Sermons Series 3:102, 14 July 2007
Leviathan
Escaping the Brute Called Pride
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Shabbat Shalom and welcome to our continuing discussion on repentance and the way Yahweh transforms the inner man or woman. A great deal has happened since I last spoke with you a week ago that I want to share.
Crises surface all sorts of questions that were shelved because at the time we first asked them we didn't have ready answers. Periodically they resurface to challenge us. Sometimes Yahweh gives answers, sometimes He doesn't. And sometimes in our impatience we try to force answers because we're anxious to get solutions to life issues - but of all the 'solutions' this is without doubt the most dangerous, because the reason we shelved them in the first place was, if we were wise, to guard against believing in lies and so introducing unnecessary and unwelcome spiritual turmoil into our lives. What we don't want to do is introduce a new set of lies, spiritual issues and sorrows because we won't wait on Yahweh any longer. Yahweh's timing is always best. When man tries to rush ahead, as Sarah did with Hagar, problems result.
There is never any harm done in saying to ourselves or to others, 'I don't know' when we genuinely don't have answers to difficult questions. Such is the honest thing to do. But it is decidedly dangerous, for example, when a doubting part of self makes an irrational leap into atheism, for example, smothering all experience that has conclusively demonstrated that Yahweh is real, and makes a choice for unbelief, spiritual deception, and then takes the soul on a road of unnecessary suffering both for self and loved ones. Unfortunately this kind of reckless abandon is not uncommon in the human species and characterises that companion of highly dubious worth called 'the flesh'. The flesh would have us plunge with both feet into murky and dangerous waters if it can if for no other reason than for the 'thrill' of something 'new'. Sometimes the driving force is desperation for we suppose that there is no other alternative. However, anything that would take us away from Yahweh is never in Yahweh's will and it is a lie to suppose that the 'desperate solution' is inevitable. He has promised us that He will never permit us to endure more than we are able to. Letting go of that promise and taking matters into your own hands is fatal. Always. It may seem to be the only path available but it is not. Yahweh always had a better solution. But to obtain it, you have to take the necessary steps to enter into the stillness and peace of His Presence - not a demonic counterpart that involves numbing the heart - but into the eye of the proverbial storm. Even when all around us is chaos there is always a place of refuge and stillness in Him that does not deny reality but which equips you to deal with it.
This last week I have been very much absorbed with finding Yahweh's Presence in the midst of the tempest with a view to finding spiritual intimacy with Him. A few days ago my soul was in total disarray and could find no peace. I was restless, irritable, comfortless. None of the carnal 'substitutes' I was accustomed to using - like hiding in music, sleep, work, or other things - had any effect simply because I was too physically exhausted. I woke up early, as is my custom, and started reading. I found that Presence. I found that stillness. It was as though the Divine Hand had touched me and all was calm and restful. The ability to enter Yahweh's Presence in every and every circumstance is something that every disciple must learn to do or fall. It is when we cannot find Him that we are tempted to try out satanic substitutes - drink, drugs, smoking, fornication/adultery, soul-numbing music, or whatever, all of which are highly destructive and from which recovery can be slow and tortuous. What ever you do, don't turn to the world for solutions because it could waste years of your life and hurt a lot of people besides yourself. Having worked with people into all of these things, I have seen the terrific price they have had to pay. Please don't do it. Though none of these have been my problems, I have had my own unique cocktail of hiding-places, one of which I told you about last week. And as I also mentioned last week, the carnal substitutes for the pain of unresolved spiritual issues are highly destructive.
A few days ago I was rereading the autobiography of a Pakistani noblewoman born and bread into Islam. Her mind had been trained to view Christianity and Christians through the lenses of her Muslim culture and training. Her encounter with the living Elohim surpassed her every expectation, dissolved her every prejudice and answered questions which no amount of studying could ever have supplied her with. She was one day studying her Bible and read how Yah'shua had baptised His followers with the Ruach haQodesh, and she desired this baptism with all her heart. Spared the influences of charismatics and man-made doctrines, she had only Yahweh, her Bible to read and accept at face value, and faith to guide her.
At 3 a.m. on the morning of 24 December 1966, she awoke to discover a great shining light in her bedroom. Recognising this as Yahweh's presence, she lifted up her hands in prayer, and with tears rolling down her eyes, prayed: 'O Father, baptise me with the Holy Spirit'. She picked up her New Testament and it opened at this verse in her J.B.Philips translation:
"John used to baptise with water, but before many days are passed, you will be baptised with the Holy Spirit (Ruach haQodesh)" (Ac.1:5, JBP).
'If these words are true, Lord,' she cried, 'then give me this baptism now.' She fell flat on her face on the floor, sobbing, telling Yahweh that she did not want to get up until she had received this baptism. She relates what happened next:
"Suddenly I was filled with this wonder and awe. For in that silent pre-dawn room I saw His face. Something surged through me, wave after wave of purifying ocean breakers, flooding me to the tips of my fingers and toes, washing my soul. Then the powerful surges subsided, the heavenly ocean quietened. I was completely cleansed. Joy exploded within me and I cried out praising Him, thanking Him." 1
A few years later this man speaking to you today had an almost identical experience in England. It happened to me just as it happened to Bilquis Sheikh - the pouring in of heavenly, living waters that caused me to joyfully praise Yahweh which I had never done before. I too had resolved not to leave my room until I had got the answers I needed for my life. I locked myself in one Friday evening and was fasting and meant to stay there until Yahweh had spoken to me. And like Bilquis Sheikh, I had no charismatic 'tongue-speaking' but experienced the waves of cleansing, refreshing heavenly waters which I experienced like a cascading waterfall entering my bosom. And I praise Yah that I never went through that charismatic deception. Satan can so easily sneak in the back door at the moment of conversion, filling it with counterfeit spirits hard on the heels of the real thing.
