Correspondence with Jonathan in Israel
I read your article on Sabbath keeping and the holy days. I only can say that you are not required to keep them, according to Jewish law
I realize according to traditional Jewish law they say it is not necessary, and some even say we should be put to death! However, the Word of God that such traditions woefully ignore reveal that God has given the holy days to Israel to share with the whole world as they represent God's plan of salvation for all mankind, even as the Third Temple will be a house of prayer for all peoples with no mention of division in Ezekiel between Gentiles and Israelites any longer.
A House of Prayer for All Peoples?
As for the Sabbath, it has been in existence since Creation and Adam and Eve were not Jewish! Just like the dietary laws have been in existence since Creation with Noah taking into the Ark clean animals by seven and unclean animals by two. I prefer the Word of God over Jewish or "Christian" tradition. The prophecies also reveal that King Messiah will command ALL nations to keep the biblical festivals of the LORD or suffer the consequences. This truth is completely contrary to traditional Jewish law and "Christian" tradition.
Hostility Against "Jewish Holidays" to be History!
but in ancient times even many gentile people came to celebrate some major Jewish holy days with us, until repressive laws made that impossible to continue. So you are rekindling an ancient and forgotten path
Actually, the Anglo-Saxons and white peoples of Northwestern Europe are not Gentile - we are Gentilized Israelites. By the grace of God, I am helping to restore our Israelite identity and return our "Lost Ten Tribes" to the biblical ways and holy days and encouraging all to move beyond Babylon.
The Jewish political and religious leaders ought to recognize Joseph and call out to us to join in biblical celebrations in Jerusalem before our Great Creator God like King Hezekiah nobly did.
Jude 1:3
I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints [in Jerusalem, not Rome].
Jeremiah 6:16
"Thus saith Yahweh, stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk there in, and ye shall find rest to your souls. But they said, we will not walk therein."
Jeremiah 16:19
O LORD, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things."
1 Corinthians 10:19-21
19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons.
2 Corinthians 6:14-18
14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
"I will dwell in them
And walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people."
2 Chronicles 30:1-11
1 And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel. 2 For the king and his leaders and all the assembly in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month. 3 For they could not keep it at the regular time, because a sufficient number of priests had not consecrated themselves, nor had the people gathered together at Jerusalem. 4 And the matter pleased the king and all the assembly. 5 So they resolved to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba to Dan, that they should come to keep the Passover to the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem, since they had not done it for a long time in the prescribed manner.
6 Then the runners went throughout all Israel and Judah with the letters from the king and his leaders, and spoke according to the command of the king: "Children of Israel, return to the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel; then He will return to the remnant of you who have escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. 7 And do not be like your fathers and your brethren, who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, so that He gave them up to desolation, as you see. 8 Now do not be stiff-necked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves to the LORD; and enter His sanctuary [this includes the Land of Israel where Israelite representatives ought to be encouraged to move to], which He has sanctified forever, and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of His wrath may turn away from you. 9 For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will be treated with compassion by those who lead them captive, so that they may come back to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn His face from you if you return to Him."
10 So the runners passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh, as far as Zebulun; but they laughed at them and mocked them [often this is the same response the servants of God receive today by our proud and stubborn Israelite peoples who prefer their Gentile traditions to biblical truth and by smug Jewish brethren who want to remain exclusivist]. 11 Nevertheless some from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
Joseph Isn't Jewish!
Not All Twelve Tribes of Israel are Jewish?
Israel and Judah Must Get House in Order Before King Messiah Arrives
I did not know that you had Jewish cousins, but I saw that a family named Israel Ort was in your vicinity on previous census records.
Israel Ort is my great Grandfather on my father's maternal side. I'm at a standstill on my father's paternal side - the Hoover's. My great great Grandfather Abraham Hoover took off with the maid (and left his wife Anne Creeger behind) and has never been found. Some relative contacted me and said he was born in Pennsylvania and such but it doesn't appear sure.
German-American Israelites?
The Family of Joseph Hoover
Your family farm sounds wonderful, and I hope that you will not leave this world without any offspring. Such a kind and devout person as yourself must be duplicated.
I trust God will give me a name in His Kingdom that will last forever. As for this mortal life, I am "gay" (against my religious beliefs) and have AIDS, so it's not likely I'll have any sons or daughters although I would consider such tremendous blessings - unlike so many "sperm donors" (they're not fit to be called fathers as they're not involved in their children's lives and have merely impregnated women).
I pray for you that you will be protected from harm and will prosper and grow in your spiritual path to Hashem.
Such a gracious letter that is most appreciated! May the Eternal bless us to worship Him in His House of Prayer for All Peoples.
David
David Ben-Ariel is a Christian-Zionist writer and author of Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. With a focus on the Middle East and Jerusalem, his analytical articles help others improve their understanding of that troubled region. Check out the Beyond Babylon blog.
