This chapter covers some opinion pieces and a link to my book. I am providing my opinion and the scriptures that I believe support it. None of my works are intended as evangelism. You won't find me proselytizing people who are not interested, because I realize evangelism, especially in the classic sense just doesn't work. And you won't find me condemning others who disagree because that is not my job.

Along those lines I have to make a distinction here: If you are not on this walk, it might not even apply to you. Again, I'm not putting this here to evangelize or convert anyone, I'm talking to those who are already on this path.

For those who are not in my audience specifically, my current understanding is "The things the Torah says, it says to those who are under Torah." I think of it in terms of legal contracts because that is how it works. This tells me if you have not signed the contract, then the conditions of the contract do not apply to you, and you are not subject to the penalties. It follows of course that neither are you eligible for the rewards.

Also I believe there are too few messengers who qualify themselves by taking the position that they might be wrong. To me this is one of the most crucial qualifications. My instructor has this qualification and so do I. If you believe I am mistaken on any given point, that is fine. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, I'm just telling you where I am right now and how I got there. In return, I expect the same respect. Sure I could be wrong about something, but so also could you. If you don't agree with that idea, then perhaps this is not for you. Pray about it.

Taking on the role of teacher or congregation leader gets taken far too lightly, far too often. There is a double judgement for it. I appreciate the enthusiasm of the hundreds of Messianic and semi-Messianic teachers out there, but being enthusiastic and dedicated does not automatically make you right, and the penalty for being wrong can be severe. That's just one of the many reasons why I am not a Torah teacher. Our job is to work on our own walk, and in my opinion if you are working on yourself enough, you probably should not have very much time left over to work on everyone else.

Which brings us to my writings, because these are things I learn and put together while working out my own salvation, and I'm sharing them in the hopes that perhaps there is some use for you as well.

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Christmas and other "holidays"

This has been a contentious subject as of late. It should not be something the HRM/Messianic community argues about. I have listed my objections and conclusions about Christmas, but I must be very clear about the context.

Each individual point in my article has been contended against, most notably on whether or not Christmas is of pagan origin. I fundamentally object to arguments based on whether or not it is pagan because that particular argument is most often used to justify the holiday; if someone can "prove" Christmas is not pagan, then somehow it is permissible to observe it.

This is a false dichotomy. Proving something isn't pagan, does not make it permissible.

It doesn't matter whether Christmas or any holiday or any tradition or any observance is of pagan origin. The bottom line is that with many traditions, and Christmas in particular, those who observe it are fully immersed and regard the holiday with more love, reverence, and dedication than the festivals and sacred days as declared by the creator.

It is not acceptable for any tradition or observance to take priority over the instructions of our creator. I don't care if you create a holiday to honor the martyrs, if you place that observance above scripture then you have missed the mark.

When people live their lives around Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving and ignore Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot then it becomes idolatry and violates the first commandment whether or not it was pagan to begin with. Purim and Hannukah are fine, but not if those are your main holidays and you still ignore the commanded festivals.

So, keep it in mind that whether or not you can prove or disprove any of the points I make, and whether or not you agree with my position on them, it is irrelevant: you cannot overturn or marginalize the festivals and sacred days and magnify other holidays instead, without violating the first commandment.

Dan's little paper on Christmas. - From 2011, in the previous website format. Actually I still have a number of these in the previous style. They will eventually be migrated over, not to worry. At least they aren't still in my 1998 format, right? Does anyone remember transitions?

Sukkot wrote this as a quick reference to help explain it to inquiring minds.

Table showing books of the NT that must be thrown out if you are one of those "Paul is heretic" people.

Spoiler Alert: Paul is not a heretic, and if you think he is, then your NT consists of Mathew and Jude, and that is pretty much it. All the rest of the NT has some connection to Paul, so if you believe Paul is a heretic, then the entire NT is tainted, except for Mathew, Jude and possibly John, 1,2,3 John, and Revelation. However it is likely that the John and Paul were associated via the Jerusalem council. Or possibly the book of Revelation written by an entirely different John. Best case scenario, you have a total of 7 books that you can refer to.

Study Notes

Study and verses on "The Temple"

 

 

Before diving into any of eschatology, I want emphasize the importance of terminology. From our vantage point, it should be obvious what we have is a disadvantage. We come from a different time, culture, and way of thinking, not to mention linguistic issues with translation. It would be hard enough to wade into the topic if we were native speaking ancient Hebrews. But we are not. I could easily go on a rant here, but suffice it to say that at the very least, we should put some effort into getting the terminology correct.

With that in mind, I have created a chart to organize some terms that get bandied about willy nilly, with not a single thought about which word goes where. I'm not going to retread old ground just to explain the summary. If my chart makes sense to you, great. Otherwise, take it or leave it.

Click here for the beast and the false prophet cheat sheet.

In discussing eschatology, a wiser man than myself once told me the most powerful book of prophecy is Genesis. I look forward to sharing some of what I have found there as soon as I have it in a presentable format, rather than notes and spreadsheets. In the meantime, if you are interested in eschatology and aren't spending a lot of time in Genesis, I think you should reconsider.

The Image of Nebuchadnezzar in the book of Daniel. If you are interested in beginning the study of prophecy, this would be a good place to start. Daniel describes an image, with great detail and symbolism, and then later in the book, the symbols are almost all of them revealed. You can hardly go wrong, and it is easy to fact check. Start with Daniel, read it through, and then the study above for fact checking. Have fun, and be blessed.

The Number 666. It would appear that The Book Patch has lost my text, book cover, and images so it is not available for purchase at thist time. I will link the pdf for now. At least I still have one actual copy left.

It is a book I wrote on the verse in Revelation:

Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six.
Revelation 13:18

The primary objective with this project is to challenge the idea of speculation posing as qualified research, by maintaining objective textual analysis and deductive rather than inductive conclusions.

Another of my contentions is that calculating "the number" by using some mathematical method is a childish exercise, because due to the nature of mathematics, there is no limit to the number of calculations one can do, in order to arrive at the number 666, to prove someone or something is the beast.

For example it is possible to calculate the number of the beast by extracting the roman numerals of any given name, and add them up with simple addition. Using this method one can easily "prove" that the beast of Revelation is in fact "Barney The Cute Purple Dinosaur." If anyone wants to contend "well, thats not the actual mathematical method to use" then write me an email with the scriptural support to prove your method is the correct one. Spoiler alert: There is no mathematical method in the bible established as the "calculate" method mentioned in Revelation.

Just stop speculating. I know it's fun and exciting and full disclosure: at one time I did the same thing too. But this is not the way, there are biblical definitions given in the scripture and these take authority over any ideas any one of us has.

But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sad, for he was one who had great possessions.
Matt 19:22

Don't be that guy.