Rabbi Henry Morse

Thoughts on Obama's speech at Notre Dame

2009-05-19T11:55:00.000-04:00

Unless you’re deaf and blind most likely you’ve been made aware of the speech that our most illustrious President made at Notre Dame. The press was all over this event like flies on, well, you get the point.

The passion that transpired as a result of his speech was so thick in our country you could cut it with a knife. This passion displayed itself predominantly in the Catholic community, and thus it should, as Notre Dame is supposed to be a Catholic University. The speech polarized Catholics from coast to coast. There were interviews with clergy trying to defend their reasoning for and against on many news channels.

With all of this stir surrounding the issue of abortion, I find that the real issue was never really addressed. Polls were taken, demographics were given, radio talk show hosts looked for every possible angle that might be considered original to the issue. Catholic clergy debated whether it was against their law to have him speak. They questioned whether or not it was right for him to get an honorary degree from a Catholic school. Flowery speeches were given on behalf of Obama’s great accomplishments. But few if any stayed focused on the real issue.

That issue is the sanctity of an innocent life. Mr. Obama did a great job obfuscating. He danced around the real issue until it morphed into nothing more than a political dialogue looking for civil people to just join in with mutual respect.

Well, I refuse to allow the attention to be drawn off the real and only issue surrounding this debate. All the buzz words and catch phrases that we use can’t and should not be allowed in the arena of this fight over life and death. When we do, we trivialize the real issue. Words like, pro choice, fetus, women’s right to choose; are advertisement agency inventions. They were created to distract us from the real matter at hand.

As I have said before so I say now, why should an innocent baby die just because some guy couldn’t keep his pants on and keep sex in the confines of marriage? As crude and rough as this may sound it is the cold hard issue at hand. We need not forget it either. Abortion is nothing more or less than murder of an innocent and defenseless baby.

During the President’s speech the underlying theme seemed to be, “let’s have a civil dialogue.” Is it possible to have a dialogue with a murderer? Some might wince at these words and think I am an intolerant dolt. My answer to them is yes I am intolerant, and sometimes a dolt, but not on this issue. Ask the Prime Minister of England, Nevil Chamberlain, about his civil dialogue with Chancellor Hitler.

If abortion is wrong it has to be wrong for all the right reasons. Those reasons are neither political or issues of civil rights. Abortion is wrong because murder is wrong.

Those leaders in the Catholic church who allowed this to happen should be ashamed of themselves. Their thinking that this issue can politicized and refocused so that the stigma of abortion can be neutralized and minimized just because a sitting President comes to speak is wrong.

As for those right minded Catholics who saw it like it was, I applaud you for your stand. In WW 2 Pope Pius kept silent while 6 million Jews went to the gas chambers under his watch. He refused to protest Mussolini’s allegiance with Hitler. His silence spoke loud and clear. It showed where he stood. Those Catholic leaders who allowed this to happen under their watch are just as complicit. I am not impressed with their so called, "open and civil dialogue," that lead to honoring a professing baby killer.

God will judge a failed system that speaks out of both sides of its mouth. He will avenge the lives of those innocents. I am sure of this because His word has always proven itself to be true. He alone declares what is right and wrong, not religious leaders, politicians, television personalities or even popular opinion.

Mat 18:1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who
then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
Mat 18:2 And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
Mat 18:3 and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:4 "Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 18:5 "And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me;
Mat 18:6 but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

-In Him Rabbi Henry M. Morse

One New Man Festival

2009-04-28T11:59:00.001-04:00

Shalom One and all:

I wanted to write to you a quick note to update you on the new
adventures of congregation Sha’ar Hashamayim. We have been a busy
little congregation this winter with many outreaches to our community.
God has opened up so many wonderful doors it is so hard to pick and
choose just a few to report on. So, I will start with the most recent
and work my way backwards. I will end when my fingers get tired of
typing, so that your eyes won’t go blurry.

A few weeks ago we hosted our annual Passover Seder. What a time we had
singing, rejoicing, praising, eating, and most important commemorating
this wonderful holiday of God’s great salvation not just for the Jew
but for all mankind.

150 people showed up to our filled to capacity hall. Of that crowd we
had 5 unsaved Jewish people who heard the message of hope in Yeshua the
Passover lamb. I hate to boast but my congregation put this event on
and the cooperation and work that was done was absolutely the best I
have ever seen in the almost 7 years we have existed as a congregation.
I was so proud of them. As we say in Yiddish I was qvelling. For the
first time ever we not only paid for the event we actually had a
surplus. If you missed it you missed an event of great joy. Come join
us next year if you can.

We have hosted a number of outreaches to our community each of which
has
brought with it a mixed response. We are using the local libraries
to host lectures. The first one was a lecture on whether a Jew could
believe in Jesus and still be a Jew. The second was “Understanding the
Israeli Palestinian conflict from a Biblical and Historical
perspective”. Both of these lectures were well attended with a good
representation of believers and non believes both Jew and Gentile.

We have received a lot of good press from the local paper. For some
reason one of the editors Seth Jacobs a young Jewish man has taken to
us and keeps doing articles about our congregation and the events we
do. He has given us top billing above the Lubavitch Jewish community
and their events. Please pray for their Rabbi, Mendel Gurkow, I think
he has pulled out some of the hair in his head since we have met.

We have hosted a number of events for the local clergy in our
congregation. This means I have sent out invitations to every church
and Synagogue in the local area. Believe me there are a lot of
Synagogues close to us. Not only do they know we are alive and well
they have been conspiring to shut us down. Isn’t that cool?

Now, I know that sounds a bit juvenile but as long as we are around and
active in the community we keep alive the issue of the Messiahship of
Yeshua for the Jew
and that is cool. Yeshua said in John,

Joh 9:4 "We must work the works of H
im who sent Me as long as it is
day; night is coming when no one can work.

We are approaching the time in our history when night is about to fall
and the work will be hindered so we must be busy about the masters
business while it is still light. This why we do all that we do it is
incumbent upon us not to waist any time.

This now brings me to the point of this letter. We are planning another
very large outreach to our community and I am approaching you so that
you might come and be a part of it. Last year we hosted an event called
the One New Man conference. It was a tremendous success yet there were
still bumps and glitches. We have worked out most of the glitches for
this year and now we are working on the bumps.

The premise for this event is to host a Messianic conference in the
heart of Sharon MA. Sharon as some of you know has the largest
percentage of Jewish population in the country, %72. We have rented a
conference center in town and we are moving full steam ahead. On the
dates of Sept 4th through the 6th we will have our second annual One
New Man Festival. This will be our attempt to reach out to Sharon MA
with the truth of their Jewish Messiah. I do believe there will be
opposition but we are not only up to it we welcome it. We are
determined to keep the Messaihship of Yeshua an acti
ve issue alive in
our community.

What is your20part in this whole thing, come and join us. I am including
all the info in a PDF attachment that can be opened up Adobe reader. So
read it get back to us and come and join us. If you know any one you
can foreword this note on to that would greatly appreciated. If you can
print and post this flyer in your congregation we would be most
grateful. The more the merrier. If you get this email more than once I
am sorry for the inconvenience. I’m just not that good when it comes to
secretarial work.

One more thing I would like to add, the congregation has been presented
with a great ministry opportunity. The local Christian radio station
out of Boston WEZE has asked us to seriously consider doing a one hour
weekly radio program. This would be aired on Saturday after the
Shabbat. The format would be Messianic in nature. It would be called,
One New Mensch. We would make it a call in as well. Believe it or not,
one of the local kosher restaurants said we could broadcast out of
their place.

This is a very exciting opportunity as it would give us a chance to
share with the local churches the Jewish roots of the faith and also
reach out to our local Jewish community. Can you imagine Jewish people
walking into this restaurant and hearing this live broadcast of a
Messianic radio show? It could be only a great success or a live brawl
on the air.

I have prayed about this a long and hard and I believe if God wants it to
happen then it will. This again is where you come in. To put this
program on we need $200.00 a week. This really is a great price. I do
not want to ask for support on the air. I just don’t believe this is
what God wants us to do. So, I come to you. Folks I have known for some
time. I need 32 people who are willing to $25.00 a month faithfully and
on time. If I get the support I know that it is a go, if not then we
move on to the next open door. I am not going to beg anyone for this.
God is going to make it happen or it won’t fly. Please pray about it
and get back to me as soon as you can. If you are so moved to help in
this new ministry opportunity email me and I will get back to you with
the details.

Don’t forget to check out the flyer in PDF form for the One New Man
Festival and come join us for that as well.

Thanks for your time as always we are honored to have you as our family.

Shalom uvracha b’Yeshua.
Peace and blessings in Yeshua
Rabbi Henry

February 3, 2009 - Guest Speaker.

2009-02-03T23:13:00.003-05:00

I had the privilege of speaking at Faunce Memorial Church on November 30th, 2008. Please click the link below to listen to the sermon.

Faunce Memorial Church

January 26, 2009 - Massachusetts Citizens for Life Event.

2009-01-26T10:44:00.002-05:00

December 21, 2008 - What does God's Word say?

2008-12-21T12:00:00.000-05:00

I have no doubt that most of you have heard the news of the Gaza incursion. I also realize that there are as many opinions and commentaries on this recent event as there are people on this planet. The questions we have to ask ourselves should not be based on our political or personal persuasions. Our concern as believers should always be what is God's opinion? That can only be based on a clear, in context, examination of the word of God, nothing else matters in this issue.

Because we are media blitzed we tend to see events of this nature only through the filter of its immediacy. This style of observation will bring us to conclusions that will keep us myopic in our views. We need to see this conflict through its historical context which will not only be in its recent past but will extend all the way back to its Biblical root.

Israel as a nation when it lived in God's Will, never fought a battle that was unjust or offensive. Israel always fought wars that were for its survival. God never charged Israel with the task of genocide. What God did was to ask Israel to judge the nations whose acts were so heinous that to allow them to continue would have threatened the survival of the entire world. These civilizations, if I can call them that were so determined to celebrate their culture of death that they were willing to even sacrifice their babies on the firey altar to their God Molech.

Molech was an ancient fire deity worshiped throughout Canaan generally, and Phoenicia particularly. Under various names, depending upon the city or country, Molech is essentially identical with Chemosh of Moab, and probably Melqart of Tyre. The general name for this type of fire god used throughout Canaan was Baal, meaning 'lord.' Molech was the national deity of the country of Ammon, east of the Jordan, or the Ammonites. Molech was also worshipped by the Israelites on many occasions, much to the distress of the prophets.

According to Jewish tradition, the cult idol of Molech was made of brass, hollow, and with hands so positioned that something laid therein would fall to the fire below. The practice of laying a child across the hands, and thus committing them to the fire, was termed 'pass through the fire to Molech.'

During the early days of Israel, when they were first taking possession of the land the worship of various sun- or fire-gods was common throughout Canaan. Offerings were often made by fire and there were many similarities between deities from different neighboring countries. These practices were not only despicable to the Israelites and their God, they were abhorrent even to other cultures such as the Greeks and Romans who also mention this inhuman rite in derogatory terms.

The children of Israel were forbidden, by God, to have anything to do with these abominable practices for fear that they would be affected and participate themselves. This would take them from a culture of life to one of death. In the scripture God gives them instruction on how to deal with these practices.

Lev 18:21 'You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech, nor shall you profane the name of your God; I am the LORD.

Lev 20:1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

Lev 20:2 "You shall also say to the sons of Israel: 'Any man from the sons of Israel or from the aliens sojourning in Israel who gives any of his offspring to Molech, shall surely be put to death; the people of the land shall stone him with stones.

