Acts 10 – What’s it Really About?

Acts 10 and 11, according to Sharaka:

Kefa (Simon Peter), an observant Jew, is up on the rooftop of Shimon’s (Simon, the tanner) house waiting for lunch. He’s very hungry and it’s probably hot up there. He goes into a “trance” or in other words, has an “out of body experience”. G-d uses the common situations at hand to speak to us. He used these circumstances to illustrate His point.

Kefa sees a “sheet” come down from the sky containing all kinds of treif (unclean non-kosher animals). Pigs and shellfish and ‘creeping things’. A voice says, Kefa, kill and eat! This happens three times.
Kefa knows better! V’Yikra (Leviticus) 11 tells us what we can and cannot eat. G-d said, “I am the Lord, I change not.” The Brit Chadasha (New Testament) says, “Y’shua HaMashiach (Jesus Christ), the same yesterday, today and forever.” If He told us once not to eat treif – He means don’t EVER eat treif. He has reasons for all He says and does. Pigs and shellfish are the garbage cans of the world! Why would we want to eat something that lives off of dead stuff?

There was no question in Kefa’s mind. He said (my words) “No! I know better! All my life I have obeyed my Lord and I know this is wrong. I will not do this.” This he repeated after every command to do so. The voice said, “What I have cleansed, do not call common,” The ‘sheet’ went back up into the sky and Kefa was left to puzzle over these things. Just because your mother and/or father, best friend, rabbi or pastor says something is true, is it? If it doesn’t line up with the Bible – forget it!

About that time, three men stood outside the gate and yelled for Kefa (Peter). The voice speaks three times – three Gentile men show up!… These three men had been sent from Caesarea, the Roman headquarters up in the northern coast of Israel by an officer of the Roman army. He was in charge of a hundred soldiers. He was a G-d-fearer who gave alms (money) to the poor and always prayed to G-d. He was a seeker and G-d told him to send men down to get Kefa in Yaffa (Joppa) Remember Jonah left from Yaffa on a ship, trying to get away from G-d’s missionary call and was swallowed by a great fish? Same city. It is just to the south of modern day Tel Aviv.

They didn’t knock at the door – they didn’t go near the door. They just stood there and yelled for Kefa. Being Gentiles, and respectful, they knew they could not go into a Jewish home. Neither would Jews go into a Gentile home. They did not associate with one another socially. Kefa, still up on the roof, was told by G-d to go down and talk to these guys and not to worry about it because they were sent by Him.

He went down and introduced himself, heard their story and asked them in to spend the night – an unheard of gesture! They all left in the morning to go up to Caesarea. In the meantime, Cornelius, the Centurian, had invited all his friends and relatives to come over and hear the man from G-d. When Kefa walked in, again, an unheard of thing to do, Cornelius fell to the ground and worshipped. Kefa got him up and began to tell them about the G-d of Israel. He told them the story of Y’shua (Jesus) and how He had come to die for their sins and was raised on the third day. While he was still preaching, they all began to speak in other tongues as they were filled with the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).

At once, Kefa knew what G-d had been trying to tell him. His divine message was NOT about food – but about people! The Gentiles were now to be accepted and had a right to salvation. This was a new thing. Kefa called for them to be baptized in water, stayed there a few days and preached to them.

When Kefa went up to Jerusalem, (Chapter 11) it was told at the synagogue what had happened and he got in trouble for associating with “the uncircumcised” – their term for Gentiles. Kefa explained about his experience and about them being saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. Nothing was ever mentioned about food! Nothing was changed about the dietary laws. They all marveled and realized that G-d was opening the door to the Gentiles for salvation. Please read these two chapters again and see if you don’t come to the same conclusion!

Additional comments from a Reader:
1. I agree and can share additional what the L*rd has inspired me with.

1st It specifically introduces the fact that Kefa was hungry. VERY IMPORTANT FACT. Yeshua when tempted “was hungered” and in the Torah it says Hashem tested us with hungering and thirsting TO SEE IF WE WOULD OBEY! Yeshua says “If you LOVE ME you WILL KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS!” It doesnt say if it feels right or you feel like it or if you think its right or someone comes along with a cunning argument like the shining one in the Garden of Eden.

YOU KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT IF YOU STUDY TO SHOW YOURSELF APPROVED.

Consider this, Peter said no all three times. If he hadn’t, he would not be worthy of the commission of the L*RD. Proof? sure. Read Ezekiel 4:14, and Isaiah 6:5-8. Ezekiel was tested, feared the L*RD, If he had not been he couldnt have beseiged YERUSHALYIM. NO ONE WHO IS UNCLEAN WILL BE THERE! That too is messianic scripture and is significant in many are called yet few are chosen.

Look at Isaiah, he had to confess his sins and be cleansed of them and since G*D knows his heart he knew once his sins were forgiven and he commissioned he wouldn’t fall back into such sins. Or as Yeshua/Jesus says, your sins are forgiven now go and SIN NO MORE.

Neither Ezekiel, Isaiah, or Peter, I beleive would have been worthy if they had persisted in their sins. They would’ve been destroyed.

So if you really desire the gift of prophecy, you need to remain clean according to Torah. AND I have cited the three examples. Torah also says that if someone comes to you preaching any other gospel and Jesus/Yeshua says I didnt come to change, nullfiy the LAW then any who preach othewise is sinning against G*D and Torah is proof he didnt send them.

Peter lived by example. If you DO AS PETER DID/IMITATE Peter. YOU WILL NOT EAT UNCLEAN THINGS EITHER! Nor would you use that as an example to justify yourselves and your position.

One other note of explaination.

The Law tells us what to eat.

In the Garden of Eden, the gan eden, G*d laid down the Law and told us what we could and could not eat.

Hmmm, think about it, G*d never changes….

If we continue to eat unclean things, well…

If nothing changes nothing changes. Examine yourself now Christian, Are you really in/living in the faith?

Shalom, shalom

Comment by Alyshja — 2/19/2005

See you next time!
Shalom, Sharaka
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“What About Valentine’s Day”?

“What About Valentine’s Day?”

“Come ye out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord.”

What part of this verse don’t we understand? G-d has told us time and time again to stay away from what the pagans do. He has given us 52 weekly holy days and seven Feasts. The people added two more that are mentioned in the Bible and He seems to be blessing them. What more do we need? Just because the world around us has invented pagan days of celebration, do we need to stand in their lines like a bunch of lemmings – ready to jump along with them off the cliff?

Do you know anything about the origin of Valentine’s Day? Does it make any difference to you? Or do you just say, “Well, I don’t mean it like that! I just want to have fun and celebrate a day of loving my family and friends by sending them cards (and filling the card companys’ pockets) buying them candy, flowers and gifts. I like to receive those things, too! What’s wrong with making those I love happy?” Well, hopefuly, this will explain a few things!

Origin
The month of February was once the last month of the year. It had 30 days in it. When Julius Caesar came to power, he renamed one summer month after himself. He called it “July” and added an extra day – he stole the day from February. Augustus Caesar came along and wanted a month named after him, too! He renamed it “August” and also made it a day longer and taking one more day from poor February. It was known as an “unlucky month” —

The ancient Romans believed every month was ruled by a spirit who reached its peak strength in the middle of the month. Ever hear “Beware of the Ides of March”? Made famous by Julius Caesar? That was the middle or the 15th of the month. This was the day the witches, soothsayers and all spirits “worked their magic best.” The ides of February was the 14th, as it only had 28 days. Because this month was so different, it became a very important pagan holiday in the Roman Empire..

The sacred day of February 14th was called Lupercalia or day of the wolf.” This was a day that was sacred to the sexual frenzy of the goddess Juno. This day also honored the Roman gods, Lupercus and Faunus, as well as the legendary twin brothers, who supposedly founded Rome, Remus and Romulus. These two are said to have been suckled by wolves in a cave on Palatine Hill in Rome. Yeah, right!

“On this day, Lupercalia, which was later named Valentine’s Day, the Luperci or priests of Lupercus dressed in goatskins for a bloody ceremony. The priests of Lupercus, the wolf god, would sacrifice goats and a dog and then smear themselves with blood. These priests, made red with sacrificial blood, would run around Palatine Hill in a wild frenzy while carving a goatskin thong called a februa. Women would sit all around the hill, as the bloody priests would strike them with the goatskin thongs to make them fertile. The young women would then gather in the city and their names were put in boxes. These love notes were called billets. The men of Rome would draw a billet, and the woman whose name was on it became his sexual lust partner until the next Lupercalia or February 14th.
When the Gnostic Catholic Church began to get a foothold in Rome around the 3rd century A.D., they became known as Valentinians. (Gnostic = pertaining to knowledge) Thus, February 14th became a day of unbridled sexual lust. The color red was sacred to that day because of the blood and the heart shape that is popular to this day. The heart-shape was not a representation of the human heart, which looks nothing like it. This shape supposedly represents part of the female body ….

