TODAY WE WILL SEE THE FIRST TRAGEDY IN THE EARLY ASSEMBLY AND ALSO THE FIRST MENTION OF SATAN, DECEIVE, LIAR AND MONEY. UP UNTIL THIS POINT THE OPPOSITION HAD BEEN FROM WITHOUT - THROUGH THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS, BUT NOW SATAN IS AT WORK SNEAKY FROM WITHIN THROUGH MEMBERS OF THE ASSEMBLY ITSELF. SATAN’S TACTICS HAVE NEVER CHANGED AND IF HE CAN’T BEAT 'EM AND DESTROY THE BRIDE FROM THE OUTSIDE, HE WILL JOIN 'EM AND CORRUPT IT FROM THE INSIDE.
LAST CHP. WE SAW THE ASSEMBLY TAKING CARE OF EACH OTHER AND A MAN NAMED JOSEPH SOLD A FIELD TO GIVE THE MONEY TO THE ASSEMBLY. NOW TWO OTHERS WILL APPEAR TO DO A SIMILAR THING WITH THEIR REAL ESTATE ALSO.
ACTS.5
THERE SHOULD BE NO CHAPTER BREAK BETWEEN 4 & 5 :
4:36-37 "Joseph was one of the followers who had sold a piece of property and brought the money to YAHUSHA’S followers. He was a Levite from Cyprus, and they called him Barnabas, which means “one who encourages others.”
1Ananias and his wife Sapphira also sold a piece of property. 2But they agreed to lie and hold back some of the money for themselves.
So when Ananias took the rest of the money to Yahusha's followers, 3Peter said,
“Why has Satan made you keep back some of the money from the sale of the property? Why have you lied to Yahusha’s Spirit?
5And as soon as Ananias heard this, he dropped dead, and everyone who heard about it was freaked out of their minds. 6Some young men came in and wrapped up his body and took it out to buried him.
“Yes, that’s the whole amount,” she answered. 9Then Peter said, “Why did the two of you agree to test YAHUSHA? The men who just buried your husband Ananias are standing by the door, and now they’ll be carrying you out too!”
4The property was yours before you sold it, and even after you sold it, the money was still yours. So what made you do such a wicked thing? You didn't lie to us, you lied to YAHUSHA!”
7Three hours later Sapphira came in, but she didn’t know what had happened to her husband. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, did you sell the property for this amount?”
10At once she fell at Peter's feet and died. When the young men came back in, they found Sapphira lying there dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11And the whole Assembly were petrified and terrified, and so was everyone else who heard what had happened.
Be honest ... does this punishment sound harsh?
MAYBE NOT HOW YOU THOUGHT YAHUSHA OPERATED?
IT WAS NOT WRONG TO HAVE LAND OR POSSESSIONS, OR TO SELL IT AT A CERTAIN PRICE, FOR IT WAS THEIRS TO DO AS THEY PLEASED.
IT WAS NOT WRONG TO REFUSE TO GIVE IT ALL TO THE ASSEMBLY EITHER FOR NO ONE WAS DEMANDED TO DO THAT. EVERYTHING WAS VOLUNTARY.
SO WHAT DID THEY DO THAT WAS SO WRONG, THAT THEY WERE STRUCK DEAD FOR IT?
WHENEVER WE HAVE A `WHY?' ... ALWAYS FIND THE PATTERN : ACHAN
JOSHUA 7 BRS "Remember Yahuah had said that everything in the recently destroyed Jericho now belonged to Him? Well even though He’d put it all ‘under the ban’, (MEANING IT ALL BELONGED TO HIM AND HAD TO BE DESTROYED 'OFFERED TO HIM' BY FIRE) a dude named Achan sticky-fingered some bling from the ruins of Jericho for himself. That’s right! This little clepto stole treasures! So Yahuah was furious with the Yisharalites, because one of them had directly disobeyed Him (THEN THEY LOST THE NEXT BATTLE AND 36 WERE KILLED) ...
So (AFTER CRYING OUT IN FRONT OF THE ARK AND YAHUAH TELLING HIM ABOUT THE THEFT OF HIS SET-APART PROPERTY) Joshua had some people run to Achan’s tent, where they found the silver, the gold bar, and the expensive robe, and they brought them back and put them in front of the Ark, so Joshua and the rest of the Yisharalites could see them. Then everyone took Achan and the things he had stolen to Trouble Valley. They also took along his sons and daughters, his cattle, donkeys, and sheep, his tent, and everything else that belonged to him (THAT HAD BEEN ILLEGALLY EXPOSED TO YAHUAH'S RADIOACTIVE SET-APARTNESS). And Joshua said, “ACHAN, LOOK AT THE HORRIFIC TROUBLE YOU’VE CAUSED YISHARAL TODAY . . . HEARTACHE AND BLOODSHED . . . SO NOW, YAHUAH IS PAYING YOU BACK IN KIND . . WITH HORRIFIC TROUBLE!” ...
Then the people of Yisharal picked up rocks and boulders and stoned Achan to death. Then they made a fire and burned the bodies, together with what Achan had stolen, and all his possessions (PUT THEM ALL UNDER THE BAN). They covered the remains with a big pile of rocks, which is still there, and Yahuah was no longer furious with Yisharal. And that’s how the place came to be called the Valley of Achor (meaning `TROUBLE’ in Hebrew).
BEFORE WE GO ON, THERE IS YET ANOTHER BEHAVIOURAL PATTERN THAT NEEDS TO BE APPLIED TO OUR STORY OF ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA TO HELP US UNDERSTAND YAHUSHA’S SEVERE PUNISHMENT ON THEM. IT INVOLVES THE SCRIPTURAL PRINCIPLE OF VOW OFFERINGS. AND IF WE DON’T APPLY THE LAW OF 'THE BAN' AND THE LAW OF 'VOWS' TO ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA HERE IN ACTS 5, THEN WE CAN’T MAKE ANY SENSE OF THE STORY - AND YAHUAH JUST COMES OFF AS A CRUEL BASTARD !!
IN DEUT 23 WE LEARNT THIS: "When you make a vow (COVENANT) to Yahuah your Alahim, you are not to delay in doing it, for Yahuah your Alahim will certainly demand it of you, and your failure to do so will make you wrong and in sin. If you choose not to make a vow at all, then you won't be wrong, but if a vow (COVENANT) passes your lips, you must make sure you do it (just as you said you would) for Yahuah your Alahim, doing exactly what you promised with words from your own mouth”.
WORDS HAVE POWER AND MEAN SOMETHING TO YAHUSHA!
SO TO BREAK THE LAW OF THE BAN (stealing what's Yahusha's) OR TO BREAK THE LAW OF VOW OFFERING, (breaking a promise) IS CONSIDERED VERY WRONG - THE WORST KIND OF SIN WHERE THERE IS NO FORGIVENESS AVAILABLE, FOR IT'S MOCKING AND BLASPHEMING THE SET-APART SPIRIT OF YAHUAH. NOTICE THE FINAL WORDS OF PETER (TO ANANIAS) ARE: “YOU HAVE LIED NOT TO HUMAN BEINGS BUT TO YAHUAH HIMSELF”. AND (TO SAPPHIRA) PETER SAYS: “WHY DID YOU BOTH PLOT TO TEST YAHUSHA’S SPIRIT?”
MATT 12:31 & 5:33 YAHUSHA SAID: "People can be forgiven any sin and wrong, except blaspheming the Set-apart Spirit, that won't be forgiven ... you've also heard that our fathers were told, 'not to break their oaths,' and to 'keep their vows to Yahuah.' But I tell you DON'T MAKE ANY OATHS AT ALL ... just let your 'yes' be a simple 'yes,' and your 'no' be a simple 'no', because anything more than that is from the evil one".
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA WERE NOT UNBELIEVERS IN THE WORLD, THEY WERE IMMERSED INTO YAHUSHA'S NAME AND PART OF HIS NEW-COVENANT FELLOWSHIP. AND JUST AS WITH ACHAN, THEY BROKE THEIR COVENANT AND HELD BACK FOR THEMSELVES SOMETHING THAT NOW BELONGED TO YAHUAH.
