But they are missing an essential truth - Yahweh can't be 'condensed' - He's too big! His wisdom can't be contained in just a few web pages or even in just the Bible, for that matter. You can't put Him in a gift-wrapped package and say: 'There you are! Here He is in His completeness!' Impossible. We're told in the Gospel of John that were all the words of Yah'shua in His mortal ministry to have been recorded there wouldn't have been sufficient books in all the libraries of the world to hold them (Jn.21:25)! Do you think that what we have in the Gospel is all He said? Of course not!
Well, what I have written on our website is only a fraction of the inspiration He has given me over the years. There is so much I have wanted to write but just haven't had the time or sometimes the will because of other responsibilities and commitments which is why I hope you will also write down what He shares with you. Your witness is vitally important both for your family and others because His wisdom is "manifold" and can be revealed in so many ways. I want us all to bring glory to His Name by witnessing all we can of His fantastic wisdom.
How is this wisdom revealed? Through Yah'shua! Paul declares his mission to be (in part):
"To proclaim the unending (boundless, fathomless, incalculable and exhaustless) riches of Messiah - wealth which no human being could have searched out" (v.8).
What Kind of Witness Do You Have?
By manifesting Himself through surrendered set-apart souls, Yahweh reveals both His "many-sided wisdom" and shows that He has "infinite variety" and "innumerable aspects". That's you and me and we're all unique. He's made trillions of us - let's all manifest something of that infinite variety! We all have a witness. However, the revelation of this multifaceted wisdom is only possible through those who accept the boundaries He has established and live within them. Someone who is living outside Torah is not wise and their witness is anarchistic. Yahweh's morality or set of ethics is absolute - anything not covered by it comes from the satanic realm. When we try to bear witness outside the hedge of Torah we are simply acting as Satan's agents even if it's in the name of religion or Christ. The reason we have a written code is because in both our thinking and feeling we are frighteningly FINITE - we often confuse intellectual assessment and passionate conviction with TRUTH - they are absolutely not the same. Truth stands above our thoughts and feelings even though it may enter into them when we admit it. Truth is infinite - it passes through the open hearts and minds of the sons and daughters of Torah to reveal the incomparable love and passion of Heaven.
Simple Truth, Complex Life
It is my firm belief that TRUTH IS SIMPLE BUT LIFE IS COMPLICATED. It is simple because of two things: (1) It all reduces to LOVE which (2) expands into TORAH-TRUTH. And in fact they are inseparable - you cannot separate love from truth. The moment you separate one from the other, love ceases to be love and truth ceases to be truth. They become defiled love and half-truths, and these are no witness of the Creator - rather, they give a distorted and confusing picture of Him which end up being a bad witness. Love and Torah-truth are like the inhaling and exhaling actions of the lungs or two sides of the same coin. They both define each other as well as compliment each other. They are like a husband and wife in perfect echad union, or Yah'shua and the Messianic Community - a unitary love (our Messiah) and a uniplural Torah with all its commandments, which are many but also one, for in breaking one you disobey all the others (Jas.2:10). That is why the Creation cannot be at rest until all the saved have been gathered and why husbands cannot rest until they have gathered their wives, which is why when believers quarrel or fall out with one another it causes Him unspeakable grief and why their are strict rules in Torah - and especially in the last six of the ten commandments - concerning interpersonal relationships.
Suicide
Let's look at the euthanasia example again. We are forbidden to take life - whether our own or someone else's - except under very specific conditions. "Thou shalt not kill" (Ex.20:13, KJV). The death-sentence is passed down on certain categories of Torah-violation. Whatever Torah does not condemn to death may not be judged as worthy of death - ever, whether in our hearts or by legally established authority in the physical realm. Divorce is a kind of murder which is why it was forbidden in the beginning and why Yah'shua has restored the original standard (Mt.19:8).
There are, to be sure, accounts of people killing themselves in the Bible, as when Saul took his own life to prevent himself falling into the hands of the Philistines (1 Sam.31:4-5). However, Torah does not permit this. I understand why he did it, and why throughout history men have committed suicide to prevent themselves from falling into the hands of cruel enemies. The Jewish zealots committed mass suicide at Masada to prevent themselves falling into Roman hands - they knew that what awaited them was certain torture and death anyway. However, they were insurrectionists in violation of Torah - their fate was sealed.
No, suicide is self-murder and it is classified as murder because it is unlawful. Those who assist others in killing themselves become accomplices in murder no matter how compassionate they may feel, no matter how 'moral' they may believe they are. To be sure, people kill themselves for all kinds of different reasons, but that does not alter the fact that in Yahweh's eyes it is taking to oneself power reserved by Him and which only He may give permission to use, as defined in Torah under specific circumstances. This same law applies to murder of the unborn, euphemistically called 'abortion'. The next time a terrorist murders someone, let the purveyors of 'doublespeak' refer to the victims as having been 'aborted'. Let us therefore at least get our language right.
"You are My Witnesses"
As believers we have to be very careful what it is we manifest to the world:
"'You are My witnesses,' says Yahweh" (Isa 43:10a, NKJV).
And it is good to want to witness when the love of Yah'shua is filling our hearts. We are to bear witness of what we know but equally we must be careful that we do not bear witness of falsehood when we refuse to be subject to Yahweh's Law.
The other day I was gathering animated Bible movies for my children to watch online when I came upon a beautiful account of the purpose of life. The animation was superb, and to begin with, the doctrinal and historical content was accurate and factual. Then about half way through another 'spirit' started percolating through - great emphasis was being placed on the Trinity doctrine and then, as though bursting from behind a wall, came this tirade of threats about hell. It was awful. What was presented was the work of a deranged mind - a heartless soul that had little concept of the love of Yahweh. It then became crystal clear that the maker of this movie had a head knowledge of the Gospel and of the Bible but had never really been touched by the grace and love of Elohim, and his presentation was affected by this lack of personal relationship with the Creator. The essential truth was missing from his life. His movie will doubtless drive people away and paint a false picture of our Heavenly Father instead of being a true witness. We have to be born again - we have to have been regenerated by the Ruach haQodesh and get a new heart, having made a real choice and repented of our sins with a broken heart and a contrite spirit, before we can witness. And then we must get our doctrine right: We must preach and teach from Torah so that it is both alive to us and can therefore become alive for others. Because the Torah, when it is written on our hearts by the Ruach haQodesh, brings life (2 Cor.3:3; Prov.3:3; 7:3).
When Yahweh spoke these words through Isaiah there was a very clear purpose:
"'You are My witnesses,' says Yahweh, and My servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Elohim formed, nor shall there be after Me" (Isa 43:10, NKJV).
The Purpose of Our Witness
The purpose of our witness is what? It is so that others can "know and believe" Yahweh and understand He is the same Elohim revealed to Moses and the same Elohim who is the Father of our Master and Deliverer Yah'shua the Messiah. There are to be no other 'gods' - Yahweh is the same then as He is today. Our witness is of the One who is eternally the same in love, law, morals and ethics. Though He would come with a New Covenant through His Son enacted on better promises than the Old (Heb.8:6) it was not with a new law - ethical and moral Torah is the same! Yahweh's morality is the same - it doesn't change. The same morals and ethics that ruled Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Isaiah, Yah'shua, and the first apostles must be the same that rule us or we end up with another gospel and another 'god'. The Ten Commandments remain eternally unchanged.
Rebellion Always Starts with Small Things
When a believer refuses to believe or implement the whole counsel of Yahweh he has made an agreement with hell. It may start small and over something seemingly innocuous but it will grow and his disobedience will compound itself until he is in full scale rebellion if he does nothing about it. It is always that way! That's why repentance is supposed to be daily. That's why we have a weekly cycle of mini-moedim. We have numerous warnings in Scripture to heed - the most godly of men and women can so easily turn into utter reprobates if they won't heed Yahweh! Whenever we come to the conclusion and do "not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of Elohim" in any of its aspects, we are on the slippery slope down to hell. It is a terrible thing to dismiss the tiniest jot or tittle of the Word (Mt.5:18) because ultimately it leads to the unthinkable - to being cast out (Mt.7:23). If any of us thinks we are immune because we're basically 'too good' to ever become evil, be forewarned! Unless you are fully surrendered and obedient to all the Word you may yet become a devil:
"Since they did not think it worth while to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, Yahweh-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know Yahweh's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practise them" (Rom.1:28-32, NIV).
Immersion into Sin Begins with Dipping Ones Feet
Whenever we read passages like this we usually think to ourselves, do we not: "Phew! I am not like that. I have Yah'shua or Jesus! I'm OK!" But we warned: if you have deliberately turned away from any portion of His Word, refusing to conform to it, you have already dipped your toes in this filthy water of rebellion against Elohim and will wade deeper and deeper into it. I have seen it happen so many times. And even though at a certain point these people may suddenly realise that something awful has happened to them - or is happening to them - and even though they resist going deeper with all their being, that guilt and fear of Yahweh's judgement causes them to lose their footing as invisible forces seize them and drag them down. Then there is only one choice: to fully repent and surrender to Yahweh or let Satan have them fully. THAT IS WHAT ALL LIFE LEADS TO ULTIMATELY - full ownership by Yahweh or full ownership by Satan because there are only two forces in this universe and you can either go one way or the other ... and to the ultimate destination of both. In that respect life is simple - it's 'either/or' - it only gets complicated when you allow yourself to remain indecisive and are constantly fighting against two opposing currents, to be tossed to and fro in your double-mindedness (Jas.1:5-8).
"They did not like to retain Elohim in their knowledge" (v.27, KJV).
At some point they made a conscious decision to shelve Him - to put Him aside - so they didn't have to be bothered in their thoughts, feelings or consciences about Him. What a contrast this is to the way His true followers have concerning Him and His Torah:
"You shall ... talk of them (Yahweh's words in Torah) when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up" (Deut 6:7, NKJV).
In Love with the Law and the Lawgiver
This is more than retaining a knowledge of Yahweh and His Ways but of being in love with it to the point we can talk about almost nothing else. You can't help yourself.
"Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt.12:34, NKJV).
What is it that flows most easily, most often and most abundantly out of your mouth? It's what's in your heart! And what's in your heart? To answer that, review the things which you have spontaneously spoken about during any one day. Yahweh says that when He's in your heart you can't stop talking about Torah! Like David, you're simply in love with His Law because you're in love with Him - that's an easily recognisable fruit of one who claims to be in intimate relationship with the Father through the Son:
"Oh, how I love Your Law (Torah)! It is my meditation all the day" (Ps.119:97, NKJV).
He couldn't get it out of his mind. It wasn't some terrible burden that had to be carried reluctantly but obediently, it was something that made him rejoice because by means of Yahweh's Torah or Law he not only came to know the Creator better but to learned live life to the full in the eternal sense. It gave him a vision not just of the here-and-now but of eternal glory.
I love Yahweh's Torah. Through it I know who I am, where I am and where I am going. I have concrete goals. Along it the railway train of my life moves purposefully with Yah'shua the locomotive engine. The more I study it, the clearer everything gets. I am not wandering aimlessly hoping that I will stumble on the right lifestyle. I have found the right lifestyle, the only lifestyle that ultimately has any meaning. What I am having to do is learn how to live it better and more fully
Prosperity
For those of us who have chosen Yah'shua and the commandments (Rev.12:17; 14:12; 22:14) there are other things to beware of. The truth makes us prosper. And Yahweh gives a warning when times of prosperity come:
"Beware, lest you forget Yahweh" (Deut.6:12, NKJV).
Don't Forget Him!
