02-21-26 Message to Roeh Israel Abilene – T’rumah (Offering) Torah Portion; Exodus 25:1 - 27:19
Haftarah: 1 Kings 5:26 – 6:13
Suggested Acheron K’tuvim: Heb 13:1-2
Demonic Deception – Part 4 – The Seen and
Unseen
Central question of this message: Are we able to occasionally see angels and demons?
This parasha T’rumah which means “contribution.” Its name comes from the sixteenth word in the English and the twelfth word in the original Hebrew.
Ex 25:1-3
25 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose
heart moves him you shall raise My contribution. 3 And this
is the contribution which you are to raise from them: gold,
silver and bronze,
Today we continue in our Demonic Deception series, but before getting into that, I wish to address another topic on the way.
The offering
The Hebrew word translated in this passage as “offering” is t’rumah. It is distinguished from the offerings while the Temple stood in Jerusalem, or the Mishkan in the wilderness. Although some offerings were described as t’rumah (heave offering as in Ex 29:28), most are described
by different Hebrew words, such as tenuphah (wave offering in Ex 29:26), and olah (burnt offering in Ex 30:9).
In this passage, the idea is a voluntary contribution made by people whose hearts has moved them to make a contribution for the honor of the L-rd.
No amount is indicated for such contribution, but only such as is purposed by that individual person. It is between that person and G-d, and nobody is to consider whether a person gave much or little.
Our people saw the command given among those of the festivals found in last week’s parasha, and have taken it to heart.
Ex 23:15-16
And none shall appear before Me empty-handed.
Our people have applied this command broadly. Not only is it for the special holy days, but it is applied even in the diaspora – the scattered Jews in the world today. So it is a tradition that our people do not visit the synagogue without bringing a contribution for the work of the L-rd carried out in that place.
Jews don’t “pass the plate” as is done in Christian churches. Neither do we hold a bag mounted to a pole, which is passed, and then paused in
suggestive manner, in front of people in the pew as is the practice of some.
Those methods carry an essential element of compulsion, and a bit of public shame for not contributing. I don’t see those methods as being consistent with how G-d would prefer voluntary collections be handled.
He never commanded any to compel contributions from others.
Jews, from as far back as the times of the Temple, have seen an offering box mounted in a convenient place, not prominent at the front but rather toward the back of a gathering area. This placement is designed to give the person making the contribution a bit of privacy, so that the gift is a bit more between that person and G-d, and not a matter of public demonstration.
But we do recall when Yeshua was observing the offering box in the Temple, and brought attention to a widow who put in all she had.
Mark 12:41-44
41 And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began
observing how the multitude were putting money into the
treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins,
which amount to a cent. 43 And calling His disciples to Him,
He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on."
Note that this poor Jewish lady still did not approach the Temple with an empty hand. She clearly had a heart full of gratitude for her life, and she offered in faith all that she had to live on.
Yeshua’s declaration not only was one of praise for her sweet heart, but also a rebuke to those who were wealthy and also heard His words, because they were charged by G-d to take care of the orphans and widows among them, because G-d watches over them. Clearly some of those in the Temple were not following this command.
Ex 22:22-24
22 You shall not afflict any widow or orphan. 23 If you
afflict him at all, and if he does cry out to Me, I will surely hear his cry; 24 and My anger will be kindled, and I will kill you with the sword; and your wives shall become widows
and your children fatherless.
Our people have a tradition of generosity going as far back as Abraham.
There is a proverb which keeps circulating among our people in every generation, “When a poor person stands at your door, the Holy One of Israel (Blessed be He) stands at his right hand.” That very idea was popularized by Ray Boltz in his song, “Thank You. (for giving to the Lrd)”. 1
In the synagogues, the offering box which often sits in the back of the sanctuary is referred to as the pushke, a Yiddish word which can mean “box” or even “palm” as in the palm of the hand. When one places his contribution into the pushke, it is as if he is placing it within the palm of G-d’s hand.
In our synagogue, the contributions fall into two general categories – general welfare of the synagogue and its workers, and charity (tzedakah).
If you give into the general welfare fund, those contributions are used for normal expenses. If you place money in the pushke designated for tzedakah, it is used solely for the needs of the poor of our congregation in their times of need. This fund is administered by the Elders.
After Moses asked for the people to give their free-will contributions, they contributed so much that Moses had to tell them to stop.
1 https://genius.com/Ray-boltz-thank-you-lyrics
Ex 36:2-7
2 Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every skillful
person in whom the Lord had put skill, everyone whose heart
stirred him, to come to the work to perform it. 3 And they
received from Moses all the contributions which the sons of
Israel had brought to perform the work in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him
freewill offerings every morning. 4 And all the skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came,
each from the work which he was performing, 5 and they
said to Moses, "The people are bringing much more than
enough for the construction work which the Lord
commanded us to perform." 6 So Moses issued a command,
and a proclamation was circulated throughout the camp,
saying, "Let neither man nor woman any longer perform
work for the contributions of the sanctuary." Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. 7 For the material
they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the
work, to perform it.
