Messianic Torah Portion Pekudei: The transition from common to holy and the relationship between the tabernacle, Ezekiel's temple, and when Jesus will drink the cup new with us in the kingdom.

Restoring a pure language – that’s not today and we’re not going to do that on our own.
Genesis 11:1 Trying to do this ourselves is likely prohibited. We know that when mankind tries to act like YHVH, He is not pleased. The verse from Isaiah about rebuilding Jerusalem better. Isaiah 9:8-11 when Ephraim and the Samarians say in their heart ehy will rebuild Israel better, it is considered from pride and self-will, thus YHVH sends adversaries to smite them more. By extension, we should realize that until He wants language restored, it will not happen.
That doesn’t mean we don’t try to learn what the ancients were communicating, but we need to be cognizant of pride, our motivations, and the reality of our present state. While we can learn a lot from studying, we need to realize they were in a state of flux as well. It’s Genesis 11 where mankind had a unified language. That means Moses did not.
Entropy is a word that means chaos or disorder always increases. This is often illustrated by dropping a perfect pile of marbles on the ground to see how the marbles that travel the furthest have the largest deviation from the original pile. Our present state of language is an enormous illustration of this. I recently found a fun YouTube channel called RobWords. This gentleman traces the history of languages throughout history. What I learned, and should have already known, is that our English alphabet isn’t the English alphabet at all. It’s the Latin alphabet. The English alphabet is a set of characters called runes. I know English is a mutt of a language, but I found the extent of this to be astonishing. I have put a link to one of Rob’s videos in the comments and hope you find time to watch. I’ve watched a number of his presentations and am floored each time. But it reminds me that for us in our present state of perpetual confusion to think we have some miniscule chance at restoring the pure language ourselves is absolute folly.
Rob Words video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4npuVmGxXuk
The other remarkable illustration of this is rooted in the restoration of the nation of Judah which is called Israel today. A member of our group sent this video to me about two years ago. When the Jews from all over the world returned to Israel, they set about recording how those who had kept Hebrew alive pronounced the language. Not surprising at all, but the different regions spoke the language significantly different from each other. This video illustrates some of the differences, which even persist to this day. Of course, we all know that languages are not static from English. The Australians and British have distinctly different accents and inside of the US, we have widely varying accents ourselves. Somehow, though, we get it into our minds that Hebrew is immune from change when it certainly is not.
Hebrew spoken from Jews who returned to the land. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1ofUZB-76w
I hope you all find some time to watch these videos. A couple takeaways from today’s message are that we should really be aware of our present state and set realistic goals for our studies. The expectation that we get the pronunciations perfect today simply is not true. We also need to be wary of shunning legitimate scholars and history in our studies. We have a tendency to do this because of how skewed Christianity has become by academia and clergy, but let’s not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Good and edifying information is out there, even if it takes a bit of work to find it.
Have a blessed week as we begin or continue our preparations for this year’s Passover season. May Yahweh bless you and keep you in the Name of His Son, Yeshua.

Messianig Torah Portion Vayakhel (He (Moses) Assembled) illustrates the gifts of the Holy Spirit in action in the Old Testament!

Why You Need to Care About the Gospel of Jesus Christ
We’re about to commemorate the death of Jesus, whom we call Yeshua more accurately. This is an annual set of observances that are commanded for believers. This time of year, we often spend a lot of time discussing when to do what. Most of Christianity keeps a thing called Easter, which isn’t biblical at all. Then there are those of us who do what the Messiah commanded and Paul demonstrated. But there’s a third group of people who are increasing in numbers exponentially.
What about everyone who doesn’t know a thing about the bible? What about those who only know of Christianity because of culture? The folks who haven’t studied or given a second thought to the enormity of these observances and their eternal implications. How do we reach them and why does this matter?
Frankly, it’s about the afterlife. Where do you want to spend eternity? Because this is a binary decision. There are only two options.
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev 20:11-15)
The two options are lake of fire or eternal life. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, the good news of Yeshua the Messiah, is that the invitation for all mankind to attain eternal life has been sent. It was sent by God sending His Son so that whoever believes in the Son may not perish. The bible is the story of God’s interaction with mankind. The New Testament is a continuation of this story. The Messiah, (Christ means Messiah, btw) died at the time appointed for the culmination of the Old Testament to then make a shift to the world. The Gospel, the good news, was spread to the known world through twelve men at the first, and then hundreds, then thousands, the tens of thousands, and so on.
This season matters because it’s our annual remembrance of the sinless Son of God who died to take away the sins of those who believe in Him. This grants us access to the kingdom of God.
Keep in mind, this isn’t about Yeshua being innocent of what He was accused of. Meaning, this is not about Him being executed unfairly. That happens a lot more often in history than we would like to think of. This is about a being, the very Son of God, coming to earth as a child, being raised as a man, being tempted in all ways, and not sinning one time. Because sin is the cause of death, God sent His Son to die sinless to bear the sins of those who accept Him. That’s what this season is all about. The sinless death of the Lamb of God and God’s subsequent resurrection of His Son, who now sits at God’s right hand and mediates for those who accept Him.
Please accept the invitation to enter into the kingdom, to enter into eternal life. Call to mind your sins, reconcile with those you may have wronged, prepare your homes, and enter this Passover season humbled by the death of our Messiah.

