Did God Really Say?

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He made us in His image and gave us dominion over the works of His Hands. We were made to be rulers, to rule the earth and everything in it:

“Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” – Genesis 1:26-28 NKJV

I was meditating on another passage yesterday, how God had Adam name all of the animals, birds and more:

“And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.”  Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.  So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. Genesis 2:19 – 20 NKJV

I thought about how much time that must have taken, and how God spent this time with Adam as Father and Son. I imagined the intimacy of that time they spent together, supernaturally peaceful and beautiful for it was before the fall when everything in creation was perfect.

In the next chapter, we read about the serpent who deceived them. God told us we could eat from any tree in the garden except for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for it would bring death upon us. The serpent approached Eve in the garden and made her question what God said to them:

“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;  but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”

 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.” – Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV

When she ate, and Adam ate, sin and death came upon them. Because of this, their eyes were opened to evil and shame which they had not known. God then cursed the serpent for deceiving us and also Adam and Eve to toil for food, pain in childbirth and for Eve, the desire for her husband and he would rule over her – making her subservient instead of equal which was God’s original plan for humanity. This is the struggle for male/female equality we see today in the world.

Sin and evil entered our hearts, from this is where murder, rage, accusation, sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing come. Besides the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the Tree of Life is also in the garden of Eden, God decided to remove us from the garden and forbid access so we would not eat from it, lest we live in that broken state forever. Can you imagine living forever in the state of confusion, pain and evil the world is in? God did not want this for us and so we were banned from the garden to ensure that would not happen.

I’m writing this because this morning God revealed to me in my Spirit just how tender the time with Adam actually was, it was too precious and wonderful. He showed me the awesome animals in the garden, giraffes and others whom Adam had named. He then caused me to experience the utter sadness of Eve after the fall. He brought me to tears; she cried so much. She was so hurt because of what she lost, the condition of her heart and the punishment.

Have you ever been in so much pain that your heart wrenched in tears and despair? That is what God allowed me to feel Eve experienced. The serpent did this to us, he hurt us. He stole from us and put death upon us. He is the one responsible for the pain, suffering and evil of this world. At that time God said to the serpent that He would send the Messiah who would defeat him and restore humanity:

“So the Lord God said to the serpent:

“Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.” – Genesis 3:14-15 NKJV

This is why we need the Messiah, to save us from sin and death, restore us back to our state before the fall. Throughout scripture, we see how the Messiah would come to Israel, die for the sins of humanity and then rise from the dead to be our King forever. Not just King over Israel but Lord over the entire universe. Whoever believes in Him will be given the Spirit of God in their hearts and given a new Spirit, revived and cleansed of sin and death. We are then again walking with God intimately like Adam and Eve did but even closer because God comes to live in our hearts. Our souls still need deliverance and healing from sin and iniquity but we are guaranteed eternal life because the Messiah’s sacrifice paid for the sins of the world, back to Adam and Eve. This is God’s Kingdom plan for humanity to be restored and made whole.

Another thing God laid on my heart this morning about this is that the serpent, our enemy, is still working to cause us to question what God said and/or believe lies that are not in His Word. This happens in many groups like New Age and others like that but today it was specifically religion that came to my mind.

Did God Really Say?

Many of us have sat in Temples or Churches listening to the Rabbis and Pastors, believing what they tell us and not reading God’s Word for ourselves to see if they are correct. Maybe we have even read some of the Bible but definitely not all of it or enough to know who God is for ourselves and what His plans are. God has shown me on my journey with Him how much error there is in many of these teachings and how He wants to teach us the truth by His Spirit. That is a major part of the Covenant we have with Him in the Messiah:

 “ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. – Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV

Not reading God’s Word for ourselves has the same impact as eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Without His Word, we don’t have the truth and we don’t have life. We may be alive in our flesh but we are spiritually dead in sin. God loves us and sent Yeshua as the promised Messiah who conquered sin and death for us. It is not religion, but God’s plan from the beginning to restore us back to Him and be with Him in His Kingdom forever. I myself was taught many untruths about Yeshua which I would never have questioned the Rabbis of Israel about. I have learned that they are not actually studying the Torah but Rabbinical books which are commentaries of commentaries of commentaries. They are taught that they can’t understand God’s Word without the commentaries and so they perpetuate man-made religion in Israel which is not what God wants for us or what He said for us to do. This is why Israel is divided religiously; we are supposed to be one nation all following the God of Israel by what He gave to us. When we were in exile in Babylon, the Rabbis invented their own religion to replace sacrifices and also began to mix Babylonian pagan influences into Judaism. We are taught so many lies which are sin, our hearts have hardened to the true Messiah because we are not looking in the Bible but only what we have been taught, and what we see with our eyes. One major lie is that Yeshua is the God of the Gentiles. The truth is God always planned for the Messiah to come to Israel and for the news of His arrival to go out to the nations. He came for both Jew and Gentile:

“Indeed He says,
‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob,
And to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles,
That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ” – Isaiah 49:6 NKJV

We all need to be saved from sin and death. All mankind needs the Messiah to live!

When we fell into sin we not only began to die and had curses put upon us but we also gave away our authority over the earth to the serpent. Though God is sovereign, He has rulers throughout the universe and there is order. There was a spiritual exchange that took place when Adam and Eve disobeyed and ate the bad fruit. Satan knew this would happen and deceived us to kill us and take our inheritance. Yeshua said:

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” – John 10:10 NKJV

There are people who follow satan because they have been hurt by religion. Christians who have been told that they are sinners going to Hell because of sin which is the exact opposite of what the Messiah came to do. Orthodox Jewish people who have been told the Messiah hasn’t come and the way to holiness is through the rituals passed down by the sages. They don’t know the Messiah and therefore have no power of God, only man-made religion. They were living under curses that religion can’t remove and they suffered. Both believed lies that they were taught in religious environments and did not read the Bible for themselves to know the truth. Because they suffered in those environments, they believed that God doesn’t love them, can’t help them or just won’t. In their anger and lack of knowledge, they fell into the hands of the enemy.

Yeshua came to give us eternal life, dominion over the enemy and over the earth realm again. Nobody loves us more than Him. When someone doesn’t follow the Messiah and makes a conscious choice to serve satan, they are entering into death forever and giving away their authority for a second time.

We must know the truth for ourselves, God’s Word is not difficult to read. It’s an eternal Kingdom for all mankind and not a religion. It’s supernatural and that is why the reading of His Word is so important, His Word is alive and active and operative and sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

Sometimes it’s overwhelming to consider the truth, how many people are living deceived by religion and not actually following God though they think they are. Then others who would never follow Him because religion seems so oppressive, judgemental, and limiting. People, who like myself I once thought, I can do things my own way and that tradition is good enough or other spirituality is okay to pursue. God did write the story that Israel would reject the Messiah and the Rabbis would lie to us about his identity and resurrection. I got upset about this; how are we supposed to know the truth? God then spoke this verse to me:

“You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” – Jeremiah 29:13 BSB

So, what did God really say? Who are you listening to?

It’s only possible to know by reading for yourself to know your Heavenly Father who loves you and wants to give you eternal life with Him. He wants to heal all your diseases and mend your heart, fill you with joy, supernatural peace and reveal the destiny He has planned for you since the beginning of time. Don’t miss Him and returning home to the Kingdom of God because of what you heard in religious institutions or the world; the Messiah has come and He is the One whom God sent to destroy our enemy, win us back, and give us victory over sin and death!

“Behold, the dwelling of God is among men,
    and He shall tabernacle among them.
They shall be His people,
    and God Himself shall be among them
    and be their God.
 He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes,
    and death shall be no more.
Nor shall there be mourning or crying or pain any longer,
    for the former things have passed away.”

And the One seated upon the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new!” Then He said, “Write, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

 Then He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will freely give from the spring of the water of life.  The one who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” – Revelation 21:3-7 TLV