Program 59: Is Yahuwah a Murderer?

Yahuwah’s decrees to wipe out certain nations was to specifically prevent the spread of evil.

Welcome to WLC Radio, a subsidiary of World’s Last Chance Ministries, an online ministry dedicated to learning how to live in constant readiness for the Savior's return.

For two thousand years, believers of every generation have longed to be the last generation. Contrary to popular belief, though, Christ did not give believers “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, he repeatedly warned that his coming would take even the faithful by surprise. Yahushua urgently warned believers to be ready because, he said, “The Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.” [Matthew 24:44]

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.

Part 1: (Miles & Dave)

Miles Robey: Hello and thank you for joining us today! I’m Miles Robey.

Dave Wright: And I’m Dave Wright. Have we got a program for you today! So let’s just jump right in and get started.

Miles: If this is your first time joining us, you’ll quite quickly hear us use names with which you may not be familiar. At World’s Last Chance, we don’t use the titles god or lord. We prefer to use the Creator’s given name, which is Yahuwah, or Yah. His Son’s name is Yahushua.

Dave: You’ll likely hear us use El, or Eloah, which are Hebrew titles that refer to Yahuwah.

Miles: Okay! Diving in.

The other day, I was on-line and up popped a meme. The meme was a picture of Yah, as portrayed by Michelangelo: Accusing finger extended, a dark scowl on His face. Clearly, an unhappy Being.

Superimposed on top of it, it said: “Is God a racist, misogynistic, homophobic, genocidal maniac?”

Dave: That would be … disturbing.

Miles: Oh, it was! But it’s not the first time I’ve heard such charges leveled against Him.

You hear it often from atheists, angrily denouncing the Abrahamic religions. They’ll insist: “The God of the Old Testament is a genocidal maniac! He arbitrarily destroyed entire nations in the Old Testament for no reason at all! That’s not being a God of love!”

Now obviously, as Christians, we know that Yahuwah is, in fact, love. So how would you explain this to an atheist. How would you reconcile these apparently contradictory statements?

Dave: I’m glad you want to go over this, Miles. First, let’s take a look at one of the Bible passages where Yahuwah is giving the command to, let’s be honest, commit genocide. Turn over to Deuteronomy 7.

Now, if you haven’t read this before, you might find it shocking. But I want to assure everyone listening that there is a very legitimate reason why an Eloah of love would give such a command.

Miles: It doesn’t help anyone to gloss over and deny difficult passages of the Bible.

Dave: No. That just leaves you vulnerable to having your faith shaken by a well-informed non-believer. The apostle, Peter, in 1 Peter 3:15, instructed believers, quote: “Sanctify Eloah Yahuwah in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.”

So that’s what we’re going to do today. Don’t let your faith be shaken while Miles reads this passage. I guarantee, at the end of today’s program, you’ll understand how a loving Father could give such a command.

Miles: What verses do you want me to read?

Dave: Verses one to five. Deuteronomy 7, one to five.

Miles: “When Yahuwah thy Elohim shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou;

“And when Yahuwah thy Elohim shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them:

“Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy sons from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of Yahuwah be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

“But thus shall ye deal with them; ye shall destroy their altars, and break down their images, and cut down their groves, and burn their graven images with fire.”

Dave: There are seven nations listed here: the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and the Jebusites. Now what’s interesting, is that in the next six verses, Yahuwah makes a clear distinction between these seven nations that were to be utterly wiped out, and other nations that were to be shown mercy. Go ahead and read verses 10 through 15.

Miles: “When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it. And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee. And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:

“And when Yahuwah thy Elohim hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword: But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the Yahuwah thy Elohim hath given thee. Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.”

Dave: Later, in Deuteronomy 20, verses 16 to 18, Yahuwah circles back around and repeats His command to utterly wipe out the seven nations previously listed, explicitly stating that they should leave alive nothing that breathes, explaining, quote: “That they teach you not to do after all their abominations, which they have done unto their gods; so should ye sin against Yahuwah your Elohim.”

Here’s the crux of it. Yahuwah knew that these seven nations were incredibly corrupt. If left to remain, they would lead the Israelites astray by their abominations. Eventually, that level of extreme corruption would spread through the earth.

