Program 197: The Comforter: It’s not who you think it is!

The Savior’s own words reveal that Christ himself is the promised Comforter!

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: One of the most precious promises Christ gave the disciples just before his crucifixion was the promise of the coming Comforter.

Hi, I’m Miles Robey and this is WLC Radio.

We’ve always—or I’ve always—assumed the “Comforter” was the Holy Spirit. But today Dave Wright has some rather compelling evidence to prove that the Comforter is actually someone else entirely. You’re going to want to hear what he has to say.

Later, he’ll answer the question, “Is it a sin to get angry?” I think most of us get angry at one time or another. Is it a sin and how can Christians today deal with anger issues? Keep listening to find out.

Dave? You really piqued my interest when you told me you’d been digging into Scripture and discovered that the identity of the Comforter is different from what we’ve always assumed. What can you tell us about that?

Dave Wright: Well, it’s a bit of a case of mistaken identity. For me, it’s also quite the paradigm shift. I’ve spent my whole life believing that the Holy Spirit was the Comforter, only to find out that it’s not. Or, not really. It’s been a bit disorienting, to be honest.

Reminds me of a case of mistaken identity that happened back in October of 2012. A man by the name of Gilberto Araújo, from Alagoinhas, Brazil, was walking down the street when he came across a friend of his. The friend did this huge double-take, almost like you’d see in a comedy, he was so shocked. Gilberto wanted to know what was going on and his friend told him, “You’re dead! Your family’s having your funeral.”

Miles: What??

Dave: Oh, yeah. It’s true. Gilberto pats himself down and says something like, “I don’t think I’m dead, bro,” but his friend insisted. “There’s a coffin and you’re in it!”

Miles: Wow. So, what’d he do?

Dave: Well, he set off to find out what was going on. He basically crashed his own funeral. He walks in. People start screaming. Some people faint. Others panic and run out of there. It’s chaos and confusion.

Miles: Can’t you just picture it? It would be like the zombie apocalypse or something, seeing the dead person walk in the room.

Dave: He’s trying to tell his family and friends he’s not dead but they’re all freaking out and, sure enough, there he is, lying in the coffin.

Miles: What was going on? Did he have a twin or something?

Dave: No, no. It was a case of mistaken identity. Gilberto worked as a car washer. The man in the coffin, who looked remarkably like Gilberto and was about the same age, was also a car washer by the name of Genivaldo Santos Gama. Apparently, they really did look a lot alike.

So, on the previous Sunday, Genivaldo was murdered. The police, assuming it was the other car-washer, Gilberto, calls up Gilberto’s brother, José Marcos, and say, “Hey. Your brother’s been murdered and is at the morgue. Could you come make an official identification?”

Miles: And his own brother couldn’t tell them apart?

Dave: Well, he’s told what he’s going to see, so when he gets there, he sees what he’s expecting to see, which is Gilberto, only it was Genivaldo all along.

Miles: Wow. That’s awful. Funny. It’s funny, but it’s awful, too. I can just picture the pandemonium when he walks in and they all think he’s dead!

Dave: Apparently he had a bit of a struggle convincing everyone. He was saying, “Guys! Pinch me. It’s me. I’m alive!” But they’re all freaking out anyway.

Miles: Why didn’t he have someone break the news to them or phone ahead or something?

Dave: He tried! He actually did phone them, but it was dismissed as a cruel prank.

Miles: Incredible. Yeah, I’d say that’s a true case of mistaken identity.

Dave: Well, that’s what we’ve done with the identity of the Comforter. Let’s read where Yahushua promises to send it, and then we’ll talk about just who the Comforter is, and who it’s not.

Turn to John 15. This is shortly before Yahushua’s betrayal in Gethsemane and he’s trying to squeeze in all the last-minute instructions he can give the disciples. Start at, uh … verse 12. Let’s get it in context.

Go ahead.

Miles:

This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. [John 15:12-13]

Dave: He’s doing a little foreshadowing here. He’s dropping hints at what’s to come.

Go on.

Miles:

Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.

These things I command you, that ye love one another.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. [John 15:14-19]

Dave: He’s warning them that they can expect to receive the same poor treatment that he received.

Miles: “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.” [John 15:20]

Dave: So this is why they’re going to need comforting. Verse 23: He that hates you, hates my Father, also. Drop down now to verse 25 and read through verse 27. What does that say?