WHY DID THE MONEY FROM THE SALE OF THEIR PROPERTY BELONG TO YAHUAH? BECAUSE (AFTER JOSEPH SOLD HIS LAND AND DONATED IT TO THE BELIEVERS), ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA MADE A BIG SHOW OF SELLING IT AND GIVING IT ALL TO THE FELLOWSHIP-COMMUNITY, AND YAHUAH SAW THIS AS A VOW. BUT INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING THROUGH (AFTER RECEIVING PATS ON THE BACK FOR THEIR GENEROUS DONATION), THEY FALSELY REPORTED THE SELLING PRICE, AND GAVE THAT LESSER AMOUNT TO THE ASSEMBLY, KEEPING THE REST FOR THEMSELVES. IT WAS A DECEPTION DESIGNED TO MAKE THEM LOOK GOOD IN FRONT OF EVERYONE.
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA SHOULD HAVE LISTENED TO YAHUSHA. THEY HAD NO NEED TO 'VOW TO SELL PROPERTY AND GIVE IT ALL TO THE FELLOWSHIP'. ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA TURNED VOLUNTARY CHARITY INTO A SACRED VOW TO GIVE IT ALL TO THEIR FELLOW BELIEVERS. THE INSTANT THEY DID THAT, THE PROCEEDS OF THE SALE BELONGED TO YAHUAH AS HIS SET-APART PROPERTY. ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA TRANSFERRED OWNERSHIP TO YAHUAH (WHETHER THEY REALISED THAT OR NOT), AND THEN TOOK SOME OF WHAT WAS NOW YAHUAH’S SET-APART PROPERTY (UNDER THE BAN) FOR THEMSELVES.
WHATEVER BELONGS TO YAHUSHA IS HIS SET-APART PROPERTY.... AND YAHUSHA’S SET-APART PROPERTY HAS 'THE BAN' PLACED ON IT (MEANING HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS WITH IT) BECAUSE IT'S DIVINE AND RADIOACTIVE (LETHAL TO ANYONE NOT PERFECT LIKE HIM). PAUL SPEAKS OF THE TWO EXTREMES IN YAHUSHA’S NATURE (ROM 11): HIS KINDNESS AND HIS SEVERITY.
WHEN WE ATTEMPT TO DISREGARD 'THE BAN' BY DOING WHAT WE WANT WITH YAHUSHA’S SET-APART PROPERTY, WE WILL FACE YAHUSHA’S SEVERITY INSTEAD OF HIS KINDNESS.
MALACHI 3 BRS "Children of Jacob, I'm Yahuah and I NEVER CHANGE! That’s why you haven’t been wiped out yet, even though you've ignored, disobeyed and refused to guard My Divine Laws and Instructions, ever since the time of your ancestors. But if you return to Me, I will return to you. And yet you ask, "How can we return?” You people are robbing me, your Alahim. And, here you are, asking, “How are we robbing you?” How? In the 10% support and offerings (FOR THE LEVITE PRIESTHOOD) that all belongs to Me you know! You've assaulted and cursed Me by taking what's Mine, so that’s why your whole nation is now under a curse. For I'm the all-powerful Yahuah, and I CHALLENGE YOU TO PUT ME TO THE TEST! Bring the entire 10% (support for the Priests) into the storehouse, so there'll be food there. Then I'll open the windows of the Heaven and flood you with blessing after blessing".
HOW CAN A PERSON ROB YAHUSHA TODAY? WHAT DOES IT MEAN, TO STEAL FROM YAHUSHA?
IT MEANS THAT BY TAKING WHAT ALREADY BELONGS TO HIM YOU HAVE ILLEGALLY TRESPASSED ON HIS SET-APART PROPERTY. THAT WHICH IS DEDICATED TO YAHUSHA IS HIS, AND IT CANNOT BE TAKEN OR USED OR (JUST AS IMPORTANT) HELD BACK. WHAT IS THE RESULT OF VIOLATING THIS BAN? “A CURSE IS ON YOU, YOUR WHOLE FAMILY AND NATION….”
Remember back in Leviticus we learned that ANYTHING DEVOTED TO YAHUSHA TRANSMITS HIS RADIOACTIVE SET-APARTNESS/PERFECTION TO OTHER THINGS, LIKE PEOPLE (EVEN OBJECTS). THE PRIESTS COULD, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES (DEPENDING ON THEIR ORDER) TOUCH SET-APART OBJECTS. BUT ORDINARY YISHARALITES COULD NEVER COME INTO CONTACT WITH THE DIVINE SET-APART. NOR COULD SET-APART THINGS COME INTO CONTACT WITH THEM. THE ONLY POSSIBLE RESULT FROM SUCH AN EVENT IS THAT THE SET-APART BECOMES DEFILED AND YAHUSHA WILL NOT ALLOW UNAUTHORISED TRANSFERENCE OF SET-APARTNESS (DIVINITY) FROM ONE PERSON OR THING TO ANOTHER.
THAT IS WHY ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA WERE SO WRONG (AND THEIR DEATHS ARE JUST LIKE THE TWO SONS OF AARON WHO OFFERED STRANGE FIRE BEFORE YAHUAH AND WERE DIVINELY JUDGED BY DEATH ALSO FOR THEIR DISOBEDIENCE). EITHER SIN OR YAHUSHA’S SPIRIT HAD TO GO FROM THE EARLY ASSEMBLY. IF GONE UNDETECTED, HOW MUCH MORE DECEPTION WOULD SATAN HAVE BROUGHT INTO THE ASSEMBLY.
SO GREAT WAS THE POWER AND PURITY OF THE EARLY ASSEMBLY LED BY YAHUSHA’S 12 DISCIPLES, THAT ONE SINGLE SIN, (A LIE) COULD NOT REMAIN IN YAHUSHA’S PRESENCE.
AND THE RESULT OF THIS JUDGMENT WAS THE FEAR OF YAHUSHA. NO DIVISION CAME IN THE ASSEMBLY NOR ANY CRITICISM OF PETER. A HEALTHY SPIRITUAL FEAR FELL ON EVERYONE. FEAR STOPS US FROM DOING THINGS WRONG, LYING OR ATTEMPTING TO DECEIVE ONE ANOTHER. NOT THE FEAR OF MAN, OR THE FEAR OF SATAN, BUT THE FEAR OF YAHUSHA IS BEING RESTORED TO THE ASSEMBLY HERE IN ACTS (AND TODAY) THROUGH DIVINE PUNISHMENT.
IF THIS KIND OF JUDGEMENT BEGINS AT THE HOUSE OF YAHUSHA THEN HOW WILL THE SINNER AND THE UNRIGHTEOUS FAIR?
JUDAS ALLOWED SATAN TO PUT THE THOUGHT INTO HIS HEART TO BETRAY YAHUSHA FOR MONEY AND HE WAS ALSO MET WITH DEATH, AND HERE THE SAME CONSEQUENCES OCCUR.
THE PROCESS OF SIN IS THIS:
1. WE HEAR A SEED THOUGHT FROM SATAN OR A DEMON.
2. THE SEED IS DEVELOPED INTO A PLAN INSIDE THE HEART.
3. THE BODY WILL CARRY OUT THE PLANTED WRONG THOUGHT THROUGH OUR BEHAVIOUR.
4. THE END RESULT IS DEATH.
DOES YAHUSHA STILL PUNISH LIKE THIS?
WHAT IS THE SET-APART WAR THAT'S RAGING?
HOW CAN I STEAL YAHUSHA'S PROPERTY?
WHERE IS YAHUSHA'S DIVINE RADIOACTIVE PROPERTY TODAY?
HAVE YOU MADE A VOW TO YAHUSHA?
IS YOUR BODY `UNDER THE BAN' ??
DOES YAHUSHA OWN YOU ??
SHOULD YOU CHECK WITH HIM BEFORE YOU DO OR SAY SOMETHING?
