Yeshua's 77-Fold Forgiveness and Loving Enemies

And now Yeshua is going to take that arrogance of Lamech, and you're going to see what He says. And my friends, let me go ahead and set this up. Christian friends, this is your Savior. This is the Master. This is the Creator of the universe who came to explain the deeper revelations of the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. He is the living Torah, the Word made flesh. And He came to give a deeper understanding of these things. So, when He says what He's about to say, that does checkmate everybody that believes in Yeshua and the commandments, that checkmates our heart position with His heart position. And if it does not, then we're out of alignment. If we're not having the heart position that He has, who's the living Torah, the Word made flesh, the seed of David, the seed of Abraham, if we don't have that heart position, we have the wrong heart position as believers in Yeshua. So, the 77-fold vengeance that Lamech pronounced becomes the 77-fold forgiveness.

The primary scripture is Matthew 18:21-35 and also Genesis 4:4. Peter approaches Yeshua and asks how often he should forgive his brother when his brother sins against him. Peter suggests seven times. Yeshua responds in Matthew 18:22 with the expression "seventy times seven." This makes a deliberate connection to Lamech's declaration, a compelling interpretation, although Matthew does not explicitly name Lamech. So, the contrast is this, my friends. Genesis 4:24, 77-fold vengeance. Lamech magnifies retaliation and violence against those who injure him. In Matthew 18:22, the Savior of the world, the Master, the Creator, has said there's a 77-fold forgiveness, not vengeance, forgiveness. He says, and Yeshua teaches forgiveness without keeping a numerical limit is what that truly means. So, whenever He says "seventy times seven," He's saying this is unlimited. It's forgive, forgive, forgive, and forgive, just like He forgives me and you when we act like boneheads as well.

So again, there's a huge difference in the contrast of what Lamech said, and which, if I can be honest with you guys, there's too many of our brethren, both Jews and Christians, that are have the Lamech heart posture instead of the Yeshua heart posture. The Lamech heart posture is 77-fold vengeance, violence. Let's go get them. Let's get our revenge. We got them. Magnifies retaliation. However, Yeshua says this. Matthew basically means you keep forgiving on forward. So, consider the transformation. Lamech's response to being wounded is retaliation. Yeshua teaches His disciples to forgive those who persecute you and offend you. Lamech magnifies vengeance. Yeshua magnifies mercy and forgiveness. Lamech's words reflect the following human tendency to escalate conflict.

Yeshua teaches the character his followers are to demonstrate, and he commands us to do this. This does not mean that forgiveness eliminates accountability, justice, or the responsibility to protect innocent life. Rather, it means personal vengeance must not govern the believer's heart.

Consider the parable of the unforgiving servant, found in Matthew 18:23-35. Yeshua tells the story of a servant who receives extraordinary mercy from his master but refuses to extend mercy to another servant. The message is clear: those who have received forgiveness must extend that forgiveness. Just as I have been forgiven for much evil, I must forgive those who do evil to me and to my brethren, and not take up my sword to exact vengeance.

Yeshua would be against the heart posture of wanting to take up one's sword against enemies, a posture that Lamech exemplified. Jacob, in Genesis 49, would also be against such a heart posture, even if we have been wronged.

In my personal opinion, perfected love, as Yeshua describes in the scriptures, is not merely loving our family, friends, or fellow believers. Even hypocrites do that. Perfected love is when you love your enemy: love Hamas, love Hezbollah, love whoever you consider your enemy. We must try to love them as if they were our friends and family. That is perfected love, and it is what I am striving for.

I am not saying I have reached that point, but I am trying to get there. Who likes to see terrorists killing innocent people? My problem, and the Bible's problem, is with the civilians being killed and the innocent blood crying out from the ground. Most people should have a problem with this because the Bible has a problem with innocent bloodshed. Intentionally killing an innocent person is murder.

The whole world is justifying all this stuff going on, including many believers. This is not right, and it's why you are seeing chaos and no victories for anyone. Not Israel, not America, not the Islamists, not Iran, not Turkey – no one will achieve victory. Yeshua will achieve victory over all people. The only ones who will be saved are those who believe in him and follow his commandments.

Let's address the arrogance we see from all parties. People want to take America's side, Israel's side, Iran's side, or someone else's side. Instead, let's take God's side and consider what he says about violence and the heart posture he desires for all mankind. What about the great commission? What about loving our enemy and turning the other cheek? Why not follow that instead of governments that are doing bad things and acting like enemies?

Again, God is not giving anyone victories in the Middle East. In fact, the global economy and the inhabitants of the entire world are being judged because of what is happening in the Middle East. Claims of victory are laughable. Please look at the Middle East; there are no victories for anyone.

There will be people who have the advantage, and that will be the Islamists, until Yeshua comes to take care of business. He will use the Islamists, Iran, Turkey, and the beast kingdom. He will bring down the two witnesses and try to make everyone understand that he is coming with his vengeance. My vengeance is in my heart, but his is divine vengeance, as Isaiah 63 states. He is by himself; no one is with him. He alone can enact the divine justice we are discussing. He has used David, Joshua, Nebuchadnezzar, and Antiochus Epiphanes IV. He will use the Antichrist and all people to convey his point of divine judgment.

However, this does not give us the right to seek personal vengeance or to harbor hatred for people. We must not be pro-death. People claim to be pro-life, but they are not always. If you talk about killing Arab children, they are not pro-life; they are pro-death. If you are pro-life, you are pro-life for all of mankind, regardless of who they are. This means all people are equal, not just white, black, Mexican, Israeli, or Palestinian. We must understand that there is too much racism and anti-Semitism going on in the world, on all sides.

What is even more disgusting is that all those who claim to love God are associated with this violence, murder, and all these things. That is the real problem. Governments are governments, and they will be out of alignment until the second coming. All countries will be. But what is pathetic, in my opinion, is that people who say they love the God of Israel—whether they are Jewish or Christian—say, "Oh, I love God," and then want to kill all Muslims. No, you do not love God; you have murder in your heart. Similarly, if someone wants to kill all Jews or all Christians, that is not the right heart posture either. No one should want to kill anyone.

Too many people in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam want to weaponize their beliefs, and that will cause Armageddon. God is going to turn the Middle East and North Africa over to that because of what we are discussing. Violence is as hardcore as it was in the days of Noah, and the days of the Son of Man will be like the days of Noah. That is why you see no victories whatsoever for anyone.

Mankind itself, all of humanity, eight billion people, is out of alignment. That is why you are about to see him bring the gavel, just as he did with COVID-19. He will bring it again with famine. You have had war, you have had plague, and you will get more plagues and famine. God will have the last laugh with all this violence.

Yeshua tells the parable of a servant who receives extraordinary mercy from his master but refuses to extend mercy to another servant. The message is clear: those who have received forgiveness must extend forgiveness forward. The teaching principle is simple: the kingdom ethic taught by Yeshua stands in striking contrast to Lamech's seventy-sevenfold vengeance. Yeshua spoke of seventy-sevenfold forgiveness precisely because of what Lamech said. Lamech's heart posture was arrogant, prideful, and murderous. Yeshua wants us to have a forgiving and loving heart, a circumcised heart for all of mankind, whether they wrong us or not.