Why I don’t mention names…

Who’s dong the finger pointing and why? Do we have Scripture on our side, are we just defending our egos and our personal (income producing!) kingdom territories?

Last year I made and published a video where I take exception with some so-called Torah teachers who claim to be preaching what the apostles preached, yet, in reality, are largely preaching a message that focuses on end time conspiracies and esoteric, neo-gnostic and extra-biblical speculations. I mentioned the names of no people in my teaching; I dealt only with the issues.

I did, however, call for these type of teachers to come back to preaching a gospel-centric message where the good news of the Messiah and following his example of how to live is promoted front and center. For that wake-up call, John the Baptist-style message, I was blasted by name by a few folks including one prominent teacher on his YouTube channel.

Even some nine months later, I am still getting emails about this video calling me into question for my teaching on this subject like the email I just received the other day in the comments section of this blog.

Folks, the fact is that most people don’t know their Scriptures all that well! This includes a lot of so-called Bible and Torah teachers out there! They have just enough knowledge to be dangerous. It reminds me of my grade school days were we as first or second graders looked up to the “big” third and fourth graders as being so mature and knowledgeable.

Sadly, to many of these same self-proclaimed teacher-leaders are wont to blame, and accuse others of all sorts of things without any scriptural backing, or with only a very limited understanding of a few scripture verses. If we’re going to become teachers of the Bible, we need to learn the WHOLE COUNSEL of YHVH’s Word. It takes years, if not decades, of study to come to this point. The fact is that most of these teachers have been at it for only a few years—not decades, and, in truth, they don’t know what they don’t know. In many cases, they’re teaching well beyond their rank and pay grade.

Not only that, if we’re going to correct elder-teachers, we had better  be certain that we have our proverbial ducks in a row spiritually and scripturally before we go on the offensive, and start pointing fingers, or else we’re out of order biblically and may end up bringing divine judgment against ourselves.

Remember this. We all need to stay humble and teachable before Yeshua, because, in reality, we’re all like babes and little children before him in that we still have a lot to learn. This includes teachers and elders as well.

Now here’s my response to the person’s comment:

Except under very rare circumstances, we don’t mention the names of other people or ministries on my blog, which is why I deleted the name you mentioned. On this blog and in this ministry, we attempt to deal with issues from a biblical perspective, not personalities.

In the video teaching you referenced, I never mentioned a name. You can guess all day long the person/s to which I was referring, but you still don’t know for sure, since no names were mentioned. So let’s deal with the issue, not the personality, and not jump to conclusions, which is what the person you mentioned did with me in excerpting me on his video and putting my face on the cover of his YouTube video. This was presumptuous and unrighteous on his part. This is not a proper biblical approach or response.

The only times the apostles mentioned names of people in the NT was with grievous wolves and major sinners (e.g. Simon Magus, Ananias and Sapphira). Perhaps the person you mentioned thinks I’m one of these, which is why he mentioned my name. If so, then that’s between him and Elohim. He will answer to the Creator for his actions against me. If not, then, if he’s going to follow the example of the apostles, he shouldn’t be mentioning names. Otherwise, it’s simply about him defending his so-called reputation and ego. If so, that’s pride, and that’s a sin too. Again, that’s between him and his Creator.

Now with regard teaching things like the flat earth, etc. and calling it preaching to believers, your argument, with all due respect, doesn’t hold up. All of the epistles were written to believers in churches, not to the unsaved. Even so and notwithstanding, the apostles were still teaching the basics of the gospel message to these believers; they were not teaching all these fringe things that some Bible “teachers” are teaching today, as they gain a large following and sell a lot of stuff to fund their ministry-businesses. This, too is unbiblical and ungodly. Yeshua died penniless and so did the apostles, most likely. They did not make businesses out of their ministries. They were preachers of the way, not gospel peddlers who were selling books and videos and preaching at conferences for money!

So, instead of a gospel, apostolic model, what do we now have? All too often, we have many so-called Bible “teachers” preaching a non-biblical and non-apostolic “gospel message,” where they are following a non-biblical business model, and then unrighteously attacking those who are attempting to practice the biblical, apostolic model of ministry and preaching. They, therefore, have added sin, to sin to sin. I am not their judge. YHVH and his Word is. I’m simply examining the spiritual fruit on their tree (Matt 7:15–20; John 7:24) by looking at what they say and do and then comparing it with Scripture. Does that make me evil for shining the light of truth on them (even though I mention no one by name, but simply deal with issues pertaining to the righteous standards that are laid out in the Scriptures)? Perhaps so, at least in their minds. It’s like blaming the mailman for delivering mail that you don’t like. In the first century, the religious folks crucified Yeshua and some of the early disciples for doing the same thing—for not tickling ears and not preaching what some people wanted to hear, and for calling a spade a spade when it came to religious phonies and hypocrites. Now we crucify with our mouths and over the internet.

May YHVH have mercy on us all!

 For all those things My hand has made, and all those things exist,” says YHVH. “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word. (Isa 66:2)