A Note from John Conrad

Bearing False Witness

​Among the ten commandments, "you shall not bear false witness" is often quoted. In the Bible no conflict could be decided on the testimony of one witness, it required at least two. Also, if it were determined that two of you got together to lie about someone else the penalty you sought for them was brought down on your head.
It is important to realize that a witness has to have seen the event. It can't be hearsay, it can't be something someone told you. When John sees the prophetic bride of the Messiah, the New Jerusalem, it is built in a perfect cube resembling the Most Holy Place and has 12 foundations and 12 gates. The 12 gates are each made of a single pearl and have the names of the 12 tribes of Israel inscribed on them. The 12 foundation stones are 12 different types of stones and have the names of the 12 apostles written on them. Each stone is unique but each furnishes essential strength to the foundation of the city.
Remember even the apostle Paul was not part of this foundation. No discredit to him but to be part of the foundation, one had to be chosen and have the qualification of being a witness of Yeshua's (Jesus) ministry from his baptism to his resurrection. Just hearing about it wasn't enough to make you a witness. John stresses this in 1 John 1:1 "...what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life--"
We do tremendous disservice to our King and to each other when we pass on information based upon hearsay and gossip. Just this past week I read a quote from a Brazilian politician asserting the ancient blood libel against Jews. How can someone believe something that has been shown to be false thousands of times? By living in echo chambers and believing whatever appeals to our biases without taking the time to really ascertain its truth. This absolutely insane accusation is responsible for hundreds of thousands of Jews losing their lives over the past centuries.
Bearing false witness against people and institutions you don't like is just as sinful as bearing false witness against your friends and the groups you do like. If you don't know the truth of an accusation best to just let it die with you. I find myself wanting to comment on hundreds of FB memes and quotes but I don't realizing I would just generate more heat than light. Some of the most wicked and evil plots have been successful because people were primed by repeated slander and falsehood until they acted out of "righteous" wrath and committed unbelievable infamy because they couldn't be bothered to "love the truth."
Think about the foundation of the New Jerusalem and see if we can't make that our pattern.