We also have the Apostle Paul’s witness; Col.1:18 – “that in all things he might have the preeminence.” Yahshua had to be the firstborn from the dead; the first to be resurrected unto eternal life; the first to ascend into heaven and stand before Yahweh. If anyone preceeded him then he wasn’t the firstborn from the dead. Since some people believe Enoch and Eliyah did not die, but that Moses did die, then that would mean Moses had the preeminence over Messiah.

In light of these two powerful verses, Jn.3:13 and Col.1:18, how can we explain what happened to Enoch, Eliyah and Moses? Let’s begin with Moses;

Duet.34:5,6 – There cannot be any doubt that Moses died and was buried. Therefore, for him to be in heaven, he had to be resurrected from the dead. According to I Cor.15:52 that will not occur until the last trumpet sounds.

What about Michael and Satan disputing about Moses’ body? Jude 9 does not say Michael won the dispute and then took Moses to heaven. Since there is no mention of heaven here we should not assume he was taken there.

Mt.17:1-9 – Notice verse 9 says, “Tell the vision to no man.” a vision is not reality. The same Greek word for “vision” was used of Peter’s vision of the abominations on the cloth in Acts 10:17. They were not real but a supernatural picture. In the case of the transfiguration it was a prophetic vision which would take place in the distant future.

Mt.16:28 – This was quoted by Yahshua six days before the transfiguration. He was speaking to the disciples, but what did he mean? Surely he didn’t mean they would live for almost 2,000 years until his coming at the last trumpet. Those that would not “taste of death” were Peter, James and John who saw the Son of Man glorified in the Kingdom through a prophetic vision.

Heb.11:23-28 – These verses talk about Moses living by faith. Verses 39,40 – Moses did not receive the promise of a resurrection unto eternal life and perfection.
What about Eliyah? We have already seen that the transfiguration was a prophetic vision which does not prove that he was in heaven.

Heb.11:32 – Here we read about the prophets who lived by faith and died without receiving the promise. Eliyah was surely one of those prophets. But to be certain let’s look at what happened to him in 2 Kgs.2:1,11 .

If Yahshua the Messiah said “no man has ascended to heaven,” then what heaven are these scriptures talking about? The Bible mentions three heavens. The first heaven is Earth’s atmosphere where birds fly (Gen.1:20); The second heaven is outer space where the planets and stars exist (Gen.1:16,17); The third heaven is what the Apostle Paul calls “paradise” in II Cor.12:2-4. It is where Yahweh and the heavenly sanctuary exist.

Eliyah was caught up to the first heaven where birds fly and was transported to another location on Earth. Notice vss. 15 & 16; the sons of the prophets, who knew Eliyah would be taken away (vss. 3,5), believed that Eliyah was taken to another location. They didn’t think he went to the third heaven.

A similar incident to Eliyah’s took place in Acts 8:39,40 – Phillip was caught up into the first heaven, as Eliyah was, and was transported to another location approximately 3o miles away. Eliyah may not have been found because he was transported further away than the fifty men searched (vs. 17).

Proof that Eliyah did not die, but was transported, is found in II Chr.21:12-15 . From the wording of this letter it is clear that Eliyah wrote it after the events occurred for he speaks of them as past events, and of the disease as a future event.

This letter was written by Eliyah more than four years after his being taken up to the first heaven (see attached chronology). The Bible does not reveal how much longer Eliyah lived after writing the letter but it does say in Heb.9:27 that it is appointed unto men to die once.

Heb.9:27 would also include Enoch among the dead. Based on that verse and Yahshua’s statement in Jn.3:13, “no man has ascended to heaven”, how are we to understand the account of Enoch?

Gen.5:21-24 – These verses do not tell us much except that Enoch’s days, alive on Earth, ended at 365 years old. The question is, did he die, was he taken to heaven alive, or was he transported to another location on Earth as Eliyah was?

Consider Ps.37:35,36 and Ps.39:12,13;

“I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was not: yea, I sought him, but he could not be found.”

“Hear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were. O spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go hence, and be no more.”

The Hebrew for the phrases in bold is the same Hebrew as Gen.5:24; “And Enoch walked with Elohim: and he was not; for Elohim took him.” As in the Psalms, the phrase means the person “passed away” or would eventually die. Consider also Gen.42:13 and Gen.44:20;

“And they said, Thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and, behold, the youngest is this day with our father, and one is not.” This was spoken of Joseph by his brothers. What did they mean by “is not”?

“And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, and a child of his old age, a little one; and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father loveth him.” Here the brothers recount their previous discussion about Joseph with Pharoah. When they first said, “and one is not,” they meant Joseph “is dead.” Finally, consider Mt.2:18;

“In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.” Where are Rachel’s children? Dead.

Heb.11:5 – Does the phrase “should not see death” mean Enoch never died? Let’s read the first three words of Heb 11:4,5,7,8,11 and 13 . Everyone mentioned in the previous verses died including Enoch. But not only that, verse 13 goes on to say that they did not receive the promises. One of the promises was a heavenly country (vs. 16). If Enoch were in heaven, wouldn’t he have received that promise? The fact is, Enoch is not in heaven but is dead in the grave awaiting his resurrection along with every other saint.

Ps.89:47,48 – Why would the Psalmist ask such a question concerning physical death if he believed Enoch did not see a physical death? The fact is, the Psalmist believed Enoch was in the grave and therefore asked the question.

So what does the phrase “should not see death” mean? In Lu. 2:25-29 we see that phrase to mean that Simeon would not die a physical death or what is known as “the first death.” Without any further Bible study we would be led to believe Enoch never died and is still alive in heaven. But let’s look at Jn.8:51 . Here the phrase “shall never see death” must mean “the second death” since all the Apostles, including Paul, kept Yahshua’s sayings and yet died the first death.

Now we must decide whether the phrase “should not see death”, as it applies to Enoch, means the first or second death. Based on Heb.9:27 and Heb.11:13 we must conclude that he died the first death prematurely so that he should not see the second death. To believe Enoch did not die is to deny the plain word of many other scriptures as well. For example, Rom.5:12,14 says all men die because all have sinned. Are we to believe that Enoch did not sin or that the curse for sinning did not apply to him? Are we to believe that a man who was not yet cleansed of sin by the blood of Messiah could enter heaven and dwell in Yahweh’s presence?

Heb.11:5 – If Enoch did not die and was not taken to heaven then where was he translated to and what does “translation” mean? According to Strong’s, Thayer’s and Bullinger’s Greek Lexicons, “translate” means “to put or place in another place, to transport, to transfer.” The same Greek word was used in Acts 7:16 where Jacob’s body was “translated” or “carried over” to Sychem to be buried. Yahweh took Enoch and buried him somewhere so as not to be found just as he did with the body of Moses in Deut.34:6. Moses’ body was never found and neither was Enoch’s because Yahweh hid them for reasons known only to Him.

I Cor.15:20-23 – All die and all shall be resurrected, but Messiah must be first in the order. Enoch could not possibly precede him, especially if he were still flesh and blood as it says in verses 49-52. To be able to dwell in heaven we must be changed from a flesh and blood natural body to a spiritual heavenly body. That change does not take place until the last trumpet.

In conclusion, let’s turn to Jn.3:13 . Are we going to believe Yahshua based on the evidence just presented or are we going to hold onto a false doctrine? The choice is yours.

Chronology of Eliyah’s Translation and Letter

B.C.E …………Judah………………………………. Israel

821…………………………………………………………. 1 Ahab (IKgs 16:29,30)
820 ………………………………………………………….2
819 ………………………………………………………….3
818 …………..1 Jehosaphat (IKgs 22:41,42) …4
817………….. 2 ………………………………………….5
816 …………..3 ………………………………………….6
815 …………..4 ………………………………………….7
814 …………..5 ………………………………………….8
813 …………..6 ………………………………………….9
812 …………..7 …………………………………………10
811 …………..8 …………………………………………11
810 …………..9 …………………………………………12
809 ………….10 ………………………………………..13
808 ………….11 ………………………………………..14
807 ………….12 ………………………………………..15
806 ………….13 ………………………………………..16
805 ………….14 ………………………………………..17
804 ………….15 ………………………………………..18
803 ………….16 ………………………………………..19
802 ………….17 Jehoram-Jehosaphat ………….20….1 …….Ahaziah (IKgs 22:51)
801 ………….18 co-regency begins …………….21 …2…1 Jehoram (2Kgs 1:17;3:1)
800 ………….19 ……………………………………….22 ……..2 Eliyah (2Kgs 2:1-18)
799 ………….20 …………………………………………………….3 Alliance (2Kgs 3:5-7)
798 ………….21 …………………………………………………….4 Elisha (2Kgs 3:10-12)
797 ………….22 ….1 Jehoram’s reign ………………………5
796 ………….23 ….2 begins (2Kgs 8:16,17) …………….6
795 ………….24 ….3 ……………………………………………..7
794 ………….25 ….4 Jehosaphat dies(2Chr 21:1-5) ….8
793………………… 5 Eliyah’s letter(2Chr21:10-17) …9
792 ………………….6 Jehoram sick (2Chr 21:18) ………10
791 ………………….7 ………………………………………………11
790 ………………….8 Jehoram dies,Ahaziah begins- …..12 …..1 Jehu begins
789 ………………….9 (2Kgs 8:24) ……………………………………..2

The Ebionite teaching that the Apostle Paul is a false apostle is being revived. If it hasn’t touched you yet, it will. This study is actually a refutation to an article entitled, “Paul, The Good, The Bad, The Ugly”, as well as other accusations not found in that article. Hopefully, this refutation will prepare you to discern the truth of the matter.

The foundation of the belief that Paul is a false Apostle lies in the inability to harmonize Paul with the rest of the Bible. Rather than waiting on Yahweh to provide understanding concerning Paul’s writings, the anti-Paulists prefer to simply dismiss his writings as those of a false teacher. Peter warned us that this would happen.

2 Peter 3:15,16 reads, “And account that the longsuffering of our Master is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.”

Conveniently, however, anti-Paulists would say that the second epistle of Peter was not written by the Apostle Peter and therefore should not be part of our current New Testament canon. This reveals the extent that they will go. They would discard the entire epistle in order to get rid of two verses in support of Paul. The fact is that no one knows for sure that Peter did not write this second epistle. At this point in time it is simply a theory. I offer two sources which defend Peter as the author of the second epistle; 1 , 2.

Historical Arguments

Anti-Paulists have no choice but to discard “The Acts of the Apostles” as well because it, too, contains pro-Paul statements. Luke, for example, calls Paul an “apostle” twice in one chapter (Acts 14:4, 14). The anti-Paulist says of those two verses;

“By this time in the record, Luke would have been very familiar with Paul calling himself an apostle and was no doubt in agreement with Paul’s assessment of himself. By these statistics alone, it is evident that Paul is by far his own biggest fan… and his side kick Luke was his number two fan. This leaves no one else anywhere in the Bible going on record as recognizing his apostleship!”

Luke is also the only one in the Bible who goes on record to describe the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost (Feast of Weeks). Should we doubt that account because only Luke records it? Of course not.

According to Yahshua’s words to Ananaias, Paul was specifically chosen by Yahshua to bear his name before the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15). In other words, he was sent by Yahshua which is what the word “apostle” means. We see Paul’s actual separation as a sent one (apostle) in Acts 13:1-4 where the Holy Spirit spoke to the prophets and teachers in the Antioch congregation.

“Now there were in the assembly that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Master, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus.”

It was actually the Holy Spirit that separated Barnabas and Paul for the work. Was the Holy Spirit incorrect in doing that?

Anti-Paulists will attempt to discredit Luke and Paul by showing how the three accounts of Paul’s conversion differ from one another. Acts 9:7 says the men traveling with Paul “heard a voice”. Acts 22:9 says of those same men, “they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me”.

I offer three possible reasons for this difference;

1) One voice spoke to Paul while a different voice spoke to the rest saying something like, “Fear not”

2) They heard the same voice, but could not hear the actual words that were spoken

3) They heard all the words, but did not understand. The Greek word for “hear” can have the meaning of “understand” as in Jn. 8:43,47. The NIV uses the word “understand” in Acts 22:9, basing it upon the Greek text which reads differently.

9:7 - akouontes men tes phones

22:9 - ten de phonen ouk ekousan tou lalountos moi

Here are the notes from Dr. James R. White (a Greek scholar) in his book entitled, “Scripture Alone“, pg.160:

“First, in 9:7 akouo, the verb that means “to hear,” is a nominative plural participle; in 22:9 it is a plural aorist verb.

Second, in 9:7 phone, a “sound” or “voice,” is a singular genetive noun; in 22:9 it is a singular accusative noun.

Third, in 9:7 akouo precedes its object; in 22:9 it follows its object. Fourth, in 9:7 the phrase is not modified; in 22:9 it is modified by “of the one speaking to me.”

Finally, in 9:7 Luke is narrating an event in Greek; in 22:9 Paul is speaking to a crowd in Hebrew or Aramaic . . .”

The context of Acts 22:9 suggests that the reason the men did not hear the voice is because the voice was speaking to Paul in Hebrew, which they did not understand. Remember, Paul said they did not hear the voice and then says, “of the one speaking to me.”

That either Paul or Luke was lying is not a valid choice.

Acts 29:9-18 is the third conversion account wherein Paul goes into greater detail as to what Yahshua said to him. These differences in Paul’s conversion account lead anti-Paulists to doubt his apostleship.

I don’t know about you, but when I give my testimony to people, it never comes out the same. I share more info with certain people than with others based on who I’m talking to and how much time I have to give my testimony. To accuse Paul of lying to King Agrippa when giving his testimony for the third time is outrageous to say the least.

Anti-Paulists accuse Paul of lying in Acts 23:6. It reads as follows:

“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”

They contend that he was not called in question over the resurrection, but simply lied in order to save himself. Let’s look back and see what the original cause was. In Acts 21:28, Paul was falsely accused of bringing Greeks into the temple. I say “falsely” because his accusers only “supposed” that Paul brought Trophimus into the temple (Acts 21:29).

As Paul was being led away, he asked to speak to the people. He then began to recount his conversion in which he told them the resurrected Savior spoke to him. This speech took place in Jerusalem where everyone was well aware of the events that took place in putting Yahshua to death. By saying Yahshua spoke to him after his death, Paul was confirming his resurrection, through which all believers have hope in a future resurrection. Is that not what Paul said in Acts 23:6: “of the hope andresurrection of the dead I am called in question”? Eventually, the mob cried out, “Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live” (Acts 22:22).

Paul is then taken before the Sanhedrin where he makes an honest mistake in rebuking the high priest out of ignorance of his identity (Acts 23:2-5). Anti-Paulists accuse Paul of lying here as well. They say he had to know it was the high priest because he knew he was his judge and he knew the difference between the Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul, however, had been absent from Jersualem for quite a while, during which a change in the high priest may have been made. High priests at that time were set up at the whim of the Roman government for political reasons. Additionally, any number of other circumstances may have led to Paul’s ignorance in this matter.

What saddens me is that the anti-Paulists do not give Paul the benefit of the doubt in anything. They are so quick to condemn Paul in every little point they can dig up.

Paul’s ensuing comments in verse 6 were perfectly true, for that is the real reason why any believer is persecuted. That is why they falsely accused Stephen in Acts 6:11-12 as well as Paul in Acts 21:28.

The Sanhedrin were well aware of that because they were guilty of such persecution for that very reason. Acts 22:4-5 read as follows:

“And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.”

Paul was commissioned by the high priest and the council of elders to imprison as many of Yahshua’s followers as he could find. See also Acts 9:1-2.

Anti-Paulists continue their attack on Paul by showing how he fulfills Mt.10:16-18. It reads,

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.”

The accounts of Saul’s persecution of believers certainly seem to fulfill those verses, but does Paul’s actions prior to his conversion really matter? What about the prediction Yahshua made in Mt.26:34?

“Yahshua said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.”

Should we also consider Peter a false apostle based on his actions prior to conversion? What about each of us? Were we not forgiven of much at our conversion? So, too, should Saul of Tarsus be forgiven.

Paul is also accused of lying to the Galatians. To understand this false accusation, we need to first read Acts 15:19-29;

“Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them that from among the Gentiles turn to [Elohim]; but that we write unto them, that they abstain from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is strangled, and from blood. For Moses from generations of old hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath. Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren: and they wrote thus by them, The apostles and the elders, brethren, unto the brethren who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting: Forasmuch as we have heard that certain who went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment; it seemed good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Master Yahshua Messiah.”

Please note that James calls Paul and Barnabas “beloved”. Do the anti-Paulists seek to throw James out of the NT canon as well?

“We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication; from which if you keep yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare you well.”

Here is what the anti-Paulists then say;

“There are actually several things going on here but first I want to focus on the instructions of the council. They instruct Paul to write to the churches that they avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols and from meat with blood, and from fornication (or idolatry). This is very clear. So what did Paul write to the churches about his instructions from Jerusalem?”

Galatians 2:7-10 (NASB95)

7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They only asked us to remember the poor the very thing I also was eager to do.

WHOA! What just happened? Paul admits to being in Jerusalem. He admits to having met the apostles. He brags that they accepted him as a brother and then concludes that all they asked us to do was remember the poor which I will gladly do. Where did this come from? Did the council ask Paul to tell the churches to remember the poor? NO! The council told Paul to write to the churches to avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols and from fornication (idolatry). Did Paul flat out lie here? Again, we will note that Paul not only refused to pass along the warning from Jerusalem but he actually taught the OPPOSITE to the churches (that is that it is ok to eat meat sacrificed to idols).”

There are actually several accusations here. I’ll address the last one first. They said, ” Again, we will note that Paul not only refused to pass along the warning from Jerusalem . . .” Is that true? One need only continue reading Acts 15:30-31;

“So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. And when they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation.”

Acts 16:4-5 read as follows:

“And as they went on their way through the cities, they delivered them the decrees to keep which had been ordained of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem. So the assemblies were strengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.”

So was Paul actually lying? No. It’s the anti-Paulist’s who have grossly erred in assuming and falsely accusing Paul.

