The Circumcision of The Messiah

As Moses described the final redemption to come, he told Israel that God will circumcise their hearts. He said, “God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6).

The metaphoric circumcision of the heart will enable us to completely fulfill the commandment of loving God. It will grant us life—even eternal life.

In the Scriptures, a circumcised heart refers to having a repentant heart, suppliant to the will of God. For example, in Deuteronomy 10:16, Moses commanded the people, “Circumcise your heart, and stiffen your neck no longer.”

The Prophet Jeremiah tells Israel to repent from evil deeds, saying, “Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart” (Jeremiah 4:4). The Apostle Paul contrasts a circumcised proselyte who does not keep the commandments against an uncircumcised Gentile who does keep the commandments. He says that the latter demonstrates a circumcision “which is of the heart, by the Spirit” (Romans 2:29).
Jewish eschatology teaches that when Messiah comes, God will circumcise our hearts by removing the evil inclination. Messiah is the circumciser of hearts. Nachmanides explains as follows:

From creation, man has had the free choice to do righteousness or evil according to his will … In the Messianic Era, man’s natural inclination will be to choose the good, and the heart will not lust for that which is not appropriate. He will not have any desire for the forbidden whatsoever. And this is what is meant by the “circumcision” spoken of here, for lust (and material desires) are like foreskin for the heart. The circumcision of the heart is that the heart shall not lust [after the forbidden] and shall not desire [the forbidden]. At that time, human beings will return to the spiritual state they possessed before the sin of Adam when he would by nature do that which is proper to do …

This is what the scripture means in Jeremiah 31:33, “… I will put My Torah within them and on their heart I will write it.” This refers to the abolition of the evil inclination and the hearts doing by nature that which is proper to do … similarly, Ezekiel states, “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit within you” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). The “new heart” refers to its new nature … (Nachmanides on Deuteronomy 30:6)

The prophecy from Ezekiel echoes the prophecies in Deuteronomy 30:1-6. Ezekiel describes how God will gather Israel together from the nations, purify them, circumcise their hearts, and enable them to keep the Torah:

For I will take you from the nations, gather you from all the lands and bring you into your own land …I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances. You will live in the land that I gave to your forefathers. (Ezekiel 36:24-28)

The result of this circumcision of heart is obedience to God. Moses says that when God finally circumcises the heart of His people, they will “again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments” (Deuteronomy 30:8). In other words, God is going to enable us to keep His Torah. He is going to set us free from sin and cause us to walk in righteousness. Keeping Torah is one of the promises of the Messianic Age.

Paul explains that we who have become partakers of Messiah have already begun to enter the new covenant and the circumcision of the heart. He calls it the “circumcision of Messiah” when he says, “In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Messiah” (Colossians 2:11).

Stop Gossiping

The Power of Thought and Speech

One of the prohibited forms of behavior is gossip.

לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ וגו’: (ויקרא יט:טז)
[G‑d instructed Moses to tell the Jewish people,] “You must not go around as a gossipmonger.” Leviticus 19:16

According to the Talmud, gossip “kills” three people: the speaker, the listener, and the object of the gossip. That the speaker and listener deserve to be punished is understandable, but why should the person about whom they are gossiping suffer?

The answer is that speaking about another person’s shortcomings does more than just belittle him. Words have the power to bring latent energy into actuality. When we speak about a person’s negative traits, it activates them and reinforces them. As a result, his behavior takes a turn for the worse and he thus incurs punishment.

Conversely, when we speak about the good traits of another person, we reveal and reinforce those traits. We can thus be a positive or negative influence on people; the choice is ours.

It is not only prohibited to speak derogatorily about someone; it is also prohibited to think about them derogatorily. In some ways, thinking negatively about someone is more serious than speaking negatively about them.

Do Away With Envy

Envy is wanting the possessions and destiny of others.

To be filled with envy is to be filled with a jealousy of what others may have that you do not have. However, in the real sense, to be envious of others is really to be unhappy with what the Creator has given to you and to be unhappy with the destiny that Yahweh has laid down for you.

Envy removes you from the path that Yahweh have created for you. Being removed from your personal path, removes the direction in your life, and confusion sets in. The bitterness caused by envy will defile you and destroy you.

Overcome envy, knowing that the Creator has the perfect plan for your life, and has all good things planned for you.

The Eternal Message

Everyone loves to have interaction with those whose principles and ways of doing things do not change. This makes them able to predict outcomes and thereby make life easier for themselves. They know where to thread and what not to do.

