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THE SONS OF YAHWEH
By
Bertrand L. Comparet
The highest destiny set before any man, is to be
recognized as a son of Yahweh, nothing else could equal this. Since it is
mentioned in the Bible, the major churches have not been able to entirely
overlook it, neither have they been able to understand it. In some very vague
and general way, they have decided that we are eventually to become sons of
Yahweh by some process, which they call adoption. A lot of fuzzy thinking has
developed around the unfortunate use of the word adoption. This word is not in
the original language from which our translations are made. It is a translator's
unfortunate attempt to express his understanding, or rather his misunderstanding
of what he thought was meant, rather than what it said.
What the original language refers to is not the
adoption of a stranger. It is the coming of age ceremony for a lawful son. The
apostle Paul's choice of words has often made his writing hard to understand,
for those who do not know the things he is talking about. Even the apostle Peter
commented about it in II Peter 3:15-16. Some of the modern translations
make Paul's meaning much clearer than the earlier translations. For example
Moffatt, Weymouth and the Twentieth Century New Testament, have a more correct
rendering on this point. Galatians 3:23-26 & 4:1-7 has been the basis
for this misunderstanding about adoption. In Moffatt's modern English translation, it reads:
"Before this faith came, we were confined by the
law, and kept under custody, in prospect of the faith that was to be revealed;
the law thus held us as wards in discipline till such time as the Christ came,
that we might be justified by faith. But faith has come, and we are wards no
longer: you are all sons of Yahweh by your faith in Yahshua. What I mean
is this: as long as an heir is under age, there is no difference between him and
a servant, though he is lord of all the property; he is under guardians and
trustees till the time fixed by his father. So with us.
When we were under age, we lived under the thraldom of
the elemental spirits of this world; but when the time had fully expired, Yahweh
sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those who
were under the law, that we might have our sonship. It is because you are
sons that Yahweh has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts,
crying, Abba! Father! So you are a servant no longer, but son; and as son, you
are heir, all owing to Yahweh." The twentieth Century New Testament
translates it, "so that we might receive the privileges of sons".
Weymouth translates it, "so that we might receive recognition as
sons". Adoption could not possibly be a true translation, as the general context forbids it. A stranger is not lord of all the property already, before his adoption, neither is he under guardians and trustees. One, who is a true son and heir, by birth, is in just this situation when he is still a minor. He cannot take possession of what he has inherited until he becomes of age. Note how Paul emphasizes, "It is because you are sons, that Yahweh has sent forth the spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying Abba! Father!
How did we become sons and how long have we been sons?
Long before Adam, Luke 3:38 tells us that Adam was a son of Yahweh. Even
before the foundation of the earth, Yahweh made us sons. The modern translations
are more accurate. We read in Moffatt=s translation in Ephesians 1:3-5, "Blessed be the God and
Father of Yahshua, who in Christ has blessed us with every spiritual blessing
within the heavenly sphere! He chose us in Him ere the world was founded, to be
consecrated and unblemished in His sight, destining us in love to be His sons
through Yahshua." This is confirmed in Job chapter 38 where Yahweh
asks of Job, "Where wast thou when I founded the earth? When the morning
stars sang together and all the sons of Yahweh shouted for joy?" In the
original Hebrew Yahweh adds in Job 38:21, "Thou knowest, for then
hadst thou been born, and in number thy days are many!"
These sons of Yahweh who were present at the creation of
the earth and shouted for joy were not angels, for in Hebrews 1:5 it
asks, "For unto which of the angels said he at any time, thou art My son,
this day have I begotten thee? I will be to him a Father and he shall be to Me a
son". It is clear the angels are not sons of Yahweh. All the sons of Yahweh
shouted for joy when the earth was made. Again, we have recognition that we are
the sons of Yahweh, in Psalm chapter 82. A little of its meaning is lost
in the older translations through their failure to use the Hebrew word elohim,
meaning gods.
"Yahweh standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
He judgeth among the elohim. How long will ye judge unjustly, and accept the
persons of the wicked? Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the
afflicted and needy. Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the
wicked. They know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are out of course. I have said, ye are
elohim: and all of you are children of the Most High. But ye shall die like
men, and fall like one of the princes. Arise, O elohim! Judge the earth: for
thou shalt inherit all nations."
The Jews accused Yahshua of blasphemy because He said
Yahweh was His Father. In John 10:34-35 Yahshua quoted this Psalm saying,
"Is it not written in your law, I said ye are gods (elohim)? He
called them gods unto whom the word of Yahweh came." Psalm chapter 82
rebukes us for not having properly performed our duty to judge the world. Its
prophecy that we shall inherit all nations is correct. As members of the body of
Christ, with Yahshua as the head, we shall inherit the nations. Psalm 2:8-9
is spoken to Yahshua, "Ask of Me and I shall give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou
shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel."
Revelation 2:26-27 is spoken by Yahshua
to us. "And he that over cometh, and keepeth My works unto the end,
to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of
iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I
received of My Father." There can be no doubt that in Psalm chapter 82
we are called gods, and children of the most High, even while we are still in
our mortal bodies. We are sons of Yahweh because we are born of Him, not
strangers who are merely adopted.
I John 2:29, 3:2 tells us so. "If ye know
that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born
of Him. Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we
should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it
knew Him not. Beloved, now we are the sons of Yahweh, and it doth not yet appear
what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like
Him."
This is what Yahshua was talking about in a passage,
which is badly misunderstood because it was badly mistranslated. It is John
3:1-6 which tell of the visit of Nicodemus to Yahshua. It misquotes Yahshua
as saying you must be born again. From this, the fanciful doctrines of the
second birth have been taken. The original Greek, from which this was
mistranslated says, "Verily, verily I say to thee, If anyone is not born from
above, he is not able to see the kingdom of Yahweh. Nicodemus said to Him,
How is a man able to be born, being old? Is he able to enter into the womb of
his mother a second time and be born? Yahshua answered, Verily, verily I say to
thee, If anyone is not born of the water and the spirit, he is not able
to enter into the kingdom of Yahweh. That which has been born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which has been born from the spirit is spirit. Do not
wonder that I said to you, you must be born from above."
It was only Nicodemus who misunderstood and talked of
being born again. Yahshua never said this, He only spoke of being born from
above, born out of the spirit. You are not somebody else's illegitimate
offspring who can only hope to be adopted. You are Yahweh's own children by
birth out of the spirit. Now do you think that you have any need to worry
about Russia and what it will try to do to you? Our Father Yahweh, the one true
God, will take care of His own children.
Yahshua calls us His brothers! He is the first-born Son
of Yahweh and we are His younger brothers and sisters! This is Smith and
Goodspeed's translation of Colossians 1:15-17. "He is a likeness of
the unseen God, born before any creature: for it was through Him that everything
was created in heaven and earth. The seen and the unseen, angelic thrones,
principalities, dominions and authorities, all things were created through Him
and for Him. He existed before all things and He sustains and embraces them
all."
We read in Hebrews 2:10-12, 14-18 that Yahshua
calls us His brethren. "In bringing many sons to glory, it was
befitting that He for whom and by whom the universe exists should perfect the
Prince of their salvation by suffering. So Sanctifier and sanctified have all
one origin. That is why He is not ashamed to call them brothers saying, I will
proclaim thy name to My brothers in the midst of the church, I will sing
of thee. Since the children then share flesh and blood, He Himself
participated in their nature, so that by dying He might crush him who yields the
power of death and release from thraldom those who lay under a life long fear of
death. (For it is not the angels that He succors, it is the offspring of
Abraham) He had to resemble His brothers in every respect, to expiate the
sins of the people; it is as He suffered by His temptations that He is able to
be tempted." (Moffatt)
The Bible emphasizes this close relationship. Ephesians
5:30 tells us; "We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His
bones". We are the children, the family and household of Yahweh. In Hebrews
3:5-6 we are told, "Now the faithfulness of Moses in all the house of
Yahweh was that of a servant, in faithfully repeating what he was told to say;
but Christ's faithfulness was that of a Son set over the house of Yahweh. And we
are that house, if we keep up our courage and our triumphant hope to the very
end". (Smith & Goodspeed) The word translated here house is the Greek
word oikia. Here it does not mean house in the sense of a building, it means
household or family.
Where Yahshua said in John 14:2, "In My
Father's
house are many mansions", the same word was used. The meaning may well be,
"In My Father's household are many mansions or temples for His
Spirit." We are told that each of us is a temple of Yahweh.
I
Corinthians 3:16 states, "Know ye not that ye are the temple of
Yahweh, and that the spirit of Yahweh dwelleth in you?"
In II Corinthians 6:16-18 we are told, "What
agreement hath the temple of Yahweh with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living God; as Yahweh hath said, I will dwell in them and walk in them; and I
will be their God, and they shall be My people. Wherefore, come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith Yahweh, and touch not the unclean thing; and I
will receive you and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be My sons and
daughters, saith Yahweh the Almighty".
Then what is our destiny? It is wonderful, greater than
we can understand yet. The angels, whose power is so much greater than anything
we have seen, even greater than atomic bombs, are sent to help us. In Hebrews
1:14 we are assured, "All angels are merely spirits in the divine
service, commissioned for the benefit of those who are to inherit
salvation". We are to become more like Yahshua. Ephesians 4:11-13
tells us, "He has given us some men as apostles, some as missionaries, some
as pastors and teachers, in order to fit His people for the work of service, for
building the body of Christ, until we all attain unity in faith, and in the
knowledge of the Son of God, and reach mature manhood and that full measure of
development found in Christ".
Under Yahshua as our head, we are to become the rulers
and judges of the world, even judges of the angels. I Corinthians 6:2-3
promises, "Do you not know that Yahweh's people are to be the judges of the
world? And if the world is to come before you for judgment, are you unfit to
decide the most trivial cases? Do you not know that we are to be the judges of
angels, to say nothing of ordinary matters?"
Hebrews 2:5 records, "For the world to come,
of which I am speaking, was not put under the control of angels." Psalm
8:4-6 affirms, "What is man, that thou art mindful of Him? Or the son
of man that Thou carest for him? For a little while Thou hast put Him lower than
the angels; crowning Him with glory and honor, putting all things under His
feet. By putting all things under Him, the writer meant to leave nothing outside
of His control. As it is, we do not yet see all things controlled by man. What
we do see is Yahshua, who was put lower than the angels for a little while to
suffer death, and who has been crowned with glory and honor, that by Yahweh's
grace He might taste death for everyone." (Moffatt)
Do you realize what a tremendous future our God and
Father has set before us? This is the same thing, which Yahshua promised us. In Revelation
2:26-27 Yahshua promised us, "He that over cometh and keepeth My works
unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: and he shall rule them
with a rod of iron: as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers:
even as I received of My Father".
With all the power of Yahweh in back of us, to carry out
His promises to us His children, how can we take a gloomy or despairing view of
the troubles of the day? Can Russia and the powers of darkness prevail against
Yahweh? No sincere Christian could ever say, better red than dead. We know that
all the powers of darkness are mobilized against us. We also know that they are
destined to failure.
Romans 8:28-33 assures us, "And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love Yahweh, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. For whom He did foreknow, He did also
predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the
first-born among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate, them He also
called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them
He also glorified. What shall we then say to these things? If Yahweh be for
us, who can be against us? He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him
up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who
shall lay anything to the charge of Yahweh's elect? It is Yahweh that
justifieth."
To be the children of Yahweh also brings the
responsibility to act like it. No, I don't mean that
we meet this responsibility by being effeminate and browbeaten in our manner. I
mean that we must do the works of the sons of Yahweh. Remember Psalm chapter
82 where we are rebuked for our failure to deliver the poor and needy and
rid them out of the hand of the wicked. Why are we cringing in shameful and
abject cowardice here when half our brothers of the white Christian world, are
in horrible slavery under Asiatic communism? Have we no faith in Yahweh? Are we
crawling to Russia and Cuba out of fear of their bombs? Why don't we believe in
Yahweh instead of Nixon? We have Yahweh's promise in Isaiah 54:17,
"No weapon formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall
rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the
servants of Yahweh. Their righteousness is of me, saith Yahweh."
Yahweh's work was never accomplished by cowards or
weaklings. Elijah believed Yahweh, and seven thousand faithful, courageous men
were all he needed to cleanse his nation. Gideon believed Yahweh and three
hundred men were all he needed to rout and slaughter an immense enemy army. If
we believe that Yahweh is our Father, let's start acting like His children!
We need to act like His children now, not just in the next world,
not several hundred years into the millennium, but now! |