Salvation of the Jews By Benyamin Oropesa
A lot of uncertainty and confusion has come about recently regarding the topic of the "salvation" of the Jews, and whether or not they need to accept and/or acknowledge the sacrifice of Yahshua in order to be "saved".
Here are some of the critical questions that are being asked:
1) Are the Jews part of a different covenant?
2) Are the Jews automatically saved?
3) Does YHWH deal differently with Jews than with other believers?
4) Are the Jews saved by simply keeping Torah?
5) Will the Jews go to hell if they do not accept Yahshua as their Savior?
6) Will the Jews go to hell even if they keep YHWH's Torah/commandments?
7) Do Christians have to obey the Torah, or is the Torah just for the Jews?
8) What's the purpose of keeping the Torah/commandments if we're saved by grace?
9) What must one do to "really" inherit eternal life?
10) How were people "saved" before Yahshua?
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Yirmeyahu 6:16 "This says YHWH, Stand in the derech, and see, and ask for the
old paths, where is the tov derech, and have your walk in it, and you shall find rest for your beings. But they said, We will not walk in it."
This cry for teshuva (repentance) by the prophet Yirmeyahu takes place more than 600 years before Yahshua was even born. The concept of being saved purely by grace, believing in the cross, or that simply believing in the Blood will automatically get you into the Kingdom was completely unknown.
So we ask ourselves, what does it mean to return to the ancient path?? What is the ancient path, referred to here as the tov derech (good Way)??
Well, it's apparent that it cannot be Christianity, for it doesn't exist at this point. Scripture tells us that the ancient path is the way of our ahvot (forefathers). It's the lifestyle and/or tradition of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov; and later given to all Yisrael collectively at Mt Sinai by YHWH through His eved Moshe.
This declaration (Jer 6:16) is quite remarkable!! Think of it... the people of Yisrael are being admonished and told to make teshuva, to return to the ways of their forefathers, referred to as the tov derech. This is hundreds of years before Yahshua is born, and before there was a "New Testament" plan of salvation. If believers were being told to look BACK, then how was one supposed to inherit eternal life (saved) during this time before Yahshua?
Look at the very words of YHWH to His people:
Devarim 10:12-13 "And now, Yisrael, what does YHWH your Elohim require of you, but to fear YHWH your Elohim, to have your halacha in all His halachot, and to love Him, and to serve YHWH your Elohim with all your lev and with all your being, to shomer the mitzvot of YHWH, and His chukim, which I command you this day for your tov."
Devarim 6:2 "That you might fear YHWH your Elohim, to shomer all His chukim and HIs mitzvot, which I command you, you and your son, and your son's son, all the days of your chayim; and that your days may be prolonged."
Devarim 6:25 "And it shall be our tzedakah, if we shomer to do all these mitzvot before YHWH our Elohim, as He has commanded us."
The people of Yisrael, and more specifically Yahudah (Jews) have always been "saved" or redeemed by keeping & obeying the commandments of YHWH. Why do I specifically mention the Jews? Because the House of Ephrayim (10 Tribes) have been scattered and have lost not only their identity, but the tradition and discipline of keeping Torah. Yahudah (Jews) are the chosen people to keep, preserve, and maintain the traditions of the ancient path. These include Torah, Shabbat, Three Daily Prayers (Shacharit, Minchah, Maariv), Moadim, Tzitzit, Tefillin, Kosher Laws, Marriage Purity Laws,...
As Ephrayim slowly returns to embrace the Ancient Pattern, they will become acquainted with keeping Torah & the traditions of their forefathers. The concept of redemption and/or righteousness by keeping YHWH's Torah had long been established.
** However, some might ask, "Where's the actual forgiveness of sin?"
"Who is forgiving Yisrael's transgressions?"
Let's see what the Torah says about forgiveness of sin:
Shemot 23:20-21 "See, I send a Malach before you, to guide you in the derech, and to bring you into the place that I have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, provoke Him not; for othewise He will not pardon your transgressions; for My Name is in Him."
Here's an unmistakable prophecy pointing to Moshiach and the commandment to obey His voice. Of course His voice is the Torah, the same Torah He gave Moshe on Mount Sinai. Jews that are devout and diligently observe YHWH's Torah have forgiveness of sins by the very same Torah-Giver. Anyone who does not hearken diligently to His words (Torah), cannot and will not have their sins forgiven, whether they are Christian, Messianic Jew, or Nazarene Yisraelite!! Conversely, if we do obey His voice, our transgressions will be pardoned.
Devarim 18:18-19 "I will raise them up a Navi from among their brothers, like you, and will put My words in His mouth; and He shall speak to them all that I shall command Him. And it shall come to pass, that whoever will not listen to My words that He shall speak in My Name, I will require it of him."
Notice that the Navi/Malach will simply repeat and confirm the Word that YHWH has spoken. Yahshua's words never contradict the words of Torah, because they are His Words, and He certainly didn't begin a new religion or belief system. It's important to realize that there is only one people (Yisrael) and one covenant under the leadership of one King.
