A Distinction of Unity

I’ve entitled today’s Message, “A distinction of Unity,” as an obvious paradox designed to provoke thought about the very concept of what Unity is.

Today, I’m going to focus on the notion of how WE may perceive unity, and hopefully get a better understanding of how The LORD wants us to understand it.

However, before I begin, I want to impart some words of Wisdom that will set the stage for this focus.

“Not everything is what it appears to be.”

Meaning; that when we are satisfied with the obvious, and the simple surface understanding, then we are in danger of manipulation, and deception. In fact, a book that I read as a young man, given to me by a Jewish lady that I went to college with, helped me begin to understand this very premise. The book was called “By way of Deception,” by Victor Ostrovsky.

Now, Ostrovsky was a Canadian Jew, born in Edmonton Alberta. He made Aliyah to Israel, and did his Military Service. As his career progressed, Victor was recruited into the Mossad, Israel’s Spy Agency. The book, though full of interesting stories of his training, and the eventual assignments in the field, turned into an aggressive attack on the integrity of the Agency. His claims of misconduct and abuse of power smeared the reputation of the World’s most secretive and effective Intelligence Organization.

The title was meant to proclaim that the Mossad will not hesitate to implement whatever tactics that it deems necessary to achieve its objectives, including implementing, "The Art of Deception."

Unfortunately, this is a tool of the Trade, or so it would appear, but we must keep in mind there is a slight conceptual difference between “Deception,” and“Veiling.” The key, is to understand this difference.

Some of us may refer to this as being as “Wise as Serpents, but as harmless as doves,” (Matthew 10:16) but we all know that the Mossad is far from “Harmless.” All the same, when dealing with the tactics of The Enemy, Israel cannot afford to have a “Transparency policy.” It must behave like “The Serpent” in order to fight The Serpent.

That being said, sometimes giving your enemy false information is an integral part of the Business of Espionage. Then again, trusting in HaShem must be the eventual goal of our eternal security. Until then, Israel does what Israel does to survive.

I’ve always been fascinated with the world of espionage.

In fact, as a boy I dreamed of becoming a Spy, an aspiration; as far back as I can remember. I mean, after I gave up on the whole idea of becoming an astronaut, because I would get dizzy on the merry-go-round, let alone spinning at M.A.C.H. 5 in a simulator.

The fact is that I aspired to be a lot of things, including what I am doing right now, but the one thing that stuck with me, was the Game of Espionage.

Perhaps this was a family trade. After all, my Grandfather as a Jew, worked for the Dutch Resistance, in Holland during the Holocaust. As the story goes, he was merely a common Waiter… well… perhaps not so common, as he did work in Amsterdam’s Finest Restaurant.

After the Nazi invasion, my Grandfather had hid behind his Spanish name, and his staged Catholic Conversion, to survive the horrors which were to come. I’ve been told by family members that he had been questioned many times by Nazi-Jew Hunters, but after a quick flash of his crucifix and an “ik spreek niet zo goed duits,” in a broken foreign accent, they let him go. The LORD had other plans for this one.

If only they knew... After the invasion, where do you think the SS would indulge themselves? Who would be more deserving of Holland’s finest cuisine than the Fatherland’s Finest Officers...  and whom do you think served them?

My Grandfather was not only fluent in Spanish, Yiddish, and Dutch, amongst other languages, languages that he learned in school, at home, and on his journeys around the world, but he was also well versed in High German. Little did they know that their lowly Hispanic Servant, who was so generously serving his Arian Masters all the booze they wanted, my Grandfather, was actually an Agent of the Dutch Resistance.

As their drinks began to take effect, and their verbal inhibitions got the best of them, his unsuspecting customers began to divulge plans of where they were going to sweep next in the city of Amsterdam, looking for Jews.

The story has it, that he would jump on his bike, as soon as he heard the whereabouts, to relay the information to Headquarters. I even heard stories that when it was too late to report into HQ, he would risk his own life to ride his bike directly to the location, only to arrive just as the round up and executions were taking place – A time that I could not even imagine living through.

Now, this may sound like a dramatization and beginning of a Spy Novel itself, but the point is that I think my childhood fantasies were based on this part of my Family History. All the same, my Grandfather used the intelligence that he gathered to save many Jewish Lives. Unfortunately, he was unable to save his own family. In fact, other than his brother David, who happened to be out of the country when the Nazis invaded, my Grandfather was the only survivor of his immediate family.

I believe it was only by the hand of the LORD that he made it through, perhaps for the very purpose of what you are hearing today – If it were not for him, and his survival, I would not be here to tell you this story.

