I asked him again, and said, “Since YAHWEH has vouchsafed to dwell always with me, bear with me while I utter a few words; for I understand nothing, and my heart has been hardened by my previous mode of life. Give me understanding, for I am exceedingly dull, and I understand absolutely nothing.” And he answered and said unto me, “I am set over repentance, and I give understanding to all who repent. Do you not think,” he said, “that it is great wisdom to repent? for repentance is great wisdom. For he who has sinned understands that he acted wickedly in the sight of YAHWEH, and remembers the actions he has done, and he repents, and no longer acts wickedly, but does good munificently, and humbles and TORMENTS his SOUL because he has sinned.”
This is how you know that you love ELOHIM and fear Him because you don’t take sin lightly and it grieves you that you have disappointed ELOHIM; therefore, you repent and afflict your soul. Some Examples:
Testament of Rueben 1:6-9
“And behold I call to witness against you this day the ELOHIM of the heavens, that you should not walk in the sins of youth and whoring, in which I indulged, and defiled the bed of my dad Jacob. And I tell you that He struck me with a heavy wound in my loins for seventh months; and had my dad Jacob not prayed to YAHWEH for me, YAHWEH would have destroyed me. For I was thirty years old when I worked evil before YAHWEH, and I was sick to death for seven months. And after this I REPENTED with determination of my being for SEVEN YEARS before YAHWEH. And did not DRINK WINE OR STRONG DRINK, AND FLESH (no meat) entered not into my mouth, and I ate NO PLEASANT FOOD; but I MOURNED OVER MY SIN, for it was great, such as had not been in Yisra’el.”
Jubilees 41:23-24
“And Judah acknowledged the deed which he had done was evil, for he had lain with his daughter-in-law, and he considered it HATEFUL in His eyes, and he acknowledged that he had transgressed and gone astray, for he had uncovered the skirt of his son. And he began to LAMENT AND TO PETITION before YAHWEH because of his transgression.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: “You see, therefore, that REPTENTANCE IS GREAT WISDOM.” And I said to him, “It is for this reason, sir, that I inquire carefully into all things, especially because I am a sinner; that I may know what WORKS I should do, that I may live: for my sins are many and various.” And he said to me, “You shall live if you keep my commandments, and walk in them; and whosoever shall hear and keep these commandments, shall live to ELOHIM.”
The malach of repentance told Hermas that repentance is great wisdom and others witness to support this are:
Luke 13:1-5
“Now at that time men came and told Him about those Galileans, those whom Pilate had mingled their blood with their sacrifices. And YESHUA answered and said to them, “Do you think that those Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they were killed thus? I say no to you, but that all of you if you do NOT REPENT also, you will likewise be destroyed. Or those eighteen who had the tower fall upon them and were killed in Shiloh, do you think that they were greater sinners than all the people who live in Jerusalem? I say no to you, but that unless you REPENT, all of you like them will be destroyed.”
2 Esdras 7:132
“I answered and said, I know, O YAHWEH, that the Most High is now called ‘merciful,’ because He has mercy on those who have not yet come into the world; and gracious,’ because He is gracious to those who turn IN REPETANCE TO HIS TORAH…”
Jasher 6:19-21
“And Noah, with a loud voice, answered them from the ark, saying, “Have you not all rebelled against YAHWEH, and said that He does not exist? And therefore, YAHWEH brought this evil upon you, to destroy and cut you off from the face of the earth. Is this not the thing that I spoke to you about, one hundred and twenty years ago, and you would not listen to the voice of YAHWEH, and now do you desire to live upon the earth?” And they said to Noah, “We are ready to RETURN TO YAHWEH; only open for us that we may live and not die.”
Teshuvah in Hebrew means to repent and turn away from sin and not go back to it and live for ELOHIM! Which those in the flood were willing to do only when they saw the end was near, don’t be like them. ELOHIM gave them a lifetime, 120 years to repent, but they chose death.
Hermas also asks what WORKS must he do that he may live and the malach of repentance says “You shall live if you keep the commandments”, so works is equated with works of the Torah which Christianity says no works are required and that is false.
Revelation 12:17
“And the dragon was enraged against the woman; and he went to make war upon the remnant of her seed who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF ELOHIM and have the testimony of YESHUA.”
Revelation 14:12
“Here is the endurance of the set apart believers who KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS OF ELOHIM, and the faith of YESHUA.”
2 Esdras 7:24
“They scorned His Torah, and denied His covenants; they have been unfaithful to His statutes, and HAVE NOT PERFORMED HIS WORKS.”
