General Disclaimer

If you view the material I present on this web site you will quickly discover that I am very passionate about my beliefs.  In order that my views will be quickly identified, I do not compromise the impact of my presentation with unnecessary niceties that would reduce the no-nonsense approach I use to promote what I feel is crucial truth.  I present a statement of purpose that summarizes my beliefs and the purpose of this web site.  Many religious web sites take the opposite approach as they deceptively hide their core beliefs behind a maze of verbal gymnastics and pseudo-truths that are sometimes hard to determine and at other times so deeply hidden within the context of the site that the reader may actually not grasp the true doctrines being advanced.  This is done as part of an attempt to snare the innocent and searching reader into supporting them without the reader realizing they are being lead down a path of cunning trickery.  At other times it is hard to determine what a group or person stands for and if they actually stand firm for anything since they are so afraid of offending people who may disagree with them.  I, on the other hand, intentionally choose to be candid with my presentation and elaborate further on my presentation method in an article in which I attempt to clarify my reasons for the straightforward approach I take.  I am firm in my conviction that truth must be promoted without allowing others to intimidate me with accusations of being offensive, unloving, judgmental, that I am "condemned," etc.  Nevertheless, I wish to voice a disclaimer that I ask the reader to please remember when viewing the information I present.  In those cases where I receive a scathing email accusing me of being offensive I will simply respond with a link to this disclaimer and the just mentioned article.

First, I personally believe that people will be eternally judged in the Heavenly court based upon what is within their hearts, NOT based upon their acceptance of a specific creed; therefore, I never openly condemn "to hell" anyone.  Constantinian Christianity commonly teaches just the opposite.  In general Christianity teaches an individual is "saved" based upon an intellectual acceptance of differing versions of a standard "creed," a creed that had its origins at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE.  Those who do not embrace this creed are judged as damned by Christianity to a fiery "hell" or some other form of eternal death.

Hebraic minded individuals have historically observed that "Christianity is a religion of creed, but Judaism is a religion of deed."  This synopsis is somewhat accurate since Judaism is a religion that strongly promotes a necessary change of heart, mind, AND LIFESTYLE.  It is also less common to find in Judaic literature any teachings that condemn to eternal death those differing with them.  However, it is blatantly false to state that Judaism has no manmade creeds.  In fact, when one considers the monstrous Talmud, Zohar, and other Judaic foundational writings on which Judaism is based, the resulting conclusion is that Judaism has MORE "creeds" than Christianity.  Those who claim Judaism is void of "creeds" are either ignorant or deceitful.  Nevertheless, Constantinian Christianity does not focus as much as Judaism on a NECESSARY change of lifestyle.  Instead, it generally requires only a partial change of mind as part of the intellectual "belief" of the creed it promotes and OFTEN condemns those who disagree to eternal torment, possibly more often that any other religion on earth.  It is that creed or "belief" that many groups within Christianity then uses as a fire escape key (escaping hell fire) that allegedly guarantees the "believer" will be "saved" regardless of the level of obedience and/or righteousness the believer may demonstrate.

Christianity mistakenly equates obedience to what it negatively and wrongly defines as "works," thereby implicitly condoning lifestyles that are largely disobedient to God.  I am quick to add, however, some Christian groups do not agree with the popular cheap grace position commonly promoted among many of Christianity's largest denominations.  Instead, they correctly teach a change of heart and lifestyle (a God fearing, obedient mind set) IS required as a demonstration of true faith.  I also promote the need for a change of heart, mind, and lifestyle to demonstrate one's faith.  Common sense proves that any true change of heart and mind will be explicitly demonstrated by a lifestyle of obedience to God's teachings.  This is a test many Constantinian Christians fail miserably, as do many who claim Judaism as their religion.

Ecclesiastes 12:13,14 teaches in an unambiguous and "common sense" way what God ACTUALLY requires of us, despite Christianity's creedal foundations.

Ecclesiastes 12:13 (KJV)

¹³ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. ¹⁴ For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Note this presents "the conclusion of the whole matter," which is another way of saying "to sum it all up this is what is required of us."  Actually, the author of Ecclesiastes is simply restating a reduced version of what is found in other passages of Scripture.  I will quote them from both the King James Version and the JPS Tanakh.

Deuteronomy 10:10-13 (KJV)

¹² And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, ¹³ To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

Deuteronomy 10:9-14 (JPS Tanakh)

¹² And now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God demand of you? Only this: to revere the Lord your God, to walk only in His paths, to love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and soul, ¹³ keeping the Lord‘s commandments and laws, which I enjoin upon you today, for your good.

These instructions are profoundly stated in one of the most important chapters in all of Scripture.  In fact, Yahshua (jesus) the Messiah called these passages the "foremost" (most important) commandment.

Deuteronomy 6:1-11 (KJV)

¹ Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it: ² That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged. ³ Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. ⁴ Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:⁵ And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. ⁶ And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: ⁷ And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. ⁸ And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. ⁹ And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

Deuteronomy 6:1-10 (Tanakh)

¹ And this is the Instruction—the laws and the rules—that the Lord your God has commanded [me] to impart to you, to be observed in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, ² so that you, your children, and your children’s children may revere the Lord your God and follow, as long as you live, all His laws and commandments that I enjoin upon you, to the end that you may long endure. ³ Obey, O Israel, willingly and faithfully, that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly [in] a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, spoke to you. ⁴ Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.⁵ You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. ⁶ Take to heart these instructions with which I charge you this day. ⁷ Impress them upon your children. Recite them when you stay at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them serve as a symbol on your forehead; ⁹ inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

You may have noticed that I presented Deut. 6:4 in bold, red letters.  I comment extensively on this site how the teaching within Constantinian Christianity, counterfeit Messianic Judaism, and counterfeit Nazarene Judaism that Yahshua the Messiah (jesus the christ) is "God in the flesh" is a direct affront to this passage - a passage known as the shema (shem-mah') and called by Yahshua "the foremost commandment."

There are numerous other passages found in Scripture that present the same basic criteria - criteria many Constantinian Christian organizations implicitly oppose due to their rejection of the Torah (commandments, Law) as still being binding and/or their removing the fear of God via the common teaching of "eternal security of the believer."  So, according to Scripture the "conclusion of the whole matter is:"

1. We must fear (show reverence for) God, and
2. We must sincerely strive to OBEY His Eternal instructions.

With these 2 foundational principles in mind I now state the following clarifications regarding the Torah of Messiah web site:

1. Only YHVH the Living God can eternally judge.  At times He delegates the authority to judge to others but in every case this authorized agent of God is judging "in the name of" (by the authority of) God; therefore, it is still God judging by proxy through His chosen emissary.  I am NOT among those with such authority and do not ever wish to place myself on the throne of eternal judgment.  If you are of the opinion that I do judge in an eternal sense, then you are GROSSLY misinterpreting my intentions or the specifics of the statement that lead you to such a conclusion.  It is also possible that I poorly expressed my point.  I am not immune to sometimes allowing my passion to get the better of me as I compose my thoughts for web site publication.  You may also be confusing "judgment" with discernment, or "eternal" judgment with finite judgment.  Confusion regarding the actual definition of Biblically prohibited "judging" is a widespread phenomena that I will not attempt to address here.
2. As long as an individual is sincere in adhering to the 2 basic criteria shown above I do NOT consider them an enemy of YHVH (God).  However, I do not hesitate to express my opinion of false doctrines or concern over the fact individuals may be following a course that Scripture suggests will lead to eternal death since it is my responsibility to do so. (Ezekiel 3:16-20 and Ezekiel 33:7-9).
3. I do not conceal the fact that I have very strong and passionate opposition to many of the foundational Christian doctrines because my lengthy studies prove to me with absolute certainty that traditional Christianity is literally infested with lots and lots of grossly unscriptural teachings.  And it is important to note that those studies began while I was still firmly within the Christian camp and with no desire to leave.  I was simply seeking to become a better Christian but found myself, instead, discovering that I was a victim of tremendous and long lasting deception.
4. I realize that many among those that disagree with my opinions are benevolent, moral, loving people who are sincerely and obediently seeking to please God.  I personally feel such people will inherit eternal life even though we may differ in crucial areas of faith.
5. There are a lot of belief systems promoted by people who I DO consider enemies of Messianic truth.  I passionately and forcefully oppose those people and groups; however, fierce opposition should not be equated to condemnation.  For instance, I am VERY opposed to counter missionaries, often called anti-Missionaries.  These are people who fight against Yahshua (Jesus) and the Messianic faith presented in the New Testament.  I also forcefully and unapologetically oppose and combat what I call "pseudo-Messianics."  These are people, usually ultra-Semites who are enamored by the manmade unscriptural traditions of Judaism, who so drastically marginalize and reduce Yahshua's position and accomplishments, that they assist (often unwittingly) the goals of counter missionaries.
6. I strongly oppose the growing fad of Ultra-Semitism and consider it to be THE most grotesquely unMessianic error in the Messianic faith today; however, my fervent opposition to this elitist mindset does not mean I "condemn" those who practice it.  I discuss ultra-semitism on a page dedicated to combating counter-missionaries and ultra-Semites.
7. I do not consider myself more righteous or in any way better than anyone else.  Those who accuse me otherwise are simply clueless..  In fact, many of my friends suggest I may be too critical of myself.  In my mind I am an unworthy lowly sinner totally dependant upon the mercy and unmerited favor of a loving, understanding, impartial, and compassionate Creator God.
8. I purposely try to limit my personal rebukes of individuals to religious leadership.  I consider religious leaders to be in FAR greater danger since Scripture clearly illustrates how they are held to a much stricter standard of judgment. Therefore, those religious leaders who are responsible for promoting the unscriptural doctrines to which I am opposed are the ones to whom I direct my most forceful personal rebukes.  Such people are examples of those Yahshua (jesus) warned will cause others to stumble through their promotion of false teachings.  Of those he said it would have been better for them if they had never been born.

Let me illustrate by using one of many possible examples:

There are few, if any, specific false teachings that I consider more demonic than the teaching of "once saved always saved" or the "eternal security of the believer."  Many of the those that accept this false teaching are truly sincere, God-fearing people; however, they are so thoroughly deceived by those in whom they place their trust that they cannot recognize the grotesque nature of their belief even though they may wisely follow a good regime of Bible study.  I personally believe these people will inherit the eternal world to come and will be corrected and perhaps chastised for their support of this satanic teaching.  Others, in fact the vast majority of professed Christians, are not sincere in their search for truth and live their lives with little fear of, or obedience to, God.  I refer to these as the "walking dead," effectively having already been judged by their own stiff-necked resistance to God's eternal teachings.  However, the leaders that are responsible for proliferating the error, many of whom are also sincere and full of a desire to serve, are the ones who will have to primarily answer to God and bear the brunt of His wrath for their willful support of what is perhaps the most demonically inspired false teachings in all of religion - a teaching that implicitly removes ALL fear of God, promotes a license to sin, and actually fosters rebellion against God (Note: rebellion against God's eternal instruction IS rebellion against God).

In the example just discussed I do not eternally judge (condemn) anyone; however, I do strongly oppose this particularly loathsome false doctrine and hasten to fulfill my responsibility to rebuke it.  I realize that many who accept this lie, just like many who accept the terribly erroneous teachings of Roman Catholicism, are among the world's most loving, sincere, and dedicated persons.  I personally feel their sincere and obedient lifestyles will warrant them eternal reward despite their acceptance or promotion of demonically inspired doctrines.  At least I hope such is the case.

May YHVH (God) open your heart and mind to further truth.

In Yahshua theMessiah,

Bruce Barham
Torah of Messiah web site author