The other false accusation of Paul lying concerns the reference to Gal.2:7-10. Paul said, ” They only asked us to remember the poor the very thing I also was eager to do” (vs.10). The anti-Paulist responds with,

“WHOA! What just happened? Paul admits to being in Jerusalem. He admits to having met the apostles. He brags that they accepted him as a brother and then concludes that all they asked us to do was remember the poor which I will gladly do. Where did this come from? Did the council ask Paul to tell the churches to remember the poor? NO! The council told Paul to write to the churches to avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols and from fornication (idolatry). Did Paul flat out lie here?”

The answer to the last question is no, he did not lie. Paul was writing a letter to the Galatian assembly. The council never said their decrees were for all Gentile congregations, but only for the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia (Acts 15:23). Paul had no reason to give those decrees to the Galatians because the council never told him to. I mention more about this later.

Anti-Paulists also use Gal.2:6 to show Paul’s supposed lack of respect of the other twelve apostles and how they have no authority over Paul. Gal.2:6 reads thusly:

“But from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it makes no matter to me: [Elohim] accepts not man’s person)–they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me:”

One anti-Paulist then says,

“Here Paul goes full board in his lack of respect for the twelve. Paul says of the twelve that they seem to be important but that it makes no difference to me. In other words the twelve apostles aren’t important to Paul despite their apparent positions of authority. He then brags again that they ADDED NOTHING to his message. Paul wants to really drive the point home that the apostles mean little to him and wants his audience to know that he does not take direction from them nor has he been taught anything by them.”

These remarks are based on divorcing verse 6 from the context which includes verses 3-5.

“But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: and that because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Messiah Yahshua, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”

Paul was not attacking the other twelve apostles. He was referring to false brethren that snuck in to teach their doctrine of salvation by works.

To further compound their error, the anti-Paulists fail to cross reference properly. They say,

“There is one other point often overlooked in the decision of the Jerusalem council and that is that the apostles apparently didn’t have full trust in Paul and thought it necessary to send someone along with him as a witness to what he was teaching. In the letter which the council drafts they say:

Acts 15:24-27 (NASB95)

24 “Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, 25 it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 “Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth.

The council’s letter acknowledges that Paul has received no instruction from them but has been preaching on his own. Remember, Paul himself bragged about that. The council also acknowledges that what Paul is teaching has been disturbing those who hear him.”

The anti-Paulist applies verse 24 to Paul when, in reality, it is a reference to Acts 15:1, 2, 5, 6 which read as follows:

“And certain men came down from Judaea and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question.” . . . “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider of this matter.”

Verse 24 is referring to the legalistic Pharisees which believed in justification by works, and were teaching the same. They were of the “number” of Jews in Judea where the Apostles were from. They went to Antioch to preach their false doctrine without the Apostles instruction to do so. The council sent their “beloved” Barnabas and Paul to correct the problem.

Anti-Paulists teach that all the believers in Asia turned away from Paul and tried to kill him. They write;

“Now to the meat of the matter! First I will prove from the accepted canon and from Paul’s words himself that he was rejected in all the churches of Asia.”

Acts 19:8-10 (NASB95)

8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Before we saw that Paul reasoned with the Jews in the synagogues but now we hear a little more of the story. Paul continued to preach in Ephesus but he wasn’t well received for long for Luke records that some there began to speak evil of the Way before the people and that they had to withdraw from them. Putting aside the good and bad for a moment the facts are that Paul preached in Ephesus but eventually had to leave as they turned against him.”

Who turned against Paul in the above passage, believers or hardened and disobedient, unbelieving Jews in the synagogue? Who was Paul reasoning with and persuading about the Kingdom of Elohim? Believers were already persuaded and embraced the Kingdom through Yahshua. It was the unbelieving Jews who needed persuading and who turned against Paul.

The anti-Paulist continues;

“2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (NASB95)

8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10 who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,

Paul admits that while in Asia that things got so bad they had the sentence of death put on them. In other words, the believers in Asia were going to kill Paul and his companions!”

These verses refer to the wrath of the Ephesians after Paul said their goddess Diana was no mighty one at all. Let’s pick up the account in Acts 19:28-32.

“And when they heard this they were filled with wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesus. And the city was filled with the confusion: and they rushed with one accord into the theatre, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul’s companions in travel. And when Paul was minded to enter in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not. And certain also of the Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him and besought him not to adventure himself into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was in confusion; and the more part knew not why they were come together.”

This mob wasn’t thinking. They were wild with resentment and wrath. If the town clerk hadn’t calmed them down in verses 35-41, they may have rashly put Paul and his companions to death.

The thing that is so unbelievable to me is that the anti-Paulists read 2 Cor.1:8-10 to mean “believers” wanted to kill Paul and his companions. Would any believer go against our Savior’s command to love our enemies (Mt.5:44-48) by killing them? Can you picture any believer in Acts killing anybody? Believers are sheep to be slaughtered, not slaughterers of the sheep.

The anti-Paulist also appeals to 2 Tim.1:15. They say,

“2 Timothy 1:15 (NASB95)

15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.

Now Paul tells us that ALL of those in Asia turned away from him. Paul had to flee Ephesus for some reason and all the believers in Asia wanted him killed.”

We are not told why they turned from Paul. I suspect it was a result of what took place at Ephesus. The weaker believers feared for their lives and fled from Paul because he was the lightning rod of that entire wrath. Does that sound familiar? Did not all of Messiah’s disciples turn from him out of fear for their lives? Does that make Yahshua a false Messiah? Neither does it make Paul a false apostle.

The last attack on Paul from an historical perspective that I will address comes from the anti-Paulist’s pitiful interpretation of Rev.2:1-3. It reads as follows:

“To the angel of the assembly in Ephesus write: These things saith he that holds the seven stars in his right hand, he that walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks: I know thy works, and thy toil and patience, and that thou can not bear evil men, and did try them that call themselves apostles, and they are not, and did find them false; and thou hast patience and did bear for my name’s sake, and hast not grown weary. “

The anti-Paulist then says;

Paul is the only one we know of in the accepted canon that went to Asia and specifically preached in Ephesus. Paul writes to the church in Ephesus saying that he is an apostle. . . This same body of believers in Ephesus are now congratulated for testing someone who claimed to be an apostles and were not. Could this be talking about Paul and Barnabas? Were they tested for three months and ultimately rejected as false apostles and ran out of town at threat of death? Did the church of Ephesus eventually conclude that Paul was a liar and was NOT an apostle?

Did you absorb that? Did the Ephesians run Paul and Barnabas out of town as false apostles? Let’s read Acts 20:17-22.

“And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of the assembly. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all the time, serving the Master with all lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by the plots of the Jews; how I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward [Elohim], and faith toward our Master Yahshua Messiah. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there:”

Paul is about to depart for Jerusalem, but he desires one last meeting with the Elders of the Ephesian congregation. Let’s resume in Acts 20:29-38.

“I know that after my departing grievous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Wherefore watch ye, remembering that by the space of three years I ceased not to admonish every one night and day with tears. And now I commend you to [Elohim], and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you the inheritance among all them that are sanctified. I coveted no man’s silver, or gold, or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were with me. In all things I gave you an example, that so laboring you ought to help the weak, and to remember the words of the Master Yahshua, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul’s neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way unto the ship.”

Does that sound like they found him to be a false apostle or does it sound like they loved him dearly and couldn’t bear not seeing him anymore? He left them on very good terms. However, in that meeting he prophesied that grievous wolves would come to Ephesus and not spare the flock. Others would draw away disciples to themselves. The “apostles” Yahshua referred to were most likely these men who were grievous wolves.

Doctrinal Arguments

The anti-Paulists not only attack Paul historically, but doctrinally as well. Let’s explore some of the “heresies” that the Apostle Paul supposedly taught.

No One Righteous

In Romans 3:10-12, Paul refers to Psa.14 to prove all have sinned and no one is righteous. Anti-Paulists say Paul misquoted Psa.14. Paul wrote, “There is none righteous, no not one.” Psa.14:3 reads, “there is none that doeth good, no not one.” There are a few other differences as well. The truth is, Paul was not quoting, but paraphrasing. Even if he was quoting, there are other examples of people not quoting exactly. For example:

Psalm 53 is almost identical to Psalm 14 with the exception of Psa.53:5 and “Elohim” in Psa.53 where Psa.14 has “YHWH”. Is David misquoting his own Psalm because it is not an exact quote? Does that make David a false prophet?

In Mt.4:4, Yahshua said:

“It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” KJV

Yahshua was quoting Deut.8:3 which reads:

“And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man does not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Yahweh does man live.”

As you can see, Yahshua did not quote this verse perfectly. He left out some words in the beginning and some at the end. Does that make him a false Messiah? Or should we blame Matthew for misquoting Yahshua and throw his book out along with Paul’s writings? I’m being sarcastic, of course. The truth is that the meaning and understanding of the Psalm is being carried over by Paul.

Keep in mind that believers in ancient times did not get to carry around the Scriptures wherever they went as we do. They did not have computers to instantly write out a verse stored in its memory. They had to rely on their own memories.

I can guarantee that every anti-Paulist, at one time or another, has misquoted a verse. I wonder if they would consider themselves false brethren because of such a mistake.

Because anti-Paulist’s believe Paul falsely used the word “righteous”, they will also accuse Paul of teaching falsely because Scripture says Noah, Abraham, David and others were “righteous”. Not only does Psa.14:3 read, “they are ALL gone aside, they are ALL together become filthy, but Eccl.7:20 reads,

“Surely there is not a righteous man upon earth, that does good, and sins not.”

There were no righteous men on earth based on sinlessness. Was Solomon wrong? Solomon said again, in 1 Kgs 8:46:

“…(for there is no man that sins not,) …”

The fact is, all the patriarchs sinned as well and therefore were not perfectly righteous in the sense that Yahweh is. They were righteous, not because they never sinned (never transgressed any of Yahweh’s commandments), but because they lived by faith, and that faith was imputed to them for righteousness (Gen.15:6).

So why did Paul use “righteous” in Rom.3:10? Because Paul understood as did David and Solomon, that it only takes one sin (one unrighteous act) to become unjust and unrighteous. Since Paul was paraphrasing and not quoting verbatim, he understands “none that does good” to mean “every man has committed an act or acts of unrighteousness.” If none do good, none are perfectly righteous. The two words are synonymous in Pr.14:19:

“The evil bow before the good; and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.”

Yahshua was sinless. Therefore, he is the only absolutely righteous man that ever lived. His righteousness is imparted to us through faith paving the way for our justification apart from the law.

Justifying the Wicked

In Ex.23:7, Yahweh says, “for I will not justify the wicked.” Anti-Paulists accuse Paul of teaching the exact opposite in Rom.4:5 which reads as follows:

“But to him that works not, but believes on him that justifies the wicked, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.”

If we read Ex.23:7 in context, including verses 1-6, we will notice that Yahweh precedes His statement in verse 7 with a list of at least ten commands. His meaning in verse 7, therefore, is that He will not justify the wicked in their wickedness. Paul teaches the same thing and intended the same meaning in Rom.4:5.

In Acts 17:30, Paul says the following:

“The times of ignorance therefore [Elohim] overlooked; but now he commands men that they should all everywhere repent:”

Paul calls for the wicked to repent (turn away from their sin). In Rom.4:5, Paul is teaching that Yahweh will justify the wicked afterthey repent, believe and have faith. This is why Paul quotes from Psalm 32 in Romans 4:7 and says, “Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are covered.” This is exactly what Yahweh taught in Hab.2:4, “the just shall live by faith.”

Call No Man Your Father

Paul wrote, in 1 Cor.4:15;

“For though you have ten thousand tutors in Messiah, yet have you not many fathers; for in Messiah Yahshua I begat you through the gospel.”

Anti-Paulists accuse Paul of not obeying Yahshua’s command in Mt.23:9 to call no man “father”.

However, Yahshua himself and every New Testament writer except Jude used the word “father” in reference to men. James calls Abraham “our father” in Ja.2:21 as did Stephen in Acts 7:2.Therefore, we are not to understand Yahshua’s words as anti-Paulists interpret them.

Yahweh says to “honor thy father and thy mother”. If I then say, “I would like to honor my father in a special way,” am I breaking Yahshua’s command? Obviously not, for Yahshua probably had practices similar to the Roman Catholic practice of calling their priests, “Father so and so” in mind.

Justification by Faith or Works?

Anti-Paulists are quick to bring up the supposed contradictions in Paul’s teaching of justification by faith alone and what James taught in James 2.

Paul wrote:

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28)

James wrote:

“You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.” (James 2:24)

Interestingly, both apostles use the same verse (Gen.15:6) to support their position.

Paul wrote:

“For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed Elohim, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Rom.4:3)

James wrote:

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed Elohim, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of Elohim.” (James 2:23)

To understand this seeming contradiction, we need to understand that each apostle is looking at justification from a different viewpoint. For example, two people can look at a triangle. One may only see a triangle while the other sees a square! How can that be? They were both viewing a pyramid; one from the side and the other from the top.

Paul is looking at justification in it’s initial stage (when a person first believes). James is looking at justification after one first believes. Paul sees Abraham’s faith (belief in Yahweh) prior to Abraham’s work of offering up Isaac. James sees Abraham’s works of offering up Isaac as a fruit of his faith (after he was justified by faith).

James did not say, “You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith” (James 2:24). He added the word “only” after “faith”. In other words, faith comes first, but it cannot stand alone. It must be accompanied by good works.

In writing about justification, Paul was not addressing the believers behavior after having been justified. Had he addressed justification from James’ viewpoint, he undoubtedly would have agreed with him. Both apostles believed the words of Habakkuk 2:4b:

“but the just shall live by his faith.”

The Greek word “dikaioo”, translated “justified” in James 2:24, means “to render (i.e. to show or regard as) just or innocent.” Therefore, Abraham was “regarded” by Yahweh as being justified through faith, but he also “showed” he was justified by his works.

Paul the Hypocrite?

Gal.2:11-14 states, “But when Peter came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned. For before that certain came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, live as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compel thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”

1 Cor.9:19-22 read, “For though I was free from all men, I brought myself under bondage to all, that I might gain the more. And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to [Elohim], but under law to Messiah, that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.”

1 Cor 10:31-33 read, “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of [Elohim]. Give no occasions of stumbling, either to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the called out of Elohim: even as I also please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of the many, that they may be saved.”

The anti-Paulist then says:

“Why does Paul rebuke Peter for not giving offense to the circumcised and yet he himself says we should give no offense to the Jews or the Greeks and that Paul himself had become as a Jew to reach Jews and like a Greek to reach Greeks? Does Paul have a double standard?”

Is Paul being a hypocrite with a double standard? The answer is found in the motive of each man’s actions. Paul’s motive is found in 1 Cor.9:22:

“To the weak I became weak, that I might gain the weak: I am become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some.”

Peter’s motive is found in Gal.2:12.

“For before that certain came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision.”

Paul acted out of love and Peter acted out of fear. What does the Apostle John teach about fear?

“There is no fear in love: but perfect love casts out fear, because fear hath torment; and he that fears is not made perfect in love.” 1 Jn.4:18

Peter’s fear of the Jews led to the fruit of hypocrisy and was a manifestation of a lack of love on his part. Motive is the key.

Circumcision

Now we come to the two most difficult teachings of Paul, circumcision and eating meat sacrificed to idols. First we shall consider circumcision.

Acts 21:27-28 states the following:

“And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this holy place.”

The anti-Paulist then says,

“To me it seems clear that the Jews from Asia are upset with Paul in particular for bringing uncircumcised men into the temple in violation of the words of Ezekiel. “

That is stated as fact by this anti_paulist author. However, in verse 29, Luke says:

“For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.”

In other words, Paul was being falsely accused of polluting the temple. They assumed he brought Trophimus into the temple, but they never actually saw him do that. A similar instance can be found where Naboth the Jezreelite was falsely accused of cursing Elohim and the king, and even stoned, yet he had committed no crime (1 Kings 21:5-16).The remaining seven chapters of Acts are all related to Paul’s defense against those same false accusations. It is ironic that those same false accusations are being leveled against Paul even today, and by professing brethren in Messiah, nonetheless!.

1 Cor.7:17-20 read as follows:

“Only, as the Master hath distributed to each man, as [Elohim] hath called each, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all the assemblies. Was any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the keeping of the commandments of [Elohim]. Let each man abide in that calling wherein he was called.”

The anti-Paulist would then say,

This last statement by Paul in 1 Corinthians is particularly troubling since he clearly seems to indicate that if you are called when you were not circumcised then you should REMAIN uncircumcised. Why then, we must ask, does Paul have Timothy circumcised if, by his own instruction, a man should remain uncircumcised if he was “called” while uncircumcised?

We need to note that 1 Corinthians was written after Paul’s first visit to Corinth in Acts 18:1-17. Therefore, Timothy’s circumcision in Acts 16 and Titus’ avoidance of circumcision referred to in Gal.2:3-5 and which took place in Acts 15, where both before Paul’s statements in 1 Cor.17.

Note in Galatians 2:3-5, Paul refused to submit to the false brethren who demanded Titus’ circumcision. It reads,

“But not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: and that because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Messiah Yahshua, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.”

This shows Paul’s consistency in his teaching that Gentile converts need not be circumcised. After the Jerusalem council’s decision, which agrees with Paul’s teaching in that circumcision was not one of the four requirements imposed on Gentiles, Paul has Timothy circumcised. Does this contradict his belief? No.

Timothy was being chosen to accompany Paul in his ministry. Had Timothy remained uncircumcised, it would have been a great hindrance to Paul’s ministry to the Jews in that area. Timothy evidently agreed to “become as a Jew to win the Jews.”

Paul was not giving a steadfast command to which there could be no exceptions. Since Timothy was not fully a Gentile, his extenuating circumstance warranted a different approach. He was not being circumcised in order to be saved, but so that others would be saved. Had Timothy not been chosen for the ministry, there would have been no need to circumcise him.

Paul was not teaching against circumcision itself, but against circumcision for the wrong reason. To be circumcised in order to be saved or justified is wrong and is a denial of salvation by grace through faith.

Meats Sacrificed To Idols

I would like to conclude this study by examining Paul’s stand on eating meats sacrificed to idols. Paul’s position is this: seeing that an idol is nothing, there is nothing wrong with eating the sacrificial meat unless it causes someone to stumble. Anti-Paulists would say that contradicts the Jerusalem council’s decree in Acts 15 and Yahshua’s words in Rev.2:14 & 20.

The Jerusalem council’s decree was that the Gentiles were to abstain from things offered to idols (Acts 15:20). The Greek reads, “to hold back from pollutions of the idols.” Acts 15:29 in the KJV reads, “that you abstain from meats offered to idols.” The Greek reads, “to abstain from idol sacrifices.” Acts 21:25 reads, “keep themselves from things offered to idols.” The Greek reads, “to keep from themselves the both idol sacrifices and the blood . . .”

As you can see, there is no reference to eating the meat of those sacrifices. We can infer that, but it doesn’t make it clear. The council may be decreeing that they simply abstain from sacrificing to idols.

Keep in mind two important points as you ponder this issue; 1) There is no direct command in Torah from Yahweh to not eat meat sacrificed to idols and 2) The Jerusalem council’s decree was never sent to the Corinthians. Acts 15:23 says,

“And they wrote letters by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:”

Those three locations are just north of Israel. Corinth is at least 1,000 miles away in Greece across the Aegean Sea. Paul was not told to deliver the decree to any other Gentile areas. Verse 30 shows that Paul obeyed the council and delivered the decree.

Concerning point #1: Some appeal to Ex.34:12-16 for such a command. It reads as follows:

“Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goes, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other mighty one: for Yahweh, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous El: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their mighty ones, and do sacrifice unto their mighty ones, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; And thou take of their daughters unto thy sons, and their daughters go a whoring after their mighty ones, and make thy sons go a whoring after their mighty ones.”

Notice there is no direct command from Yahweh saying not to eat meat sacrificed to an idol. What He forbids is the making of a covenant with non-Israelites which may then lead to idolatry and idolatrous eating. When a covenant is made between two parties they become bound together in a special relationship.

Paul was in total agreement with Ex.34:12-16. He admonished the Corinthians to avoid such bonds in 2 Cor.6:14-18. It reads as follows:

“Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Messiah with Belial? or what part hath he that believes with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of Elohim with idols? for ye are the temple of the living Elohim; as Elohim hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith [Yahweh], and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith [Yahweh] Almighty.”

However, when Paul tells the Corinthians that it is permissible to eat meat sacrificed to idols as long as they do not cause another to stumble, he is saying that in the context of NOT being in a covenant relationship (unequally yoked) at the time. To simply sit down and eat a meal because you are hungry is totally different than sitting down with an idolater with whom you have covenanted and partaking in his idolatry by eating his sacrifice.

Paul said:

“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to Elohim: and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Master, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Master’s table, and of the table of devils.” (1 Cor.10:20-21)

The “fellowship” comes when one places themselves in that special bonded relationship. There is no such fellowship when one simply buys a piece of meat at a meat market, even if it was sacrificed to an idol. Believers can have fellowship with each other through Messiah. We can have no fellowship with unbelievers unless we join with them through some sort of mutual bond such as a covenant, contract, sexual relations, etc.

What about Numbers 25:1-3?

“And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their mighty ones: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their mighty ones. And Israel joined himself unto Baalpeor: and the anger of Yahweh was kindled against Israel.”

Notice what was done as a prelude to eating meat sacrificed to idols; they committed whoredom. In other words, they joined themselves to Moab through sexual relations. They created an intimate bond of fellowship which made their eating idolatrous.

Paul wrote the following in 1 Corinthians 6:16:

“What? know you not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.”

A sexual relationship creates a bond of oneness between the two. This is why Yahweh warned Israel in Ex.34:12-16 about making a covenant, especially through marriage, with non-Israelites.

Paul was not condoning eating meat sacrificed to an idol while in such a covenant relationship whether through marriage, fornication, contract, or otherwise.

With those things in mind, how do we harmonize Paul with Rev.2:14 & 20? Theses verses read as follows:

“But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.” (14)

“Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calls herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols.” (20)

The key word in understanding this issue is “stumblingblock” in verse 14. Balak caused Israel to stumble by having them do something they believed was wrong. Israel believed such meat to be “common” or defiled. Jezebel did the same thing by seducing believers to do the same. The issue in Rev.2 is exactly what Paul taught in Romans 14:13-15.

“Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way. I know, and am persuaded by the Master Yahshua, that there is nothing common of itself: but to him that esteems any thing to be common, to him it is common. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walk thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Messiah died.”

Israel esteemed meat sacrificed to idols to be defiled. Yahweh never said it was, but Israel believed it was. They did not have the deeper understanding that Paul and the Corinthians had that an idol was nothing. So for Israel to eat such meat was to them a sin, but to Paul it was nothing.

Conclusion

In conclusion brethren, the Apostle Paul was truly that, an Apostle appointed and sent by Yahshua himself. His writings, when properly exegeted and rightly understood, were and are a blessing to millions of believers. May they continue to be so.

As the cup and bread are passed around the kingdom hall on
“Nisan 14”, those who believe they have a heavenly calling as one of the
144,000 will partake, but those who do not believe they have such a calling
simply pass the cup and bread to the next person without partaking.

No where in Scripture does it specify that only a particular portion of believers in Messiah are permitted to partake.

What did the Apostle Paul say in 1 Cor.10:17?

“The loaf which we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ? Because there is one loaf, we, although
many, are one body, for we are all partaking of that one loaf.” NW

We all partake, not just 144,000.

Interestingly, this has supposedly been taking place since
apostolic times and, according to Jehovah’s Witnesses,  the total number of the 144,000 was reached in 1935. Since
then, no new members are eligible to partake. Once those who have been
partaking since 1935 die, there will be none to partake. This leads me to ask,
“How did they know the full number of 144,000 partakers was reached in 1935?”
Surely no one has been counting since apostolic times. Was this revealed to
Jehovah’s Witnesses supernaturally?

Assuming it is true that the full number of 144,000 partakers has been reached, what does that mean for all those who never
partook?

John 6:53-54 – Then Jesus (Yahshua) said to them, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his
blood you have no life in yourselves. He that feeds on my flesh and drinks my
blood has everlasting life, and I shall resurrect him at the last day.” NW

All Jehovah’s Witnesses know that this is not meant literally, but
that it refers to partaking of the “Lord’s Evening Meal”.  They are now faced with a choice; either obey
the Master’s words and eat his flesh by partaking of the bread and drink his
blood by partaking of the cup and receive everlasting life OR obey Watchtower’s
man-made doctrine and not partake of the bread and cup. By obeying Watchtower,
they are in danger of not receive everlasting life, but everlasting destruction and
separation from their Creator.

Satan has lived up to his name, the “father of lies”, as he has
deceived the entire Jehovah’s Witness organization into not obeying their
Lord’s words.

Does “Watchtower”, the self-proclaimed prophet of “Jehovah”
and governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses world-wide, have the authority to
change the Master’s words or command their followers to walk contrary to those
words? I say, “No” based on the fact that they failed to discern the Master’s
body for 70+ years.

I Corinthians 11:27-29 reads:

Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily,
shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Master.

But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

For he that eats and drinks unworthily, eats and drinks damnation to himself, not discerning the
Master’s body.

Failing to discern the “Master’s body” while
eating the bread or drinking the cup, that is, failing to understand those
symbols represent the body and blood of the Master, causes one to eat
“unworthily”. They damn themselves by being “guilty of the body and blood of
the Master.”

From the beginning of the Jehovah’s Witness
organization in 1872 (under a different name) until 1956, the Watchtower taught
its followers that the bread did NOT represent the Master’s body, but that it
represented the body of believers or the Christian congregation.

Here are Watchtower’s words from their March 15, 1954
publication, The Watchtower, page 174:

“It was after the Passover supper
and after Jesus had dismissed Judas that he “took a loaf and, after saying a
blessing, he broke it and, giving it to the disciples, he said: “Take, eat.
This means my body.’” (Matt.26:26; John 13:21-30, NW) To which body was Jesus
referring here? To his fleshly body? Hardly, for concerning it we read that not
a bone was broken, whereas Jesus broke the loaf. (John 19:36) Rather, he was
referring to his spiritual body, the Christian Congregation, which in
Scriptures is termed a body or Christ’s body more than forty-five times. That
this is the correct conclusion is apparent from Paul’s words: “The loaf which
we break, is it not a sharing in the body of the Christ? Because there is one
loaf, we, although many, are one body, for we are all partaking of that one
loaf.” Clearly the loaf pictures not Jesus’ fleshly body but his body members,
the Christian congregation. – 1 Cor.10:16, 17, NW.”

Now notice how Watchtower changed this crucial doctrinal
belief. The following is from The Watchtower, January 15, 1956, page 49.

“18 His body? Yes; his own body, his whole body, head and all, that he was to give for
them. Jesus meant his own body, the body with which he next associates his own
blood when speaking of the cup.”

Footnote: “18. Which body did Jesus mean by “my body”?”

Prior to 1956, Watchtower thought the “body” represented by
the bread at the “Lord’s Evening Meal” was the Christian congregation, not
Jesus’ fleshly body. Therefore, for some 70+ years, Watchtower did not discern
the Master’s body. How, then, can they be Jehovah’s prophet? How, then, can
they be trusted to dictate who can and cannot partake of the bread and cup?

I admonish all Jehovah’s Witnesses to reconsider who you are
allowing to guide you through life. Is it the Holy Spirit or Watchtower.? Whose
words do you obey, the Messiah’s or Watchtower’s?

If you desire to receive eternal life, you must eat the
flesh and drink the blood through the “Lord’s Evening Meal” ceremony. If that
means forsaking a religion that has been teaching you falsely, then so be it.
Your eternal life is at stake!

The ancient method of refining or trying silver was to place the solid mass of metal in a clay crucible which was then placed in a clay or iron furnace and melted into a liquid. As the liquid boiled, the impurities in the metal would rise to the surface and be skimmed off. That which is skimmed off is called dross. The refiner would continue the process several times until no dross remained. If the refiner could see his reflection in the liquid silver, he knew the process was complete.

“The refining pot is for silver, and the furnace for gold: but Yahweh tries (tests) the hearts.” Proverbs 17:3.

This testing of man’s heart is often equated with the refining process of gold or silver. Yahweh is the refiner. Sin, selfishness, pride, etc., are the dross that needs to be removed.

“But Yahweh has taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto Him a people of inheritance, as you are this day.” Deuteronomy 4:20.

Israel was in the refiner’s furnace while they were kept in misery and bondage by the Egyptians.

“Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Isaiah 48:10.

Affliction and suffering are the means Yahweh uses to tests the heart of His people. It is the heat that He applies in the lives of all His children.

“For you, O Elohim, have proved us: you have tried us, as silver is tried. You brought us into the net; you laid affliction upon our loins. you have caused men to ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water: but you brought us out into a wealthy place.” Psalms 66:10-12.

While we never know exactly when Yahweh will remove us from the furnace, we can rest assured that He will and that we will be purified and blessed as a result of that affliction. Sometimes He may end one affliction upon us and send another shortly after. Each affliction, each situation in which we suffer results in more dross being removed from our lives.

“Your silver is become dross, your wine mixed with water:” Isaiah 1:22.

Yahweh looks upon all His children as silver or gold. We are precious in His sight, but He knows that we can be worth even more once we are refined and purged of our impurities.

In the following two verses, we see the wicked being equated with dross.

“You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross: therefore I love your testimonies.” Psalms 119:119.

“Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come forth a vessel for the refiner. Take away the wicked from before the king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness.” Proverbs 25:4,5.

When a nation or kingdom is being refined as a whole, it is the wicked who are the dross, but when individuals are being refined, it is the wickedness, sins, carnality, etc., that are the dross.

“And I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely purge away your dross, and take away all your tin:” Isaiah 1:25.

A chunk of silver that was removed from a mine has other alloys mixed in with it. These alloys, such as tin, can be very difficult to separate from the silver and require much more refining than other alloys. So it is with us. Certain sins are deeply rooted in us and are difficult to purge from us. It takes skill, time and patience on the part of the refiner to accomplish his objective of purity.

“Therefore thus says Yahweh of hosts, Behold, I will melt them, and try them; for how shall I do for the daughter of my people?” Jeremiah 9:7.

Israel’s sins became more prevelant as the years past, so much so that Yahweh had no choice but to put them through the refining process again.

“And the word of Yahweh came unto me, saying, Son of man, the house of Israel is to me become dross: all they are brass, and tin, and iron, and lead, in the midst of the furnace; they are even the dross of silver. Therefore thus says Yahweh Elohim; Because you are all become dross, behold, therefore I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. As they gather silver, and brass, and iron, and lead, and tin, into the midst of the furnace, to blow the fire upon it, to melt it; so will I gather you in my anger and in my fury, and I will leave you there, and melt you. Yea, I will gather you, and blow upon you in the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst thereof. As silver is melted in the midst of the furnace, so shall you be melted in the midst thereof; and you shall know that I Yahweh have poured out my fury upon you.” Ezekiel 22:17-22.

It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living Elohim, as the writer of Hebrews puts it, but we should not fear the refining that our Heavenly Father puts us through, knowing that it is for our good.

“The bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melts in vain: for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because Yahweh hath rejected them.” Jeremiah 6:29,30.

Sometimes the refining process does not work. The dross cannot be removed from the silver and is rejected by the refiner. Such was the case with many in Israel.

The refing process is not just for the wicked or the sinner. Yahweh considered Job to be a man of righteousness, yet he was tried as well.

“But he knows the way that I take: when he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10.

At this point, I would like to read several prophecies of future refinings.

“And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.” Daniel 11:35.

“And he said, Go your way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.” Daniel 12:9,10.

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, Yahweh is my Elohim.” Zechariah 13:9.

And the one that is most relevant to us;

“Behold, I will send my messenger [John the Baptist], and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Master [Yahshua the Messiah], whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says Yahweh of hosts. But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto Yahweh an offering in righteousness.” Malachi 3:1-3.

Yahweh has given Yahshua all power and authority and has appointed him to do the refining work in His people. He will take the same care as Yahweh would in doing that work. As a refiner of silver, Yahshua will patiently wait for the dross to surface and then remove it. He won’t keep us in the fire too long, but will be watchful in pulling us out at just the right time. He will continue the process until he sees his reflection in us. He desires to see us conformed to his image, that is, totally dead to self so that Yahweh’s Spirit can move in us unhindered by our fleshly desires.

“And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and with fire: Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:10-12.

The process of separating the chaff from the wheat is meant to accomplish the same goal as refining silver or gold. The chaff is the outer casing of wheat which needs to be removed before the wheat can be eaten. When our chaff is removed, all that is left is what’s desirable, that which nourishes others.

The trying or testing of our hearts is not something to be avoided because it is uncomfortable for us. We should have the attitude that David had when he wrote;

“Examine me, O Yahweh, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.” Psalms 26:2.

“Search me, O Elohim, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:” Psalms 139:23.

The Apostle Peter wrote the following;

“Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as you are partakers of Messiah’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, you may be glad also with exceeding joy. If you be reproached for the name of Messiah, happy are you; for the spirit of glory and of Elohim rests upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify Elohim on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of Elohim: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the good news of Elohim? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the wicked and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of Elohim commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:12-19.

The key to enduring suffering is to totally commit our souls to Yahweh. We should not seek to escape the trials we go through. To do so is to say to Yahshua, “I don’t want to be made pure!” Nor should we wallow in self pity as we try to figure out what is happening to us or why we are suffering so. Instead, we should recognize that we are partaking of Yahshua’s sufferings, that we are being refined through affliction, and rejoice in it.

“So that we ourselves glory in you in the assemblies of Elohim for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of Elohim, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of Elohim, for which you also suffer:” 2 Thessalonians 1:4,5.

When we suffer, it is not a condemnatory judgment from Yahweh, but a judgment designed for our good as this next verse shows.

“But the Elohim of all grace, who has called us unto His eternal glory by Messiah Yahshua, after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.” 1 Peter 5:10.

Acts 14:22 reads:

“Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of Elohim.”

If you haven’t experienced tribulation yet, you will if you are Messiah Yahshua’s. With the state of the economy and world affairs, our tribulation can start sooner than we think.

“Wherein you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, you are in heaviness through manifold temptations: That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Yahshua Messiah:” 1 Peter 1:6,7.

Our trials can easily cause our hearts to be heavy and our souls to become depressed, but if we have the mind of Messiah, we can rejoice through it, knowing it is just for a season.

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.

Paul says our afflictions are “light” and quick, lasting only “a moment”. It sure doesn’t seem that way as we are going through it. Paul is evidently speaking of our afflictions in comparison to the glory we will experience for eternity.

One of the goals of being tried in the fire is to develop endurance or patience in us. James 1:3-4, 12 reads;

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience (endurance). But let patience have her perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.”

“Blessed is the man that endures trials: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Master hath promised to them that love him.”

Yahshua knew there would be those who would not endure trials and afflictions when he spoke of the seeds sown on stony ground.

“And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.” Mark 4:16-17.

Not only will we ourselves be tried in the refiner’s fire, but our works will be tried as well.

“Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he has built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-15.

Only those works done for the Kingdom’s sake or for the benefit of mankind will abide the fire. Selfish works will be consumed.

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of Elohim, and joint-heirs with Messiah; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Romans 8:17,18.

We can endure afflictions, sufferings, persecutions, mockings, and any other trial we may undergo in the refining process if we will follow the example of Yahshua found in Hebrews 12:2;

“Looking unto Yahshua the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of Elohim.”

Let’s focus on the joy set before us, that is, the precious promises that have been made to us so that our inner man is strengthened and endures the race set before us.

The Christian view states that believers are no longer “under the law” meaning (in their minds) they don’t have to obey the “Old Covenant laws”, but only the New Covenant “laws of love”. This issue has been addressed in my study entitled, “The Law and the New Covenant Believer,” so I won’t review it here.

It is this erroneous Christian view of the New Covenant that has led many to reject the idea of a whole “new” covenant in favor of a “renewed” covenant. Now that they see the continuance of the law (Torah), they have trouble, as do most Christians, harmonizing the Old Covenant laws with a “new” covenant.

A new Bible version called “The Scriptures”, which is favored by many “Messianics”, has also led to the propagation of this error by translating Heb.8:8 as a “renewed covenant”. Ironically, this same version translated Jer.31:31, from which Heb.8:8 was quoted, as “new” covenant.

My intention is to address the issue of whether or not believers are under a “renewed” covenant (the Old Covenant being renewed) or whether we are under a “new” covenant (the Old Covenant being destroyed and an entirely new covenant being created). The latter is my current understanding.

New Covenant Prophesied

Let’s begin by quoting the prophecy of Jeremiah concerning the New Covenant.

“Behold, the days come, saith Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith Yahweh: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith Yahweh, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34, KJV.

 

The Terms of the New Covenant

Yahweh’s Part

Yahweh will write His laws in the new hearts of His people (Jer.31:33; Ezek.36:26).

Yahweh will cause His people to “know” Him far deeper than they have ever known Him before (Jer.31:34).

Yahweh will forgive the sins of His people (Jer.31:34; Ezek.36:25).

Yahweh will dwell in the hearts of His people by putting His Holy Spirit within them (Ezek.36:26-27).

Yahweh will cause His people to keep His statutes and judgments through the indwelling Holy Spirit (Ezek.36:27; John 16:13).

Yahweh will give His people the promised land (Ezek.36:24; 37:26).

Yahweh will multiply His people once they are in the land (Ezek.37:26).

Yahweh will dwell in His sanctuary / temple which will be in the midst of His people (Ezek.37:26-28).

Man’s Part

1) Man must confess the Master Yahshua and believe in his resurrection – “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Master Yahshua, and shalt believe in thine heart that Elohim hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom.10:9-10).

The above is true because Yahshua is the means through which man can enter the New Covenant. Yahshua said:

“I am the way . . . no man comes to the Father, but by me” (Jn.14:6)

In Luke 22:20, Yahshua said:

“This cup is the new testament [covenant] in my blood which is shed for you.”

When we confess Yahshua, we are saying we accept him and his blood sacrifice on our behalf as the “way” to the Father and as the means to enter the New Covenant. The Old Covenant was “dedicated” or ratified with animal blood:

“Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, Saying, This is the blood of the testament which [Yahweh] hath enjoined unto you.” (Heb.9:18-20; also Ex.24:6-8)

The New Covenant was dedicated with better blood and a better sacrifice (Heb.9:23).

What about the part about believing Yahweh raised him from the dead? This is necessary for three reasons. By doing so, we acknowledge;

1) that our Savior is the true and LIVING way to the Father.

2) that Yahweh is the Elohim of the living.

3) our hope that Yahweh will raise us up from the dead as He did Yahshua.

 

2) Man must repent of his sins and be baptized – “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that Elohim has made that same Yahshua, whom you have crucified, both Master and Messiah. Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Yahshua Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as Yahweh our Elohim shall call.” (Acts.2:36-39).

Repentance (acknowledging our sins or transgressions against Yahweh’s laws and turning from them) is necessary in order for Yahweh to carry out His part of forgiving our sins (Jer.31:34; Ezek.36:25).

Baptism is necessary to have those sins washed away (Acts 22:16) and as a symbol that we desire to put to death our old man and be raised a new man who walks according to the New Covenant as our Savior does (Rom.6:3-11).

3) Man must obey Yahweh and Yahshua out of love for them.

“By this we know that we love the children of [Yahweh], when we love [Yahweh], and keep His commandments. For this is the love of [Yahweh], that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.” (1 John 5:2-3)

“If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn.14:15)

“Yahshua answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” (Jn.14: 23)

Obedience to Yahweh and Yahshua’s commandments are a fruit of one’s entrance into the New Covenant through Messiah Yahshua. Since sin is the transgression of the law (1 Jn.3:4) and since Yahweh forgave our sins, we should have no desire to continue in the same sins we were forgiven of. Adulterers turn away from adultery, Sabbath breakers turn away from polluting the Sabbath, thieves stop stealing, liars stop lying, etc.

“New” or “Renewed”?

The Holy Spirit inspired the word “chadashah”, feminine of Strong’s #2319, to be used which most versions translate “new”. It has the meaning of freshness and was translated “fresh” and “new thing”. Strong’s says its root is #2318, “chadash” (spelled the same as the masculine of #2319, but with different vowel points.

If you were reading the Hebrew text as Yahweh originally inspired it (without vowel points), you would need to determine the meaning of the word “chadash” based on its context. Below are a few examples of how “chadash” can only be translated “new” followed by a few examples of how “chadash” can only be translated “renew”.

“New”

Ex.1:8 – “a new king over Egypt”

De.24:5 – “When a man has taken a new wife . . .”

Jg.16:12 – “Delilah therefore took new ropes . . .”

Job 32:19 – “it is ready to burst like new bottles”

“Renew”

Ps.103:5 – “thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Ps.104:30 – “thou renewest the face of the earth.”

La.5:21 – “renew our days as of old.”

Since the context determines the meaning, let’s look at the context of Jer.31:31-33. Verse 32 says the “new” covenant will NOT be like the covenant made at the time they came out of Egypt (the covenant at Mt. Sinai). A “renewed” covenant would be very similar to the Sinai covenant, but a “new” covenant would not.

Verse 32 also says the original covenant was broken. Once broken by either party, it becomes null and void. A “new” covenant was needed because the old could not be fixed. Something that cannot be fixed cannot be renewed. You cannot renew a house that has burned to the ground, or a pumpkin that has been destroyed, or anything that has disappeared.

Heb. 8:13 reads:

“In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

The Old Covenant would vanish away or disappear making it impossible to renew. What was needed was a whole new covenant, not like the first.

Verse 33 says the New Covenant would have the law (Torah) written in the hearts of the people as opposed to on tables of stone. The ten commandments are the heart of Torah. While those commandments remained unchanged from one covenant to the other, there were many laws under the Sinai covenant that did not become part of the New Covenant. For example, laws that could only be kept in the land of Israel, sacrificial laws, temple related laws, judicial laws such as stoning to death and drinking bitter water to test a suspected adulterer.

This is not to say that those laws have been abolished and only the ten commandments remain. The sacrificial laws, for example, are not to be kept today by shedding the blood of animals, but through Messiah’s one time sacrifice for all. Whenever we sin under the New Covenant, we can go before Yahweh with Yahshua as our offering for sin.

Yahshua is also our High Priest who is daily ministering and interceding for us in the heavenly temple. So, while the Old Covenant temple laws are not applicable to us in regards to an earthly temple, they are still applicable concerning the heavenly temple.

If the context of Jer.31:31-33 is not clear enough to establish the meaning of “chadash”, we can also turn to the Septuagint version which was translated by Jews into Greek more than two hundred years before Messiah. The Jews of that day used the Greek word “kainen” (a form of Strong’s # 2537, “kainos”. This is the same word the New Testament Greek manuscripts use in Heb.8:8 when quoting Jer.31:31. This same word was used in reference to “new bottles” (Mt.9:17), new vs. old treasures (Mt.13:52), a “new” tomb (Mt 27:60), “new” doctrine (Mk.1:27), “new” tongues (Mk.16:17), a “new” name (Rev.2:17), a “new” song (Rev.5:9), . . .

None of these examples can be translated “renewed” which is why the Greek has a specific word meaning “renewed” in the sense of renovation. It is Strong’s #341, “anakainoo”. This word comes from #2537 with the prefix “ana” #303 added.

A variation of “anakainoo”, “anakainison” was used in La.5:21 for “renew our days”. Variations of “anakainoo” were also used in Ps.103:5 – “thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” and 104:30 – “thou renewest the face of the earth”.

Old vs. New

So far we have seen the immediate context and the Greek Old and New Testaments support a “new” covenant rather than a “renewed” covenant. Now let’s see how other references to this New Covenant prove it is indeed “new” and not “renewed”.

In Gal.4:21-31, the Apostle Paul offers an allegory to explain the difference between the covenant at Sinai (the Old Covenant) and the New Covenant. He explains how the Old Covenant leads to bondage and the new covenant to freedom. He concludes by saying, “we are not children of the bondwoman (the Old Covenant), but of the free” (vs.31). Therefore, we should, “cast out the bondwoman” (vs.30), not renew her.

It is impossible to renew something that is to be discarded or cast out. Only things that are kept can be renewed. If you have a Model T Ford, you can renovate it or renew it as long as you have it. If you cast it out into the junk yard where it will wax old and decay until it vanishes away (Heb.8:13), it cannot possibly be renewed. Please do not misunderstand me. The Old Covenant was glorious, not junk. I’m just trying to make an analogy.

In 2 Cor.3, Paul tells us some of the problems with the Old Covenant as it related to the children of Israel. Of course, as Heb.8:8 says, the fault with the Old Covenant was with the people, not with the covenant. However, because of the way the Old Covenant was administered in relation to a disobedient people, it was very problematic.

Paul says it was a “ministration of death” and a “ministration of condemnation” (vss. 7 & 9). When the law was transgressed (sin) it brought death and condemnation for those under its rule for the wages of sin is death (Rom.6:23; Ezek.18:20). A temporary remedy was available in animal sacrifices, but the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin permanently (Heb.10:4). All were sinners and all were condemned to death. As Gal.3:23 puts it; “But before faith came, we were kept (guarded) under the law (under its condemning death sentence) shut up (locked up in prison) unto the faith which should afterward be revealed.” Transgressors were on death row awaiting their sentence to be carried out.

The entire Old Covenant had to be abolished and a new one created that would be profitable to a people full of faults. This new covenant would be founded upon a law that was written in their hearts rather than on tables of stone. Through the indwelling Spirit of Messiah, our hearts and minds would be changed. As we abide in the living Torah (Messiah) the Torah would be written on our hearts. As the mind of Messiah formed in us, a mind that was obedient to Torah, Torah would be written in our minds.

This is why Paul wrote the following in 2 Cor.3:9-11:

“For if the ministration of condemnation [O.C.] be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness [N.C.] exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious [O.C.] , much more that which remaineth is glorious [N.C.].”

This new covenant would also include:

• a better sacrifice in the blood of Messiah Yahshua vs. animal blood (Heb.9:23)
• a better mediator in Messiah vs. Moses (Heb.8:6; 9:15, 24; 12:24; Gal.3:19 speaking of Moses).
• a better ministration in the spirit vs. the letter (2 Cor.3:6)
• a better High Priest in Yahshua vs. Aaron (Heb.7:24-28; 8:1-6)
• a better priesthood after the order of Melkizedek vs. Levi (Hebrews 7)
• better promises based on the eternal rather than the temporal (Heb.7:24-25; 8:5; 9:1 vs. 9:11; see also all the promises mentioned above under the subheading, “Yahweh’s Part”.
• a better tabernacle made without hands (Heb.8:1-6; 9:11, 24)

This covenant is truly a new thing that Yahweh has created, totally unlike the Old Covenant. Nothing has been renewed, but everything is better. The only thing that is not new is Torah. Yet, even that is not renewed. However, we relate to it in a whole new way.

In conclusion, the Greek, the context, and related passages all show that a new covenant has been created by Yahweh. To teach that we are under a renewed old covenant is to drive a wedge between Christianity and the Messianic faith. It is totally unnecessary and detrimental in drawing people into the Hebraic way of life. We need to educate Christians to understand Torah is to be written on our hearts as part of the New Covenant and not try and convince them that they are in any way under the Old Covenant made better. May it be so.

Ghost?

Let’s begin with the concept of “ghost.” This word comes to us from the King James Version where the Greek ‘pneuma’ was translated ‘ghost’ whenever it was used in conjunction with the Greek word ‘ agios ‘ translated “Holy.” The definition of ‘ghost’ is “the soul of man; a disembodied spirit.” The English understanding of a ghost has led many to believe it is a person. Our Heavenly Father certainly cannot be a ghost for He never had a body to be disembodied from. His Son the Messiah certainly wasn’t a ghost since that word was used prior to his birth at which time he did not have a body either. The KJV sometimes used “Holy Spirit” instead of “Holy Ghost” (Lu.11:13). Since the two terms are interchangeable in the KJV and since all other modern Bible translations use “Holy Spirit,” we should use the correct term ‘Spirit.’

Third Person?

In other studies at this web site we have seen how Yahshua the Messiah is not Almighty Yahweh and how Yahshua did not pre-exist in any form prior to his earthly birth. Yahweh and Yahshua are two separate, distinct beings. Since the Father is Yahweh and Since the Son is not, that means the Father and the Son must be two separate, distinct beings. Since the Son did not pre-exist, the concept of a trinity (three co-equal, co-eternal persons comprising the one Godhead) is untrue.

The concept of the Holy Spirit being a person that is separate from the Father and the Son, yet still part of the one “godhead” is indeed a mystery. It is such a mystery that those who espouse that claim cannot explain it either.

Let’s begin by asking a few questions.

1) If the Father is separate from the Son, and the Holy Spirit is a serperate person from them, then who is Messiah’s father? Mt.1:18-20 reads, “Now the birth of Yahshua Messiah was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of Yahweh appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.” Is the Holy Spirit Yahshua’s Father and not Yahweh? The only way to understand this is through Lu.1:35, “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim.” The Holy Spirit is the power by which Yahweh caused the conception.

2) Why doesn’t the Apostle Paul invoke the Holy Spirit in the introduction to his epistles as he does the Father and the Son? This would seem rather offensive to the Holy Spirit if he were a co-equal person.

3) Why is the Holy Spirit never depicted as sitting on or standing near the throne as are the Father and the Son? (Acts 7:55,56; Col.3:1; and Rev.5:1-9; 7:10). We do not even see an empty throne for him.

4) 1 Cor.11:3 gives a hierarchy in which women, men, and Messiah each have a head with Elohim (Yahweh the Father) being the uppermost in authority. Where is the Holy Spirit?

5) Eph.5:5 tells us the “kingdom” that believers shall inherit is “of Messiah” and “of Elohim.” Why is the Kingdom not of the Holy Spirit as well?

6) The Father and the Son converse with each other, but why don’t they converse with the Holy Spirit?

Those are just a few of the many questions that arise if the Holy Spirit is a person. There are, however, several points that may lead one to believe the Holy Spirit is a person. Let’s look at a few of these.

Personal Attributes

It is said that the Holy Spirit has personal attributes and therefore is a person. Among a few of these attributes are that the Holy Spirit searches the deep things of Elohim (1 Cor.2:10); speaks (Rev.2:7); cries out (Gal.4:6); intercedes (Rom.8:26); gives testimony (Jn.15:26); leads or directs us (Rom.8:14); commands us (Acts 16:6,7); can be lied to (Acts 5:3); can be grieved (Eph.4:30); etc.

However, the Holy Spirit also has attributes that cannot be applied to a person, ie; it fills people (Acts 2:4); can be poured out (Acts 2.17,18); is upon people (Acts 19:6); people can drink it (1 Cor.12:13); it is a down payment (2 Cor.1:22); it is a seal (Eph.1:13); it is symbolic ink (2 Cor.3:3); etc.

To explain this, I appeal to Ro.8:9,10;

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of Elohim dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Messiah, he is none of his. And if Messiah be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.”

The Spirit of Messiah dwells in us, but verse 10 tells us it is Messiah himself. The same holds true for Yahweh’s Spirit. It is the mind, affections, and will of Almighty Yahweh. So the Holy Spirit’s personal attributes are those of Yahweh and Yahshua dwelling within us. It is their personalities and dispositions. Yahweh has given Messiah the full measure of His Holy Spirit (Jn.3:34; Col.1:19). Now that Messiah is glorified via resurrection, the Spirit that he has consists of that of his Father and that of his own. Their spirits are united in one and are placed within believers (Jn.15:26; Ro.8:9-11), though not in its fullness. On the other hand, since the Spirit also has non-personal attributes, we should attribute that to the fact that the Holy Spirit is Yahweh’s power or influence.

That the Holy Spirit is the power of Yahweh can be seen in the following verses;

“But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Yahshua from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Messiah from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Rom.8:11).

“And Elohim hath both raised up the Master, and will also raise up us by His own power.” (1Cor.6:14).

“And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Messiah, when He raised him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in the heavenly places” (Eph.1:19-20).

Those verses clearly show that the power of Yahweh is His Holy Spirit and by that Spirit He resurrected His Son.

“Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,” (Eph.3:20). What power works in us? The power known as the Holy Spirit.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim.” (Lu.1:35). Did a person or a spirit being mate with Miriam or did Yahweh’s miraculous power cause the conception?

“And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Lu.24:49).

To be “endued with power from on high” is an idiom for “to receive the Holy Spirit.” It is Yahweh’s power that works in us.

Personification

A literary technique often used in the Bible is that of personification. Many “personal attributes” of the Holy Spirit as listed above can be the result of this technique. For example, Paul says of sin it “deceived me,” and “slew me.” (Rom.7:11). He also says “death reigned from Adam to Moses.” (Rom.5:14). Neither sin nor death are people. Other examples are; “charity suffers long…thinks no evil” (1 Cor.13:4-5); “righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps.85:10); “The moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed” (Is.24:23); “Sing, O ye heavens” (Is.44:23); “You are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost His savour, wherewith shall it be salted…” (Mt.5:13); etc. In all these examples, the subject being personified is not a person. Neither is the Holy Spirit.

Personal Pronouns

Another point that misleads people to believe the Holy Spirit is a person are the personal pronouns “he,” “his,” “him,” and “whom” used in such verses as Jn.14:17; 15:26; 16:7,8,13,14.

In most European languages nouns have gender; that is, it is either masculine, feminine, or neuter. The masculine pronouns are used in these verses because ‘Comforter’ /parakletos/ is masculine. ‘Spirit,’ however, /pneuma/ is neuter and would properly require the pronoun “it.” Interestingly, the Hebrew word for Spirit (ruach) is usually feminine. Grammatically, all Greek pronouns must agree in gender with the word they refer to.

Consider 1 Cor.13:4,5 in the KJV. One verse refers to charity as ‘itself’ and the next verse refers to it as ‘her.’ Is charity a person? In Ro.8:26 (KJV), the Spirit is referred to as ‘itself.’ In Acts 12:10, an iron gate is referred to as ‘his’ in the KJV.

1 John 5:7,8

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth , the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” (KJV). Verse 7 is often used by Trinitarians to prove there are three persons in heaven that comprise the one “Godhead.” The RSV [Revised Standard Version] of 1881 omits all the words in italics. The phrase should properly read, “For there are three that bear record, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.” Only two modern Greek manuscripts and one or two ancient versions of little value contain the spurious words. It is not found in the Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, Coptic, Sahidic, Armenian, Slavonian, etc. Additionally, no Greek father even quotes 1 Jn.5:7 in any discussion concerning the Trinity doctrine. It is clearly a questionable addition to the New Testament and should not be in our Bibles.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit, as we have seen, is not a third person of a “Trinity.” It is not a person at all. It is the power, mind, and disposition of Almighty Yahweh Himself. It has been joined to the spirit of Yahshua the Messiah, now that he has been glorified, and indwells all true believers. It is the means by which we are guided into all truth and it is the power that makes the resurrection from the dead a reality. When we first receive the Holy Spirit we only get a small measure of it. It is like a down payment until we are resurrected at which time we will receive it in full. The Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift from our Heavenly Father, but it is not a third person of a fictitious trinity.

These words, spoken by our Savior in Jn.8:58, have led to much controversy and confusion. Some use this verse to prove the Messiah’s pre-existence. Others use it to prove the trinity doctrine. And then there are those who use it to prove Yahshua is the great “I AM” of Ex.3:14.
The phrase “I am” is “ego eimi” in Greek. Since the Greek New Testament records Yahshua using “ego eimi” many times, Christian theologians term these sayings, “The I Am’s of Jesus.” It is believed that each of these occurrences implies Yahshua’s identity as the “I AM” of Ex.3:14. Can this be true? Can our Savior, the Son of Yahweh, actually be the “I AM”?

Ex.3:14-15 reads, “And Elohim said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, Yahweh, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” Therefore, the “I AM” is identified as “Yahweh.”

And what does Yahweh say in Ps.2:7? “I will declare the decree: Yahweh hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.” Yahweh is the Father of Yahshua. Yahshua is the Son of Yahweh. Yahshua is not Yahweh and the Son is not the Father. Therefore, Yahshua (the Son of Yahweh) cannot be the I AM (Yahweh). That alone should be sufficient to discredit the belief that Yahshua was claiming to be the “I AM.” But let’s look into the matter a little farther.

In the Greek Septuagint (LXX), Ex 3:14 reads,

In Septuagint English it reads, “And God spoke to Moses, saying, I am THE BEING; and he said, Thus shall ye say to the children of Israel, THE BEING has sent me to you.”

In KJV English it reads, “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”

In John 8:58, “I am” is “” in Greek. As you can see, “” in Ex 3:14 is just the prelude to what the Almighty really wanted the Israelites to know, that is, that He was the “” or “the Being” or “the Existing One”.

If Yahshua truly wanted to tell the Jews he was the great “I am” of Ex 3:14, he would have said, “Before Abraham was I am the Being” or “I am the Existing One”.

It is believed that Jn.8:59 further supports the position that Yahshua is the “I AM.” Why else would the Jews try to stone him? He obviously blasphemed in the eyes of the Jews, a stoneable offense. Or did he? Is the mere utterance of “ego eimi” a blasphemy? Does the use of “ego eimi” automatically identify the speaker as Yahweh, the I AM?

Several individuals aside from Yahshua used “ego eimi” as well. In Lu.1:19, the angel Gabriel said, “Ego eimi Gabriel.” In Jn.9:9, the blind man whose sight was restored by Yahshua said, “Ego eimi.” In Acts 10:21, Peter said, “Behold, ego eimi (I am) he whom ye seek.” Obviously, the mere use of “ego eimi” does not equate one to the “I Am” of Ex.3:14. But perhaps the Savior’s use of it was somehow different. After all, he came down from heaven.

If, in fact, Yahshua spoke Greek to the Jews (which I doubt), he used the phrase “ego eimi” at least twenty times and yet, in only one instance did the Jews seek to stone him (Jn.8:58). Yahshua said, “I am the bread of life” to a large crowd in Jn.6:35 & 48, yet no one opposed him. In verse 41, the Jews murmured because he said, “I am (ego eimi) the bread which came down from heaven.” But in verse 42, the Jews questioned only the phrase, “I came down from heaven” and ignored “ego eimi.” The same is true of verses 51 & 52.

In Jn.8:12, 18, 24, & 28, Yahshua used “ego eimi” with Pharisees present (vs.13) and yet, no stoning. He, again, used it four times in Jn.10:7, 9, 11, & 14 with no stoning. Yahshua said to his disciples, “…that…ye may believe that I am (ego eimi)” in Jn.13:19 without them batting an eye.

An interesting account occurs in Jn.18 when the Jews came to arrest Yahshua in the Garden of Gethsemane. When the chief priests and Pharisees said they were seeking Yahshua of Nazareth, Yahshua said to them, “Ego eimi.” At that they fell backward to the ground. It is not made clear why they fell to the ground, but what followed will make it clear that Yahshua was not claiming to be the “I AM.”

After Yahshua’s arrest, the Jews took him to Annas first (vs.13). Then they took him to Caiaphas (vs.24) and eventually to Pilate (vss.28,29). A parallel account is found in Mt.26:57-68. Notice, in particular, verse 59. The same men that had fallen backward to the ground were in attendance when the council sought false witnesses against Yahshua to put him to death. Verse 60 says they couldn’t find any. Eventually two came forward. Interestingly, they didn’t bear false witness about what Yahshua said in Jn.8:58, but about his reference to destroying the temple and building it again in three days. Where were all those witnesses from Jn.8:58?

The point about Mt.26 is, why would false witnesses be sought if they had true witnesses in attendance? The arresting officers heard Yahshua say “Ego eimi.” They could have stoned him right there in the garden for blasphemy, but they didn’t. They could have reported the supposed blasphemy to the council, but they didn’t. Why not? Because it wasn’t blasphemy, nor was it a stoneable offense. He was merely identifying himself as Yahshua of Nazareth.

This brings us back to Jn.8:58. Why did the Jews seek to stone him on that occasion? The context of Jn.8 shows that Yahshua;

1) accused the Pharisees of “judging after the flesh” (vs.15).
2) said they would die in their sins (vss.21,24).
3) implied they were in bondage (vss.32,33).
4) said they were servants of sin (vs.34).
5) said they were out to kill him (vss. 37,40).
6) implied they were spiritually deaf (vs.43,47).
7) said their father was the devil (vs.44).
8) said they were not of Elohim (vs.47).
9) accused them of dishonoring him (vs.49).
10) accused them of not knowing Yahweh (vs.55).
11) accused them of lying (vs.55).

Aside from that, the Jews misunderstood Yahshua’s words leading
them to believe;

1) that he accused them of being born of fornication (vs.41).
2) Yahshua had a devil (vs.52).
3) that he was exalting himself above Abraham (vs.53).
4) that he saw Abraham (vs.56).
Yahshua’s words in verse 58 were the culmination of an encounter that was so offensive to the Jews that they couldn’t restrain themselves anymore. They simply couldn’t take it anymore so they sought to stone him, not because of two simple words, “ego eimi,” but because he was making himself out to be greater than their beloved father Abraham. They sought to stone him illegally.

So what does Jn.8:58 really mean? Although I do not believe we can be certain what Yahshua meant due to a variety of reasons, one being the absence of this passage as it appeared in John’s original writing, I offer the following explanation.

Let’s look at the context of Yahshua’s statement. It begins in verse 51 with the thought of eternal life; “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death.” The Jews thought since Abraham and the prophets were dead, Yahshua must have a devil. The context is eternal life. Then in verse 56 Yahshua says Abraham “rejoiced to see my day.” He did not say he saw Abraham as the Jews misunderstood. How did Abraham see Yahshua’s day? Heb.11:13 says, “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” He saw Yahshua’s day by faith.

Yahshua then resumed the context of his initial conversation by saying, “Before Abraham was, I am.” “Was” is from the Greek “ginomai” meaning, “to come into being, … to arise.” What Yahshua actually meant was, “Before Abraham comes into being (at his resurrection unto eternal life), I will.” Confirmation of this understanding comes to us from Figures of Speech Used in the Bible by E.W. Bullinger, pgs. 521,522. Under the heading “Heterosis (Of Tenses),” subheading “The Present for the Future,” hewrites, “This is put when the design is to show that some thing will certainly come to pass, and is spoken of as though it were already present.” He then lists some examples such as Mt.3:10b, “therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is [shall be] hewn down;” and Mk.9:31a, “For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is [shall be] delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.” Included among this list of examples of Heterosis is Jn.8:58. In other words, although properly written, “Before Abraham comes to be, I am,” with “I am” in the simple present tense, the meaning points to the future, “Before Abraham comes to be, I will.”

Some people believe this verse should be translated, “Before Abraham existed, I existed.” However, neither Greek verb is in the perfect tense (past tense). “Was” is in the aorist tense and “am” is in the present tense. Let’s look a little closer at “was.” Concerning the aorist tense, A Manual Grammar of the Greek New Testament by Dana and Mantey says, “It has time relations only in the indicative, where it is past and hence augmented.” The verb ginomai (was) is in the infinitive, not the indicative. Therefore it should not be translated in the past tense. This same reference says of the infinitive, “The aorist infinitive denotes that which is eventual or particular, …” Abraham will eventually resurrect which is why the Greek uses the aorist infinitive. The meaning is, “Before Abraham comes to be” not “Before Abraham was (or existed).”

In conclusion, Yahshua was not declaring that he is the great “I AM” of Ex.3:14. Yahshua was not declaring himself to be Yahweh. And Yahshua was not declaring his pre-existence. He is the Son of Yahweh and the Son of the great “I Am.”

“Wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:” Ephesians 2:2 

It is believed by some that Satan and devils / demons are not spirit beings, but earthly adversaries and mental disorders respectively. Others believe that Satan is an allegory for unrighteousness and demons are unrighteous thoughts. It is obvious that there is confusion and disagreement among people as to who or what Satan and demons are. The purpose of this study is to show that Satan and devils / demons are literal spirit beings.

The opening text is instructive for several reasons.

1) The “prince” is identified as “the spirit”. This refers to a particular spirit being.

2) The “prince” [Greek - "archonta" - a first (in rank or power)] is the primary ruler of the air (where evil spirits dwell).

3) “Power” (Greek – “exousia” – force). This word is a noun meaning a power or force in the sense of a military force. This force is ruled over by a single prince who is supreme. “Exousia” can also be translated “jurisdiction”. The prince rules over the jurisdiction of the air as Herod rules over the jurisdiction of Galilee (Luke 3:1; 23:7).

We learn the identity of this prince and who he rules over in Mt.12:22-29.

“Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow does not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Yahshua knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of Elohim, then the kingdom of Elohim is come unto you. Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.”

The Pharisees believed in devils (supernatural spirits) and that they had a prince over them, “Beelzebub”, who Yahshua implied was Satan (vs.26). Yahshua’s response teaches us several things.

1) Satan exists.

2) Satan has a kingdom that he rules over.

3) Satan’s kingdom is strong and not divided against itself.

4) Yahshua has power over Satan and his devils.

5) Satan will eventually be bound and his house spoiled.

In verse 29, the strong man is Satan. The world is his house. Satan’s “goods” are people. Yahshua speaks of himself as a thief. Just as a thief ties up the strong man (owner of the house) and carries off his possessions, Yahshua bound Satan through the power of the Holy Spirit and spoiled his goods (freed his people). By freeing the demon possessed people, Yahshua was spoiling Satan’s goods.

Yahshua referred to Satan as a being who rules over a kingdom of beings known as devils (Greek – “daimonion” – from which we get our English word “demon”). These demons are the forces or power of the air mentioned in Eph.2:2.

Other references to the “prince of the devils” are Mt.9:34; Mk.3:22; and Luke 11:15 where he is identified as the “chief of the devils”. This can be understood to mean Satan is the leader of the beings known as demons or that he is the #1 demon in rank.

Satan himself is called “the devil” (Mt.4:1; Mk.1:13; Rev.12:9; 20:2). The word used in those references, however, is “diabolos” meaning a false accuser or slanderer. It is also said of Satan that he has “angels” for whom an everlasting fire is prepared. Mt.25:41 reads:

“Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

These are obviously not good angels, but evil angels or evil spirits. They are ruled over by Satan their prince. Satan and his angels comprise the kingdom of darkness, kingdom of the air, or kingdom of Satan. This kingdom, of course, is in direct opposition to the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of Elohim.

The Works of the Devil

“He that committs sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of [Yahweh] was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8

One of Yahshua’s works will be to destroy the works of the devil (Satan). Here is a list of some of those works of the devil.

• Tempts to sin (1 Chr.21:1 – “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”). Based on 2 Sam.24:1, some believe Yahweh is the adversary that moved David to number Israel and sin. James 1:13 says, “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of [Yahweh]: for [Yahweh] cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man:” Therefore, Yahweh did not and could not tempt (move) David to sin. The correct understanding is that Yahweh allowed Satan to move David just as He allowed Satan to afflict Job. More on that later.(Mk.1:13 – “”And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”). Some have appealed to James 1:14 to show that temptation originates in one’s own mind or heart and that a literal spirit being (Satan) does not tempt people. James 1:14 simply teaches that lust causes an individual to be tempted. It does not say Satan does not tempt as well. Nor does it say others cannot tempt us. If I offer swine’s flesh to someone who keeps Yahweh’s dietary laws, then I am tempting that person to sin. His own lust will come into play as well causing him to act on that external temptation. Satan, too, can tempt us externally as seen throughout Messiah’s temptation in the wilderness. More on that later.
• Takes away the Word sown in people’s hearts (Mk.4:15 – “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”). Satan achieves this by moving others to cause us to doubt what we heard (the seed). (See Acts 13:6-12).
• Moves men to savour the things of men rather than the things of Yahweh (Mk.8:33 – “But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of Elohim, but the things that be of men.”). Satan moved Peter to reject Yahshua’s prophecy of his destiny. It was Yahweh’s will that Yahshua suffer in such a way, but Satan moved Peter to fight against Yahweh’s will.
• Binds people with afflictions (Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”). Some believe that the “Satan” in verse 16 is the ruler of the synagogue, mentioned in verse 14, who bound her by not allowing her to be healed on the Sabbath. However, this woman was bound for 18 years. She certainly could have been freed on any other day, other than the Sabbath, in all that time. The fact is, Satan bound her 18 years prior to Yahshua releasing her.
• Possesses people (Luke 22:3 – “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”). In this case it was Satan who possessed Judas. If the devil is one’s own heart/mind, how can one’s own heart/mind put thoughts of betrayal in one’s own heart/mind? It is obvious that an external entity put such thoughts in Judas’ heart. Psa.110:5 reads: “Yahweh at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath.” Yahshua derives his power and example from Yahweh. That is what the phrase, “stand at his right hand” means. In contrast, Psa. 109:6 reads: “Set thou a wicked man over him: and let Satan stand at his right hand.” The wicked derive their power and example from Satan. Psa.109:8 was quoted in Acts 1:20 concerning Judas. Therefore, verses 6 & 7 are especially applicable to Judas. Satan “entered” Judas in order to move him to betray Yahshua (See also Jn.13:27).
• Sows tares among the wheat (Mt.13:39 – “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”). The tares did not sow themselves, nor did any particular earthly adversary sow them. Satan sowed them in his attempt to destroy Yahshua’s work of saving the world.
• Casts believers into prison (Rev.2:10 – “Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”). Satan will manipulate the circumstances to move earthly adversaries against believers to bring this about.
• Deceives the world (Rev.20:3,8 – “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. . .And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”). Satan and his angels accomplish this in many ways, one of which is by appearing as an angel of light / truth (2 Cor.11:14-15). He is obviously not going to appear in some hideous form and say to us, “The Sabbath is abolished.” He will, however, move his children (1 Jn.3:10) to teach such things in the pulpit or through books, magazines, television, Internet, etc.
• Oppresses people (Acts 10:38 – “How Elohim anointed Yahshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for Elohim was with him.”). The word “oppressed” here is Strong’s #2616 meaning, “to exercise dominion against.” While it is true that men oppress other men, it is equally true that Satan can directly oppress men, use his angels to oppress men, or even move men to oppress each other. He has that power because he is the “prince of the devils.”
• Perverts the ways of Yahweh (Acts 13:10 – “And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” KJV). Causing people to doubt what they hear from Scripture is Satan’s primary way to pervert those right ways. Teaching false doctrine, leading people away from Yahshua, Judaizing, etc., are all ways to pervert the right ways of Yahweh. Yes, earthly men do all these things to other men, but many times it is the unseen hand of Satan and his “children” (his evil angels / demons / devils) that is the source of such perversion.
• Takes people captive (2 Tim.2:26 – “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”). There are many ways to trap or snare people, especially if those people are not protected by the hand of Yahweh. The mind / will that is fully committed to serving Yahweh will not be ensnared or taken captive, but those who are not, including believers who are not walking uprightly, can be ensnared (1 Tim.3:7).
• Hinders believers in their work (1 Th.2:18 – “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”). Satan may not have hindered Paul directly, but may have used the Jews to accomplish his objective of preventing the good news from spreading (vss.15-16).
• Murders and lies (Jn.8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”). Yahshua cannot be speaking of any one particular man as being their “father”. He is specifically referring to a being that existed for millennia. We are not told what “beginning” this refers to. At some point in time, Satan became a murderer when he turned away from the truth and killed his first victim.
• Accuses the brethren (Rev.12:10 – “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”). Satan has been accusing the brethren before Yahweh for hundreds of years; from the Apostles right down to us today. That will come to an end once Satan is bound for the millennium.

Yahshua began to destroy these works through signs and miracles that he did. Healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, making the lame to walk, casting out demons, etc., were all ways of causing Satan’s work (where applicable) to be destroyed. Yahshua’s greatest work to that end was to overcome sin and death through his own sinless life and resurrection thus paving the way for each individual believer in him to overcome Satan’s work as well (Heb.2:14; Rev.12:9-11)

The Serpent in the Garden

In Genesis 3, we are told of “the serpent” that “beguiled” Eve in the Garden of Eden. This garden was a literal botanical wonderland and is referred to in Gen.13:10 & Is.51:3 as the “Garden of Yahweh”. Gen.3:8 says “Yahweh Elohim” planted the garden. Therefore, it can be called the “Garden of Elohim” as well and is, in fact, called that in Ezek.28:13 which will be discussed later.

Adam was placed in the garden and eventually Eve was its second human inhabitant. The serpent was also present in the garden. His first recorded act was to plant seeds of doubt in Eve’s mind; “Yea, has Elohim said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” His second act was to lie to Eve by teaching her the exact opposite of what her Creator taught her. Yahweh said, “Of every tree of the garden thou may freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eat thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Genesis 2:16,17) and the serpent said, “You shall not surely die”. The consequences of Eve’s disobedience led to Adam’s fall and the entrance of sin and death into the world (Rom.5:12).

Rev.12:9 & 20:2 call the devil / Satan “that old serpent”. He has that title because he is somehow associated with the oldest serpent known to man, the serpent in the garden. Whether he actually was that serpent or influenced the serpent to lie and deceive is not clear from the available texts.

It is because of the devils actions in the garden that Yahshua told the Jews the following:

“You do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even Elohim. Yahshua said unto them, If Elohim were your Father, you would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from Elohim; neither came I of myself, but He sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? even because you cannot hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” John 8:41-44.

Who is the “father” of those that do not believe? Who was a murderer from the beginning? Who has no truth in him? Who is the father of lies? Can the answer to these questions be one’s own heart or mind or any earthly adversary? Can a mind or heart (one’s thoughts) be a father, a murderer, or a liar? People may act on their thoughts and become liars and murderers, but the thoughts themselves cannot commit these acts. A literal spirit being (Satan) can not only commit such acts, but he can tempt people to do so as well.

The first recorded lie in Scripture comes from the serpent (the devil / Satan). Thus it is said that he is the “father of lies”. As a result of that lie’s direct impact upon the fall of man, death came upon all men. Thus it is said that he is a “murderer from the beginning” (the beginning of man’s recorded history).

1 John 3:8 teaches similarly:

“He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

The “beginning” refers to the first sin mentioned in Scripture (the serpent’s lie). This verse is parallel to “he was a murderer from the beginning”. The devil / Satan is the murderer and father of lies. He sinned before man (Adam and Eve) sinned. His sin was lying to Eve by telling her she would not die by disobeying her Creator. Among the “works of the devil”, mentioned in this verse, is to deceive mankind into disobeying the Creator. Those that obey the devil are said to be “children of the devil” (1 Jn.3:10). He becomes their father.

Some try to teach that “your father the devil” and “the father of the lie” refers to Adam because he committed the first sin and spread sin and death to others. They view Adam as the first satan. This is faulty reasoning for several reasons: 1) Adam’s sin was not lying, but disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit 2) Satan is said to be “that old serpent”. It was Satan that tempted Eve, not Adam.

While it is true that it was Adam’s sin that brought sin and death upon the human race, it was Satan’s lie that caused the sin. Satan could not bring sin and death into the world because he is not flesh and blood, but he was certainly the first to sin against Yahweh. A being does not need to be flesh and blood to sin. By telling Eve she would not die, the serpent / Satan was not only lying to her, but he was also accusing Yahweh of not speaking the truth. He brought Yahweh’s integrity into question and misrepresented Him to Eve. His was an act of outright rebellion against his Creator.

Digressing a bit: Some may doubt that Satan has a Creator or that he is a created, supernatural being. Instead, they believe the term “satan” (Hebrew – “sawtawn”; Greek – “satanas”) simply means “adversary” and refers to men or Yahweh. They view Yahweh as the only “adversary” that is a spirit.

However, in Numbers 22:22,32, the Angel of Yahweh (who is not Yahweh, but a separate spirit being) was an “adversary / sawtawn” to Balaam. If a good spirit being can be an adversary / satan, then surely an evil spirit being can be one as well.

When a man acts as an adversary against Yahweh’s people, he is said to be a “child of the devil” (1 Jn.3:10; Acts 13:10). Why? Because he does the work of his father the devil. Sometimes Satan is the force behind a man’s evil actions as was the case with Judas (Luke 22:3). Sometimes Satan’s angels are that force as will be the case in Rev.16:14. However, sometimes a man will commit evil out of the lust of his own heart (James 1:14). Although neither Satan, nor his angels were behind the act, because the act was adversarial in nature, the term “satan” is used to describe the action.

As for Satan being a created supernatural being, we read the following in Ezek.28:12-16:

“Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith Adonai Yahweh; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of Elohim; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of Elohim; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of Elohim: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”

Yes, it is true that the context is a prophecy about the literal king of Tyrus, but it goes deeper than that into a prophecy against the real power behind the king, Satan. There are two characteristics of the king that cannot be attributed to any earthly man.

1) He is called, “the anointed cherub” (vs.14). “Cherub” is only used in Scripture of created celestial beings.

2) He was in the Garden of Eden.

I have yet to see a reasonable explanation for these two points. When one reads writings from those opposed to Satan as a literal spirit being, they refute the passage as referring to the king of Tyrus, but they fail to address these points.

Returning to Genesis 3: Yahweh cursed the serpent by transforming it into a legless creature (vs.14). He also gave the following prophecy in verse 15:

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

It was prophesied by Paul that Gen.3:15 would be fulfilled in his future by the Elohim of peace bruising Satan under the saints feet.

“And the Elohim of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. . .” Romans 16:20

Of course, Messiah Yahshua, being the seed of the woman, will also bruise Satan under his feet at a future time. He will accomplish this through his headship as “king of the saints” and through his own power. I doubt the phrases “under the saints feet” and “bruise thy head” (Gen.3:15) are to be understood literally. Messiah and the saints will “bruise” Satan through destroying his power and authority over the people of this world and through his binding during the millennium and his eventual casting into the Lake of Fire.

What is important to note here is that the Apostle Paul understood that Gen.3:15 was a prophecy referring to Satan. It was not directed at the serpent per se, but to the entity behind or in the serpent, Satan himself.

Satan in the Wilderness

In Matthew 4, we read about the devil’s temptation of Yahshua in the wilderness. Some would have us believe that a literal spirit being did not tempt Yahshua, but that he was battling with his own mind. Let’s look at the account a little closer.

“Then was Yahshua led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward hungry. And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of Elohim, command that these stones be made bread. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of Yahweh.” (Matthew 4:1-4).

Yahshua was specifically led into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil (Satan -Mk.1:13). After forty days of fasting, he was hungry. Satan then “came” to him (from another location) and tempted him to change stones to bread in order to eat. It was not against Yahweh’s law to eat when hungry. Therefore, such an act could not be sin and such a request could not be a true temptation had it come from Yahshua’s own heart / mind. However, since the request came from an external source (Satan), and since the request brought into question Yahshua’s sonship (“If thou be the Son of Elohim”), had Yahshua made bread from stones he would have yielded to the temptation of having to prove he was the Son of Elohim.

“Then the devil took him up into the holy city, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, And said unto him, If thou be the Son of Elohim, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Yahshua said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt Yahweh thy Elohim.” (Matthew 4:5-7).

It is believed that James 1:14 somehow proves that all temptation is a product of one’s own mind / lusts. Yet, Yahshua’s reply in verse 7 shows that one can be tempted from external sources. Just as we can tempt Yahweh, Satan can tempt us.

Some have gone so far as to say the devil in verses 5-7 was the high priest Caiaphas. If that were true, then he would also be the devil in verses 8-10. How absurd it would then be for Caiaphas to try to get Yahshua to worship him by offering him kingdoms that he doesn’t possess.

“Again, the devil took him up into an exceeding high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And said unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. Then said Yahshua unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship Yahweh thy Elohim, and Him only shalt thou serve.” (Matthew 4:8-10).

It is also believed that, since no one can see “all the kingdoms of the world” from any one particular mountain, this must be taking place in Yahshua’s imagination and that the devil offering him those kingdoms must be imagined as well. However, if the dragon of Rev.13:2 (Satan) can give power to the two beasts (vs.12-13), so much so that they can make fire come down from heaven, surely Satan can show Yahshua a vision of all the kingdoms of the world.

“Then the devil left him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.” (Matthew 4:11).

Satan left Yahshua just as the literal angels would leave him after ministering to him. And just as those angels “came” to him, Satan “came” to him (vs.3).

Satan and Job

“Now there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan came also among them. And Yahweh said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And Yahweh said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth Elohim, and escheweth evil? Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Doth Job fear Elohim for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face. And Yahweh said unto Satan, Behold, all that he hath is in thy power; only upon himself put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh. And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them: And the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of Elohim is fallen from heaven, and hath burned up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made out three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house: And, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and smote the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.” (Job 1:6-19).

This is one of the clearest accounts of Satan. This cannot refer to any earthly adversary of Job, for no man has the power to do what this adversary did.

The phrase “sons of Elohim” (vs.2) was used in Job 38:7 to refer to angels. Gen.6:2,4 uses that phrase to refer to angels as well. That phrase occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew text. Therefore, to try and apply it to men is going beyond Scripture.

If the “sons of Elohim” are angels, then this seen takes place in heaven. If they are mere men and Satan a mere earthly adversary of Job, then how did that man have the power to move the Sabeans to kill Job’s servants, bring fire down from heaven to kill man and beast, move the Chaldeans to kill Job’s servants and steal his goods, and cause a great wind to destroy Job’s house and kill his sons and daughters; all this one right after the other with no time to move from location to location?

“Again there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, and Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh. And Yahweh said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered Yahweh, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And Yahweh said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth Elohim, and escheweth evil? and still he holds fast his integrity, although thou moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And Yahweh said unto Satan,Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of Yahweh, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown.” (Job 2:1-7).

Note that it was not Yahweh who did the afflicting, but Satan himself. How can a mere earthly adversary afflict Job with boils? This obviously refers to a supernatural being that has power to afflict with boils. Our own Master Yahshua taught us that it was Satan who bound and afflicted a crippled woman for 18 years!

Miscellaneous references to Satan

• Jude 1:9 reads:”"Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities. Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, [Yahweh] rebuke thee.”

Michael was contending with a literal spirit being (the devil / Satan) over Moses’ body. When Moses died, Yahweh buried him in a location unknown to man (Deut.34:6). Therefore, Michael was not contending with any man or with Yahweh, but with a celestial being. The contrast is clear; lowly men speak evil of people in positions of honor yet, Michael would not speak evil even of the being who is least honorable of all. He verbally rebuked Satan, but would not rail against him. If there is no literal devil, this account is nonsense.

• 2 Timothy 2:26 reads:”And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

Do the thoughts of our own hearts have a will of their own that can set a trap and capture us whenever it wants?

• 1 Peter 5:8 reads:”Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:”

How does one’s own heart / mind walk around (the world) seeking different people to devour? This obviously refers to an external entity.

• Ephesians 6:11-17 reads:”Put on the whole armor of [Yahweh], that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of [Yahweh], that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of [Yahweh]:”

Verse 12 says our enemy is not flesh and blood (human adversaries). It is the devil (Satan) and his forces of darkness (his angels – Mt.25:41). What sense is there to portray a picture of putting on external armor if the enemy is within us (our own thoughts)? Fiery darts and trickery (wiles of the devil) come from outside of us and the armor protects us from allowing those external attacks from entering our minds / hearts.

• 2 Corinthians 2:11 reads:”Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”

Believers are not ignorant of Satan’s “devices” (ways). Yet, opponents of Satan being a literal spirit being believe it is simply man’s evil inclinations resulting from a deceitful, wicked heart (Jer.17:9). However, Jer.17:9 implies such a heart cannot be known by man. How, then, can our evil heart get an advantage of us if we can know (are not ignorant of) its devices and ways?

• 2 Corinthians 11:13-14 reads:”For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Messiah. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.”

A parallel is being made between false apostles appearing as true apostles of Messiah and Satan appearing as an angel of light. All are literal evil beings that can appear as good.

• Luke 10:18 reads:”And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.”

This is a prophecy of Satan’s eventual fall from heaven in Rev.12:9. It was given directly after the seventy reported success in subjecting devils to their commands (vs.17). Such subjection was the beginning of the downfall of Satan and his kingdom culminating in his being thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev.20:10).

The Greek word “diabolos” (devil) almost always refers to one specific being, Satan. It was translated “false accuser” twice and “slanderers” once in the KJV. Here are those references.

• “Even so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.” 1 Timothy 3:11
• “Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,” 2 Timothy 3:3
• “The aged women likewise, that they be in behavior as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;” Titus 2:3

I believe it should have been translated “false accusers” in all three verses. To translate it “devils” would render it a noun. In the Greek, it is an adjective in all three verses in question. The adjective describes the unacceptable behavior, however, the behavior is characteristic of the most notable false accuser of all, Satan the devil. The devil/Satan is said to be “the accuser of the brethren” in Rev.12:10. He accuses the brethren “day and night” before Yahweh. That means he has been accusing disciples of Messiah from the first of them in Messiah’s day to the last of them hundreds of years later. This can be said of no earthly adversary or accuser of men. It can only apply to a spirit being who can live for hundreds of years.

How, then, can the word “diabolos” be applied to humans? Consider Yahshua’s reference to the Gentiles as “dogs” and “swine” in Mt.7:6.

“Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast you your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.”

Can we say that because “dogs” and “swine” were used in reference to human beings, that there are no real dogs or swine? Of course not. Neither should we say that there is no real “diabolos” (devil), as some do, simply because humans are called “diabolos”. The Gentiles were being associated with two animals that really existed at the time because, to the Jews, they were disgusting creatures by virtue of the way they lived their lives. In the same way, Paul was telling Timothy and Titus that the saints should not behave like the devil would by falsely accusing others. By making such a comparison, Paul is actually confirming the existence of Satan the devil.

• Acts 5:1-4 reads:”But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land? While it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto Elohim.”

The following explanation is offered by those opposed to a literal being (Satan) that enticed Ananias.

“Peter says to Ananias: “Why hath Satan filled thine heart?” Then in verse 4 Peter says: “Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?” Conceiving something bad in our heart is the same as Satan filling our heart. If we ourselves conceive something, e.g. a sinful plan, then it begins inside us. If a woman conceives a child, it doesn’t exist outside of her; it begins inside her. James 1:14, 15 use the same figure in describing how our lusts conceive and bring forth sin, which brings forth death.” ¹

Are the two phrase “Satan filled thine heart” and “thou conceived this thing in thine heart” the same thing? Is this analogy of a woman conceiving a child correct? The answer is no to both questions. Let’s consider the woman first. Before a woman can conceive, a seedfrom an external source must enter her and join with her egg. Only then can conception occur. No conception can occur without an external influence.

Now let’s consider Ananias and Sapphira. Verse 4 says it was Ananias that “conceived this thing” (the idea to hold back part of the money). He then told his wife of his idea and she agreed to it. Ananias was the external influence that planted the idea in his wife’s mind. Her lust then embraced that idea and it brought forth sin.

As for Ananias, Peter, speaking through the Holy Spirit, asked why Satan filled his heart. In other words, Satan was the external source that put the idea in Ananias’ mind. Notice, in verse 9, that Peter asked Sapphira, “How is it that you have agreed together . . .” Peter did not ask her why Satan filled her heart because Satan had nothing to do with putting that idea in her heart / mind. He only influenced Ananias.

How does James 1:14-15 relate to this? It reads:

“But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.”

Lust conceives after it is “enticed” from an external source. The adulterer is enticed by the woman; the thief by things to steal; the glutton by food; etc. In Ananias’ case, he was enticed by money, but not before Satan suggested to him that if he held back part of the sale he would be a wealthier man. Satan did the same to Judas (John 13:2) when he suggested to Judas to betray Yahshua for silver.

The Greek word for “enticed” is “deleazo” meaning “to entrap”. It was translated “allure” and “beguile” as well. Its root means “to decoy; a trick (bait)”. We are all “enticed” by external bait. If we allow our lust to rule us, we will take the bait and sin. Ananias took the bait (Satan’s suggestion for acquiring wealth) and sinned.

• 1Timothy 1:18-20 reads:  This charge I commit unto thee, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to thee, that by them thou mayest war the good warfare; holding faith and a good conscience; which some having thrust from them made shipwreck concerning the faith: of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme.

Satan is not the teacher in this verse, although some would think he does teach people to blaspheme. Yahweh is teaching them by delivering them into Satan’s hands so that they would learn a lesson through chastisement and suffering. By placing them in Satan’s hands, Yahweh was removing His hedge of protection around them and allowing Satan to afflict them. They would then realize that the afflictions coming upon them following Paul’s command (through Apostolic authority) were the result of their blasphemy. This would provoke them to repentance and to learn to blaspheme no more.

• Revelation 3:9 reads:”Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee.”

These Jews are of the “synagogue of Satan” because they do the works of Satan. They are of their father the devil (Satan – the father of lies) in that they profess to be Jews, but are, in reality, lying. The same phrase is applied similarly in Rev.2:9.

Satan’s Destiny

Hebrews 2:14 reads:

“For as much then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;”

The Greek word for “destroy” is “katargeo” meaning “to be (render) entirely idle (useless)”. The devil/ Satan will be rendered idle at some point in the future. He will certainly be idle during the millennium when he is bound for a thousand years and unable to deceive anyone (Rev.20:1-3). Afterwards, he will be let loose and become an active deceiver for a short time. He will eventually be rendered permanently idle when he is thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev.20:10).

One author tries to prove that this devil / false accuser in Heb.2:14 was the high priest Caiaphas. The KJV translates the Greek word “katargeo” as “might destroy” because the destruction or idleness had not happened by the time Heb.2:14 was written. The word is the aorist subjunctive. The aorist tense refers to simple, undefined action. One grammarian writes;

“In the indicative mood the aorist tense usually denotes a simple act occurring in past time. . . With few exceptions, whenever the aorist tense is used in any mood other than the indicative, the verb does not have any temporal significance.” ²

Had Heb.2:14 referred back to Caiaphas, “katargeo” should be in the aorist indicative. Concerning the subjunctive mood, the same grammarian writes;

“The Subjunctive Mood makes an assertion about which there is some doubt, uncertainty, or indefiniteness. It is closely related to the future tense, which helps point up the fact that often the uncertainty only arises because the action has not yet occurred.”

Heb.2:14 clearly points to a future time when the devil (Satan) will be rendered idle.

Revelation 12:7-9 reads:

“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.”

The same author noted above writes:

“The diabolos – Satan of Rev.12:9 is the pagan Roman religious power dethroned by Constantine in 312ad, written of in symbols.” ³

This explanation totally neglects the context and chronology of Revelation. The 7th Trumpet of Rev.11:15 (the “last trump” marking the resurrection of the saints in Messiah) was just blown and Rev.12:5 then pictures that resurrection. The dragon (Satan) of verse 9 was pictured in verse 4 as awaiting that resurrection/birth to occur so he could destroy those saints if possible. Michael and his angels prevent Satan and his angels from doing so via the “war” of verse 7. At that point, Satan is literally cast out of heaven.

Once Satan is cast out, the inhabitants of heaven are told to rejoice (Rev.12:12). Why? Because that literal being no longer has access to heaven to bring his false accusations before Yahweh. The inhabitants of the earth, however, will not rejoice because that literal being called Satan is now very angry and intends to reek as much havoc as he can before his freedom is taken away. He “knows” his time is short because he is a literal thinking being. This cannot refer to any earthly adversary because he was just cast out of heaven along with his angels (vs.9).

The “woman” that he persecutes is taken to a place of safety for 3 1/2 years where she is hidden from the “face of the serpent” (vs.14), the serpent being Satan. In other words, Satan will be searching for the woman to persecute her, but Yahweh will protect her from Satan’s wrath.

Revelation 20:1-10 reads:

“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Yahshua, and for the word of [Yahweh], and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Messiah a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of [Yahweh] and of Messiah, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from [Yahweh] out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

This chapter clearly outlines the fate of a specific being known as “the dragon”, “that old serpent”, “the devil”, and “Satan”. He will be bound 1,000 years while Yahshua’s kingdom rules the earth. The purpose of his binding is so that he doesn’t deceive the nations as he had done for thousands of years. Deception was the primary work of Satan.

It takes a special angel coming down from Yahweh in heaven to bind Satan. This teaches us that this “Satan” cannot be Yahweh, as some would have us believe. Nor can this passage refer to any one particular earthly adversary, but to one supernatural being.

Also, verse 10 makes no sense if the devil refers to the minds of men that deceived themselves. The devil will be tormented day and night forever because a spirit being cannot die. Yet, men can and will die in the Lake of Fire and so cannot be tormented forever.

Matthew 25:41 reads:

“”Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”

After Yahshua separates the sheep from the goats at his coming (vss.31-33), the goats will be thrown into “everlasting fire”. This is the same fire that Satan and his angels will be thrown into at the end of the millennium. It is the Lake of Fire mentioned in Rev.20:10. Just as the goats are literal people destined for judgment, Satan and his angels are literal beings that will be judged similarly.

This verse makes no sense if Satan is not real and there are no fallen angels. Even if one were to believe the fire is prepared for corrupt men with devilish, adversarial minds, how could such a mind control angels?

Demons / Devils

The Greek words “daimonizomai” (to be exercised by a demon), “daimonion” (a demonic being), and “daimon” (a demon or supernatural spirit, of a bad nature), are far more problematic for those who oppose the belief in literal, evil spirit beings.

The Bible does not tell us what demons are. Some believe they are fallen angels. Others believe they are the spirits of the offspring of the “giants” of Gen.6:4 (1 Enoch 10:11-14; 16:1; 86:1-4). What they are is not as important as the fact that they exist as literal spirit beings.

A common view of demons held by opponents of demons being literal spirit beings is that they are, in reality, “the Greek terminology and explanation for what we know as epilepsy and mental illness . . . which are conditions with no obvious external physical blemishes to explain them.” ⁴ Others equate demons with “germs, pathogens, diseases undefined at the time, mental disturbances, parasitic creatures, individual human beings and groups of human beings.”

Let’s examine Mt.4:24 to see if either of these views is correct.

“And his fame went throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all sick people that were taken with diverse diseases and torments, and those which were possessed with devils, and those which were lunatick, and those that had the palsy; and he healed them.”

Notice we have separate categories of affliction mentioned in this verse.

1) all sick people with diseases and torments (“diseases” – such as “epilepsy”, “undefined” diseases, maladies, sickness)

2) those possessed with devils (“daimonizomai” – exercised by a demon)

3) “lunaticks” (“seleniazomai” – moon struck, ie: crazy, mentally disturbed)

4) those with palsy (“paralutikos” – paralytic)

Those possessed with devils are in a category by themselves. They are not lunaticks or paralytic or sick with any kind of malady. They are possessed by a life form that entered their body. That life form is a demon.

Mark 1:32-34 and Luke 9:1 also separate devils/demons from those that are sick. They read as follows:

“And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed many that were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” Mark 1:32-34

“Then he called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.” Luke 9:1

Notice carefully Mark 1:34. Demons can speak if permitted! Can diseases, germs, pathogens and parasites talk? It was not the person possessed that was forbidden to speak, but the demon himself. Yahshua would not allow them to speak “because they knew him”. They knew him because they are literal beings with cognitive capabilities.

Luke 4:41 reads:

“And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Messiah the Son of Elohim. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Messiah.”

Yahshua did not want these demons to reveal his identity because it wasn’t time yet. He said the same thing to his disciples. Matthew 16:20 reads:

“Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Yahshua the Messiah.”

Yahshua would not allow any being, whether man or demon, to reveal his identity until the time was right.

Not only can demons speak and think, they also have emotions. James 2:19 reads:

“Thou believest that there is one Elohim; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”

They “tremble” with fear because they know that the one true Elohim will soon judge them and cast them into the Lake of Fire.

Let’s look at the most notable case of demon possession in the New Testament. Luke 8:26-35 reads as follows with my comments inblue (see also Mt.8:28-34; Mk.5:1-20):

“And they arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, which is over against Galilee. And when he went forth to land, there met him out of the city a certain man, which had devils long time, and wore no clothes, neither abode in any house, but in the tombs.” (vs.26-27)

“Devils” – “daimonion” – a demonic being.

“When he saw Yahshua, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Yahshua, thou Son of Elohim most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.” (vs.28)

“He”, the demon, had a mind of his own. He could think, reason, had emotions (fear), and could feel torment in some way.

“(For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. For oftentimes it had caught him: and he was kept bound with chains and in fetters; and he brake the bands, and was driven of the devil into the wilderness.)” (vs.29)

In other words, verse 28 was spoken by the demon after Yahshua commanded the unclean evil spirit to leave the man. He was conversing with the demon.

“And Yahshua asked him, saying, What is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him.” (vs.30)

The demons name was “Legion”, not “epilepsy”, “schizophrenia”, “Parkinson’s”, etc. There was more than one demon in the man just as there was more than one (7) in Mary Magdalene (Mt.16:9). Notice that these demons “entered into him”. They existed as spirit beings outside of the man at one time and then entered him at a specific time in the man’s life.

“And they besought him that he would not command them to go out into the deep. And there was there an herd of many swine feeding on the mountain: and they besought him that he would suffer them to enter into them. And he suffered them.” (vs.31-32)

The demons had a preference. They wanted to go into the swine rather than the deep (abyss). Just as the demons “entered” the man of their own free will, they now were about to leave of their own free will. Although Yahshua commanded them to leave, he did not force them to. They knew, however, that he had the power to force them into the abyss (a fate worse than entering swine) which is why they were begging him to allow them this choice of an alternate destination.

“Then went the devils out of the man, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the lake, and were choked.” (vs.33)

Again, we see this ability to leave and enter a living host. Upon entering a living host, the host, whether man or beast, is greatly troubled. The evil spirit is not compatible with the spirit of man or beast because the spirit is of another “kind”. Unrest, turmoil and an inability to function properly result from such a mix.

“And were choked” – it was the herd that was “choked”. We are not told what happened to the demons within the herd. If the demons were fallen angels or disembodied spirits, then they did not die from drowning. Spirits do not need air to survive.

“When they that fed them saw what was done, they fled, and went and told it in the city and in the country. Then they went out to see what was done; and came to Yahshua, and found the man, out of whom the devils were departed, sitting at the feet of Yahshua, clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.” (vs.34-35)

A departed demon brings peace and a sound mind back to the tormented host.

Another interesting account of demon possession is found in Mark 9:14-29 (see also Mt.17:14-20; Luke 9:37-43). In this account, a man’s son had been demon possessed since he was a child (vs.21). This demon rendered the child deaf and dumb (vss.17,25) as well as mentally disturbed (Mt.17:15). Other demons can cause a person to become blind. Some deafness is caused by trauma to the ear; some inability to speak is caused by problems with the nervous system; some blindness is caused by trauma to the eyes or abnormal physical development; and some mental disorders are caused by trauma to the brain, problems with the nervous system or abnormal physical development. However, some deaf, dumb, blind or mentally disturbed individuals are in that state due to the effects of demon possession. The father of the boy knew this as did Yahshua. That is why the father told Yahshua, “a spirit takes him” (Luke 9:39) and why Yahshua spoke to the spirit saying, “Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.”

Since many psychological maladies were unknown to people back then, some would have us believe that Yahshua was merely accommodating the ignorance of those people in believing in demons, but he himself knew better. If that were true, then Yahshua deceived them by making them think he was really conversing with demons. This would also make the New Testament untrue, as well as its writers liars, by stating that demons spoke back to Yahshua calling him “Messiah the Son of Elohim” (Luke 4:41, etc.)

In Acts 19:11-17, demons are called “evil spirits” (vss.12-13, 15-16) and a distinction is made between them and diseases (vs.12). In verse 15, the evil spirit speaks to certain Jews saying, “Yahshua I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” The Jews probably overheard Paul casting out demons/evil spirits in the name of the Master Yahshua and wanted that same power. They tried to emulate him without success because the Spirit of Messiah was not in them. How did the evil spirits “know” Yahshua and Paul? Most likely because evil spirits or demons communicate with each other. They are living, thinking, feeling beings.

1 Cor. 10:20-21 reads:

“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to Eloah: and I would not that you should have fellowship with devils. You cannot drink the cup of the Master, and the cup of devils: you cannot be partakers of the Master’s table, and of the table of devils.”

Paul was expressing what Torah taught him about devils in Deut.32:17 and Psa.106:37 which read as follows:

“They sacrificed unto devils, not to Eloah; to elohim whom they knew not, to new mighty ones that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” Deuteronomy 32:17.

“Yes, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils,” Psa.106:37

How can one sacrifice unto or have fellowship with mental disorders? A parallel is being drawn between the Master (a literal being) and devils (literal beings). Literal demons lead men to sacrifice unto idols thereby causing a bond of fellowship between the demon and the idolater.

Matthew 12:43-45 reads:

“When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goes he, and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.”

Yahshua taught us that unclean spirits (devils, demons) that are cast out seek other places to inhabit. When they can’t find a suitable host to possess, they return to the original host. If that person remained “empty” (not having been filled by the Holy Spirit), then seven other unclean spirits will fill the void. This cannot possibly occur if unclean spirits or demons / devils are mere mental disorders.

Miscellaneous Verses Concerning Demons

• Matthew 8:29 reads:”And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee,Yahshua, thou Son of Elohim? art thou come hither totorment us before the time?”

These demons knew an appointed time was coming when they would be tormented, but until then, they were free to roam the earth.

• Revelation 9:1-2, 11 read:”And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. . . . And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

Verse 11 actually provides the name of a “fallen angel” that rules over the beings that are imprisoned in the bottomless pit. This “bottomless pit” (Greek – “abussos”, abyss) is where the demon known as “Legion” begged Yahshua not to send them (Luke 8:31). The “locust” of Rev.9 are most likely demons as well. The “abyss” or “bottomless pit”, once it is empty of inhabitants, will be where Satan himself will be imprisoned for 1,000 years. My personal opinion is that the beings / locust of Rev.9 are imprisoned in the abyss because their behavior was especially egregious compared to those demons that are free to roam the earth. The same would be true of those imprisoned in “Tartaroo” mentioned in 2 Pe.2:4. It is possible that Tartaroo and the abyss (bottomless pit) are one and the same, but evidence is lacking to substantiate that.

Some people cannot understand why Yahweh would send some fallen angels / demons to tartaroo and yet, allow others to roam free. Doesn’t the same thing happen among men? Why do some evil men get locked up in prison while others seem to “get away with murder” and remain free. Yahweh knows they are guilty and yet, allows their freedom to serve His purpose.

Concerning “Tartaroo”, 2 Peter 2:1-9 reads:

“But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Master that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not. For if Elohim spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to [Tartaroo], and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the wicked; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live piously; And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) Yahweh knows how to deliver the pious out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:”

Peter begins by prophesying that false teachers would arise (vs.1) and that their judgment would come quickly (vs.3). He then begins to show that since Yahweh has reserved others unto a future judgment and judged others in the past, He will certainly judge these false teachers as well, especially those that turned away from the Master Yahshua (vss.1, 20-21).

Verse 4 identifies the first group that will be judged. They are “angels that sinned”. The second group is from Noah’s day. The third group is from Sodom and Gomorrah. These groups are being listed in chronological order which means the angels sinned prior to the flood. We are not told how, when or why they sinned. Some believe it refers to Genesis 6:1-4. Others believe it refers to a pre-creation fall of Satan and his angels.

Those that oppose a literal spirit world of fallen angels believe 2 Peter 2:4 refer to “messengers that sinned”. They do not believe it is possible for angels to sin and therefore translate the Greek “aggelos” as “messengers” to allow this verse to pertain to men. While “aggelos” can be translated “messenger”, the context, as well as other passages, suggests “angels” is the correct translation.

When men die they are put in “hades”, the grave. Yet, for some reason, 2 Peter 2:4 uses “Tartaroo”. This is obviously a location other than the grave. Strong’s #5020 says the word refers to “the deepest / abyss / of Hades”. If Hades is the grave, there is no “deepest abyss” of it. This definition is based on hell as a place of eternal torment. Other lexicons are equally in the dark about the meaning of Tartaroo.

Two other references provide more light on this subject. They are Jude 6-7 and 1 Peter 3:18-20.

Jude 6-7 read:

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Both Jude and Peter refer to “angels” that will be judged. Angels cannot die based on Yahshua’s teaching in Luke 20:36. Therefore, they are not in Hades / the grave. They are conscious and imprisoned in Tartaroo which may be the abyss of Luke 8:31 and/or the bottomless pit of Rev.9:1,11.

Verse 7 is making a comparison between those angels and the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah who went “after strange flesh”. “Even as” they of Sodom and Gomorrah went after strange flesh, so did those angels. Is there anything recorded that this can refer to? Perhaps, as the men of Sodom and Gomorrah went after unnatural partners, angels went after unnatural partners as well. Perhaps they left their first estate, their “own habitation” and appeared as men in order to procreate with women. The word “habitation” in Greek is the same word used for our heavenly “house” that we will be clothed with at the resurrection (2 Cor.5:2). Did they leave their heavenly house to dwell in an earthly house?

Some would reject this view because they believe the angel “kind” cannot procreate with man “kind”. I would agree that that is true in their spirit form, for a spirit cannot procreate with flesh. However, what happens when an angel takes on human form as in Genesis 18:2 and 19:1?

We know they can eat (Gen.18:8). We know they can wrestle and be overcome (Gen.32:24; Hos.12:3-4). Perhaps they can do everything humans can do including procreate. While we do not know for sure if that is possible, we do not know for sure it is impossible.

Let’s look at 1 Peter 3:18-20 for more light.

“For Messiah also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to Elohim, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of Elohim waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.”

Verse 19 is clear that Messiah “by the Spirit” (vs.18) “went and preached” to a group of imprisoned beings. Where these “spirits” men? Certainly not, since their disobedience leading to imprisonment took place in Noah’s day (vs.20). Eccl.9:5 says, “… but the dead know not anything”. Therefore, the dead cannot hear or understand preaching.

Psa.104:4 and Heb.1:7, 14 tell us Yahweh’s angels are “spirits”. Even fallen angels that sinned are spirits. It is quite possible that these “spirits” / angels sinned via the transgression of Gen.6:1-4 and were imprisoned in Tartaroo with “chains of darkness” until the judgment. Messiah Yahshua, at a time not recorded in the Bible, went and preached to those living spirits. We don’t know what he preached to them, but it doesn’t necessarily mean he preached the “good news” to them. He could have preached a message of judgment to them.

Since 1 Peter 3:18-20, 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6-7 may all hinge on Genesis 6:1-7, we need to examine this passage as well. It reads:

“And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, That the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. And Yahweh said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented Yahweh that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at his heart. And Yahweh said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents me that I have made them.”

The phrase “sons of Elohim” (vs.2) was used in Job 38:7 to refer to angels and if Job 1:6 and 2:1 take place in heaven (which is the most logical interpretation), then that phrase refers to angels there as well. That phrase occurs nowhere else in the Hebrew text. Therefore, to try and apply it to men is going beyond Scripture.

Some oppose the view that Gen.6:1-4 refers to angels based on Mt.22:30 which reads as follows:

“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of Elohim in heaven.”

Yahshua was referring to the “angels of Elohim in heaven“, not the angels of Satan on earth. Additionally, Mt.22:30 does not say it is impossible for angels to marry. It simply says the angels in heaven are unmarried.

Genesis 6:4 says the offspring of this union became “mighty men” (Heb.- “gibbor” – “forceful; by implication, warrior, tyrant”). It is not clear if the “giants” existed before those unions took place or if they are the result of those unions.

At the same time those unions took place, men began to corrupt themselves with great evil. Therefore, the flood was not a result of those unlawful unions, but of man’s corruption of himself.

It is not the intent of this study to go into further detail about this account since it has already been written about in two ancient Hebrew writings; 1 Enoch and Jubilees. This viewpoint was held by Jews prior to and during Yahshua’s ministry. Jude undoubtedly drew upon the understanding given in 1 Enoch because he quoted from 1 Enoch in Jude 14 which reads:

“And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his saints,” KJV.

Since 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6 are so similar, it is logical to conclude that Peter was also drawing upon 1 Enoch. However, whether or not 1 Enoch and Jubilees is correct concerning Genesis 6 has no bearing on what the rest of the Bible teaches concerning Satan and Demons.

References:

^{1. Bible Basics Online, http://www.biblebasicsonline.com/english/Study06GodandEvil/0602DevilAndSatan.html}

^{2. Spiros Zodhiates, The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible (Chattanooga: AMG Publishers, 1991), 1585.}

^{3. Pat Brady, http://www.gospel-uncovered.net/13.%20Devil-%20Satan.htm}

^{4. Ibid.}

As I sit here as an adult and recall that movie, I can’t help but draw a spiritual parallel to today.

The Savior of the world, Yahshua the Messiah, said to a man who wanted to bury his father before becoming a disciple of Yahshua, “Follow me; and let the dead bury their dead.” Matthew 8:22

It was more important for this man to follow Yahshua than for him to bury his father. He had other relatives who could tend to that while he tended to the preaching of the Kingdom of Elohim. The point is, those others were said to be “dead” spiritually whereas the man Yahshua spoke to would be alive spiritually as a disciple of his.

It was common among Jews to say “that a sinner is counted as dead (1), and that ungodly persons, even while they are alive”, are “called dead” (2).

The Apostle Paul wrote:

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” Colossians 2:13

Before a person receives Yahshua the Messiah as their Savior and have all their sins washed away, they are considered “dead” in their sins. Those who have not been forgiven of their sins are “the living dead”.

Here are a few more similar verses by Paul.

 “Neither yield you your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto Elohim, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto Elohim.” Romans 6:13

“And you has he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;” Ephesians 2:1   

“Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Messiah, (by grace you are saved;)” Ephesians 2:5

“Wherefore he says, Awake you that sleep, and arise from the dead, and Messiah shall give you light.” Ephesians 5:14  

 “But she that lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” 1 Timothy 5:6

Are you among the dead, dear reader? Are you the living dead spoken of by Messiah Yahshua and the Apostle Paul? If you have not received Yahshua as your Savior and had your sins forgiven through him, then you are indeed “the living dead.”

In the movie, the dead came back to life, but were still dead. They were like zombies. This will not be the case when the servants of Messiah Yahshua are resurrected from the grave and come back to life. They will be given new heavenly bodies that will live forever in full communion and fellowship with their Creator Yahweh and their Savior Yahshua.

Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to Elohim, which gives us the victory through our Master Yahshua Messiah. 1 Corinthians 15:51-57

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.  John 5:28-29 

In the movie, the living dead sought out people to eat. Is it any different today?   

“Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon Yahweh.” Psalm 14:4

The workers of iniquity or those that sin by breaking their Creator’s holy laws, eat Yahweh’s people figuratively speaking. Here is how John Gill explains how they eat His people.

“by reproaching and persecuting them, doing injury to their persons, property, and character: they devoured their persons, by using them cruelly and putting them to death; they devoured their substance, by spoiling them of it, and converting it to their own use, as the Pharisees are said to devour widows’ houses and they destroyed their good names and characters with their devouring words: and this they did with as much ease, delight, and pleasure, and without any remorse of conscience, and as constantly, as a man eats his bread.” 

Are you among the living dead who eat up Yahweh’s people?

Here is how Yahweh figuratively spoke of this through the prophet Micah. 

“You who hate good and love evil, who tear off their skin from them and their flesh from their bones, who eat the flesh of my people, strip off their skin from them, break their bones and chop them up as for the pot and as meat in a kettle.” Micah 3:2-3

The prophet Jeremiah cries out to Yahweh:

“Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know you not, and upon the families that call not on your name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate.” Jeremiah 10:25

Are you among the living dead that do not know Yahweh or His Son Yahshua? Do you eat up Jacob (Israel) as do the Arab nations who fight against Israel and who desire to wipe Israel off the face of the map?   

The living dead in the movie would primarily make their attacks at night. Thus, the movie was called, “Night of the Living Dead”. Not so with Yahweh’s people.

“You are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” 1 Thessalonians 5:5  

Yahshua said, “I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12

Are you walking in darkness among the living dead? Follow Yahshua and you will no longer be dead or in darkness.

The strangers in the movie sought refuge in a farmhouse in Pennsylvania. We have a far better refuge today in heaven.

“Yahweh is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my Elohim, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” Psalm 18:2   

“The name of Yahweh is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe.” Proverbs 18:10

“For you have been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy. I will abide in your tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of your wings.” Psalm 61:3-4

Friend, if you do not know your Creator Yahweh or His Son Yahshua the Messiah; if you have not had your sins forgiven; if you are among the living dead of this world; there is hope for you. Receive the Master Yahshua as your Savior and your sins will be blotted out. You will be spiritually made alive and given Yahweh’s Holy Spirit to help you keep His commandments and help you overcome in this life as you await the return of Messiah Yahshua to literally resurrect you from death and the grave. 

(1) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 6. 2.

(2) T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 18. 2. Jarchi in Gen. 11. 32.

The context of this passage is dealing with idolatry and the idols the parents of these Gentiles (non-Israelites) inherited from their fathers. Their fathers were lied to when they were told a particular idol made from wood, stone or metal was powerful and able to provide for and protect them. Those fathers then passed those lies down to their children. Worthless, powerless figures carved from wood or stone or images cast from metal are not the only lies that are passed down from generation to generation among Gentiles.

In this article, we will briefly identify and explore several other lies that the Gentiles have inherited. Of course, one does not know they are lies at the time they embrace them. It is only until the light of truth shines in the eyes of the deceived that they remain in darkness, believing such lies.

Lie #1 – “There is no God” 

Atheism is a religion based on faith in the words of men who say there is no God (Elohim). The Scriptures tell us such people are fools:

“The fool has said in his heart, There is no Elohim (God). They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good. Yahweh looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek Elohim. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one. Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge? Who eat up my people as they eat bread, and call not upon Yahweh.” (Psalm 14:1-4)

“Because that which may be known of Elohim is manifest in them; for Elohim has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Deity; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew Elohim, they glorified him not as Elohim, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, . . .” (Romans 1:19-22)  

Lie #2 – “Man evolved from monkeys”

This assumption is based on the fact that apes/monkeys have similar physical features to man. However, both Neanderthal man and Cro-Magnon man are classified by scientists as Homo sapiens. 

One of the world’s foremost authorities on Neanderthal man, Erik Trinkaus, made the following conclusion:

“Detailed comparisons of Neanderthal skeletal remains with those of modern humans have shown that there is nothing in Neanderthal anatomy that conclusively indicates locomotor, manipulative, intellectual or linguistic abilities inferior to those of modern humans.” (Natural History, vol. 87, p. 10, 1978).  

Dr. David Pilbeam, professor of anthropology at Yale, stated:

“. . . perhaps generations of students of human evolution, including myself, have been flailing about in the dark; that our data base is too sparse, too slippery, for it to be able to mold our theories. Rather the theories are more statements about us and ideology than about the past. Paleoanthropology reveals more about how humans view themselves than it does about how humans came about. But that is heresy.” (American Scientist, Vol. 66, p. 379, May/June 1978).

The Holy Scriptures declare:

“And Yahweh Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Gen.2:7)

“This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that Elohim created man, in the likeness of Elohim made He him; Male and female created He them; and blessed them, and called their name Man, in the day when they were created.” (Genesis 5:1-2)

See http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/nab2/humans-evolve-apelike-creatures for further study. 

Lie #3 – “The Bible is a book of fables”

These words are usually uttered by people who have not read the Bible, but only heard about isolated “stories” here or there. They then try to discredit the Bible without looking into those “stories” further. The fact of the matter is that hundreds of archaeological findings have corroborated historical facts cited in the Bible. That the Bible is a true record of history, one would do well to read the scholarly book by Werner Keller, The Bible as History (1980).

Not only is the Bible a true record of history, it is also true scientifically. The Bible taught the earth was round while much of the world thought it was flat. It recorded ocean currents long before they were discovered. It taught the earth was suspended in space while the world thought it was held up by Atlas or a giant turtles back and other such nonsense. It taught us about the water cycle while it was yet unknown to scientists as well as a host of other scientific facts that scientists were ignorant of.

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Master Yahshua Messiah, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.” 2 Peter 1:16

Lie #4 – “Jesus (Yahshua) rose from the dead on Easter Sunday”

Sadly, Christianity propagated many of today’s lies. Easter Sunday is a fixed day of the year (the first Sunday after the full moon following the northern hemisphere’s vernal equinox). In reality, the day of Messiah’s resurrection always falls during the Passover week or Feast of Unleavened Bread. That feast can fall directly after the vernal equinox or as much as a month later. If there is no barley available for the firstfruits offering, a 13^th month would be added to the calendar causing Easter to be one month earlier than the true resurrection day.

See http://www.yrm.org/easter-search.htm for further study.

Lie #5 – “Jesus (Yahshua) was born on December 25”

“The exact date of Jesus’ birth is entirely unknown, as all authorities acknowledge—though there are indications that it was in the early fall—probably September—approximately six months after Passover,” Catholic Encyclopedia.

Celebrating our Savior’s birth on December 25 and teaching others to do so is to live and teach a lie. Some will say, “We know he was not born on December 25. We simply choose that day to remember his birth.” Of all the days in the year to remember his birth, why that day? History has shown that that day was chosen by the Roman church in order to assimilate pagans who were celebrating their gods and goddesses on the same day. If Christians know Messiah was not born on December 25, then why not move the celebration of his birth to a different day, one that is closer to the approximate time of his birth (September/October)? Since we are not commanded to celebrate Yahshua’s birth and since we do not know the exact date of his birth, the prudent course of action in dealing with such a holiday stemming from paganism is to abandon it.

“December 25 was the date of the Roman pagan festival inaugurated in 274 as the birthday of the unconquered sun which at the winter solstice begins again to show an increase in light. Sometime before 336 the Church in Rome, unable to stamp out this pagan festival, spiritualized it as the Feast of the Nativity of the Sun of Righteousness,” New International Dictionary of the Christian Church, p. 223.

Yahweh seeks those who worship Him in spirit and in TRUTH. A December 25th birth of the Savior is not true. It has its origins in paganism. Believers are not to learn the way of heathens/pagans. We are to learn Yahweh’s ways and obey them. All His Holy Days are listed in Leviticus 23. Christmas is not one of them. Christmas is not found in the New Testament either.

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/PaganOriginsofChristmas.htm for further study.

Lie # 6 – “The Law (Torah) has been abolished”

This lie is in direct contradiction to Yahshua’s words found in Matthew 5:17-19:

“Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”

Heaven and earth has not passed yet and neither has the Law of Yahweh. Sin is the transgression of the Law (1 John 3:4). If you remove the Law, you remove the instrument Yahweh uses to determine when a sin is committed (Romans 3:20).

Those who teach others to break the Law or break it themselves will be judged for their actions. Those who keep the Law will be exalted.

The Law is not made void now that faith has come. The Apostle Paul wrote:

“Do we then make void the law through faith? Elohim forbid: yes, we establish the law.” (Romans 3:31)

The Law or Torah is the way of life for a believer and it is the Holy Spirit that leads a person to obey Yahweh’s laws (Romans 8:6-9). Those that will not subject themselves to the Law are carnally minded and are not allowing themselves to be lead by the Spirit in this area.

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/Law%20&%20New_Covenant%20Believer for further study.  

Lie #7 – “The Sabbath has been changed to Sunday”

This is wishful thinking and a tradition of men. There is no command in Scripture by the Father, Son, or any apostle to change the Sabbath Day to Sunday or to abolish it all together. This tradition arose through a misguided effort to honor the Son by remembering the day he rose from the dead. In order to support the continuance of this man made tradition, the Scriptures are twisted in all sorts of ways to justify that belief. It is not wrong to worship the Creator on Sunday. We should worship Him seven days a week through our words and actions. However, it is sin to work on the day that He commanded us to rest and do no work.

Christians fully understand that Messiah resurrected on the first day of the week (Sunday). Therefore, Sunday is not the seventh day of the week (Saturday). The commandment of Yahweh reads:

“Six days shall you labor, and do all your work: But the seventh day is the sabbath of Yahweh your Elohim: in it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor the stranger that is within your gates: For in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Yahweh blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.”  (Exodus 20:9-11)

The seventh day of the week is the only day that Yahweh sanctified (hallowed/set apart) and blessed (Genesis 2:1-3). No work is to be done on that day. To exalt the first day of the week (a tradition) over  the seventh day of the week (a commandment of Yahweh) causes our worship to be in vain as Messiah Yahshua taught.

“But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men“. (Matthew 15:9) 

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/The_Sabbath_Rest.html; http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/sabbath.html; and http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/lord’s_day.html for further study. 

Lie #8 – “We are free to eat whatever we want”

This is another lie foisted upon people and causing them to sin against their Creator. Yahweh said;

“. . . These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: . . . and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.” (Leviticus 11:3-4, 7-8)

Just as automobile manufacturers know what fuel will allow their cars to run well and instruct us in their operator manuals what fuel to use, Yahweh, our Creator, knows what fuel man needs to keep his body working well and He tells us what fuel to use in His operators manual, the Bible. Yet, there are those that would lie to us and tell us we can eat anything. They twist a few verses to support their belief, but in the end, the truth will prevail as Yahweh told us through the prophet Isaiah when He spoke of His coming judgment.

“For behold, Yahweh will come with fire and with His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire. For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire and by His sword on all flesh, and those slain by Yahweh will be many. They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine’s flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, says Yahweh. For I know their works and their thoughts; . . .” (Isaiah 66:15-18a)

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/Dietary_Laws.html for further study.

Lie #9 – “Satan is not a real being”

Men can say all sorts of things, but how do we know if they speak the truth or lie? Do we base our understanding on the word of others, encyclopedias, Wikipedia, etc., or should the final authority be the Holy Scriptures which have been proven true through archaeology, true science and personal experience?

“He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of [Yahweh] was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.” 1 John 3:8

One of Yahshua’s works will be to destroy the works of the devil (Satan). Here is a list of some of those works of the devil.

• Tempts to sin (1 Chr.21:1 – “And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.”).
• (Mk.1:13 – “”And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him.”).
• Takes away the Word sown in people’s hearts (Mk.4:15 – “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.”). Satan achieves this by moving others to cause us to doubt what we heard (the seed). (See Acts 13:6-12).
• Moves men to savor the things of men rather than the things of Yahweh (Mk.8:33 – “But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for you savor not the things that be of Elohim, but the things that be of men.”). Satan moved Peter to reject Yahshua’s prophecy of his destiny. It was Yahweh’s will that Yahshua suffer in such a way, but Satan moved Peter to fight against Yahweh’s will.
• Binds people with afflictions (Luke 13:16 – “And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?”).
• Possesses people (Luke 22:3 – “Then entered Satan into Judas surnamed Iscariot, being of the number of the twelve.”)
• Sows tares among the wheat (Mt.13:39 – “The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.”). The tares did not sow themselves, nor did any particular earthly adversary sow them. Satan sowed them in his attempt to destroy Yahshua’s work of saving the world.
• Casts believers into prison (Rev.2:10 – “Fear none of those things which you shall suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried; and you shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.”). Satan will manipulate the circumstances to move earthly adversaries against believers to bring this about.
• Deceives the world (Rev.20:3,8 – “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. . .And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”). Satan and his angels accomplish this in many ways, one of which is by appearing as an angel of light / truth (2 Cor.11:14-15). He is obviously not going to appear in some hideous form and say to us, “The Sabbath is abolished.” He will, however, move his children (1 Jn.3:10) to teach such things in the pulpit or through books, magazines, television, Internet, etc.
• Oppresses people (Acts 10:38 – “How Elohim anointed Yahshua of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for Elohim was with him.”).
• Perverts the ways of Yahweh (Acts 13:10 – “And said, O full of all subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?” KJV). Causing people to doubt what they hear from Scripture is Satan’s primary way to pervert those right ways. Teaching false doctrine, leading people away from Yahshua, Judaizing, etc., are all ways to pervert the right ways of Yahweh.
• Takes people captive (2 Tim.2:26 – “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”). There are many ways to trap or snare people, especially if those people are not protected by the hand of Yahweh.
• Hinders believers in their work (1 Th.2:18 – “Wherefore we would have come unto you, even I Paul, once and again; but Satan hindered us.”)
• Murders and lies (Jn.8:44 – “You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”).
• Accuses the brethren (Rev.12:10 – “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”)

Yahshua began to destroy these works through signs and miracles that he did. Healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind, making the lame to walk, casting out demons, etc., were all ways of causing Satan’s work (where applicable) to be destroyed. Yahshua’s greatest work to that end was to overcome sin and death through his own sinless life and resurrection thus paving the way for each individual believer in him to overcome Satan’s work as well (Heb.2:14; Rev.12:9-11).

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/Satan-Demons.html for further study.

Lie #10 –“Messiah Yahshua is Almighty Yahweh” 

This belief is known as the “Oneness Doctrine” and is totally false and full of problems and impossibilities. To believe such a teaching, one must believe that the Almighty Creator of the heavens and the earth, who alone has immortality, can die; that the Son was really praying to himself whenever he prayed; that the Son is the mediator between man and himself; that the Son is his own high priest; that the Son is his own Father and that the Father is his own Son; that the Son ascended into heaven to sit on his own right hand; that the Son will ultimately turn the Kingdom over to himself after the millennium; that the Son sent himself to be the Savior of the world; and a host of other problematic issues.

Consider the following verses: 

John 20:17  “Yahshua said unto her, ‘Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my Elohim, and your Elohim.’ ”

Was the Son going to ascend to himself or to another being he called “my Father”? How is it that the Son can have an Elohim (God) if he already is the one true Elohim?

 Acts 3:13  “The Elohim of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the Elohim of our fathers, has glorified his Son Yahshua; whom you delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.”

Did the Son glorify himself or did a separate being known as the Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob glorify him?

John 17:3  “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true Elohim, and Yahshua Messiah, whom you have sent.”

The Son is praying to his Father and calls Him “the only true Elohim”! He then says the Father sent him (the Son). The Son is not the one true Elohim of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, nor did he send himself.

See http://www.intergate.com/~jcordaro/yahweh_yahshua.html for further study.

I hope you will seriously examine your beliefs. If you are believing any of these lies that our fathers have passed down to us, you need to study what the Scriptures teach and believe the truth.