Lev 20:3 'I will also set My face against that man and will cut him off from among his people, because he has given some of his offspring to Molech, so as to defile My sanctuary and to profane My holy name.

Lev 20:4 'If the people of the land, however, should ever disregard that man when he gives any of his offspring to Molech, so as not to put him to death,

Lev 20:5 then I Myself will set My face against that man and against his family, and I will cut off from among their people both him and all those who play the harlot after him, by playing the harlot after Molech.

Concerning Manasseh God said of him.

2Ki 23:10 He also defiled Topheth, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, that no man might make his son or his daughter pass through the fire for Molech.

Manasseh (King of Judah, 693 - 639 BCE) The king Manasseh has the distinction of being the first king to cause his own son to 'pass through the fire to Molech' and was forever condemned by the prophets. He was later carried to Assyria, and when he returned, he was reformed. He condemned the foreign deities, and worshipped only Yahweh. This, however, gave little comfort to the son who was previously sacrificed.

As I said above the Children of Israel were in danger of replicating these detestable practices of death.

Jer 32:34 "But they put their detestable things in the house which is called by My name, to defile it.

Jer 32:35 "They built the high places of Baal that are in the valley of Ben-hinnom to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire to Molech, which I had not commanded them nor had it entered My mind that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

Jer 32:36 "Now therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning this city of which you say, 'It is given into the hand of the king of Babylon by sword, by famine and by pestilence.'

Just as God asked Israel to judge the nations that participated in these practices that same God Judged Israel when they fell to the same low.

God gave unto Israel a culture of life not death.

Deu 30:15 "See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity;

Deu 30:16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it.

Deu 30:17 "But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them,

Deu 30:18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You will not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it.

Deu 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants,

On the contrary, Islam is a religion of death and its author is Satan. Here are some statements summarizing the sentiment of "Palestinian" leadership.

"The Hour [of Resurrection] will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice!"

-Sheikh Ibrahim Mudayris, Head of Association for Memorizing the Quran, PA Ministry of Endowments & Religious Affairs, PA TV, September 10, 2004

“and the rock and the tree will say: Oh Muslim, servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!"

-Dr. Hassan Khater, founder of Al Quds Encyclopedia

PA TV, January 10, 2005

"We are waging this cruel war with the brothers of the monkeys and pigs, the Jews and the sons of Zion."

-Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Maadi PA TV, September 12, 2004

"The Prophet said: the Resurrection will not take place until the Muslims fight the Jews, and the Muslims kill them. The Muslims will kill the Jews, rejoice [in it], and rejoice in Allah's Victory. The Muslims will kill the Jews, and he will hide... "The Prophet said: the Jews will hide behind the rock and tree, and the rock and tree will say: oh servant of Allah, oh Muslim this is a Jew behind me, come and kill him!. Why is there this malice? Because there are none who love the Jews on the face of the earth: not man, not rock, and not tree – everything hates them. They destroy everything; they destroy the trees and destroy the houses. Everything wants vengeance on the Jews, on these pigs on the face of the earth, and the day of our victory, Allah willing, will come."

-Sheikh Ibrahim Mudayris PA TV, September 10, 2004

As we deal with this recent spate of events that have transpired in the Gaza strip we need to ask ourselves these questions.

1. Are the Palestinians the poor victims of Israeli aggression?

2. Do they bare any responsibility for this conflict?

3. Who initiated the violence at first?

4. What is the history of this conflict?

5. Who are the real aggressors in this conflict?

6. Who has made official statements for the genocide of another people?

7. Is Zionism a plot for global conquest or just Israel's philosophy for survival?

8. Is Islam a peace loving religion or are they out for world conquest?

9. Is it ok for Israel to live in peace and security in a country the size of New Jersey?

10. Why can't 15 million Moslems live in peace in their countries the collective size of

the USA one third of Canada, Alaska, and Hawaii with Israel?

11. Are the "Palestinians" the ancient indigenous people of the land of Israel?

12. Who has the right to this land?

13. When Islam had control of this land what did they do with it?

14. When Israel came back to their land what did they do with it?

15. Who is threatening to wipe out whom from the face of this planet?

If we ask the right questions we can clearly see that Israel again is fighting a war for their defense and survival. It is true that many will suffer and innocents will die. But, the question again must be asked who is putting them in harms way? Is it ok for the "Palestinians to place their missile launchers in civilian areas and not expect the loss of civilian life?

I contend that Islam is a culture of death and no different than those who offered up their babies on the altar to Molech. This is ancient history repeating itself as it always does when men refuse to learn from it the first time. I do believe it was Ben Franklin who said that the definition of insanity was repeating the same behavior over and over again and expecting different results. I would like to add to that and say that it is the same failed behavior. Islam is a failed system that celebrates death. Avi Lipkin an Israeli author calls it a neurosis. They continue to repeat the same failed behavior over and over again and yet the world is insane enough to believe their propaganda that it is religion of peace.

Compare this quote with the ones above "We will have peace with the Arabs when they love their children more than they hate us". Golda Meir Prime minister of Israel 1969

I have yet to see once in history, a Jew strapping a bomb to him so that he might dash into a crowded mall of civilians and blow himself and the innocent to kingdom come. We must ask the right questions in order to see this situation as it really is. I would like to challenge you to do some research into this topic and find out who is to blame for this ongoing violence. I have written some blogs on the topic on our congregational web site www.shaarhashamayim.org as well as archived here at http://hashamayim.blogspot.com/.

If after you have read this and still have questions please don't hesitate to contact me at rabbi@shaarhashamayim.org. Please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem as we see the day fast approaching for the soon return of our Messiah Yeshua.

Shalom uvracha b'Yeshua

Peace and blessing in Yeshua

Rabbi Henry

PS:

UN: Cease Gaza Violence

Tevet 1, 5769 / December 28, '08 - 10:00 am

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/158174

(IsraelNN.com) The UN Security Council called for an immediate cessation of violence in the Gaza Region on Sunday.
In wake of the "Cast Lead" operation in Gaza, Arab countries in the council called for an emergency meeting to discuss and condemn the operation.
A Russian-drafted press statement is planned to call for an immediate cessation of rocket attacks on Israel.
Israeli Ambassador Gabriela Shalev sent a response to the planned meeting on Saturday night, telling members of the UN that Israel has the right to defend her citizens from attack. Gaza terrorists fired hundreds of rockets at Israeli towns in the days before the operation began.
"There is no justification for this whatsoever," Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN observer told reporters moments before the closed emergency session began. "This collective punmishment is in humane, immoral, and should be stopped immediately. There is no justification for punishing 1.5 million Palestinians=0 D in Gaza because of the actions of a few."
According to Gaza sources quoted by Ynet, 15 of those killed in Saturday air strikes in Gaza were civilians. The remaining 215 were terrorists linked to Hamas, many of them members of the Hamas "police" in Gaza.

You Decide is this propaganda or truth

Rabbi Henry

September 15, 2008 - In this election year 08.

2008-09-15T12:00:00.000-04:00

In this election year it is inevitable that someone somewhere will ask the question of a politician, will you support the constitution when it comes to a woman's right to choose? At that point the poor schlemiel politician will probably answer the question with a statement that goes something like this. Abortion is not my personal choice but I will support the law of the land. Not only is this answer wrong but it is so cliché that it truly insults the intelligence of any one who has to be subjected to it. It also makes the politician sound like he is absolved of the crime of endorsing the murder of millions of innocent unborn babies and yet still noble enough to be faithful to our countries founding documents and the law of this land.

The problem with this kind of answer is that it is a cop out so as to not have to deal with the fundamental issues that are related to the entire abortion problem. It ignores the entire history of roe v wade, when they overturned the laws of the land during their generation.

Did anyone dare ask the pre Roe politician, will you, if elected uphold the law of the land and oppose abortion. Why was it perfectly acceptable for an en tire generation of pro death advocates to work the political system and overturn the ban on abortion? How were they able to avoid the stigma associated with their failure to support the then law of the land? Pro life candidates today are held to all manner of scrutiny over this issue. Why is it that few politicians will stand up against this pro death agenda with conviction of soul?

The mantra that we hear from the pro death camp is "safe, legal and rare". As if this is to say that those who oppose abortion are the ones who are in the camp causing the danger and harm to those who choose to kill their babies. Has this mantra worked? Are abortions safe and rare? They have had since 1973 to make it so. The statistics haven't shown this to be so. Have they reduced the number of "unwanted pregnancies". Well, in one way they have, they killed them, 49 million to be precise.

Abortion is still used predominantly as birth control for those who refuse to keep their pants on. Unless the hearts of people change nothing else will. If you give someone a gun a target and bullets and then tell them don' t shoot what do you think is eventually going to happen. If you tell a young person here is a condom and there is another attractive young person but be respon sible and tak e care not to make a baby or catch an STD. Do you really think that this is going to be enough incentive to keep things on the straight and skinny? If you equip a young person with raging hormones with the tools to fulfill their base instincts you can't expect them to rise to the higher principle.

The only guaranteed method of birth control before marriage is abstinence. The only way to keep abortions from happening is to teach the simple principle that sex before marriage is wrong. It is a cop out to say that "they are going to do it anyway so we must protect them". This is the "noble" sounding way of abdication. Don't take the time or energy to teach them what's right. just give them a gun and when bullets start flying say, we must make more targets for them to shoot at.

The abortion issue didn't really make its way into the American psyche until the sexual revolution hit America in the late 60s and early 70s. The need for abortion wasn't there before this period because the family unit was intact. Those who chose to kill their babies were the ones who got pregnant out of marriage. In the "good old days" there still was a stigma against being pregnant out of wedlock. Since this has changed we feel no societal sting or shame in getting pregnant out of matrimony. Now people ware their immorality as a badge of honor.

I understand that people make mistakes. This has happened since day one. But why should another innocent human being die for convenience sake. I find it curious that in Australia you can't kill a baby Joey (kangaroo in utero) but in America you can kill a human baby utero. Where is the justice?

Here is a brief description of the birth of a baby kangaroo.

Kangaroos have an interesting reproductive cycle. The joey is actually born alive in an embryonic state and is forced to crawl up its mother and into her pouch to nurse. The mother can't touch it because it is so tiny. She licks a path in her fur for it to travel along. It is only about 2 cm long and weighs less than a gram. The joey attaches so firmly to the pouch that attempts to remove it could kill the joey and damage the mother's nipples. Over the next eight to 10 months, the joey develops into a recognizable baby kangaroo, and after around eight months, it begins to climb out of the pouch to investigate the world, always staying close to mother and continuing to nurse until it is a year old.

If you kill the Joey as it is crawling into the pouch of its mother you can be prosecuted. But in the USA it is still ok to kill a human baby in its embryonic state and that somehow is acceptable.

We need to be convinced of one thing, without soaring rhetoric or colorful speech, simply speaking; killing babies is a sin that this country will be held accountable for. I do believe that deep down in the hearts of those who do this that they are crying out for someone to stop them. How can anyone, unless they are an uncaring barbarian, not know in the depths of their heart that murdering innocent babies is wrong? It goes against all of nature and nurture.

Yet, we listen to the issue in the form of a political debate thinking to ourselves that as long as we have a discussion and place it on the table for a vote we are ok whatever the outcome. We have discussed it civilly and that's what this society is all about, the vote, WRONG! Life and death issues are never up for a vote. Politics are unable to redeem this moral issue from what it really is. This is why 6 million Jews died in Nazi Germany. Life and death became politicized.

