Truth of a Prophet

CHAPTER 23

Yeshua travels to the community of Gimron with Miriam’s brother Lazarus to visit Yochanan where they spend eight days, during which time Yeshua gives a sermon on how to know a true prophet of God. Yochanan decides to accompany them to Bethany to meet Miriam and then travel on to Egypt with them.

 1 When the family of Yeshua came into Bethany, to the home of the parents of Miriam, there was much rejoicing, and all of her kinsfolk came to see them. And Miriam’s sister Martha and her brother Lazarus welcomed them with exceeding happiness; but her brother Zadok and her sister Rebecca did not greet her with enthusiasm, for they supposed she had too many favors of their parents.

 2 And it came to pass that Yeshua and Miriam remained together in Bethany for the space of eleven days, and during this interval, Miriam and Martha spent much time in each other’s company as did Yeshua and Lazarus.

 3 After this time, Yeshua declared his desire to visit his kinsman Yochanan at Gimron before departing to Egypt. And thus, it was that Miriam and their children remained in Bethany at the home of her father while Yeshua journeyed to Gimron, and Lazarus went with him.

 4 Now Gimron was in a desolate place where few desired to be, but it was not far from Bethany, and thus it was that Yeshua and Lazarus arrived there shortly and great was Yochanan’s joy when he saw his kinsman again. He embraced Yeshua with vigor and greeted him, saying, “My Lord, great is God that he has blessed me to see you again so soon. He has told me that you should arrive and I have prepared a place for you.”

 5 Yeshua also embraced Yochanan with enthusiasm, saying, “Yochanan, prophet of the most high, I am honored to be again with you. The years apart have been long for me, and I have missed you.”

 6 Yochanan was humbled by Yeshua’s greeting and replied, “No, Yeshua, it is I who am honored to be again with you. I have missed you as well. Time has had little meaning in my life here, but the memory of our discoveries with God seems to me to be just yesterday.”

 7 Hearing their dialogue, Lazarus was perplexed. He did not understand the manner in which Yeshua and Yochanan greeted each other, nor that in so doing, they were fulfilling the vows they had made to one another when last they parted.

 8 Yeshua and Lazarus remained with Yochanan for the space of eight days, and Yeshua related to Yochanan all that had transpired in his life since he had left Gimron and Yochanan did likewise, accounting for his time in Gimron.

 9 Lazarus sat in attendance at all their conversations and thus learned somewhat of Yeshua and Yochanan that few men knew. Of these things, Yeshua asked that he speak to no one, except Miriam to whom he could speak of all things.

 10 While Yeshua had been away from Gimron, Yochanan had grown in stature spiritually as well as physically, and many in the community now looked to him for guidance and inspiration because of his fervor and conviction.

 11 Thus, it was on the following day, that there were sermons being given by the high priests, and Yochanan and Yeshua and Lazarus were invited to attend and listen. And Yochanan, though still unmarried, was asked to speak at the end of the meeting to rouse their spirits.

 12 And it came to pass that the high priests spoke on the calling of a prophet and how the penalty of Moses for a false prophet was death by stoning. And there were lamentations from many in the room about the many false prophets wandering the land of Israel, leading good people astray and away from the purity of the principles of God.

 13 One in the men present, named Tomas, exclaimed, “I have heard some called prophets in Jerusalem, and each sounds as good as the other, but they proclaim different teachings. How then are we to know which one to stone and which one to heed? For God will surely condemn us if we put to death a man whom he had called and will not forgive our error or ignorance.”

 14 After much debate upon this subject, Yochanan was asked to say the final words. And Yochanan rose and said unto them, “My esteemed brethren and Elders, I know that God chooses whom he will to reveal his secrets and desires unto the children of men, and it is not for men or priests or governments to judge the prophets God has called or the truths that they reveal; nevertheless, they do.

 15 “And among the Children of Israel, it would seem that to know a true prophet is very simple, for as the priests tell us, either a prophet teaches the Law of Moses or he does not, and by this you may know them.

 16 But though I am young, I have learned that blindly following the law does not always lead to the light. I have learned that if we would know pure truth, we must not obey without question the persuasions of men or the authority of the priests, but each of us must ask God to reveal the truth unto us and trust that the spirit of Elohim will let our hearts understand things our minds cannot know.

 17 If your own discernment is lacking, which I think all of us would agree is sometimes the case, then I say it is good to consider the discernment of those whom you respect in these matters for their wisdom and fairness; those whom you know accept not the dictates of men, but weigh each matter with God.

 18 And in this, I know there are some who look to me, and I am greatly humbled by such an honor, especially in consideration of my young age and inexperience with life.

 19 But upon the foundation of such worth that men may esteem me, I would like to give my place to Yeshua bar Yosef of Nazareth whom I testify has been called of God; whom I testify speaks the words of God. This I know to be true. With every breath of my body, this I know to be true.”

 20 Then Yochanan sat down abruptly and amid an exquisite silence Yeshua rose among them and said unto them, “Men are only led astray by false prophets because of the vanities of their hearts and the delusions of their minds.

 21 Of vanity, man must repent and forsake, and of delusions, man must do all he can to reason the truth in his mind and then humble himself before God and ask for the Holy Spirit to give a sure knowing of the truth in his heart.

 22 And unto the righteous, the Holy Spirit of Elohim will always speak in a still small voice in his mind and a warm contentedness in his heart that all men of virtue may know truth from falsehood.

 23 But the man seduced by the world, in his vanity, in his desire for comfort and ease, in his desire to indulge his sins and wanton ways, in his desire to keep authority over his fellow men, becomes deaf and dulled to the promptings of God.

 24 Though he may inquire still of God in his times of need, his ears will hear only the deafening sound of silence, for Elohim does not speak even in the smallest of voices to the man who mocks God by the manner of his life.

 25 Thus, man is left standing alone, with a part of him seduced to the ways of the world and a part of him still longing for the sweetness of God, and he is wracked with torment inside, not knowing the way to turn.

 26 Verily, I say unto you the ways of God are easy to know and that no man may ever be deceived; take now the lamp that I bring, whereby in its light, you may see and discern truth from error when men say they speak from God.

 27 Many have said that the Law of Moses clearly tells how the people may know a true prophet from a false; therefore why do we speak of these things?

 28 But I ask, do you worship a dead or a living God? For if all you have for your faith and the actions of your life are the laws of ancient times, then you have only a part of what God has given for the good of man.

 29 Some say a true prophet will never speak anything that is contrary to what has been given in the law, saying the law came from God; therefore, anything that is different cannot be of God.

 30 Think you that the world never changes? That never is there a need for greater light to illuminate the darkness of a world far different than the one in which the ancient prophets lived?

 31 Think you that the children of men never become better than their ancestors and worthy of greater light?

 32 And I say unto you that if the words of God to men were meant to never be added upon, then you would not need the writings of many ancient prophets to say these words, but the writings of only one, for God would have spoken just once, unto a single prophet, to reveal all that man would ever need.

 33 But God continued to speak from prophet to prophet because man continued to need new light and additional knowledge and guidance for the challenges of his times.

 34 Even as the prophet Amos has said, surely the Lord God will do nothing, but that he first reveals his secrets unto his servants, the prophets.

 35 And I say unto you that the Almighty Elohim, the creator of Heaven and Earth, is not a god who does nothing, but the God to which nothing is impossible. And by the mouths of his holy prophets, his will is made known unto men.

 36 In the days to come, there will walk upon the Earth children of men worthy of a far-greater light than has even been given to you or to Moses or to Abraham. And unto them will Elohim bless with greater and glorious understanding.

 37 From my lips, you will hear words you have never heard, for I do not repeat the dusty laws of the past you memorized long ago, but give unto you greater light and knowledge, even as the prophets of old each gave greater light and knowledge to the Children of Israel who walked with them.

 38 Many of the ancient laws in the sacred texts were given only for that people, in that time, concerning their lives and their challenges, which were unique to them.

 39 Thus, does God always bless those who strive for the light so that as they live worthy, they will always have a prophet in their midst to guide them through the perils of their day.

 40 Nevertheless, Elohim has also given sacred laws that are not just for that time, but are eternal and inviolate, meant to be lived by all men, for all time, such as the commandments of Sinai.

 41 How then can men know which laws of the prophets of old are meant for all time and which are only meant for a season of time? How can men know if a prophet today utters true words from God or false words to deceive?

 42 I say unto you that laws that are meant for all men in all times are laws that have eternal significance, both on Earth and in Heaven.

 43 The eternal paths of God are scarcely concerned with the temporal ways of man, save that man keeps the commandments of Sinai and respects the temple of his body, which God has made, both on the inside and the outside, and this that he might live long upon the land and have many years to do good and prove that he honors God by honoring the temple God has given him.

 44 Therefore, it matters not to God how many steps one takes on the Sabbath or other such pious dictates from the dusty past, for what has this to do with things of forever?

 45 Man is upon the Earth to learn to draw near to the light and to flee from the darkness; to prove by his life that he follows Elohim and the goodness thereof, by striving each day to cleave to the light; to be a better husband and father and brother and do good to all men.

 46 You have heard it said that man is made in the image of God. Think you that these hallowed words speak only of the way man appears? I say unto you, nay. The image of God means as well all the attributes of Elohim.

 47 It is given to man in this life to emulate God and to show by his life how greatly he desires to be like him.

 48 You are wise to be wary because of false prophets, for there are many that come to men in the name of God clothed as meek sheep, but inside are ravenous wolves.

 49 Therefore, when a man comes forth proclaimed by himself or others to be a prophet of God, see that you test the teachings that he says, not in how they call men to the letter of the law or to some strange doctrine, but whether they cause men to do good to their fellow men and to take righteous and pure actions or entice them into darkness or constrain their spirit with the needless dictates of men, especially those given by man but proclaimed to be of God.

 50 And see that you test the man that his life fulfills the good teachings he proclaims, for though Elohim may call a sinner who has repented to be a prophet, he will not give his light to any who remain in darkness by their words or deeds.

 51 Look therefore to the simple examples Elohim has given for all men to see. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree brings forth good fruit and only good fruit; even as a true prophet of God calls upon man to do good and only good in ways that expand his spirit, not shut it in a box.

 52 When men find a tree that brings forth bad fruit, they hew it down and burn it in the fire, for it is worthless unto them, and left in place only is a hindrance to the good that might grow in the soil.

 53 Wherefore, I say unto you, of true prophets, by their fruits, you shall know them.”

 54 And many were amazed at the words of Yeshua, and for some, the impact on their heart was powerful and it changed them from that moment. But others were very wroth at him and considered him a false prophet who ridiculed the law upon which all prophets must stand and blasphemed the true concepts of God.

 55 The following day, as Yeshua and Lazarus prepared to return to the home of Lazarus, Yochanan declared that he was going to journey to Bethany with them that he might meet Miriam whom he knew was most favored of God and continue to travel to Egypt with them, for there was something there he had wished to do for many moons.

 56 Yochanan was a large man and fiercesome in his countenance with his beard and long hair all askew. When he professed his desire to accompany them, Lazarus immediately saw that his presence would contribute to their safety and heartily encouraged him to come along.

 57 Thus, it was that Yeshua and Yochanan and Lazarus returned to Bethany to the house of the father of Lazarus.

 58 When they arrived, Miriam met Yochanan for the first time, and she bowed her head before him and said, “Welcome, the prophet of Elohim.” Yochanan also bowed his head before her and said, “Blessings to the chosen of the Son of Light.” And everyone else present except Lazarus was perplexed by these greetings.

 59 On the first night of the return to Bethany, during the evening meal, Yochanan was struck by the beauty of Miriam’s sister Martha and she by his effervescent presence. Miriam noticed their frequent glances at one another and smiled to herself, knowing love was already blossoming, even as Yeshua had told her in secret that it would.