Stone your rebellious sons?

This post, is in answer to a blog posted by a Congregational leader earlier this year (2013) claiming the TORAH to be a curse which even Messiah Yeshua on occasions ignored and broke, and calling the Hebraic Roots Movement (HRM) a work from Hell and to basically be avoided like the plague.

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Dear *XXX,

Salutations and greetings in the Name of Our Saviour Yeshua the Messiah.  

I hope that you and your house are well in both body and spirit as is mine.



I read your last blog "STENIG JULLE ONGEHOORSAME SEUNS?" (STONE YOUR REBELLIOUS SONS?) with interest.  It is an understatement to say that it has caused me to spend the last 3 days in prayer and deliberation.  



An initial responce that I penned in answer to your blog was far to lengthy to be admitted into the answer section, which I believe is a good thing.  This administrative/systems rejection has given me cause to seek another method of approach in an attempt to get my answer to you in a more private and personal manner; I have however taken the liberty to attach the original mail anyway with this particular communication as I stand by what I have written; I hope you have the time and inclination to prayerfully read it to the end.



It is obvious that we have very little common ground between our opposing beliefs and interpretation of the Inspired Word, however I still feel the need to address certain personal issues with a man who agreed that we can call each other "Brother" because of our common love and re-birth in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ):  Therefore it is on this Foundation, and on this Foundation only, that I make what may be perceived on your behalf as a presumptuous and rude request leading later in this communique to very strong statements, but please believe me when I say that what I wish to portray in this mail is anything but rude or presumptuous.  It, in my opinion, is of cardinal importance.



Having said what I have, I shall begin with a hopefully not too "rude" request. I, in an attempt to try establish a point of departure for this message, need to impose on your good character and ask that you please consider joining me in a critical and brutally honest examination of our hearts and there-after to ask ourselves this question:  



"In the saga of the HRM (Hebrew Roots Movement -- your acronym I believe),  who or what am I trying to defend or protect here and what is my motivation for such an attempt?"  



If we break this question down into two parts, the first part would be:

Defence: We may wish to ask ourselves are we trying to defend a specific theology? Or could it be a denomination/group identity? What about a lifestyles that such a doctrine supports?  Is it fear? Is it fear of rejection?  And so the list endlessly goes on.
     

The next part of the question may be more revealing:  

What are our motivations?   

Well, that is the $64000.00 question is it not?  What motivates us XXX?  What is it that causes us to lay awake at night pondering, wrestling with our thoughts and often with Elohim Himself? What is it that excites our hearts and gives us the desire and will to do HIS Will in our lives; inspires us to take that leap of faith and deny public opinion and accepted social and religious norms?  


Motivation, albeit intertwined and often indistinguishable from the root feelings for our actions, is in my considered opinion, the most important answer we may need to arrive at. What or Who we defend, or the way we act is often the vehicle or means to what our hopes, aspirations and goals may be, and it is these goals, aspirations and hopes that motivate us. Or could I be wrong?  Please tell me. 



In the perfect scenario hopefully our answers will be the same for both aspects of this question: OUR UNDYING LOVE AND DEVOTION TO THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, YESHUA HAMESSIACH REDEEMER OF OUR SOULS, AND ACCEPTANCE INTO HIS ETERNAL KINGDOM HOPEFULLY AS HIS BRIDE!  



Yes, XXX (excuse the shorter use of your name please I hope it is acceptable), I use the Name Yeshua and HaMessiach and YHWH and Elohim and Torah for the law plus other Hebrew words as we have already settled the last time that we spoke. I have my reasons for doing so; reason that I have struggled, pondered and wrestled with and which have caused me to reject the accepted "norms" as being possibly, please note "possibly," erroneous. You are right we cannot say with absolute clarity if His Glorious Name is Yeshua, Yehoshua or any other combination:  BUT one thing we do know for sure was that HIS Birth Name WAS NOT JESUS!



We say YHWH because again we know that the Name of The GOD of ISRAEL was never LORD or HERE or whatever. The Tetragrammaton of YHWH (or as close as we are able to decipher the original writings today) was used in the Inspired Texts; we, humans, placed LORD and HERE etc in the Word NOT THE HOLY SPIRIT!  WE HAVE WRITTEN HIS GLORIOUS NAME OUT OF HIS OWN WORD XXX!  Even when He has instructed us in HIS Word to make His Name Known to the Nations and all of creation (Ex 20:2,7; Ps 79:6; Isa 64:2, Eze 39:7).  

YHWH PLEASE FORGIVE US!



Please be very careful when you judge those trying to discover and use HIS Proper Name as instructed and recorded in the Inspired writings and not some generic name which is also used for Allah, Buddha, Har Krishna, who themselves also have Proper names, we even name our cars sometimes (mine is named "Landy")!  

An attempt to find the Truth, no matter how futile my brother, is in my considered opinion of far greater valour, value and benefit than accepting an obvious wrong for the sake of conformity.



I agree that many people within the so called HRM have made the pursuit of HIS Name ridiculous and I, when given the opportunity to speak to them of that particular "The Name" persuasion, attempt to counsel them to prayerfully and Scripturally seek and adopt a more loving, balanced and conciliatory approach to those who have still not felt the urging of the Spirit to use His Biblically more proper Names:  I MAY NEED TO JUDGE THEIR ACTIONS BUT I WILL NOT RIDICULE THEM!  (Love the sinner but hate the sin!)



XXX, the vast majority, if not all partakers of this movement, which has unfortunately been lumped under one label --The Hebrew Roots Movement -- have come out of the main-line churches. I personally was from the AGS, I have brethren with whom I fellowship from the NG Kerk, Full Gospel, Baptists and others, but believe it or not the fact is that we do not even really talk about the days when we were in the churches, it is no longer of any importance to us at all.  We all left by en large because we were no longer being fed in these denominations and we began to cry out in prayer.  

We saw Scripture being broken and were told to ignore it, things had changed. We had no voice because we were over ridden by denominationally derived doctrine and so on and so forth, and as you are aware of I am sure, it was not only us "uneducated people" you refer to in your writings, it was also men of learning -- ordained pastors and religious leaders.  

XXX, we too have access to some of the most brilliant minds in terms of Hebrew, Greek, Theology -- you name it, we have access to it; BUT do you know what is more important? We have men and women searching the Scriptures for themselves: Being led by the Spirit themselves: Taking decisions for themselves regarding their walk with the Messiah and not having to be taught every man by his neighbour and every man his brother, XXX they all know Who their Elohim YHWH is (Jer 31:34).  Please do not try to make light of these fellow believers who are now standing up and teaching their own homes; they are no longer relying on the systems and their appointed ministers to spoon feed them as he see's fit.  

XXX I hope you realise that a persons education (or lack of) has never ever qualified them for use by YHWH. One's education cannot determine the character or strength of a one’s heart. Look at the Prophets and Apostles, overwhelmingly uneducated shepherds and fisherman were used to confuse the wise. Do not cause these children of YHWH to stumble -- they have YHWH, they do not need men qualified according to mans' standards to tell them how to read a Bible and have a RELATIONSHIP with YHWH THEIR ELOHIM! That is the Work of The Spirit -- NOT SOME CLONE OF A SYSTEM whether it be HRM, Christian or Rabbinical! XXX in my own walk I have on every occasion, when required, received the necessary help from My Shepherd, and yes sometimes it is in the guise of a man giving a teaching or a Word, but HE guides and feeds me now not any man!



The HRM, I personally believe, is an end of days movement of the Holy Spirit in accordance with Joel 2:28ff and Malachi 4:1-6, but as with all the works of the Spirit, the enemy has caused confusion and sown his tares there and thus there has been a mophing into a monster in certain assemblies through the addition of man made traditions and doctrines and I will be the first to acknowledge that. I believe I can safely say the same about the Church as though as well.  

So I agree with most of the doctrines of the Church? 

Absolutely not, but does that mean I am entitled to ridicule and judge those truly seeking the Truth, no matter how far in the left field they may be? NO, IT DOES NOT! I can try and advise, counsel, build bridges, make relationships BUT NOT BREAK DOWN!



I am massively concerned about Judaic Cultism within the so called HRM which is enabling these heresies which Elim Ministries and others seems to propagate which deny or decrease the Divinity of Messiah Yeshua or impose the need for something more than Messiah.  We coming back to TORAH were ripe for much of this deception.  

We who have departed the church for His full Word had, in most cases, been hurt, abandoned and abused by the church systems, and had we not we would never have left would we? However though sadly we were not yet free from the need to have a system to rely on, something unfortunately the church insists on, and so we coming out of their systems could not see this as a lethal trap because there was the enemy waiting for us with a ready made plan: JUDAIC PRACTICES!

The whole enchilada was there and it fed our needs -- head coverings, prayer shawls, candles, Menorahs, Tzit Tizts, Mazuzahs. Not all were unscriptural, but why they were applied were sometimes very dubious; thus many of us to a greater or lesser degree were drawn into this "Judaic System," a system in which man also altered Scripture or invented some "important" Jewish Tradition which we MUST keep to be identified as part of the herd.  



However on the other hand this foray into the Synagogues and their systems was in my opinion a very good learning school as it taught us who wanted to learn of the Truth that there was basically no difference between the church systems and the rabbinical systems. I also realise now how Gracious our Heavenly Shepherd was to me particularly in that He had personally promised me many years ago, when this whole shift in my theology started to take place, that HE "WOULD LEAD ME STEP BY STEP THROUGH THE MINE FIELD"! And that He did and still does almost daily as the need arises. Ezekiel 34 in large parts has become so real to me!   Hallelujah, Praise His Glorious and Eternal Name!  He is indeed a Keeper of His Word!



XXX I deplore the fact that people within the so called HRM have taken "things" as listed above and still others and made them signs to signify identity and association with a particular teacher or persuasion or assembly or group.  The only thing we are called to wear is the Tzit Tzit (Num 15:27-31) and that I wear. Do I use a prayer shawl?  On occasions yes I do when so led. Do I adopt other "Jewish" things? Yes, some but it is as a result of my conviction through my walk with Messiah through His Holy Spirit and study of His Scriptures -- NOT BECAUSE SOMEBODY TELLS ME TO! And people whom we fellowship with who may or may not use or adopt any of these "Jewish" things are not shunned in our community. Let YHWH through His Spirit convict them.  It is not my job!  

Just as an aside here I want to put on record that my wife, fellow brethren and I prefer to just say that we have been called and are being led back to the full Word and that NONE of this Word has been annulled, abridged or done away with -- we do not wish to be labelled anymore  -- We are Bond-servants of the Messiah Yeshua and Elohim His Father -- end of story.



As a point of interest here I wish to insert an event which occurred in my life two or so weeks ago: I was advised that there was a group of people who had adopted the teaching of John Wahl and Elim Ministry. I caused an inquiry to be carried out and found this allegation to be true, I was further informed by certain members having contact with this particular group that I should study Wahl's literature on the "Non-Divinity" of the Messiah. I informed this person that I would not and that as of that moment I shall have no more contact or fellowship with the group involved until I hear of full repentance and see fruit of their repentance. I further stated that the Scriptures were very clear about His Divinity and that to deny it was to trample on His Blood and fro be like a dog going back to its vomit.  

This obviously is an ongoing matter of prayer right now. The Divinity of Messiah Yeshua is of absolute paramount importance I trust you will agree. Therefore I now need to speak more directly to you as well:  

XXX, just as the Judaic influences have infiltrated the HRM with non-Biblical traditions; so have the Church Fathers and their fledglings brought non-Biblical traditions into the Church. We can twist Scripture as much as we like; Sabbath IS NOT SUNDAY! Easter IS NOT AND WILL NEVER BE Passover!  Baptism has NEVER AND NEVER WILL be an acceptable substitute for circumcision! Yet these traditions of man and many, many others have usurped the Law of YHWH and made HIS Law to no effect as Yeshua accused the Pharisees and Scribes in His time of doing! Beware please. Your theology has called the Law of YHWH a curse -- that is tantamount to calling the Word, Yeshua  HIMSELF a curse!



You, XXX, in this very blog to which you adhere your name and which I address this mail to state : 

en op 'n ander keer direk teen die Ou Verbond se bepalings aan ‘n melaatse geraak (Markus 1:41) en hom genees

(and on another occasion directly in conflict with the Old Testament instructions He touched a leper and healed him – Mark 1:41). Do you realise what you are saying?  YOU ARE SAYING THAT MESSIAH YESHUA BROKE TORAH: BROKE HIS OWN MARRIAGE COVENANT: YOU HAVE DECLARED THE KINGS OF KINGS A COMMON SINNER!  HEAVEN FORBID!   IS THAT ANY BETTER THAN WHAT JOHAN WAHL HAS BEEN PURPORTED TO HAVE SAID: THAT STATEMENT AS IT STANDS MY BROTHER DENIES THE VERY DIVINITY OF THE MESSIAH, OUR KING YESHUA!

The SIN Offering, which Yeshua HaMessiach was and shall forever be, was made of a perfect lamb without spot or wrinkle; The pick of the flock, totally innocent and divorced from any of the sin for which it (as a fore-shadowing of Messiah's Sacrifice) was going to pay!  It was to be with absolutely no blemishes:  You may want to take the time to read Leviticus 4:1-6:7, it is all about the sin/trespass offerings.  You may also want to look for a key phrase "without blemish" (means perfect without sin) there are at least 7 repetitions of this phrase.

Lets think this through for a moment; to bring anything other than the very best from ones flock WAS A SIN, AN AFRONT TO YHWH -- that is what HE expected of HIS people for their sin offering! 

NOW WOULD HE IN RETURN GIVE ANY LESS THAN HIS VERY BEST FOR HIS BRIDE?  

Please consider this: Only a very sick and demented man would utilise or require "unbalanced scales" when applying the Truth to himself, but an even more sick person would apply such scales when dealing with his wife and children (Lev 19:36; Deut 25:13; Prov 16:11; 20:10; 20:23; Mic 6:11).

Going back to Leviticus 4 we ask: "What was a sin offering required for?"

Well, right off the bat we are told in Lev 4:1-2:  "And YHWH spake unto Moshe, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, "If a soul shall sin through IGNORANCE against ANY OF THE COMMANDMENTS of YHWH concerning things which aught not to be done, and shall do against any of them:"

Your teaching, XXX, says that we (us Christians) can have a less than perfect Lamb as our sin offering and that now we (us "Christians") are able now to break all HIS commandments DELIBERATELY, whilst the Hebrews of Old were sinning if they broke the Commandments in IGNORANCE. Come on XXX, where is the logic in that? I am sorry I am either definitely too stupid and uneducated as you say to see the logic: OR HE will be able to use the SIMPLE to confound the wise!

XXX, as stated earlier in this mail, I truly with my whole heart, and supported by Scripture and revelation, believe this which you refer to as HRM was originated and put into process by the Holy Spirit. I would please with all seriousness and urgency ask you to consider the consequences of the possibility of GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT. BE VERY SURE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BEFORE YOU JUDGE THE HRM AS A FALSE TEACHING FROM HELL!  I DO AGREE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE IT ALL TOGETHER YET, BUT THEN WHO HAS? (1 Corth 13: 9-13; Eph 4:11-16)   

We, in the HRM, have not as yet killed each other, and hopefully never will, but unfortunately that act can be laid at the door of the church whilst birthing the theologies you adhere to and teach today. My brother let us look at the log in our own eye first before we crush and try to remove the splinter out of our brothers eye. Please I implore you to read Matthew 12:22-37 with particular attention paid to verses 31 and 32. Both of us cannot possibly be right, the best we can hope and pray for is that one of us may be!

This letter has not been a pleasure for me, I have deliberated another full day since beginning it, but I cannot get it over my heart to just let this matter, and your obvious hatred for this Movement of the Holy Spirit pass. I send this covered in prayer filled with supplication and confession that I, like all men, am but created of dust, and if it was not for the amazing Grace of the Father, through the perfect Sacrifice of the Unblemished Lamb of YHWH, The Son, as led by the perfect Holy Spirit and Whose leading is measured against His Holy Word, to ensure that I am hearing correctly, I would have no hope of a future or of eternal salvation at all. I have made a deliberate choice to follow the Instructions of TORAH as far as I can in this day and age NOT TO SAVE ME, BUT BECAUSE I AM SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB AND NOTHING ELSE!

A final thought, maybe the "moedswilliges" (trouble makers) have a point! BEWARE THOSE WHO THINK THEY ARE STANDING LEST THEY FALL.

Now I can answer the question I have posed in the beginning of this mail:  I wish to Defend (Love) the Truth with all my heart, soul and might in the expressed hope that I shall one day hear the Truth say to me "WELL DONE MY GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, ENTER THOU INTO THE KINGDOM OF MY FATHER".  

This XXX is my motivation.  

Ecclesiastes 12:9-14:

And moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher sought to find out acceptable words: and that which was written was upright, even words of truth. The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished: of making many books there is no end; and much study is a weariness of the flesh. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Shalom, blessing and peace in Messiah Yeshua.

Steve Swanepoel

*XXX replaces name of person written to.