Nazarene Israelite Two House Congregation of Port Elizabeth

Let’s continue doing the work with renewed zeal.

Because we are human and endowed with emotional feelings, we are usually fairly desponded after the spiritual high we experience during the annual Fall Feast Days of Elohim. After spending more than a week away from the world and its worries, it is most disconcerting to return home and realize how few of the vast number of the lost sheep of the house of Israel who came to believe they are Gentiles have returned to the covenant relationship our forefathers made with Elohim at Mount Sinai, together with the house of Judah and the enormity of the work ahead of us as trail blazers of those who assist in bringing the two houses together.

This is due to years of deception and lies that kept the house of Israel away from Elohim’s truth and the reality that most became so calloused through continual noncompliance of Scriptural rules, that we mistakenly believed to be unimportant and our people are drawn to sin habitually by continuing to keep Xmas and Easter year after year because it is very difficult to unlearn our past misguided habits. However, we need to be mindful that YHVH our Elohim is a merciful Elohim always willing to forgive those who return to Him and His ways as He has shown us in Ezekiel 3:  4 -  11 where He instructed  the prophet Ezekiel to speak specifically to the house of Israel to try and get them to return to Him and His Torah teachings for our good, as follows: ‘Then He (Elohim) said to me (Ezekiel), “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them. (5) For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, (6) nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you; (7) yet the house of Israel will not be willing to listen to you, since they are not willing to listen to Me. Surely the whole house of Israel is stubborn and obstinate. (8) Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces, and your forehead as hard as their foreheads. (9) Like emery harder than flint I have made your forehead. Do not be afraid of them or be dismayed before them, though they are a rebellious house.” (10) Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, take into your heart all My words which I shall speak to you, and listen closely. (11) And go to the exiles, to the sons of your people, and speak to them and tell them, whether they listen or not, ‘Thus says YHVH Elohim.’”’ From this it is clear that YHVH our Elohim is not the cruel old taskmaster the way some groups who confesses faith in Messiah, betray Him.  In fact just the opposite is true as witnessed in Ezekiel 18: 23 & 32, in this way: “Do I have any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” declares YHVH Elohim, “rather than that he should turn from his ways and live? (32) For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares YHVH Elohim. “Therefore, repent and live.”  Elohim’s Torah is like the law of gravity for our benefit, as long as we do not transgress it. As a result we need to walk around with our wits about us all the time, to ensure that whatever we do complies with Torah.  Similar to the law of gravity, we need to walk around with our eyes wide open when we suddenly find ourselves in an unfamiliar territory - we need to be aware of sudden ‘slopes and uneven steps’ on the way, or else we could fall down to the ground. The point is that even those who have been practicing righteousness by keeping Elohim’s Torah to the best of our ability in a very imperfect world miss the mark on a daily basis, but when we fall, we need to get up, shake the dust off and as Rav Shaul wrote in the first part 1 Timothy 6: 12 to continue to ‘fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.’  

Most of us are familiar with baseball - in the game of baseball the batter is out after only three strikes. At the beginning of the season and at the start of a game this is a limiting factor to ensure that the game remains exiting to both those who watch and play. However, when a batter is playing in the final innings of the game at the end of the season and his team members are counting on him to pull them out of the throes of another defeat and keep them in the race for the championship, he does not want to hear the words – strike three, you’re out! Our struggle with sin is much like a game of baseball, except that instead of a professional player spending up to 15 years in the game, we spend 60 to 80 years in our fight against sin. Like in professional baseball, despite our competition being very strong and highly skilled, we as believers need to keep coming back to the plate. Some might ask why we continue in our struggle to overcome the pulls of the flesh. The answer is partly in the gift of salvation which depends on the way we live our lives, striving against sin and doing battle against the enemy – as a result of Messiah’s sacrifice and our repentance of sin. Because most Nazarene believers in Messiah are familiar with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, we would all like to hear our Master say to us at the end of our lives or when He returns, as He explained in verse 21, saying: ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’ That is something that lies in the future for all of us alive at this time, but people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has already qualified to be in the kingdom, as Yahshua warned in Luke 13: 24 – 28, saying: “Strive to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. (25) Once the head of the house gets up and shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘Master, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ (26) Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; (27) and He will say, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from; ‘DEPART FROM ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’ (28) There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth there when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of Elohim, but yourselves being cast out. (29) And they will come from east and west, and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of Elohim. (30) And behold, some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.” What did Messiah mean by saying: ‘some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last’?

We find the answer in Hebrews 11: 39 & 40, where talking about our fathers in the faith we read: ‘And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, (40) because Elohim had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they should not be made perfect.’ The Scriptures assures us that if we continue in our fight against the pulls of Satan, the world and our own human nature will ultimately succeed as long as we continue to strive to the end, as witnessed in 2 Peter 1: 10 & 11, in this way: ‘Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; (11) for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Master and Savior Yahshua Messiah will be abundantly supplied to you.’  Elohim created mankind because He has a fantastic plan for us all. Rav Shaul wrote about Elohim’s plan for us in first Timothy 2: 3 & 4, saying: ‘This is good and acceptable in the sight of Elohim our Savior, (4) who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.’  This tells us that salvation requires that we obtain knowledge of the truth (the word of Elohim as Yahshua said in John 17: 17), and thereafter obviously practice the truth that we have learnt from the word of Elohim, the Scriptures, to be saved (eternally).  Elohim knows the depths we sink into when we fail to meet His standards for us. He also knows the penalties that He put in place for breaking His commandments and as His potential future spiritual sons and daughters He wants a great deal better for us.  

The truth of the matter is, If Elohim kept a record of the times we failed Him, no one could ever hope to succeed; we would all be lost, as king David also observed in Psalm 130: 1 – 3, saying: ‘Out of the depths I have cried to Thee, O YHVH. (2) Master, hear my voice! Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. (3) If Thou, YHVH, should mark iniquities, O Master, who could stand?  Even so, YHVH tells us through King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 7: 20, saying: ‘Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.’ By ‘righteous men’ Solomon meant people who walked with Elohim, such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and even David. At times we might feel that we are the worst of sinners, but we are definitely not alone in our battles; people like David walked this path before us. Elohim did not leave us in a hopeless situation. He is aware that as flesh and blood human beings we need help to make it into His glorious Kingdom and He does provide that help for us, as David witnessed in Psalm 34: 4, 6, 7, 15 - 19, saying: ‘I sought YHVH, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (6) This poor man cried and YHVH heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. (7) The angel of YHVH encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them. (15) The eyes of YHVH are toward the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry. (16) The face of YHVH is against evildoers, to cut off the memory of them from the earth. (17) The righteous cry and YHVH hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles. (18) YHVH is near to the broken hearted, and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but YHVH delivers him out of them all.’ If we get to know YHVH as a loving Father and trust and obey YHVH, He will deliver us, as David wrote in Psalm 130: 4, saying: ‘But there is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest be feared.’ But, we need to understand that our merciful Father is also Almighty YHVH the Elohim of Israel and as His chosen people He promised to redeem us as also witnessed in verses 7 & 8 of Psalm 130, in this way: ‘O Israel, hope in YHVH; for with YHVH there is lovingkindness, and with Him is abundant redemption. (8) And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities.’ He confirmed this in Malachi 3: 6, saying: “For I, YHVH, do not change; therefore you, O sons of Jacob, are not consumed.” YHVH our Elohim cannot lie and since He made a two-fold promise to our fathers in the faith, to firstly give eternal life to those of the house of Judah who remain loyal to the covenant He made with them, but secondly also to those of the house of Israel whom He is busy calling out of the religions of the world who answer His call and return to the covenant through Abraham’s one seed, Yahshua.

Elohim is our redeemer, who paid the penalty for our sins with His own blood, as Rav Shaul declares in Acts 20: 28, saying to those who teach Elohim’s people:  “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Set-apart Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the congregation of Elohim which He purchased with His own blood.”  YHVH confirmed this in Isaiah 43: 10 & 11, saying: “And My servant whom I have chosen, in order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no Elohim formed, and there will be none after Me. (11) I, even I, am YHVH; and there is no savior besides Me.” Those who believe in two (YHVH)’s like to emphasize the point that Elohim provided a redeemer for us, but we see here as is also witnessed in Psalm 34: 22, where David wrote: ‘YHVH redeems the soul (life) of His servants; and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned.’ This is further confirmed in Psalm 49: 7 & 15, as follows: ‘No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to Elohim a ransom for him— (15)  But Elohim will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol (the grave); for He will receive me.’ A case in point is where the publishers of ‘The Scriptures[1]’ shows their belief in two (YHVH)’s in a footnote they added against the exclamation Yahshua’s disciple Thomas made in John 20: 28, after seeing the nail scars in His hands and the hole where the soldier pierced His side with a sword, saying: “My Master and my Elohim!”, that: יהושע' (Yahshua) is also Elohim.’ The truth is that Yahshua is not also Elohim He is Elohim in the flesh or Immanuel, meaning Elohim with us! It is when we want to separate Elohim that we start speculating about His being (as witnessed in Romans 1: 18 – 21[2]) and with ideas that there are two different sets of laws– one given by YHVH and the other by Yahshua, which is a fallacy. It is as YHVH said in Deuteronomy 4: 39, “Know therefore today, and take it to your heart, that YHVH, He is Elohim in heaven above and on the earth below; there is no other.” It also is for this reason that I prefer to use the ‘New American Standard Bible’ which even though it is aimed at mainly a Christian audience, most of us are aware of the few mistakes in it compared to say the King James Version.  I believe most Scriptures specifically written for groups like the Messianic believers and/or the Assemblies of YHVH contain the agendas of those who wrote them, as is the case of this version published by the Institute for Scripture Research.

Different to human beings, Elohim has an enormous capacity to forgive. It does not give us leeway to sin or treat Elohim’s redemption lightly. Elohim knows our heart, but He also knows the power of sin. If we trust Him when we step back on the plate when it is our turn to bat again and this time we hit the ball, getting to first base and eventually home, He will be there when we need His help. He paid for our sins once for all and will continue to forgive us up to the time when the season of our lives are over, as Yochanan wrote in first John 1: 9, saying: ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ Knowing that Elohim is all-knowing, David knew that Elohim was fully aware of His sins and that he could not blame anyone for what he did as he wrote accordingly in Psalm 51: 3 – 13 after he was approached by Nathan, saying: ‘For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. (4) Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, and done what is evil in Thy sight, so that Thou art justified when Thou dost speak, and blameless when Thou dost judge. (5) Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (6) Behold, Thou dost desire truth in the innermost being, and in the hidden part Thou wilt make me know wisdom. (7) Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (8) Make me to hear joy and gladness, let the bones which Thou hast broken rejoice. (9) Hide Thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. (10) Create in me a clean heart, O Elohim, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (11) Do not cast me away from Thy presence, and do not take Thy Set-apart Spirit from me. (12) Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit. (13) Then I will teach transgressors Thy ways, and sinners will be converted to Thee.’  David request for Elohim’s mercy and forgiveness shown him, is a strong motivator for us today, knowing that despite David’s sins, YHVH willingly forgave him because he acknowledge his transgressions and referred to David, as ‘A MAN AFTER MY HEART’, as witnessed in first Samuel 13: 14 and Acts 13: 22. 

When we get to the point where we are ready to turn back to YHVH, the only proviso for Him to forgive us for our past sins is that we must be willing to go before Him and acknowledge personal responsibility for our past sins or our transgressions of His Torah commands. We need to tell Elohim that we are truly sorry for bowing before the image of a man Christianity calls J*e*s*u*s* who even though He was buried, resurrected and ascended to heaven are still portrayed wearing a thorn crown on a cross; and stop doing so. Tell Him you have come to understand His command given in Exodus 20: 4 - 6[3], and understand that you did wrong in times past. Tell Him that you are sorry for not obeying His commandments about His weekly and annual Sabbaths; for not being careful to ensure that all the fat and blood from the meat you eat from kosher animals have been removed, as we are commanded in Leviticus 3: 17, as follows: ‘It is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall not eat any fat or any blood.’  It is only once, we have committed our hearts to doing what YHVH requires, that we can expect the forgiveness Elohim makes possible. Even if due to our hurried lifestyle we at times might forget and consume meat and milk products together without being totally aware of our every action, we must never give up. Every time we are at the plate staring the enemy in the face, we need to ask Elohim to provide us with the means to live up to the standard He requires of us. It is important for us to measure our every action against Torah and to know how much we need Elohim’s guidance, direction and protection every time we bat.

 If we truly want to be in the kingdom of Elohim and want victory in the game of life, Elohim will provide us with help to overcome those sins which so beset us, as the prophet Hosea assured us in Hosea 14: 1 - 4, saying: ‘Return, O Israel, to YHVH your Elohim, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. (2) Take words (Torah) with you and return to YHVH. Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips. (3) Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses; nor will we say again, ‘Our god,’ to the work of our hands; for in Thee the orphan finds mercy.” (4) I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away from them.’ However, it takes the right attitude as YHVH told Solomon in 2 Chronicles 7: 13 & 14, saying: “If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, (14) and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.’  Elohim provides a Nazarene believer the opportunity for a new beginning— not only once, but numerous times. In fact He has given us His annual Passover to remind and encourage us of His help.

Rav Shaul wrote about his personal battle to encourage us in Romans 7: 22 – 25, saying: ‘For I joyfully concur with the law of Elohim in the inner man, (23) but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.  (24) Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death? (25) Thanks be to Elohim through Yahshua Messiah our Master! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of Elohim, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.’ Rav Shaul found a way to start over again and even though we may be overwhelmed with regret because of our sins, we have the same help which Rav Shaul had. Rav Shaul wrote accordingly in Hebrews 9: 8 – 14, saying: ‘The Set-apart Spirit is signifying this, that the way into the holy place has not yet been disclosed, while the outer tabernacle is still standing, (9) which is a symbol for the present time. Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshipper perfect in conscience, (10) since they relate only to food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until a time of reformation. (11) But when Messiah appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; (12) and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. (13) For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, (14) how much more will the blood of Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?’

Messiah our Passover is a power greater than anything physically available to us and much more valuable than the cost of human sin. It is so important for us to know who Yahshua is and it was for this reason that He explained about His power to forgive sin, even the sin of those in the second resurrection, such as the sinners who lived anciently in the land of Sodom, saying in Matthew 11: 23 – 27, ““And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. (24) Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you. (25) At that time Yahshua answered and say, “I praise Thee, O Father, Master of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. (26) Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. (27) All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”  Those of us who truly accept YHVH and the salvation He provides us through Yahshua should understand the meaning of Messiah’s memorial Passover and should be strengthened by the realization that we can start afresh, in spite of our mistakes. Continuing in verses  28 – 30, Messiah promised that He will give us rest in the Kingdom of Elohim, if we take His yoke (meaning His stricter way of interpreting Torah) upon us and learn from Him, saying: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) For My yoke is easy, and My load is light.” If those who are called by Elohim hears and understands the gospel of the Kingdom of Elohim, act upon it and realize despite our present physical nature, we will ultimately become sinless as children of Elohim, as witnessed in Hebrews 2: 11, in this way: ‘For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren.’

 

To demonstrate His ability as well as His willingness to help us to start over, we read from Matthew 9: 1 – 6, as follows: ‘And getting into a boat, He crossed over, and came to His own city. (2) And behold, they were bringing to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Yahshua seeing their faith said to the paralytic, “Take courage, My son, your sins are forgiven.” (3) And behold, some of the scribes said to themselves, ‘This fellow blasphemes.” (4) And Yahshua knowing their thoughts said, “Why are you thinking evil in your hearts?  (5) For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, and walk’?  (6) But in order that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins” – then He said to the paralytic— “Rise, take up your bed, and go home.”’ The forgiveness of sins is the healing of a person’s life and release from thoughts that may be crippling to him and an opportunity for a new beginning. However, our forgiveness is also depended upon the way we show our love to our neighbors. Though we cannot grant anyone a new beginning in the spiritual sense, we are able to help make the way easier for others. By so doing it helps us understand Elohim’s will for us and help us to develop some of His character. After asking Yahshua how often we shall forgive our neighbor for sinning against us, Yahshua answered in Matthew 18: 22, saying: “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”  Yahshua explained the idea of forgiveness to His disciples when he taught them the prayer to model their prayers after in Matthew 6, saying in verses 12 – 15: ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. (13) And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amein.’ (14) For, if you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (15) But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” Although we cannot provide a fellow human being with a guilt-free conscience, by being forgiving, we are busy developing Elohim-like character necessary to conform to the image of His Son. In addition, we know that when we repent a new beginning is ours every time we need one.

It is also for this reason that we as Nazarene believers in Yahshua, are appointed as watchmen by Elohim to warn like-minded believers of their sins, as we read from Ezekiel 33: 7 – 11, in this way: ‘Now as for you, son of man, I have appointed you a watchman for the house of Israel; so you will hear a message from My mouth, and give them warning from Me. (8) When I say to the wicked, O wicked man, you shall surely die, and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require from your hand. (9) But if you on your part warn a wicked man to turn from his way, and he does not turn from his way, he will die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your life. (10) Now as for you, son of man, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have spoken, saying, ‘Surely our transgressions and our sins are upon us, and we are rotting away in them; how then can we survive? “(11) Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares YHVH Elohim, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from you evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?’   A second witness to this comes from Isaiah 58: 1, as follows: “Cry loudly, do not hold back; raise your voice like a trumpet, and declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sins.” Even though as watchmen we are required to warn fellow Israelites about their sins, I am often criticized for writing ‘harsh’ sermons. But, knowing that YHVH our Elohim is a merciful Father Who forgives those who return to Him and His way, I write these sermons to try and bring back some of our brethren who were misled by the likes of king Jeroboam who instituted a feast a month later than the one kept in Judah and have as a result fallen away from the faith once delivered to the saints.

It is important for those of us who are called by YHVH to come out of the world, not to become rebellious because of unbelief, like our forefathers did in ancient Israel and were not allowed to enter the Promised Land (as per Hebrews 3: 19). We read from Ezekiel 20: 33 – 38, that the same fate is awaiting the rebels among (YHVH)’s elect, in this way: “As I live,” declares YHVH Elohim, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you. (34) And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out; (35) and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face. (36) As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you,” declares YHVH Elohim. (37) “And I shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant; (38) and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am YHVH.”

Let us therefore continue doing the work of Elohim with renewed zeal, bearing in mind that the work of Elohim is as Yahshua told His disciple, but also His modern day disciples in John 6: 29 saying: “This is the work of Elohim, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.”  Think about it! 

 

 

 

[1] The publishers of ‘The Scriptures’ – The Institute of Scripture Research (Pty) Ltd first published their copy of the bible in 1998.

[2] Romans 1: 18 – 21: ‘For the wrath of Elohim is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about Elohim is evident within them; for Elohim made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew Elohim, they did not honor Him as Elohim, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

[3] Exodus 20: 4 - 6: “You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness (including pictures of J*e*s*u*s as shown in some Bibles where He is portrayed with long blond hair) of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, YHVH your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” However, we also know that if children break the cycle of sin started by their fathers and instead return to obeying Elohim’s Torah, He will not punish them for the sins of the fathers as witnessed in Ezekiel 18: 23.