There was a time, over a year or so ago, that I gave a teaching which demonstrated that the tithes as set forth in the Scriptures are not appropriately collected by churches today, nor is the term “offerings” appropriate, since the offerings of Scripture were brought to the altar at the Temple or Mishkan, and had no connection to any other location. I said at that time that contributions to our congregation were certainly welcome, and appropriate.
However, I suspect that some of our congregation members interpreted my teaching as discouraging any contributions at all. Since that time, our contributions found in our pushke have dropped almost to nothing. The drop was dramatic, and seems to have been permanent.
When we are blessed with a better location to worship, we will need some funds to keep things going. I cannot fund the purchase of a new building, and its monthly upkeep on my own. If we are to prepare the way of the L-rd in Abilene, we need to start putting down some pavement. This might be the one thing that G-d is waiting for us to do, so that we might move on to another location.
I pray that our congregation will step up once again to follow the Scriptural adjuration leading to our honored tradition that we will not appear before the L-rd with an empty hand.
Now, onward with our study on demonic deception.
Angels and Demons in Plain Sight
Have you seen an angel? Scripture tells us that many have, without knowing that they have seen one.
Heb 13:1-2
13 Let love of the brethren continue. 2 Do not neglect to
show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have
entertained angels without knowing it.
We have already spoken of the three beings which approached Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre in the heat of the day, and one of which was Yeshua (and He received the worship of Abraham and was called by the 4-letter Name). Genesis 18:1-15.
We know that these angels went to extricate Lot from Sodom before its destruction, and the people of the city could see that they were very beautiful, and wished to have illicit sexual activities with them. Genesis 19:1 – 22.
We know that an animal can occasionally see an angel, even when his rider does not.
Num 22:21-35
21 So Balaam arose in the morning, and saddled his donkey,
and went with the leaders of Moab. 22 But God was angry
because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his
stand in the way as an adversary against him. Now he was
riding on his donkey and his two servants were with him. 23
When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the
way with his drawn sword in his hand, the donkey turned off
from the way and went into the field; but Balaam struck the
donkey to turn her back into the way. 24 Then the angel of
the Lord stood in a narrow path of the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pressed herself to the wall and
pressed Balaam's foot against the wall, so he struck her again.
26 And the angel of the Lord went further, and stood in a
narrow place where there was no way to turn to the right
hand or the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the
Lord, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam was angry and
struck the donkey with his stick. 28 And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I
done to you, that you have struck me these three times?" 29
Then Balaam said to the donkey, "Because you have made a
mockery of me! If there had been a sword in my hand, I
would have killed you by now." 30 And the donkey said to
Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden all
your life to this day? Have I ever been accustomed to do so to you?" And he said, "No."
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the
angel of the Lord standing in the way with his drawn sword
in his hand; and he bowed all the way to the ground. 32 And
the angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an
adversary, because your way was contrary to me. 33 But the
donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times.
If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have
killed you just now, and let her live." 34 And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, "I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the way against me. Now then, if it is
displeasing to you, I will turn back." 35 But the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but you shall speak
only the word which I shall tell you." So Balaam went along
with the leaders of Balak.
We know that an army of angels was invisible until the prophet prayed for his attendant’s eyes to be opened.
2 Kings 6:15-18
15 Now when the attendant of the man of God had risen early
and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was
circling the city. And his servant said to him, "Alas, my
master! What shall we do?" 16 So he answered, "Do not fear,
for those who are with us are more than those who are with
them." 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, "O Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see." And the Lord opened the servant's eyes, and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.
Ezekiel saw Yeshua as well as angels, and he gave a description of them as best he could, given his inability to capture what he saw with mere words.
Ezek 1:1-2:3
1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the river Chebar among the
exiles, the heavens were opened and I saw visions of God. 2
(On the fifth of the month in the fifth year of King
Jehoiachin's exile, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there the hand of the Lord came
upon him.)
4 And as I looked, behold, a storm wind was coming from
the north, a great cloud with fire flashing forth continually and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like glowing metal in the midst of the fire. 5 And within it there were figures resembling four living beings. And this was
their appearance: they had human form. 6 Each of them had
four faces and four wings. 7 And their legs were straight and their feet were like a calf's hoof, and they gleamed like
burnished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their four sides
were human hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of
them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did not turn when they moved, each went straight forward. 10 As for
the form of their faces, each had the face of a man, all four
had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two
touching another being, and two covering their bodies. 12
And each went straight forward; wherever the spirit was
about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the midst of the living beings there was something that
looked like burning coals of fire, like torches darting back and forth among the living beings. The fire was bright, and
lightning was flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings ran to and fro like bolts of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was
one wheel on the earth beside the living beings, for each of the four of them. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their
workmanship was like sparkling beryl, and all four of them
had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being
as if one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they
moved, they moved in any of their four directions, without
turning as they moved. 18 As for their rims they were lofty
and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were full of
eyes round about. 19 And whenever the living beings moved,
the wheels moved with them. And whenever the living
beings rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction.
