One Torah for All

back

Warning! Warning! Warning!

Ma’aseh (Acts) 13:40 
“Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken in the prophets.”   

Shaul is speaking to the men of Israel and to all those who fear Elohim.  He goes on to quote the prophet Habakkuk.

Habakkuk 1:5
            “Behold you scoffers, and marvel and perish,
            For I am accomplishing a work in your days,
            A work which you will never believe,
            Though someone should describe it to you.”           

The number of severe earthquakes is increasing.  The number of tsunamis is increasing.  The death toll from natural disasters is increasing.  The prophets of old have told us that this would happen.  Even Yeshua told us that this would happen in the latter days.

Matithyah (Matthew) 24:7 
“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines and earthquakes in various places.”

Even Kepha, on Shavuot when the Spirit of YHWH was poured out upon His people, prophesied from the prophet Yoel.

Ma’aseh (Acts) 2:17 
“And it shall be in the last days,” says YHWH,
“I will pour forth of My Spirit upon all flesh;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;”

So not only has YHWH warned us of things to come through the prophets of old, but He clearly tells us that in the latter days He will give us warnings in the form of visions and dreams through His people.  But here is what I do not understand.  Many of those who are given these warnings through visions and dreams do not heed them.  They go on about their everyday living as if nothing is going to happen, and especially to them.  Many seem to believe that YHWH will somehow protect them, not understanding that His protection is in the form of a warning to do something ahead of time.

Luqa (Luke) 17:27 
“They ate, they drank, they married, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

Yeshua told us that there would be many who would have the mindset of just going about their daily living until it was too late.  I personally know of many people who have had visions and dreams of earthquakes and tsunamis happening; some of these even happening in the areas in which these individuals live. There are those who are taking appropriate action.  For example, some I know have had dreams and visions of a great tsunami hitting Florida, and so have left or are leaving Florida.  This is right and appropriate action.  What I do not understand is that some of those who have had these dreams and visions are doing absolutely nothing.  Those same people who are doing nothing would rush from a building they were in if someone said there was a bomb in it.  But when they receive a warning from our heavenly Father, they do nothing?  Do you understand that?  I surely do not.

Or, there are many others who have not had these dreams or visions personally; they just know of them or have been told about them.  This would be much more common.  But for these people to do absolutely nothing is foolhardy!  At the very least, if one hears of some coming disaster to his area from another person he should test the spirit to see where this warning is from.

Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 4:1 
Beloved, believe not every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of Elohim; because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

We are commanded to test all spirits.  If a spirit is from YHWH we are not going to offend that spirit and we are certainly not going to offend YHWH for obeying His word!  So if we question a spirit and it becomes offended in any way, then that spirit is not from YHWH! 

Matithyah (Matthew) 7:7-8
7 “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you;
8 for every one that asks receives; and he that seeks finds; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.”

If a person is earnest and honest in seeking YHWH and His will in his life, then YHWH will reveal it to him.  But please know this: once YHWH has made it known to you, He will hold you accountable for that knowledge, whatever it is!

Yechezqel (Ezekiel) 33:9 
“Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked of his way to turn from it, and he turn not from his way; he shall die in his iniquity, but you have delivered your soul.”

YHWH does not desire for His people to perish.  This is why He warns His people in advance of what is to come so that they may be prepared.  Remember Noach and how YHWH warned him of what was to come, and how Noach made the appropriate preparations for what was to come?  Likewise, Yeshua told us that right before His return it would be just like this.  He would warn His people once again, and those who would listen and obey His Voice would make the appropriate preparations for what was coming; and those who prepare just as Noach did would be delivered because they obeyed YHWH.  Everyone else in Noach’s day was destroyed.  Yeshua teaches us that it will be just like this at His return.  Are you hearing His Voice?  Are you making the appropriate preparations?  Has YHWH warned you of a specific incident in your area?  Are you listening to this and taking appropriate action?  Or, do you have a typical mindset that YHWH will take care of you?

It reminds me of the story of the man who was warned of a coming flood.  But he had seen many floods and he was still here and so he refused to leave his house.  But as the flood came, the water came up to his house, but he had faith that YHWH would deliver him.  Some rescue people came by in a boat and offered to take him to safety, but he refused, stating that YHWH would deliver him.  The water continued to rise, covering the first floor of the man’s house.  Another boat came by and offered to take the man to safety.  Once again he refused, stating that he knew that YHWH would deliver him.  The water continued to rise and the man was now sitting on the roof, as that was the only thing left above the water.  A helicopter came and offered to take him to safety.  Once again he refused, stating that YHWH would deliver him.  The water continued to rise and the man drowned.  As he came before his Master YHWH the man complained that he had had faith that YHWH would deliver him and he wanted to know why YHWH had not delivered him.  YHWH said that He had sent two boats and a helicopter to rescue him; what more did he want?

I personally have heard tell of dreams and visions of monster tsunamis hitting Florida, the west coast of the USA, and the east coast of Australia, as well as various other places.  I have heard of severe earthquakes in various places as well.  And I know that there are those who live in these places who have heard of these coming things as well.  I wonder how many are taking these things seriously.  Don’t you think that we should?

Luqa (Luke) 16:30-31 
30 “And he said, ‘Nay, father Abraham; but if one go to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 And he said to him, ‘If they hear not Moshe and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.’”

Are we so comfortable in our daily existence that we cannot hear the warning of our heavenly Father?  Have we become so flabby in our spirits that we do not even care what is about to happen in our own area where we live?  What have you personally heard that you have not acted upon?  Is it time to act?  Or, is it time to do nothing?

Shemot (Exodus) 20:20 
And Moshe said to the people, “Fear not; for Elohim has come to prove you, and that His fear may be before you, that you sin not.”

YHWH tests each and every one of us.  He does this for a variety of reasons, but basically it is to prepare us for an eternity with Him.  For a fuller explanation of this testing see the teaching: Testing of the Set-apart Ones.  He is right now in the process of testing each and every one of us to see who is listening to His Voice and who is not listening.  Those who are listening will be spurred into appropriate action.

Daniel 11:32 
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their Elohim shall be strong, and take action.

I mean no offense to anyone in saying this, but the typical mindset of many believers today is to sit back and do nothing, believing that Yeshua is about to return and do it all for them.  But this is not a mindset that is pleasing to YHWH our heavenly Father.  He desires for us to be people of action.  He desires for us to be doing, particularly doing His will.

Ya’aqov (James) 2:18 
Yea, a man will say, you have faith, and I have works; show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.

It is more typical than not today to find the majority of believers who are opposed to keeping the commandments of Scripture as found in the Torah.  These commandments must be done according to faith or they mean nothing.  However, those same people who are opposed to keeping the word of YHWH attempt to tell us that we must keep other commandments put forth by men.  Now I ask you, does that make any sense?  It sure is not living according to Scripture!

Ya’aqov (James) 1:22 
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves.

Those who are not doers of the word, those who are not commandment keepers, are self deluded!  Read it for yourself!  It is what Scripture plainly states.

Now, not only does YHWH want us to keep and obey His commandments as written in His word, but He also wants us to hear and obey His Voice to each one of us personally.  It is at this point that many who are attempting to keep His written word fall short.  For as YHWH tests us to see how serious we are about following Him, He will tell us to do things that are sometimes difficult for us to do.  At least they are difficult to do in the flesh or by one’s own strength.  But when one walks in the power of His Spirit then it is not so very difficult to do.  So the real question then becomes: in whose power are we walking? 

Each time that YHWH comes and tests us, Satan comes along to try to get us to fail the test.  Please note the following passage of Scripture.

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and Elohim is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

First, Yeshua is The Way of escape.  Outside of Him there is no escape!

Keeping that in mind then, part of YHWH providing the way of escape for each one of us is to hear and obey His Voice to us personally.  He will provide to us in the manner in which He deems best, warnings and instructions for the direction in which He wants us to go.  However, if one does not listen to and obey those warnings and instructions, what hope does that person have?  In fact, does such a person even have any faith? 

Let us apply this to us today, right now.  If you are one who has heard of a coming disaster or other such thing to the area in which you live, what have you done to prepare for it?  Perhaps the proper preparation is to remove yourself and your family from that area.  Have you done that?  If not, why not?  What do you think would have happened to Noach if he had not built an ark in preparation for the coming flood that YHWH warned him was coming?  That’s right; he would have drowned.  Does it take more faith to obey YHWH’s instructions or to sit back and do nothing and just believe that YHWH will somehow miraculously provide a means for you?  If YHWH has warned you, then is this not presuming upon His grace?  To be sure!

If you are reading this and you are a true follower of Mashiach Yeshua, then what you want more than anything else is to do His will, rather than to do your own will.  Since this is true, then what difference does it make where you are or what you are doing as long as it is His will?  The reality is this: the only safe place to be is in the center of His will.  But if He has already warned you of things to come and you do nothing, are you then in His will?  How can you be?

If you are not sure, then ask YHWH to make it plain to you.  Test the spirits as His word teaches us to do.  But know this: that once you have done that and then you know that YHWH has in fact warned you of things to come, then YHWH will hold you personally responsible for the knowledge that He has given you.  Now a person might play dumb towards another person and claim he didn’t or doesn’t know; however, he cannot do this with YHWH and get away with it.  YHWH knows!

Ivrim (Hebrews) 4:13 
And there is no creature that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.

So one might as well “’fess up” to what YHWH has shown us and act accordingly so that YHWH can truly bless us.  For if one acts as a fool and does nothing after having received the words of warning from our heavenly Father through the prophets and through visions and dreams of His people, then such a one will perish in his own folly.

Let us determine as much as possible within ourselves that we will act in loving obedience to whatever it is that YHWH shows to us.  We need to do this regardless of what it costs us.  For in the long run it will cost us more if we do not obey, and that price will be much higher than one can afford to pay.

Matithyah (Matthew) 26:41 
“Watch and pray, that you enter not into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

If one is going to be victorious over the desires of the flesh then he is going to have to have a spirit of watchfulness and be in constant prayer. 

Marqos (Mark) 13:33 
“You take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.”

Whatever is to come will come and it will come in the time that YHWH has allotted for it to come.  He may tell us and He may not tell us of the exact timing.  He may only give us a general idea of when something is going to happen.  So, should one wait until the very last possible moment to do something about it?  May it never be!  We must act and we must act now in accordance to what YHWH has told us through His prophets and through His people.

ABBA YHWH, give us strength and wisdom to live the faith that You have given to us through Mashiach Yeshua; for it is in His name we pray.  Amein and Amein.

Zerubbabel ben Emunah
www.onetorahforall.com
zerubbabel@townsqr.com

© All material is copyrighted and no part may be changed, added to, shortened or edited; however, the entirety of the article may be reproduced as long as the author’s name remains attached to the article.  It is encouraged and a blessing for others to forward these teachings to others, and permission is hereby granted for this as long as the teaching is kept wholly intact, which includes the author’s name and contact information, the “One Torah For All” header, and this copyright paragraph.  Furthermore, it must be passed on without any cost whatsoever to those who receive it.  The act of forwarding or sharing this teaching in any way constitutes agreement by the party forwarding it that he agrees to the terms and conditions of this paragraph.