A baby is not a choice, fetal tissue, or a political issue. That baby is alive and as I said above this baby shouldn't suffer the death penalty just because someone couldn't keep their pants on.

Please don't get sidetracked, don't allow political speech to dissuade you from the truth. Stay focused, look to the word of God for your truth and you won't get caught up into the foolish dialogue. It's enough to spin your head around, that's Satan's plan to keep you from the truth. Remember if a politician won't defend the most helpless in our society, then what makes you think that he or she is for you.

Psa 22:9 Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb; You made me trust when upon my mother's breasts.

Psa 22:10 Upon You I was cast from birth; You have been my God from my mother's womb.

Psa 71:6 By You I have been sus tained from my birth; You are He who took me from my mother's womb; My praise is continually of You.

Psa 127:3 Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Psa 127:4 Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth.

Psa 127:5 How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.

Psa 139:13 For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb.

Psa 139:14 I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

Psa 139:15 My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;

Psa 139:16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.

Ecc 11:5 Just as you do not know the path of the wind and how bones are formed in the womb of the pregnant woman, so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things.

Isa 44:2 Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, 'Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

God is the giver of life. Only he has the right to take it. Look to the word and you will not be confounded or confused with this issue.

In Messiah Yeshua

Rabbi Henry

August 8, 2008 - Letter to Charlotte Kates.

2008-08-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. We need more letters like this one to set the record straight!

Charlotte Kates is the pro-terrorist law student at Rutgers University who organized the pro-Palestinian conference and defends suicide bombers. The following letter was written to the President of Rutgers State University by an Israeli citizen after reading Kates' published comments on the Israeli/Palestinian situation !!

Dear Ms. Kates,

I think you are a remarkable woman. You are neither an Arab nor a Jew, you do not study the Middle East, or any associated subject and, correct me if I am wrong, you have never visited this region. Therefore I am somewhat astounded at your expertise and your comments on Israel being an "Apartheid" state.

I have lived in Israel for many years and I would be delighted to take you on a little virtual tour of our country. Let me first give you a couple of minor points. Israel occupies 0.1% of the landmass of the Middle East and it is the only Jewish state, not only in this region, surrounded as we are by 22 Arab states, but in the world.

Let us begin your virtual tour!!

You have already been through immigration at Tel Aviv Airport with your boyfriend, whom we shall call Ken. You will have filled out a visitors form. This form will not ask you, as it will in many of the countries that surround us, what is your religion, and it will certainly not ask you, as they do in Saudi Arabia, for a "certificate of religion".

The day is Sunday! You will want to attend a church service. No problem in the Apartheid State of Israel. We tolerate and freely allow worship for all religions. This is more than can be said for nearly all of the surrounding 22 Arab nations. In fact many of them would not even have a single church, let alone a synagogue.

After a lovely service you and Ken would head for a leisurely lunch, maybe at one of the lovely beachfront restaurants in Tel Aviv. You would most likely have returned to your hotel and put on a very casual outfit, as fitting the very hot Israeli summers. This could be a pair of shorts and a tight-fitting skimpy t-shirt. No problem in the Apartheid state of Israel.

In Israel we allow freedom of dress, especially for women, who are not made to wear bulky long robes, a veil to cover their face, and, wouldn't it be a pity if you had to cover that lovely coiffed hairdo, as you would probably have to in most of the surrounding 22 Arab states.

During lunch Ken could gaze lovingly into your heavily painted eyes, complete with a good application of black mascara. He would be free to lean across and kiss your lips, finely painted with lip liner, 2

shades of burgundy lipstick and gloss. People would probably think you were in love, especially as Ken has proudly displayed a good wine on the table. Public displays of affection and consuming alcohol in the Apartheid state of Israel is nothing unusual and its not even scorned upon.

That's more than can be said for most of the surrounding 22 Arab states, where your glossy lips would be considered whorish and alcohol is forbidden. But Ken, being a little flirtatious, pinched one of the young waitresses while you went to reapply your lipstick. It was harmless and, luckily for the young girl in the Apartheid State of Israel, her father and 6 brothers will not take her to the family pool in the evening and drown her, as they would in some of the surrounding 22 Arab states.

After lunch you and Ken drive around. You are even allowed to drive. It is not forbidden in Israel.

You stumble across a kindergarten. The children are running around and enjoying themselves. They are not made to sit for hours reciting by rote pages from religious books. Their games are in the sand pit or on the swings. They are not infested with hate or told the only honor to their lives will be in death.

In the Apartheid state of Israel we rejoice in life and living. We do not promote murder and violence by brainwashing our children with hatred, as they do in many of the surrounding 22 Arab states.

By the end of the day you and Ken come across a political rally. Many thousands have turned up. In the Apartheid State of Israel all the citizens, men, women, Jew, Arab and Christian are free to vote. We are allowed to openly criticize the government and our media, including the TV and newspapers offer, without prejudice, a choice of opinions. Every person has the right to openly agree with or condemn the government. This can certainly not be said for most of the surrounding 22 Arab states, ruled as they are by oppressive dictators, where any dissent is met with dire consequences.

Of course, most of the 22 surrounding Arab countries can't offer you a good old-fashioned homicide bombing as a tourist attraction. This can only happen in the apartheid state of Israel, surrounded as we are, by so many hostile countries determined, as you are, to wipe us off the face of the earth.

Where else can you get on a crowded bus, often packed with children and come face to face with some poor, plighted Palestinian ghoul who thinks life isn't very jolly, having been fed and brainwashed by evil organizations like Hamas, to believe that the only way forward is to murder innocent people? This dehumanized creature will have been fed on a 24/7 diet of lies and hate incitement, he will have been coaxedwith the reward of 72 vestal virgins waiting for him in Paradise. His demonic mother will be dancing in the street waving her $10,000 check.

While Israelis are scraping their dead children off the sidewalks, the Palestinians will be lighting fireworks and dancing in the street, to honor this mass murderer as a hero, often to their children who are being systematically nurtured to be the next generation of mass murderers.

The Apartheid state of Israel? Forgive me Ms. Kates but you seem somewhat confused as to the meaning of the word. It usually refers to segregation. It's funny isn't it that a large section of the Jews who live in this apartheid state had to flee for their lives from nearly all of the surrounding 22 Arab states. These countries not only have no tolerance for Jews, they refer to anyone who is not a Moslem as an Infidel and an enemy.

I find it somewhat curious that you find nothing "apartheid" about these countries. Maybe you should do a project on how many churches there are in Saudi Arabia. Let me help you - there are none. It would not be tolerated.

I am proud to live in this Apartheid State. In 55 years we have become one of the most technologically advanced nations on this planet, with many innovations that have made Israel a true leader in many fields. It is tragic that we have to live in a region that feels threatened by our achievements.

Israel is not an apartheid state and it is appalling that a so-called intelligent and thinking person like you can go around finding feeble excuses for mass murder. Ms. Kates there is no justification, in any society, for getting on a crowded bus, often packed with children, detonating an explosive belt, often packed with nails and shrapnel, and destroying innocent lives.

This is not a freedom fighter, or a person seeking justice, but a chronically and irreversibly evil human being. I can only assume that one day in the near future Ms. Kates, you will chip off that heavy layer of make up and discover your conscience.

In Messiah Yeshua

Rabbi Henry

March 2, 2008 - Press on for the Greater Gain.

2008-03-02T12:00:00.000-05:00

We can get so consumed with the hype and fluff, flash in the pan, smoke and mirrors, sensationalist culture that we refuse to be content with the consistency and faithfulness of everyday life.

If it doesn't go bang, boom or entertain and tickle us -- we dismiss it as useless and nonproductive. What may seem to be the everyday drudgery of life can actually be the factor that builds up the greatest amount of character and consistency in our lives. It is then up to God to provide the Fireworks.

I believe the apostles and prophets knew this lesson very well. They lived it and failed at it, but most of them came out victorious because of the everyday consistent life that God requires of all of us.

1Timothy 6:6 "But godliness with contentment is great gain."

1Timothy 6:7 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

1Timothy 6:8 "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."

1Timothy 6:9 "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."

1Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

1Timothy 6:11 "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness."

1Timothy 6:12 "Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses." (KJV)

In this passage the Apostle Paul (Rav Shaul) admonishes his young pastor-disciple Timothy to avoid the wiz boom bang of riches and hold fast to the simple, consistent, everyday things of the Gospel, "righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness" (v11). That sure isn't a popular message in today's culture, is it?

Godly consistency means being content in spite of all the conflicting things this world offers. Harmony with God and one another brings peace of mind. This does not mean we endorse lethargy or are willing to settle for mediocrity. Quite the opposite.

Let us press on at learning the discipline it takes to be a disciple and help other people do the same. Don't allow the sensationalist "want it now" culture we live in to effect your walk in the Lord. Press on to the mark set before us. If we live from week to week expecting one service every Sunday to nourish our spirits, then we are sadly mistaken in our perception of what it takes to grow spiritually. It might seem like drudgery now, but the end result is real measurable growth. It is just like a good work out. No one really wants to push their muscles to the point of pain, but we do it daily if we want to grow stronger.

"For bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance. For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers" (1Ti 4:8-10).

Here Rav Shaul, again, is encouraging his young Timothy to press on for the greater gain. It is time we all learn some good spiritual workout habits. So please indulge me to end with my own little word of admonition. All right soldier, give me 50 more Bible verses, no excuses, one--two, one--two. You get the picture. Have a good spiritual workout today; it is time to get pumped up.

May God richly bless you as you grow those spiritual muscles day-by-day, one repetition at a time.

In Messiah Yeshua

Rabbi Henry

February 23, 2008 - Can a Jew believe in Jesus and still be a Jew?

2008-02-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

This is the text of a tract I wrote to reach the Jewish community in my area. We divided it into a tri fold paper and added graphics to make it look good. If you can use any or all of it feel free. No need to give any credit for it, just use what you can.

Blessings Rabbi Henry

Can A Jew Believe in Jesus and still be a Jew?

Was Jesus the first Christian?

Are these the right questions to be asking?

I'm not sure these are the right questions to be asking. The reason why I say this is because if we were having this discussion 2,000 years ago in Jerusalem and I was one of the first followers of Yeshua (Jesus) these questions wouldn't have made sense. There was no such thing as a Christian then, as we perceive them today.

There were just Jews who proclaimed this Yeshua Ha Nazaret, (Jesus the Nazarene) to be the Jewish Messiah. Those Gentiles who did believe were in the absolute minority.

The first Talmidim (Disciples) dealt with this very issue in the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) book called Acts, chapter 15 .

The Question that was asked back then was, what do we do with all these Gentiles who have come to faith in the Jewish Messiah?

I believe the real question that should be posed today is, was Yeshua the real Jewish Messiah?

The Messiah was prophesied to come from the house of David (a Jew) Isaiah 11. This Jewish Messiah's job description was very clear and is found in the Tenach (First Covenant). Some call it the Old Testament. The Book of Isaiah is the book that speaks most about the Jewish Messiah. We find in one passage (Isaiah 53) it tells us of His mission.

Isa 53:5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.
Isa 53:6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

I encourage you to read the whole passage.

The work of the Messiah was to reconcile all mankind back to G-d. Jew and Gentile. The Messiah was G-d's plan of bringing Atonement and forgiveness for man's sin.

So, that means, if Yeshua is not the Messiah for the Jew, He can't be the Messiah for the Gentile.

C.S. Lewis once wrote, and I paraphrase: He is either a lunatic, liar or Messiah. This sure puts it into perspective. If He wasn't the Messiah, what possible options are left? He couldn't have been just a good man or a prophet; His claims were too exclusive.