Beware! And don't think that because these words were spoken thousands of years ago and we don't live in the Promised Land that they don't apply to us. It doesn't matter where you are or what time in history you are living because Yahweh's laws don't change. The warning is clear:
"You shall fear Yahweh your Elohim and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. You shall not go after other gods (elohim), the gods of the peoples who are all around you (for Yahweh your Elohim is a jealous Elohim among you), lest the anger of Yahweh your Elohim be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth. You shall not tempt Yahweh your Elohim as you tempted Him in Massah. You shall diligently keep the commandments of Yahweh your Elohim, His testimonies, and His statutes which He has commanded you. And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of Yahweh, that it may be well with you, and that you may go in and possess the good land of which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to cast out all your enemies from before you, as Yahweh has spoken" (Deut.6:13-19, NKJV).
The Commandments of Men Count for Nothing
And remember, the commandments we are to keep are the commandments of our Heavenly Father, not the commandments of men or any kind of man-made doctrine. The promises that belong to us are tied up to the commandments we have been ordered to keep. Not eating fish on Fridays (as Catholics do) or being 'nice' to people to curry favour (as almost everyone does) while you are breaking commandments left right and centre aren't going to bring you His blessings, are they? Look around you and see what is really happening. Do you know what's going to happen to people? How can you know? How can they know? On what promises are they relying? Their own feelings stemming from their own private, existentialist 'morality'? The 'morality' of the secular society around them? Whose are they living by?
The Philosophy of Unbelief
The attitude of most people these days is well summed up by this agnostic:
"Personally, I find it quite irritating that people believe you have to be a 'christian' or of some religious affiliation to have morals. I have noticed in my Theory of Knowledge class that no matter WHAT we talk about, RELIGION is always at least ONE person's argument. I find myself annoyed and ticked off with such logic as it does not seem logical to me at all. I am an agnostic who honestly couldn't care less about religion. I get frustrated with people telling me 'you need to see the light' or 'you need to be touched by Jesus.' I don't believe in this 'light' and 'Jesus' hasn't touched me for quite some time. I am a person of high morals. I know very many atheists who are VERY good people who have not done 'un-Christian-like' things ever in their lives. 2 I stopped being afraid of hell because I don't believe in hell. I can still do the right thing and not believe in religion, period". 3
Logic: The Religion of Atheism and Agnosticism
This is a typical existentialist argument. His god is his own finite 'logic'. He is typical of the belief - and I underline the word 'belief' - that all things can be explained by logic and empirical observation as originally championed by the mathematician Ernst Mach of the 'Vienna Circle'. This is the religion of almost all atheists and agnostics and it is assumed to be correct. It is, however, only an assumption and there are a lot of mathematicians, philosophers and scientists who are aware that logic has very definite LIMITS. The mathematician Kurt Gödel of Brünn, Moravia, was one of them. Though not a believer, he concluded, like the Greek Platonists, that concepts such as truth were not products of the human mind which can change according to the thinker's point-of-view, but exist independently of the human mind. This he proved mathematically without even coming to any certain metaphysical conclusion as to where the truth actually existed or derived from. Gödel ascribed his deep insights and inspiration to this philosophical point-of-view. Amongst the undoubted mathematical truths which he promulgated was the assertion that:
"A formalised mathematical system is described by a set of axioms. These are predetermined truths that define the objects in the system and are never called into question." 4
All belief systems - including atheism - rest on certain 'axioms'. The 'truth' that atheists rest their axioms on include the assertion that all things can be explained by logic and empirical observation - which Gödel proved was not true mathematically. There are lots of things that these cannot explain. Boris Pasternak said:
"What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth: life always spills over the rim of every cup".
The Bengali poet and contemporary of Albert Einstein and Asia's first Nobel Laureate, Rabindranath Tagore, was even more blunt than Pasternak:
"A mind of all logic is like a knife (which is) all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it".
How very true!
Beyond Reductionism
Back in 1975 when I was still a student at Oxford University, I read the Alpbach Symposium edited by Köstler and Smythies entitled, Beyond Reductionism. These scientists and philosophers attempted get around the obvious fallacies of trying to get to the essence of life by simply reducing living things to their constituent parts whilst at the same time finding an alternative to religious explanations. Their atheism was clearly revealed by their agenda:
"A naïve reductionism is not sufficient. There is something more to explain. This 'something' is not a supernatural or extra-natural force - everyone agreed that to insist on this calls for as extreme an act of faith as demanded by the reductionists". 5
This book convinced me that logic and reductionism were not enough to explain the organisation of living things but also that the alternatives suggested by the symposium's participants were equally absurd. They ended up being very metaphysical and esoteric - as one must be when one views the absurdities of blind chance as being the authors of complexity in the universe - but to remain atheistic they invented their own 'gods' of the mind, utilising (amongst other things) Arthur Köstler's concept of the 'holon' which he claimed, in his book, The Ghost in the Machine, is something that is both a whole and a part. No matter how hard they try, the more honest atheists are forced to revert to theistic thinking while denying it at the same time. I am fond, as you know, of quoting the well-known atheistic scientist Richard Dawkins who said:
"The illusion of purpose is so powerful that [evolutionary] biologists themselves use the assumption of good design as a working tool".
The Self-deception of Atheists
There is no way that they can use any other tool to explain what they observe because none exists. If they really believe there is no design in nature - which they can't if everything has come about randomly - then to assume 'good design' to explain life is to adopt a FALSE ASSUMPTION which means they must ultimately come to erroneous conclusions. Now that is logic! Yet they are so illogical. In other words, they know somewhere inside themselves there is a Creator-Intelligence but because they refuse to obey Him and live life according to His morals and ethics, they wear blinkers and pretend He isn't there. He's just an "illusion", they say. They just don't want to know. "They did not like to retain Elohim in their knowledge". They simply chose to exclude Him.
The inventor of the 'holon' concept, Arthur Köstler, eventually committed suicide together with his wife. His life was a lie - a sham - and for all his brilliance as an intellectual (he was one of my heroes when I was still an atheist), he just could not live life the way the Creator intended him to. How right Antoine de Saint-Exup was when he said that "pure logic is the ruin of the spirit." It is. Absolutely. Deep down atheists so-called know that there is an Elohim who created all things. That is why they pretend and are forced to use the truth (intelligent design) as a working tool to explain things. That is why David said:
"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no Elohim.' They are corrupt" (Ps.14:1, NKJV).
When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either quit being mistaken or cease to be honest. When you cease being honest by excluding the obvious from your mind, such as intelligent design in nature, and then calling it 'illusion', then your mind becomes corrupt, and this in turn corrupts your heart and leads you into evil ways.
No Such Thing as Atheism
Did you know that the word 'atheist' was coined by Roman and Greek pagans to describe their rejection of the Christian God? The word 'atheist' literally means 'against theos', 'against God' or 'against Elohim'. It describes opposition to Deity - and specifically, the Christian Deity because the Christians would not bow down to Caesar as deity. To be an 'atheist' is to react in a hostile manner against a Theos - a God - in the same way that an antifascist is someone who is opposed in a hostile manner to fascists, who happen to be real, living people who believe in a political philosophy called fascism. A person who is an atheist is someone rebelling against the living Elohim and then pretending He isn't there - they are literally putting Him 'out of mind, out of sight' in order cope with the purpose all around them which they are forced to call 'illusion'. They are, in truth, just materialist Hindus or Buddhists who deny the reality of the material world, only they deny the reality of the spiritual. Either way, they're the ones living in illusion.
The True Use of Logic
Now I am a firm believer in logic, as I have said before. It has its uses within its own sphere - where it can realistically be applied. Logic demands that there is something greater than, and external to, itself. We can invent 'holons', 'selfish genes' and all manner of metaphysical nonsense to justify our rebellion against Yahweh but they cannot answer to the spiritual need of man which is crying for personal relationship with the Creator, Yahweh-Elohim. The Creator has revealed Himself in the Bible. Satan stands ready to trap the atheist turned theist breaking out of materialism by offering him alternative 'deities' which are in truth himself in different disguises, with a lifestyle more akin to the hedonistic one of the atheists, whether of 'high' or 'low' morality, but they do not make those vital connections to our true Source, nor do they address the absolutes of divine ethics which are built into the very fabric of creation. Rather, they continue to avoid them.
Beyond Logic
Cynthia Sue Larson, who is not, I think, a Christian, but making discoveries that are pointing her in the right direction, shares this experience on the limits of logic:
"When I was growing up, I was a big Star Trek fan. My favourite Star Trek character was Mr. Spock, known for his logic prowess. Spock would often say things like:
'On my planet, to rest is to rest, to cease using energy. To me, it is quite illogical to run up and down on green grass, using energy, instead of saving it' (Mr. Spock, Shore Leave').
"I loved Spock! I adored him, and wished to possess the brilliant clarity of his mind. I loved the way he could see through the emotional confusion of others, and wished to emulate his ability to cut through to the essence of an issue.
"I studied physics, and then business ... always pursuing the logical ways to analyse this world. I was fine with this view of logic's supremacy ... up until the time that I noticed reality shifting.
"One memorable pivotal experience happened to me when I was searching for my friends in San Francisco one day. We'd made arrangements to meet for lunch, but I caught a train twenty minutes late and just missed them. They took off without me, as I discovered when I arrived at our meeting point. I first followed every logical lead ... asking for any messages that might have been left for me, and asking what restaurants people typically go to. I then visited several restaurants (finding no messages were left for me), and realised I was wasting my time.
"I gave up on logic at this point, and chose to let go of my feelings of sadness and frustration and worry ... feeling instead an energised sense of love and joy. What happened next seemed perfectly normal to me at the time, but astonished me later (when I returned to my 'logical' frame of mind) ... I simply followed my feet to where my friends were. I crossed the street, saw a sign for 'Faz', asked the first passer-by if that was a restaurant (it was), and how to get there (there was a hidden elevator to get to it) ... and walked right up to my astonished friends.
"This is just one of a multitude of such experiences in my life where I've given up on logic, and found myself the better for it. I still love logic, but now realize that there are deeper ways of knowing." 6
Impressed? It's quite definitely a step in the right direction. Call it intuition if you like but what actually happened here was that Cynthia made a psychic connection to her friends based on her love for them. This is not the spiritual - yet - it's supernatural and 'beyond logic' but it's still not the ultimate reality of Yahweh. I've had thousands of experiences like this where I have heard those I am close to actually talking to themselves inside. I have had so much contact with the supernatural over the decades that it would be insanity for me to deny it. It's become 'natural' from constant use and interaction. What Yahweh wants you to do is meet Him in exactly the same way and then live the life He ordained for you, protected and hedged in by Him by His love and His commandments in the Torah.
The Challenge of Expanding Your Universe
Now I think many atheists and agnostics get turned off Christianity, not just because there are lots of hypocrites who call themselves 'Christian' or 'Messianic' and thereby discredit their religion, but also because they are afraid of the real complexities implied and actually involved when you admit not only to an intellectual dimension to this universe but also a psychic one and a spiritual one. The universe then gets frighteningly large - at a minimum it trebles in size, if not more - as if the material universe isn't big enough already!
The Limits of Intellectualism
Now I used to be an intellectual who lived in and around logic, scientific experimentation, and books of facts. I had an intellectual hunger and craving to understand the universe. I spent my free time reading books, peering down a microscope at pond life, peering at the planets and stars through my telescope, dissecting animals and trying to figure it all out. I adored Biology and Organic Chemistry. I loved science fiction. I gobbled up the books of Issac Asimov. I was also absorbed in politics, psychology and philosophy. When at University I didn't just attend lectures on my own subject of Biochemistry but used to attend Physics lectures on cosmology and, after my conversion, went to theology lectures and Hebrew classes. I wanted to know and understand everything. But throughout my life Yahweh kept trying to draw my attention to a much bigger universe. My first out-of-body experience as a boy would later trigger an interest in the psychic and then when Yah'shua first spoke to me as a trainee Buddhist, the universe got even larger as I was introduced to the spiritual. But nothing could have prepared me for the quantum leap in the breadth of my knowledge and understanding when the Ruach haQodesh entered my heart and showed me a dimension I could barely have imagined even existed - Yahweh's own domain. Since that time I have been reeling.