Yahuwah had promised Noah that He’d never again send another flood. Therefore, He had to prevent the spread of evil that would bring the earth back to the level that had required it to be cleansed by the flood in the first place!

Miles: Okay. Hold on. Let’s back up a second. I’m not seeing the connection between the nations Israel was ordered to wipe out, and the antediluvian world. There’s clearly a line of distinction drawn between some nations they were to utterly wipe out, and others they were to leave alive if they peacefully surrendered.

Yeah, the Canaanites had infectious idolatry Yah didn’t want spreading, but there’s got to be more to it than that. Isn’t there?

Dave: You’re right. There is. And, again, it links back to the antediluvian world. Turn to Genesis 6 and start reading at verse 1.

Miles: Genesis 4 … five. Okay. Here we go. Genesis 6: “And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.

“And Yahuwah said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.” [Gensis 6:1-3]

Dave: Whatever is going on here is so bad, so evil, that Yahuwah is calling a halt. He’s going to put a stop to it. Okay, keep reading. Verse 4.

Miles: “There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of Elohim came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.

“And Elohim saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

“And it repented Yahuwah that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.” [Genesis 6:4-6]

Dave: That’s it. Right there. “There were giants in the earth in those days.” And notice, it adds, “and also after that.” So, that’s where, later on, we get giants after the flood as well.

Miles: Now, we’re not talking about some people simply being taller than others, are we? I mean, when the Romans invaded northern Europe and the British isles, they thought the Germans and the Celts were giants. What’s going on here?

Dave: What’s going on here is genetic manipulation; an unlawful mingling that produced not just giants—evil giants—but also chimeras and truly hideous amalgamations that corrupted the divine image. Remember, Genesis 1:27 declares that Elohim created mankind in His own image.

Miles: So what are you talking about here? I was always taught that this “sons of Yah” marrying the “daughters of men” was when the righteous descendants of Seth intermarried with the sinful daughters of Cain.

Dave: No, that’s not what’s happening here. Think about it: if these men were truly “sons of Yah” in that sense, if they truly were so righteous, they would have known better than to marry wicked women who would raise their children and lead them astray.

Miles: Well that’s true. So, what’s this referring to?

Dave: I’ll tell you, and I’m going to ask our listening audience to bear with me a minute. You might find the answer appalling—and it is. Evil is appalling. But if you give me a chance to explain, you’ll see it’s backed up by Scripture.

Miles: Go for it.

Dave: This is not talking about intermarriage between the descendants of Seth and the descendants of Cain. This is speaking of something truly abominable: the cohabiting of human women with fallen angels.

Now, please. Don’t just call me a kook and quit listening. I can prove it from Scripture.

Miles: Before you do, I’ve got a more basic question: how could angels, even fallen angels, impregnate human women? I mean, I didn’t even know that was possible!

In Matthew 22:30, Yahushua said that in the resurrection, people would be like the angels of Heaven, neither marrying nor giving in marriage. So how is that even possible?

Dave: We find more information on this topic in the Book of Enoch. A number of New Testament writers either quote the Book of Enoch, or clearly get information and theology from the Book of Enoch.

A lot of people reject Enoch because it does speak of the cohabiting of fallen angels with human women. It’s such an incredibly heinous crime against Yah, that the mind boggles and we think, “That can’t be right!” And they throw the whole book out, rather than accepting: Yes, Satan would do exactly that to dishonor Yah.

In the book of Enoch, it makes it very clear that it was not “given to” the angels to procreate. It doesn’t say that angels can not, simply that they may not.

Miles: Oh, right. “Can” expresses ability. “May” grants permission.

Dave: Exactly. The angels were never granted permission to procreate. It never says they can’t.

And remember: we’re not talking about holy angels who do Yah’s bidding here. These are fallen angels. They’re already fallen. They’re already “lost.” They don’t mind doing anything and everything that will hurt and dishonor the Creator.

Miles: True. So, where in Scripture do you find that these “sons of Elohim” are not, in fact, human?

