Do fathers “own” their daughters?

Posted on 1 June, 2010 by mark

This issue came up recently in another forum, and had to do with how so many women — of the modern stripe anyway — seemed to find the behavior of Ruth in the story and Book within the Bible which bears her name so offensive.  Obviously she just wasn’t PC, or “feminist enough”.

I guess it doesn’t surprise me too much any more that a question worded this way would be so divisive in post-Biblical, post-Constitutional “Amerika”.After all, having become conditioned to a collectivist mentality, the concept of property rights seems to have become foreign to a once-free people anyway.

But the real irony is that the proper question here (in the case of wives and daughters – the teachings of Numbers chapter 30) is not about property at all; it concerns God-given authority.

Daughters are born into that headship of their father, and wives, by their acceptance of the union, commit to submit to it. Most of the rest of the Book is about the nature and consequence of rebellion to His Word, His will, and His plan.

I submit that a look around this world will show ample evidence of the fruit which results from that failure to understand and honor such simple, but vital, concepts.

But note that Ruth made a commitment to Naomi, and YHVH her Elohim, and honored it.  It was she — and all of her family — who was then blessed by YHVH in that obedience.  When she asked Boaz to be her covering, he became a “type and shadow” of the THE Kinsman-Redeemer.  Their union became part of the line of the Messiah.

Submission is a voluntary act.  That is the real key to understanding authority in accord with His Word, and what it means to be a ‘bondservant’ to the Most High.  Only once those concepts are firmly in mind will the counsel of Shaul/Paul in the end of Ephesians chapter 5 become crystal clear.

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Gravity and ‘the Law’

Posted on 28 May, 2010 by mark
The second letter from Peter warns (II Peter 3:15-16) that in Paul’s writings are “many things difficult to understand…which are often twisted by the unlearned and untaught…to their own destruction.”  Perhaps the most graphic example of that twisting of Biblical teaching occurs with the claim that the “law” has somehow been “done away with”, or even “nailed to the cross”.  In other words, we are supposedly no longer “under the law”.

There are so many errors, omissions, and “twistings” of verses taken out-of-context in such claims that many of us who begin to see what Jeremiah meant by saying we had “inherited lies” have difficulty knowing where to begin.  For example, depending on the translation, the thing that has really been “nailed” to any tree or execution stake is the “handwriting”, or indictment against all of us for rebellion against Him, rather than the “law” itself.  Similarly, there is MUCH discussion in the gospels about what the “law” really is.  The Pharisees, who were called “hypocrites” by our Savior for this very reason, tried to teach that their halachah, or “oral traditions” for how we must “walk”, constituted “law”.  Yahushua repeatedly pointed out that what they had done by their blindness was to “bind heavy burdens” on men — including things that He had not only not Written, but prohibited (Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32, among others).   Fallen men have continued to rewrite His commandments ever since.

When He said (Mark 7:7, Matt. 15:6-9, etc) that “by your traditions” you have made the “commandments of YHVH of no effect“, Yahushua was teaching that vital distinction — just as He did when He deliberately violated THEIR many man-made rules for the Sabbath, but NOT His own Word!

This distinction is vital, because by His perfect Sacrifice we are freed from the “CURSE of the Law” (for which the penalty for deliberate rebellion to Him was death), but not the Torah itself.

The Hebrew word “torah” is probably better translated as “teaching and instruction” than it is by the English word “law” anyway.  Most people seem to think of a legalistic concept when they hear that word, which is part of the problem.  But try this.  When Paul uses the word “law” in those letters, replace it with the concept of God’s “instruction”, and see how much more sense it makes.  And how much more consistent it is with ALL of Scripture!

But another way to understand this distinction is to observe that scientists may have a better handle on what Paul was teaching about not being “under the law” than lawyers seem to.  A “law” to them is not a rule, enforced by policemen with guns, but a statement about the creation that is ALWAYS observed to be TRUE. The “Law of Gravity” is a good case-in-point.  It has NEVER been observed to fail, whether one is talking about stars and planets, or Isaac Newton and the apple.  Note the distinction between such a “Law”, and something described as a “theory”, which SEEMS plausible (like Relativity) and is subject to further study and observation.  (The so-called “Theory of Evolution” is a bad joke in this context, since it persists in SPITE of contrary evidence — at least to the True Believers.)

As a private pilot, I find that a very simple parable serves to bring this point home — especially to those who have ever contemplated learning to fly.  I know first-hand that joy of flight, and what it means to “slip the surly bonds of earth”.  But does that mean I am somehow no longer “under the Law of Gravity”?  Because our knowledge — of physics, of aerodynamics, of propulsion — has increased, does that mean that the “law has been done away with”?  To paraphrase Paul – God forbid!

Even though the “schoolmaster” — or flight instructor — who taught me to fly is no longer in the right front seat when I take to the skies, I must not forget the lessons.  YHVH’s “teaching and instruction” for how His creation works has not changed!  And those who deceive themselves about the consequences of rebellion to His “laws” can certainly find that the “curse” associated with impact from a great height has not been done away with either.  To know how to fly, in harmony with His “laws” of physics and aerodynamics, means to have even greater respect for such teaching and instruction, not to conclude that they no longer apply!

Gravity is still real.  “Heaven and earth” still exist.  It is our knowledge that has increased, not His Word that is diminished.  And we still “reap what we sow”.
Do not be deceived.  We are thankful to have a Kinsman-Redeemer, Who has paid the price for rebellion to His Word.  But so long as heaven and earth still exist, not one yod or tiddle will pass from His “torah”, or “teaching and instruction”.  And He gave us His “teachings and instruction” not to burden us, but to bless us.

The above article appeared originally as this month’s column for Crucified Life Ministries, at:

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Scripture and “scholars”

Posted on 20 May, 2010 by mark

I suspect that many readers here have come to realize that Jeremiah 16:19 is correct – we have in fact “inherited lies” through our fathers.

Indeed there are a number of movements underway as YHVH seems to be bringing those together who truly “seek His face”, whether they are called “Messianics”, or recognized via labels like “YaHuwAHns”, “Hebrew Roots”, “Torah-Observant Believers”, or even “First-century Christianity”.

Many people, as well, seem to come to such a search via some specific “single issue” which prompted them to realize that what they have “heard it said” — by pastors, churches, or TV propaganda — that they should believe is not at ALL what is actually Written in Scripture!

But it never ceases to perplex me how can some remain so wedded to false tradition that they remain unwilling to even consider that such lies and pagan idolatry were not limited to false doctrines concerning only that same single issue, whatever it may have been.

Whether it’s marriage, and the myriad twisting of what YHVH actually ordained about it that contradicts popular Amerikan dogma, or what is and is not food, or His “appointed times” and Sabbaths, or a dozen other issues…

— is seems clear that the lies and distortions of the Pharisees and their latter-day cousins who styled themselves the ONLY Church “Universal”, and executed those who dared to suggest that “apostolic succession” did not include the ability to rewrite Scripture, are NOT confined to any single issue!

The essence of idolatry, in other words, is to put our traditions ahead of what He actually Wrote!  (Matthew 15:6-9, Mark 7:7, etc)

Comments like this one frame the issue:  “The fact is that if the LORD had meant for us to have New Testament texts in Hebrew to study, we would have them.”  In other words, there is no possibility that there could be translation errors in the MY Bible.  (Some folks insert their Favorite Version in there as a qualifier; whether it is the KJV, or “Authorized” version, the NIV, or the Septuagint and some of the many later Greek manuscripts.)

For my part, I contend that such issues are but part of the reason that we were counseled, not only in Acts 17, to “study for ourselves”.  There is no inconsistency in His Word, as Written…however, fallen men are not infallible.  It is simply impossible to translate EVERY level of understanding from a rich and nuanced language like Hebrew into some other language and convey EVERY meaning that He might have.  (Those of you who know about the “yods and tiddles” in the Torah, referenced by our Savior in Matthew 5:18, will understand that they were Hebrew “extra-textual” characters which are simply never even noted in most English Bible texts.)

But that is only part of the issue.  Cultural issues are another obvious problem.  While an English speaker might instantly know that a novel which is set in the “Windy City” refers to Chicago, a Spanish-speaker reading “la ciudad de viento” might miss the obvious (to a native English-speaker, anyway)  jargon, or figure of speech.

And while there are many good ‘scholars’ whose work I respect, not all who claim the title are worthy of it.  After all, “of making many books there is no end.”

I see self–absorbed scholars in the press and government proclaim haughtily what the Constitution says, and thus justify “gun control”, “Roe v Wade”, “hate crimes”, Obamacare, legions of “officers who harasss our people and eat out their substance”, and the Federal Reserve — in spite of the plain text.  But I’ve read history, and both the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, understand English, and can tell they’re simply “full of it”. Similar scholars teach that man evolved from slime and there can be no Creator. Still others teach that ALL of the Bible is mere myth and no historic “Jesus” ever existed. They’re “scholars” because they are tenured at universities, peer-review each others self-serving papers, and suckle at the public trough.  Please excuse me for choosing not to worship at that same altar.

Perhaps most importantly, there are even CONCEPTS which are difficult to express in one language, but “ingrained” in another.  Greek gods, for example, were by nature capricious and untrustworthy; a speaker of ancient Hebrew would have difficulty even imagining such a thing about YHVH.  Concepts like “luck” or “chance” — easy to say in English or Greek — don’t even translate as a result.  To those who understood the nature of Yah the Creator, in other words, they were meaningless.

When you consider that the Greek manuscripts of the Gospels and various Letters necessarily represent at least two levels of translation before they arrive in English*, the nature of the problem should be obvious — at least in part.

But there is an ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THOUGHT PROCESS associated with an Hebraic mindset than a Greco-Romanized one.  Words and word-roots like “theo- “; “deo- “; baal/’lord’; and even ‘christos’ apply to ANY and every pagan ‘god’.  Proper nouns, like “Easter”, however, apply specifically to pagan goddesses, are absolutely and explicitly prohibited by Him in His Word, and are called “abomination”!  His Name YHVH, which was removed by both pharisees and popes, is referenced over twenty THOUSAND times in Scripture — and He says it is important over 7 thousand times (precisely 7777 times in fact, according to at least one scholar I generally respect).

When the prophet Jeremiah said in verse 16:21, in other words, was NOT “they shall know that my name [is] The LORD.”  And while any Strong’s (or other) Concordance will help, somehow the verse in the KJV just seems gutted. Such verses just simply do NOT do Him justice!

Ever notice how so many of YHVH’s prophets have part of His Name in their own?  Not in the English, for the most part.  (And, no – you will NOT see this in the more careless translations.) Phonetically, some obvious ones are:

EliYAHUW — “The Almighty is YAHuw(AH) ” (aka “Elijah”)
YermeYAHUW — “Resurrection is YAHuw(AH)” (aka “Jeremiah”)
YashaYAHUW — “The Savior is YAHuw(AH)” (aka “Isaiah”)
ZachariYAHUW — “YAHuw(AH) remembers His promises” (aka “Zechariah”)

YAHUshua is the Name — and Title — that was given by the malakiYAH (messengers of YAH, aka ‘angels’) to His earthly parents for the Savior. The meaning, Title, and purpose of His life are obvious in the Hebrew, and obscured in translation: “YAHuw is Salvation”.

(The ‘short-form’ or familiar ‘nickname’ Yeshua is more akin to just meaning “salvation”; it thus drops the important reference to YAH or YAHU in His Name. Not necessarily “wrong”, just a distinction that is worth understanding. Is that not a reasonable service for us to attempt in respect to our King?)

And does this mean that “whosoever will” cannot come to Him from Mitzraim, from Moab, from Canaan, from ignorance, from paganism, from sin — and humble themselves, turn from their wicked ways, (t’shuvAH or repent) and seek His face? “YHVH forbid!” But as “Hosea” (AHosha, or “YAH is our eternal Savior”; v 4:6) warned, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge! And because you have REJECTED knowledge, I will reject you for being priests for Me, and will also forget your children“!

Some folks try to claim that we know what He has meant us to know, and that any implication that there could be errors in modern texts somehow implies that YHVH is incapable of “preserving His Word”. The existence of multiple Greek texts with significant variations and contradictions demonstrates the absurdity of such assertions, as do English translations with similar issues. The problem is men: doctrine, tradition, and shortcomings from bias to dishonesty to just plain laziness…not His Word.

His Name and His Word HAS been preserved!

But only for those willing to SEARCH OUT THE TRUTH FOR THEMSELVES! Like it or not, those who want to understand what Yahushua taught beyond the constraints of language and tradition all-too-often infused with subtle but insidious pagan tradition will have to learn a bit of the language from which He instructed.

We are given the example of the Bereans (Acts 17:11) for a reason. But those who prefer their tradition to the Truth have to ignore the obvious: at the time that story was written, those people of Berea did not have a SINGLE “new testament gospel” to read! They studied “for themselves” from the “Torah”, the “TANAKH”. Everything they needed to confirm just exactly Who He was, and what He had done for us was available then, just as it is now**. But we still have to be willing to “diligently seek Him”.

——————————-

*  I am persuaded that, at a minimum, the Book of Matthew was NOT originally written in Greek.  While there is much evidence (including over two dozen manuscripts in Hebrew and/or Aramaic) the book The Hebrew Yeshua vs. the Greek Jesus, by Nehemia Gordon, is a good introduction to the topic.

** Over 5700 publicly-available papyri manuscripts (most written in Greek, some Aramaic – at libraries, museums, universities, etc) contain His Name in phonetic rendering. (source: OSE1 Bible, The King’s Covenant, pp.7-15, including document names, references, and locations)

Interesting to note are errors in other historic documents from Greek language sources which indicate that ‘the Name’ of the ‘diety of the jews’ was pronounced “Pipi”. Why? Evidently some “scholars” and translators were not aware that some documents included direct renderings of the Name (the ‘tetragrammatron’, YHVH, or yod-hey-vav-hey)  is read right-to-left, instead of the opposite direction, like Greek (and English).

It looked like “pi – iota – pi – iota “; thus, it MUST be, “pipi”. There are MANY ways for the enemy to occult, obscure, hide, distort, or just outright lie about the truth. Perhaps that is why Yahushua told us the path is in fact narrow, and “few there be that find it“.

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Bailouts, Baseball, and Big Lies

Posted on 18 May, 2010 by mark

Perhaps the most obvious, but notoriously difficult, aspect of learning how to come out of her is dealing with the incredible Deception that is on the horizon.   But the last week gives us a couple of places to exercise the skill.

There was a perfect game, for example.  No, I’m not talking about the performance of  Oakland’s pitcher Dallas Braden on Mother’s Day.  There have now been nineteen of those in the century-plus history of Major League Baseball; while very rare, they do not generally strain credulity.

No,  even the best curveball in history doesn’t describe what Goldman-Sachs claims to have done,  in announcing an unbelievable first quarter, in which their trading activities resulted in a “perfect game” of 63 straight days of profits.  Now, since the best hitters in history generally batted less than .400, that means that this feat is even MORE impressive for the aces of Amerika’s Banksters than it is in baseball.  It is in fact less likely than someone pitching three perfect games in a row!

The G-S spokesman said that this “perfect quarter” showcased  their skill at “risk management”, a masterpiece of Klintonian Lawyerese if there ever was one:  they managed the risk, all right.  (Remember that Pete Rose was banned  from the Baseball Hall of Fame because he bet on the game.  How far we’ve fallen; at least he used his own money.)

But we’re just beginning to examine the statistical miracles associated with post-free market Financial Wizardry.  JP Morgan ALSO had a perfect quarter!  What are the odds against that?  Two perfect pitchers in the SAME BALLGAME!

It’s not enough to be “skeptical” about the “signs and lying wonders” we are being force-fed by the “prince of this world”, his money masters, and the commercial media who tell folks to “enjoy the ballgame”.  We should be able to give account for what we believe, and for what we are not willing to swallow.

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Real Soon Now…

Posted on 17 May, 2010 by mark

I apologize for the lack of posts here lately; there are several in the works, but none of them have made the cut yet.

Meanwhile, the list of audio files continues to grow, however.    Please check out the latest entries in the “Come out of her” teachings, archived on Way to Zion and shown in the links on the “About” page.

Here is the last, from 15 May:

http://www.waytozion.org/conspireality/Misc/mark16.mp3

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The Big Two Issues

Posted on 5 May, 2010 by mark

Q:  How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?

A:  Only one, but the light bulb really has to WANT to change.

Even Satan’s lies are often 80% truth.  That’s what makes ’em so hard to spot sometimes.

But — as intended, no doubt — it means that most folks must do so for themselves, since they are even less likely to be accepted when pointed out by someone else. To some extent, that is nothing but human nature.  But there are Bigger Issues, either unique to the current culture, or exacerbated by it.

So, to paraphrase Rod Serling – here are two, “submitted for your approval”:

  1. There is more utter idolatry in post-Constitutional, post-Biblical Amerika than most of its denizens want to admit.  Much seems to pass for unquestioned “truth”, even when directly contradicted by Scripture.
  2. The very act of attempting to point this out almost invariably makes one seem “JUDGMENTAL“.  (Which is, of course, a worse Sin than mere idolatry itself, in a nation which has forgotten Him anyway, and likes to teach in its State-licensed Church that the only part of His Word which still applies is the part which says the rest doesn’t.)

Perhaps, therefore, it is easier to speak of such things in a posting than it could ever be “one-on-one”.

Once again, the oft-wrested lesson of Acts 15 is a good place to start.  Just before the Apostles point out that those who choose to “follow Him” should begin their study with the Torah, which was read in synagogues “in every city…every Sabbath day,”  they outlined  the four “minimum necessary conditions” that must be met in order for those formerly pagan ‘gentiles’ to be cleaned up enough to get in the door.  (Acts 15:20)  Once they got these down, in other words, they could begin to learn the rest:

  • Abstain from “idols”
  • From sexual sin (“fornication”)
  • From “things strangled”
  • From “blood”

Note the the first two have to do with idolatry/adultery of both the spiritual and physical variety, and the last two with clean foods in a similar vein.  What I find interesting is that those formerly “minimum” standards, while well-worn as an EXCUSE for rebellion by many post-Biblical “churches”, aren’t even accepted as a ‘goal’ any more by the vast majority.

Paul’s metaphor of people being taught about the “milk” of the Word before they are ever going  to be ready for “meat” still applies.  Sadly, however, in a land where most people have been lied to thoroughly about what “meat” is, they’re not even ready for milk.


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Satan’s Game: Heads I Win, Tails You Lose

Posted on 4 May, 2010 by mark

The parable of “a house divided” (from both Matthew 12 and Luke 11) is fascinating, because it teaches so many things.  But one of those lessons – at least as I have heard so it so often taught – is not quite right.

Yahushua the Savior, of course, is NOT part of Satan’s house, but there is a reason that His adversary is also called the ‘Deceiver’.  Even though it WILL ultimately fall, what appears  to be a ‘house divided against itself” is mostly a clever, and ancient, ruse.

There is more to the lesson than most of us have been taught.  Note that the Messiah Himself says only a few verses later (Luke 12:51-53) that He came not “to give peace on earth“, but “rather division“!  Take a look as well at how many times the metaphor that we are to follow God’s path, and not veer off, “to the right, or to the left“, appears in Scripture.  Our Messiah even warned that the Way is “narrow“, and “few there be that find it.” There is a ditch on either side of His narrow path, remember.

The division that matters is the house of YHVH from that of the Adversary.  We must learn to discern not only WHICH house we choose to serve — that of YHVH or “another master” — but WHEN we are being deceived into following a false path, and being fed false “choices”.

Perhaps the easiest way to summarize the distinction is to realize that demons which were cast out by the Savior weren’t anxious to go, but that Satan long ago learned how to appear to “divide” his own house so as to fool his victims.  Since he is also called the “prince of this world”, perhaps it is not at all surprising that this gambit is nowhere more popular than in politics and government.

For real-world examples, one need do nothing more than turn to the news, and observe the propaganda that surrounds the “big stories” of the last few weeks.  Take the demonic evil that is Goldman-Sachs, just for starters.

It is easy to convince most post-Constitutional Amerikans that Big Banking is crooked, and somehow complicit in the economic ‘malaise’…even if they are incapable of understanding the details of CDOs, mortgage ‘tranches’, short sales, and insider trading.  After all, just look at the massive bonuses they paid themselves out of the bailouts: quite a reward for gross incompetence —  unless you count the foresight of having the right connections, with Goldman alumni in “all the right places”, from Treasury, to multiple administrations, and the Almighty Fed Itself.

So, many folks would willingly pray to Caesar to have those particular demons “exorcised”.  And yet let’s not forget the other “ditch”:  just WHO is doing the regulating?  And what is their proposed “solution”?

If you are skeptical about why the same incompetent fools who couldn’t spot the bubble(s) coming, but claim the wisdom to prevent EXACTLY this kind of (inevitable) meltdown — politicos and bureau-rats alike — are now promising to do better “next time” if those who are stuck with the bills will just give them unprecedented new powers as a reward…

…you’re on the right track.

But step back for a minute, and look at the whole picture.  Why is it that we are being conditioned to accept the word of one set of demons against others who appear to be in opposition to them — even while receiving bailouts and protection from competition?  The problem was NEVER what that House-Apparently-Divided wants us to believe!  It’s not a “lack of regulation”…as if more, or different, demons would somehow do a better job.  THE WHOLE WORLD ECONOMIC SYSTEM is built “on sand”, the fiat Amerikan Idol called the Almighty Dollar.  It is a false god, a “dishonest weight” that not only obviously violates the Constitution, but is repeatedly called nothing less than “abomination” by the Almighty, Himself.

We are reaping what has been sown.

When an entire economic system is built on lies, false weights and measures, usury, and ultimately theft — can it be any surprise that those who profit from that crooked system will “bear false witness” in order to perpetuate it?  Can any real “solution” be based on less than true “repentance”, and turning from the iniquity that is at the root?

Same house, but maybe it’s not really “divided” after all. It just appears to be.  But it is definitely “heads I win, tails you lose”.

(And if you will check out G. Edward Griffin’s masterpiece on the founding of the Federal Reserve, The Creature from Jekyll Island, you will see that when it comes to back-room deals between crooked banksters and those who purport to “regulate” them, there really IS “nothing new under the sun”.)

Take a look next at Arizona, where the plague of “illegal immigration” and rampant crime has people who are generally discouraged or even prohibited from actually defending their own families and property begging their government Masters to do something, ANYTHING…even if it’s wrong!

I have warned radio listeners for years to beware the siren song of building a “fence” or New Berlin Wall on the southern border.  While it ultimately WILL, I contend, get built – the purpose was NEVER to keep the “bad guys out”.  It will be to keep the slaves in — once they realize just how badly they have been duped.  And those who clamor for Caesar’s newly-empowered storm troopers to have the “right” to demand “your papers, bitte,” from the undesirables will soon find out who their master REALLY thinks is in need of such control.  After all, the precedent for RFID implants and currency exchange controls has already been set, and the pundits are already starting to talk those “reasonable measures” up as well.

Heads I win, tails you lose. Those who have studied a bit of history, and totalitarian techniques like the “Hegelian Dialectic” will recognize that the Adversary has not kept his methodology a secret.  At least not from those willing to serve him.

People are rightfully angry at criminality and destruction — whether it’s Goldman-Sachs or “illegal immigrants”.  But don’t let the Adversary fool you!  He has appeared to divide his house so that such anger will play right into his hands – by encouraging voters in his demonocracy to give him even more power, the better to control his compliant but ignorant slaves.  There is a ditch on BOTH sides of the ‘narrow path’!

Whenever ‘the  world’ tries to convince you that there are two “obvious” choices, whether it’s “trading essential liberty for a little temporary security,” or the R-party vs. the  D-party (who sit on opposite sides of an aisle, but in that same old ‘divided house’)…don’t be fooled.

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Government “Reform” and other Big Lies

Posted on 30 April, 2010 by mark

Big news rocked the financial markets not too long ago when the Securities and Exchange Commission — part of the same failed group of “regulators” who had failed to predict the financial meltdown and couldn’t spot the fraud when it stared them in the face — finally decided to sue Goldman-Sachs, arguably the most high-profile shysters in the whole rigged game.  While there really is “nothing new under the sun“, and it’s easy to be angry about obvious chicanery, this is a stunning bit of hypocrisy.  It’s a lot like the Gambini crime family has sued the Corleone mob.

And they did it just before PR blitz for the big “Reform Bill” hit the press!

We truly live in an age of Deception.  Bailouts, using “other people’s money”, have ensured that the evildoers not only escaped, but were rewarded handsomely for their clever manipulation of a corrupt system.  Not a single “overseer” allegedly responsible for preventing such fraud has been fired, and the treasury department, Federal Reserve, and administration remain riddled with high-level Goldman-Sachs “alumni”.

Even the timing of this “revelation” is more than suspect, since it comes long after the fact, after books have been written about the crime*, but ever-so-conveniently just BEFORE that alledged ”reform” package goes high profile on Capitol Hill.  The prince of this world knows how to sell a Lie:  mix it with a big slice of truth, and cover it with a whole lot of anger.  Simmer ’till ready.  Then call it “reform”.

This latest ”reform” does to a once-honest, but now long-corrupted, monetary system what the last high-profile “reform” did to medicine.  And a new “Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration” (FIRA, no doubt pronounced “Fear-uh”) will ensure that “no one will buy or sell” outside of the iron grip of that bureaucracy in the same way that freedom to say “no” to Caesar’s naked body scans is disappearing in the name of “Homeland Security” and terror.

The point of this column is not to analyze a horrid bill, or even to chronicle the decay of a once-free people; it is to point out the type of deception at hand, and warn of that yet to come.  The word “reform” itself is a giant tipoff!  When YHVH uses the word “abomination” to describe a system of dishonest weights and measures, and even the Constitution talks only about “coining” money from gold and silver, it should be obvious that we are now reaping what was sown.  False witness, fraudulent ‘contracts’, and fake ‘money’, can NEVER be “reformed” without FIRST turning away from the sin!  And the initial step in t’shuvah, or “repentance”, is to admit the wrong — not to reward evil with even greater power.

Yes, the “banksters of Wall Street” are corrupt, and suckle at the teat of the Almighty State while weilding the money power to their own advantage.  People are rightly angry at the fraud they see.  But they are being manipulated when they allow that emotion to be used to sell them on an even greater Evil, by the same sets of people, sowing the same seeds.

As I wrote this column, and considered the succinct command to “not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another” (Lev. 19:11) it occurred to me once again that there is a great similarity between what has happened to the Constitution, and the Torah it was based upon:  the Written Word, the Written Law, has once again been supplanted by the ‘traditions of men’.   Politicians, bureaucrats, and bankers have simply replaced the old Pharisees and their temple-based money changers.

Even the deceptions are the same.  The “New” has again replaced the Old, which has been claimed to be ”done away with”.  God’s “teaching and instruction” just isn’t good enough, after all, in a “modern” world.  We cannot trust in Him, or His Word, but only in men who promise to do better next time.

And those who MAKE the regulations, print the money, and enforce their judgments – of course — are not “under the Law” anyway.

The Foundations, in other words, don’t matter any more.  We have a “living” Constitution, and a “living word” now; they mutate over time, of course.  If that sounds a lot like the description of leaven as a living thing, perhaps it should.

Do not be deceived, “for in the last days, perilous times will come…“  We are seeing what such covetous, proud, traitorous men will do in order to increase their power and control.  There comes a time to simply “be separate“, because He is separate (qadosh, or ‘holy’) and to ”come out of her“, so that we are not associated with the crimes that are being committed in the name of false idols.  When it comes to the Big Lie, be aware of the techniques, of the motives, of the propaganda.  You ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.  But you will…

—————————————————–

*  Senior Wall Street Journal reporter Greg Zuckerman’s book, The Greatest Trade Ever, was published November, 2009.  The information has been available to the SEC for at least two years.

The GS lawsuit was announced by the SEC on “options expiration Friday”, the most volatile trading day of the month.  Put options on GS (April 170) –which would have expired worthless but for the timing of the news — ended the day up a staggering 140 THOUSAND (not, that is not a typo) percent!  Some might observe that such inside information is as good as a big bonus.

**   No shame:  17 regulators, including some top managers making over $200K annually, at the SEC evidently spent time scanning porno sites rather than financial data, according to reports this same week.

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No better example – His teachings on the Sabbath

Posted on 16 April, 2010 by mark

There may well be no better example of what II Corinthians 11:4 means about teaching  “another Jesus – whom we have not preached”  than the question of who – or what — changed the Sabbath from the day YHVH specified and said we were to keep “forever” (Exodus 31:16, etc).  While I won’t belabor the issue of blame — since there’s plenty to go around — it is easy to confirm that a political sell-out to Emperor Constantine culminated at the Council of Laodicea  in the fourth century.  More instructive is the more-or-less official attitude of the Roman Catholic Church on the matter, since they proudly proclaim that the change to sun-god-day (the first day of the week)  is NOT at all mandated by Scripture, but instead somehow “proves” the “authority” of “the Church” to overrule the Almighty Himself on the topic.  Even a quick web search will show the well-known writings of folks like archbishop James Cardinal Gibbons and various RCC doctrinal publications figuring prominently, and often even boast that the FAILURE of the ‘protestant churches’ to correct the Sabbath day to the Biblical one confirms their acceptance of that “authority”.

But I’m much more interested in what our Savior said — and DID – than what those who claim the power to change what He Wrote may allege.  After all, since the Bible REPEATEDLY forbids “adding to” or “subtracting from” what He Wrote (1), warns against false prophets who try to, “entice” us (2) and Yahushua Himself said he “came not” to change ANY of His Word  so long as “heaven and earth” still existed (3), it seems pretty clear that He wasn’t kidding when He said “I change not“, and remains consistent, “yesterday, today, and forever“. (4)

The silly rationalizations of apologists for concessions to paganism (such as the oft-cited claim that early Christians met on the ‘first day’)  is easily dismissed as well.  If you preferred to do business with your brethren in Him, but wanted to avoid doing so on the Sabbath, what is more natural than waiting until after the sun went down?  (We already know that Paul occasionally preached well past dusk!)  And there’s certainly nothing at all wrong with meeting, and worshiping, on any or EVERY day of the week!

But the most damning heresy I know of was expressed by a question I recently saw on another website, which prompted these essays:

“Why did Jesus break the Sabbath commandment?”  [sic]

Yahushua of Nazareth, the Branch of the “Netzir”, certainly did not.  And anyone who so accuses Him of doing something that would — by His own Words — mark Him as “least in the Kingdom” (3, again) is without question preaching “another Jesus“.  (5)

The details of what He really DID do and preach, as John noted, would fill many books.  But a few important facts should serve to make the point – at least initially.  I submit that as you “study for yourself”, more examples will become obvious.  But the central point remains:

He NEVER “broke” His own Written Word, concerning His Sabbath or anything else!  But He certainly did break the hypocritical “traditions of the elders”, concerning the Sabbath and  “many other things” they did (6).

What He did, repeatedly and deliberately, was to utterly make an open mockery of the FALSE “law”, the forbidden “additions to” His Word of the Pharisees. Do NOT confuse tradition with His Law! Our Savior certainly did not; this was the why He was so careful to point out that He came NOT to “destroy the Torah or the prophets” but instead taught “with Authority” what was actually Written…because He was the Word Made Flesh.(3, yet again!)

There are less than ten specific “do and don’t” directives concerning Sabbath in the entire Torah. But by the time of Yahushua, the “elders” had added well over fifteen hundred of their own! These so-called “laws” were the burdens that our Savior railed against!

Read the story of the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath carefully! (7) EVERYTHING He did was an explicit “slap in the face” to the vain “traditions of the elders”, the “doctrines of men” that those hypocrites  had “taught as doctrine“. (8)

When He picked up a handful of dirt, He VIOLATED an explicit “commandment” of the elders! When He spit in His hand, be deliberately VIOLATED yet another! When He “made mud” – another! “Anointed his eyes” – another! It was not ONLY the fact that He “healed” on the Sabbath that was a problem:  EVERY single act He took in healing that blind man was a deliberate and specific affront to those prohibited “traditions of the elders”! And when He told that man to travel to the pool at Siloam (a distance in excess of the mandated “Sabbath day’s journey” limit) and wash — He commanded at least two more!

And yet NOT ONE of those false “commandments” that He broke were HIS! They were nothing but traditions of men, they were all prohibited “additions” to His Written commandments, and they were all thus EXPLICIT violations of His Torah!  The Pharisees were “hypocrites” because they knew, or should have known , all of that.

Part of the problem, of course, is that “the church” — for seventeen hundred years or more — has done exactly what He was so critical of the Pharisees and scribes for doing…
…they changed times and seasons (9), and “added to” and “subtracted from” His Word. They rewrote the rules for everything from Sabbath to marriage to idolatry. “By their traditions” — just as He condemned the Pharisees for doing — they have “made the commandments of YHVH of no effect“.

To say that our Savior violated His own Word is to call Him a liar, and a fraud. He knew exactly what He was doing, and why.

NOWHERE, EVER, did He break the Sabbath! But He did demolish man’s desecration of it.  And since “heaven and earth” still exist, and He clearly said that not so much as “one yod or tiddle” (3) of His Word would pass away in the meanwhile, there seem to be many people who preach that “other Jesus“.

But Paul wasn’t one of ’em.

———————-

Scripture notes:

  1. Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32; also the End of the Book (Rev. 22:18-19).
  2. Deuteronomy 13:6  – but check out the whole chapter!
  3. Matthew 5:17-19.  There seem to be a number of people who “twist” these verses as well, by failing to check out the correct meaning of the words He used to mean “fulfill”, or to “complete”, or “fill up” with His intended meaning!
  4. Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8.
  5. II Corinthians 11:4 again.  (Paul was right – people DID “bear with” those heresies.  And if you’d like a second witness to his concern, check out Galatians 1:7-9, where he repeats the point twice and then goes on to make the distinction between religious “tradition” and what He taught as well.)
  6. See all of Mark chapter 7, and Matthew chapter 23.
  7. John 9.
  8. Matt. 15:9, Mark 7:7, in both of which He references Isaiah 29:13.
  9. This sounds suspiciously similar to the prophecy of Daniel 7:25…
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Paul vs. ‘the Church’

Posted on 13 April, 2010 by mark
Or — How he has been “wrested”

Peter warned (II Peter 3:15-16) that Paul’s writings can be “hard to understand”.  After all, if most of Israel could be fooled by the “leaven of the Pharisees” even while the Messiah Himself walked among them, how much more so could the legions of Torah-ignorant  “heathens” that Paul took His message be confused if they weren’t even allowed to enter the synagogues of every city and hear “Moses read”?  (Acts 15:21 )

If you think about it, that situation is at least as true today, when most ‘churches’ do NOT teach “Moses” at all, but instead parrot the lie that God’s “law” is “impossible” to keep, so modern “Christians” shouldn’t even bother to try.  They don’t even understand the difference between the “traditions of men” and the “commandments of YHVH“. (Mark 7:7, etc)

In other words, by now Paul has been twisted so badly that many decide to “sin more, that grace might abound“.

So here’s my simple summary of the books of Galatians, Romans, and the Gospel of John.

  1. Keeping YHVH’s commandments is “not too hard for you”.    (Deuteronomy 30:11-14 )
  2. Obedience brings BLESSINGS, not curses.      (Deuteronomy chapter 28)
  3. But don’t think you can ever EARN salvation — it’s a free gift, because He loves you.  (This is the part of Paul’s teachings most get right; it’s the subtle aspects that are “wrested”!)
  4. So why do it?  Because He ASKS:   (John 14:15) “If you love Me, keep My commands.”

And Paul, by the way, said it was our “reasonable service“.  Maybe that’s why he called himself a “bondservant“.    There’s no contradiction at all there either, if you study Exodus 21.  Those who study the ‘torah of Moses’ for themselves (Acts 17:11)  will know what he meant.

Paul was trying to explain His Word to those who had trouble trying to understand the word “IF”.  And some of them couldn’t discern the difference between the “law” of the Pharisees and what was actually Written in Scripture.

Salvation, of course, was never about “IF you keep My ‘law’, then you will earn eternal life.”  But walking in blessing and having life “more abundantly” is another thing entirely!
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