[00:00:00] Speaker A: Today, there are people all around the world who claim to be prophets of God. They display signs and wonders, miraculous healings or physical manifestations that defy human reasoning. They speak prophetic utterances that come to pass just as they were spoken. How could these be anything other than men and women of God? Aren't these all signs of a true prophet? Actually, they might be signs of a false prophet. What do I mean? Let's talk about it in this week's five minute tour.
Shalom and welcome back. I'm Darren, and I hope you're taking advantage of the growing collection of videos from Shalom Menken on this channel. Before I get into the five minute tour commentary, let's take a peek into our tour portion for this week. This week we're studying the portion of Re'eh Deuteronomy 1120 616 17, and here are the three things you need to know about it. Number one, Harbayta centralization of worship. This weeks Torah portion places a significant emphasis on limiting sacrifices to the location that the Lord would choose once the Israelites entered into the promised land. Of course, we know this came to be Jerusalem, specifically har habite, the Temple Mount. God told his people that things would be different once they entered into the land he had promised them. No matter how far away they lived, they would make a pilgrimage to worship in Jerusalem through three times a year. This leads us to number two, the big three pilgrimage festival details. The end of this week's tour portion gives some additional details for the three pilgrimage festivals that were not mentioned back in Leviticus, chapter 23. These festivals are Pesach or Passover, Shavuot or Pentecost, and Sukkot or tabernacles. One of these prohibitions forbids offering the Passover lamb anywhere except for the temple in Jerusalem. Why is this important today, since the Holy Temple isnt functioning? We do not eat lamb on Passover to avoid the appearance that we have attempted to sacrifice it in a way and a location expressly prohibited by the Torah. Three. Holy nourishment more instructions on food like last weeks Torah portion this weeks portion includes more commandments and details revolving around food. There are some basic instructions regarding sacrifice and slaughtering, including the instruction to pour out the blood of a slaughtered animal. It also includes a streamlined review of the dietary prohibitions we uncovered in Leviticus eleven, adding to these laws the prohibition of eating the meat of animals that die naturally or through trauma. If you're looking for a place to learn, connect, and grow, then Shalom Macon is the place. It doesn't matter where you are in the world, you can find a connection with Shalom Macon through our live services every Saturday and through our private social network we call Shalom at home. Check us out on YouTube and on our
[email protected], for more information. We look forward to connecting with you and seeing you this Shabbat this week's Torah commentary is called signs and wonders and comes from our book five minute Torah, volume two. A large number of Yeshua's followers in our day find affinity with the charismatic movement, particularly among those in the messianic movement. The reasoning behind this attraction seems to be that they are seeking to recapture the power demonstrated by Yeshua's earliest followers. After all, Yeshua promised power to his disciples upon their receiving the the Holy Spirit after his ascension. He said, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. This is acts one eight. This power was evident in the lives of the apostles. For instance, in acts three, Peter and John are on their way into the temple complex when they encounter a lame beggar and heal him with the spoken word. In acts five, Peter is healing so many people that they even carried out the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats that as Peter came by, at least his shadow might fall on some of them. This is acts 515. In acts 28, Paul heals a man who is suffering from fever and dysentery. It seems that the apostles were performing signs and wonders everywhere they turned. Many passages like these awaken a desire within the human psyche to experience this spiritual power. We desire to replicate what we have only read about in our bibles. The modern charismatic movement is an outgrowth of this desire. It constantly tries to show authenticity through signs and wonders and prophecies of future events. But a strong caution should accompany this pursuit. This week's Torah portion speaks to the inherent danger of following after miracles and prophetic voices. It begins by establishing the condition that should capture attention if a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass. This is Deuteronomy, chapter 13, verse two and three. By himself, a prophet who performs signs and wonders is not problematic. But the Torah continues to say that even if the prophet performs all kinds of miracles and foretells events that are confirmed with signs and wonders, he still has to pass the litmus test. A true prophet must uphold the commandments given to Israel through the mouth of Moses. If he does not, then he is to be rejected as a false, false prophet. But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death because he has taught rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery to make you leave the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk, so you shall purge the evil from your midst. Deuteronomy 13 six many people today are able to produce signs and wonders, predict the future, or even know secret things about a persons life. But these things alone do not qualify them as a true prophet. The Torah is explicit in that a true prophet must point people back to the instructions given to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai. The signs and wonders that a prophet works are not an end to themselves. They are only to get peoples attention so that he can instruct them. A true prophet will instruct people to return to the Lord's commandments but a false prophet will use signs and wonders as a lure to entice people away from what the Lord desires of them. Although a prophet may promise blessing and good fortune for hearing his word, we are to listen only to the one who speaks on behalf of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. If we will heed the true voice of the Lord and follow his instructions, he promises to bless us. But this is only on the condition that we obey the voice of the Lord our God, keeping all his commandments and doing what is right in the excitement sight of the Lord our God. Deuteronomy 1319 we must remember that not all that glitters is gold. We must know the word of God and use discernment. When we listen to those who claim to speak on behalf of the Almighty, they may be able to produce incredible signs and wonders. But if they lead us in a direction that would be in opposition to the instructions of the Torah, then they cannot be trusted. Yeshua made it clear which direction he was pointing. His disciples he said, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot will pass from the law, in other words, the Torah, until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 518 19 May we continue to heed the voice of the true prophet Yeshua, the Messiah, who continually points his disciples back to Torah and may we all anticipate his return each day. Have you encountered signs and wonders? No doubt some people have seen genuine manifestations of God, while others have seen misrepresentations of the work of the Holy Spirit through false prophets. Have you ever been deceived by signs and wonders from those who you thought were representatives of God? What has been your experience and how did you know whether it was from goddess or not? I would love to hear your story. Let me know in the comments below. And as I said last week, I need your help. I need your help to fight anti Semitism. Unfortunately, there is as much anti semitism within the church these days as there is outside of it. Why? It's largely due to a misunderstanding of the book of Romans. Help us fight this battle by educating yourself. Please check out our series, repaving the Romans road and download our new study guide that will help you have the tools you need to expose the lies and fight anti semitism. You can get started by using the link above or at the end of this video. I'll see you next week for another messianic insight into the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect, and grow.
[00:08:42] Speaker B: Please visit our website, shalommakin.org, to learn more about us. Join our live services, access other teachings, sign up for our newsletter, join our private network that will connect you with our greater community from around the world, or contribute to the work of Shalom Macon. Thank you for watching and we look forward to connecting with.