Unfortunately, though, I did make a huge mistake. Hard on the heels on my new birth - my baptism in the Ruach haQodesh - Satan showed me a false vision which I should have tested, and I became a Mormon as a result. I think, in retrospect, I had already stubbornly made up my mind that this Church was what I wanted and that my praying for Yahweh's will was simply my seeking Yahweh's endorsement without accepting the possibility of a negative answer. That single mistake was to curse me for three decades, a curse I thought I had repeatedly broken, but which I had only broken in part.
But it was only four days ago that the curse was finally broken for good when in the middle of the night I awoke to see a great light above me to my left, just as Bilquis Sheikh saw. The light was blinding and grew brighter and as it expanded, a ray of light suddenly flew out of it, seized a whale out of water (which looked microscopic in comparison), and swallowed it whole as the ray drew it into the centre of the light. The whole thing happened in just a matter of seconds. And then finally yesterday I found the peace I have been searching for all these years that I described to you at the beginning of my address. More of that later as I backtrack a little as I share with you some more of my story.
Shortly after my spiritual baptism and the false vision of a hand which I took as confirmation that I was to be baptised into the Mormon Church, and some days after the actual baptism, I had a dream that is deeply etched into my memory. I was baptised into that organisation and then received something that I had absolutely no need of: two Mormon elders laid their hands upon my head and gave me the 'gift of the Holy Ghost' which their Church claimed that they, and they alone, had the right to dispense by virtue of their being in legal apostolic succession.
Now for some reason I was totally blinded to the fact that I had already received the 'gift of the Holy Ghost' directly from Yahweh Himself with unmistakable signs in my room that night I was fasting. I had been reborn, my heart had been totally transformed, I had this new found joy, so why on earth was I supposedly getting it again?? It never occurred to me to examine, let alone question, this apparent contradiction until this last week. I was so preoccupied in my quest for truth to know which church I should join (since that is what the Mormon missionaries and other groups I was investigating had prepped me with), and was so convinced that I had found it in the strength of my own reasoning powers, that I somehow missed the most obvious truth of all: that in the first instance it doesn't matter what organisation you belong to but WHO you belong to. I had met Yah'shua in my bedroom just like Bilquis Sheikh had done. I had been baptised in the Ruach or Spirit just as Bilquis Sheikh had been, and I had even met Satan and wrestled with him as Bilquis Sheikh had done, so how could I have been so blinded and deceived into believing that I needed a laying on of hands from the Mormons to obtain supposedly what I had already received?
Well, for one thing, the Mormons rightly pointed out that in the New Testament the apostles did lay on hands for the gift of the Ruach haQodesh (Ac.8:18-19) - and they are not alone in their belief that it must be conferred in this way - but what they had neglected to tell me - for I was no Bible expert at this time - was that the gift of the Ruach isn't only received by the laying on of hands. The Ruach comes and goes how and when She pleases and no one can predict how She will act. Indeed Scripture simply says that those who repent and are baptised will receive the gift (Ac.2:38) without mentioning any kind of order of events. I was baptised in the Ruach haQodesh without the laying on of hands, as millions of believers have been over the centuries, because this baptism is conveyed from Heart to heart - from the Heart of Yahweh to the heart of the one asking for the blessing. No human intermediaries are required even though the gift can be transferred at the same time a laying on of hands ritual is performed by properly called apostles. It is not, however, the apostles who do any 'transferring' - they are not moving the Ruach from themselves to the one they are blessing - if they are, that is occultism. The laying on of hands is symbolic and a point at which the faith of the believer can be released but the Ruach comes from Heaven and NOT from man! In believing a false vision which I had 'asked' for, I was blinded, and then in receiving the laying on of hands from the Mormons I received a false spirit through physical hand contact and being open to receiving whatever it was they 'had'. I was to have deliverance for all my Mormon ordinances many years ago but what I did not realise was that in the wake of one false spirit, others follow, and know how to hide.
Some days after being baptised and confirmed (by the laying on of hands) into the Mormon Church, which involves receiving their 'Holy Ghost', I had a powerful dream whose full meaning I did not understand until a couple of weeks ago.
In the dream I was walking on the deck of a ship at sea. The waters were rough and there was a brisk wind. As I walked along the deck a white horse leaped out of my chest and began cantering down the deck. Seconds after it had left my chest an enormous whale reared itself out of the ocean depths, seized the white horse in its jaws, swallowed it, and plunged back into the inky waters.
I sort of 'knew' that this was not good at the time but did not fully understand the implications. Thereafter my health began to gradually decline over the years and mistakes were made in important life choices. I didn't know it but even after I had left the Mormon Church after only three years' membership (because my study of its history revealed numerous contradictions and falsifications) I still remained a prisoner of its spirit to some degree, even though I had begun to earnestly extricate myself from it little by little.
After being churchless for a while, and studying every Mormon splinter group I could find in the hope of finding a 'purer' version of Mormonism, I finally opted to join the next biggest Latter Day Saint denomination, the Reorganized or RLDS Church, little knowing that this body was in the midst of a huge doctrinal and spiritual upheaval that would turn it into a New Age sect which today is called the Community of Christ.. I was never entirely happy with that group even though it did give me the freedom to do what I always loved the most - to focus on and preach Christ rather than church whilst allowing me to freely explore and work my way through the many questions I had about Mormonism. My tenure with the Saints' Church, as they were also then called, was almost as short as my stay amongst their Mormon cousins, and by the time I left them I was distancing myself even further from Latter Day Saintism. But not entirely. At first spending time with the Baptists in my desire to draw closer to Yah'shua - who was my real quest - I then started my own local group called the Restoration Christian Fellowship about 20 years ago. The RCF, after numerous doctrinal transformations, which involved totally discarding Mormonism in 1992 and becoming Messianic in 1999, eventually became what is MLT today.
