To A Wife -
Enter Yahweh's Kingdom!
By Isaac Aluochier
A lot has happened between us over the last several months, greatly straining our relationship. Events in the last few weeks suggest that a crescendo is about to be reached, which could determine the course of our relationship for the foreseeable future. It is in this context that I write these comments.
Who Is Greatest In The Kingdom Of Heaven?
"Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?", the disciples asked Yah'shuah in Mattityahu (Matthew) 18: 1. Yah'shuah called a little child to himself and set him in the midst of the disciples and told them, with certainty, that unless they were converted or changed and became as little children, they would not only fail to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven, they would not even enter into it! (Mattityahu 18: 2-3.) At the time Yah'shuah told them this they manifestly were not as little children, and thereby needed to so convert and change in order to become like little children. It is therefore imperative that we become like little children if we are to have a reasonable chance of entering into the kingdom of heaven.
How To Become Like Little Children
How are we to become like little children, to facilitate our entry into the kingdom of heaven?
Yah'shuah stated in verse 4 that it is those who humble themselves as that little child he set in the midst of the disciples who are greatest in the kingdom of heaven. It is therefore essential that we have the quality of humility if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven.
How To Become Humble Like Little Children
Yah'shuah himself set us the example of the type of humility we should have if we are to enter into the kingdom of heaven. In Philippians 2: 5 Shaul (Paul) admonished us to allow the frame of mind that was in the Messiah Yah'shuah to also reside in us. For Yah'shuah, being in the form of Yahweh, did not consider it inappropriate to be equal with Yahweh. Nevertheless, he himself did not consider himself to be someone of great substance, but took the form or role of a bondservant, and descended on earth in the likeness of lowly men. (Philippians 2: 6-7.) And in addition to humbling himself by taking human appearance, he further humbled himself by becoming and being obedient to the point of death, even death on the stake. Therefore, as a result of his humility, both emptying himself of his divinity, and also being obedient to Yahweh even to his death, Yahweh has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above every name, given him the position of being greatest in the kingdom of heaven, answerable only to Yahweh himself. Such that at Yah'shuah’s name everyone else in the universe is answerable to Yah'shuah and must bow in worship to him, and everyone should confess that he Yah'shuah is the Messiah and master, all to the glorification of Yahweh the Father (Philippians 2: 8-11).
Shaul therefore continued in his admonition that we should continue in obedience, always being obedient, and in that obedience working out our own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is Yahweh who works in us - as we are as obedient even as Yah'shuah was - to will and to do for his good pleasure (Philippians 2: 12-13).
Therefore, if we are to enter the kingdom of heaven we must be humble like little children, showing this humility by taking the form or role of obedient bondservants to all those in authority over us, who are just fellow human beings in the same form as we are, and therefore not really better than us. Nevertheless, following Yah'shuah’s example, we must be always obedient to these like human beings when these human beings in authority over us are acting within the bounds of the authority Yahweh has given them. Only then may we enter the kingdom of heaven.
Woe To Those Who Offend Yah'shuah's Servants!
In Mattityahu 18: 5 Yah'shuah stated that those who receive and accept his humble and obedient bondservants effectively receive and accept him. But, on the other hand, for those who cause one of these humble and obedient bondservants of his to sin, it would be better for such people if millstones were hung around their neck and they were drowned in the depth of the sea - a certain death with little possibility of escape! (Verse 6.) In Luke 17: 1-2 Yah'shuah is noted as telling his disciples that it is impossible that no offences should come amongst those who believe in him. Nevertheless, he pronounced a woe to those through whom such offences come! He added that it would be better for such individuals if millstones were hung around their necks, and they were drowned into the sea, than that they should offend one of his humble and obedient bondservants.
Offenders Of Yah'shuah's Servants Better Off Dead Than Alive
Those who cause Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, those through whom offences come amongst those who believe in Yah'shuah, are better off dead than alive - according to none other than Yah'shuah! And they are better off dead than alive before they cause Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, before they allow themselves to be the conduits through whom offences come amongst those who believe in Yah'shuah! For if they so die before their causation of Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, before they allow themselves to be the conduits through whom offences come amongst the believers in Yah'shuah, they would die without responsibility for having committed this sin, as they would not have committed it. For this offence is a serious one!
Why Offenders Of Yah'shuah's Servants Better Off Dead Than Alive
It is clear from 1 Yahchanan (John) 3: 4 that sin is the transgression of the law - Yahweh’s law. Therefore those who cause Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin cause them to become perpetual transgressors of the law, cause them to become lawless! The offences that come amongst Yah'shuah’s believers that these allow themselves to act as conduits for are those things that cause the believers to become lawless! Such things include false teachings and heresies which have an effect of persuading Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants out of their humility and obedience, for acceptance of these false teachings and heresies cause Yah'shuah’s believers to become lawless, proud and disobedient, thereby jeopardising their opportunity of entry into the kingdom of heaven! Such false teachings and heresies, if accepted, eventually lead to the spiritual death of Yah'shuah’s believers! No wonder it is better for one to die physically before one has had a role in the spiritual death of another!
Entering Life More Important Than Component Parts Of Our Bodies
In Mattityahu 18: 8-9 Yah'shuah stated that if part of one’s body was responsible for causing one to sin - to become lawless, that part should be removed from the body and cast away. For it is better for one to enter life - the kingdom of heaven - without a part of one’s body, than for one to preserve the entirety of one’s body, including the part causing the body to sin, and end up losing one’s spiritual life! Even if that part of the body is a helping hand, or a supporting foot, or a seeing eye, it is better if it is cut off and disposed of from the body. For it is better to enter into eternal life without such a part of one’s body, than to retain it and end up with it devoid of spiritual life and cast into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels!
From various scriptures it is clear that the group of Yah'shuah’s believers is also known as the body of the Messiah. Therefore, if one of the members of Yah'shuah’s believers causes the body of the Messiah to sin, or allows oneself to be the conduit by which offence comes into the body of the Messiah, such offending person should be removed from the body of the Messiah. For it is better that the body of the Messiah enters into life without that portion of it, than for it to retain that portion and end up in the everlasting fire. It is better for such an offending individual to be removed from the assembly of believers than for such to remain in it and cause the entire assembly to lose out on eternal life in the kingdom of heaven.
Do Not Despise Yah'shuah's Humble And Obedient Bondservants
In Mattityahu 18: 10-14 Yah'shuah warned us to take heed that we do not despise one of these humble and obedient bondservants of his. For these humble and obedient bondservants of his have their own angels, with direct and continual access to his Father, who plead their cause before his Father in heaven. They therefore should not be despised, for they are very well connected to the ultimate source of all power and authority in the universe.
It Is Not The Father's Will That Any Of Yah'shuah's Servants Should Perish
Yah'shuah added that he came to save the lost, who include his humble and obedient bondservants prior to his saving power coming upon them. The lost also include those of his believers who stray away from humility and obedience, thereby becoming proud and disobedient. These straying believers Yah'shuah seeks out wherever it is that they have strayed to that he may find them and return them back to his fold, bringing his saving power over them again, thereby giving them his humility and obedience.
He added that it was not his Father’s will that any of his humble and obedient bondservants should perish. Therefore, even if one of these who believe in him strays away from humility and obedience in their bondservice to him, Yah'shuah will go out to seek this one to wherever it is the one has strayed to spiritually, and spiritually find the one, in order that he may bring back the one into his fold. For it is the Father’s will that none of these who believe in Yah'shuah should perish.
In Luke 17: 3-4 Yah'shuah warned us to take heed to ourselves. This he said in the context of what he had just spoken about in the previous two verses, namely offences coming amongst his believers.
He instructed that if a brother sinned by allowing himself to be the conduit through whom offence comes amongst his believers, he should be rebuked. For by so rebuking the sinning brother one is manifesting a love for the brother. And if the brother takes heed of the rebuke, and repents of his sin, we should forgive him. And even if the brother sins repeatedly in the matter of allowing himself to be the conduit through whom offences come amongst his believers, and each time the sinning brother listens to each rebuke given to him and repents of his sin, we should forgive the brother.
In other words, what Yah'shuah was teaching and warning here was that some of the believers were weaker than others, and were therefore more prone to sinning by allowing themselves to be the conduits by whom offences come amongst his believers. And some were so weak that they would repeatedly sin in this same manner. Yet, provided such erring believers were sufficiently like little children and would listen to each rebuke and repent of each such sin, they were to be forgiven by the other believers.
In Mattityahu 18: 15-20 Yah'shuah instructed us on the procedure to be adopted in the case whereby a brother sins by causing Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, or the brother allows himself to be the conduit by which offence comes amongst Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants. Those offended were to privately tell the sinning or offending brother his fault between him and them alone. If the offending brother listened to the counsel given him, then he was gained from the clutches of sin.
But if in obstinacy the offending brother refused to hear the counsel given to him, then those offended were to take one or two more of the brethren, that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established." But if the offending brother continued in his obstinacy and refused to listen to the counsel of this wider group of brethren, then the entire assembly was to be informed about the matter. And if in further obstinacy the offending brother still refused to listen to the counsel given to him, then he was to be removed from the assembly of Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants, and was to be treated as not being part of that assembly, and considered an unbeliever.
Cast Out Unrepentant Offenders
Yah'shuah further asserted that in such a scenario, whereby a brother has caused Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, or has allowed himself to be the conduit by whom offence comes amongst Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants, and the offending brother has been counselled, both initially privately and latterly publicly that he ceases from the offensive conduct, but he repeatedly refuses to listen, then such a brother is expelled from the assembly of Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants, not just in human fellowship here on earth, but also from his fellowship with Yah'shuah and Yahweh in heaven.
Disfellowshipping Of Unrepentant Offenders Has Ratification In Heaven
And this decision of the called out ones of Yahweh here on earth has ratification in heaven, for in reaching such a decision, after having followed the procedure clearly laid down by Yah'shuah, who has Yahweh’s authority both in heaven and on earth as Mattityahu 28: 18-20 shows, the called out ones of Yahweh are acting in the full authority of Yah'shuah, and not on their own authority. Therefore, by correctly acting within Yah'shuah’s delegated authority to them, what they agree or decide to do here on earth in such a matter is done for them by Father Yahweh in heaven, and therefore the matter is ratified in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in his name, or by Yah'shuah’s authority, Yah'shuah is effectively there with them in the determination of the matter.
This authority of Yah'shuah, which he has delegated to his brethren, should therefore not be ignored by any of his humble and obedient servants, even those who stray from his humility and obedience.
Must We Always Forgive Repentant Offenders?
In Mattityahu 18: 21-35 Yah'shuah responded to Peter’s question regarding whether there should be an upper limit to the number of forgivable repeated sins or offences committed by a brother, whereby the brother repeatedly causes Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants to sin, or repeatedly allows himself to be the conduit by whom offences come amongst Yah'shuah’s humble and obedient bondservants.
Yah'shuah responded by stating that effectively there should be no upper limit to the number of times we should forgive a repentant brother, irrespective of the number of times he has caused his humble and obedient bondservants to sin, or irrespective of the number of times he has allowed himself to be a conduit by whom offences come amongst his humble and obedient bondservants. For just as our heavenly Father has forgiven us greater sins we have committed against him, even sins committed repeatedly, so also should we forgive our fellow brethren for their sins against us, whether causing us to sin, or being the conduit by whom offences come amongst us. For as our heavenly Father has had compassion on us and forgiven us our greater sins, we too should have compassion on our brethren when they sin against us and forgive them their lesser sins.
My wife, in the last few weeks, offence has come into our household through your being the conduit by which the offence has come. For you have brought in false and heretical teachings from those who, in their dissemination of these false and heretical teachings, have shown themselves not to be humble and obedient bondservants of Yah'shuah. And should these not repent of their false and heretical teachings and change and become humble and obedient bondservants of Yah'shuah, they will not enter into the kingdom of heaven, but will be removed from the assembly of called out ones, if they are indeed in this assembly.
Each time you have allowed yourself to act as a conduit for these offences coming into our household, and have brought to my attention the said offences, I have shown you the errors of these false and heretical teachings! It has not been an easy series of tasks you have given me, for some of these false and heretical teachings have been very cleverly put together, thereby making it possible for one to be deceived by them.
Nevertheless, by Yahweh’s grace and the guidance of his Holy Spirit, I have been able to show you the errors inherent in the false and heretical teachings you have brought into our household by allowing yourself to act as the conduit for bringing in such false and heretical teachings! I have painstakingly put down in writing for you that which has been given to me to show you the errors of these false and heretical teachings, thereby allowing you to study these matters and correctly come to see the errors of the false and heretical teachings you have brought into our household.
But you have to date been unwilling to listen to the corrections and rebukes that have been given to you. In fact, you have hardly taken the time to study the articles I have prepared for your benefit, articles that clearly show the errors of the false and heretical teachings you have brought into our household. You therefore continue in your obstinate refusal to listen, thereby refraining from even giving a fair hearing to the matters put before you, matters arising from those which you yourself brought into our household - the false and heretical teachings!
If you have read this letter this far then you should have clearly heard what Yah'shuah himself has said in the matters discussed in this letter. You should have clearly heard that he desires that those of us who believe in him should be humble and obedient bondservants of his. You should also have seen his example, how he humbled himself and became obedient to Yahweh even to his death, yet he was in the same form with Yahweh and could count equality with Yahweh. He therefore taught us that even though we can count equality with other human beings, we should follow his example of humility and be obedient to all those in authority over us, provided these in authority over us are acting within the authority he has accorded them.
Do You Realise The Import Of Yah'shuah's Words?
Concerning these false and heretical teachings you have brought into our household, I have repeatedly asked you to look into and study the articles I have prepared for your benefit which show the errors in the teachings you have brought. But you refuse to listen to me, yet I am not exceeding the authority Yah'shuah has given me as your husband. In fact I am acting in that authority he has given me. Why then do you refuse to listen to your husband when he is acting in Yah'shuah’s authority? Do you realise that in so doing you are also not being humble, in addition to being disobedient to Yah'shuah himself? Do you realise that such proud and disobedient conduct, if continued in, will jeopardise your entry into Yahweh’s kingdom, thereby confining you into the everlasting fire?
Do you realise, according to Yah'shuah’s own words, that in your bringing into our household these false and heretical teachings which are causing offence within our household, it would be better if you were dead than to continue in allowing yourself to be the conduit by which these false and heretical teachings come into our household, thereby causing offence? Do you realise that if you continue on with bringing these false teachings into our household, and refuse to listen to good counsel from Yahweh’s own word via your husband, you risk being cut off from Yah'shuah’s own body, Yahweh’s called out ones, not just here on earth, but also in heaven?
Return To Yahweh - For He Is Merciful
Fortunately for all of us, Father Yahweh shows us great mercy and compassion. He forgives us our sins. And when we stray from his fold, Yah'shuah seeks us out from wherever it is that we have spiritually strayed to, using those under his authority to so seek us out and bring us back into his fold.
In our case it is clearly evident that by your continued yieldedness to act as a conduit bringing in false and heretical teachings into our household you are spiritually straying away from Yah'shuah’s fold, even though physically you may still be fellowshipping with the brethren. Yah'shuah is therefore spiritually seeking you out that you may return to his fold. Abandon your folly in allowing yourself to be the conduit for bringing into our household these false and heretical teachings, which are causing offence and may cause any in our household to sin. Repent of this folly that you may be forgiven this sin. And then strive for Yah'shuah’s humility and obedience, being a humble and obedient bondservant of Yah'shuah, listening to and obeying all whom Yah'shuah has put in authority over you when they act within the authority Yah'shuah has given them.
I pray and hope that you will listen this time.
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© 1998, Isaac Aluochier, All rights reserved. Published by Servants of Yahweh, P O Box 22855, London, NW9 8ZF, United Kingdom. E-mail: servantsofyahweh@serveyahweh.org. Permission is hereby GRANTED to reproduce this and other publications in the Servants of Yahweh web site, http://www.serveyahweh.org, unless otherwise stated.
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