The interesting thing is that the Creator is the most constant factor in all existence. He is an Eternal being with eternal principles and Words. He declared in Malachi 3:6 that “I am YAHWEH and change not”.

Throughout Scripture, He made promises, spoke words, initiate covenants, brought forth ideas, and gave eternal commands. In Him, there is no variation. This same attribute was declared by Yeshua and his disciples. There are many places where they spoke words regarded as ‘message you heard from the beginning’.

One of such messages is, “that we should love one another” (1 John 3:11). Yeshua and his disciples knew very well that the demand to love one another was as old as the creation of man itself. Since YAHWEH is love, love was from the beginning.

Are you then walking in the path that births your creation? Have you forgotten the age-long saying, “the sea that forgets its source will dry”? When you refuse to love your fellow human being, you cut yourself off from your Creator and wither away. Live in love today.

Shalom!

Show Love To Reap Love

One theme that is synonymous with all religion is that of LOVE. Every one of them agrees that it is important and necessary to show love to people around us.

Since the advent of all religions, it is surprising that there is so much to be desired in showing love to others, especially from all those professing these faiths.

One thing that many have not come to know is that they cannot show love in the right way, if they do not have a good understanding of the ways of the MOST HIGH in loving themselves.

The command is clear; LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. In loving ourselves, we show acts of love to our neighbors.

How is this true? When we love ourselves, we are careful not to put poisonous substances in our food; same way we will not put poisonous substances in the public water supply when we know that we will drink from the same source. When we know that something will be injurious to us even if we give it to others, we desist from such acts. In essence, we show love because we love ourselves.

Now, the reason why the act of showing love from this understanding is not enough to remove evil amongst men is because we only have this understanding in just about 10% of the things we do. We always believe that 90% of the things we do will never get back to us. LIE! LIE!! LIE!!!

One of the main principles of Creation is that, ALL OUR ACTS WILL SURELY COME BACK TO US. We will surely reap from whatever we have sown

Therefore, whatever you do today will come back to you. Think twice before doing it.
Shalom!

The Capable Wife

Who does find a capable wife? For she is worth far more than rubies. The heart of her husband shall trust her, And he has no lack of gain. She shall do him good, and not evil, All the days of her life.
Mishlĕ (Proverbs) 31:10‭-‬12 TS2009

Who is a capable wife? The introductory portion of this piece in the Book of Proverbs opens our eyes to the major characteristics of a good wife.

When it says her worth is more than rubies, what is being portrayed is that she cannot be purchased as rubies cannot be purchased with money. A capable wife remains for her husband 100% and nothing can take her away from him. Not even the cares of life.

This is the reason why her husband trusts in her. Her loyalty is not in doubt. Her husband can then entrust her with all that he has and makes her the General Manager of his estate. He is sure that all his interests will be perfectly taken care of.

In her position as General Manager, she is completely devoted to her husband and the man gets 100% of all returns from his estate. No withholding tax is charged by the wife. She concerns herself with ensuring that the husband gets only good and not bad.

That is a capable wife. No personal interest but her husband’s interest is paramount. All her knowledge and resources are geared toward making her husband known and respected in society.

May YAHWEH make our women capable (Amein).

Happiness Is Like A Kiss

Happiness is like a kiss. You must share it to enjoy it.”
—Bernard Meltzer (Radio Host, 1916-1998)

Have you ever shared a story because it made you smile? Ever find yourself walking by a stranger and flashing a smile? Or gave out your recipe to a friend because you love the food?

Research proves that sharing in all its forms is a truly powerful way to bring happiness. You can share things that are special to you—like a book, a tool or even a recipe. Or you can share a smile, a special event in your life, or even your affection.

Sharing is fundamental to the development of all human relationships and civilizations.

If you want your happiness to last forever, share what makes you happy.

Stay Happy!

THE CREATOR HAS ONLY ONE THING TO GIVE – HAPPINESS

Many times we struggle within ourselves to understand why we go through hardship and suffering that makes us feel sad. We have a mental picture of a Creator who at His whims, decides to put people through harrowing experiences because He is unhappy with us.

There is only one thing the Creator is capable of giving to mankind. That is unbounded pleasure and fulfillment. All He wants to do is to make us happy all the time and that is what He sends to us every second of the day. He will never send us situations to make us suffer.

Then why do we suffer? We suffer because our vessel to receive the gift of happiness from the Creator has been reprogrammed to see things from materialistic perspective rather than a relationship with the Creator perspective.

We no longer consider things always good but we now have a programme that determines whether an experience is good and evil. That is the result of eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Until we understand the Thought of the Creator for all occurrences, we will continue to perceive suffering in our lives.

Stay Happy!

Who Is Responsible For The Negative Things That Happen To Me?

As man, when bad things happen to us, we are always moved to know that some force somewhere is acting against us and the force is either directly from the Creator due to Him forsaking us or someone who hates us. We do not for once want to believe that it may be due to what we have done in the past.

The universal law of cause and effect is enough to convince us that whatever happens to us is as a result of what we have done in the past. For every negative action, there is a reaction. The concept of time, however, creates a separation between cause and effect in our physical world.

When man commits a negative deed, time delays the inevitable consequences. Repercussions from wrongful actions appear at a later date, creating the illusion that these repercussions are random events. Our negative inclination then tempts us to point the finger of blame at the Creator because the original cause – our negative action – is forgotten and hidden somewhere in the past.

When we acknowledge this law of cause and effect, we will be careful about our speech and actions. We should remember the saying. “Whatever you sow, you will surely reap” as well as the biblical injunction, “Yahweh will not leave the guilty unpunished”.

Whatever you face today, accept it and commit to make amends in your life to forestall a recurrence.

Shalom.

Why Do People Marry?

Why do people marry?

If you limit it to companionship or ‘to complete’ oneself; then you have set out on the wrong footing.

People marry for many reasons but all the reasons must be geared towards the manifestation of the will of the Creator for mankind.

Marriage can be a rehabilitation centre for a woman. It could also be a place of refuge (either physical or emotional).

Marriage is the tool for perfection of Creation and not about the selfish feelings of a woman or the lust of a man.

Polygamy and the Bible

1st published on 8th July 2012 on Facebook.

Christians are fond of defining Biblical Marriage as one man, one woman, bonded for life, sexually exclusive, and celibate before marriage. The problem is, that’s not in the Bible. In order to find that model of marriage, we will have to look beyond the bible.

Taking the Bible as a whole, there are far more references to polygamy — and far more approval from Yahweh himself for the institution — than for monogamous marriage.

If a man have two wives, one beloved, and another hated, and they have born him children, both the beloved and the hated; and if the firstborn son be hers that was hated: Then it shall be, when he maketh his sons to inherit that which he hath, that he may not make the son of the beloved firstborn before the son of the hated, which is indeed the firstborn: (Deuteronomy 21:15-16)

Earlier in the same chapter, rules were spelt out for taking captive slaves and adding them to your harem of wives.

And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet sons and daughters born to David. (2 Samuel 5:13)

David, the direct ancestor of Yeshua, had six wives and many concubines. Concubines, by virtue of NOT being wives, are pretty solid evidence that non-married sex wasn’t an especially bad thing in the Old Testament.
Speaking of non-married sex, King Solomon, the wisest man in the history of the universe, had 300 concubines. Think about how many times you had sex last year. Solomon probably had beaten you to it before he even got to the first of his 700 wives.

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son, didn’t do quite so well. He only had 18 wives and 60 concubines. (2 Chronicles 11:21) Esau had three wives. At first, he married two Caananite women, but his parents were mad at him — not for having two wives, but because they were foreigners. So he found himself a good Jewish girl and took her for his own.

Christians love this passage: `For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh‘ ? 6. So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” (Matthew 19: 5-6). It proves Yeshua advocated one man, one woman, with no divorce, right?

Well… not exactly. For some reason, they forget the rest of the passage. 8. Yeshua replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning.” Yeshua goes on to prohibit divorce for just any cause, but NOT multiple wives.

More importantly, there is not a single passage to be found in the New Testament where Yeshua condemns, outlaws, or otherwise prohibits polygamy. Really! There isn’t a single one. Read it for yourself and see. One would think that if it was important for his followers to abandon the marital traditions of hundreds of years, and more importantly, of his own forbears — those men who were individually chosen by Yahweh – he might have taken a moment to mention it.

To know more about biblical polygamy, join this Whatsapp group:

https://chat.whatsapp.com/FIuzWRhHUTw9HSfR9wMspG

The real Acts of kindness

Most of the favors we do for others are things they do not need, things they only imagine they need, because we live in a world propelled by fantasies.

And most of the kindness we do is saturated with ulterior motives. We do kindness for those we love, those close to us, or those who make us feel good when they receive.

But this does not matter. They are acts of kindness, nonetheless, and Yahweh desires to be found in acts of kindness. And where can kindness be performed? In a world of delusions, where people imagine all sorts of needs and each of us is dependent on the other.

The highest, indeed, is found in the lowest, the deepest truths are submerged in the muddiest pits of confusion.

Guard your womb

A News Agency of Nigeria report on an interview with me at a Menstrual Hygiene Programme recently.

A General Medical Practitioner, Dr. Adeolu Olusodo, on Sunday, advised young girls not to tamper with their wombs in order not to suffer infertility in future.

Olusodo, who is the Founder of Atayese Health Network, a non-profit clinic at Mojoda-Adamo, Ikorodu, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that a woman’s womb was what made her unique and important.

Olusodo said: “The women folks do not know that they are more important than men when it comes to continuity of life; that is the role God has placed in their hands. “How important they take the role will determine how fulfilled they will be in life and the moment they leave that role and run out to other priorities, there will be issues. “So do not tamper with what makes you to be unique without prejudice to women who are going to fertility clinics. “The younger girls must guard, keep, cherish their womb and avoid the use of contraceptives so as not to tamper with the natural process and cause the body to react.’’ Olusodo, however, urged young girls to be reserved and avoid having multiple sex partners.

According to him, there are health implications of sexual promiscuity. “There are health implications to having many sex partners; in West Africa, the commonest cancer among women is cervical cancer. “There is a particular predisposing factor to cancer of the cervix and that is multiple sexual partners. “People who have had multiple sexual partners in their lives are more at risk of having cancer of the cervix than those who stick to one person all their lives. “Statistics also show that the more sex you have, the higher the chances of having sexually transmitted diseases,’’ he said.

Olusodo, therefore, urged young girls to run away from sex, saying they were not ripe for it.

Takeoff of Home Visit for Immobile Elderly Programme

The home visit program for elderly people who are not very mobile to visit the hospital under the Corporate Social Responsibility activities of Atayese Health Club commenced today just few hours after its conception.

The first place I went to was the home of an 86 year old man who had been a community leader and a politician. He also happens to be the husband of one the members of the club.
The man had a stroke in 2010 which left him with difficulty of using the left hand and leg. One of the bright side of the visit was that I helped him put his digital sphygmanometer in good condition. He has not been using it for some time because he felt that it was nonfunctional.

I went on to check his Blood Pressure and also his blood sugar which were within normal limits. After that, I cross-checked the drugs he is using. On behalf of the club, I gave him analgesics and routine drugs to add to his drugs. I encouraged him to use his drugs regularly and visit his eye doctors regularly because he has bilateral cataract.

As I set to take my leave, he offered me an envelope which I humbly rejected. After a little discussion, we decided that he should make it his contribution towards the programme and we use it to buy drugs for those to be visited.

I left the place and had a very touching experience at the place I went to. I went to our Graphics Designer to do some work. While talking with her, I found out that she haven’t checked her blood pressure for a long time and have not been using any drug. She initially refused that I check her BP but agreed after I insisted. To my amazement, I found the highest diastolic BP in my twenty years experience as a doctor.

Without sounding much alarm, I counseled her on the importance of regular check and the use of antihypertensive drugs. I offered to buy her the drugs to use for few days so that she can have daily monitoring of the BP. On getting to the pharmacy, I found that the cost of drugs in the hospital is lower than that in the phamacy. This gladdens my heart that we are truly making healthcare more affordable for members of Atayese Health Club.

I opened the old man’s envelope at the pharmacy, since I intend to use part of the money to buy drugs for the lady, and I found two thousand naira in it. The drugs for the lady cost 780 Naira instead of 700 Naira in our hospital.

Surely, we are making healthcare accessible and affordable for people in and around Lagos Mainland. If you live there or know someone there, ensure you or them become part of the Atayese Health Club.

The Gentile Church Fathers led the Church Astray

The reason why the Jewish leaders in the 1st Century rejected Jesus as the Messiah was because he didn’t fulfil the Messianic role of ruling in Jerusalem. This is one of the roles of the Messiah. The following are what the Messiah will do:

Before the time of the Messiah, there shall be war and suffering (Ezekiel 38:16)

The Messiah will bring about the political and spiritual redemption of the Jewish people by bringing us back to Israel and restoring Jerusalem (Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 23:8; 30:3; Hosea 3:4-5).

He will establish a government in Israel that will be the center of all world government, both for Jews and gentiles (Isaiah 2:2-4; 11:10; 42:1).

He will rebuild the Temple and re-establish its worship (Jeremiah 33:18).

He will restore the religious court system of Israel and establish Jewish law as the law of the land (Jeremiah 33:15).

All these were scriptural prophesies concerning the Messiah and the followers of Jesus believed this will be fulfilled at his return. They taught a literal fulfilment and regarded the ‘the kingdom at hand’ to the Messianic Era and the World to Come.

However, the gentile church fathers sees this as nonsense and persistent suppress this teaching and introduced the replacement theology of ‘The Church is the New Israel’ and that the ‘Kingdom at hand’ was inaugurated at Pentecost.

This is why the focus of the church moved away from Jesus fulfilling the Messianic roles as prophesied in the Tanach (Old Testament) and centred on Christians going to heaven. In essence, the Church is helping fuel the belief of the Jews that Jesus can never be the Messiah.

The following are statements of the Church Fathers that helped to suppress the physical restoration of Israel teaching by Jewish followers of Jesus.

Origen
Such are the views of those who, while believing in Christ, understand the divine scriptures is a sort of Jewish sense, drawing from them nothing worthy of the divine promises. (De Principilis 2.11.1-2)

Both Judea and Jerusalem were the shadow and figure of the pure land, goodly and large, in the pure region of heaven, in which is the heavenly Jerusalem. And it is in reference to this Jerusalem that the apostle spoke, as one who, “being risen with Christ, and seeking those things which are above,” had found a truth which formed no part of the Jewish mythology. (Against Celsius 7. 28-29)

Moreover there are many prophecies spoken of (the people of) Israel and Judah, which relate what is going to happen to them. And when we think of the extraordinary promises recorded about these people, promises so far as literary style goes are poor and distinguished by no elevation or character that is worthy of a promise of God, is it not clear that they demand a mystical interpretation? (De Principilis 4.3.6)

Gaius
“(The author of the Book of Revelation) by means of revelations which he pretended were written by a great apostle, also falsely invented wondrous things, as if they had been shown to him by angels, asserting that after the resurrection there would be an earthly and physical kingdom of Christ in which men, again inhabiting Jerusalem, will experience physical desires and pleasures. Being also an enemy to the divine Scriptures, intending to deceive men, he said that there would be a space of a thousand years for celebrating wedding banquets.” (Ecclesiastical History 3:28)

Dionysius
“(The author of the Book of Revelation) intentionally affixed the name of John to his own forgery. For one of the doctrines that he taught was that Christ would have an earthly kingdom. And he was an hedonist, and altogether sensual, for he conjectured that the kingdom would consist in those things that he craved for gratifying his own appetite and lust: namely that there would be eating, drinking and marrying, and he spoke of such things as he supposed these sensual pleasures might be presented in more decent terms: festivals, sacrifices, and slaying of animal sacrifices.” (Ecclesiastical History 3:28)

Jerome
If one of the Christians…reckons that the prophecy is not yet completed, let him known that he falsely bears the name of Christ and that he has a Jewish soul, lacking only circumcision of the body. (Commentary to Zephaniah 3:14-18)

Anyone who takes the kingdom literally follow Jewish madness, since they seek to satisfy their gluttony, lust for marriage, and longing for circumcision, sacrifices, and the Sabbath. (Commentary to Isaiah 54:1-14)

Those who claim that by the stock of faithful Israel in the Church of Christ (i.e. Jewish Christians) should observe the ceremonies of the Old Law (Torah) also anticipate a golden Jerusalem which will stand for a thousand years, where they will offer sacrifices and be circumcised, that they may sit on the Sabbath, sleep, become sated, drunk, and rise to frolic. Their (Sabbatarian) amusement is offensive to God. (Commentary to Isaiah 53:12)

Reformation Time
John Calvin
Believe in a literal thousand year reign of Christ is a fiction too childish.

Heinrich Bullinger
We also reject the Jewish dream of a millennium, or golden age on earth, before the last judgement. (Second Helvetic Confession)

The Church Fathers rejected the Scriptural Prophecies that Jesus will reign physically for a thousand year in Jerusalem. This has become the official teaching of the church since the 4th Century in the days of Saint Augustine. Other part of this teaching include that the Church is the Kingdom and it started at Pentecost.

There is a great need for everyone who believes that the Scripture is the Word of Yahweh to reject the teaching of the church that there won’t be a physical millennium reign of Jesus from Jerusalem.