Mashugana - Yiddish for crazy
For - English
Yehoshua - Old Hebrew for Jesus
= Crazy For Jesus
Mashugana For Yehoshua
By, Frederick M. Rahn, Jr.
Copyright September, 2014 - All rights
reserved
As with
all of my writings, everything must be compared to the Bible, for
verification. Unless otherwise noted,
all Bible references are from the King James Version. Sometimes I change the King James wording for
clarification or closer adherence to the original languages.
Introduction -
Chances are, if you are reading this, you consider yourself
a Christian; and you may very well be.
There are those, however, that consider themselves Christian, without an
understanding of what that title entails.
Some of you will know that the title means we are "all in" for
Jesus; that we are "crazy about Him" and have given over the lordship
of our lives to Him, as our Lord and Savior.
Those, who do not know the real Jesus, look on us as crazy fanatics who
are using Jesus as a crutch. They think
we don't have the good sense God gave every man, to direct our lives without a
book to show us the way. Yep, I pretty
much agree with that! I prefer to let the Word of God (the Bible)
direct my thoughts and actions, because I have found it gives me a much more
rewarding life. If you are open to the
leading of the Lord, I invite you to continue in this work of love. My prayer, for those who read this, is
that all Christians and Jews will
realize that we are all the brothers, and Sons of God, through Elohim, that He
intended. We are "His people". From God, through Adam, Abraham, Moses, David
and Jesus; He has made us one people.
Dedication -
I would like to dedicate this work to The Lord God
Jehovah. On August 31, 2014, my wife
came in and told me "Dad called".
He just wanted to check in to see if everything was going okay and if we
were doing all right. I didn't realize
when I first woke up, that it was a dream.
It went through my mind that both of our earthly dad's had passed on
many years before. I went in and told my
wife about the dream and she immediately said: "our Father in
Heaven". My only explanation for
this is that the Bible tells us: young men shall see visions, and old men shall
dream dreams.
In the preparation and gathering of the material for this
work, I can only describe my feelings as the birth pangs of labor. I think it is appropriate to have finished it
on Labor Day. I felt led of the Lord to
write this. It seems important enough to make sure that the birthing of it
should give Glory to Him. I pray that I
have been successful.
Contents Page
1. To the Jew first.................................................................6
2. Historically, Who Was Jesus?..........................................9
3. What's in a
name?...........................................................13
4. Replacement Theology...................................................18
5. Jew Envy.........................................................................24
6. Israel
7. God and Israel
8. What Christians Believe.................................................34
9. Jesus' Instructions...........................................................39
10.
The Emergence of The Emergent
Church
11.
Satan In The Church......................................................48
12. Anti-Semitism...............................................................50
13. Believing The Lie..........................................................54
14.
Combining Religions....................................................65
15. Born
Again....................................................................68
16. Future
notes...................................................................72
Page numbers are lost in this application.
To The Jew First
What does it mean when Paul, a Jew, says: "For I am
not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of
God unto salvation to every one
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also
to the Greek"[1]? And Paul further stated: "I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus , a
city in Cilicia ,
yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this
day."[2] So what was Paul preaching? It wasn't Christianity or converting to
another religion; it was that salvation was available through the Jew,
Jesus.
There are several places where Jesus indicated that His
salvation was for the Jews first. When
he was talking with the woman at the well[3]
and when He was talking with the Samaritan woman about the dogs being able to
get the crumbs from the table[4].
When Peter, a Jew, was on the roof of Simon the Tanner's
house, he was shown that, although he felt that he was only to tell the Jews
about the good news, the Lord wanted the information disseminated to the
gentiles also.[5]
When Jesus taught, He often quoted the
Jewish Scriptures; after His death and resurrection, His followers turned to
them for verification and the meaning of His life and message; thru fulfillment
of the prophetic scripture.
"One common misconception is that the Jewish people have their own path to God and don’t need Yeshua (Jesus) for salvation. As a teenager, I (Jonathan Bernis) heard the Gospel numerous times from zealous Christians, but when I responded by informing them that I was Jewish, I always seemed to get an apology. Surprisingly, many believe that it is an act of good will not to share the Gospel with Jewish people. In fact, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only do Jewish people need the Messiah for salvation like everyone else, but Romans 1:16 tells us that the Gospel is “to the Jew first.”
A second misconception is
that all Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah. In reality, many Jews have no idea
who Jesus really is! When a Jew hears Jesus Christ, they automatically think
“the God of the Christians” rather than the Jewish Messiah, or Savior of the
world. In fact, Christ is simply the Greek word for Messiah. It is not that
Jewish people have rejected Jesus, they simply have no idea who He really is.
A third misconception
Christians have that often hinders them from sharing their faith is that Jewish
people all know the Bible better than they do. Wrong again. Only about 10% of
the Jewish community is actually orthodox and actively involved in study of
Scripture. The truth is that although the Jewish people are referred to as The
People of the Book, most Jewish people have never even read their own Bible!
Clearing up these
misconceptions is important in order to break down some of the barriers that
have kept Christians from effectively reaching Jewish people."[6]
"And Jesus went about all the cities and villages,
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and
healing every sickness and every disease among the people."[7] "Notice that
Yeshua taught in the Synagogues. He only taught the Jews, more so His disciples
and those that came to hear him. He did not teach the Gentiles. Paul taught the
Gentiles. Paul was not laying a new foundation. Paul tells us that there was no
other foundation but that one that Yeshua laid. What was the foundation that
Yeshua laid? It was a Jewish foundation from a Jewish Messiah."[8]
Caiaphas, who was the chief
Rabbi at the time said something of great significance. He prophesied that it would be good for one
man to die for the saving of the nation[9]. Gamaliel, a Pharisee
doctor of Jewish Law and the Jewish law teacher of Paul the Apostle, told those who were concerned about the growth of
the Christian movement that if they left it alone and it was not of God, it
would fade away, but if it was of God and they hindered it, they would be
fighting with God Himself.[10]
Historically,
Who Was Jesus?
There is no doubt that Jesus was born, existed, died on the
cross and rose again, from the dead. The
historical facts verify these things. The only question the skeptic has left is who
was He, in comparison to who He and others said He was.