The only way you will have a chance to know the truth is to check it out for yourself. First hand information is the only verifiable means to know the truth.

So, I challenge you to read the prophesies in the Tenach that speak of the promised Messiah. Here are a few to start: Psalms 22, Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 53, Micah 5:2, .

Find out for yourself. If you have any questions we'll be glad to help. But just remember, you can't say He's not Messiah for the Jew for sure if you haven't first looked at the evidence.

If He is the Messiah to the Jew then it is only logical to conclude that not only can a Jew believe in Him but that the Most Jewish thing to do is to accept Him as his Messiah.

Got Questions Contact us at the address below.

February 12, 2008 - The abandonment of reason

2008-02-12T12:00:00.000-05:00

When I look back on recent history especially the 20th century I am brought to the realization that we refuse to consult the past and the mistakes we have made. I am amazed at how blind and lazy this world is as they make their decisions and repeat the same errors over and over and over again. One can only conclude that this blindness has got to come from the very depths of their spirit and soul. It just does not make any sense that the repetition of the same behavior that nets the same negative result can be anything other that madness. If I am not mistaken I do believe that it was Benjamin Franklin who coined that definition. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” That one statement in itself is enough to sum up almost all of world behavior. We repeat this in our personal, political, social, financial, and spiritual life. The Scripture states it like this, “Jam 4:17 Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.” I guess you could say that sin is a form of spiritual insanity. People know what is wrong yet they continue to do it and always seem to find justification. The results are always the same, “Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Yeshua Hamashiach our Lord.” yet they continue to repeat the same behavior. Sure sounds insane to me.

There is no difference in the way the Israeli government has handled their crisis with the so called Palestinians. This most recent event with the breach between Egypt and Gaza at the boarder fence is a clear example of “oops here we go again”. There has not been one successful negotiation between Israel and the Philistine wanna bees yet to this day. The attacks have increased, security has been compromised and more lives have been lost. Ben Franklin also commented on this kind of Behavior when he said, “Anyone who trades liberty for security deserves neither liberty nor security.” If I remember correctly, the American revolution was a success. This success was built on the collective wisdom of men who knew their history. Many of them were men of God and applied scriptural principles to their life and country.

It would just seem to make sense to me that we would want to consult our past failures so that we could ensure our future success. Maybe I am naive but I know one thing their way is absolutely not working.

World opinion is so determined to ignore common history. It would be different if that history were somewhere hidden in the archives of ancient libraries inaccessible to the public. But, the history of the creation of modern Israel is made available in common historical records that can be found almost instantaneously. This is why we are unable to communicate the truth about the land of Israel to people. People are spiritually blinded. This contributes to the fact that they are then unable to think straight and they continue to believe the lies of the enemy of our souls. We must never forget that this is a spiritual battle first. To deny Israel is to deny the God of Israel. To deny God is to deny His salvation to the world through the Messiah Yeshua. Satan does not want Israel to continue because he knows Israel is key in the relationship to fulfilling the prophesies that will usher in the second coming of the Messiah. What must we do? Fast and pray my brothers and sisters, fast and pray. Messiah is coming again soon and there is nothing Satan can do to stop Him.

Here is the problem as I see it from a Biblical perspective. Israel refused to drive out the Philistines from the land when God told them to.

Exo 23:31 "I will fix your boundary from the Red Sea to the sea of the Philistines, and from the wilderness to the River Euphrates; for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you will drive them out before you.
Exo 23:32 "You shall make no covenant with them or with their gods.
Exo 23:33 "They shall not live in your land, because they will make you sin against Me; for if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you."

Now, they have people living in that same region for all intents and purposes under the same name. Palestine is the anglicized version of the word Philistine. It was the name given to the region By Hadrian in 130 AD as an attempt to disassociate the Jew from his land. To make matters worse it was Israel that gave the land to these Philistine wanna bees. But, there will come a time when Jerusalem will again be consecrated to the Lord alone, So, don't despair in world circumstances take hope His word will come to pass.

Zec 14:8 And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.
Zec 14:9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.
Zec 14:16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.
Zec 14:21 Every cooking pot in Jerusalem and in Judah will be holy to the LORD of hosts; and all who sacrifice will come and take of them and boil in them. And there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts in that day.

Shalom b"Yeshua Rabbi Henry

January 6, 2008 - To discipline or not to discipline

2008-01-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

In my very short lived ministry of almost 30 years I never cease to be amazed with what I discover about life and the ministry itself. If you would be so kind to indulge me, I would like to share some things with which I still contemplate . I hope that my observations will help you in your walk and calling. I can't say I have an answer to everything just some observations and a lot of questions. The one thing I have found is that if you want some answers you must ask tough questions.

The thing I find most disturbing is that over the years I have concluded that people don´t want to hear the truth if it makes them realize they are wrong. This includes believers as well. You can give someone a biblical principle that applies directly to their situation and if it means they have to acknowledge that they are in violation of that principle and change, most of the time they will choose the path of least resistance. Sometimes, this choice is made in laziness other times it is made in direct rebellion and sin.

To be more specific, I have had to deal with the issue of discipline within the body. The subject seems to be taboo and may be one of the most ignored principles in the Word . I have found that most leaders in the body are toothless tigers who are unable to effect proper biblical discipline for the purpose of restoration, under any situation either because of ignorance of the subject or fear of reprisals in their church.

Both are poor excuses because until there is discipline there can't be restoration. I hate to discipline because I myself have a log in my own eye. Yet, that does not excuse me from the job description that God has called all pastors to fulfill, even as he called that young pastor Timothy.

2Ti 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:

2Ti 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.

2Ti 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,

2Ti 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

2Ti 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

That is a hard call to fulfill. Who but Messiah has the right to judge?

Mat 7:1 "Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

Mat 7:2 "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.

Mat 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?

Mat 7:4 "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?

Mat 7:5 "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.

There's that pesky log again. Say would you help me get it out of my eye? Unfortunately that is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. We are not supposed to judge any one to the point of condemnation but we are supposed to make judgments of observation. If we are observing some one's life, we have not condemned them we have just declared what they are already doing. Not only is this OK but it is our responsibility to that brother or sister. We just have to be careful that we have dealt with our own sins first then we "will see clearly to take the speck out of our brother's eye."

We are not allowed to abdicate our responsibility to our brother in the name of "judge not lest ye be judged."

Gal 6:1 Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.

There is a two fold obligation in these passages we are to check our own hearts first, then apply a little discipline to the seat of spiritual education. In other words we are to offer scriptural discipline, in love, to the one needing correction.

What parent in his or her right mind would say, "Because I am not perfect I will not discipline my child when it is needed." That would make as much sense as a Pastor saying to himself I have no right to teach my people the right and biblical path because I am not perfect in all my ways. Not only is that an abdication of his or her job description it is just a lousy excuse to not have to work on his own issues.

There are few people in the church world who want to either discipline or be disciplined. I find that when I come to them with an undeniable scriptural principle they are in blatant rebellion to, they find it easiest to bolt, go somewhere else and unfortunately end the relationship.

This has been my biggest frustration in the ministry. So many people are not good for their own word and when they are confronted with it or with God's Word, they dash, leaving nothing but the carnage of broken relationships and hearts. It reminds me of a practice that we used to do as kids, it was called dine and dash. When we realized the responsibility of the bill was too great we would dash leaving the bill on the table. We had a great meal that we simply didn't want to pay for. This is the mentality of many in the church today, feed me but don't expect anything in return. Well to be frank with you I am getting simply tired of people just walking out after they had their fill. I think it is perfectly reasonable for the one who prepared the meal to expect something in return. It's not for himself that he wants it but it is for the owner of the restaurant.

I acknowledge that I am far from perfect. But my thought is if I have fixed many good meals and have served well for a long time, am I not allowed to have an occasional meal that might not be perfect. Is it right to give up on all of our history together? Should we abandon the relationship without so much as a goodbye just because of one burned meal? It is not as though I went out to poison you or purposely wreck your meal. Then there are those meals that are good for you but might not be as tasty to your palate. You still need to eat good food even if it is not your favorite meal. If I was a coach you might not want to hear from me "give me 50 more push ups now". But if you want to get stronger, you must listen to your trainer. I am that trainer. As the trainer I am the servant who wants to see his team get stronger.

The congregants discipline the Pastor by just walking away under the guise of "God is leading me on" and we are just supposed to say "Have a great trip! I hope you find what your looking for." But when the Pastor confronts them, much like a coach, he has no right to interfere with what GOD has told them to do. I just don't buy it anymore. Leaving because of conflict is the cowardâ€™s way out and it is as unscriptural as any other sin.

This is the way we are to deal with conflict.

Mat 18:15 "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

Mat 18:16 "But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.

Mat 18:17 "If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:

Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee;

Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

This is how it is to be done in either case, if you have anything against your brother or if he has anything against you.

It is time to get back to these biblical principles in all circumstances, even in those circumstances which push us past our spiritual comfort zones. To not do so is to abdicate from our responsibility to live in harmony with our brethren.

Rom 12:18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

Heb 12:14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

How is it that church hopping and running away from each other is considered an accepted method of reconciliation and seeking peace within the body? It is time that we act like the family that we are supposed to be and not some dysfunctional family that is unable to reconcile with one another because of petty differences. It is also time we accept the responsibility for our own actions and stop using God to endorse our agenda or sin.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua,

Rabbi Henry Morse BA, ADD, ADHD, OCD, Etc, Etc, Etc.

December 25, 2007 - Rabbi’s holiday rant 2007.

2007-12-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

Dear friends and family of God. I pray this finds you all well and strong in Messiah Yeshua. Here are my traditional Holiday ramblings.

The attempt to make God generic has been a problem that has dated back to ancient civilizations for millennium. We are convinced that if we are able to make God fit into our box we will find it easier to live with Him. As we have done in the past so we do now, we make God after our own image and likeness. After all it's the least we can do for the one who made us, we can return the favor.

Cult's, politicians, governments, the media and everyone who follow them have done all they can to make God a one size fits all creator. He can be who you want or need him to be. He can and will share His glory with any one you choose to pare Him off with. He is Buddha, Krishna, Allah, Bhawulla, Nature, yourself. It amazes me that such subjectivism has taken a hold on this wonderfully enlightened generation.

What's good for you is good for you , what's good for me is good for me is still the mantra even after most of the hippies are dead and gone. Once we are able to do this with God we can see how easy it is to trickle down into the rest of our thinking.

The song "Imagine" by John Lennon still lives strong in the subconscious of America in it's rebellion to the God of the Bible.

"Imagine there's no Heaven It's easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today Imagine there's no countries It isn't hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will be as one Imagine no possessions I wonder if you can No need for greed or hunger A brotherhood of man Imagine all the people Sharing all the world You may say that I'm a dreamer But I'm not the only one I hope someday you'll join us And the world will live as one."

Let me rewrite these lyrics for you if I could in a shortened form.

Look how good the world would be if we could only do away with God, Heaven and Hell, religion, countries, personal possessions and establish a one world government to enforce this system.

I call the new version of this song Imagine anarchy.

It's all relative and subjective. Everything is equal and everything is true. Don't seek absolutes, don't question anything and by Gosh don't tell me anything different or we will brand you intolerant.

This is why the world hates Messiah especially this season. Merry Christmas, happy Holiday, a pleasant Kwanzaa are all nice and safe generic greetings but they have nothing to do with the birth of the Messiah and His exclusive claims to be the light of the world.

Joh 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."