For some reason I never made a connection between the whale that swallowed the white horse and the experience of Jonah though I am sure the similar symbolism must have crossed my mind. At the end of last month, in the midst of much trial and tribulation, I awoke one morning to see a vision. In it I was floundering in the sea avoiding the thrashing of a huge whale's flipper. A gigantic black whale had come to the surface and was evidently out to destroy me. I knew immediately, upon the vision closing, that the black whale was the very same whale that had swallowed a part of me - the white horse - all those years ago upon becoming a Mormon. From that day I was in earnest prayer to have the issue fully dealt with and resolved.
On 29 June, the day after my birthday, I met a Canadian lady with the gift of prophecy. I related my two experiences - the dream of two decades before and the vision of a few days before. She understood the meaning of the dream at once. The ship was my personal ministry or life's mission. She said that the white horse was the 'war of conquest', as explained in the Book of Revelation:
"I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war" (Rev.19:11, NIV).
And the huge whale, she said was the demon Leviathan, the 'spirit of condemnation'. My heart was immediately convicted and I knew that this explanation was true. She spent over an hour with me explaining what Yahweh had revealed to her about Leviathan and all the pieces came together. I then realised that in joining the Mormons I had admitted a whole string of demonic powers, and though I have managed to get rid of most of them on my own through self-deliverance over the years, one of them - the black whale - had remained, and it is that I want to speak to you about now. For Leviathan is the spirit of pride, and pride, as you must know, has a string of camp-followers including arrogance, fear, control, manipulation, faultfinding, and condemnation. I suggest, in fact, that pride is probably the #1 enemy we have because it was the force that caused Lucifer himself to fall.
I don't want to get into a long discourse on Mormonism this morning but I do want to point out a few things about it that are dangerous and which people need to know about. I did not finally get free of the externals of Mormonism until 1992 when I finally repudiated the whole system including its extra-biblical scriptures. I had earlier repudiated its priestcraft and understood early on the New Testament teaching of a Priesthood of all Believers (1 Pet.2:9-10), so it was not a problem to reject its pretended claims of legalistic authority and angelic messengers either. But whilst it is relatively 'easy' to divest oneself of external things like teachings, it is not always so easy to get rid of the powers that drive a system. A lot of ex-Mormons remained encumbered by them.
I learned this in working with ex-Jehovah's Witnesses I converted for whilst it is possible to expose the lies of their false Watchtower teachings through careful biblical education, it can take a lot longer to alter attitudes. One former JW who joined with us would insist on keeping detailed records of tracts he gave out on the street and reporting back to me. He found it hard to understand that this was not the kind of accountability that Yahweh wanted. He was also very harsh towards the faults of others and was soon disfellowshipping and excommunicating people who were not 'doctrinally correct'. Little did I realise then that I too had inherited certain 'attitudes' from Mormonism which had come to taint my own relationships with others and affect the way I ministered.
I used to say that the foundation of Mormonism was Priestcraft. Certainly they worship what they call 'the Priesthood' received from demons masquerading as angels of Yahweh but behind that is an even greater idolatry: the sin of pride. Mormonism prides itself as being the 'one and only true living church upon the face of the earth' and views all others as 'apostate'. It believes, like the Catholics, that it alone can dispense salvation and that it is impossible to be saved without being baptised into the Mormon system. In short, they, like the Catholics and Eastern Orthodox, teach that their sacraments, which they alone can authoritatively administer, save souls. Outside these sacraments or ordinances there is no possibility of getting to heaven.
The truth is that only Yah'shua the Messiah saves and that adhering to a system that places other requirements on salvation puts a soul into bondage and under demonic powers. This attitude of being 'in the truth' (an expression the Jehovah's Witnesses use too) by virtue of membership in a 'true' organisation leads to arrogance and spiritual blindness. It creates a black-and-white mindset which ultimately sees no wrong in ones own group, covers up collective errors and sins of the group, and blame-shifts all the woes of false religion onto other groups whether those faults are real or not. The Mormons regularly thank their god that they belong to the 'one and only true church' in the same way that the self-righteous Pharisee thanked Yahweh that he was not like the sinful tax collector beating his breast for his sins (Lk.18:9-14).
Now for some reason - and I praise Yahweh for this - I never entirely fell for the 'one-and-only' lie of Mormonism. Quite early on I saw through the deception. Part of me was expected to believe it (in order to remain a member in good standing) and I forced myself to 'behave' accordingly but there was another part which absolutely did not and which enabled me to leave Mormonism relatively easily once its lies started being exposed to me. Because I was dedicated and loyal to my new found religion, I was early on given positions of responsibility, first as a Deacon and then an Elder, in our local Mormon Church that led me to set apart as the equivalent of an adult 'Sunday School teacher'. Being the academic I was, I probed beyond the official Mormon teaching manuals and went to original source materials and discovered the lies of the Mormon system, the falsification of Church History, and the bizarre doctrines which the Church had tried to suppress. Sharing some of these discoveries with my class resulted in my being 'released' from (dismissed from) my calling and one thing led to another and to my exit from that Church. I just could not sustain the lies any longer. The rest is history.
The spirit of Leviathan is the spirit of superiority and élitism. It is the opposite of Yah'shua's teaching about humility and service. Mormonism attracts by parading its claimed and presumed authority - Christianity attracts by sharing the crucified, incarnate Deity. Mormonism, like paganism, tells you that you are gods in the making. Christianity tells you that you are a wretched sinner in need of a Redeemer.
Once Mormonism has you in its clutches, it terrorises you into remaining firmly a part of the system by warning you that if you leave their Church you will go to hell. Indeed, I was told that from the moment I was excommunicated, I lost the gift of the Holy Ghost. It had been 'removed'. That's the kind if 'authority' and power they believe they have - the power of eternal life or death. And to believe you have such power is bound to play on human vanity.
It was around that time that I realised that I had not lost the Ruach haQodesh, that Yahweh was still guiding me and showing me the way to go. I didn't realise that there was demonic baggage in addition but one thing I did know was that I had been born again and that Mormonism could never rob that of me. Part of me was untouched and untouchable. Most, though, do not enter that system with that assurance, and some go through great trauma leaving the 'one and only true church'. I knew one man who vomited for days because he really believed he was abandoning the 'truth'. Lies chain the mind down and create fear in the heart. Lies open doors to dark spirits and to bondage.
Although I am sure the vast majority of Mormons have no idea what they are doing, Mormonism is, in fact, a kind of mind control. It offers to do your thinking for you - it has a pretended prophet who supposedly communicates with 'God' and knows all that needs to be known. You have only to follow his directives to stay saved. And though Mormonism does encourage you to get answers from 'God' within your own sphere of responsibility, what it doesn't teach you - because the people have no idea - is that their guidance comes from the demons they admit by believing the lies and receiving the laying on of hands and other ordinances. Charismatics transfer demons in exactly the same kind of way when so-called 'anointings' are transferred by the laying on of hands, 'slayings in the spirit', and so on. So do the Masons and occultic groups though there are many ways of transferring demons.
The Mormons also have a whole system of 'discernment' which revolves around the 'burning in the bosom' experience, a very subjective method that depends on the heartstrings being pulled and manipulated by the controlling powers within, whatever they are. Their other method of 'discernment', which they know their members will almost never - if ever - have the opportunity to try out, involves shaking angels' hands to test if they are real. Their temple ordinances for the 'dead' are another major channel for infestation by dark powers.
The same cultic spirit that controls Mormonism also controls many Messianics and Evangelical Christians. In fact, it knows no denominational boundaries. For millions of charismatics, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in gibberish are inextricably intertwined. That's a form of bondage too. I know many non-charismatics who believe they have not been baptised in the Ruach haQodesh because they haven't experienced tongues and as a result live in unholy guilt and fear. Equally, many others have been pressured into receiving this false charismatic spirit because of fear of being 'left out' or denied critical blessings. This is all mind-control too based on false doctrine. Then there is another kind of mind-control used by non-charismatics who 'warn' against the spiritual gifts because, according to their dogma, all the gifts ended with the apostles. Again, choice blessings are being denied believers because of lies. Then there are those groups who claim to be led by apostles, and whilst some of them may well be, many are clearly not. Believers get bound to these men of presumed authority, and whilst they don't claim legalistic authority like Mormons and Catholics, they do claim special 'anointings', which are often demonic, and demand loyalty based on that. The devotion that some believers have for these self-appointed 'apostles' reminds me a great deal of the brainwashed devotees of many oriental New Age gurus. It's all mind-control.
The beauty of the Gospel of Yah'shua the Messiah is that our entire spiritual supply comes through the Ruach haQodesh and our entire written revelation for life is revealed in Torah. You, Yahweh-Elohim and your Bible are all you need to make it to heaven. And whilst Yahweh has ordained that wise and experienced men and women should guide and teach us as spiritual parents as we grow up in the faith, in the end it's between you and Yahweh-Elohim alone. The final judgement is between you and Yahweh and requires no permission or recommendation of popes, apostles, patriarchs, gurus, pastors, evangelists or anyone else. The alpha and the omega of salvation is one-to-one. However, coming to maturity does require others. We can no more come to perfection alone and without other people than a child can raise itself.
The Body has many parts and many helpers, and provided everyone is partaking of the correct Ruach and adhering strictly to the revealed Torah, people can nourish one another without being led astray. There are authorities which Yahweh has established which we are required to follow, but when it comes to salvation, we are all coheirs and coequal and we require no ticket or licence from apostles, conclaves of bishops or organisations (Eph.3:6; 1 Pet.3:7; Gal.3:28-29). Yahweh's divine structure is familial and national
Arising from false systems of belief is an attitude of superiority. The Pharisaic system, which Yah'shua so roundly condemned, came from the same spirit. The Pharisees thought of themselves as a 'cut above the rest' and demonstrated it with their extra long robes and tzitzit (tassels) which were so long that they were dragging on the ground like horse tails. With their own manmade Talmudic rules they gave themselves the power of life and death over those who were forced to follow these rules. Yah'shua sounded the death-knoll to élitism when He stripped to the waist and washed His disciples' feet and served them at table (Jn.13). The "King of kings and Lord of lords" (Rev.19:16) taught His human kings and lords how to treat each other. Popes kissing the ground and Mormon leaders patting children's heads are not Yah'shua's idea of service. Rather, true service is like the Chinese house church pastor who was out shovelling human manure in the fields alongside his parishioners.
The Pharisees were infected with the spirit of Leviathan. So was Judas Iscariot when he sharply criticised Mary for washing Yah'shua's feet with expensive perfume. He criticised the woman for not selling the perfume and giving the proceeds to the poor while he himself was robbing the apostolic purse (Mt.26:6-13). He had what one minister calls EFD - 'Effective Faultfinders' Disease'. That's the spirit of Leviathan. It is born of pride, and pride is of self. Leviathan is selfishness. Leviathan is the "accuser of the brethren" (Rev.12:10), the spirit of condemnation. It is evil not because it is corrective but because it is never edifying - it does not build or heal, but hurts and destroys. There is godly correction and ungodly correction because the former is in love and is redemptive whereas the latter is in hate and seeks to knock down, control and manipulate. Paul said that "...there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yah'shua" (Rom.8:1, NIV) - not propositionally 'in' Yah'shua but actually in Him through the indwelling of the Ruach haQodesh. And that is the difference: the presence of absence of the Ruach. That's the key.
"Thanks be to [Elohim] who leads us, wherever we are on [Messiah]'s triumphant Way and makes our knowledge of Him spread throughout the world like a lovely perfume! We Christians have the unmistakable 'scent' of [Messiah], discernible alike to those who are being saved and to those who are heading for death. To the latter it seems like the deathly smell of doom, to the former it has the refreshing fragrance of life itself" (2 Cor.2:14-16, JBP).
So the big question is: do you have the fragrance? Do you have the perfume? Do you have the scent of Messiah in your spirit? You can be talking about, preaching about, teaching about, and witnessing about Yah'shua or Jesus but not have the 'scent'. Satan also preaches the Messiah but in a false spirit. Identifying that false spirit - which is an arrogant and haughty spirit - therefore becomes critical. If you have that false spirit, you'll make plenty of friends amongst the unsaved. But if you have that spiritual aroma of truth, you will smell like "the deathly smell of doom" to them and they will hate you and persecute you (Mt.24:9; Dt.30:6-7). It's an infallible key. If you have the divine fragrance I guarantee you'll become "aliens and strangers in the world" (1 Peter 2:11, NIV) but if you don't, it is because you love the world and the love of the Father is not in you (1 Jn.2:15).
We become vulnerable to the spirit of Leviathan when we see people through our own religious or cultural biases. What I mean by that is that we can get so confident in our own theological or cultural positions that we start looking down on others and judging them unrighteousnly. I know from my own experience that Yahweh has used me to bless people even when I have been carrying lots of theological junk around. And He does the same with others. Yahweh is not adverse to using people with wrong ideas and even wrong spirits to convey a message from Himself to us. He used Bilam (Balaam) and He uses the pagan sovereigns of nations to do His will. He used murderous High Priest Caiaphas to prophesy truth (Jn.11:49-52; 18:13-14). He does not do this to make life complicated for us but to keep us humble. He even used a talking donkey once (Num.22). Now just imagine some famous preacher getting up in the pulpit an announcing that he got a word from Yahweh from his neighbour's mule! Imagine the reaction and what would happens to the preacher's credulity. David said:
"Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have ordained strength, because of Your enemies, that You may silence the enemy and the avenger" (Ps.8:2, NKJV).
And we are reminded of the Leviathan-infected religious leaders of Yah'shua's day when we read:
"But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that [Yah'shua] did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, 'Hosanna to the Son of David!' they were indignant and said to Him, 'Do You hear what these are saying?' And Yah'shua said to them, 'Yes. Have you never read, 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise'?'" (Matt.21:15-16, NKJV).
Now don't go and limit Yahweh. After my vision of the black whale flapping its flipper, I was led by Yahweh to this Canadian lady. It was a very clear direction. I shared my dream and vision and she interpreted accurately and taught me about Leviathan. The Ruach haQodesh convicted me of my sin and I publicly confessed and repented. Then I went away and returned to hear her witnessing on another occasion and guess what? She was charismatic! She was saying all sorts of weird things, she was moaning, groaning, trembling and doing all sorts of weird things and I knew that she was being led by a demon then. I was shocked. I nearly wanted to throw out what she had taught me but Yahweh told me to believe it, that He had used her, but not to return to her for more counsel. She had served her purpose in my life. Do you see? Yahweh uses whom He will. He has to use the raw materials of humanity and take them where they are. There aren't many labourers in the Vineyard anymore but Yahweh is reforming and perfecting them little by little as they yield and surrender to Him more and more. We are all works in progress. We don't have to be perfect or theologically correct before we can be used.
Yahweh works in mysterious ways. Don't get too confident in the arm-of-flesh. We all have an inbuilt laziness that would have others do our spiritual work for us. That comes of the flesh. Bilquis Sheikh was guided on part of her spiritual journey by a Catholic nun who told her to look upon Yahweh as her Father. She never met this nun again - she did her part. Many are those who help us along the way.
I was helped by another lady recently who pointed out that the symbolism of my dream indicated that I was running away from my mission as Jonah had done. Then she started harshly rebuking me and saying false things and I felt an evil spirit in her suddenly take over. She was right about my running from my mission but then the spirit of Leviathan took over. She was also charismatic.
Yahweh never intended me to be involved in Mormonism but I later rationalised a 'purpose' for being there. And, yes, I learned important things there, but the cost was high - very, very high. It is still better to go to Nineveh, not Tarshish. It is better not to spent time in the digestive juices of a large fish.
Finally, I was helped by a wonderful Afro-American preacher with the prophetic gift who independently confirmed that I had been in the 'wrong place' (he didn't know I had been in Mormonism) and needed to get back with 'Abraham' on the high ground - to my original mission and my original anointing which had got swallowed up in the whale and was literally kicked out of me by the Mormon demon. Together with a fifth minister, I was helped get through the worst of my dark period this spring and summer.
Leviathan - the spirit of pride - is a universal snare to the human soul. It grips us all but how much we allow ourselves to come under its control depends on us - on our choices. We have to expose and counterattack this demon to defeat it and throw ourselves even more into the hands of Yahweh.
"Cast thy burden upon Yahweh, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Ps.55:22, KJV).
Casting our lot with Yahweh is essential because you cannot defeat Leviathan in your own strength! Job said:
"Any hope of subduing him is false; the mere sight of him is overpowering" (Job 41:9, NIV).
Now I saw Leviathan in that vision. I saw how hopeless it is to conquer pride in our own strength. It's a killer, it's cruel, it's big. That flipper nearly crushed me. So who or what is this demonic principality? What is it like? He is compared to what many believe was a fire-breathing dinosaur which apparently was still around in Job's day and which has survived in the legends of nearly all cultures as fire-breathing dragons:
"His snorting throws out flashes of light; his eyes are like the rays of dawn. Firebrands stream from his mouth; sparks of fire shoot out. Smoke pours from his nostrils as from a boiling pot over a fire of reeds. His breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from his mouth" (Job 41:18-21, NIV).
The destructive power of Leviathan lies in what he causes people to say. Leviathan is the power of the lying tongue - it is the power of deceit. It is the instrument of the accuser, the criticiser, who breathes out condemnation, guilt and shame with the express purpose of destroying. Leviathan wishes to neutralise our authority in Messiah by reducing us into a terrified, quivering mass of helplessness. He wants us to believe that we are out of Yahweh's covering. He accuses you of your past, and tries to wash you away in a flood slander, condemnation, and accusation. His satanic action is described in the Book of Revelation:
"When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman (the Messianic Community/Church) who had given birth to the male child. The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent's reach. Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey Elohim's commandments (Torah) and hold to the testimony of Yah'shua" (Rev.12:13-17, NIV).
The spewing of water is the spirit of accusation, slander, and so on. And notice who this is directed against: it is the Messianic Community or the Church. And what is that? Those who obey the commandments (Torah) and have the testimony of Yah'shua. This rage is not directed against any old believer but against those who are Messianic commandment-keepers. Here is a prophecy showing who Satan's prime target will be in the last days.
Now you do not have to be an accuser to have Leviathan - it is enough to believe the accusation. And when you have two people with Leviathan, you have a particularly potent and destructive system in a relationship. Leviathan destroys communication between people. Leviathan is the "false witness" (Ex.20:16; Dt.5:20; Lk.18:20; Prov.19:5; 21:28; ) and his fate is the punishment due to the one whom he falsely accuses as though the false witness had committed the Torah violation himself (Dt.19:16-19). Thus if a false witness accuses you of adultery, he is punished as if he were an adulterer himself. So be warned! False accusation carries a stiff penalty. It doesn't matter whether you accuse in open knowledge of what you are doing or whether you are yourself deceived because the punishment is still the same. That is why we are told to be circumspect and careful. Solomon warns:
"There are six things Yahweh hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers" (Prov.6:16-19, NIV).
This is Leviathan. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. But Leviathan has one other weapon you may recall and that is in the backlash of his tail, the same tail that swept away a third of the heavenly hosts (Job 40:17; Rev.12:14). There are terrible consequences for a lying tongue and for slander - they are detestable to Yahweh, as bad as the spirit of murder.
Now as believers we are called to minister to each other. We will find plenty of faults that need correction, but how are we to do that?
"Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted" (Gal.6:1, NIV).
It is a mistake to teach that we are not to correct one another. But when we do, we are to do it in love and gentleness, with a view to lifting up, not knocking down and destroying. To bless someone you need to convict them in their heart, not fault-find. Anyone idiot can fault-find, but it takes someone who is spiritual and with character to convict righteously - to lead someone to repentance. To convict we have to listen carefully and have as our goal restoration, not destruction. This means, inevitably, that every man and woman must deal with his and her own faults too because you can't assist others in being convicted of sin without being convicted yourself. That is why Yah'shua exposed those who wished to stone the woman caught in adultery (Jn.8:1-11). He was not dismissing sin as being of no consequence (because He strictly warned the woman - v.11) but He was reminding everyone that we too had better take a hard look at ourselves before judging others. Only then can we "judge righteous judgement" (Jn.7:24, KJV; cp. Gal.2:6). We are to judge but only if we are willing to be judged ourselves (Lk.6:37). If we're not, then we are not to judge at all.
Leviathan, like a twisting serpent, twists the truth to make it sound like something else. And the trouble with someone who has this demon is that quite often they do not mean what they say. Indeed they may not even be aware what they are saying. Leviathan, as we saw in the quotation from Proverbs, has seven heads or manifestations: haughtiness, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood (literally or figuratively - its the spilling of life that's the issue), a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush to evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and the spirit of dissension.
In addition, it has that sweeping tail seeking to make allies for itself. It is not content to simply destroy but also to convert or make disciples - Leviathan is evangelistically-minded. Satan converted a third of the malakim or angels, today's demons. This demon is out to build its own kingdom, its own circle of friends and allies through which it sustains its ego and buffers its conscience. Like the prodigal son surrounding himself with false friends who were only after his money - and who deserted him when the money ran out - so Satan and Leviathan flatter and woo other disgruntled and rebellious souls until they realise at the end that they are just pawns themselves in someone else's ego game. You will remember how at first the Harlot rides the Beast for a while and then the beast devours her. It's like that in the dark kingdom too - your 'friends' turn against you when they see that evil just uses others for its own gain. When the final crunch comes, there is no honour amongst thieves.
The believer is not, however, defenceless against the spirit of accusation. We have promises that we must cling to:
"'No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and this is their vindication from Me," declares Yahweh" (Isa.54:17, NIV).
Leviathan is acquired by imitation. Children raised by critical parents will copy them and acquire their spirits. When you belong to a cult with a haughty and arrogant attitude towards other people, you will pick up that haughtiness and arrogance too to one degree or another. Don't misunderstand me - there are humble Mormons who say what they don't mean in their hearts because that's the way they have been taught all their lives from the cradle. It never occurs to them that they are belittling others. But they get the 'bug' nonetheless. It is with our tongues that we confess lies and by uttering lies we get infected, in the same way we confess and are saved (Rom.10:9-10). We need to be careful of the things we don't mean for this very reason and let our yes's be yes's and our no's be no's because anything else comes of evil (Mt.5:37).
When people accuse us we often find ourselves believing them even when the accusations are not true. Small children certainly do because they are trusting. As believers we are children of Yahweh and are supposed to be trusting but we also have to be guarded. We can't just open ourselves to the world and expect to be treated right. It just doesn't work that way. It was with agony of soul that a few weeks ago I saw a loved on in vision do just this and become totally exposed and defenceless. And it happened just as I saw it. We must take authority over every word that has ever been spoken against us personally, against our marriages and against our families especially, and commit them to Yahweh for judgement. We must not remove the armour of the Gospel for a minute (Eph.6:10-18). Paul warns:
"Do not try to work together as equals with unbelievers, for it cannot be done. How can right and wrong be partners? How can light and darkness live together? How can Messiah and the Devil agree? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? How can Elohim's temple come to terms with pagan idols? For we are the temple of the living Elohim! As Yahweh Himself has said: 'I will make My home with My people and live among them; I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people'. And so Yahweh says, 'You must leave them and separate yourselves from them. Have nothing to do with what is unclean, and I will accept you. I will be your father, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says Yahweh-Elohim'. All these promises are made to us, my dear friends. So, then, let us purify ourselves from everything that makes body or soul unclean, and let us be completely holy (set apart) by living in awe of Elohim" (2 Cor.6:14-7:1, GNB).
Christians confuse the removal of the wall of partition between Hebrew and Gentile with the wall between believer and unbeliever. The first Yah'shua removed on the Cross but the second he did not - the first has to do with race, the second with belief. The Gospel of Yah'shua the Messiah has not removed the wall of separation between believer and unbeliever! There are, quite simply, critical areas of life and living where we cannot meet until either they repent or we apostatise - Yahweh seeks the former and Satan the latter. That's what the continuing spiritual war is all about. That's why we have to "fight the good fight of the faith" (1 Tim.6:12; 1:18; 2 Tim.4:7). Our course is clear:
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of Elohim, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Messiah" (2 Cor.10:2-5, NIV).
The moment we open ourselves in trust to the world we will receive false revelation through lying and deceiving spirits. Job said to Yahweh:
"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. [You asked,] 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know. You said, 'Listen now, and I will speak; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.' My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:2-6, NIV).
I always wondered what it was that Job was so upset about. He realised that he had been listening to wrong sources: 'Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?' Who are these people who talk as though they know a lot when in fact they have no spiritual knowledge at all? When we believe the unsaved and the unspiritual, the result is guaranteed, and it is never good. Remember, that the fragrance which is Yah'shua is odious to the unsaved. Do you remember what Yahweh said about it? Do you remember how they react to it? - "it seems like the deathly smell of doom". Unbelievers always believe that believers have chosen a path of doom and destruction. That's why they want people to think that believers are psychologically deranged. What smells beautiful to the saved smells like death and destruction to the unsaved? Why? And how? What power is there that can make that which is sweet smell rotten? You know the answer. And it is not ourselves.
Leviathan creates miscommunication and makes us "utter what [we] did not understand" when we believe it. I know. I did this. For two months when I allowed the enemy to turn my heart off, and to a lesser extent before, I was saying things that I neither understood nor meant. Those I loved with all my heart I said I did not love. Those I felt passionate concern for I said I felt nothing for. But it was not me. It was an enemy within. Yet it was my fault for giving that enemy licence to do so. I was ultimately responsible. The words I spoke - which I did not understand - gave offence and resulted in no conciliation. They were spoken through my lips - I gave the enemy permission to speak through me by making wrong choices. As I spoke the words they seemed true but afterwards I knew something was wrong, tried to retract them, but was not believed! I came across as a liar. And in a way I was because I had allowed the enemy to speak lies through me. Leviathan destroys your credibility as well! Leviathan distorts everything we say. It is a mental stronghold, and that stronghold is caused by believing the lie about who you think you are. I really believed I was some sort of terrible monster who never loved a soul in my life. I felt cold-hearted therefore I believed I was cold-hearted. And I really started believing that I was exactly what my enemies were saying I was. Satan will always have a ready supply of testators to confirm his lies.
It therefore is critically important that we get the right identity - we have to know who we really are and not what others say we are or what we do when we are not in our right mind. There are fundamental choices to be made when Leviathan gets a tight grip. As I said, we can't be passive - we have to fight for the truth. When you are in the grip of Leviathan there are very distinct and discernible attitudes that must be resisted and declarations make in the Name of Yah'shua as to what we want to be in Him, followed by a determined fight to get that enemy away so the real self can be seen heard and known. Thus:
1. When you have a condescending attitude, choose to esteem others higher than yourself. We're told to have this attitude not just towards pastors (1 Thes.5:13) but towards all believers:
"Therefore if there is any consolation in Messiah, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Ruach, if any affection and mercy, fulfil my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil.2:1-4, NKJV).
2. When we have an independent attitude, choose to become Body-centred by seeking unity and echad. It's a fact that we have live with other people - spouses especially. When self wants its own way in nonessentials, work out compromises;
3. When we become absorbed with self and self-glory, choose to remember that all things have been given to us as gifts of grace because in ourselves we, and our acts of righteousness, are as filthy rags (Is.64:5). We must remember to always give everything back to Yahweh, the good and the bad, so that He can return the good consecrated to us and cast the bad into the sea of forgetfulness. It should be a daily habit;
4. When we feel self-confident and this manifests by our giving less and less time to Him and spending less and less time in His Presence, then pride and self-sufficiency have been exposed in us and we are being shown a self-ruler mindset that is abominable to Yahweh that we must get rid of;
5. When we find ourself operating in a critical and condemning attitude, we must choose instead to ask of the one we have been critical of the question: 'How can I serve you?' A critical spirit is invariably self-focussed because it's seeking it's own welfare and comfort before that of others;
6. When we start boasting and overachieving, we need to remember that pride is first and foremost an inward action which is hard to discern until it manifests in such things as disobedience and a lack of humility;
7. When we start dishonouring divinely instituted authority, we need to override the tendency to rebel against it by honouring that authority even if those exercising it are not under the proper control of authority. We must do that "because of the work" they are called by Yahweh to perform (1 Thes.5:13). If you want a good example of how to honour this Torah principle, consider the example El Cid and King Alfonso of Spain which I spoke to you about in a sermon a few months ago. El Cid honoured an utter rogue, put him to shame, and in the end persuaded him to repent and become a righteous man. That's what we have to do too!
8. When we start wanting others to serve us, choose instead to serve. Don't demand service but equally don't deny them their opportunity to spontaneously serve and so rob them of their blessings;
9. When we start wanting a reputation, recall that Yah'shua had none (Phil.2:7). He was not concerned about His image but in pleasing His Heavenly Father in doing what was right. Remember, this is not about our glory but about Yahweh's. Therefore empty everything back to Him;
10. When we start wanting to control others to fulfil selfish ambition, choose instead to let them go so that they can make their own choices. The only way to have rich and meaningful relationships with others to have reliance on Yahweh and let Him change hearts and make connections. That means following what the Ruach teaches us and saying Yahweh's words and doing His will.
Now Leviathan will work you to death trying to control and manipulate people to make you feel comfortable and safe, to give you a sense of power, or whatever your carnal weakness is. Leviathan will persuade you to get approval the Ishmael way through the metaphorical stomach of those we want approval or blessings from, instead of the Jacob way through the spiritual things of Elohim. Those who elect for the Ishmaelite way depend on charisma rather than the Ruach haQodesh, on charm rather than sincerity, on the things of the world rather than the ways of holiness and set-apartness. When you are operating in the spirit of Leviathan your whole inner infrastructure is carnal even though it may appeal with the language - and to a degree - the behaviour of the spiritual.
The conquest of pride is a matter, first, of choice (and therefore will) - you have to declare verbally in Yah'shua's Name that you are going to do it of your own volition; and second, surrendering all to Yah'shua, and especially the way in which Leviathan has defined you in its own demonic terms. Let Yah'shua define you - He's the Creator. The essential 'you' is known to Him - He will reveal it. For no matter how much you have surrendered your soul to the enemy, Yah'shua will always preserve an element of yourself and shield it from the despoiler of souls. He will guard your essential heart. No matter to what degree the enemy has subverted your soul, you can still build from that essential core 'you'. Yahweh has made our co-operation necessary in such deliverance. 'Oh, if only I could!' is a typical reply. You doubt your ability to do your part but Yahweh says you can. Do you remember the incident of the epileptic? Yah'shua asked the father how long his son had been ill. The father replied: "From childhood ... but if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us" (Mark 9:22, NIV). To which Yah'shua replied: "'If you can?' said Yah'shua. 'Everything is possible for him who believes'" (v.23). To which the father replied: "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" (v.24).
I stand before you as a witness today that 'you can'. I thought it was impossible. I thought I was a helpless victim, a 'special case' requiring special lenience and consideration. I was misunderstood, everything I said came out wrong, and I discovered that the real me wasn't what Leviathan and my enemies wanted me and my friends to believe. Oh, I discovered some things about me that were definitely not right - character defects, deficiencies in love - I could have repented sooner but stubbornness and pride overruled. Like a child testing the parental borders, I took my loved ones to the edge.
The only person who can set your house in order is you. Only you can pray to Yahweh. Only you can decide, 'Enough is enough!' Only you can weep for the hurt you have caused others. Only you can change. The moment you really decide to repent, Yahweh acts fast! You may have been struggling for years in indecision and wondering if anything would ever change. But it isn't Yahweh standing in the way of your blessings or anyone else for that matter. It is you who stand in the way of your blessings by facing and dialoguing with the enemy instead of Yahweh. The moment we change direction, Yahweh is in a position to bless. Someone can't do that for you. People can intercede and pray for you but at some point you have to develop your own faith and prayer life. You have to make the leap of faith that the epileptic boy's father made and ask Yah'shua to overcome your unbelief.
Finally, there is a right and a wrong way to do what is right. What do I mean by that? Once you know what it is you have to do, you have to remain in Yahweh's Presence to do it correctly or it will backfire. To be right is one thing, doing it right is another. But it is only the doing what is right that effects redemptive change and doing it the right way.
When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Yah'shua in front of her Pharisee accusers, Yah'shua faced such a situation (Jn.8:1-11). The woman's life hung in the balance. When the accusers asked Yah'shua the Rabbi to make a judgement He could have handled the situation in one of two ways. He could have arraigned her accusers, upbraiding them for their religious hypocrisy and chastising them for all their sins. He could have sat in judgement and accused them. And I am sure if He had done that, He would have incited them to fury. The woman was guilty - she was under the death penalty of Torah. The accusers were guilty of Torah-violations too, and almost certainly they merited capital punishment. By accusing them Yah'shua would have ensured punishment for the accusers and punishment for the adulterous woman - and in her case, execution.- if they had agreed to His cross examination But He did not accuse by pointing out sin. Instead, He asked the accusers to judge themselves. He invited the one who had no sin to cast the first stone.
So what was the difference in the two approaches? Bilquis Sheikh relates an experience with her Muslim daughter who was fearful that her mother would be murdered by her close relatives for converting to Christianity. Her daughter wanted her to flee her home and go into hiding. Bilquis rose in indignation, defiance and fury and declared that nobody would drive her out of her house! She would do the right thing and hold her ground, head held high, and die if needs be. Let them come and kill her!
But the moment she reacted in this manner, the Presence of Yahweh departed from her. Then she realised that the reaction was from her old, carnal self, full of pride and stubbornness. She was deciding what would happen and nobody would stop her. Self had taken over. Was she right to refuse to run? Yes. But did she respond in the correct way? No. She aroused herself in the "pride of life" which John says is not of the Father but "of the world" (1 Jn.2:16, NKJV). There are worldly and spiritual responses to every situation. We can choose to operate in the Ruach or in the flesh.
I am sometimes still aroused in fleshy passion but spiritual passion it is not. The psychic kick from being carnally aroused subsides once the hormones subside and depression sets in. This is not Yahweh's way. Previously I have thought it was but two days ago Yahweh showed me a better way. Once we have got over our martyr complexes, which are basically egotistical, we are better able to listen to the Ruach. We have to overcome headstrong tendencies and "be still" and know that Yahweh is Elohim (Ps.37:7; 46:10).
Next week, Yahweh willing, I want to talk more about entering and remaining in Yahweh's Presence. In the meantime I hope these experiences have been of some help. Amen.
Endnotes
1
Bilquis Sheikh, I Dared to call Him FATHER, Kingsway Publications, Eastbourne, 1987, p.47.
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 14 July 2007
Last updated on 14 July 2007
Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved