Led by the Spirit
If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, Deuteronomy 13:1 NASB
Sign – What is the difference between coincidence and sign? Answer—your point of view. If you are looking for a sign from God, you will find it. If you are not, you won’t. Perception is reality. What appears to be nothing more than the accidental arrangement of events can be interpreted as the directional signals from God, if you wear the right glasses.
Does this mean that there are no objective measures for determining when God speaks? Is it all up to your paradigm? Let’s consider what Moses has to say about signs and wonders. First we must acknowledge that Moses has a paradigm. It is the paradigm that views the world as the work of YHVH. It is the paradigm that considers Torah to be divine instructions for human behavior. It is the paradigm that directs political, social, religious and personal interaction. And it is choice. That does not mean it is completely arbitrary. Moses’ paradigm is a choice based on experience and evidence. It is a choice to see the world in a way that makes sense of all Moses’ knew. It is a choice that can be justified by appeal to events and revelation. But it is still a choice.
Once the choice is made, implications follow. In this particular case, YHVH reveals through Moses the implications for anyone who comes with claims that oppose the directions of YHVH. This passage in Deuteronomy (and the parallel passage in Deuteronomy 18) suggests that the proper evaluation of these claims is based on two criteria. First, whatever the “prophet” predicts must come to pass. If it does not, the claims are false and the so-called prophet must be killed. Secondly, even if the prediction actually occurs, if the prophet suggests, implies or teaches anything that is incompatible or inconsistent with Torah, the prophet is still a false prophet and must be ignored or eliminated. There is only one standard—Torah. Any other teaching is outside the boundaries of the paradigm. Any other teaching is forbidden, idolatrous and rejected. In other words, if you choose the paradigm that Moses reveals, no other claims are to be accepted.
Someone comes to you with “a word from the Lord.” How do you evaluate the claim? Be Berean. Does it line up with Torah? Does it imply something opposed to Torah?
You’re discussing the exegesis of a biblical passage. Someone says, “This is what the Lord showed me about this verse.” Wonderful. Now ask if this interpretation is true. Is it consistent with Torah? Does it have the same worldview as the revelation given to Moses?
You get the idea. If it isn’t in Torah, it can’t be from God. This paradigmatic test of truth is so strong that Peter could refuse to eat from the unclean animals displayed in his vision on the rooftop in spite of God’s orders to do so. “I have never eaten,” he says. “And I am not about to begin now.” Why? Because it isn’t in Torah. Therefore, it can’t be from God. There is a rabbinic story along the same lines. In the story the rabbis refuse to listen to God’s voice because it does not align with Torah. God concedes that the rabbis’ argument is correct. If it isn’t in Torah, it isn’t from God. That is the test—the only test.
The paradigm is a CHOICE. Are you going to choose to adopt the paradigm of Moses or the paradigm of someone or something else? You can’t have it both ways.
And now we must ask, “Does Christian doctrine and practice meet the test outlined by Moses?” If it doesn’t, then it has adopted a different paradigm. It has a different view of what is acceptable and what isn’t.
Where do you suppose this different view came from?
Topical Index: paradigm, Torah, prophet, test, Deuteronomy 13:1
Thanks, Skip. I felt the earthquake. The dialog begs the question on the type and level of leadership in the religious community. Sunday as the observance of the Sabbath in the Christian community is not in the Torah, and yet there has been no true leadership to change it, indicating many are drinking the same kool-aid. While I see many blessings and healings in the Christian community, I don’t intend to question the issue related to Sunday sabbaths, because I believe God looks at one’s heart for the type and level of worship, regardless of day. So it begs the question: so what? What is more important is not the day but what is in one’s heart? Agree?
Does this doctrine sound familiar? “He doesn’t care what we eat. It’s what in our hearts that matter.” Eve
Disagree. As long as one’s heart aligns itself with Torah, that is fine. If not, a well intentioned effort still has to be plumbed with the straight way. Otherwise, anyone’s rationalization would be the new standard.
So, yes, a specific day is necessary, YHWH said so, otherwise, naming it would be of no matter. And setting it as such, Sabbath, throughout all the generations becomes meaningless if just any old numbered day can replace it.
Dear Al, I would challenge you on this one. If Shabbat doesn’t matter, that is, any day will do, then why does YHVH actually PUNISH Israel for not keeping Shabbat? Why did Yeshua keep Shabbat? Why did Paul? If you start down the road of “well, it’s what’s in your heart that matters,” then what about kosher? What about all the other Torah commandments that set this community apart? Where do you draw the line? How much is what YHVH directed and how much is what the culture determined?
Disagree. Each mitzvot stand on its own for a connection with God. There are 613 connecting points. You connect by action or you don’t. It’s not to say that if you keep Shabbat on another day, or don’t keep Shabbat that you can’t connect in 612 other ways though. I’m pretty sure that desecrating the Shabbat is an abomination. But so is lashon hara. The only times that I’m familiar with Yeshua saying something is an abomination is actually “the love of money”. And Yeshua mentions it twice in the N.T
But having something in your ‘heart’ implies that nephesh is mind/body/soul. Which in Hebrew though at least with my understanding nephesh is the whole being. That means, there is no, “in your heart but body does something different”. Trust me, I worked a job for 7 years where I had to work shabbat – 3 of which I willing knew it was shabbat. Fortunately He’s blessed me and I don’t have to do that any more. So I made the best of it, I praised Him for His sabbath I thanked Him for taking me out of Egypt. But it was in conflict with paying my bills – I wasn’t doing more then getting by with the job, I wasn’t getting rich. Any extra money I earned on Shabbat that I didn’t need – I donated. As soon as an opportunity came up where I didn’t have to work on shabbat, I took it. But total time frame of me knowing that I was working on Shabbat to the time where He blessed me was 3 years. I just held the mentality – I’ll connect in every other way I can then.
But I should say there are always conflicting mitzvots. “Do you lie to save a life?”. Think of the Christians that gave false witness to protect a Jew in the Holocaust. I’m not in the belief that things are a one-to-one always. An old neighbor needs help moving something on Sabbath and can’t do it another day – keep the sabbath or be your brothers keeper? To me I’ll choose the latter. But the notion that something is in your heart, I don’t bite.
God reveals as long you are searching, He also reveals when you need to know. It’s not like people here on the blog were Biblically illiterate before this. Most of us read the passages multiple times. It was a paradigm shift that I didn’t even know existed but I believe He revealed and I willing stepped into.
This is such a difficult topic, and that’s probably why I decided to write about it. So many of my family, friends, colleagues, and those I write for and teach are just part of the grand tradition of the Christian faith, but who neither know the roots of their traditions nor are they ready (I did not say “willing”) to explore these these things. Any so many of these great and wonderful people are really trying their best to live according to “the leading of the Spirit,” since this is what they have been taught and what is consistent with the paradigm in the absence of Torah. All of this goes way back, early 2nd century when the “fathers” of the Church attempted to create an identity for themselves that was distinctively NOT Jewish but appropriately Jewish Scripture. There are lots of political and social reason for this move. I outline them in my lectures on the Roman Empire and the formation of the Christian Church. But for the most part, contemporary believers have NO idea about these things, and without this history, they just do what the traditions (now nearly 1900 years worth) have taught them, incorporating a paradigm that justifies their beliefs without realizing that it is a paradigm, a way of seeing the world by CHOICE. Evidence matters, of course, but once I make the choice to see the world as Augustine, Aquinas, Luther and Calvin saw the world, then everything else follows. I can hardly blame them since it was true of me for decades.
But now I do hold those early “fathers” responsible. When I read what they ACTUALLY wrote, it is appalling. But who reads this stuff. Certainly not preachers. They learn DOCTRINE, not exegesis, culture, history, epistemology, etc. And most believers believe DOCTRINE, without really ever examining the logic or the history of these ideas. The Trinity is a perfect example. It has a history, a particular linguistic background, a philosophical bias (as do most things we believe) but who has really taken the time to examine this. Who really knows that during the entire history of the Church there have been serious dissenters to this doctrine and that not one of the earliest fathers actually taught it. Does anyone care about this? Not really. As soon as you raise a doubt, all hell breaks loose, so to speak, and people actually think you are rejecting YHVH or Yeshua or?
Since Melanchthon’s mistranslation of Hebrews 11, we have turned an observable, public faith into an inner emotion. That’s 500 years of being taught that what was needed was the movement of the Spirit. This is not likely to change anytime soon.
How we need to give this so much more consideration!
I would also have to disagree.
So many in the modern day church have “given” authority to the preacher, pastor or priest and have become sheep led by them and (man-created) doctrines. The notion of being a Berean doesn’t exist much because the church has college educated teachers at the helm. How could a lay person possibly know otherwise than the one educated and paid I might add by the congregation listening to them? At least that is what I have been challenged with occasionally. And so, most continue to do what the majority do to avoid conflict.
When questions are asked and folks are asked to step out of their comfort zone and to consider why they believe what they believe, they get scared. They have been taught to fear those who question the perceived authority. They get this notion that so many things are “salvation issues” and they freak out. I can’t tell you how many times I have been likend to the Jehovah’s Witness because I do not believe in the Trinity doctrine.
Having said that, I was in those odd fitting shoes at one time. Talk about being tossed by the waves! Not a comfortable place to be and those who are there have my empathies.
This IS difficult and complex. It was made that way about 1900 years ago by those who feared the Hebrews and wanted to appear to worship Y-H but not be Hebrew. I believe this confusion was deliberate and has deep roots.
I believe Y-H called me to Himself so I could be a light to others. My ways continue to evolve towards Torah. We have just moved to northwestern Missouri. Right in the Bible Belt of this country. I have heard so much about church and yet (funny) have no desire to attend one. But I talk to everyone about God and how He directed our move out here from Ohio. My life is my worship and I do expect eventually to have some conflict with the church goers.
One thing at a time and will cross those bridges if and when I get to them.
This is a great post! Looking forward to reading more on the subject.
In my opinion, it’s not education that derailed biblical faith. It’s the paradigm that depends on NOT BEING JEWISH. From about 150AD (perhaps even earlier) the Gentile Greek population that followed Yeshua (in name, at least) began to reformulate their identity based on Greek categories of thought rather than Jewish ones. To do this, they had to justify the use of Hebrew Scripture by modify the Jewish way of life so that it appeared biblical but was not Jewish. This led to an intrinsic anti-Judaism. In other words, Christianity DEPENDS on not being Jewish. It is DEFINED in terms of what is NOT Jewish. Therefore, believers today (and since 150 AD) are taught that if you are Jewish you cannot be a follower of the Christ. Anything that appears to challenge this actually challenges the ENTIRE paradigm and is therefore rejected as heretical. Of course, from the perspective of the Church, it is heresy, but that isn’t the real point of issue. The point of issue is whether it is biblical. The Church (both Catholica and Protestant) has resolved this conflict by basically teaching that the proper interpretation of the biblical text is WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES about the text.
The issue is very complex as you would expect of something that has taken 1800 years to develop. There are political, social and cultural strands interwoven in all this. Today some significant scholars are questioning the entire paradigm but for the most part this remains an academic exercise and has little effect on the general population of believers because, as you point out, they have opted to put their authority in the hands of those who are products of the paradigm education. The lynchpin of the whole enterprise is the threat that if you don’t believe according to the paradigm, then you are out of the will of God and will be punished by being sent to Hell. Threat is a significant deterrent to actually examining these ideas.
Just one more thing:
A man with whose mind has been made up is like a door locked from the inside. No one else is allowed to enter into the dialogue.
Dawn…we need to get together sometime soon. We are about 2 hours from each other. We can meet somewhere and have coffee 🙂 Bethany MO would be about half way for both of us.
Sandy Smail
Sandy,
That would be awesome. I have not yet been to Bethany but I know where it is!! I am east of Trenton. Email me at 15gdmclaugh@gmail.com
Anyone else in NW Missouri is welcome to email me as well. Would love to talk!!
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.” Gen. 2:2-3 K.J.V.
We often skip over words like sanctified and we miss out on the significance of the word.
What does sanctified mean?
qadash קָדַשׁ to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, dedicate, be holy, be sanctified, be separate
Makes me wonder about all the anti torah churches who claim to be filled with the Spirit. Which one are they filled with, who are they following. Sad and scarey.
Yes, it is sad. But as I have written and taught, most of these believers are sincere and devout and simply ignorant, primarily because the tradition has been in place so long now that no one actually realizes there is another way to understand the Bible. I am NOT saying that all these people are outside of the will of God deliberately. They aren’t. They are just uninformed. The problem, of course, is that in order to see it differently I have to be willing to set aside (at least temporarily) my sacred cows. And most people think that setting those aside is the equivalent losing your faith. They think that DOCTRINE is the same as EXPERIENCE. That’s really sad.
The Bottom Line
The Marriage Supper of the Lamb
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the LORD our God the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted [given] her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure — for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.
And the angel said to me, “Write this:”
~ Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb ~
And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” (Revelation 19.8,9)
~And the Spirit and the Bride [both] say, “Come.” And let him that hears say, “Come.” And let him that is thirsty come; and (?)
— whosoever will, – let him drink of the water of life freely! ~ (Revelation 22.17)
“Whosoever will,” — the promise is secure,
“Whosoever will,” — forever must endure;
“Whosoever will,” — ’tis Life forevermore:
“Whosoever will,” — may come.”
~ Because God SO LOVED the world, — He gave His only begotten Son, that *whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life! ~
~ And this is the testimony, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son ~
~ He who has the Son has life; he who has not the Son of God has not life ~
~ Now this is eternal life: that they know You, the only true God, and Jesus the Messiah, [the One] whom You have sent ~
~ Now when John, while imprisoned, heard of the works of the Messiah, he sent word by his disciples and said to Him, — “Are You the Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?”.. ~
“Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said unto him, — “Believe on the LORD Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved, and your household.”
~ Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other Name under Heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved! ~ (Acts 4.12)
Bottom Line? In Him is Life, — and His life is the Light of all mankind.
I’m grateful that God is the one who will sort it all out.
The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooongsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.
Yup, everything except that terrible translation of paqad (visiting)
Skip, Please elaborate.
Isaiah exposed his nakedness for three years throughout Jerusalem. How does that fit into Torah? Ezekiel heard to lay on his side. What part of Torah validates that?
1 Kings 13 – A young prophet listens to an older prophet and dies. Did the older prophet lie? Or was this a test for the younger prophet as to whom he would “shema”?
In Acts 20:22, Paul is told “in the Spirit” to go to Jerusalem and most likely experience bondage and affliction. In Acts 21:4, disciples inform Paul “through the Spirit” not to set foot in Jerusalem. We know Paul went to Jerusalem. Was someone listening to a lying Spirit or was this also a test of YHVH to see who would listen to His voice and do what He said? In Paul’s case to go and in the case of the disciples, to say what they were told.
Funny. Prov 11:14 says that many counsellors bring safety. I am assuming they are all godly, but what of the previous examples? What about the multitude of counsellors in religion that use scripture to back up their lies – for instance, Paul’s words taken out of context to dehumanize women? Most are convinced they are speaking for YHVH and using Scripture to justify their stand.
You are right. It all comes down to choice. Do I “hear” from YHVH or not? Yeshua says, “I know my sheep and they “hear” My voice.” And what if what I hear comes from YHVH and there is not a specific Scripture to back it up, then what? What about when we pray for which job to take or where to fellowship or who to marry? There are times when we must make choices because nowhere in the Bible does it say, “You, take door #1.” And what if it fails abysmally? Does that mean I did not hear correctly? Maybe, maybe not. You are right again, this is hard.
Scripture contains principles that when applied to life direct and keep us functioning in the plan established for us and not someone else. There are general ways all are expected to follow and specific ways/plans for each individual. Those specifics are peculiar to me and I must hear for me regarding them. Not all “hear” as I do, but all hear. It is important to cultivate the way you “hear” and then listen and finally do. This is how the Body learns to work together. The Body cannot operate efficiently if the parts do not even know what they are.
Perhaps we are in a time of practice (Heb 5:14) so we can hone this skill of “shema”ing our Elohim. Hearing, not just from written instruction, but also spirit to spirit as deep calls to deep due to intentional time spent fostering intimacy with our Creator and Master.
corrected website
Maybe it’s more like this. Scripture provides the fence around the issue. Inside the fenced area there is a great deal of flexibility. Outside is danger. As I often tell my daughter, “If you are willing to do whatever God asks of you, then no choice you make can be wrong. But if you are not willing to do whatever God might ask, then no choice you make can be right.”
Hmmm. Mulling this over . . . .
One of the best and most persuasive synopsis I’ve read from you or any other teacher.
The SPAM filter we use was updated and sometimes it prevents legitimate comments from being posted. On the other hand, it has blocked nearly 200,000 spam posts so it’s doing the job.
But Laurita’s reply was blocked so she sent it via Truett to me. Here it is:
There come choosing points. There are knowledge and conviction points, like Derek knowing about the Sabbath. He had to build his faith and clear out the competition for the Sabbath, for sure. (So much of my life looks like that right now!) To know something and to be able to do it are not necessarily the same thing, that is true. There is allowance built in for that. There has to be. Sanctification is a learning curve, essentially. A righteous man cannot fall seven times (and get up again) in his learning curve if he did not know up front what he was supposed to be trying to do, however. He knew what he was supposed to be doing long before he was able to do it. (And that is even a “righteous man”!) But, he still needs to be setting his heart and will and effort toward it. You have to at least be wiggling before the Holy Spirit can show up to push and steer. There is no excuse for knowing and not trying. You have to at least set the will to want to try. Even Paul said he was wanting to do what he was NOT YET doing. But, he was not rationalizing that because he was not doing it YET, he was off the hook for being expected to keep trying until he was. And then, there comes the day that is the Choosing Point. The day when there is no more ignorance, extenuating circumstances, besetting sins, or weakness left to hide behind. I believe that is the day that we are going to be held fully accountable for.
This world has not yet seen the testing point for the Sabbath, it is true. That does not mean that we are not going to see it. If it is the very seal of the Covenant, then at some point, it is going to come to a point. I firmly believe that. In that day, the question will become, which side of the log are you positioning yourself to fall off on?
“Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side;
Some great cause, God’s new Messiah, offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand, and the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever, ‘twixt that darkness and that light.”
THE PRESENT CRISIS by James Russell Lowell
It seems to me that the Sabbath seal of the covenant falls into the category of a public ‘sign’ of Who exactly do we worship. Which god is it, exactly? In the Fourth Commandment is written His very own seal and sign. Who is He, exactly? The One Who made heaven and earth. That One. So who are we? The ones who worship that One. The reason to worship Him is to celebrate the fact that He created not only us, but a segue in time in which to meet Him. That is what that Commandment tells me. The Sabbath is holy ground built in time, which is quite HEBREW, as opposed to space, which is quite Greek. (Check out a site someone just recently turned me onto, called 119 Ministries) This is no interior state of mind or heart. The Sabbath instantly puts me in direct or indirect opposition to everything that has its origin in anything man-made, or in anything that has been fractured off of the whole of that creation. The Sabbath is a deliberate, physical juxtaposition, a superposition, a re-position on a continual, renewing basis of my relationship with my Creator, Who is ever and eternally showing up in a Rest on the Seventh Day, as well putting me in a position of renewed relationship with the rest of that creation. The Sabbath returns me to the whole of relationship that was established before there was such a thing as unholiness or fracture. It is my taste of the earth made new. What’s not to like? I get to start from a fresh starting line every week. From holiness. Who knows? I might even get the hang of staying in that Rest place at some point! I like rest that happens on all levels. Who needs rest that is just in my heart? I like the whole kit and caboodle! Halleluah!