Building Blocks

Deception is a lie. It is something that is not true. The statement in Tehillim (Psalms) 8:5 in the King James Version that says, “Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,” is a lie. It is not true. We used nine reliable witnesses to prove that this statement is false. The truth is…

Yahuah Elohiym has made man a little lower than Himself.

This is a true statement. Yahuah did not create Adam in the beginning a little lower than the angels and then elevate mankind above the angels through Messiah Yahusha Ben David. Yahuah does not change. He does not change His mind. His Word stands forever. Adam was created in the beginning a little lower than Elohiym. Messiah Yahusha replaced Adam and is now second in command standing on the right hand of Yahuah Elohiym.

This was prophetically illustrated in the life of Yoseph (Joseph) who was made ruler over Egypt.

Egypt is a picture of the world. Yoseph (Joseph) was given authority over the entire world just like Messiah Yahusha. Only in the throne is Yahuah Elohiym greater than Messiah Yahusha Ben David which is expressed in the following testimony:

Then movies, leaders, TV shows, and books solidify these lies in our minds. It creates a stumbling block that prevents us from seeing the truth. King David and Messiah Yahusha tell us the Word of Yahuah is truth.

Is the King James Bible the truth? It said, “thou hast made him a little lower than the angels”. The King James Bible is not the Word of Yahuah because it is not the truth. The author of the letter to the Hebrews said the same thing in Greek and English. It is not the Word of Yahuah because it is not speaking the truth. The Greek Septuagint says the same thing as the author of Hebrews and the translators of the King James Bible. These are not the Word of Yahuah because His Word is truth.

We determine His Word by using two to three reliable witnesses as we have illustrated. If there is not a second witness, it cannot be considered truth and is therefore not the Word of the Most High Elohiym. King David and Messiah Yahusha tell us that the Word of Yahuah is truth. If it contains a lie, then how can it be the Word of Yahuah? ALL translations are eyewitness testimony. ALL translators are influenced by their own beliefs when translating a text. People who are deceived themselves will produce results laden with deception. This is just the reality of our situation.

If I were to translate a text, my own beliefs would influence my translation. It is impossible to produce a translation without some translator bias. Eyewitness testimony is NOT the Word of Yahuah. His Word is truth which can always be verified with two to three witnesses. In my journey, it seems like He provides 10-20 reliable witnesses all of the time, if not more. This is the truth. This is how we approach the truth.

“Deception” Defined:

In the previous article, we learned the definition of “truth” and how it is established. In this article, we are going to use a practical example and illustrate how “truth” can expose “deception”. “Deception” is accepting something as true or valid when it is false or invalid. It is an error or an inaccuracy. In essence, we do not know we are being deceived until the “deception” has been exposed. For example, a man does not know his wife is committing adultery until she has been caught in the act or confesses. These are the two methods of exposing deception in this situation:

1. Husband catches her in the act of adultery
2. She confesses her adultery

The husband is not aware of the adultery until one of these two events occurs. Until that point, he believes his wife is loving and faithful to him. He trusts her completely even though she is actually committing adultery. “Deception” in our belief systems is like the husband who does not know or realize his wife is committing adultery. We believe our faith is grounded on “truth” and trust those who are guiding us. But what if they are also deceived?

• If we are being deceived, how can we correct it if we do not know we are being deceived?

Unless the “deception” is exposed, they will not know their outcome until they reach their destination. There are only three ways to see deception.

1. Brothers and sisters expose the deception for us. This is what we are doing with these lessons.
2. We expose the deception ourselves through the process of validating our belief system. This is what you do with your own research which we highly recommend.
3. The deceiver confesses the deception. Totally not happening!

The first option is dependent upon our brothers and sisters. Some of our brothers and sisters have travelled a bit further down the road and have exposed the “deception” in their own lives. They see the cliff up ahead and warn others by exposing the “deception” for them so they can see. Once people see it for themselves, they can remove it. Most of our content is designed to expose “deception” using the truth.

He says many are on the road to destruction and only a few will find life. Millions of people following a particular belief does not provide substantial evidence that a belief is true and valid. Moshe (Moses) also says the following about following a multitude:

Just because the multitudes are following a particular custom does not mean it is validated. Truth is established at the testimony of two to three credible witnesses. We could actually use reverse psychology in this situation. Whatever the masses are doing is likely rooted in deception because our Messiah said that many are on the broad road to destruction. We need to find the few who are on the straight and narrow way that leads to life… and few there are indeed.

Exposing Deception:

We are going to take a belief I had in my own life and go through the steps of exposing the deception. I was born and raised as a Pentecostal Christian. My family believed Sunday was the Sabbath day and would attend a church on the first day of the week. I became a lawyer examining evidence that would support or undermine this belief. I did not want to harbor anything in my heart that was based in deception. I have always sought the truth.

First Witness: My husband and I had made a decision to read through the Bible and we did it early in the morning before he went to work. This particular morning, we were reading Shemoth (Exodus) 31. As my husband was reading, the following passage hit me between the eyes like a brick.

I heard the words “forever… perpetual… you will die…” I thought surely, “forever” doesn’t mean “forever” in the Hebrew because we were not observing the Sabbath on the seventh day. After he left for work, I pulled out my Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and looked up the Hebrew word translated as “forever”. I realized that “forever means forever”. The following points from this passage invalidated my Christian belief:

• Yahuah says observance of the Sabbath on the seventh day is a sign FOREVER and a PERPETUAL covenant.
• The Sabbath is to be observed on the seventh day throughout every generation including ours today and will be for eternity.
• FOREVER means FOREVER.
• This commandment is extremely important because Yahuah Elohiym wrote it with His own finger on tablets of stone.
• This commandment is one of the Ten Commandments in Shemoth (Exodus) 20:1-17.

These words in Shemoth (Exodus) 31:12-18, stand opposed to observance of the Sabbath on Sunday. These words were spoken and written by a true prophet of Yahuah who has been verified by prophetic events that have come to pass… the prophet Moshe (Moses). Yahuah says if we do not listen to the words of His true prophets and do what they say, then we will receive unfavorable consequences. The underlying Hebrew word translated as “forever” means “forever”. The underlying Hebrew word translated as “perpetual” means “perpetual”. I did not want to die and I believed I would if I did not start observing the Sabbath on the seventh day. Here is the link to my full testimony, My Awakening.

Second Witness: The prophet Yeshayahu (Isaiah) says the Word of Yahuah stands FOREVER.

Based on this evidence, the entire Word of Yahuah Elohiym stands forever even if the actual word “forever” is not in the passage itself. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) validates that observance of the Sabbath on the seventh day is forever because Shemoth (Exodus) 31:14-18 is the Word of Yahuah… which stands forever.

Third Witness: Messiah Yahusha said not one jot or tittle shall pass from the Torah until all is fulfilled:

Heaven and earth still remain to this day, so the words written by Moshe in Shemoth 31:14-18 are still active. The Sabbath is to be observed on the seventh day forever confirmed by testimony from Messiah Yahusha.

Fourth Witness: It was the custom for Messiah Yahusha to attend the synagogue on the Sabbath and read from the Law and the Prophets:

Messiah Yahusha followed the instructions of Yahuah in Shemoth (Exodus) 31:14-18 by observing the Sabbath on the seventh day. He did not attend a Christian church on Sunday.

Fifth Witness: Kepha (Peter) who was a direct disciple of Messiah Yahusha stated that people should follow the example of our Messiah.

If we are to follow the example of Messiah Yahusha, we would attend synagogue on the seventh day and read from the Law and the Prophets just like him. It would be our custom to do so. We would not attend Christian church on Sunday because Messiah Yahusha did not do this.

Sixth Witness: Emperor Constantine changed the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week in honor of the sun on March 7, 321 CE.

Emperor Constantine was a man. No man has the authority to change the Word of Yahuah which stands forever and cannot be changed or deleted. Emperor Constantine is not my Messiah so why would I follow his example rather than the example of Messiah Yahusha Ben David? Emperor Constantine is still in his grave. Messiah Yahusha was resurrected and is sitting at the right hand of Yahuah Elohiym in the heavenlies. Emperor Constantine is not hearing or obeying the words of the prophet Moshe and will suffer the consequences for failing to do so. Why would I follow the words of Emperor Constantine? Do I want to share in his unfavorable outcome?

Seventh Witness: The Roman Catholic Church authorized and sanctified the change by Emperor Constantine. James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of our Fathers, 88th ed., pp. 89.

The Roman Catholic Church was established by men who do not have the authority to change the Word of Yahuah. In fact, Yahuah Elohiym cannot change His own Word because it stands forever. If He did, it would make Him a liar and untrustworthy. The Roman Catholic Church has failed to heed the words of the prophet Moshe as well and will also receive an unfavorable outcome. No one in the Roman Catholic Church has been resurrected sitting at the right hand of Yahuah Elohiym. Why would I emulate their behaviors and observe the Sabbath on Sunday?

My Conclusion: We have seven credible witnesses that invalidate my belief that the Sabbath is on Sunday. I thought that I was doing this in honor of Yahuah Elohiym. I thought this was something that He established. This was a practice done and taught by my parents who I trusted. This was a practice done by their parents who they trusted. I was like the man who did not know that his wife was committing adultery. I thought I was doing the right thing. I was deceived and didn’t know it.

Then, I read the truth… the Word of Yahuah. His Word showed me that I was deceived. He was and is my very good Friend who exposed the deception in my life. Here was the process that occurred.

1. Yahuah reached out to me and hit me with a brick or gave me… His sheep… a hearty whack with His shepherd’s staff. He exposed the deception for me like a very good Friend.
2. Then, I did research and exposed more of the deception myself through the process of validating my belief system. I put every belief I had on trial because I wanted my beliefs to be based upon solid, undeniable truth.
3. At the time, I approached my pastor at the Foursquare Church I was attending and he refused to meet with me to answer any questions about the Sabbath. Next Sunday, he openly rebuked me in front of hundreds of people attending the service that week. He refused to confess or discuss the deception with me.

Because the deception was exposed, two pathways were laid-out before me. I could continue to go to church on Sunday knowing that it was not the Sabbath. I could STOP attending church on Sunday and start observing the Sabbath of Yahuah on the seventh day of the week. This is like the hiker who comes to a division in the trail. Am I going to go right or am I going to go left? My Life Map tells me to observe the Sabbath on the seventh day. It tells me that I will die if I work on His Sabbath… so I activated my freewill and chose the path that leads to life. Observing the Sabbath on the seventh day by resting and not working means I won’t die… it means I will live. It is something my Messiah observed and he is sitting on the right hand of Yahuah Elohiym. I will do what he did.

In this process, I changed a factor in the foundation of my beliefs. I disposed of the factors that influenced me to attend church on Sunday and added factors that influenced me to observe the Sabbath on the seventh day. This changed my beliefs which changed my words and actions.

New Belief: the Sabbath is on the seventh day of the week and not the first day of the week.

These witnesses prove that the Sabbath is on the seventh day and will stand forever in Yahuah’s Kingdom. This truth is firm like a rock… immovable. It has been validated by seven witnesses, not just two. There are far more than seven. We just listed enough to illustrate how deception is exposed by truth.

When the truth was exposed. I STOPPED observing the Sabbath on Sunday… the first day of the week. I turned my back on this practice and started resting on the seventh day and honoring Yahuah Elohiym on this day. This is the process of repentance.

Repentance is turning around and walking in the other direction. When we take a look around ourselves in our environments, we literally millions and millions of people who observe the Sabbath on Sunday.

Millions and millions of people work on Saturday and are traveling on the broad road to destruction. Our “trusted” religious leaders are not telling us the truth. Failure to follow these instructions in Shemoth (Exodus) 31:14-18 is a sin against our Father in Heaven. Repentance from this sin means we stop working on the seventh day and start resting on the seventh day of the week. Here is an illustration:

In this article, we exposed a deceptive teaching propagated by multitudes of religious leaders and scholars. They are teaching people to violate the Word of Yahuah and are operating contrary to the teachings and actions of Messiah Yahusha. We identified those responsible for the “deception” with published testimony from their own mouths. They will be held accountable for this “deception” and will suffer negative consequences for the millions of people they have led astray throughout time.

Truth is established by the testimony of two to three credible witnesses. We used seven credible witnesses to establish the truth in this matter which clearly exposed the deceptive teaching:

1. Moshe, a prophet of Yahuah
2. Yeshayahu (Isaiah) a prophet of Yahuah
3. Mattithyahu (Matthew) a disciple of Messiah Yahusha
4. Luke who wrote the eyewitness account of Luke and the Book of Acts
5. Kepha (Peter), a disciple of Messiah Yahusha
6. Quote from Emperor Constantine
7. Quote from James Cardinal Gibbons

If we teach people to violate the Word of Yahuah by encouraging them or giving them permission to work on the seventh day, we will also be held accountable for our words and actions. We will receive negative consequences along with the religious leaders and scholars who do the same.

We are told not to follow a multitude to do evil. Just because millions and millions of people observe Sunday as the Sabbath and work on the seventh day, doesn’t make it right. They are on the broad road to destruction. Messiah Yahusha says there are many who travel this road. Based on the evidence…

What is your personal decision in this matter?

Exposing the “deception” in our belief system allows us to recognize sin in our lives and gives us an opportunity to amend our ways as illustrated in this example. We expose any “deception” by searching for the evidence to validate our current beliefs… essentially, we catch the deceiver in the act. If our research validates our current beliefs then the evidence strengthens our faith in Him even more.

The choice is ours and we will give an account for those decisions before our Creator and Maker who is Judge of all the earth.