The Name Jesus & Respect for the Office of Yehovah

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Jan 28, 2016

News Letter 5851-048
19th day of the 11th month 5851 years after the creation of Adam
The 11th Month in the Sixth year of the Third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle after the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes, Famines and Pestilence
The Year of the Tithe for the Widows, Orphans & Levites
1 month & 1 week to get ready for the Sabbatical year that begins at Aviv 2016

January 30, 2016

Shabbat Shalom Brethren,

Why Sightedmoon radio was canceled

We have received many emails and phone calls since the Radio Shows were cancelled. We are about to explain what took place. Do not worry though – when Yehovah closes one door He opens another. We are working towards another project.
Here are a couple of the emails we received since the shows were shut down.

What a shame.  I don’t understand why this show was canceled.  I liked it, learned from it, so I’m sure many others did as well.  Hebrew Nation Radio is really that jam packed with programming that they can’t keep a weekly show?  I hope it’s not canceled because of the message, because your message is an important one!

Kind Regards,

Scott

 

Shalom Joseph,

Hope you are having a good morning. My wife and I were enjoying that you had a talk program on Outcry. We notice that they have completely removed you from there? Now, I know its none of my business as to what happened, but I can tell you that we are very saddened that people who are coming together to keep the shemitah are splitting. Do you have any plans to continue on with Sighted Moon talk show or podcast? There are people who are hungry for understanding the Father’s commandments regarding the Sabbatical years and Jubilee. I want to encourage you to make videos of discussing this subject because there is a need for this right now. I pray that the Father will show these things to you and bring healing, strength, and encouragement to you brother!

Blessing to you,

Curt

 

Shalom  Joseph,

Although I don’t know the facts concerning the radio stations, so sorry. I have written before. I just sp appreciate you and all your time and dedication to bring to life Jehovah’s words and other material to help us. I am a newby in Louisville, KY and i am so hungry to learn so much more! I have a similar testimony as you. I am with all to obey and honor our King this sabbatical year as well as all the feasts. I am alone in my inner circle and these are all but firsts but thanks so much for all that i have learned. I have read your 2016 Sabbatical book as well as all of your videos, and newsletters. Someday soon I hope to meet you. It would be an  honor to meet you and your wonderful staff. I am like you (LOL) I have so much to say. I would love to be able to go to the Holy Lands with you and a friend someday. Can you please give me contact info on the widow you spoke of in your newsletter, as I would love to help and also to be obedient. I pray for you almost every day & want to be a regular supporter to you as well, please also confirm you contact info. Is it the same as on the website? I prayed and I stand with you my brother. Hope to hear from you soon, Yeshua through you and your obedience to him has changed my life. Keep running the race. We are out here and we are running with you.

In Him

RESCHELLE

 

The picture we have as our cover is from the 18th of November 2015:

This just has to be shared with everyone! This image is of a mass baptism that occurred recently in the Philippines. While all of the world’s corporate media has been locked onto the demon-inspired events in Paris, France, an event such as this mass baptism is something we’d likely never see covered as good news in a world gone haywire with hatred. Welcome our new brothers and sisters in the Philippines! We’re all going home soon!

I posted this picture on my Face Book page. The post itself stated the following;

3,000 people got Baptized in the name of Jesus last month in Davao Philippines!

Lets Plunder Hell And Populate Heaven! Hallelujah Jesus..

For me this was awesome to see 3,000 people willing to be baptized and begin to learn about Jesus. Yes, in this News Letter I am going to use the name of Jesus instead of Yehshua. You will see why in a moment. 3,000 people, I said, and we need to get them teachers before the wolves set in on them.

For our radio show of Jan 12 on Outcry Radio we were to have one of a number of guests that I had recommended to my co-host to have on the show to talk about how they were keeping the Sabbatical year and getting prepared. Just before the show, my co-host told me that we were not going to have any of them on the show due to certain things posted on their Facebook page. So now I am scrambling to find a subject to talk about which you can listen to at the link below. The first 15 minutes or so is what has set off a huge controversy which I must now explain.

The Radio broadcast that set off the firestorm which caused my co-host to cancel the Sightedmoon broadcast.  You would have only needed to hear the first 15 minutes or so in which we are talking about this baptism in the Philippines.

After the show the three co-hosts discuss this very same subject. I explained it to them as I am now to you. This was awesome because we can see the willing hearts of the people. They need teachers and I have been saying this all the time. Where in North America or any other Israelite nation have you seen this many people submit themselves to Jesus? I have not.

On Sabbath January 16, my co-host invited me to join their online Sabbath meeting. I thought this would be nice to meet these new people and talk with them. I had no idea what was about to happen as I was not told anything. It was an ambush and they were desperately trying to get me to repent from saying Jesus, calling it idol worship. Where do they get this from? My co-host was waving this document that he had showed me when we began the radio station. I told him then as I do now that I would never sign such a thing where I would not be able to speak unless I use certain terms and refrain from using other terms that he had determined could not be said.

Does not the American constitution state you have freedom of speech? Yet he wanted to deny me my freedom of speech. I would not agree to it then and I did not agree to it at this Sabbath ambush. One former police officer offered to come up to my home and kick my ass if I continued to idol worship. By idol worship he meant the use of the name of Jesus. When I asked each of these 8 groups of people how long they had been keeping this way of life and obeying the Torah, all of them said they were 1 year or less with the exception of the hosts, who are the teachers and have been walking this way for less then 3 years.

What they were doing was employing the Matthew 18 method of dealing with a brother, but only focusing on one aspect of it. Let’s look at the whole thing.

Mat 18:1  At that hour the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven? 2  And Jesus called a little child to Him and set him in their midst, 3  and said, Truly I say to you, Unless you are converted and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven.

Do you understand what is said here? Do you think you are great or super important in this work? You must be like a child and want to learn and to repent when you are wrong. But far too many seek to be what they are not meant to be and they become tares by not repenting and not being pliable as a child is.

Num 12:3  (Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the men on the face of the earth.)

In our News Letter Move your Feet the Meeking of a Horse, we once again explain that being meek as Moses was doesn’t mean to allow everyone to walk all over them. No, it means that the horse lets the rider control it, and does so in such a way that the horse and rider are one as they move. The rider is Yehovah and you are the horse.

4  Therefore whoever shall humble himself like this little child, this one is the greater in the kingdom of Heaven. 5  And whoever shall receive one such little child in My name receives Me.

Again this is talking about the Apostles and who was the greatest. If you receive one of these teachers, one of these ‘meeked by Yehovah’ teachers in the name of Yehovah, you receive Yehovah.

6  But whoever shall offend one of these little ones who believes in Me, it would be better for him that an ass’s millstone were hung around his neck, and he be sunk in the depth of the sea. 7  Woe to the world because of offenses! For it is necessary that offenses come; but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

Read this one verse over and over and over again. Then stop and do it 7 more times. Whoever offends one of these meeked teachers, whoever offends one of Yehovah’s servants would be better off to tie an ass’s milestone around their necks and go jump in the sea.

Who is saying this? Who is telling you this?

Jesus is!

8  And if your hand or your foot causes you to offend, cut them off and throw them from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9  And if your eye offends you, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire. 10  Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I say to you that in Heaven their angels always behold the face of My Father in Heaven.

Who are these little ones? Jesus is not talking about children. He is using them as an example of the attitude with which the Apostles must live. Do not despise one of Yehovah’s teachers.

11  For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. 12  What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, does he not leave the ninety and nine and go into the mountains and seek the straying one?

It is for this purpose that we are doing this week’s News Letter. It is for those new brethren who have been swept up in false teachings and are unable to tell which is truth and which is not, because they only get part of the truth and not the whole truth. Satan teaches from the tree of good and evil. Some truths, but not all of them. Just enough to get you to go the wrong way or believe the wrong god. And this past week there have been some that are confused by the false teachings of others. I had hoped it was just from being ignorant of the facts. So we will lay out all the facts so you can choose, but it is not just this ignorance, it is also a complete lack of respect for the office of the teacher and we will show you more of this in the following sections.

13  And if it happens that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices more over it than over the ninety and nine which did not stray. 14  Even so it is not the will of your Father in Heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Who are these little ones that could perish? They are the potential future teachers, the future apostles – they are you. Yehovah does not want you to perish, so He is willing to leave the majority and come to you and seek you wherever you are. He is calling, and you must answer Him so He can find you or you will perish. When He called to Adam in the garden, “Where are you?”, do you think Yehovah did not know; Adam had to answer the kol, the trumpet blast.

15  But if your brother shall trespass against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

The word trespass means to sin. If your brother sins against you. That is if they breaks the commandments of Yehovah against you.

16  But if he will not hear you, take one or two more with you, so that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17  And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he neglects to hear the church, let him be to you as a heathen and a tax-collector. 18  Truly I say to you, Whatever you shall bind on earth shall occur, having been bound in Heaven; and whatever you shall loose on earth shall occur, having been loosed in Heaven.

Repeatedly, over and over these past couple of week Deuteronomy 12:3-4 has been sited as justification for not uttering the name of Jesus.

Deu 12:3  And you shall overthrow their altars and break their pillars, and burn their pillars with fire. And you shall cut down the carved images of their gods, and destroy their names out of that place. 4  You shall not do so to Yehovah your God.

Let me finish the story before I get into this weeks teaching.

We just posted about Lahson Harah in our recent article This is a Test. Because of this I am very restrained in the things I am saying, doing my utmost not to let my emotions get involved and yet they are, and you will soon see why.

After the ambush at my co-host’s Sabbath meeting, I was very upset and could not sleep that night. I finally wrote to my co-host at 4 AM and expressed my hurts at his kangaroo court and how I felt disrespected. I was muted a couple of times as I went to explain myself and was cut off many times at this Sabbath meeting. I then vented about the other things my co-host had promised to do for sightedmoon that were not yet done, even though I had asked many times and told that the videos from the Philippines would be done tomorrow, they never were. I also told him how the two from the PA meetings were garbage because the editing they did never showed the slides of the tombstones or the stock market cycles. Two video that are worthless. I was upset and mad about the way I was treated at his Sabbath meeting.

He wrote back telling me that the radio shows would be canceled on Outcry because of my use of the name Jesus, and regarding the show on Hebrew Nation Radio, he had also written them to let them know they were no longer involved. I wrote HNR and they were not willing to work with me to help me learn how to work the controls needed to operate the show. So we parted our ways.

My co-host has been the one in charge of the tech stuff. I am not able to get a hand on it. By them handling the tech stuff, it freed me to research for the various shows. Before the Tuesday show was to air they said all I had to do was to agree to the paper they had which stated I would not use the name of Jesus. Again I refused to be told how to teach and what words I could use.

I then announced to the listeners that the two radio shows would no longer be aired. This is all I said:

Due to circumstances beyond my control “Sightedmoon.com” will no longer be on Outcry Ministries Radio nor on Hebrew Nations Radio.

Thank you for tuning in.

I was sick to my stomach and heartbroken over this but I said nothing else. I gave no reason why nor explained it. But many of you began to ask. And when I refused to answer you sought the co-host. And they began to tell you it was because I used the name of Jesus. And many of you like me could not believe they would be so petty over such a thing. That over the use of the name of Jesus they would shut down the only radio broadcast that was teaching about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and the prophecies they reveal. The only show, and yet here we are. The co-host was angry over my letter sent to them that Sunday morning. And this was pay back for that. I was not going to be blackmailed into agreeing with them by signing their paper or else loosing the shows. So I announced the end of the two shows. They had not done so publicly.

As all of this was going on, I was talking to trusted friends and considered just closing down the web site and the news letter. I am tired of the attacks and constant disrespect here in North America.

Then on our announcement we received the follow threats to our lives from the people who had been telling us they loved us and were 100% behind us. They were calling for the earth to open up and swallow me, my house my family. They were calling for my death. This now changed the demeanor of everything. Again up until now I have only announced the closing of the shows and said nothing else.

Mat 7:12  Therefore all things, whatever you desire that men should do to you, do even so to them; for this is the Law and the Prophets. 13  Go in through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who go in through it. 14  Because narrow is the gate and constricted is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15  Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16  You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorns, or figs from thistles? 17  Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. 18  A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits, nor can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19  Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20  Therefore by their fruits you shall know them. 21  Not everyone who says to Me, Lord! Lord! shall enter the kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven. 22  Many will say to Me in that day, Lord! Lord! Did we not prophesy in Your name, and through Your name throw out demons, and through Your name do many wonderful works? 23  And then I will say to them I never knew you! Depart from Me, those working lawlessness!

Posted by Mitch January 19, 2016.

OutCry Joseph Dumond, your manipulative publicity stunt has in fact done exactly what you wanted it to do. Get all of “your” followers to attack us, and to further your brand. That being said, you have shown your true colors, and for that I am very saddened. These people are honestly and openly saying that without Joe Dumond, no one will hear. This is because joe dumond teaches in the name of jesus. Those who are in the Name of Yehovah are one with Yehovah. Those who are in the name of an idol, are idols themselves. Your followers idolize you to the point of seriously believing that the word will not go forth without you. Thank you to all the level headed people who see through this publicity stunt. Standing boldly on the Torah is NOT arrogance. Standing boldly on jesus, is compromise. If you want to follow a teacher who uses idols to reach the lost, you probably aren’t going to like OCMR. But if you want to learn the TRUTH of Torah, which requires ALL of you, even your most prized possessions, well, we can journey together because that is the road we are traveling. Your attacks at my integrity and ability to walk and speak Torah show that you are all following your own version of truth. Your idol Joe has called for teachers, there are a team of those teachers rising up while you all bicker here on FB. He won’t listen to his own team, and you think he is listening to Yehovah because he uses jesus to reach the lost? So…. Continue using idols and following your idols in order to reach people, and I will do what the word says, TEAR THEM DOWN. But don’t worry, I won’t come in your camp to do so, because your camp is about to be swallowed by the earth! Which by the way is a shame…

3“You shall tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and burn their Asherim with fire, and you shall cut down the engraved images of their mighty ones and obliterate THEIR NAME from that place. 4“You shall not act like this toward Yehovah your Elohim. 5“But you shall seek Yehovah at the place which Yehovah your Elohim will choose from all your tribes, to establish HIS NAME there for His dwelling, and there you shall come. (Deuteronomy 12:3-4)

31As he finished speaking all these words, the ground that was under them split open; 32and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who belonged to Korah with their possessions. 33So they and all that belonged to them went down alive to Sheol; and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34All Israel who were around them fled at their outcry, for they said, “The earth may swallow us up!” 35Fire also came forth from Yehovah and consumed the two hundred and fifty men who were offering the incense. (Numbers 16)

If jesus is Elohim worship him, if Yehovah is Elohim worship him, but stop teetering. You all talk about the little time, then WAKE UP AND BECOME STRONG! LEAVE THE CRAP OF THE WORLD AND TRUST THE CREATOR. Idols will get you killed, but our help comes from Yehovah.

Out Cry Thanks for the comment. The terms are directly from Torah. Using an idol to be relevant to the lost is not acceptable. Doesn’t matter how bad you want to reach them. It’s never ok to worship Yehovah with a golden calf… The terms are the terms… We let him be on air for awhile without agreeing hoping this would not happen. He was not willing to agree, when others were willing. He then would not receive counsel from 14 brethren who had the same concerns. If it was just opinion, that’s one thing, but Deuteronomy 12:3-4 tells us how we should address the creator, and it’s not with the names of idols… Again, we are saddened that this is happening just as much as all of you, but Torah is Torah, with or without Joe or myself…

Another person who even admits that I have been given this revelation yet he too has been swept up in this false teaching and just wanted to get in his two cents worth, posted the following;

Jacob Has Faith Hoover Why is Mr. Dumond playing the part of a victim? Who are you people for? YHVH or a man? Mr. Dumond informed me last Wednesday night that it was his goal to ask questions to confuse the brethren. I see he is doing a great job. Some questions for you Mr. Dumond? Where are you? Are you on the potty? Are you sleeping? Are you enjoying this? Is this what you meant by confuse the brethren? What are the circumstances beyond your control that are keeping you from sharing the message of repent and turn to Torah or face the curses? Your “teachers” are lining up in support of you. They need their plane tickets and Jesus cookies and oh I almost forgot their copy of 2016. Because unless you read that you can have no idea about the punishment for not keeping the sabbatical year. But the real problem i see is that most of these people are worshipping you and not YHVH? Why do you pretty much only respond to those people who are in support of your idolatry? You see, the scary part of “sightedmoon” brand message is that this curses are coming to kill you whether or not you like Joseph Dumond or Outcry. I have been reading on these post “who will teach the people now that this has happened? Joseph Dumond is a man, “one man” He has been given a revelation that he has shared with thousands. He is not responsible for the whole world. ” you” reading this are. Because if you are reading these comments then you have heard YHVH speak through Joseph Dumond. Maybe he has already left for Jerusalem or maybe he got raptured. In either case I don’t understand how all these “ass” sumptions can be drawn from a few sentences about Mr. Dumond not been on Ocmr anymore. BTW Jesus Christ is the final anti-messiah. And that came directly from the mouth of Joseph Dumond. If you teach a compromised message you will have a compromised following of people who are good for nothing except posting dumb “kjv” donkey comments on Facebook. For now I say Shalom if you even know what that means. The ball’s in your court Mr. Dumond. Your playas are waiting Coach.

Jacob Has Faith Hoover BTW the way I’m expecting some really juicy, nasty comments to read. Don’t let me and Mr.Joe down.

Jacob Has Faith Hoover All you have to do is call him a conspiracy or christian teacher and you will get a fb call. And he will explain it all to you. I’m NOT making any accusations. Those are his words. And btw, where are you getting your information from? I’ve spoken with Joe on the phone twice and also through emails. And I was one of the 14 witnesses in the nearly 4 hr meeting that we had with him this past Sabbath. So NO. Not accusations. I’m giving you facts straight from the horse’s mouth.

Jacob Has Faith Hoover I am fighting for Joseph. I will not give up on him until he repents or is swallowed up by the earth. He is a hard headed man who doesn’t sugar coat things, and he’s taught me to do the same.

Emphasis has been added by me. They seek for me to be swallowed by the earth and relish the thought of it actually happening.

In all of my years in this walk, since 1982 when I began to keep the Sabbath and Holy Days, and even since 2005 when I began to teach about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years, I have never, never had anyone pray for me to be killed. Many do not like what I teach. Many will respect my position, but this is the first time I have seen people pray for my death and it comes from those who say they love me and are 100% behind me. It is no wonder I have so many knives in my back.

Twice I have told them to repent of this sin they have committed against me. Not until they repent from seeking my death will there be any hope of talks about the name. So I have not responded to the many catcalls and taunts. I have even been fearful of praying to Yehovah for judgment on this as I do not seek any harm to come to any of these who are misguided.

This is what has led up to the cancellation of the show and the aftermath. Now let’s look at the name of Jesus and see if it really is an idol as they claim or if it is something else. Remember, these people have set themselves up as the Sanhedrin and judged me and condemned me to death for using the name of Jesus one time. In order to help these people who are still just under one year in this walk I am posting this news letter. As shameful as it is, to see all this out in public, I do so in the hopes of helping some of those 14 lost souls misled by this false teaching and any others that may be affected by those comments made in public.


How “Yeshua” Became “Jesus”

Among the Hebrew Roots people is a false teaching that has been swirling around for some time. That teaching is that Jesus comes from “Hail Zeus”.
I want to share two articles with you. By doing this I want to show you that you can find the answers to most of your questions if you will only do just a little research to check things out. I will add my comments as we go.

Before we go to those articles let me give you some history so that the new people will understand. I began my walk in 1982 with the Radio World Wide Church of God. I was with them until 1994. The World Wide Church of God began as the Radio Church of God on October 21, 1933 and then as the World Wide Church of God in June 1, 1968. Herbert W. Armstrong began his Sabbath keeping by joining the Church of God (Seventh Day) which was an Adventist group that rejected the authority of Ellen White. At this same time back in the 1930’s Herbert Armstrong became associated with Andrew N. Dugger and Clarence O. Dodd. These two began their ministries in the 1920’s and 1930’s. They were part of the Church of God (Seventh Day).

It is at this time that the sacred name movement was begun by Dodd and Dugger. Herbert Armstrong left them to start up his own ministry in 1933 and if I recall correctly, Armstrong did not agree with them that they had to use the name Yahweh to be saved. Dodd and Dugger continued to also teach similar to Armstrong about the Sabbath and Holy Days, but with an emphasis on the name.

As it was then it is today, Yehovah is breaking off groups to separate His sheep from the goats. With everyone thinking they are the sheep and everyone else are the goats. But for the past 2000 years or so, many who followed the Torah and kept the Sabbath and Holy Days never knew the name by anything else other than Jesus. Dodd and Dugger wrote a history of the church which is a great read if you want to see how a remnant always kept the Sabbath and Holy Days through out the ages.

Supposedly, the sacred name movement began in response to a study of Proverbs 30:4, “What is his name, and what is the name of his son?”

Pro 30:4  Who has gone up to Heaven and has come down? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in His garments? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son’s name? Surely you know.

The Sacred Name Movement teaches that only “Yahweh” is to be used as the name for God and only “Yahshua” is to be used as the name for Jesus. According to the Sacred Name Movement, the use of any other name is blasphemy.

The particular focus of the Sacred Name Movement on the names of God and Jesus is un-biblical. The human authors of the Old and New Testaments, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, had no qualms about referring to God as Elohim (Hebrew) and Theos (Greek) or referring to the Son as Iesous (Greek). If it is biblically appropriate to use generic terms to refer to God and to use a Greek version of Jesus’ name, why is it wrong, in English, to refer to the Heavenly Father as “God” and the Messiah as “Jesus”? Why would it be wrong to use the Chinese, Spanish, or Russian pronunciation and spelling of those names and titles?

Further, not even the adherents of the Sacred Name Movement can completely agree on what the sacred names actually are. While “Yahweh” and “Yahshua” are the most common, some propose “Yahvah,” “Yahwah,” “Yohwah,” or” Yahowah” for God and “Yeshua” or “Yahoshua” for Jesus. If there is only one non-blasphemous name each for God and Jesus, we better be sure to get it right. Yet adherents of the Sacred Name Movement cannot even agree on the very core of what their movement is supposed to be all about.

The Sacred Name Movement began with an un-biblical premise and has continued by building un-biblical doctrines on top of that premise. Our salvation is not dependent on our ability to properly pronounce God’s name in Hebrew. Our salvation comes from Yehovah when and only when we obey His commandments. He called us. That is the grace He has shown us. Yehovah gave His life for our sins against Him. If we now choose to obey Him then He has paid the debt for us. If we do not choose to obey Him then we can pay our debt with our own lives for our sins. This is the grace. But nowhere does it say we must use this or that version of His name to be saved.

Question: “Does the name ‘Jesus’ actually mean ‘Hail, Zeus’?”

Answer: There are several strange and misleading teachings that make their rounds concerning the name of God and of Jesus Christ; one such false doctrine is the idea that the name of Jesus actually means “Hail, Zeus.” Promoters of this bizarre concept claim that anyone who uses the name Jesus is offering praise to a false god and is not saved. They go so far as to say a person must use only the Hebrew name for Jesus, since there is only one name by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12).

First, we will explain the “Jesus-means-hail-Zeus” theory as best we can. Then we will look at the truth of the matter from a biblical perspective.

Those who teach that the name Jesus means “Hail, Zeus” usually start with the name of God, YAH (see Isaiah 26:4).

Isa 26:4  Trust in Jehovah forever; for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength.

From that name of God, they take the Messiah’s name to be YAHSHUA, which they say means “YAH Is Salvation.” They contend that is the name used by the apostles and by the Messiah Himself; however, after the apostles were dead and gone, the Roman Church took over Christianity. In order to make their brand of religion more palatable to the pagans, the Roman leaders changed the name of the Messiah into a Greek/Latin hybrid, Iésous, which (supposedly) means “Hail, Zeus.” Since Zeus (or Jupiter) was the chief god in the Greco-Roman pantheon, the pagans had little trouble accepting this new demigod. By changing the Savior’s name, Christianity had been effectively stripped of its Hebrew roots, and the melding with paganism was a success. The Greeks’ savior could still be Zeus. In time, the word Iésous was further corrupted into Jesus in English.
As “proof” for their conspiracy theory that Jesus means “Hail, Zeus,” advocates point to the fact that the second syllable of Jesus (-sus) sounds similar to the name of the chief Greek god. Especially when Jesus is pronounced in Spanish, it becomes “evident” that people are “actually” saying “Hey, Zeus.” Added to these “proofs” is the fact that ancient sculptures of Zeus show him with a beard—just like modern-day pictures of Jesus!

What can we say to such far-fetched nonsense? First, not everyone who has a beard is trying to take the place of Jesus. Second, just because a certain word or word part sounds like another word is no proof of commonality. Basing theories of word origin on pronunciation is preposterous. Humorous sounds exactly like humerus, but there’s nothing particularly funny about the bone that goes from the shoulder to the elbow. Third, the Messiah’s Hebrew name is Yeshua, not Yahshua—the latter being a fabrication in order to make the name sound more likeYAH.

Fourth, the Hebrew name Yeshua translates into Greek as Iésous. This is the name that the angel Gabriel commanded Joseph to name Mary’s child: “You are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Mathew 1:21). The name Jesus is a simply a Greek form of Joshua, a common name among Jews. The same verse also alludes to the meaning of the name: the Lord was to be named Jesus because “he will save his people from their sins.” The name Jesus means “The Lord Saves” or “The Lord Is Salvation.” Whether you spell it Jesus or Jesu or Joshua or Yeshua, the meaning stays the same, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with Zeus.

Names can and do translate. Changing a name from one language to another does not change the meaning of the name, nor does it change the character or identity of the person. Elizabeth becomes ElixabeteIsabella,Zsoka, or Eliska, depending on the language. But she remains the same girl. A man named Stephen can be called StephanosStefanEstevaoTeppo, or Estebe, depending on where in the world he is. But he is the same person, regardless of what we call him. Similarly, Jesus and Yeshua refer to the same Person—and it’s not Zeus.

We use the name Jesus, an Anglicized transliteration of the Greek, because Greek is the language that Matthew and Mark and Luke and John wrote their Gospels in and because English is the language we speak. The best translation of Iésous into modern English is “Jesus.”

Part of Timothy’s work as a pastor was to “command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer or to devote themselves to myths” (1 Timothy 1:3-4). Paul was concerned that “such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith” (verse 4). Conspiracy theories and myths regarding the etymology of Jesus’ name are distractions from the true work of God. We should not pay any heed to claims that the name Jesus means anything but what Scripture says it means: “The Lord Saves.”

From the time I began in the Churches of God in 1982, I would pray in the name of Jesus or close my prayers in Jesus name. Amen. In 2005 I learned that God had a name. At that time it was told to me that His name was Yaweh. And His sons name was Yahshua. This was something I never knew and I was greatly excited about it. I now began to pray in the name of Yahshua. And many of the older News letters reflect this.

A few years ago I heard the teaching of Keith Johnson and Nehemiah Gordon. His Hallowed Name Revealed Again. From this I learned that the proper Hebrew always had Gods name at the beginning start with Ye and never YA. I also learned that at the end of a name the proper Hebrew way to say it was Yah and never Yeh. Jerimiah is one example. Ye rimi Yah. Joseph Ye oseph. Hallelu Yah.

Ye huda Judah.

But to say this was never a salvation issue. It was, it is and always has been a matter of choice. No one should ever force you to say it one way or the other. It is your choice. All of us were called by Yehovah when we called Him God with a capital “G”. If it was a false god we used the lower case “g” to signify that. But now some in their self righteousness now write G-d. How do you say this word? gd?

Let me continue before I get sidetracked.

The first letter in the name Yeshua (“Jesus”) is the yod. Yod represents the “Y” sound in Hebrew. Many names in the Bible that begin with yod are mispronounced by English speakers because the yod in these names was transliterated in English Bibles with the letter “J” rather than “Y”. This came about because in early English the letter “J” was pronounced the way we pronounce “Y” today. All proper names in the Old Testament were transliterated into English according to their Hebrew pronunciation, but when English pronunciation shifted to what we know today, these transliterations were not altered. Thus, such Hebrew place names as ye-ru-sha-LA-yim, ye-ri-HO, and yar-DEN have become known to us as Jerusalem, Jericho, and Jordan; and Hebrew personal names such as yo-NA, yi-SHAI, and ye-SHU-a have become known to us as Jonah, Jesse, and Jesus.

The yod is the smallest letter of the alphabet, which is why Yeshua used it in His famous saying in Matt 5:18: “Until heaven and earth pass away not one yod (“iota” in the Greek text) or one kots will pass from the Torah.” For emphasis, Yeshua incorporated in this saying a well-known Hebrew expression: lo’ yod ve-LO’ ko-TSO shel yod, “not a yod and not a ‘thorn’ of a yod,” i.e., not the most insignificant and unimportant thing. When Yeshua declared that heaven and earth might sooner disappear than the smallest letter of the Hebrew alphabet, or the smallest stroke of a letter, He was simply saying that the Torah (“Law” or “Teaching”) of Moses would never cease to be.

The second sound in Yeshua’s name is called tse-RE, and is pronounced almost like the letter “e” in the word “net”. Just as the “Y” sound of the first letter is mispronounced in today’s English, so too the first vowel sound in “Jesus”. Before the Hebrew name “Yeshua” was transliterated into English, it was first transliterated into Greek. There was no difficulty in transliterating the tse-RE sound since the ancient Greek language had an equivalent letter which represented this sound. And there was no real difficulty in transcribing this same first vowel into English. The translators of the earliest versions of the English Bible transliterated the tse-RE in Yeshua with an “e”. Unfortunately, later English speakers guessed wrongly that this “e” should be pronounced as in “me,” and thus the first syllable of the English version of Yeshua came to be pronounced “Jee” instead of “Yeh”. It is this pronunciation which produced such euphemistic profanities as “Gee” and “Geez”.

Since Yeshua is spelled “Jeshua” and not “Jesus” in most English versions of the Old Testament (for example in Ezra 2:2 and 2 Chronicles 31:15), one easily gets the impression that the name is never mentioned in the Hebrew Scriptures. Yet ‘Yeshua’ appears there twenty-nine times, and is the name of at least five different persons and one village in the southern part of Yehudah (“Judah”).

In contrast to the early biblical period, there were relatively few different names in use among the Jewish population of the Land of Israel at the time of the Second Temple. The name Yeshua was one of the most common male names in that period, tied with Eleazer for fifth place behind Simon, Joseph, Judah, and John. Nearly one out of ten persons known from the period was named Yeshua.

The first sound of the second syllable of Yeshua is the “sh” sound. It is represented by the Hebrew letter shin. However Greek, like many other languages, has no “sh” sound. Instead, the closest approximation, the Greek sigma, was used when transcribing “Yeshua” as “Iesus”. Translators of English versions of the New Testament transliterated the Greek transcription of a Hebrew name, instead of returning to the original Hebrew. This was doubly unfortunate, first because the “sh” sound exists in English, and second because in English the “s” sound can shift to the “z” sound, which is what happened in the case of the pronunciation of “Jesus”.

The fourth sound one hears in the name Yeshua is the “u” sound, as in the word “true”. Like the first three sounds, this also has come to be mispronounced but in this case it is not the fault of the translators. They transcribed this sound accurately, but English is not a phonetic language and “u” can be pronounced in more than one way. At some point the “u” in “Jesus” came to be pronounced as in “cut,” and so we say “Jee-zuhs.”

The “a” sound, as in the word “father,” is the fifth sound in Jesus’ name. It is followed by a guttural produced by contracting the lower throat muscles and retracting the tongue root- an unfamiliar task for English speakers. In an exception to the rule, the vowel sound “a” associated with the last letter “ayin” (the guttural) is pronounced before it, not after. While there is no equivalent in English or any other Indo-European language, it is somewhat similar to the last sound in the name of the composer, “Bach.” In this position it is almost inaudible to the western ear. Some Israelis pronounce this last sound and some don’t, depending on what part of the dispersion their families returned from. The Hebrew Language Academy, guardian of the purity of the language, has ruled that it should be sounded, and Israeli radio and television announcers are required to pronounce it correctly. There was no letter to represent them, and so these fifth and sixth sounds were dropped from the Greek transcription of “Yeshua,” -the transcription from which the English “Jesus” is derived.

So where did the final “s” of “Jesus” come from? Masculine names in Greek ordinarily end with a consonant, usually with an “s” sound, and less frequently with an “n” or “r” sound. In the case of “Iesus,” the Greeks added a sigma, the “s” sound, to close the word. The same is true for the names Nicodemus, Judas, Lazarus, and others.

English speakers make one further change from the original pronunciation of Jesus’ name. English places the accent on “Je,” rather than on “sus.” For this reason, the “u” has shortened in its English pronunciation to “uh.”

In the West, a child’s name is often chosen for its pleasant sound, or because another family member had it. The Jews of the Second Temple period also named after relatives (Luke 1:59-63). However, almost all Jewish names have a literal meaning. Occasionally this is seen in English names too, such as Scott (a person from Scotland), Johnson (son of John), and Baker (bread maker). But with Hebrew names it is the rule, rather than the exception.

The name Yeshua means The LORD’s Salvation, or Cry Out to the LORD for Help. It is the short version of Yahushua, literally “YHWH saves (or turns) us”. In comparison, prior to being transliterated from the Hebrew Bible, the name (Iesous) did not exist in Greek. Through multiple translations and changes in pronunciation, a tradition of saying “Jesus” has obscured His name, “Yeshua.” It has shifted His perceived message and identity from Hebrew to Greek.

Adapted from an article by David Biven with kind permission of Bridges for Peace

A wise man I know from the Philippines, a teacher set up by the authority of Yehovah sent this to me.

Remember Joseph the Dreamer story until he landed the prime minister job in Egypt? Wasn’t Joseph the Dreamer given an Egyptian name (a gentile name) “Zaphenath-Paneah” – kinda hidden name among his brothers? But when he revealed his name, his real identity, to his 11 brothers, then the restoration came into play. It is all but PROPHETIC of Joseph the Dreamer being given a gentile name then restoration comes just like the Hebrew Messiah given a gentile name “Jesus” . Most Messianics first came to know the gentile name “Jesus” then later on came to know His real Hebrew Name then restored.

Our zeal to get back to the true Torah has turned some into Torah terrorists.

If I say Yehshua and you say Yahshua or Jesus or some other version of His name should we condemn each other to hell and ask G-d, Yehovah, Yaweh or however you say His name, to open up the earth and swallow them and all who pronounce it like they do?

If saying the name of Jesus is blasphemy as some contend, then what do we do with Molech who is a false god, oops I mean g-d. Oops, am I even allowed to mention the name of M-l-ch? After all, it is in the bible in Hebrew. What about Ishtar or Semeramis or the Queen of Heaven? What about the days of the week – Thors Day and Frigga Day and Wodens day and Saturns day?

If these people actually practised what they are trying to get all of us to do and not mention any false g-ds name then they would not be able to speak English at all. I wish them good luck. Oops, I have just mentioned two false g-ds, the god of fortune. Cybel is the god of fortune and good luck. She is also the mother of all living. How on earth will they teach about Baal Peor which Moses said on a number of occasions?

The hypocrisy of these people who have condemned me to death by the earth swallowing me for using the name of Jesus is ridiculous.[/vc_column_text][ultimate_spacer height=”40″][dt_fancy_title title=”Stringing Pearls” title_size=”h2″ title_color=”accent” separator_style=”double” separator_color=”accent”][ultimate_spacer height=”20″][vc_column_text]

“or how to make a mountain from a mole hill.”

This article is supposed to be kind of a part two of the too much information article. It is my opportunity to vent since this is our web site. In the following months since the last article concerning this topic, I have noticed a continued escalation of kookiness. Serpent-seeding and the return to multiple wives are certainly now in vogue. This resonates well in my state as you can imagine. All the usual controversies are still in place, with the added relief that arguments over the proper way to observe the feasts will settle down at least until Chanukah. The two-housers fighting with the one-housers is still quite popular and, of course, the deity issue is something we can always count on. Saying the name correctly is always right up there and we can usually rest assured that someone will always have something to say about the color or size of my talit. Yes, not only are we all still separating over the same issues, but we have the added luxury of modern technology which affords us the opportunity to divide ourselves with much greater speed. Ah yes, the Messianic Movement – with friends like these …

I remember many, many moons ago when I was a teenager, the days when our favorite songs were from groups with animal and reptile names. Right now some of you have turned your eyes toward the heavens in deep thought as to what groups I am talking about. Write me if you cannot think of more than one. I was an average, un-redeemed teenager, dating this girl and that girl, and dreaming of being a rock star one day. I recall one girl we shall call Terri, who I dated for three or four months and she had still not introduced me to any of her family. Although not being curious by nature, one day I caved in and asked her why. She shuffled her feet on the ground a bit and looked away from me. I asked her again, and she explained first that she loved her rather large family very much. She was especially fond of her father and her youngest brother. This information made me even more curious. Finally she came out with it. She explained that although she tolerated her familial relationship, she could not bring herself to take me to meet them because, well, because they were sometimes embarrassing and she was scared to death that one or more of them would do something to totally turn me off. Now, with this silly illustration behind us let me explain. Have any of you gotten to the point where you are excited as can be about all the things you have learned in this walk, but are very concerned about introducing this to your friends and family? Has a brief moment of concern crossed your mind as to who you trust enough to introduce this walk to? Have any of you said to yourself that this teacher or that teacher is really good as long as your interested friend does not hear this or that? Are you concerned that your friend might hear the kooky stuff and conclude that you are out of your mind? Years ago while attending a church I liked very much, I remember wanting to invite my parents to come, but was scared that the rather large fellow who always sat across from me would rise up in the middle of the service and start quacking like a duck. In the spirit of course.

Here is what concerns me, for what that is worth. One of the patterns I see in the Hebrew roots movement as a whole, comes from a pattern I saw when I was a regular Christian pastor dude. I see dangerous trends. I see the same kind of base human tendencies I witness in other religious institutions. I see Messianic leaders and ministries teaching unity and proclaiming that our central focus is the Messiah and His work. I see shepherds teaching the sheep not to leave a fellowship or local gathering because of petty non-salvational issues. I see individual sheep coming into a fold with an agenda, with one-issue battering rams. Whether it be issues of clothing, beards, moons, festivals, days, calendars, definitions, spurious passages, or food. I see shepherds pleading with these sheep not to separate over these issues. And then I see these same Messianic teachers, at the first opportunity, separating from other Messianic teachers over these same petty non-salvational issues. So how do we avoid the very definition of hypocrisy? We string some pearls and make what was once a mole hill into a mountain. That’s what we do. Yeah, that’s the ticket!

In the same way every letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a positive and and a negative charge, so do the words they eventually form. The Hebrew word charaz is the word used to describe the putting together of various related passages of scripture to teach a valuable lesson. In Hebrew we call this stringing pearls. Charaz is the Hebrew word for a bead or the stringing thereof. It is a very well used method of the sages and the New Testament, as well. A good example can be found in Ma’asey hashsheliyechiym (Acts):

Ma’asey hashsheliyechiym 1:20For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let another take.

Luke, the writer of this treatise, you know the gentile who just happens to know more about the Torah and Jewish customs than the rabbis themselves, is stringing together two separate verses, Mizemor (Psalm) 69:25 and 109:8. A very gentile thing to do, don’t you know. This is using charaz in a very positive way. As a side note, it is very possible that this method was being referred to by Yeshua’ in the proverb of the pearls before swine in Mattityahu (Matthew):

Mattityahu 7:6Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

The purpose of charaz is to teach a valuable lesson. Yeshua’ uses this method in referring to swine. There is a common use of metathesis here. Metathesis is an historic, linguistic reality whereby certain letters in words, particularly occurring in the second syllable, get swapped around. This particularly occurs quite often in English, Spanish and Hebrew. Some examples in English from old English would be horse from hros, bird from brid, theater from theatre, Wednesday from Wensday, and center from centre. The same is true of Hebrew into other languages. Those of you who are familiar with the focus of WildBranch Ministry would not be surprised to find that this linguistic form also takes place in chemistry and molecular equations i.e., in our body. Our word, once again, for stringing pearls is charaz. Yeshua’ uses the swine, chaziyr as a metathesis teaching technique.

All right, what is your point? My point is that this method can be used in a destructive way, as well. Educated people are quite capable of stringing together just the right sequence of related verses to convince the masses of almost anything. I have seen this ingeniously performed by “abracadabra, open says-a-me, gotta say it just this way ministries” for a long time now. I have a book in my library written by a Baptist-trained minister that presents a thoroughly convincing scenario of pearl stringing that ends with a proclamation that anyone who speaks in tongues has paved their way to hell, never to return. I also have a similar treatise from a more Pentecostal view that has you convinced by the end of the book that if you DON’T speak in tongues you are a stamped and certified heathen, doomed for the pit. Both gentleman had cleverly designed methods of taking a mole hill subject and converting it into Mt. Everest. In other words, a fairly religiously educated person can easily morph a salvational issue out of a non-salvation issue. That is how we justify our position. We simply make it a salvational issue. We cleverly make it the most important thing going. We torture the data until it confesses whatever we want. I know, I probably watch too much 24 (a clever dramatic television show where middle eastern espionage, intrigue, torture and stress prevail.)

Why do we do this? Why do we as shepherds publicly denounce petty bickering and divisiveness over non-salvation issues among the sheep and then turn around and condemn and ostracize those sheep who disagree with us over non-salvational issues? Hmmmmmm? And hey! Sheep! Don’t you make Everest out of a dirt clod either. The same goes both ways. I think it is time that those of us who desire to step out and teach the Word of God, changing the course of people’s lives, and essentially affecting future generations, to revisit Ya’akov’s warning.

Ya’akov (James) 3:1My brethren, be not many teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

I am wondering if it would behoove the body of Messiah to have teacher counseling in the same way we have marriage counseling. In other words, perhaps it would be prudent to expect every potential teacher of the Word of God to have a least six counseling sessions before taking the plunge of spiritual responsibility for people’s lives. Perhaps we could counsel the teachers concerning their commitment to the body of Messiah. Instead of asking them questions like, do you love her? We could counsel them about the true meaning of love. We could teach them that words mean things. We could show them that ‘ahav (???) is Hebrew for what we call love, and that this word has a very simple concrete meaning: behold, the house is where the source of strength lies. We could teach them that whatever they are teaching, whatever supernatural, never seen before insightful truths they expound, if it supports and nourishes the entire house, and keeps the whole family intact, then this is a good and worthy message.

Shalom Alecheim!?


“Showing Respect to The Office of the King or Priest or Prophet”

Rev 5:8  And when He had taken the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each one having harps and golden vials full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9  And they sang a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book and to open its seals, for You were slain and have redeemed us to God by Your blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation. 10  And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth.

You are called to be a King or a Priest in the Kingdom of Yehovah. That is your goal and yours to throw away. You are not called to follow anyone but Yehovah alone. So act like you already have that office from Yehovah. And do not let anyone trash that office He has given to you. We can disagree with each but we must respect the office that each person potentially will hold if they obey and repent from those times they sin. And we all do.

Brethren, what is at issue here is not whether you use the name Jesus or Yehshua, G-d or Hashem or Yehovah or Yahweh. That is the smoke and mirrors being used to justify an evil thing. I have read many emails and responses that do not agree with me. This is fine, but to have a complete disrespect for the office of the person teaching is the real issue. To condemn someone to be killed by the earth opening up and swallowing them and all others that agree with them is sin. It is executing judgment on brethren over a name that no one knows with 100% certainty how it is pronounced.

Do people read their bibles anymore, or just what is posted on Facebook?

Rev 19:11  And I saw Heaven opened. And behold, a white horse! And He sitting on him was called Faithful and True. And in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12  And His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head many crowns. And He had a name written, one that no one knew except Himself.

I have been guilty of leading people to think that Jesus does not keep the commandments. That is not true and I repent of that sin. If you read the bible Jesus does keep the commandments. What I was implying was that those who follow Jesus generally do not keep the commandments. It is Christianity that will not keep the Sabbath or Holy Days and Sabbatical years. Jesus kept these commandments and the bible says as much. Otherwise He would have sinned and not been the Messiah. His name or whatever version you use will not save you – obedience to the Torah does. Only then will Yehovah hear your prayers – when you obey, not by saying the right name. Your bible never says you have to say His proper name to be heard. You must obey.

But Yeshua or Jesus told us to pray to the Father, and not to Jesus or Yehshua. We are to pray to Yehovah and no one else.

What is going on is a complete lack of respect for a teacher or someone else you do not agree with. There is no respect for those who teach in North America. When I was in the Philippines I saw that they greatly respected those who teach. It was a culture shock to me. And it was so appreciated after not seeing it in North America. When I saw those 3,000 being baptized, I did not care about what name they were baptized into. I was baptized into the name of Jesus. I had water poured on my head at birth in the Catholic faith. But even with this, Yehovah called me. Later I would be baptized in the name of Yehshua, but even this is not correct. I have since been baptized many times by myself and only to the name of Yehovah. If indeed I have His name right, which Revelation 19 says we all do not.

But what I saw in those 3,000 was a willing heart to begin the process of learning. That is why I posted that picture.

When we go to our bibles, our Torah, we can read the story about Elisha and how 42 children, no young men or young people were taunting him and disrespecting him and the office he held.

2Ki 2:23  And he went up from there to Bethel. And he was going up in the highway. And little boys came out from the city and mocked him, and said to him, Go up, bald head! Go up, bald head! 24  And he turned behind him and saw them, and declared them vile in the name of Jehovah. And two she-bears came out of the woods and tore forty-two boys of them.

little children: The words nearim ketannim not only signify little children but young men; for katon signifies not only little, but young, in opposition to old; and naar signifies not only a child, but a young man grown to years of maturity. Thus Isaac is called naar when twenty-eight years old, Joseph when thirty-nine, and Rehoboam when forty. These idolatrous young men, having heard of the ascension of Elijah, without believing it, blasphemously bade Elisha to follow him. The venerable prophet, from a Divine impulse, pronounced a curse “in the name of the Lord,” which was immediately followed by the most terrible judgment; thus evincing the Source from which it flowed.

Why did God kill 42 lads merely for saying Elisha was bald?

by Matt Slick  

2 Kings 2:23-24,“Then he went up from there to Bethel; and as he was going up by the way, young lads came out from the city and mocked him and said to him, “Go up, you baldhead; go up, you baldhead!” 24 When he looked behind him and saw them, he cursed them in the name of the LORD. Then two female bears came out of the woods and tore up forty-two lads of their number.”

Why would God allow two bears to kill 42 young lads simply for saying Elisha was bald? Let’s take a look. Elisha was traveling from Jericho to Bethel when a group of young men verbally accosted him. Forty-two (42) is a large number of people, and they were probably an organized group who had gone out to challenge Elisha. Their mockery implied a malicious intent, especially when the culture of the time insisted on showing respect to their elders. Furthermore, the statement–“go up, you baldhead!”–has cultural significance. First of all, “go up” is probably a reference to Elisha’s predecessor, Elijah, ascending to Heaven (2 Kings 2:11). In other words, they are stating they want Elisha gone, and since Elijah had gone on to the “next world,” the implication is they wanted Elisha dead.  Also, the epithet ‘baldhead’ was one of “contempt in the East, applied to a person even with a bushy head of hair.” Lepers had to shave their heads, so such a statement could easily have been a deliberate and malicious insult–something dangerous in a mob that can quickly get out of hand.

Given the challenge of the youths, their intimidating number which could constitute a mob, their veiled threat, the contemptuous attitude, and the fact that Elisha was the prophet of God, the Lord allowed the youths to be destroyed.

But, God did not break his own moral law. The Bible says do not murder. Murder is the unlawful taking of life. But, all people have sinned against God and are worthy of death (Rom 3:23, 6:23). So, God had them killed according to the Law.

 

Brethren we began this News Letter with Mathew 18 about being as little children. And we now see that even young adults are considered as children and we read in Isaiah how they can and do act against those who we are told to respect, the elderly.

Isa 3:5  And the people shall be crushed, every man by another, and every man by his neighbor; the boy shall act proudly against the old man, and the low against the honorable.

So many times people have said that the things we have shared with you must come from Yehovah. I would agree, for I am nothing but one shouting out the warning of the curses for not keeping the Sabbatical years. Anyone could do that. But Yehovah has chosen me to do that even though I tried to get many other Messianic leaders to do this. Even though I am not gifted in my speech. He has chosen me to do this. And the abuse that comes to me for doing this comes from the brethren. What on earth will they say and do when the Two Witnesses begin to speak? Will they also fight them?

We all agree we are in the last days of this age. There is very little time left to warn people and now one of the avenues to do so via radio has been shut down. We know that war is about to come and yet no one has any fear of Yehovah and His Judgments.

2Ch 36:15  And Jehovah, the God of their fathers sent to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending, for He had pity on His people and on His dwelling-place. 16  But they mocked the messengers of God and despised His words, and ill-treated His prophets until the wrath of Jehovah arose against His people, until there was no healing. 17  And He caused the king of the Chaldeans to go up against them. And he killed their choice ones by the sword in the house of their holy place, and had no pity on the young man and the virgin, the old man and the very aged; He gave all into his hand.

I am not the first one to be attacked and taunted by my peers, nor will I be the last. David also had to deal with this a number of times.

Psa 35:15  But in my stumbling they rejoiced, and gathered themselves; the defamers gathered themselves against me, and I knew not; they tore and were not silent, 16  with the hypocrites, mockers, for a cake, they gnashed on me with their teeth. 17  O Jehovah, how long will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my only one from the lions.

Isa 57:1  The righteous one perishes, and no one lays it to heart, and merciful men are taken away; no one cares that the righteous is taken away from the face of evil. 2  He shall enter into peace; they shall rest in their beds, each one walking in his uprightness. 3  But draw near here, sons of the sorceress, seed of the adulterer and the harlot. 4  Of whom are you making sport? Against whom do you make a wide mouth and draw out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, a lying seed5  being inflamed with idols under every green tree, killing the little sons in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?

When Saul sought to kill David, what did David do? Did he raise up an army to fight against Saul? Did David go around and undermine Saul’s authority and say bad things about Saul? Did David create a coup? N,o David did not do any of this. He just left to protect his own life.

1Sa 24:1  And it happened when Saul had returned from following the Philistines, they told him, saying, Behold, David is in the wilderness of En-gedi. 2  And Saul took three thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and went to seek David and his men on the front of the rocks of the wild goats. 3  And he came to the folds of the flock on the way, where there was a cave. And Saul went in to cover his feet. And David and his men remained in the sides of the cave. 4  And the men of David said to him, Behold, this is the day of which Jehovah said to you, Behold, I will deliver your enemy into your hand so that you may do to him as it shall seem good to you. And David arose and cut off the skirt of Saul’s robe secretly. 5  And it happened afterward David’s heart struck him because he had cut off Saul’s skirt. 6  And he said to his men, Far be it from me, by Jehovah, if I will do this thing to my lord, Jehovah’s anointed, to stretch forth my hand against him, since he is the anointed of Jehovah. 7  And David held back his men with words, and did not allow them to rise against Saul. And Saul rose up out of the cave and went on his way. 8  And David arose afterward and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king! And Saul looked behind him. And David bowed his face to the earth and prostrated himself. 9  And David said to Saul, Why do you hear man’s words, saying, Behold, David seeks to do you evil? 10  Behold, your eyes have seen today how Jehovah had delivered you today into my hand in the cave. And one said to kill you. But I had pity on you. And I said, I will not put forth my hand against my lord, for he is Jehovah’s anointed. 11  And, my father, behold! Yes, see the skirt of your robe in my hand. For in that I cut off the skirt of your robe and did not kill you, know and see that there is neither evil nor transgression in my hand, and I have not sinned against you. Yet you hunt my soul to take it. 12  May Jehovah judge between me and you, and may Jehovah avenge me of you. But my hand shall not be on you. 13  As the ancient proverb says, Wickedness proceeds from the wicked. But my hand shall not be on you.

David, a man after Yehovah’s own heart, had nothing but respect for the office of the King, which Yehovah had given to Saul. David never tried to take what was not his. He waited for Yehovah to give it to him in Yehovah’s own time. Do you brethren respect the office of the King? What about the office of the President? Yehovah is the one who appointed them to that office. Do you bad mouth the one put there by Yehovah? What about Yehovah’s teachers or His prophets? Do you disrespect them and taunt them as others do? Do you loathe the things they say and teach? Do you talk to them with respect and honour or are you talking down to them?

Saul was about to be defeated and killed and he knew it. Saul asked for the armour bearer to slay him, but the armour bearer had too much respect for the office of the King to do anything like that and declined. After, Saul hung himself on his own sword, which is also the way Judas Iscariot died when it says he hung himself, that is, in both cases they committed Hara-Kiri.

(The Japanese method of ritual suicide ( seppuku) known as Hara-Kiri, meaning to cut or slice the stomach or abdomen in order to carry out ritual suicide by disembowelment.

Literally means “stomach cutting.” The samurai committing seppuku would shove a dagger such as a tanto into their stomach while another samurai acted as their second by lopping off their head. It was part of the Samurai code of honour Bushido and practiced among the warrior class.)

 

1Sa 31:1  And the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men of Israel fled from before the Philistines, and fell down wounded in Mount Gilboa. 2  And the Philistines followed Saul and his sons. And the Philistines killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, Saul’s sons. 3  And the battle went hard against Saul. And the archers hit him, and he was sorely wounded by the archers. 4  And Saul said to his armor-bearer, Draw your sword and thrust me through with it, lest these uncircumcised ones come and thrust me through, and abuse me. But his armor-bearer would not, for he was very much afraid. So Saul took a sword and fell on it.

Again Brethren, I ask you how much respect do you have for the offices Yehovah has given to those who teach or sing or work for His Kingdom?

In the death of Saul we next read about this young man, again a child, who was trying to make a name for himself and he lied about having killed Saul. Again, read David’s reaction to this lie. David had him executed for not respecting the King’s office which Yehovah had appointed.

2Sa 1:1  And it happened after the death of Saul, David returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David stayed two days in Ziklag, 2  on the third day, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes torn and earth upon his head. And it happened when he came to David, he fell to the earth and bowed to him. 3  And David said to him, Where do you come from? And he said to him, I have escaped out of the camp of Israel. 4  And David said to him, How did the matter go? Please tell me. And he answered, The people have fled from the battle, and many of the people also have fallen and are dead. And Saul and his son Jonathan are dead also. 5  And David said to the young man who told him, How do you know that Saul and his son Jonathan are dead? 6  And the young man who told him said, As I happened to be upon Mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear. And, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him. 7  And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called to me. And I answered, Here am I. 8  And he said to me, Who are you? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite. 9  He said to me again, Please stand over me and kill me, for anguish has come upon me, because all my life is still in me. 10  And I stood over him and killed him, because I was sure that he could not live after he had fallen. And I took the crown on his head, and the bracelet on his arm, and have brought them here to my lord. 11  And David took hold on his garments, and tore them. And likewise all the men with him did so. 12  And they mourned and wept and fasted until evening, for Saul, and for his son Jonathan, and for the people of Jehovah, and for the house of Israel, because they had fallen by the sword. 13  And David said to the young man who told him, From where are you? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite. 14  And David said, Why were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy Jehovah’s anointed? 15  And David called one of the young men and said, Go near; fall on him. And he struck him so that he died. 16  And David said to him, Your blood be upon your head, for your mouth has testified against you, saying, I have slain Jehovah’s anointed.

David asks this question: “Why were you not afraid to stretch forth your hand to destroy Jehovah’s anointed?”

I ask each and everyone of you why are you not afraid when you attack the office of Yehovah? No matter who is in that office, why are you not afraid of attacking that office?

Father Yehovah please forgive me if I have ever attacked the office of those you have sent to teach. I know I have attacked the lies that some teach, but I do not attack them personally to my knowledge and if I have please forgive me. But many have attacked me in this office. Show them their sins before you judge them. Let them see the error of their ways before calamity strikes them.

I can name 7 major events that many of you will recall of attacks against this office and the disaster that then came against those doing it. Be respectful of the office Yehovah has given out. If I am in error, He will correct me. You can too, if you do so respectfully. And it is this great respect for the Pastor or Teacher that I see coming from the Philippines. I most certainly do not see it in North America. And this too is a testimony to others of this way of life we live. They see it, they see our infighting and lack of love and they walk away. It is time for all of us to repent and do so quickly, not condemning our brethren to be swallowed up by the earth or to die because they do not agree with us. It is time to repent now.

 

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