Joh 9:5 "While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world."

2Co 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,

2Co 4:4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

We have taken Yeshua out of every holiday, changed the dates to protect the guilty and then made the entire polluted event so generic it doesn't even have a vestige of anything that it was supposed to represent. Sure makes me want to celebrate this Holiday.

All I want for Christmas is to spend money on garbage that I can't afford so that people will put it in their closet for three or four years until they decide to de junk. Giving has nothing to do with material trinkets given once a year to bolster up the economy and avoid the pressure of being called a scrooge. Giving is all year round when there are real needs that must be met in the lives of people.

I have heard it on talk radio, read the news, and watched the television and I am sick to death with the talk about Christmas yet, there is no mention of the Biblical Jewish Yeshua who was Prophesied, fulfilled, accomplished risen from the dead and coming back again. This is the only reason to celebrate this year. He is not the generic God of a failed system He is a risen Messiah who is coming back again to judge the world and reward the faithful. And there aint nothing generic about that.

It is time that we the saints of God rise up and take our place as servants of the most high God put Him back on the throne. Dethrone the usurper and the enemy of our souls for his apostasy and stop bowing down the white Anglo Saxon American protestant entrepreneurial generic god of this world.

Feel free to take your liberty in Messiah this season to celebrate or not. Just make sure you don't use your liberty as an excuse to sin by giving into the failed system of this worlds generic one size fits all god.

Merry Messiahmas to you and your family

Rabbi Henry M. Morse BA, ADD, ADHD, OCD, ETC, ETC, ETC.

December 17, 2007 - Rabbi Henry’s letter to John Hage.

2007-12-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

Dear Mr. Hagee

My name is Henry M. Morse, I am a Messianic Rabbi.

I have just heard of some news concerning something you have written and said that greatly disturbs me, yet does not surprise me. Please correct me if I am wrong. Am I to assume your words represent the true sentiment of your heart.

MT 12 NASV

34 Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.
36 And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

For, as you said in your commercial about your book.

"Jesus did not come to Earth to be the Messiah"

"Since Jesus refused by word and deed to claim to be the Messiah how can the Jews be blamed for rejecting what was never offered."

If these statements were true then we have to do away with the entire New Testament (Brit Hadasha) this would include the Speech of Steven in Acts chapter 7. Review that please.

Do you really believe that Yeshua did not claim to be Messiah? How do you justify that Biblically in Tenach or the Brit Hadasha?

If he is not the Messiah to the Jew then who is he for? You claim to be pro Israel you claim to be a true born again believer, or do you? Then, you deny the very one promised to Israel. How can He only be for the gentiles and still be anything other than a fraud?

I read your retraction statement yet, I am still not comforted. I don’t understand the point you are trying to make. Are you trying to placate the Jewish community with statements like these.

‟In defence of Israel will shape Christian theology”

‟it scripturally proves that the Jewish people as a whole did not reject Jesus as Messiah”

Or are you speaking shock statements just for the sale of your book. Either way anything you say is now suspect.

I am ashamed to say that I am embarrassed to have to even address such a remedial issue as this to one such as you.

I don't want to insult you but have you not read the Messianic Prophesies, Is 53, Ps 22, Micah 5:2, Dan 9, etc.

Please forgive me but what do we do with John 10 NASV

24 The Jews therefore came round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou hold us in suspense? If thou art the Christ, tell us plainly.
25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believe not: the works that I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me.
26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep.
30 I and the Father are one.
31 The Jews took up stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from the Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
33 The Jews answered him, For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.

I could understand if these were the only scriptural references but I could point out at least hundreds of like nature. I don't want you think that this letter is a pointless rebuke but as a Messianic Jew and Rabbi I find your claims to be pro Israel and anti Yeshua for the Jews to be a clear contradiction in light of what Rav Shaul, (the apostle Paul) said.

Rom 9:1-3 NASV

1 I say the truth in Christ, (Meshiach) I lie not, my conscience bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit,
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh .

Was Rav Shaul lying or deceived? Was he proclaiming the exclusivity of Yeshua or just bloviating? He sure put his money where his mouth was when it came to his sacrificial lifestyle for Yeshua. Or was this all for naught?

Please Mr. Hagee make up your mind if you are for Israel then you also have to be for the remnant Romans 11:5-7.

Don't make the same mistake that Peter made in Galatians 2:11-21 Stop trying to win the approval of those who reject the very Messiah who purchased you. If you want to love Israel then give them their Jewish Messiah in love, and compassion without compromise. They are not going to except you until they find the very one they have looked for and missed.

Preaching the Gospel to them does not mean that we have to attack them or persecute them. We should speak out boldly against anti Semitism, we should support Israel. But, we should not neglect the preaching of the Gospel for the sake of acceptance. If you love Israel give them what they need Messiah Yeshua, not a mixed message. The ”Your ok I’m ok‟ message is not the Gospel.

I have been preaching the Gospel to my brethren for 31 years and I have felt the sting of their rejection in a very personal way. My very own father has disinherited me. I have little to no communication with my own family. Trust me, this hurts. Yet, I have also seen many come to the hope of Israel and serve him. Please repent of this sin and be restored to the body of Messiah.

Your words are bringing confusion and derision to the body of Meshiach. They do not line up to the scriptural record. They insult the remnant and the sacrifice they have made to follow Yeshua. Your retraction does not clear things up it only complicates things. You are not being misunderstood. You are being judged by what you say. Choose your words more carefully Mr. Hagee, repent with out excuse and help us win Israel to their Messiah by preaching the unadulterated Gospel. If you can’t do that then just get out of the way and stop making it difficult, for us who are, by preaching a message of confusion.

Romans 1:16 NASV

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

If you would like to consult me on how to reach the Jewish people I would be happy to speak to you in private with no fanfare, in person on the phone or by email.

In Messiah Yeshua
Rabbi Henry M. Morse
Messianic Congregation Sha’ar Hashamayim
2 Canton St. Suite A21
Stoughton MA. 02356
508...

November 29, 2007 - The rape of a nation.

2007-11-29T12:00:00.000-05:00

As I watched the Annapolis conference taking place, I was struck by this thought. How much more can Israel take? How much more can Israel give?

This entire scenario reminds me, and I beg your indulgence, of a woman who has been raped. I have seen it before, the brutality of the rapist and the inordinate guilt of the one who was raped. There is a time when a woman who has been repeatedly rape by multiple men will, for whatever psychological reason, start to develop a guilt over the circumstance. I have even seen women who have started to sympathies with their rapist. A rapist is a rapist know matter what clothes he puts on and the only solution for a brutal un repented rapist, and again I beg your indulgence, is castration. Every time the rapist gets what he wants he pursues more. The reason he does so is to totally dominate his victim. He satisfies his lust and then gets the sick pleasure of domination. The rapist doesn't just perpetrate his crime once If he can get away with it, he will come back again and again to fulfill his sick addiction.

This is what is happening to the nation of Israel, as I see it. The rapist is America and her cronies the so called Palestinians and the rest of the Muslim world. The victim is Israel. How much more can they take from this tiny country and how much more will give? When will they finally say enough is enough? No more will I be a victim, no more will I be raped.

Where is world outcry for the injustices that have been perpetrated against this land the size of New Jersey for the last 2000 years? How much more does the Muslim world want to take from her? Put all the land together that would comprise every Muslim country into one land mass and you would have a country the size of the USA, one third of Canada, Alaska and Hawaii. This isn't enough land to satiate there lust for conquest?

Remember, you can't fulfill the lust of a rapist. They won't be happy until they have total domination, even if it means killing there victim.

Wise up Israel. and stop being a victim. Watch out Mr. Bush and the rest of your cohorts. God will not tolerate any one dividing up His land. He never has before and He won't do it now for you. If this country refuses to stop handing Israel over to a rapist, then judgment will come. If Israel continues to sympathize with her rapist, then she will also face the penalty for the lack of gratitude for her inheritance.

Maybe all the parties concerned need to read a few more scriptures,so that their perspective will get back on track with God's will. There is no mistake in the word, what His will for Israel is.

Jos 1:1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' servant, saying,

Jos 1:2 "Moses My servant is dead; now therefore arise, cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.

Jos 1:3 "Every place on which the sole of your foot treads, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.

Jos 1:4 "From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.

Jos 1:5 "No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you.

Jos 1:6 "Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

Take the land 2Ki 21:1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem; and his mother's name was Hephzibah.

2Ki 21:2 He did evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the abominations of the nations whom the LORD dispossessed before the sons of Israel.

2Ki 21:3 For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.

2Ki 21:4 He built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, "In Jerusalem I will put My name."

Consecrate it for the Lord only and His Messiah.

If God wouldn't tolerate Manasseh giving Israel over to false gods, then why would He tolerate Ehud Olmert flirting with a rapist.

Please understand I want the salvation of all men. I want to see Muslims come to the Messiah. I don't hate Muslims, I hate Islam. The poor Joe who knows nothing, other than what he has been taught needs our prayers. But we also must protect our children and families from the one who would break in rob, destroy and rape.

Please don't give in to the mentality that this is a good thing. There is no real peace without the Prince of Peace, Yeshua. Don't allow yourself to sympathize with the rapists. If he gets what he wants, he will then come after you.

Please pray God's will for Israel to be realized in your life as you read His word. This is so important for you to know. It will affect every aspect of your theology and walk with God, when you put Israel back where it belongs.

Psa 122:1 A Song of Ascents, of David. I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

Psa 122:2 Our feet are standing Within your gates, O Jerusalem,

Psa 122:3 Jerusalem, that is built As a city that is compact together;

Psa 122:4 To which the tribes go up, even the tribes of the LORD-- An ordinance for Israel-- To give thanks to the name of the LORD.

Psa 122:5 For there thrones were set for judgment, The thrones of the house of David.

Psa 122:6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: "May they prosper who love you.

Psa 122:7 "May peace be within your walls, And prosperity within your palaces."

Psa 122:8 For the sake of my brothers and my friends, I will now say, "May peace be within you."

Psa 122:9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your good.

These are some excerpts from the conference. They made my blood boil. The rape of a nation continues by the whole world, as the nation of Israel refuses to defend herself.

Mahmoud Abbas Remarks at Annapolis Conference - Nov 27, 2007

ABBAS (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): To our Palestinian people, to all Palestinians in Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and in refugee camps and the diaspora, may I address these words?

This Arab and Islamic participation in today's meeting is also an affirmation that the Arab peace initiative was not a step without well-defined targets, but indeed it was a bold strategic plan that aims changing the nature of relations in the region and to usher in a new era there.

But to achieve that does not depend on the Arab and Islamic position by itself, but requires meeting this position by a reciprocal strategic willingness that would basically lead to ending the occupation of all Palestinian occupied territories in 1967, including East Jerusalem, as well as the Syrian Golan and what remains of occupied from Lebanese territories, and to resolve all other issues relating to the conflict, especially the Palestinian refugees question in all its political, humanitarian, individual and common aspects, consistent with Resolution 194, as emphasized by the Arab peace initiative and the participation of sister states that host refugees and carry huge burdens in this regard.

I do recognize that each one of you has his or her personal pain, personal tragedy as a result of this conflict and as a result of the years of tragedy and occupation. These are very bitter years.

Don't be depressed, Don't lose confidence and hope, For the whole world today now is stretching its hand toward us in order to help us put an end to our tragedy, to our holocaust that has been running for too long, and to lift the historical injustice that our people suffer.

And we shall be ready as individuals and as a people to overcome pain and the tragedy when we reach a settlement that would ensure our rights, that would make us equal with all other peoples in the whole world: the right to independence and self-determination.

By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Wed, 28 Nov 2007

Tens of thousands of Hamas supporters chanted "Death to America" in a Gaza City rally. The marchers, including women in black robes and full face veils, raised their index fingers heavenward in a sign of Islamic devotion, as they denounced the Annapolis conference as a sellout of Palestinian dreams.

Office of the White House Press Secretary

November 27, 2007 President Bush Attends Annapolis Conference

Memorial Hall

United States Naval Academy Annapolis, Maryland

11:04 A.M. EST

The Israelis must do their part. They must show the world that they are ready to begin -- to bring an end to the occupation that began in 1967 through a negotiated settlement. This settlement will establish Palestine as a Palestinian homeland, just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people. Israel must demonstrate its support for the creation of a prosperous and successful Palestinian state by removing unauthorized outposts, ending settlement expansion, and finding other ways for the Palestinian Authority to exercise its responsibilities without compromising Israel's security.

Please pray like you never have before. The Messiah is coming soon,as we see the signs unfold before our very eyes. Watch and be ready for He comes as a thief in the night..

Eze 13:8 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "Because you have spoken falsehood and seen a lie, therefore behold, I am against you," declares the Lord GOD.

Eze 13:9 "So My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and utter lying divination's. They will have no place in the council of My people, nor will they be written down in the register of the house of Israel, nor will they enter the land of Israel, that you may know that I am the Lord GOD.

Eze 13:10 "It is definitely because they have misled My people by saying, 'Peace!' when there is no peace. And when anyone builds a wall, behold, they plaster it over with whitewash;

Eze 13:11 so tell those who plaster it over with whitewash, that it will fall. A flooding rain will come, and you, O hailstones, will fall; and a violent wind will break out.

Eze 13:12 "Behold, when the wall has fallen, will you not be asked, 'Where is the plaster with which you plastered it?'"

Eze 13:13 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD, "I will make a violent wind break out in My wrath. There will also be in My anger a flooding rain and hailstones to consume it in wrath.

Eze 13:14 "So I will tear down the wall which you plastered over with whitewash and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation is laid bare; and when it falls, you will be consumed in its midst. And you will know that I am the LORD.

Yours In Messiah and for Israel His land

Rabbi Henry

July 30, 2007 - Israel Land Grab.

2007-07-30T12:00:00.000-04:00

Could it be? In an absolutely stunning decision today, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert today has made the decision to renounce the right of Israel to exist as a nation and has declared that all of the now occupied territories should revert back to the original owners of the land. He is calling for the ancient indigenous people of the land to step up and make their claim to the minister of interior. All who qualify are among the people groups found in these categories. Anyone who is able to empirically trace their ancestry back to the Philistines, Gergezites, Perezites, Amorites, Moabites, Ammonites, Canaanites, Amalekites, are immediately now able to stake their claim. With this new law in place the Olmert government is also making reciprocity available for any one who has suffered physical emotional or financial trauma because of the 3000 year old occupation of Israel in the land. The claimants have 3 months to make themselves known to the department of interior before the window closes on all future claims.

June 8, 2007 - When I became a Messianic Jew.

2007-06-08T12:00:00.000-04:00

30 years ago my people told me your not a Jew any more you have converted. The church said the same thing to me. I didn’t know what to think. Now I am trying to make as many as I can just like me. Jews who embrace Yeshua (Jesus) as their Messiah.

With all that is happening in the world it just seems like that task is getting more impossible to do. You know something now that I come to think of it, it is. Apart from God’s help this is a ridiculous task; only a fool would put himself through such aggravation. Oy! What was I thinking?

If you will indulge me I would like to share with you my observations of another person who tried to accomplish this same task.

Rom 9:3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh,

1Co 9:16 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.

1Co 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

Act 28:23 When they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

Act 18:4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

Act 26:27 "King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you do."

Act 26:28 Agrippa replied to Paul, "In a short time you will persuade me to become a Christian."

Act 26:29 And Paul said, "I would wish to God, that whether in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these chains."

Like I said you gotta be a real nutcase to keep doing this foolish behavior, or just plain desperate.

When I first entered the ministry a very wise man said to me “If I don’t have to enter the ministry then don’t do it.” He clarified by adding, “if there is anything else you can do to be happy then do it. But if there is nothing else in the world that can satisfy you like the ministry then you know you’re called.” This was my first Pastor, Pastor Gerald B. Manning. He had a profound effect on my life. He was to me like Paul was to Timothy. Without his influence I probably would not be in the ministry today. I have thanked God many times for sending a man like that into my life. He used to say to me in his thick Kansan accent “Henry my little Jew boy, you’re from the seed of Abraham, I love you. Some day your gonna be a Rabbi.” Every time he would say that without fail I would choke up and beg God to spare me. But wouldn’t you know it that’s what I became, a Messianic Rabbi. I fought it for years. As most of you know, I was an Evangelist and I couldn’t see any greater calling. God used that man to Prophesy over me and I don’t even know if he understood the fullness of what he was saying back then.

We are all either in need of a Paul in our life or we need to be a Paul to someone. God is in these last days is calling more of you to the ministry and you keep fighting it. Over and over again you have heard His call and you still run. It might not be conventional ministry but none the less it is ministry. Well, let me be a Pastor Manning to some of you. Ask God if There is anything else you can do to be happy and if you can answer that with yes then you do not belong in the ministry. But if you can’t, then it is time to run to your work. As Pastor Manning used to say to me, “set your face like a flint and don’t turn back.” This was loosely a translated and shortened version of,

Luk 9:59 And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."

Luk 9:60 But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."

Luk 9:61 Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."

Luk 9:62 But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."

Those are hard words to hear but they are very fitting for these critical times before Messiah comes again. Let’s get to work.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua,

Rabbi Henry Morse

October 10, 2006 - I am intolerant.

2006-10-10T12:00:00.000-04:00

I have made a decision after many hours of prolonged thought and intense introspection, I am intolerant. Many have stated this fact to me before and I refused to believe them. I wouldn’t even have given them an ear until just recently. It feels good to come clean and get this off my shoulders. There is just one thing missing to make this complete. I need to be just a bit more specific. They say confession is good for the soul. So here goes.

I am intolerant of haters and war mongers who parade around under the guise of their “peaceful religion” being insulted as an excuse to kill and riot and do damage to the property of others. I am intolerant of people who use God to endorse their political or social agenda and think that He is the genie in a bottle who grants them their every capitalistic desire. I am intolerant of sexual predators and criminals running free in our communities with total immunity so that they might perpetrate their crimes over and over again against the innocent. I am intolerant of a country that ignores laws that were set in place by our founding fathers for the protection of our country as a whole and our communities individually. I am intolerant of the those very law breakers receiving more rights than the average good old Joe who is just trying to eak out an existence and live at peace with his neighbor. I am intolerant of a generation that can’t speak their own language, read a book , or write a complete sentence. I am intolerant of the society that make this possible by calling bad English Ebonics and allows it to be studied as a second language in the schools.

I am intolerant of a society that celebrates women as nothing more than hoochies and whores in a media presentation which captivates an entire generation by appealing to nothing more than their base instincts. I am intolerant of bad being called good and good being called bad so that everything is so blasted relative and left up to every ones subjective feelings. I am intolerant of real faith being tossed out of every social institution so that it is against the rules to have a religious club in some schools but you can have a Gay Lesbian and Straight alliance. I am intolerant that over 50% every marriage in America ends in divorce and that our generation of youth grow up fatherless. I am intolerant that sexual relations are not sacred any more, that they are to some nothing more than a recreational activity. I am intolerant of the fact that alcoholism and drug abuse are no longer a sin but are now called a sickness, and that it has become a replacement for true spirituality, or even worse a hobby.

I am intolerant of greed. I am intolerant of apathy. I am intolerant of the UN. I am intolerant of our elderly being treated like they are nothing but disposable. I am intolerant of world despots being allowed the right of negotiations. I am intolerant of pornography being considered one of the biggest “INDUSTRIES” in America. I am intolerant of the USA refusing to protect their citizens by allowing the legally established boarders to be porous. I am intolerant of babies being treated like a commodity used in the laboratory. I am intolerant of 40 million innocent babies since 1973 being dumped in the proverbial dumpster of life just because some guy couldn’t keep his pants on. I am intolerant of women who refuse to take the responsibility of their actions and dispose of their children just because they are not convenient.

I am intolerant of the intolerance of the tolerant who feel the need to shut the mouth of every one who disagrees with them. Yep, I am intolerant all right and it sure feels good to get this off my chest. Thanks for the ear.

In Messiah Yeshua,

Rabbi Henry

October 7, 2005 - Thoughts on some world events.

2005-10-07T12:00:00.000-04:00

I want to take this time and share with you my thoughts on some very important world events that have transpired in the last few months.

I am sure you are media blitzed like everyone else and I will do my best to keep this short. We are all aware of what has happened in Israel recently. The withdrawal in the Gaza and soon to be the West Bank has captured world attention and various opinions from every different political and religious angle. The problem I find in most of these opinions is that few of them are based on Biblical or historical facts. Though many people present themselves as authorities few really speak with any sense of accuracy that can be verified. I would like to approach this issue from the historical aspect and then the Biblical basis for my argument.

The accepted premise among many is that the Palestinians should have the right to govern themselves in the land that they have occupied for centuries. They present themselves as the ancient people who have been in the land from the beginning and are now under occupation by the Zionist oppressors. Very few know this but there are no such people historically, ethnically or otherwise known as Palestinians. The word Palestine came into existence when in 132 AD, after putting down the second Jewish revolt, the Emperor Hadrian rebuilt Jerusalem into a Roman city naming it after his family name, Aelia Capitolonia. He also changed the name of Judea, Samaria and Galilee to "Syria Palestina". This ascribed to the land a name connected to Israel's archenemies the Philistines. Both of these acts were done to erase the connection of Israel and Jerusalem from the Jewish people. This name has stuck with the land from that time hence. It has since been anglicized into the name Palestine. The Philistines no longer exist as a people. I dare any Arab to trace his ancestry back to the Philistines. I was under the impression that they traced their line back to Abraham through Ishmael. They can't have it both ways. They are either children of Abraham or Philistines. Please understand that I am giving you information that can be backed up in any local library.

Concerning the issue of there being an ancient people named Palestinians who have occupied the land for centuries, this is just a bold faced lie. All one must do is look at the historical record of the region by various writers and historians. One said writer "Mark Twain" reported in his Journal during his visit to "Palestine" in 1867, "It is a desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds - a silent mournful expanse. We never saw a human being on the whole route. There was hardly a tree or a shrub anywhere. Even the olive and the cactus, those fast friends of a worthless soil had almost deserted the country." (The Innocents Abroad).

The report of the Palestine Royal Commission quotes an account of the Coastal Plain 1913:

"The road leading from Gaza to the north was only a summer track suitable for transport by camels and carts. no orange groves, orchards or vineyards were to be seen until one reaches Yavne village. Houses were all of mud. Schools did not exist. The western part, towards the sea was almost a desert. The villages in this area were few and thinly populated. many villages were deserted by their inhabitants." The French author Voltaire described "Palestine" as, "a hopeless, dreary place."

These writers must have been reporting on the state of the barren land and the poor oppressed "Palestinian" indigenous people under the oppression of the Zionist occupiers. HELLO! The period of time between 1516 and 1917 was under the rule of the Moslems. This was known as the Turkish rule. During this 400 year rule the land was sparsely populated, poorly cultivated, and widely neglected. This was the case because when the Jews were thrown out of Israel under Hadrian's rule the land was neglected for the next 2000 years until 1918 when under British rule Lord Balfour declared that Israel should be a home land for the Jews. It was at that time when Jews returned to the land they made the desert bloom.

