There
is a serious warning given to Yahuweh's people in
the Scriptures, which if not heeded, will result in
serious blemish in the Bride, and for many, even shipwreck of The Faith.
This
Scriptural warning reveals in detail the identity of the Strange Woman.
Also called the False Bride and the Harlot, this
Strange
Woman is seen throughout the Scriptures, and made manifest in
the
Book of Revelation.
Scripture gives us a detailed
warning,
and also gives us preventive measures, and the antidote as well,
against being taken by this Strange Woman. The warning is especially
important to Yahuweh's people, as the victims of the Strange woman
stand to lose part or all of their inheritance.
In
this writing we will first
look at the warning, and then dissect it to see the prophetic message
to the Bride. We will then notice the results to those who do not heed
the warning.
The Warning
Here is
the
warning in full:
10
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto
thy soul; 11
Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep
thee: 12
To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that
speaketh froward things; 13 Who leave the paths of
uprightness, to
walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice to do evil, and
delight in the frowardness of the wicked; 15 Whose ways are
crooked, and they froward in their paths: 16 To deliver thee
from
the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her
words; 17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and
forgetteth
the covenant of her God. 18 For her house inclineth unto
death,
and her paths unto the dead. 19 None that go unto her return
again, neither take they hold of the paths of life. 20 That
thou
mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the
righteous. 21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the
perfect shall remain in it. 22 But the wicked shall be cut off
from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
(Proverbs 2:10-22)
Within
the above section of Proverbs, we see the following items that give us
a complete
picture of the warning:
1.
We are warned of the
enemy's method of snaring or 'taking out' Yahuweh's people,
by
the Strange Woman;
2. We are given
the antidote to avoid
being taken;
3. We are warned of
the consequences of not
choosing wisdom.
Let's look at the
highlights, and then look at the revealing details.
The
Antidote
The first
thing we are told in the above passage is the antidote against becoming
ensnared:
10
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge
is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall
preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
(Proverbs 2:10-11)
Here
we see the result of Wisdom is Knowledge, Discretion, and
Understanding. These are all needed to guard Yahuweh's people, and to
prevent them from becoming entrapped by the 'Strange Woman.'
The
great importance of obtaining the wisdom of Yahuweh can be seen
throughout the Book of Proverbs, as seen here:
Wisdom
is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all
thy getting get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)
Next
we are shown
the important role wisdom plays in being an antidote:
12
To deliver thee from the way of the evil man,...
16
To deliver thee from the strange woman,...
20
That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep
the paths of the Righteous. (Proverbs 2:12,16,20)
This
matter of Biblical wisdom is important, because as we will see, the
Evil Man and the Strange Woman can prevent Yahuweh's people from
walking in the way of the upright, and can prevent them from keeping
the Way of the Righteous.
Yahuweh, in His mercy, has
revealed to us the main tactics of our enemy, a spirit named satan. In
our subject passage, we will see the main method of satan's attack
comes through the Strange Woman. We are also given in these same
passages the details of this Strange Woman, and the methods she uses.
Let's
discover her identity.
Who is the Strange
Woman?
To the casual Bible
reader, the Strange Woman is the Harlot seen in the Book of
Proverbs. She is seen as a harlot in the natural sense, as someone to
avoid. In many ways, this Strange Woman can prevent one from walking in
The Way.
But as we study the many words throughout
Scripture that describe the Women of Scripture, we begin to see the
'prophetic' descriptions of these women emerge. In a broad, general
sense, there are two prophetic Women of Scripture —
the True Bride,
and the False Bride, or Harlot.
Furthermore, 'the
Woman' in Scripture is prophetic of any congregation of Yahuweh's
people; the true Bride speaks of one group of people, whereas the false
Bride speaks of another.
In general, the False
Bride is the entire
apostate, Religious World that is seen prophetically in Scripture as
the Strange Woman or Harlot. We might surmise
that the 'Strange Woman' could include both the greater congregation of
the Religious World, made up of scattered individual apostate people,
as well as individual congregations following apostate Leadership.
From
the many Scripture passages that speak of the
Harlot
and the
Strange
Woman, we begin to see the prophetic or 'now' meaning to the
verses,
as a message of warning to the Bride.
In
Scripture, the phrase
'strange woman' is only one
of many phrases
used to identify the False Bride or Harlot. Just as there is
a
true Messiah and corresponding
False-
or anti-Messiah, there is
likewise a
True Bride, and a corresponding
False
Bride.
The
True Bride can be seen throughout Scripture, and can be recognised by
her actions, showing that she is heeding the voice of the Bridegroom.
The False Bride can likewise be recognised by her actions of NOT
heeding the voice of the Bridegroom, but instead hearing the voice of a
stranger.
In
passing, let's first note the goal and the methods of this False
Bride, the
Strange Woman of Scripture.
The
Strange
Woman: Her Goal
The goal and methods of the False Bride can
be
seen in the following passage:
21
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the
perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be
cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall
be rooted out of it. (Proverbs 2:21,22)
The
word
'for' at the
start of verse 21 is our first clue. This tells us that the two verses
after the word 'for' are the result of the verses
seen
before
the word 'for.' These two verses reveal the goal of satan, the
spiritual
enemy
of the Believers! Let's
look at this closely.
In Scripture, the phrases 'the
earth'
and 'the Land' speak of our eternal inheritance,
prophetically called the
'Promised Land.' With this in mind, it can be seen that
the
enemy's
goal is goal is to prevent Yahuweh's people from entering into, and
remaining in, their inheritance that is rightfully theirs.
There
is much teaching in the New Testament, in parables and in the epistles,
regarding our inheritance. We can not go into depth here, but all of
Yahuweh's promises require the recipients to exercise the works of
Faith that are required to reach out and grasp what is given.
Both
Moses and Joshua confirmed that the Land (the inheritance) had been
already given by promise (past tense) but they still had to tread every
footstep of that inheritance (future tense) in order to receive it
(Josh 1:3).
This is the same principle all of
Yahuweh's people
must follow today, even when we consider the magnificent promises of
our inheritance of the New Covenant in Yahushua.
The
inheritance is promised to the Saints (Believers) who are
in
the
Light
(Colossians 1:12). That is, the inheritance is promised to those who
are walking in the Light, by allowing the True
Light (Messiah) to tread out our inheritance as He lives in us,
enabling us to walk in obedience to the Scriptures (the Light of being
a "DO-er" of
the Word).
The enemy wants to prevent us
from treading
the
footsteps of our inheritance, because he knows that is how our
inheritance can be diminished, or even removed completely. We will see
how this can occur to those who are taken by the Strange Woman.
Let's
now look at her methods.
The Strange
Woman: Her
Methods
From the subject passage, we see that satan seeks to
entrap Yahuweh's people, by bringing them into the bondage of
a
false
or
counterfeit 'New Covenant,' promoted by the
teaching of the Strange Woman. If satan can
deceive Yahuweh's people into listening to the words of a
false
Bride,
enticing them to embrace a
false 'New Covenant,' he
can then prevent them
from becoming a part of the
true Bride, and
from becoming a partaker
of the
true New Covenant. In this way, the
inheritance can be stolen
through deception. Like a counterfeit deed to a plot of land, the
counterfeit
'New Covenant' has no real value, and carries no promise of
inheritance.
Let's look further at the
difference between the true New Covenant, and the
false.
The New
Covenant: The True and
the False
We can not go into depth at this point, but there
are many false or counterfeit versions of Yahuweh's New Covenant. These
false versions are simply man-made 'illusions' of what the New Covenant
really is. They are mixtures of part-truth of Scripture, colored by
part error of man-made doctrines.
The New Covenant
we are all familiar with is like a nicely-wrapped loaf of bread. On the
outside wrapper it may say, "New Covenant." It may come wrapped in a
familiar wrapping, and may look just like the New Covenant we
have studied in the Scriptures.
But
when we look carefully at the
wrapping, and read the ingredients for ourselves, we may see there are
various additives and fillers — It is not the pure
New
Covenant of the
Scriptures. The pure New Covenant of Scripture has no man-made
doctrines. It is in agreement with "all of Scripture" (2Tim
3:16),
and
is in harmony with "all that the Prophets have spoken" (Luke 24:25),
and provides the nourishment of "every word that proceeds out of the
mouth of Yahuweh" (Matt 4:4; Luke 4:4).
The
false or
counterfeit versions of the 'New Covenant'
are simply man's various
ideas of
what Yahuweh's New Covenant is. The many various religious groups all
describe and teach various versions of the New Covenant, each slightly
different from the other.
The false versions of
the New Covenant all have one thing in common, however. They are all
teachings of Scripture that have been tainted with man's ideas. The
result in each instance is simply a
'paradigm' —
a way of thinking
about — the New Covenant. Again, the true New
Covenant will be in
agreement with all of Scripture, and with all the words of the
Prophets. There are no contradictions of Scripture in the true New
Covenant.
As we look further at the identity of the
False Bride-Harlot, we will see how she entraps Yahuweh's people by use
of a corrupted, counterfeit,
deceitful New
Covenant, which is spoken of
prophetically as the
Deceitful Bow
mentioned in Psalms 78:57 and
Hosea 7:16.
Let's now look at the False
Bride, the Strange Woman.
The
Strange Woman: Her Identity
Revealed
To discover the identity of this Strange
Woman, this Harlot-Bride, we will present the verses in order, and
comment as we proceed. Some of the words have the Strong's numbers
indicated, and some will show the Strong's word definitions. For some
of the words, we will look at relevant Scripture passages using these
same Hebrew words, in order to see proper meaning from context.
Let's
also notice how the warnings, and also the identity of the
Harlot-Bride, are revealed in a progressive manner:
10
When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge
is pleasant unto thy soul; 11 Discretion shall
preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
(Proverbs 2:10-11)
Here we see the
antidote. It is the wisdom and knowledge we receive from Yahuweh that
become the antidote, and provide the discretion and understanding
necessary to guard us, and warn us.
We are then told
what the antidote will do for us — it will deliver
us from what
appears to be two separate groups, but the two are actually two
descriptions of the same enemy. Here we will see the
'Evil
Man' and the
'Strange Woman' both depict two perspectives of the
same prophetic
entity.
The Evil Man
First
let's notice the characteristics of the Evil Man:
12
To deliver<05337> thee from the way<01870>
of the evil<07451> man, (Proverbs 2:12a)
Those
who are evil travel along a particular 'way' or road on
their journey through life, and the
Righteous travel another. The
'Way' of
Righteousness is the
living person of Yahushua (John 14:6), living within His people,
who desires to guide our feet into the proper Way (Luke 1:79).
It
is when we are in the
Way
that we are delivered, recovered, and rescued, from the wrong road. But
we are given further insight into those who are on this wrong road:
from
the man that speaketh froward<08419> things; (Proverbs
2:12b)
The
one who is in the wrong road, the way in which the evil walk,
is
further revealed as the one who speaks froward (perverse, changed,
turned, twisted) things. The definitions reveal the actions of those
who have
turned away from, and are opposed to, the Way of Righteousness.
Note
carefully that the 'evil' man is spoken of as being evil, not because
of a
state of
being evil, but because of his
actions of turning
away from the Way of
Righteousness.
Peter reminds us that those who
have turned away from the Way of Righteousness, are those who have
turned away from keeping the Commandments of Yahuweh
(2Peter 2:21), instead following the
Way of
Balaam (2Peter 2:15). As we have seen in
another detailed warning, the
Way
of Balaam is the path that rejects the earlier Word of Yahuweh, and
accepts only the
later Word of Yahuweh.
Our
life, on the other
hand, depends on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of Yahuweh
(Mt 4:4; Lk 4:4). Without Him as our Life, there is only death. When we
leave the path on which Yahushua walks, we leave Him behind, for He
will not leave the path of Righteousness. He will never leave or
forsake us, but me may choose to leave Him alone on the path.
And
so the evil man
is further described:
13
Who leave the
paths<0734> of uprightness<03476>,
(Proverbs 2:13a)
Here, the evil man is further
revealed as the one who forsakes, leaves, or refuses to walk in the
path of uprightness, the Way of Life, the Way of the Upright.
One
may be declared righteous from a judicial standpoint, having
been
cleansed of guilt of sin by the Blood of Yahushua. He is then placed on
the path of uprightness. But once on the path, that one is encouraged
to walk on, and continue in his path of uprightness, in the
Way of
Life.
The
'Way of
Life' illustrates a living, vital relationship with the
Saviour, as a
way of life, along ones path or journey through this
life — as opposed to
simply having a head-knowledge of certain Biblical facts.
Without
this living relationship, without His life-in-us, and His light-in-us,
we have only darkness. Without Yahushua, we can do nothing. As a
result, the evil man has only one way in which to walk:
to
walk in the ways<01870> of darkness<02822>;
(Proverbs 2:13b)
The evil man who forsakes the
right
path, does so in order to walk in the paths of darkness, or absence of
Light.
We recall that
Yahushua the Messiah
is Light (John
8:12, John 9:5). We also recall that
the Law (Torah)
is Light (Prov 6:23).
Thus we see that the
path of
Light is simply the path or
journey of our day-to-day actions,
as we allow Messiah-in-us to keep the Torah (obedience to all the
Scriptures), by His Grace from within.
Thus the path of
darkness
is just the opposite. This is the path or journey of ones
day-to-day actions,
perhaps verbally acknowledging Messiah and the Scriptures, but refusing
to allow Messiah-in-them to keep the Law (Torah),
by His Grace from within. This refusal is either because the Light of
the
candle is not present; or if present, is still being hidden under a
bushel, and not on a candlestick.
We are further
told of the practices of this evil man:
14
Who rejoice to
do<06213> evil<07451>, and
delight<01523> in the frowardness<08419> of
the wicked<07451>; (Proverbs 2:14)
The
evil man, walking in the path of darkness, is further seen as one who
does (do, work, make, or have) rejoicing, even in the midst of evil or
wickedness (trouble and displeasure, because of breaking, or shattering
of the covenant). He is further seen as
delighting, or rejoicing, even in the midst of frowardness, of perverse
things — all that is turned away from, and opposed
to, the Way of
Righteousness.
We see further:
15
Whose ways<0734> are
crooked<06141>, and
they froward<03868> in their paths<04570>:
(Proverbs 2:15)
The
evil man, walking in the Way of Darkness, is further described as
walking in the ways of crookedness — having a crook
in the way.
The
crook'd way
is a way that is perverted, or twisted, and brings to mind
the description of Peter describing those unlearned and unstable
teachers, who twist the writings of the apostle Paul (2Pet 3:16). They
have become froward, or turned aside
from the right path, in their goings, in their daily lives.
Up
to this point, we have been given a clear picture of the wicked and
Evil Man. It is not until we see the Strange Woman, however, that we
begin to grasp just who this Evil Man really is. Let's now look at the
Strange Woman.
The Strange Woman
We
recall that we are being told of Wisdom as the antidote, to
deliver us, and to rescue us from those who are on the wrong paths.
Now
we see the Strange Woman coming into view:
16
To
deliver<05337> thee from the strange<02114>
woman<0802>, (Proverbs 2:16a)
In
verse
10, we saw the goal of Wisdom was to guard, and perhaps prevent one
from being
taken by the enemy. But here in verse 16, we see a new goal and
objective of Wisdom. Here the goal is to deliver —
to snatch away,
rescue, and recover Yahuweh's people, after they have already been
taken — by the Strange Woman.
At
this point, it may not yet be obvious, but to rescue or recover someone
from a situation, that someone must first be in that situation.
So
as an opener, we will state that the vast majority of Yahuweh's people
have not been guarded by Wisdom. They have not been prevented
from being taken by the
enemy. They are in the clutches of the Strange Woman, and so they have
need of
being rescued, even though they are unaware of this need.
The
Strange Woman is not
strange, in
the sense of being odd.
She is merely
estranged, as the Hebrew word indicates. She has
been Redeemed by the Blood of Redemption, by Yahushua's Blood. She
would be called a
Believer in most circles. But she
continues in
iniquity, which is transgression of
the Law (Torah), and so for this reason she is
separated
or
'estranged' from her Bridegroom-to-be, her
Betrothed
(Isaiah
59:2)(Hosea 7:13).
The
Strange Woman is among the Redeemed, but
she continues to
sin — to
transgress
the Law, which is
iniquity
(1John 3:4), either out of ignorance of it, or from a rebellious heart.
The
Strange Woman is among the Redeemed, and
she rejoices in
our midst — but she is on a path whose daily actions
and
teachings are considered
loathsome. She is not aware that the actions of those on this
path
are considered the actions of a
harlot.
Because of
her daily
walk along this path, the
Strange Woman is considered an alien, and
even as an enemy of Yahuweh, for all practical purposes. This is some
strong language in the Scripture word definitions,
so let's see why this is so.
I Know You
Not!
Let's
look at actions
that further describe the Strange Woman, actions that make
her deplorable to Yahuweh:
even
from the stranger<05237> which
flattereth<02505> with 'her' words<0561>;
(Proverbs 2:16b)
Here
we see the Strange
Woman is a
stranger, or as the Hebrew word
indicates, she is an
alien — an
'unknown' person.
This reminds us of the words that
will be spoken
to the Foolish Virgins of (Matthew 25:12), "I know you
not!"
We then see that the
Strange Woman is one who flatters (distributes, receives, or
gives out a portion or part; who is smooth, slippery, or
deceitful) with
'her'
sayings, her own utterances.
Notice it is
not the Words or commands of
Scripture she
apportions or gives out; but
it is with
her own sayings that she apportions out,
her own
sayings with which she deceives. It is the mixture of Scripture,
along with the sayings of man, that bring deception.
Let's
see how she deceives, with the sayings she gives out.
She
Forgets
the Schoolmaster
Perhaps the most to-the-point
description is seen next:
17
Which
forsaketh<05800> the guide<0441> of her
youth<05271>, (Proverbs 2:17a)
Here
we
see the
Strange Woman is one who forsakes (leave
off, depart from, let
alone, ignore, refuse) the 'guide of her youth.'
The
word
'guide' used here is the Hebrew word
'alluph,'
Strong's number
<0441>, meaning "guide, governor, or captain," and comes
from the Hebrew word
'alph,' Strongs number
<502>, meaning
"learn or teach."
The word
'youth'
is the Hebrew
word
'na-'uwr' meaning "youth, or young
child."
Together
these words picture what we would call a
'schoolmaster'
for a young child.
This
same word-pair is seen in the New Testament, as the single Greek word
'paidagogos,' Strongs number <3807>,
meaning
"schoolmaster, instructor; a leader or instructor to tutor or guide
young children."
This same Greek word is seen in
(1Cor 4:14) and in
(Galatians 3:24-25),
where we are told that the Law (the
Torah) was our
'Schoolmaster' until Faith is established.
Here
it
becomes very clear who the
Strange Woman is.
She
is one who forsakes (leave off, depart from, let
alone, ignore, refuse) the Law or
Torah,
which is intended
to guide, instruct, and train Yahuweh's people, while their Faith is
becoming established; that is, while they are learning to walk along
the correct path!
But the forsaking of the
guide
of her youth
has much greater implications: She is about to abandon the true
Covenant, the Marriage Contract, in favour of a counterfeit, or false
covenant!
She Forsakes the True
Covenant
The
real significance of forsaking the Law (Torah) can be seen in the next
phrase:
and
forgetteth<07911> the covenant<01285> of
her God. (Proverbs 2:17b)
Here we see the
result
of forsaking the guide of her youth, the Torah, is that she forgets
(forget, ignore, cease to care for) the Covenant (this is the marriage
contract,
agreement, or pledge) of her Elohim —
the Covenant between
Yahuweh and His people. For it is the Torah, even all of Scripture,
that is the fine-print of
the Marriage Covenant!
The Strange Woman claims to
be keeping, and promoting, the 'New Covenant' — but what she
promotes is not the
New Covenant of the Scriptures.
Instead,
it
is a
counterfeit of the New Covenant, one in which
her
own words have twisted
the meaning of Scripture, and
her own sayings have
replaced the pure
words of Scripture. It is a Law-less or Torah-less counterfeit of
the genuine, New Covenant of the Scriptures.
The
New Covenant she promotes is thus a counterfeit, or
False
'New Covenant.'
Those
Who Remain in Her Household
At this point it is important to
understand that the
Strange Woman is not one
particular person.
Instead, the Strange Woman is a system of thought, and a collection of
Leadership embracing that thought, that make up the many congregations
of the
Strange Woman. Those in attendance are merely those of her
household.
Let's
see what is in store for those who remain in her household:
18
For her house<1004> inclineth<07743> unto
death<04194>, (Proverbs 2:18a)
Because
the word
'for' appears first, we know we are about
to see the result of all the previous
verses.
Here we see the result of her actions. Here
we are told that her whole house — her
household — is headed
toward death.
and
her paths<04570>
unto the dead<07496>. (Proverbs 2:18b)
It
is not enough to see that the household is headed toward death, but we
are told that the path she is on, the daily actions she promotes, is
the path of the dead, and of death. We are reminded in (Prov 8:36) that
these are those who hate Yahushua, and who despise His wisdom.