The atheist is skimming the surface, believing that the mind has the answers to everything. But the mind is just a small biocomputer. It was in this world that the fictitious Vulcan, Mr.Spock, of the highly materialistic and evolution-based Star Trek TV series, expressed a logical ideal. The atheist, whilst still retaining feelings, has nevertheless cut his heart off to a dimension the mind cannot possibly grasp on its own - the dimension of the heart. Compared to the heart, the atheistic mind is like a green garden pea, and the heart a burning sun. They are separated by orders of magnitude of reality. They do need each other, though, very much so. That green pea can become a sun too - by means of spiritual growth. But a soul without a heart-contact to God - to Elohim - is practically dead. He's little more than a computer program - an assembly of facts and figures trying to understand themselves. He's like a computer trying to become alive. Inevitably, he is attracted to the idea of artificial intelligence, and thinks he can play god by creating life. But it's impossible. Life constantly eludes him because the mind is no more than a machine.
Reality is Bigger
I said that one thing that often turns atheists and agnostics away is the fear of discovering that reality is a lot bigger than they ever imagined. Having taken security in their own intelligence and reasoning, it is very disarming to discover that one has been floating around in a complex knotted-up fantasy world. People hide in numbers and 'facts' but as I mentioned recently, there are two types of 'fact' - rightly perceived and wrongly perceived 'facts'. As I look back at my pre-Christian intellectual days I see how impoverished I really was. I wouldn't want to go back to that - ever. That would be like exchanging a sophisticated PC for a horned phonograph, an old-fashioned mechanical wind-up 78 rpm record-player.
Yes, the universe is much bigger than atheists ever believed and also potentially very confusing and mind-boggling. Part of the fear the atheist has is in realising how small one really is having artificially (and pridefully) boasted of one's own size and used one's mental capacity as the measure of greatness and importance. If you ever thought you were an ant in the cosmos, you soon discover you're as small as a bacterium, BUT you also discover something else that's quite remarkable - that you're actually HUGE in the spiritual dimension because you're loved and cherished by a Heavenly Father who made you and cares about you so much that He has literally built this huge cosmos and engineered history precisely to ensure - if you'll trust Him - that you'll become the inheritor of a vast and unsurpassable treasure called eternal life. He made all of this for you and me.
The Cosmic Laundry Awaits You
What's the catch to inheriting all this? The 'catch', if that's even a justifiable word to use here, is that you must first of all become responsible for yourself and responsible for others. You can't do whatever you want. You have to learn to see and treat people in the way that the Creator does and expects you to. You have to change your code of life, your morality, your ethics. Indeed, you have to learn to grow up - not just physically (which happens automatically) but emotionally and spiritually too. And that you have to choose for yourself. It doesn't just 'happen'. But to do that requires that you be sent to the COSMIC CLEANERS. You'll soon discover how important the Heavenly Laundry is to seeing and feeling straight.
A Biology Experiment with the Soil
Life is both simple and complex, as I said, and we tend to either oversimplify or over-complexify it. When I was at school, and I'm quite sure when you were all at school as well, you did some Biology practical work and examined the contents of the soil. What you likely did was to take a sample of soil, add water to it, and shake it up vigorously, mixing the soil into the water as best you could. You were then likely given a tall glass cylinder or large glass jar, added the soil-water mix to it and then watched as particles of different sizes separated out, the heaviest settling to the bottom first followed by successive layers of particles or lighter mass later on. After several hours you would have found stones and grit at the bottom, with layers of soil particles above arranged in different densities, with a liquidy-solid level on the top of the denser particles. Above that was a solution of brownish water which got thinner and thinner until you reached the top where the water was clear. And finally, floating on the surface, was dead and living organic matter and other light débris. By this means you were able to examine and study the contents of the soil which, as you will recall, is quite complicated.
Now why do I bring up this laboratory experiment in an assembly meeting, gathered to discuss the Gospel or Besorah of Yah'shua the Messiah? I have brought it up because of some experiences I have had this week which at first puzzled me but, as the week wore on, began to make greater and greater sense, and connect to my theme this morning.
It began about two weeks ago when I started having very unsettling experiences. Not dreams, per se, but the awareness of approaching chaos. How can I explain it? Imagine that you are walking down a quiet street at night and you approach a large house from which loud and noisy music is coming. Everything else around you is still and quiet because everyone is sleeping or resting but at this one house there is much activity. The closer you get to it, the worse it gets - blaring music, dazzling lights, movement and - in a word - intense chaos. While I was sleeping - and for several nights in a row - I became aware of a 'layer' of something directly 'underneath' me. A bit like that layer of pebbles at the bottom of the cylinder containing mixed earth and water that had settled, but instead of inert pebbles and grit, intense activity. Everything above it was orderly, quiet and peaceful but under my 'feet', as it were, was a world of disturbing chaos. What could it be? Finally, one night a few days ago, I 'entered' this seething mass of confusion and had very active dreams that were totally exhausting. This went on for days until one night I finally saw what was going on and understood.
Those of you familiar with John Bunyan's allegory, Pilgrim's Progress, may remember that early on in Christian's journey, he falls into what is called the 'Slough of Despond'. It's a place where all the sins of the world gather into this thick, oozing mire. What I had discovered, deep within my own psyche, was the place where all unresolved sin issues had sunk to form a mass of confusion. These were issues that had been 'shelved', 'ignored', or whatever. We erroneously think sometimes that we can 'dismiss' things and issues we don't like and deal with them 'later', postponing and postponing and postponing. In the worst case scenario we postpone until our deathbed by which time it is too late - our allotted span to work out our salvation is over (Phil.2:12) and whilst there are some genuine deathbed repentance's leading to salvation, most of them are not, because they are motivated by a fear of hell (and our own loss) rather than our guilt before an offended Elohim (and doing what is right). The more we left undone the worse it gets, creating in the unconscious strange and disconcerting urges of anger, panic, fear or whatever. Immersed in this for several nights, I struggled, waking each morning in a state of total exhaustion, in spite of sleeping in.
A Demon Tries to Guilt Me on Tongues
As an illustration I want to share with you one experience in this personal 'Slough of despond' that I had. For years and years Pentecostals have been trying to guilt me into accepting their tongue-speaking by saying that without it I could not be baptised or anointed in the Ruach. And though for years I have known absolutely that their theology is wrong and unbiblical, a part of me has still had a nagging 'what if they're right after all?' doubt. Besides, many of them are so very sincere and convinced.
Anyway what happened was that I dreamed about this lady who had formerly been an employer and one in authority in the work place (red flag). She was sitting there in half darkness, looking as though she was in charge, and speaking very earnestly to me. She said: "If you don't speak in tongues, you haven't received the Holy Spirit. And if you haven't received the Holy Spirit, then you have no evidence that you are saved".
Now on this occasion, while I was asleep, I knew she was lying, and stood up to her, at which point I awoke and knew instantly that I had been talking to a demon. I knew it without a shadow of a doubt and understood where the nagging doubts had been coming from all these years. And it was as though after this any last nagging doubts were finally gone - I had exorcised a voice that had been lying to me and playing on my fear of not having the Ruach haQodesh and of not being saved because I never spoke in charismatic gibberish.
Postponed Unresolved Sin Issues are a Snare
My point in sharing this experience with you is to remind you that unresolved spiritual issues don't go away - they just get worse - and collect together in what one might call a 'chaos zone' or personal 'Slough of despond' at the bottom of your soul which one day have to be faced. And you don't want to enter into it without Yah'shua because it's a veritable hell. For the unsaved it is a terrible prospect entering this zone of the unconscious to which they have been adding all their lives but from which they have been fleeing. No son or daughter of the first resurrection can avoid it. Indeed, every true son and daughter of the first resurrection will confront it - those who aren't will continue fleeing from it even at death.
Your 'Slough of Despond'
This 'layer' or 'level' is perhaps better called a 'partition' - it's an area of the soul separated from all the rest where, if you're a believer, the devil continues to hold sway. Depending on the kinds of unresolved sin-issues you have, different types of demon rule over them. The more 'explosive' type of personality who is unable to keep the anger from such issues bottled up, tend to be ruled in these dark areas by Hecatic-like demons. Those who are seemingly able to maintain a cool, calm exterior and keep this dark zone well and truly concealed, tend to be ruled in these dark areas by Lilithic-like demons. And finally, there's the 'Artemis/Orion' demon which come as a 'rescuer-warrior' from these two (a variety of the more brazen Athena), encouraging you to self-protection instead of surrender to Yah'shua. There are all kinds of different 'set-ups' which I don't want to go into here as my purpose is to keep this general today. Different sin issues are channels for different kinds of demons with different kinds of control and associated behaviours.
Why Bother?
Now let's just stop here for a second. I want to ask you a question and I want you to give an honest answer to yourselves - I'll not embarrass you by asking you to stand up and answer before the congregation. How many of you think that I have made the gospel message too complicated? How many of you think I am wasting my time going into all the complexities of sin? How many of you think I should just be giving simple Baptist-like sermons sharing the simple message of Christ and confining myself to only what the Bible says? Wouldn't you rather I dropped all this mental, psychic and spiritual stuff?
Now if you have such sentiments I wouldn't actually blame you. I really wouldn't. I actually love listening to, and occasionally giving, simple 'Baptist-like' sermons. I have many favourite preachers I listen to. They're all doing an important work. However, there's a reason I do what I do, and I'd like to explain why by sharing with you a parable taught by an evangelical minister from Haiti which is supremely and literally to the point.
The Parable of the Nail and the Dead Dog
A certain man wanted to sell his house for two thousand dollars. Another man wanted very badly to buy it but couldn't afford the full price the owner was asking. After much bargaining however, he agreed to sell the house to the poor man for half the original price -- along with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unliveable and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The Haitian pastor concluded:
"If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation."
Are You Really Serious?
If you're series about becoming the Bride of Messiah and a child of the First Resurrection, then you have to qualify. Now I am not talking about simple salvation here - I'm not talking about being born again. I am talking about the choices that face you after you have been born again. You can totally ignore the kinds of things I am saying and indeed make it to heaven based on your original trusting - but as one of the least in that Kingdom (Mt.5:19). You can choose the low road if you want. 7. You can choose to sit out the Millennium in spirit prison waiting for judgement for unresolved sins, along with the unbelievers, for refusing the high road which requires that you be "without spot and blameless" (2 Peter 3:14, NKJV). You can, if you want, opt for the low grade salvation and become a child of the second resurrection instead. You can choose a lower heaven. It's up to you. You can choose not to grow in grace but to remain exactly where you are, or maybe even slip down a little. You have that freedom. No one will force you. And if you want to do that, I'll happily point you to churches and assemblies where you can live out your dream undisturbed and unbothered - or you can do as many do who come to us, to just run. Right now there is someone who has "run" who is looking for a "happy church" - a place where they can do as they please and be surrounded by happy believers. The trouble is, the only happiness they'll find is the pretend kind that all the second resurrection churches and assemblies offer.
Now, if you're really serious about Yah'shua, Torah, salvation and the place that Yah'shua has prepared for the Bride (only the children of the First Resurrection are the Bride, because the Bride has to be spotless, remember? - e.g. Rev.7:14), then you'll want to get rid of that 'nail' where Satan is still 'hanging out' in your life. The children of the first resurrection want this passionately. They want to go all the way. They're not satisfied with anything but the best for which they're prepared to give nothing less than all.
How Do You Know Yah'shua as the Messiah?
The choice that we face is not this: that you won't know Yah'shua as the Messiah when He comes back. When Yah'shua comes back everyone will know He is the Messiah - the children of the first resurrection, the children of the second resurrection, and the unbelievers. The demons already know this truth (Jas.2:19). Whether you know Yah'shua at the last day is not what all this is about anyway, it's what you know Him as that will count. And what do I mean by that? I mean, will you know Him as your SAVIOUR or as your JUDGE?! That's the big question. Don't flatter yourselves that you know Him - that's no 'big deal' because every living creature will know that. What's important is whether He'll tenderly embrace you as His Bride or condemn you for being a disobedient child of the second resurrection or an unbeliever who's rejected Him and are going to hell.
Repent, Trust and be Saved
You know me. I don't pussyfoot. The stakes are just too high and it's getting harder and harder to get out of the world system with each passing year. People are choosing the demonic matrix more and more because they suppose it will be 'easier' and more 'comfortable'. The apostle Peter pleads:
"You therefore, beloved, since you know this (truth) beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Master and Deliverer Yah'shua the Messiah" (2 Peter 3:17-18, NKJV).
Running Away from Suffering
A lot of people fall away because they don't want to suffer or be uncomfortable with the world anymore. They want to get away from mental, emotional, physical and spiritual pain. They want an 'easier' path. Now hear this, and hear it well: everybody suffers in this life - you can't avoid it - and the choice you have is as follows - you either suffer redemptively for the blessing of yourself, the blessing of others, and the glory of Yahweh - or you suffer for your own unrepented sins for the benefit of Satan! The choice you face is whether to suffer purposefully or pointlessly. And I don't mean you should go and seek out suffering - it will come to you all on its own! When we suffer IN Messiah the burden is light (Mt.11:29-30) but when we suffer for our own sins, it is a terrible wight, we have no help and it is no credit to us - we suffer in vain (1 Pet.2:20).
Until the Last Nail is Gone
We have all got to keep repenting until that last demonic nail over our front door has been removed. We just can't afford to leave it there to ruin everything. Many have lost their souls because of such a singular and apparently insignifcant stumbling block. Please don't delude yourself into thinking that you have 'high morals' and that these will save you - they won't! That's legalism. However, what you do in terms of morals and ethics does reflect back on whether you are really trusting in Yah'shua or not.
You see, everyone has a belief system, and every belief system is rightly regarded as a 'religion' even if another term is used like 'philosophy' to describe it. That 'religion' can be atheism, agnosticism, theism or any other '-ism'. Our beliefs provide the frame of reference for our morals or ethics. What matters is what the actual truth is because different people mean different things by 'morals'. Thus as one person has commented:
"Atheists believe that ethics are self-determined, and relative to the values of the society around us. Therefore, if you lived in Nazi Germany, and believed that Jews were inferior, you would have 'high' morals if you supported the holocaust. That is the problem with the relativistic ethical construct. There is no absolute right or wrong. Killing could be moral, or even laudatory if your 'morals' mandated it to be so." 8
No Relative Morality
Relative morality doesn't wash with Yahweh. He says that the righteousness of man - his 'high morals' - is like filthy rags (Is.64:6). Just because you think something in your head and go through certain motions of living does not make you right with Yahweh. It is better to be doing these things than not doing them for sure them BUT it still doesn't link you to reality or to eternal life. The righteous one is scarcely saved! (1 Pet.4:18). So what, then, must we do?
"Elohim our Saviour ... desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one Elohim and one Mediator between Elohim and men, the Man Messiah Yah'shua, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time" (1 Tim 2:3-6, NKJV).
The Seminar
Michael Wells tells this amusing story to illustrate what it is we must and must not do:
"There is a story told of a man who gave seminars all over the world on what a Christian must do to be a success. The man died and went to heaven. The first day in heaven he decided to give one of his seminars. He scheduled the largest room, and thousands came to hear him. While he was speaking, he noticed Jesus (Yah'shua) was seated in the front row taking one page of notes after another, and this puzzled the man. At the break the man ran to Jesus (Yah'shua) and asked why He, of all people, would be taking so many notes. Jesus (Yah'shua) replied, 'You see, this is the first time I've heard of this Myself!'" 9
What is True Belief?
Believing must come before doing. The works of an atheist, agnostic, or theist - however good - will not see you through to the end. And even if you do come to know Yah'shua when He returns - as you will - it won't mean you're saved or approved. What places you in the realm of salvation is whether you really BELIEVE. And what is believing? Believing is to have a constant, single, unwavering ATTITUDE of loving, submitting, and training. That's what the Amplified Version rightly means when its says that 'believing' in Yah'shua is clinging on and adhering to Him.
The Secret of Constancy
To believe in Yah'shua is to be constantly full of love for others, constantly submitted, and constantly being in a learning mindframe. It is the CONSTANCY that is the telltale sign. It is not intermittent. The loving, submitting and learning is not in a continuous seesaw with attitudes of hate, rebelling and unteachability. There is no double-mindedness. It doesn't mean that you love, submit and learn perfectly - that's not what I mean at all - it means being in this RIGHT ATTITUDE, and that attitude does not come of man but of Yahweh-Elohim. We are by nature - in the carnal man - lacking in love, rebellious and unteachable - though we usually think otherwise. And that is what all of this is about - that righteous nature COMES FROM YAH'SHUA and NOWHERE ELSE. It can't, because it doesn't exist anywhere else in this vast universe. There is a portion of this in every man, woman and child, because we are all born with the Light of Christ within liking a homing device (Jn.1:9) but the homing device is not the end - it is the means. 10
Dual-Eyed Man
Yahweh made you with two eyes - have the right (dominant) eye on Yah'shua all the time and the left eye on Torah. That is the way. Don't be like some Messianics who have their right eye on Torah or some Evangelicals who have their left eye on the commandments of men. He didn't make us one-eyed Cyclops's.
Self-Transformation vs. Long-Term Faith
If you set out to transform yourself or others, you'll fail because it will all be psychic and not spiritual - and the psychic perishes along with your body at death. Changing the behaviour of Job's friends would not have been Job's solution - Job's solution came in only one thing: trusting in Yahweh by having a LONG-TERM FAITH without any Plan B's! When you're really trusting in Yah'shua you're committed to trusting Him all the way to the grave, no matter what happens in-between. Those who will only trust Him 'so far' or for 'so long' (as long as the going is good) do not have saving faith. They have back-up plans of salvation which are human rather than divine - family, bank account, a lover, family, culture or whatever. True faith is putting all your eggs of faith in the basket of Yah'shua, COME WHAT MAY. Then, when you are doing this, Yahweh's rôle becomes primary and the rôle of others secondary. That is what a saved person is doing. It's when primaries become secondaries, and vice versa, that you're no longer really trusting in Yah'shua but in yourself or the arm of flesh of others. Then your attitude is ungodly. It's carnal and devilish.
The Simple Faith
This is the simplicity of which I spoke at the beginning. This is 'simple faith' - it's faith that is undivided and loyal to the end. It's the same as the marriage covenant, which is why Yah'shua said there are no grounds for divorce in the New Covenant, except adultery during betrothal. That's the kind of faith and commitment that Yahweh wants you to have today. That's the kind of faith of the firstborn - of the children of the first resurrection - of those who receive the Sukkot anointing. With that kind of faith everything becomes possible. It's the faith that has all eyes on Yah'shua as Total Reality and Total Love.
All your worries, fears, sins, were nailed to the Cross with Him, and remain so when you are in Him. Therefore to be in Him is to be truly and totally free. But that must be your daily choice and your daily choosing.
Why People Remain Deceived
Finally, one last truth that you must grasp. If you have been deceived, and are deceived by something, then it's because you DESIRE THE DECEPTION. No one remains deceived who doesn't want to be deceived. We are deceived because we like or enjoy the deception - it gives us some kind of perverse pleasure. The argument that Satan is the one who keeps us bound in deception is bunkum. Michael Wells observes:
"...if Satan has the ability to deceive all men, then all men would be deceived. Obviously he does not have that kind of power. So what does he look for in a man that would allow for a deception? Satan is looking for something in the heart of man where the deception can begin. It would be impossible for Christ to deceive any person, for there is nothing in Christ that the flesh desires. True Christianity cannot deceive, for again, nothing in the flesh wants anything at all to do with Christianity. Christianity has one message for my flesh: 'Move over!' So what is it that makes a man's heart open to deception? I believe it is the desire of a heart that says, 'I can be God (Elohim).' Rephrased, it is the desire of the heart to be independent of God (Elohim). This is why the Mormon religion is so successful: it is more clever than the early Catholics who embraced the local gods of the people, or just gave them different names. As you know, many 'Catholic' countries are rife with blends of Catholicism and witchcraft. Haiti is an example. However, the Mormons offer something more: a man can actually become a god. Man can invite his wife to his celestial kingdom, where she can be eternally pregnant. This 'deception' has incredible drawing power to those who have suffered under the hand of their unjust god, or who have served a god all their lives. After all, who would not want to believe that he could become one who hands out punishment and receives gifts from others? Such a person is deceived with a ludicrous teaching, but moving past the cobweb of the spider, we see at the root a heart that says, 'I WANT TO BE GOD'. Deceptions all offer the flesh something, and Christ is always taking something away from the flesh. ... The germ of every cult is this promise of keeping the flesh alive through some kind of God-playing. The amazing thing is that it holds any attraction, when it is so much easier to have God (Elohim) than to play God (Elohim)". 11
I believe this is an especially hard lesson for people coming out of Mormonism and the occult which flatter the ego and promises christhood or deity. They twist the truth that we are promised rulership if we fully surrender to Yahweh in Yah'shua and instead demand that you surrender to a priesthood system ruled by the spirits of men and of demons and say you will be gods with your own planets. People carry around that delusion in their hearts and act out being ' gods' and 'goddesses' down here on earth, filled with the pretentiousness, vanity and pride of the one who authored such claptrap, Satan himself, who also thought he could be Elohim only to discover that he never can be. He knows he's lost but those who believe his lies haven't understood that yet. And don't think that because you've not come out of Mormonism or the occult that you aren't susceptible to this deception - everyone is.
Conclusion
I thank Yahweh that I don't have to go to Mormon Seminary and Institute classes to train to be a god. The more I think about it, the more absurd and laughable it is. I couldn't keep two atoms together, let alone a universe. I have problems enough making human relationships work smoothly! I am, at bottom level, a sinner in need of a Redeemer - always. And though I may grow in grace and sanctification, I still can't do without Him because He is the source of eternal life. I have none of my own. All that Yahweh gives must one day return to Him so my choice is to either protest in a carnal gesture of utter futility or I can agree with Him and come home to Him on His terms. Or to put it another way, Yahweh accepts us but rejects our sin. But if we insist on holding onto our sin, we will eventually get thrown out with it.
So what's your choice, fellow pilgrim along the Way?
Endnotes
1
Today integrated with the main website at http://www.nccg.org/nccm.
2
According to Yah'shua there is no one who is naturally 'good' except Yahweh (Mt.19:17)
3
'Amandizz' in Whoever Said Religion Set the Moral Standard?
4
John W. Dawson, Jr., Gödel and the Limits of Logic
5
Gerald Leach of the Observer quoted on the back of Beyond Reductionism: The Alpbach Symposium (Radius Book/Hutchinson, London: 1969).
6
Cynthia Sue Larson, The Limits of Logic
7
See sermon, Shavu'ot 2006: Will You Take the High Road?
8
'Greengo' in Whoever Said Religion Set the Moral Standard?, Op.cit.
9
Michael Wells, Problems, God's Presence, and Prayer (Abiding Life Press, Littleton, CO: 1993), p.87.
10
Neither is it the 'divine spark' that will turn you into a 'christ' or a 'god' as you 'realise' it, as the New Agers teach.
11
Michael Wells, Coming to a Place of Deception in 'Life Lines' (Abiding Life Ministries, Littleton, CO: March 2007), pp.12-13.
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 18 January 2008
Last updated on 18 January 2008
Copyright ©2008 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved