How to Study Scripture

2nd Timothy 3:16
All scripture is inspired by Elohim and is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.

The importance of this subject probably cannot be overstated, as it is imperative that one use proper and acceptable means in investigating what the Scriptures say and how to apply it properly today. It is always best to allow the Scriptures to interpret itself so that one does not make one portion of Scripture nullify another portion of Scripture. This study will look at the basic guidelines in studying Scripture. The principles contained within this study, if followed by the student of Scripture, will help to not only safeguard him, but also to prepare him for the coming of Yeshua.

One of the concerns of the writer in writing this study in this post-Christian era is that it seems that there are few who actually study their Scriptures regularly. And if one does actually open his Bible then all too often it is done in the search for a “proof-text” to prove what he already believes. Hopefully, this study will help the student of the Scriptures to see the importance of allowing the Scriptures to speak for itself and allowing the Scriptures to dictate to us what we believe, and even more importantly, how we are to live our everyday lives.

While this principle may be on the elementary side, it is of the utmost importance that one come to the realization that Scripture is the written word of YHWH, and, as such, cannot contradict itself. Many today struggle with this truth. So much so, that there are many individuals and groups today who are going through Scripture and literally throwing out whole books of Scripture simply because they cannot rectify seemingly contradictory passages. But these seemingly contradictory passages will only be rectified through hard work, understanding the historical context of the individual passages, being honest with oneself as well as the text, and going back to the original language in which they were written.

Without much thought, anyone probably could think of verses that seem to say on a cursory reading of those certain passages, conflicting truths. However, one must come to the conclusion that they do not present conflicting truths; rather, it is one’s lack of understanding that does not enable one to harmonize the verses in question. Also one should understand that each of these alleged difficulties and discrepancies have a fair and reasonable solution.[1] So, if it were possible to increase one’s understanding of the verses in question, then one would come to know that the verses were teaching complimentary truths, rather than conflicting truths.

Tehillim (Psalm) 119:160
Your word is true from the beginning;
And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

It would be a spiritual impossibility for every one of the ordinances of YHWH to be everlasting if any one of them contradicted another one. Since they are all everlasting as YHWH Himself is everlasting, then one can know that they are all complementary of one another rather than some of them being contradictory to the others. We just have to put in some hard work in study and listening to His Spirit to be able to rectify these types of difficult passages.

It should also be pointed out that all Scripture, when kept in its general context, may be fully rectified with all other Scripture. It is when a verse is pulled out of its context that problems quickly develop.

Within this next verse, it can be shown that the word which YHWH spoke or delivered through angels has proven to be steadfast or unalterable.

Ivrim (Hebrews) 2:2a
For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast,

If the Scripture is to be accepted as the word of YHWH, then one cannot pick and choose which part to believe and which part to discard. Picking and choosing what to accept and what to reject in Scripture is a sure way to go down the wrong path and end up in a place where one did not want to end up. In many cases those who walk down this path end up rejecting Yeshua as Messiah.

Since YHWH is the one who inspired Scripture to be written, and since it is unalterable from His perspective, then it is the duty of the student of Scripture to work diligently at discovering the unifying truth contained within its pages. Furthermore, if it is unalterable from His perspective, then it should be from ours as well.

Also, one needs to understand that the Word of YHWH is a direct reflection of who He is; and therefore, one can discover truths about the Scriptures by also knowing who YHWH is. In part, this means that we can know with a great deal of certainty that there is nothing within YHWH’s nature that contradicts another part of His nature.

Ya’aqov (James) 1:17
Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

It can be seen in this verse that there is no variation in YHWH. This is a very comforting truth that also can be applied to the Scriptures. This is not to say that the Scriptures are divine or to be worshipped, but rather that the Scriptures are inspired by YHWH, and as such, a reflection of His divine nature. Therefore, if one seeks hard enough and long enough, the truth of the Scriptures can be discovered.

In thinking of the written word being a reflection of His divine nature, please consider this passage.

Yochanan (John) 1:14
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

In addition to the word being a direct reflection of His divine nature, Yeshua is actually the word made flesh. Since there is no sin in Him, there can be nothing conflicting within Him; thereby, clearly showing us that all Scripture can be rightly unified if the proper approach is taken and enough time and hard work is applied to it.

What it then comes to, is one’s willingness to be honest with himself, the Scriptures and what they say, and how much effort one wants to put forth to discover the truths contained therein. It is not enough in these days simply to take another man’s word for what is in Scripture. Each person must study to show himself approved! If a person reads a study and the author of that study says that the Scriptures say so-and-so, then it is incumbent upon us to check it out to make sure that this is in fact what the Scriptures are saying.

2nd Timothy 2:15
Study to show yourself approved to Elohim, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Part of the hard work that one must engage in is putting to death the desires of the flesh; for it is the desires of the flesh in a person which will not allow him to rightly divide the word. One must put these desires to death in order to rightly divide the word and to have a proper understanding of what it says and what it means.

This principal is closely related to the previous one. It is when one keeps each verse in its proper context of where it is found, along with the general context of the book it is in, and the general context of the entire book of Scriptures, that a true understanding of each passage can be arrived at and that a fuller understanding of all of Scripture will be achieved.

Upon further examination of “How to Study the Scriptures,” it is imperative that one keeps the unity of the Scriptures intact. For one to go into the Scriptures and pull out proof-texts is a sure way to get oneself into theological trouble. For one to prevent this calamity from occurring in one’s life, one must make a concerted effort to keep the Scriptures whole. In doing so there is a built-in safeguard that will allow one to understand the Scriptures more fully, as well as helping to keep one in a right relationship with YHWH. YHWH even commands us to keep the Scriptures whole and intact.

D’varim (Deuteronomy) 4:2
“You shall not add to the word which I command you, neither shall you take away from it, that you may keep the commandments of YHWH your Elohim which I command you.”

This verse teaches that it would be difficult for one to keep the commandments of YHWH if one adds to or takes away from them. When a person or a group of people do either one of these prohibitions, i.e., if one adds to His commandments or takes away from His commandments, what the end result will be is one ending up with something other than His commandments. In essence one will be following something made by man rather than His commandments. And if one is following something manmade, then that is the essence of idolatry and this is never pleasing to YHWH our Elohim!

Gilyana (Revelation) 22:18, 19
18 For I testify unto every man that hears the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add to these things, YHWH shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book;
19 and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, YHWH shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

While these verses in Revelation are speaking specifically about the book in which they are written, there is a basic Scriptural principle that can and must be gleaned from this passage; namely, the need of keeping the Scriptures whole and intact. If, in fact, these are the “last days,” then this passage speaks directly to us today admonishing us to be careful how we handle Scripture.

One of the most common ways in which this principle and commandment is violated today by both houses of Israel, the house of Ephraim and the house of Judah, is through the adding of fences around His commandments. While the intent is noble, the actual outcome keeps one away from His commandment and thus one is not able to keep the actual commandment. For what happens is one is then actually keeping the fence rather than keeping the commandment. This should be carefully guarded against.

Another way in which this commandment is frequently broken is through the traditions of man. These traditions both add to and take away from His commandments. Now it is not wrong for us to keep traditions if they do not cause us to violate His commandments. But the thing about traditions is that we cannot make them binding upon one another. In other words, they are not enforceable. We do not and therefore should not, make any attempt in any fashion to manipulate others into keeping a tradition. If a person chooses not to keep a tradition this does not make him any less a part of His kingdom. We must be careful that we do not treat someone in a lesser way if he chooses not to keep certain traditions.

For example, there are many beautiful traditions in Judaism. Many of these traditions actually point to Mashiach. However, these traditions are simply that, traditions. They are not commandments. Therefore, these traditions, as beautiful and instructive as they may be, and regardless of how much truth they might contain, cannot be bound upon His people. Making an attempt to do so is adding to His commandments, which is a direct violation of His commandments.

One other Scripture passage needs to be addressed at this point of this study. This is a parenthetical thought that Yeshua inserts as He is teaching the religious leaders during the time of His earthly ministry.

Yeshua is teaching two truths in this short but clear thought. First, that if it is within the written word, then, it will be fulfilled, i.e., come to pass. Secondly, all YHWH’s word is true and is to be believed. Thus, Yeshua gives a very strong admonition to keep the Scriptures whole.

It is surely folly to go against what is found in Scripture, for as Yeshua teaches us it cannot be broken. While a person can disobey the commandments found in Scripture, unless he repents of this Torah breaking, the Scriptures will actually break him, not the other way around.

The previous two principles would be entirely meaningless if a person does not have the Holy Spirit to guide and teach him. The Scriptures is a unique book in that it is a spiritual book, the Word of YHWH. Because it was not written by man in the normal sense, but inspired by YHWH, His help is needed to understand what is being read. One such passage that teaches this principle is:

Qorintyah Aleph (1st Corinthians) 2:10-14
10 But YHWH has revealed them to us by His Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of YHWH.
11 For what man knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of YHWH no man knows but the Spirit of YHWH.
12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of YHWH; that we might know the things that are freely given to us by YHWH.
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of YHWH; for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Yochanan (John) 14:16, 17, 26
16 “And I will pray to the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever;
17 even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows him; but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you.
26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said to you.”

If one wants to be able to understand what the Scriptures say, then one needs to have the Holy Spirit. This is not an option, but an absolute necessity. Without the Spirit of YHWH in a person’s life, it is not possible to have a proper and true understanding of His word.

His Spirit comes into a person’s life when that person gives his life to Messiah by repenting and asking for forgiveness of his sins. Then, as these verses teach, he will have the Helper to teach him. Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth, He will teach true disciples what the Scriptures is truly saying.

In order for this to be accomplished, a learner’s heart is needed. Openness and honesty are virtues that are very essential to learning truth. This cannot be done partially or half-heartedly.

Tehillim (Psalm) 119:2
Blessed are they that keep His testimonies
And that seek Him with the whole heart.

Tehillim (Psalm) 119:58a
I entreated Your favor with my whole heart:

As seen in these verses, seeking the truth of YHWH should be done with all of one’s heart. The implication is that if seeking His truth is attempted with only a half-hearted attitude or an attitude that is not pure and pleasing to YHWH, then what will be gained is something less than the truth. And if one is operating on something less than the truth, then he cannot be walking in the one true way.

While as finite imperfect humans in this life it is not possible to gain the entirety of truth, one can and must seek it with his whole being. How this works out in the life of the disciple, is that when a new truth is encountered, it is tried and tested; and once proven to be the truth, it is then accepted and incorporated into the life of the disciple. Thus, the new truth replaces the false doctrine that was once a part of the disciple and error is rejected, thus showing us that there is constant growth and change in one’s spiritual understanding as we follow Yeshua our Mashiach.

Purity of heart is another condition for knowing and understanding Scripture. The implication of this can be clearly seen in the following verse.

Tehillim (Psalm) 73:1
Truly YHWH is good to Israel,
Even to such as are of a clean heart.

Each person has preconceived ideas, assumptions, and prejudices [2] that hinder one’s search for truth in understanding the Scriptures. These are impurities within one’s heart which need to be dealt with. The Holy Spirit knows and is aware of these in a person’s life even if the individual is not. One just needs to ask that these impurities and hindrances be revealed. He will not only reveal them but will also help one to overcome them as long as one is honest and sincere in this request.

Ivrim (Hebrews) 4:12
For the word of YHWH is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

The Scriptures is reasonable and logical as well. This is important to understand especially when reading studies and articles written by man, including this present study. If what one is reading does not seem reasonable or logical, then it most likely is not according to Scripture. The Holy Spirit can show this to anyone who asks that this be revealed to him. Two of the verses that reveal this principle are:

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 1:18a
“Come now, and let us reason together,” says YHWH,

Ma’aseh (Acts) 17:2
And Shaul, as his manner was, went in to them, and three Shabbat days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures,

There are three things a person needs to ask for if Scripture is to be properly understood and rightly divided, as examined in the principle of the Holy Spirit being one’s Teacher. First, a learner’s heart should be asked for. A person who has a learner’s heart is a person who can objectively listen to another person’s ideas without feeling threatened. He will also be able to judge the soundness of that idea using the Scriptures as the rule of measure. Furthermore, he is willing to learn the lessons YHWH is trying to teach to him through his life’s situations.

Secondly, any misconceptions, preconceived ideas, assumptions, or prejudices that would hinder one’s understanding the truth of Scripture, need to be revealed by the Holy Spirit. Then these need to be dealt with in such a manner as to enable one to see what Scripture is teaching.

Thirdly, Scripture is reasonable and logical, but this may not be seen unless one asks the Holy Spirit to reveal it to him. These three things are needed, founded in the realization that it is the Holy Spirit who is the teacher of truth, not this author or any other person, or any particular denomination or organization. This is particularly important to understand and cannot be over emphasized! Then one will be well on his way to being able to grasp the truth of the Scriptures; and this is particularly true concerning the prophecies of the return of Yeshua Messiah contained within YHWH’s Scripture.

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation.
Kepha Bet (2nd Peter) 1:20

In this Scriptural principle a safeguard is found to keep one from becoming heretical in his beliefs and actions. Two sides of this truth will be examined. This principle is succinctly stated in the verse just quoted above.

The duty of interpreting what Scripture says and what it means belongs solely to the Assembly of Israel, YHWH’s chosen nation of priests. This is also the body of Messiah, which is filled with the Holy Spirit to accomplish this task, among other tasks. Israel is the body of Messiah [3] on earth, as it is involved directly in the daily spiritual battles of this present life. The responsibility of interpreting Scripture rests, and is built upon, the experience of Israel as a whole (this includes both Houses). This is a continual process that will not be completed until the return of Messiah. It is within the body of Messiah that this function is to take place. No one person is to be the sole interpreter or authority of YHWH’s word.

This means that the person who hears the word of YHWH preached or taught is under obligation to investigate the Scriptures regularly to see whether these things are so. This goes for reading various authors also, the present one included. If each person in the body of Messiah does this under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, then the body will stay true to her Master and Savior Yeshua Messiah.

The more a person respects a particular preacher, pastor, or teacher, the more susceptible that person is to believing everything the teacher says. Each member of the body of Messiah must guard against placing too much emphasis upon the teachings of only one individual. By so doing, the body will safeguard itself from tragedies like Jonestown, Africa, in which most of the followers of Jim Jones lost their lives by following him in death by suicide.

There are many lesser tragedies that go unnoticed, e.g., when a member of the body of Messiah suffers spiritual shipwreck because of his faith in a particular Scripture teacher who has drifted away from YHWH.[4]

The Scriptures were given to train and instruct each person who would follow YHWH. One so desiring to follow YHWH, must allow YHWH’s written word to penetrate his life and continually change him.

Romans 15:4
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

As was shown above the Holy Spirit is the teacher of truth. As such, He teaches each disciple the truth found in the Scriptures, and then teaches him how to apply this truth to his own life. It is not the disciple in Messiah that does the interpreting of His holy word. The tendency in today’s world is to take one’s own experience and use that as a rule and measure for interpreting YHWH’s word. This will only lead a person into false doctrine and wrong living, for it is the essence of idolatry to make YHWH’s written word subservient to one’s own life and experiences. However, what each person must do is to allow YHWH’s word to interpret one’s spiritual experiences, thus ensuring that the false is weeded out, and only the true and good remains in one’s life.

2nd Timothy 3:16-17
All scripture is given by inspiration of YHWH, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of YHWH may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

While YHWH many times uses a person as His agent to deal with another person and to teach him, that person is still only an agent or messenger of YHWH. The One who is doing the actual dealing is, of course, the Holy Spirit, using His written word in the life of the disciple.

Each individual must continually strive to keep his eyes, even his life, focused upon and following Yeshua, not something or someone else. Doing so will help him to properly interpret and understand what the Scriptures say, i.e., he will hear and obey His Voice (the Holy Spirit) in understanding what Scriptures are teaching.

In examining the principles of Biblical interpretation, this one is the key to each of the others. It is also the most overlooked and underrated of all principles in having a true and proper understanding of Scripture.

While it is true that a person could leave out one of the other principles and still make some progress (except probably the principle of having the Holy Spirit as his teacher), it is doubtful that it is true of this one: obedience. Since the Scriptures is spiritual in nature, if one is without the willingness to be obedient to the truth discovered while reading and studying it, it is not possible to gain any real knowledge of the truth found in it without being obedient to the truth found therein.

This is the only real requirement of YHWH’s kingdom. Grasping the importance of loving obedience to
Messiah in a person’s life is essential to understanding the Scriptures, and what YHWH desires of His most precious creation: man. For if a man is to enter the Kingdom of YHWH, then he must be obedient. It is YHWH’s will that each person be saved. For one to be saved one must obey Him. It is YHWH’s will that each person repent. For one to repent one must obey Him. It is YHWH’s will that each person be sanctified. For one to be sanctified one must obey Him. It is YHWH’s will that each person have eternal life. For one to have eternal life one must obey Him. Each of these areas can and does apply to each reader.

If one is to have any of the things that are YHWH’s will, then it stands to reason that one must be obedient to Him. The obedience being referred to here is not to the legalistic keeping of the letter of the Law (Torah), for this is physically impossible for man to do; but rather, obedience to the Spirit of the Law (Torah) -- the Spirit of Messiah who dwells in the disciple, or obedience to the Law of Grace. There is actually no difference between the Law of Grace and Torah. The Law of Grace is keeping Torah with, in, and by, the heart of a person through the infilling and empowering of His Spirit’s presence in his life.

It should be recognized that obedience itself does not save a person, nor give him eternal life. Look at an example of a man drowning. The drowning man is calling out for help. He knows there is a lifeguard. He wants the lifeguard to help him. Is there anything that the drowning man can do or “will” to make the lifeguard save him? No! As much as the drowning man wants to be saved, as much as he repents, as much as he obeys, there is nothing that he does or wills that will save him. It is solely the will and actions of the lifeguard. It is the will of the lifeguard which propels the lifeguard into life-saving action towards the drowning man. So it is with YHWH. It is His will and His actions which save the individual and gives one eternal life. One only needs to have the desire to be saved. He must call out for help. This is essentially what repentance is: a calling out for help.

If it is the desire of one’s heart to be obedient (and YHWH knows whether it is or not), then he will know whether the teaching he is hearing is from YHWH or elsewhere.

Yochanan (John) 7:17
“If any man will do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it be of YHWH, or whether I speak of Myself.”

The implication in this Scripture is that if one is not trying to be obedient to YHWH and His word (both the written and the Living Word), then he will not be able to discern the truth from untruth.[5] This can have serious effects in the life of the disciple, if he is unwilling to follow YHWH in full obedience.

This is especially true when it deals with the area of Scriptural prophecy. One can read all kinds of books upon the subject and gain only a surface knowledge of the return of Yeshua, but in reality the knowledge gained will only be by rote. Furthermore, a person will not know whether it is in harmony with the rest of Scripture. In fact, many times if one is not walking in the fullness of His Spirit, then things will appeal to the flesh of man, i.e., they sound so good and right, but they really aren’t. Thus, he would be led astray because he was not willing to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit.

Even Yeshua, being YHWH, humbled himself in obedience, even obedience to death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8). This attitude of obedience, which Yeshua had and exhibited, is the same attitude of obedience the disciple in Messiah must display. If one is not willing to be obedient in all things, the small as well as the great, then one will find great difficulty in understanding what is read and heard from the Scripture. This includes those passages dealing with His return.

The adversary, the Devil, will come and snatch away any truth if a person does not act upon what the Holy Spirit is teaching him.

Matithyah (Matthew) 13:19a
“When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart.”

The Greek word which is translated as “understand,” has within it the thought of action or acting upon that which is known. The idea of obeying what is known to be true is also found in the Aramaic Peshitta of this passage as well. Here in this passage the element of obedience is present, rather than just one having an understanding of the mind.

In order for the disciple to keep from being deluded by himself and others, he must prove himself to be a “doer of the word” (James 1:22, 25). It is the doer of the word of YHWH who will have the blessing of YHWH upon His life, and who will be able to understand His word to the fullest possible extent.

Matthew 24:4, 5
And Yeshua answered and said to them, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, ‘I am Messiah’; and shall deceive many.”

Yeshua not only warned His disciples that they would have to beware of lying teachers and lying messiahs, but He was also warning them (and all of us today) not to be a lying teacher. Verse four can also be translated as saying, “See to it that you mislead no one,” and thus become a teacher or prophet of lies. Is it any wonder that Scripture teaches that those who teach will have more accountability before Him?

His concern for His followers being led astray can be seen in Matthew 24, as He warns us as His disciples. In the time it takes Yeshua to speak eighteen sentences He warns us three times. From verse four through verse 26, which is 23 verses in length, at least eight of these verses warn against these lying prophets, teachers, and messiahs. That is more than one-third of this section of Scripture being a warning against this. This tells us that this is something pretty important that we should be particularly aware of in our lives.

Matthew 24:11
“And many lying prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.”

Matthew 24:24, 25
“For there shall arise lying messiahs, and lying prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; that if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you in advance.”

Previously we examined the importance of obedience in the life of the disciple. That truth is closely related to this warning of Messiah’s to “beware of lying teachers.” Obedience to YHWH will enable the disciple to determine a teacher of lies from a teacher of YHWH’s truth. In contrast to this truth, if a person is not living in obedience to His Voice, then most likely he will be deceived and follow the wrong path and the wrong person, i.e., the wrong teaching.

One characteristic of a lying teacher is a lack of obedience to Holy Scripture. If a person is willing to be honest, there will be enough evidence to show anyone who is willing to see that this is a lying teacher. Occasionally this will only become evident with the passing of some time. But, if the true follower of Messiah will watch and be honest, these things will manifest themselves in a teacher’s life and he will be shown to be either a true teacher or else one who should not be listened to. This is not to say that a teacher of His truth will have a perfect life of obedience, for only Mashiach Yeshua did that. All of His teachers are flawed humans who will from time to time make mistakes and have misjudgments. However, the difference comes in because one of His teachers of truth will repent and return to doing his best to following His Truth in his life.

Another characteristic to help us to see a lying teacher is what type of fruit he bears. Yeshua teaches this to His disciples in the Sermon on the Mount.

Matthew 7:15-20
15 Beware of lying prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 You shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 So then, by their fruits you shall know them.

While it takes time for a tree to produce its fruit, it will produce fruit. If the disciple will be patient, then in time, the teacher teaching lies will reveal himself by the fruit that he bears. According to the above passage, one of those fruits is that the lying teacher is like a ravening wolf. This simply means that he consumes those around him and spends his resources upon himself. The Holy Spirit teaches and reveals to each member of the body of Messiah who these lying teachers are, if the disciple will only listen to the Spirit of truth.

In this study, the basics of how to study the Scriptures were looked into briefly. These included the following six principles:

Equipped with these tools, a person can grasp the truth found within the pages of the Scriptures, without straying into dangerous territory or falling prey to unscrupulous men.

[1] John W. Haley, Alleged Discrepancies, Pub. by Whitaker House, pg. 1.

[2] Some of these will take the form of denominational dogma in which the individual has been indoctrinated. This type of prejudice can be especially difficult to overcome. So student of Scripture – beware!

[3] The reader will do well to remember that the Scriptures teach that there is but one body. This includes all disciples, both Jew and Gentile; both those who lived before Yeshua’s time, and those who lived after. Many splinter groups try to make more than one body, but this is contrary to YHWH’s word. This is usually done in the attempt to make that particular group “spiritual Israel” (this is what Hitler did, thus justifying the murder of the Jewish people). This is quite dangerous, as Scripture also teaches that there is neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile) in the spiritual realm.

[4] Many times what will happen is that a spiritual leader or teacher will fall into sin temporarily and cause others to fall away. The leader may then repent of his sin, but what becomes of those who fell away before he repented? This illustrates the need to follow only YHWH rather than some man, as following Yeshua as Mashiach only will be a safeguard to one’s spiritual life and wellbeing.

[5] Please note Matthew 5:19, in which Yeshua teaches the importance of keeping and observing the commandments found in the Law and the Prophets (YHWH’s word).

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