Mathew 5:16 (Parenthesis mine)
“Let your light (Torah) shine like this in front of the sons of man that they should see your good WORKS (Of the Torah) and they esteem your Father who is in heaven.”
Works of Torah includes loving your neighbor as yourself, so you will not only love them but you will also provide for what they need and not just professing it with your mouth, its action based as we see James say in his writings.
James 2:20:24
“Would you know, o weak man, that belief without works is dead? Abraham our ancestor, was not he justified by WORKS in offering his son Isaac upon the altar? Do you realize that his belief AIDED HIS WORKS, and that by the WORKS OF HIS FAITH was rendered complete? And the scripture was fulfilled which says: “Abraham believed in ELOHIM, and it was credited to him for righteousness” and he was called the friend of ELOHIM. You see that by WORKS A MAN IS JUSTIFIED AND NOT BY FAITH ALONE.”
James 1:22
“But be DOERS of the Word, and not HEARERS ONLY; and do not deceive yourselves.”
Romans 2:13 (Parenthesis mine)
“For not the HEARERS of Torah are righteous before ELOHIM; but the DOERS (Works) OF TORAH ARE BEING MADE RIGHTEOUS.”
Abraham had faith to leave his own country, he had faith to offer up his son which includes works, and also was circumcised out of obedience when he was 99 which is all works of Torah, Paul in Galatians 3 is saying the same thing as James regarding Abraham, and that is faith and works go together.
Then the malach of repentance says if you keep the commandments that you shall LIVE to ELOHIM:
Leviticus 18:5
“You shall therefore keep My commandments and My judgements, which if a man DO, HE SHALL LIVE IN THEM: I AM YAHWEH.”
Ezekiel 20:21
“Notwithstanding the children of Yisra’el rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My commandments, neither did they keep My judgements to DO them, WHICH IF A MAN SHALL DO, HE SHALL LIVE BY THEM; they have polluted My Shabbats: then I said, I will pour out My fury upon them and accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.”
Deuteronomy 30:19
“I call heaven and earth to bear witness against you this day, that I have set before you LIFE and DEATH, blessings and cursing’s; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live…”
2 Esdras 7:129-131
“For this is the way of which Moses, while he was alive, spoke to the people, saying, ‘Choose for yourself life, that you may live!’ But they did not believe him, or the prophets after him, or even Myself who have spoken to them. Therefore there shall not be grief at their destruction, so much as joy over the life of those who did believe.”
CHAPTER 3 (Immersion)
And I said to him, “I should like to continue my questions.” “Speak on,” said he. And I said, “I heard, sir, some teachers maintain that there is no other repentance than that which takes place, when we descended into the water (immersion/baptism) and received remission of our former sins (sins before being immersed).” He said to me, “That was sound doctrine which you heard; for that is really the case. For he who has received remission of his sins ought not to sin any more, but to live in purity.
Firstly, the malcah of repentance confirms that immersion is a requirement just as YESHUA said in John 3 and as we saw the disciples doing in the Book of Acts, this destroys the argument that some make saying that you don’t have to be physically immersed in water.
Romans 6:1-6
“What will we then say? Will we continue IN SIN that favor may increase? Far be it: for if we are persons that have DIED TO SIN, how can we again live in it? Or do you not know that we who are immersed into YESHUA the Messiah are immersed into HIS DEATH? For we are BURIED WITH HIM IN IMMERSION to death; that as YESHUA the Messiah arose from the dead into the esteem of His Father, so also we, to walk in NEW LIFE. For if we have been planted together with Him into the LIKENESS OF HIS DEATH, so will we be also into His resurrection. For we know that our old man is PUT ON THE EXECUTION STAKE WITH HIM; that the body of sin might be abolished and we be NO MORE SERVANTS OF SIN…”
You are supposed to die to old self and your sinning ways and be spiritually reborn after immersion and the leading of the RUACH HA’KODESH, so this matches what the malach of repentance said is that you are to sin no more and live in purity.
John 5:14
“After some time, YESHUA found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold you are whole again. DO NOT SIN or else something that is worse than before should happen to you.”
John 8:11 (Hebrew)
“So she, she answered, “Master, here no stone was thrown after me.” Then YESHUA said to her, “Neither will I punish you; GO AND STOP SINNING—FROM NOW AND ONWARD.”
What is sin?
1 John 3:4 (Complete Jewish scriptures)
“Everyone who keeps sinning is VIOLATING TORAH—indeed, sin is VIOLATION OF TORAH.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: Since, however, you inquire diligently into all things, I will point this also out to you, not as giving occasion for error to those who are to believe, or have lately believed, in YAHWEH. For those who have now believed (already believe), and those who are to believe (those who will believe), have not repentance for their sins; but they have remission of their previous sins (once immersed). For to those who have been called before these days, YAHWEH has set repentance. For YAHWEH, knowing the heart, and foreknowing all things, knew the weakness of men and the manifold wiles of the devil, that he would inflict some evil on the servants of ELOHIM, and would act wickedly towards them. YAHWEH, therefore, being merciful, has had mercy on the work of His hand, and has set repentance for them; and He has entrusted to me power over this repentance. And therefore I say to you, that if any one is tempted by the devil, and sins after that great and kodesh (set-apart) calling in which YAHWEH has called His people to everlasting life, he has opportunity to repent but once. But if he should sin FREQUENTLY after this, and then repent, to such a man his repentance will be of no avail; for with difficulty will he live.”
This verse completely destroys Christianity where it’s believed that YAHWEH sees YESHUA in everything that we do; therefore, they can live however they want and repent for it later and never lose salvation. There is a difference between unintentional sin and willful sinning/practicing sin. I’ll give you an example, if you were reading scripture and had no clue that pork was unclean, it is still a sin, but it’s unintentional because you did not know better, but once you know the truth and disregard it and keep eating the pork that is willful sin. Or you are fornicator and you repent because you know that it is wrong, but then you go out and do it again a few days later, this is willful sin.
1 John 3:4 (Aramaic)
“And everyone that PRACTICES SIN, perpetrates iniquity (lawlessness) for all sin is iniquity.”
Hebrews 10:26-31
“For if a man sin VOLUNTARILY after he has received a KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH, there is no longer a sacrifice which may be offered for sins: but the fearful judgement impends, and the zeal of fire that consumes the adversaries. For if he who transgressed the Torah of Moses, died without mercies at the mouth of two or three witnesses; how much more, do you think, will he receive CAPITAL PUNISHMENT who has trodden upon the Son of ELOHIM (The Living Torah) and has accounted the blood of His covenant by which He is set apart, as the blood of all men and has treated the Spirit of favor in an insulting manner? For we know Him who has said, retribution is mine I will repay: and again, Master YAHWEH will judge His people. It is very terrible to fall into the hands of the living ELOHIM.”
Testament of Judah 19:3-4
“For the sake of money I lost my children, and had not my repentance and my humiliation and the prayers of my dad been accepted, I would have died childless. But the ELOHIM of my ancestors had kindness on me, BECAUSE I DID IT IN IGNORANCE. And the prince of deceit blinded me, and I sinned as a man and as flesh, being corrupted through sins; and I learned my own weakness while thinking myself to be invincible.”
Judah said the prince of deceit (Satan) blinded him and he acted out of ignorance, this matches what the malach of repentance said “. For YAHWEH, knowing the heart, and foreknowing all things, knew the weakness of men and the manifold wiles of the devil, that he would inflict some evil on the servants of ELOHIM, and would act wickedly towards them. YAHWEH, therefore, being merciful, has had mercy on the work of His hand, and has set repentance for them; and He has entrusted to me power over this repentance.”
Jubilees 41:23-24
“And Judah acknowledged the deed which he had done was evil, for he had lain with his daughter-in-law, and he considered it HATEFUL in His eyes, and he acknowledged that he had transgressed and gone astray, for he had uncovered the skirt of his son. And he began to LAMENT AND TO PETITION before YAHWEH because of his transgression.” And we told him in a dream that it was forgiven him because he petitioned earnestly, and lamented, AND DID NOT DO IT AGAIN.” No more WILLFULL sinning!
1 John 2:1
“My children, these things I write to you that you DO NOT SIN. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, YESHUA the Messiah, the righteous.”
Proverbs 24:16
“For a righteous man falls seven times and rises up again; but the wicked shall fall into mischief.”
Shepherd of Hermas continued: And I said, “Sir, I feel that life has come back to me in listening attentively to these commandments; for I know that I shall be saved, if in the future I sin no more.” And he said, “You will be saved, you and all who keep these commandments.”
My brothers and sisters be born again through immersion/baptism and die to your old self and then walk in the newness of life and stop sinning! In doing so, we die to self in this world and to gain it in the world to come.
As always may our Father YAHWEH bless you in YESHUA’s Name!