Then
we see
further warning of those who remain in her household, among those who
walk the same path she is on:
19
None that go<0935> unto
her return<07725> again, (Proverbs 2:19a)
Again,
those who remain in her household will have no future opportunity to
return (turn, repent, and return) to the right path.
Lest
we think we can claim Messiah as our Way of Life, while
walking on
the path of the Strange Woman, while remaining in her household, notice
what we are told next:
neither
take they hold<05381> of the paths<0734> of
life<02416>. (Proverbs 2:19b)
Here
we are told that as long as those remain, who are in her
household, they will
not take hold of (lay hold of,
reach, attain) the Way of
Life, the Living person of Messiah, the Way of Life for us, as He lives
within us, to guide us in
the right path of our day-to-day actions.
Because
of the
seriousness and finality of the day of ones death on the earth, and the
uncertainty of when ones last day will be, there is given a "last call"
as a
reminder once again, to embrace wisdom, so as to achieve the following
results:
20
That thou mayest
walk<03212> in the way<01870> of
good<02896> men, and
keep<08104> the paths<0734> of the
righteous<06662>. (Proverbs 2:20)
Again,
wisdom is given to us, in order that we may walk (go, walk, depart, go
away) in the
way of good men (right, agreeable, goodness, excellence), and
keep (observe, beware, heed, "Watch") the Way of the Righteous (the Way
of Yahushua, who is our Righteousness, as He lives-in-us), to produce
the fruit (actions) of Righteousness, by His power and Grace.
One
aspect of the word
'walk'
is that of departing. Our
going away, our departing, marks the end-point of our walking on the
path of this life in the natural sense. We are given this lifetime on
earth, in the natural sense, as an opportunity to choose for eternity.
Thus it is important that we tread out our
inheritance on the path today, that will actually yield an
inheritance in eternity. Here
we see why the path we choose now, is important in eternity:
21
For the upright<03477> shall dwell<07931>
in the land<0776>, (Proverbs 2:21a)
Now
we see the reason for being on the right path before we go out, or
depart from this earth. Here we are told that those who are on the path
(in
the Way) of Righteousness, those called
'the upright'
(straight,
upright, correct, righteous), are those who will dwell (abide,
inhabit,
remain) in the Land (their eternal inheritance).
We
are
further told:
and
the
perfect<08549> shall remain<03498> in it.
(Proverbs 2:21b)
It is the
perfect
(complete,
without blemish, without spot; in full accord with truth) shall remain
(excel, have excess, be the remnant thereof) in the Land, in their
inheritance.
The
word
perfect
also denotes a quality of the true Bride, illustrating that
she is
allowing Messiah-in-her to chasten her, to train her, and to actively
walk in the Torah, keeping the
Torah in every way, that she might remain in the Way of Righteousness,
on the path the upright. It is those who will remain in the Land.
But
in contrast, we are told:
22
But the
wicked<07563> shall be cut off<03772> from
the earth<0776>, (Proverbs 2:22a)
The
wicked (those whose actions are
twisted, like a candle-wick, and so they are called 'wick'd) shall be
cut off (cut down, hewn as a tree, destroyed) from the earth (the
inheritance). They are not on the path of the Upright, the path of
those who allow Messiah-in-them to obey the Torah. They are on the path
of the Strange Woman, who has deceived all those who remain in her
household, to disobey, to transgress the Torah, which is iniquity.
And
so it is, that the warning continues:
and
the
transgressors<0898> shall be rooted
out<05255> of it. (Proverbs 2:22b)
Here
we see that the transgressors (those whose actions
are deceitful, treacherous,
and without faith, as the exact opposite of the
perfect;
those who transgress the words of Scripture, even
transgressing the Torah) shall be
rooted out (pluck up, destroy, tear down, tear away) from the
inheritance.
Notice also the Hebrew word
'transgressors'
used
here corresponds to the meaning of the Greek word
'anomia,'
Strong's
number <458>, meaning "iniquity, transgression of the Law
(Torah)."
Again, we are reminded of the
words to be spoken to the Foolish
Virgins, "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity<458>"
(Matthew
7:23).
The
Foolish Virgins are
those who lack the safeguard of
Wisdom.
The
Foolish are those who began to
be partakers of the true New Covenant,
but because they lacked
Wisdom, they
became snared, and taken, through the deception of the Strange
Woman,
by her teaching and by her example.
Because they
remained in the household of the Strange woman, and remained in the
same path of her daily actions of rejecting the Law, the Torah
of Yahuweh, they continued to break the New and Everlasting
Covenant provisions
mentioned abundantly throughout the Scriptures (a few of these are
Exodus
31:13; Ezekiel 20:12, 20; Leviticus 23:1-44; Jeremiah 32:23;
44:23; John 6:53; 1Cor 5:7-8; Rev 22:14).
But are
there further witnesses of Scripture to confirm the identity of this
Strange Woman seen throughout Scripture?
Two
or Three
Witnesses: A Parallel Message
As
if to confirm the warning of the
Strange Woman,
and her identity, we
are given three additional parallel messages in Proverbs Chapters 5, 6,
and 7,
each slightly different from the other, to paint a vivid picture. Taken
together, these
other Scripture passages confirm with certainty the identity of
the Strange Woman.
Very briefly, let's
notice the three parallel sets of verses:
Proverbs
5:1-5:
1
My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to
my understanding:
2 That thou mayest
regard discretion, and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3
For the lips of a strange
woman drop as an honeycomb<05317>
[The
honeycomb speaks of the Scriptures (Psalms 19:10)],
and her mouth
is
smoother than<02509> [apportions, gives out, distributes]
oil
[she gives out the anointing of the Holy Spirit, an
activity found among New Covenant Believers]:
4 But her end
[her goal] is bitter as
wormwood<03939>
[speaks of the curse that is promised to those who
disobey Torah (Deut 27:26)], sharp as a twoedged
sword [this speaks of the
Word of Yahuweh, the Scriptures (Heb 4:12; Rev 1:16). Here we see a
mixture of the Word of Yahuweh, mixed with wormwood, the promised curse
that
comes from eliminating Torah].
5 Her feet
[the path she is on] go down to death; her steps
[the day-to-day steps of the road she travels] take hold on
hell. (Proverbs 5:1-5)
Proverbs
6:23-24:
23
For the commandment is a lamp; and the law(Torah)
is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life [the path of
walking in Yahushua Messiah, who is The Way, and who is our Life]:
24
To keep thee from the evil woman, from the flattery<02513>
[that
which is apportioned, or given out] of the tongue<03956>
[the
language, speech, slander] of a strange woman.
(Proverbs 6:23-24)
Proverbs 7:4-5:
4
Say unto wisdom, Thou art my sister; and call understanding
thy kinswoman:
5
That they may keep thee from the strange woman,
from the stranger which
flattereth<02505> [apportions, gives
out, distributes] with her
words<0561> [her sayings — not the
pure
sayings of scripture].
(Proverbs 7:4-5)
Again,
we see multiple confirmations. Do these sound similar to what we had
found previously?
In these parallel passages, we are
told that the
'evil woman' is the
same as the
Strange Woman. We see that the
commandments (the Lamp), and
the Torah (the Light) provide the reproof necessary for our instruction
into the proper Way of Life, to keep us from the mixture of words given
out by the Strange Woman, again seen as a mixture of Scripture along
with her own words.
But notice also, here we are
told that the
goal of the Strange Woman has features of the
twoedged
sword, which speaks of Word of Yahuweh, and also of
wormwood,
which
speaks of the curse that comes from disobedience to Torah. Here we see
confirmation of what the Strange Woman gives out: a
mixture
of the
Scriptures, along with
her own
words, a mixture void of Torah.
This
combination is one of the hallmark characteristics of the
Harlot
Congregation.
Satan knows that the curse
is
promised to those
who disobey Torah (Deut 27:26; Gal 3:10), and so the Strange Woman has
been deceived, in her ignorance, to do satan's bidding.
Most of
those who consider themselves as Believers
today
have been subdued in this manner by the
Strange Woman.
Again, we are given
confirmation of the antidote:
Yahuweh's people are exhorted to gain
Wisdom, Understanding, and Knowledge (the knowledge of
Yahuweh), to
keep (observe, heed, "Watch") the Commandments, and all the words of
Torah, in order to avoid the portion (mixture) given out by the
tongue (sayings) of the
Strange Woman.
Here
we are told
also that the words of the Commandments, indeed all the words
of Torah, provide our protection from the words of the Strange
Woman. In the
previous section we saw that Wisdom provided our protection from the
Strange Woman. From just the logic here, we can see that
Wisdom
is
simply the keeping of Torah, by the power and Grace supplied
by Yahushua-in-us.
Summary
We
have seen the
Strange Woman, as she speaks of the
Harlot Congregations.
How can we easily discern the Strange Woman
Congregations? How can we discern the Strange Woman
Leadership?
We need only listen to her
words,
to
discern what she is giving out to her household.
The
words of the Strange Woman will always conflict with the words of
Torah.
The
'New Covenant'
promoted by the Strange
Woman Leadership will always deny
Torah as being a vital part of its
foundation.
Does
the Leadership of a Congregation promote keeping of Torah? Or do they
instead, speak
their own words, saying the Torah has been nullified, or done away
with, in direct contradiction to all of Scripture?
The
people,
and the Leaders of a given Congregation as well, may not look evil to
us. Most are kind, genuine and sincere. But if they have been deceived
by a system of thought, then their daily actions are evil in Yahuweh's
eyes.
If,
in the course of our actions, we refuse or reject the keeping of
Yahushua's Torah, then in Yahuweh's eyes, we are evil.
If
we are actively keeping the Way of Life, the Way of
Yahushua-in-us,
then we will find ourselves obeying the Torah. That is, we will be
allowing Yahushua-in-us to keep His own Torah in us, by His Grace, His
ability and strength He supplies to us from within.
Conclusion
We
have been warned of the
Strange Woman, called the
False
Bride and the
Harlot, all of which speak of Congregations of
Yahuweh's Redeemed people, who have been taken captive by a system of
thought, and have been deceived by the words
of the
Strange Woman, and led into disobedience in
their daily walk.
As a result, the
Strange Woman and those of her household have forsaken the
true
New Covenant. Instead, they are embracing a
counterfeit
or
False 'New Covenant' which is being promoted by
the
Strange Woman, and given out to her
household.
We
have seen that the
Strange Woman of Scripture has
certain
features and actions, by which she is easily recognised:
Features
Identifying the Strange Woman of Scripture:
- She speaks her
own sayings mixed with Scripture, instead
of the pure words of Scripture;
- She
ignores, and
rejects what the
Schoolmaster, the Torah, taught her;
- She
refuses to walk in
obedience to the Law, the Torah;
- She
forgets the true
New Covenant of
Yahuweh, but promotes her own ideas, resulting in a counterfeit
New
covenant;
- She
entraps Yahuweh's
people, whose
lack of Wisdom makes them easy prey.
As
we have looked at the features and characteristics of the
Strange
Woman,
we
have discovered the great importance of avoiding being taken by her
deceptions. Here are some of the conclusions we have
drawn, of the importance of avoiding the deception of, and being taken
by, the Strange Woman:
The Importance of
Avoiding the Deception of the Strange Woman:
- We
have seen that the antidote needed to guard against being taken by the
Strange Woman is simply the Wisdom given to us by Yahuweh, the
wisdom
of being a "DO-er" of His Word, by His Grace, the power given
to
us by Yahushua who dwells within His people.
- We
have
seen that
to receive the inheritance, Yahuweh's people must reach out by Faith,
and tread every footstep of their inheritance, even though already
promised as our inheritance of the New Covenant in Yahushua.
- We
have recalled that the inheritance is promised to the Saints
(Believers) who are "in the Light" — that is, who are walking
in the
Light, by allowing the True Light (Messiah) to tread out our
inheritance as He lives in us, as we walk in obedience to the Torah
(the Light of being a "DO-er" of Torah, just as Yahushua was, while on
earth 2,000
years ago).
- We have seen that
the treading out of our
inheritance is
simply a matter of walking in The Way of Righteousness, which is simply
walking in obedience to Torah, while we are here on earth.
- We
have seen that our enemy satan
wants to prevent us from "treading the
footsteps" of our inheritance, because he knows that is how our
inheritance can be diminished, or even removed completely.
- Thus
satan tries his best to discredit the 'Law' (Torah) as a necessary
component of the New Covenant, by using the Strange Woman
— who
promotes the twisting of Scripture to imply a meaning different from
the plain, clear and simple meaning of Scripture in context.
- We
have seen
that the counterfeit 'New Covenant' that the
Strange Woman gives out, and apportions to her
household, is a Covenant that is void of Torah, thus void of any inheritance
to
those who embrace it.
We have seen
the
Strange
Woman in the
bright light of Scripture.
She can now be easily
recognised, after the Scriptures have removed the cloak from
her methods.
The
warning of the
Strange Woman is a warning given to
the Bride!
---