Revision 2 of a message about the myths that circulate the commandment keeping Christians such as Messianic, Hebrew Roots, and Sacred Name Movement folks.
A print of the pdf is available at ⁣https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/myths-versus-

Three Days and Three Nights
Slide 2 Do this in memory of me – has been corrupted over time. It’s an annual observance that’s in addition to what they were already doing. This is not optional. It may sound odd to hear “you have to do something” if you’re from many of the traditional Christian faiths, but this is the hard reality. He commanded us to do something in memory of Him. We have to take that literally and seriously. Paul is repeating a commandment to the Corinthian church that He received from the Lord. They were a mixed bunch in a pagan city, so this has to apply to all types of believers and is a commandment, not an option.
Slide 3 the timing. Sign of Jonah – it has to be close to 3 days and 3 nights.
Slide 4 Modern timing makes no sense.
Slide 5 – we have to ignore our time keeping entirely. Very hard to do. But we need to establish and anchor point. Some time in these events from which to derive when it all began and when it all ended. This anchor point is the Passover. Big deal since Yeshua is the Lamb of God. Him dying on Passover is very important to doctrine and we can get into that later. The point here is to use biblical reckoning for time and He died on Passover.
Slide 6 – timeline. The anchor point is when the death happened – on the late afternoon of Abib 14. At sunset on Abib 14 starts the High Sabbath of ULB1. This is where we measure from. Then we look back 24 hours and see the night He was betrayed. Then we add 3 to 14 and come up with the resurrection.
Slide 7 The Night Yeshua was Betrayed sunset April 11, 2025 (Friday night)
Passover (on Shabbat) sunset April 12, 2025
Days of Unleavened Bread – April 13-19, 2025 with the 13th (Sunday) and 19th (Shabbat) as Sabbaths.
There is no observance for the wave sheaf offering. It’s not a Sabbath.

History is Repeating: The Comeback of Totalitarianism.
Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Did you know there are people who purposely want to erase history so that it does repeat? Do you know this was a very common weapon used against nations just a few decades ago?
Communism and Fascism were universally rejected in the 1990s. Somehow these are making a comeback and we have to stop it. These two terms refer to economic systems that bring about dictatorships where all commerce, thought, production, power, etc. become centralized in a government and the people do not possess any rights whatsoever. They are awful systems that bring death and oppression. Those of us who are in our 50s or higher were taught to loathe these systems and value freedom and the free market in school. We were taught this through books that showed the awful result of these systems of government. Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, Brave New World, Atlas Shrugged, and other works were these books. If you’ve never read one of these, you really ought to.
Ask yourself a couple questions. Do you hold any beliefs today that are in direct opposition to something you believed recently? If so, how did that happen?
Do you hold any political beliefs that are completely incongruent? Meaning at total odds with each other?
If the answer is yes, you really want to keep listening. Because something has been done to you by outside forces to get you this way. Intentionally. And for sinister reasons.
The goals of the societal takedown. Keep in mind they socialist/Marxist/communist people did not believe these points were valid for society. They used these to destroy existing societies so they could replace authority with themselves.
https://cdn.subsplash.com/docu....ments/W8FD27/_source
Deception is key. It’s 100% trickery. You must be mad and outraged at something, even if it’s not real. In most cases it’s not real. Then somebody sweeps in with a fix. And the fix doesn’t even make sense. We’re 36 trillion in debt as a nation so we need to cut government. At the same time proposing cutting enormous taxes or even offering refunds. That makes no sense whatsoever. Zero.
More at https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/history-is-re

Did DOGE Accidentally Reveal the Babylon of Revelation?
There have been some significant developments with the world’s economy in recent years that shows us who the Babylon from Revelation may be. This video also includes a lesson on when to take the bible literally and when to not.

