Jeremiah 26:11 “And the priests and the prophets spoke to the princes and all the people, saying, “This man deserves to die! For he has prophesied against this city, as you have heard with your ears.””

The Hebrew word for “die” is Mavet H4194 – māveṯ, from the root word Mut H4191 – mûṯ, meaning perish, to die prematurely, state of death, death by violence. Death does not just mean physical in body, but more a spiritual death, which is the ultimate death. Yeshua says in John 4:23-24 that YHWH is Spirit, and should be worshipped in Spirit and Truth. The physical realm is a reflection of the spirit, and it is the teaching ground to learn about the spirit. That is why things like fasting, feasting, worshipping, and even things like circumcision, marriage, children, anything physical really represents the spirit.

The first time the word “die” or death is used, is by YHWH Himself! From the very first command given to Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” But here comes the twist.. ha-satan laughs at Eve and says.. you will surely not die! So what happened? Adam and Eve disobeyed, but they did not die.. not immediately at least. From Psalm 63 (click here to read more), we explained the meaning of body, soul and spirit, and the meaning of two births and two deaths.

In Genesis 4, we have the first murder – a killing – the first physical death. Cain kills his brother Abel. YHWH doesn’t kill Cain in return. But later in Torah, we see a lot of laws about the right to kill someone in return, for example Exodus 21:12 says, “He who strikes a man so that he dies shall surely be put to death.” Deuteronomy 21 explains how to handle murders that occur among the people, Deuteronomy 21:21 says to stone to death a rebellious son that refuses to repent. Other death penalties include cases of kidnapping, bestiality, adultery, homosexuality, false prophets, prostitution, rapes and even violating the Sabbath, and blasphemy. But here’s the thing, killing another human being goes against one of the ten commandments, Exodus 20:13 “You shall not murder“. Leviticus 24:17 also says, “If anyone takes the life of a human being, he must be put to death” – which creates a spiral where one has to commit murder, to kill another murderer, which also can lead to mass revenge killings. Where does one draw the line? After all, Yeshua teaches in Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.“

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Yeshua compares our hearts with murder, just being angry with your brother, which is the roadway to a point where people will kill. In John 8:4-7 a woman found guilty of adultery is brought to Yeshua, and the Pharisees ask Yeshua “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?”.. and Yeshua answers, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” At the end of the day, the Pharisees had so much hate in their heart, they ended up killing Yeshua, who was without sin. Even Yeshua who never sinned, did not condemn the woman to death. YHWH didn’t kill Adam and Eve either, despite their sin. YHWH did kill certain people, and He does command certain killings, but that judgement should end with YHWH alone, as in the end of the day, no one of us has the right to condemn and judge anyone to death, no matter what someone did. That person, who is rebellious and sinful, could always turn their lives around by the grace of someone allowing them to live in spite of their actions. At the end of the day, the first physical death awaits us all and each one will stand before YHWH to answer for their life’s actions, which will determine whether one receive the second death penalty, which is a spiritual death.