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Sermons Series 3:82, 24 February 2007
Your Enemies Will Perish
When Love Turns to Hate
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Brethren and sisters, I am standing before you here today - both before this little assembly in headquarters and before those in the world who will read or hear this sermon - to break a long silence concerning the events of the last three months which have shaken a lot of people. I speak, of course of the vigorous slander war that has been waged against us under the flag of an ex-member who has sworn in his rage that he will not cease until, to use his own words, we have been completely "annihilated out of existence".
I am quite sure a lot of people have wondered why I have said nothing in all this time and I have not the slightest doubt that people have divided into three basic groupings - those who believe us, those who believe the slanderers, and those who don't know what to believe. That is the way people always divide when the accused remains silent, and even when he doesn't. People form radically different opinions based not so much on the information, or lack of information, at hand but on two things: (1) the way it is interpreted and presented by the detractors and (b) their personal belief system.
To the religious aristocracy of Yah'shua's day, Yah'shua was viewed as public enemy #1, even ahead of the occupying Roman power, because He threatened to expose the hypocrisy of their self-centred religion which placed them ahead of Yahweh as the judges of the people and nation. To those with open hearts and a love for Yahweh, Yah'shua was received as the long-awaited Messiah - a band of people that grew to be quite large initially and then progressively shrank as opposition mounted, as His teachings got meatier and meatier, and as He laid claim to more and more of their lives in the pursuit of holiness. Only after Yah'shua's apparent destruction on a cross and sudden reappearance in glory orders of magnitude greater than had been visible before, and Yahweh pour the Ruach out, did His followers explode in numbers, and His teaching spread across the entire face of the world. The rest - the undecided - represented the mob factor, ready to be swayed by anyone charismatic enough to ignite their feelings through persuasive or manipulative oratory.
We find the same kind of pattern in the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt. There were the faithful followers of Moses - only two men out of that vast company remained true and faithful in a half a century of experiences, namely, Joshua and Caleb. Then there were the antagonists - those who continually grumbled, complained and wanted to get rid of Moses. Finally there was the great undecided mass of people who sometimes followed Moses and sometimes followed the detractors - a mass so without a solid foundation that not only did they continue to rebel time after time in spite of the most incredible demonstrations of Yahweh's power, but who in the end were allowed to perish in the wilderness because they were not worthy of the inheritance promised to them. The inheritance was instead given to their children.
As you look through the Bible and the history of Christianity you will always find the same pattern - a faithful few or tiny remnant, a rather larger group of angry and murderous antagonists (few of these ever repent - Paul is one exception), and the vast mass of the undecided who go one way one minute and the other way the next. That vast mass - the undecided - have as their mission in life, as it were, to choose one way or the other - to go the way of the faithful or of their adversaries. And no matter what situation you are born into, and no matter whether the choice is between total purity or total filthiness, or between greater purity and lesser purity, there is a choice for everyone to make all the time - many choices in fact - throughout life. As one makes right choices at each stage, so the choices that follow get starker and starker, harder and harder, more and more challenging, striking down to the fibre of ones soul, because the contrast is greater, the gap wider, as we come to see what we are really made of.
Those who make wrong choices during this journey have to re-learn earlier lessons and be tested again, just as in school. Our life's purpose in choosing, ends when we have made the final decision - the last and irrevocable choice - to either commit to Yahweh or Satan, though most have no idea they are choosing Satan. They usually think they are choosing themselves. For the one who has chosen to follow Satan or self and will not repent (and only Yahweh knows that) - the one who won't make a U-turn and head back to Yahweh - then life's purpose for that person on earth is at an end. He has failed the test. Then Yahweh either takes him away or allows Satan to use him for his own evil purposes for a little while longer. Such a person has squandered his mortal probation - thrown away his inheritance for that mess of metaphorical pottage called selfishness - the only inheritance promise he will ever get in his entire existence - he has made the ultimate decision and passed eternal judgment on his Creator and on himself. He has said in his heart to Yahweh: "No thanks. I choose myself. Goodbye". Or as the subject of this sermon recently said to me: "Sorry to be a pr*ck [but] I think I'm entitled to be one". The curtain has closed for him on Yahweh's free gift of eternal increase. He has chosen to die.
