PART 11 CHURCH TEACHINGS

To Learn about Teachings That Prevent a Person from Receiving the Indwelling Spirit B. Christ is Not the Messiah, I Am

PART 11 CHURCH TEACHINGS

CHAPTER 7B

To Learn about Teachings That Prevent a Person from Receiving the Indwelling Spirit

Doctrines of Destruction

B. Christ is Not the Messiah, I Am

I was recently watching T.V. about someone, who called himself Yahweh Ben Yahweh meaning “the Lord son of the Lord,” claiming that He was the reincarnate Messiah, the Son of God. From what I could gather about his ministry, it appeared that it was geared toward trying to rehabilitate the behavior of those who became his followers. As the ministry grew and the finances increased, he began to buy housing accommodations in depressed poor areas with the goal of renovating them and bringing in tenants from the church, who would spread the teachings of their leader to the neighbors.

It was found out that some of the members of his church were involved in criminal activity. Furthermore, it was alleged that he orchestrated them to commit certain abusive measures against both those who were members of the church that weren’t fully supportive and those who were non-members that were adversarial. He was eventually charged and convicted of certain crimes in a court of law. After spending eleven years in prison, he died shorty after getting out because of cancer. There were many questions that went through my mind as I watched this program.

I wonder how many church leaders there are today, who claim to be the Messiah, the Son of God.

Are their teachings in accordance with the Jewish description of the Messiah?

Are any of them Jewish?

Did any of their teachings follow any of the tenets of the Mosaic Law that were given by God to Moses?

With that said, what is the Jewish description of the Messiah, whom according to them they are still waiting for? By the way, the word Messiah comes from a Hebrew term that means "anointed one." Its Greek counterpart is Christos, from which the word Christ comes.¹³¹

Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

This appears to be the beginning of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah.

Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

He was said to be born in Bethlehem.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

He would be born of a virgin. But a Jewish translation renders this passage, “Assuredly, my Lord will give you a sign of His own accord! Look, the young woman is with child and about to give birth to a son.¹³² The Jews would interpret the word virgin as meaning young woman. Therefore, the idea of this being a miraculous conception would not be considered.

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

He would be a king from the line of David, that God promised shall reign and execute what is right and just.

2 Samuel 7:14 I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:

Psalms 2:7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

When King David said, I will be his father, and he shall be my son, he was referring to his son Solomon, the next king after his death. Likewise, the Jews anticipated someone from the line of David, who would be Israel’s future king, that was the begotten son of God albeit figuratively. He, like Solomon, would be born of human parents.

Luke 24:21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done.

He would be the one of whom two of Jesus disciples thought would redeem (deliver) the nation of Israel from the Romans and establish in its stead His kingdom on earth. In Jewish thought, the Messiah would be the king of the Jews, a political leader who would defeat their enemies and bring in a golden era of peace and prosperity.¹³³

John 7:31 And many of the people believed on him, and said, When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?

He would perform miraculous signs.

John 12:34 The people answered him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?

He will rule forever.

If someone today proclaimed to be the Messiah, he would have to satisfy some of the conditions mentioned such as: being born in Bethlehem, being from the line of David, performing miracles, establishing an earth kingdom, and reigning forever. Let’s say that someone fits the bill, then Christ would be considered as a false Messiah and the following the eternal realities would not have taken place.

~The Jews would be operating under the tenets of the Mosaic Law.

~The temple at Jerusalem would be rebuilt.

~The payment owed to God the Father for the sins committed by the whole world would still be due.

~Heaven would remain unopened for human inhabitance because the sin issue would remain a barrier.

~Mankind’s sins would not be forgiven (wiped away; cancelled; forgotten).

~Those who believed in God (Jehovah) at physical death would remain confined in hell at a place called Abraham’s bosom.

~There would be no resurrection and ascension from the dead for believers.

~No one would be able to receive the indwelling Spirit.

As for the last point, there is a verse in the book of John that exemplifies the devil’s desire for mankind in terms of salvation.

John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.    

The thief, synonymous for the devil, comes not for to steal, kill, and destroy. The Pulpit Commentary describes the word thief as the thief of souls; he whose pretension to be a way to God is based on no inward and eternal reality.¹³⁴ The evil one wants us to believe in and follow any spiritual leader other than Jesus for eternal life, because as such there will be no inward reality of the Holy Spirit and thus no assurance of eternal life.

The next doctrine of destruction we will look at focuses on denying the deity of one of the members of the trinity. Any idea who this could be? Let’s find out.