Happy Sabbath and Blessed New Moon - Please see room details athttp://csda-adventistchurch.to/chat.html
Zahakiel : Anyway, let's begin. Bro. Luke, please offer the opening prayer.
Guest_Lucan : Dear heavenly Father. We thank you for this joining of two sacred times. We are blessed with the opportunity to rejoice over your providence in the last week, and examine ourselves in preparation for the coming month. We ask that your Spirit guide our study and discussion. In Yahshua's name we pray, amen.
Barbli : Amen
Guest_greenhorizon : Amen
Zahakiel : Amen.
Guest_daphna : Amen
Guest_eagle : Amen.
Elyna : Amen.
Guest_Peter : Amen
Zahakiel : Happy Sabbath to all. This week our study is called “Babylon Has Fallen,” and we are continuing with our overview of the Letters to Rachel series, examining the “core” idea behind each one. The third letter, which I reviewed last Sabbath afternoon, dealt with three related issues. The first was another aspect of the temptation in Eden, the second was the incident at Babel, and the third was a summary of the Book of Job.
In the first section of the study, it is pointed out that there is a “process” to falling into sin, just as there is a process involved in sanctification. Whereas for the world sin is “natural,” and done without a second thought, for Adam and Eve, the first humans, transgression of Yah’s will was an utterly foreign concept. Because they had no previous experience with disobedience, and therefore had no natural inclination to listen to the serpent, Satan needed to employ a very specific strategy, which could only have been formed in his fallen, but still brilliant, mind. So successful was this strategy, as it turns out, that the enemy of souls continues to use it, unchanged, to this day... and with just as high a degree of effectiveness.
The process is this: First, the serpent asked a question, “Did Yah really say, you shall not eat every fruit of the garden?” Now, the question itself was cleverly worded, because Satan did not ask, “Did Yah really say you should not eat from this (specific) tree?” but rather, “Did Yahweh really restrict you so that you could not eat from every tree?” The difference is slight, but significant.
In the first, Satan would merely be asking for a confirmation of what the Creator had said – that one specific tree was not to be eaten. In the second, Satan is drawing attention to the freedom that Yah has given the first couple, and suggesting the question, “Why is such a restriction given to you, in contrast with all the other things you are allowed to do?”
“Did Yah really tell you that?” is a way of undermining the authority of the one who provides the instruction. It suggests unbelief, and doubt, and that is the transition. Questions that are left unresolved will lead to doubts.
After attempting to undermine the Father’s authority, Satan next goes after His honesty, by saying, “Even though He has said, ‘You shall surely die,” I tell you that you shall not surely die.”
Now, this must have been extremely confusing for Eve, because she had never before heard anything that was not perfectly honest, perfectly loving, and perfectly pure. What was she to do? We cannot fault Eve for feeling uncertain. She was completely new to this experience into which she was being introduced...however, where she faltered was in remaining near the source of her unease, the cause of her lack of “Sabbath,” and not retreating back to the ones (Adam, Yahweh, the angels) that she had always been able to trust.
This is another concept revisited from our review of the first letter, that becoming used to discontent leads to spiritual insensitivity.
Genesis 3:6 reads, “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat.”
Now clearly, this is not the first time that Eve “saw” the tree and its fruit – it was deliberately placed in the center of the garden. The Scriptures here are drawing attention to something very specific, and that is, Eve considered the fruit according to her senses. She relied on her own understanding rather than the instructions from her Creator through her Husband, and as a result she was taken captive by Satan.
The question may be asked, “Shouldn’t we rely upon the intelligence that God has given us?” Most certainly, we have been given intellect for a reason, and freedom of choice to make use of it as we desire. However, our wisdom is not absolute. Our knowledge is not perfect, and so as we grow, and mature, and learn, our Father has – in His infinite love – given us commandments designed to keep us safe, and to protect us from those fallen creatures that are actively seeking to destroy us. We are expected to render to Yahweh our “reasonable service,” that is, our intelligent love and worship. We use our intelligence to understand, and to analyze, and to rejoice in, the wisdom of Yah as expressed even in His commandments; however, we will not immediately understand the reasons He gives us His instructions, and in such a case our love is expressed not in examination, but in trust.
Adriel: (Amen)
I gave a study some time ago, indicating that while trust is good, it is not the highest level of obedience. The highest level of obedience is to walk in harmony with Yah because our Spirits are One, and our purposes are united. This is the level at which the 144,000 operate.
Of course, nobody is born as a spiritually mature saint. There is a learning process, and just as the Scriptures tell us that the Law is a “schoolteacher” to lead us to Christ, so trust is a “schoolteacher” to lead us to unity. We obey the law based on trust, so that we may become as Christ in unity, and our obedience becomes simply approval, agreement, and cooperation with the Divine.
But if we do not follow this path, moving from trust to unity, Satan has an alternative for us. He will give us questions, which lead to doubts, which leads ultimately to transgression.
Returning to our original example, at any time Eve could have halted this process through going to Adam or to the Father, and asking, “What do these things mean?”
That leads us naturally to the second, related issue that was addressed in the letter, that is, the Tower of Babel. The Tower of Babel shows that trust by itself is not a virtue. The men who lived at Babel, and began to build that tower, had plenty of trust. They trusted in their own wisdom, their own power, and their own ability to accomplish whatsoever they wished – even if it was something ultimately impossible... building a tower to “reach unto Heaven,” (Gen 11:4)and therefore be safe from the judgment of the Almighty.
Now, there is something I noticed about the record of the Tower of Babel when going over this third letter that I don’t think occurred to me as strongly even when I initially wrote the document.
We consider that, in Hebrew, “Babylon” means confusion, and it is fitting that the Tower of Babel is the start of the world’s post-flood state of spiritual confusion. Yah found it necessary to divide the human race for its own best good, lest due to pride it should raise itself up in a global rebellion against the Almighty. The world, of course, is in a state of rebellion even now, and the nature of that rebellion is becoming more active, more overt, every day... but the reason why it has taken this long is largely because of the confusion that Yah has permitted to fall upon humanity.
And how is it that He brought this delay in destruction about? We read Yah’s solution, “Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.” (Gen 11:7)
Now, for the unsanctified, too much clear communication is not a productive thing. For the saints, however, we can take the lesson that confusion results from communication breaking down. This is precisely what happened in the Garden of Eden. Eve’s communication with the Father, and with Adam, was disrupted by the serpent’s temptations, and thus she fell into confusion and was overtaken in sin.
In every instance where a nation or a people, or even individuals, have called upon Lucifer to be their leader (either by word or by deed... or by a LACK of proper words and deeds), communication has broken down, and the results have always been destruction.
In the last study based on Letters to Rachel, I spoke about the Kingdom of Satan. I pointed out that the children of Yah will reject the authority of this earth’s current “king,” and declare themselves to be citizens of the Kingdom to come. It is important to note, however, that many in the world also declare themselves to be citizens of the Kingdom to come, yet in their deeds they embrace this current kingdom. The people who built the tower at Babel never came out and said, “We are followers of Satan, and we are joining with him in his rebellion.” They did not say that, but by making themselves like him, who said, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,” (Isa 14:14; the parallel should be obvious) they effectively declared this in their spirits.
But the end of confusion is communication. The saints understand this like none others, and therefore it is through the restored children of Yahweh that the Second Angel’s message goes out, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” (Rev 14:8)
This verse is significant in a number of contexts, including a testimony against the world and it’s evil. There is, in addition, a meaning directly related to sanctification. The saints say, “Here is a Church, here is a place, where there is love, and understanding, and freedom, open communication. Here is a place where misunderstandings are identified, and eliminated, with joy and the spirit of the Sabbath day.” They say, “Here is a place that is different from the world, and its churches, and its sacred places, because they have fallen due to their rejection of these divine principles.” Because of the force that she employs, because she tries to get all nations to join her in confusion, and rebellion against the Father, Babylon invites the wrath of the Most High. The saints say, “Look, she is fallen,” and before the wrath is poured out, those who can see the spiritual fall will be gathered into a safe and settled place, and in that way they will endure unto the end.
Questions lead to doubts, which lead to rebellion. We see this even today, and in our own experience with former friends. We have seen communication break down due to confusion, and pride, and wherever there is a lack of knowledge, wherever there is ignorance, Satan will feed the fire, and widen gaps. He will inspire mistrust and bitterness wherever he can, and the only cure, the only way to avoid it, is to communicate, to clear the air, to settle the matters that are used as fuel for his fires.
The New Moon, which today is, is actually one of the most powerful tools that the Church has for bringing this about... but it is unknown to the world and its people, because they do not see that Babylon has indeed fallen.
The last portion of the Letter, dealing with the Book of Job, reinforces these ideas. Job is often held up as an example of patience. It is not as often pointed out that Job is also an example of victory, and of victory that is embraced by the one who holds it. What do I mean by this?
In this generation, it is considered to be unspiritual to say, “I obey the Father and Son. I do not commit sin.” This is just evidence of how confused the world is. We read in the Bible that those who are born again do not commit sin, but those who make the claim that they have done it, that they have actually taken that step, are doubted at best, and attacked at worst. The reason is because those who hold this testimony in sincerity are a standing rebuke to those who do not, and the spirit of the world within them rebels against the spirit of Yah, just as it has from the beginning in Heaven.
In the Book of Job, we have a man who is suffering what appears to be divine judgment. It is “obvious” to his friends and acquaintances that Job must have sinned, because it is impossible – they conclude – that a man could endure so much misfortune and yet be righteous. They said, “Job, it is impossible that you are free of sin. Look around you and see your condition.”
In this generation, the saints of the Most High are told, “It is impossible that you are free of sin. Look around you and see your condition. You’re just a human being, prone to rebellion, prone to error...” and they give you a list of the very things that they have been unwilling to surrender to the Father and Son for cleansing.
