Program 4: What was really nailed to the cross!

It was the condemnation for sin that was nailed to the cross, not the divine law.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

Part 1

Miles Robey: Hello, there! Thanks for tuning in. I’m Miles Robey and with me is Dave Wright.

Dave Wright: Greetings! We’re glad you could join us today.

Miles: So, Dave, I’ve got a question for you.

Dave: All right. What’s that?

Miles: Do your kids ever come to you, asking for permission to do something, and you tell them: “Go ask Mum”?

Dave: Absolutely. Don’t you?

Miles: Oh, sure. All the time. In our home, my wife’s the one that keeps track of school events, doctor’s appointments, bedtimes, etc., etc. So, yeah. She knows what’s going on with the kids, so if something comes up, I usually send them to talk to her.

Dave: They don’t try and get you to say “Yes” to something when she’s already said “No”?

Miles: Eh, they tried a couple times. We nipped it in the bud as soon as we figured out what they were doing.

Dave: I think all kids will try that at least once. Ours did, too.

Miles: So now, our kids know they need to call on Mum if they want permission to do something. They call on her for a couple of reasons. First, they know that as their parent, she’s got authority. Secondly, they know that as an adult, she’s got the power to help them in whatever they need help with.

Dave: Right. She’s got both authority and the power to back it up.

Miles: It reminds me of the Creator. Scripture repeatedly urges us to call on the name of the Lord. Take Psalm 116. It says:

“I found trouble and sorrow.
Then called I upon the name of the LORD . . .
I will take the cup of salvation
And call upon the name of the LORD.”

Dave: You’re right! And it appears in other places as well. For example 1 Chronicles 16 says: “Oh, give thanks to the LORD! Call upon His name; … Talk of all His wondrous works! Glory in His holy name.” Then it adds, “Give to the LORD the glory due His name.”

Miles: That’s a good one! With so many instances in the Bible telling us to call upon His NAME, it’s odd that His actual name appears only once in modern translations of the Bible.

Dave: Oh, really? Where’s that?

Miles: Psalm 68, verse 4 says: “Sing unto God, sing praises to His name: extol Him that rideth upon the heavens by His name Yah, and rejoice before Him.”

Dave: Wow! I must admit, I didn’t know that text was even there.

Miles: It’s sad, really, that something that is repeated throughout Scripture is impossible for most people because they don’t know the All-Mighty’s real, personal name. In most translations, the titles, “God” and “Lord” have been substituted for His actual name.

Dave: And how can you “call on His name,” if you don’t know the name?

Miles: It’s certainly not as personal to just use titles.

Dave: No, it’s not. I like how, too, the Saviour’s actual name sounds very similar to His Father’s. The Father’s name is Yahuwah, or Yah; and the Son’s name is Yahushua.

Miles: It’s a privilege to know and use the actual, personal names of deity. So, for those of you joining us for the first time, be aware that when we say
“Yahuwah” we are talking about God the Father, and when we say “Yahushua” we are referring to the Son.

Dave: Very good. We need to know we can call on the name of Yahuwah because, I’ll tell you, Miles, there is a lot of error and confusion in the world today.

Miles: There is! It’s like the apostle Paul said: Every wind of doctrine is blowing.

Dave: And with the Internet, it’s even more confusing. As truth is advancing, as more and more light is being revealed error, also, is proliferating.

Miles: We need spiritual discernment to be able to separate truth from error.

Dave: We do. And today I want to talk about a passage of Scripture the devil has used to confuse the minds of, well, the majority of Christianity, really. It’s found in the writings of Paul but, due to a misunderstanding, a lot of people misinterpret it.

Miles: Sounds interesting. Which passage is it?

Dave: It’s found in Colossians 2. Here, why don’t you read it for us?

Miles: Okay, let’s see. It says:

“And you, being dead in your trespasses . . . He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

“Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Yahushua."

Well, I think that’s pretty clear, Dave. Not sure what you’re saying people get wrong about these verses. I’ve heard plenty of sermons on it. It’s the good news of salvation! The law was nailed to the cross!

Dave: Was it?

Miles: Of course! It says so right there is Colossians! It says: “Having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Dave: I know that’s how most Christians today interpret that text, but a careful study of Scripture reveals something different.