When and How to Interpret Scripture
The bible is written in a style that us westerners aren’t familiar with. By learning a couple things about how scripture was written and expected to be received, we can glean a lot more truth even in our native languages. This message touches on the way first century believers would have interpreted the Old Testament and subsequently wrote the New. These tips will help you understand the scriptures closer to their original intent, when things are supposed to be taken literally, and when they aren’t. These are very big helps when trying to understand prophecy and the Apostle Paul.

Messianic Torah Portion Vaera (I appeared) chronicles the beginning of the Exodus. In our study, we parallel the plagues of Exodus with those in Revelation 6 and contrast the purposes of each set of plagues.

The recent history of time keeping can make it very difficult for us to understand how those who wrote the books of the bible kept time. When you stop to think about it, can you even relate to how we kept time just thirty years ago?

2025 Holy Days in Kansas City
We are hosting Sukkot aka The Feast of Tabernacles in Kansas City in 2025 in addition to all the Holy Days of Leviticus 23. This video is the announcement, please follow the link below to get details as they become available. Please contact us through the website to let us know if you are intending to fellowship with us for any of Yahweh’s appointed times this year. These blessed events require planning, so we really need get an idea of how many may come. Please also contact us with any gifts you may want to bless us with from dance to music, kids classes, group activities, crafting, or anything else.
The Holy Days from Leviticus 23 prophetically explain the plan of salvation that God established at the foundation of earth. They have deep meaning for Christians and were continued to be kept by the New Testament converts in the first century. We observe these days in a New Covenant context, as the early believers did, in anticipation of the return of Yeshua the Messiah, where He will usher in a millennial kingdom where observance of these days will be required.
We welcome all who wish to observe God’s Holy Days in 2025 in Kansas City in a spirit of unity and cooperation.
https://firstcenturychristiani....ty.net/holy-day-date

Messianic Torah Portion Shemot is the beginning of the book of Exodus. This study is prefaced with the origin of the word Exodus and how there will only every be the one Exodus. We spoke about the remarkable parallels between Shemot and the end times. And, as always, why the Torah is so important to the New Testament.
https://firstcenturychristianity.net/

Messianic Torah Portion Vayechi (and he lived)
This Torah portion wraps up the book of Genesis with the death of Israel/Jacob (the person) and the end of Joseph’s life. This Torah portion contains big clues that salvation has always been available to both those of the nation of Israel and those of the nations. Specifically, Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh were mixed race, with their mother being Potifera, the daughter of an Egyptian priest. Jacob was embalmed as a Pharaoh while buried in the promised land, which also gives a hint to the future and how we live in Babylon today, but will ultimately be joined to Messiah in the true Israel.
Our study was long and included much discussion. Please enjoy this discussion and feel free to join us each Shabbat!
https://firstcenturychristianity.net/

Mainstream Christianity First Century Christianity
Go to church on Sunday or Keep the Sabbath
Sunday, Christmas, Easter or The Holy Days of the Bible
Dead people are now spirits or Dead people are dead awaiting resurrection
Trinity is mandatory or Accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and Son of God is the key to life
Works optional/not required or Repentance and change mandatory
Goal of life is going to heaven or Being in a better resurrection/the kingdom of God/ the Olam Haba
Old Testament for reference onlyor The Old Testament was the only bible they had for decades
Christianity is a different/new religion pr Christianity is the continuation of the faith of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