Jesus' resurrection seems to be the major sticking
point. The following are the facts -
1. The tomb was found to be
empty.
2. The belief of the
disciples, that He appeared to them after His death and who then went around
telling the people about Him. Presently,
two and a half billion people claim to
be Christian.
3. He was pronounced dead, by
a Roman soldier, to Pilot. He would not have lied to Pilot, the head Roman
leader, to whom he was subject.
4. The first few reports of
His resurrection were not believed by His disciples. When they saw Him they believed.
5. Over 500 witnesses saw Him
alive, throughout a 40 day period of time.
Most of these witnesses were still alive when it was written, in the
Gospels, that they saw Him.
What historical writings, other than the Bible, told
about Jesus?
1. Flavius
Josephus: Josephus wrote “Antiquities of the Jews” in about
94AD. In it he mentions Jesus twice.
2. In his Annals, Cornelius Tacitus (55-120 CE) writes that Christians "derived
their name and origin from Christ, who, in the reign of Tiberius, had suffered
death by the sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate" (Annals 15.44)
3. In his The Lives of
the Caesars, Suetonius, writing
around 120 CE, states: "Since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the
instigation of Chrestus [Emperor Claudius in 49 CE] expelled them from Rome
4. In a lost work referred to by Julius Africanus in the third century,
the pagan writer Thallus reportedly claimed that Jesus' death was accompanied
by an earthquake and darkness.
5. Pliny the Younger, writing
near 100 CE, corresponded regularly with the emperor Trajan. In these writings,
Pliny specifically mentions and describes the beliefs and practices of
Christians in Asia Minor , and asks Trajan's
advice about what action to take against them, if any. However, Pliny's
writings provide no independent confirmation of the events of the New
Testament, but merely show that there were indeed Christians living in Asia Minor .
6. There are only a few clear
references to Jesus in the Babylonian Talmud, a collection of Jewish rabbinical
writings compiled between approximately A.D. 70-500.
7. In
c170 Lucian wrote a satire on
a Greek philosopher in which the philosopher spent some time with Christians.
In the course of this, Jesus is mentioned.
8. Celsus was
a philosopher who wrote a treatise against Christianity (c180AD) in which he
mentions Jesus.
9. Thallus:
Wrote a history in the mid first century AD which mentions the darkness at
Jesus’ crucifixion. The work is lost but was quoted by the second century
Julius Africanus.
10. Phlegon:
Wrote an astronomical treatise which mentions the darkness at Jesus’
crucifixion.
11. Clement
of Rome: In 96AD Clement wrote a letter to the church in Corinth
12. Ignatius of Antioch :
Wrote a series of letters as he was taken to Rome
13. Polycarp: Polycarp wrote a letter
at the start of the second century AD in which he mentions Jesus and quotes
from the New Testament.
14. The Didache: This is a work of
uncertain date but probably from the first century AD. It mentions Jesus and
quotes from the New Testament.
These are so close to the time of Jesus that to ignore
them would be an example of complete bigotry.
"The wealth
of these sayings is evidence that Jesus was a historical figure. From only the
non-Christian sources we can find out:-
1. when Jesus lived,
where he was born and brought up,
2. where he carried out
his teaching,
3. that he had influence
as a teacher,
4. that he performed
actions considered to be miraculous,
5. that he was executed,
6. that people claimed to
have seen him alive afterwards,
7. that he was widely
described as “Christ”
"Most modern
scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed, but scholars differ on the
historicity of specific episodes described in the Biblical accounts, and the
only two events subject to "almost universal assent" are that Jesus
was baptized by John the Baptist and was crucified by the order
of the Roman Prefect Pontius Pilate.
There is a significant debate about his nature, his actions and his sayings,
but most scholars agree that Jesus was a Galilean
Jew who was born between
7-4 BC and died 30–36 AD, that he lived in Galilee and Judea and did not preach
or study elsewhere, and that he spoke Aramaic
and perhaps also Hebrew and Greek.
Scholars attribute varying levels of certainty to other episodes. E.P. Sanders and Craig A. Evans independently state that there are two other incidents in the life of Jesus that can be considered historical: that Jesus called disciples, and that he caused a controversy at the Temple. This extended view assumes that there are eight elements about Jesus and his followers that can be viewed as historical facts—four episodes in the life of Jesus and four about him and his followers, namely:
Jesus was
baptized by John the Baptist. He called disciples. He had a
controversy at the Temple Jerusalem
Jesus was a
Galilean. His activities were confined to Galilee and Judea .
After his death his disciples continued. Some of his disciples were persecuted
."[12]
We can see that Jesus was an actual historical figure. He, His disciples and many others said that
He was the Messiah. He said He was the
Son of God. He admitted to being the
Christ of God. He said He was born to be
a king - not of this world. He said He
was the Way, the Truth and the Life. He
said the only way to the Father was through Him. He said the only way to Heaven is through
Him. He also said: If you deny me before
men, I will deny you before My Father.
The foundation of the Christian
experience is not the fact that Jesus lived here as a man on earth. Jesus always was, is now and will be
forever. The foundation of Christianity
is that He, who lives forever, for a short time, came to be with us, in the
flesh, to establish the personal relationship with us that He intended to have
when He created the heavens and the earth.
Now we can see that the question is not who Jesus was; that
is well established. The most important
question now is, who is Jesus in your life?
WHAT'S In A Name?
How do we know what, how or who to worship if we don't know
His name? We know that the Lord is a
trinity. Do we realize that as we call
on one of His names, we are calling on all of His names? In the Bible Jesus said that He and the
Father are One. In another place Jesus
said: He, the Father and the Holy Spirit are the same One.[13] The different names of God are given to
express the various attributes of His character.
ELOHIM - אלהים - God's title or office, like president or CEO, is a plural noun, meaning three or more. (
can mean one or more, two or more, or three or more[14] -
in Genesis the meaning is three or more)
Elohim is the Creator of all men, but only those who are born again can
refer to Him as Father.[15] "Hear O Israel, Jehovah our Elohim is
one Jehovah" = Hear O Israel, our redeemer is God."
JEHOVAH - יהוה - The personal name of God. It means redeemer - YHWH - Jehovah is the eternal I AM. I am Jehovah, thy Elohim. The most important and most often written name of God in Judaism is the Tetragrammaton, the four-letter name of God, also known as יהוה, or YHWH. "Tetragrammaton" derives from the prefix tetra- ("four") and gramma ("letter", "grapheme"). The Tetragrammaton appears 6,828 times in the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia edition of the Hebrew Masoretic text. This name is first mentioned in Genesis 2:4. In English language Bibles it is traditionally translated as "The Lord".
ADONAI - אדוני - Master, or one who owns. My Lord.
Adonai (אֲדֹנָי), the
Hebrew for "my lords" Anon = singular. Adonai = plural.
Lord
God = Jehovah
Adonai
Elohim = Jehovah
Jehovah
Jirea = The Lord will provide.
Jehovah
Rapha = The Lord that heals.
Jehovah
Nisi = The Lord our banner, our victory.
Jehovah
Qadash = The Lord that sanctifies.
Jehovah
Shalom = The Lord our peace.
Jehovah
Tsidkenu = The Lord our righteousness.
Jehovah
Shammah = The Lord is there. When Christ
returns, Jerusalem
Jehovah
Sabaoth = The Lord of Host.
Jehovah
Ra-Ha = The Lord, my shepherd.
EL
is sometimes used in place of Elohim. An
example of this would be El Elyon = most high God. El Olam = everlasting God. El Shaddai = Almighty God. El means strong one. Shaddai means the breast of God, the
nourisher, strength giver, the satisfier.
HaShem - While other names of God in
Judaism are generally restricted to use in a liturgical
context, HaShem is used in more
casual circumstances. HaShem is
used by Orthodox Jews so as to avoid saying Adonai outside of a ritual context
Ehyeh
asher ehyeh (Hebrew: אהיה
אשר אהיה) is the first of three
responses given to Moses
when he asks for God's name (Exodus 3:14). I am that I am.
According to Jewish tradition, the number of divine names that require the scribe's special care is seven: El, Elohim, Adonai, YHWH, Ehyeh-Asher-Ehyeh, Shaddai, and Tzevaot.
Elah (Hebrew: אֵלָה), (plural "elim") is the Aramaic word for "awesome". The origin of the word is uncertain; it may be related to a root word, meaning “fear” or “reverence”. Elah is found in the Tanakh in the books of Ezra, Daniel, and Jeremiah (Jeremiah 10:11, the only verse in the entire book written in Aramaic.) Elah is used to describe both pagan gods and the one true God.
- Elah-avahati, God of my
fathers, (Daniel 2:23)
- Elah Elahin, God of gods
(Daniel 2:47)
- Elah Yerushelem, God of
- Elah Yisrael, God of
- Elah Shemaya, God of Heaven (Ezra 7:23)
Elyon" means "supreme" (as in
"Supreme Court") or "Most High". El Elyon has been traditionally translated into English as 'God
Most High'
In the Hebrew bible Book of Genesis, specifically Gen 16:13, Hagar calls the divine protagonist, El Roi. Roi means “seeing". To Hagar, God revealed Himself as “The God Who sees".
Shalom
("Peace"; Hebrew: שלום) The Talmud says "the name of God is 'Peace'
HaMakom "The Omnipresent" (literally, The Place)
(Hebrew: המקום) Used in the traditional
expression of condolence; המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שאר אבלי ציון וירושלים HaMakom
yenachem etchem betoch sh’ar aveilei Tziyon V’Yerushalayim—"The Place
(i.e., The Omnipresent One) will comfort you (pl.) among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem
Some of the other references to God are as follows:
- Adir—"Strong
One"
- Adon
Olam—"Master
of the World"
- Aibishter—"The Most
High" (Yiddish)
- Aleim—sometimes seen as
an alternative transliteration of Elohim
- Avinu
Malkeinu—"Our Father, our King"
- Boreh—"the
Creator"
- Ehiyeh
sh'Ehiyeh—"I Am That I Am": a modern Hebrew version of "Ehyeh
asher Ehyeh"
- Elohei
Avraham, Elohei Yitzchak ve Elohei Ya`aqov—"God of Abraham, God
of Isaac, God of Jacob"
- Elohei
Sara, Elohei Rivka, Elohei Leah ve Elohei Rakhel—"God of Sarah, God of
Rebecca, God of Leah, God of Rachel"
- El
ha-Gibbor—"God the hero" or "God the strong one" or
"God the warrior"
- Emet—"Truth"
- E'in
Sof—"endless,
infinite", Kabbalistic name of God
- HaKadosh,
Baruch Hu—"The Holy One, Blessed be He"
- Kadosh
- Melech
HaMelachim—"The King of kings" or Melech Malchei
HaMelachim "The King, King of kings", to express superiority to
the earthly rulers title. Phillip Birnbaum
renders it "The King Who rules over kings"
- Makom or HaMakom—literally "the
place", perhaps meaning "The Omnipresent"; see Tzimtzum
- Magen
Avraham—"Shield of Abraham"
- Ribono shel `Olam—"Master of the
World"
- Ro'eh
Yisra'el—"Shepherd of
- YHWH-Yireh
(Adonai-jireh)—"The LORD will provide" (Genesis
22:13–14)
- YHWH-Rapha—"The LORD that
healeth" (Exodus 15:26)
- YHWH-Niss"i
(Adonai-Nissi)—"The LORD our
Banner" (Exodus
17:8–15)
- YHWH-Shalom—"The LORD our
Peace" (Judges 6:24)
- YHWH-Ro'i—"The LORD my
Shepherd" (Psalm 23:1)
- YHWH-Tsidkenu—"The LORD our
Righteousness"[27]
(Jeremiah 23:6)
- YHWH-Shammah
(Adonai-shammah)—"The LORD is present" (Ezekiel 48:35)
- Tzur
Other names used to refer to God include Lord, Ancient of Days, 'Most High', 'King of Kings' or 'Lord of Lords' and Lord of the Hosts. Some Quakers refer to God as the Light.
