Pharisees and Scribes: The birth of modern-day 'legalism'

Published on October 4, 2025 at 8:57β€―PM

The Historical Origin: The Leadership Gap and Twisted Authority

The Pharisees and the Scribes were two distinct yet often interconnected groups in ancient Yashar'al during the Second Temple period, each with a unique role in guiding the people in the ways of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH). They arose specifically because there were no kings or prophets to lead the people, leaving a divine gap that required teachers and interpreters of the Torah to maintain covenant loyalty. It was in this environment that false teaching and flesh-led interpretations, views, rules, and philosophical perspectives took root among the people.

The Pharisee: Regulator and Enforcer of Tradition

The Pharisees were a religious-political sect devoted to enforcing both the written Torah and the oral traditions passed down by the elders. They acted as moral and divine guides, influencing communities by teaching about purity, Sabbath observance, tithing, and obedience to the covenant of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH). Their authority came from the people’s respect for their interpretation of the law and their strict adherence to tradition, which they believed preserved the covenant with 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH). This legalistic mindset led to philosophical distortions; for example, their adherence to the Korban Vow (a human tradition) allowed them to assume the evading of the commandment to honor their parents, prioritizing legalistic loopholes over fundamental covenant principles (MatithYAHU (Matthew) 15:3–6 and Marqus (Mark) 7:10–13).

The Scribe: Technical Amplifier of Legalism

The Scribes, on the other hand, were professional scholars, teachers, and copyists of the Torah. They were responsible for preserving, interpreting, and instructing the people in the sacred texts and often served as legal experts and advisors to ensure the law was applied correctly. Many Pharisees were also Scribes, since deep knowledge of the Torah was essential to lead the people effectively, but not all Scribes were Pharisees; some served other distinct religious-political factions of Yashar'al—formalized subgroups (like the Sadducees or Essenes) that differentiated themselves through specific interpretations, doctrines, and rules—or operated independently. Over time, some Scribes became instrumental in perpetuating false interpretations and legalistic rules, using their knowledge of scripture to control and manipulate rather than to guide in truth. They became, effectively, the technical enforcers and amplifiers of the Pharisees’ distorted teachings.

The Evidence of Hypocrisy: 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏's (Yahusha) Rebuke

Together, the Pharisees and Scribes embedded themselves in the communal life of Yashar'al, turning leadership into a system of control rather than heart-led obedience. The accounts of the Elect (falsely called the “gospels”) reveal their hypocrisy and legalism, as Yahusha repeatedly rebuked their prioritization of human tradition over the will of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH). For example, 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏 (Yahusha) rebuked them for meticulously tithing minor herbs like mint and dill, while entirely neglecting the "weightier matters" of the Torah: justice, mercy, and belief. This practice directly proved their error in prioritizing outward, visible compliance over internal, genuine righteousness (MatithYAHU (Matthew) 23:23–24). This historical pattern makes plain why they became the orchestrators, liars and alterers of the truth, leading people astray while masked in the guise of authority.

Prime Example: The Deception of the Forehead Piece (Phylactery)

The rise of the phylactery serves as the prime, physical example of how the Pharisees twisted the scripturally divine command into flesh-led ritual:

The Origin and Corruption of the Command

When 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) spoke through Moshah in Dabarim (Deuteronomy) 6:6–8, He commanded Yashar’al to keep His Word always in their heart, to speak of it continually, and to have it as “frontlets between the eyes” and a “sign upon the hand.” This was never a call to create physical boxes—it was an inner picture: the hand representing deeds and the forehead representing thoughts. 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) was saying that His Torah must guide both action and meditation, not be reduced to ritual objects.

No trace of such an object exists in the Torah, the Prophets, or the early Writings. 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏 (Yahusha) Himself bore witness to this corruption in MatithYAHU (Matthew) 23:5: “They make broad their phylacteries and enlarge the fringes of their garments.”

The Deception Then: External Performance vs. Inward Truth

The deception was subtle but deadly. Instead of allowing the Torah to dwell in the heart, the Pharisees externalized it into ritual objects. Instead of meditating on the Word day and night, they strapped boxes of parchment to their flesh. This created a performance of pride, substituting outward compliance for the inward truth of heart-led obedience:

1. The Subtle Deception: Externalization

The danger lay not in outright rebellion, but in substitution. 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) commanded two things to govern Yashar'al:

  • Heart and Mind: The Word must dwell within you (the heart being the seat of motivation and the mind being the seat of thought/meditation). This requires inner work, transformation, and honest self-assessment.

  • Deeds and Intent: The symbols of the "frontlets between the eyes" (thoughts/forehead) and the "sign upon the hand" (deeds/action) were meant to be inner realities—that every thought and action must be guided by the Torah.

The Pharisees took this divine, internal command and externalized it into a useless, physical object: the phylactery. They replaced the ongoing, difficult work of transformation with a manageable ritual. They strapped on the box (the physical representation of the Word) while leaving their heart and mind untouched by the truth inside.

2. The Deadly Result: Pride and Performance

By making obedience visible, the deception became deadly to the soul.

  • Performance: The phylactery became a prop in a religious performance. The Pharisees deliberately made them "broad" (MatithYAHU (Matthew) 23:5) so others would notice their supposed devotion. Their goal shifted from pleasing 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) in secret to gaining human respect in public.

  • Pride: This performance led directly to inner pride. They judged others who did not follow their ritual rules, believing their external compliance proved their superiority, while simultaneously using legalistic loopholes (like the Korban vow) to avoid genuine righteousness (justice and mercy).

  • Substitution: In the end, the ritual object substituted the Breath of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH). The box strapped to the flesh became their security, making them feel righteous without ever yielding their heart to the true standard of love and loyalty. This substitution is what 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏 (Yahusha) exposed as the core fraud of their system.

The True Path: Heart-Led Obedience and Divine Authority

This divine contrast exposed the true nature of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄's (YaHU’aH) covenant requirement: heart-led obedience. This principle is anchored in the Great Commandment, which demands the complete love of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) and the selfless love of one's neighbor. True righteousness, as revealed by 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏 (Yahusha), is not found in the external performance of rituals alone—but in the internal purity of motive, thought, and intent. And it is when we are aligned internally to this truth that we express such outwardly in contextual obedience to His written will. The focus shifts from regulating outward action to transforming the inner man, emphasizing devotion (the heart) over mere regulation (the flesh). The greatest proof against the Pharisees and Scribes lies in the nature of legitimate divine authority. Their groups emerged from a lack of prophetic direction, yet they sought to replace that divine guidance with human structures.

The truth, however, is that the ultimate guide for the people is not human tradition (Pharisees) or formalized law-keeping (Scribes), but the indwelling presence of the Breath of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH)—leading to heart that loves His laws externally. This divine power is the only source that can write the covenant upon the heart and grant the internal transformation required for authentic devotion, thereby resolving false the leadership gap with true, non-flesh-led instructors.

The Modern Continuation: Imposture and Weaponized 'Legalism'

Revelation 2:9 and 3:9 speak of those who claim to be of Yashar'al but are not, identifying them as a synagogue of Satan—impostors who imitate the lies of the original rebels. This breath is the direct continuation of the Pharisaic and scribal deception: elevating tradition and self-made authority over the living Word of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH).

The modern heirs of this system are frauds who wear the same outward symbols, impose the same man-made laws, and perpetuate the same rebellion under a false identity. The people who call themselves “Jews” today claim ownership of the phylactery tradition, teaching it as commanded from Mount Sinai. In reality, they are a mixed people who adopted Pharisaic traditions and built an entire religion—rabbinic Judaism—upon them. The boxes they strap to their foreheads are the same symbol of man’s pride, not obedience to 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH).

Furthermore, a profound deception pushed by modern-day Pharisees and Scribes (particularly within Christian structures) is the false teaching that equates covenant obedience with legalism. Churchianity conflates the Pharisees' error—the addition of human traditions to 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄’s (YaHU’aH) law—with the simple, loving keeping of the divine law itself. By labeling the eternal standard that constitutes the lifestyle of Shamayim on Earth as "legalism," they create a philosophical justification for neglecting the covenant. This deception effectively removes the need for genuine, heart-led righteousness, replacing devotion to 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄’s (YaHU’aH) standard with passive acceptance to man-made philosophies, thus perpetuating the exact same system of twisted interpretation condemned by 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀔𐀏 (Yahusha).

The Clear Choice

In essence, the Pharisees represent the movement and influence of those who seek to regulate Yashar'al through human tradition and power, while the Scribes represent the manipulation of the sacred Word to enforce these distortions. Their methods were distinct but complementary: one shaped the social and communal structure with rules, the other formalized and justified them through scripture. In modern times, the legacy of the Pharisees is seen in influential religious leaders and sectarian authorities who impose human traditions and philosophies as divine truth, while the Scribes are mirrored by scholars, theologians, or teachers who claim authority to interpret scripture but distort it, promoting legalism, false doctrines, and flesh-led obedience rather than authentic devotion to 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH).

The historical pattern is clear, and the modern "spiritual" fraud is exposed. The choice before every man and woman of Yashar'al and sojourners remains clear and unforgiving: Will we submit to the external structures and smooth words of those who twist the Word for control, or will we yield to the internal, transformative fire of the Breath of 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH)? The weight of true covenant rests not upon the rules we follow for outward appearance, but on the uncompromising devotion we harbor in secret. You must look past the doctrines of men and demand the truth that transforms the heart, for only the genuine righteousness forged by the Breath constitutes the true worship that 𐀉𐀄𐀅𐀄 (YaHU’aH) seeks.

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Comments

Johnny
12 hours ago

I often wondered what those objects were called that those 'jewish' imposter's were
showing off. Looked so pretentious.
Most High Bless you and your entire
Family,and everything that concerns you-Moving Mindset Ministries-!