New Moon Meeting: July 04, 2:40 EST
Araphel

 

Justus: Perhaps a roll call now?

Israfel: I am here.
Qinael: I am here.
Barbara: Here.
Justus: Here.
Mark: Present.
Pastor “Chick”: Present.
Crystle: Here.
Jerri Mae: Here.
Solomon: Here.

Zahakiel: All right, Luke... can you open us with a prayer?

Qinael: Sure.

Father,
We thank you for this time to gather together, and the provision of convenience in doing so. We thank you for allowing us all to be present, and for those that are not able, we pray you will be with them in what they are doing. May it be for thy glory. We pray for brother David, that he be kept from any intrusions by the weather where he is, and that he may be able to stay present for all that need be accomplished via the internet today. And we ask that our minds and hearts be opened to the message you have given him to share with us, that we may have understanding and be blessed, as always, by your Word.

In the name of Yahshua we pray, amen.

Zahakiel: Amen :)
Pastor “Chick”: Amen.
Barbara: Amen.
Israfel: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Mark: Amen.
Jerri Mae: Amen.
Solomon: Amen.
Justus: Amen.

Zahakiel: All right, now quite a number of you are new, and praise Yah for a nice number :) Because of that here’s the way these online studies generally go. I like to keep them pretty interactive, and I encourage questions. If a question would sort of lead to a side issue, I ask the person to ask me after the formal meeting is over, but that’s the only real thing by way of announcements :)

All right, so this month I’d like us to look at the concepts of light and darkness, as well as the principle of “atmosphere” or environment, because the two are connected, and they have a very important application to our victory over sin in Christ. Here is the basic verse I would like us to examine: “This then is the message which we have heard of Him, and declare unto you, that Yah is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all.” (1John 1:5)

What I would like to discuss today may seem like a “new” message, concerning the nature of light and darkness, but it is one we have known all along. I believe I may introduce a different word for it... and so although I do not want to present a large volume of information today, I’d like to go slowly. This means that if at any time you have a question, more so than previous meetings, please ask. There are a great many applications of the principle we’re looking at today, and we’re only going to actually examine a couple. At the same time, I believe this matter needs to be fully understood, not as a new doctrine, but as a part of the message we have heard from the beginning, and what it means to say that “Yah is light.”

First of all, let us look at this Scripture: “Where is the way where light dwelleth? And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?” (Job 38:19)

Zahakiel: Light is in a “way” not a place; it is not stagnant like darkness. Darkness is in a “place,” and in fact occupies any place through which light does not pass. Basically, light moves, but darkness does not. Spiritually, the same principles apply. We see in Genesis that light and darkness were separated at the first act of physical creation. “And Elohim said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light.’ And Elohim saw the light, that it was good: and Yah divided the light from the darkness.” (Genesis 1:3,4)

The first thing Yah did after creating light was to separate it from the darkness. Spiritually there is a perfect parallel, for Paul tells us about those who are of the faith and those who are not, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2Corinthians 6:14) There can simply be no blending the two, for the presence of one describes the absence of the other.

Zahakiel: But it can be more complex than that, for the word “darkness” in the Bible is not always used in a negative way. Here is a verse: “And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where Elohim was.” (Exodus 20:21)

In this and other places, we see that Yah surrounds Himself with “thick darkness.” The reason for this is because between the natural man and Yah there is hostility, therefore Yah, who is Light, needs to put, in a sense, a “barrier of darkness’ between His glory and mankind. Even for the absolutely faithful, unless and until they are ready for translation, they would be greatly damaged by standing in the unveiled glory of Yahweh.

In one of my books I describe the role of the Covering Cherub in some detail. We know that Lucifer was called by this title before he fell (Ezekiel 28:16) and that the Glory of Yah was kept between two Cherubic figures, and behind a veil on which Cherubim were patterned, to prevent the people from being consumed by the Light. That’s in Exodus 25 and 26. All these things represent that “covering” of Himself.

Zahakiel: The word in the Old Testament for “thick” or “gross” darkness is a term called “Araphel,” and I would like to examine this a little.

From its usage, it is neither purely bad nor good. It is simply an absence of light, which is generally not a positive thing, but may be necessary and even “good” in that it serves Yah’s purpose, such as to keep us safe and to keep us free. Now, Yah is light, but He is also love. They are not exactly the same thing in definition, but when applied to Yah they mean almost the same thing.

Similarly, evil is sin, but it is can also be described as araphel. They are not the same in definition, because when we think of “sin” we may think of moral wrongdoing, not just an absence of light. But evil is also araphel; while sin is the opposite of love, araphel is darkness, and is the opposite of true, pure, spiritual light. This might be confusing, so if you have any questions at this point, please let me know :)

Crystle: Yes, we have a question. How can Yah be light, but yet be surrounded with a “thick darkness?”

Zahakiel: A good question. Someone actually presented that to me as a “contradiction” in the Scriptures.

Yah IS light, that is how He describes Himself. Yet between that light and created beings, He puts up a barrier. If He did not do this, any “sin” would be immediately destroyed. Free will would be “possible” theoretically, but with the effects immediately obvious, it would not be a choice between obedience and disobedience, but between obedience and instant death.

