OPEN LETTER TO MISSIONARIES AND MINISTERS WHO WISH TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE IN PEOPLE’S LIVES


Before my departure from the ministry in one of the traditional churches in South Africa, I loved to think of myself as someone with “a heart for missions”.   Our church was known as a “missions-minded” church and, apart from the fact that I gained a lot of experience in all kinds of missionary activities, I personally knew (and still know) a great number of missionaries involved with a wide spectrum of missionary work.  I know without a doubt that the great majority of missionaries are serious about introducing people to the Messiah and bringing a message of hope and revival to those who seem to have lost all hope.  I know that most missionaries would like to bring about real change in people’s lives and present people with “something” that will truly make a difference.  I know, because I have felt this urge myself and, in a sense, I feel the same way up to this day.  What I have to say in this letter is not intended to put out the flame of enthusiasm in the heart of missionaries.  It is an effort to learn from certain mistakes that I have made and to come closer to what I believe to be “the more excellent way” of Scriptures. 

Perhaps I should start off by giving a brief overview of what has happened in my life over the past three or four years. In a nutshell:  Our faithful and patient heavenly Father has taken my wife, Hannelie, and myself on a route back to His true and unchanged foundation for his people, which is in Him, in His Word and in Yahshua, the Messiah. It was not an easy process - it did not happen overnight, nor did it take place without pain and sacrifice, and what is more, there is still a long way to go and many more areas of our lives to be subjected to the Messiah. Along the way many of our own fixed ideas (and traditions) had to make room for the undiluted truth of Yahweh's Word. Both of us know today that this change, brought about by the Almighty Himself and sealed in our hearts by His set-apart Spirit, is irreversible and all-encompassing.

The one truth that stands out as one that has altered our entire mind set - even the way we think and talk and pray and worship, is the truth of the Name of our heavenly Father - a truth neglected by Judaism and Christianity alike. Scriptures clearly reveal that it was never the Almighty's idea for his true Name, Yahweh, to be obliterated or replaced by names like Lord (a literal translation of Baal), God (a manmade title for the Almighty originating from the name of a pagan deity, called Godan, Goda, Gad, Guth, Gud and Gott in different ancient languages) or, for that matter, Hashem (meaning "the Name"), thereby deliberately concealing what this Name is.  The correct way to honour the third commandment is not avoiding the Name of the Almighty (or using it only when it suits us) but obeying the literal words in this commandment: "Thou shalt not FALSIFY the Name of Yahweh your Elohim (thus making it come to nought)" (Exod 20:7). The word that I have translated here with "falsify" has the same root as the one used in the ninth commandment: "Thou shalt not bear FALSE witness against thy neighbour" (Deut 5:20). Hannelie and I have made a decision to start speaking out and share with others the vital importance of not only recognizing, but also using (with respect) the true Name of the Almighty.

We always had (and still have) a deep desire to present Jews with the truth of salvation in the Name of Yahshua, the Messiah.  I believe our Father has given us all a vital key in this regard that is totally overlooked in the majority of Bible translations. If we can prove to the Jews that the One who came to this world 2000 years ago, was introduced (by a messenger of the Almighty) as "Yahshua" which means "the salvation of Yahweh", they might just recognize Him as the Messiah. Why? Because, for one reason, Scriptures clearly declare: "I, even I am Yahweh, and beside Me there is no Saviour" (Isa 43:11). Instead of focussing on this clear message of Yahshua being the salvation of Yahweh (the One who literally came in the Name of his Father - John 5:43), the majority of Christians persist with a watered down "gospel" featuring a Greek/Latin/English/Afrikaans Messiah named "Jesus" (a man-made name totally without meaning). No wonder the majority of Jews aren't interested in a message of this nature.

Judaism and Christianity have not only violated the third commandment through the ages, but also the fourth commandment. Judaism, by adding numerous man-made doctrines and traditions and prohibitions to the straightforward commandment that we should remember the Sabbath-day and keep it set-apart, because the One whom we call our Elohim is set-apart and His desire is to "mark" us as His set-apart people. And Christianity, by following the pattern established by the early Roman Catholic Church, treating the fourth commandment as one that we are "allowed" to change and interpret as we see fit. Contrary to what I have always heard in churches and been taught in seminary, there is nothing in Scriptures that even remotely suggests that followers of the Messiah are exempt of the obligation (and privilege!) of keeping the seventh day Sabbath. A careful reading of Isa 58 reveals that a number of people (elsewhere called a "remnant") will arise in the last days, building up the old waste places, raising up the foundations of many generations, repairing the breach (between Yahweh and his people) and restoring the paths to dwell in.  What will their main message be? We find the contents of this message in Isa 58:13-14: "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, [from] doing thy pleasure on my set-apart day; and call the sabbath a delight, the set apart day of Yahweh, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking [thine own] words, then shalt thou delight thyself in Yahweh; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Yahweh hath spoken [it]. " Too many people and ministries today are trying to build and repair and restore, but they do so without honouring and setting apart the Sabbath. Will Yahweh cause these to "ride upon the high places of the earth" and feed them "with the heritage of Jacob"? Not according to this or any other Scripture I know of.

Over the past four years I have tried to familiarize myself with the history, traditions and contributing factors underlying the faith that is known today as "Christianity" . I was shocked (and sometimes disillusioned)
at what my little bit of research had revealed. Apart from the above-mentioned two aspects where mainline Christianity has deliberately chosen a different direction as the one clearly set forth in Scriptures, there are numerous other elements of Christianity that clearly violate the consistent message of the Scriptures. It is not only the third and fourth commandments that are basically ignored - it is also the first and second commandments (which deal with idolatry, false gods and manmade images) that are grossly violated - not only in isolated cases but in some of the most central doctrines and practices of Christianity. One example of this is the way in which Christmas and Easter (two non-Biblical feasts, not commanded by Yahweh, and deeply rooted in paganism) have been linked to two very important events in Scriptures. On the other hand, Judaism is not innocent at all. Paul had every right to reject and refute the efforts of some zealous Jews in his day whose aim it was to put on the young believers a burden of man-made doctrines and regulations (clearly inferior to, and vitally different from the eternal commandments of Yahweh).

The ten commandments is not the only area where deviations are found – away from the parameters that Yahweh has lain down in His Word. The core message of Christianity deviates considerably from the core message (and example) of the Messiah. The fact that the Messiah stated clearly that the one who breaks one of the least of the commandments of Yahweh, and teaches men so, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:19), is bluntly ignored, or else, played down against some of the things the apostle Paul is supposed to have said. Instead of interpreting Paul in the light of the Messiah, the Messiah is being interpreted in the light of Paul (and the way this apostle's letters had been misrepresented through the ages - something against which we are specifically warned in 2 Pet 3:16). To me, this is one of the greatest tragedies of all time. Today, the apostle Paul is quoted frequently as being the authority for not taking seriously the Old Testament, not obeying the commandments, not keeping the Biblical feasts, eating unclean foods, believing the theory of once saved, always saved, believing the theory of a secret rapture and many other things that Paul himself would never have dreamt about - let alone practice or teach. There is no doubt whatsoever that Paul knew perfectly well about the warning of the Messiah I have quoted at the beginning of this paragraph and that he had always kept this in mind - even when he had written his letters.

Time and space are insufficient to go into all the Scriptures where I believe the apostle Paul are misunderstood, but some of these issues are looked into on our website at www.elim.co.za. Many of the articles on our website have been written in Afrikaans, but there are a few written in English, one of which is about the translation and interpretation of Colossians chapter 2, verses 16 to 17 – one of the classic examples where one of Paul’s statements is translated in such a way that the end-result is almost the complete opposite from what I believe it should be.

Perhaps I got carried away a little bit while I was writing this open letter - please forgive me for that. But hopefully the outcry coming from my heart could be heard: THE ANSWER (FOR SUCCESS IN OUR MINISTRIES AND OUR PROGRAMMES - EVEN THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYERS) LIES NOT WITH CHRISTIANITY OR WITH CHRISTIAN IDEAS OR DOCTRINES. NO, THE ANSWER IS IN REPENTANCE FOR THE WAY WE HAVE DONE VIOLENCE TO THE AGE OLD REVELATION OF THE ALMIGHTY AND IN TURNING BACK TO THE UNALTERED WORD OF YAHWEH AND TO THE WAY LEADING TO ETERNAL LIFE CLEARLY ESTABLISHED WITHIN  SCRIPTURES AND CONFIRMED BY THE MESSIAH HIMSELF. One of the lies of the enemy is that turning back to the ways of Yahweh is moving back into bondage. Our own experience over a period of four years is that quite the opposite is true. The Messiah was not mistaken: The truth indeed sets one free and opens one’s eyes and heart to the perfect ways of our heavenly Father!  Once again, I am not writing this in order to judge anyone or his / her ministry. I am sharing something that has changed our ministry and our entire life. Somehow I believe this "something" can  make a vital difference in the ministry for which you have been called.