News Letter 5856-013
The 4th Year of the 4th Sabbatical Cycle
The 25th year of the 120th Jubilee Cycle
The 22nd day of the 3rd month 5856 years after the creation of Adam
The 4th Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Middle of the 70th Jubilee Since Yehovah told Moses To go Get His People
The Sabbatical Cycle of Sword, Famines, and Pestilence

May 16, 2020

Shabbat Shalom to the Royal Family of Yehovah,

The Wheat is Ripe in the North

This past week we received news from Israel that the wild Wheat in the North was ready to harvest. If it is ready now in the north what about the south which ripens much earlier. What this is telling us is this. We now have Yehovah showing us again that the timing for Passover and for Shavuot was at the right time even though it seemed like we were way too early.

Wild wheat turns back when it is ready to harvest or to seed itself.

This year of 2020, the year that is in the middle of the 70th Jubilee as told to us by Daniel and is the 120th Jubilee since Adam was created is a pivotal year.

1. The year was declared early. Yehovah is in charge.
2. Passover on March 10/11 WHO Declared a Worldwide Pandemic.
3. The Barely was ripe by wave sheaf day
4. The Week before Shavuot May 3, 2020, the UN warns the world that we will be in Famine in 3 months’ time with 135 Million people starving. That is about July 5, 2020. Hmmm, I wonder what this date means.
5. The week before and after Shavuot, meat processing plants were closing down across North America due to the COVID 19 virus and trucking companies were struggling to keep the food supply chains going. Farmers were euthanizing livestock because they could not get them to the plants. Restaurants were no longer buying meat because they were shut down. School lunch programs were shut down.

I don’t know about you, but every time I read Lev 26 I see the very things spoken of in it, happening on our nightly news. The very things I have been warning you about since 2005. And even as they happen and you see them on the nightly news, many still deny it and write it off to some other natural cause.

Lev 26:23  And if you will not be reformed by Me by these things, but will still walk contrary to Me,

Lev 26:24  then I will walk contrary to you and will punish you seven times more for your sins.

Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword on you that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant. And when you are gathered inside your cities, I will send the plague among you. And you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Lev 26:26  When I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight. And you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Lev 26:27  And if you will not for all of this listen to Me, but will walk contrary to Me,

Lev 26:28  then I will walk contrary to you also in fury. And I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

Lev 26:29  And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.

The WHO, an office of the UN has declared a Worldwide Pandemic at Passover. The UN warned of a Biblical Famine as Shavuot drew near. What are they going to declare this fall? I have no idea but maybe one of you will read Lev 26 and tell me.

Many dismiss all these facts because they can’t figure out or disagree with me about the Jubilee cycle being 49 or 50 years or because I do not match their Christian based theology of how the end is supposed to be. They still think they are going to be raptured because they are good people.

And if you are still in denial, then let me ask you how you like your meat, well-done, medium-well or raw. Make sure you tell your kids you love them when you tuck them in tonight.

Email Lists

We have removed old and non-responsive email accounts from our server. We have to pay for the number of emails we send out each week. If you get the email and you do not open them then our server keeps count. Once you go from a 5-star rating down to a 1-star, then after a while your name is removed. We do not want to trouble you with emails if you’re not interested. If on the other hand, you want to get the emails then please do open them from your email account and that will let us know you’re still interested and it will keep your name on our list.

Thank You for Supporting This Work

I want to say thank you to each and every person who has invested in this work and helped us to do all that we are able to do. Some have given their time and volunteer for certain projects. Others pray for us all the time. And a few of you send us a donation. To each and every one of you, I say thank you. Thank you on behalf of those who are still looking and have not yet found us. Thank you on behalf of those who are still going to be called.

With 10% of the workforce no longer working, I appreciate that other 90 % who are still working and helping us to keep going. We are coming to that fork in the road where all of us are going to have to make a decision. We are already getting some of those emails now. My question is to each of you who wonder if I may just be right in the things I have been saying. You have not supported us for all these years as you watched and waited for that defining moment. That moment is here. Soon you will be asking us to help you and your family.

Many were banging on the door of the ark when the rain came. But it was too late. Are you going to invest in this work as though your family’s lives depended on it?

We have sent countless books to various groups in the Philippines and in Africa. We have just helped our Henry Mate in Kenya get a motorcycle so he can travel around the country teaching Torah. We have been helping Aike with mission trips across the Philippines and currently while they are in lockdown, we have helped with some of the building of the new Torah Center. Telesphore will soon be going back to Burundi and as we did in the past we will help him again in the future if we can. And as you can see we have just rebuilt the web site. In order to do that we had to build three web sites and combine them so that they all work as one. And yesterday one of them crashed. Know that James is working on them and pulling his hair out at times.

We have invested in these things on your behalf. We have invested in these areas for your future when you will need them as Isaiah 11: tells us. I have said this before. If you do not invest in your pension plan then when you get to that state in your life when you need it how can you expect to have any return when you put nothing into it? It is the same here. If you do not invest in this work then how can you expect to have this work help you in the end when you need it?

We have never asked you to tithe to us. Tithing was to be given to the Levites. I have never claimed to be a Levite. A second tithe was to be kept by you so you can go to the Feasts each year. Then every third year you were to collect a tithe for the widows and give it to them yourselves.  I do ask you to make an investment in this work and stand with us and help us to reach more now as the time remaining is running out.

I am doing this full time now. It would seem my work is now done in construction. I doubt it will come back. We ask that you pray for this work. We ask that you petition Yehovah to open those doors for us to go through and to make them wide open. We ask that you pray for those people who have yet to learn the Torah to find us. We ask you to pray for those people we need to make this work stand out and stand above all those clamouring to keep people in the dark. We ask you to pray for our voice at sightedmoon to be heard in India, Asia, China and Russia and across Europe as well as all of the Americas.

You have seen how we correctly warned about the year 2020 for the past 15 years. You have seen the curses of Lev 26 come upon this world and many are now saying of each curse it is of Biblical proportions. The Plague is here and is going to be around for some time. Famine is coming and the sword too. We need your help. If not now then when?

To the Church in Philadelphia

Rev 3:7  And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: He who is holy, He who is true, He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts; and shuts and no one opens, says these things:

Rev 3:8  I know your works. Behold, I have given before you an open door, and no one can shut it. For you have a little strength and have kept My Word and have not denied My name.

Rev 3:9  Behold, I give out of those of the synagogue of Satan, those saying themselves to be Jews and are not, but lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you.

Rev 3:10  Because you have kept the Word of My patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which will come upon all the habitable world, to try those who dwell upon the earth.

Rev 3:11  Behold, I come quickly. Hold fast to that which you have, so that no one may take your crown.

Rev 3:12  Him who overcomes I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will go out no more. And I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of Heaven from My God, and My new name.

Rev 3:13  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

 

Shabbat Meeting

We will be meeting online at 1 PM Eastern time zone on Shabbat.

Joseph Dumond is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Joseph Dumond’s Zoom Meeting
Time: May 16, 2020 12:30 PM America/Toronto

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Reckless Endangerment

I know I have been beating my head against a wall. And some of you have been making memes of me doing this. I have become the butt of your jokes now. Some of you have dared me to give you scriptures to justify my condemnation of what you are doing by you sharing over and over conspiracy things non stop. Some “brethren” have become venomous in their attacks on me and sightedmoon.com. Tares also think they are Brethren.

Some have written to apologize to me and confess their sins. I am not a priest nor catholic for you to do so with me, but some have. Some confess and promise not to do so again, only to be about this business of spreading words as though merchants at the very next juicy bit of info.

In the second week of May 2020, the juiciest bit of propaganda was released and many of you jumped all over it like a starving dog with a blood-soaked piece of meat. Many of you taunted this new so-called documentary in my face as though it vindicated you and your actions.

The Video was called Pandemic; A Film about the Global Plan to take Control of Our Lives Liberty, Health and Freedom. I can already see some you rolling your eyes and muttering under your breath. If this wasn’t a problem then why am I harping on it? Because it is a huge problem and many of you are in danger with Yehovah.

But are any of you willing to repent? Is your rebelliousness that thick-necked and has your heart become that hardened? You demand I give you the scriptures to support my position. You demand the facts and claim you are the ones with the facts from dubious sources. So here are some facts for you all to chew on. I doubt this will be viral as the video interview with Judy Mikovits. She is pedalling a book. All of you are helping her to do this.

Here in Ontario this week a teenager was clocked doing 308 Km/h. That is equal to going 191 miles/hour. He was not breaking the scriptures. There are no scriptures saying he can’t go as fast as he wants. But this evil Government has imposed their laws and are taking away our freedoms to decide what we want to do and how fast we can drive.

Yes, this sounds utterly ridiculous but then this is the very same thing many of you are writing to me and then insult me because I am not an American and do not understand the US constitution. Forgive me if I have not responded to the many stupid emails sent to me this week. They are just as stupid as the real situation about speeding above that I told you about. This kids actions were reckless and he endangered everyone else on that highway that day.

Many of you demand your right to assemble. You state categorically that the virus is a hoax created by the evil people to depopulate the world and to take your civil liberties away from you. You say you are being deprived of working and making a living. You have a God-given right to go to work. You say God said to work six days and rest on the seventh. So you’re going to go back to work. You said the Bible says to assemble for Sabbath. So you’re going to do that because you found that in the bible. The Bible also says, according to your many venomous emails that only the sick are to quarantine, not the healthy. And so this is someone’s plan to ruin our people and make them all dependent on the Gov.

Your cries to assemble, your demands to go to work, you pushing for your freedoms is no different than that guy racing at 308 Km/h. There is no scripture to prevent him from doing so, so it is wrong to penalize him. You are saying the very same thing.

The sick are not the only ones carrying the plague. Those who are healthy are also carrying it and spreading it to those who are not healthy. They did not do it on purpose. they just did not know. That kid racing the car did not know that going that fast could kill an entire family if they pulled in front of him or if he had to stop all of a sudden. It was an accident, no it was not, it was carelessness. And that family, if he hit them, would be dead. Your demands to go back to work and to assemble is being careless and even though you are seemingly healthy today you could spread the plague and not know it. You could infect your own parents or your own children. And if you wipe out your own family because of your demands to work and to assemble is it any different than that Teenager endangering everyone on the roads because of his brain dead actions.

And lest you forget, it is not Bill Gates or WHO or the UN or some secret CIA plot gone bad. No, this plague is sent by Yehovah and by Him alone. He is not going to give credit to anyone else. And yet many of you try to do exactly that with your false reports. You are not helping one person to repent and return to Yehovah by your vaccine plots or Bill Gate plots. Because you post so many things about conspiracies people laugh at you then you post things about Yehovah and mix them together as though they supported each other. Stop mixing them and stop spreading lies mixed with truth.

Everything in the scriptures is there to help you preserve life. And to enjoy life. The scriptures also say that those who cause death should also lose their lives. Are you 100% sure you are not carrying the plague with you when you go from one place to another? If you are the one that causes others to be sick and die, what should we do with you because you exercised your right to do whatever you wanted and have endangered others in our society and possibly even killed them because it was you who brought the plague to them?

Former Coronavirus Skeptic Warns Others To Take Pandemic Seriously After Infection

Brian Lee Hitchens said he used to believe COVID-19 was a “fake crisis.” Now he’s imploring people to listen to the experts.

A patient battling COVID-19 in Florida admits that he used to believe the pandemic was being blown out of proportion. But, after he and his wife were hospitalized with serious infections, he’s urging people to take coronavirus seriously.

“I don’t want to see anybody go through what I went through,” Brian Lee Hitchens, a ride-share driver in Jupiter, Florida, told WPTV-TV in West Palm Beach in an interview from his hospital bed. “This wasn’t some scare tactic that anybody was using. It wasn’t some made-up thing. This is a real virus that you’ve got to take serious.”

Just last month, Hitchens said he was skeptical about coronavirus and didn’t think the crisis was real.

“I thought it was maybe the government trying something, and it was kind of like they threw it out there to kinda distract us,” he told the TV station.

“I’d get up in the morning and pray and trust in God for his protection, and I’d just leave it at that. There were all these masks and gloves. I thought it looks like a hysteria,” he added.

In posts on his Facebook page in early April, he had claimed, “I do not fear this virus because I know that my God is bigger than this Virus will ever be.”

However, in a lengthy post to the platform Tuesday, Hitchens dramatically shifted his outlook and urged others to do the same.

“Many people still think that the Coronavirus is a fake crisis which at one time I did too,” he wrote. “And not that I thought it wasn’t a real virus going around but at one time I felt that it was blown out of proportion and it wasn’t that serious.”

Just over a month before making that post, Hitchens wrote, he had started to feel unwell, and his wife fell ill soon after. He said that following a stint in home isolation, they began to feel so fatigued and sick that they checked into the Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center. They tested positive for the virus and were admitted to the intensive care unit.

Hitchens said Tuesday that he’s feeling much better, although still has “some pneumonia in my lungs” and is still COVID-19 positive. He’s holding on to hope for his wife, who is still on a ventilator and has been for several weeks. The two aren’t able to see one another and don’t know when they might be discharged.

“Please listen to the authorities and heed the advice of the experts,” he implored people in his Facebook post. “Looking back I should have wore a mask in the beginning but I didn’t and perhaps I’m paying the price for it now.”

He concluded: “If you have to go out please use wisdom and don’t be foolish like I was so the same thing won’t happen to you like it happened to me and my wife.”

His interview with WPTV can be viewed above.

Since 2005 Sightedmoon.com has been warning you that this curse was coming. YOU mocked us then and you denied it and you attacked us back then.

Lev 26:23  And if you will not be reformed by Me by these things, but will still walk contrary to Me,

Lev 26:24  then I will walk contrary to you and will punish you seven times more for your sins.

Lev 26:25  And I will bring a sword on you that shall execute the vengeance of the covenant. And when you are gathered inside your cities, I will send the plague among you. And you shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.

Lev 26:26  When I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight. And you shall eat and not be satisfied.

Lev 26:27  And if you will not for all of this listen to Me, but will walk contrary to Me,

Lev 26:28  then I will walk contrary to you also in fury. And I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.

Lev 26:29  And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters you shall eat.

But instead of preparing for this, you made light of it. You played religion and did not change pretending to be holy when you were full of pride and yet you still demanded your rights. Go back and read what it says in the second curse of Lev 26.

Lev 26:18  And if you will not yet listen to Me for all this, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.

Lev 26:19  And I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your heaven like iron and your earth like bronze.

Lev 26:20  And your strength shall be spent in vain. For your land shall not yield its increase, neither shall the trees of the field yield their fruits.

Yehovah said He was going to “I will break the pride of your power”. Now let us look at the three main words in this sentence.

The first word is “break”.

H7665   (Brown-Driver-Briggs)
שׁבר

shâbar

BDB Definition:

1) to break, break in pieces

1a) (Qal)

1a1) break, break in or down, rend violently, wreck, crush, quench

1a2) to break, rupture (figuratively)

1b) (Niphal)

1b1) to be broken, be maimed, be crippled, be wrecked

1b2) to be broken, be crushed (figuratively)

1c) (Piel) to shatter, break

1d) (Hiphil) to cause to break out, bring to the birth

1e) (Hophal) to be broken, be shattered

Part of Speech: verb

H7665   (Strong)
שָׁבַר

shâbar

shaw-bar’

A primitive root; to burst (literally or figuratively): – break (down, off, in pieces, up), broken ([-hearted]), bring to the birth, crush, destroy, hurt, quench, X quite, tear, view [by mistake for H7663].

The next word is “pride”.

H1347   (Brown-Driver-Briggs)
גּאון

gâ’ôn

BDB Definition:

1) exaltation, majesty, pride

1a) majesty, exaltation, excellence

1a1) of nations

1a2) of God

1a3) of the Jordan

1b) pride, arrogance (bad sense)

H1347   (Strong)
גָּאוֹן

gâ’ôn

gaw-ohn’

From H1342; the same as H1346: – arrogancy, excellency (-lent), majesty, pomp, pride, proud, swelling.

The third word is “power”.

H5797   (Brown-Driver-Briggs)
עוז / עז

‛ôz

BDB Definition:

1) might, strength

1a) material or physical

1b) personal or social or political

Part of Speech: noun masculine

H5797   (Strong)
עוֹז    עֹז

‛ôz    ‛ôz

oze, oze

From H5810; strength in various applications (force, security, majesty, praise): – boldness, loud, might, power, strength, strong.

Yehovah is taking the thing that has made you proud, the thing that has made you mighty above the nations and He is going to humble you. Yehovah is taking away your money with which you have become so proud. He is taking away your movie industry, your sports and entertainment industry and your gambling industry. He is taking away your ability to pay the rent and to buy food. And He has done this with just one little plague.

With more than 33 Million Americas losing their jobs since February 2020, and we are now on May 11, 2020, it is plain to see Yehovah is the one breaking your pride right now as you watch and fight and scream.

Few objected when prayers were removed from the classrooms. No massive strikes when God was removed from all public institutions. In these last days knowledge of Yehovah is being poured out onto all of us, but who is taking up the challenge to learn about Him.

Pro 1:20  Wisdom cries outside; she utters her voice in the streets;

Pro 1:21  she cries in the chief place of gathering, in the openings of the gates; in the city she utters her words, saying,

Pro 1:22  How long will you love simplicity, simple ones? And will scorners delight in their scorning? And will fools hate knowledge?

Pro 1:23  Turn at my warning; behold, I will pour out my Spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.

Pro 1:24  Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention;

Pro 1:25  but you have despised all my advice, and would have none of my warning.

Pro 1:26  I also will laugh at your trouble; I will mock when your fear comes;

Pro 1:27  when your fear comes as a wasting away, and your ruin comes like a tempest when trouble and pain come upon you.

Pro 1:28  Then they shall call upon me, and I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me;

Pro 1:29  instead they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of Jehovah.

Pro 1:30  They would have none of my counsel; they despised all my correction,

Pro 1:31  and they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own desires.

But who is repenting? Yes, what nation is repenting? Are you?

Hos 4:6  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you from being priest to Me. Since you have forgotten the Law of your God, I will also forget your sons, even I.

No one is repenting. And as I said last week;

Proverbs 26:2 “A curse without cause shall not come.”

And again we told you what the answer was to fix this pandemic.

Exodus 23:25 Worship the Lord your God, and his blessing will be on your food and water. I will take away sickness from among you,

But no one is fixing this. The nations are not telling you to pray nor are they saying for each of us to seek Yehovah. Instead, they are trying to force their ways back to work and in their rebellion, they will be spreading the virus even more so than it is now. The second wave is going to make the first one small by comparison.

As Hosea warns us Yehovah will forget our children. There are increasing reports that the COVID pandemic is now taking more and more children. The virus that many of you say is fake news, is attacking in many forms as it destroys the inside organs of its victims.

Because we will not obey and we will not turn back to Yehovah, He warned us what was coming.

Deu 28:20  Jehovah shall send on you cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings by which you have forsaken Me.

Deu 28:21  Jehovah shall make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from off the land where you go to possess it.

Deu 28:22  Jehovah shall strike you with lung disease and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew. And they shall pursue you until you perish.

And then last week WHO stated the following.

‘This virus may never go away,’ WHO says

The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 could become endemic like HIV, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, warning against any attempt to predict how long it would keep circulating and calling for a “massive effort” to counter it.

“It is important to put this on the table: this virus may become just another endemic virus in our communities, and this virus may never go away,” WHO emergencies expert Mike Ryan told an online briefing.

“I think it is important we are realistic and I don’t think anyone can predict when this disease will disappear,” he added. “I think there are no promises in this and there are no dates. This disease may settle into a long problem, or it may not be.”

Yehovah has put up with our crap for a very long time and has allowed us to reap our own rewards. This Pandemic and this shut down is what we have earned. So when Yehshua said this:

“When the Son of man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”,

He was talking about our time now. Right now in this pandemic. we are just years away from His return. Where is the Faith? How many of you petition Yehovah each day and night as you pray to end this pandemic? I do not pray for this pandemic to end. I pray for the brethren to return to Yehovah. I pray that in His anger and fury He does not forget about us who are trying to learn to obey Him.

The word “Faith’ is;

G4102   (Strong)
πίστις

pistis

pis’-tis

From G3982; persuasion, that is, credence; moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God or a religious teacher), especially reliance upon Christ for salvation; abstractly constancy in such profession; by extension the system of religious (Gospel) truth itself: – assurance, belief, believe, faith, fidelity.

Total KJV occurrences: 244

G4102   (Thayer)
πίστις

pistis

Thayer Definition:

1) conviction of the truth of anything, belief; in the NT of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervour born of faith and joined with it

1a) relating to God

1a1) the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ

1b) relating to Christ

1b1) a strong and welcome conviction or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal salvation in the kingdom of God

1c) the religious beliefs of Christians

1d) belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith in the same

2) fidelity, faithfulness

2a) the character of one who can be relied on

He asks this question of whether or not there’ll even be faith left on the earth at His return.

If He is omnipotent and omniscient, why would He ask a question like that? It’s almost like it’s going to get so bad on earth before His return that He asks this question of whether or not there’ll even be faith left on the earth at His return. What is it that you spend all your time studying? Are you strengthening your faith by studying His words or is all your time on other things?

Mat 24:10  And then many will be offended, and will betray one another, and will hate one another.

Mat 24:11  And many false prophets will rise and deceive many.

Mat 24:12  And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many will become cold.

Mat 24:13  But he who endures to the end, the same shall be kept safe.

Mat 24:14  And this gospel of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in all the world as a witness to all nations. And then the end shall come.

Yehshua said, “Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall grow cold.” Boundless iniquity and a growing lack of love throughout the earth.

The word iniquity is;

G458   (Strong)
ἀνομία

anomia

an-om-ee’-ah

From G459; illegality, that is, violation of law or (generally) wickedness: – iniquity, X transgress (-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.

Total KJV occurrences: 15

G458   (Thayer)
ἀνομία

anomia

Thayer Definition:

1) the condition of without law

1a) because ignorant of it

1b) because of violating it

2) contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness

How do people become ignorant of the law? They are not taught nor do they bother to learn about the law. Instead, they are taught everything else but the law. The deep intrigues of conspiracies.

How do they have contempt for the law? When it tells them they have to change. When it begins to crowd into what they feel is right. Then they do not want to obey the laws.

2Th 2:3  Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For that Day shall not come unless there first comes a falling away, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition,

2Th 2:4  who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, setting himself forth, that he is God.

A falling away from faith in Yehovah throughout the earth. Maybe you haven’t fallen away or you live in a community where faith is still vibrant. But on a national and international scale, faith in Yehovah has declined dramatically in the last century or so, especially throughout the nations of the Western world.

What is this falling away? How does it happen?

Now, look at this word translated as “falling away”.

G646   (KJC)
ἀποστασία

apostasia

Total KJV Occurrences: 3

away, 1

2Th 2:3

falling, 1

2Th 2:3

forsake, 1

Act 21:21

G646   (Strong)
ἀποστασία

apostasia

ap-os-tas-ee’-ah

Feminine of the same as G647; defection from truth (properly the state), (“apostasy”): – falling away, forsake.

Total KJV occurrences: 2

G646   (Thayer)
ἀποστασία

apostasia

Thayer Definition:

1) a falling away, defection, apostasy

Part of Speech: noun feminine

The Tzemach

Websters dictionary defines Apostle as;

Middle English apostel, apostle, postel, in part going back to Old English apostol, in part borrowed from Anglo-French apostle, apostoile, appostre, both borrowed from Late Latin apostolus “ambassador, Apostle (of the New Testament),” borrowed from Greek apóstolos “messenger, envoy, (Septuagint) messenger from God, (New Testament) Apostle,” noun derivative of apostéllein “to send off or away, dispatch,” from apo- APO- + stéllein “to set in order, equip, prepare for a journey, send,” going back to Indo-European *stel- “put up, prepare,” whence also Old Church Slavic posteljǫ, postĭlati “to spread out,” Albanian shtiell “wind up, reel up, collect” (from *stel-n-) and perhaps Old Prussian stallīt “to stand,” Armenian stełcanem, (aorist) stełci “prepare, create” (with -c- of uncertain origin)

Definition of apostle

1: one sent on a mission: such as
a: one of an authoritative New Testament group sent out to preach the gospel and made up especially of Christ’s 12 original disciples and Paul
b: the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or groupSt. Boniface, the Apostle of Germany
2a: a person who initiates a great moral reform or who first advocates an important belief or system
b: an ardent supporter : ADHERENT apostles of high technology
3: the highest ecclesiastical official in some church organizations
4: one of a Mormon administrative council of 12 men
Other Words from apostle

So this word Apostle means one that is sent out. What they are doing is directing people back to The Way. The way of Yehovah.

The word Apostate or Apostasy is

Middle English apostata, apostate, in part continuing Old English apostata (weak noun), in part borrowed from Anglo-French apostate, apostata, both borrowed from Late Latin apostata “rebel against God, fallen Christian, heretic,” borrowed from Late Greek apostátēs “rebel against God, apostate,” going back to Greek, “defector, rebel,” from aposta-, variant stem of aphístamai, aphístasthai “to stand away from, keep aloof from, revolt” + -tēs, agent suffix

Definition of apostasy

1: an act of refusing to continue to follow, obey, or recognize a religious faith
2: abandonment of a previous loyalty : DEFECTION

We are looking at this Great Falling Away. What is it? And are you part of it without knowing it?

Again the word Apostle is one sent and the Apostate is one who refuses to follow a previous loyalty. In other words, apostates lead you away and do not bring you towards the one who sent them. Apostles lead back to the source or The Way. Conspiracy teachings are apostate. They lead people away from Yehovah. No matter how you spin them to make it OK for you to spread them around, whether a little white lie or big fat juicy ones, your testimony on behalf of Yehovah gets defiled with each conspiracy half-truth you share. It is apostasy to Yehovah.

Consider now what Paul warned us about.

Rom 11:16  For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, also the branches.

Rom 11:17  And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and became a sharer of the root and the fatness of the olive tree with them,

Rom 11:18  do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, it is not you that bears the root, but the root bears you.

Rom 11:19  You will say then, The branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.

Rom 11:20  Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be high-minded, but fear.

Rom 11:21  For if God did not spare the natural branches, fear lest He also may not spare you either!

Rom 11:22  Behold then the kindness, and the severity of God; on those having fallen, severity; but on you, kindness, if you continue in the kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.

Rom 11:23  And those also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again.

Rom 11:24  For if you were cut out of the natural wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a good olive tree; how much more these being according to nature will be grafted into their own olive-tree?

If we are to be part of the Tree of Life, then we must be grafted in, whether or not we were Israelites by birth of not. All those of the Tree are nourished by the roots of this Tree of Life. And we should be producing fruits in our lives from the Tree of Life.

An olive tree will send out its roots and every so often it will send up a shoot or what is called a Netzer.Yehshua was a Netzser and this is where He got his title as Natzarim.  These netzsers do not come from a seed and never got there on their own. It is 100% dependant on the root of the tree. This is like the Apostle that goes forth.

H6780   (Strong)
צֶמַח

tsemach

tseh’-makh

From H6779; a sprout (usually concretely), literally or figuratively: – branch, bud, that which (where) grew (upon), spring (-ing).

Total KJV occurrences: 12

Notice what we are told about this Tzemach

Jer 23:1  Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture, says Jehovah.

Jer 23:2  Therefore so says Jehovah, the God of Israel, against the shepherds who feed My people, You have scattered My flock, and have driven them away, and have not visited them. Behold, I will bring on you the evil of your doings, says Jehovah.

Jer 23:3  And I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their fold. And they shall be fruitful and multiply.

Jer 23:4  And I will set up shepherds over them who will feed them. And they shall fear no more, nor be afraid; nor shall they lack anything, says Jehovah.

Jer 23:5  Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and act wisely, and shall do judgment and justice in the earth.

Jer 23:6  In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. And this is His name by which He shall be called, JEHOVAH, OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

Jer 23:7  Therefore, behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that they shall no more say, Jehovah lives, who brought the sons of Israel up out of the land of Egypt;

Jer 23:8  but, Jehovah lives, who brought up and led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries where I have driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land.

You have shepherds who destroy the sheep. They are leading this falling away. You must ask yourself how they are doing it.

This prophecy above is speaking of our times now. Not the days when only the tribe of Judah returned to the land. Israel does not yet dwell safely in the land, only Judah. Isreal and Judah are two different groups of people and they do not now dwell safely in the land. Judah is there but they are not safe. Notice the name of that Branch is called Yehovah our Righteousness. Yehovah is our Tzemach our Branch of Tsedaqah.

Now, look at the scriptures connected to this Branch.

Isa 11:1  And a Shoot goes out from the stump of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.

The word branch in Isaiah is the word rod.

H2415   (Strong)
חֹטֵר

chôṭêr

kho’-ter

From an unused root of uncertain signification; a twig: – rod.

Notice this word Branch again in;

Isa 11:10  And in that day there shall be the Root of Jesse standing for a banner of the people; to Him the nations shall seek; and His resting place shall be glorious.

Isa 11:11  And it shall be in that day, the Lord shall again set His hand, the second time, to recover the remnant of His people that remains, from Assyria and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Ethiopia, and from Persia, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the coasts of the sea.

The word Root is sheh-resh in Hebrew.

H8328   (Strong)
שֶׁרֶשׁ

sheresh

sheh’-resh

From H8327; a root (literally or figuratively): – bottom, deep, heel, root.

We have spoken a lot about verse 11 lately but we are looking at this word root and rod. In Isaiah 53 we again have this Branch mentioned

Isa 53:1  Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of Jehovah revealed?

Isa 53:2  For He comes up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He has no form nor majesty that we should see Him, nor an appearance that we should desire Him.

Isa 53:3  He is despised and rejected of men; a Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as it were a hiding of faces from Him, He being despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Isa 53:4  Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isa 53:5  But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was on Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed.

Here the tender plant is yoneq.

H3126   (Strong)
יוֹנֵק

yônêq

yo-nake’

Active participle of H3243; a sucker; hence a twig (of a tree felled and sprouting): – tender plant.

Now read what you are told in Jeremiah about this Branch.

Jer 33:14  Behold, the days come, says Jehovah, that I will establish the good thing which I have spoken to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah.

Jer 33:15  In those days, and at that time, I will cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up to David. And He shall do judgment and righteousness in the land.

Jer 33:16  In those days Judah shall be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely. And this is the name with which she shall be called, JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The word Branch is again in Hebrew the word Tzemach.

H6780   (Strong)
צֶמַח

tsemach

tseh’-makh

From H6779; a sprout (usually concretely), literally or figuratively: – branch, bud, that which (where) grew (upon), spring (-ing).

And the word again for Righteousness is tzedakah.

H6666   (Strong)
צְדָקָה

tsedâqâh

tsed-aw-kaw’

From H6663; rightness (abstractly), subjectively (rectitude), objectively (justice), morally (virtue) or figuratively (prosperity): – justice, moderately, right (-eous) (act, -ly, -ness).

Who are we talking about in all of the above scriptures? Yehovah is that Branch of Righteousness! That Tzemach Tzedaqah!

Now read what Zechariah has to say about this Branch

Zec 3:8  Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your fellows who sit before you; for they are men of symbol.

Zec 3:9  For behold! I will bring forth My Servant the Branch. For behold the stone that I have set before Joshua: On one stone are seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave its engraving, says Jehovah of Hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day.

When we look up the word Joshua. It is the word Jehovah Saved. Today we say this same word as Yeh Shua, Yehshua.

H3091   (Strong)
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ    יְהוֹשׁוּעַ

yehôshûa‛    yehôshûa‛

yeh-ho-shoo’-ah, yeh-ho-shoo’-ah

From H3068 and H3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (that is, Joshua), the Jewish leader: – Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare H1954, H3442.

I have asked you all to read Isaiah over the past few weeks and there is a ton of great reading to do there. Let me now share just one example.

The Lord’s Chosen Servant

Isa 42:1  Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; My Elect, in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit on Him; He shall bring out judgment to the nations.

Isa 42:2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

Isa 42:3  A bruised reed He shall not break, and a smoking wick He shall not quench; He shall bring out judgment to truth.

Isa 42:4  He shall not fail nor be discouraged until He has set judgment in the earth; and the coasts shall wait for His Law.

Isa 42:5  So says Jehovah God, He who created the heavens and stretched them out, spreading out the earth and its offspring; He who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.

Isa 42:6  I Jehovah have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand, and will keep You, and give You for a covenant of the people, for a Light of the nations;

Isa 42:7  to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Isa 42:8  I am Jehovah; that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.

Isa 42:9  Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they happen, I cause you to hear.

 

Sing to the Lord a New Song

Isa 42:10  Sing to Jehovah a new song; His praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and its fullness; coasts and their peoples.

Isa 42:11  Let the wilderness and its cities lift up their voice, the villages where Kedar dwells. Let the dwellers of the rock sing, let them shout from the mountain tops.

Isa 42:12  Give glory to Jehovah and declare His praise in the coastlands.

Isa 42:13  Jehovah goes out as a warrior, He stirs up zeal like a man of wars; He shouts, yea, roars; He overcomes His enemies.

Isa 42:14  I have kept silence from forever; I have been still and refrained Myself. Now I will cry like a woman in pangs of labor, I will pant and gasp at once.

Isa 42:15  I will make waste mountains and hills, and dry up all their plants. And I will make the rivers coastlands, and I will dry up the pools.

Isa 42:16  And I will bring the blind by a way they knew not; I will lead them in paths they have not known; I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. I will do these things to them, and not forsake them.

Isa 42:17  They are turned back, they are greatly ashamed, those who trust in graven images and who say to the images, You are our gods.

 

Israel’s Failure to Hear and See

Isa 42:18  Hear, deaf ones; and blind ones look to see.

Isa 42:19  Who is blind but My servant? Or deaf, as My messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as Jehovah’s servant?

Isa 42:20  You see many things, but do not pay attention. Your ears are open, but not any hears.

Isa 42:21  Jehovah is well pleased for His righteousness sake; He will magnify the Law and make it honorable.

Isa 42:22  But this is a people robbed and spoiled; all of them snared in holes, and they are hidden in prison-houses; they have been taken, and none delivers them; a prize, and none says, Give back.

Isa 42:23  Who among you will hear this? He will listen and hear for the time to come?

Isa 42:24  Who gave Jacob for a spoil, and Israel to robbers? Did not Jehovah, against whom we have sinned? For they would not walk in His ways, nor did they obey His Law.

Isa 42:25  So He has poured on him the fury of His anger, and the strength of battle. And it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not know; and it burned him, yet he did not lay it to heart.

 

Israel’s Only Savior

Isa 43:1  But now so says Jehovah who created you, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel; Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called youby your name; you are Mine.

Isa 43:2  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned; nor shall the flame kindle on you.

Isa 43:3  For I am Jehovah your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for you.

Isa 43:4  Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you; therefore I will give men for you, and people for your life.

Isa 43:5  Fear not; for I am with you. I will bring your seed from the east, and gather you from the west.

Isa 43:6  I will say to the north, Give up; and to the south, Do not keep back; bring My sons from far and My daughters from the ends of the earth;

Isa 43:7  everyone who is called by My name; for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.

Isa 43:8  Bring out the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears.

Isa 43:9  Let all the nations be brought together, and let the people be gathered; who among them can declare this and make us hear former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them hear, and say, It is true.

Isa 43:10  You are My witnesses, says Jehovah, and My servant whom I have chosen; that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me no God was formed, nor shall there be after Me.

Isa 43:11  I, I am Jehovah; and there is none to save besides Me.

Isa 43:12  I have declared, and have saved, and I have shown, when there was no strange god among you; therefore you are My witnesses, says Jehovah, that I am God.

Who are the deaf and the blind? You are.

Isa 42:18  Hear, deaf ones; and blind ones look to see.

Isa 42:19  Who is blind but My servant? Or deaf, as My messenger whom I sent? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as Jehovah’s servant?

Isa 42:20  You see many things, but do not pay attention. Your ears are open, but not any hears.

Are you listening? Do you see? Can you understand yet? He sent you out but you’re not listening. He sent you out but you do not see His ways only yours and you presume your ways to be the right way

Jer 17:7  Blessed is the man who trusts in Jehovah, and Jehovah is his trust.

Jer 17:8  For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters; it sends out its roots by the river, and it shall not fear when the heat comes, but its foliage shall be green; and he is not worried in the year of drought, nor will it cease from yielding fruit.

Jer 17:9  The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?

Jer 17:10  I Jehovah search the heart, I try the reins, even to give to each man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

And who is our Saviour? Yehovah is our Yeh-shua and our Tzemach Tzedaqah.

Isa 43:11  I, I am Jehovah; and there is none to save besides Me.

(ASV)  I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour.

(BBE)  I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no saviour but me.

(Brenton)  I am God; and beside me there is no Saviour.

(CEV)  I alone am the LORD; only I can rescue you.

(Darby)  I, I am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour.

(DRB)  I am, I am the Lord: and there is no saviour besides me.

(ERV)  I myself am the LORD, and there is no other Savior.

(ESV)  I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

(ESV+)   R3 I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior.

(GNB)  “I alone am the LORD, the only one who can save you.

(ISV)  I, yes I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

(JPS)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside Me there is no saviour.

(JUB)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

(KJV-BRG)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

(KJV)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

(KJV+)  I, H595  even I, H595  am the LORD; H3068  and beside H4480 H1107  me there is no H369  saviour. H3467

(KJVA)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

(LEB)  I myself am Yahweh, and there is no savior besides me!

(LITV)  I, I am Jehovah; and there is no Savior besides Me.

(MKJV)  I, I am Jehovah; and there is none to save besides Me.

(RV)  I, even I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.

(Swahili UV)  Mimi, naam, mimi, ni Bwana, zaidi yangu mimi hapana mwokozi.

(Tagalog AB)  Ako, sa makatuwid baga’y ako, ang Panginoon; at liban sa akin ay walang tagapagligtas.

(TLV)  “I, I am Adonai—and there is no savior beside Me.

(TS2009)  “I, I am יהוה, and besides Me there is no saviour.

Now when you read Zechariah 6 you can now understand who is going to build the Temple. Is it the Jews in these last days? Was Zechariah speaking of the time when Zerubbabel rebuilt the second temple? Yes, Zechariah was speaking both to his time and to ours.

Zec 6:12  And speak to him, saying, So speaks Jehovah of Hosts, saying, Behold the Man whose name is The BRANCH! And He shall spring up out of His place, and He shall build the temple of Jehovah.

This BRANCH is going to build the Temple.

We are told something in Isaiah about who was going to come.

Isa 7:14  So, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. Behold, the virgin will conceive and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Immanuel.

Immanuel means;

H6005   (Strong)
עִמָּנוּאֵל

‛immânû’êl

im-maw-noo-ale’

From H5973 and H410 with suffix pronoun inserted; with us (is) God; Immanuel, a name of Isaiah’s son: – Immanuel.

H5973
עִם

‛im

eem

From H6004; adverb or preposition, with (that is, in conjunction with), in varied applications; specifically equally with; often with prepositional prefix (and then usually unrepresented in English): – accompanying, against, and, as (X long as), before, beside, by (reason of), for all, from (among, between), in, like, more than, of, (un-) to, with (-al).

אֵל

‘êl

ale

Shortened from H352; strength; as adjective mighty; especially the Almighty (but used also of any deity): – God (god), X goodly, X great, idol, might (-y one), power, strong. Compare names in “-el.”

His name is Yehovah is with us.

Mat 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was this way (for His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph) before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

Mat 1:19  But Joseph, her husband to be, being just, and not willing to make her a public example, he purposed to put her away secretly.

Mat 1:20  And as he thought upon these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take to you Mary as your wife. For that in her is fathered of the Holy Spirit.

Mat 1:21  And she shall bear a son, and you shall call His name JESUS: for He shall save His people from their sins.

Mat 1:22  Now all this happened so that might be fulfilled that which was spoken of the LORD by the prophet, saying,

Mat 1:23  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive in her womb, and will bear a son. And they will call His name Emmanuel,” which being interpreted is, God with us.

Take note that the word Jesus is the Greek word for;

G2424   (Strong)
Ἰησοῦς

Iēsous

ee-ay-sooce’

Of Hebrew origin [H3091]; Jesus (that is, Jehoshua), the name of our Lord and two (three) other Israelites: – Jesus.

And as we have already shown you above but do so now again, the H3901 is

H3091
יְהוֹשֻׁעַ    יְהוֹשׁוּעַ

yehôshûa‛    yehôshûa‛

yeh-ho-shoo’-ah, yeh-ho-shoo’-ah

From H3068 and H3467; Jehovah-saved; Jehoshua (that is, Joshua), the Jewish leader: – Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Joshua. Compare H1954, H3442.

Yehovah Saves. Yehovah our Saviour, our Yeh-shua and our Tzemach Tzedaqah is the one that is coming and it is HE who is going to build this Temple.

Now when you read John you know of whom he is speaking about.

Joh 1:1  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Joh 1:2  He was in the beginning with God.

Joh 1:3  All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.

Joh 1:14  And the Word became flesh, and tabernacled among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and of truth.

So what am I saying here?

Our shepherds, those of you who are called to be Kings and Priest in the Kingdom are currently leading people away from Yehovah and teaching the new lambs everything under the sun except Yehovah and His Torah. In so doing you have said that this curse of Yehovah which is described in Lev 26 and is to come at this time in the midst of this 70th Jubilee cycle, is fake. You have denied it is real and that it is just some plan created by men in some back room. You have denied Yehovah His glory as He works to bring all men back to Himself.

How many sheep are you nurturing and teaching Torah to? What are you going to say to Yehovah when He says “I will require My flock at their hand”? Are you working to help find those lost sheep? Are you helping us to do this? Are you fighting against us? Are you teaching them the Sabbath and the Holy Days and the Crescent moon to begin the month and the barley to begin the year? Are you teaching them the Sabbatical and Jubilee years? Are you teaching to be faithful and loving and kind and merciful? What is it that you are teaching and does that teaching bring people back to Yehovah, Apostle, or away, Apostasy? What are your shepherds teaching? If they are teaching lies and you are supporting them, then you are just as guilty.

Prophecy Against the Shepherds of Israel

Eze 34:1  And the Word of Jehovah came to me, saying,

Eze 34:2  Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to them, So says the Lord Jehovah to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?

Eze 34:3  You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you kill the fat ones, but you do not feed the flock.

Eze 34:4  You have not made the weak strong, nor have you healed the sick, nor have you bound up the broken. You have not brought again those driven away, nor have you sought that which was lost; but you have ruled them with force and with cruelty.

Eze 34:5  And they were scattered for lack of a shepherd. And they became food to all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.

Eze 34:6  My sheep wandered through all the mountains and on every high hill. Yea, My flock was scattered on all the face of the earth, and none searched nor sought for them.

Eze 34:7  Therefore, shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah:

Eze 34:8  As I live, says the Lord Jehovah, surely because My flock became a prey, and My flock became food to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, nor did My shepherds search for My flock, but the shepherds fed themselves and did not feed My flock,

Eze 34:9  therefore, O shepherds, hear the Word of Jehovah.

Eze 34:10  So says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require My flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Nor shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver My flock from their mouth, and they will not be food to devour.

 

The Lord God Will Seek Them Out

Eze 34:11  For so says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.

Eze 34:12  As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out My sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Eze 34:13  And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the lands, and will bring them to their own land and feed them on the mountain of Israel by the rivers, and in all the places of the land where people live.

Eze 34:14  I will feed them in a good pasture, and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel. There they shall lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel.

Eze 34:15  I will feed My flock, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Jehovah.

Eze 34:16  I will seek the lost, and bring again those driven away, and will bind up the broken, and will strengthen the sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.

Eze 34:17  And you, My flock, says the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I judge between lamb and lamb, between rams and he-goats.

Eze 34:18  Is it a small thing to you to have eaten up the good pasture, but you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? And to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the rest with your feet?

Eze 34:19  And My flock, they eat what your feet have trampled, and they drink what your feet have fouled.

Eze 34:20  So the Lord Jehovah says this to them: Behold I Myself will even judge between the fat lamb and the lean lamb.

Eze 34:21  Because you have thrust with side and with shoulder, and have pushed all the weak with your horns until you have scattered them to the outside,

Eze 34:22  therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no more be a prey. And I will judge between lamb and lamb.

Eze 34:23  And I will set up one Shepherd over them, and He shall feed them, My servant David. He shall feed them, and He shall be their Shepherd.

Eze 34:24  And I Jehovah will be their God, and My servant David a ruler among them. I Jehovah have spoken.

The Lord’s Covenant of Peace

Eze 34:25  And I will make a covenant of peace with them, and will send the evil beasts out of the land. And they shall dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.

Eze 34:26  And I will make them, and the places around My hill, a blessing; and I will bring down the shower in its season. There shall be showers of blessing.

Eze 34:27  And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase. And they shall be safe in their land, and they shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hands of those who enslaved them.

Eze 34:28  And no more shall they be a prey to the nations, nor shall the beast of the land eat them. But they shall dwell safely, and none shall terrify them.

Eze 34:29  And I will raise up for them a noted planting place, and they shall never again be of those gathered by famine in the land, nor shall they bear the shame of the nations any more.

Eze 34:30  And they shall know that I, Jehovah their God, am with them, and they, the house of Israel, are My people, says the Lord Jehovah.

Eze 34:31  And you My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Jehovah.

 

The Merchants of Words

When non-observant people talk about how difficult it is to observe Jewish law, they usually mention the difficulty of observing Shabbat or keeping kosher or other similarly detailed rituals. Yet the laws that are most difficult to keep, that are most commonly violated even by observant Jews, are the laws regarding improper speech. This is a very important area of Jewish law; entire books have been written on the subject.

The Power of Speech

Judaism is intensely aware of the power of speech and of the harm that can be done through speech. The rabbis note that the universe itself was created through speech. Of the 43 sins enumerated in the Al Cheit confession recited on Yom Kippur, 11 are sins committed through speech. The Talmud tells that the tongue is an instrument so dangerous that it must be kept hidden from view, behind two protective walls (the mouth and teeth) to prevent its misuse.

The harm done by speech is even worse than the harm done by stealing or by cheating someone financially: money lost can be repaid, but the harm done by speech can never be repaired. For this reason, some sources indicate that there is no forgiveness for lashon ha-ra (disparaging speech). This is probably hyperbole, but it illustrates the seriousness of improper speech. A Chasidic tale vividly illustrates the danger of improper speech: A man went about the community telling malicious lies about the rabbi. Later, he realized the wrong he had done, and began to feel remorse. He went to the rabbi and begged his forgiveness, saying he would do anything he could to make amends. The rabbi told the man, “Take a feather pillow, cut it open, and scatter the feathers to the winds.” The man thought this was a strange request, but it was a simple enough task, and he did it gladly. When he returned to tell the rabbi that he had done it, the rabbi said, “Now, go and gather the feathers. Because you can no more make amends for the damage your words have done than you can recollect the feathers.”

Speech has been compared to an arrow: once the words are released, like an arrow, they cannot be recalled, the harm they do cannot be stopped, and the harm they do cannot always be predicted, for words like arrows often go astray.

Tale-Bearing

There are two mitzvot in the Torah that specifically address improper speech: Thou shalt not go up and down as a tale-bearer among thy people (Lev. 19:16), and ye shall not wrong one another (Lev. 25:17, which according to tradition refers to wronging a person with speech).

Tale-bearing is, essentially, any gossip. The Hebrew word for tale-bearer is “rakhil” (Reish-Kaf-Yod-Lamed), which is related to a word meaning trader or merchant. The idea is that a tale-bearer is like a merchant, but he deals in information instead of goods. In our modern “Information Age,” the idea of information as a product has become more clear than ever before, yet it is present even here in the Torah.

It is a violation of this mitzvah to say anything about another person, even it is true, even if it is not negative, even if it is not secret, even if it hurts no one, even if the person himself would tell the same thing if asked! It is said that the telling of gossip leads to bloodshed, which is why the next words in the Torah are “you shall not stand aside while your fellow’s blood is shed.” The story of Do’eig the Edomite (I Samuel Chs. 21-22) is often used to illustrate the harm that can be done by tale-bearing. Do’eig saw Achimelekh the Kohein give David bread and a sword, a completely innocent act intended to aid a leading member of Saul’s court. Do’eig reported this to Saul. Do’eig’s story was completely true, not negative, not secret, and Achimelekh would have told Saul exactly the same thing if asked (in fact, he did so later). Yet Saul misinterpreted this tale as proof that Achimelekh was supporting David in a rebellion, and proceeded to slaughter all but one of the kohanim at Nob.

The person who listens to gossip is even worse than the person who tells it, because no harm could be done by gossip if no one listened to it. It has been said that lashon ha-ra (disparaging speech) kills three: the person who speaks it, the person who hears it, and the person about whom it is told. (Talmud Arachin 15b).

In Jewish law, all things are considered to be secret unless a person specifically says otherwise. For this reason, you will note that in the Torah, G-d constantly says to Moses, “Speak to the Children of Israel, saying:” or “Speak to the Children of Israel and tell them:” If G-d did not specifically say this to Moses, Moses would be forbidden to repeat his words! Nor is there any time-limit on secrets. The Talmud tells the story of a student who revealed a secret that he had heard 22 years earlier, and he was immediately banished from the house of study! (Talmud Sanhedrin 31a)

The gravest of these sins of tale-bearing is lashon ha-ra (literally, “the evil tongue”), which involves discrediting a person or saying negative things about a person, even if those negative things are true. Indeed, true statements are even more damaging than false ones, because you can’t defend yourself by disproving the negative statement if it’s true! Some sources indicate that lashon ha-ra is equal in seriousness to murder, idol worship, and incest/adultery (the only three sins that you may not violate even to save a life).

It is forbidden to even imply or suggest negative things about a person. It is forbidden to say negative things about a person, even in jest. It is likewise considered a “shade of lashon ha-ra” to say positive things about a person in the presence of his enemies, because this will encourage his enemies to say negative things to contradict you!

One who tells disparaging things that are false is referred to as a motzi sheim ra, that is, one who spreads a bad report. This is considered the lowest of the low.

It is generally not a sin to repeat things that have been told “in the presence of three persons.” The idea is that if it is told in the presence of three persons, it is already public knowledge, and no harm can come of retelling it. However, even in this case, you should not repeat it if you know you will be spreading the gossip further.

When Tale-Bearing is Allowed

There are a few exceptional circumstances when tale-bearing is allowed, or even required. Most notably, tale-bearing is required in a Jewish court of law, because it is a mitzvah to give testimony and that mitzvah overrides the general prohibition against tale-bearing. Thus, a person is required to reveal information, even if it is something that was explicitly told in confidence, even if it will harm a person, in a Jewish court of law.

A person is also required to reveal information to protect a person from immediate, serious harm. For example, if a person hears that others are plotting to kill someone, he is required to reveal this information. That is another reason why the commandment not to go about as a tale-bearer is juxtaposed with “you shall not stand aside while your fellow’s blood is shed.”

In limited circumstances, one is also permitted to reveal information if someone is entering into a relationship that he would not enter if he knew certain information. For example, it may be permissible to tell a person that his prospective business partner is untrustworthy, or that a prospective spouse has a disease. This exception is subject to significant and complex limitations; however, if those limitations are satisfied, the person with the information is required to reveal it.

In all of these exceptions, a person is not permitted to reveal information if the same objective could be fulfilled without revealing information. For example, if you could talk a person out of marrying for reasons other than the disease, you may not reveal the disease.

Wronging a Person through Speech

Leviticus 25:17 says, “You shall not wrong one another.” This has traditionally been interpreted as wronging a person with speech. It includes any statement that will embarrass, insult or deceive a person, or cause a person emotional pain or distress.

Here are some commonly-used examples of behavior that is forbidden by this mitzvah:

• You may not call a person by a derogatory nickname, or by any other embarrassing name, even if he is used to it.
• You may not ask an uneducated person for an opinion on a scholarly matter (that would draw attention to his lack of knowledge or education).
• You may not ask a merchant how much he would sell something for if you have no intention of buying.
• You may not refer someone to another person for assistance when you know the other person cannot help (in other words, it’s a violation of Jewish law to give someone the run-around!).
• You may not deceive a person, even if no harm is done by the deception; for example, you may not sell non-kosher meat to a non-Jew telling him that it is kosher, even though no harm is done to the non-Jew by this deception.
• You may not sell a person damaged goods without identifying the damage, even if the price you give is fair for the goods in their damaged condition.
• You may not offer a person a gift or invite a person to dinner if you know that the person will not accept.
• You may not compliment a person if you do not mean it.

Links for Further Reading

Torah.org offers an online course on the Ethics of Speech, studying the laws of proper speech as defined in the Sefer Chafetz Chayim.