Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Grace. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Is The KJV Bible the Word of the Almighty?


 When it comes to a belief system that is based on the writings of a Higher Power, the Almighty Himself, we desire to follow His writings alone. But are the writings of the Almighty still His writings when it has been edited and changed by men? Certainly not, in fact, it then becomes the writings of man instead and cannot be trusted as the writings or Word of the Almighty at all any more.

Many Churches and Christians all claim that the King James Bible is the authoritative Scriptures and the Word of the Almighty. They claim that it is by far the best and most accurate English translation of the original Scriptures and that it can be trusted and used as a reference for sound Scriptural doctrine. But is this true? Is the KJV an accurate account or translation of the original Scriptures?

The only way to answer these questions is to actually compare it to the original, or oldest manuscripts in existence today. For the “Old Testament” this is quite easy as the Hebrew text has been preserved from generation to generation and is 100% perfect (this is discussed below). Anyone who can read Hebrew, can therefore, easily compare the KJV or any other translation to the Hebrew text.

The “New Testament” is however a little harder, as the original Scriptures were destroyed or are being kept hidden. The Church claims that the “New Testament” was originally written in Greek, whereas all the facts and evidence point to a Hebrew original (but denied by the Church). This is however a topic on its own which I have covered in a previous post. There are however, ways to identify errors in translation. We do have the very early Greek manuscripts, the Aramaic text and we can compare the teachings to the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament) and we know that the Creator is not a liar that He should give instructions to last for 4,000 years and then change His mind.

Let us start with comparing the KJV with the Hebrew Tanakh (Old Testament)

The “Old Testament” of the KJV Bible is admittedly more accurate than the “New Testament” of the KJV Bible. This is because the “Old Testament” is somewhat based on the Hebrew Tanakh, where the “New Testament” is based on the Greek manuscripts which are not very reliable at all (I will explain this in more detail below). There are however still major errors in the KJV’s “Old Testament.”

Firstly, the term “Old Testament” is an incorrect term and is NOT at all Scriptural. Marcion, who is one of the early church fathers, coined the terms Old and New Testament. BUT: It is written that YHWH would bring a Renewed Covenant to His people and therefore the duty was on His people to extend the invitation of the Kingdom of Elohim to the rest of the world. By replacing the word “Covenant” with “Testament” Marcion and other pagan theologians wrestled Jeremiah 31:31-34 away from the foundational teachings of Y’hoshua and the Schlichim (taught ones). Most Christians had no access to the Tanakh (Hebrew Scriptures) and would not have know that Brit Chadashah means “RENEWED Covenant” and that Mashiyach would come to write Torah (Law) upon the hearts of his followers. By replacing the word “covenant” with “testament” and the word “renewed” with the word “new”, Marcion theologically divided the Messiah and his followers away from YHWH the Father and turned him into a self sustained deity that opposed the “Old Testament.” Everyone whoever used the terms “Old and New Testament” can thank Marcion the heretic for implanting such contrary values against the Unified and Eternal Word of the Living Almighty.

Polycarp, referred to Marcion as “the firstborn of the devil.” But, Marcion’s “judenrein” (Jew-free, also a well known phrase of Hitler) all-Gentile churches became very popular among early Gentile Christians, and one of the largest Christian denominations on Earth. Marcion was the inventor and/or the major contributor to dispensationalism, supercessionism, and replacement theology – all of which are altogether unscriptural and extremely popular among the vast majority of Christians today, preached in nearly every church.

The Name of the Almighty

The entire Scripture is full of how important and Set-Apart the Name of the Almighty is. It even goes as far as to say that there is no other name by which we can be saved. The Hebrew Tanakh has the Name of the Almighty written more than 6,000 times.

Now if the King James Translation, or any other translation, is truthful and correct, then it too must have the Name, or at least a transliteration (you can never translate a name) of the Name of the Almighty in the same places as those of the original Hebrew Tanakh. If it does not, then it is not the Word of the Almighty any more but rather the word of evil and corrupt men. The Word of the Almighty says that we are not allowed to add to or remove from what is originally written (Deut 4:2). It is also one of the Ten Commandments that we are not to bring His Name to naught.

Now if you have a look at the Hebrew Tanakh, you will not have to look very far to find the Name of the Almighty. The Name of the Almighty looks like this, “יהוה“, but the first thing you notice when you see His Name, is that it is not an English Name, but rather a Hebrew Name.

Now when you do a comparison between the Hebrew Scriptures and the KJV translation, you will see that almost every place that the Name of the Almighty is written, the KJV translation uses the word “LORD.” Now is the Name of the Almighty in English, “LORD”? Is the word “LORD” even a name at all? A little research will tell you that it is not a name at all, but a title that is also given to many men too and has a very dodgy pagan origin, where it actually originates from the name of a pagan deity.

So we can already see that the KJV translation has taken the most important Name in the existence of the Universe, the only Name by which we can be saved, out of its translation and replaced it with something that is hated by the Almighty. Is this not taking away from the Word which is forbidden by the Almighty Himself?

God

And what about the name “God”? Once again, the word “God” was not a name at all, but is rather a term used by other pagan beliefs to refer to their own deity. It later on became a name given to a specific pagan deity. Now ask yourself the following question, “can the Almighty be referred to by the same title that originated from the title for pagan deities?”

The Hebrew Scriptures have the word “Elohim” (Mighty One) in the places where the KJV translation has the word “God.” Once again, the KJV is not a correct translation here, where the translators placed their own words that do not mean the same.

In fact, there is a mention of “God” or “Gawd” in the Hebrew Scriptures, “But you are those who forsake יהוה (YHWH), who forget My set-apart mountain, who prepare a table for Gad (Gawd, God), and who fill a drink offering for Meni” (Isaiah 65:11).

Wow, the Scriptures actually say that those who follow after “God” (who is the pagan deity of good fortune) are those who forsake the Almighty. This is not just a translation error, but rather a direct contradiction of the Word of the Almighty. It is also written, “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth” (Exodus 23:13).

Let us look at some more errors

There are some more errors in the KJV’s “Old Testament” but none that are as critical as the errors spoken of above but, they are however still errors and are not Scriptural and changes the meaning of the Almighty's Word.

Eze 20:25 (KJV) Wherefore I gave them also statutes that were not good, and judgments whereby they should not live;

Eze 20:25 (Original) “And I also gave them up to laws that were not good, and right-rulings by which they would not live

Here the KJV suggests that the Almighty gave the evil statutes to the people, where the original text says that He gave them up to the laws that the people turned to on there own.

There are many more differences between the KJV and the Hebrew text, but I am not going to post every single one of them here as we get the idea and it would be a lot of reading.

Now what about the Brit Chadashah (Renewed Covenant) (New Testament)

Every single scholar of the “KJV New Testament” agrees that it is based on the Greek manuscripts which they ignorantly believe to be the original manuscripts.

The KJV “New Testament” translation has MANY more differences and errors in it compared to its “Old Testament” translation. This is because its “Old Testament” is based, somewhat, on the original Hebrew, where the “New Testament” is based on many many Greek manuscripts (about 13,000) that all differ from one another. The problem with this is that the Greek is not the original as the Renewed Covenant was not originally written in Greek, but rather in Hebrew.

Let us have a closer look at these Greek manuscripts:

Both the Hebrew Torah and the “New Testament” contain approximately the same number of words. Which would you expect to be more successful in preserving the accuracy of a text?... The Christian New Testament, for several reasons of course.

Firstly, the Christian “New Testament” is about 1700 (or even more) years younger than the Torah. Secondly, the Christians haven’t gone through nearly as much exile and dislocation as the Jews. Thirdly, Christianity has always had a central authority (the Vatican) to ensure the "accuracy" of their text.

What are the results? The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, a book written to prove the validity of the New Testament, says: “A study of 150 Greek [manuscripts] of the Gospel of Luke has revealed more than 30 000 different readings… It is safe to say that there is not one sentence in the New Testament in which the [manuscript] is wholly uniform.”

Other scholars report there are some 200 000 variants in the existing manuscripts of the New Testament, representing about 400 variant readings, which cause doubt about textual meaning; 50 of these are of great significance which have contradictory meanings to one another.

So how can we know which one, if any, is the correct one? Which one, if any, can we rely on to be the truth?

The Renewed Covenant is where the testimony and fulfillment of the prophecy of the Messiah is recorded. Let us have a look at the verse which speaks of the giving of the Name of the Messiah when He was born, “And she shall give birth to a Son, and you shall call His Name יהושע (Y’hoshua) for He shall save His people from their sins” (Mat 1:21). Now the KJV has the same statement but has the name “Jesus” as the name of the Messiah.

The question we need to ask ourselves, if we want to be honest, is if the KJV and all the other English Bibles that have the name of the Messiah as “Jesus” is correct. If so, then the name “Jesus” has to mean something like “for He shall save His people from their sins” as the verse implies.

In order to determine the meaning of the name “Jesus”, we need to go to its origin and find its meaning. Every single scholar admits the fact that the name “Jesus” comes from the Greek “Iesous” which once again originates from paganism, and NOT from the Hebrew Y’hoshua. I have covered this topic in much more detail in a previous post.

The Name Y’hoshua means “YHWH is our salvation” which fits one hundred percent with what is written in Matthew 1:21.

This difference is a major error that is absolutely the opposite of the Will and the Word of the Almighty. 

What about the name “Christ”?

Here is another example of a word being substituted by another that has the total opposite meaning as to what it should be. The Greek text has the word “Messias” for the word “anointed one” in John 1:41 and John 4:25. Why then does the KJV and other English translations have the Greek word “Christos” all the other times where the word “anointed one” appears?

Why does the KJV Bible use the Greek word “Messias” which is a valid Greek word that means “anointed one” in only a very few places, and the Greek word “Christos”, which does not have the exact same meaning, in the rest of the places? One must once again look for the origin of the word “Christos” from which the title “Christian originates from. If you start investigating the origin of the word “Christos” you will quickly find that it comes from “Chrestos” (the Sun-deity Osiris). Read here to learn more on this topic.

Other Errors

There are many other major errors and additions into the Christian Bible that do not even exist in the oldest Greek manuscripts, never mind the original writings. Some of these are, for example, John 7: 53 – 8:11 where it speaks of a woman caught in adultery that was brought to the Messiah. This event never happened and does not appear in the Aramaic text which is much, much older than the Greek, it is not even found in the earliest Greek manuscripts either. This portion was inserted many years later after the original writing of John. And yet, a large portion of the Christian faith is based on this small piece of writing.

How many times have you heard or even yourself quoted the phrase, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone”? This section is NOT Scriptural at all and cannot be found anywhere else in Scripture. Why was it added? In order to justify that adultery is okay and easily forgivable… do yourself a favor and go see what the Almighty thinks of adultery, and then see if the Messiah agrees with His Father on this point in this section.

Another major error in the KJV Bible that is not found in any other English Bible, even though they are also based on the Greek manuscripts, is found in Acts 12:4.

KJV Bible: "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people"

Better Translation: "And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Passover to bring him forth to the people"

Here is a major error that does not even match any of the Greek manuscripts at all. The Greek word used for “Passover” is “pascha”. Every other English translation of the Bible has the word “Passover” here. It is only the KJV that has perverted it and used the word “Easter” instead of “Passover”. Now why did the translators do that? And is it correct? If not, then it is not an accurate translation and NOT the Word of the Almighty, but rather the word of men instead.

Easter is the Saxon's fertility deity called “Eostre”. Now the Passover is a testimony of the Messiah Himself. It is by His blood that we are passed over by the Messenger of death. To substitute this wonderful testimony of our Beloved Messiah, with the celebrations of an evil pagan deity that the Almighty hates, is pure evil. I would have no problem with burning a book that does such a thing.

If you would like to know more about Easter… then click here

Another major addition is that of Mark 16:9-20. If you compare it with that of the oldest Greek manuscripts, you will notice that it does not exist until the more modern Greek manuscripts.

Here is another example of a translation error proving that the translator did not have any knowledge of the Scriptures at all.

Hebrews 4:8-9
KJV Bible: "For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God"

Better Translation: "For if Joshua (or rather Y’hoshua) had given them rest, then would he not afterward have spoken of another day. There remaineth therefore a keeping of a Sabbath to the people of Elohim"

But even the Greek word for this "rest" is "sabbatismos", which means "Sabbath keeping".

This verse above actually proves two very important points. Firstly, the translator was not very well versed in the Scriptures at all. He did not know of the second point which is that “Joshua’s”  name in the Hebrew Tanakh is actually spelled as “יהושע” which is the exact same spelling and pronunciation of the Name as that of the Messiah, which is pronounced as Y’hoshua. The above verse is speaking of Y’hoshua son of Nun, where the translator ignorantly put in what he believed to be “Jesus”.

There are so many other errors in the KJV “New Testament” that it would take a very long time to record them here.

There are also many words that have been changed that originate from paganism rather than from the original writings, some of these words and names are, “Christ, holy, grace, glory, church and even the cross” which are all an abomination to the Almighty.

How many errors can be found in the Hebrew Torah?
 
Now for interest sake, we had a look at how many Greek variations existed in the “New Testament” above. Now if we are to compare the Greek “New Testament” with that of the Hebrew Torah, we can start to see which one is the most accurate of the two. Keeping in mind that the Greek “New Testament” contains over 200 000 different variations.

The Hebrew Torah contains approximately the same number of words as the “New Testament.” How many letters are there in the Hebrew Torah? There are 304 805 letters (or approximately 79 000 words).

If you were to guess, how many letters of these 304 805 do you think are in question (or questionable)? (most people guess anywhere from 25 to 1 000 letters.)

Maintaining the accuracy of any document as ancient and as large as the Torah is very challenging even under the best of circumstances.

But, consider that throughout history, Jewish communities were subject to widespread persecutions and exile. Over the last 2000 years, Jews have been spread to the four corners of the world, from Yemen to Poland, from Australia to Alaska.

Other historical factors make the accurate transmission of the Torah all the more difficult. For example, the destruction of the Temple 1900 years ago saw the dissolution of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish central authority which traditionally would unify the Jewish people in the case of any disagreements.

Let’s investigate the facts as we have them today. If we collect the oldest Torah scrolls and compare them, we can see if any garbling exist, and if so, how much.

The fact is, that after all the trials and tribulations, communal dislocations and persecutions, only the Yemenite Torah scrolls contain any difference from the rest of world Jewry. For hundreds of years, the Yemenite community was not part of the global checking system, and a total of nine letter-differences are found in their scrolls.

These are all spelling differences. In no case do they change the meaning of the word. For example, how would you spell the word “colour”? in America, it’s spelled C-O-L-O-R. But in England (and South Africa), it’s spelled with a “u”, C-O-L-O-U-R.

Such is the nature of the few spelling differences between Torah scrolls today. The results over thousands of years are remarkable. And these differences are only found in the Yemenite Torah Scrolls.

The Torah has nine spelling variants – with absolutely no effect on the meaning of the words. The Christian Bible has over 200 000 variants and in 400 instances the variants change the meaning of the TEXT.

These letters of the Hebrew Torah were employed by the Almighty in creating the world, and it is through them that He sustains it. The deletion of even one letter of this sustaining force therefore threatens the existence of the world.

Carefully guarding the words of the Torah has been a Jewish priority throughout the centuries.

Writing a Torah Scroll

To eliminate any chance of human error, the Talmud enumerates more than 20 factors mandatory for a Torah scroll to be considered “kosher”. This is the Torah’s built-in security system. Should any one of these factors be lacking, it does not possess the sanctity of a Torah scroll, and is not to be used for a public Torah reading.

The meticulous process of hand-copying a scroll takes about 2000 hours (a full-time job for one year). Throughout the centuries, Jewish scribes have adhered to the following guidelines:

  • A Torah Scroll is disqualified if even a single letter is added.
  • A Torah Scroll is disqualified if even a single letter is deleted.
  • The scribe must be a learned, pious Jew, who has undergone special training and certification.
  • All materials (parchment, ink, quill) must conform to strict specifications, and be prepared specifically for the purpose of writing a Torah scroll.
  • The scribe may not write even one letter into a Torah scroll by heart. Rather, he must have a second, kosher scroll opened before him at all times.
  • The scribe must pronounce every word out loud before copying it from the correct text.
  • Every letter must have sufficient white space surrounding it. If one letter touched another in any spot, it invalidates the entire scroll.
  • If a single letter was so marred that it cannot be read at all, or resembles another letter (whether the defect is in the writing, or is due to a hole, tear or smudge), this invalidates the entire scroll. Each letter must be sufficiently legible so that even an ordinary schoolchild could distinguish it from other, similar letters.
  • The scribe must put precise spaces between words, so that one word will not look like two words, or two words look like one word.
  • The scribe must not alter the design of the sections, and must conform to particular line-lengths and paragraph configurations.

A Torah scroll in which any mistake has been found, cannot be used, and must be fixed within 30 days, or buried.

Which one can then be considered the Word of the Almighty?

Now the Christian church is based mostly on the supposed teachings of “Paul”. The Church claims that Paul taught that the “Gentile Believers” do not have to keep the Torah of the Almighty anymore. They claim that the Torah of the Almighty was nailed to the “cross” which is a gross perversion and is proof that they are totally ignorant of the Scriptures and the writings of Paul.

So let us see what “Paul” considers to be Scripture and what he teaches about it, “and that from a babe you have known the Set-apart Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for deliverance through belief in Messiah יהושע (Y’hoshua). All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:15-17)

Now what are these Set-apart Scriptures that he is speaking of in this verse? Did the “New Testament” exist when he wrote this letter? Is it even possible that he could be referring to the “New Testament” or even any of his own letters, which make up the majority of the “New Testament” as Scripture? Absolutely not!

Paul stated above to the people that from when they were very young, they have known the Set-apart Scriptures. He is referring to the Hebrew Tanakh which is the only book that can ever be considered as the Word of the Almighty. Let us have a look at another letter that Paul wrote, “For whatever was written before was written for our instruction, that through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have the expectation” (Rom 15:4).

Paul is once again making it very clear that the Hebrew Tanakh are the Scriptures and is there for our instruction. The fact of the matter is that the Scriptures (Hebrew Tanakh) teaches us how to love the Almighty, it also teaches us how to love one another. The Hebrew Tanakh teaches us who the Messiah is and also what His role and duty is, “יהושע (Y’hoshua) said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures, ‘The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief corner-stone. This was from יהוה (YHWH), and it is marvellous in our eyes?” (Mat 21:42). It teaches us everything we need to know in regards to Salvation and the forgiveness of sins.

Notice above how the Messiah Himself refers to the Hebrew Tanakh as “the Scriptures” and how it refers to Him. Here is another verse that shows the Messiah referring to the Hebrew Tanakh as the Scriptures, “And יהושע (Y’hoshua) answering, said to them, “You go astray, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of Elohim”” (Mat 22:29).

I could go on and quote all the places in the “New Testament” and all the people therein who testify that the Hebrew Tanakh is the Scriptures, but that would take too much time and space here.

The fact of the matter is that the “New Testament” is not considered to be Scripture at all, but is rather just a testimony of the fulfillment of prophecy and letters of encouragement to fellow believers, who have been scattered, for them to stay in the study of the Scriptures.

Therefore, the Word of the Almighty is the Hebrew Tanakh and the Hebrew Tanakh alone. Anyone who speaks otherwise is speaking evil and denying the Word of the Almighty.

And anyone who does not subject themselves to the Instruction of the Hebrew Tanakh does not love the Almighty and there is no truth in them.

Sunday, March 18, 2012

The Armor of Elohim

Many people have heard the story or passage about “the armor of God”, but how many people really understand what it means and what the application of the armor is? It has become a “buzz word” among the Christians without the actual knowledge or application of what is being taught.

Once a person turns to the faith and belief of the Messiah יהושע (Yehoshua), that person joins a battle field where there are many attacks from the enemy. Satan (the adversary) and all his evil forces are the enemy that constantly tries to destroy anyone who turns to follow the government and rule of the Almighty.

There are also a few misconceptions about the armor of Elohim, for instance, it is taught that you must daily put on the armor of Elohim. But I ask you, where does it say daily, or everyday? It just says put it on. Are you not also in need of the armor at all times, even while you sleep? Another thing is that we all need to put on the ENTIRE armor, otherwise it is of no use at all. One piece of the armor cannot function without the others. We will get into that in more detail as we go through this article.

Let us now work through the passage where Shaul teaches about the armor of Elohim:

Put on the complete armor of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil (Accuser).” (Eph 6:11). Here it is very clear that the complete armor is needed in order to stand against whatever the devil has to give. If you do not have the complete armor on, the rest of the armor is of no use and does not function, you cannot have one piece of armor on without the rest, it is a package deal. The Accuser will always find an opening and will always attack you there at your weakest point. That is why the entire armor is needed to stand against his attacks.

Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.” (Eph 6:12). So we do not fight one another, but rather the false teachings and false spirits that lead and deceive others. If we all wore the armor of Elohim, then we would all stand together on the same team in total agreement with one another. There are, however, only a very few that truly wear the armor of Elohim, and these people are attacked even by flesh and blood. This is only due to the fact that those attacking are being lead by the evil spiritual forces. By wearing the full armor of Elohim, we will be able to stand up against everyone and everything.

Because of this, take up the complete armor of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.” (Eph 6:13). Once again, Shaul teaches the importance to wear the FULL armor of Elohim. If we do not have the full armor on, then we will not be able to stand in the “wicked day.” What day is this “wicked day?” it is the day of judgment where we are going to stand in front of the Almighty, and the devil (Accuser) is going to accuse us of all terrible things. Unless you are wearing the full armor of Elohim, you will fall to his accusations and be guilty of sin. If, however, you are clothed with the full armor of Elohim, you will be able to stand up against any accusation that the Accuser may give.

Stand, then, having girded your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” (Eph 6:14). Here we start to learn what the armor of Elohim is. The first item of the armor that is mentioned is the “waist girdle” or “belt” of TRUTH. Truth is the opposite of lies and falsehood. Truth is based upon facts and evidence. Truth is what comes out of the mouth of the Almighty, it is what is written. Any writing that changes the original truth is considered false. That is why it is so important to go back to the original writings, rather than relying on the many false translations that we know as Bibles today. The “waist girdle” is what holds your sword, without truth, you cannot have any weapon to fight or defend yourself with.

The second piece of armor mentioned in this verse is the breastplate of righteousness. Without righteousness, you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs, like your lungs and heart. Righteousness is the opposite of sin. It is the obedience of the Instruction of the Almighty which is His Torah, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves servants for obedience, you are servants of the one whom you obey, whether of sin to death, or of obedience to righteousness?” (Rom 6:16). This next verse explains that everyone that does not do righteousness, that is keeping the Torah of YHWH, is not of the children of the Almighty but are rather the children of the devil. To be part of the children of the Almighty, you have to live by His rules, which is His Word also known as the Torah. “In this the children of Elohim and the children of the devil are manifest: Everyone not doing righteousness is not of Elohim, neither the one not loving his brother” (1 John 3:10)

If you do not live righteously, then you do not have a breastplate to protect your vital organs in the Day of Judgment and the Accuser will give you up to death in that Day of Judgment.Having to stand in the wicked day can also mean the day/days that believers are attacked, and one's enemies devise and carry out evil plans against you, so that we do not fall and turn away from Elohim and His ways. These are also to do with schemes of the devil.

and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;” (Eph 6:15). The Scriptures indicate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Good News originated at the very beginning of time. The True “gospel” has always incorporated the Almighty’s Torah (instruction in righteousness) in building a relationship between YHWH and humankind. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit in you, and cause you to live by my Torah, and ye shall keep my statutes and judgments, and do them” (Ezekiel 36:26-27). Here we clearly see the basis of the Good News, that YHWH Himself shows favor and mercy to His people who will live according to His Word. The Good News is the revelation of YHWH’s Eternal Favor (grace) that saves and empowers His people to be able to stop transgressing (breaking Torah) against Him. Torah is YHWH’s blueprint for moral, righteous living. To attempt to annul Torah is to teach a different “gospel” than what the Talmidim (disciples) and Shlichim (Apostles) originally taught.

False gospels preach that Y’hoshua or “Jesus” is “the gospel” and/or that belief alone in Y’hoshua brings salvation. However, Adam and Chawwah (Eve) “got saved” long before Y’hoshua came to earth, because YHWH is Salvation. Y’hoshua is the door to salvation but belief in his atoning blood is utterly futile without being “re-born” spiritually and keeping His Father’s Commandments (becoming Set Apart). Even the demons believe in YHWH and the fact that there is only One Elohim; but demons are certainly not Set Apart unto YHWH, and therefore belief in itself without a righteous lifestyle is simply false religion. The false gospel has removed the TERMS & CONDITIONS of salvation, covenant and atonement and replaced them with a cerebral belief system or Christian religious label (identity); whereas the Renewed Covenant demands a complete change of lifestyle once Torah (instruction in righteousness) is written upon the heart.

Increased popularity of a false gospel will in no way make it acceptable to YHWH or His Mashiyach. Even if every soul on earth put their faith in a false gospel, it would not cause YHWH to change His Word to comply with man’s opinion. YHWH is His Word and His Promise and He cannot change Who He is! The false gospel is a theology that pits Y’hoshua against the Word of YHWH (Torah). Those who lead the charge of the false gospel adamantly speak against the terms and conditions of the Renewed Covenant. The Good News is that YHWH our Creator is a Loving, Merciful and Forgiving Father, which is why “the sacrifices of Elohim are a broken spirit: a broken and contrite heart.” This Love of the Father is clearly demonstrated in Y’hoshua haMashiyach as an offering for all souls to turn to YHWH, to enter His Kingdom and turn away from transgression of His Word (Torah).

above all, having taken up the shield of belief with which you shall have power to quench all the burning arrows of the wicked one.” (Eph 6:16). The shield of Belief is spoken of as “above all.” This is because none of the rest of the armor is of any use without belief. If you have truth and not belief, then the truth is of no use, just as the others are of no use either. It is exactly the same as not being able to have belief without truth and works. “So also belief, if it does not have works, is in itself dead” (Ya’akov/James 2:17). Once again, it is a package deal, it cannot function without the other pieces of the armor, and without the shield of belief/faith, none of the other armor is of any use. This shield stops any fiery attacks that the wicked one may shoot at you. If you do not have belief, then you will not be able to stand against any attacks and will fall.

Take also the helmet of deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Elohim,” (Eph 6:17). Now this is an interesting verse that has a specific aspect that many people do not understand. All Christians agree that the sword is the Word of the Almighty, but what they do not understand is what exactly the Word of the Almighty is. Let us ask ourselves some questions, “Who wrote this letter? When was it written? and what existed as the Word of the Almighty in that time?” Let us now answer these questions. The letter to the Ephesians was written by Shaul (Paul). It was written in the time of early to mid 60’s AD. Now the key is to what was available in that time as the Word of the Almighty. One thing to notice is that the “New Testament” was not written or compiled yet and it certainly was not considered to be the Word of the Almighty. A lot of it had not even been written yet as most of it was mere letters sent from one believer to other believers. Ephesians was even written before some of the Gospels were.

So what was and still is the Word of the Almighty that Shaul and all the other disciples always referred to? It is the Tanakh (Old Testament) of course, the Tanakh is the Word of the Almighty and always will be as it is eternal. Shaul and many of the disciples studied and referenced the Tanakh in their letters and Gospels too. The Messiah Yehoshua quoted the Tanakh repeatedly and every time He said, “it is written…” so that we can know for certain that it comes from the Word of the Almighty which is the Tanakh.

The Word of our beloved Creator is also called Scripture. The Tanakh is the only thing that is or can be considered as Scripture. The “New Testament” is not the Word of the Almighty. But rather 4 witnesses to the happenings of the Messiah and also a collection of letters, written from believers to other believers who all followed the Scriptures (Tanakh). Let us see, for example, what one believer wrote in his letter to the other believers, “All Scripture is breathed by Elohim and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of Elohim might be fitted, equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Now you have to once again remember that the “New Testament” did not exist at the time of the writing of this letter, and that the Scripture being referenced here is the Tanakh. That proves that the Tanakh is the one and only writing that is considered the Word of the Almighty and the only thing that is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for setting straight and for instruction in righteousness. It is also our only guide to show us what good works are.

It is sad that the Church teaches its followers that it is an Old Testament and yet have no facts to support this evil thought. It is the Living Word of the Eternal Creator and Almighty YHWH. The term “New Testament” is also an evil man made title that has no facts to support it. The correct term is “brit chadashah” which means “Renewed Covenant,” NOT “new”. The term “New” implies that the other is “Old” which is not true but rather a false teaching. The Messiah did not bring a New Law, He came to renew the One perfect law that is eternal and taught us how to obey it. He also does not have any authority to change even one little part of the law at all.

There are many people who claim that the Tanakh is a curse and imperfect that had to be done away with and replaced by something better by the Messiah. Now consider what they are saying… they are saying that the Word of the Almighty, that even teaches us of the Messiah, is a curse and imperfect… would you like to say that to His face one day when you stand before Him? It is a perverse twisting of Scripture to think that the Word of the Almighty is in any way not perfect.

Now to get to the helmet of salvation/deliverance, the verse just says that you need to also take it. Now keep in mind that salvation is not possible without belief, truth, righteousness and the Good News combined, which are all necessary before you can wear the helmet of deliverance. What use is a helmet without a breastplate and a shield and a sword and a girdle to hold your sword? The meaning of our beloved Messiah Yehoshua's Name is, "YHWH is our salvation."

praying at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones” (Eph 6:18). Here we can see that the armor is not only spiritual, but physical too. Prayer is a physical act which needs to be done in the spirit. Righteousness comes from physical acts, truth comes from a physical studying of the Word of the Almighty and without the study of His Word, then the Sword is useless to you, and without any of these, belief is not possible as belief comes from the study of the Torah.

The term, “set-apart ones” is speaking of the believers in the Messiah who guard to do the Word of the Almighty. They are those who are set-apart from this world. You cannot be set-apart and still look like the world and do the things of this world. We need to look like and do the things of the Messiah, we need to walk in His footsteps and live like He lived, hating everything that is unrighteous and doing the Word of His Father in heaven. “Blessed are those doing His commands, so that the authority shall be theirs unto the tree of life, and to enter through the gates into the city” (Rev 22:14)


Sunday, July 3, 2011

Word Survey: Grace


We are commanded to not use the names of other deities or the names of pagan “gods”, we are not even aloud to let it be heard out of our mouths: “And in all that I have said to you take heed. And make no mention of the name of other mighty ones, let it not be heard from your mouth” (Exodus 23:13). Most of us have grown up in a western Christianized culture that has unfortunately been polluted with pagan culture too. The result of this is that most of the words that are used in the churches for worship come directly from pagan worship. I will be revealing most of these words one by one.

The word that I am going to cover today is the word “Grace”. Are we to use this word to describe the true faith of the almighty? Are we even to let it heard out of our mouths? Let us see where it originates from:

It comes from the Latin word gratia. This alone should raise some flags already. Nothing from Latin origin can be good and is a clear indication that the word used is not from the original writings.

The fairy tale Sleeping Beauty directly refers to the gifts and benefits bestowed by the Muses, since the Muses were known as Fairies in the Germanic and Gaelic cultures. The “Three Fates” were a triad of female deities also known as the Three Graces, or Three Charities. In the Greek and Roman mythologies, they ruled the lives of men, and determined the length of a person’s life.

The Three Graces
The “Three Graces” or Three Charities, were a Pagan trinity known as the Three Fates. Their names were Clotho (our word “cloth”, was the producer of the “thread of life”), Lachesis (carrying rods which she shook to determine the fate of mankind), and Atropos (who cuts the thread, determining the length of a person’s life).

Here is another version of what is called the “three Graces”

In Greek mythology, the three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty. The daughters of the god Zeus and the nymph Eurynome, they were named Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). The Graces presided over banquets, dances, and all other pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals. They were the special attendants of the divinities of love, Aphrodite and Eros, and together with companions, the Muses, they sang to the gods on Mount Olympus, and danced to beautiful music that the god Apollo made upon his lyre. In some legends Aglaia was wed to Hephaestus, the craftsman among the gods. Their marriage explains the traditional association of the Graces with the arts; like the Muses, they were believed to endow artists and poets with the ability to create beautiful works of art. The Graces were rarely treated as individuals, but always together as a kind of triple embodiment of grace and beauty. In art they are usually represented as lithe young maidens, dancing in a circle. (Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 99)

So as you can see, the word “grace” is not to be used and is a mistranslation of the original writings. This word is also linked to sun worship as shown above. If we do continue to use this pagan word, then we are willfully sinning against the Word of YHWH. What then is the word that is correctly translated from the original? We are to use the word favor instead of "grace" as that is the correct word with the correct meaning in Scripture

(This is an excerpt from the book "Come out of her my people" by Dr. Chris Koster)