That is why the Nazarite assembly does not subscribe to the teaching that we no longer live under the law because it opposes Yeshua’s words which say: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
The Nazarite teaching accepts our cultural practices, but those cultural practices must not contradict Yahuah’s Law.
REJOICE, REJOICE
Isihlabelelo 208.
1.Thabani, thabani
Bufikile ubuNazaretha
Thabani, thabani,
Izizwe zosinda
Ebezihlakazekile
Zizula emahlane
Ngezwi lakhe.
2.Thabani, thabani
Bufikile ubuNazaretha
Thabani, thabani,
Izizwe zosinda
Buphelile ubumnyama
Jabulani nithokoze
Zizwe nonke.
3.Izizwe ezibningi
Eziphansi kwezulu
Sizibona zihlakazekile
Zihlabelela zijabhile.
4.Thuthuka, thuthuka
Thuthuka buNazaretha
Thuthuka, thuthuka
Izizwe zomile
Zifuna ukuphuza kuwe
Zikholwe zichichime
Ngezwi lakho.
HYMN 208.
1. Rejoice, rejoice
The Nazarite faith has come
Rejoice, rejoice
Nations will survive,
Which were scattered,
Wandering in the wildernesses,
Through Your Word
2. Rejoice, rejoice
The Nazarite faith has come
Rejoice, rejoice
Nations will survive
The darkness has ended
Be delightful and glad
All you nations.
3. We see many nations
Under the heavens
Being scattered
And sorrowfully singing.
4. Develop, develop,
Develop O Nazarite faith
Develop, develop,
Nations are thirsty
They want to drink from you
And be completely satisfied
Through Your Word.
THE NAZARITE FAITH IS NOT IN HARMONY WITH A RELIGION THAT OPPOSES YAHUAH’S LAW.
UBUNAZARETHA ABUHAMBISANI NENKOLO EPHIKISANA NOMTHETHO KAJEHOVA.
1.The phrase ‘Nazarite Faith’ refers to the character of the Nazarite Assembly as it is mentioned in Acts 24:5 where it is said that Apostle Sha’ul was the ringleader of the Nazarite sect.
2.There is fierce scholarly argument around the origin of the word ‘Nazarites’ or ‘Nazarenes’, but I am not concerned with that debate in the context of this particular sermon.
3.Shembe wrote the Nazarite Testament known as THE HYMNS OF THE AMANARETHA. From verse 3 to verse 4 of the Shabbat Liturgical Prayer, which reads thus: “Fear Yahuah, O generations upon generations and observe His laws which He, Yahuah, wrote through His servant Moshe, so that your worship may be acceptable to the Lord of host
4. Because if you do not worship Him through His laws, He will not accept your prayers. He will never bestow his blessings upon you if you do not obey His ordinances and keep them.”
5.Like all the prophets of Aluah, Shembe came to our midst with Yahuah’s message that is contained in the book he wrote, the very same book mentioned here.
6.As we have said, this book is the third Testament to the AmaNazaretha because it contains messages and teachings of the Holy Spirit that Yeshua promised us in Johan 16:7.
7.As per Yeshua’s statement, all the teachings of the Holy Spirit glorify Yeshua by reiterating the laws of Aluah as Yeshua stated in John 16:14-15.
8.In the prayer that I have just read, Shembe succinctly states that the Nazarite Faith is founded upon Yahuah’s Law that He brought down here on earth through His Servant Moshe – which means the first five books of the Old Testament.
9.Secondly, Shembe clearly states that a Nazarite’s piety or worship must in harmony with the keeping of Yahuah’s laws because if they do not do that Yahuah will neither endow them with blessings nor accept their prayers.
10.Shembe’s teaching reinforces Yeshua’s teaching that is found in Matthew 5:17-19, ….which says: “Think not that I came to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not to destroy, but to fulfil.
11 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
12. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” – King James Version
13.Then, when Shembe teaches about the Nazarite Faith, he complied with verse 19 of Matthew 5 which says: ‘but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.’
14.When Shembe came, he observed and taught about Yahuah’s laws. Beside the fact that Yahuah’s laws are the foundation of the Nazarite Faith, likewise, Yeshua’s teachings, too, which constitute Yahuah’s Law, are the foundation of the Nazarite Faith.
16.That is why the Nazarite assembly does not subscribe to the teaching that we no longer live under the law because it opposes Yeshua’s words which say: “Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.”
17.The Nazarite teaching accepts our cultural practices, but those cultural practices must not contradict Yahuah’s Law.
18.It should be clear that the Nazarite Faith is not founded upon cultural practices, but it is founded upon Yahuah’s Law just as it was brought down on earth through His Servant Moshe
19.This means that the Nazarite Faith originates from and is founded upon Yahuah’s faith system as it came down upon Mount Sinai!
20.One day when the prophet explained the essence of his commission among the Zulu nation, he said: “My children, before Shembe arrived in this land, the spirits of your grandfathers and forebears dwelled upon their bones just like snakes, dwelling in the graves. Whenever they came out of the graves they would reside in cattle folds; that is why they were referred to as ‘the ones from down below.’
21. But Yahuah sent Shembe to take your ancestral spirits out of the graves and cattle folds and take them to heaven where they could reside with the Saints.”
22.Shembe proceeds thus: “It was your forebears that I heard singing in the firmament, saying: ‘Get out of the way so that we may worship Yahuah; we were excluded, but today the gates have been opened.’ Your fathers were celebrating, thanking Yahuah for removing them from the graves and cattle folds.”
23.Shembe came in our midst among us so that he takes us out of the ancestral religion, introducing us to Yahuah’s faith system which came down here among the nation of Yisra’el.
24.Within this faith system Yahua sent a prophet of our own nation as it is written in Deuteronomy 18:18: “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him.” ##Shembe was sent to utter Yahuah’s words among us.
25.The Nazarite Faith is not a Zulu traditional religion, but it is Yahuah’s faith system! It is the same faith system that was brought down among Yisra’el through Moshe, the same faith system that Yeshua propagated; today, it has been brought down through Shembe.
26.There is a huge difference between the Zulu traditional religion and the Nazarite faith system. Zulu traditional religion is founded upon the voice of the people, whereas the Nazarite faith system is based squarely on the voice of heaven.
27.Shembe derived all the fundamental principles of this assembly from Aluah, not just some people’s opinions.
28.During contemporary era, Aluah has sent the angel to rectify the Nazarite faith system; such a phenomenon had never happened on earth.
29.It has never happened that an angel would just descend from heaven and stay with mortal beings and hold the bull by the horns by rectifying Yahuah’s divine message!
30.What is advantageous about the angel is that she is no longer just pronouncing on the Nazarite Faith that arrived among the Zulus, but she is talking about the Nazarite Faith that is meant for all world nations since she subscribes to no particular national identity given that she comes from the heavenly realm.
31.It is crucial to clarify that if we cannot distinguish between the Zulu traditional religion and the Nazarite Faith, our piety will always be characterised by perpetual errors.
32.The greatest goal of piety is that when we die we should go to heaven and become acceptable to Yahuah because we followed His Way while we were still on earth.
33.Zulu traditional religion teaches nothing about heaven, sin and judgement, but it teaches that when a human being dies their soul goes down to those who dwell in the underworld until they are brought back home so that they may be an ancestral spirit.
34.They then control the homestead and their commands should be obeyed even though they are no longer in the material mode of existence. But Shembe’s teaching says: when a Nazarite dies, his soul goes into the heavenly holy city.
35.In Hymn 10, Shembe says: This Nazarite city outshines the sun and the moon; it has one Supreme Ruler and His name is Yahuah.
36.In Hymn 179 Shembe says no sin enters there, not a single sin; only the saints reside there.
37.Shembe taught us that when a pious person’s soul leaves the body it is met by an angel that is a heavenly messenger and the director of our souls’ journeys.
38.In Hymn 235 he even says: “Send your Directing Angel to light up my path, let all sins disappear and may my soul be set free. Let me not fear when I reach my home, my Lord. Let me enter hastily; Satan has been subjugated.”
39.It is obvious that Zulu traditional religion and the Nazarite Faith have conflicting teachings. If we try to amalgamate them, we will end up with a doctrinal crisis.
41.Your greatest next of kin in piety is not your family member, but it is somebody that you resonate with in terms of devoutness because you will live together where you are going.
42.There is a prevalence of numerous arguments about ancestral spirits – their presence or absence.
43.An ancestral spirit exists because it is a spirit of a deceased being. But this term ‘ancestor’ is applicable to descriptions of forms in which this spirit manifests itself and ways in which it operates among the living people.
44.The Angel, Hlaleleni, explained in broad terms about ancestral spirits and how they operate. This divine being said: “The ancestral spirit existed before any faith system arrived, and it was effective.
45.Spirits of deceased people would return to their homesteads and guard their respective families. Family challenges were reported to ancestral spirits; even when there was a sickness, people would report this to them, and they could heal the people with Aluah’s power.”
46.The angel said, that was not a sin because that was a living mode that Aluah had granted them.
47.When Christianity arrived, these families did not fully embrace this religion because it had been brought by whites who were their enemies.
48.But many families accepted Shembe because they appreciated the fact that it was a faith system that had been brought here by the man of their nation.
49.That is why old men were heard singing, saying: “Get out of the way so that we may worship Yahuah; we were excluded, but today the gates have been opened.”
50.This divine being then said, Shembe’s gospel which he preached throughout Zululand, including to the chiefs, did not just reach the living, but it was also heard among the dead.
51.All Zulu men who had maintained their holy living according to their culture, while they were still alive, were significantly moved by this gospel right in their graves.
52.It was preached to the dead just as Yeshua preached to those who perished during Noah’s time, according to Peter 3:18-20.
53.That is why we hear Shembe singing in Hymn 159, saying: “Today that eternal voice has been heard. The graves of the saints; sing with joy, the joy of the Saviour of the saints has been heard.
54.The gates of that city are opened for the saints. The foundations of that city sing with joy. Rejoice you the redeemed ones for entering that city.
55.Here are the holy messengers. Hearken, you are being called by the Voice of the Eternal One. You who are sleepingon earth, applaud you O heirs for the entry of the saints.
56.The Eternal One rejoiced when the graves were opened. The gate-opening trumpet was heard. Rejoice you the redeemed ones for entering that city.”
57.The angel said: “When our dead ancestors accepted piety, their spirits left their graves and joined the saints; they, too, entered the holy city.
58.Their homesteads then remained on earth worshipping Yahuah because Shembe did not hide the fact that he had been sent by Yahuah to bring His assembly back to Him!
59.Regarding all homesteads that had accepted the Nazarite Faith, Shembe recommended that they be surrounded with white-painted stones and that the text: ‘GLORIFY YAHUAH’ be written on doors.
60.This text signified that this homestead was now governed by Yahuah’s Law, that it would no longer be governed by ancestral spirits, but it would be guarded by angels. And it would no longer be governed by laws of the ancestors because they had been liberated and had joined the saints.
61.The angel then said Shembe clearly stated that a Nazarite takes a vow which is in verse 11 of the Shabbat Liturgical Prayer which says: ‘Remember then, that today you made a vow with Yahuah your God, that you will stay in Yahuah’s house until the end of your days.’
62.True ancestral spirits no longer exist in their homesteads; they have handed their homesteads over to be governed by Yahuah. That is why one can see their dead ancestors appearing to them, ordering them to join the Nazarite assembly.
63.But since there are Nazarite assemblies that now worship ancestral spirits, even an evil spirit can send one to go and join a certain Nazarite assembly, understanding that if they join that particular assembly, they will always feed them with unholy sacrifices.
64.The spirits that you refer to as your dead ancestors are, in fact, evil spirits which pretend to be your ancestors so that they may fool you.
65.These spirits are admitted by us. If you are a pious person but you then go and consult the mediums, you would have authorised them to govern your homestead.
66.The Holy Spirit does not dwell with these spirits. If they enter your homestead, the Holy Spirit leaves you instantly!
67.The angel says: ‘Even if you happen to slaughter a beast in your homestead, do not wear a skin bangle and do not build a hut that is dedicated to ancestral spirits in your homestead’.
68.This divine being said: ‘Since we have thugs that go around robbing the people in various ways here on earth, with others even sending SMS”s that refer to big sums of money that you are supposed to have won while they, in fact, are the ones that are trying to extract from you; such thugs continue with the same criminal act even in their spiritual mode of existence.
69.These spirits are able to identify you among throngs of people on account of your skin bangles on your wrist; then, this spirit will realise that there is abundant food supply here and they will accept whatever these spirits will say because they believe in us.
70.These spirits will then follow you until they reach your homestead. They get to figure out your beliefs the moment they see your skin bangle or a beehive hut in your homestead’.
71.The angel says these spirits are very smart; they then decipher everything about you, they get to know your grandfather, determine your relationship with neighbour and also figure out which faith healer or medium you consult.
72.In order to completely annihilate you, they go to your neighbour in a dream or vision and shapeshift into your grandfather’s or your father’s likeness; then, this spiritual entity introduces themselves as your grandfather or your father; they even take on their appearance; then, it tells them what is troubling them and what can overcome such suffering.
73.Should you accept that message about your fake ancestors, you will then suffer for the rest of your life since you will be slaughtering beasts with a view to addressing your suffering, but you will be slaughtering for these spiritual entities.
74.You will be told that you are suffering because you were born with a natal membrane that signifies luck, but it was stolen by nurses. ‘No, your parents died before doing the matrimonial gift ceremony; do it on their behalf.
75.No, your problem emanates from your surname; change your surname. No, you gave birth to a clot, and now it is a fully grown maiden; host a coming- of-age ceremony in her honour. No, there is a brother of yours who died before getting married, and he wants a wife; get married on his behalf.
76.No, there is your grandfather who is at the gate, and he wants to be admitted; admit him. No, your family has never been admitted in the homestead; admit it so that everything will be good.
77.After admitting it, the situation will even be worse than before; people will die and some will lose jobs. You will work for these spirits for the rest of your life until you eventually lose your faith and even wish to commit suicide!
78.These spirits are busy indulging in food supplies here; you will end up approaching loan sharks so that you can look for goats with which you can feed these spirits, but they will reward you with nothing despite all your sacrifices.
79.The angel then said: “Right now there are no ancestors that are dwelling in your homesteads, but what we are keeping in our homes are evil spirits that are pretending to be ancestors, but they have been admitted by us in our homes.
80.Ancestral spirits that dwell in homes with a view to guarding them disappeared when the faith system arrived here; Yahuah then placed them in a favourable place because they had committed no sin. All what we regard as ancestors are, in fact, evil spirits which will eventually destroy us and even detach us from Aluah.
81.The angel says we must chant this slogan to the people: AWAY WITH SKIN BANGLES, AWAY!! AWAY WITH ANCESTORS’ HUTS, AWAY!! AWAY WITH EVIL SPIRITS WHICH PRETEND TO BE OUR ANCESTORS, AWAY!
May the Lord bless His Word. Amein.