As time went on, the Orthodox Catholic Church suppressed the Gnostic Catholics and manufactured St. Valentine, whose day continues to be celebrated in these modern times.

It should be without saying that the Christians should avoid Valentine’s Day like a plague. In God’s eyes, it is still Lupercalia, the Day Of The Wolf. Men become wolves, as they carry on the satanic rituals of fornication, which means sexual intercourse without marriage. We have heard of the wolf whistle, and we all know that wolves do not whistle. It is lustful men and women, who carry on Satan blasphemy to this very day.”

I’m sorry to put a dent in your day – but if you are having a hard time with this — do some checking on your own. Your local library has all this information. Best of all – pray about it and ask the Lord what you should do. Satan loves to take a half truth and go with it until it is a twisted mess! Valentine’s Day looks harmless and fun – but there is too much evidence for me to keep celebrating it! How about you? I’ll take G-d’s holy days any time!

See you next time!
Shalom, Sharaka

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“What is a “Messianic Believer”?

Who are they and what do they believe?

Messiah = the Hebrew word ‘mashiah’ means the Anointed one. The One expected to come to be the Saviour of all mankind.
The word “Messiah” or “Messianic” refers here to Y’shua HaMashiach, or Jesus, the Christ. If one believes in Y’shua as his Lord and Saviour and has made Him Lord of his life and wants to live as Y’shua did, then he can be called a Messianic Believer. This word “Messianic” has almost become like the word, “vegetable”! There are many varieties, found in many places, and some don’t seem to be compatible with each other. Unfortunately there has been a lot of disagreements, competition, in-fighting, and disunity. I’m sure this has grieved the Father to no end and I apologize to Him for our shameful ignorance and disobedience. Like any ‘new thing’, there have been false starts, big egos and shaky ground. The movement really started fresh – again – in 1967 when Jerusalem once again came under the leadership of the Jewish people. Since that time many Jews have come to believe in their Messiah. They can be called Messianic Jews.Many Gentiles have been drawn into the fold as well. They can be called Messianic Believers. At the beginning of creation, G-d created one people. They were His children. After the Fall, they could be called Satan’s children…. Those who repented and tried to follow G-d were G-d’s children. So there were two kinds of people.

When G-d chose Avram, the Assyrian, (later Abraham) to leave his idol-making family and go ‘to the place where I have put My name”, he lead his little family over the Eber River and became the first “Hebrew”. When his grandson, Ya’akov (Jacob) had his name changed to Israel, He became the first “Israelite”. When his son, Yehudah’s tribe (Judah) settled into his allotted territory (Judea) in the Land of Israel, he became the first Jew. By the time the Brit Chadasha (New Testament) was written, the Ten Northern Tribes had been dispersed and only Judea, with some that had joined them, remained in the Land. They were then referred to as “Jews”. All Jews are Israelites, but not all Israelites are Jews. All known Israelites today are still referred to as “Jews”. Technically, only those descending from Judah should be called Jews but they are all grouped together.

Now we again have two kinds of people – Jews and non-Jews (called Gentiles). G-d loved them both and wanted all people everywhere to love and obey Him. He chose the descendents of Abraham to write (with His words) and preserve His Torah (His instructions for righteous living) and in time, to produce the Messiah, the Saviour of the whole world. When Y’shua came, He broke down the walls of partition and the Gentiles were allowed to come in to the Kingdom.

Now again we have two kinds of people – those belonging to G-d and those belonging to Satan.

G-d gave us His plan for life in the Torah. There is one plan for Jews and Gentiles. Either you follow G-d and obey His Torah or you follow Satan and obey him. Those are the two choices.

Not many years after the ascension of Y’shua into heaven, there became many more Gentile Believers than Jews due to sheer numbers of Gentiles in the world. They began to drift away from the Torah and all “Jewish things”. Some of their pagan beliefs crept into their lives and there became a greater and greater separation between the Jews and the people now called Christians.

Y’shua was not a Christian! He was and still is a Jew. He did not come to start a new religion. He came to correct some of the people’s attitudes and practices and to fulfill the Torah as the promised Messiah. He told us to follow His example. Therefore I believe we should do just that! Live as He lived, love as He loved and do our best to live out G-d’s instructions for our lives. He was baptized. He went to the synagogue (meeting place for worship) on the seventh day. He kept the holy days as found in V’Yikra 23 (Leviticus). He ate kosher as found in V’Yikra 11, and obeyed His Father in all things. This is what we are to do!

See you next time,
Shalom, Sharaka
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