But Job is an example of victory, and an example of clarity. He knew that he had not sinned, because he understood what sin was. There was no rebellion in his heart. He had a walk with the Father that was free of pride, of guile, of self-justification. He had communion, communication, in his spirit with the Almighty, and therefore he was not confused. If he had undue fear for the spiritual state of his children, this was something that could be identified and confessed... but Job knew with perfect assurance that he was not guilty of any willing transgression that could invite the anger of Yahweh as his friends were insisting must have taken place. His friends said, “Okay, you are convinced you have not sinned... but what if you have?”
In this generation, the principle is the same, but the tense is shifted to the future, “Okay, you are convinced you will not sin... but what if you do?” Satan’s language may change, and his wording, but his pattern has remained unchanged from Eden. He attempts to introduce a question, which leads to doubts, which ultimately leads to rebellion. But we may learn from Eve. We may learn from the Tower of Babel. We may learn from the positive example of Job. We can halt our progress down that pathway of confusion, and bitterness, and destruction. We can stop, and when such questions arise, instead of cherishing them, we can say, “What cause do I have to doubt the Father, the Son, or the working of their Spirit?” What reason do I have for believing that Yahweh, or those whom He has placed in my path, have any desire to harm me? And what is unknown, we have the opportunity to know.
Yah invites us to bring our desires, our petitions, and our questions before Him, so that we can mature, so that we can move from trust (which is child-like) to unity (which is adult). Unless we become as little children, it is written, we cannot enter the Kingdom. Unless we begin with simple trust, we will never learn the character of our Father, and never come to agree with Him in His judgments and instructions.
The people of Yah declare, “Babylon is fallen.” We tell the world, and show the world, that communication is the end of confusion. We speak to one another, and to our Father, and so we avoid the transgression of Eve, the tower-building folly of the Babylonians...like Job, we can say with perfect clarity, “I do always the will of my Father in Heaven.” We take upon us the testimony of Yahshua, and in so doing we shine as a light in the darkness, a beacon by which others may also find their way home. Are there any comments or questions about tonight's study?
Guest_Pastor_Chick : C
Zahakiel : Go ahead.
Guest_Pastor_Chick : I have experienced words and wording to be "tricky" in this world... and Satan takes every advantage, as he tried to do to Christ in the wilderness. There are two areas of the study that I would personally say differently. I would hope the saints say, "Here is THE church" (rather than "a" church), and "here is THE place" (rather than "a" place) When tempted to find a "reason" or "cause" for doubting, etc. I would hope that instead of asking "What cause..." or "What reason..." they would resolutely say, "There is no possible cause or reason to doubt my Father or His son." (etc.) END.
Zahakiel : I will have to consider the significance of those
I'm not sure if I see that the meaning is really altered in those cases... For the first, I suppose that some might think we are implying more than one valid Church, so "the" might be a little more appropriate there. But for the second, the implied answer is obviously "No." Guest_Pastor_Chick : A
Zahakiel : Go ahead.
Guest_Pastor_Chick : In my experience, Satan will find an "apparently valid" answer to ALL questions. He will "reason" with us on the human level, and out-debate us with his answer. If we give a direct and resolute NO possible WAY he has to force himself on us, and that is what shows his true colors. END.
Zahakiel : Right... I understand that. Biblically, though, statements are often phrased as questions that imply a "no" as the answer.
Guest_Pastor_Chick : A
Zahakiel : Go ahead.
kimberlykindhearted : c. go first pastor
Guest_Pastor_Chick : I think in terms of "the testimony of YAHSHUA," we would see definites, and that, even with the question posed by YAHSHUA, "Who convinceth me of sin?" END.
Zahakiel : Right... I think that is what I was saying? The questions give the answer.
Zahakiel : Go ahead, Kimberly.
kimberlykindhearted : It's Dominique
If God is in us, he will give us the answers, though right?Zahakiel : Well, yes... but sometimes, He will answer you through other people, or circumstances. That is one of the reasons why the Church is such a critical part of sanctification. Yahweh has given us to each other as brothers and sisters, so that He can speak through us... and that is sometimes the easiest way to hear Him. Do you see what I mean by that? He can answer us directly, often through conscience... but we also need to have our consciences become mature, and that involves the help of our spiritual family here on earth.
kimberlykindhearted : true
Zahakiel : Are there any other comments or questions?
kimberlykindhearted : q
Zahakiel : Go ahead.
kimberlykindhearted : Are you guys meeting on Google plus, tonight? End
Zahakiel : Yes, we are usually in there meanwhile talking here. All right, if there aren't any other questions, I will ask pastor to close with prayer...and if there are any gaps in the transcript for when Jody gets it for editing, I can send those parts to her.
Guest_Pastor_Chick : Dear Father in Heaven thank You for this high day, and may we honor You in all that we say and do, because we do always those things which please You. May our Yea be Yea and our Nay be Nay in all our dealings, as we keep justice and mercy in the balance. In YAHSHUA's holy name, AMEN!
Zahakiel : Amen
Guest_Lucan : Amen.
Elyna : Amen.
Guest_daphna : Amen
Barbli : Amen
Zahakiel : I think that, after this transcript is posted, we can continue to discuss the issue of questions vs. definitive statements as posts. I would like to think about it some more
kimberlykindhearted : amen
Guest_Peter : Amen