Miles: All right. I have to hear this. Because, I have to be honest, I think the text is pretty clear in saying the law was nailed to the cross.

Dave: Fair enough. First, let me ask you this: if you had to give a passage of Scripture that encapsulated the Gospel message, could you do it? What Bible verse, to your mind, embraces the entirety of the good news of salvation?

Miles: Well, for me, that would have to be John 3:16-17: “For Yah so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For Yah sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world THROUGH Him might be saved!”

Dave: That’s beautiful. I love that passage, and you’re right: it sums up the gospel message perfectly. And I’m glad you added in the next verse: “Yah sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved!”

Miles: Amen!

Dave: Yahushua was sent to take our condemnation under the law, but not to change the law! Most people, you’re right, interpret Colossians two, to mean that the law has been “done away with” or “nailed to the cross.” However, that’s not what the passage is meaning, and when all of Scripture is taken into account, it’s not what the Bible teaches, either.

Miles: Okay, but you’re going to have to talk fast to convince me.

Dave: All right. Well, let’s start with John 14:15. Could you read that verse for us?

Miles: Sure. John 14:15 says . . . “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Dave: I want you to notice, Miles, this isn’t an Old Testament verse. It’s not an “Old Covenant” passage. It’s taken right from the Gospel of John and the words are those of the Saviour Himself. You can’t get much clearer than that: “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Take, for example, a child. You leave for work and leave very clear instructions of what you want your kid to do to help out while you’re gone. There’s plenty of time after school to get it done. You get home that evening, your son meets you at the door, big smile on his face: “I love you, Dad!”

You say, “Love you, too, Son! Did you get that job done for me?”

He smiles wider: “No, I knew you really didn’t mean it. But . . . I love you, Dad!” How would you feel if your son disobeyed you all the while continuing to insist he loves you?

Miles: Well . . . I’d probably feel like he was trying to distract me from the fact that he’d disobeyed.

Dave: Right! I’d feel the same. And if it continued for very long, I’d start to question if he really loved me or not, if every single time I asked him to do something, he wouldn’t do it and would just say, “I love you, Dad!”

Miles: Yeah, I can see that.

Dave: Well, it holds true with our heavenly Father, too. In Matthew, chapter five, the Saviour totally refutes the idea that the law was to be done away with at His death. He said:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.”

Miles: Okay, but isn’t this just a matter of semantics?

Dave: What do you mean?

Miles: Well, you say the law was not “done away with” at the cross. But couldn’t you say that it was fulfilled? In that text you just quoted, Yahushua did say He came to fulfill the law.

Dave: Yes, He did come to fulfill it. But that is different than how people interpret Colossians 2. They read Colossians 2 and split the law of Yah. They say, “Oh. That means we don’t have to observe the dietary laws. We can eat pork and other unclean meats; we don’t have to keep Yah’s holy days: the annual feasts and Sabbaths. We don’t want to break commandments 1 through 3; and it’s a pretty good idea to keep commandments 5 through 10, but we don’t have to keep the fourth commandment. That was fulfilled at the cross because Yahushua is our rest.”

That’s how the reasoning goes, right?

Miles: That’s how I was taught, yeah.

Dave: So now let’s look at Matthew 5 again. Yahushua was explaining that He had come to fulfill the law. And then the very next verse clarifies what He meant. He said:

“For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Have heaven and earth passed away?

Miles: Obviously not!

Dave: Obviously! We’re still here! Therefore, we can conclude “not one jottle or tittle” is to be laid aside from our keeping of the law.

Miles: Hmmm. That’s a new thought. But do you have any other Scriptural support for this point of view?

Dave: Absolutely! Isaiah 28 teaches how we are to establish doctrine. It’s actually kind of redundant but it makes the point well. It says: “ For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little.”

Miles: That’s a good principle to have. It keeps you from taking things out of context or “proof texting” just to prove your point.

Dave: Precisely. You have to consider the entirety of Scripture when establishing any doctrine. And a verse in Malachi 3 must be taken into account when we try to figure out whether or not the law of Yah was indeed “nailed to the cross.”

Miles: Fair enough. What does it say?

Dave: Malachi 3, verse 6, says: “I am Yahuwah. I change not.”

He doesn’t change, Miles! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now if He is the same, He’s not going to go changing His law, because His law is a transcript of His character!

Miles: I’m not sure I follow. What do you mean?

Dave: First John four declares: “Yah is love.” That is who and what He is. If you were to peek into the very inner heart and mind of Yah, you would find . . . love. Pure, undiluted love. Love is the motivational power behind all of Yahuwah’s thoughts, and feelings. It’s what prompts His deeds, and actions. Therefore, His love is also the basis of the divine law.

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. The theme of this entire chapter focuses on the law of Yah. Here, listen to just a few verses. I’m not going to read much, but just a few will give you the feel for the entire thing.

Miles: All right.

Dave: Psalm 119 opens with these words: “Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of Yahuwah. Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.” Then, a few verses later, it says: “O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes! Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments. I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.”

Then he asks a vital question. He says: “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy word. With my whole heart have I sought Thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.”

Miles: Well, that’s pretty clear.

Dave: It is! It really is. Then he adds: “Thy word have I hid in mine heart that I might not sin against Thee. Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law. I am a stranger in the earth: hide not Thy commandments from me.”

These are timeless principles! We are to see in the perfect law of Yah beauty and revelations of His character. And this psalm is as true today as when it was written.

Do you remember what Paul said about Scripture?

Miles: Umm . . . you mean, why it was given?

Dave: Yeah. What did he say?

Miles: Well, uh, in 2 Timothy 3 he says: “All scripture is given by inspiration of Yah, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.

Dave: That’s right. ALL Scripture is given by inspiration of Yah and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction and instruction in righteousness. ALL Scripture. Now what was Scripture in Paul’s day? His writings?

Miles: No.

Dave: No! It was the Old Testament, wasn’t it? Now the very next verse after the one you just quoted, verse 17, explains why Scripture was given for our benefit. Here . . . read it for us.

Miles: Let’s see . . . it says: Scripture was given . . . “That the man of Yah may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Dave: Right! Scripture was given—and the law within Scripture was given—so that we could know the character of Yah and, through faith in the Saviour, have that as our model so that we may be, how did Paul say it? “PERFECT, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

Miles: Hmmm. That’s very interesting.

Dave: There’s another reason, even more compelling why the law could not have been done away with—or nailed—to the cross.

Miles: Huh. Hold that thought. I want to hear it. We’re going to take a quick break and when we come back, I want you to tell us what was nailed to the cross.

In recent years, a surprising teaching has been spreading throughout Christianity. Many sincere believers have begun to question whether the apostle Paul was a true follower of Yahushua or an apostate.

If Paul truly were an apostate, the ramifications of this are huge! Christian theology is based largely upon the writings of Paul. For a careful analysis of whether Paul was, or was not, an apostate, visit the article sections of Worldslastchance.com and search for the article entitled: "Paul: False Prophet? Or True Apostle?" Again visit the WorldsLastchance.com website and look for the article entitled: " "Paul: False Prophet? Or True Apostle."

Part 2

Miles: Okay, we’re back. This is Miles Robey. Dave Wright has been laying out for us the Biblical evidence explaining why the law of Yahuwah was not “fulfilled” or “nailed” to the cross But is still binding today. Dave?

Dave: Yeah, thanks, Miles. Think about this: if the law of Yah could be changed or “fulfilled” so that it no longer needed to be kept, than Yahushua wouldn’t have needed to die.

The law of Yah said: the wages of sin is death.

Mankind sinned . . . Death was the punishment. That is the divine law.

Miles: Okay. So you’re saying, if the law could be changed, it would have been when mankind sinned. Then, Yahushua wouldn’t have died.

Dave: That’s right. If the law says that death is the penalty for sin, and if the law could be changed, then it would have been changed already so that death was not the penalty for sin. However, the divine law cannot be changed.

Miles: Well, why not? It’s Yah’s law. Human governments change laws all the time. He could, too, if He wanted to.

Dave: Actually, He couldn’t and Psalm 19 explains why. Verses seven to eleven state:

“The law of Yahuwah is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of Yahuwah is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of Yahuwah are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of Yahuwah is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of Yahuwah is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of Yahuwah are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.”

