"There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared Elohim, and turned away from evil. And there were born to him seven sons and three daughters. His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she-asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the children of the east. And his sons went and held a feast in the house of each one upon his day; and they sent and called for their three sisters to eat and to drink with them. And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt-offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and renounced Elohim in their hearts. In this manner did Job continually.

"Now it came to pass on the day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan also came among them. And Yahweh said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears Elohim, and turns away from evil. Then Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Does Job fear Elohim for nothing? Have not you made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his substance has increased in the land. But put forth your hand now, and touch all that he has, and he will renounce you to your face. And Yahweh said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your power; only upon himself put not forth your hand. So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh.

"And it fell on a day when his sons and his daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, that there came a messenger to Job, and said, The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them; and the Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away: yes, they have killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The fire of Elohim has fallen from heaven, and has burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I only have escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans made three bands, and fell upon the camels, and have taken them away, yes, and killed the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only have escaped alone to tell you. While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Your sons and your daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house; and, behold, there came a great wind from the wilderness, and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are dead; and I only have escaped alone to tell you.

"Then Job arose, and rent his robe, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground and worshipped; and he said, Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there: Yahweh gave, and Yahweh has taken away; blessed be the name of Yahweh. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged Elohim foolishly.

"Again it came to pass on the day when the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh. And Yahweh said to Satan, From where have you come? And Satan answered Yahweh, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And Yahweh said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that fears Elohim, and turns away from evil: and he still holds fast his integrity, although you moved me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered Yahweh, and said, Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life. But put forth your hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will renounce you to your face. And Yahweh said to Satan, Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.

"So Satan went forth from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with severe boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself with it; and he sat among the ashes. Then said his wife to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Renounce Elohim, and die. But he said to her, You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? Shall we receive good at the hand of Elohim, and shall we not receive evil? In all this Job did not sin with his lips." (Job 1:1-2:10).

The Adversary Appears Before Elohim

The concept of an evil spirit that opposes the forces of the good spirit is proven from numerous passages in the Bible. In the book of Job, Satan, the evil spirit, acts as the accuser of this Patriarch. The evil spirit, Satan, comes before Yahweh, just as do the other bene-haElohim (children of Elohim), which is the Hebrew term used here. "…When the sons of Elohim came to present themselves before Yahweh, that Satan came also among them to present himself before Yahweh." Why should Satan come to present himself before Yahweh, even to accompany the children of the Most High, except to accuse the servants of Yahweh?

The term in the text, Satan, #7854 in the Hebrew Dictionary of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, means "an opponent." Satan is the arch-enemy of good. His name is taken from a prime root meaning, "to attack, (figuratively) accuse." It is comparable to #4567 in the Greek Dictionary of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, which is Satanas, "the accuser, i.e. the devil," from #4566, Satan.

He is called the accuser of the brethren in Revelation 12:10. He is also called the deceiver of the world in Revelation 12:9. In Zechariah 3:1, Satan stands at the right hand of Yahshua the High Priest to be His adversary or His accuser. Satan holds supreme power over this earthly system of Babylon. He is called the Prince of the power of the air. Satan was created by Yahweh, but he turned against his creator through pride, arrogance, egotism, and jealousy. You may find the description in both Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel chapter 28. Satan dominates this worldly system as the one who controls spiritual wickedness in high places, Ephesians 6:12.

The Background of Pergamum

Certainly, it must be a most uncomfortable position to occupy when one dwells where Satan’s throne is located, to dwell where Satan dwells! In past sermons, we have characterized this location (Pergamos) as representing the farthest departure from Yahweh’s truth, meaning falling farther away from the original truth than any other. Ephesus represented the people who were involved in the inauguration of the Apostolic Assembly. Through the dedication that they expressed, people from all over the known world ultimately heard the truth of Yahweh. Then, in Smyrna, severe persecution burst upon the earth, launched by the adversary against the Assembly of the Messiah.

Pergamum was the ancient kingdom of Attalus. It was to this location that the Babylonian priesthood had migrated following the fall of Babylon. Attalus and his family so admired Rome that they bequeathed their kingdom to Rome. Ultimately it was merged into that empire, whereupon the Babylonian priesthood forthwith migrated to this international capital city which was Rome, and took up its residence there.

Pergamum was the legal center, the capital of the district, of this moderately-sized kingdom. It was an old center of emperor worship. In 29 B.C.E. a temple was erected to the worship of Caesar Augustus and Roma, the mighty one that represented the capital city of the Roman Empire. She was venerated as a beautiful damsel in the temple of the worship of the emperor. A special priesthood had been founded to serve in this temple.

Yahweh’s Word Remains Active

When we turn to Hebrews 4:12 we find this reference: "For the word of Yahweh is living [it is a living sword, a sword of life; Hebrew: chereb chayim], and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart." Here, the writer of Hebrews employs a description that the Word of Yahweh is even sharper than any literal two-edged sword. It is sharper than any cutting instrument, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit. Cutting instruments can be honed to an extremely sharp razor-like edge. I remember many years ago, they were talking about a young man who worked in one of the meat packing houses next to the establishment where I delivered products. He had only recently been married. When you watch these fellows in the meat cutting establishments slinging their knives around, you wonder if any one of them ever gets cut? But, of course they do, and this young man was cutting sides of beef one day. The rule was that the meat cutters were required to wear a protective apron like a chain link armor shield over their bodies. However, he had not put on that armor shield (like chain mail), that day. Somehow his knife slipped and he plunged it deeply into his stomach and he died within a few minutes, because his knife hit an artery. Sharp cutting instruments are known to have killed many, many people, some of them just by accident, just like the one wielding the knife had killed himself. How do we view Yahweh’s Word? I see issues sharply delineated in the sacred Scriptures. I don’t see this big gray area holding a broad spectrum of space between right and wrong. I see things divided more sharply than do most people, undoubtedly. I just can’t comprehend the liberalism of our day, or the general tendency for religous people to tolerate sin.

A Sharp, Two-Edged Sword

The dibber Yahweh is what slays the wicked. Revelation 19:15, 21, "And out of his mouth [the dibber Yahweh, the Word of Yahweh] proceeds A SHARP SWORD, that with it he should strike the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the wine press of the fierceness of the wrath of Yahweh, the Almighty…and the rest were killed with THE SWORD of him that sat upon the horse, even THE SWORD WHICH CAME FORTH OUT OF HIS MOUTH: and all the birds were filled with their flesh." I wish today that Yahweh would send His power, in support of the Word of Yahweh, as He did in biblical days; but, are we ready for it? Most people are not.

Notice again Revelation 2:12 and verse 16, where the Word of Yahweh is described as a two-edged sword. We will see some more on that subject later. But, we find here the next point, in Revelation 2:13, "I know where you dwell, even where Satan’s throne is." Where is Satan’s throne located anyway? If you identify it with the Babylonian priesthood, the place where Nimrod diverted the people away from Yahweh worship and hunted souls in opposition to Yahweh, that Babylonian priesthood went from Pergamum to Rome. Think of it, brethren! The brethren of the Assemblies of Yahweh were living where Satan’s throne is located!

False Doctrine Abounds in Nominal Religion

Brethren and sisters, I wonder if anyone realizes how many times literature comes to my desk objecting to our use of the Name of Yahweh, and objecting to our use of the Name of Yahshua. I start reading it, and then quickly I find obvious mistakes. Literature comes to my desk constantly that seeks to undermine truth. Why do we hold to the form Yahshua? Simply, because it is the correct one handed down to us in the Hebrew Scriptures. Some insist on expressing the Messiah’s Name, as Yeshua, an unacceptable late form. I shall resolutely continue to hold fast to the form Yahshua, because I have proven that this is the accurate transliteration of the Name of the Messiah.

In my book, The Memorial Name—Yahweh, in chapter 11, "Back to That Name Again!" I show how this Name should be pronounced. In the Hebrew text yothe, hey, waw, shin, and `ayin, the yothe, hey, waw becomes a diphthong, and it relates to the Sacred Name Yahweh because it contains three of the four letters of the Tetragrammaton (the four letter word). Consequently, when we pronounce the Messiah’s Name—Yahshua, that is the way it should be pronounced. That is the correct, proven form, but, I wonder how deep is your faith? Will you allow the grammatical facts to speak with authority?

An Expression of Faith

In John chapter 14, the faith of Yahshua is expressed as, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." That is the faith of Yahshua. During the days of Antipas, the emperor of Rome was called father or papa. From this term the Pope of Rome got his title. Are we opposed to this kind of worship, just as were the members of the Apostolic Assembly? Yes, we are, because Yahshua the Messiah taught it. Matthew 23:8, "Be not you called Rabbi: for one is your teacher [Yahshua], and all you are brethren. And call no man your FATHER on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven." The father worship was part of an integral aspect of the pagan worship of the emperor. The priests of the emperor worship were called father. Consequently, Yahshua the Messiah warned against assimilating this kind of doctrine. It was said that the brethren of the Assemblies of Yahweh could have saved themselves from martyrdom by simply throwing a small pinch of incense on the altar to the emperor. They refused to do so, because they could not worship the Pope of Rome, which referred to the Roman Emperor at that time. Nor can we worship the Pope of Rome today, by disobeying Yahshua’s warning in Matthew 23:9.

We Must Worship Only Yahweh

In my reading matter recently appeared a question that was answered in a commentary on "Should a Jew go into a Chr-stian ch-rch?" The answer from an Orthodox point of view is NO. Well, what about you? When was the last time you were in a Chr-stian ch-rch? It has been quite a long time ago for us. Should anybody enter a Chr-stian ch-rch at anytime?

What does the text tells us? "For they called the people to the sacrifices of their elohim; and the people ate and bowed down to their elohim." I have frequently taught that when one of the brethren is suddenly confronted with a prayer by a Chr-stian person, do not bow your head. Sometimes, worldly organizations will have a minister give an invocation before a meeting, as happened to us about six or seven years ago. A speaker was giving a speech at a breakfast we attended. Suddenly they called for a prayer. It was a Chr-stian prayer; therefore, I held my head high throughout, since I pray only to Yahweh, the only true and living Elohim! I was not going to bow my head to Baal (L-rd). I looked over at the platform and there was another person who was holding his head aloft, and he appeared to be smiling while looking around at the audience. Suddenly, he saw me, and it seemed to startle him. "Here is someone else who has his head up."

The Unstable Ways of Error!

Have you ever seen the inconsistencies in the doctrines of nominal ch-rchianity? We see them all the time. People send in articles of published doctrines, and we can quickly perceive the inconsistencies in them. Her ways are unstable; they are inconsistent and she doesn’t even realize it.

"Now therefore, my sons, listen to me, And depart not from the words of my mouth. [Now, this is what I am trying to tell you.] Remove your way far from her, And come not near the door of her house." Are you listening? How can you remain a part of nominal ch-rchianity? Why listen to words from people teaching false doctrine? Prove all things and hold fast to that which is good, 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

A Warning from Paul

The Apostle Paul was very outspoken against fornication. 1 Corinthians 5:1 says, "It is actually reported that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not even among the Gentiles, that one of you has his father’s wife." Only recently, Reformed Judaism accepted homosexual and lesbian rabbis. Some of the more reserved rabbis in attendance at the meeting where this discussion took place, said, "This is going to force us further and further away from Conservative and Orthodox Judaism."

A Weakness at Pergamum

The Messianic assembly in Pergamos had among their members those who held to the teachings of the Nicolaitans. The term Nicolaitans means "victorious over the people." Nike was the winged victory, the evangelist of Zeus, who had gotten the victory over the laity. That is what has happened to ch-rchianity. J-s-s is being worshipped because this name, although it is NOT authentically the Messiah’s Name, has gotten the victory over the people.

Yahshua Withstood Temptation

When we turn to Matthew 4:3, we find Yahshua the Messiah in a trial of temptation. Satan is tempting Yahshua, just as he tried Job (just as Satan will try everyone, it seems). He tries the faith of Yahweh’s child. Satan seeks to influence us to demand food above Yahweh’s Word. "Command that these stones become bread [Satan urges Yahshua]. But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahweh." For the quote, see Deuteronomy 8:3.

Finally, in verse 7 Yahshua says, "Again it is written, You shall not make trial of Yahweh your Elohim." When Satan takes Him up to the pinnacle of the Temple, he misquotes Psalm 91:11-12 and tells Yahshua to throw Himself down because the angels will save Him. Yahshua responds, "You shall not make trial of Yahweh your Elohim." Deuteronomy 6:16 is the quote from the Old Testament. Then Satan entices Yahshua, "Look at all the kingdoms of the world. If you want them, they are mine to give. I will give them to you, just fall down and worship me." Yahshua replies, "Get you hence, Satan: for it is written, You shall worship Yahweh your Elohim, and him only shall you serve." That quote is taken from Deuteronomy 6:13.

The Law of Yahweh must be our guide. It will carry us through every trial that Satan brings upon us. The shema that we recite every day reads, "Hear, O Israel, Yahweh is our Elohim, Yahweh is one. And you shall love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words, which I command you this day, shall be upon your heart." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5). This passage makes it quite plain that we must follow the Law of Yahweh, and live as Yahshua did throughout His life, sin free. He is our example. This series on "The Seven Lamps of Yahweh" has opened our eyes to many new concepts. We can surely declare more than ever before, with greater conviction, "All that have ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies."

Every one of these assembly messages are meant for us, we who are living in the end of the age. Additionally, let us pay more attention to Yahweh’s Word, to keeping His Law and obeying His Word. We will reap no eternal reward unless we do!