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Satan is the author of confusion.

 

The administration of Elohim’s government on earth used to be assisted by created angels after Elohim originally created the universe millions of years ago, as described in Genesis 1: 1.These angels were free moral agents, with the ability to choose to go Elohim’s way – which is the way of giving and sharing, or the way of get. For many years they remained obedient to YHVH, until one day, Lucifer, decided in rebellion against Elohim, to take over the throne of YHVH in the third heaven, as witnessed in Isaiah 14: 12 – 14, in this way:  “How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn! You have been cut down to earth, you who have weakened the nations! (13) But you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of Elohim, and I will sit on the mount of assembly (meaning the government of Elohim) in the recesses of the north. (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’” We read about (YHVH)’s judgment on Satan in Ezekiel 28: 11 -15, as follows:‘Again the word of YHVH came to me saying, (12) “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre, and say to him”, “Thus says YHVH Elohim, you had the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. (13) You were in Eden, the garden of Elohim (on earth); every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; the lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; and the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, was in you. On the day that you were created they were prepared”’. (This tells us that Satan was given the authority of High Priest in Elohim’s government at that time, since here we have described something similar to the breastplate that YHVH told Moses, to make much later for Aaron His human high priest.) (14)“You were the anointed cherub who covers, and I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of Elohim (meaning a high ranking administrator in Elohim’s government); you walked in the midst of the stones of fire. (15) You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, until unrighteousness was found in you.”

 

Being a cherub, one of the three original archangels Lucifer, was in charge of a third of the angels.  We know that in the Scriptures angels are referred to as stars (as explained in Revelation 1: 20), and by comparing the first part of Revelation12: 4 with verse 9 we see that Satan was thrown down to the earth, together with a third of the angels of heaven under his control. Satan and his angels fought against the other two archangels and their angels, still loyal to YHVH, but were overcome and thrown down to earth, where they are now living as fallen angels or demons. These angels could not change once they had decided to follow a life of wrongdoing, because different to mankind who were partly blinded after Adam’s sin, and has to be taught the way of Elohim over time, Satan and his angels were spirit beings who rebelled with full knowledge. Furthermore mankind is open to deception and can also misunderstand. The result of war between the angels and demons left the world formless and void, the condition we find the earth in when we open our Scriptures at Genesis 1: 2. At that point in time Elohim decided to recreate the heavens and the earth. He also chose not to create his future children as spirit beings, but created them from physical matter. He created them in His image with mind power to think and plan and ‘create’. Like the angels before them, they too were given free moral agency to decide between good and evil, but they had to prove throughout their lives that they would develop Elohim’s perfect character and follow His way of life, after which they would be given eternal life. However, we know that induced by the lies and temptation of Satan Adam and Eve sinned.

 

In a fairly controversial teaching published in 2003 a previous teacher of mine wrote that Satan’s breastplate mentioned in verse 13 of Ezekiel 28 above, had only nine of the twelve stones present in the breast plate of the high priests which Moses had to make for Aaron, after the pattern of the heavenly which YHVH showed him on the mountain. The three stones that were missing from Satan’s breastplate and their attributes are:

  • The jacinth gemstone number 7 which represents the name of YHVH;

  • The agate gemstone number 8 which restores life, when we return to Elohim; and

  • The amethyst gemstone number 9 meaning to join closely.

 

These three precious stones are missing from Satan’s breastplate, and even though his breastplate contains the other nine precious stones, he has corrupted the righteous characteristics of the stones so that they give just the opposite of the righteous qualities they represent. It is by examining these qualities by which some of the lost ten tribes are able to discover the tribes they are from. Listed below are the nine stones, with their normal attributes and their opposites:

  1. Ruby – the tribe of Reuben when close to Elohim normally submissive to Elohim and those over them, but under control of Satan and his agents they are rebellious.

  2. Topaz – the tribe of Simeon when close to Elohim they are pure and keep kosher, but becomes unclean and un-kosher under control of Satan and his agents.

  3. Beryl – the tribe of Levi are a light to the world when they remain close to YHVH, but when controlled by Satan becomes blind (deceived) and ignorant.

  4. Turquoise – the tribe of Judah are the Lawgivers of YHVH, but under control of Satan and his agents they become antinomian (lawless).

  5. Sapphire – the tribe of Dan hold to the word of YHVH (the Scriptures), but under control of Satan and his agents they only use the so-called ‘New Testament’.

  6. Emerald – the tribe of Naphtali meaning healers, but under Satan’s influence represents sickness and disease. 

  7. Diamond – the tribe of Zebulun reveres YHVH, but under influence of Satan and his agents becomes irreverent and profane.

  8. Onyx - the tribe of Joseph has zeal for YHVH, but under Satan’s influence becomes lukewarm/indifferent or even agnostic.

  9. Jasper – the tribe of Binyamin relies on YHVH (YHVH is my strength), but under Satan’s influence rely on their own strength to accomplish things.

The three stones missing from Satan’s breastplate and thesubsequent reasons for it are listed again:

  1. Jacinth – the tribe of Gad – (YHVH)’s name and authority, Satan has lost the right to the name and authority of YHVH.

  2. Agate – the tribe of Asher – to return to YHVH in repentance and restore to life, Satan and his angels that fell have lost their ability to repent and return to YHVH.

  3. Amethyst – the tribe of Issachar to join closely, or to have unity, Satan has no right to the covenants and blessings that belong to Israel.

 

Satan’s focus is mainly on the house of Israel, (YHVH)’s bride to try to get her to fail by deceiving her to follow counterfeit systems of the one true faith. Returning Israel still has the ability to regain these attributes through Messiah  - Our High Priest is not missing these stones from His breastplate and through Him we still have the right to (YHVH)’s name and authority; the right to return to YHVH in (Teshuvah) true repentance; and the right to join with Judah in Elohim’s covenants of promise. Satan therefore focusses on causing division in these three areas:

  1. The Set-apart Name of YHVH;

  2. Counterfeit religious systems; and

  3. The covenant relationship that YHVH has and will again make with both houses of Israel.

 

It was only after the exodus of the nation of Israel out of Egypt that YHVH gave them His commandments, statutes and judgments to ensure the right relationship between all Israel and YHVH their Elohim, but also between one another. The importance of the sound administration is stressed in the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings making up the Tanach or word of Elohim, even at Messiah’s time. With this legal system Elohim wanted to establish the nation of Israel as a source of right ruling founded on exclusive loyalty to Him.The nation of Israel remained loyal to Elohim, until YHVH split the united nation of Israel ruled by King David’s son Solomon, in two, because he followed the paganism of the many wives that he married against Elohim’s advice. It was after the nation of Israel split into the house of Judah and the house of Israel, that YHVH ultimately divorced the house of Israel because of the Idolatrous ways of Jeroboam their then ruling king. Both houses of Israel were eventually taken into captivity; the house of Israel for idolatry and the house of Judah for not keeping the land Sabbath’s every seven years. YHVH dispersed the house of Israel amongst the nations of the world, whilst the house of Judah retuned to the Promised Land 70 years later, to remain loyal to Him ever since. After being back in the Promised Land for about 500 years YHVH sent His word to be born of a young Jewish girl, who was engaged to a Jewish man to ultimately bring back a remnant of the lost ten tribes, but also to redeem back the portion of the Promised Land that they lost due to sin.

 

Even though Yahshua was proven to be the Messiah, His identity was hidden from His  Jewish Brothers since His purpose for coming to earth the first time was different to what they expected and believed, as explained in Romans 11: 25 – 29:‘For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles(the members of the lost ten tribes who used to believe that they are gentiles) has come in; (26) and thus all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.” (27) “AND THIS IS MY COVENANT WITH THEM, WHEN I TAKE AWAY THEIR SINS.” (28) From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but from the standpoint of Elohim’s choice they are beloved for the sake of the fathers; (29)for the gifts and the calling of Elohim are irrevocable.’YHVH is at this time calling a remnant of the lost ten tribes back, so that they might become first fruits with those of their Jewish Brothers who remain Torah observant until Messiah returns (for the house of Israel) or comes for the first time (for the house of Judah) to rule the world under Him from Jerusalem, as Rav Yaa’cov also witness in James 1: 18, saying: ‘In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.’Nazarene Judaism, meaning returnees to Judaism through Yahshua, was a sect of the Pharisees of Messiah’s time as witnessed in Acts 15: 5, 24: 5 & 14; 28: 22 & 23, as follows: (5)‘But certain ones of the sect of the Pharisees who had believed, stood up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to direct them to observe the Law of Moses” (24:5)For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (14)But this I admit to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect I do serve the Elohim of our fathers, believing everything that is in accordance with the Law, and that is written in the Prophets.(28: 22)But we desire to hear from you what your views are; for concerning this sect, it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere. (23) And when they had set a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of Elohim, and trying to persuade them concerning Yahshua, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.’ But because of Satan and his deception, soon after Messiah’s resurrection a group opposed to the Nazarene faith was started by Simon Magus which was called Christianity and many true believers became part of this movement and slowly but surely moved away from the Hebrew roots of the faith into which Messiah was born, and over time became opposed to Judaism.

 

Fortunately, since the last century YHVH started calling a remnant from the lost ten tribes to return to the covenant relationship they had with Him at Mount Sinai. A great stumbling block for those whom YHVH called out of Christianity was the widespread untruth that has permeated Christianity which they claim is based on Messiah’s teachings. The Christian church taught that Messiah’s alleged contention with the Jewish people became a divine judgment on a ‘faithless people’ who rejected Him and His teachings. Because of this misunderstanding, many read the Renewed Covenant and come away distrusting our Jewish Brothers and see them as belonging to the forces of evil who crucified Messiah, which made the tragic events of the Holocaust possible. The truth is that no such disagreement existed, except in the minds of people who read the Renewed Covenant without clear Scriptural understanding. Messiah Yahshua was a Jew by birth (a Sabra from Bethlehem of Judea), a prophetic teacher (Rebbe), who loved Torah, and taught everyone to follow it from the heart. Yahshua did not teach against the Torah of Moses, since He Himself lived by the word of Elohim, which were the only Scriptures available when He was alive. He unambiguously told His disciples in Matthew 5: 17 & 18 saying: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill.(18) For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished.”Any person who does not understand or misunderstands Torah may not obey the Father’s will and as a result annuls or abolishes Torah. On the contrary, if a person understands and obeys Torah, he would fulfill the Father’s will, by so doing. Because of misrepresentation of the word ‘fulfill’ as used by Messiah in Matthew 5: 17, Christian teachers came to misrepresent the true Messiah to their congregants, and it is for this reason that they believe Torah has been abolished by Yahshua, or even worse that He kept it for them. Yahshua further said in Luke 16: 17, “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail.”Yahshua’s teachings on the nearness of Elohim spoke of (YHVH)’s manifest love by caring for His children. By addressing YHVH as Avinu (our Father) in His model prayer in Matthew 6, He was making the relationship with YHVH personal as well as nationalistic. The Israelites had always known YHVH as Father. In fact the Master’s prayer is so Hebraic in nature that most Jews do not have a theological problem with its composition.  While the claim of Yahshua was to redeem those who strayed from the path of morality, He restricted his attention and that of His followers to the lost tribes of Israel; an example being when He first sent out His disciples in Matthew 10: 5 – 7, saying: “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; (6) but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. (7) And as you go, preach, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’”

 

Yahshua was not a Christian, never attended church on Sunday, and did not come to establish a new religion called Christianity. He remained a Jew until His dying day on the stake and these ‘poor’ deceived believers have indeed done exactly what Rav Shaul warned about in 2 Corinthians 11: 4, saying: ‘For if one comes and preaches another Yahshua whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.’ Yahshua attended Sabbath services with His Jewish Brothers and taught in their synagogues as witnessed in Luke 4: 14 – 16, in this way: ‘And Yahshua returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit; and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. (15) And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all. (16) And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up and read.’  Continuing in verses 42 – 44, we read further: ‘And when day came, He departed and went to a lonely place; and the multitudes were searching for Him, and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from going away from them. (43) But He said to them, “I must preach the kingdom of Elohim to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose.” (44)And He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea[1].’ Yahshua did not die for ‘the Christian gospel’ or any new religion. Nor did the Jews kill him because they opposed His teachings. Yahshua was killed because of the expectations and enthusiasm of His followers who knew that He was the Messiah, a political threat to the occupying power in Israel at that time. He was condemned by the Roman court and executed by a method used only by the Romans. The Roman authority knew that a person claiming to be the Jewish Messiah was the true king of the Jews and a direct challenge to their domination. Rav Kepha gave the true reason for Messiah’s death in Acts 5: 31, saying: “He is the one whom Elohim exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.” Reading this verse together with Hosea 13: 4 and Isaiah 45: 15 proves the deity of Messiah, as follows: (Hosea 13: 4) ‘Yet I have been YHVH your Elohim since the land of Egypt; and you were not to know any god except Me, for there is no savior besides Me.” (Isaiah 45: 15) “Truly, Thou art an Elohim who hides Himself, O Elohim of Israel, Savior!” Yahshua came to reconcile the house of Israel and the house of Judah to YHVH as the commonwealth of Israel to rebuild the tabernacle of David and to re-establish the kingdom of Elohim over Israel, when He returns to rule the world from Jerusalem.

 

Christianity clearly misunderstood the debates and disputes that Messiah had with the religious leaders of His day. Debates among rabbis even today can hardly be interpreted as a rejection of Torah. Messiah’s teachings did not differ on the observance of the weekly and annual Sabbaths or the keeping of Kashrut. Yahshua’s criticism of other Jews was nothing more than what one Jew might say to another, a practice that still exists today among Jews. The entire Renewed Covenant was in Christian captivity for the past two thousand years. The price we have paid is the depravation of the essential meaning of the message and mission of Yahshua the Messiah. The truth of the Renewed Covenant including the Gospels can only be revealed to those who are willing to interpret the written word through the Hebraic eyes of Yahshua and His early disciples. The negativity of the anti-Jewishness is only during the last ten years beginning to reverse itself, as there are teachers who are now wakingup to the Truth, and an uncontaminated method of examining the Renewed Covenant.  We need to understand that the Hebrew authors of the Renewed Covenant filtered everything they wrote through the corporate history of their people. The writers of the four Gospels portrayed Yahshua as a Jewish Messiah, that kept the whole Torah and all His teachings confirmed the same. There was never a Jew that fits the description of an antinomian anti-Torah ‘Christ’. It is as this teacher of mine taught: Know Torah and know Messiah or No Torah and no Messiah!

 

Over the past two weeks I have heard messages and visited webpages of believers from the house of Israel in both South Africa and the USA. What is extremely disconcerting to me is that there are so many differences and personal opinions amongst returning Israelites in particular about the timing of Elohim’s Feast Days. I usually publish a paper per week, but was so confused by what I heard and read that I could not do anything for all of last week. We need to understand that Satan is extremely busy sowing dissention/confusion among even those of us who are trying to serve and follow YHVH our Elohim. Once we learn that the Christian religion started by the Roman Church is Babylon and we come out from keeping their Sunday and so-called ‘holy days’ such as Xmas and Easter, and start keeping the Feast Days ordained by Elohim, Satan who is a master counterfeiter usually introduce us to Feast Days that even though they sound like Scriptural Feast Days ordained by Elohim, are just another counterfeit. Some immediately keep Feast Days like king Jeroboam of Israel did, which resulted in the house of Israel being scattered into the world, until today. Reading from first Kings 12: 32 we see that Jeroboam instituted a feast a month later than the Feast of Tabernacles kept by Judah in the seventh month.  This is similar to when Aaron declared a Feast Day to YHVH after making the golden calf for Israel to worship. We need to understand that Yahshua came to bring us back to the covenant relationship, we made together with the house of Judah on Mount Sinai, not to convert Jews to Christianity. Put differently, He came to bring the lost ten tribes back to the faith into which He was born, namely Judaism. But from listening to various teachers and visiting their webpages it is clear, the problem is anti-Semitism. People absolutely refuse to accept the house of Judah as (YHVH)’s Law giver even if there are more than 20 Scriptural witnesses in support of this fact.  Some of them insist that the Jews of today are not Jews at all. How ridiculous, Hitler knew who the Jews were that he killed and abused in Germany and recorded the names of virtually every one whom he destroyed in records that is even now available. Will people suffer such persecution and still admit that they are Jewish? Believe it or not, even I can prove that more than 3,000 people with my family names were killed during the holocaust.

 

I used to answer these anti-Semites in a fairly decent way – but I have had it with anti-Semitism, and wish to say  to them:‘keep your feast days whenever you want to’, but now and then read Malachi 2: 1 – 8 and feel justified in your arrogance! Or read Zechariah 12: 7 – 10 and realize that when Messiah returns on Yom Teruah, He will go to the house of Judah first whilst they are in their synagogues and when they accept Him as their Messiah and King, the dead in Messiah will be raised as Rav Shaul testified in Romans 11: 15. Will you and I be keeping Yom Teruah with them? Yahshua came to bring us back to the commonwealth of Israel as witnessed in Ephesians 2: 12. Realize for once, that the commonwealth of Israel consists of both the house of Judah and the house of Israel and without both there cannot be the Kingdom of YHVH over Israel! The covenants of promise spoken about in Ephesians 2: 12, are the covenants that YHVH made with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that they and their descendants will one day soon inherit the Promised Land eternally, when they are resurrected because they were given the Set-apart Spirit because of obedience, similar to the way those of us who are ‘far off’ obtain the Set-apart Spirit when we are immersed in Messiah’s saving name. Because the house of Israel have lost their language, and the faith of their fathers in the faith, they came to believe that the covenants were abolished in ‘Christ’ and as a result the false church has been keeping the bride (the commonwealth of Israel) away from the Groom, by teaching another gospel and that their followers go to heaven at death, instead of the good news of the coming Kingdom of Elohim over Israel and ultimately the Universe, when Messiah returns one day soon.

 

The words ‘far off’ used in verse 13 of Ephesians 2, is the same words we find in Acts 2, where Rav Kepha informs members of the house of Israel in verses 36 – 39, that we should only immerse returnees of the house of Israel and not Jews, but also only those whom YHVH has called and not everyone and his mother and father and children, unless they truly believe, as follows:‘Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that Elohim has made Him both Master and Messiah – this Yahshua whom you crucified. (37) Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (38) And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be immersed in the name of Yahshua Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Set-Apart Spirit. (39) For the promise  is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as YHVH our Elohim shall call to Himself.”’The words ‘far off’ was originally used by the prophet Daniel inhis prayer for both houses of Israel near the end of Judah’s captivity in Daniel 9: 7 saying: ‘Righteousness belongs to Thee, O YHVH, but to us open shame, as it is this day – to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which Thou hast driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against Three.’ The problem with those whom we immerse without understanding the seriousness of what is involved, is that they are prone to failure as explained by Rav Shaul in Hebrews 10: 26 - 27, saying: ‘For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, (27)but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES.’  But, why need we not immerse Jews who attend services in their synagogues regularly? Because, they already believe in YHVH and hold firm to the covenant that He made with them at Mount Sinai. It is as Yahshua told the Jews in John 10: 16 – 18, saying: ‘And I have other sheep which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they shall hear My voice; and they shall become one flock with one shepherd. (17)For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. (18)No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.’ He removed blame for His death from His people and was essentially authenticating their synagogue as being the place where He will ultimately bring back the lost sheep from the house of Israel, as was also done by Rav Yaa’cov in Acts 15: 21, as follows: ‘For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.’Rav Yaa’cov implied that these returning Israelites will eventually learn to obey all of Torah applicable to them, including the wearing of tzitzit, circumcision, the Sabbath and the Feast Days of Elohim as they attend Jewish synagogues (or ministries like ours) every Sabbath.

 

Many in our Nazarene faith believe that the Jews do not have the Set-Apart Spirit, but as we read from Acts 5: 32[2], YHVH gives the Set- Apart Spirit to those who obey Him. Jews have access to eternal life and must therefore have the Set- Apart Spirit, because they know what sin is due to Torah obedience and are able to return to YHVH when they disobey Him as witnessed in Ezekiel 18: 23: ‘Do I have pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares YHVH Elohim, rather than that he should turn from his ways and live(eternally)?’We from the lost Ten Tribes have to be immersed for the forgiveness of our past sins, because we have forgotten what sin is, before we receive the Set-Apart Spirit. It is only after we have been immersed and start obeying Torah that we like all Jews are able to return to YHVH in repentance (Teshuvah) every time we sin. The faith of Christianity and Messianic Judaism who believe that they have to Christianize the whole world including Judah are based on falsehood. Many returning Israelites hate the faith into which Yahshua was born and came to bring returning Israelites back into, and unless you and I from the lost Ten Tribes are prepared to join hands with Judah and allow them to teach us the Torah which they kept since they came out of Egypt, there can be no Commonwealth of Israel. Is this not why Messiah said in the second part of Luke 18: 8,‘(However), when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?’ Think about it.

 

[1]The footnote against the word Judea in the NASB reads: I.e. the country of the Jews for those who insist that Judea means another nation.

[2]Acts 5: 32,‘And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Set-Apart Spirit, whom Elohim has given to those who obey Him.’

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