Miles:

But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.

But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

Dave: So here’s a clue about the Comforter. It’s going to proceed from the Father. Turn now to John 16. All through John 14 to 16, Christ keeps talking about the Comforter.

Start with verse 1. Notice how Yahushua is explaining here why they’re going to want and need a Comforter. Then notice what the work of the Comforter is going to be once he comes. Keep reading.

Miles:

These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.

They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth [Yahuwah] service.

And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?

But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you. [John 16:1-15]

Dave: There’s a lot to unpack in this passage. First, of course, is why they’re going to need a comforter: they’ll excommunicate you; whoever kills you will think he’s serving Yah … this is some pretty heavy persecution being described here. They’re going to need to be comforted.

But there’s more. The Comforter will have a special work to do. What does Yahushua tell the disciples in verse 12? Read that again?

Miles: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.”

Dave: So part of the work the Comforter will do will be to teach the apostles what, at this point, they weren’t ready to learn. What else was the Comforter to do? Verses 8 to 11.

Miles:

And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;

Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.

Dave: It’s significant that the Comforter will not come as long as Christ is there. This is why he says, verse 7, “It’s expedient for you that I go away.” It’s expedient, it’s necessary for accomplishing a purpose that he goes away because unless he does, the Comforter isn’t going to come to them.

Now we’ve always believed that the Comforter was the Holy Spirit, and this distinct separation and designation seems to support a triune godhead. Afterall, the “Comforter” in these passages is its own entity.

Well, after careful and thorough research, I believe the Comforter is Yahushua himself. Not some disembodied third person of a three-in-one godhead, but the risen Christ himself.

Miles: I know you told me that before when you shared, briefly, with me what you’ve been studying, but I have to ask: where do you get this from? Because, reading through John, it sounds like Yahushua is referring to someone else. He’s not saying, “I will come back to you.” He’s saying the Comforter—he—will come to you. I have to go away but I will send him to you. That doesn’t sound like he’s talking about himself.

Dave: Fair enough. All right. Turn to Luke 9 and read verses 18 to 22.

Miles:

 And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him: and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am?

They answering said, John the Baptist; but some say, Elias; and others say, that one of the old prophets is risen again.

He said unto them, But whom say ye that I am? Peter answering said, The Christ of [Yahuwah].

And he straitly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing;

Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.

Dave: This is just one instance among many where Yahushua referred to himself in the third person. We don’t typically refer to ourselves in the third person. Instead, we’ll use personal pronouns and say “I” or “me” or “myself.” But quite a number of times, Yahushua referred to himself in the third person.

Another place he did this was in Mark 2. Why don’t you read verses 1 to 11 for us? Let’s get it in context.

Miles:

A few days later, when Yahushua again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. They gathered in such large numbers that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on. When Yahushua saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but [Elohim] alone?”

Immediately Yahushua knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to this paralyzed man, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”

Dave: He could, just as easily have said, “I want you to know that I have authority on earth to forgive sins.” It’s probably how you or I would have phrased it. But he didn’t. He put it in the third person as “I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Again, he’s talking about himself, but in the third person. That’s not unusual for Christ to do.

But there’s more to it than even that when he refers to the Comforter in John 14 to 16. Here, Yahushua is speaking of his future self, his risen self, after his death and resurrection. He’s not speaking of his current self, which is why he says it’s expedient for the disciples for him to go away. It’s expedient for him to die for their sins. Then, afterward, he himself will come again to them as their Comforter.

The risen, glorified Savior is the Comforter. Turn back to John 14 and read verses 16 to 18.

Miles:

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Dave: Okay, that’s verses 16 and 17. You’d be justified in saying, “See? It’s the ‘Spirit of truth’! The Holy Spirit!” But keep reading. What does verse 18 say?

Miles: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

Dave: Christ Himself is the Comforter. He—literally—came to the disciples after his resurrection on a number of occasions.

Now, we’ve covered the doctrine of the trinity extensively in other programs. It’s a doctrine that comes from paganism. None of the apostles believed in or taught a three-in-one godhead. In fact, there was a lot of controversy over this belief when it was first standardized into church theology in the fourth century. Some people even lost their lives over it.

Miles: If you missed those programs, you can still listen to them on our website. Or YouTube.

Dave: Right. So, Christians today have inherited the doctrine of a trinity. We’ve superimposed that interpretation on all of Scripture and we think it’s there because that’s what we expect to see. Just like, um, Jose, Gilberto’s brother. The police told him his brother was dead, so he confirmed what he already believed to be the truth. Only it wasn’t the truth. It was wrong.

Well, we’ve been superimposing a third person of the godhead on these passages talking about the Comforter but right here in John 14 verse 18, Christ identifies who the Comforter is! He says, “I will not leave you comfortless: I … will come to you.”

Miles: Wow. How come I never saw that before?

Dave: Why haven’t any of us? We’ve been superimposing the trinity doctrine on Scripture and it’s just not there.

Miles: Okay, we have to take a quick break. When we come back, could you tell us what the word “Comforter” is in the original?

Dave: Sure!

Miles: We’ll be right back.

* * *

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* * *Part 2: (Miles & Dave)

Miles: I love the idea that the risen Christ is himself our Comforter. What does the word “Comforter” mean in the original? Is that an accurate translation?

Dave: Yes.

There’s a Bible dictionary on the shelf behind you. Why don’t you grab that and look up the definition?

Miles turns pages: Sure … uh … let’s see. It comes from the parakletos. It means an intercessor, consoler, advocate, or comforter.

It says, quote: “Parakletos is the one summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid and is used of Christ in his exaltation at God’s right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins; and the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after Christ’s ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth, and give them divine strength needed to enable them to under go trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom.”

Dave: This definition, when viewed through a trinitarian lens, seems to support the traditional understanding of the Comforter being the Holy Spirit.

Miles: Yeah, I noticed the phrase “God the Father.” Whoever wrote this definition was most likely trinitarian. Most Christians are.

Dave: Sure. The truth is, though, that parakletos appears only five times in the New Testament and when you let Scripture interpret itself, it’s very clear that the Comforter being referred to is, indeed, Yahushua. It’s translated four times as “comforter” and once as “advocate.”

I’ve got here another definition of the same word I’d like you to read. Go ahead.

Miles: Um, it says:

Summoned, called to one’s side, especially called to one’s aid. One who pleads another’s cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant, an advocate. One who pleads another’s cause with one, an intercessor. Of Christ in his exaltation at God’s right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins. In the widest sense, a helper, succourer, aider, assistant.

Dave: I’d say that’s just about a perfect description of Yahushua’s role as Savior, mediator, and advocate, wouldn’t you?

Miles: Oh, yeah. Totally fits.

Dave: I’d like you to turn now to 1 John chapter 2. This is one of the times parakletos is used: 1 John 2, verses 1 to 2.

Miles: “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate—

Dave: Parakletos.

Miles: “—with the Father, Yahushua Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.”

Dave: This verse is clearly not talking about the trinitarian version of the Holy Spirit, or “God the Holy Spirit,” the “third person” of a triune godhead. It’s referring to Yahushua. Christ himself is our advocate, and he is our Comforter.

The word “with”—“we have an advocate with the Father”—is pros. It means “in the immediate vicinity.” Yahushua, the risen Savior, is with the Father, being in His immediate vicinity up in Heaven.

Let’s take a look now at an interesting comment Yahushua made when he was conversing with the woman at the well. He was actually quite straightforward in this conversation, telling her things that he hadn’t yet told even the Jews.

The encounter is recorded in the fourth chapter of John. Read verses 23 and 24.

Miles: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. [Yah] is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

Dave: We worship Yahuwah by the spirit of truth. Now, what’s interesting about this statement made to the woman at the well is that it’s referring to two different time periods. “The hour is coming,” Christ said, “and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth.”

The hour that was coming refers to the apostles and us. To all who believe in the merits of the risen Christ. The “now is” refers to Christ. He was worshipping Yahuwah through the spirit of truth, Yahuwah’s own spirit.

Miles: Now don’t go imposing the “third person of the godhead” on what Dave’s saying here, folks! I know this for a fact because, when I was studying out this idea that there’s no trinity, it’s a doctrine adopted from paganism, I looked up every single use of the word “spirit” in Scripture. From Genesis to Revelation, it always means the same thing. It’s just “breath.” That’s what the Holy Spirit is. It’s Yahuwah’s breath.

It was the active agent in creation; it’s the active agent in our re-creation, and it’s what dwells in us by faith, allowing us to worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Dave: We can see this reflected in another passage in John. John, more than any of the other gospel writers, grasped the deep spiritual truths of the gospel.

Turn to John 7 and read verses 37 to 39. This is a very interesting passage.

Miles:

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Yahushua stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this he spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Yahushua was not yet glorified.

Dave: This gives us an important detail. The Holy Spirit, a special outpouring upon believers, hadn’t been given yet … because … Yahushua was not yet glorified. Now, this is not referring to the mount of transfiguration. That was simply a foretaste. It faded away and only three of the disciples were privileged to witness it.

The glorification that’s being referred to here, the glorification that was the prerequisite for the spirit of Yah being given, occurred when Christ was resurrected. This is hinted at in John 14. I know we already looked at that in our last segment, but I want to go back there and point something out, now that we know it’s Yahushua himself who is the Comforter and our Advocate.

Miles: Which verse?

Dave: Uh … verses … 16 to 21.

Miles: All right. “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” [John 14:16]

Dave: Did you catch that? Christ says he will ask the Father to send another Comforter. Who’s the first one?

Christ himself! He’s comforting the disciples here. He’s going to be betrayed and killed shortly and he’s comforting the disciples.

Keep reading. Verse 17.

Miles:

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Dave: Again, Christ is here comforting the disciples. He says, “I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you.” And the way he came to the disciples, and the way he comes to us, is through the spirit of truth, Yah’s regenerating spirit.

The Comforter that is to come is the same being that is comforting them now except he’s been raised again; he’s been glorified. It’s the risen, glorified Christ that is the other Comforter.

Miles: That’s beautiful. Reminds me of where Yahushua said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” [Matthew 11:28-29]

Dave: He’s the Comforter. Always has been, both before his death and after his resurrection. He’s our Comforter and Advocate. Our Mediator.

Let’s take a look now at Paul. Turn to Romans 7 and read verse 4, please. Romans 7:4.

Miles: “So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for [Yahuwah].”

Dave: Believers die with Christ (by faith), so that we may be raised with him. But notice how Paul describes it here. He says we died to the law through the body of Christ, so that we, quote, “might belong to another.” Who’s this “other”? Paul says who it is in the very next phrase: “to him who was raised from the dead.”

So again, we have here this concept of Christ being present with the disciples before his death and then becoming “other” or “another” at his resurrection and glorification.

Miles: Same being, of course.

Dave: Of course, but now he’s the risen Christ, and it’s the risen Christ that is our Comforter. The “other” Comforter that Yahuwah would send after his death.

The disciples knew Yahushua according to the flesh. We don’t because something has changed. Would you please read 2 Corinthians 5 verses 16 and 17? Paul, with his deep grasp of theology, is bringing out an interesting point here, echoing what was written in Romans: 2 Corinthians 5 and verses 16 to 17.

Miles:

Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Dave: And 1 Corinthians 15:42 to 49?

Miles:

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.

If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the image of the earthly man, so shall we bear the image of the heavenly man.

Dave: This is talking about the transformation that will occur in believers, of course, when they are raised back to life or transformed when Yahushua returns. They are one thing in the flesh, then they are raised or transformed into … another.

Paul explains this in 2 Corinthians where he says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of [Yah] in him.” [2 Corinthians 5:21]

This same change occurred in Christ. He wasn’t sinful, of course, but he bore our sin. He was of the flesh and withstood sin in the flesh.

Miles: Isaiah 53:

He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem him. [Isaiah 53:2-3]

Dave: That was Christ in the flesh. Then he was killed, raised, and glorified. He became “another.”

What this is explaining to us is that, just as “if any man is in Christ, he is a new Creation,” same with Yahushua. He was raised a new Creation, too. The old man, the old humanity he took with him to the grave. Then the second Adam was raised up as a new Creation. And believers are new creations in him.

Remember that when Yahushua was talking to the disciples about the Comforter, he hadn’t died yet. He was going to die the next day, but he hadn’t died yet. His risen self, again, was the other parakletos. And it’s the promised parakletos, the promised Comforter who is raised, who exists in the immediate vicinity of the Father, and who abides with us and in us.

It's an interesting exercise to compare and contrast the first Comforter—Christ in the likeness of sinful flesh—with the second Comforter, Comforter #2, the risen lord. I jotted down a few comparisons. Could you read through those for us?

Miles: Let’s see … Comforter #1. Yahushua according to the flesh—

Dave: Becomes Yahushua according to the spirit as Comforter #2.

Miles: The “old humanity” under the first Comforter becomes the “new humanity” under the second Comforter.

Dave: First Adam … Second Adam.

Old Creation … New Creation.

Miles:

• Mortal transforms into immortal.
• The earthly becomes the heavenly.
• The natural is transformed into the spiritual.
• Flesh and blood becomes the life-giving spirit.

Dave: And when, by faith, we die with Christ, we are also raised with him, a new creation. An other as well.

Miles: I’m remembering a passage in one of Paul’s missives that talks about that. Give me just a second to find it …

Ah! Galatians 2. Here it is. Galatians 2 verse 20 It says: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless ‘I’ live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of [Yahuwah], who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Dave: What a beautiful description! And this is precisely why, in John chapters 14 to 16, Yahushua is telling his disciples that it’s in their best interests for him to go away. Let’s read that again. John 16 verse 7.

Miles: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

Dave: They couldn’t see it. They just wanted to keep him with them. But Yahushua knew that as that other Comforter, the risen Comforter, he could actually be closer to each one of them, as well as each one of us. Whether you’re in South America, or Africa. The Philippines, China, Europe … Yahushua can be just as close to you as he is to someone on the other side of the world, but only as the risen Comforter can he do that.

This is precisely what Yahushua was talking about in John 14 when he said, “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

Miles: Ahhh, I see. Yahushua was abiding with them in the flesh, but by going away, by dying and being raised again, he could abide in them.

Dave: Exactly. It’s by abiding in them in the spirit that the risen Christ can abide with them—with us—forever.

John 14, the chapter that starts this comforting passage of Scripture, opens with the assurance: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in [Yah], believe also in me.” [John 14:1]

Do you remember what comes next?

Miles: Absolutely. “In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” [John 14:2-3]

Dave: You read John 14 verse 18. I’d like you to read it again and this time read verses 19 and 20, as well.

Miles:

I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

Dave: Yahushua is in the Father. This means that when you’re in Yahushua, you are also in the Father and the Father’s in you. That is how close, how very close we can be to both our Creator and our Savior. That is the privilege and comfort available to believers today through the risen Christ.

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You are listening to World's Last Chance Radio.

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

* * *Daily Mailbag (Miles & Dave)

Dave: So where’s today’s Daily Mailbag question coming from?

Miles: Ahhh … I don’t know. It’s anonymous and doesn’t say where.

Dave: That’s too bad. I enjoy exchanging bits of trivia we’ve learned from various places around the world.

Miles: All right. Here’s a bit of trivia for you about the earth in general. The driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert, lies right along side the largest body of water on earth: the Pacific Ocean.

Dave: Huh. Like Samuel Coleridge’s poem: “Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink.”

I wonder what makes the weather patterns such that there would be a desert right by the ocean.

Miles: I don’t know but I’ve read there are places there where it has never—literally never—rained.

Dave: Wow. That’s wild.

So what’s our question for today?

Miles: It says, “I need some help. Sometimes I get so angry that it scares me. I don’t like feeling this way, but I can’t seem to help it. Afterward I feel so guilty. I know I shouldn’t feel this way but I do. How can I not be so angry all the time? As a Christian, I feel I should have better control over my emotions. I can’t imagine feeling this way honors Yahuwah. I’ve prayed and prayed but there’s no difference. Please help!”

Dave: Hmmm. Well, there are two issues here we need to discuss. The first is anger itself and the second is the guilt this person seems to feel for struggling with his emotions. Could be a woman. I’m just going to use male pronouns for simplicity.

He says after getting angry, he feels “so guilty.” But what is he feeling guilty for? For getting angry? Or for what he does when he’s angry?

Miles: Mmm. Good question. I kind of get the feeling this person is feeling guilty for feeling the emotion of anger.

Dave: That’s the sense I got, too. So let’s talk about guilt and anger. Feeling angry in and of itself is not a sin. Scripture reveals there are times Yahuwah is angry.

Miles: Yeah, but that’s … Yah. His anger is holy.

Dave: And yours isn’t?

Miles: Uhhh … No?

I guess, I mean, Yahuwah gets angry over sin and injustice done to others. I get angry over other things, like, say, the way people treat me.

Dave: That doesn’t automatically make human anger sinful. Anger can be a very righteous reaction to injustice. It can be the still, small voice affirming that what was done to you was wrong.

We view anger as a negative emotion. We don’t like feeling negative emotions. The letter-writer says the same thing: “I don’t like feeling this way.” But that doesn’t make the emotion itself a sin. We’ll talk about this more in a moment. For now, let’s understand what guilt is. What is “guilt”? How do you define it?

Miles: Uh, it’s, well … it’s being responsible for having committed an offense. For having done something wrong.

Dave: That, right there, is key to determining whether or not you’ve sinned when you were angry. The emotions themselves aren’t sinful or Yahuwah could not experience them. It’s what you do when feeling those emotions that determines whether or not you’ve done something for which to feel guilty.

When you’re angry, what do you do? Turn the air blue with curse words? That would be a sin.

Do you lash out and hit your wife? Or husband? That would be a sin. There’s never any excuse for physical violence against a spouse. Ever.

Do you slap your child? Kick the dog? Spread vindictive rumors against a colleague at work? All of those are sins. They are actions that are wrong because they cause harm to another.

Miles: So you’re saying that sin enters into it when the anger leaves the realm of emotions and enters the realm of action, causing harm to another. That’s sin.

Dave: Exactly. That’s the definition of guilt: when we’re responsible for doing something wrong or causing harm to another. Doing and causing. Those are action verbs. That’s the difference.

There’s another point I want to get to so, really quick, let’s talk about how to handle anger. The first thing—

Miles: Prayer.

Dave: Of course. And he is. He’s already praying, so the first thing after prayer would be to try and analyze what it is that is driving the anger inside. If you find yourself getting angry easily, there’s usually some other reason other than the immediate provocation in the moment. It can be stress, at home or at work. It can be grief. Grief often shows itself as anger. It can also be unresolved trauma. Sometimes, this can reach clear back to an abusive childhood. Issues and unhealed wounds from childhood can impact us our whole life long if left unresolved.

If that appears to be what’s driving the anger, speaking to a qualified therapist can really help. There’s no shame or sin in getting help.

Miles: That’s true. When we’re sick, we either go to a doctor or use home remedies to get better. Either way, we’re proactive in getting the help we need to get better. There shouldn’t be any shame involved in getting help for emotional wounds.

Dave: It’s true.

Mood disorders, PTSD, as well as hormonal imbalances can all cause anger, too, so that’s something to talk to your doctor about. Still nothing that qualifies as causing harm to another. Still not a sin.

Once you know what is driving the anger, you can start to identify triggers. Is the stress of driving in rush-hour traffic a trigger? All right. Once you know that, you can work around it. Ask your boss if you can come into work a half hour early and leave a half hour late.

That may not be possible, but my point is that once you know the cause of the anger, you can identify what triggers angry outbursts. Maybe you have to leave work on time, but hang out in a local coffee shop for an hour to avoid the intensity of rush hour traffic. If you know your triggers, you can work to avoid them or walk away from a triggering situation.

Miles: Speaking of walking away, exercise is a great help when you’re dealing with overwhelming emotions, whether it’s anger or grief or any other emotion. You can channel that into exercise. It helps a lot.

Dave: Sometimes you can feel like your anger hits you like a bolt out of a clear blue sky and you’re instantly angry and not knowing why. If that’s what’s happening, learn to identify physical warning signs. Is your heart rate faster? Do you feel flushed and hot? Are your fists clenched?

Recognizing the signs early can help you take measures to control your emotions before you’re lashing out. Again, it’s the lashing out itself that is the sin, not the emotions themselves.

And this is the next point I believe it’s important to address. Often Christians get this feeling that they’re supposed to be happy! Happy! Happy! All the time. And if they don’t, they feel guilty.

Miles: I’ve known people like that. If they’re not feeling the “joy of the Lord” every single minute, they feel guilty. I’ve noticed that in such homes, there’s no healthy acknowledgment of what everyone is actually feeling. If you’re feeling down or depressed or anything other than happy-happy, it gets pushed down. Suppressed.

Dave: Which isn’t at all healthy. We call these “negative” emotions, but negative doesn’t automatically equate to “sinful.”

This is an important point because this seems to be something a lot of conservative Christians misunderstand. Denying negative emotions, suppressing them, leads to problems with mental health. It doesn’t resolve anything.

But then laying a burden of guilt on top of that for feeling these emotions simply compounds the problem. And if you’re a person that deals with guilt or depression or stress or grief by getting angry … yeah. You’re going to have a lot of problems with anger. So understand that simply because it’s what we term a negative emotion doesn’t automatically make it a sin to feel that way.

Let’s look at a few examples in Scripture. I’m going to quote a verse and you see if you can tell me where I’m quoting from.

Miles: All right.

Dave: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Miles: Uh … I don’t know the precise chapter and verse, but that’s what Yahushua said on the cross. “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”

Dave: You’re sure? I mean, yes. You’re right. He did say that. But turn to Psalm 22 and read the first two verses.

Miles: It says … oh, wow! It says: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.”

Dave: Yahushua on the cross was actually quoting a psalm of David because it perfectly encapsulated his feelings of horror, heartbreak and abandonment, not to mention guilt. All of those are very negative emotions, but it’s not sinful to feel them!

Miles: I’ve heard preachers joke that David was the world’s first manic-depressive. His psalms are full of angst and extreme depression, anxiety and emotional turmoil.

Dave: They certainly run the gamut of human emotions. But emotions aren’t sinful. That’s the burden I want to remove from our listeners. It’s not a sin to feel depressed. It’s not a sin to feel sad.

You remember Job? Of anyone in all Scripture who had cause to mourn and be depressed, it was Job. Not only did he lose all his wealth, but he lost his reputation as well. People started evil surmising about him, and that added insult to injury. Then, worst of all, he lost his children. All ten of them. Can you imagine the heartache? I can’t.

Miles: No, no. It’s beyond imaging.

Dave: And when his so-called “friends” came to comfort him and instead rubbed salt in his wounds, yeah. Job complained. He griped. He said he wished he’d never been born. Those were his emotions. They were negative. They were raw. And they were honest. The one thing they weren’t was sinful.

He edged near the line when he finally began questioning Yah—which is why he later said he repented in dust and ashes. But the emotions he went through weren’t a sin. They were just his feelings and, honestly, I’d say he was justified in feeling the way he did!

Turn to Job 42 and read verse 7. This is after Yahuwah gets through questioning Job and Job expresses remorse for having questioned the divine purposes. Job 42:7.

Miles: “After Yahuwah had said these things to Job, He said to Eliphaz the Temanite, ‘I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not spoken the truth about me, as my servant Job has.’”

Dave: Job didn’t sin by feeling emotions of grief, and loss, anger, and even resentment. We weren’t created to be automatons. We were created emotional beings, so it’s not a sin to experience the full gamut of those emotions. I don’t want anyone assuming that burden. Don’t labor under the misunderstanding that negative emotions are a sin. That’s a burden from Satan. Reject it.

Turn to Revelation 21. I want you to read verses 2 to 4. This is talking about when the Kingdom of Yah has been set up. Sin and sinners are no more. Then what happens? Revelation 21:2 to 4.

Miles:

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from [Yah] out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of [Yahuwah] is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and [Yahuwah] Himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And [Yahuwah] shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Dave: We like to skip straight to the part that “there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying.” But the part before that says that Yahuwah “shall wipe away all tears” from our eyes. It’s a beautiful promise. Imagine: just being comforted by the Father Himself.

But for Yahuwah to wipe away all tears from our eyes means that there are tears to wipe away.

Miles: That’s true. That’s a good point.

Thank you, Dave. This has helped me, too. I don’t think I’ve ever clearly put into words that I assumed I was sinning when I felt negative emotions, but there’s sometimes been a vague sense of guilt for feeling them.

Dave: Remember that what we think of as “guilt” can also sometimes be grief. It’s not a sin to grieve.

Miles: Yeah. I appreciate the clarification. It helps to have that put into words.

I want to thank you for tuning in. Please join us again tomorrow, and until then, remember: Yahuwah loves you . . . and He is safe to trust!

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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.