Post by R' Y'hoshua Moshe on Aug 31, 2005 22:46:57 GMT -8
Re’eh “Behold”- Devarim (Deuteronomy) 11:26- 16:17 29 Av 5765 – Sep. 03, 2005
The following is a commentary by By Rabbi Yaakov benYosef. Enjoy!
"The abundance of religions that exist today makes it difficult to discern the truth. As a result, many individuals are deceived into following false teachings. One of the most extreme cases of false teaching is a group that believes God is an extraterrestrial. They worship a God who they believe is technically advanced, and who will return to earth and reveal himself when humans are ready. Because of this, and other false teachings it is becoming easy for individuals to be confused. People can believe in and worship a God that fits into his or her own personal beliefs. However, HaShem defines Himself clearly in the
. Worshiping a God that that fits our personal beliefs can lead us to worship a false God. We must put aside our own impressions of what God is like, and discover the truth of HaShem from the . In fact, in Mathew 7:13-14 Yeshua stated “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Deception is easy to accept because the deceiver always presents a God that fits into our perception of what God is supposed to be like. In other words, the deceiver tells us what we want to hear.
False prophets are some of the most dangerous types of deceivers. A false prophet not only tells individuals what they want to hear, a false prophet also presents his or her teaching in the name of HaShem. Therefore, a false prophet comes appearing as an emissary of the one true God. Believers are often afraid to confront them, because false prophets come in the name of HaShem. However, Rav Shaul had no problem confronting false prophets. He warned the Corinthians in Corinthians 11:13-14 by saying “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Even when false prophets come appearing as angels of light we must be prepared to confront them with the truth. In Re’eh HaShem makes it clear that false prophets are to be confronted. Re’eh establishes the guidelines needed to discern between a false prophet and a prophet of HaShem.
Devarim 13:1-3 states “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams” HaShem makes it clear that a prophet’s use of signs and wonders is not sufficient proof that the prophet is a prophet of HaShem. According to the passage, the only way to determine a false prophet is whether or not the prophet leads individuals away from serving HaShem. We can see the danger of trusting in signs and wonders in Revelations 13:11-14, which states: “another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Following after signs and wonders will deceive many into believing the anti-Christ is a prophet of HaShem. Instead of relying on signs and wonder we must find a more accurate way of determining HaShem’s prophets from false prophets.
Yeshua expounds on Devarim 13, and explains in Mathew 7:15-20 how to recognize false prophets when he states “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth-good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth-evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Yeshua makes it clear that it is by his or her fruit that a false prophet can be recognized. The fruit Yeshua is speaking of is the fruit that leads individuals back to HaShem. We can see this in Devarim 13:2-3 which states “Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God prove you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” The desirable fruit of a prophet is to draw individuals and make them followers of HaShem. In other words, true prophets of HaShem produce the fruit of repentance.
The prophet’s fruit of repentance can be determined by the prophet’s use of the two tools HaShem has given for repentance. The first tool HaShem gives to a prophet to lead individuals to repentance is the. The was given to show the differences between HaShem and false Gods. Therefore, the leads people to HaShem because it defines who He is. This goes against a false prophet’s desire to exult idols, and to lead individuals away from HaShem. Yeshua even clarified that He was using the to lead individuals to repentance in Mathew 5:17 when he stated “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” If a person proclaiming to be a prophet leads people away from HaShem by rendering the meaningless he or she is a false prophet. Secondly, HaShem gave us Yeshua to reveal His own-essence. Therefore, Yeshua is a reflection of HaShem. False prophets lead individuals away from HaShem by negating the importance of Yeshua. One example of this can be seen in 1John 4:3 which states “every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” Because a false prophet’s mission is to lead individuals away from HaShem, the fruit of a false prophet will not magnify the or exalt Yeshua.
The anti-messiah and other false prophets feed on the innate human desire to experience the miraculous. By producing signs and wonders false prophets can deceive individuals into following false gods. Yeshua warns us of this danger in Mathew 24:24 when He states “There shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” However, the elect of HaShem will be able to determine a true prophet from a false prophet by the fruit that the prophet produces. A false prophet produces fruit that leads individuals away from HaShem. A true prophet produces fruit that leads individuals into repentance and back to HaShem. Therefore, a true prophet will magnify the and exult Yeshua, and a false prophet will not."
By Rabbi Yaakov Ben Yosef
The following is a commentary by By Rabbi Yaakov benYosef. Enjoy!
"The abundance of religions that exist today makes it difficult to discern the truth. As a result, many individuals are deceived into following false teachings. One of the most extreme cases of false teaching is a group that believes God is an extraterrestrial. They worship a God who they believe is technically advanced, and who will return to earth and reveal himself when humans are ready. Because of this, and other false teachings it is becoming easy for individuals to be confused. People can believe in and worship a God that fits into his or her own personal beliefs. However, HaShem defines Himself clearly in the
. Worshiping a God that that fits our personal beliefs can lead us to worship a false God. We must put aside our own impressions of what God is like, and discover the truth of HaShem from the . In fact, in Mathew 7:13-14 Yeshua stated “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” Deception is easy to accept because the deceiver always presents a God that fits into our perception of what God is supposed to be like. In other words, the deceiver tells us what we want to hear. False prophets are some of the most dangerous types of deceivers. A false prophet not only tells individuals what they want to hear, a false prophet also presents his or her teaching in the name of HaShem. Therefore, a false prophet comes appearing as an emissary of the one true God. Believers are often afraid to confront them, because false prophets come in the name of HaShem. However, Rav Shaul had no problem confronting false prophets. He warned the Corinthians in Corinthians 11:13-14 by saying “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” Even when false prophets come appearing as angels of light we must be prepared to confront them with the truth. In Re’eh HaShem makes it clear that false prophets are to be confronted. Re’eh establishes the guidelines needed to discern between a false prophet and a prophet of HaShem.
Devarim 13:1-3 states “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spoke unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams” HaShem makes it clear that a prophet’s use of signs and wonders is not sufficient proof that the prophet is a prophet of HaShem. According to the passage, the only way to determine a false prophet is whether or not the prophet leads individuals away from serving HaShem. We can see the danger of trusting in signs and wonders in Revelations 13:11-14, which states: “another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spoke a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” Following after signs and wonders will deceive many into believing the anti-Christ is a prophet of HaShem. Instead of relying on signs and wonder we must find a more accurate way of determining HaShem’s prophets from false prophets.
Yeshua expounds on Devarim 13, and explains in Mathew 7:15-20 how to recognize false prophets when he states “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth-good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth-evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” Yeshua makes it clear that it is by his or her fruit that a false prophet can be recognized. The fruit Yeshua is speaking of is the fruit that leads individuals back to HaShem. We can see this in Devarim 13:2-3 which states “Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God prove you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” The desirable fruit of a prophet is to draw individuals and make them followers of HaShem. In other words, true prophets of HaShem produce the fruit of repentance.
The prophet’s fruit of repentance can be determined by the prophet’s use of the two tools HaShem has given for repentance. The first tool HaShem gives to a prophet to lead individuals to repentance is the
. The was given to show the differences between HaShem and false Gods. Therefore, the leads people to HaShem because it defines who He is. This goes against a false prophet’s desire to exult idols, and to lead individuals away from HaShem. Yeshua even clarified that He was using the to lead individuals to repentance in Mathew 5:17 when he stated “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” If a person proclaiming to be a prophet leads people away from HaShem by rendering the meaningless he or she is a false prophet. Secondly, HaShem gave us Yeshua to reveal His own-essence. Therefore, Yeshua is a reflection of HaShem. False prophets lead individuals away from HaShem by negating the importance of Yeshua. One example of this can be seen in 1John 4:3 which states “every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” Because a false prophet’s mission is to lead individuals away from HaShem, the fruit of a false prophet will not magnify the or exalt Yeshua. The anti-messiah and other false prophets feed on the innate human desire to experience the miraculous. By producing signs and wonders false prophets can deceive individuals into following false gods. Yeshua warns us of this danger in Mathew 24:24 when He states “There shall arise false Messiahs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.” However, the elect of HaShem will be able to determine a true prophet from a false prophet by the fruit that the prophet produces. A false prophet produces fruit that leads individuals away from HaShem. A true prophet produces fruit that leads individuals into repentance and back to HaShem. Therefore, a true prophet will magnify the
and exult Yeshua, and a false prophet will not."By Rabbi Yaakov Ben Yosef
