Hanukkah: Rededicating the Temple

Over the past 3 almost 4 years now Yahweh has provided me with the opportunity to know Him more intimately through comprehensive reading and study of His Word.  The journey has not been easy and it has caused me to question many things and caused me to understand that many of the things that I once accepted because they were put into practice and accepted as tradition, long before I was born were in error and actually in opposition to everything that matters to God.  For nearly 4 years, I've been a Torah-believing, Sabbath keeper but the process to get here began in 1995 when I began to question the celebration of pagan holidays. After doing some research, but not a lot, I came to the conclusion that Christmas and Easter were not cool but I still celebrated them because it was what I had always done. About 2000, I became so incensed with the commercialism and materialism of the "holiday" that I believed that there was something sinister about the entire cause for celebration, I had also acquired information that linked Easter and the observance of Lent (which I, as a pentacostal, was raised to observe) was linked to Catholicism. I became increasingly uncomfortable with observing these days as days sacred to the birth, death and resurrection of my Savior, who I then knew as Jesus. I hadn't acknowledged or had ANYTHING to do with Halloween for practically 5 years or more prior to the birth of my daughter in 2002, so I decided a year prior to her birth that my children and I would not participate in Christmas or Easter either as I suspected that they were all linked to paganism. Apparently Christians of various backgrounds and denominations began to ask some of the same questions because Easter Sunday services became known as Resurrection Sunday services and I heard several high-profile preachers and even my own pastor at the time, admit that December 25 was not Jesus' actual birthday but they glossed over the celebration by stating that "no one" knew when He was born and that the church was essentially justified in celebrating December 25 as the birthday of The Messiah. Many of my family members, particularly my mom was not comfortable with my opposition to celebrating these days in the traditional manner in which they had been celebrated for at least a few centuries. Then I got the revelation to study the history of the church and as I got information regarding Constantine changing times and seasons I felt betrayed and deceived by organized Christianity. 

I felt even more incensed and troubled to find that December 25th is the historical birthday of the pagan god, Tammuz aka Mithra aka Nimrod. His mother was Ishtar aka Semiramis aka Columbia and the celebration of Easter is in reference to her as she is known as "The Queen of Heaven" and was worshiped by the Children of Israel in defiance of Yahweh. She is also referred to as the the goddess of fertility hence the presence of rabbits and eggs, which are fertility symbols at Easter. She is also said to be the female counterpart to Lucifer.

Roman Emperor, Constantine

The Roman Emperor, Constantine made it law for all Christians to celebrate the 25th of December as the birth of Yeshua and changed the day of the Sabbath from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday as it is in scripture to Sunday to cover his worship of the sun god, Tammuz.

Yule Wheel labeling the 8 Occult Sabbaths

The seasons of Easter and Christmas are important to note because they also occur with witches sabbaths this however was done on purpose, by design and not by coincidence.  Christmas is actually the occult sabbath of Saturnalia or Yule. These celebrations have their origins deeply rooted in paganism and the occult but because people have been duped into seeing Yeshua as another greek deity without even knowing it. They will never know or understand these truths because they refuse to accept that Yeshua as the Son of the Living God was a Hebrew, Jewish man when He walked this earth. He didn't have the Bible in it's current inception but He did have Torah and that is what He talked, what He taught, what He lived! Yeshua is the Living Word! He is and was Torah! 

Newspaper Clipping LA Daily Times Regarding The Azuza Street Revival

Martin Luther Early church reformer

In an attempt to distance the Christian church from its Hebrew roots the Anti-semitic Christian church forefathers who preached and taught hatred towards the Hebrew roots of Yeshua as a result people began to see Him as someone other than who He was and is and what He came to accomplish. The church accepted the very paganism and idolatry that Yahweh throughout scripture, made clear that He was opposed to and reverberated throughout scripture that such activity would separate us from Him as they are the very things that caused great terror to come upon The Children of Israel. Ever since the death and resurrection of Yeshua, the collective body of Messiah has been on a journey of progressive revelation. This is the progressive revelation that led the church to reformation to the Azuza Street Revival which brought about the biblical principles that are the foundation for pentacostals and other evangelicals. 

Now in these last days the progressive revelation of Torah as the foundation for a biblically sound lifestyle of holiness has occurred and it has changed my life and the lives of many like me, forever. It has changed the way that I live and has provided a sound and comprehensive foundation from which to teach my children and effectively minister to others  I am excited about my life in Yeshua and as the gentile world enters into another season of spending, debt and false works (doing things in the "spirit of Christmas" and not the Holy Spirit), my family and I will be celebrating Hanukkah. Below is an account that I got from a dear friend and sister in Yeshua, called The Feast of Hanukkah. This provides historical and scriptural context for the celebration of Hanukkah. I would also like to recommend a valuable resource called A Family Guide to Biblical Holidays. This book will provide information regarding the very celebrations that Yeshua celebrated when He walked this planet and why it is important for Believers to celebrate these true holy days! 

 THE FEAST OF HANUKKAH

The true story of Hanukkah is prophesied in Daniel chapter 7 and 8. The fulfillment of this prophecy is found in the First and Second Book of Maccabees, which are found in the writings of the Apocrypha.  Originally the writings of the Apocrypha were additional books of the Bible in the original King James 1611 version, but were later designated as being important historical documents.  Each winter Israelites celebrate the Feast of Dedication - in Hebrew: Hanukkah, the festive occasion in which we recall our deliverance from pagan sun-god worship. Hanukkah is one of the festivals that Yahshua (Jesus) kept (John 10:22-42), but was not one of the mandatory feasts for all Israel to keep at Jerusalem.  Hanukkah reminds us that Yahshua (Jesus) fights for those who would keep themselves pure from the pollutions of idolatry.  Yahshua (Jesus) tells us that the first abomination of desolation (Daniel 8:9, 11:31) placed in the Jerusalem Temple was a prophetic shadow picture of an even greater abomination that would confront the believer in the last days.  The feast of Hanukkah is a prophetic foreshadow of Yahshua (Jesus), his life and his return.  The story of Hanukkah starts with King Antiochus of Syria sending soldiers to a northern city in Israel, Modin.  Antiochus, surname “God manifest”, was called a “madman” by his enemies.  Antiochus was known for defiling the temple with pigs and statues of other gods.  Antiochus specifically place a gold statue in Modin, and his captain declares, “Bow or die!” to the people of Modin.  Mattathias, an 80 yr old Jewish priest with 5 sons, who was still tall and upright, and respected for his wisdom and courage, refused to bow.  Mattathias shouted, “If a man calls a statue God, does that make it God?”  Everyone was silent in Morin.  The captain responds, “You priest, you bow first.”  Mattathias turned away.  The captain approaches him, “Obey or be hanged!”  Mattathias turns eye to eye with the captain and says sternly, “I will never bow.”  Everyone in Modin stood silent for a few minutes.  A scared shopkeeper comes forward, “I’ll do it and bows.”  Mattathias punches the shopkeeper, and knocks him on his back.  All of Modin became scared for their lives.  Mattathias pulls out a knife, stabs the captain, and slams down the golden statue. Mattathias sceams, “Whoever is for God (YHWH), follow me?”  Mattathias, his sons, and a handful of men and boys ran for the hills.  The newly found rebels outran the soldiers who were on foot and horses.  Mattathias and the rebels hid in caves, and only came out at night.  Eventually, Mattathias dies, and blesses Judah to lead the rebels.  The rebels gradually grew, and became constantly struck hard against Antiochus’s soldiers nightly.  They became mighty men even with only a small number of men.  Due to the constant hard strikes, Judah began to be called the Maccabee, meaning “the hammer”.  Judah and all the rebels became known as the Maccabees.  For 3 years, the small number of Maccabees defeated thousands of Syrians.  King Antiochus is angered by the losses and sends a very large force.  The Maccabee soldiers began to fear, but Judah delivers a word from the Lord that gives them faith.  The Maccabees praise God (Elohim), and begin to blow trumpets.  The thunderous praise leads the Maccabees to victory over the Syrians.  With the loss of such a large army, the King is outraged, and sends 47,000 to crush the revolt.  As the gigantic army chased the Maccabees into the forest, the Maccabees turned back to fight and one a mighty victory.  The war was officially over!  The first order of service after the victory was to cleanse the temple of pagan rituals and statues.  The meaning of the Hanukkah story is about the removal of paganism, and the traditions of men.  Hanukkah is a yearly reminder to only bow to Jesus and his Holy Spirit, and not to man or your flesh.

 The pope, and many other preachers have banned the use of the Hebrew name of God (YHWH), just as Antiochus did to the Jews, and we will be standing against that band.  We will be tearing down the traditions of men that make the word of God (Elohim) of none effect, and rebuilding the traditions of God (Elohim).  People will be set free from being bound to the laws of men, so that they can freely follow God (YHWH).  As men and women quit bowing to the false religious rules of men, the Holy Spirit will be turning the hearts of the sons toward the Father, and the heart of the Father towards the sons.  

1 Corinthians 6:19–20

19 Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, 20 for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body.(NLT)

Rededicate your temple to Yahweh!

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Please do your own research from a truly historical and biblical perspective, consider your sources and understand that true history corroborates the Word of God as fact. Keep in mind that the man you have known as Jesus was known to the people of His time as Yeshua, as that is His Hebrew name. He was Hebrew and He was certainly a Jew. When you understand this, it'll fill in all of the empty spaces and will even provide answers to many questions instead of the vague, obtuse explanation of "it's the way we've always done things".

The video below is of the late Arthur Katz. He was a Messianic Jewish Torah teacher and minister. In this video, Arthur Katz gives the definitive and comprehensive scriptural reasons as to why it is important for Believers to know the Hebraic roots of the Hebrew Messiah that they claim to serve. I pray that you enjoy it and that it clarifies the need for you to understand scripture from a Hebrew perspective and not from the Anti-Semitic perspective of a Greco-Roman mindset or even that of a German church reformer.  Get to know Yeshua for who He truly is! More than that your children and their children need to know who He truly is! Stop using your children as an excuse to continue celebrating a pagan tradition. Christmas is NOT for the children! Christmas is NOT for Believers in Yeshua HaMaschiach!

Watch, pray, learn! Be great and let the haters, hate! Be abundantly blessed
The next post topic: How To Raise Warriors

Yahweh, God of The Universe - God of the Bible vs. Your Concept of God

As I was driving today, alone in my car, I began to pray, praise and thank God. As I was praying Yahweh placed a strong conviction in me and let me know that the sure way to establish a relationship with Him is through a lifestyle of integrity, humility and self-deprecation. This is a lifestyle that many Believers have resisted. Due to the overwhelming influence of false doctrine (i.e., prosperity preaching, word of faith doctrine, infiltration of new age philosophies and doctrines) most Believers live and behave with all of the flagrant hubris of the Pharisees and other religious leaders in Yeshua's day.  

They are under the erroneous misconception that they have IT and HIM all figured out! They can't be told anything and they are not willing to be taught of the Holy Spirit anything that will bring about revelation, vision and perpetuate true growth. What is the "IT" I am referring to? Salvation and the HIM that I am referring to is none other than Father God, Yahweh, the God of the Bible. They refuse to truly read the Bible from cover to cover as the comprehensive, inerrant word of God so many "Believers" say that they believe in God and that they are saved but could it be that the God that they are worshiping is not the God of the Bible but rather some false God that they have conceptualized in their heads? Is your God the God of the Bible or an amalgamation of a "patchwork quilt" of scripture taken out of context, sprinkled with a little bit of the "god" that the celebrity, televangelist has verbally painted as an image of God as some hippy-looking dude who is basically nothing more than a glorified Santa Claus? Is your "god" like some new age guru who allows you to be your own god? Is your "god" required to pander to the frivolous whims of your flesh in order for him to be real to you? Romans 1:21 says, "Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship Him as God or even give Him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused." I am certain that this is the reason why so many people who claim to be Believers are confused and 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us plainly, "For God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the meetings of God's holy people." So many are worshiping a "god" and are erroneously convinced that they are worshiping the God of the Bible. I'll give you a few examples, the "god" that exist in the heads of most of these "Believers" doesn't mind if they gossip, lie, bear false witness and covet because "he" knows their hearts so it's okay; their "god" doesn't mind if they commit fornication or adultery every now and again because "he's" the one who gave them the desire for sex and "he" understands that they can't control themselves; their "god" doesn't mind if they don't honor the Sabbath because their "god" has rendered the law obsolete instead of fulfilling it; their "god" doesn't mind them participating in pagan celebrations, "he" doesn't mind if they watch garbage on TV or go to the movies to visually consume filth, "he" doesn't mind if they listen to vulgar and obscene secular music; their "god" doesn't mind if they pander to instead of witness to sinners and people in false religions and doctrines; their "god" doesn't mind them raising their children as the heathens and pagans do; their "god" has saved them and other Christians to replace Jewish people instead of saving them so that they can live dedicated lives of holiness to provoke them to jealousy for Yahweh (Read Romans 11:18 and 11:24) and the list goes on and on! There is scripture to support Yahweh's profound disdain for all of these things and yet because of our deceptive culture of the "carnal Christian" because it's not good to be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good, people have erected an idol in their imaginations and have named "him" God, little understanding that their false perception of God is every bit as futile to them as any idol god made of wood, stone, or metal. 

And the result is still the same, when we make the mistake of trying to make God fit our perception of who we think or believe He should be, we are not worshiping Him for who He is and we are not worshiping Him for who He says He is in the Bible nor are we being obedient to what He requires of us, how can we do that and say that we love Him? That is the sure fire road to hell, my friend!  Yahweh has not changed and we are urged in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." Hebrews 13:8 says, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." God hasn't changed and if the Children of Israel faced judgment because of their arrogance, pride, and idolatry what makes you think that He won't require the same of the Church that was grafted in? (Romans 11:17 - And if some of the branches be broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them partake of the root and fatness of the olive tree;)

It is important for Believers to check themselves! If you don't have the structure and foundation of Yahweh's commandments along with the instruction of the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), then you are stifling, grieving and quenching the Holy Spirit who was sent to be your Paraclete, your Teacher! I challenge you to read the Torah (first five books of the Bible) as well as the prophets. Please read the Gospels and the epistles and see what God has to say about paganism, idolatry (of any kind), lying, sexual immorality (of every kind), coveteousness, etc. Don't take anyone's word as fact regarding these matters that are concerning your very own soul but only accept God's word because contrary to what some people who probably have never read a Bible believe, it is THE TRUTH and it is FACT! The only thing that will save many who truly want to know Yeshua in these last days is a willingness to humble yourself, pray, seek God and READ and study His word so that you can rightly divide the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15).

I pray that this post will save someone's life and cause them to commit to Messiah so that their souls will be saved and lives changed forever. Fall back and let God be who He says He is! We only see our little finite portion of the picture but Abba sees it all from beginning to end! He is holy and He is sovereign and He has provided a gift to us that has even caused the angels to marvel. (1 Peter 1:10-12 - ¹⁰ This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. ¹¹ They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
 ¹² They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.)

Holiness and the process of sanctification is a life long journey NOT a destination therefore no one has the right to behave as if they have it all figured out and have arrived! The Pharisees and religious leaders of Yeshua's time here on earth thought they had it all figured out and they missed Yeshua on account of their wicked, prideful hearts and many are still missing Him today because the exact same wicked arrogance. Luke 5:32 Yeshua told them, "I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent." Please clarify today, which "god" you are serving because you can't serve Yahweh based on your carnal perception and assumptions, His word tells you who He is and what He requires and desires of us. Who He truly is may not bode well at all with our carnal motivations, proclivities and silly notions and by design our flesh recoils at His requirements but that is what He is suppose to do because He is a holy, sovereign God of the universe. Everything about Him brings discomfort to our filthy, depraved and deceitful flesh which is why we are called upon to die daily. It's not about you, it never was! It's about the will of Yahweh! He is all that matters and as we honor Him, He will honor us!

Mediocrity hates greatness! Be great and let the haters...hate!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com

Why The Grace of God Is Not Permission To Sin

People often depict the grace of God or the fact that we are currently living under grace and truth as a carte blanche invitation to sin. As if Messiah's suffering, death, burial and resurrection means that the law is therefore now void and antiquated and unnecessary. First let me say, that every kingdom has laws and the kingdom of God is no different. Without law there is only anarchy and anarchy is not of God but of Satan. The suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Messiah was never intended to render the laws of God's kingdom obsolete. Instead the grace of Elohim exists before we even sin and provides for us the opportunity not to sin in the first place but if we we're to sin, we still have the avenue of repentance once we realize and confess our accountability for the sin that we commit. Grace exists so that we are empowered through the habitation or indwelling of the Holy Spirit not to sin in the first place. The grace of God gives us the ability to obey the laws of God rather than providing for us an opportunity to explain just how "human" we are by submitting to this flesh and sinning. The law was considered bondage because there was no way for us in our human frailty to fulfill the law but it is through God's grace and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that we are able to abide by God's laws not to be idolatrous, liars, cheaters, murderers, fornicators, adulterers, etc. We cannot afford to take for granted that just because the grace of God exists that we then have the freedom to sin without repercussions. When we sin, even after we repent, that is a seed sown and a harvest that will be reaped. The grace of God helps us to refrain from sowing seeds that we are not willing to reap through sin. We will always reap what we have sown but repentance and the grace of God determines to what extent we will reap what we have sown. Although some people think that we cannot "out sin" God's grace as it is infinite, God's grace is abundant and infinite in that it will keep us from sinning in the first place as we submit to the Holy Spirit and conform to the image of Messiah. We cannot keep gossipping, backbiting, lying, cheating, etc. after the Holy Spirit convicts us, override the conviction, make excuses and justifications for our sin and then expect that the grace of God will keep us saved. When we disobey God, we put ourselves in the precarious position of removing His covering (His grace) from ourselves when we willfully and overtly sin. Yeshua came to fulfill the law not make it obsolete! So Believers need to stop the erroneous teaching of grace and truth as the coverall for sin. When you fulfill a task, you have completed it not made the task obsolete. When a man fulfills his wife, he has completed her not done away with her. MESSIAH FULFILLED THE LAW SO THAT WE WOULD BE FREE FROM COMMITTING SIN IN THE FIRST PLACE NOT SO THAT WE CAN WILLFULLY SIN, OVERRIDE HIS CONVICTION AND MAKE LAME EXCUSES FOR OUR SIN AND THEN EXPECT THAT GOD WILL ALLOW THE SACRIFICE OF HIS SON TO BE REPEATEDLY VIOLATED AND TROUNCED UPON. HABITUAL SIN IS REFUSING GOD'S GRACE. WE DON'T HAVE TO SIN! THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!
THE GRACE OF GOD EMPOWERS US TO OVERRIDE OUR SIN NATURE SO THAT WE ARE NOT A SLAVE TO IT! 

Using grace as if it will cover willful, habitual sin is to live without reverential fear of God and without reverential fear of God, we rebel against Him and disobey His laws consistently and jeopardize our souls. We enslave ourselves to our flesh and sentence ourselves to a life of mediocrity not to mention living as a carnal Christian who never matures spiritually and actually puts themselves in jeopardy of becoming a spiritual reprobate. Grace is not permission to sin! Grace is submission to the process of sanctification so that we are holy. Grace is the power, that only God can give us through the Blood of Jesus and the indwelling of His spirit not to sin! We are to die daily and submit to the Holy Spirit so that we can conform to the image of Messiah not continue sinning as if we have no help or hope!

Mocha Brown aka Koretta L. Allen is available for public speaking engagements especially pertaining to subjects of single parenthood, being single, women's empowerment through the word of God and much more. Mochababybrown@gmail.com