JESUS
Jesus (Iesus, Yeshua, Joshua, or Yehoshua) is a Hebraic personal name meaning "Yahweh saves/helps/is salvation".
Christ means "the anointed" in Greek. Khristos is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Messiah.
Other common names for Jesus are "the Lamb", "the Lamb of God", "the Son of God", the "Son of Man", "The Word"[16], Emanuel, the Lion of the tribe of Judah and the Nazarene.
THE HOLY
SPIRIT
The Nicene Creed refers to the Holy Spirit as "the Holy Spirit", "the Lord", and "the giver of Life".
The Apostles' Creed refers to the Holy Spirit as "the Holy Spirit".
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as "Paraclete" (Greek: παράκλητος) and "the Spirit of Truth". Elsewhere in the Gospels, the Holy Spirit is termed "a Comforter" and "the Counselor".
The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as
the "Holy Ghost".
"Pneuma" is the Greek word for spirit and is found 385 times in the New Testament. It is used in the general sense of spirit as well as the Holy Spirit, and can also mean wind or breath.
Ruach HaKodesh - רוח הקודש - is the Hebrew name, meaning the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION – If for 2000 years we counted time as being BC and AD, why did we change to BCE and CE? Let’s see, BC meant ‘Before Christ’ and AD meant “year of our Lord”; whereas now BCE means ‘before the Christian era’ and CE means’ the Christian era’. I know that some people think the C (i.e. the common era) means common but do we really want to see it that way? Common to me means low, crude behavior, which I guess really does exemplify the common man, and describes what is happening in the world today. Yes, we have gotten to the point where some want to take all reference to God out of our consciousness.
"And (Jesus) being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.[17]
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved."[18]
Eloi, Eloi, Boruck HaShem,
Adonai Eloheinu,
Amen. = Father, Father, praise the name
of my Lord, King of the universe, Amen.
Replacement
Theology
One of the most egregious abominations in the world today is known as replacement theology. This is the theory, developed just a couple of hundred years after the beginning of the Christian movement, that the Christians have replaced the Jews in the promises of God. If those who hold these views knew their Bible, they would know that Christians are a sect of Judaism and that promises of God are forever. God is not a man, that He should lie. All men have sinned and come short of the glory of God; therefore lying and distortion come easily to the unsaved and the biblical ignorant. Greed and lust for power have been present in the world since the beginning. The priests were concerned that they would loose their power and position if many of the Jews believed in Jesus, since they could no longer control the people on behalf of the Romans. "34 A Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, had in reputation among all the people, and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space;.... 38 And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing: 39 But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."[19]
"Replacement theology is the teaching that the Christian church has replaced national
Therefore, many of the promises that God made to
1. The Jewish people are no longer God's chosen
people. Instead, the Christian church now makes up God's chosen people.
2. In the New Testament after Pentecost, the
term "Israel
3. The Mosaic covenant (Exodus 20) is replaced
by the new covenant (Luke 22:20).
4. Actual circumcision is replaced by a
circumcision of the heart (Rom. 2:29).
So, in replacement theology the church has replaced
Replacement theology was not the first
apostasy to appear. Paul spoke, many
times, about the apostasy of the Gnostics.
Jesus, Himself, as well as the apostles, wrote about false teaching and
those who were anti-Christ.
In scripture, it is well documented that when a gentile
becomes born again, as per Jesus instructions, he is grafted into the vine of
Judaism; the root of which is God. The
Christian has become "one of His people"[21]. " I am the vine, ye are the branches: He
that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit;
so shall ye be my disciples."[22] "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that
bares not fruit he takes away: and every branch that bares fruit, he purges it,
that it may bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken
unto you. Abide
in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide
in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the
branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and
they are burned."[23]
"There are
four groups, or sects, of Judaism today: the Orthodox, the Conservative, the
Reformed and the Christian. As we now
see, these four groups of professing Jews and Christians prove the promise of
God to Abraham; that his seed would be without number. Today, there are over 2.5 billion professing
Jewish people which includes all four groups."[24] Judaism is not part of Christianity,
Christianity is a part of Judaism: always was, is now and always will be[25]. Even a cursory reading of what Jesus said
verifies this: "Till heaven and
earth pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled"[26], "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."[27]. Jesus said that
His Father is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when explaining to the
Sadducees about the Lord being the God of the living[28].
"David Flusser, a teacher at the Hebrew University
"And the word of God
increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in
I am told that to a Jew who is not
born again, it is insulting to refer to someone as a completed Jew or messianic
Jew. I have noticed, however, that those
Jews who have been born again call
themselves by those titles.
The gospel was to be preached to the Jew first, and then to
the gentile.
"For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to
every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the
Greek."[34] Jesus called His brethren first, but He was
not adverse to issuing knowledge to the heathen along the way (the woman at the
well[35],
the woman of Canaan [36]). Peter thought it would be wrong to give the
gospel to non Jews, however, he was given a heavenly lesson and went right away
to do so.[37] Paul was known as the apostle to the
gentiles.[38] He however went to the gentiles only after he
was given such a hard time by his fellow Jews.
All of the apostles argued the scriptures, to show how the Old Testament
showed Jesus was the Messiah. There are
many, many passages in the Old Testament that not only describe how Jesus would
come, but also what he would do and how he would suffer and die and rise
again.
Jesus was tried three times: the
Hebrew council, King Herod and Pilot. He
was found not guilty by Herod and Pilot but the crowd called for Pilot to
crucify Him. To save face (pride), Pilot
sentenced Him to death, that the scriptures be fulfilled. Who was responsible for the death of
Jesus? Was it the Jews? Was it the Romans? No; it was you….and me. Jesus died for “our” sins!