Dave: There are only three other places in Scripture where this phrase is used and all three are found in the book of Job, specifically: Job 1:6; Job 2:1, and Job 38:7.

Go ahead and read Job 1, verse 6. Let’s see what it says.

Miles: “Now there was a day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahuwah, and Satan came also among them.”

Dave: We all know the story. Satan came and accused Job of worshiping Yah just for what he could get out of it. But what’s interesting is that he made these accusations in a heavenly convocation where, Scripture says, the “sons of Elohim” came to present themselves.

Now, we get the idea that these were intended only for the holy angels, but Satan shows up, too.

Miles: Right. Yah asks him, basically, “What rock did you crawl out from under?” and he brags here, quote: “From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”

Sounds rather like a dog marking its territory.

Dave: That’s exactly what he’s doing: claiming the right to represent earth because of Adam’s fall. Now, we won’t read Job 2:1. It says virtually the same thing. But turn over to Job 38.

Here Yahuwah is asking Job series of questions, designed to strengthen Job’s faith in Yah’s power, to encourage him to keep trusting. Yah refers back to the Creation of the earth and He asks, Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth and fastened the foundations? Then Yah adds a descriptive detail. When all this earth-building was going on, there were witnesses! Go ahead and read, let’s see … verses 4, 5 and 7 of Job 38.

Miles: “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? … When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of Elohim shouted for joy?”

Dave: We’re clearly referring to angelic beings here. Because holy angels would never disobey Yahuwah that means that the only other “sons of Elohim” left, the only ones who would dare commit such a heinous crime are the fallen angels. These are the ones that cohabited with human women and had offspring by them.

And it produced giants, and chimeras, and other hideous amalgamations. Sumerian and Babylonian inscriptions even show animal bodies with human heads, chained round the neck and being controlled by humans. This is what spread evil in the antediluvian world and necessitated the cleansing of the earth by a flood.

Miles: Okay. We’re going to take a very short break. When we return, I’d like you to show the connection to the nations that lived centuries after the flood.

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: Before we go on, I just want to say that the ancient rabbinical sources, as well as the Septuagint translators, all understood the events described in Genesis 6 as referring to fallen angels procreating with human women. Their offspring were weird hybrids known in Scripture as “Nephilim.”

Even Josephus referred to this. In Volume 1, of his Antiquities of the Jews, he wrote, quote: “For many angels of [Elohim] accompanied with women, and begat sons that proved unjust, and despisers of all that was good, on account of the confidence they had in their own strength; for the tradition is, that these men did what resembled the acts of those whom the Grecians call giants.”

Miles: This quote actually helps, because Yahuwah wouldn’t destroy anyone whose heart’s desire was to do what was right. This shows that those with genetic material from the fallen angels were evil, too.

Dave: It’s interesting that no matter where you go in the world, the ancient accounts of the giants have common themes running through them. Frequently, they’re mentioned as having double dentition—double rows of teeth. They often have 6 fingers or toes. But even more, they’re known for being cannibalistic and very, very violent. An extremely ancient account of giants in Ireland said the locals had to give the giants a certain number of youth every year or so which the giants would eat.

You don’t find this sort of information in your average history book, but the information is there if you dig. You can find it echoed in the legends and myths of virtually every ancient culture, from the ancient Greeks and Egyptians, to the Hindus, the South Sea Islanders, and even the natives indigenous to the Americas.

Miles: Could you take a minute to explain for us the connection between these antediluvian Nephilim, and the Canaanites Yahuwah said to destroy?

Dave: Simply stated, Yahuwah commanded the destruction of the Canaanite nations because they were completely contaminated with Nephilim genetics: the genes of fallen angel/human hybrids. Remember back in Genesis 6, verse 4? It says the Nephilim—or the giants—were on the earth in those days “and also after this.” So Moses was aware that their DNA survived past the flood.

Miles: That’s such a gross insult to the Creator! Humans were created in the image of Yah, so to have these weird amalgamations was actually very blasphemous.

Dave: If Yahuwah hadn’t put a stop to this–this contamination of the gene pool, it would have spread throughout the world. It would have been impossible for the Messiah to be born pure and without blemish.

Miles: So it was necessary for Yahuwah to, literally, cleanse the earth with a flood, because otherwise, it would have taken over the world.

Dave: This was also why Noah took animals into the ark, but he only took those whose genetics were still pure. The confused amalgamations were destroyed in the flood.

If Yahuwah had not commanded the Israelites to destroy the nations who had corrupted DNA, all hope of salvation through the promised Messiah would have been lost.

Miles: I see how this confusion of genetics occurred before the flood, but this was, what? Five, six hundred years plus after the flood? How could there still be any corrupted DNA still in existence if it were all destroyed in the flood?

Dave: That’s a good question. To find the answer, turn to Genesis 6 and read verses 8 and 9.

Miles: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of Yahuwah. These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with Elohim.”

Dave: The word that’s translated “perfect” here—“Noah was perfect in his generations”—comes from the Hebrew word, tamiym. This is a fascinating insight, because it suggests that not just his character and conduct, but his genes were also pure.

The Passover lamb, the red heifer, all sin offerings, were to be tamiym, or without physical blemishes.

I’d like you to read this quote by Dr. E. W. Bullinger. It’s from Appendix 26 of Appendices to the Companion Bible.

Miles: “The Hebrew word tamim means without blemish, and is the technical word for bodily and physical perfection, and not moral. Hence it is used of animals of sacrificial purity. … This shows that Genesis 6:9 does not speak of Noah's moral perfection, but tells us that he and his family alone had preserved their pedigree and kept it pure, in spite of the prevailing corruption brought about by the fallen angels.” Unquote.

Dave: The Book of Jasher, which is referred to at least twice in Scripture, says that Noah married a daughter of Enoch. So, not only did Noah have pure DNA, but so did his wife. Consequently, their sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, would also have had pure DNA.

Now read Genesis 6:11 to 12.

Miles: “The earth also was corrupt before Elohim, and the earth was filled with violence. And Elohim looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.”

Dave: It’s after this statement that Moses records Yahuwah commanding Noah to build an ark and take his wife, and his sons, and his sons wives into the ark.

Miles: Soooo, he didn’t mention Noah’s daughters-in-law until after the statement that “all flesh” had become corrupted.

Dave: Rather revealing, isn’t it?

Miles: Yeah.

Dave: It’s highly likely, even probable, that Noah’s daughters-in-law carried corrupted DNA onto the ark with them and from them, it was passed down to their descendants. The daughters-in-law were likely carrying at least a trace of the Nephilim gene.

We can know this because, first, the giants reemerged after the flood. There’s no record of a second angelic incursion.

Secondly, since Noah was genetically pure, the contextual evidence suggests that his sons were also.

Finally, there was no mention of the wives until after it was stated that all flesh had become corrupted. The Book of Jasher corroborates this understanding by telling us that the wives were not chosen until after the Ark was built.

Miles: After the flood, could they have made amalgamations via some sort of genetic manipulation?

Dave: Absolutely. There’s plenty of evidence that the ancients were extremely advanced. You’ve got descriptions in the Hindu Vedas that perfectly describe nuclear fallout; there’s the ancient Baghdad battery.

Miles: Then there’s the Great Pyramid of China. Ancient monastic records say it’s over twice the height of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

Dave: Wow! I didn’t even know China had pyramids.

Miles: Most Chinese don’t, either. There’s actually 16 of them about 64 kilometers southwest of Xian, China. The largest is huge. The Great Pyramid of Giza is 137 meters, or 450 feet high. By contrast, the Xian pyramid is 304 meters, or 1000 feet tall. And no one knows who built it!

Dave: Yeah! So, the archeological record supports the ancients were very advanced. They could certainly have been messing around with genetic manipulation to come up with some of the weird animal amalgamations. Remember, evil people inspired by Satan gain supernatural insights. Satan knew how it was done before the flood, and so he could give them insight into the process after the flood.

I still believe that Noah’s daughters-in-law had corrupted DNA, though, because the Nephilim wasn’t just a mixture of human and animal DNA. It was human and angelic DNA. And it was for that reason Yahuwah commanded the Children of Israel to utterly destroy all of those seven nations.

Miles: So, all of Noah’s grandchildren—including us—could have corrupted DNA.

Dave: Carrying the Nephilim gene doesn’t guarantee that it’ll be passed on to the offspring.

Obviously, in the case of Ham's sons, especially Canaan, it clearly was. The historical record suggests that Japheth's son, Magog, may also have inherited the gene. There’s no evidence, though, that the gene manifested in Shem's offspring.

Miles: Well, you have no say over who your parents were.

Dave: No. Noah’s daughters-in-law wouldn’t automatically be condemned simply because they were born with a trace of Nephilim DNA. When you look at the records of Noah’s descendants, though, in Scripture and the book of Jasher, Ham’s descendants appear to have been interested in trying to regain antediluvian knowledge. Within just a handful of generations, Ham’s descendants were fully twice in number than either Shem’s or Japheth’s descendants.

Miles: That’s interesting. And that was primarily the branch that had most of the giant descendants, wasn’t it? Goliath of Gath was one such descendant I’ve read.

Dave: He was, yes.

Do you remember when Moses sent spies into Canaan?

Miles: Yeah. They brought back an evil report. They said the giants they saw were so large, the Israelites were like grasshoppers in their own eyes.

Dave: The word “giants” is “Nephilim” – the same word Moses used in Genesis 6 to describe the offspring of the angels and humans.

Miles: I noticed that the nations of giants are all Canaanite nations. Meaning, they all descended from Ham’s son, Canaan.

Dave: These are the ones Yahuwah commanded them to utterly destroy. It’s not because Yah is some homicidal maniac. It’s because He wanted to protect the rest of the world from lines that had actively sought, through their breeding, to increase and strengthen the Nephilim DNA in their lineage.

There is so much that could be said on this topic, if we only had time. Yahuwah expressly forbade His chosen people to intermarry with the Canaanites. When it was time for Isaac to have a wife, Abraham sent back to his family in Nahor, to find a wife. When Isaac’s son, Esau, took a Canaanite wife, by that act, Yah rejected him from being the progenitor of the Messiah. That then passed to Jacob who also traveled back to Mesopotamia to obtain a wife.

Miles: You’ve also got Yahuwah arranging to have the Children of Israel going into Egypt where they were strangers. The prejudice of the Egyptians against shepherds kept the Abrahamic line pure, because they wouldn’t intermarry with shepherds.

Dave: I want to bring this around to the final generation now. In Matthew 24:37, Yahushua warned: “But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

Miles: Hmmm! All of a sudden, this prophecy takes on greater meaning!

Dave: In the days of Noah, “all flesh” had become corrupt through the abominable and forbidden practice of mixing unlike kinds. Nephilim and chimeras were the result of these unholy unions.

One of the signs of how near we are to the end is that today, science has advanced to the point that we’re seeing history repeated. Scientists are successfully manipulating and corrupting human and animal genetics once again.

They’re even growing human parts on rats!

They’ve produced rats with a human ear growing from its back. They’ve made rats with human brains, as well as pig-human chimeras, and sheep with human hearts.

Miles: And let me guess: this is all touted as something beneficial. Your heart gives out? Just grow a new one in a sheep!

Dave: Exactly. One of the biggest signs that we’re at the end is that they’re attempting—and often succeeding—in manipulating the DNA of the masses through the food supply.

It’s well-known that non-organic tomatoes sold in the United States contain pig DNA. I was talking with an American. He’s vegetarian and when he learned this, he could hardly believe it. He asked at his local grocery store and the people working in the fresh foods section were very upfront about it.

Miles: Seriously? That’s sick!

Dave: Oh, yeah! They said growers were doing it because it gave the tomatoes a longer shelf life before they turned bad. Scientists have made tobacco plants with firefly genes and rabbit eggs with human cells.

Satan is doing absolutely everything he can to erase the image of Yah in humanity.

In closing, I just want to reiterate that Yahuwah is love. The only reason He commanded that those seven nations be utterly destroyed was to slow the flood of evil Satan was once again trying to unleash on the world.

If there were any other way, He would have done it! But wiping out the lineages that had actively sought to strengthen their corrupted DNA was the only way.

In closing, I’d like to show you something that proves just how much Yah loves us. Turn over to Jonah 4.

In this passage, you’ll recall, Jonah is griping that a plant that had given him shade had withered.

Miles: I remember. He’d gone to watch Nineveh burn, and then was angry that Yahuwah had shown mercy and hadn’t destroyed the city.

Dave: Right. So read Jonah 4, verses 10 and 11.

Miles: “Then said Yahuwah, Thou hast had pity on the gourd … which came up in a night, and perished in a night: And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?”

Dave: This shows the utter love of Yah. He didn’t want to destroy the people, but He even gives a thought to the cattle. If He’d rained fire from Heaven, it would have killed the animals, too, and He had pity even on the animals.

This isn’t someone who’s a homicidal maniac. This is someone who loves and loves deeply. This is a Father who will do what He must to give His children the best chance for life and happiness.

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* * *Advertisement * * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Miles: Uli Dorn from Graz, Austria has sent us a question for our Daily Mailbag. She says: “The Bible lets us know Yah’s will for our lives. But is there any way to know His plan for our lives? Sometimes it would be so much easier if I just knew what His plan was, then I could cooperate and not worry.”

Dave: Thank you, Uli, for a very insightful question. There can be a difference between knowing Yah’s will for you—which, as Uli says, is spelled out in Scripture—and His plan for your life in particular.

One way we can know Yah’s plan for our individual lives is by watching for what doors He opens, and which doors He closes.

Miles: It’s definitely easier to cooperate if we know what’s going on! So, how can we do this?

Dave: First, let’s back up a step. We do need to know Yah’s will for our lives. In 2 Peter 3, verse 9, we read: “Yahuwah is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

It’s Yah’s will that all of us be saved. That is the driving motivation behind all His actions toward every one of us.

Now, to understand Yah’s plan, we need to have both a knowledge of salvation, and to have made the choice to accept it. Yahuwah gives His spirit to all who have accepted salvation, and with that comes the spiritual discernment to willingly and consciously participate in Yah’s plan for you.

Miles: That’s a point I think we often aren’t even aware of: that Yah has individual plans for each of us. And obviously, His plan for someone in Hong Kong is likely to be different than His plan for someone in, say, Madagascar, or Iceland. And because He has individualized plans for each one of us, it doesn’t mean that your life plan is wrong, just because it’s different than my life plan.

Dave: We have to give Yah room and freedom to work individually in each life. In 1 Corinthians 1:30, we read, quote: “But of him are ye in Christ Yahushua, who of Yah is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.”

These are the gifts of salvation: wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. With these gifts, we are to be conformed into the divine image.

Miles: So Yah’s will is that we be saved and transformed. I’m assuming His plan is how He works in our lives to accomplish that?

Dave: That’s right. See, the balance we have to keep in mind, is that Yahuwah guarantees us freedom of will. At the same time, His foreknowledge lets Him know how we will use that freedom of will. With this foreknowledge, He sets events in motion to work out His plan.

An example of this is Pharaoh, at the Exodus. Yahuwah knew how Pharaoh would react. He didn’t make Pharaoh react that way. That was still the man’s choice. But because Yah knew he would resist Moses’ appeals to let the Children of Israel go, Yah used Pharaoh as part of His plan to deliver Israel and reveal to Egypt and all the surrounding nations who heard of it, the power of the Eloah of Israel.

Miles: Well, Yahuwah obviously knows the choices we’ll make, too. So this is what lets him open or close doors in our lives, so His plan can be accomplished?

Dave: Yes. The question then becomes: do we have the spiritual discernment to recognize opening and closing doors, and are we willing to humbly, obediently, and trustingly follow His guidance?

Miles: Speaking for myself, it’s a lot more emotionally satisfying to see doors opening than it is to have them slam shut in our face, and maybe even nick our nose while slamming shut!

Dave: I think that’s true for all of us. It takes faith to maintain courage and trust when a door we were in the process of walking through, slams shut unexpectedly. But that’s the very time we are to exercise faith. We are to see these closed doors as answers to prayer every bit as much as the opened doors.

One thing we never want to do is to try and pry open a door the Father has closed.

Miles: Oh, no! No, no. You don’t want to do that.

Dave: Speaking as someone who has tried to do that, I can concur: that’s something you don’t want to do.

Miles: Yeah. If you do, you’ll find out sooner or later just why He tried to keep you from going through that door. It was to protect you from something you couldn’t foresee but He could. And, yeah. That’s the voice of experience speaking.

So, are there any ways we can be sensitive to Yah’s leading via opening and closing doors? Because, obviously, things will go a lot more smoothly when we recognize what’s happening and can cooperate! How can we know that an open door, a new opportunity that presents itself, is truly from Him?

Dave: That’s a great question, because sometimes Yah wants to answer our prayer, but we give up and quit praying too soon. So, yes. There are three factors to take into account. They are:

Is it Scriptural?
Is it a need?
Is it the desire of your heart?

First, is it Scriptural? Would going through this door (or seizing this opportunity) violate any Biblical principles? Satan can bring opportunities, too. Sometimes he knows that bringing us that new promotion at work will mean we have even less time for Bible study and prayer. When we’re busy and distracted, it’s easier to tempt us to neglect our personal relationship with Yah.

Miles: That’s true.

Dave: Secondly, is there a need? You’ll often find that when Yah opens a door, there is a Scriptural need to go through that door.

Miles: What do you mean?

Dave: Well, say you’ve been approached to volunteer your time with a particular outreach ministry. Is the work that you’re being asked to do, consistent with Scriptural principles and is there a real need?

Finally, is it the desire of your heart?

Miles: This one surprises me. Almost like it makes Yahuwah some big Santa in the sky. Tell Him what you want and you’ll get it.

Dave laughs: Well, that’s not quite what I meant. Turn over to Psalm 37 and read verse 4.

Miles: All right … “Delight thyself also in Yahuwah: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

Dave: As we draw closer to Yah, our desires become transformed. We’re no longer selfishly focused on our own wants. Instead, we find that our greatest joy comes from cooperating with Yah in the salvation of others. When our desires are aligned with His, then when He wants us to go through a door, that’s what we’ll want, too!

Miles: That’s all well and good, but generally open doors are always exciting. They are not something we have to be dragged through. For me, personally, I find it harder to handle when I’m expecting to walk through an open door, and instead, I find my nose caught in it when it gets slammed shut in my face!

Dave: Yes, that can hurt and be upsetting.

Miles: And leave you questioning! So, are there any principles to keep in mind when you find a door you expected to remain open ends up slamming shut instead?

Dave: Well, first remember the psalm you just read. Yahuwah delights in giving to His children. He wants us to have the desires of our heart, too. But obviously, we wouldn’t want it if we could foresee it would bring us harm.

The best analogy I can think of is, um … say you’re holding a baby. On the table in front of you is a candle. The baby is just fascinated with the flame! It’s so interesting! It’s not only a pretty color, but it dances all around in the air drafts as though it’s got a life of its own! The baby wants to grab it. Are you going to let that child actually reach out and grab the flame, burning himself in the process? Or are you going to tell him “no” and move the candle out of reach?

Miles: Well, obviously any parent worth the name is going to protect the child from his own ignorance.

Dave: And that’s what our Heavenly Father does, too. Turn over to 1 Thessalonians, chapter five, and read verses 16 to 18, would you please?

Miles: Sure … uh, okay it says: “Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of Yahuwah in Christ Yahushua concerning you.”

Dave: When you’re rejoicing and giving thanks in every situation—even if it’s only by faith—then you will find things for which to be grateful, even in closed doors. When you trust that Yah is working out what is best for you, you will see a closed door to be as much an answer to prayer as an open door and you won’t get upset.

Isaiah 26, verse 3 says: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” That’s the secret to not being upset by closed doors. Trust your heavenly Father to know what is best and to do right by you.

Miles: Just like Paul says in Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love Yah, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”

Dave: Exactly. We can have peace by claiming this promise.

Miles: All right! That’s it for today, but we want to hear from you, too. If you’ve got questions or comments, just send us a message. Go to WorldsLastChance.com and click on contact us. It’s that fast and easy! And we really enjoy hearing from you.

* * *Daily Promise

Hello! This is Elise O’Brien with your Daily Promise from Yah’s Word.

A bar of steel is worth … what? Ten dollars if made into ordinary horseshoes? But if that same 10-dollar bar of steel is manufactured into needles, the value rises to 400 dollars! But if it is made into delicate springs for expensive watches, it’s worth climbs to well over 250,000 dollars!

The only difference is the process under which the bar of steel goes in order to be made into various things. The value of the same bar of steel is increased exponentially by being cut to a proper size, passed through one blast furnace after another, again and again, hammered and bent, beaten and manipulated, cooled and polished until it’s ready to complete various tasks.

A women’s Bible study group was going through the book of Malachi and came to chapter three. Verse three says: “He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto Yahuwah an offering in righteousness.”

The women were curious what this meant. After all, unless someone is a jeweler or works with metal fabrication, most people have never worked with molten metal before. One of the women offered to research out the process and explain it all at the next Bible study.

That week, the woman made an appointment with a silversmith to watch him at work. As she watched the silversmith heat a piece of silver over a fire, he explained that, to refine silver, he needed to hold the metal in the hottest part of the fire to burn away all the impurities.

The woman couldn’t help but think of the trials of life that Infinite Love uses to purify our characters. Then, she remembered the part of the verse that says Yah sits as a refiner and purifier of silver. She asked the silversmith if it were true he had to sit there the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man said, yes. And not only did he have to sit there, but he had to keep his eyes on it the entire time because if the metal was left in the refining fires even a moment too long, it would be destroyed.

The woman felt her heart melt at the realization that Yah truly does draw close through every trial. He never allows anything too hard for us that would overwhelm us.

Finally, she asked, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

He smiled and said, “That’s the easy part. I know it’s fully purified when I see my image in it.”

The trials we find the hardest to deal with are for a purpose: so that we can have the Father’s image perfectly reflected in us.

If you’re going through a fiery trial right now and feeling the heat of the fire, remember that Yah loves you and His eye is on you. He knows just how much you can take. You can trust your all to Him and know He will keep it safe.

First Corinthians chapter 10, verse 13 promises, quote: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but Yahuwah is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

We’ve been given great and precious promises. Go, and start claiming!

* * *Part 3: (Miles & Dave)

Dave: The reason this is so important is that the only thing that is going to get you through is your faith in the love and promises of Yahuwah.

If you have been brought up, or deceived into thinking of Yahuwah as an angry, vindictive, and arbitrary, power-hungry maniac, you’re not going to have confidence in His love that will allow you to trust Him through the days ahead.

Miles: It’s of paramount importance that each one of us take time, every day and on an individual basis, to get to know Yahuwah for ourselves. Look up every single verse in Scripture that speaks of His love! You’ll be inspired and your faith strengthened.

Psalm 86, verse 15 says: “But thou, O Yahuwah, art an Eloah full of compassion, and gracious, long suffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.”

Dave: Psalm 136, verse 26, tells us that His love endures forever.

Miles: Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorites. It says: “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith Yahuwah, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”

We need to know these attributes of the divine character for ourselves so that when trouble bursts upon us, our faith will be even stronger. Make the time to get to know Him today. Make that commitment today because, yeah: your eternal destiny really does depend on it.

Join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

* * *

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This program and past episodes of WLC Radio are available for downloading on our website. They're great for sharing with friends and for use in Bible studies! They're also an excellent resource for those worshipping Yahuwah alone at home. To listen to previously aired programs, visit our website at WorldsLastChance.com. Click on the WLC Radio icon displayed on our homepage.

In his teachings and parables, the Savior gave no “signs of the times” to watch for. Instead, the thrust of his message was constant … vigilance. Join us again tomorrow for another truth-filled message as we explore various topics focused on the Savior's return and how to live in constant readiness to welcome him warmly when he comes.

WLC Radio: Teaching minds and preparing hearts for Christ's sudden return.