychologically.

This reflects the tragedy of modern courtship rituals (as they exist) without bounds of propriety. Oftentimes, and more than not, its marriage after a wild tumble in the hay (so to speak). But a stable, lasting marriage is contingent on more than the "equipment" and versatility of the consort. I mean, until a few years ago there existed an engagement period -- usually about 2 years in duration -- during which both prospective marriage partners would get to know their future spouse (partner) and sum up his or her emotional eligibility and stability for a positive outcome. Serious questions would be fielded regarding points of view concerning the raising of children, religious issues, dietary differences, genetic peculiarities, and it helped if the wife-to-be knew in advance what it was that "turned her husband on" and vice-versa. Is he keen on lingerie -- or does he like to wear it? A husband and wife went into the marriage at least knowing somewhat of what they were getting into. But not any more.

The divorce courts are filled to the brim with backlogged cases of people desiring divorce and complicated divorce settlements, custody battles and so forth. Its all very sad. But, where there are irretrievable differences between a wife and her husband, it is better to divorce than to shrivel up in hatred and bitterness and sorrow and anguish. These identification marks are not fruits of the Spirit of God -- rather they are the fruits or works of the flesh. Certainly, a marriage is intended to last forever. But if one party or the other continually and habitually breaks the contractual arrangement then the marriage must be severed. This is because it is already severed.

Well, having said all that, how long did HaShem court Israel before he proposed marriage? Well, from Ezekiel's description of this interesting relationship, HaShem got to know her over a period of 430 years, from her inception in Canaan until he married her at Mt Sinai! You would have thought that HaShem had gotten to know Israel quite well during that lengthy time period. Love is blind. Oftentimes its a case of the rose-coloured glasses being taken off after the honeymoon is over.

"Again the word of HaShem came to me, saying, Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, and say, This is what HaShem says to Jerusalem: Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, Live! Yes, I said to you in your blood, Live! I made you thrive like a plant in the field; and you grew, matured, and became very beautiful. Your breasts were formed, your pubic hair grew, but you were to me naked and bare."

Yes, the Lord fell hopelessly in love with Israel, and she was in his head 24/7. Her nakedness allured Him. Continuing:

"When I passed by you again and looked upon you [this was 430 years later; quite an engagement period], indeed your time was the time of love; so I spread your thighs and entered your nakedness. Yes, I swore an oath to you and entered into a covenant [a marriage contract] with you, and you became mine, says HaShem" (Eze 16.1-8).

In 721/718 BCE God's divorce of Israel came into effect. The Assyrians rose in power and military might and conquered Israel, taking her into captivity. A little later, in (circa) 586/585 BCE God's second wife, Judah, was also conquered by the Babylonians and she was taken into captivity to Babylon on the Euphrates. God had married sisters named Aholah and Aholibah (see Eze 23 entire chapter). They were Israel and Judah. Both were divorced by God.

And, this is where I take exception to certain of the stipulations of the Sinai Torah. I have said in past lectures that I would soon be plain about my views which I have largely kept under wraps for decades. But now it is, I believe, high time to make a stand against the legalism that professes to be "legitimate Nazarene Judaism."

God (in actuality, the angels of God) demands under the terms of the Mosaic or Sinai agreement (marriage contract) that a man must not marry two sisters (Lev 18.18) -- yet HaShem married two sisters, and the first book of Torah, Genesis, reveals that Jacob also was married to Rachel and Leah (sisters).

QUESTION: Is the angelic Sinai Covenant relative to us or is HaShem our prime example to follow?

God (in actuality, the angels of God) demanded under the terms of the Mosaic or Sinai agreement (marriage contract) that a man who divorces his wife can never again return to her.

"When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife, if the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that is an abomination before HaShem, and you shall not bring sin on the land which HaShem your God is giving you as an inheritance" (Deut 24.1-4).

Such a practice of disavowal of a bill of divorcement under these circumstances is termed an "ABOMINATION." It is emphasised "YOU SHALL NOT CAUSE THE LAND TO SIN." So it's pretty heavy stuff when you consider the ramifications of this commandment.

"This is what HaShem says: Where is the certificate of your mother's divorce, whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away" (Isa 50.1).

It appears to be an open and shut case.

Having said this, consider God's own loving attitude:

"They say, If a man divorces his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man's, may he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me, says HaShem" (Jer 3.1).

"Return, O backsliding children, says HaShem; for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you [again] to Zion" (Jer 3.14).  

"She will chase her lovers, but not overtake them; Yes, she will seek them, but not find them. Then she will say, I will go and return to my first husband, For then it was better for me than now. For she did not know that I gave her grain, new wine, and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold -  which they prepared for Ba'al. Therefore I will return and take away my grain in its time and my new wine in its season, and will take back my wool and my linen, given to cover her nakedness... Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak intimately with her ... And it shall be, in that day, says HaShem, That you will call me 'My Husband,' [Ishi] and no longer call Me 'My Master' [Ba'ali]" (Hos 2.7-9,14,16).

God was admitting publicly His errors in the relationship -- it wasn't only Israel's faults that brought the relationship to ruin. God was expecting Israel to only acknowledge Him as Lord. Not as lover.

"You are an adulterous wife, who takes strangers instead of her husband [behind my back]. And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy" (Eze 16.32,38). But compare this with the ultimate outcome for Israel. "For this is what HaShem says: I will deal with you as you have done, who despised the oath by breaking the [marriage] covenant. Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you. Then you will remember your ways and be ashamed, when you receive your older and your younger sisters; for I will give them to you for daughters, but not because of my covenant with you. And I will establish my covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am HaShem, that you may remember and be ashamed, and never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done, says HaShem your God" (Eze 16.59-63).

"Behold, the days come, says HaShem, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah [the two sisters God married and later divorced]: not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt [the Sinai covenant]; which my covenant [marriage contract] they broke, although I was a husband to them, says HaShem: but this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, says HaShem, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know HaShem: for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says HaShem: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer 31.31-34).

Here is an example of what is termed an "abomination" in the eyes of God (really, in the eyes of the angels of God) "causing the land to sin" and yet HaShem is shown to CHANGE THE LAW and the MARRIAGE CONTRACT to accommodate to His personal need for His previously divorced wife. One cannot help but ponder on some other things considered by believers to be "an abomination that causes the land to sin." If HaShem changes His mind on the matter of divorce, will He not also change His mind administratively in relation to other matters contained in the Sinai Covenant? I believe He not only will, but already has.

Again, is the angelic Sinai Covenant relative to us or is HaShem our prime example to follow? I am simply asking a question.

The agreement to pursue the outright extermination of the Canaanites was part and parcel of the Sinai marriage contract (Ex 23.23-33; Deut 20.17,18). But, in the days of Abraham, the patriarch made treaties with his Canaanite neighbours (Gen 14.13). When Yeshua came and brought us new covenant teaching, extermination of races was disallowed, and his emphasis was on showing HaShem's Fatherly love to all humankind (Mt 5.43-38). There will be protestations from some regarding this grasp of God's accommodation doctrine, but I stand by my assessment, that it is correct and appropriate for the New Age and New Realm into which we are about to enter.

Add to this the fact that one of the prime Ten commandments of God -- and which factor is an essential and integral part of the Sinai Marriage Contract -- was not only changed but voided entirely.

I have given entire lectures on changes that have taken place in relation to the laws of God, but this one I really need to emphasise. It's the second commandment. Now please hear me on this matter before I share any of this with you. In no way am I seeking to undermine anyone's faith in the Word of God. I am only sharing the truth as I understand it. You are entirely free to disagree with me on any point you wish. I am not a dogmatist, but I do speak authoritatively on that which I know to be correct.

Yeshua, speaking of the holy Spirit, made it clear that this same Spirit will lead us into all the truth (Jn 16.13 Gk). So, if we have the holy Spirit of the Father indwelling us we shall not in any way, shape or form have our nose out of joint because I speak the truth on the following matter. Indeed, if one has the Spirit of God one ought to be seeking every means to be corrected in wrong doctrine. We are attending in this place to be educated in right doctrine, right views, right knowledge. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of a sound education. It is the Spirit of Truth, the Spirit of Right Knowledge. At least this is the way I look at it!

The law of God states unequivocally, "You shall not make for yourself a carved image - 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 nor serve them. For I, HaShem your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments" (Ex 20.4-6).

The observance of this commandment was vital for the upkeep of the Sinai Marriage Covenant which the angels of HaShem made with the nation of Israel. It involves an understanding of generational curses. There are some today (and I have known many such people in my travels and travails in Pentecostal assemblies) who are entirely sincere in their pursuit of deliverance ministries, where the exorcism rituals are important to radically change lives and to give a sense of sanctification to those who are exercised in such a faith. But I have to be honest, and believe only what the biblical revelation shares with me. In my previous associations with Pentecostal assemblies I have had a very healthy (some would consider unhealthy to be a better preference of term) exposure to the nonsense administered in such ministries. I have known people who have attended Ellel ministries, and who have adopted teachings from Elim as well. And those folk came back largely deranged by the experiences they had. And they also lost their savings.

Look closely at the commandment. God makes it candidly clear that He will "visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children of the third and fourth generation." However, only about a generation later (as it is recorded in the last scroll of the Torah) God made a qualifying stipulation concerning this commandment. "The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin" (Deut 24.16).

While the above texts do not include provision for generational curses (except by inference), by the time we reach the days of the prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel ancient Israelites most certainly believed in such things. Notice the inference  in the writings of Jeremiah, and consider the second commandment again in this light.

"In those days they shall say no more: The fathers have eaten sour grapes and the children's teeth are set on edge." Yes, my father and grandfather were Freemasons and I am now as a consequence suffering under a generational curse.

Oh? Indeed? Who said so? Jeremiah predicts a change: "But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge. Behold, the days are coming, says HaShem, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Jer 31.29-31).

Ezekiel agreed entirely with Jeremiah!

"Does not the son bear the iniquity of the father [as stated in the second commandment -- and which applies to the idea of generational curses]? When the son has done that which is lawful and right, and has kept all my statutes, and has done them, he shall surely live. The soul that sins, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him" (Eze 18.19,20).

So we see here that by the period of Nebuchadnezzar, and the sojourn of the Jews in Babylonian captivity, the holy commandment given through Moses was changed. Clearly, the view espoused by so many Messianics (and other Fundamentalists) that the Law of God cannot be changed or altered -- that it is immutable -- can be seen to be hardly the case! No, the commandments of HaShem possess a fluidity about them and are not necessarily set in concrete. Whatever the case in the days of Moses, and later in the period of Jeremiah and Ezekiel, by the time of the Second Temple period Rav Shaul had this understanding about the second commandment. (And please recall that the rigid keeping of the Torah in all its stipulations was an integral factor in the observance of the Sinai Covenant or Marriage Contract.)

"And the woman who has a husband that believes not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: if this were not the case, your children would be unclean; but now are they holy" (1 Cor 7.13,14).

The children of an incompatible couple (one a Christian believer and the other assuredly not) ARE HOLY -- not a scrap of a generational curse attached to any of them. We have had a Maori family assembling with us a few years ago, and the Rebbetzin and I have known Maori families in the past in our tenure in the AOG. These people were the especial targets for exorcisms by deliverance ministries purely because of their racial and religious and cultural background. I have witnessed horrible misuse of the very idea of deliverance ministries amongst such gentle and lovely folk, and I will not permit any kind of deliverance ministry in the IMCF assemblies anywhere in the world. It is hideous, it is unwarranted, and it is entirely non-biblical.

The death of Yeshua (representing HaShem to Israel) annulled the Sinai Covenant. Rav Shaul grasped this principle. Look at what he penned in his letter to the Romans. Speaking of the laws of marriage found within the Mosaic (or Sinai) Covenant, he states:

"For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law [the contractual law of marriage] to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. [In other words, once a partner is dead the marriage is over.] So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress [that is, by the laws governing the Sinai contract]; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man" (Rom 7.2,3).

Because Yeshua has died, the Sinai agreement is no longer in effect for those of us who accept him as our Lord and Saviour. Yeshua, after all, has initiated a New Covenant. And, after his second advent in the near future Israel will come into a new covenantal arrangement and remarry the King of Kings.

This is why it is fundamentally impossible for any Messianic believer today (or at any time) to view themselves as being under the Mosaic dispensation or administration. Those who would seek to conform to the contractual arrangements of the Sinai covenant -- which was after all a marriage agreement between the angels of HaShem and the ancient peoples of Israel and which marriage contract was torpedoed with God ripping it to shreds -- are doomed to fail, are doomed to bring themselves under the legalistic framework of a robbed and sorrowful life, and are doomed to meet with eventual personal disaster. Authentic Messianic believers are people of the New Covenant and must remain under the terms and conditions of this New Covenant.

But what about Our Lord Yeshua himself? Did the Lord Yeshua ever depart from the Torah? The answer is a resounding yes and we will amplify this in our next lecture in this current series.