Here’s the thing: the law of Yah cannot be changed because, as Scripture clearly states: it’s perfect. The divine law is a transcript of the divine character. If it could be changed, it would be the same as saying Yahuwah is not perfect and can be changed.

Miles: Okay, I think I’m starting to get it. And, as we said earlier, Malachi says, “I am Yahuwah, I change not.” Therefore, if Yahuwah is synonymous with His law, His law is as binding now as it was then. It is perfect and cannot be changed, just as He is perfect and cannot be changed.

Dave: You’ve got it. That’s it exactly.

Miles: All right. Then how do you explain Colossians 2? Earlier, you said people misinterpret the passage?

Dave: Yes, they do. Let me read it again really quickly just so we have clear in our minds what the verses say:

“And you, being dead in your trespasses . . ., He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. ”

The misunderstanding has to do with these words: “The handwriting of requirements that was against us, . . . He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”

Miles: All right. What’s the misunderstanding?

Dave: The misunderstanding is that people assume the “handwriting of requirements that was against us” is the divine law.

Miles: Sooo. . . you’re saying it’s not.

Dave: No. We’ve already seen how the divine law is binding and forever, so that it cannot be changed or done away with. Therefore, the “handwriting of requirements” must refer to something else, and it does!

Earl L. Henn wrote an article called “Was God’s Law Nailed to the Cross?” In it, he brings out a very interesting point. He says: “These words are translated from the Greek phrase cheirographon tois dogmasin.” I may not be pronouncing that quite right, but anyway, he goes on to say: “Cheirographon means anything written by hand, but can more specifically apply to a legal document, bond or note of debt. Dogmasin refers to decrees, laws or guidelines governing a person's conduct or way of life."

Miles: Hmm. That’s fascinating. I’ve never heard that before. It’s starting to make sense, though, because the "requirements" that are "against" us cannot be the divine law, because the divine law is for us! Paul himself, in Romans 7, states: "The law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good."

Dave: Precisely! The holy, just, and good law is for us. It’s not against us! As Psalm 19 says, in keeping the law, there is “great reward.”

Miles: So than, if it’s not the divine law, what is the “handwriting of requirements”? Because Paul definitely says that those ARE against us.

Dave: Back in the first century, executions were community spectacles. Criminals were killed publically to serve as a deterrent, discouraging others from committing similar crimes. When a person was crucified, a list of the crimes committed was nailed to the cross as well.

Miles: Oh! They did that with Yahushua, too, didn’t they? Pilate wrote out in—what was it, three languages? Hebrew, Greek and Latin?—the Saviour’s “crime” and they nailed it to the cross.

Dave: That’s right! It said: “Yahushua of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.”

Miles: I remember that. And the Jews didn’t like it. The chief priests told Pilate, “Don’t say that He IS ‘King of the Jews.’ Instead write that He SAID He was ‘King of the Jews.’

Dave: Yeah, and Pilate brushed them off saying, “What I have written, I have written.”

Miles: I remember that! I didn’t know that was a common thing, to nail the condemned’s crimes to the cross! So the “handwriting of requirements that was against us”, than, is what?

Dave: The list of sins we have committed. The things of which we are guilty.

You see, as every Christian knows, Yahushua died FOR us. He died IN OUR PLACE so that WE could live forever with HIM.

In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul explained this concept when he said: “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of Yah in Him.”

Miles: As Isaiah said so beautifully: “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Yahuwah hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Dave: Exactly. Paul says the same thing in second Corinthians. He writes: “He—Yahuwah—made Him who knew no sin—Yahushua—to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of Yahuwah in Him."

Miles: It’s the divine transaction of grace. Yahushua, in life, was our example. In death, He was our substitute.

Dave: Yes. By bearing our sins for us, our sins, yours and mine, were written out and nailed to the cross. The Saviour then died in our stead, bearing our guilt FOR us.

Miles: It reminds me of what John the Baptist declared at Yahushua’s baptism. He said: “Behold the Lamb of Yah that takes away the sin of the world.”

Dave: He bore OUR sins so that we, in turn, might bear HIS righteousness!