Messianic Torah Portion Vayigash (and he approached)
The Torah portion is about Joseph’s revealing of himself to his brothers and bringing Israel into Egypt. The parallels between these scriptures and the New Testament are plentiful. Our discussion covers the despair of Jacob and parallels this to the grief of Yeshua’s disciples and the despair of the world as it awaits Yeshua’s return. We also discuss the joy Jacob experiences when he learns Joseph is alive and compare this to the resurrection of the Messiah. The theme established that Joseph’s brothers meant it for evil when they sold him into slavery but God meant it for good compares remarkably with the resurrection of the Messiah and the sermon given by Peter in Acts 2. We also touched on topics of end times studies and how the concept of the Noahide laws are folly.
https://firstcenturychristianity.net/

Heirs according to the promise.
Prelude – rebuilding the wall of separation. Attractive for both sides. One wants the commandments to be exclusive. The other wants nothing to do with the commandments. In effect, both sides want the law to be exclusive, I suppose. Out of pure practicality, this answer can’t be true. For people to accept anyone as Messiah, they must understand what a Messiah is. That is established solely though the Law and the Prophets. It’s not a concept for the nations. A Messiah is one who has been anointed by God for a mission. The Messiah, the Son of God, is the very image of God and our Mediator between us and God. It’s impossible for those who accept the Messiah to then not accept the law because there would be nothing to mediate. Let’s get into the details.
Ephesians 1: 3-7 Paul refers to “us”. He does not make a distinction. He includes himself in the adoption. This is strange as he was surely native born. Ephesus is where Paul started a riot preaching against idolatry so at a minimum it’s a mixed congregation of both native and grafted in.
The promise – Galatians 3: 26-29 Abraham was promised to be the father of countless people. This promise is fulfilled in this adoption. That through His seed, Yeshua, we have the opportunity to join the family of God. We do not replace that family, but we join in. We have the choice to accept adoption. The native born have the choice to also accept Yeshua.
The wall is broken down – Eph 2: 11-13 Commonwealth of Israel. You understand Paul is including gentile converts as Israel here. Not as a replacement for Israel, but a joining, a grafting in. Both groups into one. The gentiles who accept Yeshua as Messiah become part of Israel. Grafted in, not a replacement. Not a separate class of people, either. The goal here is unity.
Acts 15: 19-21. The gentiles are showing up at synagogue on Shabbat all over the world. They are accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and following the commandments. The question is whether conversion to Judaism is requires through circumcision prior to allowing them to commune and study. The answer is no. Many take this to mean that’s the end of the story, that these directives issued by the council of Jerusalem are the permanent ordinance and all people have to do to be consider Christians forever. That all who accepted Yeshua from the nations forever were to just stop right here and be done. Believe in the Messiah, learn, and basically continue to live as you did prior expect with these few requirements. This cannot be true because it would legalize sin for most of mankind. It would make the rest of the New Testament gibberish as there would be nothing for converts to learn or do. What would they be persevering in? If their behavior barely changed from prior, how would anybody even know they changed? It’s bizarre this concept keeps coming up on both sides. Mainstream Christians believe the law doesn’t apply to them and Jews concur. This is the divide between us and mainstream Christianity.
1 Cor 5: 4-8 become a new lump. Written to a gentile area in the Name of Yeshua. Assuming a mixed group of prior Jew and Gentile. And they are expected not only to know Torah but to be keeping ULB. Does this sound like this group stopped at the few things commanded in Acts 15? Of course not. Because Acts 15 is just a starting point. The believers were expected to keep attending Shabbat, hearing Moses, learning, and doing as they learned.
Rev 14:12 – the remnant are those who keep Torah and believe in Yeshua. You want to be the remnant.
https://firstcenturychristianity.net/

The parallels between Joseph and Yeshua (Jesus) aren't just remarkable, they are prophetic and establish our understanding of the relationship between Yahweh and His Son.

The Christian Truth of Hanukkah
This study shows how Yeshua the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, was referring to something that had already happened in Matthew 24 when He spoke of the Abomination of Desolation. In fact, His words about praying that their flight not be in winter or the Sabbath, that the would have to leave for the hills in haste, and women with children would have a difficult time were all a call-back to something that had already happened once. If you wish to understand what He was really telling them, we must study the Maccabees and the truth of Hanukkah, which contains much needed truth for Christians.

Messianic Torah Portion Vayeshev (and he lived) is about Joseph being sold into slavery by his own brothers. There are many parallels between Joseph and Yeshua, the Messiah, which we discuss in this study. The focus of our congregational discussion is on prophecy and its ultimate purpose, which is to further the kingdom of God.