‘Tradition is the faith of the dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of the
living.”[39] This is what Jesus most objected to about the
Pharisees and the Sadducees. They were
teaching the traditions of men, rather than the instructions of God. Many churches (denominations and false
teachers) are doing the same thing today.
they are preaching to tickle the ears, rather than deliver the truth of
the gospel. "For the time will come when they will not endure
sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves
teachers, having itching ears;"[40] "For
the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to
have their ears tickled, they will
accumulate for themselves teachers in
accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from
the truth and will turn aside to myths."[41] "But among the
people there were also false prophets, just as there will be false teachers
among you. Under false pretenses they will introduce destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, and thus bring on themselves swift
destruction. Many will follow
their debaucheries; and because of them, the true Way will be maligned. In their greed they will exploit you with
fabricated stories."[42]
The Jewishness of the Church movement was taken over by the
Catholic religion and it's progeny. The Jews need to take back their Messiah.
The Lord sent His Messiah
down through the line of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. What an insult, to not honor the plans of the
creator of everything.
The Jewishness of the Church movement was taken over by the
Catholic religion and it's progeny. The "latter times" started with
the Gnostics and continued with Augustine of Hippo and continues until today. "Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter
times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience
seared with a hot iron;."[43] The Jews need
to take back their Messiah. "God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath
in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of
all things, by whom also he made the worlds;."[44] "Then came one and
told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the
temple, and teaching the people."[45] " And daily in the temple,
and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."[46] The first place the
apostles went, when they entered a new town, was the Synagogue (if there was
one available).
As I have said before, Jehovah brings
the Jew to Jesus, whereas it is Jesus who brings the gentile to Jehovah. Now, one flesh, one body and one spirit.
Jew Envy
The development of replacement theology is a result of the
envy of the relationship the Jews have with God. The basic tenant of this misguided, man made
teaching, is the false teaching that since Jesus came, the relationship the
Jews had with God, has been replaced by the Christian Church. You have to really twist some of the Bible
verses to get to this. For this to be true, God would have to be a liar.
Just because something is
claimed to be Christian doesn’t mean that it is Christian. There are many
instances throughout the ages where people have misinterpreted the Bible;
whether well intentioned, or for some form of gain. The apostle Paul said: “I say then, God
has not rejected His people, has He? May it never be! For I too am an
Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.”[47] “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”[48]
“Supersessionism is a Christian theology that contrasts with Dual-covenant theology. Biblical expressions of God's relationships with people are known as covenants, so the contentious element of supersessionism is the idea that the New Covenant with Christendom replaces the Mosaic Covenant with the Israelites and Proselytes.
Supersessionism is also called
fulfillment theology and replacement theology, though the latter term is
disputed. It is a Christian interpretation
of New Testament verses, viewing God's relationship with
Christians as being the inheritance of the Christian Church of the promises made to the Jews
(or Biblical Israelites) and Jewish Proselytes. A major question related to
supersessionism is how or to what degree are the teachings of the Mosaic
Covenant displaced
or even completely abrogated
by the New Covenant and the Law of Christ.”[49] Jesus said He had not come to do away with
the law, but to fulfill it.
“Replacement Theology - reduced to its simplest form - teaches that the Church has replaced
1.
Israel Israel Israel
2.
Israel Israel
The Jews are the children of the covenant God first promised to Abraham. The Arabs, on the other hand are the children of a different covenant given to Ishmael for the sake of his mother, being a maidservant to Abraham. The contention, over the centuries, has developed because of the two different covenants, because only one was to be The Chosen People of God. I have a hard time figuring out who is who, and what line the differing peoples are in the area. Hagar chose an Egyptian wife for Ishmael, which meant that the Egyptians were there before Ishmael. Today
Esau represents another covenant yet. The blessing given to Esau, because Jacob “stole” his inheritable covenant blessing, led him to establish another people separate and apart from the Jews. He married Mahalath, the daughter of Ishmael, and became a part of the Arab peoples. From this we see that the claim of the Moslems, to be descendants of Abraham is valid, because Mohammad was a descendant of Ishmael.
We can see, from the above, that Jew envy may be nothing
more than glorified sibling rivalry. The
Islamists have a doctrine known as WAQF, which means once a territory is Moslem
it is Moslem forever. Under this
doctrine all of the land God gave to Israel Israel
Gentile is a term used by many to refer to anyone who is not a believer in their God, as well as a believer who did not start out as a Jew. For me this is offensive as, to me, it means one doesn’t believe in the One True and Living God of the Jews and Christians. The Bible says that the salvation of Jesus is available to both the Jew and the gentile. If you are a gentile, and accept Jesus, you don’t remain a gentile but become a believer. Non Jews who accept Christ are grafted into the vine where God is the root and foundation.[52] Christ came to the Jew first and then to the gentile.[53] We can see from this, that when someone becomes a Christian, he becomes part of the vine; he does not replace the vine. I guess that Christians could be looked upon as a sect of Judaism; one who has recognized and accepted the Messiah. Therefore, don’t reject the Jews, become one. Become, as it says in Romans 2:28-29, circumcised in your heart.
Five times, since 1948, the Arab nations have tried to
annihilate the Jewish nation. Five times
the Israeli’s were victorious; yet we see these enemies of Israel
The Arab people living in Israel
Why do I defend Israel Israel encompassed a lot more territory than Israel Israel Israel Israel Israel
[56]: “I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch
as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope
that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if
their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance
be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is
holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild
olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the
nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you
do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You
will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.”
Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith.
Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural
branches, he will not spare you either.
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God:
sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in
his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist
in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and
contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more
readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive
tree!”[57]
In recognition of this fact: pray for the peace of Jerusalem
[59]“No one may appear before me without an
offering.”[60] Animal sacrifice is no longer needed because
of what Jesus did for us. That is why
the curtain separating the Holy of Holies was torn in two when Jesus was
crucified. We now have direct access to
God, because of Jesus. Since that day,
no priest or anything else has to stand between us and God. You and I are now personally responsible to
God because of this. Our access is now
dependent on having a “Born Again” experience.
We must accept, b y faith, that Jesus is our Lord and Savior. You were not born into this relationship; it
is something you have to accomplish individually. What is it that God wants us
to do? Recognize that we are sinners, be
sorry for these shortcomings, accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, ask Him for
forgiveness, accept that forgiveness and then live like you are forgiven. Peter said: “Each of you must repent of your
sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
This promise is to you, and to your children, and even to the Gentiles—all who
have been called by the Lord our God.”[61] The Jews do have a special relationship with
God due to His covenants with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I don’t understand that relationship as it is
today, but I do know that The Jews are still His chosen people. God said: “I will bless those who bless you (Israel Israel
Blessing
and cursing, life or death, good or evil; the choice is up to us. Every American administration since 1948 has
stood by and blessed Israel San
Francisco
What
should we do as a nation? Do we abandon Israel Israel Israel
A lot of
people are so tied up in their own ideas and ideals, they can’t see the forest
for the trees. Is it that no one really
cares about Israel
God and Israel
Just as Jesus was sacrificed for the whole world, in the
Old Testament, the Torah was also given to the whole world. The Jews were the only ones that received
God’s call to obey the Torah, so God only attached His name to Israel Israel Israel Israel declares, ‘Hear oh Israel , the Lord our God, the Lord is one’, and
the Holy Spirit cries, ‘who is like thy people Israel Israel is as though he helped The Holy One,
Blessed be He; whoever hates Israel
All the nations of the world were given access to the Torah;
but only Israel
The Shechinah Glory of God dwells not only in Heaven but
also in each of us who have received the Holy Spirit (Ruach Hahadesh) who is
God’s direct influence on man.[67] The Holy one, blessed be He; The Lord God
Almighty, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, Elohim, the All Powerful One,
the Mighty One, the All Knowing One, the Alpha and Omega, the I Am, the Holy
One of Israel, Jehovah Jaira, Jehovah Shalom, El Shadi, Yahweh, and Jehovah
Niche are all different names for God but I prefer to call Him Adonai which
means “my Lord”.
The Jews, in their attempt to explain away the Trinity of
God, use Genesis 1:26 and the verse following.
In Genesis 1:26, God said “Let Us create man in our image, and let them
rule over…….. In Genesis 1:27 God
created man in His Image, in the image of God He created him, male and female
He created them”. The inference of Rabbi
Simali was that “our” meant God, in addition to man and woman. Since man had not yet been created, I don’t
see the application of his theory. The
Hebrew word ‘Elohim’ has a plural form that I believe the rabbi missed. Rabbi Simali wrote this at a time when
Judaism was fighting the growth of the early Christian church.
“Whether atheism, in the sense of the dogmatic denial of
God’s existence, was accepted by anybody in Biblical and rabbinic times is
doubtful; but both in the Bible and Talmud the concern was with practical
atheist who conducted his life as though he would never be held to account for
his deeds.”[68] As we see today, there are many who claim to
be Christian, but are so in name only, having a semblance of the truth but not
walking therein. “Don’t forget that
Jesus was crucified by church members whose sins He rebuked.”[69]
As concerns our walk in this world,
the Talmud explains: “the hour of man’s departure neither silver nor gold nor
precious stones nor pearls accompany him, but only Torah and good works; as it
is said, ‘When thou walkest it shall lead thee [in this world], when thou liest
down [in death] it will watch over thee and when thou awakest it shall talk to
thee [in the world to come]”[70]. In Jesus time, the Pharisees believed in the
resurrection, the Sadducees did not, and were therefore sad, you see.
Christ Himself was an Israeli, in His human form. Many religions are vehemently against Christ
because the only path to salvation is through Jesus, who was a Jew. “Jesus said: ‘Come to Me’, not the church;
to Me, not a creed; to Me, not a preacher; to Me, not an evangelist; to Me; not
a priest; to Me, not a pope; ‘come to Me and I will give you rest.’ Faith in
Jesus Christ moves you, not faith in the church.”[71]
How does God feel about you? He knows everything; and has since before
the creation of the world. He knows who will
be saved through Christ, and who will not.
If your name is not written in the Lambs book of life, you are lost.
God, before anything was, knew whose names would be in the book of life. That is what is known as predestination. Now we can see why God wants us to treat
everyone as a brother. We don’t know who
will wind up being one of us, and who won’t.
That is one reason why Jesus said the most important thing was to love God
with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.[72]
If you have a book that is thousands of years old, that was
written over a period of thousands of years, which has never been disproved,
that the archeological evidence supports and is in conflict with more recent
writings; why in the name of all that is Holy, would you value the newer and
obviously inferior writings?
Why is what the Lord has done for us not the lead story of
every news presentation? What could be
more important news than that the Lord is doing His best to keep us from going
to Hell? Throughout all creation, God
reached out to man. Throughout the Old
Testament He sent messenger after messenger to help mankind. The New Testament describes how He sent His
Son to redeem mankind. What in the world
is more important than that?
What Christians Believe
For those who don’t realize it, Jesus is not a Christian. Now that I’ve gotten some of you bent all out of shape, let me explain: Jesus is the Messiah. There is only one Messiah, and it is the belief in Him that makes us Christians. If we repent (change our minds) and accept Him as our Lord and Savior, believe in Him with all out heart soul and mind, give Him his rightful place as Lord of our life and testify of Him before others, we qualify as Christians. This is summed up in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” and Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” To the contrary, if you haven’t received Jesus into your heart, confessed it, and believe that God raised Him from the dead, you simply don’t qualify as a Christian.
If you believe in Jesus, you must also believe in the
Bible, because “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and
the Word was God”. Jesus is the Word –
that means that the Living Word of God is Jesus.
If you are born again, Jesus
is the Lord of your life. If Jesus is
the Lord of your life, do you trust what He says? How can some people say they are Christian,
but don’t trust the word of God to be true?
How can it be that you trust Jesus but not His Word: since He is His
Word? It has well been established that
the Bible is the Word of God. With all
the different translations of the Bible, how do we know which one to
trust? I prefer the King James Version,
however, God can get the gist of what He wants to convey through many different
versions.
It is not our faith that saves us but the Grace of God, in
whom and by whom our faith is founded.
By repentance (changing our mind) and accepting the Grace that God
offers through acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are given the faith
to live for Him. There are rewards that
we receive, once we make that first step: peace beyond understanding, eternal
life with the Lord in Heaven, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the power
to prevail against evil. We are however,
expected to grow in our Christianity.
Paul says we need to move on from the milk of the gospels to the meat of
the gospels. 1 Corinthians 3:2 says: "I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye
were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able." Hebrews
5:12 says: "For when for
the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be
the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of
milk, and not of strong meat." Paul
also said: strong meat belongs to them that are of
full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to
discern both good and evil.
The basic, essential beliefs of a Christian are:
1. Jesus is Lord:
part of the trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son (the Word) and the Holy Spirit of God.
2. The Bible is the
Word of God and was written under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. Biblical inerrancy
is a fact.
3. Jesus was born of
a virgin; conceived by the Holy Spirit.
4. Jesus died for
all of the sins, for all of the people.
Although all of us sin, those
sins can't keep us from entering the kingdom
of God
5. Jesus rose again
on the third day.
6. Jesus is coming
back.
7. The resurrection
of the Saints.
The Scriptural basis for those beliefs are:
1. Jesus is Lord:
part of the trinity of God the Father, Jesus the Son (the Word) and the Holy Spirit of God. 1 John 5:7-8
says:
"For there are three that
bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one." Matthew 28:19 says: "Go ye therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the
Holy Ghost:" John 15:26
says: "But
when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, [even] the Spirit of truth, which
proceeds from the Father, he shall
testify of me:" Galatians 4:6
says: "And because ye are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father."
2. Biblical
inerrancy - 2 Peter 1:20-21 says: “ Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”2 Timothy 3:16 says: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
3. Virgin birth of Jesus - Isaiah 7:14 says: “Therefore the Lord
himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name
Immanuel." Why does it matter if
Jesus was conceived by a man or the Holy Spirit? If Jack married Harriet and Bill got Harriet
pregnant, the baby would be Bill’s and not Jack’s. If Jesus was conceived by a man, through the
seed which is corrupted by sin, He would not be God. Mary had to be a virgin so that she would not
have been defiled by man, when Jesus was conceived. Matthew 1:23 says: “Behold,
a virgin shall be with child,
and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being
interpreted is, God with us.”
4. Substitutionary
atonement - 1
Peter 3:18 says: "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous ... ... For Christ also died for sins
once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God,
having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in ..." Hebrews
9:28 says: "so Christ was sacrificed once
to take away the sins .. .. so also Christ died once
for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again ...". Romans 5:8 says: "But God commendeth his love
toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us"
5. The literal resurrection of Christ - Jesus rose again on the third day. Romans 8:34 says: "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us." 2 Corinthians 5:14 - 15 says: "For the love of Christ constraineth us;
because we thus judge, that if one died
for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for
all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them, and rose again."
Acts 4:33 says: "And
with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord
Jesus: and great grace was upon them all."
6. Jesus
is coming back. The Nicene Creed, in current use, includes the
following beliefs about Jesus: "...he ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. ... We look for the resurrection of the
dead, and the life of the world to come." John
14:3 says: "And if I go
and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be
also." Revelation
22:20 says: "He (Jesus) which
testifies these things says, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." Matthew 25:31-46 says:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the
angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne." Hebrews 9:28 says: "So Christ,
having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time,
not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17
says: "For the
Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of
an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God."
7. The resurrection of the Saints. John 11:25 says: "Jesus
said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
believeth in me, though he were dead,
yet shall he live:" Romans 6:5 says: "For if we have
been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:" John
12:3 says: "I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also."
The
fundamentals of Christianity above are not the end all of Christian
knowledge. They are in reality a
starting point for the knowledge of God.
As Paul said, we need to move on from the milk of the gospel to the meat
of the gospel. Hebrews
5:13-14 says: "For every one that uses milk is unskillful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong
meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have
their senses exercised to discern both good and evil." There are many other things that Christians
come to believe, because of their growth in the Word. Knowledge of the gifts and the fruits of the
Spirit as well as knowledge of the evil forces in the world. The Christian, however, has the assurance
that the Holy Spirit is always there to guide them. Hebrews 13:5 says: "I will never
leave thee, nor forsake thee." Just so you will know that God is the
same yesterday, today and tomorrow: Psalm 37:28,says:
For the Lord loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut
off; Joshua 1:5 says:
"No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As
I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor
forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:8 says: Be strong and
courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your
God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:8, "The
Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you
nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Jesus'
Instructions
We have all heard of the Great
Commission. What we need to determine is
what the scope of that commission is.
Salvation is a joint effort. We
are to tell people about the availability, the Holy Spirit convicts the people
of their need and the Father supplies it through the sacrifices of His Son
Jesus. What did Jesus, in His own words,
tell us that He wanted us to do?
1. Matthew 28:19
King
James Version (KJV)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost:
New KJV
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
1599 Geneva
Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Ghost,[73]
Go therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the holy Ghost,[73]
Orthodox Jewish Bible, Mattityahu
28:19
Go, therefore, make talmidim for Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach of all the nations, giving them a tevilah in a mikveh mayim in Hashem, in the Name of HaAv, and HaBen, and HaRuach Hakodesh,[74]
Go, therefore, make talmidim for Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach of all the nations, giving them a tevilah in a mikveh mayim in Hashem, in the Name of HaAv, and HaBen, and HaRuach Hakodesh,[74]
[My translation of the Orthodox Jewish
verses. Go, therefore, make disciples
for our teacher, King Messiah of
all nations (meaning King of the world), giving them a full body
immersion in a mikveh
(a collection of
water), in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost.]
"In Christianity,
the term disciple primarily refers to students of Jesus and is found in the New Testament
only in the Gospels and Acts. The New Testament records many followers
of Jesus during his ministry, but only some became disciples."[75]
2. Mark
16:15
King James Version (KJV)
And he said
unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
New King James Version (NKJV)
And He said to
them, “Go
into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.
1599 Geneva
Footnotes:
- Mark 16:15 The Apostles are appointed, and
their office is limited unto them, which is to preach that which they
heard of him, and to minister the Sacraments, which Christ hath
instituted, having besides power to do miracles.
