Written by Daniel Prinsloo
There are similarities between what happened at Babel and what we see taking place all over the world and sadly within the body of Messiah also. Genesis 11:1 “Now the entire earth had the same language with the same vocabulary.” Genesis 11:4 “Then they said, “Come! Let’s build ourselves a city, with a tower whose top reaches into heaven. So let’s make a name for ourselves, or else we will be scattered over the face of the whole land.” Genesis 11:9 “This is why it is named Babel, because Adonai confused the languages of the entire world there, and from there Adonai scattered them over the face of the entire world.” As we grow in knowledge it is as if we’ve been united by a new “language” of knowledge, the internet. We seek within it all of the answers to explain our existence and to explain God and His Word therefor opening a doorway for pride to enter into our lives. We become so distracted and confused as we share information that it is “scattering” us, each in his own direction as every person is seeking his own way in the sea of information and gaining knowledge for prideful pursuits. Brothers and Sisters argue over trivial matters that only add to the confusion. That is what the adversary wants, to sow confusion and in such a way create division and discord. This is extremely evident within the Messianic and Torah communities. What is supposed to unite us is becoming a divider because we have allowed our focus to be removed from He who brought us together, Yeshua/Jesus. All the while we as believers are missing the mark that Torah is pointing to and that is to walk in the humility and love of Yeshua/Jesus and upholding His Word and His instructions out of love, not pride. All of Torah was given by God for His children and for us to walk in love and obedience to Him and to always point to His holiness. To walk in Torah is to deny self and to glorify God. Without the love of God within us our knowledge means nothing. We are nothing before His splendor, magnitude and sovereignty. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all that I own and if I hand over my body so I might boast but have not love, I gain nothing.” We become the very thing we were disillusioned by, institutionalized religion and following a set of man made instructions, customs and traditions instead of being focused on walking in the Way of Yeshua and following His Torah. Believers get caught up in trying to know and understand something in a “new” or an “inspired” way more than the next person as the entrapment of self-knowledge becomes attractive and everyone is seeking for a “divine revelation” from the Holy Spirit when all the answers are given plainly and clearly in God’s Word. Pursuits to obtain “spiritual gifts” that aren’t aligned with the Bible leads to deception. The enemy wants this as he knows his time is short and the hour is very late in an ever darkening world. The author of Hebrews describes it best in what we should pursue, Hebrews 12:14-17 “Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble! And make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame will not be pulled out of joint but rather be healed. Pursue shalom with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; and see to it that no bitter root springs up and causes trouble, and by it many be defiled. Also see to it that there is no immoral or godless person—like Esau, who sold his birthright for one meal. For you know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. He found no chance for repentance, though he begged for it with tears.” Return to the truth and the heart of God’s Word. It’s all about glorifying Him and His Word is a blessing that yields no burdens. In the pursuit of knowledge and being united under one “language” we are becoming “scattered” and disillusioned. We are getting to a point where our pride is creating a world where nobody understands one other and we should be asking ourselves why this is happening. Have we allowed our pride to become more important than God’s Word and what Yeshua/Jesus came to proclaim? Have we become loveless in the pursuit of “wisdom”? Have we become as the people of Babel in trying to “reach the heavens” with our limited knowledge and understanding chasing after the next “divine revelation”, obtaining a new “spiritual gift” or understanding Torah in a “new” way. We all have the responsibility to study and seek truth, but we have to do so with humility and not in any way glorifying ourselves. All teaching and sharing of Scripture should be done with focus on glorifying God in love, truth and in humility. When you stand before God, you cannot say, "But I was told by others to do thus or follow that." Or that, "Virtue was not convenient at the time." This will not be acceptable. Remember that you have a responsibility that only you have in your faith walk. It doesn’t matter what we or others think is right, what matters is what God determined to be right from the very beginning of His glorious creation. Regard the words of acclaimed Christian authors regarding pride: § “Pride will always be the longest distance between two people.” § “For pride is spiritual cancer: it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” § “Pride must die in you, or nothing of heaven can live in you.” § “Pride is concerned with who is right. Humility is concerned with what is right.” Think on these things and ask to be lead in prayer as we live humbly in service to our King, Yeshua HaMasiach/Jesus Christ. 