Isa 51:3 For Jehovah shall comfort Zion; He will comfort all her waste places; and He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of Jehovah. Joy and gladness shall be found in it, thanksgiving and the voice of melody.

It wasn't until the Jews came back to their homeland and made it habitable, cultivated the land and brought industry and infrastructure to Israel that the so called "ancient Palestinians" wanted anything to do with this land. The word "Palestinian" that we use to describe these people today before 1919 referred to any one who lived in the land at that time, this was Jews and Arabs. After 1919 "Palestine" was considered that portion of land in the Middle East that was designated for the Jewish people as a homeland. This homeland included what we know today as Jordan east of the river and Israel west of the river. The Jewish presence in Israel has been for 3000 years. Islam has only been in in existence since approximately 600 AD. The Palestinian Arabs as we know them today have only been around since the time Jews started coming back to their land in the late 1800s and early 1900s under the leadership of Theodore Herzl, the father of modern Zionism.

Modern "Palestine" was created by the League of Nations. There were no preexisting people known as Palestinians. There were the Jews and the few left over nomads that were unfortunate enough to be stuck there during the Turkish rule which lasted from 1516 to 1917.

When Jews stated moving back to the Land in the 1880s they purchased land from absentee Arab landlords who lived in Cairo, Damascus and Beirut. The price paid for this land was at an exorbitant rate of $1000.00 an acre. The land at the time was either malaria infested swamps or barren deserts. In contrast rich black soil in Iowa was selling for $110.00 an acre that same year, as stated by the U.S. Dept of Agriculture.

What we need to keep in mind is that the entire Near East was carved up by the nations that were in control at various and sundry times. Countries were made and dissolved as a result of the political needs of the ruling powers. This certainly was the case when in 1948 the land that was promised to Israel was whittled down to 17.5 % of the original land promised to them when "Palestine" was designated as their homeland. In 1946 Jordan was created and the land Known as Palestine was now artificially reassigned to mean the land west of the Jordan River. This is illustrated in the diagram above. Where was world outcry then when the poor Palestinian Jews were loosing their land to the imperialistic Arab Muslims?

On May 14th 1948, when Israel was declared a nation by the UN, it shrunk even more when the West bank and Gaza Strip were declared a separate Palestinian State. Each time Israel was being carved up the Jews accepted the land that was given them. Each time the Arabs got more land they demanded more. In 1949 King Hussein, who is a Saudi Arabian, ignored the UN partition and annexed the west bank to Jordan. May I remind you that Jordan was in the original boundaries of land that was promised to Israel as a homeland in 1919 under the British mandate. Why is it that promises to Israel mean nothing and can be broken at a whim without world outcry? Why is it that Muslim/Arabs can make demands that are not reasonable and get away with it while committing terrorist activities all in the name of the Palestinian cause, a cause that they have invented?

So where did all of the Palestinians come from? We must remember that the land was barren until the Jews came back and reclaimed it. The Jews are presently 1/10 of 1 percent of the worlds population. We are just not that large of a people group. There are approximately 1 billion Muslims. When the land became livable again, after the Jews repopulated, the Turks and then the British restricted Jewish immigration to the land even during WWII. Yet, to appease the Arabs they allowed unrestricted immigration from the neighboring Arab countries. This is information that is found in the 1939 British White Paper. You can find out about this I am sure at any Library.

I find it rather odd that the "Palestinians" continue to make demands that are not reasonable, practical, Biblical or historically defended. Yet, the world and some in the church continue, in their ignorance, to cow tow to them. This is all done in the name of the poor oppressed people who just want to have their own land, a land that does not belong to them, but nonetheless their own land. I find it also odd that when they were offered the very same land they are demanding now during the UN partition in 1948 they refused it. My question to them would be, what is their motivation? Do they really want the land or are they more interested in the destruction of the Jews.

Don't the Jews have the right to have a land of their own? They are a people who have struggled under every form of persecution known to man for more than 2000 years. The world still wants to do everything in their power to keep them from that small little strip of land about the size of New Jersey. The Muslims have enough land collectively to make up a country the size of the USA including Alaska and Hawaii and 1/3 of Canada. Don't they have enough land to absorb these "Palestinians"?

Since it's modern inception Israel has had to fight for it's very existence. During WWII 1/3 of all Jews were wiped off the face of this planet. They have constantly been on the defensive for their very survival as a people. In the year 1941 the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini met with Adolph Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and Joachim Von Ribbentrop to convince them to extend their Jewish annihilation program to the Middle East. The Mufti was the most authoritative spokesman for the Arab world in his day. Given the repeated history of their enemies can you blame them for not trusting the Arabs word?

The day after Israel's independence, May 14th 1948, every bordering Arab nation sent troops to join with the Jordanian forces in a war of aggression against this fledgling state. They descended upon the "Zionist imperialists" to "Push them into the sea" They were outnumbered by 100 to 1. Israel, which had virtually no heavy artillery, no tanks, and only four decrepit airplanes, had to defend itself against Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Iraq! That's 600,000 Jews against 45 million Arabs, while the United Nations did nothing. After a series of attacks, counter-attacks, and truces, the war ended on January 7, 1949.

It just does not make sense for this nation, fighting for its existence, to wage a war of aggression against the entire Arab world. Just 3 years prior WWII ended with as I said above 1/3 of all world Jewry destroyed. This would have been a suicide wish.

I clipped this from a pro Palestinian web site. This is their impression of the events that lead up to the war on May 15th 1948. Here is their address for you to read it yourself:

<http://thewebfairy.com/nerdcities/Palestine/conquest-timeline.htm>

May 15, 1948 "The armies of the Arab states enter the civil war. The State of Israel is proclaimed, and more importantly the British wash their hands of Palestine. The Arab states cannot ignore the massacres of Palestinians and the outright theft of all their property. They put together an army of about 20,000 and enter the war in support of their brethren, in an attempt to resist this brutal invasion of Arab land. Unfortunately, the Jews had between 40,000 and 60,000 well equipped fighters and the outcome was never in doubt unless the Arab states committed more troops and resources. Note that the Arab states could not support their brethren directly before May 15, 1948, or they would have ended up fighting the British (although some irregulars from these countries had joined the local Palestinian fighters").

This is an outright lie. The Secretary General of the Arab League. Azzam Pasha said, on May 15th 1948, "This will be a war of extermination and a momentous Massacre which will be spoken of like the Mongolian massacres and the Crusades." Does this sound like the statement of a defender or an aggressor? Do the poor oppressed "Palestinians" sound like they felt like the "outcome was never in doubt" Do they sound defeated?

Can anyone deny the right of existence for a people group? This is what the Jew has had to endure. All they have ever wanted is to raise their families and survive as a people. The historical record backs up the fact that they were willing to do this alongside of their Arab neighbors. The quote below should reveal to you of the sentiment of the Jews at the time of their independence. "Accordingly we, the members of the National Council met together in solemn assembly today and by virtue of the natural and historic right of the Jewish people and with the support of the resolution of the General of the United Nations, hereby proclaim the establishment of the Jewish state in Palestine to be called Israel... "We offer peace and amity to all neighboring states and their peoples and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all... "With trust in the Rock of Israel, we set our hands to this declaration at this session of the Provisional State Council in the city of Tel Aviv on Sabbath Eve, 5th Iyar 5708, 14th day of May 1948."

No Moslem nation in the world has Jews in any governmental position. Israel has Arabs in their Knesset and Senate. The Jews have from the beginning had to be on the defensive for their very survival. Their only other option is to die. The history of the Arab nations are set in stone. They have always wanted nothing less than the destruction of every Jew on the face of the planet. Where is the world outcry for the sake of the Jew?

I have yet to see an Israeli Strap on a bomb and blow himself up with his enemies including innocent women, children and fellow Jews. Does this seem like a logical way to solve the Middle East conflict? Why am I am I unable to see the logic in these actions? Why do so many people in the world refuse to also see it the way it really is? I do have an answer for any one who is willing to listen. It is logical, Biblical and historically sound.

The nation of Israel as we know it was created by God. Before Abraham there were no Jews. He is the father of the nation. The children of Israel are not a race they are a family. They are the children of Abraham. These children were promised a land and a special job description. This is found in Genesis 12:1-3.

Gen 12:1 And Jehovah said to Abram, Go out of your country, and from your kindred, and from your father's house into a land that I will show you. Gen 12:2 And I will make you a great nation. And I will bless you and make your name great. And you shall be a blessing. Gen 12:3 And I will bless those that bless you and curse the one who curses you. And in you shall all families of the earth be blessed.

God has promised blessings to the world if they would bless Israel. This is also found in many scriptural references throughout the word of God, Here are just a few of those references, Gen 22:18, Is 42:5-8, 43:9-12, 49:6.

The most important blessing that the world would receive in their relationship to Israel would be relationship with God and salvation. Islam, which is only approximately 1400 years old, has since it's beginning tried to usurp Israel from its place in God's plan. Islam teaches that the promised seed does not come from Abraham's son Isaac but that Ishmael the illegitimate son of Sarah's handmaiden is the promised seed.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

"In the Qur'an, Ishmael is known as the first-born son of Abraham from his second wife Hagar and an appointed Prophet of God (also mentioned in the Bible). Islamic tradition holds that Abraham married Hagar, the mother of Ishmael. As a result Ishmael was the first legitimate son of Abraham. Islam asserts that he was the one nearly sacrificed, not Isaac (or Ishaq in the Qur'an). Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God is celebrated by Muslims every year as Eid ul-Adha.

Islamic tradition holds that Ishmael and Hagar were sent to the deserts of Arabia on the orders of God (Allah). The Bible claims that Sarah, after the birth of Isaac, sent Hagar and Ishmael away. He and his mother settled in Mecca (or "Makkah") and were without water. The frantic running of his mother in pursuit of water led to a miraculous spring appearing from the ground (from God) known as the Zamzam Well. Ishmael then helped his father, Abraham, build the House of God, or the Kaaba, in Mecca."

The scripture teaches the very opposite. In Gen. 22:15-18 it reads,

Gen 22:15 And the Angel of Jehovah called to Abraham out of the heavens the second time, Gen 22:16 and said, I have sworn by Myself, says Jehovah; because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only one; Gen 22:17 that in blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed like the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. And your Seed shall possess the gate of His enemies. Gen 22:18 And in your Seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.

That son was Isaac, not Ishmael.

Gen 17:21 But I will establish My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time in the next year.

Gen 21:10 And she said to Abraham, Cast out this slave woman and her son. For the son of this slave woman shall not be heir with my son, with Isaac.

Gen 22:2 And He said, Take now your son, your only one, Isaac, whom you love. And go into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will name to you.

The way that Islam obtains it's legitimacy is to ilegitimize Israel and change it's history. This is called replacement theology. They seem to have a problem with verifying the facts. This they have done for 1400 years. They continue to do it with their modern history. It's time that thinking people are willing stand up and say "Just the facts ma'am, just the facts".

If we in America keep insisting that Israel give up the land I am fearful for the Out-come. Some people, including some spiritual leaders, are saying our recent catastrophes are as a result of our sin. I don't have a revelation from God but this wouldn't be too far fetched. Neither would it be inconsistent with God's Character. After all He is a judge. He judged Israel in their sin. What makes the USA think we are exempt from God's Judgment. We have thrown God out of our society. Why would we expect His protection when we have told Him we want nothing to do with Him. Whether or not it is God's judgement or just God being a gentleman and doing what we asked, He is still in control. And there is one thing I know He will not tolerate people messing with His people or His Land.