Miles: Okay, well, this is really beautiful. It makes sense. But what about the next part of the passage? The next couple of verses say: “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Yahushua.” Wouldn’t that seem to suggest that Paul is saying you don’t have to continue observing the Sabbaths, or new moons, or other Jewish holidays.

Dave: That’s a good question, Miles, and I’m glad you’ve brought it up. First of all, they aren’t “Jewish” holidays. They’re Yahuwah’s holidays. I know the Jews tend to feel very proprietary when it comes to the annual religious festivals, but when they were explained to Moses, Israel wasn’t even a nation yet. Furthermore, in the twenty-third chapter of Leviticus, we read:

“And Yahuwah spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of Yahuwah, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My feasts.”

Did you catch that? Whose feasts are they?

Miles: Yahuwah’s.

Dave: That’s right, and the very next verse lists the first feast. It says: “Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of Yahuwah in all your dwellings.”

From there, it goes on to describe the rest of the feasts, but the very first feast is the weekly feast of the seventh-day Sabbath, and they’re ALL designated as “feasts of Yahuwah.”

Miles: That’s very interesting. So, we’ve established that the divine law is perpetual, perfect and unchanging. And Leviticus says all the feasts are Yahuwah’s feasts, so what is Paul meaning, then, when he talks about not letting people judge them regarding Sabbaths and New Moons?

Dave: To understand that, it’s necessary to know a little bit about the audience to whom Paul was writing. You know, a lot of people today take passages of the Bible and try to apply to circumstances that are very different than what was meant in the original passage. We should always take context into account.

Miles: Oh, you’re right about that! I remember once, a number of years ago, listening to a preacher go on and on about a certain text in the Book of Job. His main point hinged on this one verse. However, when I went there for myself later, I discovered that the text he was quoting was a statement made by one of Job’s friends! You’ll remember, Job’s friends were rebuked by Yahuwah for not speaking truthfully! And this guy had built his entire sermon around a text spoken by one of Job’s friends.

Dave: Incredible! Just goes to show we need to take context into account! Well, the Colossian Christians lived in a pagan city. Their religion was one of salvation by works. They taught that perfection could be achieved only through extreme self-denial and abstinence from pleasure. They believed that anyone claiming to be religious should practice the austerity they practiced.

As you can imagine, this influenced the young Christians there who had themselves been pagans just a short while before. Instead of trusting fully in the merits of the Saviour, the Colossians were returning to a self-imposed denial, assuming it to be a requirement for salvation.

Miles: So what you’re telling me is, Paul was actually warning them against trying to "work their way to Heaven."

Dave: Exactly. In Colossians 2, verse 8, Paul said: “Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Yahushua.” Salvation is a free gift through faith in Yahushua. Paul was warning them not to fall back into a salvation-by-works mindset.

Furthermore, self-punishment is never required by Yahuwah in order to be saved. Paul encouraged the Colossian believers to be free in Yahushua and not influenced by the self-imposed abstinence of the pagans around them.

That’s what he meant when he wrote: “Therefore let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Yahushua. Let no one defraud you of your reward, taking delight in false humility . . . and not holding fast to the Head Yahushua.”

Miles: Wow! That shines a whole different light on the passage! But what does it mean by “But the substance is of Yahushua”? That phrase has always confused me.

Dave: "But the substance is of Yahushua" is a phrase that has been mistranslated. A literal translation is different. Instead of “the substance of Yahushua” it says “the body of Yahushua.”

What is the body of Yahushua?

Miles: Uhh. . . well, that’d have to be the church, wouldn’t it?

Dave: Exactly! First Corinthians 12 tells us: “Now YOU are the body of Yahushua, and members individually.” So the body of Yahushua is the church! Or, literally, the “called out ones.”

Paul was telling the Colossians that they shouldn’t allow the criticism of the surrounding pagans to dictate their practices, but that only their fellow believers should make such judgments. They were now free of the pagan philosophies and could live a balanced life in Yahushua.

Miles: That’s beautiful!

Dave: It is. And it becomes really clear the further one reads in Colossians, chapter 2. Verses 20 to 22 say: “Therefore, if you died with Yahushua, from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations – 'Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,' which all concern things . . . according to the commandments and doctrines of men?”

The “commandments and doctrines” of whom?

Miles: Of men.

