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COMMON CHRISTIAN DECEPTIONS: It is a fact of life that most people will be ill at least once in their lives. Experience proves this. So does the Bible. But why? Could Yahweh not have designed the human body to remain healthy up till the last moment and then just quit without pain or warning? Certainly He could have, but He didn't! He didn't for a number of reasons. One reason is so that we will be alarmed into spiritual action by our obvious mortality. For example, David was dismayed by the frailty of human life and was moved to seek Yahweh (Ps. 103:13-22). Solomon also saw life's tenuous balance and therefore counselled the wise to seek Yahweh and eternal life (Eccl. 12:1). The main reason Yahweh made us subject to sickness is the same reason we are subject to any trial. It is so we may build righteous character as we struggle against the frailty of the flesh (Rom. 8:18-23). Yahweh values perfect character more than perfect bodies (1 Peter 1:6,7). Trials build character. And He has provided, in the physical world itself, the seeds of trials that can build that character. Within this simple truth lie the simple and obvious answers to what illness is, and what causes it.
Illness; the interruption of physical, emotional
or mental balances, can be caused by different factors. At times it is the
direct result of violating one or more of the basic principles of good health.
This is only common sense. Or it may be the result of the sin of breaking one of
Yahweh's commands (1
Physical illness is an indirect, although perhaps inevitable, result of sin. It is not caused directly by sin or spiritual things in the same way, say, as a virus or germ causes illness. Sin is not a virus or germ. Sin does bring the ultimate penalty of spiritual death, and in the here and now, it opens the doors to illnesses and suffering. At other times, the illness or infirmity may be inherited (John 9:1-3)., or the result of unintentional injury or accident (Luke 13:1-5). It is often not possible to tell whether or not sin caused a particular illness.
Yahweh knows that our bodies will break down, and
has allowed for the probability of it - even though He desires the opposite (3
The first thing to clarify, is that not everyone is healed every time, regardless of their faith or what some "faith healing" ministry might suggest. Jacob was blind at the last of his life (Gen. 48:10), so was Job (2:1-8), and Hezekiah (2 Kings 20:1-7), Timothy (1 Tim. 5:23) and others (Phil. 2:25-27; 2 Tim. 4:20). Yah’shua fulfilled Isaiah's prophecy about taking our infirmities and bearing our sicknesses by personally using His power to heal all who were sick, as PROOF of the cleansing power of His forthcoming personal sacrifice. "When evening had come, they brought to Him many that were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: `He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.'" (Matt. 8:16,17).
Now turn to
Disease and healing are mentioned a few times in the Old Covenant. The examples of healing are not doctrinal dissertations, and this fact hints at the truth that healing is not a mysterious, highly complex subject - if it were, we would find much more detail on the subject. One of the most beloved Bible stories is of the healing of Sarah's barren womb (Gen. 17:17; 18:14), and her subsequent joyous birth of Isaac in her old age, heralding the eventual spiritual healing of the world through Yah’shua the Messiah, a descendant of Isaac. Her example clearly teaches that Yahweh's healing may be delayed for quite some time. And that in certain cases, Yahweh has overriding purposes that go beyond the immediate physical - that in many cases may transcend the physical and the temporary.
Chapter 13 to 15 of Leviticus are very informative. They discuss the plague of leprosy and give rules of quarantine - clearly refuting any notion that the children of Israel lived devoid of illness, or were instantly healed.
In
Job's famous sickness-and-healing episodes teach that sickness may befall even a righteous man in order to learn more lessons or to be "tested" by the devil. The Psalms contain numerous appeals by David for healing, as well as thanks for healing. Clearly, David did not enjoy perfect health nor instant healing every time he became sick (Psalm 30:1-3; 38:1-22; 41:4-8). The death of David's son, born of adultery with Bathsheba, is a powerful example of illness without healing. Yahweh decided the child would die - and no amount of prayer would change what Yahweh deemed best. Elisha, a great servant of Yahweh - upon whom the Spirit of Yahweh dwelt in double portion - became sick and died from an illness! Whereas Hezekiah prayed in earnest and was healed of a sickness that Yahweh had previously said would kill him!
The vast majority of New Covenant healings are
those of the Messiah, and they ring loudly with certain common traits. Although
the Messiah at times healed simply out of His great compassion (Matt. 20:34),
His ultimate purpose was much more universal. His healings were directly coupled
with His teaching of the Gospel message.
It takes little imagination to understand one important purpose of the Messiah's public healings: Such healings would attract great attention and thus provide a large audience for His teaching of the Gospel message. But the healings had other effects much more profound than merely drawing listeners. Dramatic healings lent PROOF that He was the Messiah. Thus Matthew pointed to the Isaiah prophecy predicting the Messiah's coming and His healing of the sick. Yah’shua Himself pointed to His healings as evidence of His Messiahship when speaking to the doubting disciples of John the Baptist, whom John sent to the Messiah when he was in prison (Matt. 11:2-6).
Yah’shua displayed such healing power not for its
own sake, as some modern-day "faith healers", but for a far more transcendent
purpose: By showing His power to heal, He showed His power to forgive sins. This
is the whole point of the story of the paralytic man lowered through the roof as
described in Matt. 9,
Yah’shua' healings were of young people, old people, male, female, and were nearly always public, virtually all immediate or nearly so, and dramatic, but not in the nature of spectacles. No one doubted whether His healings had occurred (Matt. 15:21-31). The apostles Peter and John report their healing of a lame man, with no mention of the man's faith. The man was not asking or expecting to be healed - he was begging for money (Acts 3:1-16). Peter performed outstanding healings: "They brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some" (Acts 5:15). Peter also raised Tabitha from the dead (Acts 9:36-42).
This summary of Bible healing is not exhaustive, but one thing is undeniable - there is no one common set of circumstances nor special formula that runs through these cases which stamps illness or the process of healing as any different than any other kind of trial! Some who were healed had faith - some did not. Some were righteous - some were not. Yahweh sometimes healed - sometimes He did not. Sometimes healings were instant - sometimes there were years of delay. Sometimes sickness was a punishment from Yahweh - sometimes it was as a result of sin - sometimes it was from a physical cause, accident, or injury - sometimes it was from an undisclosed cause. ALL Yahweh's servants eventually died - and many, if not most, died of an illness Yahweh did not heal! Divine healing does not entail a spiritual process in any way different from that required for any other trial! Sickness sometimes results from time and chance. The connection of the sacrifice of the Messiah with healing is IDENTICAL as with ALL miraculous interventions. ALL ANSWERED PRAYER is linked to the Messiah's sacrifice and to our obedience to Yahweh. Answered prayer for healing is exactly the same as answered prayer for anything else - subject to the same conditions. There are many Bible verses that sound like absolute promises to heal every man or woman every time - but none of them actually mean that. The Bible itself, proves that this expectation of being healed every time is not the case.