Ron: Do you mean to say “sin” or “sinner”?

Zahakiel: Sin. Yah’s hostility against sinners is because His character is hostile against the sin. He loves the sinners, dying for all men while they were yet sinners.

Does that answer both those questions?

Ron: Yes.

Crystle: Yes, but just a moment please to see if there was another one.

Zahakiel: Ok.

Justus: I have one.

Zahakiel: Sure.

Justus: How does what you are speaking of help our understanding of the victory?

Zahakiel: I will get to that very clearly as the progress of the study goes on.

Crystle: Thank you for waiting. We are fine with the rest.

Zahakiel: Okay, let’s move on then if there are no others?

All right...
In the book I’m working on for the Feast, “The Two Temples,” I am developing a more sanctified version of the “character context” idea presented in the book, “Life, and How It Supports You.” I believe that merely describing our viewpoint as a character context is not enough, as it does not only affect us personally, but those around us as well. Instead of a context, I describe it as an atmosphere, and I correspond this interpretation with relevant statements in the SOP about the atmosphere of heaven vs. the atmospheres in which humans may live on earth.

So essentially it is about the environment in which we live, the environment we often create for ourselves. Basically: Sin cannot exist in light, and conversely, love cannot exist in araphel, in “gross spiritual darkness.” Light is the environment of love, and araphel is the environment of sin. This begins to answer Justus’ question, but there is a lot more to it than this.

Zahakiel: We know that we do not get to Heaven because of the Law, or good works. We also know that when we get to Heaven, nothing will force us to do good, but the same relationship with Christ that caused us to do works of righteousness on earth will continue in Heaven, and with the same results. Because of this, there will always be the “potential” for sin. This needs to be handled very carefully....

After the final judgment, God’s creatures are not less free, they are more free than they were before the sin war... yet despite their freedom, the prophet tells us, “What do ye imagine against Yah? He will make an utter end: affliction shall not rise up the second time.” (Nahum 1:9)

Daniel tells us that the kingdom of Christ is an everlasting kingdom, and Revelation lets us know that all tears will be wiped away and death will be no more. Sin will never rise again, and transgression will not exist after the judgment... yet what gives the freedom it’s value, and love it’s value, is the existence of the potential for these things... and this is a hard matter for some to quite grasp.

I’ll explain in this way:
Some have said that good cannot exist without evil. A lot of religions, including Eastern mystic sects, hold that there is a “balance” between good and evil. This is not quite correct, but the reason why is subtle.

In order to have “good” you do not need to actually have evil, you just need to have evil defined... you just need the potential for it, and this is why although sin will never rise again, the concept of araphel is eternal.

Physical darkness was allowed a place in the original, perfect creation; and in the renewed, spiritual creation, the potential for evil will not be removed, or we would not truly be free.

Now, does everyone understand this? Evil will never rise again, it will never manifest itself in any way, but araphel will exist. Spiritually it is like the “dark-side” of freedom.

Solomon: The “potential for evil” being free will?

Zahakiel: Yes, basically that.

Crystle: Yes, we understand. Although never thought of that before.

Zahakiel: Okay.

The Adventists among us may have read this before – Mrs. White once wrote that the existence of “Sin” in a universe created by a perfect God is a mystery. Sin cannot be explained, it is an intruder into a perfectly harmonious creation.

Yet while it cannot be explained, we can understand the mechanism by which it came to exist. If Yah had created robots, there would be no sin. He created us free, with the potential for true self-rule, true self-control, and so necessarily He created the “potential” for evil, but – this is very important – He did not create the manifestation of “evil” itself.

Zahakiel: The verse in Isaiah, let’s read it... Yah says, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I Yahweh do all these things.” (Isaiah 45:7)

This has caused confusion to some people, but we need to understand a couple of things about that. Eternal life is to know the nature of the Father and the Son, John 17:3, therefore we MUST understand passages like this by heart, like the back of our hands, and we especially can’t afford to overlook anything at all that Yah says about Himself. Our eternal existence depends on our relationship to the Being who makes statements like this. So let’s look at it :)

First of all, the word “evil” is set in contrast to the word “peace,” not to the word “good.” It is a general term for misfortune, for “trouble,” and not moral evil. We are even told, “Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate.” (Psalm 34:21) The same word is used.

Misfortune, calamity (to the victim this is “evil”) can actually be an instrument of justice. Remember the heathen nations that Yah raised up against the Israelites to get them to understand their need for His protection? It is the same principle. Yah allows trouble sometimes, but Yah did not create moral wrongdoing. This is a vital distinction we need to make.

Zahakiel: At the same time, He created free beings, He surrounded Himself with araphel, or darkness, to allow the possibility of sin because of that freedom, and He does not immediately destroy any being who sins. He takes responsibility for sin, though He did not make it. He does it for us, so that we can have an opportunity to be both truly free, and truly holy.

Were it not for this, the instant Satan sinned, there would have been no Satan. The instant Adam sinned, there would have been no Adam, and no us.

None of this may really be new so far, except the use of the term “araphel” to describe the darkness, the environment in which sin can exist. The idea that it is eternal, and cannot be destroyed as long as there is true freedom, may be a new way of looking at what we already know and teach, as Crystle said. But I believe there is more to it... I just haven’t seen it all yet, and I believe that it will be revealed to me during the course of an upcoming study. As it is, I am telling you all what I have seen about it to this point, so that I can gain the benefit of your input.

Let me tell you how Yah gave me this understanding, and this part will indeed be new to most of you.

Crystle: I have a question before you proceed, if I may?

Zahakiel: Sure.

Crystle: Does that mean that in heaven there may still be some forms of troubles, trials, etc. that will be used as teaching tools?

Zahakiel: I would say that trouble and trials become necessary as teaching tools because men have not always followed the light they have had. In Heaven, there will be no need for that specific kind of lesson. We will not be “undoing” the things we have done wrong or thought wrong before... that’s the painful part of growth, really.

Mark: Nahum 1:9.

Crystle: Okay... thanks.

Zahakiel: <nods.>

Zahakiel: Now, recently, while I was organizing my notes I made a couple graphics to represent the information I know about some of the individuals I have described so far in what I’ve written about the angelic point of view of the great controversy.

I drew a circle of the 12 Sealed angels (corresponding to the tribes), the 7 chiefs of the orders, the archangels, and so on... and where all these roles overlapped. In the center of this circle I wrote the name “Michael.” I’ll be including the graphic with the transcript of this study, so you can see more clearly.

Now in another diagram I drew the names of the 9 major demons in a similar circle along with the 7 chiefs of the fallen orders, and wrote by their names some of the information I knew about them. The details of the diagrams are not important for this study, but who or what, I wondered, goes into the middle of that second circle?

Sometimes the way we represent data, and the way we look at it, causes us to see things. For example, a bunch of numbers in a column may not mean much to us, but if we plot it in a curve, or on a graph, we begin to see trends, relative values, and the data takes on meaning, because we “see” what it means.

This is one of the great blessings of spiritual lessons presented in parables, because the principle becomes a picture, a concept in our minds, and we can recall it at will easily this way.

To understand what goes in the middle of the “bad” circle, we need to look at what Michael represents to the angels, and then a very relevant application indeed becomes clear. Michael, as a manifestation of the Son of Yah, was the manifestation of the Creator to them. He was and is their commander, as the Scriptures tell us in Joshua 5:14 and Revelation 12:7. They serve Him, obey Him. He is the perfect manifestation of Yah, for Yahshua the man He became and has remained tells us, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Zahakiel: We saw before that Yah is love, and Yah is light. Michael therefore is a perfect representation, or “image” of love and light. Christ of course is this manifestation made flesh, as we know from the Gospels, particularly John’s. So, what is it that the demons serve, that determines what they do, and that represents sin and darkness? You might think “Satan” at first, but the demons do not truly serve him in the way the angels serve Christ.

Sin originated in Satan, and because he has linked himself to it, that chaos and death is his destiny, and so he has no real choice but to plunge this world to which he is confined into chaos... into Babylon. But the potential must come before the event.

In the same way, demons do not actually “serve” sin, they suffer from it just like unconverted men. It is actually the darkness itself, the environment of sin, that the demons serve. This is why they tempt human beings... to bring them to their religion.

Why can’t Satan be considered the full representation of sin and darkness, while Christ can be considered the full representation of light and love? The reason is quite simple. Satan is a creature, and Yahshua is not.

Latter day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that both were created, and I believe they place Satan and Christ as opposites, but the Bible tells us that the Son of Yah was from “everlasting,” and so cannot be placed as a true opposite to Lucifer. In fact, no created being can perfectly represent a principle – only a self-existent Being can represent an eternal principle perfectly.

We know from Ellen White’s writings that Satan attempted to repent. We know from the Bible that Satan was not always evil. He is a person, a personality, and therefore he is not a two-dimensional “concept,” but a complex being with thoughts and feelings. Michael, being these things but also Divine, can be seen as the perfect image of love, but no created person can represent the opposite of that.

To compensate, the demons worship araphel, the darkness itself, and the WAY they worship it... this is the real heart of this lesson... the way they worship araphel is to worship “Self.”

Zahakiel: This is where our application comes in. Remember, araphel is also the dark-side of freedom, of self-rule. The demons have a perverse idea of freedom, and have drawn a lot of human beings into their wrong idea of it. No being perfectly represents the corruption of free will, but the demons have corrupted their own freedom, therefore they worship themselves.

Before I go on, are there any questions at this point? The part that may seem very new is completed, so this is a good place to pause.

Justus: Yes.

Zahakiel: Go ahead.

Justus: If there is potential for sin then wouldn’t Nahum 1:9 be a lie?

Zahakiel: No, and this is why I took the time to make sure we were clear on the difference between affliction/sin and the potential for affliction and sin.

Justus: Well, potential means possibility. The verse gave no room for possibility to my knowledge.

Zahakiel: The verse says it will not rise again :) Sin need not have arisen the first time, but there was potential for it.

Dumah: I don’t have a question, but a comment...you are 100% right about sinners worshipping self.

Zahakiel: If potential means it MUST arise, then Yah becomes directly responsible for sin. He allowed the possibility, but did not create the sin.

Qinael: It is possible for me to murder someone next door... But I will not. The possibility is not it being done. And I can say of a certainty, I will NOT murder someone next door.

Zahakiel: Right.

Justus: Ah, but you can’t say that, for it is possible.

Zahakiel: We can say that, because it is our faith that we do not :)

Qinael: If we live in the victory, we can say it.

Zahakiel: This is how it applies to the victory, Justus: In Christ, we can be sure we will not falter.

Justus: Yet there is still potential for sin, a possibility? Even though it is impossible?

Zahakiel: It is not impossible. It simply will not rise again. Similarly, it is technically possible for any free being to sin, even converted ones; yet John tells us it “cannot” happen in practice. This is a very, very important teaching.

Gabriel: If the potential for sin meant that sin would emerge the second time...then we would have to conclude that the reason sin emerged the first time was because God made the potential for it....that would be to call God the creator of sin...which He is not.

Zahakiel: That is precisely right, Gabriel. <nods.>

That is the very distinction between potential and actuality.

Justus: Personally I’d rather be a robot then have a possibility of sin being done by me.

Zahakiel: Then you will never be free. Freedom means maturity. It means being free to sin, yet never abusing that freedom.

Pastor “Chick”: Justus, you are a robot until you see freedom in its correct “light”.

Solomon: May I say something here?

Zahakiel: Go ahead.

Solomon: The “potential for sin” simply means we have free will.

Zahakiel: Yes. And this is something that is never removed, even after the judgment. It was not absent from Adam before the fall.

Solomon: It is only by free will, having it, that we can truly love God.

Zahakiel: Amen :)

Solomon: We must be free to be able to hate before we could truly be able to love.

Dumah: Could you expound on the way that the Spirit possesses us? I think this relates.

Zahakiel: Certainly. This is a little bit of a side, but I believe it is a very worthwhile avenue.

Some may believe that the “possession” of the Spirit takes away freedom, because to be honest, possession by an evil spirit does. But in this we see the difference between God’s spirit and Satan’s... Satan forces, but Yahweh does not. To be “possessed” by the Spirit means to own and internalize the principles of the Spirit.

It is true freedom, and in a sanctified heart will lead to love, joy, peace, self-control, longsuffering, all those good things :) Is that the angle you were asking about, Kimberly?

Dumah: Yes.

Zahakiel: Great :)

Dumah: Some people say that the only choice we can make is to “surrender” this implies no effort.

Solomon: The Lord showed me that sin will not arise a second time because....

because all those that enter through the narrow gate will have seen the God is perfect and all His ways are right.

Zahakiel: That is when they are able to use their freedom in such a way that affliction never rises again. Right.

Yahweh allowed the entrance of sin, partially so we could “see” with our own eyes that His ways are right, and that the alternative was destruction. Then we become intelligent witnesses, not just saying what someone else says. We have our own eyes, and our own testimony of the truth, when we “see.”

Gabriel: Does the nature of the Spirit have any impact on the way by which we are possessed?

Zahakiel: The nature of the Spirit is freedom, as the Scripture says... where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Pastor “Chick”: May I interject something?

Zahakiel: Certainly.

Pastor “Chick”: I see something new :) The Spirit of YAH is NOT a “person” that “takes over” the heart and mind.

Dumah: Ok. This is what I wanted to know.

Zahakiel: Ah, right... I wrote about this in a way when explaining the nature of the Godhead vs. the Trinity... but that is a very clear way to put it, yes :)

Pastor “Chick”: The demon or devil IS a “person” and therefore demands his own way by force.

Zahakiel: Right.

Perfect. Now, just before we looked at this (and thank you for the wonderful question) we saw that the worship of araphel, the worship of freedom in its dark sense, is the religion that the demons have. Let’s take that even further.

There are two classes of organized Satanism in the world today. One group’s members call themselves the “Diabolists,” among other names, and these actually worship demons – the details are not important for this study, but it’s from this class that we get much of the black-magic stuff in the occult.

But there is another group of Satanists, the LeVayists, who do not even really believe that Satan is a personal being. You see, they worship what Satan represents, and their teachers admit this... they worship themselves the same way Lucifer and the demons do, and thus they are true “Satanists,” because they have the religion that Satan both has and began.

Why is this important for us to know? Because we must have it firmly settled in our minds that any form of selfishness is a form of self-worship, a form of Araphel worship, and the true Satanism. We call it by its right name.

People who worship the demon Satan have no idea what they are really doing. They’re playing with concepts far more dangerous and subtle than they realize. But... the pure satanist exists in every society, country and every church in the world. He has the same religion Satan has, and he worships his own ability, his own individuality, his own freedom to do unsanctified things... he worships that eternal, dark potential in free-will as if it were a god – and he becomes a servant of Araphel.

Let me clear something up quickly, though... individuality is not a bad thing, it is key to being free in Christ, but it is not to be worshipped, and that is often a very fine line to draw. We are individually called, and saved, but we are also in submission to each other as members of the same Body of Christ. “Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, ALL of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for Yah resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” (1Peter 5:5) Understanding that will show us where to draw that fine line between having individuality and worshipping individuality. If we use our freedom in a way that does not glorify Yah, we are not only “committing sin,” we are revealing our religion.

Pastor “Chick”: May I interject?

Zahakiel: Yes. :)

Pastor “Chick”: I recall Jones gave a sermon on Individuality vs. Individualism, and I believe this is precisely what you are talking about.

Zahakiel: I would like to see that at some point, if you have it available :)

Pastor “Chick”: I wrote it out in the “Individuality in Religion” article years ago :)

Now, another point... I believe that Baal is a possible name for the Araphel??? Let me explain why...

Zahakiel: Ba’al means husband, or lord... used of Satan when he is in his aspect of ruler. As “Bel” from the Babylonians. It seems that it may have some clear parallel :) Please go on.

Pastor “Chick”: <looking up a Scripture.>

Mark: 1 Sam 15:23 – “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

Gabriel: Baal worship is the worship of self.

Zahakiel: In it’s application, Gabriel – yes, it is. And that is an excellent Scripture for that point, Mark.

Mark: Thanks.

Qinael: You wrote an article about this concept / that verse once, didn’t you, David? Not the Araphel concept specifically... but its implications.

Zahakiel: Yes, when demonstrating the true nature of witchcraft, that’s right... but I didn’t see the connection to this teaching before you said that :)

Dumah: Would you please explain a little more, Pastor, how Araphel is Baal worship?

Zahakiel: We are waiting for him to find a Scripture to do just that.

Pastor “Chick”: <trying to find the verse.>

Dumah: Ok. David did you ever read my paper on sin?

Zahakiel: Oh, I have not yet... but I will after the meeting :)

Pastor “Chick”: For some reason I cannot find it, forgive me for the interruption.

Dumah: Take your time.

Zahakiel: Did you see the conversation that took place while you were looking, pastor? Some of that may contribute to the understanding.

Gabriel: Pastor can we help you find it...do you remember any key words?

Zahakiel: If I may, I think I know where you were going with it. Worshipping “Ba’al” is taking to yourself a husband other than Christ, because that is what the name means. And to take a husband means to take his name, and to an extent his characteristics.

Pastor “Chick”: Right :) thanks Bro D.

Zahakiel: Okay :) So if we take on the characteristics of Ba’al, we take a husband who will not free us, but enslave us to the darkness he represents.

Pastor “Chick”: “Self” as “husband” is the same as perverting “free will”...

Zahakiel: Yes :)

Pastor “Chick”: That is why some will “appear” to worship Christ (doing their own thing, “independent ministries”), but they will be in darkness or “araphel”, worshipping “Baal” unwittingly.

Zahakiel: <nods.> Right, it’s about the “environment” as opposed to actual acts of sin. And we look at that in a bit, from another angle also...

Gabriel: The motive taints the actions, right?

Ron: No man is a rock unto himself.

Zahakiel: Right.

So now what we were saying before is that the actions will reveal the environment in which we are living. It reveals our “religion” in the truest sense. This may be what John means when he wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” (1 John 3:4)

Why the “also?” Wouldn’t it be enough to say “whoseover committeth sin transgresseth the law, for sin is the transgression of the law?” That statement makes perfect sense, and is perfectly accurate, but there is an “also” because there is more.

A legalist is one who is concerned with the letter of the law. He is concerned with his legal standing in the eyes of God. A Christian is one who is in a love-covenant with the Father and Son, and rejoices that his works follow the principles of that relationship.

Gabriel: I agree with your point... but are you sure you are being true to that text?

Zahakiel: Yes :) And here is why...

If one sins, he “also” transgresses the law, but that is not the “big deal.” His breaking of the law is only a symptom of his religion – as we said in our last New Moon meeting, people always act out their true beliefs.

Gabriel: A-men, David.

Zahakiel: If we are Christians, we will serve Christ, we will esteem others better than ourselves, and our works will be righteous. We will be as the angels in this respect. If we are Satanists, and that is the only other real option if we understand “Satanism” in light of our understanding of Araphel... If we are Satanists then we will serve Araphel, we will esteem ourselves better than others... and our works will be of the flesh.

Pastor “Chick”: Amen

Zahakiel: Now notice, our works may not be “evil” in an obvious way... because Araphel is merely the environment for sin, and not sin itself. One can be perfectly moral, and yet utterly sinful... this is why it is not “good people” who are saved, but Christians.

Dumah: I don’t feel comfortable with your use of the word “legalist...”

Zahakiel: We can talk about that in a bit, if you like :) In an email I sent you a definition which can be shown to be Scriptural... and that is the one I am using.

Now, in the difference between Christians and “good” people, we see that Christians will be morally good people, naturally.  But morally good people are not always Christians...

Gabriel: David, this is good stuff, refreshing...

Zahakiel: <smiles.>

Zahakiel: You can also look at it as “worldliness.” Worldly actions do not necessarily have to be a clearly defined sin, but they reveal that the love of the world has taken the place of the love of Christ.

Dumah: Are not Christians “good people” good tree good fruit, bad tree bad fruit?

Zahakiel: Yes, Christians become good people because they become like Christ, as I have said.... Christians will be morally good people naturally. But they are not Christians “because” they are good, but because of Christ.

Dumah: Yes.

Justus: Luke 18:19 – “And Jesus said unto him, ‘Why callest thou me good? None is good, save One, that is, God.”

Zahakiel: Oh :) We are using the term “good” in the way the Bible uses the term “righteous,” for our application here. E.g. “Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as He is righteous.” (1 John 3:7)

Dumah: I understand all of this...my fear is “Morris Venden” theology.

Zahakiel: I’m not familiar with that theology... But if you understand the teaching so far, and have no real objections, that is good for now :) You may explain it to me in a while.

Dumah: A true Christian is a person with Good behavior for good motives...do we at least agree on this?

Zahakiel: Hmm... No. A Christian is a person who has become like Christ. He will therefore have good motives, and the result will be good behavior. I would not be comfortable defining a Christian by saying “a person with Good behavior.”

Dumah: Hmm...

Zahakiel: The behavior is the result.

Qinael: A Christian may save a child for love... A drug dealer may save a child for the monetary reward.

Dumah: Can we love God without loving our fellow man?

Zahakiel: No, we cannot... love is the motivation to good behavior to both God and man.

Dumah: Motive is the key then?

Zahakiel: Love is the key :)

Dumah: Yes.

Zahakiel: When love is the motive, the acts will be good.

Dumah: Yes. Okay, just checking.

Zahakiel: All right :) Perhaps I can give a parable to demonstrate something. This will examine motives, actions, and the victory over sin.

A friend of mine was telling me about an insane asylum somewhere. People are sent there to get treatment, and when they are deemed to be “sane” by the doctors, they are given the potential for release. For some forms of mental illness there is a particular way in which they test the progress of their patients. They have a small room that contains a sink with a water tap.

To begin the test, they turn on the water and let it fill up the sink, then they let it start flowing over to wet the floor. Next, they give the patient a mop, and they tell him to dry the floor. Giving no further instructions, they close the door and leave the room.

They come back 10 minutes later and, if the patient is still trying to dry the floor, he is returned to his room. He’s not healthy. Do you see why?

Mark: Hehe. If you leave the water running...

Pastor “Chick”: Looks like it would test some part of mental function anyway.

Zahakiel: Right.

Crystle: Is it to see if people will recognize the obvious... such as turning the water off?

Zahakiel: Yes. If you have not turned off the tap, but you’re trying to dry the floor... there’s something wrong with you.

Most professed Christians treat sin in this way. They are always “trying” to work on their actions, to be better, to fulfill the will of God a little more closely every day. The word “try” is foundational to their experience in religion. But until they grasp the victory over sin, their taps are still running.

The natural man is still producing problems. Christ tells us, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.” (Matthew 15:19) These “defile the man” as the next verse says, because the natural man is an open pipe to sinful actions.

As long as humans exist in an atmosphere of araphel, darkness that has kept them from the light of Yah, they can mop as fast as they want, as long as they want, but their floor is going to remain wet. They’re not healthy yet.

Dumah: Hmm... are you saying that victory over sin is natural and effortless once you have claimed it?

Zahakiel: No, that is not quite what I am saying. I am saying it shuts off the “source” of sin.

Dumah: The source being thoughts?

Pastor “Chick”: You must still mop the floor.

Zahakiel: If the thoughts originate in the heart, then yes.. it stops those. But it does not stop temptations, which is another matter. And as pastor has said, we must still mop the floor.

But understanding this allows us to clear up some issues, and will allow us to speak with absolute confidence when we give our testimony to others... One who is born again “doth not commit sin.” (1 John 3:9) They may have some water in the corner of their floors, but their taps are off... they are not producing more problems, because their heart is changed. The Bible tells us of the promise Yah makes: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.” (Ezekiel 36:26) This new heart doesn’t produce murder, or blasphemy, or anything like that, because the Law of Yah is written on it.

Zahakiel: David said, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” (Psalm 119:11) As I like to point out, because it’s important, the phrase “might not sin,” is actually much more direct in the Hebrew, and is literally, Thy word have I hid in my heart and “I sin not against thee.”

Dumah: We still have to make effort to keep the new heart right?

Zahakiel: The effort is in submission to the spirit and denial of the flesh; in that sense yes :)

Dumah: Ok...wow...so we do agree then.

Zahakiel: You should not sound so surprised.

But now look at this...
Some people will object when we say we are “free from sin,” because there are two different ways you can take that. If they take it to mean we are free from all sin, both known and unknown, they will object, and they might have reason to :) We are all still learning, and there may still be wet spots.

What people with the Victory mean by that statement is subtly different, however. When we say we are “free from sin” we actually mean this – we are free from the sinful condition. The old man whose heart produced wicked things is dead. The tap is off, to use the parable; and we are not servants to Araphel, to use the new terminology.

Zahakiel: We may say with absolute conviction that we are free from araphel, from that darkness that separates man and Yah. Atonement is a reunion between God and man, and through Christ we have atonement. As the Bible says, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.” (Ephesians 5:8)

Again, “Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (1Th 5:5)

If we are children of the light, we will not commit known acts of darkness. “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth.” (1 John 1:6) There may be wet spots left to mop up, but the source is gone. It’s like cancer... sin is a lot like cancer, and I saw this when pastor was explaining to me about the pH treatment.

Basically, cancer exists in an acidic environment. If there is an acid environment, cancer can exist. To remove the cancer, one need only change the environment. If you change the pH of your body from acidic to alkaline, you don’t have to go cutting out infected parts, and you don’t have to hunt down every diseased cell... the body automatically starts healing, and why? Because cancer cannot exist in an alkaline environment.

You can have surgery, you can have therapy to destroy cancer cells... but what is there to really prevent it from growing back, if the environment itself has not changed? The tap is still on. To keep on blasting away at the body is like mopping the floor while the water’s still pouring out... you’ll get sent back to your room. Is everyone seeing the parallel? Light is the environment of righteousness. This is just like an alkaline environment being the best for being cancer-free. Araphel, that is the environment in which sin may exist. This is like an acid environment, and it promotes cancer growth.

Crystle: Yes, we see it.

Qinael: <nods.>

Pastor “Chick”: Beautiful, Bro. D :)

Zahakiel: Okay :)

Mark: Very good.

Israfel: Yes.

Zahakiel: Now here is an interesting thought...
Yah does not want our acts to be “good” so much as He wants us to be free from the environment in which “bad acts” are promoted and CAN practically exist. Then we are completely free, and though the potential for sin is never removed, we will never be sick with it. We have simply made our bodies, minds and spirits inhospitable to the existence of sin... this is the Kingdom of Heaven that begins here on earth.

The victory is the assurance that we will not be separated from the righteousness of Christ. It is the sure knowledge that we are not walking in darkness, and our acts, our works, naturally line up with that. There is “work” of a sort to do, yes... learning to lean on Christ more fully, learning what sins are, so we can put them away. And the painful acts of making compensation for where we have wronged others and ourselves, in some cases... Zacchaeus was convicted to pay back 4 times what he had stolen.

But because of the promises of the Bible, we can know that we are children of the light, and not serving darkness, or blinded by that darkness. I would like to end with some of these, and if you have any others that come to mind, please let me know.

Here are a few:
“Yahweh is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? Yah is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
“For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” (Psalm 36:9)
“O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of Yahweh.” (Isaiah 2:5 – and I like this one)
Of course there is, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)
“For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” (John 3:20) This one is important for our attitude of reverence and humility on New Moons.

And finally, “I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness.” (John 12:46)

There are many others, and I hope you will share some, but this verse in particular points out the difference between the two environments. Abiding in Christ, one cannot abide in spiritual darkness. He will come to the light, as the previous verse says, if he does not love evil. He will turn away from the darkness in which he once lived, and there will be no way that his feet can slide.

Let us think on these verses as promises to us personally from our Father... and if anyone has further promises to share, please do so.

Pastor “Chick”: “Ye are the light of the world.” (Matthew5:14)

Dumah: So to change the atmosphere around me ...what are you saying I need to do?

Zahakiel: It begins with trust. It begins with believing those verses, choosing to know they apply to you. Regardless of what you have done, or what you have been through, it is knowing you are accepted, if you come to Him in sincerity and love.

Pastor “Chick”: Caution: :) Always mop your OWN floor.

Zahakiel: <laughs.> Of course :) We cannot fix anyone else.

Dumah: So God is more concerned with my faith then with my sins? I’m confused...

Zahakiel: God is equally concerned with both. But we cannot choose to be free of sins until we have the faith. The faith is what comes first, and His goal is a faith relationship with us, into which sin will not enter.

Annetta: “You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of the darkness.”(1 Thess 5:5)

Dumah: Ok....then I will ask God for faith...thank you very much.

Zahakiel: Yes. Faith is the gift, the cure :) Faith is the light that breaks in the darkness.

Pastor “Chick”: Let me interject, please.

Zahakiel: Go ahead.

Pastor “Chick”: Let us all, as if we were “blind” men, take the invitation of the Doctor to enter our rooms...

We enter the room...
We hear something like water spilling onto the floor...
We are struck by fear...
We “know” we are being “tested”...
And now, the questions flood our minds...
Will I make it?
What can I do?

Zahakiel: Oh, good application :)

Pastor “Chick”: more...
I was told to dry the floor, OH, this is impossible!!!!
I can’t do it!!!
I scream for help, and a faint bit of light appears in the room, for my blindness is healing...

Zahakiel: This sounds like the end of Romans 7 and into chapter 8.

Pastor “Chick”: I can now “see” the sink...
I see the source of the flood...
I must make some effort to stop the flow...
By faith I make it to the tap and turn off (make the choice) the flow of water...

Dumah: I see...

Annetta: Me too :)

Pastor “Chick”: Then, in my partial blindness, I take up the task of mopping my room. AND, as I mop up the water, the light becomes brighter and brighter unto that “perfect day” when my room is completely dry. :)

Zahakiel: Amen :)

Crystle: Amen.

Israfel: :)

Qinael: Also, if I can add... When they turned off the tap, that was the “main” part of the test, from what I gathered... they are not condemned if they should be find a drop after thinking they are done. :)

Pastor “Chick”: So be it.

Zahakiel: There’s no condemnation to those who are in Christ... This is why it sounds like Romans 7 and 8 :)

Crystle: In my past, I would not have hollered for help, but would have groped around, trying to find where the sound of the water is coming from, thinking that I could do it all on my own.

Zahakiel: Certainly... it is vital to know that we cannot of our own selves, do anything to win favor :)

Pastor “Chick”: “I can of my own SELF do NOTHING, it is the Father that does the works.”

Zahakiel: Right :)

Crystle: Yes!

Gabriel: I can relate and agree, I think, with all of what I’ve been reading... But I have a couple questions....

Zahakiel: Go ahead.

Gabriel: Paul in Philippians 3 does not talk about being perfect but says that he has not apprehended or attained and this is in reference to “missing the mark”... The concern I have with what I’m seeing is falling into an attitude of pride. Should we be so bold as to tell others about how good I’m doing even though we couch it with “by the grace” of God?

Shouldn’t we let people see our good works and (them) glorify the Father?

Zahakiel: Okay, that is a good question. We need to self-examine for pride, for we know this is why Lucifer fell. Yet we must also have the “testimony of Jesus.”

It is not a matter of boasting, but of knowledge. You mentioned Philippians 3, where Paul says, “not as though I had already attained, or were perfect,” but a few verses on he says, “As many as will be perfect, have this mind...” and he goes on to describe just what I have described :)

If we glory, it must be in the cross. If we have made ourselves good, it would be a boast. But if Christ, our boasting is in Him, and what He has done, never what we have done. This seems strange to some, but the Biblical attitude of humility is also an honest one, not like the worldly form that confuses it with self-depreciation. Do you see the distinction?

Gabriel: Thinking...

Zahakiel: It can be a very fine line sometimes, yes. But if we are Christ’s and He dwells in us, we cannot deny Him by speaking a word of doubt about ourselves... actually about Him in us :) We must doubt self, but have perfect confidence in Him.

Gabriel: Of HIM!

I need to study out a couple more things on the sins that lead to death and sins that not lead to death...

Zahakiel: That would be a good study :)

Gabriel: Because I do believe we need to give glory to God to others for the way He helps us in overcoming sin...

Zahakiel: No disagreement there, all glory is to Him.

Gabriel: This is one of the ways people see how real the Gospel is!

Zahakiel: Right :)

Pastor “Chick”: Why is the dragon “wroth with the woman”?

Zahakiel: Because the people have the testimony of Christ.

Gabriel: Pastor Chick, no offense... but I felt a little awkward the other night that you mentioned that you had not sinned since 1988... but like I said I need to do further study on sins that lead to death, and the sins that do not.

Pastor “Chick”: In context to David’s study, it is made clear :) I have had the tap turned off since 1988 :)

Zahakiel: Right :)

Dumah: I want this experience too.

Zahakiel: Then you shall have it. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst, for they will (not might be) filled. That is a promise, as sure as any.

Mark: Where are the sins that do not lead to death mentioned?

Zahakiel: It’s in 1 John.

Solomon: 1Jo 5:16

Zahakiel: That is another topic, but... All sin leads to death, it’s just that for sins done in ignorance, they are not “imputed” as another verse says :) We are given time to mop, basically.

Pastor “Chick”: Gabe, I just know better than to go back over to the sink and turn on the water... mopping up the water is all I am doing now :)

Zahakiel: Right. And that, I think is a good place to end the formal study. I will ask pastor to close us with a word of prayer, that these principles may be thought on, and retained :)

Pastor “Chick”: OK

Dear Father in Heaven...
We thank you for your revelation of truth to your Body... We are thrilled at the Light that you shine upon the children of light. Thank you that the light is becoming brighter each day, and especially we thank you for this “new light” or “renewed” light that Bro. David has shared with us.

Now, we ask that your will by Your Spirit teach each one of us what we individually need to “pass the test of sanity,” that we may be in the “atmosphere of Heaven” right now and never ever leave it.

Dismiss us from the study with a new resolve and encouragement, with a boldness to speak the truth in love and glorify our Father and His Son.

May we all be blessed with the New Moon and Sabbath blessing, for YAHshua’s name’s sake, Amen.

Zahakiel: Hallelu-Yah and amen :)
Israfel: Amen.
Crystle: Amen.
Mark: Amen.
Qinael: Amen.
Gabriel: Amen.
Solomon: Amen.
Pastor “Chick”: HalleluYAH!!!!!!!!
Barbara: Amen.

Zahakiel: All right, if anyone has any further questions, please feel free to email me. Also, if you’d like a link to the transcript of this, let me know. I’ll start working on it ASAP, and will have it ready hopefully by tonight.

Mark: Please.

Zahakiel: Very well :) And thanks to you all for coming.