Eventually, my Grandfather became a believer in Yeshua, for real this time, shortly before his death, and he too knew and understood what I do about Mashiach.

Therefore, it is my privilege and honour to serve the LORD, and His People, by telling this story, and sharing and teaching about the things that Our LORD has revealed to me, within His Word.

Now, the life of a Spy is not easy. He is always on edge, expecting to be caught at any moment. He is never sure if what he sees is real. His enemy may have discovered his operation, and is now feeding him false intelligence to mislead him, and send him in the wrong direction, or worse, to trap him.

A Spy must be able to read between the lines, and see the things that others do not. In fact, they are usually masters of encryption and cypher techniques.

The Spy never assumes that what he is seeing is what it is. He questions everything, and bases his analysis on motivation and probability. He is constantly asking questions.

We know of the Spy Stories in the Scripture, when Moses sent the 12 in, to assess the land, and that 2 came back with a good report. We know that Spies entered Jericho, and because of Rehab’s assistance, she was blessed, and this Gentile woman became a Mother in the Line of Messiah.

Our Enemy is wise, and cunning, and is a better spy than we could ever be. He knows techniques of blending into the background, so that you least detect him. In fact Yeshua warns us that, even the very elect would be deceived by him, if it were possible. He is very good at Deception; he is a master of disguise, and what he does.

Therefore we must be diligent, and on guard against his attempts to deceive us. The Scriptures depict him as a hunting lion:

^“8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour”1 Peter 5:8

This is how we should be when reading the Scriptures. This is the Word of God given to us, but the very first question should be, “Can the enemy infiltrate the Word, and mislead us in its intent?”

The answer is Yes, and as they say,“The Proof is in the Pudding.”

There are over 30,000 denominations of Christianity alone, let alone other religions and cults that embrace the Bible as its source of authenticity, each claiming to have “The Truth.”

“Not everything is what it appears to be.”

This is why The Word teaches us that:

⁶ He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant —not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

The enemy even lurks within the very words, designed to save us.

In Midrashic thought, Water is a metaphor of God’s Word. In fact, as I had shared a few weeks ago, even Space is likened unto water, as described as “The Deep,” or “The Great Sea.” As we look upon this metaphor, we are taught within the context of Scripture that, in the midst of these waters, is a creature known as the Leviathan. The Leviathan is that Serpent of Deception, which lives within the Word itself. Meaning that without the guidance of the Ruach HaKodesh (His Holy Spirit), even the very Word of God can be a danger to us.

“Not everything is what it appears to be.”

Let me take you into today’s Parasha to further illustrate this idea.

Turn with me to Numbers 12:6-8

6 And He said: 'Hear now My words: if there be a prophet among you, I the LORD do make Myself known unto him in a vision, I do speak with him in a dream.

7 My servant Moses is not so; he is trusted in all My house; 

8 with him do I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD doth he behold; wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against My servant, against Moses?'

This is an assurance that what Moshe says was spoken to him, in plain understanding, directly from YHVH.

Moshe received The Word directly from The LORD. There were no Parables or misconceptions. At least not like the Prophets that came after Him, prophets like Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel whose words are filled with symbols and mystery.

In fact in Matthew 13:10-13, His Talmudim ask Yeshua,

10… “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

This begs another question, if The LORD spoke plainly to Moses, why does Yeshua speak in Parables among His Talmudim?

He just explained why. The“secrets” of the Kingdom of Heaven have NOT been hidden FROM you, but rather hidden FOR you.

I’ve shared this in other Messages, and in fact, a couple weeks ago, when I was speaking in Winkler, I shared with Haverim some of the mysteries that Yeshua explains, and then directs us to Daniel to get a better understanding. The problem was that, when we got there, Daniel’s words were very difficult to understand.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again; You cannot begin to unlock the mysteries of the Prophets and the Gospels, including Revelation, unless you are strongly grounded in Torah. Torah is the simple, but it is The Foundation, it is the key to the profound. We must begin our search there.

Now, let me demonstrate to you a fundamental to understanding Hebrew. Hebrew can be a language, like any other language, communicating a direct process of thought, but within the structure of Hebrew there are multiple dimensions of thought. Meaning that even though a statement can be understood plain and simple, does not mean that it cannot be seen, as well, on another plane, or dimension of thought.

For example:

Let’s look at Leviticus 19:27

27 Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of they beard.

This is speaking directly and practically to the conduct of the Priests – Pretty straight forward, right?

Now, let’s break the Hebrew words down to their basic root structure. Here is what I found:

“No about the side of the leaders and no destroy eternal pieces of the old”

This is a root translation of the words in Hebrew. The root is where the words come from, the foundational point.

Therefore, this could also be read as:

“Do not go around your Leaders or Elders, and do not set aside the Wisdom of the Aged.”

Now, although this has a very direct and practical application, as it is translated, there is a whole other lesson hidden within the Hebrew Root.

How can this mean both?

The Priests, of whom this passage is speaking to, represents the Spiritual Leadership of Israel, and the symbol of the “beard”that they would don, was a sign of age and wisdom within our ancient culture. Therefore, the beard was like unto a badge of honour, and so they were to wead a beard, and not cut it, as a part of their uniform, a symbol of their office.

This lesson is further illustrated in I Kings 12

1 And Rehoboam went to Shechem; for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.

2 And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it--for he was yet in Egypt, whither he had fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt,

3 and they sent and called him--that Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spoke unto Rehoboam, saying:

4 'Thy father made our yoke grievous; now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.'

5 And he said unto them: 'Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.' And the people departed.

6 And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying: 'What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people?'

7 And they spoke unto him, saying: 'If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.'

8 But he forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him, and took counsel with the young men that were grown up with him, that stood before him.

9 And he said unto them: 'What counsel give ye, that we may return answer to this people, who have spoken to me, saying: Make the yoke that thy father did put upon us lighter?'

10 And the young men that were grown up with him spoke unto him, saying: 'Thus shalt thou say unto this people that spoke unto thee, saying: Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou speak unto them: My little finger is thicker than my father's loins.

11 And now whereas my father did burden you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king bade, saying: 'Come to me again the third day.'

13 And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the counsel of the old men which they had given him;

14 and spoke to them after the counsel of the young men, saying: 'My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke; my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.'

15 So the king hearkened not unto the people; for it was a thing brought about of the LORD, that He might establish His word, which the LORD spoke by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

16 And when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying: 'What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse; to your tents, O Israel; now see to thine own house, David.' So Israel departed unto their tents.

17 But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. {P}

Now, if Rehoboam had taken the council of the Elders that served his Father, then he would have stabilized the Greater Kingdom, and perhaps Northern Israel would not have rebelled and turned to Idolatry, marking the beginning of The End. Perhaps under the influence of the Levites, and obedience to their ordained Leadership, Greater Israel could have been restored, rather than destroyed.

Look at vs 31 – Regarding Jeroboam’s deeds and what he did in the North:

31 And he made houses of high places, and made priests from among all the people, that were not of the sons of Levi.

Therefore the Command of Leviticus 19:27 was broken. Their corners were rounded, and their beards were cut.

Hebrew is not a language where THIS means THIS. Within it, there are other root concepts that do not state a single message alone, but rather help calibrate a unified concept. You cannot get the full message unless you first, have all the pieces to the puzzle.

This means that there are several interpretations and meanings that help capture the thought, opposed to simply stating something within a singular dimension. This means, once again, there is work on our part to get that deeper understanding.

I have learned most recently that even concept words in Hebrew like “Tov” (Good) and “Ra” (Evil) and “Kadosh” (Holy) are not as simply understood as their English counterparts.

In fact, in a recent study I found that although “Ra”is translated as “Evil,” it also means “To see,” or that “God will provide.” Now, we can simply interpret that to mean that “Ra” (Evil) is “Bad,” but it depends on the context in relation to YHVH.

For example:

If you are in Lust, walking away from HaShem, the force that pulls you away is “Ra.” You want to “See” your lust fulfilled. However, upon realizing that “The Wages of Sin is Death,” and in this Revelation, you fear the consequences, it is “Ra” that drives you back, T’shuva, Repentance, and returns you to the LORD, like the Prodigal Son.

You see, Ra, although translated simply as Evil, can hold a Positive Connotation, if it is the force that drives you back to Hashem. This is where we get the term “Scared Straight.” It is the Fear of Evil that makes us run home to Abba.

Now, let me give you another example, and this one may surprise you, but stay with me:

The Word “Kadosh,” can have a Negative Connotation.

For example:

1 Peter 1:16 states:  for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

We know that Kadosh or Holy means to be separate.  Now if you are “Separate” as He is “Separate,” then you are “Separated” from the World, yet together with Him.  However, what if you are “Kadosh,”away from Him?  Isn’t this the very epitome of the consequences of Sin, “Eternal Separation from YHVH?”  This is also Holy, but a “Bad Holiness.”  You are separated, but away from Him.

You see, Kadosh, although translated simply as “Holy,” can hold a Negative Connotation, if it is that line that separates us from Him.

Understanding Hebrew is dependent upon where you stand with HaShem. If The LORD is sought out within the context, as He is there, then Hebrew takes on the multi-dimensional nature. The LORD is the Key to unlock those doors. He must be the centre of The Word. Then, it is His Word. Otherwise, they are just words, a dead language, conveying singular thoughts. This is His Nature and the Nature of His name – YHVH – “Who was – Who is– Who is to come.” His Eternal Nature transcends all time and space.

Hebrew is a perspective driven language, whereas English, and the other languages of men, do not work on so many varying levels – unifying the thought through points of calibration.

It is like looking at the stars, your view or understanding may change depending on where you are viewing them from. Never the less, Truth is not a matter of Logic, but rather a calibration of multiple points.

This leads me back to my point: “Not everything is what it appears to be.”

This is because we Trust, without question, and therefore we suffice with only one view point. The Torah and Yeshua teach us that we need at least 2 or 3 witnesses, for anything to be binding.

6 At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is to die be put to death; at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death.  Deuteronomy 17:6

And in Matthew Yeshua explains:

¹⁵ “If your brother or sister^[b] sins,^[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

¹⁶ But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’^[d]

¹⁷ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the Kehielah; and if they refuse to listen even to the Kehielah, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

¹⁸ “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be^[e] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be^[f] loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

²⁰ For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

Matthew 18:15-20

In fact Paul says:

13 This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2 Corinthians 13:1

Then again to Timothy:

¹⁷ The elders who direct the affairs of the Kehielah well are worthy of double honour, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

¹⁸ For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”^[a] and “The worker deserves his wages.”^[b]

¹⁹ Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.

²⁰ But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.

²¹ I charge you, in the sight of God and Mashiach Yeshua and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.

2 Timothy 5:17-21

I think you get the point… or at least 2 or 3 of them?

Today, the Modern Church is focused upon ideas of Inclusion and Unity. These are very positive concepts. We should be open and inclusive. The Gospel was designed for everyone to come and hear, and hopefully be persuaded to enter into Covenant with The LORD – This is True.

However, this Inclusion and Unity does have limits. There is doctrine out there right now, teaching that “LOVE” overcomes all these limitations. I guess even the ones that The LORD Himself has put into place?

Oh, but Daniel, those limitations are only based upon your own personal interpretation of Scripture, not God’s. Those limitations are called “The Old Testament.” Jesus came to teach us about Loving our Brother. Daniel, maybe you should pull the beam out of your own eye, before you attempt to pull the splinter out of your brothers.

These are Wise Words. These are His Words, and this would be good advice, if it were applied within proper context.

First of all the Torah taught us to Love our Brother, long before the words of The New Testament were even written, where do you think the Writers of the New Testament acquired them from? -- Same source. Secondly, my personal interpretations are based upon the 3 witness rule that the LORD had prescribed for the method of interpretation, and not upon my own understanding.

Therefore, we also have a method of dealing with Sin amongst ourselves.

We have a saying today, “Friends do not let Friends Drink and Drive.”

A more accurate version to Believers should be, “Haverim does not let Haverim Sin without challenge.” We must be accountable to one another.

Yes – I do have beams in my eyes, at times, and I do depend on The Spirit of the LORD who guides me on HOW - NOT to Judge by the sight of my Eyes, nor the Hearing of My ears, but with Righteousness, defend the poor. All the same, we must remember that there are at least 2 words in Hebrew that mean “Judge.”

There is the “Loving” corrective Judgment of “Dan,” which is to help direct our brother back to the path of Torah, or there is that vengeful–Price Paying, “Shofet,” which proclaims the Wrath of Hashem, defying the 3^rdCommandment which tells us “NOT to Give Destructive Value to the Eternal Name of YHVH.” Shofet is not our place, and therefore we are not to Shofet, lest we be Shofet ourselves. Of course I am speaking in a Spiritual Nature.

As for the Final Judgements of this World, there are men appointed to that Job, and by the Grace of God, they conduct themselves wisely in making Judgements, for they too one day, will be Judged.

Therefore, to recap – Deception is a tool of the Enemy, and that Enemy lurks even within God’s Word. He allows him (Leviathan) to swim in the waters of the beloved, but only for a time.

According to the Word of the LORD, Yeshua taught this, regarding this very thing, and this too comes from Matthew 13:

²⁴ Yeshua told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Therefore, we should be aware, that in spite of the fact that we desire to do which is right before The LORD, we must seek His guidance, because there are Tares among us. We ourselves may be those Tares, unknowingly, myself included. This is why we are challenge by Rav Sha’ul to continually examine ourselves, testing the Spirits and to see whether or not we are still in the Faith.

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly weak -- who can know it?  Jeremiah 17:9

Therefore, what do we do with this teaching of “The Emerging Church,” the teaching that Unity and Love is above all limitations? How do we apply the method to discern or distinguish what is the meant by “Unity?”

How do we determine the difference between the Scriptural understanding of; “Hine ma tov uma’nayim shevet achim gam y’chad” – Which means, “Behold how Good and how pleasant it is, for brothers to dwell together, in Unity,” and the Unity of the New Age Movement, which is known to Believers as “Babylon” – The Unity of Mankind?

This is a Good Question – So now, let’s have a look at it.

I've heard many teachings by this type of "Unity," propagating that Jesus was the most misunderstood "Holy Man," there ever was.  "All that He wanted to teach was for us to just get along, and love one another." -- Really?

Wouldn’t it be nice, if we all just got along? Of course it would, and this is the Plan, but we must fulfil The LORD’s plan within His framework, not our own, not by the means of Babylon.

If this was the premise of Yeshua’s teaching, then why did He declare;

³⁴ “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. ³⁵ For I have come to turn

“‘a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law —
³⁶ a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’^[c]

³⁷ “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

³⁸ Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

³⁹ Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.

Matthew 10:34-39

Now, THAT’s not Unity… At least not how we (As Mankind) perceive it.

Then what is the LORD’s idea of Unity?

This is where we see two of the witnesses come together, Kadosh (Holy) and Echad (Unity). These two points make for a line of trajectory. What is the 3^rdwitness, which is required to have an accurate cross-section, so that we have a triangulated position?

The answer is You. You are the starting point, or so it would appear, but remember two things. 1) “Not everything is what it appears to be,” and 2) Who gives the Power to the Word?

If we are only looking from our position, we are not seeing the Truth. We must align ourselves with our Father, and then, when we see it from His Point of view, we will be Echad with Him – Holy as He is Holy.

Otherwise, if we only see it from our positioning, we are no different than the Pagan or the Tax Collector, whose perceptions are only of themselves. This is the root of Sin – Missing the Mark.

HaSatan not only wanted to see from The LORD’s vantage point, but he wanted to be the vantage point. Then, when tempting Chavah in the Garden, he entices her with the same motive,

5“for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3:5

We may think our hearts are in the right place, but we must be cautious of even our own motives, we may not know them. Remember the quote from Jeremiah 17:9 – “The heart is deceitful…” Truly, who can know it?

This is why when we read in Genesis 32, when Yacov wrestles with the LORD and proclaims, “Tell me your name?” The LORD responds,“Why do you ask My Name?” Genesis 32:30 – The LORD is having Yacov question his own motivation? “Are you truly seeking me, or the Power of My Name?”

Then in Mark 10 we find the 3^rd Witness:

¹⁷ As Yeshua started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. “Good teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Yeshua answered. “No one is good—except God alone.

¹⁹ You know the commandments: ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.’^[d]”

²⁰ “Teacher,” he declared, “all these I have kept since I was a boy.”

²¹ Yeshua looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. “Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Mark 10:17-22

“Why do you call me Good?” This was the same question asked of Yacov, “What is your motivation?” –as we just read in vs 22 – “His face fell…” because it was about Him, and not the LORD.

Don’t you see! He came as the suffering servant, because He wanted us to Love Him for Him, not what He could do for us. Of course He will bless us and take care of us, but it must be about Him. If we let go of our lives, we will gain them, but if we hold onto our lusts and wants, we will lose them.

This is why he veiled Himself and spoke in Parables… Was this deception, or was this for good reason?

Let me take you back to Victor Ostrovsky’s book for a moment, to help us understand this point.

The title actually comes from the Scripture, believe it or not. It is one of the varying translations of Proverbs 24:6

6 For with wise advice thou shalt make thy war; and in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

This does not say, “By Way of Deception?” What are you talking about?

As I had demonstrated earlier, within Leviticus 19:27, although on the surface it is referring to the beards of the Kohenim, there is another message within the root words of the Hebrew.

In this case, “By Way of Deception,” is hidden within the root of Proverbs 24:6.

The Hebrew word בתחבולות(ḇə·ṯaḥ·bu·lō·wṯ) translates into English “Wise Advice,” but the root word is “chabal” which also translates as, "Ploys, Tricks, Trickery, Subterfuges, or Stratagems.” Hence, it can be translated as “By Ways of Deception, thou shalt make war.”

Once again, this is a translation, but if we were to really understand the premise of the verse, the word is not “Deception,” but “Shrewd.” Which once again takes us back to Yeshua’s Words of Matthew 10:16:

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.”

Therefore, another way of looking at the root translation of Proverbs 24:6 we can see an encoded message:

“Because of the Serpents Trickery, to accomplish the way of Salvation, you must find multiple witnesses.”

Meaning that “Since the Serpent uses tricks of Deception, you must implement similar tactics, all the while, maintaining your honour.”

Now that’s a tall order, but Welcome to being Israel.

As I conclude today, I want to take you back to the premise of this Message, which is, “What is Unity from HaShem’s perspective?”

Let’s once again look to today’s Parasha –Numbers 8:

1 And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying:

2 'Speak unto Aaron, and say unto him: When thou lightest the lamps, the seven lamps shall give light in front of the candlestick.'

3 And Aaron did so: he lighted the lamps thereof so as to give light in front of the candlestick, as the LORD commanded Moses.

4 And this was the work of the candlestick, beaten work of gold; unto the base thereof, and unto the flowers thereof, it was beaten work; according unto the pattern which the LORD had shown Moses, so he made the candlestick.

Now, this translation uses the term “Candlestick,” where the Hebrew is specific to“Menorah.” Now, I want you to understand something that we usually overlook in context, and that is that the Menorah is really, only the centre candle.

The other “candles” are actually the braches stemming out of the Menorah, the centre candle stick.

If you notice, all the branches stem back into the Menorah. It is the Menorah itself that creates the unity of the branches. It holds them all together.

It is Messiah that unifies us. We know that He is the Centre Candlestick, which we also refer to as the Shamash, because Revelation deems him as such:

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,^[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.

Revelation 1:12-13

He is the root, and we are His branches, and just like the Olive Tree of Romans 11, you have been graphed in to this root. We are unified by the Shamash. This is the Unity, and Holiness that HaShem is looking for.

Therefore, we must be careful that we are not lead to Unify in the Camp of Babylon, which is the Unity of Man, but rather to Unite in the Camp of Israel – Those who seek after His Name -- Those that place Him in the Centre of the Camp, opposed to those who place themselves in the Centre of the Camp.

We must walk in the Light, as He is in the Light, and then we will have fellowship one with another. 1 John 1:7

If we allow those outside the camp, to come in, and commune with us, those with an agenda that is not of HaShem’s Vision, those who have not committed themselves to HaShem’s plan for Haverim, then instead of us being a Light to the Nations, we will have been influenced by their ways, and not the ways of Torah.

This week’s parasha also addresses this in Numbers 11:

4 And the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting; and the children of Israel also wept on their part, and said: 'Would that we were given flesh to eat!

Meaning that their murmuring affected Israel’s behaviour, and Israel joined in with the mixed multitude.

Haverim, we must ask ourselves, are we being influenced by the ways of Babylon, and Man’s Vision of Unity or are we Graphed into the Olive Tree of Israel?

We must be discerning of what Unity that we make ourselves Echad with. Yes, the LORD wants Unity, but The LORD also wants us to be within our Rightful Place, Holy Unto Him, which makes up the Body of Messiah.

This is exactly what He Commanded us. We must unite with Him, and learn His Ways, but if we disregard His Word, and His Torah, and claim, that we need to “Only LOVE One Another,” and in doing so, compromise the Truth of the Gospel for the sake of Unity, then that is not the Unity that the LORD meant. We must T’shuva – Get out of Babylon, and return to the Unity of the Camp of Israel, the real Israel that makes YHVH the centre of our Camp. This is True Unity.

Therefore, when you hear these terms of “Unity,” and accusations of exclusion are laid upon you, know this, we must be wise as the Serpent, as he implements these tactics of trickery, luring us out, or allowing him in.

We struggle to see, because our heart is in the right place, but we are so easily deceived by him taking advantage of our love for one another, and our desire for the salvation of mankind.

So, I say to the enemy, “Do not mistake our Grace for Weakness. Our God is God, and by His promise, your time is short. The LORD Tzavaot rebukes you.

Haverim, Let’s us now unite in prayer, asking YHVH to unite us, as He would want us to be united.

Let’s pray: