December 3, 2024

“God has given them a spirit of stupor, Eyes that they should not see And ears that they should not hear, To this very day.” rom 11:8 nkjv…  Paul here is speaking of Yahweh’s dealings with rebellious Israel; yet he later says:

“For as you [namely, gentiles to whom he was speaking, i.e., us] were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all.” rom 11:30-32 nkjv…  Paul in this same chapter warns the “elect” to watch their step unless their faulty “branch” also be broken off and cast into the fire. Note Yeshua’s words:

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.” jn 15:5-6 nkjv

I pause here to suggest that “seeing” with spiritual eyes, is implied to be accomplished by drawing our “vision” from the vine [Yeshua] as an attached branch… that vision is, I think, only accomplished by obedience; in other words, being in unison with Yeshua, who IS our light [vision] source. Those disobedient, as is commonly taught throughout the Bible, are equated with rebellion. Rebellion or rejection [disobedience] to Yahweh’s Word… think Eve/Adam’s disobedience from the beginning. Let me source another example from 1 Sam 13-15,  where Saul’s selfish attitude cost him the kingdom.

“ So Samuel said:

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.” 1sam 15:22-23 nkjv

Although Yeshua has sent us His Holy Spirit to teach us and lead us into all truth, we must follow the rules… which only Yahweh gets to make, and which have never changed; even Moses was held accountable when he struck the rock instead of “speaking to it.” num 20:10-12 nkjv…  Here, clearly Yahweh said to Moses, “because you did not believe me.” Please note carefully… in the Bible, Believe = Obey; and it always applies, such as Faith without works is dead [not talking about being saved by grace through faith], although if your faith is not genuine that is the same as unbelief; ref heb 4:2.

Here, let us examine a few of the word choices the Prophet Samuel used above: rebellion the same as witchcraft; stubbornness same as iniquity and idolatry; you have rejected the word of the LORD.

Witchcraft has many forms. At it’s core is intimidation, seduction, divination [sorcery], and related acts. It is normally connected to fear of losing or missing something [feeds on our self interest]; or it threatens to reveal our hidden faults and sins, expose our weakness… and more. Witchcraft first gets our attention and then plunders our thinking and emotions to coerce us into following its pressures to self-preserve, or pursuits of pleasure. It can also be aided by alcohol and drug use, known in the Bible as “pharmakeia,” a Greek word from which we get our word pharmacy. These adjuncts are able to weaken, then neutralize our inhibitions and better judgment, making witchcraft more effective. A prime example, I think, is pornography, and especially blackmail, which is rampant in the subversive deep state’s campaign to control so many political and government persons. It is notable in these cases, that most of the victims are not spiritually inclined persons… just carnally fearful. On spiritual “believers,” it focuses more on blinding our “eyes seeing truth” so that our abuse of self comes by disobedient an selfish pursuits by our disregard for Yahweh’s Word.

Stubbornness you will notice, Samuel equates with iniquity [sin/transgression of Torah], and idolatry, which in our modern society is more connected to materialism and hedonism than to pagans worshiping idols, which namely, they did to illicit favors from their “gods” for self-interest. Their idols held a form of witchcraft power over their thinking.

Now Samuel’s words… “you have rejected the word of the LORD,” seems to be the end results of the affliction of witchcraft and stubbornness. Thus, losing our “vision,” eyes to see, and ears to hear, we are left helpless in the hands of wickedness… leading to, “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, He also has rejected you from being king [you can fill in the blank here for yourself].”

Being “renewed in the spirit of our mind,” eph 4:22-24 nkjv;  is where our “eyes to see and ears to hear” come from; this is NOT a normal physical vision or sound. Yahweh’s Word is especially designed to give us divinely inspired intellectual perceptions; thus Paul tells the Thessalonians they are not in darkness, but sons of the light 1 thes 5:4-6…  that is if they are walking in the the light. The world we live in is bombarding us in every venue, and with a multiplicity of spiritually dark weapons that can, if we will let then, draw us into darkness… and destruction. It is notable that in the Levitical sacrifices, that there is no sacrifice for blatant “in your face” sin [intended disobedience], which is a CHOICE. Unless we shout down the Holy Spirit and/or reject the Torah’s instructions, we have no reason to fear the sinister powers of evil… they need our permission to snuff out our “eyes and ears” of faith. Now, what is it that we “choose to see, or choose to hear?” If it disagrees with the Torah’s instructions or the teachings of Yeshua, it is up to us to refuse to yield our thinking or acting upon its influence. Ja 4:17.

Faithful obedience to the Torah, is not works… quite the contrary, the Sages of old consider this to be the most perfect example of love, as defined by the Bible. Yeshua taught the keeping of the Torah was the greatest of the commandments… “Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ [deut 6:5]  38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” mat 22:37-39 nkjv  Notice here that we are looking at our “love” for Yahweh and others, as the demonstrative evidence of truth. John writes, perfect love casts out fear. 1 jn 4:18 nkjv  Truth is the most indestructible power in the universe, that evil and darkness cannot overcome. It is the essence of Yahweh. When we “keep” this commandment, walk in it, we are invincible. Yet the power of it is the Messiah Yeshua “in us” and not that of our own selves. It is the objective and sinister activity of evil to separate our commitment and faithfulness from this inner power by deception, witchcraft, misinformation, affliction, intimidation, temptation and any other means they think our words and actions reveal that give them openings in our armor.

As believers, our lives can demonstrate the love and faithfulness of Yeshua, in us; or the ugly fleshly nature of our old man of sin, tarnished and unfaithful. And equally important, what are we revealing to our adversaries, with our words and actions, that make us vulnerable to their clever plans to defeat us? Will our “eyes and ears” see and hear, and be drawn to the deception and illusion around us, or will we have spirit eyes and spirit ears with which to see through the cosmic sludge and hear the divine voice of the Holy Spirit saying, “this is the way, walk ye in it.” isa 30:21 nkjv

“ I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;” deut 30:19 nkjv

It has always been that way… choose carefully.

Shalom, John