Martyrdom…Murder

Martyrdom…Murder!

The aphorism, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he," (Proverbs 23:7) not only embraces the whole of a man's being, but is so comprehensive as to reach out to every condition and circumstance of his life. A man is literally what he thinks, his character being the complete sum of all his thoughts. Man is made or unmade by himself. In the armory of thought he forges the weapons by which he destroys himself. What was Cain thinking when he killed Abel? What thoughts were in the depths of his mind? Yahshua the Messiah taught us about these things in Mark7:20-23 “He continued, It is what comes out of a person that makes a person unclean. For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil thoughts come, as well as sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, cheating, shameless lust, envy, slander, arrogance, and foolishness. All these things come from within and make a person unclean." [ISV]

Probably every conflict is fought on at least two grounds: the battlefield and the minds of the people via propaganda (LIES). The “good guys” and the “bad guys” can often both be guilty of misleading their people with distortions, exaggerations, subjectivity, inaccuracy and even fabrications, in order to receive support and a sense of legitimacy. Propaganda can serve to rally people behind a cause, but often at the cost of exaggerating, misrepresenting, or even lying about the issues in order to gain that support. “Matthew 26:59-60 “Meanwhile, the high priests and the whole Council were looking for false testimony against Yahshua in order to have him put to death. “But they couldn't find any, even though many false witnesses had come forward.” And, Mark 12:13 “And they sent certain of the Pharisees and of the Herodians to Him, to catch Him in His words.

The authorities and leaders of Yahshua’s time worked diligently to silence the message that he brought. They used every tool at their disposal to discredit the Messiah and keep the people from following him instead of them. “John11:47-48 “Then the chief priests and Pharisees gathered a Sanhedrin, and said; what can we do? For this man does many miracles. If we let him alone this way, all will believe on him. And the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation...” The leadership of Yahshua’s time was afraid of him and wanted to do away with him even if that meant using violence. Hateful and condemnatory thoughts crystallize into habits of accusation and violence, which solidify into circumstances of injury and persecution. The authorities of Yahshua’s time used a form of propaganda against the Messiah and, it worked!

Four Levels of Varieties of Propaganda [Arthur Siegel, a social science professor at York University in Toronto]

1. The Big Lie, adapted by Hitler and Stalin.

2. ‘It doesn't have to be the truth, so long as it's plausible.’

3. To tell the truth but, withhold the other side's point of view.

4. To tell the truth, the good and the bad, the losses and the gains.

This approach was used against Yahshua and others who were martyred/murdered by assorted leaders et al, starting with Abel. John 8:44-45 “You are of the Devil your father, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you do not believe Me.” Speaking the truth brought the destruction of Yahshua and many others. He died for the truth that was given to him from his Heavenly Father, Yahweh! Satan worked his propaganda/lies/false information from the beginning by deceiving Eve in Genesis 3. Satan promulgated a lie and Eve believed it. The first instance of false information being brought forth to the human race is hereby found. 1Timothy 2:14 “And it was not Adam who was deceived. It was the woman who was deceived and became a lawbreaker.”

In Siegel’s four levels of varieties of propaganda, “It doesn't have to be the truth, so long as it's plausible.” Satan put forth a plausible possibility wherein he told Eve that she would not die if she partook of the tree that was forbidden to her and her husband. Genesis 3:4 “And the serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die:” Well, it was plausible and partly true, she did not die, well right away, did she? No, and Satan knew she would not die right then! But, Adam and Eve did eventually die as Yahweh Elohim told them they would and they lost the everlasting kingdom called Eden.

Another ploy of propaganda is; “To tell the truth but, withhold the other side's point of view.” One-sided truth telling is used effectively in war propaganda and character assassinations. If only one side is allowed to speak or write and no response is allowed by the other side, then the other’s point of view cannot be considered. Thankfully in America the judicial system is based on an adversarial system wherein both sides are presented for preponderance and consideration based on the presented evidences.

“Adversarial System: Characterized as a contest between a plaintiff [complainant] in civil proceedings or the prosecutor in criminal cases (the initiating parties) and a body of interrelated laws, rules, and procedures, wherein parties seek to find a ruling favorable to their interests. The judge functions as a disinterested independent magistrate rather than as a prosecutor, as in an inquisitorial system (found in many European nations), where he or she is called an investigative magistrate” (Falcone, 2005, p. 4).

This can be seen in the precedent for this legal process in Yahweh’s Torah Law. “Deuteronomy 19:15 “One witness shall not rise against a man for any iniquity, or for any sin, in any sin which he sins. At the mouth of two witnesses or at the mouth of three witnesses a thing shall be raised up to judgment.” In a court of law after the preponderance of the evidences presented by the prosecuting attorney and the defense attorney, the judge, the jury, and/or both, (and contingent upon trial type) delivers the verdict. Matthew 26:59-60 "And the chief priests and the elders and the whole Sanhedrin looked for false testimony against Yahshua, so that they might put Him to death, but did not find any, even though there were many false witnesses coming forward, they did not find any. But at last, coming up two false witnesses.” And also in this instance, 1Kings 21:13 And the two men, the base fellows, came in and sat before him: and the base fellows bare witness against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did curse Elohim and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him to death with stones.

Propaganda may be described . . . as organized persuasion by non-violent means. War itself may be considered to be, among other things, a violent form of persuasion. This can be seen specifically with Satan’s approach to Eve in Genesis 3. He used a non-violent form of organized persuasion to deceive Eve. This was followed by the war type of persuasion/propaganda used against Yahshua. Satan waged war against Yahshua while he was here on earth just like he waged war in the heavens. Revelation 12:7-9 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels going forth to war with the dragon; and the dragon warred and his angels; And they prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast down, the old serpent, he that is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him.” In both of these warring conflicts Michael/Yahshua came forth as the victor. Yahshua the Messiah was martyred by being murdered. Others within the Bible also suffered death at the hands of individuals who could be accused in a court of law as murderers in the first degree. They meet the standard element of mens rea and actus rea.

Words have meaning as one can ascertain by what Yahshua spoke while here in earth. They hated his words enough to want him killed. And another martyr that was murdered because of what he spoke was Stephen. Acts 7:54-58 “Now when they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of Yahweh, and Yahshua standing on the right hand of Yahweh, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of Yahweh. But they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and rushed upon him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul

The truth has no place in the hearts (minds) of evil sinful people. This is one of the reasons that criminals hate law enforcement officials as they do. The ones who declare the truth, the ones who declare their sins, the law breaking of the people, are despised and set upon. And eventually their hatred becomes so intense they resort to making death threats and this eventually leads to murder. It truthfully is what was/is in their minds, their very inner being. They truly are Satan’s children!

"But now you seek to kill Me, a man who has spoken the truth to you?"

Yours in Yahshua, Hawke