And the wheels rose close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels. 21 Whenever those went,
these went; and whenever those stood still, these stood still.
And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose
close beside them; for the spirit of the living beings was in the wheels.
22 Now over the heads of the living beings there was
something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of
crystal, extended over their heads. 23 And under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other;
each one also had two wings covering their bodies on the one side and on the other. 24 I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of abundant waters as they went, like the voice of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. 25 And there came a voice from above the expanse that was
over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped
their wings.
26 Now above the expanse that was over their heads there
was something resembling a throne, like lapis lazuli in
appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up,
was a figure with the appearance of a man. 27 Then I noticed from the appearance of His loins and upward something like
glowing metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw
something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy
day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
And when I saw it, I fell on my face and heard a voice
speaking.
2 Then He said to me, "Son of man, stand on your feet that I may speak with you!" 2 And as He spoke to me the Spirit
entered me and set me on my feet; and I heard Him speaking
to me.
The archangel Gabriel (Heb. Gevuriel, which means “my heroic strength is G-d”) came to Daniel and spoke with him face-to-face.
Dan 9:20-23
20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing
my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my
supplication before the Lord my God in behalf of the holy
mountain of my God, 21 while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the
time of the evening offering. 22 And he gave me instruction
and talked with me, and said, "O Daniel, I have now come
forth to give you insight with understanding. 23 "At the
beginning of your supplications the command was issued,
and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the
vision.
Guardian Angels
Jewish theology as far back as can be determined, has understood that every person has an angel assigned to him or her, who carries the prayers of that person to heaven, and brings back the answer from G-d to carry out that answer regarding that person.
It is these angels that Jacob saw on the tower leading to heaven.
Gen 28:12
12 And he had a dream, and behold, a ladder was set on the
earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.
Yeshua confirmed our theology on this matter when He cautioned His followers regarding children.
Matt 18:10
10 "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you, that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of My Father who is in heaven.
Visible
If we can see holy angels, most certainly we can see demons as well. I have suggested to you that possibly the Egyptian gods were actual beings – demons – send to create religions which diverted men from the One True G-d. And the magicians of Egypt operated in the power of evil.
Joshua Mills reports in his audio book
entitled Seeing Angels,2 results of a
2024 study finding that 66% of
Evangelical Protestants and 57% of
Catholics in the study group reported
personal encounters with angels,
which they describe as guardian
angels, and even 20% of the study
group with no religious affiliation
have a similar claim.
Dr. Rick Strassman, in his book
DMT Spirit Molecule,3 describes a
naturally-occurring substance in
our bodies, but also prevalent in
some plants. Chemically, it is N,N-
dimethyltryptamine
(N,N-DMT),
and is a serotonergic hallucinogen
and investigational drug of the
tryptamine family that occurs
naturally in many plants and
animals DMT is used as a
2 https://shop.bethel.com/products/seeing-angels-ebook
3 https://www.amazon.com/DMT-Molecule-Revolutionary-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/0892819278
psychedelic drug and prepared by various cultures for ritual purposes as an entheogen, which are psychoactive substances used in spiritual, religious, recreational, therapeutic, and experimental contexts to induce altered states of consciousness. It is currently listed on the same drug schedule as heroin, and is closely controlled.
Strassman concluded that when patients have sufficient DMT in their bodies, whether by natural processes or by ingestion of the substance, they report intense, often indescribable subjective experiences involving vivid visual hallucinations, altered sensory perception, ego dissolution, and encounters with seemingly autonomous entities (angels).
My daughter Sarah, an MD, is studying these types of drugs. We have discussed ideas regarding whether this might be the very way that the veil between the unseen and the seen worlds of angels and demons is lowered, and people become aware of what they cannot otherwise see.
Is this legitimate? Is the abundance of this molecule in our body something that is controlled by G-d so that in a normal day we are unable to see what is unseen, but He can flip that switch and open our eyes to see?
What is the difference between seeing a real angel or demon, and being convinced that you have seen one by a chemical process in your brain? I know that angels are real, but I am yet to be convinced that chemicallyinduced visions hold the same veracity.
Personally, as a lay person, I have a hard time believing that G-d needs to somehow manipulate our body chemistry so that we can see what was previously hidden. But then again, I am not one to limit how G-d does what He does. That’s not my department.
But I do know that angels can be seen by us, in visions and awake, and so can demons. We know that demons can inhabit people and influence people from the outside. We also know that when a demon is removed from a person, the mental and physical health of that person is restored.
It is at that time that this person must allow the Spirit of G-d to rule their life, or the demons will return, with friends. 4
Be watchful, and test the spirits to see if they are from G-d. There are spirits in this world which seem to be spreading lies now more than ever before.
4 Luke 11:14-26