There are two obvious conditions to Yahweh's
promise to heal. First is faith. "The prayer of faith shall save the sick"
(James 5:15). Yahweh certainly will not heal someone who does not have faith to
ask for the healing. The second is obedience, "And whatever we ask we receive
from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing
in His sight" (1
There is another, less obvious condition to Yahweh answering ALL prayer, including prayer for healing. Yahweh heals (or answers any prayer) IMMEDIATELY UPON THE CONDITION THAT SUCH HEALING IS GOOD FOR YOU IN TERMS OF HIS OVERALL PLAN for your life. Yahweh's great purpose for you is to give you eternal life as His child in His great Kingdom. He will do nothing to you or for you that will in any way jeopardize that, or reduce your potential rewards in that Kingdom.
Remember,
Any statements in the Bible implying absolute healing must be read in context with the rest of the Bible - not in isolation. Although many verses taken on their own, appear to be written without qualification, they all sit amidst the rest of the Bible, and of course are qualified by it. In the case of healing, like many other prayer requests, it is an implied condition that the healing is in the best long term interest of the individual. It is an implied condition, but one nonetheless expressly stated by the Bible to apply to ALL PRAYER. We can utterly trust Yahweh not to let us suffer more than we can bear and to give us salvation to eternal life - but only after we have "suffered a while" (1 Pet. 5:10) and endured. Faith in Yahweh means believing Yahweh will heal us or answer our prayers EVERY TIME according to His Will for us. It is more expansive and trusting than many realize. It is the faith to trust Yahweh even when He does not heal or directly answer us. Further, if Yahweh healed every man or woman every time, He would be in effect removing all health problems from the list of trials which Israelites suffer - which is something He has not promised or chosen to do. TOP ^
Some false churches emphasize this practice and teach that Israelites should hope and perhaps even pray for the experience of speaking in tongues. Others do not encourage it and some even forbid it. What does the Bible say? There is no mention of speaking in other tongues in the Old Covenant. Shortly after the Messiah had risen, His disciples were gathered during the annual festival of Pentecost (Acts 2:10. A miraculous sound filled the building, and tongues as of fire appeared to sit on them (vv. 2-3). The disciples were "filled with His Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues" (V. 4). These other "tongues" were foreign languages readily understood by the people who were native to many other nations (vv. 8-11). About 10 years later, after Peter had preached to a group of Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, the "Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word". The Bible records that the Jewish Israelites heard them "speak with tongues and magnify Yahweh" (10:44-46). Another decade after this account, Paul taught some disciples in Ephesus about His Holy Spirit, and "when Paul had laid hands on them, His Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied" (19:1-6). In all three of these accounts, speaking in tongues was a miracle associated with His Holy Spirit, as related to three, very special developments in the early Congregation of believers. Based on the events described, several questions are frequently asked: 1) Did every Israelite who received His Holy Spirit speak in tongues? 2) Does speaking in tongues prove His Holy Spirit is in a man or woman? 3) Are those who speak in tongues closer to Yahweh? 4) What role should tongue speaking have in our life or in Congregation? Let's look at each of these questions: 1) The New Covenant does not indicate that every Israelite spoke in tongues. Yah’shua Himself did not "speak in tongues". On the Day of Pentecost for example, 3,000 people "continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers" (Acts 2:42). There is no mention of tongues of fire or the sound of rushing wind or of speaking in tongues. After Peter and John were rebuked by the Jewish leaders, the apostles needed encouragement from Yahweh. "The place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with His Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of Yahweh with boldness" (Acts 4:31). There is no mention of speaking in tongues even though those who spoke were filled with His Holy Spirit. Nor is there any mention of speaking with tongues when the Ethiopian eunuch was converted (Acts 8:38), when the apostle Paul was converted (Acts 9:17,18) or when Paul first preached in Asia (Acts 13:48-52). The three uniquely special occurrences of speaking in tongues mentioned in Acts, give miraculous evidence and divine approval for three major developments in the Israelite Congregation of called out ones. The first occurrence was the formation of the Congregation on the Day of Pentecost. Yahweh ensured that the miracle focused the attention of the crowd and permitted Peter, who was not a rabbi, to speak to them with authority. The second occurrence announced the call of the Gentiles into the Congregation. Since the Jewish Israelites had historically separated themselves from the Gentiles, these special signs were given to PROVE to the Jews that Yahweh had authorized Peter to speak and He had accepted the Gentiles into the Congregation as His children (Acts 15:7,8). The final example is used to validate those who had previously been led by John the Baptist and were now followers of New Covenant Israelite faith (Acts 19:1-6).
Speaking in tongues was a miracle that gave
spectacular support and timely evidence to the apostles efforts to establish the
Congregation of believers; the called out ones, fulfilling the words of
Paul listed speaking with tongues as one of the "gifts of His Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:4-10). Every Israelite does not receive every gift; Yahweh gives them as He wishes (vv. 8-11). This chapter explains that Yahweh appoints the members where He wishes and gives them abilities according to the needs of the congregation. Not all are prophets, not all are teachers, and not all speak in tongues (vv. 28-30). None of the signs listed can be singled out as the one and only test or evidence of His Holy Spirit. In fact, the Bible warns that the "un" holy spirit; the devil, can cause any of these same "gifts" to be manifested in a man or woman - indicating that the "many", not the "few" would be deceived in this very way (Matt. 24:10-24).
2) Speaking in tongues is no assurance that a man
or woman is being influenced by His Holy Spirit. Tongue speaking - influenced by
the devil, also occurs in many widely-practiced non-Christian heathen religions
of today, as well as some ancient Greek religions. Speaking in tongues may be
falsified or fabricated, it may originate with evil spirits, it may come from
self-induced emotionally altered consciousness, or it may come from Yahweh. In
any event it should be tested to see that it is in harmony with Yahweh's Word
and way of life (1
3) Israelites who legitimately speak in tongues are not more spiritual than others and if they don't have love, they are useless noisemakers - though they may speak in human or angelic languages (1 Cor. 13:1). The gift of tongues, like all other gifts is given as Yahweh decides (1 Cor. 12:11). No one, no matter what gift he or she has, has any reason to be proud or to look down on others (vv. 21-25).
4) Paul states in
Paul instructed that tongue speaking, if it were to be permitted in Congregation meetings, should be organized. Even if someone could interpret, only one man or woman should speak at a time (vv. 27,40). Otherwise, confusion would result, which is ungodly (v. 33) and a poor witness to unbelievers (v. 23). Tongue speaking, if it truly is from Yahweh, IS SUBJECT TO CONSCIOUS CONTROL (Gal. 5:23). The apostle Paul further admonished that for the sake of order in Congregation meetings, tongue speaking is best kept private (1 Cor. 4:28). It may, if genuine, have a private value in prayer, between the speaker and Yahweh (v. 28). If a man or woman believes he or she has the gift, that man or woman should pray for the gift of interpretation (v. 13). ALL Spiritual gifts are to be used to help others, and only if the speaking can be understood and makes sense, can it help others. TOP ^
Origins and History of Baptism: Baptism is generally a religious ritualistic water purification, practiced in many of various religions including Christianity, Mandaeanism, and Sikhism. the Messiahian form of the ritual specifically has its origins with the Hebrew pre-Christian ritual of mikvah. The word baptize derives from the Greek word βάπτειν (the infinitive; also listed as the 1st person singular present active indicative βαπτίζω), which loosely means "to dip, bathe, or wash". To some groups it is a matter of religious conviction to assert that baptism is literally equivalent to, to plunge something entirely into the water, so that the water closes over it. To other groups, baptism is a symbolic term meaning "identification with" (e.g. the Christian Church) having no connection with earthly ritual. Baptism, e.g., mikvah, was familiar as an entrance ritual into the Hebrew faith and Temple long before the Messiahian era. It remained familiar to the Hebrews and to the Gentiles of Yah’shua’s day and also to non-practicing Hebrews. The many mystery religions of the day also used baptism in this way, and some scholars believe that Gentile proselytes to Judaism were baptized into the faith as well. Hebrews of first century Palestine, on the other hand, would not have considered baptism an appropriate ritual for themselves, for they had already “crossed through” the waters of the Red Sea via their ethnic heritage and had no need to cross over again. Thus, John’s call for fellow Hebrews to be baptized was provocative and unexpected. That so many responded to this call signaled a great desire in many for a new way of life. The synoptic Gospels differentiate between John’s baptism and baptism in the name of Yah’shua. John’s is emphasized as a baptism of repentance and preparation for the complete, or Spiritual baptism done by the Messiah. Whereas John baptized with water, Yah’shua would come baptizing with His Holy Spirit and fire (Matt. 3:11). Yah’shua Himself did not baptize with water (John 4:2). Rather His baptism denoted an inner experience, a coming of His Holy Spirit and fire, an experience that happened prior to the water ritual. The book of Acts contains the most clearly defined Christian baptism rituals. The Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:26-40), the jailer from Philippi (Acts 16:16-34), and the Roman centurion Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48) are examples of persons who expressed repentance and/or acted upon belief in Yah’shua, received His Holy Spirit and then later experienced baptism. Today, water baptism is most readily identified with Christianity, where it superstitiously symbolizes the cleansing (remission) of sins, and the union of the believer with the Messiah in His death, burial and resurrection so that he becomes one of the Messiah's Faithful. Most Christian groups practice some form of literal water-based baptism and agree that it is important, yet strongly disagree with other groups regarding any or all of several aspects of baptism, such as: · form of the baptism · recipients of baptism · meaning of the act of baptism However, a few Christian groups acknowledge that water-based baptism has been erroneously retained in favor of the promised baptism by His Holy Spirit, and that water baptism was unnecessarily carried over from the early Jewish pre-Christian practice of mikvah. This assertion holds the only provable basis for the continuance of the pre-Christian ritual. The term baptism is not used to describe the Hebrew or modern Jewish rituals, the purification rites, or Mikvah – the ritual bath in Hebrew laws and tradition where the ritual of baptism can find its true origins. In the Tanakh, and other Hebrew texts, bathing for ritual purification was established for specified circumstances – in order to be restored to a condition of 'ritual purity'. For example, Hebrews who become ritually 'defiled' by contact with a corpse (according to the Law of Moses), had to use the mikvah before being allowed to participate in the Holy Temple. Immersion was required for converts to the Hebrew faith, and is still a requirement for converts to modern Judaism as part of their conversion. Through practices such as these, immersion in the mikvah symbolically represents purification and restoration, and qualification for full religious participation in the life of the Hebrew or Jewish community. In modern times, the adherence and observance of the laws, rituals, and customs regarding the mikvah differ greatly among the Jewish denominations. Due to the destruction of the Holy Temple, immersion in a mikvah has no practical purpose these days, but many Orthodox and Haredi Jews do so anyway, in order to 'increase purity'. The only modern exception is that after menses, women need to immerse in a mikvah in order to be permitted to her husband. The Messiahian explanation of baptism as the definitive rite, by which the baptized person is indicated to be fully-qualified for participation in the life of the Church, begins with a misunderstanding of the career of John the Baptist, who was the cousin of Yah’shua. John rightly declared that repentance was necessary, prior to forgiveness. There must be a return to Yahweh. This implies that the stain of sin is not ineradicable, but can be removed or “washed away” by putting off polluting acts and returning to "the way of Yahweh", all of which was symbolized in his baptism. John also taught that his baptism was not finally sufficient, and that repentance would not attain to its goal of separation from sin, apart from a greater baptism which was not in his power to give. According to the Gospel of Luke, John taught, "I baptize you with water; but One comes who is stronger than I, of Whom I am not worthy to untie the strap of His sandals; He will baptize you with His Holy Spirit and fire; His winnowing fork is in His hand to clean out His threshing floor and to gather the wheat into His storehouse, but the chaff He will burn with inextinguishable fire." (Luke 3,16-17) John's baptism shows that the effort to make oneself acceptable to Yahweh by repentance, would be superseded, or made complete by the coming of the Lamb of Yahweh that 'takes away', not 'covers over' sins. According to the Gospel of John, after John baptized Yah’shua, he testified concerning Him: "I have seen the Spirit coming down as a dove from heaven, and it remained upon Him. And I had not known Him, but the One who sent me to baptize with water, that One said to me, On whomever you see the Spirit coming down and remaining upon Him, this is the One baptizing with His Holy Spirit. And I have seen, and I have testified that this is the Son of Yahweh." (John 1,32-34) "Behold the Lamb of Yahweh, that takes away the sins of the world." This “taking away” of the sins of the world, means what it says. Thus, our faith in our Messiah’s crucifixion and resurrection as the Firstborn Son of Yahweh is paramount. The Messiah has the authority to take away our sins and our sins no longer need to be symbolically rinsed away or covered over with water. If this ritualistic “work” of the former “works of the law” were still necessary, then our Messiah would not have the authority of Yahweh to “take away” our sins, and our faith in Him as our Savior would be futile. The ritual of baptism, may be summed up in this: Inasmuch as the Messiah became the final wave sheaf offering, and inasmuch as the Messiah became the final and perfect sacrifice, His baptism by John finalized, or completed the ritual of the mikvah. He participated in this rite of baptism, or more aptly, this final mikvah, not because it was necessary, but rather that He should not be seen to offend anyone. At the time of His own baptism, the Messiah had not yet finalized the rite of mikvah, by replacing the ritualistic water bath, with the baptism, or bathing of, with and by His Holy Spirit, hence it might have been seen as an offence to the Hebrews or even to the gentile converts of the day, had He not willingly gone through with the then traditional process. TOP ^
Paul was inspired to write: “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Yah'shua the Messiah were baptized into his death?” (Rom. 6:3-4). And Peter said: “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Yah'shua the Messiah for the remission of sins” (Acts 2:38). And he clarified this in 3:19, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”. And Mark wrote: “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16). If we replace the Greek word baptism (or baptized) with immerse (or immersed) in the above quotes, we find that we are simply instructed to “immerse” ourselves in Yah'shua the Messiah and in the things concerning Him. This immersion then, results in us believing in and about the Gospel of Yah'shua the Messiah, and thus, being converted. This belief is the result of immersing ourselves in the Word (Yah'shua the Messiah); studying the Bible, to learn His truths. This immersion (studying) results in faith, which in turn results in our understanding that our sins have been blotted out. John the Baptist was inspired to baptize in water, in preparing the way for Yah'shua the Messiah. The ancient rite was symbolic of washing away the old man - the way of sin - and plunging or immersing into the new man - the way of life. Prior to the gift of His Holy Spirit, this symbolic ritual was an integral part of the conversion process, for those that believed in the Messiah. John the Baptist, said himself, that, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with His Holy Spirit and fire” (Matt. 3:11). Here, John the Baptist is clearly pointing out that Yah'shua the Messiah will baptize us with His Holy Spirit - not with water! And Yah'shua the Messiah said of this John: “Among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist...” (Matt. 11:11).
The Bible clearly teaches us that Yah'shua the
Messiah did not baptize with water - ever (see
When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, he recognized that it was only his responsibility to preach the Gospel - and that when some “heard and believed”, they would then immediately be baptized by His Holy Spirit. “For the Messiah did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the burden of the stake of the Messiah should be made of no effect” (1 Cor. 1:17). There are numerous examples in the New Covenant writings setting out that we are indeed baptized BY His Holy Spirit - after believing. BELIEVING, is the key. IMMEDIATELY UPON BELIEF, we are given the gift - we are immersed in His Holy Spirit - we are baptized by it. “And many of the Corinthians hearing, BELIEVED and were baptized” (Acts 18:8). There was no mention of “water” - because His Holy Spirit does not require water to baptize - it simply baptizes - immerses us in itself! Under the New Covenant Priesthood, Yah'shua the Messiah is our High Priest. His Holy Spirit is our Helper. It is Yah'shua the Messiah and His Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahweh that we must believe in - and upon our faith in the Messiah, His resurrection and Yahweh’s plan of salvation, the power and strength of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit will be GIVEN to us. That is why we were commanded to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing [immersing] them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of His Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). And in verse 20, Yah'shua makes it clear what this means: “Teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you”. In other words, if we teach them all things that Yah'shua commanded - that is, all about the Kingdom of Yahweh - we would indeed be “immersing” them into everything concerning the Father, the Son and the power of Yahweh’s Holy Spirit - which when they believed, would lead them to repentance - and then to receiving the FREE GIFT of His Holy Spirit - to being immersed (baptized) in the power and strength of His Holy Spirit, leading to an understanding of all things pertaining to the mysteries of the Kingdom. When teaching on the gifts of the Spirit, Paul says: “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He [Yahweh] wills...For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Cor. 12:11-13). We are all baptized BY ONE SPIRIT - not by having so-called “holy” water sprinkled on us, or by being dunked in water, especially the water of some false ministry’s pool or jacuzzi! We are after all, seeking to become members of the True Congregation of believers that Yah'shua said He would build. Only the power of His Holy Spirit can cause us to become members of that Congregation - “the general assembly and Congregation of the firstborn who are REGISTERED IN HEAVEN” (Heb. 12:23). So we see, that “he who believes and is baptized will be saved” - when he is baptized into the True Congregation by His Holy Spirit! “But the Messiah came as High Priest of the...greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is not of this creation...For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law” (Heb. 9:11; 7:12). The PROOF is offered by the very words of the Messiah Himself. After His resurrection from the dead, just prior to the Day of Pentecost, the Messiah appeared and instructed His disciples: “For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with His Holy Spirit not many days from now” (Acts 1:5). “For you are all sons of Yahweh through faith in Yah'shua the Messiah. For as many of you as were baptized into the Messiah have put on the Messiah” (Gal. 3:26,27). We see again, then, that FAITH in the Messiah is what leads us to being immersed in the Messiah as a way of life - of being baptized (plunged) into, or “putting on” the Messiah. In chapter 10 of Acts, we read how Peter received a vision from Yahweh concerning the Gentiles, and how the Gentile Cornelius also received a vision, and summoned Peter to Caesarea. When Peter arrived in Caesarea, Cornelius, together with many of his friends and all of his relatives, were waiting for him. After preliminary introductions, and sharing accounts of their respective visions (that caused them to meet), Peter began to teach them concerning the Word of Yahweh: “that Word you know, which was proclaimed throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee AFTER the baptism which John preached” (Acts 10:37). “While Peter was still speaking these words, His Holy Spirit FELL UPON ALL THOSE WHO HEARD THE WORD...And those of the circumcision who believed were ASTONISHED, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of His Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also...Then Peter answered, ‘Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received His Holy Spirit just as we have?’”(vv.44-47). This sounds like Peter thought these Gentiles should be baptized, even AFTER they had already received His Holy Spirit - because, as Peter himself said, it seemed fitting to do this to the Gentiles, “just as we have” had it done to ourselves. In fact, Peter commanded them to be baptized in water! (v.48). But after a few days, when Peter returned to Jerusalem, the apostles and many brethren questioned him concerning the Gentiles. Peter then explained to them all the things concerning the visions from Yahweh and his trip to Caesarea (11:1-14). When Peter came to the point of explaining his teaching of the Word to the Gentiles, he said: “And AS I BEGAN TO SPEAK, His Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. THEN I REMEMBERED the Word of the Messiah, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you SHALL BE BAPTIZED WITH His Holy Spirit’” (11:15,16). So we see by Peter’s own words, that because of his (and his companions’) “astonishment” at the time the Gentiles were BAPTIZED BY His Holy Spirit, he had simply forgotten what Yah'shua the Messiah had previously said about being baptized “BY” or “WITH His Holy Spirit”! He even pointed out how he “remembered” this, to the apostles and his fellow brethren, clarifying the matter once and for all, by reaffirming the Messiah’s own words.
Addendum 1: The Baptism of John
There is an often overlooked significance to the
meaning or purpose behind this Bible verse:
In this dialogue recorded as having taken place between the Messiah and the "chief priests and the elders of the people" of Israel, the Messiah is being asked if John's baptism was inspired by Yahweh or by men, with the unwritten implication that "men" meant either from himself (John the Baptist) or from others without inspiration from Yahweh.
It is clear from many verses that John was indeed
inspired by Yahweh to conduct his baptism ministry to fulfill that which was
spoken by the profits, particularly
The Messiah further directly clarifies that John's
baptism was inspired by Yahweh in
The purpose in the Messiah having asked these chief priests and elders this question regarding whether or not they believed John's baptism was inspired, was further explained in the verses that immediately precede it, and in those that immediately follow the question, and that purpose was basically that the Messiah wished to entrap them into the place of having to admit to believing in John and consequently in Himself (the Messiah), or denying it, knowing however, that they had already spoken against John to the multitudes and that they were not likely to admit any belief in Him due to their envy of His (the Messiah’s) notoriety. The dialogue begins with the priests and elders asking the Messiah by what authority He acts. The following question; the question quoted above, was Messiah's reply to the forgoing question posed to Him by the priests and elders. It is obvious to us reading these words now, and the Messiah knew that it should have been obvious to the priests and elders that both the authority of John and the authority of the Messiah came from Yahweh, but they were unwilling to concede this, hence the Messiah would not directly answer them. Now as to continuing the baptism rites, there is much misunderstanding within traditional Christianity. Almost universally, there is the mistaken belief that some form of water baptism is still a requirement of the Congregation. We must look at the very words of the Messiah, and those of John the Baptist, of whom the Messiah proclaimed to be the greatest among the prophets, to find the truth.
So we can see that John's baptism ministry led people to repentance and prepared them for the Messiah, who would preach a different message; that message was the Gospel of the Kingdom of Yahweh. Now the gift of Yahweh's Holy Spirit is given according to Yahweh's will and may be associated with repentance and faith or belief in that Gospel of the Messiah concerning the Kingdom of Yahweh. But in many cases, such as Paul for example, Yahweh determined to give him His gift of His Holy Spirit before Paul repented. Baptism in its own right will not aid in obtaining Yahweh's gift in any way, and if it is purely baptism for baptism's sake, it may not interfere with receiving Yahweh's gift either. It is simply not a "requirement", and like many ancient rites or rituals that are no longer requirements, it is not necessarily harmful if done in the proper context either. Unfortunately, the proper context is lost to most of traditional Christianity. Typically the rite of baptism is wrongly proclaimed as a necessary requirement, and typically it entails being "registered" as a member of a man-made church organization, as opposed to acknowledging that our membership in the true Congregation is registered only "in heaven" and the true Congregation is a "spiritual organism", not a "statutory organization", which by definition, requires subservience to the state within a hierarchy of men, rather than subservience to Yahweh through the Messiah alone Another interesting and important issue, is the question of whether or not John the Baptist was baptised, and if so, by who? This question poses a question within itself, and that is to do with what the word "baptised" means, and in what context it is being used. As we know, the word "baptise" is the Greek equivalent to the English "immerse". Hence if we are asking who "immersed" John the Baptist in water, there are no passages in our Bibles to be cited confirming that John the Baptist was ever "baptised" by immersion in water. However if we are asking who "immersed" John the Baptist in His Holy Spirit, thus "baptising" him in His Holy Spirit, then the answer may well be that Yahweh baptised John with His Holy Spirit while John was still in his mother's (Elizabeth's) womb, upon the greeting of her blood relative, Mary, the mother of the Messiah: "And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe (John) leaped in her womb; and [as] Elizabeth was filled with His Holy Spirit" (Luke 1:41). In fact, it is clear that John the Baptist had a Spiritual, or inner revelation of truth regarding his own need to be "baptised" or more thoroughly immersed in the knowledge and understanding of the things of Yahweh, for when he met the Messiah, he spoke thusly: "I have need to be baptised [immersed] in You, and you [the Messiah] are coming to me?" As this question was posed by John at a time when it was obvious that he had already been led by Yahweh's Holy Spirit to conduct his ministry of baptism to repentance, it is clear that at least John understood that he still required immersion in the things to do with the Messiah and the Messiah's ministry, which was to do with belief in and obedience to "the Kingdom of Yahweh". That is also why when the Gospel writers refer to John the Baptist's ministry, it is always as a "baptism [immersion] of repentance for the remission of sins", and John himself describes the difference between his ministry and that ministry of the Messiah's as: "He [Yahweh] who sent me to baptise [immerse] with water said to me, 'Upon whom you see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, this is He [the Messiah] who baptizes [immerses] with His Holy Spirit" (John 1:33). Whereas also the Gospel writers always refer to the Messiah's ministry as that of the Messiah "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of Yahweh" (Mark 1:14). And perhaps the most significant statement offered by the Messiah about three years after He was baptized in water by John: “I came to send fire on the earth….But I [the Messiah] have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am till it is accomplished!” (Luke 12:49-50). The Messiah had indeed been symbolically baptized in water by John, yet he still had another baptism to accomplish! In other words, the Messiah came and did precisely what He said He would do - complete, or fulfill the law. Just like the Messiah became the "final" wave sheaf offering, completing the need for the ritual, and just like He became the final Passover, changing or completing the Passover symbols, He symbolized the final water baptism, permanently completing the need for this ritual, which was symbolic of the baptism of fire and the baptism by His Holy Spirit which would replace it.
Addendum 2: Baptism, Generally The Messiah became the "Passover", and eliminated any further need of the ritualistic sacrifice, but by doing so, He did not eliminate the Passover Celebration. The Messiah became the final "wave sheaf" offering and eliminated any further need of the ritualistic offering, but by doing so, He did not eliminate the celebration. Likewise, the Messiah's water baptism, served to complete or fulfill all righteousness with respect to the ritual of water baptism, but it by no means eliminated our need to be baptized by or immersed in His Holy Spirit.
There are numerous accounts in the Bible of His
Holy Spirit being given immediately
upon and because of belief.
There are no accounts of His Holy Spirit being given immediately upon and
because of water baptism. In the specific instance below where we refer to
There are three uniquely special occurrences of
speaking in tongues mentioned in Acts, each giving miraculous evidence and
divine approval for three major developments in the Israelite Congregation.
Speaking in tongues was a miracle that gave spectacular support and timely
evidence to the apostles efforts to establish the Congregation of
believers; fulfilling the words of
The first occurrence was the formation of the Congregation on the Day of Pentecost. Yahweh ensured that the miracle focused the attention of the crowd and permitted Peter, who was not a rabbi, to speak to them with authority. Shortly after the Messiah had risen, His disciples were gathered during the annual festival of Pentecost (Acts 2:10. A miraculous sound filled the building, and tongues as of fire appeared to sit on them (vv. 2-3). The disciples were "filled with His Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues" (V. 4). These other "tongues" were foreign languages readily understood by the people who were native to many other nations (vv. 8-11). There was no water baptism associated with this event. About 10 years later, after Peter had preached to a group of Gentiles in the house of Cornelius, the "Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word". The Bible records that the (Hebrew) Israelites then heard the gentiles "speak with tongues and magnify Yahweh" (10:44-46). This second occurrence announced the call of the Gentiles into the Congregation. Since the (Hebrews) Israelites had historically separated themselves from the Gentiles, these special signs were given to PROVE to the Hebrews that Yahweh had not only authorized Peter to speak, but that He had accepted the Gentiles into the Congregation as His children (Acts 15:7,8). Another decade after this account, Paul taught some disciples in Ephesus about His Holy Spirit, and "when Paul had laid hands on them, His Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied" (19:1-6). This final example is used to validate those who had previously been led by John the Baptist and were now true followers of New Covenant Israelite faith (Acts 19:1-6). This was the final demonstration orchestrated by Yahweh, that proved that the water baptism of John was now obsolete and that those followers of John were now accepted into the Congregation as His children, along with the gentiles and everyone else. In all three of these accounts, speaking in tongues was a miracle associated with His Holy Spirit, as related to three, very special developments in the early Congregation of believers. So the answer as to why Yahweh chose to have these converts wait to receive His Holy Spirit until after Paul laid on his hands in this instance, is simply because Yahweh wanted to provide His Divine demonstration that the former followers of John were now officially invited into His true Congregation of believers, as evidenced by His gift of His Holy Spirit - without water baptism. Acts, 19:1-7, states very simply that although all of the disciples that were present at the time had been "baptized" or immersed into water, yet none of them had received His Holy Spirit. Indeed, when Paul arrived, he did not question whether or not they had received His Holy Spirit when they were, or as a result, of their being immersed in water, he questioned as follows: "Did you not receive His Holy Spirit when you BELIEVED?" They answered effectively saying that it was not possible for them to have believed in what they had not yet heard of, hence His Holy Spirit which enters upon belief, had not yet come upon them. They continued by explaining that they had been immersed, or instructed into a baptism of repentance, which simply means they were taught all about the need to repent of their sins and seek forgiveness of Yahweh, which is clearly what John's baptism was about. Now the key phrase, follows, which is "When they HEARD this, they were baptized [or immersed in the things of His Holy Spirit] in the name of the Lord Yah'shua the Messiah." This means what it says - they were baptized WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, not later or earlier when they were immersed in water. Earlier, they were simply immersed in water, which was an incidental carry-over of the former ritual. As to why Phillip performed a water baptism on the eunuch, the answer is perhaps not much different than why Peter immersed the members of Cornelius's family in water AFTER they had already received His Holy Spirit. Peter clears this up when he later explains that he had simply forgotten, or not yet quite fully understood the word of the Messiah: "Then I remembered the word of the Messiah, how he said, 'John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with His Holy Spirit. If therefore Yahweh gave them the same gift [of His Holy Spirit] as He gave us WHEN WE BELIEVED...'" TOP ^
1. "HADES" - used in the original Greek eleven times in the entire Bible, is the equivalent to the Old Covenant word "SHEOL", meaning "grave or pit", and may be "likened to a hole in the ground". The eleven times it is used in the Bible by the English translation of "Hell", it has nothing to do with fire.
2. "TARTAROOS" - is used only once in Scripture in
3. "GEHENNA" - is the original Greek word used in the Bible every time reference is made to the "everlasting or ever-burning inferno", by the same English word, "Hell". This word "Gehenna" is a Greek translation of the Hebrew "GAI HINNOM", meaning "valley of Hinnom". Hinnom is a deep, narrow ravine located at the southwest of Jerusalem. In Yah'shua's time, this "place", became the cesspool, or city dump of Jerusalem - a repository for sewage, refuse, bodies of dead animals and despised criminals, all of which were burned there along with the rubbish.
One thousand years later, Satan will be cast into this "rekindled" firey lake where the Beast and False Prophet were cast -Rev. 20:10. In the sequence of Rev. 20:10-15, the wicked (men) are resurrected to be thrown into this same lake of fire, AFTER Satan has been cast there. (Read it yourself.) The Bible says nothing of these people suffering in flames for eternity - it DOES say that they will be burned up, destroyed, consumed as set out in several places: "For, behold, the DAY COMETH that shall burn as an oven, and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble, and THE DAY THAT COMETH SHALL BURN THEM UP" (Malachi 4:1). In verse 3, Yahweh says to the righteous that the wicked shall be "...ashes under the soles of your feet". This is the punishment that the Bible says is "everlasting", meaning "irreversible", permanent and final. The Bible calls this the "second death", from which there is no possibility of a further resurrection (see Rev. 20:14 and 21:8). The Bible teaches eternal PUNISHMENT, not eternal punishing. In other words, a punishment that is finite for the wicked. The Bible says the wages of sin is DEATH - not eternal life in torture. Eternal life is the free gift of Yahweh reserved for the righteous. "...and the sea gave up the DEAD which were in it; and death and HELL (hades - grave or pit) delivered up the DEAD which were in them: and they were judged according to their works. And DEATH AND HELL were CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. This is the SECOND DEATH. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13-15). Notice the Bible says the wicked were cast into "the second death", not to eternal life and punishing, but rather, the second death, which is eternal punishment.
"...For yet a little while and the wicked SHALL
NOT BE...But the wicked shall perish... they shall consume: into smoke they
shall consume away (Psalm 37:9,12,20,22,29). Now notice Psalm 104:35, "Let the
sinners be CONSUMED out of the earth and let the wicked BE NO MORE", and
Try this test: put a piece of paper in a pan - light it and don't QUENCH it - don't put it out, that's what quench means. Very soon the paper will burn up, be consumed and become as ashes under the soles of your feet - exactly as the Bible clearly says the wicked shall be.
The Bible says Yah'shua went to Hell when He died!
See
"Their worm shall not die" - Yah'shua did not here mean that each worm continued to live forever! He was not teaching the immortality of worms! The Greek word inspired in this passage and translated into the English "worm", simply means a maggot or larvae. The Greek expression translated into "not die", simply means it will not "come to an end"; such as larvae that do not die, but pupate into flies, which instinctively lay eggs, providing a never-ending replenishment of the larvae. The Biblical story of Lazarus and the Rich Man illustrates this point well: "And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man died also, and was buried" (Luke 16:22). They both DIED! Yah'shua did not say the beggar went to heaven - he died - and went to Abraham's bosom. A dictionary definition of bosom, is "the breast of a human being, with the arms as an enclosure - a loving embrace as in an intimate relationship". So Lazarus died and went into an intimate relationship with Abraham as in Galations 3:29, "And if ye be the Messiah's, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise". Through faith, we all become the "children of Abraham" - THAT is the intimate relationship with Abraham. Yahweh promised Abraham; "For all the land which thou seest, to thee I will give it, and to thy seed forever" (Gen. 13:15). An heir cannot receive his inheritance before his father does! The Bible says Abraham is STILL DEAD and HAS YET to be resurrected and to receive his promise.
In
Yah'shua said of the Rich Man: "The rich man also died, and was BURIED". He did not say the rich man went immediately to some eternally burning hell-fire - he was buried! Yah'shua said so! And in hell (hades - pit or grave) he (rich man) "lifted up his eyes" (Luke 16:22,23). His eyes had been closed in death, and would be opened at the resurrection. "And many of them that sleep [their eyes closed] in the dust of the earth [their grave - hades] shall awake [lift up their eyes], some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan. 12:2).
The Greek words here translated to everlasting,
are in the "present-continuous tense", and mean, forever irreversible. Yah'shua
said in
Yah'shua clearly speaks of two of the separate
resurrections. "...they that are the Messiah's at his coming" and then, "cometh
the end", indicating the resurrection of the unjust later. In
All the dead - just or unjust, ARE NOT CONSCIOUS
until resurrected. "..for the living know that they shall die, but the DEAD KNOW
NOT ANYTHING...for the memory of them is forgotten" (Eccl. 9:5).
In the story, the Rich Man awakes in his grave (hades) and sees Lazarus (symbolically) in Abraham's bosom - sees him living with the promised inheritance, and also sees the awful lake of fire (valley of Hinnom) which IS ABOUT to destroy him forever, and he is mortally terrified. Terror triggers a natural reaction in everyone - mouth goes dry, and tongue sticks to mouth and throat. He asks Abraham for a "couple drops", saying "send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water...to cool my tongue", because the flame was tormenting him. The Greek word translated into tormenting, is "odunomai", which means pain of mind, grief and distress - not physical pain. The Rich Man symbolizes the great gulf between sinners and those that are in the Messiah. This gulf, mentioned by Abraham, prevents the wicked from escaping the second death by fire in the valley of Hinnom (Hell), and keeps the righteous from being burned up. This gulf is "immortality" - see Rev. 20:6. The Rich Man realizes he was doomed, and Yah'shua uses him as an illustrative example. He now comprehended the great gulf that existed between him and those made immortal. Abraham made clear, the utter impossibility of the Rich Man crossing that gulf. He had his chance during his mortal lifetime. The Rich Man next thinks of his five brothers and begs Abraham to send Lazarus; Abraham replied that they (the brothers) had the writings of Moses and the Prophets - they did not need Lazarus. The Rich Man realized his brothers (like himself), would not "hear" the Scriptures, and screamed to Abraham: "Nay, father Abraham, but if one went unto them FROM THE DEAD, they will repent". Abraham replied: "If they hear not Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose FROM THE DEAD". The Bible makes it perfectly clear that all humans will die - be buried - remain in their graves (hades or Hell) - and be resurrected. Yah'shua used common, everyday language that his simple followers were able to easily understand. The second death, like the valley of Hinnom (Gai Hinnom - Hell), would be something the people would want to avoid at all costs. His followers were well aware of what a foul place this "Gehenna" was, and would indeed be horrified at the thought of being burned up there. We must always remember, that the great majority of translations of the Bible were originally conducted by, or on behalf of, or under some type of influence, stemming from Roman Catholic theology - the "Mother of Harlots". As it is clearly set out in the Bible, this organized Traditional Christianity has its power from Satan. Although Yahweh's word has remained intact after various translations, this false church has used its great powers of deception to cause such ambiguous translations as "Hell", purportedly with one meaning, from the original three Greek words with three different meanings. Such efforts, have proved very effective over the years in the Catholic church's (and most traditional Christianity's) propagation of its false, fear/money- driven doctrine of "heaven and hell". The good news about death, is the fact that we are, "asleep"; that is while we are dead, WE ARE NOT CONSCIOUS. It will seem to us (even though it does not happen until the Messiah returns), that the resurrection will have happened at the VERY INSTANT of death - in "the blinking of an eye", we will be resurrected to our hope of salvation! TOP ^
ISRAELITE COMPASSION: DEALING WITH CRIME AND (lack of) PUNISHMENT Recent news events inspire much discussion around criminal behaviour within our societies, as well as much "political" controversy over our approach to criminal punishment. This chapter will take a look at how mankind, with a clear lack of compassion, has stubbornly rejected Yahweh's commandments involving implementation of swift and certain punishment for criminal behaviour. The February 26th, 1994 issue of "The Economist", featured an article on our confused criminal justice system, which quite clearly "hit the nail on the head" - as far as it went: "The Menendez brothers, killers of their parents, make vague but theatrical claims of abuse, and their case ends in mistrial. The Bobbitts go to court, but she is acquitted of maliciously wounding him [having endured years of humiliation], and he is acquitted of harming her [he has paid the price "up front"]. A serial killer throws himself on the mercy of the court in Florida: yes, he killed five students, raping several and arranging the severed head of one tastefully on a bookshelf; but his father had abused him, and angels and demons torment him. Two blacks bash in the head of a white [truck] driver with a brick, dance a little jig of joy, and are acquitted; they have been unreasonably provoked by the court verdict in the Rodney King case. It will not be long, at this rate, before mandatory sentence for a crime of violence is a `HUG AND A GOOD CRY'"! Sadly, that quotation is an accurate portrayal of our modern social justice system. Much debate has raged in recent years over the "death penalty", however, as so-called "progressive" nations, we have substituted indulgence for discipline, notwithstanding our concerns over the validity of "punishing" criminals, or of the actual death penalty itself. The result is that our prisons are full to overflowing and our nations are inundated in violent crime. We have become too afraid to sternly PUNISH evildoers and we are vacillating in our determination to put into practice, our Yahweh-given instructions to CORRECT CRIME THROUGH DISCIPLINE! The Bible clearly condemns murderers and other violent offenders to death, and sets out very stern punishment for a great number of other criminal offences.
Many people recognize the above verses, as well as many other verses of the Old Covenant that deal with what our societies perceive as "excessive" punishments for various crimes. They believe we are living in the "Christian" era, and that the grace of Yah’shua the Messiah has done away with the need for these stern corrective measures.
This misunderstanding comes as a result of
forgetting the very vital fact that the Spirit that is in Yah’shua the Messiah
WAS FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE ENTIRE OLD COVENANT! As clearly explained in your
Bible, "God" of the Old Covenant was "Elohim", an expression referring to the
multi-faceted Yahweh the Father and it was through His Spirit that He made
Yah’shua the firstborn Son of Himself by the resurection. Many New Covenant
verses such as Col. 1:12-13,15-17; Heb. 1:1-2, 2-20;
"Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. FOR THERE IS NO AUTHORITY EXCEPT FROM Yaweh, and the authorities that exist [speaking of man's governments and courts] are APPOINTED BY Yahweh. [Which unfortunately, does not mean they are always OBEDIENT to Yahweh!] therefore whoever resists the ordinance of Yahweh [including the Yahweh-appointed authorities], and those who resist will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers are not [supposed to be] a terror to good works, but to evil...For he [a government or court official] is Yahweh's minister ["servant" or "magistrate" in some translations] to you for good. But if you do evil be afraid; for he is Yahweh's minister [servant or magistrate], an AVENGER TO EXECUTE WRATH ON HIM WHO PRACTICES EVIL" (Rom. 13:1-4).
Yahweh is a God of love (1
However, the self-defined "liberal" element of our societies, is constantly seeking means to indulge or explain away the criminal's evil deeds by reason of "mitigating circumstances", that supposedly justify a lesser or softer sentence. Criminologists, social scientists, psychologists and others, are continually trying to pin down such excuses as genetic pre-dispositions, poverty, abuse, emotional dysfunction, maleness and other equally spurious nonsense. This indulgent whining, is what prevents deterrence of crime today!
We should not be trying to "understand" or indulge
the criminal, we should be harshly punishing them with retribution so severe
that they never want to commit crime again! And in the case of intentional
murder, that severe punishment must be the death penalty! So says our great
Yahweh who understands human nature and tells us in
There are "reasons" why people do things, but those reasons cannot be allowed to become excuses for which they are given leniency. Mankind continually makes excuses for his wrong behaviour, including his stubborn disregard for Yahweh's instructions in dealing with criminals.
In
"He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him DISCIPLINES HIM PROMPTLY" (Prov. 13:24). For the benefit of society and the individual, swift, stern justice must be meted out when wrongs are brought to light. "BECAUSE THE SENTENCE AGAINST AN EVIL WORK IS NOT EXECUTED SPEEDILY, THEREFORE THE HEART OF THE SONS OF MEN IS FULLY SET IN THEM TO DO EVIL" (Ecc. 8:11). When wrong doing is not almost immediately punished, then all or almost all of the deterrent effect is lost. "Whoever will not observe the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgement be executed SPEEDILY on him, whether it be death, or banishment, or confiscation of goods, or imprisonment" (Ezra 7:6). The criminal mind rarely respects authority. The only thing such a party respects is equal or greater FORCE! And when strong force is used immediately to severely punish an offender, it makes others "think twice" before acting likewise. In the United States, where the death penalty has been re-instated, one District Judge reports that, "the public has lost confidence in the judicial system because of these seemingly endless delays [appeals]". Speaking further on the passage of vast amounts of time (10 to 14 years) between the offence and the final punishment, he went on, "it causes the heinous facts to be long since forgotten, and we are permitted to see only fleeting glimpses of a shackled condemned party, for whom there is an inevitable degree of sympathy". Quite obviously, the liberal press and other death penalty opponents are playing on our sympathies while trying to abolish all thought of the death penalty! No sane party wants to execute another party. Any right-thinking individual has a certain sympathy for another, even if that other party deserves to die! Stern penalties, especially the death penalty, are as humanly irreversible as the original crime or murder itself. therefore great care must be taken to ensure fair and honest trials. But human justice, implemented by humans who refuse to follow the guidance of the Eternal Yahweh, will make mistakes (Jer. 10:23)! We cannot however, allow ourselves to further compound our mistakes, by stopping the wheels of justice or removing the deterrent effect of the death penalty, simply because we are afraid to make mistakes! To do so is a far greater mistake! A swift death penalty (and all punishments) was intended by our Creator to deter or restrain additional people from committing the same offence. To stop or delay the penalty because the courts are afraid to make a mistake, is in direct disobedience to Yahweh's clear laws! Further, the courts, if run according to Godly principles, would not make the great many miscarriages of justice that they do presently! The British and Canadian governments, for example, abolished the death penalty because of the hanging of innocent parties. In the United States, thousands of innocent parties are convicted and often imprisoned due to horrendous "plea bargaining" practices, where victims are cajoled into "accepting" guilty pleas on lesser charges, because prosecutors threaten extremely lengthy sentences if they fail to "cooperate". This activity has tremendous impact on the prosecutors' "win-loss" ratio, and subsequent career promotions! In most instances, these prosecutors are "elected" to their positions, and of course, the political machine is such that a good "win-loss" record is of top importance! I won't even get into the travesties that befall those many thousands of innocents found guilty by our nations' courts, simply because they could not afford "adequate" defence counsel! Why does the truth need a defence anyway? Instead of following the Yahweh-given, simple instructions of seeking the truth from two or three corroborating witnesses, our nations make a childish "contest" out of justice! Prosecutors and defence lawyers put "winning" versus "losing" the case, far ahead of fairly seeking the truth! Both "sides" tend only to present that "evidence", or that version of the evidence, that supports their "winning" objective! In other words, the system is not designed to present only the truth - it is designed to offer each "side" an opportunity to see who can "present the best case", by "skilfully manipulating the facts" to their best advantage, which are merely euphemisms for who can lie the best! It is absolutely shameful that grown men (and women) can behave in such a childish manner over something as important as meting out Yahweh's justice! In true justice, there is neither winner nor loser - there is simply the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth! No game-playing in terms of presenting "our" evidence and then "theirs", hoping to "sway" the jury to support one side versus the other! ALL EVIDENCE should be presented openly and in a totally unbiased fashion - only then will the truth be evident to a jury! People can learn vicariously from the experience of others. "When the scorner is punished, the simple is made wise", and "Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware" (Prov. 21:11; 19:25). If a party thinks he can get away with murder because his sentence will eventually be commuted to a life sentence, then why should he fear to kill? That is why Mikell Smith almost fatally wounded a prison guard in 1989 after being sentenced to death in 1987 for the 1985 shotgun slaying of a schoolteacher! He no longer feared to kill! And lo and behold, the courts, in a display of their judicial incompetence, handed this mad dog a 500 year sentence instead of immediately putting him to death! Many a career criminal has already proven he cannot "make it" in normal society; and if he murders, rapes, robs, or commits general mayhem, so what! Why should he fear? Even if he has murdered, the liberals will see to it that HIS life is "spared" so that we taxpayers can support him in a prison environment where he is "somebody" - a "man among men" so to speak! After 11 years of appeals, the convicted murderer Charles Coleman was finally executed in 1990. The deterrent effect of the death penalty was still clearly seen. Fellow condemned murderer, Howard Marquez was quoted: "I felt the fear. I felt fear FOR MY LIFE!" Another murderer said: "Several people here [in the prison] are saying, `I don't have a chance. I'm going to be up there [in the death chamber] too. People here are scared to death'". Who says the death penalty has no deterrent effect! It even scares convicted murderers to death! Why would a God of love prescribe such harsh penalties including execution? The answer is plainly revealed in your Bible as the RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. All unconverted sinners will be raised alive from the grave and THEN given a chance to learn and change - while the Messiah is ruling this earth! It is the knowledge of this resurrection that Yahweh has revealed to us, that gives us understanding of Yahweh's mind about the death penalty. The simple truth in your Bible is that there will be three resurrections (Rev. 20:4-15; see also chapter 23 in this book). The first resurrection will be at the Messiah's Second Coming (1 Cor. 15:23) when He will resurrect to immortal spirit, those elect of Yahweh, who have been called and trained of Yahweh to be OBEDIENT in THIS lifetime. The second resurrection will occur 1,000 years later (Rev. 20:11-12). Those then resurrected, will be given human physical bodies once again, and for the first time, will be given the opportunity to understand Yahweh's precious truth and learn to become OBEDIENT, so that they too, can be added to the immortal spirit-composed Family of Yahweh (Eph. 3:14-15). This second resurrection is the missing key to understanding how a God of love can be in favour of a death penalty. The third and final resurrection will also be a resurrection to human physical life, but the end result will be eternal death - the "second death", because these few people, in their former physical life (what we call THIS lifetime), understood Yahweh's truth and ways, but wilfully rejected that truth through rebellion or weakness (Heb. 10:26-27; Rev. 20:13-15; 21:8). Yahweh will then mercifully impose the eternal death penalty upon them to prevent the creation of another ever-living, wretchedly miserable murderer like Satan the devil (John 8:44). To understand how the death penalty can be a blessing, we must see Yahweh's perspective on human life. Human death means nothing to Yahweh, except a temporary sleep (1 Cor. 15:51-55)! Because Yahweh can (and will) resurrect all humans from the grave! By imposing and carrying out harsh penalties such as the death penalty, we stop the examples of lawlessness in society which can corrupt others. It also prevents the criminal from continuing in a downward spiral of ever-deepening rebellion against Yahweh's laws which will produce an even more twisted and corrupted human nature, with more deeply entrenched habits of evil which MUST BE CORRECTED when this party is resurrected in the second resurrection! The all merciful Yahweh is even going to resurrect Attila the Hun and Adolf Hitler, along with every serial killer and mass murderer who has ever lived! Because most of these people did not receive the truth of Yahweh in their first lifetime, they will THEN have their minds opened, and will be given their first opportunity to learn Yahweh's truth and to become OBEDIENT to it in their second life! One opportunity - one time - is what every human being gets; some "few" will avail themselves of the opportunity NOW, and enjoy the "firstfriuts" benefits of being with the Messiah for the millennium, while the "many" will receive their opportunity at the second resurrection, "after the thousand years were finished". This is why the death penalty is implemented in love and with compassion! It deters others in this life from committing offences worthy of death, and it prevents violent or career criminals from continuing in their wrong ways, worsening and more firmly establishing their bad habits, which must be CORRECTED by a loving Yahweh when He gives them their opportunity during their second lifetime! How terrible it would be, if a party's life were to be forever "wasted", if their deeply entrenched bad habits prevented them from being corrected, simply because some over-indulgent "liberals" thought it best not to "punish" them in this lifetime! How wonderfully compassionate is the pure and simple truth of the merciful Yahweh!
Grace and peace to you, from our Father, Yahweh, and Yah'shua our Messiah!
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The
Greek word used in the Bible for baptism, is “baptizo”. It literally means to
“immerse, or plunge into”. |
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