2Sa 7:22 Therefore You are great, O Jehovah God. For there is none like You, neither is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears. 2Sa 7:23 And what one nation in the earth is like Your people, like Israel, whom God went to redeem for a people to Himself, and to make Him a name, and to do for You great things and terrible, for Your land, before Your people, whom You redeemed to You from Egypt, from the nations and their gods? 2Sa 7:24 For You have confirmed to Yourself Your people Israel to be a people to You forever. And You, Jehovah, have become their God.

2Ch 7:19 But if you turn away and forsake My statutes and My commandments which I have set before you, and if you shall go and serve other gods and worship them, 2Ch 7:20 then I will pluck them up by the roots out of My land which I have given them. And this house which I have sanctified for My name, I will cast out of My sight, and I will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations.

Joe 2:17 Let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Have pity on Your people, O Jehovah, and give not Your inheritance to shame, for a proverb among those of the nations. Why should they say among the people, Where is their God? Joe 2:18 Then Jehovah will be jealous for His land and pity His people. Joe 2:19 Yes, Jehovah will answer and say to His people, Behold, I will send you grain, and wine, and oil, and you shall be satisfied with it. And I will no more make you a curse among the nations.

I could be wrong but.it seems rather curious to me that God takes so much pride in His land and in His people. If this is Good enough for God then it should be good enough for the Church.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua,

Rabbi Henry Morse

April 5, 2005 - What does it mean to be Messianic?

2005-04-05T12:00:00.000-04:00

Since the late sixties early seventies the Messianic movement has been in a struggle to identify itself. This movement in its infancy, with little to no modern precedent, found that in a gentile dominated world even the very Messiah that was promised to them had been synchronized into the traditional westernised Christian world-view. With few options left to them, many joined the local churches and found assimilation the only option to worship the Messiah of Israel.

As Messianic congregations grew in number greater opportunities became available for worship of the Jewish Messiah in a Jewish context. Now, the struggle changed from assimilation to self-identification. How Jewish should we be? Organizations, fellowships, liturgy, conferences, and host of other resources became available. Our struggle became very similar to that of a teenager looking for independence. Our problem was not in the seeking of independence but where we looked to find our influences for that growth. Many were drawn back to the very place they fled from. The yoke of Rabbinic Judaism became their resting place. We seemed to not be able to distinguish between what was Biblical and Rabbinic. This is not to say that everything Rabbinic is bad, neither is it to say everything Rabbinic is good. Rabbinic Judaism is not our final authority. Yeshua said in Matt 5:20 “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven”. Yeshua did not believe that the teachers of His day were without fault or error. Neither did he make null and void everything that they taught. He just reserved the right to correct them.

We call ourselves Messianic Jews and our Midrash (commentary) comes from the Rabbi of Rabbis, Yeshua. The Talmud says, it will be the Messiah's privilege alone to interpret the Torah exclusively. According to the Rabbis the Messiah will be invested with such authority. Yalqut Isaiah states that, "The Holy One -- may he be blessed -- will sit (in the Garden of Eden) and draw up a new Torah for Israel, which will be given to them by the Messiah". Even the fearful thought of "abrogation" appears in the traditions of the Wise: "In the future the commandments will be annulled". In the Midrash Mekhilta from the time of the Tannaites -- that is, from the first two Christian centuries -- we find the statement that, "At the end the Torah will be forgotten". R.Shimon Ben Eleazar, who was active from ca. 170--200 AD, declares that, "This is how it will be in the days of the Messiah; there will be no 'thou shalt' and 'thou shalt not' commandments (zechut ve-hovâh"). Klausner, in his book "The Messianic Idea in Israel", explains that, "The natural interpretation of this is that in the days of the Messiah, the Torah and the Commandments will lose their significance".

Because we live in the days of the Brit Hadasha (New Covenant) Jer. 31:31 states that the new covenant is now living in our hearts, also Heb 10:19-23. We now have to conclude that His interpretation stands above all. Our sociological identification is with Israel and our roots are with our people, but, our theological identification is with Messiah and His people Jew or Gentile, Eph 2:11-22.

What we have forgotten is why we have been chosen. God created us for the purpose of being a light to the gentiles. We were created by God for the purpose of reconciling the whole world back unto Himself, Gen. 12:1-3. It becomes very hard to define yourself when you forget your purpose. There are many scriptural references to this. Here are a just a few. Ge. 12:3, Ps. 96:1-10, Is. 42:5-8, Is. 43:9-12, Is. 49:6, Is. 66:18-19, Lk. 2:29-32, 1Jn. 2:2, Acts 13:44-47, Acts 15:13-18, Rm. 11:11 Ga. 3:13-14. There are many more scriptures in the Tenach that echo this sentiment. The Jew was created/chosen so that Gentiles could be saved. It would seem to me that for a Jewish book God is a little too preoccupied with the gentiles, OY Vey. This would mean that God, even back in the Tenach, Was a God of inclusion not exclusion. It is nice to know that we serve a God who cares about the whole world, not just one people group.

As I said above there is confusion because instead of fulfilling our true calling to be God's light to this world we again abdicated our true work for a substitute. We have now become preoccupied with keeping the law of Rabbinic Judaism and associating with them in their observance to show them how Jewish we are. We are not the 4th branch of Judaism, we are the fulfillment. Instead of trying to be one them, which we already are, we should be showing them Messiah so that they will be one of us, which they are not. Rav Shaul (the Apostle Paul) addresses this very issue in quite some detail.

"For no human being will be justified in his sight by works of the law, since through the law comes the knowledge of sin" (Rom. 3:20).

"By works of the law shall no one be justified but through faith in Yeshua" (Gal. 2:16).

"I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification were through the law, then the Messiah died for no purpose" (Gal. 2:21).

"Now it is evident that no man is justified before God by the law" (Gal. 3:11).

The law had a weakness: it could bring death, but not life. It made nothing perfect (Heb. 7:18-19).

It promised life but proved to be death (Rom. 7:10). A person was required to keep all the law or be cursed (Gal. 3:10). No one could keep it all, so all had the sentence of death.

That same weakness prevents any law from saving. Law has no power to save. John assures us that all of us sin (1 John 1:8).

"For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it" --(James 2:10).

What we need to mind full of is that sin is not just an act we commit it is a state of comparison between God and us. God is perfect we are not therefore we are unable to come before him in our present condition. We need our nature changed and that cannot happen by works of the law it happens by grace. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”.

If we keep 99% of the law but fail in the remaining one percent, what happens? The Torah spells out that there are 613 commandments that we are required to keep. If we fail in one point we are guilty of the other 612 also. We are back to zero! So it is all by grace! If one is to be saved, it must be totally by grace. One cannot be saved partly by law keeping and partly by grace. If grace saves only to the extent that one is able to keep law, then none can be saved. If one could keep all the law, he would not need grace. Our traditional exhortation and mantra to the one who fails to keep all the law is "Try harder!" While giving lip service to grace, we frustrate disciples by urging that they must attain it by keeping all the law - or making a passing score, whatever that may be. All we are left with is questions. How much of the law do we keep? Who defines that standard? When have we kept enough of the law? What about those laws that we are unable to keep, i.e. sacrificial and Temple laws?

We are not saying that our celebration of faith should be taken out of its Jewish context. The way we define ourselves as Messianics has to be scriptural and culturally in context. We are not making the holidays and the declarations of God null and void. The only true way to understand the scriptures is through the filter of it's own history, culture, language, idioms, etc. What is being said is that our salvation or acceptance, in God’s eyes, is not dependant on how Jewish we are in our celebration of Messiah, 1Cor 8:1-13. Even though Paul is speaking to Gentiles in this passage, remember, it is Paul who is speaking and he is a Jew. Yeshua said in Mat 15:1-11 It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man but that which comes out of the mouth. Yeshua deals with the heart of man first. When the heart is right the actions follow. This, I believe is the essence of that Jeremiah 31:31 passage, the New Covenant is now in our hearts.

The Sermon on the mount Mt. Chapters 5, 6, and 7 Show the intent of Messiah in this. Each man has his liberty in Messiah to be as traditional as he chooses. We also have our liberty to not be traditional. We do, however, need to make sure that we don't confuse our Biblical practices with a rabbinic tradition that does not in itself even have one voice that speaks as an authority for the whole. That being said, Jewishness in our observance needs to be interpreted through the fulfillment of, the Rabbi of Rabbis, Yeshua. We need to be aware of the difference between Rabbinic Judaism and what I call apocalyptic Torah Judaism or New covenant Judaism. This would be the Judaism of Yeshua.

There is a place where grace and law are reconciled in the scriptures. It is critical for us to find that place and articulate it so that we will not fall into doctrinal error of the worst kind.

Galatians 3:15-19 is just one scripture which seems to be a reconciliation point where grace and the law meet and make sense. Paul says to the Galatians that, “the law does not invalidate the promise/covenant that was given 430 prior to the law”. Abraham received the inheritance based on the promise of God, not the righteousness of obedience to the law. He truly was saved by grace. The law was added because of transgression. People could not live in obedience to God.

They needed a law to show them the gulf that sin caused between them and God until grace was reestablished in Messiah Yeshua.

Taking the word of God in context also means seeing the big picture and understanding how certain scriptures relate to the rest of the body of the canon. Here are a few scriptures to take into consideration when we do this, Gal. 3:23-29, 2 Cor. 5:17, Rom. 9:1-3.

Gal. 3:28 tells us that "there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Yeshua". There is tremendous truth in this verse. But if it is taken out of context the truth is hidden. Some would say this verse shows us that there is no longer a need for the Jews to exist as a people. But this can't be true if Jeremiah 31:35-37 is also true.

"Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name: 36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah".

This verse is pretty clear that God will do away with the elements of creation before He does away with the nation of Israel”.

Another thing to consider is that the verse in Gal. tells us there is neither male nor female. One thing is for certain my wife loves the Lord and she is a female. I would bet my life on it. So what must this verse mean. Based on other scriptures I don't believe that Galatians is nullifying Israel's place in God's economy. Yet I do see taken into proper context that we are being told that there is no preferential treatment for salvation in the eyes of the Lord when it comes to the new covenant. However, there are Job descriptions. I will never be able to do the job of a mother. Does that make my wife superior to me or is her standing in society preferred. She, on the other hand, can’t do the job the father is supposed to do, Viva La Differance.

Romans Chapter 11: truly articulates every ones place in the in the work of the kingdom. I believe that Paul is synopsizing the prophetic message of the salvation plan in the Tenach. He puts the Jew and Gentile in their right place together. We now become one new man working for the sake of kingdom, reconciling the whole world back to God with no preferential treatment, just job descriptions. Eph 2:1-22 these passages elevate the role of the gentile in God’s plan to redeem the world. The Jew was created to be God’s tool to reach the world. The Gentiles were reached so that they could provoke the Jew to jealousy. When certain parties don’t fulfill their part (Jew and Gentile) God’s plan suffers for lack of laborers, Mt 9:36-38.

If we as Messianic Jews and gentiles want to define ourselves then our definition must first be Biblical. It must be based on the New Testament model. We need not look for our definition from rabbinic sources. We need to know our job description and purpose for existence. It will then be easier to function and do what we are called to do in unity, with the rest of the body of Messiah.

Yours in Messiah Yeshua,

Rabbi Henry Morse