Last September a young man who initially began enthusiastic, hopeful and committed, made a fateful decision in his life. He had presented himself as clay before the Divine Potter who had begun to remould him but along the way had begun to entertain doubts which culminated in a fateful choice. For the last three months we have seen the fruits of that terrible choice. They have included rejecting Yahweh, the Bible and the goal of perfection set before him by his Heavenly Father (Mt.5:48; 19:21). Instead of seeking for eternal life he has chosen a path of hate and annihilation. His energy, once directed in Yahweh's service, has now been dedicated to the destruction of people.
There are many biblical parallels but I will cite only two for the purposes of illustration today. The first concerns the murderous Paul, one of the few adversaries who was humble enough to repent and to dedicate himself with as much zeal to the building of the Kingdom as he had earlier devoted to its muderous destruction. He was a man taken to the brink of the final choice - to serve Yahweh or, in mistaken zeal, serve Satan through an apostate religious system. People have often asked why Yahweh intervened to save this man - he wasn't, after all, seeking Yah'shua - he was on a mission of premeditated destruction in Damascus. But he had not, at that point, made the final choice. He had not experienced the living Messiah at all. He was given a final choice - and it really was his last choice - on that road to Damascus. Presented with a theophany - the greatest revelation possible - he could then decide to say 'yes' or 'no'. Why did Yahweh intervene? Because He knew Paul's heart - He knew what he would choose. Paul knew, moreover, following his conversion, that he was the "worst of sinners" (1 Tim.1:6). It was no false modesty that made him say it either. He knew that he had been a murderer and he was familiar with his Tanakh well enough to know the trials and tribulations of men like King David who had been a murderer but who had found grace. He knew what was coming. The greatness of Paul's heart lay in the fact that, knowing what he had done, he was prepared to sacrifice all to, as it were, make atonement for his former career of religious fanaticism and murder. He was prepared to do anything and everything to make his life worthwhile and count for something. And so he threw himself into evangelism and gave his all, forsaking family life in this life so that he might be the instrument of bringing life and not death.
But this was not what I was principally thinking about when I brought up the apostle as an example of an antagonist. He made the right choice, but some others who wanted to kill him made a foolish vow which they could not possibly have kept. They swore his annihilation and promised each other they would deny themselves of food until they had accomplished that goal, no doubt in their own minds for the 'sake' of their religion but in reality to protect their consciences for their own failure to choose Yah'shua as Paul had done. The Bible does not say if they ate again, having failed in their evil intent, but certainly they never ate spiritual food again. They are an illustration of spiritual folly. But Paul not only had to contend with his former allies - he also had to persuade his newly adopted brotherhood that he was no longer after their blood any longer but was their friend and ally in the cause of Messiah. The believers were amazed to find him preaching the faith so boldly but they were still cautious, hesitant and afraid. After all, they had fresh memories of loved ones imprisoned and killed by him. Doubtless they could have written a damning document on him if they had wanted to. But they accepted the testimony of those who had begun to know him and finally embraced him warmly. Thanks to this man the Greek and Roman world was given the message of salvation.
So now to my second example. The religious aristocracy two millennia ago - most of the Pharisees, Torah-teachers (scribes) and Saducees - also vowed the destruction of Yah'shua which they briefly believed they had accomplished; and a prophecy made by their High Priest, Caiphas, came true but not in the way they expected. Do you remember the words he spoke?
"You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man (Yah'shua) die for the people than that the whole nation (of Israel) perish" (John 11:49-50, NIV).
The prophecy was accurate but Caiphas hadn't a clue what he was actually prophesying about. He was the one who actually knew "nothing at all". Yahweh inspired a man with a dark heart with words he did not understand. The account reads further:
"He did not say this on his own, but as High Priest (Cohen Gadol) that year he prophesied that Yah'shua would die for the Judahite nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of Elohim, to bring them together and make them one (echad). So from that day on they plotted to take His life" (John 11:51-53, NIV).
The apostate and murderous priest was prophesying by virtue of his right as High Priest even though his heart was wrong. He received revelation from Yahweh, just as the idolater Laban had received revelation from Yahweh not to harm Jacob (Gen.31:29). Yahweh used Him for His purposes and then discarded him for the antichrist that he was. In fact He discarded the entire Sanhedrin and replaced them with His apostles. He never used the unrepentant Laban again either.
Yahweh uses irony to demonstrate His complete sovereignty over everything and everyone. Caiphas thought he had had a stroke of genius. He believed he was saving the Judahite nation from Roman fury. He confused - ignorantly or deliberately - the non-violent and non-threatening and apolitical activity of Yah'shua who said His Kingdom was not of the world system (Jn.18:36), with the accutely political activity of the contemporary Maccabbees of his time, the Zealots, who employed violent revolution in the pursuit of liberty.
But then it wasn't the Nation of Judah that Caiphas really cared about at all - the Romans had no problems with Yah'shua because He advocated non-resistance and holy living. He was a pacifist. Pilate knew that. Caiphas said that he cared about the Judahite people but in truth he cared only about himself and his privileges. He was, after all, not a High Priest appointed by Yahweh but by politicians. He was a Roman puppet. But he made out that he cared about the people just as our modern enemies say they 'care' about their readers when in truth they just want allies to support them in their choice to reject Yahweh and vent their spleen on His servants. They are out to defend and justify their own apostacy and wickedness.
Had Caiphas been a real man - a true servant of El Elyon he would have done as Hezekiah had done, and reformed the nation. He would have weeded out corruption and preached righteousness as John the Baptist did. He would have condemned the Herods for their adulteries, marital and spiritual. But he did not. Caiphas was a status quo man because that was the most comfortable and self-serving for his own comfort and peace. If he had reformed the nation to a properly Torah-obedient one he would have had to overturn the Pharisaic system that brought him to religious power in the first place - the power of what would come to be called Talmudism in which the Rabbis decided whether Yahweh was right or wrong with their own man-made laws.
I have been silent these past three months to allow prophecy to unfold. As a matter of fact, I did write a long rebuttal of our enemy's accusations and shared them with the faithful so that they could follow events and watch Yahweh's purposes unfold. It was not easy. The instinct of man is to defend but He told me to be silent - until now. I am not, however, going to publish the whole rebuttal, or even a substantial part of it. Instead I am going to the root of this whole business so that those who have become involved in this carnal squalour can have adequate information, see what has actually happened and can know what is about to happen, because Yahweh is going to tell you. They will witness Yahweh's mighty hand for themselves if they are willing to believe and to see. Not all will or want to, because they are themselves of the spirit of antichrist, but some will want to know the truth and deliver themselves from the web of lies that has been spun. They will then, if Yahweh wills it, be shown how the devil fooled them and see the truth of what really happened. But it will be on Yahweh's terms, not theirs. They must simply choose in the light of what I am called to reveal to you today. I will be saying no more on this matter until the events prophesied take place and all will know that Yahweh will not be mocked.
Just as Yahweh used Caiphas to predict the future, but not according to Caiphas' understanding or expectation, so Yahweh used a young former member to predict his own apostacy and fall. This revelation did not come through me or any of the other members but through this former member himself. He had a dream in which Yahweh saw what our enemies would do in what was called the 'Second Wave'. I knew it was from Yahweh and made this prophecy in the Ruach haQodesh in our former Cyber Community on 28 June 2006:
"They are writing detailed profiles on each and every member of MLT/NCCG based on what they can cull from the website, the posts here, sermons and email/IMs that they have been hacking into. They are indeed going to a great deal of trouble to try and discredit such a tiny group (I wonder why? Answers available from Yahweh). They mean to publish a very detailed character profile of each and every one of us, moulded in the image they wish to create, twisting the information (and misinformation) in the usual way, with a view to destroying us. The result is, however, that they will be destroyed themselves. In a sentence: what they wish to happen to us, will happen to them, and our ministry will simply be strengthened and enlarged. Little do they realise that they are doing Yahweh's work. But as Yah'shua said, stumblings will come, but woe unto them that cause stumblings.
"So sometime in the near future - probably at Mr. Concern's site but also probably elsewhere too - they mean to extend their so-called "exposé" into what they claim to be minute detail character studies. Expect to find a very detailed profile of the existing leadership, and of the leaders to come with a lot of psycho-babble. The intent of these profiles will be defammatory, like the newspaper article, and not at all in the interests of truth. Expect to find very loaded terms and deliberately misleading labels like 'cult propagandist' applied to one of our people. The aim is to make us appear unstable, paraonoid, cultic, delusional - you name it, they will come up with it. In short, total character assassination.
"They believe they are going for the metaphorical 'jugular vein' but as Yahweh has already stated, it is going to backfire on them. And very badly at that. Yahweh and Torah are our judge, and not these deluded people who are spending so much time on us - and for what purpose? Why not use their resources on the real cults out there, of which there are thousands.
"Only those who know their Bibles will understand why. Many will fall away as a result of this but far more will be coming when they see the mighty hand of Yahweh at work".
These were the exact words I wrote (with emphasis added). I privately reminded our people of this on 6 January of this year and added this comment:
"he has fulfilled his own prophecy himself - in detail - his website and blog contain detailed profiles of most of us including himself and he shows no signs of stopping. He has been scouring every article, Group post and IM of us and is compiling the very things Yahweh told him our enemies would do.
"I think that is rather ironic ... when people fulfil their own prophecies and then deny them. It reminds me of Bilam (Balaam) who firstly blessed Israel (refusing the King of Moab's request to curse) and then led Israel into paganism and whoredom all on his own".
There are many, many prophecies such as this that have been fulfilled. This young man has gone to great lengths to discredit every one of them, but he knows the truth - he knows it only too well. He has his own conscience to 'recover' from.
You are probably wondering what is going to happen next so what I am going to do is share with you some of what Yahweh has been telling us here in visions, dreams and through the promptings of the Ruach haQodesh - enough for you to know. I am quite sure that both he and our other detractors will be reading this - this is partly for them so they may know what is going to happen but mostly for the 'crowd' who are confused and undecided. Thereafter they have to make their choice and either return or go their own way. What I am about to relate to you now was mostly seen on the morning of 14 February 2007:
"There is a field. The crop is tall like long grass. It is all brown because it is harvest season. We have seen this field before. The field is the world (Mt.13:38), the place of testing, the place of growing or stagnating and dying. The world is the place of tribulation, but those who belong to Yah'shua may be of good cheer, because Yah'shua has overcome the world (Jn.16:33, KJV). But those who have not overcome - who refuse to overcome - have little cause for rejoicing. For the world is also a place of great fear.
"There are many people in the field, and all are running. It is a scary place indeed, for both the righteous and the wicked. But the righteous have promise, the wicked do not. We have seen this field before. Some months ago we saw the wife of the young man and in it her legs were symbolically cut off by a giant scythe that sought to cut down all - the enemy of our souls, Satan. His wife fell. She was briefly vocal in the young man's crusade even though they have both hated each other. It was prophesied in his and her presence that she would turn against this ministry when she returned home and it happened exactly as Yahweh said it would.
"All are running in this field which has come to harvest time. The wheat and the tares lie together and now they will be distinguished and separated. Some who appeared to be Yah'shua's turned out to have had another master altogether. There are many surprises as the veils are ripped down. Everyone is running to the edge of the field and even though no sycthe is visible this time, the memory of it is still vivid from before. The desire is to leave the world and let the malakim (angels) do the reaping. The people come to the edge of the field and emerge on land covered in grass. The young man is there, ahead, leading the way, while others follow, both friends and enemies. There is a slight incline, like a shallow hill, up which all are moving. All come to a narrow path - the young man is still there - he stands on the path, taunts and accuses those who follow, says they are liars and breathes threats. No one responds to him. He goes off the path, which veers to the right, because to the left there is a cliff which gives a view of the land for hundreds of miles round. This he surveys like a conqueror. He starts leaping up and down and waving his hands jubilantly - he believes he has won. He taunts and mocks again but as he does so, the ground suddenly opens up beneath his feet and swallows him whole until he is seen no more and everything is silent. The people following are stunned. They pause only briefly and then continue along the Way to the right.
"Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord. Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy" (Prov.6:14-15, KJV).
"What is about to be fulfilled comes in the wake of an earlier vision some weeks ago in which the young man is seen throwing pebbles at the ministry and those of us who serve in it. Each pebble bounces back and repositions itself above his head. The more pebbles he throws, the greater the assembly of pebbles that form above him until there is a vast threatening rock, hanging like the sword of Damocles over him, that at length falls on his head and crushes him. This is what happens when he is swallowed up into the ground."
For those of you who do not know of Damocles from Greek legend, let me retell the story:
"Damocles was an excessively flattering courtier in the court of Dionysius I of Syracuse, a 4th Century BC tyrantof Syracuse, Italy. He exclaimed that, as a great man of power and authority, Dionysius was truly fortunate. Dionysius offered to switch places with him for a day, so he could taste first hand that fortune. In the evening a banquet was held, where Damocles very much enjoyed being waited upon like a king. Only at the end of the meal did he look up and notice a sharpened sword hanging by a single piece of horsehair directly above his head. Immediately, he lost all taste for the fine foods and beautiful boys and asked leave of the tyrant, saying he no longer wanted to be so fortunate.
"The Sword of Damocles is a frequently used allusion to this tale, epitomizing the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power. More generally, it is used to denote a precarious situation and sense of foreboding thereof, especially one in which the onset of tragedy is restrained only by a delicate trigger or chance. Moreover, it can be seen as a lesson in the importance of understanding someone's experience" (Wikipedia, Damocles [1]).
The ambition to be a leader with authority and power has always been strong in our young adversary. Having sat as his own 'king' on the net for three months he will learn - whether in this life or the next, only Yahweh knows and only he can choose - some salient truths: you reap what you sow, Yahweh gives no authority without accountability, hate consumes and destroys, and it is a fearful thing to rebel against the Most High in order to justify sin, and to pretend to be walking the Way when in truth you have been walking the broad road to destruction and dragging people with you to it. But it takes harvest time to reveal that because the tares cannot be distinguished from the wheat until they are fully mature. Until then they are indistinguishable. That is why time has been needed for the ripening to take place so that account can be given and judgment pronounced by Heaven. Scripture says:
"This is what the wicked are like -- always carefree" (Ps. 73:12, NIV)
"Why does the wicked man revile Elohim? Why does he say to himself, 'He won't call me to account'?" (Ps.10:13, NIV).
But to account the good and the evil are inescapably called, and because this young man has made a vow of destruction and will not relent, Yahweh is soon to bring him to account. We in this ministry will take no part of it - it does not concern us. We have left him to his own devices yet he fears evil will be done to him by us. It won't. We have done nothing but bless him in our prayers (Mt.5:44). It is the consequences of his own evil that he must fear, for judgment is now at his door. And he will have to make a choice - possibly his last one - to repent and become a Paul (Ac.9:3-9) or remain in his inquity and perish like a Herod (Ac.12:21-23).
"The fear of Yahweh adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short" (Prov.10:27, NIV).
Whether this account which I am giving today will be believed by him or those believing him really does not matter. Time will, in any case, overtake them, and that time is short. That is why this message is being given today. In all likelihood I will not be adding to it in the future. We have more important matters building up the Kingdom of Yahweh.
But before I conclude my remarks about this unhappy business today, there is one more thing about this young man that needs to be said for the sake of those Christians who have come under his influence. Most are evidently not aware that he has not only rejected Yahweh our Heavenly Father and the Bible, but has openly accused both of being 'cultic'. He has stood in judgment of the Most High and His servants. He acts the atheist to one set of his readers and the Christian to another set in order to influence both to the maximum. In an article entitled, Why I Can No Longer Believe in the Bible Nor the God Who Created It (January 2007), he writes:
"I'd go so far as to say that ancient Judaism and Christianity were destructive cults themselves ... I believe the Bible to be a dangerous book ... Now I am not on some anti-Christian or anti-Jewish rampage. I try to treat people as I like to be treated. I am perfectly able to coexist with people who have differing opinions and beliefs than I do, so long as they are not causing any harm to anyone. But I am anti-Bible and think said volume has done tremendous damage to our society, all its positive contributions aside. We can keep the good but throw out the bad. I have no issue of analyzing the Bible as an ancient text, but do not consider it sacred by any stretch of the imagination".
When a human being rejects Yahweh and decides what is good and evil, and what is harmful or not, then from Yahweh's perspective he is setting himself up as an arbiter of truth - as a god. Truth is now to be measured by his own existentialist inner world. He then decides under his own authority what is good and bad, what is harmful and what is not harmful. He says: "I have a few philosophies I go by, some of them inspired by Christian dogma itself, but for now, that's all I have to go by". He has, in short, his own private religion.
You, the Christian, need to consider whether you are willing to trust these 'philosophies' or not, or whether you are going to trust the Creator of Heaven and Earth in whose hands our destiny lies completely. Do you trust him when he says, "I try to treat people as I like to be treated"? What do you think of a person who threatens to "annihilate out of existence"? Do you believe him when he claims that this is how he would like us to treat him?
He certainly seems to fear it yet nothing could be further from the truth. We do not wish his destruction but his redemption in spite of the horrific things he has been saying and all the pain he has caused to so many. Or don't we, perhaps, count as 'people' in his eyes? Are we just targets in some video game to be shot down? Or does he mean: "I try to treat people as I like to be treated provided they are not causing any harm to anyone." Does that mean that if he feels people are 'causing harm', as he perceives it, then that rule no longer applies? Does that mean that this justifies the categorisising of people into two distinct classes - the ones he does not think are harmful, and the ones he thinks are? Do we follow his rules or Yahweh's? Is his philosophy of life superior? What is the evidence from his behaviour and actions since he abandoned Christianity? Are they spiritual? Do they inspire you to imitate him? Is he consistent? Would you wish to evangelise for this young man? How does one reconcile this with his statement that he is "not on some anti-Christian or anti-Jewish rampage"? Or does he mean that there are two types of Christian and Jew - the ones that accept, like he does, that parts of the Bible are "good" and others are "bad", and others (like us) who think it is all good and infallibly inspired? Do you trust his finite mind, with all his spiritual issues, to pass judgment on Yahweh's Word?
In other words, is he saying that he is only not out to get those Christians and Jews who have the same Bible-view as himself? What of the rest? Is he saying that they they should be "annihilated out of existence" because he views them as "harmful" or "dangerous"? Is it safe to make this emotionally unstable young man who is so full of anger, bitterness and vengeance, a judge of human character? He testifies that he believes that the Bible is a "dangerous book" and that it has "done tremendous damage to our society". Do you believe that? Or do you believe, as we do, that it is men's uninspired interpretations or abuses that have, at times, done tremendous damage? Do you, like us, believe that tremendous damage has been done to society precisely because people won't believe Yahweh or trust His Word? Were his philosophy to become a national way of life, do you think it would be a happier and safer society? Or would you be living in fear as to whether you come under the category of 'harmful' and might be arrested any moment for being politically incorrect?
This young man testifies in his article that what turned him off Yahweh and the Bible was the fact that we were living it, at least as he 'saw' through his own interpretative lenses (in truth he has little clue was is in our actual hearts). What about other Christians and Jews who are living it? (Remember they're living it through various interpretative lenses too). Are they to be "annihilated out of existence" like the 'enemy' characters in the computer games he has always been so addicted to and through which he has vented all his childhood frustrations and anger - frustrations and anger now being carried over into the adult world where he is still trying to find his place - a large, terrifying and confusing world? These questions he needs to ask himself when he chooses to vaccate his cyber world and enter into the real world of flesh-and-blood people with hearts and feelings apart from his own. He needs to one day come to grips with real people and abandon the cold, lifeless digital images he has of them. He has to embrace life instead of violently attacking it and learn to take to heart the counsel of Henry Van Dyke:
"Are you willing to forget what you have done for other people, and to remember what other people have done for you; to ignore what the world owes you, and to think what you owe the world; to own that probably the only good reason for your existence is not what you are going to get out of life, but what you are going to give to life; to close your book of complaints against the management of the universe, and to look around you for a place where you can sow a few seeds of happiness -- are you willing to do these things for even a day?"
It doesn't take much brains or require a revelation from heaven for honest people to see where this young man is coming from and what his agenda is. He may try to conceal it but his own words betray him. It's obvious that he sees us, others and the world through a pair of very darkened lenses that are uniquely his, and that this vision taints and distorts everything else he sees. That is why there is no need for us to publically rebut him. He rebuts himself.
This whole three month campaign of slander and mockery has been nothing more than a quest for vengeance against the world which he has directed against those who have truly loved and cared for him for the first time in his life which he has only been able to justify through twisting and lying. He is striking out with an anger fuelled by deep-seated spiritual and emotional childhood issues, issues for which he had considerable psychiatric assistance before he met us, issues that he is refusing to confront by projecting onto others and blame-shifting. He has made a drama out of semi-fiction to get the kind of attention and plaudits from the world which he refused to receive from those who loved him and whose counsel he rejected. He won't find it, because the world does not love: it only exploits and uses. His only hope, like ours, is in Yahweh-Elohim and His Word which he is currently mocking as 'cultic'. Redemption is possible for him but if he spurns it then the earth will swallow him up, and very soon. We want him to be free and alive as we are but we can't sustain his illusions or permit him to continue hurting people indefinitely. That is why this address is being given. That's why it is being given now. He needs to face the truth. And he will not be allowed to hide away from it.
One day, Yahweh-willing, as he passes through the vicissitudes of life with his eyes open and not shut, he will come to realise this profound truth which I know is embedded in the hearts of all this people and all those who love Yah'shua the Messiah with all their hearts, have tasted of His goodness, and have learned to see people as they really are. He will then discover as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow did who wrote these immortal lines:
"If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostilities."
And when he does, he will learn to love. Amen.
Historical Postscript
In July 2009 the subject of this article was led back to Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), was born again, and tasted of the love which had been so absent from his life in the three years he waged a merciless hate campaign against the ministry. For a while he became a transformed person in whom we rejoiced as a fellow brother in Messiah Yah'shua and pilgrim along the Way. You can read the story of his brief home-coming in My Testimony of MLT. Since then he has wandered away from Yah'shua again and into agnosticism (fuelled in part by the education he has received in a liberal arts college), and apart from the former personal hostility, seems to pretty much believe as he once did, rejecting the Bible and Elohim. Where he will go from here, only Yahweh knows, but the story is not over. If you are reading this, please pray for him, as he has yet to make his final choice.
Footnotes
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damocles
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 20 March 2007
Last updated on 5 July 2011
Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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