EZEKIEL
and YHWH’s
Judgment
for the
Good News
PEOPLE
VOLUME VII
True Conversion
EZEKIEL and
YHWH’s
Judgment for
the
Good News People
Volume VII--True Conversion
by
an unworthy
servant
And you shall
know the truth,
and the truth
will make you free.
(John 8:32)
Common Law Copyright, 2003 &2005
CE, an unworthy servant, Calder, Idaho.
The author claims his Right of exclusive ownership and control of this
publication, the fruit of his labor, as a matter of Intellectual Property
protected by the Laws of YHWH and as guaranteed by the US Constitution for the
United States. Permission is granted to
quote provided appropriate credit is cited together with the Publisher’s web
site name and postal mailing address––WWW.age-end.com PO Box 473, Calder, ID
83808, USA.
Contents
Volume
VII--True Conversion
CHAPTER
PAGE
- Cover
Page 1
- Title
Page 2
- Contents 3
- Publisher’s
Preface 5
Part T--More Historical People
91 Eliyahu 6
92 Nevukhadnetzar 14
93 Daniel 19
94 Shaul 22
Part U--Circumcision of the Heart
95 Only
YHWH Can Defeat Pride 30
96 What
Must Be Done on Pride 44
97 The
Difficulty in Dealing With Pride 57
98 Pride
and Truth 67
99 The
Dilemma of Pride 78
100 Apathy
in Action 91
Part V--The True Brotherhood Versus
Christianity
101 Real
Brotherly Love I 101
102 Real
Brotherly Love II 113
103 Real
Brotherly Love III 127
104 Real
Brotherly Love IV 136
Part W--Redemption/Salvation
105 Redemption 143
106 More
on Redemption 156
SHEERIT
YISRAEL
PO Box 473
Calder, Idaho
83808, USA
Publisher’s
Preface
Greetings! The following presentation is volume seven of
a 36-volume production of some 6,000 pages on “Ezekiel and YHWH’s Judgment for
the Good News People,” all of which is on the Internet at the www.age-end.com web
site.
This overall effort provides an
interpretation of the Good News message in the New Testament, its linkage to
the book of Ezekiel, and an application of both to the age-end prophecies
relating to certain nations and peoples now out in the world. In order for this single volume to be understood
and comprehended, it is imperative that the study be read from its
beginning--from page one of volume one.
Anyone trying to read this volume or
the study’s 6,000 pages at any mid-point will end up in a state of confusion
without having read and digested the preceding material. It is crucially important that this work be
read in sequence from its beginning--otherwise, the reader will almost
certainly end up missing the essence of the message!
The
effort was originally set on a Macintosh computer with Microsoft Word
6.0.1. It was set in Helvetica, 12-point
type (18 pt on chapter headings); single line spacings; and margins: left 1.2”, right 0.8”, top 0.7”, bottom 0.8”
and footer 0.6” (for page numbers).
For
further information on obtaining this study in 18 computer floppy disks
(IBM-formatted, high density, 2HD, 1.44 MB, 3 1/2 inches); in a single CD-Rom;
or in hard copies (when the Internet or a compatible computer is not
available); please write the publisher at the above address and send a stamped,
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With a CD-Rom or computer floppy disks,
the study is readable on Macintosh (systems 5.0 and later) or IBM/compatible
(with Microsoft Word-Windows) personal computers. May The Great CREATOR and SOVEREIGN OF THE
UNIVERSE bless you as you study His word to learn His will and to obey
Him. Shalom (peace) to you and
yours!
an unworthy
servant, Hanukkah 2003 CE
Chapter
91--Eliyahu
Eliyahu (Elijah)
The
subject man of this next chapter comes charging at the student of truth like a
freight train from almost out of no where--with no ancestry, no genealogy, no
history and seemingly no beginning.
The
Scriptures open up his story by simply calling him Eliyahu the Tishbite of
Gilead with a proclamation from him, as the prophet of The MOST HIGH, to King
Achav of Yisrael that there would be no rain, dew or moisture of any kind to
fall on Yisrael, except on YHWH's Word (I Kg 17:1).
In
this opening salvo on the life of the famous prophet, one is told only the bare
essentials--that he was evidently an inhabitant or resident of the town or area
of Tisbeh (thus, a Tishbite--per Young's “Analytical Concordance”) of the
territory of Gilead (probably on the East side of the Jordan River) and that he
was a contemporary of King Achav of Yisrael.
This
linkage to Achav was, of course, extremely revealing because students do know
quite a bit about this "infamous" king of Yisrael, who was one of the
most evil and wicked of all of the rulers over the Northern kingdom (I Kg
16:33).
Achav
was the son of Omri and ruled over Yisrael from Samaria for a total of 22 years
in the 9th century (BCE). And while he
made his mark in many acts of stupidity and wickedness, perhaps his marriage to
the Edomite Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, has to be one
of the major mistakes of his life.
The
Baal worshipping Jezebel was so bad that symbolically she became the
personification of evil thereafter in Yisrael, as well as in other lands and
among other peoples. Many modern people
believe that Achav and Jezebel symbolize one of America’s modern leading
families--Slick Clinton and his wife Hillary.
This
notorious couple, Achav and Jezebel, not only sought to forsake the covenant
and abolish the remaining presence of the true faith of YHWH from the land (by
slaying all of the prophets of The SOVEREIGN--except for Eliyahu and some
others, who were hid in a cave by Ovadyah--I Kg 18:4), but they also did their
level best to extend and promote Baal and Asherah (Easter) worship throughout
the kingdom (I Kg 19:10).
They Were Evil
Their
evil was so great that, in time, it provoked a curse upon their household and
descendants by The EVERLIVING (I Kg 21:21-29).
One of the features that stands out in the lives of both Achav and
Jezebel is their incredible pride--specifically arrogance and insolence.
We
find evidence of this reality hurled at us in the way that they opposed and
hated Eliyahu, even after they were warned of The ELOHIM's anger and wrath (I
Kg 17:1); their overbearing, sullen attitude of resentment (I Kg 20:43; 21:4);
and in the way that they treated Naboth the Jezreelite (I Kg 21:1).
In
this regard, it seems that Naboth owned a vineyard which Achav wanted for his
own use (I Kg 21:2). But Naboth said
"no way" since the property was an inheritance from his fathers (I Kg
21:3). With the refusal, Achav got mad
and went home to sulk and boil in hate and resentment (I Kg 21:4). Jezebel, on learning of her husband's
problem, decided to intervene on his behalf (I Kg 21:5-7).
So
she wrote letters under Achav's royal seal to the elders of Naboth's city
charging them to bring forth false witnesses to accuse Naboth of disloyalty to
YHWH and to King Achav (I Kg 21:8-10).
Naturally, the leaders did as they were told to do and falsely swore
against Naboth (I Kg 21:11-13).
Murder of Naboth
Found
guilty from the testimony of the false witnesses, poor Naboth was carried out
of his city and stoned to death (I Kg 21:13).
Thereupon, under Jezebel's insistence, Achav took possession of Naboth's
vineyard (I Kg 21:15-16).
This
treachery was so bad that it brought a curse upon Achav's future posterity (I
Kg 21:21). In terms of Jezebel, YHWH
judged that her dead body would ultimately be eaten by dogs by the wall of
Jezreel (I Kg 21:23).
As
terrible as the proud, arrogant and insolent Achav was, credit is due him on
the occasion when Eliyahu pronounced this judgment on Jezebel and him. The Book says that "he humbled
himself" before The ELOHIM. Because
of this repentance, the sentence on his children was delayed until after his
death (I Kg 21:29).
While
there is every reason to suspect that Achav and Jezebel represented the epitome
of pride and vanity in their lifetimes, Eliyahu, in contrast, seems to have
been a production of extreme meekness and humility.
From
the available brief narrative of the life of the great prophet, there is no
evidence or indication at all of any pride or vanity surfacing in Eliyahu's
mental makeup and motivation, although there is every reason to believe that he
must have once had this problem (just like everybody else does have in the
flesh).
If
so, then it is manifest that at some point and time, YHWH chose, by election,
to change him into a humble and meek servant so he could be of use. And there is no joking or taking light the
dedication, commitment, and obedience of this man Eliyahu.
A Great Man
As
the Word tells us, Eliyahu truly was a person of unusual moral uprightness,
courage and integrity. Still more
importantly, he was a classic example of humility and meekness in action, as
will shortly be shown. Perhaps it is
this fact which prompted The EVERLASTING to choose him.
Eliyahu's
spectacular deliverance of YHWH's judgment on Yisrael in terms of the great
drought on Yisrael (I Kg 17:1) would seemingly rank as the one crowning point
in a prophet's life; however, not so, in respect to the subject of this
study.
In
a way, it was just the beginning place in an illustrious career which seems to
have spanned a long period of time back then and which apparently is still not
over here in the early 21st century.
The Widow
After
the drought pronouncement, the Book tells us that Eliyahu was sent by YHWH to
live by the brook Cherith where he drank from the stream and was fed by the
ravens (I Kg 17:5-6). But with the
drought so bad in Yisrael, the waters in the brook dried up in time (I Kg
17:7). So YHWH told him to go and reside
at a widow's house in Zarephath (I Kg 17:9).
On
reaching his new residence, Eliyahu discovered that the poor woman had no food,
but a handful of meal in a jar and a little oil in a bottle. She was preparing to bake this into a last
meal of bread for her and her son before they both died of anticipated
starvation (I Kg 17:10-12).
However,
once more, Eliyahu arose to the occasion with a prophecy from The HIGHEST to
the effect that the jar of meal and the bottle of oil would not waste away or
cease until rain came on the land (I Kg 17:14).
So Eliyahu dwelt with the widow and they ate of the food which continued
to be available (I Kg 17:15).
But
then some time later, tragedy struck the household when the widow's son became
ill and died (I Kg 17:17). The poor
woman immediately wanted to attribute the death to some hidden sin in her life;
and naturally, she was distraught with the loss of her apparent only son (I Kg
17:18).
Certainly,
displaying some very important mercy and compassion, the man Eliyahu took the
son from the widow's bosom and carried the body to the chamber where he
stayed. He laid the dead boy upon his
own bed and fell upon him in prayer to YHWH three times (I Kg 17:19-22).
The
Word tells us that The MOST HIGH heard Eliyahu's petition and chose to
intervene at that moment in time to restore the dead boy back to life (I Kg
17:22-23). The poor woman's beautiful
response was that by this act, she knew that Eliyahu was a man of The ELOHIM (I
Kg 17:24).
As
the famine intensified, the days continued to pass until the drought reached
the three and one-half years mark (Jas 5:17).
It then became time for YHWH to send water (I Kg 18:1). So Eliyahu contacted Achav through Ovadyah in
order to arrange a face to face meeting with Achav (I Kg 18:14-15).
With
the arrangements completed and agreed upon, Eliyahu stood before Achav that day
with a message and challenge for Achav that he (Achav), the 450 prophets of
Baal (the sun god), the 400 representatives of Asherah (Easter) and the people
of Yisrael assemble on Mount Carmel, overlooking the spectacular Mediterranean
Sea (I Kg 18:18-19).
The Contest
Thereafter,
Achav and the designated others congregated on Carmel to face the man
Eliyahu. The people assembled to see
what would happen and if their sun god would truly reveal himself.
To
the 850 preachers of Easter and sun worship present (resembling those of
Christendom), Eliyahu proposed a contest to prove to the observing people
exactly which religion was true and right, since the Israelites had been
floundering around for some time in confusion over the religion of the
Scriptures versus that of Easter and the sun god Baal (I Kg 18:19-21).
As
Eliyahu set the terms of the confrontation, the 450 preachers of Baal sun
worship could put a sacrifice upon an altar on Carmel and Eliyahu would also
put a sacrifice on another altar there.
The two adversaries could both pray to and beseech their respective
deities for a revelation by fire--the 450 to Baal and Eliyahu to YHWH.
By
this contest, the observing Israelite people could then see and decide which
deity was the right one in Yisrael (I Kg 18:21-25). So the 450 prophets of the sun god prepared
their sacrifice and prayed to Baal from morning until well past the noon
hour.
They
leaped upon and all around the altar with the sacrifice. In their religious excitement and frenzy,
they cried aloud and cut themselves with knives and lances until the blood came
forth (doesn't this sound a lot like a modern Pentecostal meeting in progress?).
However,
with all of the religious fervor, screaming and carrying on, Baal did not
answer. Nothing happened to their
chagrin and disappointment (I Kg 18:26-29).
Then in the afternoon, at about the approaching time for the offering of
the evening sacrifice, Eliyahu stepped forward and repaired the (former) altar
of YHWH on Carmel which had been broken down by Jezebel (I Kg 18:30).
He
took twelve stones, representing the twelve tribes of Yisrael, and rebuilt the
altar; constructed a trench around the altar big enough to contain two measures
of seed; placed the sacrifice upon the altar and a quantity of wood about it;
and ordered four jars of water to be poured over the offering and wood three
times to thoroughly soak everything and fill the trench with water (I Kg
18:31-35).
The Glory of a Man?
At
the time of the evening sacrifice, the great prophet prayed, saying "Oh
YHWH, The ELOHIM of Avraham, Yitzhak and Yisrael, let it be known this day that
You are The ELOHIM in Yisrael and that I am Your servant and that I have done
all these things at Your word. Hear me,
Oh YHWH, hear me so that this people may know that You, YHWH, are The ELOHIM
and have turned their hearts back to You" (I Kg 18:36-37).
The
Book then marvelously tells us that the fire of YHWH came down and consumed the
sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust and the water in the trench (I Kg
18:38). When the witnessing people saw
what all had happened, they fell on their faces and cried out that "YHWH
is The ELOHIM" (I Kg 18:39).
Thereupon,
Eliyahu ordered the false preachers of Baal seized and brought down to the
brook Kishon where he righteously and properly slew all of them (I Kg
18:40).
Turning
his attention next to Achav, the great prophet told him that there was a sound
of an abundance of rain (I Kg 18:41), although there obviously wasn't even a
cloud then in the sky.
With
a profusion of faith, Eliyahu went up to the top of the mountain with his
servant and bowed down and prayed to The HIGHEST (I Kg 18:42). Finishing his prayer, he told his servant to
look for rain out over the beautiful Mediterranean Sea. The servant saw nothing. So Eliyahu told him to do the same thing six
more times--seven in all (I Kg 18:43).
Rain
On
the seventh time, the servant said that he saw a small cloud, the size of a
man's hand arising out of the sea.
Eliyahu turned to Achav and told him to hitch up his chariot and go down
the mountain, lest the rain stop him (I Kg 18:44). A short time later, the heavens were black
with wind swept clouds and there was a great rain (I Kg 18:45).
The
drama on Mount Carmel could have easily ended there. After all, the great prophet of The SUPREME
GOVERNOR of the Universe had done his job masterfully well. All alone, he had faced and defeated the 850
preachers of Easter and sun worship.
With this victory, he next had righteously executed these false
preachers on the spot.
And
without a cloud in sight, he proclaimed an end to the drought. If there are and have been occasions for a
fleshly human being to be caught up into a situation and to be filled with
pride, vanity and glory, then surely this could have been the reaction in the
heart of the man Eliyahu at that precise moment in time.
The Humble Eliyahu
However,
the Word does tell us of a different reaction and response from this unusual
man who must surely rank as one of the greatest of all limited men that have
ever lived. The Book goes on to say that
Achav, in his chariot, took off from Carmel toward Jezreel, almost twenty miles
away (I Kg 18:45-46). And what did
Eliyahu do? Why he ran in front of the
chariot as a "footman" all of the way to Jezreel (I Kg 18:46).
You
see, in those days, human kings were accustomed to having a foot escort running
in front of their chariots as a symbol or mark of honor and distinction (II Sam
15:1). For some reason, maybe in the
haste of the rain or in the confusion in Achav's ranks after the defeat of the
Easter and sun worshipping preachers, no escort appeared to be available to
give Achav his customary human honor, glory and acclamation.
So
the mighty Eliyahu, personal representative, spokesperson and prophet of The
EVERLIVING RULER of the Universe, steps forward to humble and abase himself by
becoming the runner to honor Achav.
What
a paradox it is that a great man like Eliyahu chose to become a humble, meek
servant to a proud, vain, arrogant, insolent heathen like Achav for a trying
and difficult twenty mile run. Which one
of us today would be willing to do what Eliyahu did if we were in his
shoes? Not many, for sure. In fact, not many of us today could even run
20 miles!
His Later Work
Thereafter,
Jezebel was angry and upset when Achav told her what all had happened on Carmel
(I Kg 19:1). So she put out a death
sentence on Eliyahu (I Kg 19:2). And in
fear, the prophet went down South to a place near Beersheba, some 80 miles away
(I Kg 19:3-4).
As
he probably had not eaten in some time, he fell asleep under a juniper tree at
a moment in time when his life seemed filled with despair and
hopelessness. But a messenger from The
ELOHIM touched him and brought him some food and water (I Kg 19:5-7).
On
the basis of that miraculous meal from YHWH, Eliyahu arose and went in strength
for the next forty days and forty nights without any further nourishment of
food or water. He went to Mount Horeb,
still further South, where he lodged in a cave and dialogued with The MOST HIGH
(I Kg 19:8-14).
Thereupon,
The MOST HIGH commissioned him to go and anoint Hazael to be king over Syria,
Jehu (Yehu in the Hebrew) to be king over Yisrael and Elisha to be prophet in
his place (I Kg 19:15-16).
Later,
as Eliyahu was completing his assigned duties, Achazyah, son of Achav, became
king over Yisrael with the death of his father (I Kg 22:51). Like his parents, Achazyah was an evil
worshipper of Baal and sought to kill Eliyahu by sending companies of fifty men
each to seize him on three different occasions.
Each
time, the prophet called fire down from heaven to consume these oppressors (II
Kg 1:9-14). In this situation, Eliyahu
also had a message for Achazyah from YHWH that he, the evil human king, would
soon die without issue, thus ending Achav's dynasty from ruling over Yisrael
(II Kg 1:17).
With
all of his work completed, Eliyahu and his successor to be, Elisha, went to a
particular spot near the Jordan River while some fifty sons of the prophets
watched at some distance. As the two
prophets walked and talked, a chariot and horses of fire came to part them and
Eliyahu was taken up to heaven in a whirlwind (II Kg 2:1-11).
Consequently,
Eliyahu was apparently not seen ever again in the flesh on planet earth. In later years, Jehoram (Yehoram in the
Hebrew), king of Yehudah, did receive a letter from Eliyahu which pronounced
judgment on Yehoram for his sins (II Chron 21:12-15), but no further messages
were heard from him, per se.
This
communication to Yehoram has prompted some savants to suppose that the great
prophet continued to live here on earth and to die at some point in time. However, the Book doesn't say that, nor does
it suggest or imply such an eventuality.
He Will Return
Instead,
several centuries later, the prophet Malachi (Malakhi in the Hebrew) had a
powerful proclamation that The ELOHIM will send Eliyahu to do a work before the
climatic age end in the Day of YHWH (Mal 4:5).
In this regard, Yohanan the Baptist certainly came in the spirit of
Eliyahu (Matt 11:14; Lu 1:17).
However,
Yohanan was truly not Eliyahu (Jo 1:21).
Consequently, the prophesied return of Eliyahu by Malakhi is still
future, as this study is being written in early 2003 (Matt 17:11; Mk
9:12).
He Was Just Like Us
For
a conclusion to this report, if it is possible to conclude it in view of the
prophet's evident future job, one might refer to Yakov’s assessment of this
exceptional man Eliyahu. Yakov said it
well by noting that he was a man of like passions, just like all of the rest of
us (Jas 5:17). In other words, he was
not extraordinary at all in terms of his makeup and composition in basic human
nature.
Therefore,
it seems quite persuasive that Eliyahu probably once had a pride, vanity and
carnality problem which YHWH chose to deal with at some point in time to reduce
and change him into a humble and meek servant capable of useful service to
others. In summary, this man Eliyahu,
who was like the rest of us in terms of carnal, human nature (Jas 5:17), became
one of the most famous prophets of all time.
Yet,
despite his commission and authority from The CREATOR and GOVERNOR of The
Universe, he could and did muster an extraordinary stance of abasement and the
lowering of himself in order to be a classic example of humility and
meekness. In short, what a fantastic
person this man Eliyahu turned out to be!
Chapter
92--Nevukhadnetzar
Another Example from the Word
Examples
of people from the Scriptures who went through the process of reconciliation
include the previously described Iyov, Moshe and Eliyahu. But there are many other individuals
highlighted and commented upon in the Word.
This list can and has included a number of others who made the move from
sin to righteousness.
And
to this list of examples of at least the work of THE MOST HIGH, one must add
the evil despot Nevukhadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar). Thus, the question must be asked--is it
possible that the famous tyrant Nebuchadnezzar actually went through the
transition from sin to righteousness?
Babylon
Babylon is a very old city in terms of
the works of man and evil. In fact, it
was originally built by Nimrod (a son of Cush) very early in time, not long
after the fantastic flood of Noah's day (Gen 10:10). In the Hebrew, it was first called Babel,
meaning confusion. However, over time, man
has come to know it as Babylon in the Greek and other languages.
When a person surveys the immediate
post flood environment, he/she must be impressed with the beginning of Babel as
a classic place of rebellion, in terms of a city. Because here, in Babel, as one may recall,
wicked and evil Adamites chose to build a tower to ascend into the heavens,
contrary to the will of The EVERLASTING (Gen 11:3-4).
Since The ELOHIM was displeased with
their efforts, He intervened to confound their language and to spread them
abroad (Gen 11:5-9). After stopping this
foolishness of evil men, not much more is heard or read of Babel/Babylon until
the prophet Yeshayahu came along to denounce the place (at a time, even while
the neighboring Assyrians were at the pinnacle of their power in the 8th
century BCE).
Naturally, Yeshayahu had some strong
words and indictments against the future Babylon and her coming great evil and
wickedness which will finally result in her destruction and termination (Isa
13:1-22). But the prophet furthermore
took an unusual stand in his denunciation by characterizing this despicable
city as “the glory of kingdoms and the beauty of the Chaldeans' pride” (Isa
13:19).
Certainly, Yeshayahu was talking about
a largely coming Babylon in his day and one of glory and beauty in terms of
what man calls good, in contrast to a definition from The ELOHIM. But given time, Yeshayahu's perceptive vision
began to crystallize into reality when a Chaldean king named Nabopolassar came
to power in that territory to launch an aggressive military conquest of his
neighboring states.
By the close of the 7th century BCE,
Nabopolassar had achieved much success--even to the point of defeating the
Assyrians and taking away their former rule of the then civilized world of the
Adam kind. Consequently, with the death
of Nabopolassar, Babylon was a mighty empire and one not to be taken
lightly.
Nevukhadnetzar (Nebuchadnezzar)
Clearly, Babylon was the beauty of the
Chaldeans' pride, as so amply foretold by Yeshayahu many years earlier. Thus, this was the prevailing situation when
Nabopolassar's son Nebuchadnezzar took over the throne from his deceased father
and continued the forward motion of the Babylonian conquest of the world.
Obviously, Nebuchadnezzar was no slouch
in the art of war and in the business of international politics. Very soon, in his reign, he had successfully
extended Chaldean rule from probably India in the East all of the way West to
the Mediterranean Sea and North Africa.
The kingdom of Yehudah came under
Babylonian control by the mid 6th century BCE when the Jews there were enslaved
and deported East to the capitol setting on the Euphrates. This was the existing environment when both
the prophets Yechezkel and Daniel surfaced to record from Babylon some of the
greatest prophecies of all time (respecting the future of fantastic world
powers and nations).
The Dream
Regarding the ages to come and the then
man-made "glory" of Babylon, Daniel wrote, for posterity, a record of
an amazing dream which the ruling Nebuchadnezzar had in his second year (Dan
2:1).
Specifically, he dreamed about a great
image--mighty, bright, frightening and terrible. Its head was of fine gold, its breast and arms
of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron and its feet of a
mixture of iron and potter's clay.
Well, it turned out that none of the
Chaldean soothsayers and mystics could make known what the dream was, much less
attempt an interpretation of it, as Nebuchadnezzar demanded. So Daniel was called upon and he correctly
related the details of the dream, as well as offering the interpretation.
Respecting the understanding, Daniel
wisely identified the different parts of the image as sequential world ruling
empires, starting with the then present and existing Babylon and continuing on
with the others until a stone kingdom of The ELOHIM would come on the scene to
smite and smash the image (Dan 2:31-45).
Without going into the far reaching
details of this prophecy and belaboring its many points, it will still be
useful in the present discussion to make mention of a few of Daniel's
observations of it.
Importantly, he perceptively said that
Nebuchadnezzar was a "king of (earthly) kings;" one whom The HIGHEST
had given power, might and glory to; one granted authority by The MOST HIGH to
rule over the children of Adam wherever they dwelt and the beasts of the field;
and finally, that Nebuchadnezzar, himself, was the "head of gold"
(Dan 2:37-38).
Clearly, this head of gold comment by
The ELOHIM's prophet must be taken as an unusual and exceptional description of
a mere man, even one with the stature of Nebuchadnezzar with all of his power,
authority and rulership.
There can be no doubt about it,
Nebuchadnezzar was playing in the big leagues in the context of what all can be
said about a limited, mere man. He was a
big shot, par excellence, as Daniel so aptly described.
YHWH’s Servant
But the prophet's words carry an even
more poignant message in the declaration that The HIGHEST had given to
Nebuchadnezzar his kingdom, power, might, glory and rule over the children of
Adam and the behemah (called beasts of the field in the KJV).
Elsewhere, the prophet Yirmeyahu had
even gone so far as to call Nebuchadnezzar "a servant of YHWH" (Jer
25:9) and one whom The ELOHIM had given the territorial and population
conquests to which Nebuchadnezzar then enjoyed (Jer 27:6-7).
While the Chaldean king certainly
believed that it was through his personal abilities, qualities and attributes
that he had conquered the then civilized world, the truth from The Book was
plain that his dominion had been given to him by The CREATOR.
The fact that The EVERLIVING elected to
call Nebuchadnezzar "My servant," as discussed previously, may seem
like a fluke or paradox of sorts in view of the Babylonian's historic role of
being a wicked dictator and despot of first rank who had killed, maimed, tortured
and enslaved vast multitudes of peoples over the years.
For proof, one may read of this
tyrant's great cruelty, horror and terror upon supposedly innocent women,
children and the aged by reading the books of Lamentations, Jeremiah, II Kings
and others. He categorically was no
"saint" or "good" person by any stretch of the
imagination. Yet, The MOST HIGH called
him His servant.
He Was A Big Shot
Moreover, in his condition of being
sole ruler and king over all of the then civilized world stretching for
thousands of miles, it's not hard to discover that he had furthermore become a
very proud, vain, arrogant ruler, in addition to being extremely vicious, mean,
cruel and brutal to thousands of seemingly innocent and helpless women,
children and old people.
Regarding this revelation of how
incredibly evil and wicked he was in terms of pride and vanity, strangely
enough, the statement was to eventually come from Nebuchadnezzar's own lips in
a moment of truth, as will be shortly shown.
For this view, one must once more go to
the prophet Daniel. As Daniel wrote it,
Nebuchadnezzar was at rest and prospering in his palace one day after all his
successes in conquering and ruling over the then recognized world of Adam.
At that time, he, once more, had
another dream which none of the Chaldean magicians, enchanters or astrologers
could make known or interpret (Dan 4:8).
Thus, Daniel was summoned as before.
In respect to the dream, Nebuchadnezzar had seen a very high tree in the
midst of the earth which provided shade, food and blessings for all under
it.
Then a watcher came down from heaven
who hewed the tree down, cut off its branches, shook off its leaves, and
scattered its fruit to leave a stump of its roots in the earth with a band of
iron and bronze about it to be covered with dew and for it to share the lot of
the living creatures in the grass of the earth for seven times (Dan
4:10-16).
Who Was the Tree?
For the interpretation, Daniel said
that Nebuchadnezzar was the tree. He was
to be driven from among men (Aramaic enash), to dwell with the beasts of the
field, to eat grass as oxen, and to be wet with the dew of heaven until seven
times (years) should pass over him; so that he might know that The MOST HIGH
rules over the kingdoms of men and gives them to whomsoever He wills (Dan
4:20-26).
Daniel then called for Nebuchadnezzar
to stop sinning and to show repentance by righteousness, mercy and loving
kindness to the poor and oppressed, as a healing for his error (Dan 4:27).
Obviously, not choosing to repent,
Nebuchadnezzar went his way for the next twelve months (Dan 4:29). One day, while walking in the palace, he said
"Is not this great Babylon, that I have built as the royal residence and
seat of government by the might of my power and for the honor and glory of my
majesty?"
As Nebuchadnezzar was yet speaking, a
word came from heaven to declare that his kingdom was then departing from him
(Dan 4:28-31). Or as Daniel later put
it, "his heart was lifted up, and his mind and spirit were hardened so
that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and his glory was
taken from him" (Dan 5:20).
He Became an Animal
Consequently, the prophecy came upon
him and he became as an insane and crazy man (enash) to live like an animal
with the beasts of the field for seven years.
Literally, he ate grass like an oxen and was wet with the dew of
heaven--all the while that his hair grew as eagles' feathers and his nails
developed like birds' claws (Dan 4:33).
At the end of the prophesied seven
years, sanity and understanding returned to Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 4:32-36). Realizing what all had happened to himself,
the Chaldean king praised The MOST HIGH Who "does according to His will in
the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; none can stay His
hand or say to Him, What are You doing?" (Dan 4:35).
And if it is possible for a limited,
little human to ever grasp one of the greatest of all pieces of intellectual
knowledge and understanding, Nebuchadnezzar did so as he declared "Now I,
Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of Whose
works are faithful and right, and His ways are just; and those who walk in
pride He is able to abase and humble" (Dan 4:37-- “Amplified Translation”).
This pronouncement by the once proud,
arrogant Nebuchadnezzar has to be one of the great texts (among so many) in the
Word of YHWH. For here, we have a human
king who had been elevated and lifted up high in his own eyes; and who, one day
after a time of correction by The HIGHEST, woke up to see and understand that
he had been wrong in his pride and vanity.
In effect, the Word teaches a form of
repentance and transition to humility emanating from the despot
Nebuchadnezzar. His conclusion that The
ELOHIM is able to abase and humble is totally marvelous anyway one may try to
cut it.
Chapter
93--Daniel
Daniel
Daniel
is a fifth classic illustration of how The MOST HIGH can bring about
conditions, trials, tests and corrective punishment in an (elect) person’s life
to change Him for the good. Daniel is
important to consider because he, like Iyov, was declared to be righteous by
Yechezkel (Ezek 14:14) and alluded to by Shaul, in his great writing on faith
and a “better” resurrection (Heb 11:33-34).
The
Scriptures seem to suggest and most students of the Book agree that Daniel was
born and spent his early years in Jerusalem; perhaps in a position of some
station and royalty, since he was of probable royal blood and a likely
descendant of King Hizkiyahu (II Kg 20:17-18; Isa 29:6-7; Dan 1:3-6).
Being
perfectly human, one can be sure that he was a person of pride and vanity and
particularly so in his Judean years. At
around the age of fifteen or so (per Herbert Lockyer in “All The Men of the
Bible”), he was carried off to slavery in Babylon by Nebuchadnezzar.
One
of the first things which apparently befell the captive teenager was that his
future life was shattered when he was likely castrated and made a eunuch (Dan
1:3-18). After all, kings like Nebuchadnezzar would customarily require
captives in his palace and around his harem to be castrated.
As
Shlomo had so wisely put it centuries earlier, women (for sex) are the delights
of men (Eccl 2:8). In Daniel’s case, he
was thrust into captivity and slavery and denied the hope of ever enjoying a
woman. From his beginning in Babylon,
his life seemed to be crushed and destroyed with terrifying trials and
tests.
His Friends
But
there was more to come--some of which is stated and much of which can only be
speculated and guessed about. One of
those cases where one might be suspicious of a great trial for Daniel would
have surfaced possibly when his friends Shadrach Hebrew Shadrakh), Meshach
(Hebrew Meishakh) and Abednego (Hebrew Avednego) were cast into the fiery
furnace over their state of righteousness (Dan 3:23).
Possibly,
Daniel likewise maintained a similar state of righteousness as his friends in
refusing to engage in the false worship of the image established by
Nebuchadnezzar (Dan 3:1-12). If so, he
would have been under a great trial of faith as they were.
Or
since Daniel’s reaction is not reported, and perhaps if he wasn’t thrown in the
fire, is it possible that he compromised in this instance, and went on to
worship the image? In either case,
Daniel would have had a great trial and test of faith.
The
Book also tells of another horrible (recorded) event in Daniel’s life. It happened when the Medes and Persians
conquered Babylon. On this occasion,
poor Daniel was thrown into a den of lions because of his righteousness (Dan
6:16). Talk about a trial that would
separate the men from the boys on faith; this one certainly qualified.
The
point of these remarks is that some significant portion of Daniel’s life was
spent in trials, tests, corrective punishments and chastisements which
collectively acted to bring him down, to crush him and make him a suitable
vessel of righteousness and seemingly eligible for a future “better”
resurrection.
More on the Book of Daniel
Other
commentary presented herein has or will discuss the book of Daniel from the
standpoint of composition and inspiration.
As pointed out in these comments, it is indeed fascinating that so many
so-called “Bible” scholars, savants and critics have tried to question and/or
attack Daniel for various and sundry reasons.
As
mentioned in some of these discussions, the book of Daniel presents an amazing
profile of the history of the remnant of the House of Yehudah in conflict with
the Greeks in the inter-testament period (covering the years after the work of
the Prophet Malakhi and up until the New Testament opens with the story of The
MESSIAH YESHUA in the first century CE).
Modern
scholars, both Jewish and Christian, can ascertain what happened in much of
this largely blank period of history from the books of the Maccabees in the
Apocrypha. From these marvelous writings
about the tragedy of this period, arising from the work of the evil despot
Antiochus Epiphanies, one can immediately relate this interplay between the
Jews in Palestine and the conquering Greeks.
It
is absolutely astounding, but the book of Daniel (chapter 11) outlines this
confrontation, conflict and tragedy in great detail. Daniel 11 is so incredibly accurate that the
so-called scholars, savants and authorities (both Christian and Jew) could
never believe that Daniel wrote this book with his name on it around 500 BCE
and in the early fifth century BCE.
The
amazing accuracy and specifics (and even in terms of great detail) have
completely dumbfounded the critics and religious big shots over the years. Many have been quite anxious to say that
Daniel never wrote this prophetic writing which has survived to modern times
under his name.
The
consensus for years by the scholars and critics is that the book of Daniel was
composed after the Jewish-Greek conflict involving Antiochus Epiphanies and the
Maccabees (which was around the years 177-165 BCE). In other words, the Prophet Daniel could not
have possibly known about those events three hundred years earlier. Thus, the writer must have composed his work
after the events took place.
Well,
Daniel has stood the test of time and history.
Despite all of these scholarly and intellectual efforts of the savants
and critics to ridicule and demean the book of Daniel, it has survived in the
Tanakh and now in “Christian Bibles.”
After
the critics could not defeat the Daniel writings, they next turned their attention
to the prospects that almost all of the book of Daniel was already fulfilled in
past history. Again, Daniel 11 become
the primary focus of this allegation by so-called scholars.
However,
the writer of this study at hand takes the view that almost all of Daniel is
still future in early 2003. While much
of it has faced an ante-typical fulfillment in past ages (especially during the
Greek rule of the Middle East), the coming typical fulfillments are all still future.
In
particular, Daniel 11 (in terms of its ultimate, typical fulfillment) is still
future here in 2003. The great interplay
between the kings of the North and South will eventually play out here in the
age end. When these things do come to
past, at last the critics, scoffers and doubters will be openly defeated and
put to shame. The book of Daniel will
finally be vindicated for the whole world to see.
Chapter
94--Shaul
Shaul the Apostle
If there has been one person who has
profoundly affected history for these past 1,970 years, since the impalement of
YESHUA The MESSIAH, c30 CE, it would most likely have to be Shaul the
apostle.
He, evidently more so than any of the
other immediate followers and servants of SALVATION, left his mark on not only
world history, at large; but also, factually, he impacted profoundly upon the
writings people accept today as the New Testament.
This subject was possibly first and
foremost a great writer, leaving for history probably some fourteen of the 27
books of the New Testament. But beyond
these writings, he was, furthermore, a powerful and influential leader in the
early Apostolic Assembly who virtually dominated much of the history of that
organism, as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts.
Early on, Shaul, this man under
discussion, was designated and recognized as an apostle, a person with
leadership responsibilities, power and authority in the blooming new movement
of believers.
However, beyond this title and position
of rank and authority, he was unique in that he was particularly entrusted to
carry the Good News message to the uncircumcised population (of Yisrael) in
contrast to the work of Kefa and some of the others in reaching the Jews (Gal
2:7).
In terms of verity from history and the
real truth found in the Scriptures, it has to be significant that The ELOHIM
specifically chose him to be the precise medium to disclose much of the
information on seven of the great mysteries of eternity revealed in the New
Testament--person of YHWH YESHUA, purpose of life, the body, seven assemblies,
lawlessness, Mystery Babylon and the kingdom (I Cor 2:7; 4:1; Rev 10:7).
If it is possible for ultimate honor to
come upon a limited, little, fleshly, human being, then surely this man Shaul
must rate in that category, along with a select few other giants from history
like Noah, Avraham and Moshe.
A Paradox
Although it is so patently clear and
undeniably obvious that this fantastic person played a major role in the
revelation to the elect of some of the greatest and most profound mysteries of
all time, a paradox also seems to surface.
It is equally manifest that Shaul’s
very recorded speeches and written words of enormous import have been
improperly and illegally seized upon by a pagan, corrupt, evil, religious
system to become the paramount New Testament authority to “justify” outright
sin and rebellion against YHWH’s Torah which provides the very foundation and
basis for the definition of sin and righteousness.
Of course, this precise thing happened
in the form of dishonest Christendom choosing to use portions of Shaul’s words
and writings to claim that the mitzwot recorded by Moshe (defining
righteousness and sin) were somehow abolished and done away with forever.
What a tragedy it is that the exact
people who use Shaul’s writings to contradict other Scriptures never seem able
to grasp the relevance of Kefa’s description of those words--to the effect that
they were difficult to understand and ignorant and unstable persons would twist
and misconstrue them to their own destruction (II Pet 3:16-17).
Consequently, in terms of the
dissemination and dispersion of marvelous truths and the simultaneous
distribution and spreading of words which have been used as a pretext for the
acceptance of outright heathen lies and deceptions, it must be acknowledged
that Shaul’s words of over nineteen centuries ago have profoundly and
everlastingly affected the outcome of history in every sense of the word.
Categorically, Shaul has been one of
the great personalities out of the past whose comments and thinking are as
important today, as they were some 1,950 years ago when he first communicated
them.
Shaul’s Credentials
In respect to his personal background,
this man, who the world has come to know as Paul, was more correctly given the
Hebrew name of Shaul (anglicized as Saul), as noted earlier.
However, early in his ministry, the
Greek version (Paulus) may have possibly gained some usage and recognition
(Acts 13:9)--perhaps because of his role in fulfilling his mission to certain
Greek speaking (Israelite) peoples of Europe and Asia or allegedly for other
legitimate reasons. But more likely,
Shaul’s name was wrongly changed by the early Catholic Church, as discussed previously.
As Shaul, himself, said through Luke’s
record of Acts and in his own writings, he was, by race, a Hebrew of the tribe
of Binyamin; by faith, a Jew of the sect of the Pharisees; and by citizenship,
a Roman of that once great empire.
He was born in Tarsus, the chief city
of Cilicia in Asia Minor. But he
received some portion of his extensive education in Jerusalem, at the feet of
Gamaliel, a very important and well known Jewish rav and sage of the early
first century.
The fact that Shaul was both an
extremely intelligent and educated man united in some fashion with his
personality, temperament and character to make him a very zealous, dedicated
and committed person to his early religious persuasion--Pharisaical Judaism
(Phil 3:5-6).
Surely, it was this zeal and endeavor
which prompted him, apparently as a young man, to gain some status and
recognition as an opponent, enemy and persecutor of the emerging new sect in
Palestine called the “Nazarenes” --perhaps during the years 30 to 34 CE.
Luke, in the book of Acts, is careful
to note that Shaul was present at and consented to the death of the apostolic
evangelist Stephen when he gave his life in defense of Truth (Acts 7:58;
8:1).
This act commenced a time of great
persecution on the Nazarenes (Acts 8:1) and one which saw Shaul soon assume a
leadership role in making havoc on the Apostolic Assembly, entering houses and
committing the very elect to imprisonment (Acts 8:3).
Sometime after another important
evangelist, named Philip, went down to Samaria to preach the Good News, Shaul
determined to slaughter the Nazarene disciples of YESHUA. So he sought letters of authority from the
high priest in Jerusalem to the synagogues in Damascus that he might arrest
believers there and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment (Acts 9:1-2).
The Reconciliation (Conversion) of Shaul
It was this situation which
precipitated an event which would forever alter the life of Shaul, as well as
the subsequent course of world history.
With an authorization from the high priest, Shaul quickly set out for
Damascus to put his diabolical and wicked plan into full operation.
However, as he journeyed near Damascus,
a sudden, bright light shined down from heaven upon him and he fell to the
ground as a voice, in Hebrew, said “Shaul, Shaul, why persecutest thou me?”
(Acts 9:3-4).
In a frightened and terrified state,
Shaul could only respond “Who are you?”
And the speaker came back with “I am YESHUA whom thou persecutest; it is
hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”
While trembling and astonished in that moment of time, Shaul asked “What
wilt thou have me to do?” (Acts 9:5-6).
Thereupon, Shaul was told to go on to
Damascus where he would be given further instructions on what he must do (Acts
9:6). He then arose from the ground to
discover that he had been blinded and was to remain in that state on to
Damascus (with the help of others) and for the next three days (could it have
been three days and three nights?) while he underwent a complete fast without
food or water (Acts 9:8-9).
In this condition of total blindness
and while staying at the house of one called Judas on Straight Street, Shaul
was to be visited, in time, by a disciple named Ananias who prayed for him that
he might be healed and be filled with The RUACH HA KODESH (Acts 9:11-17). Thereupon, he arose, baptized himself and did
eat (Acts 9:18-19).
Shaul Suffered
Respecting this man Ananias, it is
relevant to note that upon his being commissioned to go to Shaul, The Adonai
YESHUA stated that Shaul was to be a chosen vessel who would ultimately have to
suffer great things for His name’s sake (Acts 9:15-16). Of course, these words were to come
true. Because, in time, Shaul was to
later write of his many times of imprisonment, beatings and sufferings almost
to the point of death.
In time, Shaul was to point out that
five times he was whipped with 39 lashes; three times beaten with rods; once
stoned; three times shipwrecked at sea; once adrift for a day and a night in
the deep; on journeys exposed to perils from rivers, bandits, people, nations,
desert places, in the sea; in toil, and hardship; undergoing sleepless nights;
often in hunger and thirst; in fastings; and in exposure to the cold without
adequate clothing and warmth (II Cor 11:23-28).
Clearly, he did suffer and undergo much
pain for the name which he once vigorously persecuted. After being healed with Ananias’ prayer, Luke
chose to tell us that straightway, Shaul preached about The MESSIAH YESHUA in
the synagogues in Damascus (Acts 9:20).
And while this effort lasted there some
days before the Jews sought to kill him (Acts 9:20-25), there is reason to
believe that probably soon after his departure from Damascus, Shaul went on
into the Arabian desert for a period of some three years (Gal 1:17-18).
Shaul’s Great Work
Most savants who have reviewed and
studied the life of this great man suggest that while Shaul was in Arabia, he
probably received some extraordinary visions and revelations which he alluded
to about fourteen years later in a letter to the Corinthians (II Cor
12:1-2).
In this remark about being in Arabia,
he mentioned a man caught up into the third heaven (the throne of YHWH?) who
heard utterances beyond the power of man to put into words (II Cor 12:4). Possibly Shaul, at that time, received
information on some of the great mysteries of eternity which he mentioned in
his various writings.
Whether Shaul was the man or not
referred to as being caught up to the third heaven, the fact remains that he
truly was granted exceptional insight into fantastic mysteries which had been
hidden from Adam and his descendants for over 4,000 years. Unquestionably, Shaul was richly endowed with
a phenomenal gift of understanding and comprehension of Truth.
From Acts and Shaul’s own fourteen or
so epistles, one can deduce Shaul’s three major missionary trips into Asia and
Europe. Luke closed the book of Acts
with Shaul in prison in the city of Rome (Acts 28:5, 16, 20, 30).
However, some scholars speculate that
he must have been released from that particular imprisonment, since they argue
that he underwent still further missionary journeys and wrote some of his later
letters--all after Acts 28 (i.e. Titus and II Timothy).
Most New Testament savants and
historians are in general agreement that ultimately Shaul did end up in a Roman
prison around 66 CE (from the Acts 28 imprisonment or a later one) where he was
eventually executed and died the death of a martyr for his faith.
Whatever the date and however he died,
the fact remains that he truly was an incredible individual, absolutely worthy
of study and consideration at this time here in the early 21st century.
Robert Young, in the "Analytical
Concordance," describes Shaul from his speeches and writings as perceiving
“the warmth and ardour of his nature, his affectionate disposition, the
tenderness of his sense of honour, the courtesy and personal dignity of his
bearing and his perfect frankness.
“We see also the rare combination of
subtility, tenacity, and versatility existing in his intellect, with a practical
wisdom generally associated with a cooler temperament than his, and a
forbearance and tolerance seldom united with such impetuous convictions as he
entertained.”
William Ramsay
While it seems that few people today,
here in 2003, would dare try to dispute the existence of this man Shaul and his
fantastic and far reaching missionary journeys into various and sundry cities
and towns in Asia and Europe, such has not always been the case. Historically, there have been doubters.
Back in the 18th and 19th centuries,
when so-called “higher criticism” first began making headway, some historians
and scholars actually took the stand that many of the cities and towns
mentioned by Shaul or Luke (in Acts), as being visited by the famous apostle,
did not, in fact, exist.
These intellectually proud fools,
acting on presumptions and assumptions, contended that Shaul’s trips were
fiction and make believe.
But then, in the 19th century,
something else was to also happen which would eventually act to alter the
thinking of this growing body of higher criticism. An interesting Englishman, Sir William M
Ramsay, born of wealthy parents and educated at Oxford, was to arrive on the
global scene and gain some notoriety over this very theme at hand.
In Ramsay’s early years, he, like some
of the other “intellectuals," chose to believe that some of Luke and
Shaul’s writings were wrong--in other words “lies." Ramsay particularly discounted Luke’s
reference to a Roman proconsul on Cyprus when Shaul and Bar-Nabba visited the
island in their journey there (Acts 13:4-7).
So the Oxford scholar set out to prove
Luke wrong on “scientific” grounds. But
strangely enough, Ramsay ended up proving Luke correct on “scientific”
grounds. Consequently, it worked out
that instead of using his wealth, education and abilities to disprove the
writings of Shaul and Luke, Ramsay used them to prove the Scriptures.
Over the years, Ramsay conducted a
series of archaeological and scientific expeditions throughout the Scriptural
world. He traced the paths of Shaul and
actually visited the remains of many of the cities and towns traversed by the
great apostle some 1,800 years earlier.
In time, Ramsay wrote such classic
books as “The Cities of St. Paul” and “St. Paul, The Traveller and The Roman
Citizen.” The Englishman ended up by
conclusively proving and establishing for later history the undeniable accuracy
of the geographical references by Shaul and Luke in their writings.
Shaul Had A Problem With Pride
As one looks back upon the life of this
fascinating man Shaul, he/she can readily perceive that he could, very easily, and did have a problem with
pride. Because of his character,
dedication and commitment to Judaism, coupled with his patently obvious
intelligence, education and training, he probably had had a bad case of self
righteousness, even when the martyr Stephen was being stoned to death.
In fact, in Shaul’s whole conduct
before his conversion and reconciliation with YHWH YESHUA, the evidence is
quite abundant that Shaul had a certain sense of arrogance and presumptuousness
as well. One can detect these facets of
pride in his aggressive actions against the true believers.
However, by the time of Shaul’s
blinding experience on the road to Damascus, there is every reason to believe
that this same pride was largely crushed and replaced with humility and
meekness. This reality is substantiated
in a comment made by Robert Young on the (alleged) name change of Shaul to
Paulus.
In his "Analytical
Concordance," Young suggests that Paul’s “humility induced him to abandon
the grand title of ‘Saul’ and assume the humble one of ‘Paul’ (i.e. the ‘little
one’ appropriate, perhaps from his bodily size, but adopted, no doubt, from
that humility which makes him count himself to be less than the least of all
saints and not worthy to be called an apostle).”
Does Robert Young have it right here on
Shaul’s name change or was there another explanation as allowed in a previous
chapter? While Young’s words sound good,
the better bet is that the Roman Catholic Church changed Shaul’s name.
A Thorn In The Flesh
While we may perceive that Shaul’s
encounter with YESHUA on the road to Damascus and the three days of blindness
certainly did have a dramatic impact on him and his thinking, the potential for
carnality, pride and vanity to surface must have persisted thereafter because
he was to later write that he had been given a “thorn in the flesh” or a
“messenger of Satan” to buffet him and to keep him from being exalted, proud or
puffed up over the revelations which he had received (II Cor 12:7).
Interestingly, this admission of a
thorn in the flesh affecting Shaul was made in his second letter to the
Corinthians; after which, he had just discussed the man who was given
extraordinary visions and revelations while caught up in the third heaven.
The context here is such that one can
surmise that Shaul indeed was the man under discussion and that the visions and
revelations were so stupendous that they would have puffed him up with pride
and vanity (II Cor 12:1-9). Therefore,
the thorn in the flesh or messenger of Satan was given to him in order to keep
him humble and low.
By his own words, he called upon The
ADONAI YESHUA on three separate occasions for relief and to be delivered from
this ordeal of the flesh. Yet, on all
three occasions, The ELOHIM said “no” --since His grace was sufficient to
sustain Shaul (II Cor 12:8-9).
Consequently, Shaul had nothing in the flesh in this life to glory about
or boast over.
What Was It?
What was the thorn in the flesh from
Satan? Many savants have suggested that
his eyes were bad. Maybe he had glaucoma
in his later years that almost blinded him and made it difficult for him to
read and write. Still, other scholars
have suggested other things. But most of
the explanations from organized Churchianity never have seemed to make sense to
this writer.
Then one day, a few years ago, this
writer read a small Identity tract from another publisher which easily and
correctly noted that according to the Word, “thorns in the flesh” were the
racial nokri/nekar aliens (Canaanites and surely the Edomites who were mixed
with the Canaanites) who had inhabited the land of Canaan and were not
exterminated and driven out, as commanded by YHWH (Num 33:55; Josh 23:13).
In a further examination of the
conflicts which Shaul had with people throughout his ministry, it becomes quite
easy to establish precisely who the nokri/nekar persons were that proved to be
thorns in his flesh.
As elsewhere established herein, Shaul
had frequent troubles with proven or suspect Amalekite Judeans--usually those
specifically identified as from Judea, but called Jews in the KJV (Acts
14:13-15; 15:1; 17:13; 18:6, 12; 19:13; Phil 3:2).
Thus, if we let the Scriptures
interpret the Scriptures (as the student of truth is supposed to do), one must
come to the position that Shaul’s thorn in the flesh appears to have been some
nokri/nekar Amalekites who were opposing and oppressing him as he went about
his ministry. This seems to be the
evident solution to this enigma.
But whatever the case, pride, vanity
and carnality were certainly being held in check in Shaul because of this
“thorn in the flesh” or “messenger of Satan.”
Without the resulting buffeting, Shaul clearly could have let his
achievements go to his head.
The Bottom Line on Shaul
To dramatically tell the story about
his lack of righteousness (effectively no self righteousness), the apostle to
the lost Israelites wrote to his co-worker Timothy and laid out his personal
sins and status.
He poignantly charged that formerly he
had persecuted and shamefully oppressed the elect and that he had been the
foremost or chief of sinners (I Tim 1:11-15).
But then in YESHUA’s mercy, he was extended forgiveness and grace since
he had acted in ignorance and unbelief (I Tim 1:13-16).
Like
Shaul also told Timothy, we all need to have faith in The ELOHIM’s
administration (I Tim 1:4). Here, the
“Amplified Translation” has it that this faith involves absolute trust and
confidence in YHWH. The point is that we
can’t be having trust and confidence (pride) in ourselves, in other humans or
in the systems of the world (the pride of life).
Chapter
95--Only YHWH Can Defeat Pride
The Confidence Problem
Probably, the most dangerous aspect and
manifestation of pride and vanity is the possession of confidence, satisfaction
and trust in one's own self, others and this man-made worldly system of
things. Several earlier comments have
addressed these problems that all of so-called humanity seems to face. Certainly, there is no need to repeat that
material at this time.
However, there is some urgency to now
review the crux of the earlier presentations and reflect upon the ultimate
solution to this dilemma, as evident from the Scriptures. To broach this topic, one needs to look at two
primary Hebrew words which are commonly translated to English as
“confidence.”
The most widely used one is the verb
"batach," which Strong's “Hebrew Dictionary” defines as "a prime
root... to hide for refuge... to trust..., be confident or sure;--be bold."
The related noun is "betach"
and Strong's says it means "a place of refuge; abstr. safety, both the
fact (security) and the feeling (trust); often (adv. with or without prep.)
safely:--assurance, boldly, (without) care (-less), confidence, hope, safe
(-ly), (-ty), secure, surely.”
The other key verb is
"kacal," discussed previously, which Strong's identifies as “a prim.
root; prop. to be fat, i.e. (fig.) silly--be foolish.” The related “kecel” means “prop. fatness,
i.e. by impl (lit.) the loin (as the seat of the leaf fat) or (gen.) the
viscera; also (fig.) silliness or in a good sense, trust; in a bad one,
silliness:--confidence, folly.”
As a matter of information, kacal/kecel
have only a few limited uses in the Hebrew, in comparison with the more
prevalent "batach."
Misplaced Confidence
As this publication has pointed out, we
sorry, proud humans have a propensity to place trust and confidence (pride) in
ourselves, in others and in this sorry man governed system on earth--the pride
of life, as indicated by the Apostle Yohanan (I Jo 2:16). Therefore, it is manifest that one will find a
host of Scriptures which discuss and describe this reality.
For instance, various and sundry
individuals and peoples (nations collectively) place great confidence, trust
and reliance upon their own defense measures, such as arms, armaments,
fortifications, walls, and by extension guns, guard dogs, burglar alarm
equipment, locks, the police and so forth (Deut 28:52; Ps 44:4-7; Prov 21:22;
Jer 5:17; Hos 10:13-14; Lu 11:22).
Additionally, we tend to look to the
different nations, cities and governments for alliances and relationships which
we ignorantly suppose will grant us safety, security and salvation (Job 18:14;
Jer 13:25; 48:13; Ezek 29:16; Am 6:1; Lu 18:9; II Cor 1:9). We rely upon and look to our own works (Jer
48:7) and to our own riches and wealth (Job 31:24; Ps 49:6-10; Prov 11:28; Jer
48:7; 49:10; Zep 3:1-2; Mk 10:24).
Tragically, we have confidence in
certain men for leadership and deliverance (Jud 9:26)--even though the Book
asserts that an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth (Prov
25:19).
We exhibit great trust and faith in our
religions (Lu 18:9); our religious buildings (Jer 7:14); our many images and
vain idols (Isa 42:17; Jer 48:7); and of course, we trust in the lies and
deceptions taught by our many, highly regarded, false prophets and leaders (Jer
7:2-4; 29:31).
We Willingly Accept Lies
In fact, we like smooth talk, nonsense,
lies and deceptions, so much so, that we will willingly accept this trash from
whatever direction or source it seems to come from in order to reach us (Isa
59:4; Jer 7:8; 13:25; 28:15).
In our wretched conditions, we put
particular trust and confidence in our own selves, in our great beauty and
looks (Ezek 16:15) and in our marvelously advanced wisdom, knowledge and
understanding (Isa 47:10; Rom 2:19); despite the fact that The ELOHIM proclaims
that he who trusts in his own heart and mind is a "self confident
fool" (Prov 28:26) and the foolishness of a "self confident fool is
folly" (Prov 14:24-26).
Because of this enormous display and
obsession with pride and vanity in each of our deceitful, wicked lives, it is
obvious that The MOST HIGH would have some choice words of advice for each one
of us. And naturally, He does.
For example, He says "Cursed is
the man that trusts in man" (Ps 118:8-9; Jer 17:5-7; Mic 7:5). None of us should have to wonder and
contemplate long on this injunction; because elsewhere, The EVERLIVING goes on
to state that confidence in self and this man-made system of things is
wickedness (Eccl 7:25) and the fate of the foolishly confident person is death
(Ps 49:13-14).
Also, on this theme, the prophet Micah
(Mikhah in the Hebrew) put it well by saying “to trust not a neighbour and put
not confidence in a friend" (Mic 7:5).
Finally, The HIGHEST also reflects that a true believer should put no
confidence or reliance in the flesh--of self or others (Phil 3:3).
Confidence in YHWH YESHUA
So, if it is folly, stupidity and
wickedness to trust in the flesh and in man, where then can one place his/her
trust, confidence, assurance and faith for safety, security and salvation? Well, the Book answers this question in
context, just after pronouncing a curse on the man who trusts in man. In this regard, the Scriptures go on to say
that "blessed is the man who trusts in YHWH” (Ps 118:8-9; Jer 17:5-7; Mic
7:5).
The verity of this parallelism is
poignantly hurled at us, over and over, again and again, in the many Scriptural
declarations that we must trust, rely upon, and have confidence in YHWH YESHUA
for deliverance, safety, security and salvation (Ps 25:2; 26:1; 31:6; 52:8;
56:4).
Also, the Book expressly states that we
should trust in YHWH's Word (Ps 119:42) and in His name (Ps 9:10; 33:21; Isa
50:10) for salvation (Ps 78:22) and not in our own supposed self
righteousness--because we have no self righteousness (Ezek 33:13). Truly, the reverent fear of The ELOHIM must
be our confidence (Job 4:6; Prov 14:24-26).
Or as the Psalmist put it--it is better
to take refuge in YHWH than to be confident in man or princes (Ps
118:8-9). In terms of Yisrael and
Israelites, it seems that the teachings of The EVERLASTING on this theme have
never really sunk in (Ps 78:22; Jer 13:25; Zep 3:1-2). It’s too bad, but YHWH's Words seem to go in
one ear and out the other.
One vividly sees this phenomenon
present in the 10th chapter of Hosea.
The prophet Hosea notes the incredible evil and wickedness in Yisrael
and in her people (Hos 10:1-13). And of
course, he focuses directly on the pride and vanity present which arises from
the prosperity and abundance in the land (Hos 10:1).
He particularly mentions the self
confidence and trust which the Israelites have in themselves and in their
man-made systems (Hos 10:13). It is in
this context that the prophet proclaims the (still coming future) judgment on
Yisrael and her evil, wicked population (Hos 10:10-12, 14-15).
Destroying Confidence in Self, Others
and This System
Therefore, because of the persisting
problems of pride and vanity in Yisrael, Israelites still face a future, coming
judgment of punishment and trial in order to resolve and correct the
wickedness.
And just as the pride and confidence of
Yakov must be and will ultimately be broken (Hos 10:11-15), so must the same
evil and wicked pride and confidence be shattered and destroyed in the hearts
and minds of all individuals (Job 8:13-14) before they can ever receive
salvation and YHWH YESHUA's gift of grace (Hos 10:12; Prov 14:24-26; Col
2:11-13).
For a summary, Mikhah the prophet noted
that we should look to YHWH and have confidence in Him (Mic 7:7). The sons of Korah put it like this--YHWH will
speak to us with mercy, loving kindness, salvation, truth and peace; so that we
turn not again to self confidence and folly (Ps 85:7-9).
Parables to Hide Truth, Revisited
Christendom, in her problems with understanding
truth, has supposed that the reason YESHUA spoke to the people of 2,000 years
in parables was to make them understand.
In other words, this position has it that the "parable" was a
type of revelation of deep mysteries for comprehension.
In connection with this thinking, it is
interesting that the Scriptures have a particularly profound communication
which surfaces as a result of a relevant question which the disciples asked The
MESSIAH at a significant point in time.
They pointedly queried Him on the subject of "why" was it that
He spoke to the general population in parables (Matt 13:10)?
In accordance with Christian theology,
one might speculate that His reply would be something along the lines of
helping His listeners understand with parables and to illustrate certain points
in a better fashion. But no, that's not
what He said. Instead, He poignantly
declared that it was not given unto those people to understand the mysteries of
the kingdom (Matt 13:11).
Consequently, He spoke to the people in
parables so that they would not understand, as pointed out in earlier comments
in a previous chapter (Lu 8:10).
Actually, these teachings were not the first, last or the only ones
which carefully proclaimed that His message was for a very small group of
persons that the Book calls the "election."
Who is Able to Deal With Pride?
It is no wonder then that YESHUA would
say that "all that the Father giveth me shall come to me" (Jo 6:37);
"no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father"
(Jo 6:65); and "ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (Jo
15:16). Even Yohanan the Baptist wisely
observed that "a man can receive nothing, except it be given him from
heaven" (Jo 3:27).
In the same vein, both Mattityahu and
Luke wrote that The HIGHEST had hid things from the "wise and prudent”
--so that He might reveal them unto babes (Matt 11:25; Lu 10:21).
Shaul confirms this same elect status
for some with his words that "the election hath obtained it (salvation),
and the rest were blinded" (Rom 11:7) and that "the gospel is hid
from the lost” (II Cor 4:3).
Furthermore, Kefa went on to speak of some people being "appointed
unto disobedience" (I Pet 2:8).
The crux of these texts is that The
EVERLIVING has not revealed truth and understanding to the population at
large. Instead, He does reveal it only
to the election (or as Mattityahu has it--to babes--which we know refers to
humble and meek persons).
Therefore, the Apostle Yohanan was to
write that The SON OF MAN "hath given us (the elect) an
understanding" (I Jo 5:20). Shaul
was to later add that the eyes of certain people could be enlightened--to comprehension
(Eph 1:17-18).
Effectively, the above comments are
following the thesis on the “Effect of Pride,” developed in a preceding
chapter. In that presentation, mention
was made of the role that The MOST HIGH has followed in "blinding people
to understanding," as a part of a judgmental process upon so-called
humanity because of sin in our proud, vain, wicked hearts and minds.
Understanding the Hardening Idea
Thus, it now appears reasonable to be
able to possibly apprehend the deep meaning of seemingly contradictory
Scriptural texts mentioned heretofore which declare that Pharaoh hardened his
heart (Ex 8:15, 32; 9:34; I Sam 6:6)--all the while that other texts were
saying that it was The ELOHIM Who hardened the heart of Pharaoh (Ex 7:3, 13; 9:12;
10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8).
Perhaps the explanation for this
evident paradox is that there was sin and evil in Pharaoh's proud, hard
heart. Therefore, in judgment, YHWH
purposely blinded him as to the reality of what was taking place. Maybe Pharaoh never really grasped what was
going on; despite the fact that he was a proud, vain, arrogant ruler who
thought he knew and understood everything or everything he needed to know and
understand.
This position, if true, would moreover
explain a host of other Scriptures which describe the actions of all people
(yes, including both YOU and ME) to harden our hearts and stiffen our necks
against The EVERLASTING (II Kg 17:13-14; Neh 9:16-17, 29; Job 9:1-5; Ps 95:7-8;
Prov 21:29; Jer 5:3; Zech 7:12; Heb 3:8, 16; 4:7)--all the while that other
texts attribute the hardening process to YHWH (Isa 63:17; Jer 13:23; Jo
12:39-40; Rom 9:18).
Of course, the bottom line on this has
to be that it is our own sins which really act to harden our hearts (Heb
3:13). The key to this dilemma lies in
the fact that, in judgment, YHWH has given us up to our own hard hearts (Ps
81:12). Put another way, stubborn,
rebellious people have not prepared their hearts to understand (Ps 78:8).
Therefore, The MOST HIGH has not given
the public, at large, a heart of understanding (Deut 29:4) and has shut
people's eyes, ears and hearts from perception (Isa 44:18-19). Thus, we have hard and callous hearts because
of the evil and wickedness of pride and vanity in our hearts, coupled with
ignorance and apathy about our true condition (Eph 4:17-19).
The Apostle Kefa poignantly hurled at
us the utter hopelessness and despair of our pathetic, tragic, lost condition
by charging that those who disbelieve were destined to do so (I Pet 2:8). This powerfully cutting insight can be linked
to Shaul's similar observation that YHWH shows mercy to some--all the while
that He hardens, makes stubborn and blinds others (Rom 9:18).
A Christian Example
A previous chapter herein mentioned a
former epileptic neighbor of this writer.
The man involved was almost 50 years old. He definitely had a demon problem when he
became riled up and mad about something.
As noted earlier, he periodically went ballistics and into orbit.
Also, as outlined previously, the man
was supposedly a good Baptist Christian.
He frequently went to Sunday church services and seemed to fit into the
group--despite his mental problems. A
question which someone might ask here is why was it or how was it that a
Christian man could be given over to a demonic spirit to throw him into
passionate anger, hate and epileptic fits?
Was it possible that YHWH allowed this
predicament to come upon this man as a judgment because of pride and vanity in
his heart? Frankly, this writer is
unclear of his background or whether he was injured in the head as a child or
what. But he was a very proud and vain
man. Perhaps he had a complex over his
epilepsy and tried to compensate for his shortcomings in other ways.
Anyway, he liked to try to show off his
intelligence and brain power; when, in fact, he was somewhat stupid and
ignorant about what he often tried to talk about. In this sense, he became a liar and fraud,
when he tried to convey his knowledge and intelligence while he didn’t have
much, if any, knowledge and intelligence.
He cut the grass and did a few other
minor maintenance tasks for a man who owned five rental houses in Northeastern
Washington (as discussed earlier). The
owner of the property, my friend and landlord, lived up the road about 20 miles
and was only present on the property on occasion. He depended on the epileptic to watch after
his property.
The Woodcutters
One day, some woodcutters came in and
started cutting trees close to me (technically on federal land, but adjacent to
my friend’s property). This writer was
concerned so i walked over to the epileptic’s house, which was a hundred yards
or so away, and told him about it.
Perhaps the epileptic was caught off
guard since he was supposed to be watching after the property. In the case of the woodcutters, they were
technically on federal land; but the cutting down of the trees certainly
affected my friend’s property, plus it was and is illegal to cut the (certainly
green) trees down according to federal law.
The epileptic was aware of the men’s
presence. But he did not know them, nor
had he ever spoken to them one way or the other. In effect, he was apathetic and indifferent
about their presence and what they were doing.
He didn’t have brains enough to understand that cutting the trees down
affected the property which he supposedly was watching over.
This writer courteously brought the
problem up and suggested that he might want to mention it to the property owner
because of its implications. Rather than
thanking me and going about his business, he commenced an argument with me from
his usual arrogance, anger and hate when his demon was riled up.
In his view, the nearby land was
federal land and it was no business of the owner (or of me for that
matter). Then he went on to state that
they were only cutting down dead trees and were not cutting green trees. Of course, i had seen what the woodcutters
were cutting and it wasn’t dead trees, although they probably did cut some dead
trees if they came across them in the context of the cutting that they were
doing.
The truth was that he didn’t know what
they were cutting. He had never been
over to see them when they were there and his house was some distance away from
them. Yet, my house was right adjacent
to them and their cutting efforts.
But since he was caught with his pants
down (in the sense of failing to take care of the property), he went on the
defensive to start telling lies in an effort to ameliorate his failures. All of this was nothing but vanity with him
since he ignorantly knew not what he was talking about.
Incidentally, he did call the owner and
relate the wood cuttings--but tried to lie to him that they were only taking
dead trees. The owner came down and inspected the property and told me that
they took green trees which i already knew and understood.
Since this run in with the epileptic
over the trees, several other occasions surfaced allowing us to have
conversations thereafter. It always
proved interesting to me that the man (even when his demon was not riled up)
would often go to some length to brag, boast and tell lies to build up his
pride and vanity over his supposed knowledge and intellect.
In thinking about the enormous pride in
this man (or actually vanity since he was fairly stupid and uninformed), the
question came to my mind on whether YHWH had blinded him as a judgment, so much
so, as to allow the demon to take over his mind.
Again, the man was a Baptist
Christian. But this certainly impacted
upon nothing in the context of his pride and vanity. Truly, he was blinded and told lies to try to
compensate for his ignorance.
Under a Veil
Consequently, the problem which all of
so-called humanity has faced for 6,000 years (except for YESHUA The MESSIAH) is
that we lack understanding because of our proud, hard hearts (Eph
4:17-19). There is a resulting veil over
our proud hearts (II Cor 3:13-15) and our proud hearts are hid from
comprehension (Job 17:4).
Of course, this veil over our eyes and
ears has been placed there by YHWH, as a part of His judgmental process for the
sins of pride and vanity in our evil hearts.
And in the context of this discussion, please be assured that the issue
is not a matter of having our eyes and ears closed to YHWH's laws governing
conduct, per se.
Thus, it is not a matter of
understanding the Sabbath, the feast days, the calendar, clean and unclean
meats, men wearing beards, women wearing a head covering, identity and race,
pagan/Hebrew names and titles and a host of similar items covered fairly clear
in YHWH's Word.
Even the Pharisees and Jews of YESHUA's
day understood, believed and taught most of these things as truth. They were not blind over such doctrines, as
some people may suppose today. As
covered in the earlier comments on the effect of pride, The ELOHIM's mitzwot
are categorically not closed to understanding and appreciation.
Instead, they were expressly given for
our comprehension (Deut 4:6; 30:11-14).
Therefore, it is foolishness for anyone of us to come along now and
claim that the understanding about any of YHWH's specific mitzwot of
righteousness have been closed to us or that we have to have a revelation from
on high in order to comprehend the basic requirements of sinless living.
Actually, the truth is quite
manifest. YHWH's laws have been given
for understanding and can be understood and obeyed by anyone of us without
excuse or argument.
Manifestly, the real issue here, on
comprehension and understanding, is that we don't understand, perceive and see
our own deceiving, proud, evil hearts and minds and thus don't really recognize
the true state of hopelessness and despair which we live in (Job 15:8-9; Ps
19:12-13; Jer 16:19; 17:9. Hos 10:2; Gal 6:3).
The place we ultimately come to on this
theme is that we absolutely cannot understand and appreciate our own true
wretchedness from carnality and the flesh and our total inability to deal with
these problems in our own personal lives and makeups.
YHWH YESHUA Can Deal With Proud Hearts
The point being is that we lack the
capability and capacity to address, focus on and deal with the carnality of
pride and vanity in our own personalities.
There is not a one of us in existence who has the means and ability to
correctly resolve our own wretched, proud natures.
Ultimately, we have to come to the
realization that there is only one power, force or authority in the universe
capable and able to focus on and correct our proud, vain, wicked human
natures. And that agency is YHWH YESHUA
and no one else.
Shaul the apostle perceptively wrote
about this dilemma which we face when he noted that YHWH YESHUA makes stubborn
the hearts of some while He shows mercy to others (Rom 9:18). Of course, the essence of this statement
opens a profoundly important and far reaching subject on "The
Election," which has been covered in previous chapters.
But for the present discussion, the
point being is that The ELOHIM must intervene in His way and at His time to
deal with the pride, vanity and carnality in the lives of different
individuals. And of course, the thrust
of this whole process is apparently the true grant of repentance, which comes
as a free gift of grace from YHWH YESHUA (Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4; II Tim
2:25).
The Problem
Therefore, the dilemma is not one of
our waking up and finding out one day that we have not been, but should be
keeping the Sabbath, the feast days, or a certain calendar. The problem is not over identity or race, as
important as these items are to some persons.
It is not a concern over using pagan names and titles versus using
"believed" Hebrew names and titles.
It is not a matter of telling lies,
smoking a cigarette, cheating, deceiving, murder, hate, adultery, fornication,
or a host of similar things. We all can
and many of us do understand many of these subjects from time to time. In which case, some of us actually go through
(on our own) some limited process of repentance and change on some of these
specific acts of sin.
All of this awareness and change can
and does happen in the context of us remaining in a carnal, fleshly state
without any evidence whatsoever of dealing with the big issues of pride and
vanity in our deceitful, wicked hearts.
Again, the Pharisees and Sadducees of
YESHUA's day understood and comprehended most of these things mentioned above
and even obeyed many of them. Repentance
and change on specific acts of sin are far more different and simpler matters
than the questions of dealing with the underlying problems of pride and vanity
in our carnal, human natures.
Since we all are capable and able of
understanding YHWH's laws, which are not complicated or difficult to understand
by Moshe’s own words, then whatever we individually may do from time to time on
repentance and change, in terms of these specific laws, will not alter or void
the basic problem of pride and vanity in our deceitful, wicked hearts and
minds.
We all have the pride and vanity
iniquity and it is only YHWH YESHUA Who can address it and correct it. Seemingly, we limited, sinning humans cannot
grasp and deal with our basic carnal natures without help and assistance from
on high.
Misinformation
Because of this reality, it is no
wonder then that millions upon millions of carnal, proud people periodically
suppose, assume, think, believe and presume that they have been saved or that
they have learned all about salvation or at least that they know all they need
to know about salvation.
Consequently, they then move on to
believe that by repenting of some specific sin or sins (which any one of us is
capable of seeing and understanding, as Moshe declared) and by going through
some ritual of some act or actions, then a state of grace, forgiveness and
salvation will materialize for them.
Some persons believe that they proudly
reach this pinnacle of grace with some limited forms of repentance, by crying a
few crocodile tears over perhaps some of the lies they've told, the cigarettes
they've smoked, the adultery and fornication they've participated in, the hate
in their hearts, their failure to attend church/assembly meetings, their
transgressions of the Sabbath, their eating of pork and unclean foods, their
use of names and titles for The MOST HIGH which have evident links to paganism,
and on and on.
When certain individuals go through
this process--coupled with standing up in a meeting; running down an isle;
falling at an “altar;” rolling in the floor; muttering some unintelligible
gibberish (as prompted by a demon); saying Gee-Zeus, Yahshua, Yahweh or some
other unscriptural name; being baptized in water; or doing some other act or
action on their part which they are able to perform--they then come to believe,
accept and suppose that they are in a state of salvation.
Such people become self righteously
proud and vain over their acts and actions which they think have granted them
grace. Such Scripturally ignorant fools
can never get it through their thick heads, but salvation and grace do not come
to a person from doing any of these things.
Only YHWH YESHUA
For sure, the truth is that only the
act and action of YHWH YESHUA can grant salvation to any one of us. And in this grant, salvation surfaces when He
effectively deals with the pride, vanity, and carnality in our wretched hearts
and minds (which motivates and propels us on to commit the host of sins and
transgressions that we all are guilty of and which we can see and do largely
understand).
Furthermore, the evidence is most
persuasive that The ELOHIM handles this whole process by granting us some
perception and understanding about our own true condition of fleshliness with
the resulting pride and vanity.
The point being is that on our own and
seemingly without the supernatural involvement of The ELOHIM, we each can see,
realize and appreciate the presence and occurrence of some specific acts of sin
in our tragic lives.
But conversely, it appears that it is
only YHWH YESHUA Who is able and capable of intervening in our lives to help us
understand our sorry, depraved, pathetic, dirty, rotten, human natures of
pride, vanity and carnality. On our own,
we just can't perceive how wretched and lost we really are.
Given Understanding
In terms of the dilemma we all face,
Iyov wrote “Who has given (us) understanding?” (Job 15:8-9). For an answer, the Qumran literature states
that man does not have understanding (obviously--no issue here over YHWH's laws
which man can understand) within himself, but that he must be given
understanding (of his own wretched, lost, proud, vain, carnal state) by The
ELOHIM.
Of course, the Scriptures say precisely
the same thing as the Qumran writings in terms of answering Iyov's
question. We pathetic, sorry, proud,
vain, carnal humans must be given a heart of understanding in order to see and
understand how wretched and evil we really are.
And this gift must come from YHWH YESHUA--since we proud, wretched
humans can never grasp it on our own.
Naturally, the Book asserts this very
reality (Ex 31:3; 35:31; 36:1; Deut 4:5-9; I Chron 22:12; Job 12:3; Prov 20:12;
Isa 28:9; 43:10; Jer 3:15; Matt 13:11, 16-17; Mk 4:11-12;
Lu 8:10; Jo 3:27; 6:44-45,
64-65; Acts 16:14; Rom 9:18;
II Cor 6:14; Eph 1:18; 4:18;
Phil 2:13; II Tim 2:7). Perhaps now, the implication of the coming,
future, New or Renewed Covenant becomes manifest.
As the prophets have noted, YHWH will
execute a New/Renewed Covenant with Yisrael; whereby, He will take away the
stony, fat, proud hearts and grant the Israelites new hearts--specifically
hearts of comprehension and understanding of reality (Jer 32:38-39; Ezek
16:60-62; 36:21-32; Heb 8:6-13; 10:16).
Like Yeshayahu said, people will
understand REALITY in the Kingdom (Isa 32:3-4).
For a conclusion on this line, the
Apostle Shaul penned it well by reflecting that “we are to work out our own
salvation, but it is The ELOHIM Who works in us both to will and to do” (Phil
2:12-13). After all, it is YHWH YESHUA,
Alone, Who can see into our deceitful, evil, proud hearts and minds and apply
the necessary corrective action (Rom 8:27; I Cor 4:5; I Thes 2:4).
What YHWH YESHUA Does
In the previous comments, focus was
directed toward the question of "who" it is that can effectively and
correctly deal with the awful pride and vanity in each of the hearts and minds
of all of so-called humanity.
It is only YHWH YESHUA, Who, on the
basis of election and choice, can intervene to grant understanding of the
problem of carnality and our total entrapment in it. In essence, there seems to be little or
nothing you or i or anyone else can do to successfully attack the pride and
carnality problem in our hard hearts.
This writer has never properly handled
the dilemma so far to date. Nor do i
know of anyone else alive on this globe who has addressed it
correctly--although i know large numbers of people who ignorantly, foolishly
and proudly claim to have both the "Spirit" and salvation.
Unquestionably, it takes a special act
of grace and intervention by YHWH YESHUA to ever begin to broach this personal
tragedy that we all are obsessed with.
Consequently, the Book declares that YHWH YESHUA chose the very elect to
understanding (Isa 43:10).
And the issue here is clearly not a
question or concern over the understanding of YHWH's laws, the Sabbath, the
feast days, lying, cheating, adultery, fornication, identity, race, Hebrew
names and titles, clean and unclean foods, beards, hair lengths, clothes,
murder, hate or a host of similar things.
As noted earlier, the issue is clearly
a question of our understanding about our own wretched lives and vanities.
YHWH YESHUA Removes the Veil
The New Testament writers all make it
abundantly manifest that there is a veil of blindness over the eyes, ears and
hearts of each of us which can only effectively be removed by the election and
choice of YHWH YESHUA (Matt 13:11, 16-17; Mk 4:11-12; Lu 8:10; Jo 3:27, II Cor
3:14).
The Apostle Yohanan even went on to say
that we can only come to The MESSIAH YESHUA by the will and express purpose of
The ELOHIM (Jo 6:44-45, 64-65).
In this regard, it now seems evident
that the way that The MOST HIGH deals with particular individuals on this theme
is that He does act in some way to open their blinded hearts and minds to
understanding (Acts 16:14). Again, in
this context, there is absolutely no concern over laws and teachings of
righteousness which Moshe charged were expressly given to us for
understanding.
We probably don't need to look for
special revelations about the Sabbath, the feast days, Hebrew names and titles,
identity and race, head coverings and beards, clothing and dress, coffee and
tea, tobacco and drugs, pork and catfish, lying and cheating, murdering and
hate, adultery and fornication or any of these things.
Although various and sundry Christian
groups and their offshoots may attach particular importance to some of these
items and try to claim that they can only be understood by revelation, such is
not the case at all in terms of what the Book seems to declare.
Please note that even the Pharisees,
Sadducees and the religious Jews of YESHUA's day some 2,000 years ago
understood and appreciated most of these teachings and laws with little or no
difficulty.
In fact, many of those people in that
time were quite obedient in following many of those teaching--just like some of
the Sacred Name and Identity people do today.
Categorically, these teachings and doctrines appear to have been given
for our comprehension, as Moshe carefully pointed out (Deut 4:6;
30:11-14).
Extraordinary Understanding Is Needed
Thus, the understanding we need from
YHWH YESHUA is something far more profound and monumental in scope. And it is
this needed understanding and revelation which was just not given to the Jews
of YESHUA's day, nor has it been dispensed in our time to Christians, Hindus,
Muslims, Jews, Sacred Namers, Identity types or anyone else who this writer has
known and been acquainted with over time.
While it is verity that The ELOHIM’s
mitzwot and the whole sin question must be addressed and dealt with, the fact
is that in opening up our wicked hearts to real understanding, YHWH YESHUA must
seemingly focus on the biggest issue of all in each of our lives.
Attention must be directed to the
granddaddy of all sin; or as many observers have called it, the essence of
sin. And what is this greatest and most
tragic of all sin? Why, unquestionably
it has to be the presence of deceitful pride and vanity in our wretched, hard,
carnal hearts. That surely is the
summation and totality of sin.
Humans Love the Status Quo
In respect to all of us sorry humans,
the truth is that our natural hearts are desperately wicked and deceiving (Jer
17:9). In this sad state, our hearts
just naturally don't want to be converted and changed (I Cor 2:9).
Since we love the status quo of pride
and vanity, we stiffen our necks and turn our eyes and ears away so that we
won't be told about our own true wretched natures (Jer 17:23).
We love to be told lies and smooth
things (Isa 30:10) and to have our ears tickled with deception and general
nonsense (II Tim 4:3-4). In a word, our
hard, callous hearts are "uncircumcised” (with the fat of pride, vanity
and carnality) and can't possibly understand what's going on in our deceitful,
mislead lives (Jer 6:10; 9:25-26; Ezek 44:7-9; Acts 7:51; Eph 2:11-12).
And this indictment applies equally
well to Sabbathkeepers, feast day observers, Identity types, racialists, Sacred
Name proponents, Jews, Christians, Moslems, Protestants, Pentecostals,
Charismatics, Catholics, New Agers, and all of so-called humanity alive and
functioning in the flesh today. The
problem with all of us is--we need a new heart (Ezek 18:31).
Specifically,
our proud, hard, callous hearts need to be converted and changed (Joel 2:12-13;
Matt 13:15; Mk 4:12; Jo 12:40; Rom 2:5).
And this is accomplished only by faith and repentance (Acts 8:21; 15:9;
Rom 10:10; Eph 3:17)--apparently dispensed by YESHUA in His true gifts of grace
and repentance (Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4; II Tim 2:25).
Circumcision of the Heart
So the "what" which must be
done about pride is that YHWH YESHUA has to "circumcise" our proud,
evil hearts, by cutting off the pride, vanity and carnality, and thus
converting and changing them into organs of value (Deut 10:16; 30:6; Ps 51:10;
Jer 4:3-4).
In fact, in the future kingdom, no
person, uncircumcised in the heart or in the flesh, will even be allowed into
the Temple to worship The HIGHEST (Ezek 44:9).
All of those Christian persons so anxious to abolish and do away with
physical circumcision should read and reflect upon this text from
Yechezkel.
Assuredly, both physical circumcision
of the flesh and spiritual circumcision of the heart will be mandatory for
entrance into the millennial Temple.
While both circumcision of the flesh
and heart are important and go together (since an uncircumcised man in the
flesh is hardly a candidate for spiritual circumcision of the heart), Jeremiah
9:25 makes the case that the circumcision of the heart is the far more
important one. The KJV fails to give all
of this text, but Jewish translations have it right.
House of Yisrael
“The Soncino Books of the Bible” for
Jeremiah (p. 74) adds: “For all the nations are uncircumcised but the House of
Yisrael are uncircumcised in heart.”
Soncino notes that the (physical) circumcision of the Israelites means
very little (alone and by itself) to The ELOHIM while the Israelites are
uncircumcised in their hearts.
This reference clearly applies to
Americans and White Anglo-Saxon-Celtic peoples around the world who have
routinely (and unknowingly as to why) followed the practice of physical circumcision
for generations.
Yet,
these same people who have been so anxious to physically circumcise their own
children (all the while that they claim that YHWH’s Torah was done away with
and that physical circumcision means nothing) are grossly uncircumcised in
their hearts. What a paradox this
reality represents--circumcision of the flesh without circumcision of the
heart.
Chapter
96--What Must Be Done on Pride
Cut Away the Pride and Vanity
Former chapters herein discussed the
problem with the human heart and how it must be dealt with before there can
ever be any achievement of reconciliation.
As suggested, the human heart must go through a circumcision process
which in some way is allegorically alluded to in the physical circumcision of
the flesh.
Therefore, our hearts must be
circumcised symbolically by cutting the fat, callous, hardness, stubbornness,
pride, vanity and carnality off--just as physical circumcision of the flesh
involves cutting away skin.
Put another way, The MOST HIGH appears
to go through and accomplish this process of circumcision of our wicked hearts
by cutting away and stripping off the corrupt, carnal human nature of pride and
vanity and all of the associated passions and lusts (Col 2:11-13).
In a sense, true circumcision involves
worshipping The EL in spirit and in truth and to be rid of confidence (pride)
in self and in this system of man's misrule on planet earth (Phil 3:3). We need to have our hearts cleaned up and to
have love and truth placed in them in order to worship in spirit and in truth
(Ps 51:10; Rom 5:5).
This circumcision of the heart also
involves a complete change or conversion of the heart (Jer 24:7; Ezek 11:19;
Eph 3:17). It is a part, if not the
substance, of the true repentance process (Matt 4:17; 9:13; Lu 13:3). Hard hearts are categorically impenitent
hearts (Rom 2:5) which can only be dealt with by YHWH YESHUA and His gift of
grace (Jo 6:65; Acts 11:18; Rom 2:4; II Tim 2:25).
The Needed Change
Because of the state of wretchedness,
which we all are in, and because of the change that is needed in our
personalities, Yohanan the Baptist preached a need for repentance (Matt
3:2). This was precisely the same
message of YESHUA The MESSIAH (Matt 4:17) and the later apostles (Acts 3:19). And it's still the exact same message today
in our time.
While it is useful to note that the
true gift of repentance, change and election comes from YHWH YESHUA, it is a
fact of reality that the called out and selected ones do have some hard times
and/or trials to undergo in order for that process to reach fruition (Col
3:8-13).
Seemingly, it does take some effort and
willingness on our part, although this writer is uncertain how this takes place
and how YHWH YESHUA works to make it take place.
Of course, the bottom line on this
whole topic is that The MOST HIGH deals with the Adam kind by a process of
election. Surely, there is a positive
link between this condition of election and the gift of true grace and
repentance which allows an individual to grasp, understand and appreciate the
big picture on the whole themes of pride, vanity and carnality.
Incidentally, the so-called “pastor,”
Peter Peters, of the Christian Identity movement, added his thinking to this
issue in his April 2001 “special alert,” previously quoted from herein. Peters says that in the NT, “circumcision is
of the heart and that is done through baptism for the remission of sins.” His ideas on the forgiveness of sin through
Christian baptism have been cited earlier.
Of course, Peters seems totally lost
with these words and simply doesn’t know what he is talking about. He could not be more wrong on both
points. For sure, circumcision of the
heart and remission of sin do not occur with Christian baptism. Though one will not get salvation from
Christian baptism, he might catch a Christian demon (which is the real world
type of thing, as noted earlier).
Dealing With Pride
In comments so far, mention has been
made of the need for our proud, vain, uncircumcised hearts to become
"circumcised" through a proper experience of conversion and
change. The essence of this process is,
of course, the receipt of the gift of repentance.
Seemingly, correct and complete
repentance is the primary basis and foundation for the acquisition of grace and
salvation which so many persons think and presume they are after or have
obtained with their limited and incomplete acts of "supposed"
repentance. But in this equation, there
are still other considerations to focus on.
At this point, it is necessary to
address perhaps one of the key features of what all that may be involved in
true repentance. To broach this topic,
one needs to go back and once more consider the words of Moshe. In his citation of the great blessings and
curses in the Torah for Yisrael's obedience and/or disobedience, he wrote some
extremely profound and far reaching words of enormous wisdom and truth.
Repentance Is Needed
In terms of relevance here, Moshe noted
that at the time of Yisrael's final chastisement and punishment for sin, if the
people will confess and repent of their sins and the iniquities of their
fathers and if their "uncircumcised," proud, hearts are "humbled,"
then YHWH will remember His covenant with Yakov, Yitzhak and Avraham (Lev
26:40-42).
Later, at the dedication of the Temple,
The MOST HIGH appeared to Shlomo and told him that if the people of Yisrael
would "humble" themselves, pray, seek, crave and require His face and
turn from their sins, then He would hear from heaven and would forgive their
iniquities and heal their land (II Chron 7:14).
Two features stand out in this
context. First, please note that there
is a clear and precise need for repentance--repentance which is very definitely
linked in tandem with a "humbling" process. And secondly, The ELOHIM proclaims that He
will forgive and heal.
In other words, the people seemingly
will receive grace, mercy and salvation once they are humbled and brought
low. Significantly, these exact same
ideas are powerfully meshed together elsewhere into one single theme in several
other important Scriptures (II Chron 12:7; 32:25-26; 34:27).
More Wisdom from Shaul
In his first letter to the Corinthians,
Shaul displayed another illustration of his perception on this needed change in
Adam (from pride to humility, in the form of the circumcision of the
heart).
In I Corinthians 15:40-49, Shaul
likened this change to the situation with the first Adam, a man of the
flesh--carnal and worldly (in living this life and deciding issues and
questions in life on the basis of the flesh; or effectively, doing what looks
good and desirable to carnal, fleshly man).
The apostle then compared this first Adam of the flesh to the natural or
terrestrial man (I Cor 15:40, 46).
But in the resurrection, the
resurrected saved person becomes like The Second Adam YESHUA, Who was a
celestial and spiritual person. Clearly,
the objective is to be transformed from the natural, fleshly person to a
spiritual person.
In addressing this text from I
Corinthians, the Oct-Dec 2002 “Hebrew Roots” (p. 1) said: “How do we become more ‘Spiritual?” Some believe that being Spiritual means
thinking ‘spiritual’ thoughts. Others
believe it is through prayer. Still
others believe spirituality comes through the study of Scripture and the
discussion of what it means with other like-minded believers. Still others equate spirituality with
praising God in song and/or dance, lifting ones hands in praise of God.
“All of the above are aspects of a
spiritual life, but no single one makes a person ‘spiritual.’ Spirituality is a total life experience. It means letting Abba (our Father) work His
will in every area of our lives. It
means that we do not withhold even a small portion of our personal life as
strictly our own, but that we allow ourselves to be completely yielded to God
and His way of life. The outcome of such
a life will then be displayed in our works.”
The above remarks are interesting; and
of course, they are things which the true believer wants to implement in his
life--especially, in the sense of spirituality being a total life
experience. As discussed in a former
chapter on Life and the Torah, the idea of living the Torah daily in all
activities is the backbone of truth and righteousness. However, this writer would like to go further
in assessing Shaul’s words.
This Writer’s View
As mentioned several times throughout
this study, the election is commanded to worship The ELOHIM in spirit and in
truth (Jo 4:24). The idea of truth seems
simple enough. But the concept of spirit
is more complex. Since the Scriptural
spirit represents mind and intellectual processes, it is easy to surmise that
one must worship The HIGHEST in a mental and intellectual awareness and
appreciation fashion.
By applying this analogy to Shaul’s
words to the Corinthians, it is easy to see that the transformation needed by
Adam is from the carnal flesh (where man approaches life and its events from a
fleshly point of view--with pride, vanity, greed, selfishness, etc) to a
spiritual position (involving the mental processes of the mind and
intelligence) to approach life and its events in the same way that YESHUA
tackled life (in a mental and intellectual process of conforming to YHWH’s way,
as taught in His Word).
We must intellectually understand (from
the Book) what needs to be done and then do it.
That’s why study is so crucial--so we can intellectually and by mind
power gain that knowledge and understanding of truth and righteousness and
transform our lives into YHWH’s thinking, thought processes and mental
awareness.
Applying this background to the present
situation, one can say that the natural man would like Christmas and other
worldly holidays. The spiritual man
would check these days out to determine YHWH’s position on them and relate them
to His festivals and set apart days.
In terms of sex, the natural man wants
almost all of it he can get. Conversely,
the spiritual man would conduct his sexual life in accordance with the
intellectual understanding of YHWH’s Words on sex. And this contrast can be stated in all facets
and aspects of man living this life in the present corrupt world of sin and
rebellion.
As was discussed in a former chapter on
the purpose of life, the idea is that YHWH is not only creating a man (Adam) in
His physical image, but He is creating a man (Adam) who can think, rationalize,
reflect upon, consider and determine intellectually how to face life as YHWH
has taught and outlined in the Torah (in other words, He is creating a man to
think like He thinks and/or to think with His mentality).
Therefore, the saved (resurrected) Adam
must begin to think like The ELOHIM, instead of a fleshly, carnal human being
(in approaching life and its many issues and problems). Thus, man must be changed from the flesh to
the spirit. Once in a true spiritual
condition, Adamites can use a mental/intellectual process to think like YHWH in
living all facets of life daily.
So
Therefore, it might be correct to say
that spirituality involves doing the things cited above from “Hebrew Roots,”
but doing them in the vein of an intellectual/mental process of trying to
duplicate the mentality and thinking of YHWH (as ascertainable from His
Word).
Hence, we should study, pray,
fellowship, sing songs, etc. But we
should do these things with mental awareness of what the Word teaches for the
true believer. We should try to
duplicate and live YHWH’s thinking on all these issues and practices. Of course, we can determine YHWH’s thinking
through study, prayer and so forth.
One can contrast this position of true
spirituality with what one can observe in the Pentecostal/Charismatic motions
(which will be addressed in some detail in later chapters). Holy Rollers typically equate spirituality
with emotionalism--which they demonstrate in their prayers, singing and worship
actions.
To the Holy Roller, getting a charge or
tingling up the spine or having fun and a good time or muttering some confused
gibberish or some other physical manifestation means true spirituality (and as
will be covered in the later chapters on the Holy Roller experience, the Holy
Rollers accomplish these actions based on their “feelings and emotions” and not
as an intellectual pursuit and understanding of truth from the Word).
But this emotionalism, good feelings
and having fun in worship (as occurs in Holy Roller practice) are not the way
or path of truth and righteousness as recorded in the Book.
Per the Word, true spirituality
involves a mental and intellectual process of trying to live life in accordance
with the teaching of the Word. Thus, it
involves intelligence, study, knowledge, understanding and wisdom in the vein
of having YHWH’s mind and thoughts. It
means applying YHWH’s mind to every activity and thought one engages in while
living in this corrupt world.
Spiritual Blindness
Also, in this regard and in particular,
the lover of truth will find hope in a key message which Yeshayahu penned when
he described that people's eyes and ears would be physically all right and
fully capable of seeing and hearing; yet these same eyes and ears would not see
or hear because of the presence of pride and vanity in their wicked hearts and
minds (Isa 6:1-10).
As Yeshayahu saw it, this condition of
spiritual blindness, apathy and indifference would continue in Yisrael until
the people experience their final period of chastisement and punishment. At that time, YHWH declares that He will
"heal and restore" them (Isa 6:10-13).
The point being is that in
"true" repentance, we must rend our hearts and not our clothes (Joel
2:13). We must be willing to dispense
with and give up and surrender our fleshly natures of pride, vanity, and
carnality in order to be properly converted, changed and healed.
In this instance, the Psalmist
pungently observed that YHWH hears the "meek" and will prepare their
hearts and cause their ears to hear (Ps 10:17).
The book of Job has similar expressions (Job 33:16-17; 40:11-12).
Therefore, it is no wonder then that
the achievement of true repentance also involves the attainment of a level,
status or reality of humility and meekness; which is, of course, the very
antitheses of pride and vanity. As
Yeshayahu saw it, YHWH looks on those individuals with a "humble"
heart (Isa 66:2).
As this writer has noted a number of
times, over and over, there is no place for pride and vanity in YHWH's
program. It's just not there and never
will be or can be there. With this
background, it is obvious then that YHWH resists the proud and gives grace to
the humble which the Book so often proclaims (II Sam 22:28; Ps 18:27; 51:17; Prov
3:34; Isa 57:14-19; 61:1; Matt 23:12; Lu 4:18; Jas 4:6; I Pet 5:5-6).
Humility and Meekness, Revisited
Since humility and meekness are the
objectives which all persons aspiring to salvation must attain, it would be
well to look briefly at these terms. The
English word "humble" and its cognates have several Hebrew and Greek
equivalents. Herein, we will look at
those primarily used.
First, Strong's “Hebrew Dictionary”
says that the Hebrew "anab" (correctly anav, mentioned in a prior
chapter) means "a prim. root (possibly...through the idea of looking down
or brow beating); to depress lit. or fig. trans. or intrans...abase self,
afflict (-ion, self), answer...chasten self, deal hardly with, defile,
exercise, force, gentleness, humble (self), hurt, ravish."
Next, for the Hebrew "kana,"
Strong's defines it as "a prim. root; prop. to bend the knee; hence to
humiliate, vanquish:--bring down (low), into subjection, under, humble (self),
subdue."
Also for “kana,” “William Wilson's
Hebrew Word Studies” says it means "to be bowed down; applied to the
humbling or mortifying the proud; to a wicked person being humbled for his sins
by repentance" (as at I Kg 21:29; II Kg 22:19; II Chron 7:14; 12:6, 7, 12;
30:11; 32:26; 33:12, 19, 23; 34:27; 36:12).
For the Hebrew word "raphac,"
Strong's has it as "a prim. root; to trample, i.e. prostrate:--humble
self, submit self." William Wilson
says "raphac" means "to trample; to let oneself be trampled
upon, to humble oneself."
Another Hebrew word for this usage is
"daka." The “Hebrew Word
Studies” book says that "daka" means "to bruise, to be in
distress; penitent, submissive to the will of God."
In terms of humble, one must finally
look at the Hebrew "shaphel," which Strong's defines as "a prim.
root; to depress or sink (espec. fig. to humiliate, intrans. or
trans.);--abase, bring (cast, put) down, debase, humble (self), be (bring, lay,
make, put) low (-er)."
Here, Wilson has it as "to be low
in situation, in mind, in condition, or in any other respect" (as at Prov
16:19; 29:23; Isa 2:9, 11; 5:15; 10:33; 42:15; Jer 13:18; Dan 5:22).
Regarding the Greek for humble,
Strong's reflects that "tapeinos" means "of uncert. der;
depressed, i.e. (fig.) humiliated (in circumstances or disposition):--base,
cast down, humble, of low degree (estate), lowly." Also for "tapeinos," “Vine's
Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words” defines it simple as
"primarily signifies low--lying."
Meek and Meekness
Turning now to meek and meekness, one
finds related definitions. First, for
the Hebrew "anaw," which links back to anab/anav, defined earlier,
William Wilson has it as "adj. oppressed, afflicted, wretched, but
everywhere with the accessory idea of humility, meekness, i.e. the humble, the
meek, who prefer to suffer wrong rather than do wrong, and who therefore enjoy
God's favour."
The related noun form in Greek is
"prautes" or "praotes" (as related to the previously
discussed praos/praus), which Vine has as "denotes meekness. In its use in Scripture, in which it has a
fuller, deeper significance than in non-scriptural Greek writings, it consists
not in a person's outward behavior only; nor yet in his relations to his
fellow-men; as little in his mere natural disposition.
“Rather it is an inward grace of the
soul; and the exercises of it are first and chiefly towards God. It is that temper of spirit in which we
accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting;
“it is closely linked with the word
'tapeinophrosune' (humility), and follows directly upon it, Eph 4:2; Col 3:12;
cp. the adjectives in the Sept. of Zeph 3:12, 'meek and lowly;' ...it is only
the humble heart which is also the meek, and which, as such does not fight
against God and more or less struggle and contend with Him.
“This meekness, however, being first of
all a meekness before God, is also such in the face of men, even of evil men,
out of a sense that these, with the insults and injuries which they may
inflict, are permitted and employed by Him for the chastening and purifying of
His elect. In Gal 5:23 it is associated
with 'enkrateia' self-control.
"The meaning of 'prautes' is not
readily expressed in English, for the terms meekness, mildness, commonly used,
suggest weakness and pusillanimity to a greater or less extent, whereas
'prautes' does nothing of the kind.
“Nevertheless, it is difficult to find
a rendering less open to objection than 'meekness', 'gentleness' has been
suggested, but as 'prautes' describes a condition of mind and heart, and as
'gentleness' is appropriate rather to actions, this word is no better than that
used in both English Versions. It must
be clearly understood, therefore, that the meekness manifested by the Lord and
commended to the believer is the fruit of power.
“The common assumption is that when a
man is meek it is because he cannot help himself; but the Lord was 'meek'
because he had the infinite resources of God at His command. Described negatively, meekness is the opposite
to self-assertiveness and self-interest; it is equanimity of spirit that is
neither elated nor cast down, simply because it is not occupied with self at
all..."
Please note in the above definitions,
the very obvious link between the ideas of meekness and humility. Literally, the two concepts go together. Also, it should be observed that there is
absolutely nothing in either term which would connote "weakness," at
least in usages implying a desirable state or attribute.
Self Humiliation and Abasement
Finally, please observe that the
various words are used in the vein of "self" humiliation and
abasement. Hence, one must not only be
very careful about thinking highly of self (improperly) and/or of bragging and
boasting on self; but also, one must be very prudent about even talking about
self to others and particularly in a vein that might suggest building up or
inflating one’s self in any way allowing for pride.
Perhaps YHWH brings on the humbling
process; but somehow, we must be willing to accept it as being good and
beneficial for our personalities.
In a word, the transition to humility
and meekness involves a “change” whereby proud, inflated, lifted up, glorious,
grand, elevated, expanded, important, big, shining people are changed into
small, little, insignificant, unimportant nobodies. Such a conversion truly must be
incomprehensible to our limited, carnal, human minds and mentalities.
Becoming New Born Babies
When we begin to understand and
appreciate the importance and value of humility and meekness, we can also
expand our intellect by grasping the meaning of the several references which
connect the truly repentant, called out person with the status or position of a
new born infant/baby, as outlined earlier.
This relationship surfaces in several
places in the Scriptures. Most
noticeably, it stands out in YESHUA's declaration that the real truth of
salvation is hidden from the wise, clever, learned and mighty men (the proud
ones) and is revealed unto babies (Matt 11:25; Lu 10:21).
Effectively, the Word seems to
communicate that the state of forgiveness and salvation starts with the very
elect becoming like "newborn" infants (I Cor 3:1; Heb 5:13). Kefa puts it well by alluding to the fact
that one must become like a newborn baby and through with the sins of carnality
and the flesh (pride and vanity) in order to attain completed salvation (I Pet
2:2).
This background takes the student of
truth to the question of the born again experience (Jo 3:2-8). This complicated reference has been debated
for ages by various Christian scholars. It will be elaborated upon in a later
presentation herein and needs not be addressed in any detail at this time. Suffice to say, the idea is a very Jewish
one, as will be subsequently discussed.
The Talmud quotes Shimon ben Lakish and
R. Yosi as teaching that a proselyte is like a newborn infant (Yevamot 48b,
62a, “Jewish New Testament Commentary,” p. 165). Rabbinic literature teaches conversion in the
context of a new creation (i.e. Genesis Rabbah 39:11, “Jewish New Testament
Commentary,” p. 165).
Certainly, there are a whole host of
other Scriptures which tie this concept of the needed humility and meekness in
grown, adult, called out ones in order to transform them into the status of
persons with the simplicity of small infants and children with their remarkable
humility and meekness.
Consequently, the writer Mattityahu
would, of course, quote YESHUA on His point that truly elected individuals must
humble themselves into the position of being like a little child (Matt
18:4). Furthermore, Mattityahu recorded
for us The MESSIAH's observation that the "little ones" (obviously
the meek and humble ones) each have a guardian angel overseeing their progress
in the heaven (Matt 18:10).
Another powerful message surfaces in
the statement that YHWH has established strength and perfect praise out of the
mouths of babies and infants (Ps 8:2; Matt 21:15-16). The point being is that very small newborn babies
and infants are extremely helpless and sinless.
In terms of secular society, they represent the epitome of humility and
meekness.
In a sense, if any person can be in a
state of perfection on this earth while in the flesh, it has to be newborn
babies. Once we start growing and
maturing, in the flesh, pride, vanity and carnality begin forming to make us
wretched, dirty, stinking sinners.
Reconciliation, Revisited
Of course, there are preliminary steps
to be accomplished before a person can ever begin to experience the new
birth. These requirements have been
discussed in previous chapters on the reconciliation process--which assuredly
involves repentance--to include repair, restoration and restitution. Apologies must be made and the status quo
restored, as it was before sin entered the picture.
To summarize, please consider the fact
that it is YHWH YESHUA, Alone, Who grants the called out ones the
"gift" of true repentance and grace.
Too, the Book categorically asserts that grace, mercy and forgiveness
can only come to the humble and meek (Prov 3:34; Matt 23:12; Jas 4:6; I Pet
5:5-6).
Since this conversion and change is a
free gift, is it conceivable that anyone can earn it by doing any works,
actions or deeds? Thus, can anyone of us
effectively deal with the pride, vanity, carnality and worldliness in our
wicked, evil hearts and minds without the involvement of YHWH YESHUA? The answer has to be “no.”
The Destruction of Pride
Previous chapters and the above
comments on pride have focused in a general way on how YHWH YESHUA has dealt
with pride and vanity in the lives of certain people. This section at hand will continue this theme
with a more careful look at the extraordinary measures called for to finally
destroy and crush this evil and wickedness in the hearts and minds of men.
And clearly, there is an abundance of
reasons to believe that ultimately an extreme and trying experience is
necessary, as was demonstrated in the cases of Iyov, Moshe, Eliyahu, Shaul,
Nebuchadnezzar and others before pride and vanity could be successfully
concluded and relegated to history.
As has been discussed earlier, the
objective of this issue of eliminating pride apparently involves the gift of
true repentance and the attainment of real conversion. This change consists of the Scripturally
mentioned circumcision of the heart and the replacement of pride and vanity
with humility and meekness.
And certainly, these are very difficult
and seemingly impossible goals to achieve by limited, mortal men. In a word, the transition isn't easy at all
without supernatural help from above.
The process of real reconciliation can
be described as one whereby our proud, vain, carnal and fleshly hearts and
spirits are crushed and broken in a dramatic and powerful way, so that they
will become penitent, humble and meek (Job 24:20; Ps 31:12; 38:8; 51:17; Prov
6:12-19; 15:13, 25; 17:22).
In a sense, conversion can be liken to
the situation where a man breaks a proud horse and/or a fat bullock in order to
use them for riding and working. It's
not an easy chore at all. When David
went through his trial of great repentance, he said that he was severely broken
and groaned from the turmoil in his heart (Ps 38:8).
Numbers of other Scriptures tell us of
various and sundry other individuals and peoples who also went through this
transition or who must yet face it sometime in the future--like Naomi (Ruth
1:21), Iyov (Job 3:4), Yonah (Jonah 2:2), Yirmeyahu (Jer 23:9), the House of
Yehudah (Ezek 4:2-4), the daughters of Jerusalem (Jer 14:17), the population of
Ephraim (Hos 5:11), and evil and wicked persons in general (Isa 28:13).
The Transformation
While most of us in our proud and vain
states may have problems in appreciating this change to meekness and humility,
the verity is that the end thereof is for our personal benefit. Literally, we must be crushed and humbled
dramatically in order to really understand the important topics of repentance,
salvation and righteousness (Ps 119:130; Isa 28:9; Lu 10:21; Jo 13:2-17).
Therefore, it is good for us to be
humbled and brought low (Ps 119:71). In
terms of the future, the Book says that we should seek The HIGHEST and humility
in order to be given shelter in the day of YHWH's anger (Zeph 2:3).
In a sense, this movement to true
repentance, salvation and righteousness seems to demand an incredible period of
punishment, chastisement and correction by The MOST HIGH, as discussed
previously, in order to break the presence of pride and vanity in the wicked
hearts and minds of men (Lev 26:19; Deut 8:5; Ps 94:10-12; Isa 10:5-16; Amos 3:6).
Discipline, Revisited
Those of us familiar with the need to
occasionally use punishment and chastisement to effect correction and change in
the habits of children can more readily appreciate what all can be involved in
this endeavor.
In this context, please consider just a
few of the following far reaching words of wisdom. Moshe wrote that as a man disciplines,
chastens and instructs his son, so also does YHWH chastens, disciplines and
instructs His people in the same manner (Deut 8:5). Eliphaz observed that the man, YHWH chastens,
should be happy and should not reject that correction (Job 5:17).
The Psalmist has it that blessed,
happy, and well off is the man whom YHWH disciplines and instructs (Ps
94:12). The wise Shlomo declared that we
should not despise the chastisement and punishment from YHWH--since those He
loves, He corrects (Prov 3:11-12).
Shaul put it well by saying that when
the very elect fall short and are judged by YHWH, He disciplines them so that
they might not be condemned to eternal punishment (I Cor 11:32) and that He
chastens and disciplines those He loves and punishes every one of them He
accepts (Heb 12:6). Therefore, we should
willingly submit to YHWH's punishment since human fathers do correct and
discipline their sons without which discipline they would be accorded as
illegitimate offspring and not true sons at all (Heb 12:7-11).
Yohanan goes on to note that those whom
YHWH loves, He rebukes, chastens and disciplines (Rev 3:19). Probably, because of the reality of these
charges, it is no wonder then that David would cry out in agony for YHWH to
chasten and correct him, but not in anger (Ps 6:1; 38:1).
Obviously, if any of us ever expects to
have the gift of true grace and life from YHWH YESHUA, then of necessity, we
must desire, anticipate and welcome The MOST HIGH's chastisement, punishment
and correction (Ps 118:18; Prov 19:18; II Cor 6:9).
Furthermore, as Iyov eventually learned
in his great trial and time of punishment, sorrow and suffering, the discipline
process is placed upon us so that we might have our ears opened and hear The
ELOHIM's voice, and understand His Word--as He punishes and chastens us with
strife in our bones in order to remove, cut off, and destroy the wickedness of
pride and vanity from our fleshly hearts and minds (Job 33:16-19).
This single perception by Iyov goes a
long way in order to clear up the "why" it is necessary for us to
undergo punishment and distress. It is
no wonder that we should welcome and court the correction with all our souls
and might.
The Prophets
The prophets also saw the process in
some other most explicit and precise fashions.
Yeshayahu wrote that in the future, the glory of Yakov would be brought
low and the fat (pride and confidence) of his flesh would be made lean (Isa
17:4). Yirmeyahu has it that Ephraim, at
a later time, is to be chastened to repentance as a bull is put in a yoke to be
turned, humbled and broken (Jer 30:11).
Yechezkel observed that The SUPREME
will heal the people of Yisrael by destroying their fat (proud), hard hearts in
judgment and punishment (Ezek 34:16).
Hosea describes it by saying that YHWH turns from Ephraim--until Ephraim
turns to Him and repents in a time of affliction and distress (Hos 5:15).
Amos pungently noted that punishment
for sin won't come upon us--except that The EVERLIVING ONE has caused it (Amos
3:6). Unquestionably, the proud, vain,
uncircumcised hearts of all sinners must one day be punished and changed in
order for The SOVEREIGN to accomplish His plan and purpose for Adam (Jer
9:25-26; 13:15-17; Hos 5:5).
And those of us privileged and blessed
to be chastened and corrected by The EVERLASTING in this age should accept it
and not be dumb enough to refuse it or to fight against it (Prov 28:14; 29:1;
Jer 5:3). For the stubborn and hard
headed, the punishment can be extremely tragic and trying--to include even the
breaking of arms (Ps 37:17; Ezek 30:22).
Tobit and Shaul
As discussed in former comments, Shaul
wrote one of the most beautiful expressions of all in the Book when he noted
that all things work together for good for those who love The ELOHIM and are
called according to His purpose (Rom 8:28).
For certain, in the case of the members of the election, this piece of
wisdom must ring true. Despite all the
troubles and sorrow, all things will work together for good for the
election.
The ancient Apocrypha book of Tobit had
some interesting words along the same lines which clearly linked to the book of
Job and the later wisdom of Shaul. As
outlined earlier, Tobit was a very ancient story of two House of Yisrael
families in far away Assyrian captivity.
Like Iyov and so many others, their lives were extremely difficult.
The “Dictionary of Judaism in the
Biblical Period” (p. 636) offers this assessment of the point of the book of
Tobit. Per this source, Tobit recognizes
A Providential MOST HIGH Who “orchestrates events toward a beneficent
resolution for the pious even when they are totally oblivious of this
fact.”
Going on, Tobit provides that through
suffering, The ELOHIM scourges righteous individuals and the nation (of
Yisrael) for their sins so that they might obtain mercy--a release from their
ills and a return to a restored Jerusalem.
Chapter
97--The Difficulty in Dealing With Pride
Reconciliation Is Like Refining Gold
and Silver
The
putting of the flesh to death is no easy proposition. There is every reason to believe that the
process can take and probably often does take a long span of time, as is the
practice in Judaism for her converts even to this day (Acts 13:15-43; 15:21; 16:13;
17:2-4, 10-12, 17; 18:4, 7-11, 19, 24-25; 19:1-8).
Of
course, on our own, no human could ever achieve reconciliation. In a word, this repentance, conversion and
change process involves a time of “trial” in a fiery furnace of trouble and
testing.
The severity of the process is
poignantly thrown at us in a most convincing way in the Scriptures. The ELOHIM has chosen to correlate it to the
methods followed by men in purifying and refining silver and gold ore into
pure, fine products by using intense heat to remove the impurities.
This practice consists of placing the
silver and gold in a furnace of fire and great heat (Ps 12:6; 66:10; Jer
6:27-30; Zech 13:8-9; Mal 3:2-3; Mk 9:49; Acts 15:9; Jas 4:8). Yirmeyahu aptly described this process by saying
that YHWH will melt the chosen ones by the process of affliction to remove the
dross and to test them (Jer 9:7).
In
a word, The MOST HIGH purges away the dross (Isa 1:25; Jer 9:7) in a fiery
furnace of affliction (Isa 48:10; Dan 11:35; 12:10) in order to make a man more
rare than finest gold (Isa 13:12; Lam 4:2).
Obviously, the melting process will remove the impurities of fleshliness
and carnality from the hearts and minds of the election.
The
linkage of the election’s true conversion to the refinement of metal (Prov
17:3; Isa 48:10; Jer 9:7; Zech 13:9; Mal 3:3) is of great importance in
attempting to understand salvation from the Book; because in allegory, The
HIGHEST uses refined silver as a type or example of converted, reconciled,
saved individuals in general.
Apparently, the gold analogy is for only a specific limited portion of
the election (the very elect?).
Thus, there is a positive linkage of
the concept of refining silver to the conversion and reconciliation of the
elect ones for salvation in the Apostolic Assembly and in the age end. The point must be made that the election will
enter the Kingdom under much adversity, trial and trouble. It has been and will be a very tough road for
them.
Effectively, the elect will be receiving
new hearts and minds (Jer 24:7; 31:33; 32:39: Ezek 18:31; 36:26; Heb 8:10;
10:16). Thus, this trial of faith
(clearly, for some men--like maybe the very elect) is more precious than gold
tested by the hottest fire (I Pet 1:6-7).
The Trial
The trial which one must go through
perhaps may include slavery and bondage; sickness, disease and loss of health;
economic poverty and want; loneliness with no social intercourse with others;
lack or curtailment of the basic needs of food, water, shelter, heat, sleep,
rest, etc; lack of physical comforts like clothing, transportation, etc; great,
trying, mental distress; and other equally harsh and painful measures for human
beings to experience.
The punishment needed to effect
correction may seem severe and trying.
But it has to be that way because most, if not all of us, are so
incredibly proud, vain, stubborn and rebellious that the breaking procedure has
to be severe and to include any or all of the punishments just mentioned.
Literally, if The HIGHEST has His hand
on any one of us with an objective of conversion and change from pride and
vanity to humility and meekness, then we can be assured that He will break our
backs, blind us, place us in outright slavery and bondage, or do whatever is called
for and over whatever time period is necessary in a physical, correcting sense
to bring about His objective.
We may be big, proud, vain, arrogant,
important, wise, prosperous, fat, healthy, stubborn persons one day; but YHWH
can change all of that very quickly in one fast motion, as He did with Iyov; or
He may take some time and spread the punishment and correction out over years
and years, as He seemingly did with Moshe and Nebuchadnezzar.
However, which ever way He chooses, it
will come and come about obviously in the proper fashion. Consequently, we can be brought to abasement
through such things as sickness; affliction; slavery; war; oppression; loss of
relatives, friends and loved ones; and so forth--in the context of horrible and
terrifying ordeals of fire and suffering.
Effectively, we can be crushed so hard
and thorough that our human natures of "self"--self righteousness,
self confidence, self trust, self esteem, self satisfaction, self sufficiency,
self will, etc--will collapse and fall by the wayside.
Or as the Apostle Shaul put it to the
Romans--the very elect must undergo a process whereby the carnal flesh, with
its passions and lusts are impaled ("crucified," as the KJV
incorrectly has it) and nailed to a tree of death and destruction (Rom
6:6).
Of course, too, as we are defeated in
our battle with YHWH and as we are brought low enough to give up
"self," then we will also be giving up the pride of life--confidence
in others and this worldly system of man-made institutions, programs,
governments, ideas and thinking.
The point is that as YHWH does start to
work on any one of us (and we each should pray that He shall), then He will do
whatever is necessary over whatever time frame that is called for in order to
bring about the desirable state of humility and meekness.
The End of Self Will
Self will, which is perhaps one of the
most difficult issues of all in pride, has to eventually be crushed and
destroyed. As long as we persist in our
self will for our lives and every day acts and actions, then we cannot receive
the gift of grace and salvation. In a
word, we must be broken and broken so dramatically that we surrender, abandon
and give up self will in our lives.
Naturally, this is a very hard task to
be accomplished because we all want to do things our way and according to our
thinking and judgment about right and wrong.
However, The MOST HIGH knows how to address the problem. Therefore, in time, self will must go. It must be exterminated. And by YHWH's Word, He will see to it's
destruction in the elect.
As the Psalmist wrote it, we are
brought low and humbled through oppression, affliction and sorrow (Ps 102:23;
107:39). It is no wonder then that we
can say "before i was afflicted, i went astray" (Ps 119:67).
In other words, i sinned and YHWH
corrected me by affliction (Ps 88:7; 90:15; 118:18; 119:75; Lam 1:12; 3:31-33:
Mic 4:6). Or as Yeshayahu wrote it--YHWH
has afflicted me so that He might hear me and give me grace (Isa
30:18-21).
Obviously, He must humble us in order
to hear us--since His Word carefully notes that He does not hear or listen to
sinners (Job 35:12-13; Ps 66:18; Prov 15:29; 28:9; Isa 1:15; 59:1-3; Mic 3:4:
Zech 7:12-13; Jo 9:31; Jas 4:3). Truly,
it does take a period of real trial, affliction and repentance in order to be
heard on high (Job 34:28).
Once the proud, vain, human spirit is
effectively crushed, broken and reduced to humility and meekness through the
terrible ordeal of affliction, then The ELOHIM is ready to grant us the gift of
grace and use us for enormously constructive and beneficial purposes which are
just out of the question in the context of the flesh of pride, vanity and
carnality.
The Outcome
In terms of the end result of the
transformation, the Psalmist described it by saying that The MOST HIGH delivers
the elect from their many afflictions (Ps 34:19); heals and binds up the wounds
and cures the pains and sorrows (Ps 147:3); and revives after afflicting (Ps
119:107), as we cry for mercy in the trial of our affliction (Ps 25:16).
For the ultimate outcome, the writer of
Chronicles put it well by noting that if we humble ourselves, The HIGHEST will
hear and heal (II Chron 7:14); and when we cry out to Him in our affliction, He
hears and heals (II Chron 20:9).
Iyov learned through his incredible
ordeal that YHWH binds with affliction the profane in heart and delivers the
poor (humble) in affliction as He opens their ears in oppression (Job 34:28;
36:13-15).
David observed that YHWH is close to
those of a broken heart and saves such as are crushed with sorrow for sin and
those who are humbly and thoroughly penitent (Ps 34:18), and that the sacrifice
which is acceptable to The ELOHIM is a broken spirit and heart with sorrow for
sin and being humbly and thoroughly penitent (Ps 51:17).
Yeshayahu has it that The EVERLIVING
looks upon the broken hearted and heals by removing the stumbling block from
the penitent, and humbling the one bruised with sorrow and sin (Isa 57:14-19;
61:1).
Yirmeyahu put it well by observing that
The SUPREME will break down, destroy and afflict before building and planting
(Jer 31:28); that YHWH is a refuge in the day of affliction (Jer 16:19); and
therefore, happy is the man that The ELOHIM chastens--since He bruises, wounds
and heals (Jer 5:1-29).
Hosea said it by noting that The
EVERLASTING has torn and stricken so that He may heal and bind up (Hos
6:1). Luke saw it in his words that
YESHUA was sent to heal those broken in heart and spirit (Lu 4:18). And finally, Shaul summed it up by saying
that we are afflicted from The HIGHEST for our own salvation (II Cor 1:6).
Following the trial in the burning
furnace of affliction, the Book tells us--happy is the man YHWH corrects (Job
5:17); blessed is the man The ELOHIM chastens (Ps 94:12); it is good that i was
afflicted (Ps 119:71); The HIGHEST corrects those He loves (Prov 3:12); The
SUPREME corrects in right judgment (Isa 28:26); and of those He loves, The
ELOHIM chastens them like sons, so that they won't be illegitimate (Heb
12:5-11).
The Paradox
It is a paradox of sorts, but when we
humans are fat, prosperous, well off, have health, enjoy possessions, have
position and status and live the so-called "good" life, then we
become proud and vain over ourselves and turn from The MOST HIGH, as noted previously.
Consequently, we become cut off and
separated from His grace, mercy and salvation.
It is in this context that Iyov, Moshe and the rest of us have found
ourselves. And as outlined above, the
removal and destruction of this resulting pride and vanity from our wicked
hearts seem to take a time of great trial, testing and affliction. It is not an easy proposition to become truly
humble and meek in the proper sense.
On this, a report from the Sep 1989
“Wisdom & Power” Christian magazine said that "a rabbi was asked a
question by a pupil referring to Deuteronomy 6:6: 'And these words, which I command thee this
day, shall be upon thy heart. Why is it
said this way?' the pupil asked. 'Why
are we not told to place them in our heart?'
The rabbi answered that it is not within man's power to place the divine
teachings directly in his heart. 'All
that we can do is place them on the surface of the heart so that when the heart
breaks they will drop in.' "
In terms of real wisdom, Yirmeyahu
wrote a prayer which David had uttered centuries before that should be on the
lips and in the hearts and minds of all of us.
As quoted earlier, he said:
"Oh YHWH, chasten and correct me, but not in your anger" (Jer
10:24).
Of course, the elect are judged and chastened
here in this age and life so that they will not be condemned in a future age
and life (I Cor 11:31-32). Finally,
David put it well by saying that “in the day of my trouble, I will call upon
You (YHWH), for You will answer me” (Ps 86:7).
Carnality Must Be Put To Death
Thus,
numerous Scriptures describe the process of reconciliation and conversion. Shaul put it well at Romans 8:1-15, which was
a prelude to the introduction of the subject of adoption, discussed earlier. Shaul stipulated that conversion means
putting the flesh (which is enmity towards The ELOHIM) to death and replacing
it with the Spirit.
In
allegory, this putting to death of the flesh is additionally liken in the
Scriptures to the circumcision of the heart, described earlier (Lev 26:40-42;
Ps 34:14-18; Jer 4:1-4, 14).
It
involves a human, emotional response of literally being extremely ashamed and
sorry (for one’s carnality and resulting sins) and hating and loathing one’s
self (Ezra 9:6; Job 9:21, 31; 40:4-5; 42:6; Jer 31:19; Ezek 6:9; 16:63; 20:43;
33:10-12; 36:31; Matt 16:25; Mk 8:35; Jo 12:25).
The
Manual of Discipline from the Dead Sea Scrolls mentions this circumcision of
the heart as “to walk humbly, and circumcise
in unity the foreskin of evil inclination and stubbornness” (“Who Wrote the
Dead Sea Scrolls,” p. 70). So this idea
was one found evidently among the Essenes, as well as the Nazarenes.
The
Psalms have a number of references that focus on the change which a repenting
sinner must undergo. Repeatedly, the
message is that the process of repentance and dealing with human carnality
involves the attainment and possession of a broken and contrite heart (Ps
34:18; 51:17, 19; 147:3).
In
a commentary on Psalms 51:17-19, Piska 24.5 states that “When praying for the
sacrifices of God, the spirit must be bowed and broken” (“Pesikta De-Rab
Kahana,” p. 368). Yes, the proud and
vain heart (spirit) of a sinner must be broken and crushed.
Effectively,
the goal of this process is that the formerly proud, vain, fleshly person must
be reduced and changed to being a reconciled individual of true humility. This need is repeatedly brought out in the
Book in the statement that The ELOHIM resists the proud and gives grace to the humble
(II Sam 22:28; Ps 10:17; 18:27; 51:17; Prov 3:34; Isa 57:14-19; 61:1; Matt
23:12; Lu 4:18; Jas 4:6; I Pet 5:5-6).
Many
persons are familiar with YESHUA’s remarks on the practice of humility at a
wedding feast (Lu 14:8-11).
Those
words are very similar to the teachings of the famous Hillel (whom YESHUA may
have identified with) who said “whoever humbles himself, the Holy One, blessed
be he, raises him up, but whoever exalts himself, the Holy One, blessed be he,
humbles him” (Babylonian Talmud, Eruvin 13b, per Nov/Dec “Jerusalem
Perspective,” p.14).
A
Personal Testimony
From
time to time, in this production, this writer has mentioned some of my sins and
how they were recalled and brought to my attention many, many years after they
occurred. In the main, these were sins
which i engaged in before my “supposed” conversion, which happened some 30
years ago.
In
other words, whether these before conversion sins were sins definable as chet,
pesha, maal, awon, shagah or asham, they would all probably be of the same
caliber in terms of forgiveness from YESHUA’s shed blood in the context of a
true transformation.
In
other words, this writer believes that upon conversion, those sins would be
forgiven--providing that i have went through the proper process of
repentance--which includes recall, regret, repair, restitution, restoration and
return, described earlier. Manifestly,
once i went through the proper repentance course for all, “100%,” of my sins,
then i would achieve reconciliation.
The
problem that surfaces is that while i was “supposedly” converted some 30 years
ago, i never properly repented of all 100% of my sins at that time nor did i
deal with the carnality problem, mentioned above.
Even
when i understood that transgression of the law (the Torah) was sin and after I
had accepted the Sabbaths and made a resolve to obey all the Torah completely,
i did not achieve reconciliation with my supposed conversion. As so many other people have went through a
limited repentance process upon conversion, i, too, followed this same path of
so-called repentance when i was first supposedly changed.
But
my repentance then was only of a general nature in an acknowledgment to YHWH
YESHUA that i had sinned. At that time,
i knew nothing about having to deal with the many specific sins in my life in
the context of recall, repair, restitution, restoration and regret.
Now,
i am convinced that true reconciliation did not come with this first step of
conversion years ago. Instead, what has
happened is that in the ensuing years, i have been recalling the grueling,
nitty-gritty details of specific sins that i committed many years earlier. In my recall, i have been greatly hurt,
ashamed, crushed, anguished and humiliated over having to think about
them.
In
appropriate situations, i have had to face up to repair, reconciliation and
restoration which can be a very difficult procedure to follow. After 30 years of this hurt, i now know and
understand that i never ever got away with sin.
This writer has had to seemingly face up to all of them and be terribly
hurt and in sorrow with tears and grief over them--and often on an individual,
specific basis. This has not been a easy
process for me.
In
making this statement, it must be said in the sense that i have not knowingly
rejected or refused to address the recollection of my sins (as painful and
sorrowful as the process has been). On
the contrary, i have essentially wanted them to come out in my life and in my
conscious awareness, so that i could deal with them on a case by case
basis.
In
the main, i have not run from my former sins because it is better that they be
dealt with in this life than of having to face them in a future age (blessed is
the man that YHWH corrects in this life).
After
going through this repentance process for years now, i am assured that as i
have properly repented of those sins (in the context of recall, repair,
restitution, restoration and regret), i have been forgiven. This writer can sleep nights with that
assurance. However, these remarks are
made in the context of “past” sins of whatever nature and however they are to
be defined.
Supposed or a Real Conversion
But
all of my sinning didn’t stop with my supposed conversion some 30 years
ago. This writer believes presently that
my sins of pesha, maal and awon were perhaps addressed and dealt with in that
initial conversion.
However,
the possibility (indeed likelihood) of sins of chet, shagah or asham remained
because i simply never dealt with the flesh at that time and the sins of the
flesh (of a chet, shagah or asham definition).
Manifestly,
when i was supposedly converted, i had almost no understanding or comprehension
of the pride problem and the need to be crushed and brought into a true state
of humility.
Even
today, i am not certain that i am properly humble as i should be and as i
really want to be. Assuredly, i want
true humility. But achieving that state
is no easy proposition; because, in many ways, there is a dilemma in defining
and intellectually grasping an understanding of true humility.
True
humility (not weakness) involves a very difficult process and one which seems
to include an intervention into the life of a supposed convert by The MOST HIGH
with action by Him to crush and destroy the carnal flesh and replace it with
true humility. This can take many, many
years.
As
outlined formerly, it was Iyov who was to be a member of YHWH’s election and
not the children of Iyov (who died during Iyov’s trial). Accordingly, Iyov was the one who was
punished, chastised and corrected, as a father corrects and disciplines a son. Once The Potter YHWH put His hand on Iyov,
there was no escaping the ultimate outcome.
Iyov was punished sufficiently for him to achieve humility and
reconciliation.
A Great Trial
As
discussed earlier, this writer has went through a great time of punishment,
hurt and pain. Not only has this trial
been tough from the standpoint of recalling and repenting of my enormous sins,
but i have had other problems which simply would not go away.
After
i messed up my life and the lives of two former wives, i so badly wanted
another wife. But it was not to
be--hopefully, because i had never before properly repented and dealt with the
sins in my life (particularly, in the context of fornication--to include
adultery). This has been an
extraordinary punishment for the last 30 years.
Coupled
with this need and desire for a woman, i developed some sickness also some 30
years ago. It started with damage to my
inner ear which resulted in a continuous, day and night trial of having a
constant ringing in my ears.
Later,
i developed some digestion problems. All
of this has been a very difficult thing for me to have to face for many years
and especially in the sense that i believe in faith healing from The MOST
HIGH.
For
years, i agonized over my dilemma and never understood what all was involved in
true repentance. Finally, about ten
years ago, i stumbled (or hopefully was led by YHWH YESHUA) into the reality of
the pride and vanity problem and how i had never dealt with it or of the
repentance of all of the specific sins in my life. While i perhaps am still unreconciled, i am
working on it daily.
Since
i was still in the flesh and still thinking and addressing the problems of life
from a fleshly point of view, i have committed further sins since my alleged
conversion. However, in those cases, it
would seem that the succeeding sins have been in a category of chet, shagah or
asham--due to the weakness of my flesh.
A Woman In Need
As
an illustration of how recall works, something that happened some 24 years ago
came to my attention just recently.
Some
24 years ago, i became acquainted with a woman overseas with a child in a
wheelchair (a rea, racial kinsmen, supposedly of a faith similar in some ways
to mine). The woman’s husband had
apparently abandoned her and she was working trying to support herself and the
child. She learned of a treatment at a
hospital in the US which would help the child who otherwise was not expected to
live much longer.
She
wrote me asking if i could help her financially to bring the child to the US
for this treatment. Despite YHWH’s laws
dealing with charity to needy rea brethren (Gen 18:19; Lev 25:35-36; Deut
15:7-11; Isaiah 54:14) and the wonderful words of Yakov which address the need
to help widowed women and orphaned children (Jas 1:27), i failed to perform a
mitzwah and help this woman.
While
i didn’t have a lot of money, i had some and certainly enough to give her some
help--assuming that the treatment would have been legal and proper, per YAH’s
Torah (to be broached in a later chapter).
And if not, i should have at least discussed it with her and offered
some help or an alternative.
Well,
i did nothing of value for her and failed to seize the opportunity to perform a
positive mitzwah. Instead, i referred
her to a religious group of her faith which i irresponsibly thought would help
her. Actually, they didn’t help. So the child died.
Two Issues
Two
points now surface from this presentation.
First, i thought no more about this whole event until last night (the
22d day of the 4th moon in 1999) when i recalled this great sin (of the flesh
due to ignorance, carelessness, indifference, selfishness, pride and/or
whatever). Shame and sorrow now dominate
my feelings.
Now,
this sin (probably of chet) happened some five years or so after my supposed conversion. When it happened, i gave it no thought. In fact, until 24 years later, i really never
ever addressed it in the context of sin, although i have done so this date.
Probably,
if the Temple was now standing, i could go there (after the appropriate
repentance, regret, repair, restitution, restoration and apology) and render a
sacrifice to cover that single sin done in ignorance--evidently because of the
flesh (the evil inclination in man).
In
that case, i would assuredly be forgiven.
Alternatively, i can call upon YHWH YESHUA’s shed blood--after suitable
repentance, regret, repair, restitution and restoration (again and once more in
the sense of a future sin following my conversion).
There
is a second feature about this illustration.
Most of us go through life and ignore, by-pass, or fail to take hold of
each and every opportunity to perform a positive mitzwah (in other words, do a
positive commandment from the Torah).
Whenever we allow one of these chances to go by without action, the later
repentance is even more difficult.
One
would hope that AVINU would take a switch or board and lay it on his bottom
until he gets the message. But that’s
not the way YHWH typically reacts.
Instead, the punishment, discipline and correction will come in some
other manner--perhaps as it has come to me in the sense of having to recall the
above incident and be in pain and sorrow over it.
The Privilege of Obeying A Positive
Commandment
Yes,
all of us should welcome, seek, desire and strive after an opportunity to
perform a positive commandment from the Torah.
Hence, if we are walking down a road and see a neighbor’s animal in a
ditch, we should welcome the privilege to help the animal out of the
ditch.
Whenever
we have a chance to offer charity and help to needy, rea brethren (especially
widows and orphans, who usually are needy), we should count it a privilege that
such an opportunity came to us.
As
described in a former chapter, the great Jewish scholar Maimonides compiled a
list of at least 613 mitzwot specifically addressed in the Torah. Manifestly, these 613 mitzwot (and possibly
some others missed by Maimonides) define and establish what is sin. The violation or transgression of any one of
them does constitute sin. Our violation
of these laws is why YESHUA chose to die.
As
Maimonides found, some 365 of these mitzwot consist of negative commandments
(things we are not supposed to do) while 248 are positive commandments (of
things we are supposed to do). A
positive command seems to always take precedence over a negative command. Yes, we each should walk the extra mile and
desire an opportunity to perform a mitzwah.
Chapter
98--Pride and Truth
The Problem Over Truth
The
reality of people being apathetic, indifferent and just don't care toward truth
has been mentioned in preceding chapters.
While
the Word seems clear enough that we fleshly humans cannot see the carnality,
pride and vanity in our own evil hearts--and thus, cannot correctly repent and
be converted--the relevance of the apathy, indifference and don't care usually
projects far beyond the matter of repentance and change.
Clearly,
the apathy, indifference and lack of interest seemingly affects and extends to
cover much of our general attitude toward the whole idea of truth. In short, we just are not particularly
interested in anything of true spiritual content, whether we can understand it
or not.
Having
said that, it appears manifest that while many persons are not especially
interested in overall truth, sometimes, some of them can muster a measure of
concern and even get on fire over certain specific Scriptural truths which can
promote, fuel and contribute to pride and vanity in their wicked
personalities.
Thus,
most people are just not interested in the broad concept of truth, but
occasionally some will muster concern, energy and yes even spend some money to
supposedly learn several Scriptural points.
For
instance, Christians like ideas on being "saved" and obtaining a
state of "righteousness" by saying the words "I believe in so
and so," falling down on the floor, standing up in a meeting, running down
a church auditorium aisle, muttering some gibberish from a demon, being
baptized in a certain name, having a false preacher lay hands on them, and on
and on in terms of the granting of self righteousness, confidence, security,
pride and vanity.
Furthermore,
some individuals can actually get all excited and motivated over some specific
item or items of truth which sometimes can even include one or more of YHWH's
mitzwah. Therefore, the subject of
identity, the so-called "Sacred Names," the weekly Sabbath, the
annual Sabbaths, etc can become points of interest and even passion to certain
people.
Even Truth Can Become Pride
But
too often, these few issues are just about the extent of interest; and they
quickly become the basis for pride and vanity to surface and cause evil and
wickedness from things which should be known and used for good.
One
can see this very situation materializing especially when religious persons
come to accept a belief and theory that they are saved, righteous and good
because they have accepted a particular belief and hold to it seriously. Thus, because they keep the Sabbath, the
feast days, don't say the word "Gee-Zeus" or something else, they
really think that their ticket is punched and that they've got it made.
Once
our carnal, evil hearts and minds convince us that we have satisfaction,
security, contentment, confidence, trust, pride and vanity from some act or
action on our part, we then can become quite apathetic, indifferent and don't
care about the overall spectrum of truth, although we may retain some interest
in the particular manifestation giving us the confidence, pride and
vanity.
Of
course, apathy and indifference remains as one of the primary problems facing
so-called humanity at large. Even
religious Jews, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sacred Namers, Identity types,
and on and on in terms of man’s religions are all under and face the same
indictment.
Virtually
all persons presently in the world and here for the last 1,930 years or so
(since the Apostolic Assembly times) have been and are filled with apathy and
indifference with but few exceptions--if any.
People,
collectively, just are not interested, dedicated and committed to the task of
finding out much truth. The hearts of
man, generally, are not focused on the topic of truth, the acquisition of truth
or the spreading of truth--except for purposes of carnality, pride and
vanity.
Why?
And
why is it that the hearts of man, generally, are so incredibly apathetic and
indifferent toward truth? If the hearts
of man won’t get interested in truth, where are they focused and directed? Why it should be quite obvious to anyone
above the moron level that man is completely obsessed with his idols, loves and
gods which react in his mind and mental facilities to breed and promote pride
and vanity.
As
pointed out previously, carnal man is specifically devoted to his sources of
pride and vanity--like his women, his children, his land holdings, his
investments, his automobiles, his entertainment, his hobbies, his pet animals,
his interests, his churches and yes, even his pet religious ideas and beliefs,
etc.
Of
course, all of these things settle in our carnal, fleshly hearts, minds and
attitudes to promote within us self righteousness, self satisfaction, self
sufficiency, self will, self esteem, self confidence, self trust, pride and
vanity.
Yes,
men’s hearts and concerns are pointed toward their real loves, idols, and
gods. Truth is just not high on the
agenda of carnal, corrupt man. In short,
the hearts and minds of evil men are just not on truth. They are decidedly pointed in other
directions. It is no wonder then that
the Book declares that no one understands.
Understanding is just not important when apathy and indifference are
present.
The Apathy Dilemma
To
demonstrate how far this apathy and indifference can extend, this writer will
share a few first hand observations on the historical distribution of some of
the information contained herein. In
this production, several possibly important topics focusing on the reality of
the incredible evil, wickedness, and sickness of our time have been brought
together for the lover of truth to address.
Many
of these presentations have been made from a very new perspective with
original, new material which surely would make the lover of truth sit up and
project some interest and concern about their own individual lives and for the
futures of their children, neighbors, friends and family members.
However,
the vast majority of people, including Christian readers, with but few “rare”
exceptions, could care less one way or the other.
What
in the world does it take to wake up, motivate and impress upon individuals the
need to get rid of the lethargic, could-care-less attitude and replace it with
some genuine passion, care, concern, zeal and interest which translates into
taking some action--doing some things about the problems at least in their own
personal lives and in the lives of their children who are still at home and
under their control.
For
sure, most people just don’t care much about anything--except continuing on
with everything as it is. They like
things the way they are and they don't want to change. They want the status quo to persist. They don’t want the boat rocked and the
darkness they are in is just fine.
And
why do people like the darkness they are in?
Well, probably many would tell us that they can’t do anything about the
perplexity of the issues facing man or that they don’t have time in their lives
to do anything about the dilemma of our time.
To these responses, this writer would just say “hogwash.” The truth is clear that such persons have got
a problem with pride and vanity and nothing else.
Pride and Vanity Samples,
Revisited
And
what are some of the forms and manifestations of pride and vanity in most
peoples’ lives of apathy and indifference?
Why, of course, most are caught up with trying to achieve or at least
maintain their status and position in life.