Dave: Right! Paul wasn’t talking about the commandments of Yahuwah. He was talking about the man-made rules and regulations of the Colossians work-your-way-to-Heaven mentality. Paul was telling them that they didn’t need to cling to man-made traditions to work their way to Heaven. Yahushua's death on the cross has forgiven the debt owed by sinners. The record of your sins has been nailed to the cross.

Miles: What a difference in understanding! What an incredibly encouraging and empowering message!

Dave: It really is! It is saying: You’re forgiven! You’re free!

Miles: Amen, Amen. And that is the crux of the entire gospel message. Yahushua came to save sinners. As Isaiah said: “My righteous servant shall justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities…He was numbered with the transgressors; and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Dave: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

Miles: Stay tuned! Coming up is our daily mailbag with a question coming all the way from Francesca in Ecuador.

You are listening to World's Last Chance Radio.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

A popular teaching in Christianity is the idea that the divine law was “nailed to the cross” with Yahushua. This is interpreted to mean that the divine law no longer needs to be kept.

And truthfully, something was nailed to the cross . . . but it wasn’t the 10 commandments! WLC invites you to do a careful study of Colossians 2. Learn the truth of what was nailed to the cross, what was not, and the significance for Christians today.

Go to articles section in WorldsLastChance.com and read “What Was Nailed To The Cross: An Examination of Colossians 2.” Again, that’s “What Was Nailed To The Cross” on WorldsLastChance.com. Because what you don’t know, can hurt you.

Daily Mailbag:

Miles: It’s time now for our Daily Mailbag. I’m Miles Robey.

Dave: And I’m Dave Wright. I always enjoy hearing from our listeners around the world.

Miles: Me, too. We get some really thought-provoking questions at times. Like this one. It comes from Francesca in Quito, Ecuador.

She says: “Why does WLC believe that everyone who prays to Mary, the mother of Yahushua, are praying to a dead woman who cannot hear them?” Then she goes on to say, “A few years ago, my husband was battling cancer. I prayed, and I prayed, and I prayed for him. I prayed to Mary and he got well! I don’t understand how you can say my prayers weren’t answered.”

Dave: Well, first of all, Francesca, I want to say how happy I am that your prayers were answered and your husband was healed. What a wonderful testimony to the love of Yahuwah, to heal your husband.

I also want to say that I believe your prayers were answered. They were most definitely answered . . . by Yahuwah. Not Mary.

Miles: Well, hold up a minute, Dave. I’m sure Francesca would agree with you that it was Yah who answered her prayers, but she obviously also believes her prayers were answered because she prayed to Mary.

I know this concept is kind of hard for Protestants to understand. However, my wife was raised Roman Catholic. She’s not Catholic now, but she understands how they think. The way she explained it was simply this: when you’re facing a trial, or you’ve got a difficult situation you need help with, Catholics think praying to Mary is no different than asking a friend to pray for you, except that getting Mary to pray for you seems more effective because her prayers get results. So they’re not really asking MARY to answer their prayers. Rather, they’re asking her to join with them in praying. Does that make sense?

Dave: Yes. Yes, it does. Thanks for sharing that. It’s true. Roman Catholics believe that Yahuwah is the one who answers prayers, but they pray to Mary or various saints because they believe it is similar to asking a friend to join you in praying – but a friend who has a very good track record for answered prayer!

Miles: Right. That’s it.

Dave: Well, basically, we’ve got two issues going on here. The first is why should, or shouldn’t, a person pray to Mary or other dead saints. The second is: does Yahuwah answer prayers prayed to Mary and the other saints?

Miles: Right. Good.

Dave: To answer Francesca’s question, WLC believes a person should not pray to Mary or any other person that has died for the simple reason that Scripture makes it very clear that there is no consciousness after death. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 9: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.”

Then, to underscore that the dead feel no emotions and have no interaction with the living, in the very next verse he goes on to state: “Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.”

Miles: That’s pretty clear.

Dave: Yes. Now, Scripture does occasionally refer to people who were specially resurrected. For example, Moses, Lazarus, Dorcas….

Miles: The widow of Nain’s son.