1 John 2:3-6 “Now we know that we have come to know Him by this—if we keep His commandments. The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God is truly made perfect. We know that we are in Him by this-- whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.” Shalom to everyone! Daniel “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?” - 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5 Paul wrote this epistle to the church in Thessalonica to correct them in an error in thinking. They mistakenly believed the return of Yeshua (Jesus) was extremely close to being fulfilled and that it may have even already happened. One factor leading to this misconception is the infiltration of false teachers into the church. Paul rebukes the Thessalonians for allowing these teachers to lead them astray. Paul instructs the church in the signs that will lead up the actual return of Messiah. He tells the church that there must first be a falling away before the return of Yeshua. I must admit that I have read this passage many times, but for some reason it resonated within my spirit more vibrantly this day. I was led to hear something that I had previously overlooked. It seems that most of the time I look at this passage, the focus of my attention centers on the revealing of the son of perdition. This is probably due to the dramatic nature of this subject. We all want to know who the bad guy is and how we can stand against him. It is only human nature to want to know our enemy in an effort to prepare for the battle ahead. We can also feel within ourselves that time must be drawing to a close, therefore we seek to inform ourselves of the tribulation that is written of in Scripture. While these things will come, we are not to have a spirit of fear but one of victory because we serve a Righteous King (Deut. 20:4; John 16:33)! Our Lord fights for us and He has overcome, already, all things that come against those who are His! The truth that jumped out at me as I read this passage was the falling away of the church. More accurately my attention fell to verse three, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.” The return of our Messiah will come and this son of perdition will be revealed, only when a falling away takes place within the church. Paul clearly states that Yeshua will not come until there is apostasy. The word apostasy come from the Greek ἀποστασία (G646). This word means a falling away, to forsake or a defection from truth. We can extend this meaning in view of Scripture as a turning away from truth. Paul instructs the church in Thessalonica, and us, that before the revealing of this anti-christ figure and before the ultimate return of our Messiah, there will be an effort to set aside or forsake the truth of the Word of our Father. Until this unfortunate rejection of His Word takes place, the Messiah will not return. The falling away also opens the door for the son of perdition as written in 2 Thessalonians 2:3. The term perdition carries the connotation of being given over to utter destruction, eternal damnation and to be made obsolete. Those who reject the salvation offered to us by the shed blood of Messiah, bear the weight of perdition. They will be given over to the sinful lusts of their hearts and condemned to hell. The son of perdition will be the one who will exalt himself above God. he will sit in the temple of God and shew himself to be God (2 Thess 2:4). he will follow the footsteps of his father the devil as did this abomination declare that he will ascend above the throne of the Most High God (Isaiah 14). The son of perdition will be the physical embodiment of the pride of mankind, the antichrist. he is and will be heir to damnation. The son of perdition will be revealed and the Messiah will return when the church becomes apostate, giving up the truth for the convenience of compromise. The prophet Zechariah warns of a time when the world will appear to be at peace (Zechariah 1). It is during this time that the Lord will find the people at ease, though the world breaks under the weight of sin. The Lord is provoked to anger because the people add to, they added to the disaster about to befall the earth because of the lack of fear of the Lord. The church will fall away. But what exactly will the church fall away from? In the book of Acts chapter 21, we find a cause which contributes to the fall. In this chapter, Paul returns to Jerusalem to meet with the Elders of the Jerusalem church. Paul returns to meet with the Elders to discuss the inclusion of Gentiles into the faith alongside Jewish believers. Paul related to those at this council of Elders all of the great things the Lord has been doing throughout His missionary journeys (Acts 21:19). Paul gives glory to the Father for the many Gentile’s living in pagan nations who have come to know salvation. The council then relates to Paul the reality of the “thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law. (Acts 21:20).” The power of the Gospel was opening the eyes of both Jew and Gentile toward the Saving Grace of Messiah. In verse 21, we see in the Greek the same use of the word apostasy ἀποστασία (G646). The writer of the book of Acts (Luke) uses this term to denote the rejection of the Mosaic Law by some of the Jews who accepted Messiah as their Savior. Luke writes that there are Jews who are falling away, becoming apostate, from the Law of the Most High. They are turning from the fullness of truth and rejecting their customs. Now, there is a lot to be said about what is happening in this short group of verses. It would take an extensive exposition to work through all of the intricacies that are being spoken of in this context. I do not wish to gloss over the weight of what is being stated in verse 21, but to truly develop all that is going on would be beyond the scope of this writing. The point that I am trying to make in this writing is the connection of the word ἀποστασία (G646), apostasy, in both 2 Thessalonians and in the book of Acts. I am trying to draw a theological parallel in the use of the word apostasy. There is a greater truth that is being revealed, and this truth relates to us this very day. Therefore, we will zero in on only the spiritual connotations connected to the word apostasy and its impact on the contemporary church. To reiterate, Luke points out that the Jewish believers in Messiah were forsaking the Law of the Most High. In the original Greek the word that is translated as forsake in English, is the word ἀποστασία (G646), apostasy (Acts 21:21). Luke uses this word to describe the softening of the standard of faith of those Jews who were living among the Gentiles. They were allowing the culture to draw them away from the ordinances that distinguished them as set apart. They were becoming apostate to the things that defined their faith. They were forsaking their covenant with the Father. This is where we could enter into the debate of keeping the Law and its relevance to contemporary believers. But again, delving into this debate would divert our attention from the weight of the matter set before us concerning apostasy. Thus, I will again refocus the attention of the reader on the matter at hand in an effort to draw out the urgency falling upon the modern church. The shadow of apostasy bites at our heels; the falling away of the church looms in wait for those who give up the fight. To gather a more rich understanding of the term ἀποστασία (G646), we will look a little deeper at this word as it is used in other places in Scripture. In the Gospel of Matthew, the male counterpart of the word apostasy is used. Like many languages, Greek words carry grammatical gender determined by contextual use. In the following verses Matthew recounts the teaching of Yeshua regarding marriage. Matthew writes, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.” They said to Him, “Why then did Moses command to give her a certificate of divorce and send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses permitted you to divorce your wives; but from the beginning it has not been this way. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery (Matthew 19:4-9 NASB).” The word Matthew uses for our word divorce is ἀποστάσιον (G647). This word is a male counterpart to the word apostasy used in 2 Thessalonians and Acts. Both of these words translated apostasy come from the root word ἀφίστημι (G868). This word means to remove, revolt, desist, depart or fall away. The picture we are to gather from the use of the word apostasy is one of an active drawing away or rejection. This is not a passive fall into ignorance, but an intentional choice to revolt. In the context of the verses in Matthew, Yeshua is teaching that because of the hardness of the hearts, Moses made provisions for divorce ἀποστάσιον. This provision of divorce was allowed because of an intentional decision on the part of the one seeking the divorce. Behaviors and attitudes that were allowed to fester within the hearts of those seeking divorce enveloped the individual leading them to revolt against what was once love. The certificate of divorce was a result of the rejection of fellowship with another. In the synoptic Gospel of Mark, the same word is used in this account of Jesus teaching on divorce. Mark 10: 2-5 reads: “Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command you?” They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.” But Jesus said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment.” In Mark’s account he adds that because of the hardness of the heart, the certificate of divorce allowed a husband to “send her away.” The sending away does not connote a passive action, but a determined effort to be rid of something that no longer holds a place of honor. The commitment to grow in love for one another by entering into the marriage covenant was extinguished and replaced with stubborn revolt as the heart tuned to stone. Both the Gospels of Matthew and Mark use the word apostasy in the context of a discussion of divorce. And in both examples, it is implied that there were purposed actions taken leading up to the divorce. The husband allowed his heart to become hard toward his wife which resulted in the falling away, apostacy of the marriage. We can therefore gather that the Father sees the pursuit of divorce as active permission to allow the heart to turn to stone. In the First Testament, our Almighty Father laments over His people who have turned away from Him. The Most High speaks through the prophet Jeremiah saying: “Then the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord (Jeremiah 3:6-10 NASB).” The Northern Kingdom of Israel turned from the Father and allowed the people to practice idolatry. The Father sees this as harlotry because the people gave their heart over to the false gods of stone and wood. God then declares that He would divorce this people because of the harlotry they committed against Him. He gives them over to their lusts which ultimately brings about their destruction at the hands of the Assyrian Empire (2 Kings 17). God allowed this to happen because the people of the Northern Kingdom refused to repent of their sins and turn back to Him. The Father also allowed this to happen to serve as an example to the Southern Kingdom of Judah. They too dabbled in idolatry. The Father allowed the Assyrians to overthrow Israel in the hope that the Kingdom of Judah would realize their sins. But, unfortunately as written by Jeremiah, the Kingdom of Judah saw the actions of the Northern Kingdom and they did not fear the Lord. The Kingdom of Judah also turned to harlotry against the Most High. In the Hebrew the סֵפֶר (H5608) cepher of כְּרִיתוּת (H3748) of divorce was issued by the Father because of the hardness of their hearts. The people who were called out, set apart by the Most High God rejected Him as their God and they turned to inanimate objects. They were thus, given over to the deceptions of sin and they eventually were bound in exile. The apostasy, the falling away, comes when we do not remember. In both Matthew and Mark, Yeshua tells us of the husbands who did not remember the covenant of marriage they entered into with their wives. Jeremiah speaks of the people of God not remembering their deliverance by His grace from slavery in Egypt. They turned to the lusts of the flesh and fornicated with the fallen gods that bring death. In the book of Acts, the falling away, the apostacy, became a rejection of a standard of conduct that set the people apart from other pagan peoples. Some Jews turning to Messiah, forgot who they were, and they gave up their heritage. Yeshua did not come to replace the heritage of the Hebrew people, He came to graft them back into the cultivated olive tree (Romans 11). The Father, in Messiah, was offering them an opportunity to remember the covenant He declared over them when He promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations (Genesis 17:4). It is a covenant that is written on the hearts of mankind (Jeremiah 31:31-14). This is an everlasting covenant of life for all people who call upon the true Name of Salvation. The Most High God did not replace, He restored. All who come to Him in humility will also be grafted into the Kingdom of the Most High. Unfortunately, we see in the book of 2 Thessalonians that the apostasy, the falling away, will return. The perpetual divorce will unleash havoc yet again. This will be the final, great divorce that allows the son of perdition to boast in his pride. But, this final apostasy will also be the catalyst that brings forth the return of our KING! This apostasy will come when the church revolts against the instructions of the Father. The heart of the church will be hardened to the things of God and the church will forget the covenant that was written to restore the heritage of the people of the Most High. The Complete Jewish Bible offers an insightful translation of this great falling away: “But in connection with the coming of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and our gathering together to meet him, we ask you, brothers, not to be easily shaken in your thinking or anxious because of a spirit or a spoken message or a letter supposedly from us claiming that the Day of the Lord has already come. Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For the Day will not come until after the Apostasy has come and the man who separates himself from Torah has been revealed, the one destined for doom. He will oppose himself to everything that people call a god or make an object of worship; he will put himself above them all, so that he will sit in the Temple of God and proclaim that he himself is God. Don’t you remember that when I was still with you, I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is restraining, so that he may be revealed in his own time. For already this separating from Torah is at work secretly, but it will be secretly only until he who is restraining is out of the way. Then the one who embodies separation from Torah will be revealed, the one whom the Lord Yeshua will slay with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the glory of his coming. When this man who avoids Torah comes, the Adversary will give him the power to work all kinds of false miracles, signs and wonders. He will enable him to deceive, in all kinds of wicked ways, those who are headed for destruction because they would not receive the love of the truth that could have saved them. This is why God is causing them to go astray, so that they will believe the Lie. The result will be that all who have not believed the truth, but have taken their pleasure in wickedness, will be condemned (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 CJB).” The son of perdition, the man of lawlessness will set himself up against Torah. He will set himself up as a god and draw others away, to become apostate to the Torah of the Most High. In place of the instructions of the Father, this son of perdition will cause people to be given over to believing in a LIE. The word translated from the Greek meaning lie is ψεῦδος (pseudos G5574). This word means to tell a lie but more accurately this word brings forth the connotation of intentionally creating a falsehood. Again, there will be determined effort to divorce the truth of God’s Word from the heart of humankind. Those of faith will actively turn away from the instructions of the Almighty. The apostasy in the church will not come by accident, it will be voluntary. As Paul tells us in the passage above, because people turned from the truth of the Father, they were given over to the power of the LIE. The people rejected the love of the Father resulting in the hardening of the heart toward the things of His Kingdom. They embraced wickedness falling under the influence of the lawless one. What does it mean then to turn from “the love of the truth that could have saved them (2 Thessalonians 2:10).” In the context of Paul’s epistle, the source of the truth is found in God’s instructions. From the passage above in the CJB translation the word Torah is used to determine the truth. In other translations this word Torah, is sometimes translated simply as the word law. Paul warns us that in the end there will be a time when the people refuse to hear the Father’s Torah/Law. In other words, the son of perdition will be revealed when the people will no longer hear the instructions of the Father. The standard of truth comes from the Father’s instructions, not our own. To discuss submission to the Father’s Torah or law, often causes many to be uncomfortable. We are saved by grace through faith because of the shed blood of our Savior (Ephesians 2:8-9). Our salvation comes not of our own works but by a precious gift of God. We can never speak against this gift or attempt to gain salvation through our own works. The Gospel of Salvation through the death, resurrection and return of our Messiah is our only hope. Yeshua (Jesus) is divine and He eternally upholds our Salvation by the strength of His hand (John 10:28-30). Yet, while we wait for His return, we must seek to glorify Him through our witness (Acts 1:8). We are to be a Kingdom of Priests representing His Name (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). We do not function under a democracy, but a theocracy whose authority flows only from the Almighty throne of the Living God (2 Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11- 15). We must seek to be in compliance with His Kingdom because we will stand before Him. To truly understand the true implications of Torah, and in an attempt to remove the negative reverberations of suggesting that believers are still subject to the instruction of the Father, through His Word, we have to examine the word Torah in the Hebrew. In doing so, we will see that the instructions of the Father are not meant to be oppressive. He gave us His Torah, as a means to bring light to the path. In Hebrew the word Torah is spelled תּוֹרָה (towrah H8451). Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines this word as: instruction, doctrine, law. The initial meaning of this word is one of a Father’s instruction to His children. The Lord gives us His Torah as a way of communicating His intent for our lives. In early Greek translations of the Bible, the word Torah has been relegated to simply meaning law, regardless of the context. This simplified translation carried over into modern translations. The point I am making is in the fact that giving a blanket definition of the word Torah as just meaning the law disregards the context in which the word is being used. In some cases, the word may connote the Father’s instructions (Exodus 13: 9; Romans 7:12). Sometimes the word may be referring to the Ten Commandments (Exodus 24:12). At other times the word law may be referencing the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2). In Romans 8:2, the term “law of sin and death” is used in reference to the penalty of death born in the sin of Adam (Genesis 3:17). We are all partakers of this sin (Psalm 51:5; Romans 5:12). Because the word Torah is often simply translated as law, it is then imperative that when interpreting a text, the entirety of that text is taken into account to avoid misunderstandings. The Father never intended His instructions to be taken as a burden (1 John 5:3). In order to draw an even deeper meaning from the word Torah, it is essential to look at the individual Hebrew letters that make up the word itself. Hebrew is a pictorial language. Hebrew words obviously carry contextual meaning, but additionally the letters themselves carry imagery that adds to interpretive meaning. The word Torah is spelled, from right to left, תּוֹרָה (Tav, Vav, Resh, Hey). Each letter again carrying its own pictography. The letter תּ, translated our letter T, carries the imagery of a mark, sign or a monument. The letter ו, our letter V or sometimes W, means nail, or hook. The letter ר, our letter R, is seen as the head of a man. Finally, the letter ה, connotes breath often symbolizing the breath of God. The letter Hey also symbolizes a window. It is through a window that something is revealed or light is allowed to be cast upon the darkness. The meaning that we can then draw out of the pictograph is the Torah is meant to be a mark, hooked upon the head of the children of God imparting upon them His breath/presence. His instructions are a sign of His covenant with His children. His Word is meant to be a sign of those who are called out to be His. But there is more. Most Hebrew words are derived using three letters. Additional letters are added to these root words to alter tense, gender or to fulfil other grammatic necessities. The root word from which the word Torah is derived is the Hebrew word יָרָה (yarah H3384). According to Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon the word yarah means: to cast, to lay foundations, to sprinkle with water, or to shoot arrows. We can see then that the root of the Torah, God’s instructions, is built upon His desire to direct our path by establishing a firm foundation built upon His Word. Yarah, to cast understanding like the sprinkling of water upon the head. The Father instructs us to be guided according to His truth so that we can hit the mark. Looking at the pictograph of the word Yarah, we find additional meaning. I have already discussed the letters ר (resh) and ה (hey). The Hebrew spelling of yarah incorporates these letters with the additional letter י, (yod). This is the same letter Yeshua references in Matthew 5: 18 as He taught on the signs of the end. The letter י (yod), in pictographic imagery means hand. We can the extrapolate from the word יָרָה (yarah), that the hand of the Father rests upon our head/mind/thoughts, to bring us into accord with His Spirit. The Father directs us by His Spirit into the process of sanctification. Obviously, the pictographic interpretations cannot be placed on the same level as Scripture. The symbolic meaning of the Hebrew letters are merely a poetic metaphor hidden within the language of the Father as He expresses His love for His children. I gathered much of the information regarding the pictographic imagery from a book titled “The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet,” written by Rabbi Michael L. Munk. 1 There are many more resources that discuss the topic of Hebrew pictographic letters. 2 The pictorial metaphors discussed above reveal that the Father desires for us to be sanctified by His Word. We can clearly see in Scripture the necessity to allow the Holy Spirit of the Father to lead us through the process of sanctification. When we step into the doorway of Salvation in our Messiah, Jesus, we are to continue to allow the Spirit of the Holy God to wash over us, maturing us as we walk according to our faith. There are many verses of Scripture that describe the process of sanctification. The prophet Isaiah: “Then His people remembered the days of old, of Moses. Where is He who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit in the midst of them, 12 Who caused His glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, Who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting name, 13 Who led them through the depths? Like the horse in the wilderness, they did not stumble; 14 As the cattle which go down into the valley, The Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So You led Your people, To make for Yourself a glorious name (Isaiah 63:11-14 NASB).” The Spirit of the Lord is in the midst of the people of God. His Holy Spirit both guides and brings peace to the people. The Spirit of God makes a path for His people to find safe passage. 1 Munk, Michael L. [Rabbi] The Wisdom of the Hebrew Alphabet (Mesorah Publications, Brooklyn, NY: 1983). 2 Additional internet resources for Hebraic word studies can be found at: biblicalhebrew.com; elshaddaiministries.us John the Revelator writes: “ 13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come (John 16:13 NASB).” The prophet John reveals to us that the Holy Spirit brings to us truth. The work of the Spirit of the Almighty is to draw us closer in fellowship with the Father as the Spirit speaks only of the things given by the Father. The Apostle Paul in the book of Romans writes: “12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him (Romans 8:12-17 NASB).” The process of sanctification convicts us of sins committed in the flesh and His Spirit empowers us to turn from the slavery of sin to freedom in Salvation. It is under sin that we are condemned by the law of sin and death. But upon receiving the Word of Life, we inherit a Spirit of adoption as children of the Living God. And finally, the psalmist and once king of God’s Holy City, David writes: “7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. 9 Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You (Psalm 51:7-13 NASB).” It is the work and will of our Father that we are purified unto joy and gladness. It is His will that our brokenness is restored and we are yet again made whole. It is by His Spirit that we are sustained in this process of sanctification to bring glory to the Father as we walk out our faith as a witness to those who are lost. When we enter into a covenant relationship with Messiah, we enter the process of sanctification. We are to allow Him to lead us according to His ways, we are to die to self, allow the presence of Messiah to live and work through us. Yet, we find that in our “modern” iteration of faith, this definition of sanctification has become quite blurry. I started this writing talking about the coming apostasy; it is in the denial of repentance unto sanctification that we find the origin of the falling away. The horror of apostasy lurks in the rejection of the authority of the Father to draw us along the path of faith which leads to a closer walk with Him. The apostasy is the divorce of sanctification. We revolt against the instructions of God. We reject His truth as a standard of faith. We reject His Word as our heritage. We replace a heritage of eternal salvation as brothers and sisters in Messiah for a heritage of conformity to the whims of cultural relevance. “You have conceived chaff, you will give birth to stubble; My breath will consume you like a fire (Isaiah 33:11 NASB).” Oh, how we have conceived chaff and sown discord among the saints. How we have built a house as straw which is unable to withstand even the slightest breeze of tribulation. Like a house of cards crumbling under the weight of a pebble, His church gives itself over to the burden of the voices of conformity. It is not my intent in this writing to present an exhaustive list of vices within the church. This list would be far too long to generate. I am also not attempting to discredit the faith of anyone. The Lord knows your heart. He knows those faithful followers who truly reciprocate His love and devotion. Nor am I placing myself upon some self-righteous altar, I am but a sinner saved by faith through the blessed determination of a humble King. This is our hope and He is the judge. But I do not think it is difficult to look out upon the landscape of the modern church and notice the decay of what was once beautiful. Many churches are bowing to the pressure of the secular culture. Many churches are embracing sin as a viable lifestyle regardless of the Biblical mandate. The curse of sin is death and the stench of death permeates the minds of some in the modern church. The church was never and will never be perfect. The church is made up of people, thus the church inherits our faults. Yet there was a time when repentance of sin was preached. There was a time when the Word of God was held up as the standard of conduct not only within the church but within the culture. There was a time when we beheld the Holy Name of the Father in Awe and Reverence. “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men. 2 They speak idly everyone with his neighbor; With flattering lips and a double heart they speak (Psalm 12:1-2 NKJV).” Do we bear the Holy Name of the Almighty God in vain? Do we speak words of affection from our lips but harbor deceit in the depths of our heart? Do we cling to both the blessing and the curse satiating our desires of the flesh, pious in proclamations but egotistical in actions? Are we a reflection of His immaculate light to a world plagued by darkness? There is only One Lord and One faith; only One who loves us to the fullness of love. He tasted death in our place, taking upon Himself the wrath directed toward sin. There is no reconciliation between death and life. Choose therefore LIFE! Turn back to God. Return to the purity of His instructions. For many have divorced themselves from their first love (Revelation 2:4). Many have given up the determination to remain set apart and holy as He is Holy (Leviticus 11:45). He has delivered us from the slavery of sin, bringing us into the inheritance of His grace. Like Abraham, we are called out of darkness to walk in His Holy Light. Like Israel, we are delivered from bondage and reborn into Promise. Let us not fall away. Let us not become apostate, giving up our heritage in Salvation for a heritage of separation. For this is the perpetual divorce. The pattern that it too often played out is this: grace is expressed by God. Grace is received by those who are lost. The source of the grace is forgotten and trodden under the feet of those whom the Father expressed His grace to lift up. The unfortunate divorce repeated in the pages of our Bible as the people of God continually fall away. We also see in the words of Scripture the veracity of the Father as He pursued His people. He sent prophets and priests, teachers and kings. Ultimately, He came as Jesus, God in the flesh to bring the eternal message of Salvation, yet the people divorced themselves from their heritage. The Bible tells us, though we know God, we do not honor Him or give thanks for the blessings poured out by Him. In futility, the wise are made to be fools (Romans 1:21-22). We become fools in the falling away of our heritage as the people of the Almighty God. We are wise in our own deceit and disrespectful irreverence of the Holiness of The Most High God. I began this writing by quoting Paul in his letters to Thessalonica. Paul warns the church of this great apostasy. He warns of a day when the church will reject the revelation of Salvation and divorce themselves from foundational truth in the Word. The term apostasy is one that is somewhat abstract to our modern ears. We read of the apostasy of the church. We speculate as to when this great falling away will occur. We peer off into the horizon waiting for this terrible day to dawn. My friends, I tell you, this day has already come. The apostasy written about in Scripture darkens the doors of the church this very day. “ 9 The coming of the lawless one is connected to the activity of satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with every kind of wicked deception toward those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God sends them a delusional force, to lead them to believe what is false, 12 so that they may be judged—all those who did not believe the truth but delighted in wickedness (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 TLV).” A strong delusion is washing over the people who once knew God, but have slowly been turning away from His Word. The modern church is adopting the patterns of Israel in the mistake of rejecting the Word of the Lord as the only foundation for doctrine. The walls that once stood as a fortification for the church are again being eroded by the corruption of the culture. They are crumbling under the weight of this great apostasy. This letter that I am writing is not meant to be a discouragement, though it bears a somber message. This letter is meant to be a call to action. It is a call to take back our faith from the one, our enemy, who strives to strip us of our heritage. We are the children of God, and we are purchased by the precious blood of our Messiah. Let us not forget who fights for us. Let us not forget that we serve an Almighty, Omnipotent KING! Therefore, do not lose faith. Do not lose heart even as the day draws dark. Cling to your hope in He who was and is and is to come (Revelation 1:8). Be ever watchful and determined to preserve the heritage of God. “ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:14 NIV).” Rest in His peace. He is our God. He fights for those who are determined to be faithful. Do not be distraught, but confident in the Eternal Covenant of Love poured out for those who will receive. Blog Post Courtesy of Philia Contributor Corby Shuey @ Becoming Bereans Ministry
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AuthorLea from James and Lea D chats all about life as a wife in pursuance of the Father's heart. Follow my faith walk journey and all that it involves. Faith, family, food, and fellowship. Come, relax, and have some tea with Lea. Shalom & Blessings! Archives
October 2019
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