The Feast of Trumpets-The Birth of Messiah and Return of the King
On the 1st day of the 7th month (usually in our September), Yahweh commanded us to keep the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets (Shofars)is mentioned in the following verses:
Leviticus 23:24 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
The Trumpet/Shofar was also blown on the ARRIVAL OF A KING (which brought order out of chaos and justice to the oppressed), and it began the Year of Jubilee, in which debst were forgiven, property such as houses were return that had been repossessed/foreclosed (what was lost was restored) and captives were set free. Strongholds of the enemy such as Jericho collapsed, and the Holy Days began with the blowing of the Shofar, such as Tabernacles which celebrates the reign of Christ on Earth and His Earthly Ministry. At the 4th or last Trump of the Shofar, the Messiah will return to Rule and place those who keep His Commandments in positions of leadership over the earth (Matthew 5:17-19) and Revelations.
Here you can listen to the 4th Trump that Rabbi Sha'ul, the Apostle Paul spoke of. When you hear it one day, it will be the Archangel Michael signaling the Return of the Messiah who will do all of the things listed above for His people!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkThNw210is&feature=related
And again:
Numbers 29:1 - And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
As you can see, this day is to observed as a Sabbath day. It is a time of shouting, blowing trumpets and rejoicing. The Hebrew name for this day is "Yom Teruah" which literally means "Day of Alarm or Day of Sounding".
8643 teruw`ah {ter-oo-aw'} Meaning: 1) alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy
Now let's examine Numbers 10, which gives us some details on the trumpets used:
Numbers 10:1 - And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying, 2 - Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 - And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 - And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 - When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
The word "Teruah" is used in the above verse "blow/sound the Teruah". Blow the alarm.
Numbers 10:6 - When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7 - But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.. 8 - And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.. 9 - And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before YAHWEH your Elohim, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 - Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I am YAHWEH your Elohim.
Many believe that this feast is symbolic of Yahushua's return, or our own advancement toward the promised land (Yahweh's kingdom) at Yahushua's return. It is true that scripture says Yahushua will return at the 'last trump':
1Corinthians 15:51 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 - In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The "trumpet" is actually a Ram's horn called a Shofar. Except for the ones blown over the offering which were silver trumpets (btw, silver as dozens of medical uses, including water purification and being an anti-septic on the skin, which is why pitchers were also made of water).
The Shofar was used when Jericho fell, it was also blown to announce the Holy Days, arrival of the King, and to announce the Year of Jubilee meaning that slaves were released, debt was forgiven, foreclosed property was returned, and most people had a year off work! And they say the Law is a burden????
. Many believe that the Messiah was born on Sept. 11th, 3. B.C. which was the "Feast of Trumpets" that year. The Fall Holy Days tell us about the 2nd Coming as well, so be ready for the King to arrive for His Bride.
One day, when you hear a Shofar, it will be the Archangel Michael you will see something like THIS Happen. Which is why people love the Shofar. There are 4 distinct calls to the Shofar, the 4th one is the one we are waiting on.
1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Hebrews 12:19
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
Psalm 98:6
With trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the King, Jehovah.
Psalm 150:3
Praise him with trumpet sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp.
Isaiah 18:3
All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.
Isaiah 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come that were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship Jehovah in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:31
And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Corinthians 14:8
For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?
1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Hebrews 12:19
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
Revelation 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet
Revelation 4:1
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.Add a captionFeast of Trumpets
On the 1st day of the 7th month, Yahweh commanded us to keep the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets (Shofars)is mentioned in the following verses:
Leviticus 23:24 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
And again:
Numbers 29:1 - And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
As you can see, this day is to observed as a Sabbath day. It is a time of shouting, blowing trumpets and rejoicing. The Hebrew name for this day is "Yom Teruah" which literally means "Day of Alarm or Day of Sounding".
8643 teruw`ah {ter-oo-aw'} Meaning: 1) alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy
Now let's examine Numbers 10, which gives us some details on the trumpets used:
Numbers 10:1 - And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying, 2 - Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 - And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 - And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 - When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
The word "Teruah" is used in the above verse "blow/sound the Teruah". Blow the alarm.
Numbers 10:6 - When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7 - But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm.. 8 - And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations.. 9 - And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before YAHWEH your Elohim, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 - Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I am YAHWEH your Elohim.
Many believe that this feast is symbolic of Yahushua's return, or our own advancement toward the promised land (Yahweh's kingdom) at Yahushua's return. It is true that scripture says Yahushua will return at the 'last trump':
1Corinthians 15:51 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 - In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The "trumpet" is actually a Ram's horn called a Shofar. Except for the ones blown over the offering which were silver trumpets (btw, silver as dozens of medical uses, including water purification and being an anti-septic on the skin, which is why pitchers were also made of water).
The Shofar was used when Jericho fell, it was also blown to announce the Holy Days, arrival of the King, and to announce the Year of Jubilee meaning that slaves were released, debt was forgiven, foreclosed property was returned, and most people had a year off work! And they say the Law is a burden????
. Many believe that the Messiah was born on Sept. 11th, 3. B.C. which was the "Feast of Trumpets" that year. The Fall Holy Days tell us about the 2nd Coming as well, so be ready for the King to arrive for His Bride.
One day, when you hear a Shofar, it will be the Archangel Michael you will see something like THIS Happen. Which is why people love the Shofar. There are 4 distinct calls to the Shofar, the 4th one is the one we are waiting on.
1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first;
Hebrews 12:19
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
Psalm 98:6
With trumpets and sound of cornet Make a joyful noise before the King, Jehovah.
Psalm 150:3
Praise him with trumpet sound: Praise him with psaltery and harp.
Isaiah 18:3
All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see ye; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye.
Isaiah 27:13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great trumpet shall be blown; and they shall come that were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and they that were outcasts in the land of Egypt; and they shall worship Jehovah in the holy mountain at Jerusalem.
Matthew 24:31
And he shall send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
1 Corinthians 14:8
For if the trumpet give an uncertain voice, who shall prepare himself for war?
1 Corinthians 15:52
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Hebrews 12:19
and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them;
Revelation 1:10
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet
Revelation 4:1
After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, a voice as of a trumpet speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will show thee the things which must come to pass hereafter.
The Trumpet/Shofar was also blown on the ARRIVAL OF A KING (which brought order out of chaos and justice to the oppressed), and it began the Year of Jubilee, in which debst were forgiven, property such as houses were return that had been repossessed/foreclosed (what was lost was restored) and captives were set free. Strongholds of the enemy such as Jericho collapsed, and the Holy Days began with the blowing of the Shofar, such as Tabernacles which celebrates the reign of Christ on Earth and His Earthly Ministry.
Leviticus 23 commands us to celebrate the Feast of Trumpets and Paul/Rabbi Sha'ul says that on the LAST TRUMP (the 4th tone of the Shofar) the Messiah will Return to Rule! |
2nd Kings 17:32 Is This America too??
These new residents worshiped the Lord, but they also appointed from among themselves all sorts of people as priests to offer sacrifices at their places of worship. 33 And though they worshiped the Lord, they continued to follow their own gods according to the religious customs of the nations from which they came. 34 And this is still going on today. They continue to follow their former practices instead of truly worshiping the Lord and obeying the decrees, regulations, instructions, and commands He gave the descendants of Jacob, whose name he changed to Israel.
Halloween: Came to America from Ireland
Valentine's Day: Came to America from Italy
Mardi Gras: Came to America from France
X-mas Tree: Came to America from Germany
Santa Claus: Came to American from Holland
Fruitcake: Came to America from England
Mistletoe: Came to America from Norway
Santa's Elves: Came to America from Austria
Easter Eggs: Came to America from Eastern Europe/Russia
Sunday: Came to America from Papal Rome (Maryland Colony)
Yes, there are Americans from other nation, but they don't claim that their customs somehow honor Adonai.
Where did ALL of this ORIGINALLY come from? Babylon the Great, Mother of Harlots (mixed honoring of G-d and demons/paganism), truly the WHOLE WORLD wondered after Babylon the Great. Ever wonder why pagans and atheists don't mind celebrating Easter and December 25th and shops being closed on Sunday? But they won't have anything to do with the Sabbath and Holy Days.
When you read the whole chapter you see that G-d sent Lions to devour the people because of this. The King of Assyria who sent these people to Samaria saw that soon there would be none of them left so he sent Levites (True Priests and not ear ticklers) to the people so they would learn how to worship in Spirit and Truth and not be destroyed by the devourers.
Check out Deuteronomy 30, Leviticus 26, Isaiah 57,2 Kings 17, Matthew 23, Mark 7:6, 2nd Thessalonians, 2nd Peter 3:16, Revelations 3, 2nd Corinthians 6:14
Yes, there are other Americans. But they don't claim that their customs somehow honor Adonai.
What else did G-d say about all of this?
"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil: that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter" (Isaiah 5:20).
1Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
(Jeremiah 10:1-5)
25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
26Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
(Deuteronomy 7:25-26)
29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
(Deuteronomy 12:29-31)
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
(I Kings 18:21)
6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.
(Hosea 4:6)
20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
(1 Cor 10:20)
14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(2 Cor 6:14-18)
Here's the Scriptural references:
29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
(Deut. 12:29-31)
*Malachi 2:3
Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will take you away with it.
Isaiah 42:8
I am the LORD, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
Malachi 2:3
Behold, I will rebuke your descendants
And spread refuse on your faces,
The refuse of your solemn feasts;
And one will take you away with it.
Isaiah 42:8
I am the LORD, that is My name;
And My glory I will not give to another,
Nor My praise to carved images.
2nd Commandment
Exodus 20:4-6
4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image—any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; 5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6 but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3).
“Make no mention of the name of other gods (i.e., Easter?), neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” (Exodus 23:13)
Take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared to follow them, after they are destroyed from before you, and that you do not inquire after their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do likewise.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way; for every abomination to the LORD which He hates they have done to their gods..." (Deuteronomy 12:30, 31)
“For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?” (II Corinthians 6:14-16)
Behold Israel after the flesh: are not they which eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What say I then? that the idol is any thing, or that which is offered in sacrifice to idols is any thing? But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he? (I Corinthians 10:18-22)
“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24)
“Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).
“a good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17-18).
"Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile; For one cuts a tree from the forest, The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. They decorate it with silver and gold; They fasten it with nails and hammers So that it will not topple. They are upright, like a palm tree, And they cannot speak; They must be carried, Because they cannot go by themselves.” " (Jeremiah 10:2-4)
http://www.sightedmoon.com
http://www.doubleportioninheritance.com
This is the cover for this album, which records paganism in the Church. |
The Origin of Fruitcake
Like many x-mas traditions, fruitcake comes from pagan traditions. The first to use fruitcake in a religious way seems to be in Ancient Eygypt where fruitcakes were buried with the dead as a sort of powerbar for the afterlife. The Greeks later adopted this custom and said that the "gods" ate it, just as the dead were suppose to eat them in Egypt. The Druids later used it as part of their fertility cults, giving it to brides to ensure the fertility goddess impregnated her.
Often in the Bible, "Raisin cakes' which were the most common fruit in the area, were sometimes used as regular food, and sometimes used in the religious ceremonies of the Egyptians. These were offered to the Egyptians deities by the Israelites living there in exile.
Sources? The Bible, my History class on the Ancient Near East, and the food network special that just came on which Alton Brown discussed the origin of FruitCakes at X-mas. Particularly why they were put into x-mas stockings.
The fruitcakes are often red and green, the colors of Tammuz (yes, the same Tammuz in Ezekiel 8). The Holly often seen with it is a poison that was used to kill human sacrifices during Yule (in Druid lands) and Saturnalia (in Rome) when they offered the yearly sacrifice, usually a Jew. This according to the ancient Poet Lucian. |
The Roman X-mas On December 25th
http://www.simpletoremember.com/vitals/Christmas_TheRealStory.htm
The Real Story of Christmas
I. When was Jesus born?
A. Popular myth puts his birth on December 25th in the year 1 C.E.
B. The New Testament gives no date or year for Jesus’ birth. The earliest gospel – St. Mark’s, written about 65 CE – begins with the baptism of an adult Jesus. This suggests that the earliest Christians lacked interest in or knowledge of Jesus’ birthdate.
C. The year of Jesus birth was determined by Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian monk, “abbot of a Roman monastery. His calculation went as follows:
a. In the Roman, pre-Christian era, years were counted from ab urbe condita (“the founding of the City” [Rome]). Thus 1 AUC signifies the year Rome was founded, 5 AUC signifies the 5th year of Rome’s reign, etc.
b. Dionysius received a tradition that the Roman emperor Augustus reigned 43 years, and was followed by the emperor Tiberius.
c. Luke 3:1,23 indicates that when Jesus turned 30 years old, it was the 15th year of Tiberius reign.
d. If Jesus was 30 years old in Tiberius’ reign, then he lived 15 years under Augustus (placing Jesus birth in Augustus’ 28th year of reign).
e. Augustus took power in 727 AUC. Therefore, Dionysius put Jesus birth in 754 AUC.
f. However, Luke 1:5 places Jesus’ birth in the days of Herod, and Herod died in 750 AUC – four years before the year in which Dionysius places Jesus birth.
D. Joseph A. Fitzmyer – Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at the Catholic University of America, member of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, and former president of the Catholic Biblical Association – writing in the Catholic Church’s official commentary on the New Testament[1], writes about the date of Jesus’ birth, “Though the year [of Jesus birth is not reckoned with certainty, the birth did not occur in AD 1. The Christian era, supposed to have its starting point in the year of Jesus birth, is based on a miscalculation introduced ca. 533 by Dionysius Exiguus.”
E. The DePascha Computus, an anonymous document believed to have been written in North Africa around 243 CE, placed Jesus birth on March 28. Clement, a bishop of Alexandria (d. ca. 215 CE), thought Jesus was born on November 18. Based on historical records, Fitzmyer guesses that Jesus birth occurred on September 11, 3 BCE.
II. How Did Christmas Come to Be Celebrated on December 25?
A. Roman pagans first introduced the holiday of Saturnalia, a week long period of lawlessness celebrated between December 17-25. During this period, Roman courts were closed, and Roman law dictated that no one could be punished for damaging property or injuring people during the weeklong celebration. The festival began when Roman authorities chose “an enemy of the Roman people” to represent the “Lord of Misrule.” Each Roman community selected a victim whom they forced to indulge in food and other physical pleasures throughout the week. At the festival’s conclusion, December 25th, Roman authorities believed they were destroying the forces of darkness by brutally murdering this innocent man or woman.
B. The ancient Greek writer poet and historian Lucian (in his dialogue entitled Saturnalia) describes the festival’s observance in his time. In addition to human sacrifice, he mentions these customs: widespread intoxication; going from house to house while singing naked; rape and other sexual license; and consuming human-shaped biscuits (still produced in some English and most German bakeries during the Christmas season).
C. In the 4th century CE, Christianity imported the Saturnalia festival hoping to take the pagan masses in with it. Christian leaders succeeded in converting to Christianity large numbers of pagans by promising them that they could continue to celebrate the Saturnalia as Christians.[2]
D. The problem was that there was nothing intrinsically Christian about Saturnalia. To remedy this, these Christian leaders named Saturnalia’s concluding day, December 25th, to be Jesus’ birthday.
E. Christians had little success, however, refining the practices of Saturnalia. As Stephen Nissenbaum, professor history at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, writes, “In return for ensuring massive observance of the anniversary of the Savior’s birth by assigning it to this resonant date, the Church for its part tacitly agreed to allow the holiday to be celebrated more or less the way it had always been.” The earliest Christmas holidays were celebrated by drinking, sexual indulgence, singing naked in the streets (a precursor of modern caroling), etc.
F. The Reverend Increase Mather of Boston observed in 1687 that “the early Christians who first observed the Nativity on December 25 did not do so thinking that Christ was born in that Month, but because the Heathens’ Saturnalia was at that time kept in Rome, and they were willing to have those Pagan Holidays metamorphosed into Christian ones.”[3] Because of its known pagan origin, Christmas was banned by the Puritans and its observance was illegal in Massachusetts between 1659 and 1681.[4] However, Christmas was and still is celebrated by most Christians.
G. Some of the most depraved customs of the Saturnalia carnival were intentionally revived by the Catholic Church in 1466 when Pope Paul II, for the amusement of his Roman citizens, forced Jews to race naked through the streets of the city. An eyewitness account reports, “Before they were to run, the Jews were richly fed, so as to make the race more difficult for them and at the same time more amusing for spectators. They ran… amid Rome’s taunting shrieks and peals of laughter, while the Holy Father stood upon a richly ornamented balcony and laughed heartily.”[5]
H. As part of the Saturnalia carnival throughout the 18th and 19th centuries CE, rabbis of the ghetto in Rome were forced to wear clownish outfits and march through the city streets to the jeers of the crowd, pelted by a variety of missiles. When the Jewish community of Rome sent a petition in1836 to Pope Gregory XVI begging him to stop the annual Saturnalia abuse of the Jewish community, he responded, “It is not opportune to make any innovation.”[6] On December 25, 1881, Christian leaders whipped the Polish masses into Antisemitic frenzies that led to riots across the country. In Warsaw 12 Jews were brutally murdered, huge numbers maimed, and many Jewish women were raped. Two million rubles worth of property was destroyed.
III. The Origins of Christmas Customs
A. The Origin of Christmas Tree
Just as early Christians recruited Roman pagans by associating Christmas with the Saturnalia, so too worshippers of the Asheira cult and its offshoots were recruited by the Church sanctioning “Christmas Trees”.[7] Pagans had long worshipped trees in the forest, or brought them into their homes and decorated them, and this observance was adopted and painted with a Christian veneer by the Church.
B. The Origin of Mistletoe
Norse mythology recounts how the god Balder was killed using a mistletoe arrow by his rival god Hoder while fighting for the female Nanna. Druid rituals use mistletoe to poison their human sacrificial victim.[8] The Christian custom of “kissing under the mistletoe” is a later synthesis of the sexual license of Saturnalia with the Druidic sacrificial cult.[9]
C. The Origin of Christmas Presents
In pre-Christian Rome, the emperors compelled their most despised citizens to bring offerings and gifts during the Saturnalia (in December) and Kalends (in January). Later, this ritual expanded to include gift-giving among the general populace. The Catholic Church gave this custom a Christian flavor by re-rooting it in the supposed gift-giving of Saint Nicholas (see below).[10]
D. The Origin of Santa Claus
a. Nicholas was born in Parara, Turkey in 270 CE and later became Bishop of Myra. He died in 345 CE on December 6th. He was only named a saint in the 19th century.
b. Nicholas was among the most senior bishops who convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE and created the New Testament. The text they produced portrayed Jews as “the children of the devil”[11] who sentenced Jesus to death.
c. In 1087, a group of sailors who idolized Nicholas moved his bones from Turkey to a sanctuary in Bari, Italy. There Nicholas supplanted a female boon-giving deity called The Grandmother, or Pasqua Epiphania, who used to fill the children's stockings with her gifts. The Grandmother was ousted from her shrine at Bari, which became the center of the Nicholas cult. Members of this group gave each other gifts during a pageant they conducted annually on the anniversary of Nicholas’ death, December 6.
d. The Nicholas cult spread north until it was adopted by German and Celtic pagans. These groups worshipped a pantheon led by Woden –their chief god and the father of Thor, Balder, and Tiw. Woden had a long, white beard and rode a horse through the heavens one evening each Autumn. When Nicholas merged with Woden, he shed his Mediterranean appearance, grew a beard, mounted a flying horse, rescheduled his flight for December, and donned heavy winter clothing.
e. In a bid for pagan adherents in Northern Europe, the Catholic Church adopted the Nicholas cult and taught that he did (and they should) distribute gifts on December 25th instead of December 6th.
f. In 1809, the novelist Washington Irving (most famous his The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Rip Van Winkle) wrote a satire of Dutch culture entitled Knickerbocker History. The satire refers several times to the white bearded, flying-horse riding Saint Nicholas using his Dutch name, Santa Claus.
g. Dr. Clement Moore, a professor at Union Seminary, read Knickerbocker History, and in 1822 he published a poem based on the character Santa Claus: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hope that Saint Nicholas soon would be there…” Moore innovated by portraying a Santa with eight reindeer who descended through chimneys.
h. The Bavarian illustrator Thomas Nast almost completed the modern picture of Santa Claus. From 1862 through 1886, based on Moore’s poem, Nast drew more than 2,200 cartoon images of Santa for Harper’s Weekly. Before Nast, Saint Nicholas had been pictured as everything from a stern looking bishop to a gnome-like figure in a frock. Nast also gave Santa a home at the North Pole, his workshop filled with elves, and his list of the good and bad children of the world. All Santa was missing was his red outfit.
i. In 1931, the Coca Cola Corporation contracted the Swedish commercial artist Haddon Sundblom to create a coke-drinking Santa. Sundblom modeled his Santa on his friend Lou Prentice, chosen for his cheerful, chubby face. The corporation insisted that Santa’s fur-trimmed suit be bright, Coca Cola red. And Santa was born – a blend of Christian crusader, pagan god, and commercial idol.
IV. The Christmas Challenge
· Christmas has always been a holiday celebrated carelessly. For millennia, pagans, Christians, and even Jews have been swept away in the season’s festivities, and very few people ever pause to consider the celebration’s intrinsic meaning, history, or origins.
· Christmas celebrates the birth of the Christian god who came to rescue mankind from the “curse of the Torah.” It is a 24-hour declaration that Judaism is no longer valid.
· Christmas is a lie. There is no Christian church with a tradition that Jesus was really born on December 25th.
· December 25 is a day on which Jews have been shamed, tortured, and murdered.
· Many of the most popular Christmas customs – including Christmas trees, mistletoe, Christmas presents, and Santa Claus – are modern incarnations of the most depraved pagan rituals ever practiced on earth.
Many who are excitedly preparing for their Christmas celebrations would prefer not knowing about the holiday’s real significance. If they do know the history, they often object that their celebration has nothing to do with the holiday’s monstrous history and meaning. “We are just having fun.”
Imagine that between 1933-45, the Nazi regime celebrated Adolf Hitler’s birthday – April 20 – as a holiday. Imagine that they named the day, “Hitlerday,” and observed the day with feasting, drunkenness, gift-giving, and various pagan practices. Imagine that on that day, Jews were historically subject to perverse tortures and abuse, and that this continued for centuries.
Now, imagine that your great-great-great-grandchildren were about to celebrate Hitlerday. April 20th arrived. They had long forgotten about Auschwitz and Bergen Belsen. They had never heard of gas chambers or death marches. They had purchased champagne and caviar, and were about to begin the party, when someone reminded them of the day’s real history and their ancestors’ agony. Imagine that they initially objected, “We aren’t celebrating the Holocaust; we’re just having a little Hitlerday party.” If you could travel forward in time and meet them; if you could say a few words to them, what would you advise them to do on Hitlerday?
On December 25, 1941, Julius Streicher, one of the most vicious of Hitler’s assistants, celebrated Christmas by penning the following editorial in his rabidly Antisemitic newspaper, Der Stuermer:
If one really wants to put an end to the continued prospering of this curse from heaven that is the Jewish blood, there is only one way to do it: to eradicate this people, this Satan’s son, root and branch.
It was an appropriate thought for the day. This Christmas, how will we celebrate?
AUTHOR: LAWRENCE KELEMEN
Origins of "Gift Giving":
It was the Roman Custom during Saturnalia to requires a shameful confiscation of property by those considered to be "enemies of the State." This was done by making them appear in front of the temple of Saturn (Baal) and give their valuable to the Emperor or to the Pagan Priests, often times they were then treated like kings for a week, and then murdered in front of a crowd. The "Christians" took over with Constantine and started making Rabbi's dress up as clowns before killing them and raping local Jewish women in the public square in a similar fashion. They also started giving gifts to the poor.
The Babylonians had a custom of giving each other gifts on Birthdays (the highest holy day on modern satanic calendars) and on Babylonian New Year's, which fell in March. |
"Ho, Ho, Ho" What's that Mean??
"Ho, Ho, Ho" comes from a Roman Requirement that during Saturnalia citizens had to appear before the temple of Saturn (Baal) and yell, "Io,Io, Io, Saturn" 3 times. Basically, "Praise, Praise, Praise Saturn as god."
This festival lasted a little over a week and ended on December 25th with a human sacrifice, usually a Christian or a Jew. First the person would be wined and dined for a week, then at the end of it they were sacrificed to Saturn. They would also be given gifts each day until the end. During this week all standing laws were made null and void so people took the chance to commit murder and other acts normally illegal. This is where we get the "12 Days of X-mas." The victim was often poisoned with what we call "Mistletoe" or Hemlock. Interestingly enough, Rome was originally named "Saturnia" which is Latin for Baal. December 25th is also Baal's resurrection as an evergreen tree after 3 days in the grave. People decorated the tree to celebrate. The only part of him found was his penis, so this is what was buried that came back as a "Yule log". His grandfather Shem, son of Noach, had chopped him into pieces for building the Tower of Babel and founding Babylon of which Baal ruled as King Nimrod.
From: The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic, an Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans, W. Warde Fowler [1847 - 1921], Macmillan, 1899.
"There are several well-attested features of the Saturnalia as it was in historical times5. On Dec. 17 there was a public sacrifice at the temple (formerly the ara) of Saturn by the Forum6, followed by a public feast, in breaking up from which the feasters shouted 'Io ["hurrah", etc.] Saturnalia'7 [compare: "Merry Christmas!"]. During the sacrifice Senators and Equites wore the toga, but laid it aside for the convivium". [271].
In The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch, author Frank Ireson, describes the popular Miracle Play. Notice the description of the devil as "shaggy, hairy," etc. (as Santa), and notice the devil’s trademark "exclamation on entering was ho, ho, ho!":
Besides allegorical personages, there were two standing characters very prominent in Moral Plays—the Devil and Vice. The Devil was, no doubt, introduced from the Miracle Plays, where he had figured so amusingly; he was made as hideous as possible by his mask and dress, the latter being generally of a shaggy and hairy character, and he was duly provided with a tail: his ordinary exclamation on entering was, "Ho, ho, ho! what a felowe [sic] am I."(Ireson, Frank. "The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch." 1920 )
Siefker also collaborates the devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho."
In these plays, the devil’s common entry line, known as the "devil’s bluster," was "Ho! Ho! Hoh!"(Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)
The devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho" was carried over from the early medieval Miracle Plays to the popular old English play "Bomelio," as the following lines from the play verify:
What, and a' come? I conjure thee, foul spirit, down to hell! Ho, ho, ho! the devil, the devil! A-comes, a-comes, a-comes upon me,. . .
(Dodsley, Robert. A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI. The Project Gutenberg Ebook. [ Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/7oep610.txt>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] "Ho, Ho, Ho" What's that Mean??
"Ho, Ho, Ho" comes from a Roman Requirement that during Saturnalia citizens had to appear before the temple of Saturn (Baal) and yell, "Io,Io, Io, Saturn" 3 times. Basically, "Praise, Praise, Praise Saturn as god."
This festival lasted a little over a week and ended on December 25th with a human sacrifice, usually a Christian or a Jew. First the person would be wined and dined for a week, then at the end of it they were sacrificed to Saturn. They would also be given gifts each day until the end. During this week all standing laws were made null and void so people took the chance to commit murder and other acts normally illegal. This is where we get the "12 Days of X-mas." The victim was often poisoned with what we call "Mistletoe" or Hemlock. Interestingly enough, Rome was originally named "Saturnia" which is Latin for Baal. December 25th is also Baal's resurrection as an evergreen tree after 3 days in the grave. People decorated the tree to celebrate. The only part of him found was his penis, so this is what was buried that came back as a "Yule log". His grandfather Shem, son of Noach, had chopped him into pieces for building the Tower of Babel and founding Babylon of which Baal ruled as King Nimrod.
From: The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic, an Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans, W. Warde Fowler [1847 - 1921], Macmillan, 1899.
"There are several well-attested features of the Saturnalia as it was in historical times5. On Dec. 17 there was a public sacrifice at the temple (formerly the ara) of Saturn by the Forum6, followed by a public feast, in breaking up from which the feasters shouted 'Io ["hurrah", etc.] Saturnalia'7 [compare: "Merry Christmas!"]. During the sacrifice Senators and Equites wore the toga, but laid it aside for the convivium". [271].
In The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch, author Frank Ireson, describes the popular Miracle Play. Notice the description of the devil as "shaggy, hairy," etc. (as Santa), and notice the devil’s trademark "exclamation on entering was ho, ho, ho!":
Besides allegorical personages, there were two standing characters very prominent in Moral Plays—the Devil and Vice. The Devil was, no doubt, introduced from the Miracle Plays, where he had figured so amusingly; he was made as hideous as possible by his mask and dress, the latter being generally of a shaggy and hairy character, and he was duly provided with a tail: his ordinary exclamation on entering was, "Ho, ho, ho! what a felowe [sic] am I."(Ireson, Frank. "The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch." 1920 )
Siefker also collaborates the devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho."
In these plays, the devil’s common entry line, known as the "devil’s bluster," was "Ho! Ho! Hoh!"(Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)
The devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho" was carried over from the early medieval Miracle Plays to the popular old English play "Bomelio," as the following lines from the play verify:
What, and a' come? I conjure thee, foul spirit, down to hell! Ho, ho, ho! the devil, the devil! A-comes, a-comes, a-comes upon me,. . .
(Dodsley, Robert. A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI. The Project Gutenberg Ebook. <www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/7oep610.txt>)
Another extremely popular character dominating the medieval plays was Robin Goodfellow (Robin Hood was created from him). Robin Goodfellow was a caricature of the devil, dressed with horns, shaggy, furs, and cloven feet.
Author Gillian Mary Edwards in Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck, provides some interesting insight into Robin Goodfellow:
One of the most popular characters in English folklore of the last thousand years has been the faerie, goblin, devil or imp known by the name of Puck or Robin Goodfellow. The Welsh called him Pwca, which is pronounced the same as his Irish incarnation Phouka, Pooka or Puca. Parallel words exist in many ancient languages - puca in Old English, puki in Old Norse, puke in Swedish, puge in Danish, puks in Low German, pukis in Latvia and Lithuania – mostly with the original meaning of a demon, devil or evil and malignant spirit. . . (Edwards, Gillian Mary. Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck. London: Bles Publishers, 1974, p. 143)
In The History of a Hobgoblin, author Allen W. Wright, reveals "Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil" and "Robin's trademark laugh is "Ho Ho Ho!":
Robin Goodfellow appeared in more plays around 1600. And there were many 17th century broadside ballads about him. . . Robin's trademark laugh is "Ho Ho Ho!" . . . Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil. (Wright, Allen W. "The History of a Hobgoblin." <www.boldoutlaw.com/puckrobin/puckages.html>)
The devil’s trademark "Ho! Ho! Ho!" was common knowledge before the coming of Santa Claus.
Ho, Ho, Ho" comes from a Roman Requirement that during Saturnalia citizens had to appear before the temple of Saturn (Baal) and yell, "Lo, Lo, Lo, Saturn" 3 times. Basically, "Praise, Praise, Praise Saturn as god."
From: The Roman Festivals of the Period of the Republic, an Introduction to the Study of the Religion of the Romans, W. Warde Fowler [1847 - 1921], Macmillan, 1899.
"There are several well-attested features of the Saturnalia as it was in historical times5. On Dec. 17 there was a public sacrifice at the temple (formerly the ara) of Saturn by the Forum6, followed by a public feast, in breaking up from which the feasters shouted 'Io ["hurrah", etc.] Saturnalia'7 [compare: "Merry Christmas!"]. During the sacrifice Senators and Equites wore the toga, but laid it aside for the convivium". [271].
In The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch, author Frank Ireson, describes the popular Miracle Play. Notice the description of the devil as "shaggy, hairy," etc. (as Santa), and notice the devil’s trademark "exclamation on entering was ho, ho, ho!":
Besides allegorical personages, there were two standing characters very prominent in Moral Plays—the Devil and Vice. The Devil was, no doubt, introduced from the Miracle Plays, where he had figured so amusingly; he was made as hideous as possible by his mask and dress, the latter being generally of a shaggy and hairy character, and he was duly provided with a tail: his ordinary exclamation on entering was, "Ho, ho, ho! what a felowe [sic] am I."(Ireson, Frank. "The Drama Before Shakespeare - A Sketch." 1920 )
Siefker also collaborates the devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho."
In these plays, the devil’s common entry line, known as the "devil’s bluster," was "Ho! Ho! Hoh!"(Siefker, Phyllis. Santa Claus, Last of the Wild Men: The Origins and Evolution of Saint Nicholas. Jefferson: McFarland & Company, Inc., 1997, p. 69)
The devil’s trademark "ho, ho, ho" was carried over from the early medieval Miracle Plays to the popular old English play "Bomelio," as the following lines from the play verify:
What, and a' come? I conjure thee, foul spirit, down to hell! Ho, ho, ho! the devil, the devil! A-comes, a-comes, a-comes upon me,. . .
(Dodsley, Robert. A Select Collection of Old English Plays, Vol. VI. The Project Gutenberg Ebook. <www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext06/7oep610.txt>)
Another extremely popular character dominating the medieval plays was Robin Goodfellow (Robin Hood was created from him). Robin Goodfellow was a caricature of the devil, dressed with horns, shaggy, furs, and cloven feet.
Author Gillian Mary Edwards in Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck, provides some interesting insight into Robin Goodfellow:
One of the most popular characters in English folklore of the last thousand years has been the faerie, goblin, devil or imp known by the name of Puck or Robin Goodfellow. The Welsh called him Pwca, which is pronounced the same as his Irish incarnation Phouka, Pooka or Puca. Parallel words exist in many ancient languages - puca in Old English, puki in Old Norse, puke in Swedish, puge in Danish, puks in Low German, pukis in Latvia and Lithuania – mostly with the original meaning of a demon, devil or evil and malignant spirit. . . (Edwards, Gillian Mary. Hobgoblin and Sweet Puck. London: Bles Publishers, 1974, p. 143)
In The History of a Hobgoblin, author Allen W. Wright, reveals "Robin itself was a medieval nickname for the devil" and "Robin's trademark laugh is "Ho Ho Ho!":
Robin Goodfellow appeared in more plays around 1600. And there were many 17th century broadside ballads about him. . . Robin's trademark laugh is "Ho Ho Ho!" . |
| » What Children Everywhere Learned from Santa This Year |
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What Children Everywhere, Learned from Santa This Year
Does the Santa Claus myth harm anyone? If so, How?
Well, there are the Life Lessons Taught, and the Spiritual Lessons Taught-None of them Good.
taken from "Santa Claus and his Elf, a Spiritual History"
http://www.facebook.com/note.php?created&&suggest¬e_id=190793887550#/album.php?aid=333542&id=773710036
Spiritual Lessons Children are Taught by Santa Claus-
1. Since Santa (a childs first real idea of a G*d Figure) only gives gift to weathy children, then being Rich equals being Righteous, if you arent Rich, then you ticked G*d off somehow. Or, your parents ticked him off so the kids cant be blessed. (Who Sinned, this man or his Parents? Jesus says _neither- Santa Claus says, -this man-)
2. Everything your parents ever told you about G*d or Religion, is probably also a lie, since they were also lying about a mythical man in a red suit the same Sunday they sent you to Church.
3. G*d is the Divine Santa Claus. Just ask Santa (Pray to Santa, whom the Catholics say is a dead St. Called Nicholaus), instead of G*d, when you need or honestly desire something. Biblically, praying to the dead is called Necromancy.
4. Prosperity Gospel. All of G*ds Blessings are material.
5. It is better to RECEIVE than the GIVE.
6. Loved is best expressed with TOYS-Today Tickle Me Elmow, in Adulthood, buy your wife jewelry and a new car if she does what you want. Your time, you Love, your affect and presence, arent needed, just your money and what it can buy. If G*ds loves you, He will also give you more toys.
7. We can take customs from Satan worship and blend them with the worship of G*d, Why? Because we can do anything as long as the preacher nods his head, the churches winks an eye, and everyone else is doing it. For example, setting up Baal Tree in a Church, which celebrated the Death, Burial and Resurrection of Baal every December 25th, often with child sacrifice and drunken orgies or temple prostitution) You can find him all over the Bible.
8. Gifts are best given to people that can give you one back-Contrary to the Words of Jesus, that we should give to those who cannot give back to us, so that we will be rewarded.
9. No matter what you did in Life, if you make up for it in December, you will be okay in the afterlife. Like how kids learned to behave better in December, but never have a change of heart.
10. "Let your -Yes- be -Yes- and your -No- be -No-" doesnt apply when it may upset someone or burst their bubble. Is Santa Real?? ofcourse he is son/daughter.
Don't we consider much of the ancient world spiritually untrustworthy for believing in such mythological creatures as unicorns, krakens, and dragons (dinosaurs is what dragons were, reptiles grow until they die), and dieties such as Thor, Zeus, and Jupiter controlling the weather and bringing you blessing for doing what the Priests (Spiritual Symbol for Fathers) told them to do??. I wonder how dumb future archaeologists will consider us for believing the first 1/5 of our life that a man in a red suit climbs down chimneys with gravity defying livestock????
Doesn't that ruin our credibility as a society, as Spiritual Leaders? especially as parents-borthers/Sisters????
Natural Lessons Children are Taught
Chiefly, the first memory children have is of their parents lying to them-and then we are scratching our heads when our children dont trust what we tell them about Drugs, Heavy Drinking, Sleeping Around, or anything else??
Santa Claus is
A: A harmless deception (like Evolution, letting Hitler taking over the Sudetenland bringing peace to the world, renaming an unborn baby to be called a "fetus" so you don't feel bad about killing it in the womb, etc)
or
B:
1.A very extravagant lie, told by parents to children over a period of several years-which shows lot of thought went into it-this wasn't a spur of the moment fib which is not okay to parents, but plotting in this deception in this case is okay. What happened to "let your YES be YES and NO be NO, anything other than this is from the EVIL ONE."
2. A lie that is told every year-which shows that its okay to lie to people over and over and over again until they get suspicious, then you have to tell them the trust and hope they believe you when it comes to important things like Christianity, Truth, the importance of marriage and human life, Creation vs. Evolution, etc.
3. A lie that is very well hidden-parents go out of their way to prevent their children from discovering the truth. So its okay to cover up your lies.
4. A lie that advertisers flock around-so money is to be made from deception. And that's kewl.
5. A lie that other people are brought into all the time (lets all pretend that Santa exists)-so conspiracy is okay as well.
6. A lie that has been passed down through generations-to teach your kids to lie to their kids.
Does anyone think all this deception may start a child out on the wrong foot???
Actions do speak louder than words, and actions seen are lying, conspiring, and covering up, for years on end until the truth is discovered, and then people who are your role models, try to convince you of the lie again, and also, since you are the role model for younger siblings, don't tell them the truth or you'll be in big trouble. Great example to follow.
Which is better for a child, to tell them, on December 25th (birthday of the sun god-Baal of the Bible people sacrificed their children too)in America people who care about each other show their affection with gifts. And we love you so much we spent all this money and wrapped all these gifts to show you we care (buying our kids and showing them love equals money, which is a different story) but at least admitting it came from the parents. Or tell them that some man that they have never met and don't know will come through a chimney and bring them toys because they didn't raise to much hell that year-if you are good, benevolent strangers send you checks in the mail (a little priming for Joel Osteen and the Prosperity -Gospel-) and taking G*ds Name in Vain by reducing Him to a Divine Santa Claus and nothing more (Like the Pharisees who didnt wish to hear the teachings of Jesus, but only see a miracle-and the crowd who just returned for more Loaves and Fishes). I believe it would be better for a child to know that he is loved than to lie to him all through his formative years.
Seems that the whole Santa Claus cover-up ruins the kids and only benefits parents and advertisers. Advertisers make money off the Christmas decorations-which are bought by Christians (regretably)and non-Christians alike. If they just sold nativity scenes then they wouldn't make as much profit. And the parents benefit from having the children think Santa is watching them-since you can't say Jesus, God, or anything of that sort anymore. And the Non-Christian children will be duped into behaving as well.
Maybe the only benefit to the kids is that when they grow up, they can have this imaginary babysitter for their kids in the whole month of December as well???? No wonder Buddhists, Hindu's, and Wiccans all celebrate x-mas too! Aside from it coming from their religions instead of Christianity.
What Does G*d Say- aside from "Let your YES be YES and NO be NO, anything aside from this is from the EVIL ONE"
20But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils.
(1 Cor 10:20)
1st John 3:4 "Sin is Breaking the Law of G-d, in fact, anyone who Sins Breaks the LAW of G-d"
14Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
15And what concord hath Christ with Baal? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?
16And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
(2 Cor 6:14-18)
Deuteronomy 13:1 "Everything I am Commanding you, you are to take care to do. Do not add to it or subtract from it." So, we can’t pick and choose which to keep.
2. Deuteronomy 7:26 "Do not bring something abbhorrent into your house, or you will share in the curse that is on it, instead, you are to detest it completely, loathe it utterly, for it is set apart for destruction". How does G*d feel about praying to dead people, Baal Trees, Santa Elves (which come from an Austrian Demons with Black fur and horns called Krampus), December 25th, which celebrates Baal resurrecting from the Dead, etc. He detests them.
3. Deuteronomy 12:30-31 "Be careful, after they have been destroyed ahead of you, NOT to be trapped into following them, so that you inquire after their gods and ask "How did these nations serves their gods? (with X-mas Trees, Easter Eggs, Maypoles), I want to do the same! You MUST NOT do this TO ADONNAI, Your God. For they have done to their gods all the abominations that Adonnai HATES!. They even burn up their sons and daughters in the fire for. their gods!” So, we CAN NOT Adopt their practices to worship G*d. To G*d this is disgusting. Wasn't Saul in big trouble in 2nd Samuel for trying to offer to God/worship God, with the very things God had said to destroy (Saul offered the gold of the pagans to G*d on the Altar-and we offer their instruments of Satan worship too).
God was upset with Cain for worhipping/remembering God, in the exact opposite way God desired. Vegetable and not animals, with pagan holidays He commanded be destroyed, not adopted, instead of the ones He set forth.
4. Deuteronomy 12:2 "You must DESTROY all the places where the nations you are dispossessing served their gods, whether on high mountains, on hills, or under some leafy tree). BREAK DOWN their altars, smash their standing stones to pieces, burned up their sacred poles and cut down the carved images of their gods. EXTERMINATE their name from that place." Burn the X-mas Tree, dont bring it into your house as an altar.
This answers what we are to do with the Pagan Symbols in our own houses.
Failure to do this has kept Wicca alive and prospering in America . In we are desenstived to things, we'll glady accept them. After a while, we don't even blink. Or we tell our kids, Paganism is okay as long as its not PURELY Satanic, only Half.
5. Deuteronomy 16:21 "You are not to plant any sort of tree as a sacred pole beside the altar of Adonnai your God, that you will make for yourselves. Likewise, do not set up a standing stone, Adonai your GOD HATES such things." Shows how G*d feels about Easter Egg Hunts and Christmas Trees in Churches. Which are all part of Demon worshi´p.
6. 1 Corinthians 10:21 (Whole Chapter)
You cannot drink from the cup of the Lord and from the cup of demons, too. You cannot eat at the Lord’s Table and at the table of demons, too. Paul repeating the same command to the Galatians who were trying toworship G*d using pagan methods and symbols.
Is G*d pleased with Offerings He said He did not Want?? Since its too hard to give up our Traditions, will He mind if we keep them??
7. Malachi 1:13 (Whole Chapter)
“You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord. “If we say, “it is to hard to give up our traditions”, and if He was this upset over less than the best in sacrifices, what happens when we try to Honor Him with the symbols of Satan?
8.. Jeremiah 10:2-4Here is what Adonnai says:
"Don't learn the ways of the gentiles (pagan peoples), don't be frightened by astrological signs, even if the gentiles are afraid of them. for the customs of the people are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest, a craftsman works it with his axe, they DECK IT WITH SILVER AND GOLD. They fix it (upright) with hammer and nails, so that it won't move." Not only the X-mas (Baal Tree) but the Winter Equinox December 25th, is also a Satanic Holy Day-actually the highest holy day on the pagan calendar, marked by Stone Henge.
Matthew 18:6
But whoso shall cause one on these little ones which believe in me to sin, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.
Matthew 5:17 "He who keeps the Least of the Commands and teaches others to do likewise will be called Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who fails to keep the least of these Commands and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven."
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
(I Kings 18:21)
1Hear ye the word which the LORD speaketh unto you, O house of Israel:
2Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.
3For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe.
4They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.
5They are upright as the palm tree, but speak not: they must needs be borne, because they cannot go. Be not afraid of them; for they cannot do evil, neither also is it in them to do good.
(Jeremiah 10:1-5)
25The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire: thou shalt not desire the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it unto thee, lest thou be snared therin: for it is an abomination to the LORD thy God.
26Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.
(Deuteronomy 7:25-26)
29When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
(Deuteronomy 12:29-31)
Nov. 24th, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
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| » This is for All the Single People |
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"This is for all the lonely people, thinking that life has passed them by" Jars of Clay
The purpose of this post is to help singles understand why they are experiencing much more loneliness that previous generations, and to share how they can prepare for marriage in order to be ready faster for the Blessing in store for them. When both are ready, then they can be brought together. For additional resources, I recommend http://www.boundless.org a webzine for teens and singles from Focus on the Family, and a very close examination of the Book of Ruth. As well as the works of John Eldredge (Wild at Heart) Book and Stasi Eldredge (Captivating) Book, which have changed Countless lives.
Our society (modern western culture) has created a very painful and unique experience for millions of young people, this experience is years of not only singleness, but aloneness. Historically, for as long as mankind has been upon the earth, a young person was married by at latest by the age of 18-20. Those who were not married live in a household not only with their parents and several siblings, but also with aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins. The experience was loneliness as many of us know it, was minimal. With the industrial revolution young women began moving to large dormitory type buildings in the cities with house mothers to watch over them. This was one of the few times in history that unmarried young women lived alone or not with family or a husband. As you can guess, the amounts of sexual assaults and other things they experienced was great in comparison to women not living alone.
Men also began to move away to go to colleges and universities or trade schools in even greater numbers, without family, wife, or the structure that the military provided. As you can guess, they found themselves doing things that they would later not be proud of since they have no nearby family's honor to guard, and no greater purpose than themselves, no reputation in the community to uphold. Now both men and women are expected to go to college, and not marry until they are done, if they can marry with 60,000 of debt between them and the pressure to buy a brand new house in the suburbs with two new cars.
Today we find ourselves in the end results of the Industrial Revolution. People in America are marrying at the latest age of any group of people in World History! If they get married at all. In times past the question was "Who?" to marry, not "When to get Married?' and "Can I FIND anyone who even plans to be married?". There are added complications as well. With the influx of countless religions, philosophies, and values systems, finding someone who shares your faith and values is much more difficult than in times past. Finding someone can also be much more perilous. So many live hundreds of miles from family, friends, Church Communities, and people who have their best interest at heart. They also are dating people about whom they know little if anything in the beginning. Since the other person is far removed from people who know them well, all we know of each other is what is presented and maintained by associates and "friends." Their are few fathers and brothers to answer to, their are few Churches, Townhalls, and Communities to stand before and look eye to eye and give answers to. In short, their are few if any concerned "Adults" few if any mentors,and virtually no real communities that hold their members accountable. What happens to people without accountability? Without expectations? Without mentorship, friendship, and family?
Another problem facing young people is the lack of examples. Many of their parents met in less than ideal circumstances, if they even know both of their parents. On top of that, when parents get divorced that example of courtship is largely disqualified. The confusion is compounded with the "gender blender" of our society. Men don't know what is expected of a man, and if they did, they wouldn't know how to do what is expected, or how to find a girl who appreciates a man fulfilling his role. Women encounter a similar problem, no clearly defined role of womanhood or ways of learning how to fulfill that role.
With all of this against a person finding someone else who wishes to be married at any point (much less in the next 3-5 years), shares the same faith and level of faith, and has a compatable concept of the roles of man and wife and can fulfill those roles or is at least willing to learn, the question is this:
What do I do while I am waiting??
1. SEARCH:
The Bible speaks of "The wife of your YOUTH" and in Proverbs "He who FINDS a wife, FINDS a good thing." In the Hebrew, the word for "Find" indicates not that you stumble across someone by accident like finding a dollar bill on the ground, but of ACTIVELY SEARCHING as one searches for G-d (ofcourse second to G-d). So, men, being looking. And women, don't hide from being found.
Are you actively looking or ready to be found/pursued? Do you project "leave me alone, I don't need a man?" or "I'm not preparing to be a husband nor do I wish to be one?" Remember what Christ told the Church in Revelations that displeased Him "You say I am rich and in need of nothing, but in reality you are poor, wretched, and naked, I counsel you to buy from me...." Marriage is a gift from G-d, to say that we don't need it to help perfect us is a rejection of this gift, unless you are called to lifelong singleness because the hardness of your mission won't allow for a family, then your tribulations such as Paul's will remove the selfishness we all have through that way.
2. DECIDE WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR:
Before you go searching for something, its a good idea to know what you are looking for instead of just wandering around aimlessly.When people go looking for a car, they don't test drive whichever model the dealer will let them take a spin at. They FIRST decide, what their purpose is. Someone called into construction needs a sturdy truck, which can handle being outdoors and a heavy load (like Mission work, which requires extreme living conditions). Someone with lots of people to transport would need a van (if you are called into hospitality ministry then someone very shy might not be a good fit for your calling) or if you want 10 kids, someone who doesn't like children may be better left for someone else to find. This is the reason Hebrew couples both signed a very important document called a Katubah before they got engaged. A Katubah outlines the husbands expectations of a wife, and the wife's expectations of a husband, if the terms were agreed upon they signed it and sealed it by drinking a cup of wine, and they were engaged which had the same legal standing as being married. If they didn't agree, then no engagement. The parents were also involved as the man would first send his father to inquire of the girl's father, then the man would present to the girl and her family his knowledge of his own genealogy (he knows who he is) and prove his knowledge of the Word of G-d. Then if that went smooth, the girl decided if she would have the man or not. G-d offered Israel a Katubah at Sinai, if they would follow His Commands then He would love, protect, and provide from them as a husband (Deuteronomy 30).
Do you know who you are, what your calling is, and what kind of person would complement your mission? Are you strong enough in knowing and living the Written and Spirit-Transmitted Word of G-d to lead a family through the dangerous maze we call "the World." Maybe you need some challenges or need to do some volunteering to get a taste of what makes you come alive.
3. COUNT THE COST:
Before a Hebrew man could go get his bride, he would have to build a house onto his father's property. This house did not have to be what you would see on HGTV, it did not have to be ready for 8 kids and Queen Elizabeth to visit. It had to be a SAFE AND STEADY home that would shelter a family, which could be added onto as the years went by. The son had to build this house to his father's expectations, if the man failed to plan and build with care, then the father would make him demolish the house and start over from scratch! Entering a Covenant (Promise before G-d that was binding unto death) to protect, provide for, and lead one of G-d's Daughters was no emotional, flighty, flippant, moment of infatuation. The father of the man understood Covenant and the curse that comes from breaking a Covenant, therefore he would make sure the son was ready and willing to work before he let him go get the bride. If this took over a year then the son generally was looked down upon for not having counted the cost. So a man would only commit himself to a woman if he was ready to get married in the near future or would only approach her if he thought that she had potential for that Covenant.
Are you willing and ready for the sacrifice? Do you have the staying power of marriage, or do you have a problem honoring your comittments?
If not, it may be time to start honoring your committments, sticking out that job, finishing that semester, paying off your debts, etc.
4. PREPARE YOURSELF:
"To everything there is a season" and season's don't just happen out of nowhere. First we have the winter which lets the land rest, just as the year of Jubilee and Sabbatical years do in the Bible. This prepares the ground for the Spring which lets the good seed be planted in the Spring rains. Then there is the summer which a time of hard, hard work in hot sun. Finally we have the Harvest, which was a time of great rejoicing, as the Week long Feast of Tabernacles (dwelling together) and a picture of Messiah honeymooning with His Bride, is in the Fall.
A Bride didn't just wait around hanging out at the mall while the man got a house ready, she had work to do as well. The Hebrew bride would spend a year getting herself ready to transition to be a wife and probably a mother. Esther spent a whole year in beauty treatments, but the Hebrews were more practical, they used the time approaching the wedding to make sure the bride could be presented as someone who EAGERLY AWAITED her husband, instead of taking a non-chalant attitude as the Church has today. Since the groom would come in the middle of the night on any given night, at the father's word, she had to make sure that her wedding clothes were ready, she had purified her heart, body, mind, and soul before her husband came to be one flesh with her. She did this by a ritual bath called a Mikveh (what we would call a Baptism, being buried and dying to your old life-of singleness and would be suitors that came before the Groom arrived) which removed the dirt from her person and her life, and she annointed herself with oil (the Holy Spirit). She also surrounded herself with only those who would help her get ready for the wedding, who kept their own lamps full.
Are you ready to die to the life you left behind? Putting yourself first, flirting with those who are not yours? Are you ready to let go of people and habits from the past that are incompatable with marriage?
Do the people you surround yourself help you keep yourself annointed with oil? Do they keep oil in their lamps to help you find your way to the groom or are they bridesmaids the groom will not allow into the wedding? Are they getting your wedding dress filthy or keeping it clean?
Can you bring the people, philosophies, traditions, habits, and lifestyles currently in your life into a Covenant before G-d? Would they keep you from being ONE with the Messiah? If so, they will cause problems in being ONE with a Spouse following Messiah.
5. GATHER THE GIFTS
After the signing of the Katubah, the groom would give the bride a gift of jewels. This is where we get the idea of an engagement ring. These jewels had usually been in the family for generations and were of great value. They represented what a man had gotten from his family (like Christ giving us what He had gotten from being in the family of the Father). Spiritually these gifts to the bride are the gifts of the Spirit. In our lives, we must see what we have to offer.
Men, can you offer a woman you are pursuing what she needs from a husband? Different women need different things, but the common denominators are protection from outside dangers, from familiar dangers (like family members or people from the past, on either side) and protection from the demons within yourself?? LOVE in the love language she best receives. Spiritual Leadership and Protection that lowers its sword only to G-d Himself and no pastor, author, supposed prophet, or television charlatan. Provision, the basic needs of a family. Women, can you offer this man the RESPECT, Encouragement, and healing affection that every man in a spiritual battle against the world needs?
If you cannot yet do these things, find people in your life to help you practice. We all have friends, family members, and children in our lives who need these things from someone who cares.
6. G-D'S WAY OR THE WORLD'S WAY
When a woman married a man in the Bible, she was expected to leave her family's inheritance, their celebrations, their customs, their ways, their property, and their lifestyle. She was expected to become a part of her husband's clan and tribe FULLY. She was even made a part of the husband's inheritance from his father but lost the inheritance from her birth family. While she was naturally born into a family that may have been Gentile (outside of the Covenant with G-d), when she became the Bride she was reborn in a way into the husband Tribe (in the case of the Christians, Judah, since Christ is the Lion of Judah). A bride married to the King of the Jews would become like the King from Judah, instead of the King of Judah becoming like His Gentile Bride. We know The Way the King of Judah lived by reading the Scriptures, He lived by the Laws His Father gave and He expects His Bride to live the same way as the mansion for them is built onto His Father's House.
Are their any traditions, celebrations, philosophies, customs, or worldviews concerning money, children, marriage, holidays, entertainment, time,etc, that do NOT line up with being married to the King of Judah who kept ALL of His Father's Commands? He won't change for us, we must change for Him.
What creates unity in Marriage with Messiah is the Groom and the Bride living the Way the Father told the Groom to Live, which is the way the Wife adapts to. In the same way, the groom in the natural is a spiritual leader and sets the tone for the household. The Bride must follow him only as he follows Christ. If we cannot give up going our own way, or the way of our family, our friends, our culture, our religion and traditions, to live the Way the Messiah lived, the Way that was taught Him by His Father, then our marriage cannot work. Both parties must conform to the Way Messiah lived, not the groom to the bride's lifestyle and not the bride to the grooms lifestyle if it doesnt match the way the Messiah lived. This is why natural marriages and spiritual ones are lacking in ONENESS. In the Spiritual, the Bride (men and woman) are expecting Christ to conform to their lifestyle, instead of they conforming to His.
Are you familiar with How Yeshua lived? What He ate? What He celebrated? How He handled money, unbelievers, opponents, spiritual battles? etc. If not, simply read the Bible. He lived by every Word the Father gave, Genesis through Malachi, then the rest, Matthew through Revelations, was about Him living out the beginning half.
7. HOLY
The Hebrew word for Holy is "Kaddosh" it means "Set apart for ONE PURPOSE so as to make one appear strange or peculiar, unlike anything else." It is the opposite of "KATHOLIC" Greek for "Universal" or "Blended". A Groom must be Holy to His Bride, set apart for he alone. And a Bride must be Holy to her Husband. A woman cannot be married to a one man, yet wear the ring her ex-boyfriend gave her and expect him to be happy, he would call the ring an abomination as it offends, hurts, and disgusts him. We cannot worship G-d yet hold onto our former spiritual lovers, in the form of customs, holidays, traditions, teachings, etc. that we got from them. These are an abomination to G-d. They should a half-hearted devotion. Likewise a man cannot adore his wife and another woman, she would doubt his conviction. He must "Set his face like flint" unchanging, unflinched, come hell or water high.
Holy demands that we not be seduced back into what we left behind, thereby abandoning the concept of holy, as we are divided between two husbands/Lords/Masters. "What fellowship can Christ have with Baal? What fellowship can Light have with Darkness? What fellowship can Righteousness have with Lawlessness?" 1st Corinthians 6. "You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched/Seduced you, you have returned to the weak and miserable elements (astrological superstitions) you practiced BEFORE YOU KNEW G-D" Galatians.
Holy means no blending, no compromise, no "free pass", no "being peaceable" at the cost of being true.
Holy demands that we also not run when the going gets tough. We stand our ground like David's Captain Eleazor in the Lentil field, who fought until his hand froze to the sword. Many don't understand why he would fight so hard for literally, a "hill of beans" until they understand how hard it is to get good seed to grow in Israel. Just like today's marriages, there is tough soil and hard plowing everywhere we go, and unless we are willing to face the enemy head on, not letting go of the sword, then our families are going to starve and be choked out by the weeds or cut down by the enemy.
Are you willing to stand with the Sword until it freezes fast to your hand? If not, before you head into the spiritual alliance that is marriage, you need to learn to handle the sword of Truth.
8. THROWING STONES (No, Not that Way).
King David began as a shepherd boy who slew the giant Goliath. Did he just stroll up after playing Nintendo 8 hours a day, borrow a sling from someone, and have a lucky toss??? NO!!
David had spent years in the wilderness in the loneliest occupation on earth, that of being a shepherd. An underclass to their own people, keeping only the company of sheep who weren't very appreciative, learning to face the constant daily hardships such as cold and wind that wear down one's spirit like a constant rain erodes a house's foundation and carries it away. They also learn to stand alone against things that made most lose heart (Bear's, Wolve', Lions, false shepherds coming for the sheep supposedly sent by the master). David had been facing all of these long before he was called to fight and defeat Goliath. Marriage is the greatest mission field as it not only converts people to G-dliness, but produces G-dly children to be a generation of warriors unburdened by the failures and hurts of those who came to G-d later in life. A happy and lasting marriage is also a shining flame and light in the camp of the Lord, that leads many to abandon the dark and cold camp of the enemy. This is why Satan keeps trying to put it out.
Before we are ready to face the Goliath's that attack marriage, we must face the bears, wolves, lions, and false shepherd's that attack us all as singles.
So, WHAT WILL YOU DO WHILE YOU ARE WAITING???
WHILE I'M WAITING Lyrics by John Waller, from the film "FireProof"
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Takeing every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord
Nov. 22nd, 2009 @ 03:56 am
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| » The Eyes of the Heart (Living in the Spiritual Matrix Part One) |
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THE EYES OF THE HEART (Living in the Spiritual Matrix Part I)
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Today at 11:51pm | Edit Note | Delete
"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened" The Apostle Paul (Rabbi Sha'ul) Ephesians 1:18
"So we fix our eyes, not on what is seen, but on what is UNSEEN" 2nd Corinthians 4:18
"Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it" Jacob/Ya'cok the former Trickster, after he had "struggled with G-d" Genesis 28:16
"While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them. But their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him." Luke 24:15
"When He had reclined at the table with them, He took the bread and blessed it (said the Barukha), and breaking it, He began giving it to them.
Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.
They said to one another, "Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He (was explaining the Scriptures to us?"
And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found gathered together the eleven and those who were with them,
saying, "The Lord has really risen and has appeared to Simon."
35They began to relate their experiences on the road and how)He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread. " Luke 24:30
"Man looks at the outward appearance, but G-d looks at the heart" 1st Samuel 16:7
"I am concerned with a certain way of looking at life, which was created in me by the fairy tales, but has since been ratified by the mere facts." G.K. Chesterton
John Eldredge's work "Waking the Dead, the Glory of a Heart Full Alive" takes a long hard look at the skewed perception most Christians have of the world. In times past life was looked at through a Spiritual lens and not the lens of a microscope, Truth was far greater that mere fact, Reality was something far greater than the 5 senses, and knowing was the task of the heart and not just the mind.
All of this changed with the "Enlightenment" which was actually the equivalent of turning the lights out on our Spiritual Eyes, so we could simply grope our way through life with the nearly blind eyes of logic, reason, and science. Science cannot grasp Epic, Myth, Legend, Redemption, Glory, Truth, and Honor, any more than the Greek language of Philosophy can describe totally the Spiritual mind of the Hebrew Bible writers and its author, who is Spirit and Truth made flesh. The mind is a machine which gives us black and whites photos of a rainbow, with a scientific analysis of its temperature, chromatic scale, and barometric pressure. The heart gives us the reality behind the facts, it gives us the promises of G-d, the angels and demons, the greater story behind the history book, and the purpose for our lives which exceeds the suggestions of guidance counselors, the degrees on our wall, and eulogy that describes our lives in newspapers.
The world in which we live is a Matrix of sorts, a distraction to imprison our hearts, minds, and Spirits. While we chase our paychecks, our degrees, our titles, our reputations and our legacies, there is a battle raging around us in the Spiritual world and we have gone A.W.O.L., or Missing in Action.
Matthew 13:22
"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
We view the world with telescopes, microscopes, and stethoscopes (Religion, Philosophy, and Science) but G-d has a better way. He gave us two eyeballs to truly see with, Spirit and Truth!
The Truth lets us see what is really happening and the Spirit explains and interprets it. The Truth lets us see a serial killer and know that that person is not merely mentally ill, the Spirit shows us that it is a demonic force controlling him. The Truth shows us that woman selling herself on the corner is not merely the victim of economic hardship, the Spirit shows us the spirit of Ashtoreth (the fertility goddess the Bible speaks of). The Truth shows us that rappers and sex gods like 50 Cent are not just worshipped because of their looks and money, the Spirit reveals the Spirit of Baal (demon of worship of money and power of the King of Babylon).
The Truth shows us that the janitor at our work, the cashier at the lunchline, the attendant at the gas station are not all they seem, no more than Thomas Anderson in the Matrix is just an ordinary computer programmer. The Spirit reveals a Neo, the Spirit reveals that we have met a preacher, a teacher, and a prophet in the Kingdom of G-d. The janitor is not just a janitor or the cashier anymore just a cashier anymore that Yeshua was just a carpentar whose life purpose was to make tables or Peter was just a fisherman whose life purpose was to provide a good 3 piece meal at Long John Silvers.
The natural world gives us Psychologists, Psychiatrists, Scientists, Sociologists, and Mathematicians, to help us understand the FACTS with NATURAL EYES. The Spirit gives us Preachers, Teachers, Evangelists, Healers, Apostles, Prophets, and Watchmen on the Walls to help us intuit the REALITY with SPIRITUAL EYES.
John 14:19
" After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
1 Corinthians 12:29
All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they?
The eyes are the windows to the soul the Chinese say, and the world we have built with our Philosophy, Religion, and Science, are curtains, clouds, and tinted windows to block our vision of Reality. The world feeds us "sheets of butchered facts" as David Gray says. The Spirit opens to us the "Book of Truth" as the Book of Daniel calls the Torah.
Matthew 13:35
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:" [Ps 78:2] I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES;I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."
Does the following sound like Christ talking to you? Is He trying to pull you from the Matrix, or what the Bible calls "The World".
MORPHEUS
Welcome, Neo. As you no doubt
have guessed, I am Morpheus.
NEO
It's an honor.
MORPHEUS
Please. Come. Sit.
He nods to Trinity.
MORPHEUS
Thank you, Trinity.
She bows her head sharply and exits through a door to an
adjacent room.
They sit across from one another in cracked, burgundy-
leather chairs.
MORPHEUS
I imagine, right now, you must be
feeling a bit like Alice, tumbling
down the rabbit hole?
NEO
You could say that.
MORPHEUS
I can see it in your eyes. You
have the look of a man who accepts
what he sees because he is
expecting to wake up.
A smile, razor-thin, curls the corner of his lips.
MORPHEUS
Ironically, this is not far from
the truth. But I'm getting ahead
of myself. Can you tell me, Neo,
why are you here?
NEO
You're Morpheus, you're a legend.
Most hackers would die to meet
you.
Luke 10:24
for I say to you, that many prophets and kings wished to see the things which you see, and did not see them, and to hear the things which you hear, and did not hear them."
MORPHEUS
Yes. Thank you. But I think we
both know there's more to it than
that. Do you believe in fate, Neo?
NEO
No.
MORPHEUS
Why not?
NEO
Because I don't like the idea that
I'm not in control of my life.
Luke 6:46
Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?
Romans 8:7
because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
MORPHEUS
I know exactly what you mean.
Again, that smile that could cut glass.
MORPHEUS
Let me tell you why you are here.
You are here because you have the
gift.
NEO
What gift?
Mark 13:27
"And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.
1 Corinthians 7:7
Yet I wish that all men were even as I myself am However, each man has his own gift from God, one in this manner, and another in that.
MORPHEUS
I've watched you, Neo. You do not
use a computer like a tool. You
use it like it was part of
yourself. What you can do inside
a computer is not normal. I know.
I've seen it. What you do is
magic.
Neo shrugs.
NEO
It's not magic.
MORPHEUS
But it is, Neo. It is. How else
would you describe what has been
happening to you?
He leans forward.
MORPHEUS
We are trained in this world to
accept only what is rational and
logical. Have you ever wondered
why?
Neo shakes his head.
MORPHEUS
As children, we do not separate
the possible from the impossible
which is why the younger a mind is
the easier it is to free while a
mind like yours can be very
difficult.
Luke 18:16
But Jesus called for them, saying, "Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
NEO
Free from what?
MORPHEUS
From the Matrix.
Neo locks at his eyes but only sees a reflection of
himself.
MORPHEUS
Do you want to know what it is,
Neo?
Neo swallows and nods his head.
MORPHEUS
It's that feeling you have had all
your life. That feeling that
something was wrong with the
world. You don't know what it is
but it's there, like a splinter in
your mind, driving you mad,
driving you to me. But what is
it?
John 14:17
that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
The LEATHER CREAKS as he leans back.
MORPHEUS
The Matrix is everywhere, it's all
around us, here even in this room.
You can see it out your window, or
on your television. You feel it
when you go to work, or go to
church or pay your taxes. It is
the world that has been pulled
over your eyes to blind you from
the truth.
NEO
What truth?
MORPHEUS
That you are a slave, Neo. That
you, like everyone else, was born
into bondage...
.. kept inside a prison that you
cannot smell, taste, or touch. A
prison for your mind.
Outside, the WIND BATTERS a loose PANE of glass.
MORPHEUS
Unfortunately, no one can be told
what the Matrix is. You have to
see it for yourself.
NEO
How?
MORPHEUS
Hold out your hands.
In Neo's right hand, Morpheus drops a red pill.
MORPHEUS
This is your last chance. After
this, there is no going back.
In his left, a blue pill.
MORPHEUS
You take the blue pill and the
story ends. You wake in your bed
and you believe whatever you want
to believe.
John 3:19
"This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
The pills in his open hands are reflected in the glasses.
Matthew 16:26
"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
MORPHEUS
You take the red pill and you stay
in Wonderland and I show you how
deep the rabbit-hole goes.
John 9:39
And Jesus said, " For judgment I came into this world, so that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind."
Neo feels the smooth skin of the capsules, with the
moisture growing in his palms.
MORPHEUS
Remember that all I am offering is
the truth. Nothing more.
Neo opens his mouth and swallows the red pill. The
Cheshire smile returns.
MORPHEUS
Follow me.
--------
Ofcourse, anyone who has chosen to take the Red Pill will face trials, and the agents (of HaSatan) will come for you, try to convince you that this life as a Neo (a warrior for Truth) has no future, and that if you just get back to being part of the Matrix (the World) then everything will be just fine. But that is a different blog.
Luke 4:5
And he (Satan) led Him (the Christos) up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
For those who haven't taken the (Spiritual) Red Pill by accepting that the Matrix (the World) is a distraction and a prison for your mind (Heart and Soul), and letting your Spiritual Eyes be opened so you can be set free by the Messiah, then I leave you with this quote:
NEO: "I know what you are trying to do"
MORPHEUS: "I am trying to free your mind Neo. I can only show you the door, but you are the one who is going to have to walk through the door."
What is the "Door"? The Door is "Abiding in the Christos". Abiding in the Christos is seeing the world through HIS Spiritual Eyes, Living as He lived, fighting as He fought, Eating the Spiritual food He ate, Celebrating the Spiritual victories He celebrated (such as the Day of Atonement which celebrates His Defeat of Satan and Passover which celebrates His defeat of Sin), Resting when He rested, and continuing to Fight the War which He has already won, we are simply here to save as many as possible from being caught fighting for the wrong side when the battle is over.
MORPHEUS
I promised you the truth, Neo, and
the truth is that the world you
were living in was a lie.
MORPHEUS
I did what I did, because I
believe we have been brought here
for a reason, Neo. You are here
to serve a purpose, just as I am
here to serve mine.
NEO
I told you I don't believe in
fate.
Morpheus smiles, leaning towards hin.
MORPHEUS
But I do, Neo. I do.
He stands up.
MORPHEUS
Get some rest (Sabbath). You're going to
need it.
Nov. 20th, 2009 @ 12:01 am
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| » The Gospel According to Marcion |
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The Gospel According to Marcion? Is This Being Taught at your Church under the Guise of "Under Grace."???
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Today at 12:33am | Edit Note | Delete
I (Brian) did NOT write anything below and don't agree with nearly all of it. The author speaks in the first person and is a self-confessed Ascetic Gnostic. He espouses their views. Since many Churches basically teach the Gnosticism of Marcion, particularly in saying that Jesus is a "Superior god" that can override G-d's previously given Laws, and the Gospel is a "Superior Testament' to Genesis through Malachi, and a "New Covenant' which replaces, instead of revises, the Covenants that came before. Most churches also preach that G-d can mostly be experienced by "personal revelation" such as revelations, visions, and other such events (which I do no argue with) and that these events, visions, voices, etc. hold more weight than Scripture (which I do take issue with). This is a very Gnostic concept. Marcion, like ancient and modern Gnostics also held that the Law given through Moses was a curse and burden given to the Jews because G-d felt they were ignorant and needed to be punished by a heavy burden, but G-d sent Jesus to release people from the "Curse of the Law." They also believed that once you reached a certain level of "Spirituality" or came to a "Revelation" of who Jesus really was (in their opinion, a teacher sent by G-d to tell people that G-d's Laws are a burden and the Commands of G-d are keeping them from Spiritual advancement) then this knowledge would save you! Just as churches preach today that if you say the prayer and intellectually believe and know (Gnosis in Greek) then you will be saved, even if you continue in willing sin (breaking the Law of G-d, as sin is defined in 1st John 3:4). Satan told Adam and Eve that G-d would bend His Laws for them, and instead of following G-d's Commands, the Spirit within them would show them what is Right and Wrong and they would surely not feel the "Curse of the Law' which is the penalty for breaking it.
So, review Gnosticism and see if a similar message comes from pulpits you know????
This is the Marcion site and the information from it. I am not the author nor do I endorse their beliefs. Though as a former Gnostic of sorts, I am familiar with the teachings.
from http://www.marcion.info/
Marcion's Bible
Marcion's New Testament consisted of Euangelion (meaning something along the lines of a rewarded for good news given to the messenger) which was two thirds of the Gospel of Luke, and Apostolikon which was 10 Pauline Epistles. These were a shorter Galations and Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, Laodiceans (which was Ephesians), Philippians, Philemon and Colossians.
The Marcionites regarded the Mosaic Law, Sabbaths, Holidays, Fasting, Angels, Archangels and even Jehovah as things to be avoided in order to make spiritual progress. Therefore most references to these things in the New Testament were either added later in order to water down his doctrine, and present Christianity as a New Dispensation of Judaism, or in some cases Marcion mentions Jewish Prophets and observances himself as a bad example. In some cases these have simply been turned around later by editors.
The main differences between the Gospel of Luke and Euangelion, is that Euangelion starts around chapter 4. Therefore there is no virgin birth and Marcion's Isu Chrestos is a phantom. However he is still crucified in the end and bleeds. Marcion's text has been the object of ridicule because of this. Interestingly Marcion was a true Christian Evangelist, and didn't care much about logic of this sort. It was simply a life to be practiced, and the good news was to be shared. This is clearly where Marcion was not a Gnostic (although until I learn more, I am guessing that Marcion was the father of Gnosticism also - after all Nag Hammadi is dated late 4th century) as the Gnostics believe in receiving revelation directly from God in a creative process.
Marcion, the Stranger God and the Demiurge
Adolf von Harnack was a scholar of the history of Christian dogma a century ago, and the first to study Marcion thoroughly in modern times. He concluded that it makes little sense for Christians to retain the Old Testament.
In von Harnack's case this was because he regarded Marcion as the most important figure in the early church. I would go a step further and say that there was no Christianity resembling what we know today, that the New Testament never existed before Marcion, and that the original New Testament, the Euangelion and the Apostolikon was an outright rejection of the jealous God Jehovah, his law and all the unnecessary legalistic requirements like circumcision.
Marcion taught that the Archon, the Creator God or God of the Law who created our bodies and the world was of less importance than the unknowable Stranger God, the God who sent Isu Chrestos. It was essential for the Marcionites that Isu Chrestos was a ghost, as the true God was far too pure to take human form. The Marcionites saw Judaism as a very worldly religion, and Isu Chrestos came to replace legalism with mercy and love.
There are a lot of parallels with Gnosticism here. The Gnostics believed that there was creation before the creation of the physical world. Where there Gnostics before Marcion? The main source of Gnostic gospels was the Nag Hammadi library, but this was dated post Constantine. Marcion is not regarded as a Gnostic by most critics. The Gnostics relied heavily on a direct relationship with God, and personal revelations. Marcion differed not even slightly from modern Christians who strictly follow the book. Of course his book was without the Old Testament, and many of the other books in the New Testament which support the idea that Christianity is a new dispensation of Judaism.
Who were the Marcionites?
Marcion started the Marcionites around 140 AD, and they lasted for about three centuries, alongside Roman Christianity and the followers of Apollonius of Tyana.
Marcion was a wealthy merchant and excellent administrator. It appears that the connection between commerce and Christianity is a long one. After all don't many top salesmen refer to the Bible as a good story which has sold many people?
The Marcionites were celibate, vegetarian and prayed constantly. The oldest Christian church still standing is the Marcionite Synagogue with the inscription "Isu Chrestos" in Syria.
Marcion
Marcion wrote the first canon of the New Testament in AD 140. For centuries Marcion has been maligned as a heretic, since the Church Fathers like Tertullian accused him of taking the razor to the Bible and cutting out several of the Pauline epistles; Acts, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. In addition the only Gospel in Marcion's Bible is two thirds of Luke. Actually that's it. One Gospel and ten Pauline epistles, which means no Revelations and no Old Testament.
Christians like to tell us that Marcion changed the Bible to suit his theology. However it appeared to me from the beginning that before Marcion there was no documented history of Christianity as we know it. So for example there are no reliable historical contemporary accounts of Paul, Peter, Luke, Mark or even the Jesus that we think of today. Likewise archaeological New Testament fragments have been dated starting around 190 AD, again consistent with the first New Testament being written 140 AD.
In addition Bible scholars who actually question things have come to the conclusion that some of the Pauline epistles were added later than whoever wrote the first ones. Their conclusions are consistent with Marcion's Bible being the original text.
Isu Chrestos
Even more important than the fact that Marcion's Bible was very short are the number of radical political differences between Marcion's Bible and our modern day Bible. Firstly the hero of Marcion's Bible was called Isu Chrestos - not Jesus. An important point here is you don't see "Jesus Christ" in second century texts. So in the Bible of Marcion of Sinope "Isu Chrestos" appears instead of "Christ" and "Jesus". Also in the archaeological fragments mentioned earlier the scribes used the letters "IS" wherever Jesus Christ now appears. The inscription "Isu Chrestos" can still be seen on the oldest surviving Christian "Synagogue" in Syria.
The next difference is that Isu Chrestos was a ghost. The first three chapters of Luke where "Jesus" was born are missing. When you think about it they are missing in two of the synoptic Gospels too. There were no Gospels of Luke, Mark, Matthew or John in the second century. There was only "Euangelion" - the "Good News" of Marcion's single Gospel.
The fact is that Paul spoke of "my gospel" singular and warned us of other gospels. Read Marcion. It all takes on a whole new meaning!
Marcion's Dualism
It was important for the Marcionites that Isu Chrestos was a ghost. They believed that the world (and our bodies) were created by Jehovah, and that the world which Jehovah had created, his Angels and Archangels and the Mosaic law were a spiritual pitfall to be avoided. There weren't really any fallen angels in Marcion's theology. All angels were fallen, which is reasonably consistent with Gnostic teachings about the Divine Mother. Marcion does recognise the Divine Mother by the way (but not Mary - who makes no appearance).
Galatians was Marcions most important book. Marcion's Galatians 4:24-26 states:
4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth by the Law to the Synagogue of the Jews to bondage. The other gendereth higher than all Principalities, Virtues, Powers; even higher than any Lady ever named; not only in this Aeon but in the following one also, 4:26 which is the mother of us all.
Note: Most of the Marcion Bible was reconstructed simply by removing verses. Sections like the above, where verses needed to be rewritten are less common.
You are no doubt familiar with the following quote from the Bible. As you can see after reading the above example, it is original Marcionite text warning against Angels and Archangels:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickidness in high places."
I believe also that is why Satan became the devil. He wasn't really a demon in the context of the Old Testament. But after Marcion, someone demonized him, and we can thank Marcion for making that possible through his association with Jehovah. It is important to note however that there is no serious reference in Marcion's Pauline text to the Devil and Hell as in Revelations. There is a brief mention to Gehenna in Euangelion (ie. Luke) as follows:
12:5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into Gehenna; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.
Regarding Lucifer it could also be argued that Christian demology does not have firm roots in Judaism. Lucifer makes one appearance in the Old Testament ie. Isaiah 14:12
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"
The English translation of the original Hebrew text reads a little differently:
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O day-star, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, that didst cast lots over the nations!
Verse 9 also refers to Hell, but the Hebrew text talks of the nether-world. More importantly Lucifer is not mentioned. The day-star may refer to venus, and some scholars think that it refers to a Babylonian king. In any case it is a single reference amongst the entire Jewish scriptures, and not much to base a Lucifer myth on.
However that is not to say that Babylonian religion, worshipping Ishtar (venus) and involving child sacrifice has not been with us from the time this text was written to the present. In fact it would not be unreasonable to assume that the authors of some of the New Testament texts (like Revelations) had a vested interest in replacing the names of the gods worshipped in real life "Satanic" practices and using Satan and Lucifer as a smokescreen. However the information found in the Old Testament still accurately describes the deities involved in the depraved occult activities of today. These were described in the Old Testament as Baal or Beelzebub (the sun god), Astoreth or Ishtar (venus) and Molech.
The Marcionites believed that the God of Isu Chrestos was a higher God than Jehovah, and that consequently Isu Chrestos could not incarnate in human form. In contrast our souls were created by the God of Isu Chrestos. The Marcionites practiced a life of vegetarianism, celibacy and constant prayer. They believed that people that shunned the world in this way were free from the Mosaic Law which binds us. They believed that marriage was fornication.
Marcion and the Old Testament
When you read Marcion's Bible you will see that there are none of the references to the Old Testament Prophets, to Christianity being a new dispensation of Judaism, to Angels, Archangels and the Law of Moses. That is apart from those which are used as an example. Even the account of the Transfiguration where "Jesus" spoke to Moses and Elias, was placed very carefully by Marcion in order to point out their inferiority. It is actually through the later interpolations that Judaism and Christianity were entwined. This is not the case in Marcion's text. It is much simpler to read, and the meaning is much clearer.
Of course, if you don't know this already, the Old Testament pointers to Christianity like "A virgin shall conceive" and "They pierced my hands and my feet" simply aren't in the Jewish books from which the Old Testament was taken. This is very strange when you consider that otherwise the texts are very close.
So for example in the Old Testament we find in Isaiah 7-14
"Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
However let's have a look at an English translation of the Hebrew Prophets. It is the original text isn't it? Why do Christians never mention this?
"Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign: behold, the young woman shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."
Let's have a look at the supposed reference to the crucifixion in Psalm 22-16. In the Old Testament it says:
"For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet."
Now compare this with Writings Psalm 22-17 translated from the original Hebrew:
For dogs have encompassed me; a company of evil-doers have inclosed me; like a lion, they are at my hands and my feet.
Notice how in the original Jewish text they parted his garments and casts lots. But guess what? None of that is mentioned in Marcion's Euangelion. See how they did it?
Conclusion
Books like the Torah and Marcion's eleven books were modified and cross referenced to create one religion - Judaeo-Christianity. However when the Jewish books and Marcion's books are read in the original they have nothing in common at all.
Most likely this was done partly or wholly because of the numerous religions in the Roman empire which were it's greatest threat to stability.
None of Marcion's original Bible has survived. Fortunately the Early Church Fathers criticized Marcion's New Testamant so much, that just about every verse has been compared with the modern Bible. That is how we know very nearly what was in it.
Marcion (the heretic) was such an awful threat to the Early Roman Church. Considering that most scholars believe that Marcion probably had no idea about any of this, and that his text was most likely the original, what were they afraid of? Were they afraid that they would be caught out altering the Scriptures?
"Against Marcion" by Tertullian
Most of what we know about Marcion comes from what the early Church Fathers wrote against him. The first mention of Marcion was in Apologia by Justin Martyr, a contemporary of Marcion. A century later Polycarp's pupil Irenaeus describes a confrontation with Marcion in Adversus Haereses which was taken further by the choleric Tertullian in Adversus Marcionem.
The most important outcomes are that we know that the Roman Church hated Marcion, and saw his Canon as a threat. It is almost certain that these "saints" spread lies about Marcion. We know almost exactly what was in Marcion's Canon as a result of these exhaustive criticisms, and considering the bitterness of the Church aginst Marcion it may simply be because his New Testament Canon is the original, thereby exposing the Church's own interpolations of his work.
Note that most of what was written against Marcion was long after his death. It was only when his original Scripture was mutilated that they needed to explain why it was different from Euangelion and Apostolikon.
Nov. 1st, 2009 @ 12:49 am
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| » History of Halloween |
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History of Halloween, Jack-O-Lanterns, Trick or Treat, and "Bone Fires", no, its not a Mis-Spelling
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Today at 8:11pm | Edit Note | Delete
Halloween or "All Soul's Day" is a day dedicated to Necromancy in the Catholic Church and the celebration of the "Spirit of Fear" in America. But where did it come from originally? The Druids are the link most are aware of, but Halloween, like the other 6 Satanic Holy Days recognized by the American Satanist Church, have even deeper roots in an Empire called Babylon. These holidays have replaced the Fall Holy Days of Leviticus 23, which take place in the Autumn as well, in September and October. Feast of Trumpets is the first Holy Day and it looks forward to coming to the King, Yeshua. The next is the Day of Atonement, which looks forward to Christ throwing Moloch (Satan, the goat demon) into the pit of Hell, and the Feast of Tabernacles, which lasts a whole week and looks forward to the Millenial Reign of Christ. The Holy Days are commanded by G-d but these have also been skipped by the Church in favor of "Harvest Festivals" which are watered down Halloween.
Halloween honored a particular demon called Samhain/Saman Baal or "Baal the Destroyer" in both the languages of the Druids and Punic, which was the language of the people of Tyre, Sidon, and Carthage, collectively known as "Phoenicia" in modern day Lebanon. The most famous resident of Phoenicia was a Queen named Jezebel (daughter of Baal), another was her husband Ahab, together they introduced Baal worship to the Israelites. A later resident to become famous was Hannibaal (also named for Baal). After Queen Jezebel married Ahab, they spent their lives in a large White House, spreading the worship of Baal, Easter, and Tammuz to the world via Israel. This worship eventually made it all the way to Druid lands because of Israelite migrations and the Assyrian Conquests.
In Ancient Phoenicia and Babylon, the worship of Baal involved child sacrifice to the higher deity of Moloch (Satan), the Philistines called Baal "BeelZebub" if that helps, and Easter was known as Asherah, Semiramis, and Ashtoreth. Thier sons name was Tammuz, he is mentioned in Ezekiel 8 as being worshipped in the house of G-d at sunrise on Easter Sunday.
Before and during the sacrifice of children, the worshippers would have essentially a heavy metal rock concert with Ketttle Drums, flutes, cymbals, and other instruments. Most would be in a drug induced frenzy and would pick up the provided potshards in order to cut themselves. The children would be stuffed into leather bags like the ones Santa uses, and then be thrown off of the temple walls or into the statue of a giant bull called Moloch, and later in Druid times, be placed in a cage above a BONE (not Bon) Fire in order to be burned alive. Once they children were burned up, the priests of Baal would eat their remainses, hence the word "Canni-Bal" or "Baal of Canaan." These priests wore black robes like the Dominican Monks and on December 25th also sacrificed children under Trees decorated with silver and gold, and on Easter they would sacrifice children and use the blood to paint eggs.
The Priests would trick-or-treat by going door to door asking for valuables and for child sacrfiices, the men of the city would dress up like the female goddess Easter (wife of Baal) and go door to door asking for sweets. Hence, Trick-or-Treating. In Druid times, those who refused to give up their children had a Jack-o-Lantern placed on their door to show that they were cursed.
Baal worship is also were we get x-mas, easter, val (baal) entines day, and Lent from. Baal worship is also the origin of the place the Hebrews called "Gehenna' which is the reference Christ used for "Hell". Since He spoke Hebrew and spent alot of times in Jerusalem, talking to Hebrew speaking audiences at the temple, the use of Gehenna, instead of the pagan Greek "Hades or Tarturus" would make perfect sense. Ge-Hinnom (Gehenna) was a valley south of Jerusalem where children had been sacrificed to baal, easter, and moloch for centuries. As you can guess, it was said to be full of demons. Therefore the Israelites (after they got rid of Jezebel) used it as an "unclean' place. The bodies of dead criminals, feces, fat and blood, animals found dead of disease, and trash in general went there, along with the blood and fat of sacrifices. Nice place huh? What went there was anything that could not be in the presence of G-d, in His Holy City. Therefore it had to be destroyed in the fires of Gehenna, were the worms never died off. What went into the fire was destroyed, but it was a place of terror just from knowing what had happened there. The closest we can imagine is a mass grave at a concentration camp ran by a Church.
I ask you today, Christ or Baal? Because Paul said in Corinthians that you can't have both! 'What fellowship can Christ have with Baal? What fellowship can Light have with Darkness? What fellowship can Righteousness have with Lawlessness?
1 Kings 18:21
Elijah came near to all the people and said, " How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him." But the people did not answer him a word.
The remainder is from this website:
http://babylon-the-great.xanga.com/638915822/item/
HALLOWEEN and
"Babylon The Great"
HALLOWEEN AND BAAL WORSHIP
Every October 31, millions of people - young and old
alike - dress up like witches, demons, ghosts,
and assorted other “evil” characters to celebrate
what has become one of America’s biggest retail
holidays – Halloween! Where did the tradition of the
Halloween celebration originate?
In Ancient Babylon
"The first Halloween ritual was celebrated
thousands of years ago in the post-Flood world
in Mesopotamia (now called Iraq). While we do not
know the exact name of this ancient festival,
we do know that it involved worship of fire
and serpents; astrology; witchcraft; magic;
communicating with the spirits; and human
sacrifice. The first of these festivals was
instituted by Nimrod at the Tower of Babel.
Nimrod was a mighty leader of the Babylonian
people and he persuaded them that he was a god
who had come down to earth and as such,
was to be worshipped. The Babylonian people
worshipped him under a variety of names
and titles such as Samas – the Sun God,
Marduk, Merodach, Ninus, Bel / Baal,
Attis – the list is practically endless.
Nimrod, along with his wife, founded what
the Bible refers to as Mystery Babylon –
a pagan, false religious system that included
worship of many gods and goddesses, fire,
serpents, the sun and moon, and the planets."
-Traditions -The Real Origins of Halloween
by J. R. Terrier ; 2007
"From ancient Babylon, this diabolical mystery
religion and the pagan rituals associated with it
spread to Egypt, Asia, North and South America –
all over the world. As Halloween, it is now firmly
entrenched in mainstream, modern society where it
has become high on the list of many people’s
favorite celebrations. Dressing in scary costumes
and going trick-or-treating are only a few of the
customs of our traditional Halloween celebration
which come to us right from the world of the occult
and paganism."
-Traditions -The Real Origins of Halloween
by J. R. Terrier ; 2007
"The celebration of Halloween is a tradition
derived from Baal worship, the occult, and paganism.
What unseen forces do we pay tribute to when we
celebrate Halloween?"
-Traditions -The Real Origins of Halloween
by J. R. Terrier ; 2007
Halloween is Traced Back to Nimrod
and Ancient Babylon
"Have you ever wondered where the heinous pagan
worship rituals of the Druids originated? I have.
As it turns out it goes all the way back to Nimrod,
who built Babel or Babylon. He conceived a one world
government model in rebellion against Jehovah-God
and went about to establish a one world government
in the land of Shinar - which is today known as Iraq.
Nimrod instituted a pagan worship system that
rejected the Lord God Jehovah. Instead the primary
false god worshipped was Nimrod - called Baal
(Syrian & Phoenician), Bel (Assyrian), Moloch or Molech
(Ammonites), Ra or Re (Egyptian) to name just a few.
Here is why that is important. The American Book of
Days says, "Many of Halloween's customs are derived
from the ancient Baal Festivals."
-THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
September 1998
"Other customs originate from the taking of omens
from the struggles of victims in the fires of druidic
sacrifices." Alexander Hislop also wrote, "The worship
of Bel (Moloch) and Astarte was very early introduced
into Britain along with the Druids, the priests of the
groves. We have customs still lingering at this day
among us, which prove how exactly the worship of Bel
or Moloch had been observed…" The reference to
"lingering customs" refers to Halloween.'
-THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
September 1998
"It is important that you know that Nimrod
incorporated into his worship system the grisly
practice of human sacrifice and cannibalism.
Hislop says, "the priests of Nimrod or Baal were
necessarily required to eat of the human sacrifices;
(In the land of Canaan) - and thus it has come to
pass that ‘Cahna-Bal’ (cahna meaning priest & Bal
referring to Baal), the ‘Priest of Baal’ is the
established word (cannibal) in our own tongue
for a devourer of human flesh." Here is why
that is so important. "The god whom the Druids
worshipped was Baal, as the blazing Baal-fires
show and…children were offered in sacrifice to Baal.
That’s what Baal (Moloch) worshippers did.
We know that because of what we read in the Bible
in Jeremiah 19:5 They have built also the high places
of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt
offerings unto Baal, which I commanded NOT,
Nor spake it, neither came it into my mind."
-THE HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN
Pastor David L. Brown, Ph.D.
September 1998 David L. Brown
Samhain - Halloween
From Babylon to Rome
"When we think about the history of Halloween
we generally trace its roots back to the time
of the Druids in England, Scotland and Ireland.
In truth, its roots go much further back than that.
The celebration of the “Lord of the Dead” (later
known as Halloween) can be traced to ancient Babylon
and to the trinity worship of Nimrod, the sun god
and his son Tamaz, and the Queen of heaven Samarimas,
wife of Nimrod, mother of Tamaz. This triune god
of Babylon battled with Saman, (also known by a
variety of other names including Samana, Shamhain,
Satan and others), god of the underworld, death,
sin and evil. The ancient priests from Babylon
would roam the countryside demanding contributions
from the people in an effort to appease the god
of death and keep him at bay."
-Halloween, the Counterfeit “Last Great Day”
By Carl R. Dillenback
In Ancient Babylon - "On the eve of all hallows,
a gigantic fire was lighted to ward off the death
god. In the midst of the fire large cages were
suspended containing sacrifices to the god of the
underworld. These sacrifices ranged from beasts,
to children and adults both men and women.
The priests would observe the writhing of the
burning victims and make predictions for the future
based upon the manner in which these poor creatures
screamed and gyrated in their agony within the
confines of those cages."
-Halloween, the Counterfeit “Last Great Day”
By Carl R. Dillenback
"When Julius Caesar entered the British Isles
he was amazed to find that the Druids had adopted
the complete Chaldean (Babylonian) system -
in almost its pure form. In these gruesome
ceremonies - the bodies of the victims were
often eaten by the priests. It is interesting to note
that the Chaldean (Babylonian) word for priest
is “Cahna” and the word for lord is “Baal”
hence, “Cahna-Baal” or priests of Baal (Nimrod)
from which we derive our English word for the
eaters of human flesh, cannabal."
-Halloween, the Counterfeit “Last Great Day”
By Carl R. Dillenback
HALLOWEEN AND THE NIMROD CONNECTION
The BonFires of Halloween - were originally
called - "bone"Fires - "Sacrificial victims
were led through the streets of the village
by "MASKED" Celtic priests, the Druids,
who ceremonially offered the victims to the
Lord of Death, Satan. From the death agonies
of the "living" victim placed on the altar of
sacrifice, the priests divined the future of
the village from the way the soul departed the
body. This custom originated in BABYLON where the
Babylonian priests' prayed to the symbolic deity -
Nimrod. The victims were furiously consumed
by the roaring flames, and in the morning, all
that was left were the bones and ashes.
Today without realizing it, people everywhere
practice a similar ritual during the Harvest
Festival, not as "bone fires," but as "bon fires."
-The Dark Night of the Soul- Halloween
Excerpts taken from the October 1998,
Lampholder Newsletter
"During the dark night, the hooded priests
walked through the streets passing from house
to house with a special demand of food, drink,
or an added bonus, the virgin sons and daughters
of the villagers to offer as sacrifice to the spirits
of the night. Sometimes the villagers would also
dress in costume to hide (mask) their identity
from the evil spirits especially in efforts to
protect their children. In this way, the evil spirits
were fooled into thinking the villagers to be evil
spirits also and not harm them. And hence we have
the evil costumes of Halloween and the "Trick or Treat"
custom."
-The Dark Night of the Soul- Halloween
Excerpts taken from the October 1998,
Lampholder Newsletter
"If the village willingly complied with their demands,
the priests passed by, but if the village failed to
produce something of value, the priests placed the
"Jock O'Lantern" outside the door post of the house
to be released as a curse upon the dwellers.
The house would then be cursed and doors/window's
marked with a five-pointed star (pentagram)
or a six-pointed hexagram. The word "hexed"
(meaning cursed) evolved from this ancient occult
symbol of the hexagram. Finally, the spirits would
be left in the cursed village to wander the streets,
ravaging homes and bringing destruction upon
the living..."
-The Dark Night of the Soul- Halloween
Excerpts taken from the October 1998,
Lampholder Newsletter
CURSE OF HALLOWEEN PRIESTS JOCK O LANTERN
"The pagan priests placed the "Jock O'Lantern"
outside the door post of the house as a curse
upon the dwellers."
-The Dark Night of the Soul- Halloween
Excerpts taken from the October 1998,
Lampholder Newsletter
How Did Christians
Get Involved in This Holiday ?
"The changes were first initiated
with the reign of Constantine
(around the year A.D. 325) when
Christianity and Paganism united
into one "church." "
-The Dark Night of the Soul- Halloween
Excerpts taken from the October 1998,
Lampholder Newsletter
"FOR MANY years Christmas and other major holidays,
such as Easter, Halloween, etc., have been portrayed
as having a Christian origin... we have been deceived
into believing that pagan customs and traditions of
the past have their roots in the Christian church."
-The True Origin of Christmas and Other Holidays
The Gilead Institute
"Christianity had co-opted pagan time for its
festivals and calendar, without scriptural mandate
and in obvious contradiction to scriptural command
and example."
- Augustine's Poisoned Chalice;
by PETER NATHAN
"But the Spirit explicitly says
that in later times some will fall away
from the faith, paying attention to deceitful
spirits and doctrines of demons..."
(1Timothy 4:1-3)(NASB)-BibleGateway
"In ancient days
Satan seemed to make Babylon
the capital of his evil operation.
From this headquarters was started
all false religion."
-(Revelation Illustrated
and Made Plain) p. 224
"There in ancient Babylon were born
the false beliefs that have wormed their way
into almost every religion.
Even today millions and millions of people
who may want to live according to the right ways
are not aware that their manner of worship
follows very closely that of ancient idol worship
and pagan rites begun at Babel.
People today, calling themselves Christians,
keep the Babylonian festivals of the Solstice
at Christmas and of Easter, which is the festival
of Ishtar (the ancient fertility goddess of Babylon)
and the Baal (Nimrod) rites of Halloween."
- Nimrod and False Religion;
Adapted from Chapters 5 of The Bible Story
Volume 1 by Basil Wolverton
Published by Ambassador College Press
"Babylon The Great"
is Identified
Although Ancient Babylon no longer exists -
She has greatly corrupted the Fallen Apostate
Churches of Christendom. Ancient Babylon
still lives on - in all the pagan religions of the world.
These Fallen Churches who have adopted the
Pagan Holidays, doctrines, rites and beliefs
that were started by Nimrod in Ancient Babylon -
were given the name "Babylon The Great".
"When the early church departed from God
and imbibed pagan errors, she became Babylon.."
- the International Sabbath School Quarterly,
Feb. 29, 1896
"It was by departure from the LORD,
and alliance with the heathen
that the...church became a harlot."
- The Great Controversy, page 382.
In 1851, James White wrote :
'The woman, which is the great city, called Babylon,
symbolizes the fallen apostate churches'.... "
J. N. Andrews similarly defined Babylon as being
"...all the corrupt religious bodies which ever have existed..."
"Just as the fall of literal Babylon led to its
eventual overthrow and obliteration as a nation,
so the fall of its spiritual successor will lead
to its destruction. The tragic end of false Christianity
along with all other false religions, testifies to
God's requirement of purity of faith...."
- Our Firm Foundation, April 1987;
"BABYLON IS FALLEN", p. 21.
Oct. 28th, 2009 @ 08:52 pm
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| » Righteousness..Being Justified: Article by Austin Greene |
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Righteousness... Being Justified...
by Austin Green
Deu 6:25 ‘And it is righteousness for us when we guard to do all this command before יהוה our Elohim, as He has commanded us.’
Gal 2:21 “I do not set aside the favour of Elohim, for if righteousness is through Torah, then Messiah died for naught.
Most people, when trying to reconcile the previous scriptures, try to teach that Yahweh had one form of establishing righteousness during one era, and another in a different era. But this is silly.
Let me first say that there is no contradiction between the above verses. But under what is commonly taught today, I assure you there will be much contradiction and confusion.
It seems that there is an extremely underdeveloped and misinformed understanding of what righteousness means according to the scriptures. The term justification follows the same pattern, as the same surface contradictions occur. Let me explain to you.
Righteousness, at its core, just means "correctness", and thus, by implication can refer to a variety of things, such as uprightness, innocence, justice, and even truthfulness.
Thus, Paul, in speaking of righteousness, uses it in different ways. I will cover the two primary ways he uses this word. The first way Paul uses the word "righteousness", is in a common manner used by the majority of the writers of scripture. This righteousness refers to correctness of behavior. The second way Paul uses the word "righteousness", is according to the declaration of correctness Yahweh gives to a person upon repentance, which is only available because of what the Messiah did.
The first way Righteousness is used - (what Yahweh defines as correctness of behavior):
A few examples from Paul:
Rom 6:13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
Rom 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the holy spirit.
2Co 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
And from other writers:
Mat 5:10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Deu 6:25 And it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to do all this commandment before Yahweh our God, as he has commanded us.'
Deu 24:13 You shall restore to him the pledge as the sun sets, that he may sleep in his cloak and bless you. And it shall be righteousness for you before Yahweh your God.
2Sa 22:21 "Yahweh dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
Psa 119:142 Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.
Pro 21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to Yahweh than sacrifice.
Isa 51:7 "Listen to me, you who know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear not the reproach of man, nor be dismayed at their revilings.
The second way Righteousness is used - (the declaration of correctness/innocence Yahweh gives upon repentance/belief):
Rom 3:21 But now, apart from the Torah, a righteousness of Elohim has been revealed, being witnessed by the Torah and the Prophets,
Rom 3:22 and the righteousness of Elohim is through belief in Yeshua Messiah to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference,
Rom 4:5 And to him who is not working but believes on Him who is declaring right the wicked, his belief is reckoned for righteousness,
Rom 4:6 even as Dawiḏ also says of the blessedness of the man to whom Elohim reckons righteousness without works:
Gal 2:21 “I do not set aside the favour of Elohim, for if righteousness is through Torah, then Messiah died for naught.
Job 33:26 He prays to Eloah, and He accepts him. And he sees His face with joy, and He restores to man his righteousness.
Job 33:27 He sings to men and says, ‘I have sinned, and I have perverted what was right, and it did not profit me.’
Job 33:28 He has redeemed my being from going down to the Pit, and my life sees the light.
(I am not sure if I am understanding the above passage in Job correctly, but I think this is what it is referring to.)
The truth is, Paul lays out the two usages of righteousness to his audience, but it is overlooked.
Rom 10:5 For Mosheh writes about the righteousness which is of the Torah, “The man who does these shall live by them.”
This is the first righteousness I was talking about. Correct behavior. Things which can be done. Paul does confirm that the Torah contains righteousness.
Rom 10:6 But the righteousness of belief speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who shall ascend into the heavens?’ ” – that is, to bring Messiah down; or,
Rom 10:7 “ ‘Who shall descend into the abyss?’ ” – that is, to bring Messiah up from the dead.
Rom 10:8 But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” – that is, the word of belief which we are proclaiming:
This is the second righteousness I was talking about. Innocence before Yahweh. It is not something that is done. Paul, in these verses, signifies that it was the Messiah's work that makes this possible.
Rom 10:9 That if you confess with your mouth the Master Yeshua and believe in your heart that Elohim has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved.
Paul uses the word "justified" in the same two ways. He refers to people being justified in being declared correct according to behavior, and he refers to people being justified in being declared innocent from their sin.
First Usage: Declared correct according to behavior.
Rom 2:13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.
Second Usage: Declared innocent from sins.
Rom 3:20 For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.
As we can see, there is no contradiction in the above verses, given the proper understanding. One type of justification is simply the return to a right standing before Yahweh, and the other is according to judgment of behavior. Which is why the Messiah is able to speak in this way:
Mat 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak,
Mat 12:37 for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned."
Shalom
Oct. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:47 am
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| » "Fulfilling the Law" and the "Law of Christ" Fulfilled/Explained |
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"Fulfilling the Law" and the "Law of Christ" explained (Fulfilled)Share
Today at 11:26am | Edit Note | Delete
You are "fulfilling the Law" and "you are abolishing the Law" are common phrases when Rabbi's argue. To accuse someone of "abolishing the Law" meant they were incorrectly telling you how to keep a certain commandment. If you siad that someone was "fulfilling the Law' that meant you agreed wtih their interpretation of how to keep that Command. The Messiah was a Rabbi, and so were the people He was arguing with.
The rest of Matthew 5 displays this because the Messiah "fulfills' the commandments about murder and adultery in that same chapter. He explains what G-d meant by "do not murder" and by "do not commit adultery." Unjust and sustained rage are murder in G-d's eyes and adultery is lustful fantasizing.
What many are basically saying is that to "fulfill" and to "abolish" are the same thing, because they would have the same affect, but fulfill and abolish have complete and opposite meanings.
Messiah was VERY CLEAR in Matthew 5:17-19 "He who keeps the LEAST of these Commands and teaches others to do likewise will be caleld Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven, but whoever relaxes the leasrt of these Commands and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven."
So, if the Commands of G-d no longer applied, why would people gain more rewards in heaven for keeping even the smallest and seemingly insignificant Command? And why would they suffer loss of reward for ignoring something that is supposedly done away with? And why is keeping the Least of the Commands so important that the Messiah Himself promised a blessing for those who Teach others to Obey G-d's Law, just like Isaiah 56,Psalm 119, and Deuteronomy 30.
The Berean Church was instructed to "search the Scriptures daily to see if these things are true." So, since they only had Genesis through Malachi, does Genesis through Malachi say to live in Lawless or Obedience to G-d's Commands, which He said will be FOREVER.
The last question is this, if G-d is no longer the authority (if His Law is no longer what we live by), then WHO is the authority? Historically the answer seems to be the "Church' because as soon as they do away with a Command of G-d, they replace it with one of their man-made traditions. The Messiah warned about this in Matthew 23 "Woe to you Pharisees (preachers) who replace the Commands of G-d with your traditions!" He also had some strong words about leading children into sin, and sin is Biblically defined as breaking the Law of G-d. 1st John 3:4 "Sin is Lawlessness, in fact, anyone who breaks the Law of G-d sins."
In the Bible, this is called "LAWLESSNESS" or "A-Nomia", being with the guidance of G-d's Law/Torah. The Messiah had very strong words about Lawlessness "get away from me you workers of Lawlessness, for I never knew you." The Apostle Paul, also a Rabbi, had very strong word's about Lawlessness, he went so far as to say that it is the opposite of Righteousness, calling Righteousness the Light and Lawlessness the darkness "What fellowship can Righteousness have with Lawlessness? What fellowship can Light have with Darkness? What fellowship can Christ have with Baal?" He goes on in 2ndThessalonians to call the Anti-Christ himself the "man of lawlessness" and warns about "teachers of Lawlessness" coming into the Church.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
The Messiah even stated that keeping the Commands moves the Messiah to manifest Himself in our lives.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."
But what about the "Law of Christ." Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life." In the Book of Daniel we see the Torah (G-d's Book of Laws) called "The Book of Truth." We also find in Deuteronomy 30 that G-d's Commands bring us Long Life. In Psalm 119 we see G-d's Law referred to as the "Way of Life." The ancient Hebrews even referred to as the Torah Scroll as the "Tree of Life" which the handles being the branches and the parchment itself being called the "Leaves" which is the word many languages use for paper. In German for example, "Blatt" means both a tree leaf and a leaf of paper. Yeshua Himself said "Your Word (Torah) is a Lamp (Menorah) unto my feet."
Love One Another: The Commandment to Love one's neighbor is found in the Torah, in Leviticus 19. In fact, nearly every word out of the mouth of the Messiah is G-d's Law because we are Commanded to speak out it constantly and teach it to our Children. The Law properly explains to us HOW to Love. The human heart is wicked above all things, it has sick ideas about what "love" is. Pedophiles think they "love" children, Hitler said he "loved" little Aryan boys, and Josef Goebbels, another Nazi, had his wife poison their three children because they "loved" them too much to allow them to grow up in a world without Nazism. So, as History shows, we don't know anything about HOW to love, even when we try. The Ten Commandments tell us HOW to Love G-d with the First 4 Commands, and the other 6 tell us HOW to love our neigbhor. If we get confused, then we have ALL the other Commands of the Torah to Fulfill (properly explain) how to keep the 10 in more detail. The Life and Words of the Messiah FULFILLED the Command to Love. He taught us how to love by word and action, and His fulfilling of that Command doesn't mean we aren't required to Love anymore.
The Law of Christ is the Torah. If he had a different Law than G-d's Law He couldn't be from G-d. In the opening words of His ministry He made it clear that G-d's Law is binding, even the "Least of the Commands" will bring a blessing for keeping them and for teaching them. Now, teaching Lawlessness disguised under a warped view of "... Read MoreGrace" is a different story. The "Grace" that most Churches teach today was first taught by Satan in the Garden of Eden. After telling Adam and Eve to choose for themselves what is Good and Evil, he then went on to tell them "You will NOT surely die!" or, "G-d is a loving G-d and a G-d of Grace, so He doesn't care and there are no natural or spiritual consequences for breaking His Law." As Madea says "The Devil is a Liar!"
G-d's Grace is forgiveness when we REPENT, which is Teshuvah in Hebrew the language the Messiah spoke to His Disciples in. Repent in Hebrew is TESHUVAH which is literally, RETURN TO TORAH/G-d's Law. Unless we return to G-d's Law, its not Repentance, its just an apology.
Since we have defined Sin in the Bible (the Bible calls it Lawlessness), we should also find the Biblical definition of Righteousness. Since the Messiah quotes often from Deuteronomy 6 in Matthew 5 lets look at that.
Deuteronomy 6
1Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it:
2That thou mightest fear the LORD thy God, to keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I command thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son's son, all the days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
3Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
4Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
5And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
6And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
8And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.
9And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
10And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall have brought thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and goodly cities, which thou buildedst not,
11And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
12Then beware lest thou forget the LORD, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
13Thou shalt fear the LORD thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.
14Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you;
15(For the LORD thy God is a jealous God among you) lest the anger of the LORD thy God be kindled against thee, and destroy thee from off the face of the earth.
16Ye shall not tempt the LORD your God, as ye tempted him in Massah.
17Ye shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies, and his statutes, which he hath commanded thee.
18And thou shalt do that which is right and good in the sight of the LORD: that it may be well with thee, and that thou mayest go in and possess the good land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers.
19To cast out all thine enemies from before thee, as the LORD hath spoken.
20And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you?
21Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
22And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes:
23And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.
24And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.
25And it shall be our righteousness, if we observe to do all these commandments before the LORD our God, as he hath commanded us.
A Misunderstanding of Matthew 5, and the Law in General, has caused many Jews to turn away from G-d because in the Bible, you had to stone (NOT WORSHIP) someone who tried to do away with the Commands of G-d, even if they performed miracles. The Messiah taught the Church to keep the Commands of G-d, in both Letter and Spirit, with Him forgiving us when we make Teshuvah (Repent). HaSatan taught the Church to live and preach Lawlessness/Sin and rename it "Grace." We must decide who to follow, Christ or Baal.
Deuteronomy 13
1If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder,
2And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them;
3Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
4Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him.
5And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee.
6If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
7Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
8Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
9But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
10And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.
11And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is among you.
12If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying,
13Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known;
14Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you;
Oct. 22nd, 2009 @ 11:30 am
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| » The Origins of the Ginger Bread Men, Mistletoe, and "Ho, Ho, Ho" at X-mas |
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The Origins of the Ginger Bread Man, Mistletoe, and "Ho, Ho, Ho" at X-mas.
Originally Titled, "The Origins of X-mas" by Kim Bowden Cravey
Ezekiel 8:6-16 " And he said, 'Son of man, do you see what they are doing - things that will drive me far from My sanctuary?' ... He then brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD, and there at the entrance to the temple .... men were bowing down to the rising sun."
Before the time of Constantine, the early church never celebrated birthdays. Birthday celebrations with the giving of gifts had long been a pagan tradition and was banned by the early church. Celebrating the birth of Messiah was considered to be blasphemous.
Before Jesus had even been born, the pagans had long been celebrating the birthday of the god Mithras on December 25. In the year 274, The Roman Emperor Aurelian had actually designated Mithras birthday as an official Roman Holiday.
Mithras
Mithras was the Persian Sun God said to be born on December 25, 600 bc. Although Constantine declared Christianity as the only "legal" religion, to Constantine, Mithras was the "supreme god". Constantines logo was of the sun and could be found on all his coins.
After Constantines "conversion" to Christianity, he built his triumphal arch bearing the image of Mithras, the "unconquered sun".
In his new city of Constantinople, he set up a statute of the sun god, bearing his own features.
The day set aside to worship the god Mithras was on "The venerable day of the Sun, " i.e. Sunday.
Also during the festival known as Saturnalia, Mithras birthday was one of the Romans favorite festivals. A time for good cheer and gift giving. A time where houses and towns were decorated with garland, greenery and lights. Saturnalia was a TWELVE DAY celebration - reflecting the 12 month calendar of the sun.
This was a time when the Ashiera Cult, who worshipped trees, would cut trees down and bring them into their homes and decorate them with silver and gold in hopes of being blessed with fertility. Round ornaments were placed on the trees to symbolize the male organs.
Jeremiah 10 - "Hear the word ADONAI speaks to you... 'Don't learn the way of the heathen...for the customs of the peoples are nothing. They cut down a tree in the forest; a craftsman works it with his axe; they deck it with silver and gold. They fix it with hammer and nails, so that it won't move. LIke a scarecrow in a cucumber patch, it cannot speak. It has to be carried , because it cannot walk. Do not be afraid of it - it can do nothing bad; likewise it is unable to do anything good!"
The FEAST of Saturnalia - also commemorated the dedication of the temple of the God of Saturn. The customary greeting was "HO! Praise Saturn!" This phrase was to be repeated three times.
God of Saturn Father Time
The god of Saturn was depicted by figures referred to as Santa or Father Time. His wife was also a god referred to as Mother Earth.
Oden, was the oldest and wisest of the Gods. He had a long white beard and on one night a year, on the solstice in December, he would lead a hunt on his horse to seek out evil doers. People would leave out grain for his horse and food for the spirits.
PAGAN GOD ODEN (WODEN ====> "WODEN's Day"===> Wednesday)
Earth Mother, also made visitations to her people every year. She carried a jeweled stick with holly ivey and mistle toe.
In 575 AD, the early church forbade the pagan custom of garlanding houses with laurel greenery.
During Saturnalia, a beggar or a jew, was selected by the community to be indulged for a week. On December 25, the victim was poisoned with mistletoe and then brutally raped and murdered to "destroy the forces of darkness." (i.e. Kissing under the mistletoe)
During this week, the communities would drink and feast and go from house to house singing naked. (Caroling)
Human shaped biscuits were eaten in honor of the human sacrifice to be given on December 25. (Ginger bread men)
Because of its known pagan origin, Christmas was banned and considered illegal in the state of Massachusetts from 1659 - 1681.
On December 25, 1881, 12 jews were brutally murdered, huge numbers of jews were maimed, and many Jewish women were raped.
St. Nicholas, was a senior bishop at the council of Nicea. He wrote that Jews were "children of the devil that killed our Lord Jesus".
At the council of Nicea - "Those who openly or secretly keep the Sabbath and follow other practices in the manner of the Jews are not to be received into communion, nor into prayer, nor into the church".
The Council of Laodicea - "It is not permitted to receive festivals which are by Jews, nor to hold a festival together with them. Christians must not Judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day...but if any be found to be Judaziers let them be anathema from Christ."
Constantine wrote, "Let us have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries. This irregularity of observing Passover, must be corrected, in order that we may no more have anything in common with the parricides and murderers of our Lord."
In 321, Constantine deleted the Sabbath day (friday night to saturday night) and replaced the Christian day of worship with "the day of the venerable day of the Sun" in honor of MIthras.
A fourth century mosaic found in the city of Rome portrays Yeshua as the sun god, driving his chariot across the sky. (santa riding through the skies on his sleigh)
Helios- sun god
St. Peters
By the 5th century, it had become common practice for worshippers entering St Peters Basilica in Rome to turn at the door and bow down to worship the rising sun. Thus fulfilling Ezekiels vision in Ezekiel 8:6-16.
Once Yeshua was viewed as a manifestation of the Sun god, Saturnalia became known as Christmas, The Birthday of Jesus.
And where did the red suit come from?
in 1931, Coca Cola ran an advertisement depicting "Santa" with a long beard and wearing a "coca cola red" winter solstice outfit.
BRIAN's HISTORICAL NOTE
The Biblical name for "Santa" was Baal. The Priests of Baal wore red suits and pointed hats, like the Tiara of the Popes and Pharoahs, and Santa's pointed hat. They also practiced human sacrifice, painting eggs red with the blood of murdered children, and putting them on evergreen trees to represent Nimrod's Baals.
Ezekiel 8 also mentions the Mistletoe, calling it "sniffing the twig". Whichever woman was caught under the mistletoe by a man belonged to that man for the night. Much like the Feast of Lupercalia on February 14th where a number was painted on a woman in wolf's blood and men would draw from a box held by the priests of Lupercal (Baal, the mighty ... Read Morehunter) and pull out a card called a "Valentine." The woman with the corresponding number painted on her was the man' sex partner until the next February 14th.
Look up "Krampus" if you ever get a chance, its the Germanic origins of Santa's Elves.
Krampus was a giant black beast with goat horns and goat hooves covering in black fur, in children were bad he arrived with Santa and kidnapped and ate the children.
Ofcourse, it all originally came from Babylon-Baal and Easter and Tammuz, the Babylonian Trinity, just keep switching names throughout history. And the whole world wondered after the whore of Babylon.
Oct. 18th, 2009 @ 03:46 pm
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Should Women Be Allowed To Teach Men in the Body of Messiah? and HeadCoverings for Women and Men; By Maria Merola
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Should Women Be Allowed To Teach Men in the Body of Messiah?
By Maria Merola
This topic has become a subject of much controversy in the Christian Church today, as many are using only one isolated passage of scripture from 1st Timothy 2:12 in order to divide the female and male genders in the church.
I am often asked about this subject since I have been called as a female to be a “watchman to the House of Israel” in these last days.
The mandate which God has given me is to warn the body of Messiah about false pagan mixture in the church and to teach about the Hebraic roots of the faith to both men and women alike.
I do not believe that a woman should pastor a congregation alone. She should have a husband who is the Senior Pastor or another man who is the Senior Pastor. I am under Apostolic Authority as a prophetic teacher, “watchman” and full time intercessor.
Now that I have cleared that up, let me get to the meat of this message concerning what scripture says about women in the role of a teacher, or ministry leader in the church.
In order to understand what the Apostle Paul was referring to about women teaching men, we have to read his letter in context.
The Male & Female Relationship in Marriage
The Apostle Paul is telling a woman not to usurp her own husband's authority. When you look up the original Greek word here for "woman" the actual word means "wife." The Greek word is "gune" which literally means "wife."
There is a more generic word for woman in Greek which means "female" and that word is "thelus."
#1135. gune goo-nay' probably from the base of 1096; a woman; specially, a wife:--wife, woman.
#2338. thelus thay'-loos from the same as 2337; female:--female, woman.
So with that understanding of the original Greek word, let's see what the Apostle Paul was referring to:
1st Timothy 2:12 But I suffer not a woman (gune/ wife) to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man (aner/ husband), but to be in silence.
The original Greek word in the Strong's Concordance here for "man" is "aner" which literally means "husband."
#435. aner an'-ayr a primary word (compare 444); a man (properly as an individual male):--fellow, husband, man, sir.
There is another Greek word for "man" which means "male" or human being:
#444. anthropos anth'-ro-pos from 435 and ops (the countenance; from 3700); man-faced, i.e. a human being:--certain, man.
The Female Dominance Cult in Ephesus
In order to understand Paul’s letter to Timothy when he commanded a woman not to teach a man, we must first know the historical background of this Church he was writing to in Ephesus. Paul was not making a ruling for all women for all times in every church and in every situation.
The Church at Ephesus were former pagans who worshipped the Great Diana Artemis. This religion taught that Eve came before Adam and that she conceived Adam. This cult would immasculate men by making them eunuchs (removing their reproductive parts), and then the women would be dominant over the men, and they would sacrifice men to this pagan goddess Diana.
This is the reason why the Apostle Paul made reference to this in 1st Timothy 2:
13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve.
14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Why would the Apostle Paul need to explain that Adam was formed first and then Eve? Don’t we all know this? But the Church at Ephesus was taught a lie about this. This lie is much like the lie in the Catholic Church today where it is taught that “Mary, the mother of Jesus was born without original sin, hence it was her divinity which was passed on to Jesus…”
Since Catholicism teaches that Mary is the Holy Spirit, hence they conclude that “Mary is the author of Jesus” like the lie that they taught about Eve being the author of Adam.
This is why in 1st John 4:3 (KJV) we have the litmus test for identifying the Spirit of Antichrist. John says “every spirit which does not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, this is that spirit of Antichrist…”
What does this verse mean? The word “flesh” here is the Greek word “sarx” and it means “carnal, sensual.” This means that Yeshua our Messiah had a corruptible nature “physically” which he inherited from his mother Mary. But his spiritual nature was “incorruptible” because he had the blood of his Heavenly Father in his veins. Yeshua had to possess both natures at the same time in order to be the perfect sacrifice. He had to have a corruptible nature “physically” so that he could destroy sin in the flesh (Romans 6). But he also had to be sinless, having an incorruptible spiritual nature at the same time. If he had sinned, his blood could not have atoned for us. He had to be a male lamb without blemish according to the Torah.
Okay so getting back to our study about the Church at Ephesus, we can see how this cult from ancient Babylon has been duplicated today in the Catholic Church with the deification of Mary the mother of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit fertilized Mary’s egg producing a human body for Jesus. But the blood came from the Heavenly Father. We can even read this in Zechariah 12:10 where Yehovah says “they will look upon ME whom they have pierced and they will mourn for HIM as one mourns for his only son.” This means that it was Yehovah’s blood that was in Yeshua when he died for us on the cross!
Even biology proves this. Below is a diagram showing that the mother’s blood never touches the baby during gestation.
The child’s umbilical cord is attached to the placenta. It is the placenta which is attached to the mother. The placenta acts like a giant clearing house for the baby, taking nutrients and other things out of the mother’s blood and passing them on to the baby's blood stream through the umbilical cord.
And so why did I go down this rabbit trail? I am trying to show that Yeshua our Messiah was the one who is Eternal and he is the one who created Mary, Mary did not create him!
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:
Yeshua created Mary, not the other way around. But the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary was sinless and divine, and eternal. They call her the “Queen of Heaven” just like the Babylonians called Semiramis the “Queen of Heaven.” Roman Catholicism hence denies that “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh” (having a corruptible physical nature) and this is the very essence of the Antichrist Spirit!
You see, Catholicism teaches that Mary’s conception in her mother’s womb was “immaculate” and that she was born without original sin from birth making her divine. This very doctrine known as the “Immaculate Conception” is the crux of the Spirit of Antichrist. If Mary was born without original sin, then she is eternal and a goddess like Venus, like Diana, like Isis, Semiramis, Asherah, Easter and all the other pagan goddesses whom she embodies as a reincarnation according to paganism. Many Protestants think when they hear the term “Immaculate Conception” that this is about the virgin birth of Yeshua Messiah, but it is not! It is about Mary’s conception without original sin, making her divine and eternal. This would then lead to the lie that says “Eve conceived Adam” or “Mary conceived Jesus.” The Catholic Church teaches that “Mary is the Holy Spirit and that he can only work through her.”
Pope John Paul II gave a speech in Lithuania in 1993 showing that the Catholic Church believes that Mary is the Holy Spirit!
Time Magazine comments in September 1993’s issue: “according to modern Popes” Mary is “the Queen of the Universe, Queen of Heaven, Seat of Wisdom…..”
In the Pope’s September 1993 speech in Lithuania, he spoke of Mary as “Mother of the Church, Queen of the Apostles, and dwelling place of the Trinity”! Pope John Paul finalized his speech by saying, “To Mary I entrust all of you….” His final petition was a prayer to Mary:
“Hail, holy Queen of heaven, Mother of Mercy! Our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this valley of tears. Turn, then most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us: and after this our exiles show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus: O clement, loving sweet Virgin Mary.”
This is complete blasphemy! Colossians 3:4 declares that Jesus Christ is our life---not Mary.
1st John 2:1 declares that Jesus alone is our Advocate with the Father!
According to Soul Magazine, the official publication for The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima,“Mary is so perfectly united with the Holy Spirit that he acts only through her, his spouse…all our life, word and deed is in Her hands…at every moment, She herself must instruct, guide, and transform each one of us into Herself, so that not we but She lives in us, as Jesus lives in Her, and the Father in the Son.”
According to the Roman Catholic Church, Mary has replaced the Holy Spirit as teacher, guide and part of the Trinity!
Now we can understand why Paul had to go to great lengths to deprogram the way that the Ephesians were taught. He had to re-establish the order of things that had been perverted by the Babylonian Mystery Religion of Diana Artemis.
The answer to “female dominance” is not “male dominance” which only continues to keep the “enmity” between male and female. For this reason Paul stated in Galatians 3 that “there is neither male nor female… for we are one in Messiah.” Nobody likes to be dominated by another human being. In a marriage relationship wives are commanded to submit to their own husbands because in the unique relationship of marriage, this is a picture of Messiah and his bride the church. That is why wives must submit to their OWN husbands. You will notice that Paul used the term “own husbands” so that women would not submit to another woman’s husband thereby causing adultery!
Ephesians 5:22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Colossians 3:18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
God allowed polygamy in the Old Testament, but from the beginning it was not so, as Yeshua stated. He said that “A man shall leave his mother and father and shall cleave unto his wife (singular) and the TWO shall become one flesh.”
Matthew 19:5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?
You will notice that Yeshua did not say that a “man shall cleave to his wives (plural) and he did not say “many of his wives shall become one flesh with him.”
At this website, there is found information about this female dominance cult at the Ephesus:
http://www.gospelassemblyfree.com/facts/women.htm
Women Keeping Silent in the Churches
Some people read the following verse without reading the entire letter to the Corinthian Church to understand what Paul was saying and they form a doctrine out of the next two verses:
1st Corinthians 14:
34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also saith the law.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is
a shame for women to speak in the church.
What person reads a 10 page letter and skips to the 5th page and reads 2 lines from the letter and forms a conclusion from those 2 lines without reading the entire letter? No person in their right mind does this.
First of all, Paul was addressing this problem that they were having with certain women in the congregations. The women and the men were segregated so that the women sat on one side of the congregation and the men on the other. Some of the women were shouting across the room to their husbands asking them what the Rabbi was teaching about. But Paul was telling these women to "keep silence" and ask their husbands when they went home.
How do we know that Paul was not forming a doctrine against women teaching in church? Because it would be in direct contradiction to what he says in 1st Corinthians 11:5 concerning women having their head covered when they pray or prophesy.
So what was Paul talking about? Obviously he knew that women would be allowed to "prophesy" in church so long as her "head" is covered. But this is not literally a veil or a tallit necessarily. The veil is an outward symbol of being under a covering of her husband and the Messiah. Paul goes on to say that a woman's hair serves as her covering. He says that if she does not have her head covered, let her head be shaven. Why does he say this?
Because pagan temple prostitutes would shave their heads and this was a shameful thing for a woman to do. So if a woman is not under the covering of her husband and the Messiah himself, she should have her head shaven like a temple whore. That is what Paul is talking about.
Are women allowed to prophesy or teach in church, so long as her "head" is covered as an outward sign that she is under her husband's authority and the authority of Messiah?
1st Corinthians 11:5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
The Greek word for "prophesy" here is:
#4395. propheteuo prof-ate-yoo'-o from 4396; to foretell events, divine, speak under inspiration, exercise the prophetic office:--prophesy.
This means that a woman may speak under divine inspiration so long as she is under the authority of her husband and her Messiah, Yeshua.
If a woman is not under the authority of her husband and Messiah, she is dishonoring "her head" or her earthly husband and her Messiah.
I don't believe it is necessary for a woman to wear a literal head covering as I believe that the Apostle Paul was speaking of the "head" being the husband:
1st Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Messiah; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Messiah is God.
So when Paul speaks of a woman having her "head" covered, the head he is referring to is her husband, not her literal head.
1st Corinthians 11:4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.
*NOTE: This is the Doctrine of the Nicolaitanes which Yeshua said that he hates in Revelation 2. This is the doctrine where people subjugate the authority of Messiah over to a man-made institution or a man-made doctrine. The Corinthians were setting up denominational heads over themselves instead of Messiah:
1st Corinthians 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
1st Corinthians 3:4 For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?
This is why Paul said that a man should not "cover his head" meaning that he should be directly under his Messiah and not under a man-made doctrine or institution.
The woman's "head" is her husband and she should be under her husband's covering when she prays or prophesies. Since I am unmarried, my Messiah is my husband, and I am under his authority.
I wear a tallit (prayer shawl)-- not because I think it makes me more holy nor does it make me appear more "Jewish" I wear one when I pray because I want to remind myself that I am under Messiah's authority. But Paul says that a woman's hair is given to her as a covering, so I believe this is sufficient.
1st Corinthians 11:
5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.
6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.
7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.
This verse is not making a case against men wearing kippas or hats. I believe that is fine, because Yeshua wore his prayer shawl in the temple when he read Torah. Paul is talking about a man not covering his "head" as in not coming under all of these man-made doctrines and denominational leaders instead of Messiah.
In the days when Paul wrote 1st Corinthians 14, women could not read or write for the most part. Men were allowed to go to school to learn the scriptures but women stayed home and made babies, and did housework. Women took much abuse from men in those days because they were treated as substandard and men looked down on women as property.
But Yeshua changed all of that by making both male and female of the same joint heirs to the covenant promises with him to include working for the kingdom of heaven.
After the Samaritan woman had an encounter with Yeshua, she went and told everyone that she had encountered the Messiah. It means that she did what? She testified---she preached! Did she only preach to women? No! To EVERYONE!
Yeshua knew that she would go testify of him, but did he tell her to keep silence to the community of believers that she would convert? No, he knew that she would become an evangelist and that is why he spoke to her of the living water.
The Samaritan woman went on to be an Evangelist:
John 4:
39 And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on him for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.
40 So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they besought him that he would tarry with them: and he abode there two days.
This would seem to contradict to what Paul commanded in 1st Corinthians 14:34 concerning women keeping silent in the churches. But as I have stated before, nobody recieves a 10-page letter in the mail and then skips over to page 5 and only reads 2 lines on page 5, and comes to an erroneous conclusion based on those 2 lines of that 10-page letter. That is what people often do with 1st Corinthians 14:34. If we read the entire letter of 1st Corinthians in context and more specifically chapter 14, Paul is addressing this problem of people speaking out of turn as there was much confusion in the services. He is laying out the guidelines for giving prophecy and sharing revelation in the previous verses:
1st Corinthians 14:
27 If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.
28 But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.
29 Let the prophets speak two or three, and let the other judge.
30 If any thing be revealed to another that sitteth by, let the first hold his peace.
31 For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted.
32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.
Paul is obviously addressing this problem with people talking out of turn, and this is the reason why he tells women to ask their husbands when they get home. Women were illiterate in those days, and so they were asking their husbands questions during the meetings and causing disruptions.
But when a woman is asked by a Pastor or an Apostle to get up and speak or testify, then she has the validation or the ordination of the man in office do to so and therefore she is not causing disruption or confusion! And this is why Paul was asking the churches to help Phoebe, Euodias, and Syntyche in their ministries of preaching the gospel. Was he telling these women to keep silent? No! Why not? Because he was not making a doctrine against women preaching in 1st Corinthians 14:34. He was specifically addressing women asking their husbands questions during the Bible study.
Today women are equally as educated as men and women are commissioned to leadership roles by whom? Men! Men are the ones who are ordaining women in these roles just as Paul was ordaining these women and asking the churches to assist these women in ministry. You will note that the Apostle Paul is giving certain women his "stamp of approval" for ministry:
Romans 16:1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
Phillippians 4:
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
Examples of Females in Leadership in the Bible are as follows:
The female Apostle Junia:
Romans 16:7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my fellow-prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.
The female Disciple Tabitha/Dorcas:
Acts 9:36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
The Deaconess Phoebe:
Romans 16:1 I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, 2 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.
Female Evangelists Eudodias & Syntyche:
Phillippians 4:
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
The Prophetess Anna:
Luke 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;
The Prophetess Deborah:
Judges 4:4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
Judges 5:7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
Gender Distinction For Marriage Only
The only place where the distinction of male and female plays an important role is in the marriage covenant. Why? Because marriage is a picture of the relationship between Messiah and his Bride.
Are we not all his bride? Are we not all one body? Is he not our bridegroom? Do we think that only the male species are the ones whom God has called to help usher in the kingdom? Do we believe that the 5 wise virgins who had their oil lamps filled represents only females? That would be absurd, wouldn’t it?
The 5 wise virgins represent the bride of Messiah and that means male and female together make up the “bride of Messiah.”
Messiah is the male role and the believers in Messiah makeup the female role.
That is why the male/female relationship pertains to marriage only.
But when it pertains to the kingdom of heaven the female role represents the bride of Messiah and it is “she” who brings in the harvest like Ruth who worked for Boaz. It is the “bride” who he comes for and her oil lamp must be ready and filled.
In the kingdom of heaven, the Body of Messiah is a female role and the Bridegroom is a male role. That is why in an earthly marriage relationship the distinction of male and female are still unique in function.
The word of God clearly teaches that gender does not matter in the kingdom of heaven except for in the unique relationship between a husband and a wife. In that scenario, a woman must not usurp the authority of her husband:
Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Under the order of Melchisidek, all believers (Male & Female) are part of that priesthood.
1st Peter 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;
The bride of Messiah is the female role, and the bridegroom is the male role, even though the Levites were all male, they are his bride (female role).
If a husband recognizes his wife's gift of teaching and he covers her to do so, then she is not usurping his authority. Even if a husband asks his wife to teach him something for which he knows she is more qualified then she is doing so under his authority. Case in point was with Smith Wigglesworth. His wife Polly taught him to read and write because he never recieved more than a 6th grade education. But he asked her to teach him. So was she wrong for teaching him? Of course not.
There is nothing in scripture that says that a woman may not lead a man into battle as with Deborah. As a matter of fact, God allowed it in her case, but she also had a husband who was a prophet who acted as her covering.
To the Church of Pegamos, Yeshua addressed this doctrine which he called "The Doctrine of the Nicolaitanes" and he said that he hates it. The word Nicos means "to dominate" and the word Laity means the lay people in the body. Nico-Laity means "The leadership lords themselves over the laity."
Revelation 2:15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.
God hates this because it is idolatry when we elevate one person over another in the body. That is why Paul said that there is neither male nor female, bond nor slave, Jew nor Greek.
We are all equally heirs to the promises in Messiah which includes the gifting and callings of Messiah.
www.doubleportioninheritance.com
BRIAN's COMMENTS (My Opinions on the Subject):
There is a difference between teaching a man and discipling a man. From my understanding, a woman can teach a man in the Greek sense of teach (transmit knowledge) but not in the Japanese and more importantly Hebrew sense of Teach (to show by example, or transmit what is in one person and to allow it to be absorbed into another person by spending time together). Only a man can teach a boy how to be a G-dly man, and only a woman can show a girl how to be a G-dly woman, a man cannot transmit femininity and a woman cannot femininity. There were female prophets and deaconesses and speakers, but never a woman discipling a man. In fact, this could let to a lack of appropriate boundaries if a woman were to disciple a man. As discipling in the Biblical sense requires an intense one on one relationship. Even Yeshua only had 12 Apostles, or inner circle Students, showing the intensity and amount of time, energy, and emotional availability required to disciples someone. A woman sharing at this level with a man could lead to inappropriate bonds.
Women can however minister and teach Scripture to nearly anyone, the lack of knowledge the modern church has about the difference between teaching and discipling has led to this whole issue. The Church rarely disciples, only teaches facts and calls it discipleship therefore the confusion of terms. Teaching does not require being spiritually responsible for someone else but discipleship does. We have the two extremes of hardline chauvenist often found in Southern Churches and the other extreme of a gender blender Church like the one in ancient Corinth and the ones in major cities today.
In Marriage: If you look at Adam and Eve the curse on Eve was a cursed relationship because that is how women usually try to find fulfillment. G-d said that Eve "desire" would be for her husband. The word used here for desire means "a desire to rule over". In Genesis G-d also warns a descendent of Adam and Eve that sins "desire' was for him (to rule over him.)
Eve's desire to rule over Adam would cause a strain on relationships. This has happened to many marriages and mother-son relationships, which is why it is so important to "leave and cleave" and for single moms to find a G-dly example of manhood for their son. A boy's masculinity can be suffocated to death by a mom without a dad's influence, thereby leading to a man giving up and becoming effiminate and passive, or trying too hard and becoming a super-macho man. This is why a woman was not to rule over her husband in the writings of Paul (Rabbi Sha’ul).
The woman in Genesis is called the man's "helpmeet by his side". This word has been grossly mistranslated from the Hebrew "Ezer Kenegdo" which refers to a different kind of Servant or "Helper". In the Hebrew, the word translated as "helpmeet by his side" actually refers to Eve on one occassion, and to G-d Himself in every other instance in the Bible. This "helper" helps you in the way that a lifeguard helps a drowning victim, or a paramedic helps a wounded man. Women and men are absolutely interdependent, with distinct and vitally important roles. Stasi Eldredge discusses the vital role of women in churches, and how women reflect the image of G-d, in her book "Captivating". Women bring beauty to an ugly world in several ways, they bring life, and we should never delegate their role to simple servants. It discusses the differences between men and women, and the vitalness of both roles. The Church has confused these roles to match their traditions, but not G-d’s Commands. We are responsible for encouraging each member of the body of Christ to fulfill their role as a man or woman, and their unique calling. My wife has a unique calling as a nutritionist and someone who helps people to separate the physically unclean (such as vaccines, meats, etc.) from the clean, as well as a gift of healing. She also hears the Spirit a lot more than I do. I would hate to responsible for depriving the world of her calling, because her skills and talents are much needed.
Many women in the Bible were called to be Prophets (speaking the Word of G-d through the Logos-written Word, and Rhema-Spirit inspired Word, Bible Teachers, Judges, and Deaconesses (responsible for secular affairs of the church, like a Church business office would fulfill today). We are all called to be “Kings and Priests upon the earth” so women have a role in establishing the Commands of G-d in their home (over their children) as a Monarch would do, and women would also have a role as Priests (distinguishing between the Clean and Unclean, Physically and Spiritually), the Priests of the time served as Physicians and Health Inspectors. While men served these roles, when Messiah returns there will be no more marriage or being given in marriage, and all will be Kings and Priests upon the Earth.
Oct. 16th, 2009 @ 07:46 pm
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Grace Establishes the Law (Torah) by Maria Merola
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Grace Establishes the Law
By Maria Merola
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
The Apostle Paul illustrates here that through faith in Messiah, Yeshua, the Law/Torah/Instructions (5 books of Moses) is all the more ESTABLISHED! He admonishes us that we do not make void the law because of our faith in Messiah, contrary to what many in today's Christian church have done.
There are many people in today’s Christian Church who are misinterpreting Paul's writings. Paul warned about the last days when many would “fall away” and they would give heed to the man of sin and his “Mystery Religion” which would promote lawlessness. In 2nd Thessalonians 2, he calls this the MYSTERY OF INIQUITY, and in Paul's day this religion of lawlessness was already "at work." So what is this "Mystery of Iniquity"?
In the Strong's Greek Concordance, the word Iniquity is defined as follows:
#458. anomia an-om-ee'-ah from 459; illegality, i.e. violation of law or (genitive case) wickedness:--iniquity, X transgress(-ion of) the law, unrighteousness.
#459. anomos an'-om-os from 1 (as a negative particle) and 3551; lawless, i.e. (negatively) not subject to (the Jewish) law; (by implication, a Gentile), or (positively) wicked:--without law, lawless, transgressor, unlawful, wicked.
Did you get that?
INIQUITY = NOT SUBJECT TO JEWISH LAW!
In all of Paul’s Epistles, he was not preaching lawlessness, contrary to what most people in today’s church have come to believe. He was actually making a distinction between the DOCTRINES AND COMMANDMENTS OF MEN, versus the LAWS OF GOD, which are now WRITTEN IN OUR HEARTS AND MINDS UNDER THE NEW COVENANT!
In the book of Galatians, Paul addressed this problem with the Jews in his day trying to force outward circumcision upon Gentiles in order to accept them into their fellowship. In the Torah, it is written that if a stranger wants to sojourn with Israel and he wants to keep the Passover Feast with an Israelite, he must first become circumcised. And so this is where the contention started in the book of Galatians.
The Rabbi's were making circumcision the pre-requisite to salvation when it is not. No place in the Torah (5 books of Moses) does it say that one must be circumcised in order to be saved! God always intended outward circumcision to be a sign of circumcision of the heart:
Deuteronomy 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
Deuteronomy 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Jeremiah 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.
And so under the New Covenant, we have circumcision of the heart as the "sign" that we have been become "Jewish" (belonging to the tribe of Judah) through Yeshua's blood covenant:
Romans 2:
25 For circumcision is indeed profitable if you keep the law; but if you are a breaker of the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision.
26 Therefore, if an uncircumcised man keeps the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be counted as circumcision?
27 And will not the physically uncircumcised, if he fulfills the law, judge you who, even with your written code and circumcision, are a transgressor of the law?
28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh;
29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God.
Paul was telling those who were circumcised outwardly that it does not profit them if they are outwardly circumcised if they fail to keep God's laws. Likewise he said that if an uncircumcised Gentile does obey God's laws, his "uncircumcision" is then counted as "circumcision" because he obeys God's commandments. And so in this way, Paul was teaching that we are truly "Jewish" if we are circumcised inwardly by the Holy Spirit, who removes the foreskin of our hearts and then writes the Law/Torah in our hearts and in our minds.
Hebrews 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
Hebrews 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
We are justified by Grace through Faith, but then Grace does not only JUSTIFY us, but Grace also SANCTIFIES us and writes the law in our hearts and minds. This is the sign of the New Covenant, that we have his laws in our hearts and minds. Many believers today are making the classic mistake of confusing JUSTIFICATION with SANCTIFICATION. But they are quite different.
When God brought the Israelites out of Egypt, this is a picture of salvation. But when he took them into the wilderness and taught them his statutes and precepts (Torah/Instructions) this is a picture of sanctification (being set apart and called to holiness). But many are doing the classic thing that most Christians do, of confusing these two works of Grace and treating them as the same thing.
God did not deliver Israel out of Egypt and then leave them in the wilderness without his instructions on how to live. He taught them his laws. But they came to us in Stone Tablets (which were corruptible or breakable). But now under the New Covenant on Pentecost he presented those same laws to us, only now in "fleshy tables of the heart" (2nd Corinthians 3:3). The Holy Spirit gave us the very same law but now in an incorruptible form which is a new nature. We now possess the nature of Messiah himself which is the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, these are the same laws only now in an incorruptible form. Messiah is the Living Law (Living Word) and the corruptible form of the word/law was crucified but now the same word/law has been resurrected into an incorruptible form, which is called the "law of the spirit of life."
Notice 3 types of law below:
1.) Law of the Spirit of Life
2.) Law of Sin & Death
3.) Law of God in Stone
Romans 8
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
3 For what the law (in stone) could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Many Christians love to quote Romans 8:1 but they only quote half of the verse and leave the latter part of the verse out:
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Notice that there is a CONDITION to those who are not under CONDEMNATION. The condition is this: They walk in the power of the Holy Spirit! And what does the Holy Spirit do? He frees us from our inability to keep the law! The law of the Spirit of Life (the Holy Spirit's power in us to keep the law) has freed us from our inability to keep the law (the law of sin and death). Because God's laws (in stone tablets) were only weak because of the fact that they were INCOMPATIBLE with our corrupted human nature.
But now that the Holy Spirit gives us the law in an INCORRUPTIBLE FORM, which is a NEW NATURE, THE NATURE OF MESSIAH HIMSELF, we are now able to FULFILL THE LAW just as Messiah completely fulfilled the law! This means we have been given power from the Holy Spirit to live exactly as Yeshua Messiah lived!
You will see that what Paul is saying is that the law in stone was weak because of our sinful nature, but the law of the spirit of life (the law of God written in our hearts) has now freed us from this other law that works in our members that makes us want to break God's laws. So now the "righteousness of God's laws are able to be fulfilled in us" by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words we are now able to FULFILL THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF THE LAW by the Holy Spirit's power in us!
This is a common mistake that many in the church make because they are viewing Paul's writings with a Western-Greco, Roman mindset instead of a Hebraic mindset.
When I ask most Christians how they would define sin, they don't have a well defined answer. They usually say "well, ummm, uhh, it means disobeying God...."
But they don't know exactly how to define what it means to "disobey" God. But scripture gives us a well defined answer as to what sin really is:
1st John 3:4 Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
And what is the penalty for breaking God's laws?
Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
When Paul spoke of "another gospel" he was rebuking those who would follow the doctrines and commandments of men, not the laws of God!
Galatians 1:6-7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
The Jews in Galatia were making outward circumcision the PRE-REQUISITE TO SALVATION, but it is not, AND NEVER WAS EVEN UNDER THE OLD COVENANT!
But now many Christians want to misinterpret Paul's rebuke to the Galatians as if he was telling them not to keep the law of Moses any longer, but this is completely false!
Some of the Jews were falsely accusing the Apostle Paul of teaching the Jews to no longer keep the laws of Moses and to stop circumcising their baby boys.
Acts 21:21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs.
But Paul was not teaching Jews to stop circumcising their baby boys. Paul merely preached that adult male Gentiles did not need to get circumcised in order to enter into covenant with God.
But that did not mean that it was a sin for Jews or Gentiles to circumcise their baby boys. As a matter of fact, it is still recommended to circumcise baby boys on the 8th day because of health reasons. But in order to show the Jews that these rumors about him were false and that he was still very much a Torah observant Jew keeping the Law of Moses, he shaved his head and did a purification ritual according to the Law of Moses. The Jews wanted him to make an open demonstration that these rumors about him were false so he did as they asked him to do:
Acts 21:
23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them;
24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law.
26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.
Acts 21 proves that the Apostle Paul was still very much a Torah-observant Jew and that he was not teaching people to break the Law of Moses at all. The Apostle Paul did not contradict the Law of Moses ever once! Paul was fully a Torah observant Jew. Paul was always making a distinction between God’s laws and the man-made laws of the Rabbi’s. What most Gentiles don’t understand is that the Rabbi’s made up 613 of their own man made interpretations of God’s laws, and they called their own traditions “The Torah.”
And so there is “God’s Torah” and then there is the “Mock Torah” of the Pharisees. So when the Apostle Paul speaks of the “law” in the scriptures, you must look up the original Greek word to determine if the word is “dogma” (man made traditions) or if it is “Pentateuch” (the 5 books of Moses).
Yeshua clearly teaches us that until "heaven and earth pass way" (have they passed away?) not one punctuation mark of the law will be done away with until ALL IS FULFILLED! Not all is fulfilled yet, because we have only received "the first fruits of our redemption until we receive the redemption of the body." (Romans 8:23)
Matthew 5:
17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
18 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.
19 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.
Many have inaccurately stated that the Laws of God put us into bondage, but that is not what puts us into bondage! What puts us in Bondage is THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH! And Messiah has redeemed us from the CURSE OF NOT BEING ABLE TO KEEP THE LAW!
God's laws are now transferred from STONE INTO FLESHY TABLES OF THE HEART, and his laws bring LIBERTY!
James 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
James 2:12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.
Paul never once taught LAWLESSNESS, he taught the we all the more ESTABLISH GOD'S LAWS THROUGH FAITH!
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
We must not make the common mistake that the Protestant Church has learned from Rome which teaches that we no longer have to keep the law because of Faith. This is APOSTASY!
Matthew 19:17 ".....but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."
Keeping God's laws are not the PREREQUISITE TO SALVATION, but obeying his laws are ESTABLISHED ALL THE MORE ONCE WE HAVE FAITH!
Paul's Epistles are pointing to the man made laws of the Rabbi's which they used to REPLACE GOD'S LAWS. Yeshua/Jesus rebuked the Pharisees because they REJECTED GOD'S LAWS, and instead brought in their own traditions:
Mark 7:9 And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.
The Apostle Peter warned that many men would twist Paul's words to their own DESTRUCTION:
2nd Peter 3:15-16
15 And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
16 As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.
The laws of God are all the more established now under the New Covenant because of Faith in Messiah. They are not abolished or "nailed to the cross" as many misunderstand Paul's letter to the Colossians:
Colossians 2:
13 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Okay so what was actually NAILED TO THE CROSS? The HANDWRITING CONTAINED IN ORDINANCES! But what does the word "ordinance" mean? In the Strong's Concordance we find that it is a civil decree, in other words a MAN MADE LAW:
#378. dogma dog'-mah from the base of 1380; a law (civil, ceremonial or ecclesiastical):--decree, ordinance.
So you see Paul was not telling us that God's Laws were nailed to the cross, he was telling us that the man made religious systems WERE AGAINST US, and so it was the DOCTRINES OF MEN that have been NAILED TO THE CROSS!
If Paul was teaching us that God nailed his own commandments to the cross, he would be in direct contradiction to Yeshua/Jesus in Matthew 5:17-19 and this would make Paul a false prophet! And even if Paul was preaching lawlessness (which he is not) then why do Christians want to listen to Paul instead of Jesus?
The Rabbi's made 613 brand new laws of their own and called it "The Torah" and this is what Paul was addressing when he taught that we are no longer "under the law."
He was addressing the problem with people being "under rabbinic law" instead of the Holy Spirit who now teaches us to keep God's laws under the New Covenant. If we are UNDER THE SPIRIT we are not under RABBINIC LAW. That is what Paul was talking about. He was telling us that the Holy Spirit will teach us to obey God's laws not rabbinic or man made ordinances.
Yeshua has given us the resources whereby we are able to be PERFECT AS OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN IS PERFECT:
Matthew 5:48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
But some will say "but nobody is perfect...." Yes, this is true when we are walking in the flesh, but through the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to be PERFECT. Messiah would not command something of us that he would not have given us the resources to accomplish it.
What is Grace?
The word "Grace" in the Greek Concordance is "charis" which means "the divine influence upon the heart." So what does this divine influence do to the heart?
Titus 2:
11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
Grace not only brings us salvation, but grace is our TEACHER! Grace teaches us to DENY UNGODLINESS and LAWLESSNESS, and teaches us to live RIGHTEOUSLY!
The New Covenant More Strict than the Old Covenant?
The Old Covenant gave us only the "bare minimum" requirements to follow, but under the New Covenant, we are required to give 100% of our lives to Yeshua by offering up ourselves as a LIVING SACRIFICE! Why is the New Covenant more strict? Because Yeshua has given us all of the resources we need by offering up his life for us. We now have two things that enables us to keep the marriage covenant:
1.) The Blood Atonement of Messiah which cleanses us when we slip and fall.
2.) The Gift of the Holy Spirit who deposits the Law into our hearts and minds, thereby enabling us to obey the commandments.
Now with the resources that we have been given, we are without excuse. Under the Old Covenant, if someone broke the Law of Moses, they died at the testimony of two or three witnesses. But under the New Covenant of Grace, Hebrews 10:29 says: HOW MUCH GREATER PUNISHMENT SHALL WE RECEIVE IF WE DO DESPITE TO THE SPIRIT OF GRACE?
Hebrews 10:
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
And so this begs the question: If you claim that you are "under grace" yet you are still breaking God's commandments, can it be that what you thought was "grace" is actually LICENTIOUSNESS & LASCIVIOUSNESS?
Oct. 14th, 2009 @ 12:15 am
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Lessons on Marriage
I am writing you guys (and girls) to talk about marriage. Marriage is a very broad topic so for the moment I am going to stick to the roles that one must take as a husband and how to prepare for them.
The roles of a husband seem to be Biblically defined as being similar to the role of Christ, as the Christ is the head of the man, as the man is head of the family.
King: A husband has the role of a king in his household. The role of the King was to enforce the Commands of G-d in his territory. Christ will return as the King of the Universe and enforce the Commands of G-d over the entire Universe. We, as husbands, will establish the Commands of G-d in our household. Kings were required to read the entire Law of G-d every year in order to remain as king. This is so they would know which Commands they were expected to establish because the king is responsible to G-d for what occurs in his territory. Every believer is to be a "King and Priest upon the Earth" as Revelations says, but men have a special calling for the present.
So, in preparation we must begin to learn what G-d expects of us right now. We must study the scriptures daily to see what is true. As Spiritual leaders, we must also study the scriptures and bring them with us to whichever Church we attend, to see if what is being preached to our familes is true. In the end, the husband, not the pastor, will answer to G-d for what has happened in the household.
We must also learn to take a stand for G-d's Commands with our friends and familes and others who will spend time with our future families. Once you back down, it is hard to stand back up! It is best to clear the path for a family before they arrive rather than to wait. When you refuse to back down, then those who are a part of your journey through life will either learn to respect that you and your household will serve the Lord and Him only, or they will remove themselves from your life and the life of your family. It is tough to lose people, but it is tougher to answer to G-d for tragedy in the home. The Christ said "Those who love father or mother, brother or sister, more than me, are not worthy of me."
Priest: The role of a priest was to ensure G-d was worshipped, in the way G-d said He is to be worshipped, when He said He is to be worshipped. Part of this was worshipping G-d alone, and not blending His worship with the worship of anything else. In the words of Jesus "Man cannot serve two masters", and in the words of Paul the Rabbi and Apostle "What fellowship can light have with darkness?, what fellowship can righteousness have with lawlessness? what fellowship can Christ have with Baal"? So we see that a Priest in the home cannot have two authorities. He cannot serve both G-d and his boss, G-d and his mother, G-d and his pastor, G-d and his wife, G-d and his children. Paul said "Follow me ONLY as I follow Christ." So we must follow G-d first and foremost, anyone who contradicts what G-d has instructed us to do is not to be listened to. We must follow G-d and G-d alone or otherwise we will definitely fail at being the Priest of our family.
The role of a priest was also to distinguish between the clean and unclean. Paul instructed the Gentile churches to "abstain from the pollution of idols" and said "What fellowship can Christ have with Baal."? He also instructs believers to "Come out of her (Babylon system) my people, and touch no unclean thing!" There are two types of unclean, the physical unclean such as something that is unsanitary or contagious, and the Spiritual Unclean. The spiritual unclean is something that has its origins with demons or is under the influence of demons. These things include not only customs and symbols, but also movies, t.v. shows, music, psychotropic drugs (Pharmakiea in the Greek, translated as sorcery in Revelations) and books that were inspired demonically. As Priests of the family, we must ensure these things do not enter the sacred gates of the home, or pollute the temples of our bodies. In Deuteronomy 6 G-d Commands us to post the Commandments to our doorpost, and to post the Commands to our heads and hands. So G-ds Commands are the authority in our Homes, Thoughts, and Actions, leaving no room for other influences.
The Priests were also responsible for Offerings. The offering G-d requires is "a broken and contrite heart." We must lay many things on the altar to have a successful marriage. Our pride, our resentment, our anger, our unforgiveness, our greed, our lust, our laziness, our traditions and philosophies all must be laid before the altar so that it can be burnt up in an offering to G-d. These things pollute the temple and the Spirit of G-d will not dwell in a polluted temple, and without the Spirit of G-d a marriage is doomed to failure.
Mentors: We all need someone who has been there before, who has walked the path we are stepping onto. We cannot go this battle alone. Marriage is established by G-d and therefore attacked by Satan. We must stand together or fall alone. Find someone who shares your faith and your goals, and be true and honest with them. And encourage your spouse to do the same.
Habits: One of the most destruction things to marriages is the same thing that nearly destroyed the Israelites in the desert. The Israelites were entering into a marriage contract with G-d at Mount Sinai after leaving 400 years of captivity in Egypt. While Moses was receiving the Katubah (Marriage Contract) from G-d, found in Deuteronomy 30, the Israelites were sneaking off to be with their ex-boyfriend baal, in the form of a golden calf. The Israelites had been worshipping baal so long, he literally became their "golden calf", and was something they would not consider giving up for anyone, not even for G-d who rescued them from an abusive leader, who cleansed them in the Red Sea, and was marrying them despite their sins. This cost them 40 years in the desert, long difficult years.
In marriage, we often have the same problem. Before we leave the land of singleness we fail to leave behind our own sacred cows. It might be anti-marriage friends, t.v. shows, movies, or habits. It could be an addiction to alcohol, pornography, feminism, an addiction to sports or money or work. It could be friends, family, associates, or posessions that are incompatable with joining your life with another person and raising G-dly children.
Leave and Cleave: Another bone of contention amongst families is in-laws and old friends. The Bible declares that we must LEAVE and CLEAVE. Biblically, when a woman was married she left her tribe and inheritance and became completely part of her husbands family. She even lost the inheritance of her old family and became a recipient of the inheritance of her husbands family. In the same sense, we are to leave the family we had before we became part of the family of Christ, and also to leave behind the religions and "gods" of our past, our "gods" being anything that we worshipped. A woman cannot wear the ring and symbols of her ex-boyfriends leadership while being married to her husband, and a man cannot be under the control of his family, his friends, or other authorities in his life, and still be directly under the authority of Christ, exercising Christ-like leadership in his family. Our first Loyalty is to Christ, our second is to our Spouse. ALL OTHERS come after this. If we are forced to make a choice, there cannot be any hesitation or confusion about G-ds established order of authority.
Servant Leadership: With leadership comes the burden of servantship. Christ speaks of the role of a servant when He speaks of a man coming home from working in the field and telling his servant to wait on him while he eats, then the servant will eat. A servant cannot put his needs first, then he would not be the servant of all. The husband is to make sure the needs of everyone in the family has their needs met before his own needs and wants are met. A husband must surrender the muscle car, big screen t.v., football tickets, and whatever else to first ensure that his families needs are met, otherwise he is not a leader.
Provider: Many have the misconception that to be a good provider one must be rich. This is false. To be a good provider one must be hardworking and wise, this will not always lead to wealth. In fact, "those that are in a rush to get quick will fall into ruin" Proverbs. According to the Bible, wisdom comes from keeping the Commands of G-d (Psalm 119). G-d has given numerous instructions in the Bible on how to handle money. The first rule is to give 10% to the work of G-d, in however He tells you to do that. The second rule concerns the Feast of Tabernacles and the 2nd tithe (Reference Leviticus 23). Instead of spending money like it was going out of style, G-d instructed His people to save up a 2nd 10% of their income until the Feast of Tabernacles and then to spend that 10% of that years income on whatever their hearts desired. G-d also instructs in Proverbs to take care of the outside work before the house, in other words, pay for the needs and then the wants. He also instructs us to WORK HARD and WORK SMART, Work Smart means following your G-d Given Calling, and not just the dollar sign. We also need to "Count the Cost." For example, if we want to spend time with our families one day, we need to look at careers that don't require us to be gone 80 hours a week, or an 8 year degree that will put us in 30 years of debt. When we obey G-d, He handles the finances. The utlimate provider is the one who obeys G-d and therefore can trust G-d to do the providing. In Deuteronomy 30 G-d promises prosperity for OBEDIENCE, not giving to television preachers. We must be good stewards in order to be good servants, and good servants and provided for by their Master.
Protector: Finally, we must protect our families. We need to prepare now to protect them from Spiritual threats (via media, symbols, holidays, customs, culture, friends, etc), from financial threats (con artists, debt, etc), from Emotional threats (especially from in-laws, other family members, and most importantly, ourselves, which is why we need to learn to control the most dangerous threat of all, the tongues in our very mouths because a word of anger spoken once can harm a marriage forever), and Physical threats (learn now how to use your hands and feet, your environment, and your common sense to physically protect your family. This is why its important to stay fit, and stay sharp. Don't be lazy, start now being aware of your environment and locking your doors and checking the security of your home).
The Best Preparation for Marriage? Practice these skills now before you even meet your future spouse. Practice Providing, Protecting, Serving, Teaching, Leading, and Distinguishing now, so later you will already be in the habit of doing what G-d Commands of Husbands.
I would suggest studying the lives of the Kings of Israel for more lessons, and websites such as www.marriagepartnership.com and www.boundless.org are also good.
Oct. 12th, 2009 @ 07:27 pm
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| » Symbols of Sabbath |
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Symbols of Shabbat (Sabbath)
Things people do on the Sabbath fall into two categories. Commands of G-d and Traditions of Men.
The Commands about the Sabbath from G-d, and fulfilled (properly explained) by Jesus/Yeshua are very simple. While the Pharisees accused Jesus of sinning by not following their traditions around the Sabbath, Jesus kept the Sabbath in the way G-d intended and therefore did not break it. In Matthew Chapter 5 Jesus says that He came to FULFILL (Properly explain how to keep the Law), and He then used the rest of Chapter 5 Fulfilling (properly explaining) the definition of murder, adultery, and breaking the Sabbath. He fulfilled the Law by explaining what is sin and what is not. 1st John 3:4 "Sin is Lawlessness, in fact, anyone who breaks the Law of G-d Sins". Jesus explained what is breaking the Law and what is not. The Law of G-d or G-d's instructions on how live on this earth are called the "Torah".
The word "Nomos" in Greek is often translated "Law' in English, but it can mean Torah (G-d's Law), Takanot (traditions), Dogmizo (Traditions taught as Commands), Legalism (trying to be saved by keeping the Law), The Law that Sin Equals Death (Romans 7), the Penalty of Breaking the Law (which we are under if we reject Grace, we are judged "Under Law" or judged "Under Grace"-the crime is breaking the Law, being Under Law means we claim our own righteousness as our defense, while being under Grace means we claim the righteousness of Jesus as our defense. Neither changes the Law of G-d or means it is not a sin to break it). So we must choose the translation that matches context and the established Scriptures the Bereans used (Genesis through Malachi) when reading the Scriptures.
The Pharisees and later the Church have Abolished (incorrectly taught how to keep the Law of G-d) by teaching that breaking their traditions is breaking the Law of G-d. Jesus commented on this in Matthew 23 "Woe to you Pharisees who teach your traditions to be the Commands of G-d." Sin is breaking G-d's Law, not man's traditions. When people do away with G-d's Commands to make way for their traditions, this is called "the error of Lawlessness" and those who preach it "Teachers of Lawlessness." Lawlessness is the opposite of Righteousness, and most of the Lawless teachings were established to remove something in the Bible that was Commanded by G-d and honors G-d and replace it with what was instructed by the Priests of Baal and honors Baal. For example the Bible Sabbath and 7 Holy Days of Leviticus 23 were replaced with Sunday and the 7th Pagan Festivals of X-mas, Easter, Valentines Day, Halloween, Lint, Mardi Gras, and New Years.
G-d Gave 7 Basic Instructions on the Sabbath. Jesus said that Love is the purpose of every Command, the Commands were given by G-d because He loves us and wants to bless us (Deuteronomy 30), and the Commands teach us how to love G-d and man. If we loved naturally, we wouldn't have to have the Law to show us, we would keep the Law on our own, which is why Paul calls it a "tutor." If we forget how to love as "mature" believers, we can refer back to what the Law taught us to make sure we are in line with G-d's definition of Love for G-d and neighbor.
First,
The Sabbath is Sunset Friday to Sunset Saturday.
Second,
We don't BUY, SELL, OR WORK for our benefit.
Third,
It is Lawful to do GOOD on the Sabbath, for G-d and mankind.
4th,
We are not to make others work, not our employees, anyone else's employees, not even farm animals. In the 7th year, even the land is to rest.
5th,
We are to gather on the Sabbath (A Holy Convocation/Rehearsal) though this is not the only day we can gather. Some may gather on Wednesdays, Sundays, etc in addition to the Sabbath.
6th,
We are to worship G-d on the Sabbath, but once again, G-d can be worshipped additionally on any day of the week.
7th,
Some duties that are for the greater benefit may be performed on the Sabbath but are to be minimal and rotated out (not the same person working every Sabbath). These duties included things such as being on duty as a priest at the temple or a temple guard.
The Second is traditions around the Sabbath, the Pharisees invented many of these and taught the people that unless they followed the traditions of the Pharisees, they were breaking the Law of G-d (Jesus addressed this attitude in Matthew 23, "Woe to you Pharisees who teach your traditions to be the Commands of G-d."). The "LAW" of the Pharisees, was called the Takanot and later became the Talmud. These are Rabbi's Commentaries on how to keep /Fulfill the Commands of G-d. While these traditions are not contrary to the Commands of G-d, and teach us lessons about G-d, they are still only the traditions of men and not the Commands of G-d. This is the "Oral Law/Takanot in Hebrew" that later became the Talmud. Later Christians found symbolism about in Christ in the Sabbath Traditions.
The rest of this post is taken from Gary Capps' article "Symbols of Shabbat".
Symbols of Shabbat
By Gary Capps of Bondservant Ministry
Candles
The first candle represents Creation: Genesis 1:1-3—“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…and He said, ‘Let there be Light (Orah—Torah)!’”
The second candle represents Redemption: Romans 3:24—“Being justified freely by His Grace through the redemption that us in Christ Jesus!”
We were created and redeemed for a relationship with our God! Without a relationship, we cannot bring forth Life to the nations!
The third candle represents Restoration: Acts 3:19—“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,”
Wine
Wine symbolizes joy and the renewing of our Covenant with Jesus in the same way that a Hebrew woman drinks at least half of a glass of wine when she accepts her betrothal to her bridegroom. Jesus desires to be our Husband!
Wine is also symbolic of the crucifixion and resurrection of our Messiah! The New Covenant is sealed in the blood of the Messiah!
As Jesus and His disciples ate the Passover, He told them, “[Take this cup.] Drink from it, all of you. For this is My Blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”
Matthew 26:27-28
Hand Washing
Water is used throughout Scripture to represent a change of status. The hand washing represents spiritual cleansing—not just physical cleansing.
Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1
Challah Bread
Bread is a picture of Jesus! Jesus is the Word—the Torah—made flesh (John 1:14)!
And Jesus said to them, “I am the Bread of Life! He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes on Me shall never thirst.
John 6:35
In Leviticus 24:5-9, bread was to be set on the altar each Shabbat as a lasting Covenant. The two loaves on the table are symbolic of the double portion of manna that God provided on the day before the Shabbat for the children of Israel when they wandered in the wilderness.
Napkin to Cover Challah
The bread is traditionally covered to represent the manna (dew)—God’s Provision for the Children of Israel when they journeyed in the wilderness (Exodus 16).
Salt Shaker
Salt is a preservative. You are the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13)!
O, love the LORD, all you His saints!
For the LORD preserves the faithful!
Psalm 31:23
A Special Dinner
Prepare a special dinner on this night—unlike any other dinner during the week! Use your best dishes and glasses! Prepare a desert! Invite friends to share your dinner with you. Laugh, remember, and rest on this special evening that is set-apart from all other evenings during the week.
Look forward to the Shabbat during the week! Count down the remaining days until the Shabbat! Encourage your children to do the same! Ask them every day, “How many days until the Shabbat?” This day is the centerpiece of your week!
The Shabbat Table
The Shabbat table represents an altar before God. We are to approach the altar with clean hands and a pure heart. The meal is a peace offering—a fellowship offering—that we share as a family in the presence of God!
Oct. 12th, 2009 @ 07:26 pm
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| » Introduction to the Fall Holy Days of Leviticus 23 |
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Introduction to the Fall Holy Days of Leviticus 23 (Brief Intro)Share
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Introduction and Overview of the Fall Feasts
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Keeping the fall feasts are all a part of the blessings my family and I have enjoyed as a result of our belief that the Torah/Law of Yahweh is for today. Considering that the fall feasts are a wonderful time for brethren to gather together and magnify Yahweh Elohim for all the blessings He has given, it is hard for me to understand how anyone could view the law/Torah as a burden
The feasts are based on the timing of Yahweh's calendar in scripture. There are different understandings as to what moon phase designates the first day of a month, but we watch for the first new crescent of the moon after the moon has been dark. It is visible just to the left of the sun within an hour after sunset.
Feast of Trumpets
On the 1st day of the 7th month, Yahweh commanded us to keep the Feast of Trumpets. The Feast of Trumpets (Shofars)is mentioned in the following verses:
Leviticus 23:24 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
And again:
Numbers 29:1 - And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.
As you can see, this day is to observed as a Sabbath day. It is a time of shouting, blowing trumpets and rejoicing. The Hebrew name for this day is "Yom Teruah" which literally means "Day of Alarm or Day of Sounding".
8643 teruw`ah {ter-oo-aw'} Meaning: 1) alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or joy
Now let's examine Numbers 10, which gives us some details on the trumpets used:
Numbers 10:1 - And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying, 2 - Make thee two trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of the assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 3 - And when they shall blow with them, all the assembly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. 4 - And if they blow but with one trumpet, then the princes, which are heads of the thousands of Israel, shall gather themselves unto thee. 5 - When ye blow an alarm, then the camps that lie on the east parts shall go forward.
The word "Teruah" is used in the above verse "blow/sound the Teruah". Blow the alarm.
Numbers 10:6 - When ye blow an alarm the second time, then the camps that lie on the south side shall take their journey: they shall blow an alarm for their journeys. 7 - But when the congregation is to be gathered together, ye shall blow, but ye shall not sound an alarm. 8 - And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever throughout your generations. 9 - And if ye go to war in your land against the enemy that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm with the trumpets; and ye shall be remembered before YAHWEH your Elohim, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 10 - Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall blow with the trumpets over your burnt offerings, and over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they may be to you for a memorial before your Elohim: I am YAHWEH your Elohim.
Many believe that this feast is symbolic of Yahushua's return, or our own advancement toward the promised land (Yahweh's kingdom) at Yahushua's return. It is true that scripture says Yahushua will return at the 'last trump':
1Corinthians 15:51 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 - In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
Day of Atonement
Another holy day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is not a day of feasting. Rather, it is a day of fasting:
Leviticus 23:27 - Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH. 28 - And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before YAHWEH your Elohim.
Some believe that since there are special offerings given at these feasts, it must mean that they are not for today. However, just because sacrifices are given at certain times throughout the year, it does not abolish the observance of Yahweh's seven Annual Sabbaths (First and Last days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, Feast of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles, and the Last Great Day). There are also special sacrifices given on the regular Sabbath, yet we keep the regular weekly Sabbath as commanded.
Continuing in Leviticus 23:
Leviticus 23:29 - For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 - And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 - Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 32 - It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
Considering the warnings given, we would do well to obey the commandment here to fast. Some believe this is symbolic of when Yahushua will completely destroy the last enemy (death) at the end of the 1000 year reign when Satan will finally be thrown into the lake of fire. Then all sin will be atoned for and those who have chosen righteousness will forever be with Yahweh.
This day is casually mentioned in the book of Acts:
Acts 27:9 - Now when much time was spent, and when sailing was now dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul admonished them, 10 - And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
Luke, the writer of Acts was using the "fast" as a reference point of time. Apparently, sailing was more dangerous in late autumn. On this day, we do fast. We neither eat bread nor drink water. It is a somber time of considering our ways and recognizing the atonement found in Yahushua the Messiah who is now seated at the right hand of Yahweh:
Psalms 110:1 - YAHWEH said unto my Master, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. 2 - YAHWEH shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. 3 - Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the morning: thou hast the dew of thy youth. 4 - YAHWEH hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. 5 - YAHWEH at thy right hand shall strike through kings in the day of his wrath. 6 - He shall judge among the heathen, he shall fill the places with the dead bodies; he shall wound the heads over many countries.
Yahweh anointed the Messiah Yahushua as both king and priest. He is High Priest after the order of Melchizidek (meaning "King of Righteousness"). Melchizedek was the king that Abraham paid tithes to. Mechizedek was also the King of Salem, which most say is modern day Jerusalem.
Notice in verse 1 we see that Yahushua is seated at the right hand of Yahweh. According to the Torah, the High Priest was only permitted to enter the holy of holies on the Day of Atonement:
Leviticus 16:29 - And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: 30 - For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before YAHWEH. 31 - It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever. 32 - And the priest, whom he shall anoint, and whom he shall consecrate to minister in the priest's office in his father's stead, shall make the atonement, and shall put on the linen clothes, even the holy garments: 33 - And he shall make an atonement for the holy sanctuary, and he shall make an atonement for the tabernacle of the congregation, and for the altar, and he shall make an atonement for the priests, and for all the people of the congregation. 34 - And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as YAHWEH commanded Moses.
This is written of in Hebrews 9:6:
Hebrews 9:6 - Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services. 7 - But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance; 8 - the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 - It was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience-- 10 - concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation. 11 - But the Messiah came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation. 12 - Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 - For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sets apart for the purifying of the flesh, 14 - how much more shall the blood of the Messiah, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to Elohim, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living Elohim?
...and later in this chapter:
Hebrews 9:24 - For the Messiah has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of YAHWEH for us; 25 - not that He should offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood of another-- 26 - He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 - And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 - so the Messiah was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
The Feast of Tabernacles
Now let's look at the feast of tabernacles, which was just after the fall harvest:
Deuteronomy 16:13 - Thou shalt observe the feast of tabernacles seven days, after that thou hast gathered in thy corn and thy wine: 14 - And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. 15 - Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto YAHWEH thy Elohim in the place which YAHWEH shall choose: because YAHWEH thy Elohim shall bless thee in all thine increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou shalt surely rejoice.
Why is it called the feast of tabernacles?
Leviticus 23:24 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. 25 - Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH. 26 - And YAHWEH spake unto Moses, saying, 27 - Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH.
We can see that Yahweh lists these days in succession in Leviticus 23. This is a good place to start when learning about the feasts. Continuing:
Leviticus 23:34 - Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto YAHWEH. 35 - On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. 36 - Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. 37 - These are the feasts of YAHWEH, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto YAHWEH, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, every thing upon his day: 38 - Beside the sabbaths of YAHWEH, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill offerings, which ye give unto YAHWEH. 39 - Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto YAHWEH seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath. 40 - And ye shall take you on the first day the boughs of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before YAHWEH your Elohim seven days. 41 - And ye shall keep it a feast unto YAHWEH seven days in the year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations: ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 - Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in booths: 43 - That your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am YAHWEH your Elohim. 44 - And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the feasts of YAHWEH.
This feast is also known as "Sukkot". Sukkot means "booths, tabernacles". All of Israel is commanded to dwell in booths during the 7 days of the feast. This is the first and eighth day mentioned in the above verses. The last day is also known as the "Last great day". The first and eighth days are Sabbaths and holy convocations. This is a very popular feast among brethren. At this feast, it is good to build a "Sukkah" or temporary dwelling place made with surrounding trees and branches. We usually dwell in tents or other temporary dwellings. It is especially delightful for the children. This feast will be most enjoyed if you have the chance to gather and dwell among brethren for the entire length of this feast. It is a time to remember how temporary this life really is and to consider that one day we will tabernacle with Yahweh forever:
Revelation 21:3 - And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of YAHWEH is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. YAHWEH Himself will be with them and be their Elohim. 4 - "And YAHWEH will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 - Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." 6 - And He said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. 7 - "He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his Elohim and he shall be My son.
Spiritual Symbolism
The feasts are powerful symbols and standing memorials of Yahweh's plan of salvation for all men.
Starting at Passover, I would like to take the opportunity to share some thoughts that I have had concerning the meanings of these feasts. The following words are not inspired, but the correlation between these feasts and Yahweh's plan of salvation is very difficult to ignore.
Early in the book of Exodus, we learn that children of Israel were in bondage to slavery. Egypt represents the sin laden world and all its glory. We were in bondage, in slavery to satan while in our sins. Satan is the ruler and god of this world. Pharaoh is symbolically satan because Pharaoh ruled Egypt (symbolic of the world). Just as Pharaoh tried to destroy Israel, Satan also tries to destroy the predestined children of Israel lest we be large in number.
The children of Israel were oppressed and in the bondage of slavery to the Egyptians. The taskmasters, symbolic of demons (the servants of satan), afflicted those in bondage. The land flowing with milk and honey is symbolic of the "promised land", the eternal kingdom of Yahweh. Yahweh heard the cry of the children of Israel who wanted to be delivered from their bondage. We also knew the bondage that sin had brought upon us. We too, cried out to Yahweh. As we shall see, Yahweh delivered us in the same manner as He delivered Israel from their bondage.
Pharaoh did not want to let them go out of Egypt. So Yahweh sent plagues upon the Egyptians who worshiped idols. Yahweh showed His superiority over dumb idols by sending 10 plagues. Yahweh has revealed to us His superiority over the gods of this world whether they be lusts, pride, drugs, money or whatever sins might come between us and Yahweh. Just as He revealed to the children of Israel that He was all powerful and worthy of their faith, so He revealed Himself to us!
On the tenth day of the month of Abib, the lamb was to be set aside and examined for defects from Abib 10 to Abib 14. Yahushua the Messiah entered Jerusalem and went into the temple on Abib 10. He was on display until Abib 14. Just as the lambs of the children of Israel were required to be without spot or blemish, Yahushua, our lamb was totally without sin. The Lamb of Yahweh was examined many times by the chief priests and elders, as well as Pilate. When we examine Yahushua, we can see that He was without spot and without blemish. Even Pilate declared "I see no fault in him" (Luke 23:4, John 18:38, 19:4-6).
Consider also that to Yahweh a day is as 1000 years (Psalm 90:4). The Messiah was also hidden from the sight of man for 4 days (4000 years) until He became the Lamb of Yahweh.
So the whole assembly was to kill the lamb and place the blood on the lintel and doorposts of their homes. They would then eat the lamb. We must partake in the body and blood of the Lamb. It is not a literal flesh and blood (this would be an abomination), but flesh and blood symbolic of 2 things. Bread is also known to represent His word in scripture. The word of Yahweh convicts us of our sin and shows us our sin. Therefore we need redemption. This is why we take from the cup. It is the blood of Yahushua that covers and cleanses us from all sin.
Soon after the Passover, the children of Israel were baptized via the Red Sea and the Cloud and delivered from that old life of sin and bondage. We also were baptized into the name of Yahushua the Messiah and delivered from that old life of sin and bondage. After the Passover, we have the feast of unleavened bread. Throughout scripture, leaven represents sin. This represents the cleansing that Yahushua had done for us. Our house was cleansed from all iniquity.
Next, we have the feast of weeks, or Pentecost. This feast was the time that Yahweh is said to have spoken the commandments from Mount Sinai. It was also the time of the outpouring of Yahweh's Spirit in Acts 2. Indeed, Yahweh's word is Spirit!
Next, we have the feast of trumpets which may signify the Day of Yahweh when Yahushua will set up His 1000 year reign over all the earth. As previously mentioned, the trumpets were also used to advance the children of Israel to the promised land. We will enter the promised land at the "last trump".
The Day of Atonement, as we said can represent the atoning of all the world from sin and the penalty of sin, death. Finally, we will tabernacle with Yahweh forever and the last enemy will be defeated. Until then, we (like Israel) are in the wilderness and are being taught the law of Yahweh as we encounter tests, trials and tribulations. We will need to overcome and do so without murmuring or complaining if we expect to make it to the promised land.
Let's remember also that it was not Moses that ultimately brought Israel to the promised land, but his successor Joshua. What does this signify? Joshua is the same name in Hebrew as the name of the Messiah, Yahushua. I believe that it teaches us that although Moses can show us the way to enter the promised land, it takes a man named Yahushua to take us there. Even so, come Master Yahushua!
Sep. 30th, 2009 @ 10:39 am
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| » Who Changed the Sabbath? Quotes of Confession from "Church" Leaders |
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Who Changed the Sabbath?? Quotes of Confession from "Church" Leaders
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Since there is no place in Bible that says G-d changed the 4th Commandment, I decided once to find out who in fact changed the Times and Laws G-d established. Here is what I found.
PROTESTANT LEADERS
METHODIST: "The reason we observe the 1st day instead of the 7th is based on no positive Command. One will SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES IN VAIN for authority for changing from the 7th Day to the 1st." Clovis G. Chappell, "Ten Rules for Living" pg. 61
BAPTIST: "There is nothing in Scripture that requires us to keep Sunday rather than Saturday as a Holy Day." Harold Lindsell former editor of CHRISTIANITY TODAY, in the November, 5th, 1976 issue of CHRISTIANITY TODAY
EPISCOPAL:"The Bible commandment says on the 7th Day thou shall rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday." Phillip Carrington, TORONTO DAILY STAR, October 26, 1949
CATHOLIC
1. "The Pope has the power to change Times (Sabbaths), to change Laws (of G-d), and to dispense with (abolish) all things, even the PRECEPTS (Teachings OF) CHRIST, and has often done it" Descretal, de Tranlatic Episcop
2. From Catholic Cathechism: "Q. Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to change festivals of precept (Festivals taught by Christ)
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that with all modern religionist agree with her-she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh Day, a change, for which there is NO SCRIPTURAL AUTHORITY" A Doctrinal Catechism, by Stephen Keenan, pg 174
3. Another Catechism: "Q. Which is the Sabbath Day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath Day.
Q. Why do we (Catholics) observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday." The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, pg. 50 third edition
4. "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we (Catholics and Protestants) never sanctify" Cardinal Gibbons, Faith of Our Fathers, pg 111.
3. "The Catholic Church by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday" Cardinal Gibbons, "Faith of Our Fathers"
5. "Let all the judges and townspeople, and the occupation of all trades rest on the VENERABLE DAY OF THE SUN" Edict of March 7th, 321 A.D. Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3. tit. 12, Lex 3. from the Pagan Roman Emperor Constantine. This was enforced under penalty of death.
6. "The Pagan Festival of Sunday is to be regarded as the Lord's Day" Pope Sylvester, 314-337 A.D. (Pope responsible for healing Constantine of Leprosy and bringing his conversion to Catholicism.)
7. "Sunday is a Catholic Institution and its claims to observation can be defended only on Catholic principles...From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first." The Catholic Press
8. "The Bible says, 'Remember that thou keep the Holy Sabbath Day.' The Catholic Church says, NO! By my Divine Power I ABOLISH THE 7th DAY, and COMMAND YOU TO KEEP THE 1st DAY OF THE WEEK. And lo, the entire civilized world bows down in reverent obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church!" Father Enright, C.S.S.R. of the Redemptoral College, Kansas City, Mo. from "History of the Sabbath" pg 802
What does the BIBLE SAY??
Daniel 7:25 (Who seeks the Change G-d's Times and Laws, like the 4th Commandment?):
"the Beast will seek to change the TIMES and LAWS of G-d"
Matthew 15:9 (Is G-d Pleased with our tradition?):
"But in VAIN do they worship Me, their doctrines are only the COMMANDS OF MEN (Not G-d)."
Romans 6 (What Commemorates the Resurrection of Christ for the Believer if not Sunday? BAPTISM DOES!):
1What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7For he that is dead is freed from sin.
1st John 3:4 (Definition of Sin):
"Sin is Lawlessness, in fact, anyone who breaks the Law of G-d Sins"
Luke 4:14-16 (What Did Jesus Do?) :
"As was His custom, Jesus went to the Synagogue on the Sabbath Day"
Exodus 20:8-11 (G-d's Law):
"Remember the Sabbath Day, to Keep it HOLY, Six days thou shall labor and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy G-d, in it thou shall not do ANY WORK, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, not thy maidservant (employees), nor thy cattle, not thy stranger that is within thy gates (G-d Fearing Gentiles). For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rest the 7th Day, wherefore the Lord blessed the SABBATH Day, and made it Holy."
Revelations 14:12 (Regarding those who Keep G-d's Commands instead of man's traditions):
"Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the COMMANDMENTS OF G-D, and the FAITH OF JESUS."
James 2:10, 11 (Can we just IGNORE Commands we don't like?)
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all"
James 2:11 (I can just follow the Commands my Church teaches right?)
"For the same God who said, “You must not commit adultery,” also said, “You must not murder.” [ Exod 20:13-14; Deut 5:17-18.] So if you murder someone but do not commit adultery, you have still broken the law."
Matthew 5:19 (There is a reward for keeping even the least of the Commands)
"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."
Isaiah 56 (Are Gentiles Blessed for keeping G-d's Sabbath?)
" This is what the Lord says:
“Be just and fair to all.
Do what is right and good,
for I am coming soon to rescue you
and to display my righteousness among you.
2 Blessed are all those
who are careful to do this.
Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest
and keep themselves from doing wrong.
3 “Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,
‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’
And don’t let the eunuchs say,
‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
4 For this is what the Lord says:
I will bless those eunuchs
who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
and commit their lives to me.
5 I will give them—within the walls of my house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
It will never disappear!
6 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord,
who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
and who hold fast to my covenant.
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
8 For the Sovereign Lord,
who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
besides my people Israel.”
Numbers 9:14 (Where there not separate Laws for the Israelites and the Gentiles??)
"And if foreigners living among you want to celebrate the Passover to the Lord, they must follow these same decrees and regulations. The same laws apply both to native-born Israelites and to the foreigners living among you.” In the time of Christ these Gentiles were known as "G-d Fearers or G-d Fearing" like Cornelius the Centurion.
Numbers 15:15 (Was that just a temporary Law until Christ came?)
"Native-born Israelites and foreigners are equal before the Lord and are subject to the same decrees. This is a permanent law for you, to be observed from generation to generation. " We still have children being born, so, we still have generations!
1 Corinthians 9:8 (Am I expressing merely human opinion, or does the law of G-d say the same thing?)
"Am I expressing merely a human opinion, or does the law say the same thing?" The Apostle Paul, calling on the validity of the Law of G-d while speaking to a group of GENTILE BELIEVERS (not Jews).
Matthew 5:19 (Why am I telling you this, is it to condemn and judge you?)
"But anyone who obeys God’s laws and teaches them will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven."
Ezekiel 8:16 (Is it really that important that I tell you?)
16)At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
17"Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me.
18"When I say to the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will be on your head.
19"Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself.
20"Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an (V)obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand.
21"However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself."
http://www.pointsoftruth.com/SimonMagus.html
Sep. 26th, 2009 @ 11:37 pm
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| » The Berean Challenge, Can Your Church's Teaching Stand the Challenge? |
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The BEREAN CHALLENGE, Can your Church’s Teaching take a SCRIPTURAL CHALLENGE Commanded in the Bible????
Paul instructed the Church in Berea to TEST every instruction or teaching they received from Him by “Searching the Scriptures (Tanach) daily, to see if my words are true”. And to “imitate me and I imitate Christ”. What did Jesus teach, because Paul’s teachings would have to line up with Christ’s teachings to be an Apostle. What did Christ do on earth, how did he live? Because Paul would have to do the same to be considered an Apostle.
Since we should TEST EVERY INSTRUCTION by the established Scriptures that the Bereans were using, I lay down this Challenge. TEST 10 things by the established Scriptures that the Bereans used. Test what you have been TOLD that Jesus and Paul taught, test your daily diet, daily clothes, items that decorate your house every day, customs you celebrate every year. TEST THESE INSTRUCTIONS the Church and Society has given you, by the Bible that Jesus Read.
What “Scriptures” was Paul referring to, since it would be nearly a century until what we call the “New Testament” was compiled? The only thing He could be referring to is the Tanach (Hebrew for the Books Genesis through Malachi).
What did Paul tell us to use Genesis through Malachi for?
What did He think of Genesis through Numbers? A Burden, a Curse, useless for believers?
Romans 7:12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
14For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
17Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
If the Law is HOLY, and useful for instruction in ALL THINGS then it would teach us how to BE HOLY. He even said he DELIGHTS IN G-d’s Law. Doesn’t sound like a curse and a burden to me. Who delights in curses and burdens?
According to Paul, it would teach us all we need to know about life on this earth, including what to eat, what to celebrate, when to work, when to rest, and how to do nearly everything G-d’s Way. He also says however, that the “Carnal Mind” is opposed to G-d’s Law. The sinful mind he says, hates G-d’s Law. The lack of G-d’s Law is called “Lawlessness”, and 1st John 3:4 states “Sin is Lawlessness, in fact, anyone who breaks the Law of G-d sins”. So the carnal mind leads us to break the Law of G-d. And this is the mark of Anti-Christ in 2nd Thessalonians, the “man is sin” is the “man of Lawlessness”.
Doesn’t seem to jive with what most of us have been taught about G-d’s Holy Law in Churches does it?
Weren’t we told that keeping the Commands is the opposite of being Saved by Faith? Yes. Did that come from the Bible, from Paul’s writings? NO!!
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
Which “Law” is Paul talking about?
Jesus said that not a “jot nor tittle”/accent mark, could not be removed from the Law unless the skies above your head and the ground beneath your feet ceased to be there. And we are still standing. So, what “Law” could He mean? The only thing written, that could have “jots and tittles” is the books “Genesis through Malachi”, or more specifically since He said “Law”, the Torah (First 5 Books of the Bible).
EVERY MATTER is established by 2-3 Witnesses. So I lay down this challenge, for all 10 items listed below, find 2-3 Witnesses in what Jesus said would NEVER Pass Away and Paul called “Holy, Righteous, and Good, Spiritual, and USEFUL FOR INSTRUCTION in ALL THINGS”. All Things Includes the Items listed Below. Paul praised the Bereans for doing so, could it be bad for us to do the same???
THE CHALLENGE
1. Test everything you hear in Church by Genesis through Malachi.
2. Examine every Holiday Tradition you keep by Genesis through Malachi.
3. Examine everything you eat by Genesis through Malachi. Esp Leviticus 11.
4. Examine your work schedule (to include housework and homework) by Genesis through Malachi. Esp Leviticus 23 and the every time the word Sabbath is mentioned.
5. Examine your finances by Genesis through Malachi.
6. Examine everything you wear and decorate your house with by Genesis through Malachi.
7. Examine everything you hear on television by Genesis through Malachi.
8. Examine everything your parents taught you by Genesis and Malachi.
9. Examine the Words of Jesus by Genesis and Malachi (both with a translation that would contradict Genesis through Malachi and one that would line up with Genesis through Malachi, get your concordance out for this one).
10. Examine the words of Paul and the other writers by Genesis and Malachi.
If you come back confused after studying the Words of Jesus and Paul, it is because the translation is way off and out of context.
To understand what they are really saying you need to understand 10 Basic Vocabulary Words that were common at the time, but we don’t have a clue about in the modern world. You also need to know the several possibly translations of the word “Nomos” or “Law”, which must be translated in context to line up with the rest of Scripture.
Most seeming contradictions in the Bible are due mainly to a word with 10 or so meanings being only translated as the same word “Law” over and over and over, despite the context. Even when translating the Greek word “Nomos” as “Law” would make Jesus and Paul seem to completely contradict the established Scriptures.
To see that Jesus and Paul are not calling G-d a Liar, or contradicting themselves (as the Muslims and Jewish Anti-Missionaries preach to invalidate Christianity), you need to understand the usage of the word “Nomos.”
The word “Nomos” is used often in the Bible and is usually given a blanket translation of “Law”. Since Greek was not a language used by people who worshipped G-d for the most part, or kept the Torah, they had no word specifically for the Hebrew “Torah” which means either the “First 5 Books of the Bible”, or “The Teachings of G-d on how to live a Holy Life”. They also had no word specifically for “Legalism”, or words to distinguish “G-d’s Law,” from “Man’s Law,” from “Legalism,” from “Jewish Traditions that later became the Talmud”, from “Principles” from “The Law that gives Liberty”, the “Law of Sin” or the “Law that sin equals death.”
Just like there are 30 words for “snow’ in the Inuit language and only 1 in ours. When we say “snow” that can mean 30 different ideas to an Eskimo. He would have to use the context, the situation, and the previous words of the author to know which meaning of “Snow” someone was referring to.
When the Bible says “Nomos” in Greek, that could mean about ten different concepts to a 1st Century Audience or to a modern English Speaker in the 21st Century. So we have to understand context, situation, and the author’s previous words, promises, and commands, in Genesis through Malachi.
VOCABULARY WORD 1.
“NOMOS”-with a blanket translation of Law, can mean any of the following, depending on the context: What it cannot do, is contradict Genesis through Malachi, unless G-d didn’t inspire it.
A. “Torah” G-d’s Teaching on how to live the Holy Life, or the First 4 Books of the Bible, or the Commands.
B. “Legalism” the concept, which is trying to get to heaven by your own efforts with “man’s traditions” such as the Traditions of the Pharisees, donations to churches, pilgrimages, crusades, etc or even trying to get to heaven by following G-d’s Law to be righteous instead of Christ. Legalism is NOT the keeping of G-d’s Commands, it is the reliance on them for salvation.
C. “Works of Legalism”, the acts you do in practicing legalism, once again, it is depending on keeping man’s traditions or even G-d’s Commands to get you into heaven without Christ. “Works of the Law” are not the Commands, they are the acts we do in order to EARN our salvation, whether we try to do that by using G-d’s Law or man’s tradition. Using the Torah to earn Salvation is a “perversion of the Torah”. Salvation was not the purpose of the Torah, Salvation is one of the many purposes of Christ. Jesus justifies us and His Commands/Torah Sanctifies us.
D. Roman law, or the law of a man made government.
E. Any principle, like gravity is a Law. There is the “Law of Sin equals Death”, which is the “Curse of the Law”. The natural cause and effect of sin is this. If you break the Law, you die. The “Law” of Sin=Death. The Law is not the curse, you receive the “Curse of the Law’ by breaking it. Psalm 119, G-d calls His Law a blessing. If you try to get saved by keeping it, then you fall under a curse because you have already broken it and failed. Ezekial 33 and 34. The Law that “Murder is illegal” is not a curse! It keeps us safe. However, if you murder someone you experience the “Curse of the Law”, the death penalty, because you broke that Law.
F. “The Perfect Law that gives Liberty”, the Torah, as G-d states that His Laws give us long life and freedom. Deuteronomy 30.
G. The “Law of Sin”. The Law of sin is the compulsion to keep doing it, to the sinner, sinning is like gravity. It’s a law of one’s personal nature that we can’t escape from.
Romans 7:12Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
14For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin.
17Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.
22For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members."
When one “dies” to oneself, then he is released from the “law of sin” and being a “slave to sin” so that he is under the “Perfect Law that gives Liberty” and a “Slave to Righteousness” We are either “Slaves to Sin” or “Slaves to Righteousness”. Paul said we HAVE TO CHOOSE. We are never “free” to just do our thing. That is called “LAWLESSNESS” (A-Nomia). In 2nd Corinthians Paul said that Rigtheousness and Lawlessness are incompatable. “What fellowship can Light have with Darkness? What fellowship can Christ have with Baal? What fellowship can RIGHTEOUSNESS have with LAWLESSNESS?”
See if this lines up better “Through the Torah I died to Legalism”, instead of “Through the Law I died to the Law”. Or “We are not under Legalism but Under Grace”.
Is Keeping the Law out of Obedience the Opposite of Being Saved by Faith? Not according to Paul
Romans 3:31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
“Christ took away the Curse for BREAKING THE LAW”.
VOCABULARY WORD 2. LAWLESSNESS (A-Nomia) Hebrew Transliteration, “Torah-Lessness”.
This is another word that stems from “Nomos” but it has a very specific meaning, as the Bible defines it for us. In 1st John 3:4 we see that ‘Sin is Lawlessness, in fact, anyone who sins breaks the Law of G-d”.
The word “A-Nomia” is often given a vague translation to confuse the reader. It is translated into English as “wickedness”, “iniquity”, “unrighteousness” and many other things to avoid the definition 1st John 3:4 gives of “A-Nomia” and to confuse Paul’s words in 2nd Thessalonians. The Anti-Christ is the “Man of Sin” and a “Teacher of Lawlessness-A-Nomia”. In 2nd Corinthians Paul said “What fellowship can Righteousness have with LAWLESSNESS/A-Nomia?” Many Bible versions says “iniquity” instead of “sin” which is defined as “Lawlessness”, and they say “Unrighteousness” instead of “Lawlessness”.
VOCABULARY WORD 3.
ANTI-NOMIANS
Anti-Nomians is another word with a very specific meaning. Anti- in Greek means “Replacement or Counterfeit”. So if someone is “Anti-Christ” they can actually claim to represent Christ, be a messenger from Christ, or even be Christ. They are not just an enemy, but a counterfeit, an impostor claiming to be the original.
“Anti-Nomian” is actually a word in English, as well as Greek. It means “one who replaces the Law”, usually with their own tradition or by making their own desires the law they live by.
Paul warned against such men coming into the Church, the English mis-translation says “Beware of false prophets and UnPrincipled Men who will come into the Church in those days”. The Greek doesn’t say “Unprincipled men”, a vague phrase, it says “Anti-Nomians!” which is also a word in English and literally means “those who replace the Law”. “Beware of false prophets and men who replace the Law (with their traditions) coming into the Church in those days”.
Before you can replace something with a counterfeit, you have to “do away with” the original so nobody can compare them and spot a fake. Christ did not “do away” with the Law, He fulfilled it, which is the next part of this article.
VOCABULARY WORD 4
“TANAKOT/TALMUD”
In the time of Christ there were mainly two schools of Rabbi’s, the School of Shema, and the School of Hillel. These two schools would come to fistfights, literally, over the issue of HOW to keep the Law of G-d. This is because instead of following G-d’s instructions on how to live the Commands-as shown in the Prophets, they established their own traditions (Matthew 23). For example, G-d gave 7 very basic instructions about the Sabbath. One of them was to do no common labor. The Pharisees took that and made up 32 rules concerning the Sabbath, which they preached as being the very Commands of G-d! (Matthew 23). One school said that you couldn’t lift the weight of a dried fig on the Sabbath, another said that you could untie your horse to give it water but you couldn’t take it any more than a “Sabbath’s walk” to take it to water. The Orthodox Jews in Israel will throws rocks at cars if people drive on Sabbath, and some churches will come into your house to see if you have been watching t.v. on the Sabbath. They took G-d’s Command to keep the Sabbath, and 7 principles on how to do so, and from that made their own traditions which they preached to be the “Commands and G-d” but they are actually, as Paul said “The Commands of Men”. These teachings of the prominent Pharisees were called the “Tanakot/Oral Torah” or “Traditions of the Fathers”, but Paul called them “Jewish Myths”.
They were later written down and referred to as the “Talmud”.
VOCABULARY WORD 5.
RABBI/RABONI
Many people confuse the role of a Rabbi and a Priest. The priests were from Levi, and offered sacrifices and insured G-d was worshipped, they had a ceremonial purpose in the temple. A Rabbi’s job was to FULFILL the Torah. Fulfill means to “properly explain” how to keep a Command. The original Hebrew word was ONLY USED to mean ‘properly explaining how to keep the Torah”. Jesus was a Rabbi and in Matthew 5 He declares that He came to “Fulfill the Law”. He then starts doing just that, He explains what G-d meant when He said “Do not Murder”, “Do Not Commit Adultery”, and “Keep the Sabbath Holy”. This is the exact opposite of Abolishing the Torah, which means telling people the wrong way to keep it, as the Pharisees had done. EVERYONE agreed that G-d intended for people to keep the Torah, and that it is a Blessing. Otherwise the Pharisees would have not even questioned Jesus about being the Messiah, nor would John’s Disciples. If you said the Torah was done away with, then you would disqualify yourself from being The Messiah, the High Priest, The King of Israel, A Scribe, a Pharisee, any sort of Rabbi, and a JEW.
Jesus said “Call No MAN Rabbi” because He sent the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit to reveal to people how to keep the Torah, the “Counselor” that reveals “all truth”. Truth being a synonym for Torah in the time of Jesus. G-d wants those who worship in ‘Spirit AND Truth” (Ruach and Torah) in Hebrew. So they wouldn’t rely on false prophets and teachers of Lawlessness, Popes, self-appointed pastors, apostles, and prophets, to instruct them. The Rabbis in the time of Jesus sometimes gained more authority in the eyes of the people than the Scriptures themselves, and the same is happening today. Put no man in the position of Rabbi, but put the teachings to the test using the Scriptures and the Spirit (Spirit and Truth) not some theologian with a piece of paper on his wall saying another man said he speaks for G-d.
VOCABULARY WORD 6.
“FULFILL”
Both schools however, agreed that the Torah was completely valid. They passionately believed this and were willing to die for it. They also met in Synagogues and accused each other of “Abolishing the Torah” all day, and the other side would respond “We,the House of Hillel, are FULFILLING the Torah, it is YOU House of Shema which are ABOLISHING THE TORAH” and they would scream at each other for hours, but that was okay on Sabbath in their tradition, just not leading a thirsty horse to a pool that was more than a “Sabbath’s walk away”.
FULFILL has a very specific Hebrew meaning, it means to PROPERLY EXPLAIN HOW TO KEEP THE COMMAND AND WHAT THE COMMAND MEANS IN ACCORDANCE WITH G-D’S ORIGINAL INTENT.
VOCABULARY WORD 7.
ABOLISH
Abolish has a very specific Hebrew meaning as well, it is a legal term, meaning to IM-PROPERLY EXLAIN HOW TO KEEP THE COMMAND AND WHAT THE COMMAND MEANS IN ACCORDANCE WITH G-D’s ORIGINAL INTENT.Jesus told the people to "repent", when speaking to a Hebrew/Aramaic speaking audience of His Disciples He would say the word "Teshuvah", or "repent" in Hebrew, which literally means "Return to the Torah".
Jesus was a Rabbi and when arguing with the Pharisees He said He came to “FULFILL” the Torah. A fitting job for the One who is the”Torah Made Flesh”, the “High Priest”, “KING OF THE UNIVERSE”, and ofcourse, a Rabbi. Oh, and HE WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS GIVEN TO MOSES. HE WAS THERE WHEN THE SABBATH WAS MADE IN GENESIS.
VOCABULARY WORD 8
BROMA
“Broma” (from Broma-it is, or “clean” in Greek)is a word referring to food which G-d said was meant for man to eat, other things people eat which G-d did not intend to eat are referred to as “Akathertos”-spelling?. In Mark 7 Jesus refers to “Broma”, saying Levitically clean food is clean to eat if you wash your hands and say the ceremonial prayer of the Pharisees beforehand or not. The Pharisees preached that if you didn’t say the “Barucha” before you eat, then no matter what you ate, it was just as unclean as a pig or a lobster or a rat. Paul later talks about the Gnostics forbidding people to eat “food G-D INTENDED to be eaten with Thanksgiving.” Not just anything they put in their mouth, Broma only. You can’t consecrate to G-d what G-d has already called an abomination (disgusting).
Which would explain Peter’s exclamation in his dream, decades later after the resurrection “surely NOT Lord, I have NEVER LET ANYTHING UNCLEAN TOUCH MY LIPS”. If Mark 7 made “all foods clean”, instead of just “Broma”, then Peter didn’t get the memo. Even then, he woke up wondering about his dream, and in Acts 11 we see that G-d showed Peter to “Call no MAN unclean that G-d has made clean” so the unclean animals represented Gentiles races the Pharisees taught were unclean.
The Essenic Gnostics (a Jewish Cult with Greek ideas) had forbidden marriage and also forbidden people from eating any meat or any good tasting food that G-d intended (in Leviticus) for people to enjoy, like honey. They also worshipped angels. Some Christians in ROME had quite eating meat altogether period because in the city all of the butchers were pagan Romans (Jews weren’t allowed in trade guilds very often, such as the Butchers guild). So if someone sacrificed a cow to baal/Mithras, they would give the meat to butcher who would give them some parts and sell the rest. If you accidentally bought some beef sacrificed to baal (eating meat sacrificed to baal is an abomination to G-d), then it was believed that you would keel over and die. Therefore Paul said to “eat with Thanksgiving whatever (Broma) is set before you without raising questions of conscience ( if someone points out that it was possibly sacrificed to an idol before the butcher got it) . Now if someone refused to eat it because of the possibility it was sacrificed to baal and they didn’t believe praying over it would keep G-d from striking them dead, then they were “weak in the faith” and shouldn’t be forced to eat it. This is why Christians started praying BEFORE THEY EAT, in Deuteronomy G-d actually Commands that we pray AFTER the meal.
VOCABULARY WORD 9
G-D FEARER
A “G-d Fearer/G-d Fearing” is a very specific Hebrew Term, much like “Fulfill” and “Abolish” that had a very specific and singular use in the First Century. Since over 1/5 of the world’s population kept the Torah, many of them non-Jews, a term was needed for Torah Observant Gentiles. The word “G-d Fearer”, mistranslated as “G-d Fearing” in the Book of Acts, refers to a Torah Observant Gentile. Rahab the Prostitute who married one of the spies and Ruth the Moabitess were both G-d Fearers and in the lineage of Christ. Cornelius the Centurion “A G-d Fearing Man” was a G-d Fearer. G-d Fearers didn’t eat pork or any unclean food. In Peter’s vision, you notice that in the end the Council of Jerusalem isn’t asking Peter what he had for dinner, they are wondering why he went into the home of Gentile! Since even G-d Fearing Gentiles were considered “Unclean” in the Talmud/teachings of the Pharisees (not G-d’s Law/Torah). Gentiles who believed in G-d believed in His promise to bless them for keeping the Sabbath (Isaiah 58) and all the other Commands (Deuteronomy 30). They also understood that the Israelites were commanded to have “ONE LAW for you and the foreigner among you”. In Romans 10 and 11, Paul rebuts the Pharisees by stating the Gentile G-d Fearers are “GRAFTED INTO ISRAEL” and therefore no longer “unclean”. Still, the Sadducees would have an uncircumcised Gentile killed for entering the Inner Court of the Temple AND the Jew that brought him in there. They tried to have Paul killed for bringing Timothy into the Inner Court, not knowing that Paul had Timothy Circumcised (and since Paul was Rabbi, he probably did it himself). Talk about male bonding!
VOCABULARY WORD 10
JUDAIZER
A Judaizer was a Jewish person who insisted that you must be circumcised in order to be saved. They based this not on the written Torah (first 5 Books of the Bible), but on the “Oral Torah” or “Talmud” which the Pharisees taught. They also believed that Gentiles must keep the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 (which G-d Commanded for all people) but also strictly Jewish Holidays, invented by man, such as Channukah, as well as wearing Kippah’s on their heads.
The Judaizers also believed that a man was not clean unless he was circumcised. If he was a G-d Fearer like Cornelius, that wasn’t good enough. They wanted adult males to not only keep the Torah and Holy Days ( as Paul instructed Gentiles), but in addition, to keep holidays the Jews made up on their own, and to keep other traditions like washing your hands with a certain prayer before you eat, and fasting on Tuesdays and Thursdays (a practice of the Pharisees). On top of this, they had to become a Jewish Proselyte. A Jewish Proselyte was a gentile who not only kept the Torah ( a G-d Fearer), but also followed the teachings of the Pharisees as if they were the Commands of G-d (Matthew 23), and got circumcised AS AN ADULT, in order to be saved. Paul speaks of them “bragging about your flesh” because it takes quite a salesmen to convince a grown man to be circumcised in the age before anesthesia. Once a Proselyte, the gentile was considered native born Jew and had full rights at the temple. If Timothy’s mother hadn’t been Jewish he would have been called a Proselyte, especially since Paul, his teacher, Rabbi Sha’ul, was the 2nd most famous Pharisee in Judaism and remained so until the day he died. Josephus, the Jewish History, was a Pharisee initiate but dropped out in his 2 year probationary period.
Sep. 13th, 2009 @ 06:36 pm
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