Dave: Right. That’s another one. But nowhere does it even mention the death of Mary, let alone her resurrection. Therefore, it is safe to conclude that Mary, like the vast majority of faithful throughout time, is resting in the grave until Yahushua returns.

Miles: Yeah, they don’t go to Heaven at death. The apostle Paul makes that clear in First Thessalonians where he says: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of Yah: and the dead in Yahushua shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet Yahushua in the air.”

Obviously if believers went to Heaven at death, there’d be none to raise to life at the Second Coming!

Dave: That’s a good point. So, lacking any other inspired record that Mary or these other popular saints are actually alive in Heaven, we can safely assume that they are resting in their graves.

Miles: As Solomon said, they have no more a portion in anything done under the sun.

Dave: Exactly.

Miles: All right, so that brings us to the next question: Does Yahuwah answer the prayers that are prayed to the saints?

Dave: Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that of course, He does! Take Francesca’s husband. She prayed—she prayed to Mary, but she did pray in faith—and Yahuwah heard and answered her prayers!

Miles: Don’t you find that just a bit…oh, I don’t know. Contradictory? That Yahuwah would answer prayers prayed to dead saints, thereby confirming the belief that it’s effectual?

Dave: No, of course not. Listen. Yahuwah is our Father. What’s more, He is a loving Father. He knows that none of us have a perfect understanding of ALL TRUTH. But, and here’s the key, like any father, He loves us and He’s not going to not bless just because we lack knowledge.

When Paul preached at Athens, he revealed a divine principle of love that would explain why Yah still answers prayer, even when the person praying lacks full knowledge. He said: “Truly, these times of ignorance Yah overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”

Miles: I like that! It gives us such a glimpse into the Father’s heart of love.

Dave: It does!

Miles: He’s not going to turn away and withhold His blessing just because someone is ignorant on some point of doctrine.

Dave: Right.

Miles: He reads the heart! He saw Francesca’s love, and her faith, and, even though the prayer itself was misdirected, He still answered it because He loves her.

Dave: That’s it exactly. Isn’t that beautiful.

Miles: Yes. And this understanding kind of highlights another problem with praying to saints.

Dave: What’s that?

Miles: Well, it almost implies a reluctance on Yah’s part to answer prayers. It suggests the idea that, in order to somehow convince Him to listen to your prayers, you have to get so many people praying WITH you, that He’ll have to answer!

Dave: Hmm. It does rather imply that, doesn’t it?

Miles: Yeah! And yet, in Luke 11, when the disciples asked Yahushua to teach them to pray, He didn’t teach them to pray to any of the faithful believers who had died before. He didn’t tell them to pray to “Dear Abraham” or even “Dear Moses” even though Scripture makes it clear that Moses had been resurrected by that time!

Instead, In Luke 11, verse two, He said, “When you pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven.” I’d say that’s pretty clear. We’re to go directly to the Father.

Dave: You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that we make a mistake when we teach young children to pray to “Jesus.” From the very first, we should teach them to go directly to the Father for themselves.

Miles: We are to pray in Yahushua’s name . . . but we are to pray to the Father, not the Son.

Dave: That’s right. If we were to pray to Yahushua, it would have been so simple for the Saviour to teach that, but in fact, He taught just the opposite!

Miles: He did?

Dave: Yes! In John 16! He said: “I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you!” That’s the beautiful promise for you, and me, and Francesca, and . . . everyone! You don’t have to go through another person. You can go directly to the Father for yourself.

Earlier in the same chapter, Yahushua said: “And in that day you will ask Me nothing. Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”

Miles: Again, notice, we are not to ask Yahushua. We are invited to pray in His name, but for the actual prayer itself, we can go directly to the Father for ourselves.

Dave: Let’s you feel just how much He loves you, individually, doesn’t it?

Miles: It really does. Well, it looks like we’re already out of time. We’ll have to save these other questions for another day. Do send us your questions or comments. Go to our website at WorldsLastChance.com and click on “contact us”. We’d like to hear from you, too.

Daily Promise

This is Elise O’Brien with your daily promise from Yah’s word.

A group of researchers at Harvard University decided they wanted to determine which factors, in particular, bring success and a purpose-filled life. Basically, they were looking for the key to lasting happiness. So, in 1938, they selected a group of undergraduates as study subjects.

The Harvard Grant Study followed the lives of these men for seventy-five years! They discovered the secret to happiness is . . . love! As Huffington Post reported: “A man could have a successful career, money and good physical health, but without supportive, loving relationships, he wouldn’t be happy.”

Sadly, in today’s world, more people than ever feel disconnected. Technology that is supposed to make our lives easier, has created a world in which many live lives too busy to spend time with those who matter most. If you feel all alone in the world, if you feel no one cares, remember: The FATHER cares.

David rejoiced: “When my father and my mother forsake me, then Yahuwah will take me up.”

Through Isaiah, Yahuwah says to you: “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your Mighty One. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,
I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.”

You are not alone. The Father’s eye is upon you, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go and start claiming!

Ending Points

Miles: You know, Dave, over and over I’m reminded of how the Bible is like a treasure room from which we can draw an unending supply of treasures, new and old. No matter how many times I go back, I always learn something new, and I always take a way a blessing.

Dave: Praise Yah! I do, too. Whatever we need, He supplies, whether it’s meeting our material needs, or giving us increased wisdom and understanding.

Miles: I feel like I’m seeing the book of Colossians in a whole new light, and yet, the message is beautiful! Yahushua bore our sins. We are free from the condemnation of the law! We are free!

Dave: Yes! And you know, Miles, Yahushua does more than just redeem us.

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: Well, I read something once—don’t ask me where. I don’t remember—but it really stuck with me. It said: “Redemption without restoration is not salvation.”

Miles: “Redemption without restoration is not salvation.”

Dave: The blood of Yahushua does more than just blot out our sins. His blood cleanses us, but it also restores us back to where we would have been, had we never sinned in the first place!

As Paul explained in Galatians 2: “ I am crucified with Yahushua: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Yahushua liveth IN me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live BY the faith of the Son of Yah, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

Miles: This is such an important message for this time.

Dave: It is. And just think: most of Christendom has been taught that the law of Yah has been “nailed to the cross”, that the Sabbaths and New Moons were only for the Jews, that, because we’re supposed to worship Yah every day . . .

Miles: And we are!

Dave: Of course we are! First Thessalonians admonishes us: “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of Yahuwah in Yahushua concerning you.” But the fourth commandment to worship on the seventh day contains two other directives: 1) abstinence from work on the seventh-day day; and, 2) work ON the sixth other days.

But my point is: most Christians are unaware of the fact that the law of Yah is still binding.

Miles: He doesn’t change.

Dave: No, and His law is perfect. It cannot be changed without destabilizing His entire government.

Miles: You can really see how the devil has won a victory. By getting people to think that the law was “nailed to the cross,” they buy into the idea that the Sabbath, the New Moons, were just for the Jews and are no longer to be kept.

Dave: Worse, they think it actually dishonors Yahushua if they keep the Sabbath and the annual feasts. They say, “We’re under grace now”—

Miles: —And we are.

Dave: Yes, we are. But that doesn’t mean we have Yah’s permission to now break the law.

Miles: Romans makes that clear. Romans 6 asks: “What then? Shall we sin, because are not under the law, but under grace? Yah forbid!” It’s just like John the Beloved says in First John, chapter 3: “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

Dave: You can’t get clearer than that! And, it’s in Romans 6 that we find the text that says: “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of Yah is eternal life.” Now, just think about this for a moment. If “sin” is the transgression of the law—

Miles: …And 1 John 3 says that it is.

Dave: Right. Sin is the transgression of the law. But if the law were truly nailed to the cross and no longer binding, how could sin exist at all? Romans was written long after the Saviour’s death and resurrection. If the law were truly “fulfilled” or “done away with” at the cross, then it wouldn’t be possible to “break” the law. And yet, clearly, when Romans was written, the concept of sin was still alive and well for Romans 6:23 clearly spells out that the wages of sin is death, while encouraging us that, by contrast, the gift of Yah is eternal life!

Miles: Quite a dichotomy in understanding there.

You’ve given us a lot to think about today. And, listen folks, this is serious. Peter warned: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” This warning is applicable now more than ever. Now is the time to make a full surrender to Yah.

Until tomorrow, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

You have been listening to WLC Radio.

This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.