Sunday, December 7, 2014

The great "falling away" is already happening....


Scripture tells us that in the end times there would be a “falling away” – and, folks, it has started, and it is happening in droves! 

I’m seeing it place especially within the ranks of those who have a habit of “religion hopping” – those Christians who found their way to Torah and became Torah observant believers in Y’shua … and then, after grazing around on Facebook or somewhere, they got hooked into traditional Judaism by other “religion hoppers” who had found “real rabbis” whose major goal in life is to draw people into traditional Judaism….

But that’s how it all starts, and what’s sad is that these new “unbelievers” fool themselves into believing they are “thinking for themselves” while singing the praises of atheists and pantheists and agnostics and generally those who haven’t got a clue about God and the Bible but yet have the audacity to proclaim themselves to be “experts”!

So, in essence, these newly-deceived people are willing to believe the messages of MAN, but not God Himself.  It makes absolutely NO sense! 

Regardless, the Bible did warn us that these things would happen.  Let’s take a look at just one of the pertinent passages in the Aramaic English New Testament, with footnotes:

2 Thessalonians 2:9. For the coming of that (Evil One) is the working of haSatan with all power and signs and lying wonders  10. and with all the deceptiveness of iniquity in them that perish; because they did not receive the love of the truth by which they might have life.  11. Therefore Elohim will send upon them the strength of a deception that they may believe a lie;[1]  12. and that they all may be condemned who believe not the truth but have pleasure in iniquity. 

13. But we are bound to give thanks to Elohim always on your account, my Brothers, beloved of our Master (Y’shua), that Elohim has from the beginning chosen you to life through sanctification of the Spirit and through faith in the Truth.  14. For to these it was that Elohim called you by our preaching;[2] that ye might be the glory to our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach. 

5. Therefore, my Brothers, be established and persevere in the Commandments[3] which you have been taught, whether by word or by our epistle.[4]  16. And may our Master Y’shua the Mashiyach himself, and Elohim our Father who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and a good hope through his grace,  17. comfort your hearts and establish in yourselves every good word and in every good work.
(Aramaic English New Testament)

Footnotes from the AENT:

[1]  The price for not receiving the “love of the truth” is to become overly self-confident in false religion.  The “love of the truth” is the spirit of truth which must be sanctified by thought and action.  One cannot “love the truth” and, at the same time, break the Commandments.

[2]  The phrase “called you by our preaching” is another instance of the implied wordplay between “called” (qirakon) and the Hebrew name for the priestly book of Leviticus (Vayiqra), which is derived from the first words “and he called.” The same can be said of “preaching” which is once again being tapped by the Aramaic sebar (Good News/Hope).  The final repetition is also a favorite implied wordplay of Paul’s, with miltha “Word” being contrasted with “Commandments” which comes from the fact that the “Ten Commandments” are originally called “The Ten Words” YHWH spoke. One cannot also help but see the similarity with the use of “miltha” in the way John opens his Good News/Preaching; “the Miltha was with Elohim and the Miltha was Elohim.” 

This idea is reinforced further with the phrase “from the beginning,” dovetailing with the title of the Book of Genesis, which is called B’resheet in Hebrew, and rendered min reshita here by Paul. The fact is, there is very little difference between the two terms, coming down to a small alteration in how prepositions are used between “in the beginning” and “from the beginning.” Either way, this revelation that Paul is addressing cannot be a “new commandment” but the one that has always been, calling Jew and Gentile alike into the righteousness of Torah through its foremost interpreter, who is Mashiyach.

[3] The biggest misunderstanding of the Pauline Epistles is that Paul’s encouragements nullified or superseded Torah rather than complemented Torah, and most of this is due to erroneous Greek translations, such as in this verse which reads: “So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the paradoesis (traditions) which you were taught, whether by word or epistle.” Paradoesis could mean “traditions” but may also be rendered “teachings” as in the NIV. However, there are BIG problems with both phrases as they imply a new “wisdom” has supplanted the Eternal Word.

Many theologians suggest that Paul the Jew is saying to the Gentiles, “Don’t concern yourself with Torah, it’s just a Jewish thing; just listen to me (Paul) and follow to the new teaching.”  However, Aramaic reads: “Henceforth, my brethren, stand fast and hold to the Commandments which you have been taught, either by word or by epistle.” (Lamsa)  The Aramaic porqadona, unlike the Greek paradoesis, can only mean “Commandments”. The question is then, what commandments?

According to Matthew 5:19, Y’shua taught Torah and the Commandments of YHWH from the very beginning of his ministry.  According to Matthew 15:3, Y’shua warned the Pharisees against making void the “Commandment of Elohim” by their traditions.  In Matthew 19:17 Y’shua spelled out the Commandments to the rich young ruler, teaching that “if you will enter into Life, keep the Commandments.”  The rich young ruler asked which ones?  Y’shua gave him Torah Commandments!

Being led by the Ruach haKodesh to observe YHWH’s Torah (instruction in righteousness) is a perquisite to entering the Malchut Elohim; in fact, Torah is magnified (made great) by Y’shua according to Yesha‘yahu/Isaiah 42:21. In 2 Peter 2:21, 22, Peter levies a sharp rebuke; “…it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than after having known (it), to turn back from the Set Apart commandment that was delivered to them.”

John teaches in 1 John 2:4; “For he that says I know him and does not keep his Commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”  There can be NO doubt these are YHWH’s Commandments because John teaches in 1 John 3:22: “And whatever we ask, we receive from Him because we keep His (YHWH’s) Commandments and do acceptable things before Him.”  But some theologians teach that if you “love” you don’t need to keep any Commandments; however, this is the tradition of the Laodicean Church who interprets “love” according to religious tradition (see Definition of Love in Appendix). 

“And the dragon was enraged against the woman; and he went to make war upon the residue of her seed who keep the Commandments of Elohim and have the testimony of Y’shua.” (Revelation 12:17).  The true remnant, the Israel of Elohim, keep the Commandments of Elohim and they know Y’shua is Mashiyach ben Yoseph. 

The evidence supporting Torah Observance among Y’shua’s followers is overwhelming, but there are multitudes of doctrines and church traditions that make war against the Word of YHWH.  It’s one thing for a person to choose to disobey YHWH’s Commandments, but it’s quite another to teach others to also be disobedient.  Y’shua warns that it would be better for a millstone be hung around your neck and be sunk into the sea than to be guilty of causing one of his little ones to stumble (Matthew 18:6). 

Paul and all of Y’shua’s disciples, even the Pharisees knew that the “Word of Elohim” can only mean Torah! Therefore, this verse clearly demonstrates that Paul is determined to bring everyone including the Gentiles, the Tribes of Israel, and all Jews into the Grace of Y’shua so they could have Torah written upon their hearts.  Grace is power given by YHWH to live as a Kedoshim (holy people).

[4] Most Gentiles are unaware of the fervent debates between Netzarim Jews (Nazarenes) and traditional Jews regarding Y’shua being Mashiyach or his divinity. In particular, the issue that frequently comes up is the idea that Christians exalt a man as God. As we will see, part of the problem again lies with inaccurate Greek translations and, of course, there is a marked difference between Catholic, Protestant, “Messianic Jewish” and Netzarim beliefs.

It is most intriguing that some traditional Jews would label Paul’s letters as pagan, given his admonition to a pagan audience:  “Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come unless it is preceded by a rebellion, and the man of sin be revealed as the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called Elohim or that is reverenced; so that even in the Temple of Elohim, he sits as a god, and shows himself as though he were a god.”  2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (Lamsa). 

The phrase “son of perdition” in Aramaic, breh d’abadana is the same as the Hebrew abaddon, meaning “destruction” and is torn from the pages of the Dead Sea Scrolls, alluding to sons of light and sons of darkness. Of course, such a metaphor makes little sense in Greek. However, more pointed to our discussion is the fact that Paul is describing a great deception whereby “Christians” would be entrapped into worshipping a man!  “And with all deceitfulness of unrighteousness in those who perish, because they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved thereby. For this reason Elohim shall send them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie, that all who did not believe in truth but preferred unrighteousness might be damned.”  2 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (Lamsa). 

Since the Wicked One in 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12 is clearly a man sent from Satan, we can rightly infer that this sort of man-worship is heartily and forcefully condemned by the Shaliach/Apostle Paul. That being said, it is odd that his critics would continue to accuse him of being an idolater himself, when all evidence in Scripture points to his keeping Torah! Furthermore, if the heresy is as Paul says, “a strong delusion” it seems likely that it is a popular one as well!  Certainly this vision of the distant future from Paul’s era drives a spike in the coffin to Replacement Theology (Supercessionism) and Dispensationalism, which are as “fathers” to polytheistic Christianity.

In the end, the true Good News is linked inextricably to the Word that came before, while the “other Gospel” teaches Torah is done away with, and/or that paganism rules the day. As we will also see later on, since Paul condemned as heretical the “man-god” idea, it seems very unlikely that the Shaliach would simply substitute the agent of Satan with the Hellenized “Jesus” who essentially does the same thing.

It was Paul who made statements as in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that “Y’shua is YHWH!” We must certainly differentiate between a man who would wrongly aspire to be YHWH, with a pure understanding of Aramaic/Hebrew and Torah that demonstrates how YHWH can take on any form He desires.  One is the age old pagan counterfeit from haSatan which entered the world by confusion in the Greek “New Testament” while the other is the ultimate understanding of Mashiyach as revealed in Torah and the prophets of YHWH as truth, and it’s Jewish to the very core.

So this "falling away" (see 2 Thessalonians 2:3) is being manifested in our time! Sure, we still have no idea of the ultimate unfolding of events, but the signs are unmistakable!

The bottom line is, those who have left “God” by rejecting either YHWH or His Son, and spoken against His Word, they are guilty of "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" – which is an unforgivable sin!

Matthew 12: 30. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever did not gather with me, scatters. 31. Because of this I say to you that all sins and blasphemies will be forgiven to the sons of men, but blasphemy that is against the Spirit will not be forgiven to the sons of men. 32. And anyone who says a word against the Son of man, he will be forgiven, But anyone who will speak against the Ruach haKodesh, he will not be forgiven - not in this world or in the world that is to come. (Aramaic English New Testament)

If a person committed one of the capital offenses that are mentioned in Torah, but confessed and pleaded for forgiveness, there were ways to receive atonement. But those who blaspheme against the Spirit of YHWH have no way to make atonement for themselves, nor can they make an appeal in the name of Yeshua. See also Acts 5:1-11 and Hebrews 10:28-30.

Matthew 13: 32. And anyone who says a word against the Son of man, he will be forgiven, But anyone who will speak against the Ruach haKodesh,[1] he will not be forgiven – not in this world or in the world that is to come.

It is "defiant irreverence" - a term that can be applied to such sins as cursing Yahweh or willfully degrading things relating to Him, or attributing some evil to Him, or denying Him some good that should be attributed to Him. For instance, in Matthew 12:31-32, the Pharisees, having witnessed irrefutable proof that Yeshua was working miracles in the power of the Ruach haKodesh (Holy Spirit), claimed instead that He was possessed by the demon "Beelzebub" (Matthew 12:24).

Mark 3: 28. Truly I say to you, that all sins and blasphemies that the sons of man will blaspheme will be forgiven them. 29. But he who blasphemes against the Ruach haKodesh has no forgiveness ever, rather he is guilty before the eternal judgment. 30. This is because they were saying that an unclean spirit is in him.

Hebrews 10: 28. For if he who transgressed the Torah of Moshe, died without mercies at the mouth of two or three witnesses; 29. how much more, do you think, will he receive capital punishment who has trodden upon the Son of Elohim and has accounted the blood of his covenant by which he is sanctified, as the blood of all men and has treated the Spirit of grace in an insulting manner?

Acts 5: 32 And we are witnesses of these words and the Ruach haKodesh; He Who Elohim gives to those who obey Him.

9 comments:

  1. I just want to say He is in control and those who believe will believe and those who don't won't. Yes Yeshua is GOD! There is only one God and Yeshua was God in the flesh He came to redeem us.

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    1. Amen! Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as it was, is, and ever shall be-
      World without end, Amen

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  2. Y'shua will keep His promise, a promise that cannot be broken. He is the redeemer, the author and the finisher of our faith and He is coming back for His remnants, to those who died for Him, to bring justice to the oppressed. Hallelujah!

    Thank you for this post Sister Shali and Shalom!

    One thing i've noticed, the attached video is grayed and not clickable. It would be nice to play it.

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    1. Hi Anonymous! Thanks for posting! I'm confused, though, because there is no "attached video" on this. I think the app you're using is just playing with you, LOL!

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  3. I also see great 'falling away' in Christians who say they trust in nothing but the Bible (sadly just the last quarter of it though, leaving out the "Old Testament"), but then adding to it in means of 'visions' which they say come from God. All the Christian bookstores are full of books by authors who say they were taken to Heaven or Hell and back and told to preach that message to the lost and everything they saw there. Like it wasn't enough that Yeshua came down and preached the Good News to us, like He could not fulfill His job Himself.

    I have just had a discussion with a group of Christians who adore the book 'Heaven is for Real' by Burpo. When I told them that it is definitely not Divinely inspired, but visions of man and a deception, extra Biblical revelation that is absolutely not in line with the Holy Scriptures. But they don't believe me. They said it has blessed many people, including them, and drawn them closer to 'Jesus'. They didn't want to waste time in arguing about it so we left the discussion. But one of them has taken some time for it tomorrow, and we will have a discussion about it.

    I am preparing by printing out some articles debunking the book, point by point going through some scriptures which show how unbiblical the book is.

    But I would also welcome your advice on how to go about this, if you have the time and some ideas for it.

    With Christians, it is of no use usually to say that first of all, if a person truly met Yeshua, he would not introduce Himself as 'Jesus', since Christians believe it doesn't matter how you call upon Him, that in different languages we can call Him in different names, that all that matters is your intent.

    One could wonder why I am wasting any time to argue about such an issue with a Torahless Christian. But I see it as an opportunity to share the Good News with them and help them to find the Truth. Who knows YHWH might open their eyes and allow them to turn from their Torahless ways.

    I am thinking that if I can convince my friend of the fact that no man is allowed to add to the Bible by these sort of visions, especially when much of the content is in direct disagreement with the scriptures (which my friend can't see, as in the most common Christian way, she doesn't really check the scriptures nor has much understanding on them, to critically discern these things), then she might also become closer to the Truth about the Torah, having first abandoned extrabiblical revelation. That was the way it happened to me. I was drawn to the fact that the Truth is not found anywhere else than in the Bible. And although I 'sort of' believed it before, too, I thought that there can be so much more that is not said in the Bible, which can be true, too. And that was the open door that the enemy used to sneak in gross heresy and error, and took me on a path farther and farther away from YHWH.

    But in His incredible grace that is beyond all my understanding, He stopped me in a very radical and sudden manner, when I was already very badly deceived and far away from Him, and lead me back to Him. And ever since I have been holding onto the Truth, and nothing but the Truth, and the Holy Scriptures have become dearer to me than the most precious gold and diamonds and everything else. I love my Father's Word, I cling to it, I uphold it and feed myself with it every day, I proclaim it among all my friends and I learn to walk on the Way of the Truth day by day. Praise YHWH for giving us His Word, the lamp for our feet that keeps us from straying away and getting lost and being deceived, becoming apostate like a huge multitude of people who do not love the truth.

    But we LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it and never let go. Halleluyah!!!

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    1. Sounds like you are already on the right track to discuss this issue with your friend(s)! I think the best thing for you to do is exactly what you did here! You have a testimony of how extra-biblical writings can take you away from and not closer to YHWH. Use that testimony! It will help to have some points of error in that book, but as you said "my friend can't see, ... she doesn't really check the scriptures nor has much understanding on them, to critically discern these things". It's real tough to get a person to "see" when they lack the knowledge or the desire.

      Your point is a very good one, that Christians say they trust in nothing but the Bible, yet they only read the last quarter. Sometimes it's worth pointing out to such people that "Jesus" did not have the "New Testament" when he was teaching people about the Kingdom, and ask them if they have any idea what Jesus taught from! Many Bible versions, such as the Complete Jewish Bible annotate a scripture, such as something Yeshua or Paul said, with the OT source. That makes it easy to point out that Yeshua and the other authors only taught from the Tanakh. That can sometimes be an eye-opener if they can grasp that the NT can't be understood without the OT.

      Blessings to you for trying, and retain that joy in your heart even if you can't get through to them. If you are kind and not admonishing, (as I'm sure you will be), you are planting seeds, and perhaps one day the seeds will sprout.

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    2. Great post! You are among the very FEW who seeks HIS Truth and nothing else. Most, it seems, like to believe anything but what is actually IN the Bible….

      BTW, I have challenged those “Heaven is Real” books full of unbiblical nonsense, too! Here are just a couple of examples: http://therefinersfire.org/heaven_is_so_real.htm and http://www.therefinersfire.org/divine_revelation_of_hell.htm

      The thing that many don’t seem to comprehend is that if something doesn’t line up with Scripture, it isn’t of God – simple as that! The only thing you can do about people who refuse to accept that fact, is to sow your Biblical seeds using Scripture as proof; tell them why their assertions are off the mark; and then leave them be. I know from experience there is no arguing with those who are convinced they have the truth. Most, it seems, LOVE to have their “ears tickled”….

      I think you hit the proverbial nail on the head on some issues: (1) Many don’t really check Scripture to verify that everything they see, read or hear lines up perfectly with the Bible. (2) That, if a person met Yeshua, he would NOT introduce Himself as 'Jesus', and that it’s really in error to believe you can call Him whatever you wish. (3) And that it’s really NOT a waste of time to argue with someone concerning their erroneous belief. Sure, there’s a point where you must simply stop and wipe the dust from your sandals and turn them over to YHWH if they refuse to hear your BIBLICAL Truth, but there’s nothing wrong with sowing seeds.

      That is actually why I created The Refiner’s Fire back in 2001 – to “sow seeds” and letting them land wherever they landed. I felt people needed to hear HIS Truth. Those with an ear to hear and an eye to see DO “get it”; everyone else takes that “wide gate” (Matthew 7:13-14. And it’s all because people INSIST in allowing “false teachings” to enter their minds. Once that happens, YHWH turns them over to their own reprobation (Romans 1:28).

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  4. So if i converted from another religon and commited the unforgivable sin, but now belive in yeshua, am i saved

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    1. I'm not really sure what you're asking. If you have accepted YHWH as your God and Y'shua as His messiah, then you are "saved." See http://www.therefinersfire.org/unforgivable_sin.htm But once you are "saved" you should never "blaspheme the Ruach/Holy Spirit" because that is a grievous sin against God. Please also see our article on Deliberate sinning: http://www.therefinersfire.org/deliberate_sinning.htm

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