TRUTH

      The pattern of the Sabbath readings is that once the reading portions have finished with the end of the Torah (the first five books of the Bible), which is Deuteronomy 34, the readings immediately circle back to the beginning of the Torah with Genesis 1. So, we begin again this Sabbath with the Book of Genesis, which I think has a very timely message for us. I am already looking forward to what the LORD will teach us in this new cycle of Sabbath readings.

     This week's Sabbath reading portion is titled B'reshiet, meaning "In the Beginning." The "B" that is joined with the Hebrew word reshiet, or "beginning", can mean "in, at, with, when." 

     As we know, Genesis 1 begins with these words: "In the beginning (resit/ro's - beginning, firstfruits, first in place-time-order or rank, chief/head, top, beginning, captain, first, ruler, height, choicest, excellent) God created (bara'- create, creator, choose, to shape or form, transform, of miracles, of the birth of something, pare a reed for writing or a stick for an arrow, to cut, carve out, separate, break out) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-heavens (and) (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-earth. The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light ('or - light, bright, clear, light of life, illumination, light of day, light retained, become light, shine);' and there was light. And God saw (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." (Gen. 1:1-5).

     The Hebrew meanings of the words used in the description of the condition of the earth as shrouded in deep darkness, point to an earth held captive in the darkness and misery of death. The Father, God, and the Son who is present in the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega attached to the heaven and the earth and the light in written Hebrew, and the Holy Spirit, would resurrect the dead planet with the spoken Words: "Let there be light." The "light" spoken and produced is also the light of life (see Jn. 1:1-5, see also Col. 1:15-18), according to the Hebrew meaning, which is Messiah/Christ as the Word of God. 

     The creation of God continued from this first day as the earth was filled with life.

     The first unequivocal truth is that there was no other beginning factor in the creation of the heavens and the earth other than GOD - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Secondly, resurrection power and authority by the attachment of the name and rank of the (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-Son of God played an essential part in the creation. There may be other theories and fables of men regarding creation, but none of those theories or fables have the power and authority to be able to resurrect a dead planet, as was described here in the Hebrew meanings. 

     Another principle of truth of the authority and power of God seen in creation is that although heaven and the dry land of earth are separate creations of the second and third days of Genesis 1:6-13, they are eternally connected as one in Genesis 1:1 under the name and authority of the *aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega, which is Messiah/Christ Jesus (see *note at the end of the entry). We know that the will of God rules over and in both heaven and earth as Jesus taught His disciples to pray: "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven..." (Mt. 6:9-10). Jesus also told His disciples: "Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man." (Jn. 1:51, speaking of Himself as the fulfillment of the vision of "Jacob's Ladder," the connection between heaven and earth, from Gen. 28:10-15).

     Another truth laid out by God in Genesis 1 is that all that is created by God has life within itself. God has placed the seed of life in each living thing and that seed will bring forth the same form as the form of its origin. Grasses, trees and herbs have seed within them that will produce the same types of grasses, trees and herbs. All created life of the air, land and sea have seed within themselves to produce their own likeness. A tree cannot produce a bird. The seed of a plum tree cannot even produce an apple tree. A bird cannot produce a rhinoceros and so forth. Although there are mutations and variations that may occur, there are not enough billions of years contained within time, and there are not enough mutations in the universe that will result in the reproductive seed of one species producing a totally different species. (v. 11-13, 24-25). They were created and commanded by God to produce seed after their own kind. Man was created by God as a separate creation and not as coming forth from any other species. Man was formed by God after God's own likeness. As this specific and separate creation of the image of God, man would not be of the same stature as the other creatures but would have rule and dominion authority over them. (v. 26-28). This is the truth of God's creation, regardless of what man may say. The LORD unapologetically and uncompromisingly lays these truths before us for a reason, which we will see. The LORD set forth these details of His creation because it is so important for our lives and purpose on earth for us to know and to trust in the truth of God concerning the origin of all things, including man, and His absolute power and authority to redeem and resurrect His own creation (through His Son, Jesus), that God made these the first words which He had written to all mankind.

     The other reading portions for this B'reshiet Sabbath, Isaiah 42, Job 38, and Psalm 139, confirm the truth that it was God the LORD who created the heavens and the earth and all of its inhabitants, including man. The LORD even uses the truth of Himself as Creator as His identity:

     "Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, and He who formed you from the womb: 'I am the LORD, who makes all things, who stretches out the heavens all alone, who spreads abroad the earth by Myself;" (Isa. 44:24). And:

     "For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: 'I am the LORD, and there is no other." (Isa. 45:18).

     It is the LORD who forms man before he is born. It is the LORD who determined to give His Servant (Messiah/Christ) to His creation as a Savior and Redeemer:

     "Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light (see 'or above) to the Gentiles (also meaning "nations")." (Isa. 42:5-6).

      The truth is that God calls lies and liars abominations (see Prov. 6:16-19) worthy only to be thrown into eternal fire (Rev. 21:6-8), and we will see why later. God's Word assures us that God is not a liar, and is impossible for Him to lie. (see Num. 23:19-20, Rom. 3:3-4, Titus 1:1-2, Heb. 6:17-18).

      However, it didn't take long for man to choose to believe that God is a liar. The serpent questioned the woman about the truth of what God had said to Adam in Gen. 2:15-17: "Then the LORD God took (*aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega)-the-man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Eve repeated to the serpent the command given by God to the man as she understood it or misunderstood it. Somewhere between the time that the man received the command and the woman heard of the command, an untruth was added to the command. Not only were they to not eat of that tree, but the woman told the serpent that they were also forbidden to even touch the fruit of that tree, which was not included in the original command. (see Gen. 3:2-3). The serpent immediately took advantage of this untruthful statement and said to the woman: "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:4-5). The serpent told the woman, and her husband who was with her (v. 6) that God had lied to them when He warned them that they would die - that God had lied to them in order to withhold His divinity and authority from them.

     The LORD God later asked the man and then the woman what they had done. The woman answered: "The serpent beguiled/deceived me." (Gen. 3:13). Here we come to the important point concerning lies: they are connected to witchcraft and occultic powers. The word "serpent" in Hebrew is nahas which means "hissing serpent, snake, viper, enchantment, enchanter, practice divination or fortunetelling, whisper a magic spell, the whisper of a soothsayer, to use sorcery." We can see here in the Hebrew meaning, the connection between the serpent and witchcraft, including the casting of spells. This does not mean that the woman and her husband would not be held responsible for their choice, even under "beguilement," to believe the lying words of the serpent instead of the true words of God.

     It is at this point that the LORD expelled the man and woman from the Garden, and cursed the serpent, promising He would cause the woman to bring forth the Seed, referring to Messiah/Christ, that would crush the serpent's head. (see Gen. 3:14-15).

     Jesus said this to those who were offended by and refused to hear the life-saving salvation truth from Him: "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of myself, but He sent Me. ...you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your Father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him...he is a liar and the father of it. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me....He who is of God hears God's words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God." (Jn. 8:42-47).

      In a reference to the events of Genesis 3 above, Jesus often told the religious leaders of His time that they were snakes, vipers and serpents (see Hebrew meaning above) because they refused to receive the truth themselves and they withheld God's truth from the people. (see Mt. 12:33-34 and Mt. 23:33).

     As it is with the Father, it is also impossible for Jesus to lie. He came full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:14), and He came to testify of the truth (Jn.18:37). He said that His Father sanctifies us with the truth, with His Word of truth (Jn. 17:16-17). The Holy Spirit of the Godhead is called by Jesus, "the Spirit of truth" who will guide us into all truth." (Jn. 16:13-14). It is the truth brought by the Son of God, Jesus that sets man free in every way. (Jn. 8:31-32). It is imperative to God that we know that He does not lie to us. He is a God Who not only tells the truth, sends the truth, but IS the truth. It is the knowledge of the truth that delivers us from the beguilement associated with the serpent/Satan.

     John 1 identifies Jesus as the Word of God, who was with God, and who was God in the beginning. Everything that was created was created through Jesus as the Word of God. Proverbs 30:5-8 tells us: "Every word of God is pure; He is a shield (magen/ganan - shield, buckler, armed, defense, ruler, protector/to defend, to cover over, surround, to hedge about, protect) to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words (see also Rev. 22:18-19), lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar. Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me..." The truth of God, who IS truth, and His Word which is the Person of truth, serves as a protective covering over and surrounding us if we will trust in Him as truth.

     It is never just a "simple" lie. Jesus told us that Satan himself is the father of lies. He is a liar, and the father of it. Satan, who deceives the whole world, (see Rev. 12:9), like the serpent in the Garden, uses his occultic powers to generate and empower the deception. We will see some more examples.

     We are given an account in Luke 4 in which Satan tried to tempt and deceive Jesus for forty days into abandoning His purpose as the Son of God, as the Savior and Redeemer. We are told that Jesus was in the wilderness. However, while attempting to deceive, seduce and tempt Jesus with improper interpretation of scripture, Satan also combined this attempt with witchcraft and sorcery (see the definition of "serpent" above). Satan supernaturally took Jesus from the wilderness to a high mountain to show Him all of the kingdoms of the earth "in a moment of time." (v. 5-7). Then, supernaturally, Satan took Jesus to Jerusalem from the wilderness and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple there. (v. 9-11). Satan used these occultic arts to empower the lies and misrepresentations that he would tell. We know that Jesus resisted these attempts to lure Him from the will of His Father by using truth - the pure, correct application of scripture that overrides the twisting of scripture by men and devils to suit their own purposes. Both Peter and Paul warn believers about this practice of deception (see 2 Pet. 3:15-18, and 2 Tim. 4:2-4).

     In another example, the apostle Paul wrote the following to the church in Galatia: "O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched (baskaino - to bring evil, the evil eye, to charm, bewitch, to fascinate by false representations) you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?" (Gal. 3:1). The word "fascinate" is used here as part of the Greek meaning of "bewitched." The word "fascinate" in our English dictionary means: "spellbind or transfix, enchant, bewitch, cast a spell, a magical or irresistible pull, to draw another by exerting a powerful influence." Paul recognizes that something evil has exerted an occultic influence in combination with a lie being falsely represented as truth to this church.

     The Galatians had fallen away from the truth of the salvation of Christ by grace through faith and began to believe that salvation was "earned" by obeying and doing the works of the law of Moses instead. The lie and the liar were attempting to rob this church of its salvation faith. Paul countered this to this church with a repetition of the truth of God.

     We may be skeptical of such things as being beguiled, bewitched or spellbound, but Jesus warned, and it is important for us to know, that before His return mass deceptions and delusions will be very powerful. The deceptions will be so powerful that even the elect can be deceived by them. (Mt. 24:4-5, 11, 23-27). Paul also wrote of a strong delusion sent by God that will cause people to believe a lie. These people had already chosen to believe and accept lawlessness and the lawless one who comes with "the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception", and they did not believe the truth of God. However, God has chosen us to have "belief in the truth." (2 Thess. 2:7-13).

     Many are perplexed by the current mass belief in outright lies (those things that stand counter to the Word of God) that we are seeing today. Not only are lies supported with zeal, but some of the lies have been incorporated into the law of the land. Not only do masses of people believe the lies, but they also demand that all others must honor the lies as well. We often hear the bewildered words being said, "It's as if the world has gone crazy!" Even "common sense", or foundational innate human knowledge and understanding, is being removed. Are we seeing what Eve realized when she said, "The serpent beguiled me"? Are we seeing some of the mass deception and delusion about which Jesus and the apostles warned? Nevertheless, we have been provided by God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, with the only shield and defense against it - the truth, if we will remain in it and trust that God is true. Those who do not love and cling to the truth will be led further into the lies. (2 Thess. 2:10-12).

I invite you to join with me in this prayer:

"Heavenly Father of all truth, fill me, shield me and cover me with Your Word, Your Son, and Your Holy Spirit of Truth. Keep me from deception and delusion, from lies and the father of lies. You sent Your own Son, Jesus, to crush the head of the serpent, who beguiles, lies, and leads astray from the truth of life and salvation. Let my ears and my heart only receive Your truth. I pray this with thanks in the name of Jesus for myself and my whole household. AMEN."

*NOTE: aleph-tav written in Hebrew as אֶת, are the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the two pictographic Hebrew letters can also be interpreted "Adonai (Lord) of the Cross/Covenant". In the New Testament, these letters are translated as Alpha and Omega written as ΑΩ, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. These letters are those by which Jesus Christ identifies Himself in the Book of Revelation: see Rev. 1:8, Rev. 21:6, Rev. 22:13. 

Preserved

This week's sabbath reading is titled Noach, or the name "Noah" to us. Noach in English means "rest, resting place, quiet". If we look at the individual Hebrew letters of the word and name Noach, which are nun and cheth, we will see an additional meaning : "the Son, the Heir to the throne, separates and protects in an inner chamber". These letters can also mean at the same time : "the faithful seed or offspring that are separated from, divided from, and protected". The story of Noah is well known. Children's stories and toys tell the story of Noah and the Ark. However, we can be sure that there are deep things to learn in this account in scripture. In fact, the warning that Noah brought to the world as he built the ark, according to God's specific instructions, is still crying out a warning for us today. Jesus told us that the account of Noah, the ark, and the flood that brought destruction to the earth will again have meaning in end time events, and the return of the Son of Man (Mt. 24:36-39). The Apostle Peter also referred to the flood of Noah, and its relationship to end time beliefs, unbeliefs and deception: "Scoffers will come in the last days...saying, 'Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.' For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water." (2 Peter 3:3-6). This past event of the flood is to remind us that as others scoff, God will do what He needs to do to establish justice and righteousness, and to preserve His remnant of people. Not only that, but Peter also wrote that the same word that ultimately preserved the heavens and earth then, is still active, and has caused the heavens and earth to reserve fire "until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." (v. 7). Peter tells us that as much as the flood was an act of judgment, as the coming fire will be, he also tells us here that the flood was an act of preservation for a remnant. It is through this obedience to God's instructions for preservation, which was the ark, that Noah became listed as one of our fathers of faith, and an heir of righteousness by faith (Heb. 11:7). This sabbath reading, Noach, deals with God's merciful preservation out of evil, violence, ungodliness and calamity, one man, his family, and some from all of the animals that breath. We will see other examples of this from this sabbath's reading as well. In our first sabbath portion out of Genesis 6, we find out that the men of the earth had become filled with wickedness, evil, violence and corruption (sahat - corrupt, destroy, destroyer, waster, ruin, decay, be rotted, pervert). Because of their evil, the decay of rotting death had entered living man and, consequently, creation (Gen. 6:5, 11-12). Romans 6:23 says that the wages of sin is death - even a living death, a living corruption. However, also according to Romans 6:23, there is a remedy to this living death, which is the gift (charisma/charizomai/charis/chairo - a gift, a favor one receives without any merit of his own, divine grace, faith, knowledge, holiness, virtue/give freely, bestow, to preserve a person in trouble, to pardon, rescue, forgive/grace, good will, loving-kindness, gift of grace/to rejoice, be glad, be well, thrive) of God, which is in Jesus Christ. We can't buy or earn this gift. It is freely bestowed by God for the asking, and even before we have the good sense to ask for it, so we can't even take the credit for having good sense! Anyone who has had the awesome experience of receiving the grace gift of the salvation of God has experienced this. It as a gift - you can't "earn" it, "deserve" it, or "buy/barter" it from God. It can't be done. The gift is given in Gen. 6: "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD...Noah was a just (sadiq/sadaq - righteous, just as a judge or king is just, justified, to make one righteous, to speak truth) man, perfect (tamim/tamam - without blemish, without spot, complete, finished, shutting up, in accord with truth) in his generations. Noah walked with God." (v. 8-9). This gift of grace is not a one-time event. The gift continues to operate in us, making changes in our minds and hearts. The loving gift of grace will break our stony hearts, and build a new heart in us, if we will allow it to do so, leading and prompting us to righteous acts inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God. The gift of grace is a life-changer, and a life-definer. Just ask Noah. As Noah received the gift of grace from God, he was given the qualities of justness and perfection. As we can see, both of these qualities are connected with the speaking of and agreement with truth. Jesus said that the truth of the Word of God sanctifies us and sets us free (Jn. 17:17, Jn. 8:31-32). Believers are to walk in truth (Ps. 86:11, 2 Jn. 3-4, 3 Jn. 1-4). The truth is a Person, Jesus (Jn. 1:16-17, Jn. 14:6-7, Rev. 19:11). There may be many who make claims to truth, but there is only one who IS Truth. God connected Noah to this Person of Truth, Jesus, but how? In the verse above, we see the phrase "Noah walked with God". God, in this case is Elohim here in this verse. However, in the Hebrew writing of this phrase, something additional is connected to the word "Elohim". Two Hebrew letters, Aleph and Tav, are joined to "Elohim". In Rev. 22:13, Jesus says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last." "Alpha" and "Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Hebrew equivalent of first and last letters, which is what Jesus would have used, is "the Aleph" and "the Tav". Besides this example in Gen. 6, there are many other places in scripture where the "Aleph-Tav" is connected to significant words and phrases, but their presence does not get translated into English. In this case, Noah has been given the gift of grace from God, and caused him to walk with God Aleph-Tav that will separate him, and rescue him and his household, as well as representatives from the animal kingdom, from the coming disaster. God told Noah: "Make yourself an ark of gopherwood; make rooms in the ark, and cover it inside (bayit/bana - house, shelter, family, descendants, temple, palace) and outside ( hus- outward, whatever is without, to sever or separate by a wall) with pitch (kapar - atonement, reconcile, purge, forgive, cleanse, merciful, to cover, pardon)." (Gen. 6:14). Noah was to "flood-proof" the ark with mercy, forgiveness, cleansing, reconciliation and atonement. We also know that the kapar atonement of scripture is the blood of sacrifice, the Blood of the Lamb, Christ (1 Jn. 2:1-2, Heb. 9:11-14). There is another interesting reference to Jesus Christ in the account of Noah as God commanded Noah to build a window into the top of the ark, and a door into the side (Gen. 6:16). "Window" is the word sohar/sahar meaning "noon, nonday, suddenly, unexpectedly as an attack upon an enemy/to press out oil, to glisten, to shine, come forth, reveal oneself, light, splendor". We have a verse in 2 Thessalonians 2:8, which refers to the destruction of the lawless one, or antichrist: "And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming." The word for "door" used above is the Hebrew word petah/patah, which means "door, gate, open, loose, grave, break forth, appear, open wide". We know that Jesus called Himself "the Door", and He broke open the grave for us all (see Jn. 10:7-10, Mt. 27:51-53, Mt. 28:2-6). There are many more details in the account of Noah that we could look at, but we will end this section from Genesis 6 with the promise of God to Noah: "And behold, I Myself am bringing floodwaters on the earth...everything that is on the earth shall die. But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark- you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you." (Gen. 6:17-18). Another example of preservation out of destruction from this week's sabbath reading titled Noach, or "Rest", is from Isaiah 54. God in His anger had turned His back on His people, Israel, like a wife rejected by her husband, like a woman made barren of children: "For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you, says the LORD your Redeemer. For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you...My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed." (Isa. 54:1-10, excerpt). Under the same promise that God made to Noah, He would extend His undeserved mercy and kindness again to this remnant of Noah's descendants who had turned from Him. As we see these mercies of God once again extended here to Israel to serve as an example for us, it should cause our own hearts to soften with love and repentance towards Him as well. In Jeremiah 31, another portion from this week's sabbath reading, Israel had rebelled against God, had broken their covenant with Him, and brought destruction to their doors, as Jeremiah had prophesied would happen. However, Jeremiah also then brought this promise of undeserved mercy from the LORD: "Behold the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...But...after those days...I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people...For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). His people brought destruction on their own heads, but the LORD, as with Noah, would extend His gift of grace, change His people in their minds and hearts into righteousness, and forgive their sins. Again, a remnant shall be preserved by grace. In another sabbath reading portion, God's people have become corrupt, they have not trusted in, nor drawn near to the LORD. Because of this, the LORD will gather the nations. His wrath and fiery destruction will be poured out over all the earth. However, God will preserve a remnant, and restore "a pure language...and they shall trust in the name of the LORD. The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness and speak no lies, nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth...Be glad and rejoice with all your heart...The LORD has taken away your judgments, He has cast out your enemy. The King of Israel, the LORD, is in your midst; You shall see disaster no more." (Zeph. 3:8-15). The undeserved grace, mercy, and kindness of God seems to be the recurring theme through this week's sabbath readings. There is a place of rest in the LORD, His ark of Christ, like the one He established with Noah, if we will abide in it as Noah did. God remembers His floodwaters, and has not forgotten that place where His people are preserved by His grace. There is no other place nor means by which we may be preserved. (Acts 4:10-12). If you would like to learn more about being preserved by grace, you can pray with me: "LORD Jesus, the Father gave His grace to us through You, and as You preserved Noah and his household, and even the animals of the earth, You desire to preserve me. I want to walk with You, Aleph Tav-Elohim, as Noah walked with You, and You called him just and perfect, speaking and in accord with truth. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, as the dove returned to the ark with an olive leaf to give Noah sure knowledge and comfort that the waters had indeed receded for him. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were with Noah, and also, I ask, be with me and my household always. I don't wish to search for my place of rest anywhere else but in You, and in your gift of grace. I ask these things in Your holy name. AMEN."

Images

It is important that each of us be a witness to God's revelatory truth, which is His Word. Jesus said, "Thy word is truth." (Jn. 17:17). Jesus is the Word become flesh, and He is described as being full of grace and truth (Jn. 1:1-14). Jesus also said of God's Word, which is truth, that it has the power to sanctify us (Jn. 17:17). The Church's proclaiming of the truth of God is important for another reason. Jesus told us, "And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (Jn. 8:31-32). There is liberating power in the truth. When the Church fails to tell the truth, but proclaims the world's solutions instead, we are in effect telling people something like this: "Stay in your prison cell, but I will make the cell more comfortable for you - here's a blanket and a pillow." We are called to speak Christ, Who is truth, in order to open prison doors and set the captives FREE. This is part of the power of truth as prophesied regarding the Messiah: "I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house." (Isa. 42:6-7, also Isa. 61:1). Also, the opening of otherwise unopenable cell doors, creates a wonder and a hunger for salvation that causes people to say, "What must I do to be saved?" (Acts 16:23-36). There is nothing that the world can offer that can achieve these results. The world does not accept the power of God's truth. As Jesus declared that He came to bear witness to the truth, the world responded cynically asking, "What is truth?" (Jn. 18:37-38). The world considers truth to be something that is continually changing, or relative, or even unimportant. For this reason, the world's "solutions" are not deeply or lastingly effective, and at best, apply a bandage to a gushing wound. Why should we, the Church, be in agreement with the world's opinion of truth? There are two ways to deliver truth. There is a negative truth, and a positive truth, though both are truth. Here is an example: Someone wants to draw a tree. They ask, "What does a tree look like?" If I supply them with negative truth, I would answer, "Well, a tree does not look like a horse, and it does not look like a rock, and it does not look like a bird...", and so on. I would be delivering truth, but the person would not be able to replicate a tree. In order to replicate the image, positive truth would be more helpful to them: a tree has a strong central trunk with protective bark on its surface. The trunk has a wider base which tapers to a narrower top. From that trunk, branches that look like arms extend laterally from around the trunk, and up to the top. From those sturdy branches, extend thinner branches. At the ends of those thinner branches, grow clusters of leaves, or needles. The artist now has a far better chance of duplicating an accurate image of a tree from the positive truth supplied. In the same manner, we have the ability, by knowing God's Word of truth, to supply helpful, positive truth to reproduce the image that is created by truth, and we already know that the image created by the truth of God's Word is Christ. Here is an example from one of the issues of today. In dealing with the issue of marriage, there are many negative truths that can be supplied. "Marriage is not....". If we want to offer the truth of God that creates the person of Christ, it might be more helpful to describe what marriage is according to the Word of truth: "Then God (Elohim:plural) said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion...over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them..." (Gen. 1:26-28). We can see from the verses above, that God created man to place His image in the earth. He mentions His/Our image/likeness four times. That image would be created by the combination of male and female according to the verses. What does the image of God that is produced with the male/female creation look like? If we look at the Hebrew words and roots involved, it becomes quickly obvious that the image created is Christ. Here are some of the meanings of the Hebrew words used for male (remember, to bring to mind, to make a memorial, pricking, piercing, penetrating, to meditate and think on, to praise, to offer a memorial offering, the recorder of the annuls of the kingdom) and female (to pierce, perforate, bore a hole, pierce through, strike through, to call by name, to thrust through with a spear, to express with holes, blaspheme, curse). Can you see what the image is created within the truth of male and female? Yes, it's Jesus! We see the curious inclusion of "blaspheme", and "curse" within the meaning of the Hebrew word for female, but these two words have a very specific contribution to the image of Christ being created here. Christ was condemned to death by the religious council, and ultimately agreed to by the Gentile government, for the crime of blasphemy. Those who accused Him were actually committing blasphemy themselves, as they falsely accused the innocent Son of God. Scriptures also tell us that Christ has redeemed us from the curse..., having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs from a tree." (Gal. 3:13-14). Apostle Paul confirms the truth of the prophetic image of Christ within the joining of male and female that God established at our creation. Paul wrote in the New Testament, based on verses from Genesis, "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined with his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:31-32, Gen. 2:24). Those who receive this positive truth concerning marriage as spoken by God now have this image before them to which they may conform. As we know, however, many prefer to accept a different image. There are those who are ignorant of the truth, or do not receive the truth when it is given to them, including some in the Church. They choose to conform to the images created and preferred by the world. However, those images do not set anyone free. Those images do not have the power to sanctify. Those images do not create the image of Christ. Many times in scripture, God brings judgment to His people who accept false images in place of the image that God has ordained through truth (see Ezek. 7 and 8). The world cannot receive the Spirit of truth, because it neither sees, nor knows Him (Jn. 14:17). How can the world recreate an image of truth when it cannot see, nor know, the original? It can't be done. That's our job. Our Father has provided us with an image of His Son, Who is truth. If you would like to know the truth that sets men free, the truth that brings us to the Father, the truth that redeems us from the curse, the truth which is the image of Christ, you can receive Him by believing His death, and resurrection. You can confess this belief through a prayer: Lord Jesus, I believe You are truth and grace. I believe that You died in my place, and was raised again, so I can live. Come into my heart, and be Lord of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, so that I may be a witness of truth in the earth for others. I thank You for reconciling me with the Father, and for the gift of salvation and everlasting life. I believe and pray these things in your name. Amen.

Unbreakable

All things in this life are breakable, it seems. We expect that something will break at some point in its use, and we will have to fix or replace it. Even those things that call themselves unbreakable, really can be broken. Promises are broken every day, so that we really no longer rely upon them. However, when God calls something unbreakable, that's exactly what it is. The LORD showed something to His prophet Jeremiah that He described as unbreakable. He starts off by promising Jeremiah, and us, something remarkable:
"Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."   Jer. 33:3
The things that God was willing to reveal to Jeremiah were so hidden and secret, that the words in Hebrew imply something kept behind a high wall, so fortified as to make them inaccessible. This prophetic word came to Jeremiah while he, himself, was shut up in an inaccessible place, the king's prison. The king had Jeremiah placed there so the prophet could no longer prophesy Judah's coming defeat and captivity by the king of Babylon. However, no place is inaccessible to God, and His prophets still hear and prophesy His word even in prison. What secret, inaccessible thing did God show Jeremiah that day in prison?
God (YHWH) promised Jeremiah that even though Judah would be conquered and taken into captivity by Babylon, that would not be the end of the story. God would restore them:
"Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth. And I will cause the captives...to return, and will rebuild those places as at the first. I will cleanse them from all their iniquity...and I will pardon...Then it shall be to Me a name of joy, a praise, and an honor before all nations of the earth, who shall hear all the good that I do to them; they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and all the prosperity that I provide for it."   Jer. 33:6-9
The miraculous restoration that God would bring to both Judah and Israel after their great defeat would be a testimony to all the nations of the earth. Though the land would become completely desolate, God would work this great restoration, and He would tie that work to His promised Messiah:
"Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, that I will perform that good thing which I have promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah: In those days, and at that time, I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days, Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which she will be called:  THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS (YHWH TSIDKENU)."   Jer. 33:14-16
The LORD makes this promise based upon His covenant with David (king), who was long dead by this time, and the Levites (priests). He describes this covenant as "unbreakable":
"Thus says the LORD: If you can break My covenant with the day and My covenant with the night...then My covenant may also be broken with David My servant, so that he shall not have a son to reign on his throne, and with the Levites, the priests, My ministers."  v. 20-21
To the eye, it would seem that the LORD was breaking His covenant with David and the Levites-the kings of Judah and Israel were dethroned, killed, or exiled, the temple in Jerusalem was looted and torn down, the cities and fields became desolate. Both the people and the nations judged God's covenant with the Israelites to be ended (v. 24). Perhaps even Jeremiah, from his place in prison, wondered the same thing. However, this covenant made by God, and the prophetic promises He made based upon it, are unbreakable. Again, He repeats:
"Thus says the LORD: If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth, then I will cast away the descendants of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his descendants to be rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will cause their captives to return, and will have mercy on them."  v. 25-26
The thing that made the LORD's covenant with Israel eternally unbreakable, is the fact that the covenant is rooted and created upon the foundation of His Messiah. The LORD's covenant with us is also rooted and founded upon His Messiah, Jesus, sealed by His own blood, and is unbreakable.

Our Father reveals to us the unbreakable covenant in His Messiah.

"Unshakeable"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLW0zV6eqeY

"Ancient Words"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmTkXNpwzs

"The Promise"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyX-uriW3qk

FakeNews

During the last few months, we have heard a great deal about "fake news". False news stories are planted on the internet, and are spread from there. Sometimes, these fake news items even end up on mainstream news outlets.
It used to be that the six o'clock news was a "must see" in this country, and we all relied upon, and took for granted, that our newsmen, and eventually newswomen, would bring us the truth about current events. Anchorman Walter Cronkite was known as "the most trusted man in America". These perceptions may or may not have been accurate, but this is what we often thought. If it was on the news, it must be the truth, because reporters were supposed to investigate fully before reporting. Eventually, we became aware that not all reporters and news organizations were unbiased, or careful and thorough.
Now, it seems, for various reasons, people are creating false news stories, and spreading them by whatever means are available to them.. The confusion that these false reports can cause can be devastating. Once the lie is out there, it seems to take on a life of its own.
How can people make wise choices for themselves, and their nation, if they don't know if what they are reading or hearing is the truth or a lie? Will we believe everything, or will we believe nothing? Both options are deadly. We live in a time when we almost expect a lie, even from national leaders, and we have become de-sensitized to it. However, God is aware of the danger of the lie:
"These six things the LORD hates, yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
A proud look, a lying tongue... a false witness who speaks lies..."   Prov. 6:16-19
Of all evil, why is lying considered especially hateful to God? We will see later.
While lies have always been with us, even from Genesis, it seems that they have a new force and power behind them. Jesus called the devil "the father of lies":
"You are of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father, you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar, and the father of it."   Jn. 8:44
Jesus went on to condemn His listeners that day for rejecting what He was telling them, simply because He was telling truth. They preferred the lie. Who were these people that preferred lies, and were of their father, the devil? They were all identified as those who believed in Jesus! (Jn. 8:31).
The Father, and His Son are of Light and Truth, and His Son was manifested to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn. 3:8), including lies. We, the followers of Christ, should not prefer lies, even if the truth does not please us.
God identified the overtaking power of lies among His people, Israel:
"For her rich men are full of violence,
Her inhabitants have spoken lies,
And their tongue is deceitful in their mouth."     Micah 6:12
God exposed this pervasive climate of lies as an unclean spirit, even in prophets of Israel at the time:
"...I will also cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to depart from the land. It shall come to pass that if anyone still prophesies, then his father and mother who begot him will say to him, "You shall not live, because you have spoken lies in the name of the LORD..."  
                                                                           Zech. 13:2-3
Idolatry among God's own people opened the door for the unclean lying spirit (v. 2). Additionally, pride and haughtiness in God's people are connected to the lies and deceit that filled the land (Zeph. 3:11-13).
Are we in the Church exempt from this condition? No:
"...who suppress the truth in unrighteousness...although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful,...therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness...who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature, rather than the Creator, Who is blessed forever. Amen."   Rom. 1:18, 21-25
Idolatry and an unclean spirit are again connected in the above Scriptures to lies. When we spend more time and money being concerned about, desiring and attaining created things rather than the Creator, we are idolaters.
Idolatry also involves the envy of others, or what others have. Self-seeking (also identified as strife) is also idolatry, and results in an atmosphere where lies pervade:
"But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking (strife) in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there."                                                                      Ja. 3:14-16
If we say we have fellowship with the Father and the Son, but we fellowship and walk instead with darkness, we lie, and do not practice truth (1 Jn. 1:3, 6). If we fellowship with darkness, we fellowship with lies. We are not just telling lies, but we have become a lie.
Why should we, the Church, be especially concerned with the spreading spirit of lies in the world today? Besides its reflection of our own personal sin and flaws, out of this widespread lying spirit arises the antichrist, according to Scripture. Antichrist is birthed out of, and inhabits this spirit (1 Jn. 2:18-22). He comes with unrighteous deception among those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth (2 Thess. 2:10-11). The fact that lies have overtaken us today should be a loud warning siren in our ears.
At this time, under God's eyes, we are called to be part of Zion, a city of light, a sign post, a way marker, a monument, a guiding pillar, pointing to the way of truth, showing for all to see the difference between the truth and the lie.
As John wrote:
"Little children, it is the last hour..."  1 Jn. 2:18

Our Father hates the lying spirit, which has no part of Him.

"The Voice of Truth"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaVg0cWkgAw

"Lead Us to Truth" (flash mob-eastern Europe)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OprsvFGUbrU

Oracles

"So Aaron shall  bear the names of the sons of Israel on the breastplate of judgment over his heart, when he goes into the holy place, as a memorial before the LORD continually. And you shall put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim, and they shall be over Aaron's heart when he goes in before the LORD. So Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart before the LORD continually."      Ex. 28:29-30
The Hebrew meaning of the word Urim is lights, light of fire, to become light, shine, to be made light, light of revelation.
The Hebrew meaning of Thummim is perfection, complete truth, innocence, integrity, uprightness wholeness, fullness, welfare, safety, prosperity, to be finished, completed, done, to be completely crossed over (as a river).
The Breastplate of Judgment, also known as the Breastplate of Decision, was worn by the High Priest. Inquiries made of God were brought to the High Priest by the king, or by another priest. Only these were permitted to make inquiries regarding God's will. The High Priest was the only one who could wear the breastplate, because, according to Jewish tradition, "it could only be read by the guidance of the Spirit of God, by one upon whom the Shekkinah (glory of God) rested. Only one question was allowed at a time."
In Psalm 27, David speaks of going to the House of God:
"One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek;
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple."                Ps. 27:4
This Psalm begins by David declaring:
"The LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?"
Rabbinical teaching holds that this is a Psalm about David going to the House of God to inquire of the Urim and Thummim in the Priest's Breastplate of Judgment. He describes this experience as beautiful, and he expresses the desire that he could remain in the LORD's house this way forever. He describes the inquiry as seeking God's face. He describes God as "light" and "safety" ("Of whom shall I be afraid? The LORD will take care of me; He shall hide me"). He then encourages us to "Wait on the LORD. Wait, I say, on the LORD". David is saying to wait there in the House of the LORD before the Urim and Thummim, until you get your answer from God.
Jesus also told His disciples to "wait" for the baptism of the Holy Spirit which occurred on the Feast of Pentecost (Acts 1:4). He described it as the promise from the Father.

Believers may see the connection to Jesus, and also, to those who follow Him, in the meanings of Urim and Thummim noted above.
We have the Holy Spirit, and Jesus the Living Word, within our hearts. Jesus, our High Priest, described Himself as Light and Truth (Jn. 8:12, 9:5, 14:6), Urim and Thummim. Jesus declared that we, His followers, were also the light of the world. The Holy Spirit in us is described as the Spirit of Truth:
However, when He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come."       Jn. 16:13
We, as His disciples, are also described as being, or having, light and truth:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden...Let your light so shine before men..."       Mt. 5:14,16
"You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness."
                                                                                       1 Thess. 5:5
"...proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
                                                                                       1 Peter 2:9
"...the truth of Christ is in me..."       2 Cor. 11:10
"For you were once darkness but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness and truth)."     Eph. 5:8-9
"...the church of the living God, the pillar and mainstay of the truth."    1 Tim. 3:15
"Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of first- fruits of His creatures."       James 1:18
"...that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life."      1 Jn. 5:20

Light and Truth, Urim and Thummim, are the nature of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, who both reside within us, as His living temples or tabernacles:
"Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?        1 Cor. 6:19
"...what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?....And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
I will dwell in them and walk among them.
I will be their God,
And they shall be My people."                            2 Cor. 6:14-16

The breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14), containing the Urim and Thummim, is worn by us, and within us, as witnesses of Christ's presence in the world, and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. We are also called "kings and priests", who, as noted above, are the only ones who can handle, and inquire of the Urim and Thummim:
".you also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ...you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."    1 Pet. 2:5,9
"To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God, and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever."
                                                                                                     Rev. 1:5-6
"And have made us kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth."
                                                                                                     Rev. 5:10

The world needs us to be that Urim and Thummim witness to them of Christ in us.

Our Father has called us, as priests and kings, to be living tabernacles of His oracles, Urim and Thummim, Christ and Spirit, in the world.


"Psalm 27:Adonai Ori-The L-RD is My Light"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMZkqhZFVqc