Introduction

Over the years, I have taught about the spirit of humanism. The following is a compilation of those teachings. I have included endnotes and other additions to bring out some of the depth of what the Scriptures say about this deceptive principality. My goal is to provide an overall picture of an evasive and invasive spirit that not only rules in the unsaved world, but also has its way in much of the Church – especially in the West.

I am often asked what Bible version I use. While mostly using the King James whether preaching or writing, I modernize the old English and if needed for clarity, change an English word into a more accurate one based on the original languages. At times, my study of the meanings of the original words in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek causes me to either change a translation completely, or add an additional nuanced meaning. Additional meanings will be indicated in brackets with a + sign. If I want the literal meaning, that will also be indicated in brackets with “lit.” before it.

Many thanks to my wife Karen who has read over and edited this teaching so that what I am trying to say – is actually said.

Part One

Chapter Contents

Chap. 1 – Humanism – the first of the giants

• The invasion

• The flood

• The tower

• Humanism or truth

Chap. 2 – Humanism’s cultural manifestations

• Globalism vs. nationalism

• Multiculturalism

• Moral and gender confusion

• Radical feminism

• Radical political correctness

• Evolution and Darwinism

• New Age and Mother Earth worship

Chap. 3 – Symptoms of humanistic Christianity

• "I" vs. "we"

• Replacement and other anti-biblical theologies

• More merciful than God?

• Should Israel turn the other cheek?

• Are we always to "judge not"?

Chap. 4 – Some other humanistic ideas

• Is love all we need?

• The biblically correct order for living

• Are all evangelists?

• Is salvation God's ultimate goal?

• Judging experiences

• 'Social justice' or 'prophetic fulfillment'?

• Why bless Israel?

Chap. 5 – Focus on God

• Commandments or traditions?

• Total trust in God

• Do not trust in man

• God – not man

Chap. 6 – God vs. humanism

• Human free will

• God's sovereignty

Chapter 1: Humanism – the first of the giants

A number of years ago, a brother in Messiah¹ wrote a book called The Last of the Giants, referring to Islam. Though Islam may become a part of it, I see humanism as the last of the giants that the Church must confront². As I thought more about this, I realized that humanism was the first of the giants as well.

The invasion

How can we define humanism so that we can better discern it? If we go back to when it first invaded mankind, we see it in its purest form. Humanism was Satan's³ weapon of choice when deceiving Adam and Eve in Eden. In Genesis 3:1, 4-5, we read: Now the serpent was more cunning [+crafty] than any beast of the field which YHWH⁴ God had made. And he said unto the woman, 'Has God said? … After Eve answered, the Adversary went on to say, You shall not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it [the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Gen. 2:17)] your eyes shall be opened and you shall be as God, knowing good and evil.

Here we see two characteristics that define humanism at all times and in all cultures throughout history.

First – the denigrating of God's Word: questioning what God has clearly said and creating doubt about His Word. Has God said?

Second – the exaltation of man: You shall be as God!

Anytime we find these two, we are face-to-face with the spirit of humanism. Today this spirit is in what I see as its final revival, which will lead to the appearance of the Ultimate Humanist – Mr. Anti-Christ himself. We will deal with this later.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God's likeness in them became distorted. Man was still created in His likeness (Gen. 9:6), but now it was marred through disobedience. And that distorted likeness has been passed down through the generations. Genesis 5:1-3: This is the book of the generations of Adam. [In Hebrew, adam can be a personal name or can mean "mankind, humanity."] In the day that God created man [adam], He made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and blessed them. So since they were made "male and female", the adam talked about in this verse is obviously humanity.

Verse 3: And Adam lived 130 years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth: The likeness of God in Adam had been distorted by sin, so all who are born from Seth onward now possess that same distorted likeness. Thus we see the truth that all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory (Rom. 3:23). So while mankind is still made in God's likeness, there's something not right – something twisted. This is why Yeshua says we must be born again, born from above. The result of that new birth is that we who were dead in our sin natures, are now "quickened" – made alive again – in Messiah. (Rom. 5:12-19; Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13)

The flood

The humanistic exaltation of man runs throughout the book of Genesis, as is clearly seen in the first 10 chapters. Eventually God wiped out all the living creatures upon the land with the Flood of Noah's day. Most people think the reason God spared Noah was because he was righteous in his generation (Gen. 6:9). But context is so important in reading Scripture, and the context shows that Noah's righteousness is a result of God's grace, as the verse says just before Noah's righteousness was declared, And Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen. 6:8)

There is none righteous; no, not one (Rom 3:10-12; cp. Psa. 53:1), unless by God's gift of grace. That's why Noah was righteous – and that's why we are also seen as righteous in Messiah Yeshua (2 Cor. 5:21). While Noah was born in the distorted image of Seth, God dealt with him according to His grace, and so Noah was seen as righteous in the eyes of the Lord.

This is one of the foundational differences between the worldview of a Bible believer versus that of a humanist. Bible believers see man as inherently sinful, yet capable of doing good – although good works will not change the sinful nature inside. Humanists see mankind as basically good yet capable of doing wicked and sinful deeds. According to God's Word, people must be born-again, which will result in an inward change. But according to humanism, a person must be educated, which will result in an outward change.

The tower

After God cleansed the earth with the Flood, He gave Noah certain commands and made a covenant with him and with the earth (Gen. 9:1-17). Apparently God wanted Noah and his sons to spread out, multiply and replenish the earth. But man had other plans. We read of Nimrod, one of Ham's descendants, who was a mighty hunter before God and who built a city in the plain of Shinar known as Babel (Gen. 10:9-10). Later, we learn that a tower was built there, which we now know as the Tower of Babel.

Why did man do this? Genesis 11:1-4 says, And the whole earth was of one language, and of the same words, and…as they journeyed eastward, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and dwelt there. Then they said to one another, 'Come, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly'. They had brick for stone, and pitch for mortar, and they said, 'Come, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top is in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, so that we are not scattered across the face of the whole earth'.

They were not trying to be arrogant and build a huge skyscraper to physically touch God's abode, or His throne, but as with many other pagan towers dedicated to false gods, it was on its top where the pagans felt they had a better connection with their gods. And often kings and priests went up there to sacrifice and be ordained as 'sons of god' for their specific roles in their societies.

Although it was God's will for man to spread out upon the earth (Gen. 8:15-17; 9:7, 18-19), man said "No, we'll do it our way." Note that in the King James Version, the first time we read Let us, it is when God says, Let us make man in our image and after our likeness (Gen. 1:26). Yet the first time we read it on the lips of man is when they say, Let us build a tower! (Gen. 11:3-4) There is a much needed lesson here for believers, which is that unity – even a religion-based unity as in Babel – is not necessarily of God. In the Church, unless it is the unity of His Spirit (Eph. 4:3), and we are commanded to test every spirit (1John 4:1), it is a humanistic unity which might feel right and even comfortable, but is deceptive and demonic!

Genesis 10:8-10 tells us that Babel was first built by Nimrod in the land of Shinar. We also find Shinar in Zechariah 5:11, where a woman, representing wickedness, is put into a basket and then carried to, and planted in, the land of Shinar in a house built specifically for her. Shinar today is where Iran and Iraq are located. Shinar today is the headquarters of fundamentalist Shi'ite Islam and the source of much of the "wickedness" that the world is experiencing and is the area from where the threats of annihilating Israel – God's restored nation and His people – are heard almost daily!

The word babel, in whatever language they were speaking, likely meant the gate of Bel, or Baal, their false god. In Hebrew, bavel means confusion. Later, Babel – or as it is better known today, Babylon – became part of the Chaldean and Babylonian empire of Nebuchadnezzar, to which God exiled the Kingdom of Judah. Alexander the Great conquered this area, and the city of Babylon is where he died at the age of 33. As Daniel prophesied, his kingdom was divided into four (Dan. 11:4), with the area where Babylon was located becoming part of the Seleucid dynasty. It was out of this dynasty that Antiochus Epiphanes, the first type of the Antichrist, arose.⁵

Humanism or truth

The most dangerous aspect of the spirit of humanism in both Western civilization and the Church is that it challenges the concept of ultimate truth, especially in the area of morals. If man is the final arbiter of morality, then whatever I or my society see as acceptable is moral, and if it is opposed to what you think, or what the Bible says – so what? There is no ultimate truth. Relax! "Don't worry; be happy!"

But God's Word and His Son make truth a requirement. God is zealous for truth. If I say, John chapter 17," many in the Body might think "Ah, Yeshua's great priestly prayer. Unity! How wonderful to be in unity – just like He and His Father! This is what we all need to be striving for." Yet do you know that before Messiah Yeshua prayed for unity, He prayed, Sanctify [purify; set apart] them by Your truth; Your Word is truth (John 17:17). This book that we call the Bible – this is truth, the ultimate truth – and there must be no compromising with the truths which are clearly revealed in it.

It is fine to have some questions about what God really meant here or there, or about whether the King James, or whatever version, must be seen as 100% correct and might not have been translated with a better word or phrase, especially for our day and age. Also there is truth in the universe not covered by the Word of God, truth that has been revealed by science, and medicine, and mathematics.

Believers must see that the Bible in its original languages is God's revealed truth, and we need to align our thinking with His as much as possible. God's Word reveals God's view of truth, and what we see today is that which was prophesied in the New Testament [NT] for the last days. If people continually refuse to receive the gift of truth, then God Himself will send them a strong delusion so that they will choose to believe what is false (2 Thess. 2:10-11). While He does not deceive people, just as He does not tempt people with evil (Jam. 1:13), He allows opportunity for people who do not love the truth to deceive themselves.

1 As a Jewish believer, I tend to use "Messiah" instead of "Christ", and "Yeshua" instead of "Jesus". I have no problems with anyone who says Jesus Christ, although Jesus the Christ is more accurate. However His Hebrew name and title, Yeshua the Messiah, connects us with His Jewish and Old Testament background, which has been ignored in much of the Church today. Also, I will often use the Hebrew term, the Tanach, for the Hebrew Scriptures, the Old Testament.

2 Humanism, or Hellenism, as it is sometimes called today, is a Greek-thinking worldview that is man-centered. Basically it states that for something to be true and be the truth it has to conform to human logic. There is much more to it than this, but for simplicity's sake, a humanistic worldview means man is the center of the universe. A biblical worldview means God is the center, and what He says is true whether we understand it perfectly or not.

3 Satan = hasatan, the English transliteration of the Hebrew, literally, "the Adversary," is not the devil's name. In fact, other than "Lucifer", all other titles the Bible gives him are descriptions of his character. Often, especially in the Tanach, the Scriptures use names to describe character.

4 YHWH, called the Tetragrammaton, is God's personal name in the Tanach. The way to pronounce it has been lost over the centuries. Many think it is best transliterated in English as Yahweh, but since there is doubt, I will write it by using its Hebrew letters: Yod = Y; Hey = H; Vav = W; Hey = H, thus "YHWH". Our God's Name is found literally thousands of times in the Bible. In most translations, whenever we see LORD or GOD in all capital letters, it is referring to the Tetragrammaton in the original Hebrew.

5 See a fuller explanation of Antiochus = anti-Christ below in the chapter on Chanukah. 

Chapter 2: Humanism’s cultural manifestations

Today, we are witness to a fulfillment of Psalm 2:1-3: Why do the gentiles rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against YHWH, and against His Anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us. God's bands and His cords are His rules on how to live – and this is being cast aside in today's 'enlightened' societies – gay marriages; abortions; worshiping women and men and even calling them idols; exalting youth; etc.

His Anointed in this psalm is His Maschiach – the Messiah, the Christ. So this psalm well describes the open rebellion against God and His Son in today's world. But according to Psalm 105:15, Israel (in this context Jacob and his descendants) are also said to be His anointed. And today the people rebelling against God and Messiah Yeshua also rage against His counsel for His land and His nation and people, all the children of Jacob – the Jews wherever they are found.

Globalism vs. nationalism

If we remember the two identifying signs of humanism, the denigrating of God's Word and the exalting of man, we see how pervasive the spirit of Babylon, that spirit of humanism, is today. One example is globalism versus nationalism. Many will argue that global problems require global solutions, so since terrorism is a global problem, nations need to unite to fight it. This kind of thinking could lead to the creation of a global police force under a global government. But the real problem with globalism is simply that God created nations, or people-groups (Gen. 10:1-32).

Even after the Lord Yeshua returns and sets up His millennial kingdom, there will still be "nations", or people groups, who are expected to ascend to Jerusalem to worship Him. Those who do not, will experience judgment – symbolized in scripture under the picture of a God-ordained drought (Zech. 14:16-17).

Multiculturalism

Some years ago, the theme of our annual January Intercessors for Israel prayer conference was, Truth has fallen in the streets (Isa. 59:14). It is happening increasingly today. Truth has not only fallen in our streets, that is our societies and schools and media, etc., but has also been trampled to make sure it does not get back up. With no ultimate truth in our lives, our societies or our world, we are a ship without a compass, going wherever it wants but not knowing where that is.

One of the outcomes of a societal disbelief in ultimate truth is multiculturalism, which claims to see all cultures as equal. So if all cultures are "good" and "acceptable", should we encourage those indigenous peoples who practiced cannibalism to return to it? Should we allow honor killings in Muslim neighborhoods?

In most of the Middle East, honor versus shame is much more important than truth versus lies. We have recently seen this in the Gaza Strip. A Muslim family murdered a male family member who they thought was collaborating with Israel. We don't even know if he was collaborating or not, or if they even had any proof. They murdered him because he brought shame upon them, their family and their people. The thinking is, if a family member shames me, then if I kill that person, I regain my honor.

Under Sharia, Islamic law, a woman's testimony in court is only worth half of a man's; also any land that was once Allah's – wakf territory – must be reconquered by jihad, a holy war. By the way, this is why much of Spain is still on Islam's radar to reconquer. Is this behavior valid just because it is "bad" to judge other cultures?

Bible believers know all cultures are not equally good. Are we not supposed to judge with righteous judgment (John 7:24)? That is impossible to do unless there really are black and white, right and wrong issues in society. Yet that is almost impossible to support without a working knowledge of the complete Bible – from Genesis to Revelation.

Brothers, sisters – do you really think all cultures are morally on the same level? Is it okay before God to worship three million Gods as in Hinduism? Is it okay to do the kind of things that the Word specifically forbids? Is slavery still valid? Islam says yes, and in some Muslim nations it is still practiced. Does this make it right and something we dare not judge?

Many well-meaning Westerners think that if they could only spread democracy in the Middle East, peace would descend like a comforting blanket. Yet history proves you cannot spread democracy in a culture based on the Quran. In Muslim societies the results of democratic elections – if they are even held – are usually one man, one vote, one time, because Muslims generally vote the most extreme Muslims in – as with Hamas in Gaza. Then those Muslim leaders will never leave office. Look at Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas who was elected for a four-year term – more than 13 years ago!

Please understand, it is not Western culture that is good, but rather a culture that is righteous in God's eyes – and He is the only One who can show us what that means. He has done this in His Word. The cultural goal for Bible believers should be to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God (Mic. 6:8). Historically, the only time democracy has had any chance of working is when it was based on a biblical Judeo-Christian foundation. This is because Bible believers are the only ones who recognize that all people are made in God's image and therefore deserve to be treated with justice.

However, democracy is not the goal. According to Scripture, a kingdom run by a righteous God-fearing king is the kind of society which has the best chance of honoring God. So we await our King who will set up a benevolent kingship that will rule the earth in righteousness and justice.

Moral and gender confusion

Humanism leads to a diminishing of God’s moral standards, ending in a reversal which brings a curse. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. (Isa. 5:20)

We see this now with gender confusion. In many places in the West, your DNA or what you are equipped with physically no longer determines your gender. If you feel like a woman trapped in a man's body – which a short time ago would have been seen by just about everyone as a mental disorder – you can insist that female pronouns be used when you are being addressed; you can insist on using the "ladies' room" – you can even enter woman's sports contests because you feel like you are female.

I have read about places in the US where you are not allowed to call a girl in kindergarten "her," or "she." This is insane – an end-time deception in a world already upside down. Yet why should there be gender confusion? God's choice of creating you male or female is so obvious that now pregnant women can even know their baby's gender while it is still in the womb. God knows before conception how He has chosen to create us (Jer. 1:5), but more and more people are now saying that He must have made a mistake, or there is no God, and since I am still evolving, I will choose to be the sex I want to be, according to how I feel.

And because of extreme political correctness and the fear of offending – both fruits of humanism – society is inundated with this open deception. The Emperor has no clothes, but only a few are willing to say it and then they are labeled trouble-makers, the robbers of peace, and a threat to global unity.

Radical feminism

Today, much of the feminist movement has morphed into a radical, vile feminism. Although there was a need for women to be set free from many things that society and men had placed upon them, now we have the opposite: a feminism that has no love for men – actually no love whatsoever – and this has contributed to the validating of the gay movement.

For women who no longer respect or love men, that only leaves other women to satisfy the need for love and physical intimacy. Alternatively, why would a man want to be with a woman if most of them are becoming men-haters who are consistently being portrayed in today's movies and TV shows as more than able to physically defeat men at will?

Although there is neither male nor female in Messiah Yeshua (Gal. 3:28), the NT clearly says that a man in Messiah and a women in Messiah have different callings – just like a Jewish believer and a non-Jewish believer. There is no difference in how we get saved or how we approach the One True God, but there is, and remains, a difference in callings even after salvation.

Radical political correctness

Another issue humanism has fostered is radical political correctness. One result of this says we cannot talk negatively about gays and Muslims, which is very interesting, because if you put these two groups in a room together, the Muslims, in obedience to Allah, would have to kill the gays. Yet we cannot talk openly and honestly and biblically about either of them without fear of being charged with hate speech. Yet it's still okay and will probably remain okay to talk negatively and disparagingly about the Lord Jesus, about Christians or the Jewish people and the nation of Israel.

Their radical political correctness cuts off all discussion that liberal humanists, many of who are radically, i.e. hatefully, aggressively, offensively, left-wing and secular or "New Age", just do not want to talk about. Reasoned debate has been thrown out the window, and many people do not want to be confused with the facts because facts hurt their feelings. Instead they have required that "safe-spaces" be provided for them to feel protected and nurtured. They are a whole generation of two-year-olds completely unprepared to face the real world.

This reminds me of a verse that is becoming more of a reality to believers every day: Have I therefore become your enemy because I tell you the truth? (Gal. 4:16)

Evolution and Darwinism

Evolutionary Theory, especially interspecies evolution, is a powerful weapon in humanism's arsenal because it claims to eliminate the need for a Creator. If there is no Creator, we are no longer responsible to obey anyone or anything other than what seems right to us, just like Israel under the judges. In those days there was no king in Israel: each man did that which was right in his own eyes. (Jud. 21:25). Note the biblical reason for this situation. There was no king… Today's humanists tend to disobey any authorities other than 'me, myself and I', because after all, since there is no God, we rule ourselves.

Yet it is interesting to see that so many recent scientific discoveries point to the existence of an intelligent design – which necessitates an Intelligent Designer. While this is not news to Bible believers, it is becoming an issue among intellectuals in science and academia. Whether it is the improbably exact location of the earth – not just in the solar system, but in our galaxy itself – and all other major and minor details about the earth, or the requirement for un-evolvable molecular machines to foster life – called "irreducible complexity" – an Intelligent Designer's signature throughout His creation is once again bearing witness to the truth that In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Gen. 1:1). Or as the Psalmist says, The heavens declare [+recount; tell the story of] the glory of God, and the firmament makes known the work of His hands. (Psa. 19:1)

New Age and Mother Earth worship

Not to be left off this list of humanism's demonic fruits is the New Age Movement and Mother Earth worship. Man has been created with an innate need to worship. And if he's wise enough not to worship himself (although many humanists do), and yet if he does not know the one true God, then he might choose to worship nature – which was created by God to bring us to Himself (Rom. 1:19-22). Today many are willing to worship Mother Earth, yet ignore Father God.

The New Age Movement, which I was involved in before Yeshua saved me, is a modern manifestation of idolatrous guidelines from the past. If only a person knows enough, knows the secrets of the universe, then he can manipulate the "gods" to obey and please him. This person creates 'gods' in his own image – so that they make logical sense to him. This invites demonic influence into a person's life, spirits only too happy to go along with and "help" that person to obtain power and knowledge of their ways, with the goal of that person feeling in total control of their own life and destiny.

If an Almighty Eternal God created us, why should we expect to know Him in His totality? In fact, if we think we have God figured out so that we know what He will do and not do in all situations, then we are not worshipping the God revealed through both the written and living Word.

God refuses to be boxed in (Isa. 55:9). While we are told to correctly expound the scriptures as do those approved by God (2 Tim. 2:15), and have that wonderful prayer in the Psalms asking God to open our eyes to see wondrous things in His Word (Psa. 119:18), if we ever think we know His Word totally, then what we think we know cannot be the whole Word of the One who has clearly said, The secrets belong unto YHWH our God: but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may accomplish all the words [+things] of this law [+teaching]. (Deut. 29:29)

Chapter 3: Symptoms of humanistic Christianity

Humanism has infected the Western Church – and this is not something new. As soon as Greek-thinking converts came into the Church, they were vulnerable to filtering Hebraic biblical theology through their Greek philosophical upbringing. This led to syncretism, just as harmful to the true faith as when the Israelites mixed their service to Yahweh, Israel's God, with serving the Canaanite gods. Below are a few unbiblical ideas and practices from this humanistic infection in today's Church.

"I" vs. "we"

Many contemporary worship services focus on "me and I," but the biblical focus is on "we and us." Why are most current songs written in the "I," yet Paul says that "you," using the plural form, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16).¹ Yet when I have suggested changing that "I" to a "we" as we sing, it can change the whole atmosphere in the meeting. Singing "I" all the time is self-centered and a biblical error because we cannot live effectively for God without each other.

All of us are building God's house together – and all of us make up His house. I'm not the temple of the Holy Spirit – solo! We are all together that spiritual temple, and not anyone individually. We are all part of the Guf HaMashiach, the Body of Messiah.

When we pray, are we not supposed to pray corporately, as one Body, more often than we actually do? Did not Yeshua say to pray, Our Father? Yet who in the human-centered Western Church does that except when repeating the Lord's formula in prayer formally?

Replacement and other anti-biblical theologies

Replacement theology comes out of a humanistic spirit because God's sovereign choosing of Israel as His nation offends the humanist. "Are you saying that you Jews are better than us?" Absolutely not. I am saying that the nation of Israel has been uniquely chosen by the God of Israel to be in covenant relationship with Him (Jer. 31:35-37).

Read Romans 9:11-19 and then listen to Paul's Spirit-guided answer to the humanist concern that God was unfair in choosing the Jews. On the contrary, who are you – mere man that you are – to talk back to God? Can an object that was molded say to the one who molded it, 'Why did you make me like this?' A potter has the right to do what he wants to with his clay, doesn't he? He can make something for a special occasion or something for ordinary use from the same lump of clay. Now if God wants to demonstrate His wrath and reveal His power, can't He be extremely patient with the objects of His wrath that are made for destruction? Can't He also reveal His glorious riches to the objects of His mercy that He has prepared ahead of time for glory – including us, whom He also called, not only from the Jews but from the gentiles as well? (Rom. 9:20-24 ISV)

If you saw the movie, Fiddler on the Roof, recall that the main Jewish character pleaded, "God, you chose us. Couldn't you choose someone else for a while?" In reality, it is not always fun being chosen, because we – Israel and the Church – are His chosen, and called to be His witnesses,² God's Adversary, and people who hate God, see us as a target.

This is not something new, as the Psalmist cried out to God exactly about this in Psalm 83:1-5: O God, keep not silence. Do not hold Your peace, or be still, God. For, behold, Your enemies make a tumultuous noise. They that hate You have exalted themselves. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, and devised plans against Your treasured ones [Israel (when this was written); today, Israel and the true Church]. They have said, Come and let us cut them off from being a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more [We hear this from Iran's wicked, Tehran-ical leaders almost weekly]. For they have consulted together with one mind, and are joined together against You.

The humanist response in the Church, inspired by anti-Christ and anti-Semitic spirits, has devised Replacement "theology". This seems to fit under the topic of teachings by unclean spirits, or as the Bible calls it, doctrines of demons, which we are warned would come in the last days (1 Tim. 4:1). And many gentile believers, ignoring Paul's admonition against their pride (Rom. 11:18-21), accepted this anti-Jewish/Israel/biblical teaching to the point where it has overshadowed Western Christian thinking for almost 1800 years – until today.

The 2,000 year old traditional Church for most of that time has taught that it has replaced Israel in the eyes of God. Yet it does not question how it could be grafted into Israel's cultivated olive tree, where the root³ that supports the Church is found. Beloved, you are grafted into Israel's olive tree – and not, as many think – into a Christmas tree, which has no roots and is slowing dying.

God has warned against replacement theology in the Tanach. Moreover the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying, 'Have you considered what this people have spoken, saying, "The two families which YHWH has chosen [Judea and Israel before they were exiled], He has rejected them?" Thus they have despised My people, that they should no longer be a nation before them'. (Jer. 33:23-24) This has been the Church's attitude over the past millennia. All but a few have despised and scorned God's people and rejected them from ever being a nation again. And many were shocked when in 1948 God openly showed to the world how wrong this demonic doctrine was.

The Lord continues: Thus says YHWH; If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth – then will I cast away the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, and not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will cause their captivity to return, and I will have mercy on them. (Jer. 33:25-26)

Dominion theology has made huge inroads into Western Christian thinking. This movement basically teaches that Christians are to take over places of authority and influence, conquering the world for the Lord Jesus, and then handing it over to Him when He returns. While there is nothing wrong with believers running for political office or becoming judges and professors, etc., yet to think that by doing this they are conquering the world for Christ is unbiblical. All last-days prophecies clearly show a world in rebellion against God, and increasingly experiencing chaos because of it.⁴

There is only one cure for mankind – salvation in Messiah Yeshua. The heart [+ mind/thinking] of everyone is exceedingly wicked [+ warped/bent/crooked] (Jer. 17:9). According to some Hebrew scholars, this can be read to say that our hearts actively try to deceive us. Now that clears up many things in my own life, because like Paul, the things I want to do, I do not do, while the things I do not want to do, I often find myself doing (Rom. 7:14-23). Thus the only solution for mankind is to be born-again, born from above, by the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit who enables us to confront and change our own thinking to glorify the Lord Yeshua (John 3:7-8; 16:14).

More merciful than God?

Today's brand of humanism rejects capital punishment, when, in fact, capital punishment is included by God in the Noahic Covenant – centuries before the Law of God was given to Israel on Mount Sinai. As soon as Noah left the ark, God said, Surely the blood of your lives [lit: souls] will I require; at the hand of every living thing will I require it, and at the hand of man. At the hand of everyman's brother will I require the life [lit. soul] of man. Whosoever sheds man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed – for God made man in His own image. (Gen. 9:5-6)

Because man is made in the image of God, even though that image is now distorted, He instituted capital punishment for pre-meditated murder. Of course, humanists think they know better than God, which is a definite sign of the spirit of humanism at work. So we end up throwing these murderers and terrorists in jail and letting them sit there. In the case of terrorists who have committed horrific attacks in Israel, they have often been traded for Israelis – or the bodies of dead Israelis held by terrorist organizations. After these terrorists are set free they often end up murdering more innocent people, rewarded and emulated as heroes of their people.

Are some murderers actually saved in jail? Of course! God can have mercy on whomever He wants (Ex. 33:19; Rom. 9:15). But God's Noahic law for humanity involves capital punishment for murder. If you find that harsh, your thinking has been distorted by unbiblical humanistic arguments. The result is that society's laws end up being more merciful than God. Yet He really knows what is best.

King Solomon, one of the wisest men ever, warned us about a society which acts more mercifully with the wicked than God. Since the sentence against an evil work is not executed quickly, the heart of the sons of men is firmly set to do evil. (Eccl. 8:11) Therefore, one of the reasons that evil infects our nations at this time is because when we catch the wicked, we do not know how to deal with them biblically. I am not saying all wicked, evil people should be put to death, but those convicted of premeditated murder, including terrorists who have killed, Scripture condemns to death.

Should Israel turn the other cheek?

Another example of a deep misunderstanding of biblical truth is when Christians ask, "Why doesn't Israel just turn the other cheek?" When Yeshua gave this command, He was not speaking to a nation. He was speaking to His disciples (Matt. 5:39). If you are being persecuted in any way for following Him, then you are told to turn the other cheek – literally and figuratively. We are also told to bless those who curse us, and to pray for and bless our (personal) enemies (Matt. 5:44).

In the NT God describes how a good government should function. According to Romans 13:1-4, such a government is a terror to the wicked and protects the righteous. And that is why Israel, or any other nation, must not turn the other cheek but fight to protect the lives of its citizens.

Now if you are under a government that is a terror to the righteous, then those authorities need not be obeyed. This is why, under the Nazi regime, or the former Soviet Russia, the church preached the gospel even though it was illegal. This is also why today's Iranian Church is proclaiming the gospel even though it is illegal, and why today's Chinese church is doing the same since it also is suffering from governmental repression and persecution. These and many other regimes are not obeying God's laws. This situation can be seen in light of the declaration of the first Messianic Jews before the Sanhedrin, the Jewish authorities under the Romans: We ought to obey God more than men. (Acts 5:29b)

It is imperative to read scriptures in context. Some people quote only Romans 13:1, Obey the authorities, and forget the context. Please, for truth's sake, read in context'! Respect God enough to read the beginning and end of what He says so you can see if something else modifies what you at first thought He was saying?

Are we always to "judge not"?

Another fruit of the teaching of humanism is the idea that we are not to judge others. Again, that is not what Yeshua, or any biblical author, said in context. Judge [+condemn] not, that you are not judged [+condemned]. For with what judgment [+condemnation] you judge [+condemn], you shall be judged [+condemned]: and with what measure you use, it shall be measured to you again. (Matt. 7:1-2) Yeshua is warning that we will be judged or condemned according to how we judge or condemn others. Will it be with as much mercy as possible?

In other words, when we do wrong, if we have self-righteously condemned others, we will reap what we have sown (Gal. 6:7-8). If I want to be judged by a righteous God with mercy, then I need to judge my fellow human with mercy. Yeshua said if we forgive others their offenses and failures, then God will forgive us ours (Matt. 6:14). But this is not an unconditional forgiveness like when we were initially saved. As His children, God requires our remorse, our repentance; otherwise we would never change for the better.

Mercy does not mean ignoring sin or false teaching, nor does it mean blanket forgiveness. We are supposed to hold each other accountable, and that involves judging. As for the auto-response statement used by many believers when you begin to question their doctrine or lifestyle – "Who are you to judge me? Doesn't Jesus say ‘do not judge’?" There are many NT verses that tell us to judge, after all, how are we supposed to know false prophets if we do not judge them by their fruits (Matt. 7:15-20)? Yeshua sums it up in John 7:24: Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteously.

Paul speaks often about this issue: We also speak about these things, yet not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but that which the Holy Spirit teaches – comparing [+judging] spiritual things with spiritual. But the soulish man receives not the things of God's Spirit for they are absurd to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. So he that is truly spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is not judged. (1 Cor. 2:13-15); Do you not know [+ see] that saints shall judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels; how much more things that pertain to this life? (1 Cor. 6:2-3)

Finally, if we are to never judge, then why would Paul write, For if we would judge [+ discern; evaluate] ourselves, we should not be judged [+ convicted/condemned]. But when we are judged [+ convicted/condemned], we are chastened [+ trained/corrected/punished] by the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world. (1 Cor. 11:31-32)

1 Unfortunately, the English language does not have a word for plural "you" other than "y'all" – which, while correct, would sound very strange in most English translations.

2 Isa. 43:9-12; 44:8; Luke 24:44-48; Acts 1:8; 2:32; 3:15; 10:41

3 I see the root as God's promise to Abraham (Gen. 12:3; 18:18; 22:18), Isaac (Gen. 26:4) and Jacob (Gen. 28:14) that in their seed all the families of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3b). Paul, being anointed by the Spirit, writes that that promise is the gospel to the gentiles (Gal. 3:8).

4 Psalm 2:1-12; Isaiah 34:1-10; Jeremiah 30:23-24; Ezekiel 38-39; Joel 3:1-21; Micah 4:11-13; Zephaniah 3:8; Zechariah 12:1-9; 14:1-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; 2 Timothy 3:1-12. Note that I have not listed all of Yeshua's words about the time of the end, nor have I included most of the book of Revelation. So any believers who are still waiting for the Church to conquer the world and bring peace before Yeshua returns are living in an unbiblical fantasyland.

Chapter 4: Some other humanistic ideas

If you do not believe that a spirit of humanism has invaded the church, visit a Christian bookstore, especially in the West, and it will be staring you in the face, as some of the examples below will illustrate.

Is love all we need?

Yeshua said that all the Law and the Prophets hang on two commandments – to love God with everything that is in us and to love our neighbor [lit. nearby-one] as we love ourselves. (Matt. 22:36-40). Yet sometimes you read or hear preachers, Christian counselors, and other believers say that these two commandments depend on a third: 1) we must love God; 2) we must love our neighbors; 3) and we must love ourselves!

The Lord commanded us to do just the opposite – to "hate," [lit. to reject the priority of], our own lives in order to be His disciples (Luke 14:26).¹ Paul was affirming Yeshua's demand when he wrote that there is no one who does not already love themselves (Eph. 5:28-29). Therefore, the Lord is telling us to love our neighbor – as we already love ourselves.

There is a similar theology declared from pulpits which is not found in the Scripture. For those who were conscious in the 60's, I have called it the gospel of John, Paul, George and Ringo – "All you need is love." Love is not all you need, but this teaching scratches itching ears in many churches today (2 Tim. 4:3-4:4), and gives the congregation happy feelings. A happy congregation is a giving congregation, so there is a strong temptation to agree with and even preach this humanistic doctrine, whether it is biblical or not.

The biblically correct order for living

In America I heard that our spiritual priorities are "God first, family next and then your ministry." Messiah Yeshua made Himself the highest priority in all of our lives – all of the time. This means our biblical priorities are "God first, God second and God last". If we obey our Shepherd's voice, there will be times when we need to sacrifice family for ministry and vice-versa – but we should always keep in mind that whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Yeshua, giving thanks to God and the Father through Him. (Col. 3:17)

In praising the attitude of the Macedonian congregations, Paul says, first they gave themselves to the Lord and then to us through the will of God. (2 Cor. 8:5) Note the order – first to the Lord and then to the brothers. Is this our priority, or do we view our priorities through a humanistic viewpoint which then leaves it up to us to determine what should be done in every situation?

Are all evangelists?

As a pastor, I have had occasion to correct two types of Christians who have a genuine God-given burden – but who erroneously think that the burden He has laid on them must also be seen as His burden for everyone else in the Body as well. I'm referring to the evangelist and the pro-life worker. If you are not preaching the gospel to see people saved, then you are not in God's will! or If you are not helping save babies in the womb, then you are not doing God's will!

Yet they were talking to someone who was called, not as an evangelist or a pro-life worker – but as a pastor-teacher. Yeshua gives specific gifts to build up His Body – some evangelists, some prophets, some apostles, some pastors and teachers (Eph. 4:11-12). Are all evangelists? Are all pastors? No (1 Cor. 12:28-30). So where do these God-burdened people get the idea that everyone must carry the same burden that He has laid on them? Is it from a human-centered idea that revolves around what they are thinking and feeling and burdened with? We all need to judge our own thoughts and emotions by the Word of God.

Is salvation God’s ultimate goal?

Should salvation even be the ultimate goal of the evangelist? It better not be, because that is not biblical. If salvation is the ultimate goal, the evangelist might end up becoming humanistic and instead of seeing God and His Kingdom as the focus, they might substitute mankind and more efficient ways to spread the Good news. It's a fine line. Yet throughout the Word, we are instructed that our ultimate goal is God's glory. Here is just a brief sample of verses proving this:

Asa cried to YHWH his God saying, YHWH, it is nothing with You to help, whether with many or with him who has no power. Help us, YHWH our God, for we rely on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. YHWH, You are our God. Do not let mortal man prevail against You.2 Chr. 14:11

Arise, YHWH; let not mortal man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your sight. Put them in fear, YHWH. Let the gentiles know they are but mortal men. Selah.Psa. 9:19-20

Not unto us, YHWH, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory [+influence], for Your covenant-love, and for Your truth's sake. Why should the gentiles say, 'Where now is their God?' But our God is in the heavens: He has done all that He has pleased.Psa. 115:1-3

[Yeshua:] 'Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me out of this hour: but it was for this cause that I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.' Then came a voice from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again'.John 12:27-28

Wherefore God also has highly exalted [Messiah], and given Him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow – in heaven, on earth, and under the earth – and every tongue should confess that Messiah Yeshua is Lord – to the glory of God the Father.Phil. 2:9-11

If any speaks, let it be as the utterances of God. If any ministers, let him do it as of the ability God gives, so that God may be glorified in all through Yeshua the Messiah, to whom is the praise, and the might [+dominion] forever and ever. Amen.1 Pet. 4:11

You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for You have created all things, and for Your will they are and were created.Rev. 4:11

Judging experiences

Over the past several decades there has been a rash of "revivals," yet the fruit is anything but biblical. In one well-known so-called “move of the Spirit,” believers were led/urged/forced by whatever that particular spirit was to act like unclean animals, even pigs and snakes, and to experience at times relations that they described as sensual with their "husband" Jesus.

Does any of that sound like God's Holy Spirit? Yet these experiences were so overwhelming that some of those who experienced them talked about how they had to go back night after night because they were – and some even used this term – "addicted" and needed another touch from whatever touched them.

At times, this spirit moved upon them in public in ways that they were not able to control, forcing them to do strange things. Although Paul specifically wrote that the spirits of the prophets are subject to [obey] the prophets (1 Cor. 14:32) so that the person remains in control, these believers did not know enough to test their experiences by the Word of God, and obviously had never been taught the clear biblical injunctions to prove [i.e., test, discern] all things" and "test [+discern] the spirits (1 Thess. 5:21; 1 John 4:1).

The fruit of the move of this spirit was a huge division in the Body which continues to this day. It even divided the Body of Messiah in Israel, which up to that point had enjoyed a blessed unity.

Another fruit of this "revival" was to have those of us who saw this as a dangerous error become very hesitant over any move of the Spirit. Therefore the enemy was able to play both ends against the middle – those who wanted experience after experience, and those who now doubted even genuine experiences with God.

I heard the pastor of the church leading this move, and knew his teaching was "off" even before he started praying for people to see manifestations of "miraculous signs," because his teaching did not agree with what the Bible taught. Also, I knew that both Yeshua and Paul warned us to be aware of false signs and miracles, especially in the last days (Matt. 24:4-5, 11, 24). While signs and miracles may be genuine and supernatural and even get results, yet they may also be works of Satan, which include power and signs and lying [false/not from God] miracles. (2 Thess. 2:9)

Still, I have no doubt that some believers met God at these meetings because they went to seek Him and not a "hyped" experience. God wants to meet with His people wherever they are, but we often fall into the trap of seeking Him for our sake – for healings, miracles, our needs, or whatever – as opposed to seeking Him for His glory (Psa. 27:8; 105:4; Jer. 29:13). Again, it is that humanistic spirit which wants to divert us from looking to God. Our Adversary wants us to desire and seek out gifts of supernatural power for ourselves, the ostensible rationale being to serve God more effectively.

‘Social justice’ or ‘prophetic fulfillment’?

Today, there is a growing division in Messiah's Body on the question of whether God is dedicated to "social justice" or dedicated to fulfilling ancient prophecies? This leads to the question at the head of this section. This affects Christian-Zionism when social-justice crusaders take the side of "poor Palestinians" and work for them to have their own state, even though it is on God's land that He has promised to His people more than two hundred times in the Scriptures.

Meanwhile, we who are Christian Zionists are accused of not caring about the poor Arabs who live in the Promised Land, but of only wanting to see prophecy being fulfilled in order to hasten the coming of the Lord Yeshua. Some believers seem to think that God has to do one or the other. Yet is this really true or are we facing another humanistic argument against the Word of God?

Humanists cannot see from their man-centered logical perspective how God could possibly do both. When believers who think this way confront me, saying, "Well, my God is socially just! He has a heart for the poor Palestinians and He wants them to have their own state. Yet your idea of God is of a Supreme Being who focuses only on fulfilling prophecy!", then I respond, "I feel sorry for you because your god can't do both at the same time. Let me introduce you to my God, the God of the Bible, who can be socially just and fulfill prophecy at the same time. After all God is the original multitasker! He is not limited by your humanistic mindset, because there really is nothing too difficult for Him" (Jer. 32:17, 27). And this does not even touch on the fact that He is the One who defines what true justice is in the first place.

Another theological point to consider is that most Arabs in Israel are Muslims, so if they succeed in getting a Palestinian State, who do you think will get the glory? Will it be the true God of the Bible or the false entity called Allah of the Koran? And why would any truly born-again believer want to see Allah receive any glory whatsoever. And what would happen to the 15% of Israel’s Arabs who are Christian? The same thing that happened to them in Iraq and in Syria, persecution, church burnings, beheadings, crucifixion…

I am against the creation of a political state for the Palestinians on the land God has promised to the Jews because it is not what is best for them, nor what will bring God glory. We are much more interested in the Arabs having an eternal state with Messiah Yeshua, than a political state. Many Muslims have come into God's kingdom since the birth of modern Israel! As the likelihood of a state in God's land comes crashing down, many more Muslims will finally realize that Israel's God – is God!

Why bless Israel?

Yes, bless Israel, but we cannot stop there. This idea to bless Israel comes from God's initial promise to Father Abraham – who is still called Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. God promises him and his seed a land (see 12:7), also that a great nation will descend from him, and that his name – his reputation – will be great. Then in verse three, God states, And I will bless them that bless you, and curse him that curses you, and in you shall all the families of the earth be blessed.²

Why is God so emphatic about protecting Abraham's descendants? Because it is from this nation that the gospel will be spread to the gentiles as Paul states in Galatians 3:8, or as Yeshua said to the Samaritan woman, You worship [bow down to] what you do not know, we know what we worship, for salvation is of [or "from"] the Jews (John 4:22).

God provided divine protection to Israel and the Jews so that through them His Son Yeshua would be incarnated and through the ministry, death, burial and resurrection of Israel's Messiah, gentiles could know the One True God – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

So what's wrong with blessing Israel in order to be blessed? Nothing in itself, although it is the least important reason for why a believer should stand with Israel. For some though, this is as far as they get – especially when it comes to contributing financially to help the Jewish people and the state of Israel. It is like thinking, "I will serve the Lord, but what blessing do I get?"; or, "I'll bless Israel, and then I expect God to bless me!"

God knows that even His own children tend to be selfish, and therefore, like so many other rewards and punishments that He records in His book, He included this offer. Yet if we focus only on this, we end up supporting Israel for a humanistic reason, I bless so I can be blessed! Is that really where God wants us to be?

We should be exchanging that motivation for the biblical reason to stand with Israel – that God will receive glory and honor. Not unto us, O YHWH, not unto us, but unto Your name give glory [+honor], for Your covenant-love, and Your truth's sake. What? Should the gentiles say, 'So where now is their God?' But our God is in the heavens; He has done all that He has pleased. (Psa. 115:1-3).

Many see being blessed personally as the ultimate goal when instead they should view blessing those He wants us to bless as a fruit we offer to our God, and not a job we get paid for. While as an Israeli I do not want you to stop blessing Israel– as a pastor I want you to mature in your faith, and in order for that to happen the focus of our lives needs to be "to God be the glory!" And after these things I heard a great sound of a large multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; salvation and glory and honor and power unto the Lord our God! (Rev. 19:1)

This idea applies to tithing as well. Do we tithe only because we think that God is then obligated to supply all our needs? We tithe, or give, to honor God and then should let Him decide how and when our needs will be met (Phil. 4:19). Sometimes we need to not have enough money so that we understand our greater need of learning to trust Him regardless of our financial situation. It scares and stretches us, but it is worth it in the long run when you are shown how much you were trusting in finances as opposed to God.

1 "Hate" in these passages is better seen as an issue of preference. If Messiah Yeshua is not Number One in our lives, if we actually prefer anything before Him, then we cannot be His disciples. To constantly do this is what He means by picking up our cross and dying daily (Luke 9:23). See also Paul's testimony to his walk with Yeshua (1 Cor. 15:31).

2 The Hebrew word for "bless" is the same in both occurrences in this verse, but the word for "curse" is different. God says He will bitterly curse those who make light of, put down, denigrate, treat as vile, cast aside, come against, despise etc., Abraham and the nation that descends from him (Num. 24:9b expands this threat to the whole nation of Israel and not just Abraham's Greater Seed – Yeshua [Gal. 3:16].).

Chapter 5: Focus on God

Commandments or traditions?

Yeshua said in John 17:17 that God's Word is truth, and when He said that, there was no New Testament! Messiah Yeshua was saying that the Hebrew Scriptures, the Tanach, are both true and contain truth that we need to know.

The Ten Commandments, or literally, "the ten words", found in Exodus 20:1-17, are God's standard of righteous behavior – for all time. God, not man, is the One who sets the moral/ethical standards. He has shown you, O man [adam, humanity], what is good, and what YHWH requires of you, which is to do justice and to love mercy and to walk [a Hebraism for "to behave"] humbly with your God? (Mic. 6:8)

Yet the two greatest commandments according to the Lord Yeshua are not even on the list of theTen Words given on Mount Sinai. Also, these two are linked together, as Messiah explained when He was asked what the great commandment in the Law was. He answered, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This is the foremost and greatest commandment. And the second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. (Matt. 22:36-40)

While Christians might know that the first commandment comes from Deuteronomy 6:5, I imagine most would have to guess where the second one is found since it comes from a biblical book many believers do not like to read: Leviticus. Yes, that is the same book which is full of bloody animal sacrifices. Yet without an understanding of God's requirement of blood being shed to cover our sins (Lev. 17:11, 14), and of the truth that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23), we do not have a basic theological understanding of why Yeshua had to die on the Cross in the place of sinners like you and me.

Messiah Yeshua, while linking these two commandments, states the first one as foremost because without it being first, the second one turns into mere humanistic effort. Also, how do we love our neighbor? To know that, we need to know the biblical definition of love as revealed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, which is a sacrificial love. A humanistic love is different from a godly love.

Become aware of man-made rules and definitions that hinder the truth of God's Word from being realized in our lives. Is not this "Christian" humanism the reason why in Mark 7:6-8a Yeshua said to the Jewish leaders of His day, Isaiah has rightly prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. For they worship Me in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' For putting aside the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men…

The God of the Bible is not politically correct! He wants everyone to worship and glorify Him through His Son, and one day that will come to pass (Phil. 2:9-11), although that does not mean all will be saved. He reveals that He is the one who sovereignly oversees all that happens (Psa. 103:19), and He desires our complete, willing, obedience. We see this in the Garden of Eden, but another excellent early example is Genesis 22 – known in Judaism as the Akedah, or the Binding of Isaac. God said to Abraham, Take your son, Isaac, your only son whom you love…unto the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains…¹

God was testing Abraham, asking him to show that he, the "father of the faithful", loved his God more than he loved his God's promises. Do we? Yes, healing is provided in the atonement (Isa. 53:5; Matt. 8:16-17), but will we still love and trust God whether we are healed or not? Peace is also promised in Messiah Yeshua (John 16:33). Will we love Him if, instead of having that deep inner peace, we struggle for the "blessed assurance"? Are we seeking God or His promises?

When Yeshua challenged His disciples concerning this issue, He was "politically incorrect". Once He said, He who loves father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me. He who loves son or daughter more than Me, is not worthy of Me. We might reply, "But Lord, it says in Torah that we are to honor our father and mother!” and that is biblically correct. And as we do honor our parents for His name's sake, He will lead us through all situations as to how far we go with that. Again, the concept of love here means to prefer, or to prioritize. Do we prefer – make first in our lives – Yeshua's will, or our parents, feelings, ideas, etc.?

When God spoke to me in Florida about making aliyah, immigrating to Israel, my precious wife Karen was not convinced that this was His will and initially did not want to go. I told the Messianic Jewish congregation which I was helping to pastor, "I'll know when it's God's timing for us to move to Israel when Karen and I are in agreement that we should go." Shortly after that God spoke clearly to me, getting my full attention: "Son, You will go when I tell you to go because you're the head of your household, and I'll deal with my daughter." So I had to apologize to the congregation. Shortly after that Karen and I were in complete agreement and came home. That was in 1989, and since then I can honestly say it has been – and still is – both the hardest and the best time of our lives in Him.

Total trust in God?

Some of us have ninety-nine eggs in our God-basket, but there is one we have invested elsewhere, just in case. Oswald Chambers said that the greatest fear a believer has is that Jesus might fail. This is because if He fails, we fail with Him, as we have no other place to go (John 6:68). Is that where we are?

Scripture challenges us to trust in Him totally, because as Balaam said, God is not a man that He should lie [+deceive, fail], nor the son of man that He should repent. Has He said, and shall He not do it; has He spoken, and shall He not make it good [establish it]? (Num. 23:19) And as already quoted, Psalm 118:8-9 declares, It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in princes.

Yes, it is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in Netanyahu or Trump or whoever. I imagine all of us understand that, even though it is God who has put these men in place along with all other governmental leaders in today's world (Dan. 2:21; 4:17b, 25b, 35; 5:21b). Still, we do not trust in man – but in God who has the ultimate control over all. YHWH has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom [lit. Rulership] rules over all (Psa. 103:19; cp. Prov. 19:21; 21:1; Dan 6:26-27; Matt. 11:25; Rev. 17:17).

Jeremiah 17:5 warns, Cursed is the man [the strong man; a warrior] who trusts in man [+humanity] and makes flesh his arm, Not only will that one be severely disappointed, but cursed by placing trust/hope/confidence in human nature, which I interpret as one who sees himself, or the world order, as the source of strength and power.

Continuing, Jeremiah warns, and his heart departs [+ turns back] from YHWH. So the result of trusting in man is that your heart, your inner man – the mind, emotions and will – moves your attention away from God. This doesn't mean that spouses should not trust each other, or that having faithful brothers and sisters in Messiah is not important. It just means that all of us are fallible, so while we can listen and learn, our ultimate trust must be in the One who created us all.

I prefer the Tanach term "trust" more than the NT term "faith." Faith can describe any belief system that does not have to touch the reality of our life, but trust includes the element of dependence, and a willingness to act on it. A sermon illustration I like to use to show the difference between "faith" and "trust" goes like this: A high-wire walker stretched a wire across Niagara Falls – a very wide and high waterfall. He proceeded to walk across on the wire, pushing a wheelbarrow before him. On the far side a man congratulated him on his incredible feat and in response the wire-walker asked him if he believed that he could do it again. The spectator said, "Definitely!" That is faith. The wire-walker then invited him to get into the wheelbarrow as he walked on the wire back to the other side! That would be trust.

Do not trust in man

Here are a few of many biblical verses about looking to and trusting in God and not in man.

YHWH is on my side [for me]; I will not fear. What can man do unto me? YHWH takes my part with them that help me; therefore shall I see my desire on them that hate me. It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in man. It is better to trust in YHWH than to put confidence in princes.Psa. 118:6-9

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust in YHWH shall be safe [placed high out of danger; inaccessible].Prov. 29:25

Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who lean [rely] on horses, and trust [have confidence] in chariots…and in horsemen, because they are so strong [powerful or numerous], but they do not look to [regard] the Holy One of Israel, nor do they seek YHWH! Yet He also is wise. He will bring evil, and not call back His Words, but will arise against the house of evil-doers and against the help of those who work iniquity [+ harm]. Yet the Egyptians are men, and not God; and their horses are flesh, and not Spirit. When YHWH stretches out His hand, both he who helps and he who is helped shall both fall and shall cease all together.Isa. 31:1-3

God – not man

Consider this very interesting take on the humanistic spirit by the Lord Yeshua Himself as recorded in Matthew 16:13-16. At Caesarea Philippi, in the foothills of the Golan Heights, Yeshua asked His disciples, Who do men say that I, the Son of man, am? They replied, Some say that You are John the Baptist, others thought He was Elijah, or Jeremiah or one of the other Tanach prophets. Yeshua then asked them directly, And who do you say that I am? Peter, who seems to always have the lead vocal, declares, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God! Yeshua responds, Blessed are you, Simon Bar [Son of] Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. Note that this revelation of Yeshua's real nature was not something which came through mankind, but was downloaded by God into Peter's mind.

Then Messiah states that this revelation of His divine nature is the rock, the foundation, upon which He will build His Church. Matthew continues, From that time Yeshua began to show His disciples how He must go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and raised again on the third day. (16:21) Yet Peter, wanting to be the loyal disciple, actually rebuked or admonished his Master. May this be far from You, Lord. Alternatively, this can be read as "Have mercy on Yourself, Lord." Peter then adds, This shall not come to pass. (16:22)

Yeshua's response to Peter seems over the top, as He said to him. Get behind Me, Satan, that is, you adversary – which is what "satan" actually means. You are a scandal, a trap for Me, for you desire not the things of God, but the things that are of men. (16:23) Yeshua was pointing out that either someone is on God's side, thinking His thoughts, or one is vulnerable to siding with Satan, God's adversary, by thinking humanistic man-centered thoughts. He was not calling Peter "The Satan". What He meant was that Peter at that moment had become a Satan-inspired tool to try and divert Him from His Father's will. Can you see that when we prefer humanistic values above God, we are being misled by the Adversary?

1 This is the first mention of "love" in the Word.

Chapter 6: God vs. humanism

Human free will

Throughout the Bible, we see the rise of the human will against the Creator – from the Garden of Eden, to the Tower of Babel, and into the future as revealed in the book of Revelation. The same book reveals that God ultimately wins! Today, Psalm 2 is coming to pass with increasing intensity – especially the opening verses: Why do the nations rage and the peoples meditate on a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers plot together, against YHWH and against His anointed, saying, Let us break their bands in two and cast away their cords from us. (2:1-3)

While the humanistic spirit rages against God and His Son – both His Son Yeshua, and His son Israel (Ex. 4:22) – God mocks nations and peoples and allows His promised judgments to fall upon those who are part of the demonic alliance that stands against Him. He who sits in the heavens shall laugh [scornfully]; YHWH shall mock [+deride] them. Then He shall speak to them in His anger, and trouble them in His burning wrath. 'Yes, I have set My king on My holy hill, in Zion'. (Psa. 2:4-6)

Here are a few of many verses proving the futility of mankind's resistance to the Creator. And while some Bible versions call Satan the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), that is a poor translation of the Greek, which says that the Adversary is the god of this age. As Bible believers, we are assured that in spite of what we see or hear, the Word is clear that our God rules over all.

Moses said to [Pharaoh], As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread forth my hands to YHWH, and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is YHWH's.Ex. 9:29; see also 8:22; 9:14-16; 19:15

God's Word often assures us that He is reliable and capable of doing whatever He wants – because He is God, and not man. God is not a man that He should lie, neither the son of man that He should repent [i.e., change His mind]. Has He said, and shall He not do? Or has He spoken, and shall He not make it good? (Num. 23:19; cp. Hos. 11:8-9)

YHWH brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He breaks the plans of the people. The counsel of YHWH stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations.Psa. 33:10-11

YHWH reigns…Psa. 93:1a; cp. 96:10b; 97:1a; 99:1a

YHWH has established His throne in the heavens; His kingdom rules over all.Psa. 103:19

Yeshua Himself declares that His Father is God, not just in heaven, but also on the earth: In that hour Yeshua rejoiced in spirit, and said, I confess to You, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have concealed these from the wise and prudent, and revealed them to children…for so it seemed good in Your sight. (Luke 10:21) Yet now, after His resurrection and ascension, all that authority has been passed to Him who will soon be seen as King of all kings and Lord of all lords (Matt. 28:18; Rev. 17:14; 19:16).¹

God's sovereignty

Several verses in Proverbs challenge us with the biblical truth that at times God's sovereignty overrules man's free will. A man's heart plans his way: but YHWH directs [+establishes; ordains] his steps. (Prov. 16:9) There are many plans in a man's heart; nevertheless the counsel of YHWH, that shall stand. (19:21); The king's heart is in the hand of YHWH, as the streams of water. He turns it whatever way He wills. (21:1)

These truths, and others like them, tear down the altar to "free will" that many believers infected by humanism have erected. Looking at the Word through their man-centered lenses, they often equate man's free will with God's sovereign will, saying He would never do anything against a man's free-will decision.

While it is true that He allows people to choose whatever they will, that does not mean we get what we want or that what we have chosen happens!

How could anyone be saved unless it is by God's grace overruling our pride, ego, and our independent spirit (Eph. 2:8)? Did not Messiah Yeshua declare, You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and ordained you so that you might go and bear fruit, and that your fruit might remain, so that whatever you would ask of the Father in My name, He would give you. (John 15:16)

Not only that, but He has chosen us from before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4), and has also promised to complete the work that He has birthed in each of us (Psa. 138:8; Phil. 1:6; Jude 1:24).

The book of Daniel declares God's sovereign control over rulers, governments and nations several times: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. (2:20-21); This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the decision by the word of the holy ones, so that the living may know the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He will, and sets up over it the lowest of men. (4:17; cp. 4:32); At the end of days, I Nebuchadnezzar raised my eyes to Heaven, and my understanding was restored to me, and I blessed the Most High, and praised and honored Him who lives forever, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and His rule is from generation to generation. All people of the earth are regarded as nothing; He works according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the people of the earth, and none can strike His hand, or say to Him, 'What are You doing?' (4:34-35)

Finally, in the midst of the end-time chaos and temporary rule of the Anti-Christ, our God will still be in absolute control: For God has put in their [the ten kings] hearts to do His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast [the Anti-Christ], until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (Rev. 17:17)

So take a deep breath and know that there are never any emergencies in heaven – either over what you are going through personally, congregationally, in your nation, with His nation of Israel, or concerning anything else in the universe. Our God reigns outside of time, in eternity! He knows it all, sees it all and still He loves you and me. Amazing!

1 I believe that when Yeshua ascended the first time after His resurrection, the following vision of Daniel's was fulfilled in Heaven's courts: I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve [+worship] Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Dan. 7:13-14) After this, Messiah returned to His disciples saying, All authority and power has been given unto Me in Heaven and on earth (Matt. 28:18).

PART TWO

Chapter Contents

Chapter 7 – Tanach Saints and the Fight of Faith

Chapter 8 – Modern Israel Fights the Giant

• Some specific battles

• Rabbinic Judaism is part of the problem

• Questions from Jewish and Christian Humanists

• Aliyah and humanistic thinking

Chapter 9 – The Last Babylon

• Why will end-time Babylon be destroyed?

• Six hundred and sixty-six

• Jeremiah 50-51 and the Babylon in Revelation

• The Israel factor hidden in the book of Revelation

• Babylon's destruction as per Jeremiah 50-51

• Am I being Israel-o-centric?

• Isaiah 34 and the last days

• America – a current example of His judgment

• Do not confuse the fruit with the root of His judgment

• Seeing through a biblical filter

Chapter 10 – Chanukah: the Sons of Zion vs. the Sons of Greece

• What is Chanukah all about?

• Israel is God's special treasured possession

• The real warfare

• Humanistic vs. biblical worldviews in conflict

• Humanistic vs. Hebraic worldviews in the Church & Israel

• Conclusion: Without Chanukah there would be no Christmas!

Chapter 7: Tanach Saints and the Fight of Faith

The huge gap between God and man was revealed in the Old Testament [the Tanach]. The Tanach saints struggled with placing their trust in Him whom they could not see as opposed to trusting in what they could see. In other words, they fought the good fight – to walk by faith and not by sight. (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7; 2 Cor. 5:7)

In those days there was no king in Israel, so every man did that which was right in his eyes. (Judg. 17:6; 21:25) This is still a battle in most Western nations today, but we who are born-again do have a King and we are not to judge only by what our logic and senses tell us is right. We are commanded to test everything by our King's Words. They alone show us the way of righteousness – that which is right in God's eyes. (Psa. 119:123, 172; Heb. 5:13)

Israel of old fought this battle against trusting in man's logic and senses when logic and sense opposed trust in God. Sometimes they made the right choice, but at other times, they did not, just like us in our relationship with our Lord Yeshua. This is why Paul writes of the importance of the Tanach in showing us the right path: Now all these things happened to them for examples, and they are written for our admonition [+ warning], upon whom the completion of this age has arrived. (1Cor. 10:11)

All the elders of Israel…came to Samuel to Ramah, and said, 'Behold, you are old, and your sons do not walk [+ live] in your ways. Now appoint us a king to govern us like all the nations'. But this thing was evil in the eyes of Samuel, because they said, 'Give us a king to govern us'." So Samuel prayed, and received this answer from God: "Listen to…the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but have rejected Me that I should not reign over them."1 Sam. 8:4-7

God said this because He had already revealed His perfect will: Behold, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be counted among the nations. (Num. 23:9b) The root of the Hebrew word for "counted," or "reckoned" in many versions, comes from the idea of weaving. Israel was not to be interwoven with any other people – but was called to be God's special treasured possession (Deut. 7:6), the guardians of His Word. (Rom. 3:2) Israel's history shows this perfectly.

King Asa stood against God’s enemies with this prayer: Asa cried to YHWH his God and said, YHWH, it is nothing with You to help, whether with many or with him who has no power. Help us, YHWH our God, for we rest [+ lean, rely] on You, and in Your name we go against this multitude. O YHWH, You are our God. Do not let mortal man prevail against You. (2 Chr. 14:11)

We need to see our Lord as He really is – infinitely more powerful and working on a completely different "level" from all the earthly and spiritual armies that rage against physical Israel and Messiah's Body. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid [+ terrified] nor dismayed because of the king of Assyria, or for all his multitude, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is YHWH our God to help us and to fight our battles. (2 Chr. 32:7-8)

Arise, YHWH; let not mortal man prevail. Let the nations be judged in Your presence. Place them in fear, O YHWH, let the nations know they are but mortal men. Selah. (Psa. 9:19-20) Amen!

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of YHWH our God. They have bowed down and fallen; but we have risen and stand upright [+ witness]. Save, YHWH; let the King answer us when we call. (Psa. 20:7-9) While we in Israel thank God for the "chariots" and "horses" that He has given to Israel today, we dare not trust in them – but in Him, the Maker of heaven and earth. (Psa. 124:1-8)

Psalm 44:3-4 tells us who was responsible for all of Israel's victories. It was not Israel's armies. For they did not get the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them; for it was Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your presence, because You were pleased with them. You are my king, God; command victories for Jacob. (Psa. 44:1-4)

We see this also in modern Israel's history. No small, twenty-year old nation wins a major war against three much larger Western-trained armies in six days, unless God's mighty arm brings His people victory. This has been the case in every battle Israel has faced since 1948. Reports of miraculous interventions are always quickly shared and confirmed.

YHWH is for me, I will not fear; what can man do to me? …It is better to trust [+ put confidence] in YHWH than to trust [+ put confidence] in man. It is better to trust in YHWH than to trust in princes.Psa. 118:6, 8-9

The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever puts his trust [+ confidence] in YHWH shall be safe [lifted up on high; inaccessible]. (Prov. 29:25) This is a major challenge to believers everywhere today – especially in those places where Islam is rising. Do we fear the jihadists, the Islamic fundamentalists, or do we trust in the Lord? For many of us it is both – but we need to feed the trust and starve the fear. After all, He has already conquered death. (Psa. 23:4; Prov. 14:27; Heb. 2:14-15; Rev. 2:10)

We also find an emphasis in the NT to not trust in ourselves, as Messiah says, If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny [+ disown] himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me'. (Luke 9:23) This is why Paul goes on to say that in following his Master, he dies daily. (1 Cor. 15:31)

In 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Yeshua tells Paul, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect [+ complete] in weakness. Paul responds, Therefore with great pleasure I will rather glory [+ boast, rejoice] in my weaknesses [any physical or mental weaknesses – moral weaknesses are not covered here], that the power of Messiah may overshadow me. Therefore I am pleased in weaknesses, in insults, in distresses, in persecutions, in calamities for Messiah's sake; for when I [+ myself ] am weak, then I am strong [+ in Him]. (2 Cor. 12:9-10)

This attitude is the exact opposite of the attitude many of us were raised with – that we must strive to be "successful" in this world. Paul was waiting for that same city as was Father Abraham, the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. (Heb. 11:10)

Chapter 8: Modern Israel Fights the Giant

In looking at the current State of Israel, it is important to see that while the secular world now labels Western nations as "post-Christian", Israel today is still – and I use this term only to make a point – "pre-Christian." The last major move of God's Spirit upon the Jews living in their homeland was recorded in the book of Acts almost 2,000 years ago. However, someone once observed that most Western nations expect Israel to act like the only real Christian nation on earth! Yet the end-time promise of all Israel being saved (Jer. 32:37-43; Ezek. 36:24-27; Zech. 8:8; 12:10 et al) has still not occurred – at least as of this writing.

We see various manifestations of the humanistic spirit in Israel, but God views these sins differently from the same sins and deceptions in nations which claim to be "under God." Experiencing one genuine revival after another does not guarantee a glorious future. Many once "godly" nations have now been corrupted and turned their backs on Him, His Word and His Son.

Yeshua also warned, And that bond-servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. (Luke 12:47-48) He also said to the Pharisees, If you were blind, you would have no sin: but now you say, 'We see', therefore your sin remains. (John 9:41) And He said about them, If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin. But now they have no covering for their sin. (John 15:22)

The Holy Spirit has come to convict the world of "sin" – not just individual sins, but the sin nature itself! His "mission" is to confront unbelievers with the one issue which determines whether their eternal destiny will be with God or forever removed from His presence. And as the verses in the previous paragraph clearly indicate, that issue is: what does one do with a genuine revelation of Messiah Yeshua? When He [the Comforter, the Spirit of Truth, God's Holy Spirit] is come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. Of sin, because they believe [+ trust] not on Me; (John 16:8-9)

Some specific battles

Here are some areas in which the spirit of humanism is mocking the Word of God in Israel today:

Abortion: In Israel the rate of abortions has been dropping compared to most other Western nations. Abortion is based on a lifestyle that says, "I come first. What is most important is me and my happiness, time, job, convenience, etc." Elective abortions, wherever they are legalized, are a sign that "Me" has become more important than the life of someone helpless.

Gay pride parades: These public displays celebrating biblical immorality are held in many of Israel's larger cities, with Tel Aviv calling itself the Gay Capital of the world. The spread of this perversion is part of the end time rebellion against God and His teachings, preaching, Let us tear off God's restraints, and throw off His chains from us. (Psa. 2:3) The unsaved person tends to see God as against human beings, as opposed to recognizing that a Loving Creator really does know what is best for His creation. Give thanks [+ Confess] to YHWH for He is good… (Psa. 118:1a; 136:1a)

Although homosexuality is an abomination – something hateful in God’s sight – yet consider how we do not expect an alcoholic or drug addict to give up their alcohol or drugs and be set free until when or after they are saved. This attitude, with intercession, should also be the Church's approach to the gay community.

Sex before marriage: This is now seen as normal in most Western nations so that many school pupils are taught how to have "safe-sex" because it is expected/accepted that they will "experiment" with it. This view has infiltrated Israel as well, although a strong Orthodox influence has kept it out of the school system. Again, this is a fruit of humanism – "I get to do what I want," without any "old-time" restrictions. Meanwhile, those of us who are saved recognize that it takes all the grace that only God can give to die to self daily – especially in this area. Sex was twisted after the Fall and has become a valuable weapon of the Adversary ever since.

New Age religions and views: The ideas that there are many ways to enlightenment; that Mother Earth needs to be protected at all costs; that man-made climate change will destroy us all; that drugs help us to contact the spirit realm, etc., have all found a place in Western societies, including Israel's.

By rejecting the Creator's operating manual, the Bible, everyone can decide what ultimate truth is for themselves, even if they change their minds with every new viral video. Making truth relative is the most effective weapon skillfully wielded by the Father of Lies, because it allows the undiscerning to think of their personal choices as their inviolable right.

Rabbinic Judaism is part of the problem

Rabbinic Judaism today is, at its core, humanistic, not God-centered, although the God of the Bible is honored in many ways and through the biblical feasts. Of course, Catholicism and all other forms of religion that think that the Prophet or the Rabbi or the Pope has the final say of what the Word of God really means are also humanistic. Most of the Jewish leadership was blinded to Messiah Yeshua according to God's preordained plan (Acts 4:27-28; 13:27-29; Rom. 11:25), specifically so that the gospel would go out to the gentiles. But keep in mind that if it was not for the early Messianic Jews who were obedient, even to the point of death, to take the good news of Israel's Messiah from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, the gospel would not have come to the gentiles.

After the destruction of their Temple in 70 AD, a form of Rabbinic Judaism was developed by the Pharisees that is a precursor of Rabbinic Judaism today. They passed down their unbiblical way of having man-made traditions overturn the commandments of God. (Matt. 15:3; Mark 7:8-9) Following are a few illustrations:

With the destruction of the Temple there was no longer any possibility of offering blood sacrifices according to the Law of Moses. Now, according to today's rabbis, atonement can be attained through good works, repentance, fasting, giving charity and even one's own death. Obviously, they did and still do not have the revelation of Yeshua's blood sacrifice for sins throughout all times for those whom God has called (Eph. 1:3-7). Instead, they substituted their own ideas, and that is why it is humanistic.

Rabbinic Judaism sees eating milk and meat together as breaking God's Law. This mistaken interpretation of what the Scripture really means leads to two sets of dishes, two sinks, an inability to eat with anyone else who is not as kosher as you are – even other Jews, etc. Yet the boiling of a kid in its mother's milk was a demonic Canaanite sacrifice to fertility gods (Ex. 34:26; Deut. 14:21), and God was simply commanding not to mix His worship with the worship of the Ba'alim – "the lords" – that were worshipped by pagans in Canaan.

Rabbinic Judaism says that you cannot be Jewish – or a kosher Jew – if you believe in Jesus. Yet no non-Jewish worshipper of Messiah Yeshua appears in the book of Acts until we get to Chapter 10 when Peter was led by the Spirit to the house of Cornelius. Why can one be a Jewish-atheist, a Jewish-Buddhist, or even belong to a sect know as Jews for Allah, yet a Jew who believes in what Moses and the Prophets said about the coming Anointed One (Acts 26:22), and becomes born-again – is no longer a Jew?¹

Questions from Jewish and Christian Humanists

Both Israelis and Christians ask typical questions coming from a humanistic, as opposed to Bible-centered, foundation:

"What about the poor Palestinians?"

This is often asked in a way that seems as if God does not love them as much as we do. Yet Yeshua died for them as well. Why even think that God's revealed will for Israel to inherit all of the Promised Land is not what is best for the Palestinians also? And since most of them are Muslims, a "Palestine" created on Yahweh's land – which would be seen as a victory for Allah – would be very harmful to any hopes for their salvation as well as harmful to the well-being of its Palestinian Christians.

We pray for the Palestinians to never have a political state on God's land, because we want to see them have an eternal state when they bow the knee to Israel's King Messiah. Ever since 1948, whenever Israel has won a war against Arab/Muslim armies, Muslims come to know Him after they see that Islam's plans have no chance to resist Israel's God as He watches over His Word to do what He has promised. (Isa. 55:11; Jer. 1:12)

"Isn't peace worth a little compromise?"

No! This was tried by British Prime Minister Chamberlain with Adolf Hitler, and we know where that humanistic "peace in our time" got us. The true peace which is needed by everyone on this planet is the peace that only comes from God through Messiah Yeshua (John 16:33). A political "peace-process" is a pact made between human beings. Only if the groups involved have a Judeo-Christian outlook might we see peace for an unknown amount of time.

But real "peace" between Muslims and Jews? All that Allah's followers are permitted to do in regard to peace with "infidels" is to agree to a hudna – which is a cessation of hostilities for a maximum of ten years – and which can be broken sooner once the Muslims gain the strength to defeat their enemy in battle. This means that, since Palestinians are mainly Muslims and live by the Koran, their promises can never be trusted.²

"Why can't we be a nation like any other nation?"

This is the heart cry of the humanistic spirit in Israel today. First, as God said through Balaam, we are not called to be a nation like any other nation. For from the top of the rocks I see him, and from the hills I behold him: behold, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned [+ intertwined; considered] among the nations [+ gentiles]. (Num. 23:9)

In Ezekiel 20:32-33, God emphasizes this and warns Israel against this type of thinking: And that which arises into your spirit shall not be at all, when you say, 'We will be as the gentiles, as the families of the nations, and serve wood and stone'. As I live, says the Lord YHWH, surely with a strong hand, a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you: In these words, God strongly warned Israel to prevent them from worshipping idols. Although wood and stone gods are not an issue in Israel today, a multitude of man-made philosophical idols are still a very real temptation.

This same battle goes on in much of today's Church in the West. The humanistic spirit of the world influences the Church, but the Spirit of God through His Church is supposed to influence the world. We know which one wins in the end, but which one is winning now?

While attracting people to the Lord is good, it is humanistic thinking which causes the Church to use worldly methods. "How can we make our services seeker-friendly? Why should we preach against sin when that just prevents people from hearing the 'Good News' about Jesus? Why should we proclaim a Risen Savior like the early Church did if most people will think we are crazy?"³

By using worldly techniques to attract people to Yeshua – the Church loses sight of the biblical goal of glorifying God in all things. What we need to be doing is asking God what He wants us/our congregations to do to glorify Him, and then we should do whatever He tells us. We will end up being much more effective in provoking people to jealousy this way than if our primary focus is to see people "get saved". After all, God's glory was the supreme goal of Yeshua's incarnation (Luke 2:14), and His willingness to submit to death on a cross. (Phil. 2:8-11) As Yeshua prayed when His soul was agitated about His impending death, 'Father, glorify Your name'. Then a voice came from heaven, saying, 'I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again'. (John 12:28)

"How can war ever be of God – especially the God revealed in the New Testament?"

I hear this question from well-meaning, but ill-informed, believers – whether Israeli or not. Believers who ask this question fail to perceive that the God revealed in the New Testament is as much a God of judgment,⁴ anger/wrath⁵ and war⁶ as the God revealed in the Tanach. If the God you believe in is not the God whom the early Messianic Church and all the authors and characters of the New Testament believed in – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses and King David, the God of all the Hebrew prophets – then you need to read the footnoted verses below.

The God spoken of in the New Testament is the exact same Almighty, Eternal Being who was first revealed in the Tanach. If the New Testament God is the Creator – that is because He is revealed as Creator in the Old Testament – the only Bible Yeshua and the New Testament writers and characters had. If the New Testament God hates sin, it is because He has hated sin from the beginning. If the New Testament God has fulfilled and is fulfilling His prophetic word – of which most are Tanach prophecies, that is because even before the birth of Messiah, God was fulfilling His prophetic word. And if the New Testament God is the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, that is because in the Tanach, God is revealed as a unity of diversity.⁷ And after Messiah's incarnation, God reveals in more detail the majestic divine unity of the Godhead.

Our Savior, our Lord and Redeemer, is both God the Son and the Son of Man. Yeshua, who was born the King of the Jews (Matt. 2:2), lived His life as a Jew, died as King of the Jews (Matt. 27:37; John 19:19), and rose from the dead – still as a Jew. We know that He is still a Jew as all heaven declares Him as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David. (Rev. 5:5) And Messiah Yeshua, in the last chapter of God's Word, calls Himself the Root and the Offspring of David. (Rev. 22:16)

Does this describe the One you believe in – or have you been deceived into looking at some Cosmic Christ who is not linked with history at all? If so, you are in danger of putting your trust in another Jesus, and believing another gospel which is not linked to God's promises to Abraham and Israel – and thus in grave danger of receiving another spirit. (2 Cor. 11:4)

Aliyah and humanistic thinking

Aliyah, the immigration of Jews to Israel from exile, is an idea often clouded over with humanistic thinking by Jews, both unsaved and saved. Many will ask questions, or come up with excuses, that are only focused on them and their needs and forget that the whole calling of Israel and the Jews, including the restoration of Israel at this time, is for God's holy name's sake. (Isa. 43:5-7; Ezek. 36:21-24, 32; Zech. 8:1-8) I often run into questions and excuses like this:

"It isn't safe, and I do not want my children in the IDF."

Israel is quickly turning into the safest place in the world for a Jew to be (Psa. 121:4; Jer. 31:10). Jews are safer here – not totally safe, but safer – than in the rest of the world, and with anti-Semitism's end-time rise, that will become more evident as anti-Semitism/anti-Zionism will expand in line with many last-days prophecies, as the return of Messiah draws nearer (Jer. 16:16; Zech. 12:2-3).

"My parents are still alive."

So bring them home. Wouldn't it be better to have your family living in the land of the Bible than in a foreign land? (Gen. 50:24-25; Psa. 137:4-6)

"My kids are in school, college, Hollywood, whatever!"

Come home and tell your children you will prepare a place for them and the grandkids, because there is coming a day when not one Jew will remain outside the borders of Israel. (Ezek. 39:28-29)

"Better the devil I know than the devil I don't."

Soon the devil you think you know will turn into that end-time anti-Christ spirit with his demonic minions and then you will wish, and even try, to escape to a nation that is committed to the protection of the Jewish people and its heritage – but by then it might be too late. It was too late for the Jews who remained in Europe as the Nazis rose, although there were warning signs and vocal prophetic warnings and dreams as well. And that is only the latest example of Jews choosing to remain in exile – ultimately to their destruction.

"What will I do for a living?"

Good question, but if you are not alive in exile, who cares? Plus today Israel has one of the strongest economies and lowest levels of unemployment in the world.

"I like my big house, big salary, quiet neighborhood, and all my hi-tech gadgets!"

The only answer I have for this sickness is to warn you that it will all disappear – suddenly! (1 Thess. 5:3; Rev. 18:8-10, 17- 19) This warning about Babylon's sudden destruction is an appropriate bridge to the next chapter.

1 Yeshua never told Nicodemus he must become a "born-again Christian"! He did say that one must be "born-again," but many believers have so often joined the word "Christian" to that phrase, that for most Jews it seems that to accept Jesus means they are no longer Jewish, but have become Christian gentiles. But the Word doesn't say this.

2 Taqqyia is the Islamic term which describes how it is perfectly legitimate, even necessary, to lie to your enemy in order to further Allah's cause. How can we trust a people whose god tells them it is at times their holy duty to lie for him?

3 Reading through the book of Acts, I note how often the early Messianic Jews stressed Yeshua's resurrection – while at times not even referring to His crucifixion. This shows me a major missing element in how the good news is declared today. While we struggle with genuine revivals in the West, these early Messianic Jews, by declaring a Risen Messiah, turned the world upside down! (Acts 17:6)

4 Judgment: Luke 11:42; John 9:39; Rom. 1:32; 2:2-5; 2 Thess. 1:5;; 1 Pet. 4:17; Rev. 14:17

5 Anger/wrath: John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; 9:22; Eph. 5:6; Col. 3:6; Rev. 14:10, 19; 15:1, 7; 16:1, 19; 19:15

6 War: Rev. 17:14; 19:15

7 For those who are into the Hebraic roots of our faith, I am talking about the echad of God. The Hebrew word echad refers to a unity in diversity – such as when Moses wrote, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one [echad] flesh. (Gen. 2:24) There is a Hebrew word for an absolute singularity – yachid ­– yet when Moses under the inspiration of God's Spirit declares the Shema in Deuteronomy 6:4, he wrote, Hear, O Israel: YHWH our God, YHWH is one [echad].     

Chapter 9: The Last Babylon

The Book of Revelation reveals the rise of the final spirit of Babylon, when this evil power engulfs much of the world. At the end of this age, Satan's anointed one takes control of the flow of information, and through it, the global economy. (Rev. 13:17) To do that, we most likely are heading towards cashless societies. We see the beginning of some of this today. The beast – the Anti-Christ – comes out of the sea (13:1). In Jewish apocalyptic literature, as in Tanach typology, the sea symbolizes mankind with its instability, dangers and uncertainties.

While I interpret most scriptures literally, some sections of the Bible should not be viewed in that way. At times God uses symbolic language: poetry, metaphors, similes and strange dreams and visions to inform us in ways that words used literally cannot.

It is impossible to interpret the whole Book of Revelation literally. Should we expect the Anti-Christ to be a living zoological beast, appearing as …having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast …was like a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion…? (Rev. 13:1-2)

How could God show people two thousand years ago a future world of drones, robots, artificial intelligence and electronic money? He couldn't; not through their own literal experience and vocabulary, but the human brain is very good at extracting meaning from symbols. It happens when outer reality begins to conform to known symbolic meanings.

Some believers have told me that we must interpret the parts of this book that do make sense literally, in a literal way, while also recognizing the types and symbols used in it. Yet how do we know? We have already seen that the "sea" from which this beast originates is not literal. In fact, calling the Anti-Christ a "beast" is problematic. The Greek diminutive form, therion, can mean a small dangerous animal. But it also has a figurative meaning: "like an untamable creature," as when Paul used it to describe certain people in Titus 1:12 as evil beasts. It cannot always be taken literally. The Greek therion is used to characterize the nature and actions of "the beast" in Revelation as untamable and dangerous.

Should we take the 144,000 virgin Jews in Revelation 7:4 and 14:1-4 as an actual specific number, or is it symbolic? In fact, are they all physical virgins? Or are they spiritually seen as virgins who, after salvation, have guarded themselves exclusively for the Lamb of God whom they are faithfully following? We don't know…yet.

I am wary of being dogmatic concerning specific literal interpretations of Revelation. There may be things in it that will come to pass literally, but I'm cautious because Jewish apocalyptic literature, such as this book, is not meant to be interpreted only literally.

Why will end-time Babylon be destroyed?

To answer this question, let's understand what John was thinking about when he saw these visions on the island of Patmos. As already mentioned, the Book of Revelation is in the genre of Jewish apocalyptic literature which uses symbols, metaphors and describes visions. We see this in the Book of Daniel. Nobody hearing Daniel or reading his book expected four kings to be literal parts of the big statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Dan. 2:37-43), or that Alexander the Great would be an actual horn on a flying goat. (Dan. 8:5) In this type of literature, all the symbols, types, etc., are used to reveal truths that will be understood only as – or after – they come to pass. This is also true with much of John's Revelation.

The author, John, who was seeing this vision, is most likely the Apostle John who had already written to believers to Test the spirits! (1 John 4:1) While on Patmos, receiving these visions, what do you think he did? Would he freely receive what he was seeing, knowing that the spirit of anti-Christ was already prowling around? (1 John 2:18; 4:3; 2 John 1:7) No! He would test the visions; test the spirits, which is what we must do today with everything we perceive in the spirit realm. Please do not just open yourself up to any spirits you have not personally tested. There are many spirits not on King Messiah's side, but that oppose Him and want to deceive His followers (Matt. 24:4-5, 11, 23-25), just as there are many false teachers, preachers and prophets who bring them.

Yet what did John possess with which to test these visions and words? The only things he had which he knew were both true and the truth were the Word of God, the Tanach (John 17:17), along with Yeshua's words that John had personally heard. There may have been some NT letters and even some gospels by others which he read, we just don't know. We do know that he was raised on the Old Testament Scriptures.

What he was sure of, which the NT also affirms, is that the Tanach was still the Word of God even after Yeshua's death, burial, resurrection and ascension. After all, Yeshua referred to the Tanach, saying, The Scripture is not able to be broken [+ destroyed; dissolved] (John 10:35). He also said to the Sadducees, You are in error [+ deceived; seduced; go astray] because you do not know the Scripture [the Tanach] or the power of God (Mark 12:24). Later, Paul tells Timothy, All Scripture [the Tanach in Paul's thinking] is God-breathed (2 Tim. 3:16a).¹ So for John, everything he was seeing and hearing while on Patmos, had to be compared with the truth of the Tanach.²

Six hundred and sixty-six

Now we can know more about this warning the Holy Spirit gives to us about the Anti-Christ: Here is wisdom. Let him that has understanding count the number of the beast, for it is the number of man; and his number is 666. (Rev. 13:18) By looking through the filter of the Tanach, the meaning of the beast's number can be seen in the following way. In Hebraic thinking, when something is said twice, it is not just doubled, to use mathematical terms, but multiplied. For example, when Isaiah 26:3 says, You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed [+ leans, rests] on Me, the Hebrew shalom, shalom is correctly translated perfect peace and not just "peace, peace." Another example is Isaiah 60:12, which paraphrased says, the nation and the kingdom that does not serve you, [Israel, which I am restoring in the last days], will perish, and be, according to the King James, utterly wasted. In a literal Hebrew translation, it is "wasted, wasted."

This understanding of a concept being "exponentially" emphasized when repeated in the Hebrew applies when God reveals His essential nature as "holy". In both the Tanach and in the NT, we are told that God is holy, holy, holy (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8). "Holy" being repeated three times shows us that holiness is the foundational characteristic of our God. Therefore God's love is holy love; God's judgment is holy judgment; God's wrath is holy wrath, etc. Every description of His nature can be understood with "holy" modifying it, showing that it is not just a natural, human trait.³

Therefore, recognizing that the book of Revelation is based on the Hebrew Scriptures – as is the entire NT – look at how the Anti-Christ is described. He is 'man – man – man', or 'six – six – six', as six is the number of 'man'. (Rev. 13:18) He will be the ultimate Humanist – man exalted! He will be the one who will probably say, "You do not need God or His Word! All you need is me. Come; serve me! I am the next step in human evolution. Enter into my safe zone!" (2 Thess. 2:3-4)⁴

Will there be an actual tattoo or brand of 666 imprinted on our right hand or forehead? I do not know, and I do not think that that is what is most important now. What is vital is for us who follow the Lamb to understand that this will be the final and most powerful manifestation of the spirit of humanism occurring before the return of our Lord Yeshua. Even now this spirit permeates our times.

Jeremiah 50-51 and the Babylon in Revelation

When John was receiving this revelation of end-time Babylon in Revelation 14:8 to 18:21, he was saying, Amen and amen because of the two sections in the Tanach upon which this revelation is based. The first is Ezekiel 27, which describes God's judgment against the king of Tyre, in whom many see a type of Satan. But the main section supporting John's vision is Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51 – God's judgment against ancient Babylon, spoken either just before or during the time when Judah was exiled there.

Since most believers are more familiar with the Book of Revelation, I list below verses from Jeremiah to help you see how John's revelation is based on what God had already said in the Tanach.

Jeremiah 51:7-8 and 51:64 says, Babylon has been a golden cup in YHWH's hand that made all the earth drunken: the nations [goyim – also, gentiles] have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations [+ gentiles] are mad [+ boastful, foolish]. Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: wail for her; fetch medicine for her affliction, that she may be healed… And you shall say, in this way shall Babylon sink, and not rise from the evil I, even I [YHWH], will bring upon her. (cp. Rev. 14:8; 18:2)

The Babylonian empire fell in one night. The book of Revelation says that end-time Babylon will be destroyed in one day or one hour. (Rev. 18:8, 10, 17, 19) Whichever it is – and even if this is symbolic –the essence is that when end-time Babylon's time is up it will be destroyed suddenly and completely. A comparison between Revelation chapters 14 through 18 and Jeremiah chapters 50 and 51, shows us that much of the imagery seen by Jeremiah was also seen by John.

I have given only a couple of specific examples because I want to focus on this vital question: Why was historical Babylon destroyed? The answer may surprise you, but it is simply because God said, I will curse those who curse you. (Gen. 12:3; Num. 24:9) Yes, it does center around Israel.

The Israel factor hidden in the book of Revelation

God says in Isaiah 47:1a and 3, Come down [+ fall], and sit in dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon, sit on the ground: there is no throne for you…Your nakedness shall be revealed, your shame [+ disgrace] shall be seen: I will take vengeance, and I will not meet [+ strike; fall upon] you as a man." Israel then declares in Isaiah 47:4, with a voice full of trust and truth: "Our Redeemer, YHWH of hosts is His name, the Holy One of Israel."

God again speaks in Isaiah 47:5-6: Sit silent [Be dumb], go into darkness, daughter of the Chaldeans [Babylon was located in Chaldea], for you shall no more be proclaimed the mistress of kingdoms. I was furious with My people, I profaned My inheritance, and I gave them into your hand. You should have shown them mercy, but you did not; you laid your yoke heavily upon the old people.

While God used Gentile nations to punish His nation Israel, still He wanted those peoples to deal mercifully with His vanquished people.⁵ The Word of God teaches that He judges Israel for its sins and He judges Gentile nations for how they deal with Israel.⁶

How is your nation doing? If it is not dealing with Israel according to God's will, but instead is hindering Israel's God-ordained end-time restoration, then your nation is either facing judgment or, as with many Western nations today, is already experiencing some form of His judgment. Why should this surprise Bible-believers, since God declared in relation to this restoration of His people to His land, For the nation and kingdom that will not serve you [Israel] shall perish; yes, nations shall be utterly wasted. (Isa. 60:12)  Yet you, as a servant of Israel's King, are the one real hope for your nation: God still seeks for someone to stand in the gap for the nations so that He might have mercy in the place of judgment. (Ezek. 22:30-31)

Babylon's destruction as per Jeremiah 50-51

Now look at these verses in Jeremiah 50 and 51 relating to historical Babylon's destruction. My people [Israel] have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray…they have forgotten their resting place. All that found them have devoured them, with their adversaries saying, 'We are not guilty because they have sinned against YHWH, the habitation of justice," that is, in YHWH is where justice/righteousness abides, "even YHWH, the hope of their fathers'." (Jer. 50:6-8)

Israel did sin; that is why they were exiled from the land. But these gentile nations believed that because of God's punishment on Israel, that they would not offend God by persecuting His people. They saw themselves as only helping to complete His righteous judgment.

While the context in Jeremiah is the exile of both Israel and Judah, this same excuse was used by many in the institutional Church over the past 2,000 years to justify how it also related to the Jewish people, saying, "These people did not believe in Christ, so God rejected them! See them destitute, in exile from their promised land! We are now God's people! We will be His instrument to further His righteous judgment against them. After all, they have killed our Lord!" This was the traditional reasoning for anti-Semitism.

This anti-Biblical attitude was sustained by replacement theory, yet it did not take God by surprise. He had already warned that this would happen, declaring what He thought about it: Moreover the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying, Have you considered what this people have spoken, saying, 'The two families [to Jeremiah, this meant Israel and Judah] which YHWH has chosen [+ elected], He has even cast them off [+ abhorred; spurned]?' Thus they have despised [+ scorned; blasphemed] My people, that they should no more be a nation in their sight. Thus says YHWH, 'If My covenant is not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth – then will I cast away [+ abhor; spurn] the seed of Jacob, and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercies⁷ on them'. (Jer. 33:23-26)

When this rejection of the Jewish people began to be enforced with the support of both government and Church authorities, God was extremely displeased, and Christian Europe entered into the Dark Ages.

Jeremiah 50:10-11: The Chaldeans shall be a spoil: all that spoil them shall be satiated, says YHWH, for you were glad, for you rejoiced, you plunderers of My inheritance… Hear what God is saying. It is one thing for a gentile nation to be given the task of being His instrument to judge Israel – but to do it with glee and rejoicing is not the will of Israel's Father. It reminds me of when my earthly father would punish me and tell me that it would hurt him more than me. Of course I thought, "Yeah, right!" Yet when it was my turn to discipline my sons, then I found out that he was telling the truth. It is the same principle with Israel's Heavenly Father. Read the book of Obadiah to see what happened to those ancestors of the Arabs who rejoiced when Israel was being judged. God was absolutely furious with them. (Oba. 1:12-16)

Jeremiah 50:14-15: Put yourself in battle array against Babylon all those around her: bend the bow, shoot at her, spare no arrows, for she has sinned against YHWH. Shout against her round about, for she has given her hand; her foundations have fallen, her walls are destroyed. This is the vengeance of YHWH: vengeance is taken upon her. As she has done, so do unto her.

God repeats this phrase, the vengeance of YHWH, numerous times in these two chapters (50:15, 28; 51:6, 11, 36), twice linking it to the vengeance of His Temple. (50:28; 51:11) Why His vengeance? Because Babylon exiled Israel? No! They were called by God to do just that. It was because of their heart attitude and how they joyously and zealously dealt with His people that led Him to say, "Enough! I'm not going to put up with your boasting against My people any more." And within a very short period of time, 70 years, Israel's exile was over for those wanting to return, and the empire of Babylon was finished.

Am I being Israel-o-centric?

I could show more proof of this in God's Word, but by now some of you might be thinking, "Isn't Chuck being a little Israel-o-centric?" No, I am not a little Israel-o-centric – I am very Israel-o-centric, because I want to be very biblical. Everywhere in the Word, we find that God has made, is making and will continue to make Israel the center of His plans and purposes for salvation and for judgment. This in no way removes the centrality of Israel's Messiah – but actually reinforces it. After all, He does not call Himself the King of America, or Russia or Saudi Arabia or any other nation, except of Israel.⁸ He is the King of the Jews.⁹

For example, Zechariah 2:7-8 reads, Deliver yourself [+ Escape], O Zion, who dwells [or "who settles"] with the daughter of Babylon. Who is the daughter of Babylon? Is it the West today? Is it America? It is all nations which are directed by humanistic principles as opposed to God's principles. And it is not just the West – but almost all nations today! For thus says YHWH of hosts; after the glory has He sent Me unto the nations [+ gentiles] which spoiled [+ plundered] you: for he that touches [+ strikes] you touches [+ strikes] the apple [pupil] of His eye.

Many have interpretated this verse by saying that "touching" Israel in a bad way is like poking God in His eye. While this is correct, think about it this way: How do you view the world? Do you not see it through the pupil of your eye? If Israel is the pupil of God's eye, then God sees the world through the filter of Israel. So God is also Israel-o-centric!

This should be seen as good news for all of you born-again believers from non-Jewish backgrounds because you have been grafted into Israel's olive tree. (Rom. 11:17-24) You have become a part of the commonwealth of the house of Israel (Eph. 2:12-13), and "commonwealth" here in the Greek means you are seen as citizens of God's chosen nation. You were prophesied to be a part of God's nation in the Tanach: you are that stranger who sojourns with the house of Israel¹⁰ where there is one law for both the stranger and the native-born Jew. (Num. 15:15) You can celebrate Passover (Ex. 12:47-49; Num. 9:14) and have your sins covered by Israel's High Priest – Messiah Yeshua. (Lev. 16:29-30)

Gentile members of the Body of Messiah today were foreshadowed by all the gentiles who came under the wings of the God of Israel, gentiles whose names are very familiar to us: Jethro, Moses' father-in-law; Rehab, Jericho's harlot; Ruth the Moabitess; Uriah the Hittite; Na'aman the Syrian general, and many other Tanach heroes and characters.¹¹

Isaiah 34 and the last days

Isaiah 34 is one of the most frightening passages in all of Scripture. I believe we are seeing the beginnings of this come to pass today.

Come near, you nations [+ gentiles], and hear; hearken, you people. Let the earth hear, and all that is in it; the world, and all that comes out from it. For the indignation [+ rage; ire] of YHWH is on all nations, His fury upon their armies. He has utterly destroyed them [from the Heb. cherem = totally devoted to destruction; accursed]; He has delivered them to the slaughter. Their slain also shall be cast out, their stench shall come up out of their carcasses, and the mountains shall melt with their blood. All the host of heaven [that is, celestial objects] shall be dissolved, the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and their entire host shall fall down, as the leaf falls from a vine, as a falling fig from the fig tree.

He continues, For My sword shall be satiated in heaven. Behold, it shall come down upon Edom, on the people of My curse [cherem], for judgment. [Edom is a spiritual root of Islam.¹²] The sword of YHWH is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, with the blood of lambs and goats; with the fat of the kidneys of rams, for YHWH has a sacrifice in Bozrah [a town in Edom], and a great slaughter in the land of Edom. And the beasts shall come down with them, the young bulls and the valiant men, and their land shall be soaked with blood, and their ground made fat with fatness.

God then explains His fury. For it isthe day[+time]of YHWH's vengeance, the year of His recompense[+payback] for the controversy [the strife, dispute and contention]over Zion.

I believe God is even now dealing with nations concerning His controversy over Zion. I fully suspect that in the near future we will see all nations who – in arrogant humanistic pride – come against God's plan for His nation Israel, and His city Jerusalem; so that the nearer we get to the return of the Lord, they will be judged ever more swiftly and harshly.

Messiah's Body must plead for alertness to what is happening, along with a commitment to watch and pray. (1 Chr. 12:32; Mark 13:33; Luke 21:36) That is how you prepare so you will be able to recognize when God is judging your nation in line with how your nation "touches" Israel. (Num. 24:9; Joel 3:1-2)

America – a current example of His judgment

Ever since the ex-Hollywood actor and California State governor Ronald Reagan left office, American Presidents have openly pushed to divide God's land with the goal of creating in it a Palestinian, Islamic, Judenrein state. During this time, the US has gone ever deeper into darkness. Today, its Supreme Court says that marriage can no longer be defined as just between a man and a woman. There is increasing violence and crime in its streets, and a discernable increase of anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic attacks.

And when homosexuality becomes mainstream, it is not time to say, "Oh-oh, God is really going to judge us for this!" Instead, it is time to line up our thinking with Paul and say, "Oh no! Another sign that God is judging us!" Romans chapter one says that one of the signs that God is judging a nation is when He gives its people over to the lusts of their depraved minds (Rom. 1:24); He gives them up to what Paul labels as their debased, vile lusts – and Paul uses lesbianism and male homosexuality as the example. (Rom. 1:26-27) God also delivers them over to a reprobate, that is, a worthless mind. (Rom. 1:28) Therefore, seeing homosexuality decriminalized, honored and accepted is one sign of His judgment already upon a society.

God is now judging America and most of the other Western nations. Specifically, the United States is reaping what their leaders have sown. Trying to divide God's land has led to America becomng the Divided States. Maybe President Donald Trump can hold this final division back for a while. But even if he can, it will only be like some of the good kings in Israel, who held back God's judgment for a season – yet eventually His heavy hand fell on His people. I hope I'm wrong, and I am praying for God to have mercy, since that is what He is looking for – an intercessor who sees the connection between the dividing of His land and His judgment of their nation. (Ezek. 22:30-31; Joel 3:1-2)

Do not confuse the fruit with the root of His judgment

Believers especially need to be very careful not to confuse the fruit of God's judgment with the root. According to the Scriptures, the root, or cause, of His judgment on gentile nations does not make human sense, since it is based on Him looking at these nations and in essence saying, "What you do with My people will determine what I do with you. I will curse those who curse My people and I bless those who bless them." (Gen. 12:3; Num. 24:9b)

All that invades, or infects or comes out of societies and leads nations away from being biblically based to being humanistic and being blown about by every new wind of teaching in line with the prevailing mindset of the day – all of that is a fruit, or result, of God's judgment.¹³

In Great Britain, also known as the United Kingdom, many believers understand this, since their nation is no longer great nor united today. In historic terms that greatest of all historical empires collapsed basically "in an hour," and it all started when they divided God's land, which was unfortunately done under the Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill in 1921-1922. This was quickly followed by appeasement – not only to Hitler – but even before that, to Arab terrorists in what was then called Palestine, resulting in Britain eventually all but closing the gates of that land to its God-ordained owners, and leaving millions of them to be swept up in a Nazi-inspired death spiral.

Today Britain has lost much in terms of global influence, and is struggling to decide whether to be part of the EU or be soveriegn, and whose recent Prime Ministers have had very little influence in world affairs, or even British affairs! God's judgment has been, and continues to be, openly shown for all who have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Also, look at all the Arab nations who have tried to anniliate Israel since 1948. The so-called Arab Spring – which the leadership of Intercessors for Israel immediately recognized as leading to an "Islamic Winter", has left them killing each other in horrific ways and in mind-numbing numbers with no end in sight. Do you know that in the whole seventy years of wars Israel was forced into by Arab nations since its 1948 independence, it has killed fewer Arabs than the number of Syrians who have been killed by other Syrians every year in their recent civil war? This is fruit from the root.

Seeing through a biblical filter

Brothers and sisters, we must see things using the Bible as our filter, our worldview, and this means that issues concerning Israel's restoration and salvation need to be seen as the very center of what God is doing today. After all, the only time in all of the Word when our God says that He will do something with all of His heart and His soul is found in Jeremiah 32:41-42: Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant [= establish] them in this land assuredly [lit: "in truth"] with My whole heart and with My whole soul. For thus says YHWH, Just like I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised [+ declared] to them.

Ultimately, God's plan is not about Israel the nation, but about the King of Israel and His return – the One who, at His physical reentry into world history, is confessed to be King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (Rev. 19:16) But all prophecies concerning His return center on this land and this nation.¹⁴ Yeshua could have been born to an American or British or Chinese or Arab mother. He wasn't. He was born to a Jewish mother in fulfillment of prophecy (Isa. 7:14; 9:6-7), and had a Jewish step-father. To put it in non-politically correct terms – Yeshua was an Israeli, born in Bethlehem, the city of King David. So for those in the Church who want to boycott all Israeli products, they might start with the Savior and His Word – because most of the Bible is also a "Made-in-Israel" product!

Israel geographically and historically is the center of the world's relationship with God. This is where God started the process of bringing back to Himself a remnant from all nations, when he brought Abraham to this land. The city of Jerusalem is the God-ordained place where He worked out His salvation for the world; the one city in which Yeshua purchased, paid for, and sealed that salvation, and to where He's coming back to rule this world in mercy, righteousness and justice. This is where you, His children, belong, in your heart and in your thinking, since you are a part of what God is doing here for His holy Name's sake. (Ezek. 36:21-24)

The first gospel outreach originated from the land of Israel, and from Jerusalem it reached the ends of the earth. Today we are witnessing its return to the city of its birth. Being Israel-o-centric does not mean that we do not help and pray for missionaries in places outside of this nation, nor does it mean that Israel replaces Messiah Yeshua as the center and circumference of our faith. What it does mean is that when we see the news, and we keep our eye on what God is doing today, we constantly link that to the apple of His eye (Zech. 2:8), realigning our thinking with God's thinking in His Word – and not man's. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says YHWH. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. (Isa. 55:8-9)

1 In 2 Tim. 3:15, the Holy Spirit writing through Paul calls the Tanach, the Holy Scriptures. Is that the way you see the Old Testament? If not, why not?

2 While I believe in progressive revelation – that some biblical issues became clearer as history marched forward during Bible times – yet there is nothing that the NT reveals which does away with what has been said in the Tanach. While the NT shows that Yeshua fulfilled the whole Levitical priesthood and sacrificial system, and fulfilled all of the prophecies about Messiah's first coming, yet that does not make these "shadows" less real. This is why Replacement theory is demonic and deceptive because it rejects so much of the truth revealed in the only Bible that Yeshua and the early Church held dear.

3 "Holy" in Hebrew is qadosh. Its basic meaning is "sacred, set apart, ." In Greek, "holy" is hagios, which adds to that qadosh meaning the ideas of pure, morally or religiously blameless, consecrated. Both can also describe a "saint."

4 Daniel 11:37 describes the Anti-Christ as one who not only rejects the God of his fathers, but also the desire of women, as he magnifies himself above all else. Could rejecting the desire of women mean that this world-wide "savior" will be gay? While this would have seemed ludicrous mere decades ago, it is perfectly reasonable to consider it in today's world. And who would dare to speak up against a gay hero?

5 This matches what Yeshua said about judging. Some people think He said, "Do not judge." Yet once more, context is so important. What Yeshua said was that you will be judged according to how you judge. (Matt. 7:1-2) So if I judge with mercy, I will be judged with mercy. The Babylonians did not deal in mercy with Israel, therefore when it was their turn to be judged – God showed them no mercy either.

6 To read an in-depth biblical study on this doctrine, click here. My wife and I came up with more than forty times when God specifically states He will deal with this or that nation based on how they deal with Israel.

7 The Hebrew word here for "mercy" is rachamim. It is always plural in the Tanach. It comes from the root rechem, which is a mother's womb. There is another Hebrew word often translated mercy/mercies/lovingkindness, etc. which is chesed. That is better translated as "covenant-love" as it relates to God's stubborn love toward Israel – and us – based on His commitment to His covenant promises. See Philippians 1:6 for Paul's way of describing this concept.

8 Psa. 149:2; Isa. 43:15; 44:6; Zeph. 3:15; Mark 15:32; John 1:49; 12:13

9 Matt. 2:2; 27:11; Mark 15:26; John 19:19

10 Two Hebrew words are not translated consistently in the Tanach, leading to much confusion as to how we are to deal with the "stranger" and "alien" in the land. The ger is a non-Jew who comes under the wings of the God of Israel and is counted among His people. (Ex. 18:10-12; Ruth 2:12) But the zar is a pagan, a heathen who worships and sacrifices to false gods. They are to be driven out from God's land. (Psa. 10:16) To see a more complete study of this, read our book Homecoming, available on Amazon, or from Sovereign World Ltd., in the UK, where we explore this issue in depth.

11 But please note – this does not make you Jewish.

12 If we read what Edom/Esau/Mt. Seir says about Israel in Ezekiel 35, and compare it to Islam's views of the Jews, the spiritual root is exposed. 35:5 – They have an eternal hatred against Israel and have ambushed the sons of Israel by the sword, which can be seen as suicide attacks shredding today's Israelis in the streets. Also this is done as Israel is being restored, because this verse says Israel's iniquities are coming to an end. (Jer. 50:20; 51:5) Verse 35:6 mentions that these people love blood – which is the violent death of people. Islamic terror groups surrounding Israel have said exactly this: that since Israelis love life and they love death, they will win. In 35:10, Edom claims the land of Israel as its own – yet as this is God's land, and He has never relinquished ownership, He hears these threats as blasphemies, as boasting against God Himself. (35:12-13) All this is a true picture of how the spirit of Islam views the modern state of Israel and the Jews. I believe God hears as blasphemy when any nation today dares call His land illegally "occupied"!

13 See "Why God Judges the Nations," by Chuck & Karen Cohen, 

14 Psa. 102:16; Joel 3:16-17; Zech. 14:3-4, 9, 16; Acts 1:11, etc.

Chapter 10: Chanukah: the Sons of Zion vs. the Sons of Greece

While Chanukah, or Hanukah, or various other ways of spelling it – is not mentioned in the Tanach, it does appear in the NT. The Feast of Dedication [Chanukah] took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter. And Yeshua walked in the temple in Solomon's Colonnade. Then the Jews encircled Him and said, 'How long will you make us doubt [+ keep our souls in suspense]? If you are the Messiah, tell us openly'. (John 10:22-24) Yeshua then told them that He was the Great Shepherd, the context being that the heroes of Chanukah – the Maccabees – were viewed as great shepherds of Israel who saved the nation from assimilation to Hellenism/humanism about 165 years before Messiah was born.

What is Chanukah all about?

The story of Chanukah is found in the Apocryphal books of the Maccabees. The Apocrypha were compiled between the time of the return from Babylon until the time of Yeshua's incarnation. They are not seen as part of the canon of the Holy Scriptures by either the Jews or Protestants, although they are found in Catholic versions of the Bible as historical accounts.

The background to Chanukah contains events which occurred shortly after the death of Alexander the Great. Israel is strategically placed geographically as a land link between three continents – with Europe to the northwest, Africa to the southwest and Asia to the east. So in biblical times and for centuries after, anyone wanting to travel by land to or from Africa and one of these other continents would likely travel on one of the two major roads, one along the Mediterranean coast, and the other on the east side of the Jordan Valley, thus going either through, or close to, God's land.

Alexander conquered much of what is now the Middle East, and even as far as India. But he died at the age of 33 in the city of Babylon. His kingdom was then divided between four of his generals, one of whom was Antiochus IV Epiphanes, which means "Divinely Manifest," but he was called by those who knew him "Antiochus Epimanes", the "Mad One". He was a missionary, not of the good news, but of Hellenism, the Greek man-centered worldview and culture. He also became an archetype of the end-of-days Anti-Christ.

Antiochus wanted to create a 'new world order" through forcing all peoples and cultures to assimilate into Greek thinking and culture – which in those days was the epitome of Western civilization. Yet Hellenism was and is humanistic, and many even see Hellenism as having birthed humanism. While humanism is the most ancient of "isms", it is certainly true that Alexander and Antiochus were extremely influential promoters of later Hellenistic humanism.

Besides worshipping local gods, all peoples under Antiochus' control had to worship the Greek gods as well. Even a slight familiarity with the Greek pantheon of gods demonstrates perfectly how man – separated from the One True God – makes gods in his own likeness.

To the faithful remnant in Israel, Antiochus' demands were blasphemous. He forbid the circumcising of sons, and demanded an end to reading the Torah. This is when the reading of the prophetic portions that relate to the Torah portions was introduced among faithful Jews. But the real threat to God's people was internal. Many of the Jews were willing – even desirous – of assimilating and becoming a nation like all the other nations. Being assimilated by an anti-God culture is still a major problem in both Israel and the Church today.

One of Antiochus' generals went to Modi'im, a city between Jerusalem and the Mediterranean Sea, gathered the villagers together, and demanded that they sacrifice a pig on an altar to a Greek god. If they refused, he would kill all the men. An old Jew, not wanting to see that happen, was willing to submit to his demand. But Mattathias, a Jewish priest, enraged by the demand and by the old man's appeasement, killed the old Jew, then he and others killed the Greek general and his entire contingent. It is recorded that Mattathias then said, like Moses of old, Whoever is on YHWH's side, come to me! (Ex. 32:26) Many did, including his sons, and they fled to the mountains and waged one of the first guerilla wars in recorded history.

Antiochus had already defiled the Temple in Jerusalem, sacrificing a pig on its altar to his Greek gods. Yet despite the odds, by 165 BC the Temple was recaptured, and cleansed. The story of the seven branched menorah in the temple and the holy oil which was sufficient for only one day – yet lasted eight days until new oil was sanctified – first appears late in Jewish literature and is not in the books of Maccabees. Yet whether it actually happened or not is secondary, as the essence of what Jews celebrate is that even though the war lasted another three years, with the Temple rededicated, the Jewish people were once again free to worship God in His ordained manner.

Zechariah prophesied about this war, the victory and the essential battle, saying in 9:13: For I have bent Judah for me as a bow; I filled it with Ephraim, and I will stir up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and make you [the sons of Zion] as the sword of a mighty man.

Israel is God's special treasured possession

The Chanukah war was about Israel's calling as God's segullah – His special treasured possession. The Almighty God had sovereignly decided out of all the peoples He created, to make Israel His very own people. He consulted with neither man, nor angels. Born-again believers are also His special treasured possession for the exact same reason. He chose us. (John 15:16; Eph. 1:3-5, 9-11) So, if you are a gentile and have an issue with Israel as His chosen people, you are cutting out the spiritual and biblical foundation for your being a part of His chosen people. (Eph. 2:11-13; 1 Pet. 2:9)

…YHWH called to [Moses] out of the mountain, saying, 'Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob, and declare to the sons of Israel: You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now if you will truly obey My voice, and keep [+ guard] My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure [segullah] to Me from all the nations; for all the earth is Mine. You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation'.Ex. 19:3-6a

Balaam, the prophet for profit, said, How shall I curse whom God has not cursed? Or how shall I defy [+ denounce] whom YHWH has not defied [+ denounced]? …Behold, the people shall dwell alone, and not be counted [+ reckoned; regarded] among the nations. (Num. 23:8-9)

And that which arises in your spirit shall not happen when you say, 'We will be like the gentiles, like the families of the nations who serve wood and stone'. As I live, says Lord YHWH, surely with a mighty hand, with a stretched out arm, and with fury poured out, I will reign over you.Ezek. 20:32-33

A proper biblical perspective eliminates the tendency of some Christian Zionists to "worship" Israel or the Jews, or to convert. God did not choose Israel because it was special; Israel is now special only because of His choosing. Neither were you special before God chose you. (If you don't believe me – ask your spouse!) But you are now God's special treasured possession because He has sovereignly decided to choose you. But you are a chosen [+elect] generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people [that is, "purchased," the basic meaning of segullah – God's own possession]; that you should declare [+ publish; celebrate] the praises [+ virtues; excellences] of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light: (1 Pet. 2:9)

The real warfare

What occurred during the time of Antiochus is being repeated today in both Israel and the Church. The real warfare then was internal – against the Hellenistic Jews who wanted to assimilate and be a nation like all the other nations! And the same applies today as many Israelis, as well as many Jews in exile, just want to be left alone – to be treated like any other people group, to not be seen as special. And while that sounds right and good, especially in the face of the intense increase in anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism in the world – that is not what God wants from His segullah.

So let's look once more at some areas in which Hellenism – that is, humanism – departs from biblical thinking. While not all humanistic thinking is wrong, biblical and humanistic worldviews often conflict, resulting in confusion of mind and attitude, and hinders us from living in agreement with God's Word. Humanism deceives us into thinking its worldview is right in God's sight, yet when compared with God's true, biblically revealed point of view, humanism is revealed as a worldview that opposes His will.

Some of the areas of conflict below include how to interpret Scriptures, our view of God, of ourselves, and of the world. Recognizing that some of what follows has already been touched upon in previous chapters, let's just briefly explore some of these conflicts.

Humanistic vs. biblical worldviews in conflict

The humanistic Greek-thinking approach:

• Conflicting with the Bible, it places man and his senses at the center of our reality. This means we do not need a Creator, because we create our own realities, our own morals and our own gods!
• It has become the dominant way of thinking in the West today, especially among leftists and liberals and has made deep inroads into the world of academia and media – both of which flood society with anti-God, anti-Biblical humanistic thinking.
• Since it is man-centered, it tries to make reality fit into a logical framework which man's mind can understand, with the goal being to control our destinies. Of course, God constantly breaks into this, revealing all sorts of scientific discoveries that do not easily fit into our logic-box, like quantum science, or the incredible intricacies of the mind, or revealing "irreducible complexity," which threatens the theory of evolution, etc. And science will continue to discover truths that will challenge our man-centered point of view and change how we see the universe.

The Biblical/revelation Hebrew-thinking approach:

• Places God at the center of everything, seeing Him as the Creator who exists outside of the universe's space-time continuum, who can break into space-time to reveal truth – whether about Himself, the spirit world, the natural and man-made world or what is in the human soul.
• This worldview is based on the revealed truths God has given to us in His Word.
• Although at times biblical truths do not appear 'logical' to us, yet because God has revealed them, they are part of that solid rock upon which we can confidently base our lives.

Humanistic vs. Hebraic worldviews in the Church & Israel

We have already discovered how humanism infected mankind in the Garden of Eden. Now let's look at a few examples of how this anti-God spirit has also infected the Body of Messiah.

Who sets the standards – God or man?

In Hebraic thought, ethics and morality are God-given, but a Greek mindset is man-centered, in which man¹ is his own 'god', or man creates 'gods' in his own likeness. Humanistic human beings determine what is right or wrong for themselves, which supposedly can change as humanity 'matures', or 'evolves'. Things that are acceptable today were grievous sins to our forefathers who were raised with God's laws as a standard. Sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, abortion/infanticide – these were acceptable practices in ancient Greek culture!

The Bible reveals an unseen God Who loves us and wants us to trust Him completely – both now and forever. This takes a God-given faith to grasp hold of and believe in. It is not a logical conclusion from studying the world around us, nor even from hearing the truths that 'God is love', or 'just' or 'righteous', or 'merciful', etc. All these attributes of God we cannot fully appreciate if we only look at what is happening in our lives, in the news, in our governments, or in the world.

Yet, all of these are true and the truth if we understand that He is essentially holy. His holiness indicates not only His purity but also His total otherness from His creation. We need to see His attributes in a new light, the one He gives His children. His love is holy love and not Hollywood love; His mercy is holy mercy and not man's mercy; His justice is holy justice and based on what He sees as right and what He says is wrong. All His attributes are founded on His essential attribute of holiness. The human mind cannot grasp it and that is why He sent us His Word and His Spirit which declare in both the Tanach and the NT that He is Holy, holy, holy. (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8)

Humanism, as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:13-15), has gained a position of influence in the Body of Messiah today through the ultra-faith, "name it and claim it" movement which is based on our having "enough faith." It sees such "faith" as an attribute, but in the Greek "faith" is a verb form naming an action, not an attribute. In many English translations, "have faith", translates a Greek action noun, "believing/trusting". We are to trust in God our Father and his Son Yeshua, and not in ourselves and the amount of our "faith."

Another heretical offshoot of humanism is the man-centered teaching of Dominion Theology/Kingdom Now movement which seeks to take the world for Christ and then invite Him back to rule and reign.

One of the most dangerous and long-lasting heresies is Replacement theory. Over much of the last two-thousand years it has tried to erase the truth of God's sovereign choice of Israel, and in doing so it questions His foreknowledge, His covenants and promises, as well as His use of the word "forever!"

The Bible is a record of God's inerrant Word translated from the original languages. It is both true and the best source for all His previously revealed truths.(John 17:17) Yet to humanistic thinking, the Bible is only inspired (if even that) like Plato, Aristotle, and Shakespeare were inspired. Also, in Rabbinic Judaism the Talmud, ancient man-made commentaries on the Tanach – takes precedence over what the Tanach actually says.

We see humanism subverting theology and much Christian counseling. In the Body, do we believe a humanistic gospel about our condition, or the biblical view? Most mainstream liberal Christianity consistently replaces God's wisdom with the human variety.

An example is a sermon or article implying that the Lord Yeshua did not know how to count! When asked which was the great commandment (Matt. 22:36), Yeshua said it is to love the Lord your God with all that is within you (22:37-38), and the second is like it – to love your neighbor as yourself. (22:39) He added that upon these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets – that is, all of the Tanach. (22:40) Yet we hear and read messages exhorting us how we must love ourselves first, before we can properly love God and our neighbor. After all, it is said, if you do not love yourself first, how can you love God, or your neighbor, or your cat, or whatever?

So are there two or three great commandments? Must we love ourselves first before we can love God and our neighbors the way we are meant to? The Bible does not say this! Welcome to the "me-first" humanistic view of our wicked hearts (Jer. 17:9). What Yeshua was actually teaching is that we need to love our neighbors as we already love ourselves. Paul agrees with this, writing that there has never been a person who did not love themselves. (Eph. 5:28-29)²

Our problem, brothers and sisters, is that we love ourselves too much. Yeshua knew this and therefore He said that to be His disciple, we must pick up our cross daily and die to self (Luke 9:23); to hate even our own lives (Luke 14:26) – which means to give Him total preference in all things. Paul also affirms that he dies daily. (1 Cor. 15:31)

Another "psychobabble" humanistic invasion of the Church, one which directly opposes God's Word, says we cannot do what God commands because we don't feel like doing it. Emotions have become a huge stumbling block for the Church. Emotions are part of the involuntary control system in the body – like breathing and blood flow. Emotions happen! So try this: the next time you feel terrible about yourself and wish you could feel better, get out and do what you know is God's will – purposely choosing to do it anyway – and you will see that a fruit of your obedience is that you will feel better about yourself, although that should not become the main reason for doing His will!

In Israel, and in Judaism worldwide, most Jews have never read the complete Tanach.³ They submit to what the rabbis say as though it is the wisdom of God Himself, yet so much of what Rabbinic Judaism teaches is humanistic.

The physical world matters to God

He wants us to sanctify His name on earth: Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth… (Matt. 6:10; Luke 11:2) 'But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,' He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, Arise…'." (Luke 5:24) "Yet when the Son of Man comes, shall He find faith on the earth? (Luke 18:8)

Recall what Yeshua said to His Father just before His death, I have glorified You on the earth: I have completed the work which You gave Me to do. (John 17:4) And after creation was completed, God declared that what He had made, including the physical earth, was very good. (Gen. 1:31)

But in Greek philosophy, the world is evil, and we need to be set free from its restraints: all that is of the flesh or earthly is bad; the spiritual and all that is in its realm is good! This causes a disconnect between how lives are lived on earth and what a Greek thinking mindset considers important. God wants us to walk out a unified life that loves and worships Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. (Mark 12:30; cp. 1 Thess. 5:23) But according to mainstream Greek philosophy, as long as we work on our soul, the rest really does not matter.

In many areas, this thinking took over the Body of Messiah, especially as the Church moved further away from its Hebraic Tanach roots. The fruit of this emphasis historically can be seen in celibacy and monasticism and in the widening gulf between clergy and laity. All this and more led to the Dark and Middle Ages with their absolute divide between the sacred and the secular in their Christian lifestyle. This still plagues Yeshua's Body today, resulting in good shepherds having to remind their flocks to live Monday through Saturday like they live on Sunday.

This is much less a problem in Israel. In fact, Israelis can go overboard towards what is called "the sanctification of the world." One example, which is a good thing, if not taken to extremes, is that Israel is one of the "greenest" countries in the world. For example, Israel recycles about 80% of its water, with the next closest nation being the Netherlands, which manages somewhat less than 20%! Also, Rabbinic Judaism has blessings for everything – from seeing a sunrise, or a beautiful woman, to being able to do one's daily toilet routine. The rabbis want to see the Jews sanctify all of life to God and while this is an excellent goal, it obviously opens the door for "works" extremism and self-righteousness.

Scripture views our bodies the same as it views this world

The 'flesh' which the NT tells us to war against, is not our physical bodies which God declared as part of that "very good" creation. This NT "flesh" is referring to our inherited sin nature which even after salvation dwells in us, tempting our bodies and minds and souls to serve self and not God. We can see that this is not referring to our physical bodies since Paul encourages us to present our bodies, our physical and mental lives, as a living sacrifice to God (Rom. 12:1), which is our "reasonable service" or "worship."

In the Body, we see the same type of philosophical mistakes in crucifying the flesh – but, again, focusing on the wrong "flesh," as in the previous paragraph. Some fruits of this in history have been monastic separation and flagellation, celibacy, dressing only in black, not dancing, etc. In the past it has gone so far that many try to prove that the Bible is totally against any consumption of alcohol. While the Scriptures are clear about the dangers of drunkenness – they never prescribe complete abstinence.⁴

In Israel the flesh is too often on display in many areas. The only solution is salvation through Israel's King Messiah, Yeshua.

Dualism is not found in the Scriptures

God is God and is not in competition with, or threatened by, any other spiritual being. Yet in Greek mythology, where gods are molded according to human nature, there are battles and intrigues between them constantly. Satan was created by God and did not become a god when he rebelled. In fact, a case has been made that the Adversary – which is what "Satan" means in Hebrew – is often one of God's most effective instruments to train His children. Remember, it was not Satan who challenged God with Job. It was God who pointed out His faithful servant Job to Satan. (Job 1:8) He most likely does that with us as well, giving the enemy permission to test us – knowing that by His grace we will come through, more mature in the faith and better able to glorify Him because of it. Yeshua being full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being forty days tempted by the devil…And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Him for a season. And Yeshua returned in the power [Gk. dunamis – miraculous, mighty power] of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame [+ report] of Him throughout the entire region. (Luke 4:1-2a, 13-14)

Yet in the Body of Messiah, especially in the West, we have come up with this idea that there is a battle over souls between God and the devil. This is unbiblical. Whom God battles with over our souls – is us! Although Satan always takes our fallen nature's side against God, still we are God's greatest "opponents" in this world – not the devil. Also, while in the KJV and some other versions, Satan is called the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), he is not; that word "world" actually means "age." But even if it did mean world, how can we believe just that one verse when compared to the vast witness of the Bible that "God reigns" on earth and in the heavens!⁵

One verse that people use to back this demonically inspired misunderstanding of Scripture concerning Satan's limited rule on earth is that the devil tempted Yeshua, saying all the kingdoms of this world had been given to him and he could give them to whomever he wanted. (Matt. 4:8-9; Luke 4:5-6) Weigh that against Yeshua, who is the living embodiment of Truth, exposing the devil as a liar and the father of lies, who has no truth in him. (John 8:44b) Who are we to believe? Yeshua, who is the Truth, or Satan who has no truth in him? Satan does not have control over the kingdoms of this world. That was just another lie to see if the Son of Man would be tempted to worship him. Many verses in both the Tanach and the NT witness to the opposite of what Satan deceptively suggested to our Messiah. (Psa. 33:10-11; Prov. 21:1; Dan. 2:21; 4:25b, 34-35; 5:21b; Rev. 17:17)

This distortion of who is in charge is not much of a problem in Israel as even "secular" Israelis see and talk about the hand of God in all sorts of situations – from wars, to accidents, to healings, etc.

Man is born with an inherited sin nature which distorts his God likeness (Gen. 5:3; Rom. 5:12)

Man is able to make godly choices. (Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15) His inherited sin nature shows us that it is not what man does which is the problem, but what man is. His fallen nature separates him from his Creator (Isa. 59:1-2), and so the only solution is that all must be born again, born from above. (John 3:3-7) Contrary to this, in humanist thought, man is basically good, and though he often chooses evil, this can be re-educated or psychoanalyzed out of him. But since this plan is not working very well, the Devil is moving on to Plan B – and simply changing the definition of evil! (Isa. 5:20-23)

Humanist thinking has invaded the Body as seen in the sermons which tell us to love ourselves, and which aim at building up our self-esteem. We also tend to create priorities according to our limited, distorted understandings, and sometimes they do not line up with biblical priorities. For example, one can hear in many American churches that a believer's priorities are God first, family second, and ministry last. That is just humanistic hogwash; biblically our priorities are God first, God second and God last! Sometimes He specifically wants you to put your ministry even before your family. He that loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me: and he that loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. (Matt. 10:37) At other times, family comes before ministry. How do we know? We listen to the voice of our Shepherd in each situation and are willing to obey His will before we know what that will is. (John 7:17; 10:27)

In Israel, Rabbinic Judaism sees man as basically good, but needing correct training. This is one reason why education is looked upon so highly among Jews. Many rabbis say that the study of the Torah is the highest form of worship man gives to God. After all, the more educated one is, the less likely that person will act in an ungodly fashion. Yet still, in the midst of all their humanistic arguments, you can hear some rabbis say that without God's grace and mercy we are not able to do that which is pleasing in His sight.

Although the NT says faith without works is dead (James 2:17-26), most Christians focus on the faith aspect, while most Jews focus on the works aspect. But true faith, real trust in the Lord, produces fruit. We are not saved by our works, but by grace through faith we do the works which God has ordained for us from before the world's creation. (Eph. 2:8-10)

It is amazing that in the midst of all the Jewish world's concentration on works, the national symbol of Israel is the Menorah, that lampstand commanded by God to be placed in the Holy Place in both the Tabernacle in the wilderness and in the Temple in Jerusalem. The scriptural quote that is written on Israel's national symbol is, Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says YHWH of hosts (Zech. 4:6b), which Spirit in Zechariah's context is symbolized by God's Menorah. In the depths of the Jewish heart God has already placed His truth that salvation is a sovereign work of grace, as the very next verse in Zechariah talks about just that: grace, grace.

In Hebraic thinking, one learns in order to worship, serve and draw closer to God

Knowing God better aids us to do what is right in His sight, and since James says faith without works is not biblical faith (Jam. 2:17, 20, 26), we need to have that type of knowledge. Also, wisdom and the fear of God go hand in hand. (Job 28:28; Psa. 111:10; Prov. 1:7; 9:10) We need to know how to live a life pleasing to our heavenly Father. We are shown God's will in His Word with the aim being to submit to His authority, and to have a radical obedience to a higher will outside of our own. He has shown [+ revealed, announced] to you, O man [+ human], what is good; and what YHWH requires [+ demands] of you – to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk [+ live] humbly with your God. (Mic. 6:8)

Meanwhile, the world learns to acquire knowledge for power and to feed man's pride. Often, it is an abstract knowledge, which is not wrong on the right foundation, but usually it is not tied to holy living at all.

In the Body, too many theologies, theologians and seminaries focus only on the learning and not the living aspect of our faith. That is part of the problem. Their goal in all their learning is to gain knowledge about God and His Word, but gaining that should be for the purpose of drawing closer to Him and allowing Him to be openly seen as glorified, as extremely influential, in and through their lives. (Psa. 115:1-3; Luke 7:16; John 12:28; 17:4; Acts 13:48; 2 Thess. 3:1; 1 Pet. 4:11)

In many churches, people want to hear an entertaining or interesting seminar on "Ten ways to make your life better" or "Five ways to defeat the devil," etc. (2 Tim. 4:1-4) Clear messages on repentance and forgiveness and holy living – or on Israel's place in God's plans – are often absent in many congregations. The form of apostate Christianity ensconced in the West today is all about me, my and mine and worshipping because it makes me feel better. So we end up tithing mint, anise and cumin, yet we forget – or worse, reject – the weightier matters of His Law: judgment, mercy and faithfulness. (Matt. 23:23)

In Israel and in the wider Jewish world there is the very real danger of idolizing much learning.

In Scripture, character is essential and corruption exposed

We are to be doers of the Word, and leadership is supposed to be by personal example. Paul said, Be followers [+ imitators] of me as I am also [a follower] of Messiah. (1 Cor. 11:1) While no one is perfect, the ones justified in God's eyes are those who recognize their sin and ungodliness and plead, God, be merciful to me [+ atone for me], a sinner! (Luke 18:13-14) By the way, the prayer which is often heard, "Lord, have mercy on me although I don't deserve it," is in essence a non-biblical prayer. When we plead for His mercy it is because we recognize that we do not deserve it – or anything else from God except His righteous judgment! If we asked for what we really deserved, we had best hide from the bolt of lightning coming down from the Righteous Judge! (Gen. 18:25; 2 Tim. 4:8)

In today's world, whether in politics, entertainment, sports, etc., character is immaterial. In fact the world tends to idolize those whose open sins most flaunt God's Word. A worldly religion demands a belief system without any cost to self – because it is all about personal choice. Leadership is given to someone clever with imposing or unusual appearance and having rhetorical skill that can sway opinion, without recourse to truth or logic.

This can be seen in the Body in many places, particularly on Christian TV and in bigger organizations and churches. Many Christians actually believe that bigger must be blessed, and if that means more glitz, more awesomeness, adding spooky effects to our "holy worship", well, it must be God because our congregation is growing!

This was not Messiah's attitude when He preached. Many of Yeshua's disciples, when they had heard, said, 'This is a hard [+ fierce] word; who is able hear [+ obey] it?' When Yeshua knew… His disciples grumbled at it, He said to them, 'Does this offend you [+ cause you to stumble]? And if you shall see the Son of man ascend up where He was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and are life. But there are some of you that do not believe.' For Yeshua perceived from the beginning they who would not believe …From that time many of His disciples departed, walking no more with Him. Then Yeshua said to the twelve, 'Will you go away also?' (John 6:60-67)

The only way to know if something is from God is if it agrees with His Word and His nature – and that requires a knowledge of the whole counsel of God – from Genesis to Revelation. But today churches do not seem to take the time for that. Are they simply too busy? Or maybe they think, "Isn't that why we pay our pastor such a large salary – so that he can study the Word and tell us what the Word says and then he can let us know what is right and what is wrong? Of course, if we don't like what he says, we can always hire someone else, because after all, we pay the pastor such a good salary to do what we feel helps us."

In Israel, while corruption is a common political problem, yet it is being dealt with. Many high profile people are being exposed, prosecuted and jailed because of their corrupt dealings.

Is God sovereign or do people have free will?

This vital question, approached from a humanistic perspective, has allowed a number of theologies to develop which go back and forth, striving between one or the other being true, because to human logic both cannot be true at the same time. After all how can God be in total control, know everything that will happen, and yet people still have free will to do what they want and to also be responsible for their actions?

For those who judge all by the filter of God's Word, we see that the Bible openly declares God as totally sovereign as already mentioned several times in this teaching. At the same time, Scripture does say man is held responsible for his free will decisions which affect his life in general and his relationship with God. With a Hebraic mindset, which is the thought process the authors of both Tanach and NT had, we accept that this apparent conundrum is God's revelation of how He has set up the rules governing our universe, and then we live in the light of that. We live recognizing that our God reigns – yet we are still held responsible for our decisions and actions. (2 Cor. 5:10) In other words, the answer to our initial question is that according to biblical revelation, God is sovereign and man has free will.

Concerning the reality of a Hebraic mindset behind all of the Scriptures, we are told that God gave His Word, both the Tanach and the New Testament, to the world via the Jews: Then what is the advantage of the Jew? Or what is the profit of circumcision? There is much profit in many ways, yet primarily because unto them were entrusted God's words. (Rom. 3:1-2); …who are Israelites; to whom belong the adoption [as sons of God], the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the service and worship of God, and the promises;… (Rom. 9:4)

Conclusion: Without Chanukah there would be no Christmas!

For those already offended at the very word "Christmas," let me rephrase this: If Antiochus had succeeded in forcing the Jewish people to assimilate, to become just another nation, there would have been no Chosen People to whom Messiah Yeshua could be born! No Chanukah = No Birth!

And without a spiritual Chanukah battle today against the demonic forces trying to assimilate both Israel and the Church, there will be no one left who will yearningly await the Second Coming! Which side of the battle will we be on? One rabbinic commentary, the Zohar, says this about Genesis 1:2: "And darkness was upon the face of the Deep, refers to Greece which darkened the face of Israel. Therefore, God commanded: 'Let there be light!' which is the Light of Messianic Redemption."

After the return of the exiles from Babylon, the prophet Zechariah foretold about the, for him, future battle against the forces of Hellenism, saying in Zechariah 9:11-13: As for you also, by the blood of your covenant I have sent forth your prisoners out of the pit where there is no water. Turn [+ return] to the stronghold, you prisoners of hope. Even today do I declare that I will render double unto you. When I have bent Judah for me, and filled the bow with Ephraim, and raised up your sons, O Zion, against your sons, O Greece, and set you like the sword of a mighty warrior.

In this last-days war between biblical and humanistic thinking, let us remember a verse which is repeated twice by one of the wisest men who ever lived – King Solomon: There is a pathway that seems right to a man, but in the end it's a road to death. (Prov. 14:12; 16:25 from the ISV)

1 At times I use the traditional English term “man” which often means, in context, all of mankind – or humankind. If, as one belonging to Yeshua, you take offense at this usage, then I, as one belonging to Yeshua, forgive you. (Col 3:13)

2 Personal confession: My problem is not that I do not love myself. It is that I love myself too much – and knowing myself as well as I do, I just do not understand why! If I hated myself, I would be thrilled about going through hard times – yet, I hate it when I go through times like that. Do you think people who commit suicide do it because they hate themselves? If they really hated themselves, wouldn't they be thrilled with the horrible time they were going through?

3 Usually if unsaved Jews read the Bible at all it is confined to the Torah (the first five books of Moses), and some of the Psalms.

4 I have no problem with a believer who does not drink alcohol, yet I do have a theological issue with a believer who tries to put a biblical slant on abstinence. Yeshua's first miracle was to turn water into wine! To say that He changed the water into grape juice at that Jewish wedding is absurd! (John 2:1-11)

5 For example: Ex. 8:22; 9:14-16, 29; Psa. 24:1; 33:10-11; 50:9-12; 93:1; 96:10; 97:1; 99:1; 103:19; Prov. 19:21; 21:1; Isa. 52:7; Jer. 32:17, 27: Hag. 2:8; Matt. 11:25a; Rev. 17:17.