Yochanan 12: 49-50 " For I have not spoken of myself; but the Abba which sent me, He gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that His commandment is life everlasting: whatever I speak therefore, even as the Abba said to me, so I speak."
Yochanan 14: 24 " He that loves Me not keeps not My sayings: and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Abba's who sent Me."
We see Yahshua acknowledging that He only speaks what the Father tells Him.
Yahshua is not introducing a new set of instructions, or a new Torah, but simply
repeating and confirming the established Torah of Abba YHWH. For YHWH never changes (Mal 3:6).
Luke 6: 46-48 " And why do you call Me, Master, Master, and do not the things that I say? Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man who built a bayit, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock, and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that bayit, and could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock."
**Note** Jews clearly acknowledge YHWH as the Rock of Yisrael, although still partially blind in regards to "identity" of Yahshua as YHWH the Torah giver -- more on this later.
The idea of YHWH as the Rock of Yisrael was firmly established in Jewish thought during Yahshua's time, included often in numerous prayers in the Siddur.
Many people might find it strange or even hard to believe, but Yahshua was very well learned in all the traditions of the elders of Yisrael. In fact, in the famous passage of Luke 4:16, Yahshua is given an aliyah as the Baal Koreh (expert or master reader). Also, don't think Yahshua didn't use a Siddur (Jewish prayer book) when He attended the synagogue every Shabbat. Some of the prayers found in the traditional Jewish Siddur date back 2500 years to the time of Ezra, while others date back 3,500 years to the time of the exodus from Egypt!
Let's see how Yahshua answers a direct question about inheriting eternal life:
Luke 10:25-28 "And, behold, a certain expert in the Torah stood up, and tested Him, saying, Rabbi, what shall I do to inherit eternal chayim? He said to him, What is written in the Torah? How do you understand it? And he answered saying, You shall love the YHWH your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. And He said to him, You have answered right: Do this, and you shall have life."
Matthew 19:16-17 " And behold, one came and said to Him, Rabbi, what Good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And He said to him, Why ask me concerning the Good? There is none Good but One, but if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (See also Mark 10:17-27)
In these 2 different instances, Yahshua refers both of them to seek out what the Torah says regarding eternal life (salvation). Yahshua doesn't command them to pray the "sinner's prayer" or to simply believe in Him through grace. NO!
He commands both of them to continue doing what they had been taught from birth, which is obeying and keeping the commandments. (Similar to observant Jews today)
If one carefully analyzes the question asked by these two men, you'll note that they ask Yahshua what they could physically "DO" to inherit eternal life. Yahshua doesn't criticize or rebuke them for thinking that they could inherit the Kingdom by merely observing Torah! Nor does He get offended and tells them that it's only through grace, not by works. NO! Yahshua confirms to them that by keeping Torah, they shall live.
Yochanan 8:51 "Verily, verily, I say to you, If a man keep my sayings, he shall never see death."
A YHWH fearing observant Jew who keeps the Torah not only has forgiveness of sins, but will inherit Chayyei Olam (eternal life). There's no mention of Yahshua requiring or expecting the acknowledgment of Who He is (YHWH in the flesh). In other words, a person who fears YHWH and obeys Torah might not have the "revelation" of the identity of Yahshua as having coming forth from YHWH as His only begotten Son. This is a crucial concept to understand in Scripture. Again, not every Torah observant Jew will
recognize Yahshua as YHWH... not yet. Yahshua didn't say that you must recognize who He is. Rather, if you obey His mitzvot you therefore love him and He will reveal Himself to you.
John 14:20-21 "At that day you shall know that I am in my Abba, and you in me, and I in you. He that has my commandments, and guards them, it is he that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Abba, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
Mattityahu 16:15-17 "He said to them, but whom do you say that I am? And Shimon Kefa (Peter) answered and said, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living Elohim. And Yahshua answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Shimon Bar-Yonah: for flesh and blood has not revealed it to you, but my Abba which is in the shamayim."
v. 20 "Then he commanded his disciples that they should tell no man that He was the Messiah."
Note that it says "At that day" pointing to a future event, not an instant revelation right here right now.
When will He fully manifest himself to ALL that shomer HIs mitzvot (Jews)?? On that day (future) when Yahshua returns to establish His Kingdom here on this earth. One CANNOT confuse revelation with salvation! Nor mistake manifestation for salvation. Many Jews (not all) will observe His commandments without the full and complete revelation that Hashem (YHWH) the Torah Giver is actually Rebbe Melech Ha Moshiach, also known as Yahshua! Otherwise what would be the need of revealing Himself???
Even Kepha, one of Yahshua's closest disciples, needs a heavenly revelation in order
to recognize Him as the Moshiach. It's not automatic, and it's not for everyone right now. Interestingly enough, Yahshua even tells his disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Moshiach. Wonder why... HMMM!
Many will keep His commandments and love him (See Yochanan 14:15) without knowing Him as Yahshua.
Zecharyah 12:9-14 "...and they shall look upon Me, Aleph-Taf whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for Him, as one mourns for his only son, and they will be in bitterness for Him, as one that is in bitterness for the loss of his bachor..."
This passage describes the moment when those Orthodox Jews who haven't had the revelation of Yahshua's identity will have their eyes opened.
NOTE: One has to be extremely careful not to condemn YHWH fearing observant Jews to hell (saying they're unsaved) for not acknowledging/identifying Yahshua as the Moshiach of Yisrael. Scripture tells us that this revelation will occur in the future.
Blessed are those observant Yahudim (Jews) to whom Abba YHWH has already revealed His Son's identity.
**Another interesting question:
Has the Kingdom been taken from Yahudah and given to Ephrayim??
AF Nazarene Hebraic Study Scriptures (NT) version
Mattityahu 23:1-3 "Then Yahushua spoke to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The experts of the Torah and the Pharisees sit in Moses's seat: All therefore whatever they tell you to guard, that guard and work; but do not imitate their deeds: for they say one thing, and do another."
It seems to me that the Yahudim (Judah), according to Yahshua, are pretty much in control and in the seat of authority for all Torah matters. Amazingly, Yahshua refers to Yahudah as "experts of the Torah". Ephrayim, who has been assimilated into the Gentile nations, is obviously not the expert on Scripture. In fact, Ephrayim (mainly the Church) will have you worshipping on Sunday, eating non-kosher foods, ignoring YHWH's moadim, and embracing a path that is diametrically opposed to the ancient path of the ahvot. Remember, Yahshua said that he didn't come to "destroy" the Torah but to "reveal its full intended meaning" (Mat 5:17)
Furthermore, Yahshua declares that He only came but for the lost (prostituting) sheep of Yisrael. If Yahudah sits in Moshe's seat, meaning they're in a position of authority, it must be Ephrayim that is considered the lost sheep.
Zech 8:23 says that in the latter days, 10 men (Ephrayim) "will take hold of the tzitzit of him that is a Yahudi, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that Elohim is with you."
Clearly, it's the Yahudim (Jews) who are leading the way to Tzion, and not Ephrayim leading Yahudah. This wouldn't make any sense if the Kingdom had been "taken" from Yahudah.
If we're going to imitate Yahshua, we must not be afraid to fully embrace the ancient path of our ahvot. Some may call it Rabbinical Judaism, but Yahshua was definitely not against tradition, nor was He against the Pharisees. He himself was an Orthodox Jew of the Pharisean sect. Yahshua attended a traditional synagogue, according to his minhag (custom), every Yom HaShabbat from birth until his death. It may seem a little odd, or even a little strange to view Yahshua as an Orthodox Jewish man. That's because nearly 2,000 years of erroneous Christian/Catholic beliefs have eroded, poisoned, and leavened the true message of Torah taught by our Rabbi Yahshua.
It's very, very difficult to undo many years of "brainwashing" and stereotyping that has painted Judaism as an old antiquated religion that has been set aside by "God". For most of us, this new revelation goes against everything that we've ever been taught by the church / messianics.
Nothing could be further from the truth, and I pray that YHWH's Ruach will enable you to discover the ancient path, not fear the ancient path, and have enough courage to attend a traditional synagogue... as it was our Moshiach Yahshua's custom as well.
When I say synagogue, I am not referring to a Messianic synagogue, or even a Nazarene Yisraelite synagogue. In most cases, these "synagogues" are unfortunately still tainted and permeated with many pagan "Church" habits, traditions, and behaviors. Many of these "synagogues" are virtually indistinguishable from churches, both in liturgy and in order of service. They still pray in the name of J-sus, or even G-d. They practice the imposition of hands and knock people backwards... with these people often times laying there in a trance. Sad, but true.
According to Scripture, believers are to prostate themselves before YHWH, but on their faces (forward) not on their backs, which is a sign of total disrespect. Again, a failure to learn the traditions of our forefathers (Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov).
But because they sprinkle a couple of Jewish/Hebraic terms throughout the service, and even offer up one or two traditional prayers/blessings, they consider themselves to be synagogues. Ephrayim must continue to learn and become acquainted with the ancient path, the path of YHWH's Torah that will lead them to Moshiach Yahshua's Orthodox Judaism. That's correct, Yahshua practiced an extreme form of Orthodox Judaism!!
Do not fear what man will think or say of you, but fear YHWH only.
** If becoming enamored or tongue tied with Judaism, or fluttering to the front doors of Judaism for a sense of identity & community makes me a silly dove......... then so be it.
I will be a silly dove for YHWH and emulate my Savior and Moshiach**
Benyamin Oropesa
Cutting Edge articles and Revelation of the Most High at www.abrahamic-faith.com.
Keep the Faith...