- Mark 16:15 Not to the Jews only, nor in
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB) Markos 16:15[77]
And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Go into kol haOlam (all
the World), and proclaim the Besuras HaGeulah to all HaBriah (the Creation).
3. Acts 1:8
King James Version (KJV)
8 But ye shall
receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be
witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem , and in all
Judaea, and in Samaria
New King James Version (NKJV)
8 But you shall receive
power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem ,
and in all Judea and Samaria
1599 Geneva
But ye shall receive power of the holy
Ghost, when he shall come on you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria
Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB), Gevurot 1:8
"But you will receive ko’ach when the
Ruach Hakodesh has come upon you, and you all will be the Eidus (the Witness)
of me, in Yerushalayim, and in all Yehudah, and Shomron and as far as ad ketzeh
ha’aretz."[79]
World Religions[80] -
Religion Number of followers
Christianity 2,200,000,000
Islam 1.600,000,000
Hinduism 1,100,000,000
Buddhism 488,000,000
Shinto
100,000,000
Sikhism 28,000,000
Judaism 14,000,000
All
others 49,000,000
Atheists and agnostics account for
about three percent of the world's population.
As we can see, from the above
statistics, there is yet a lot of work in evangelism to be done. Our job is not to save them, it is to present
the Gospel to them.
As Christian soldiers, we can see we
have marching orders. Notice, we are
instructed to go into all
nations. "Nations don't go to
Heaven, people do."[81] It is the people in all the nations we are to
bring the "good news" to.
Being Born Again into Christianity is not a group event, it is a
personal relationship with the Christ of God, the Melech HaMoshiach, the savior of the world, one soul at
a time.[82]
Our additional duty is to help them grow, and mature, in their walk with the Lord. They, and we, must study to show ourselves approved. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.[83] All is to be done for the glory of God.[84]
Now granted, Jesus did say that "these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover".[85] His main emphasis, however, was to tell the world about the gift of salvation.
The
Emergence of The Emergent
Church
The Emergent Church
The book of Revelation has all but
been excised from church teaching because it doesn't fall in line with the
"feel good" message to tickle the ears of the congregation. Health, wealth and prosperity without
consequence is the message that tickles the ears of many and makes for a
wealthy and prospering church financial program.
Jesus and the Apostles all warned
against this happening, and that it would happen in the less than faithful
churches. Of course, if your church
teaches that the Bible is the infallible word of God, that Jesus came in the
flesh, born of a virgin, and rose again from the dead to save the world from
sin, and the only way to get into Heaven is to accept Jesus as your Lord and
Savior you might be alright.
I am all in favor of Biblically based
movies; however, if they are advertised as biblical, they should not distort
the Bible. Quotations by The Son of God
should not have been changed, in the movie "Son of God". Extremely serious misrepresentations of what
the Bible says are presented in the movie "Noah"[86]. Literary license, poetic license and artistic license often
provoke controversy by offending those
who resent the
reinterpretation of cherished beliefs or
previous works.
The Presbyterian Church USA has spit
in the face of God in it's stance against Israel Israel Israel Israel
"One
man who is out to open many old “secrets” in the Catholic church is Pope
Francis. Some of the beliefs that are
held in the church but contrary to the loving nature of God are now being set
aside by the Pope who was recently named The Man of The Year by TIME
Magazine.
In his latest revelations, Pope Francis said:
“Through humility, soul searching, and
prayerful contemplation we have gained a new understanding of certain dogmas.
The church no longer believes in a literal hell where people suffer. This
doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. God is not a judge but
a friend and a lover of humanity. God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace.
Like the fable of Adam and Eve, we see hell as a literary device. Hell is
merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls ultimately will
be united in love with God.”
In a shocking speech that is reverberating across the
world, Pope Francis declared that:
“All religions are true, because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. What other kind of truth is there? In the past, the church has been harsh on those it deemed morally wrong or sinful. Today, we no longer judge. Like a loving father, we never condemn our children. Our church is big enough for heterosexuals and homosexuals, for the pro-life and the pro-choice! For conservatives and liberals, even communists are welcome and have joined us. We all love and worship the same God.”
“All religions are true, because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. What other kind of truth is there? In the past, the church has been harsh on those it deemed morally wrong or sinful. Today, we no longer judge. Like a loving father, we never condemn our children. Our church is big enough for heterosexuals and homosexuals, for the pro-life and the pro-choice! For conservatives and liberals, even communists are welcome and have joined us. We all love and worship the same God.”
In the last six months, Catholic cardinals, bishops
and theologians have been deliberating in the Vatican City
Pope Francis convened the new council to “finally
finish the work of the Second Vatican Council.
The Third Vatican Council concluded with Pope Francis
announcing that…
Catholicism is now a “modern and reasonable religion, which has undergone evolutionary changes. The time has come to abandon all intolerance. We must recognize that religious truth evolves and changes. Truth is not absolute or set in stone. Even atheists acknowledge the divine. Through acts of love and charity the atheist acknowledges God as well, and redeems his own soul, becoming an active participant in the redemption of humanity.”
Catholicism is now a “modern and reasonable religion, which has undergone evolutionary changes. The time has come to abandon all intolerance. We must recognize that religious truth evolves and changes. Truth is not absolute or set in stone. Even atheists acknowledge the divine. Through acts of love and charity the atheist acknowledges God as well, and redeems his own soul, becoming an active participant in the redemption of humanity.”
One statement in the Pope’s speech has sent
traditionalists into a fit of confusion and hysteria…
“God is changing and evolving as we are, For God lives in us and in our hearts. When we spread love and kindness in the world, we touch our own divinity and recognize it. The Bible is a beautiful holy book, but like all great and ancient works, some passages are outdated. Some even call for intolerance or judgment. The time has come to see these verses as later interpolations, contrary to the message of love and truth, which otherwise radiates through scripture. In accordance with our new understanding, we will begin to ordain women as cardinals, bishops and priests. In the future, it is my hope that we will have a woman pope one day. Let no door be closed to women that is open to men! A few cardinals in the Catholic church are against Pope Francis’ latest declarations. Watch out for the report."[87]
“God is changing and evolving as we are, For God lives in us and in our hearts. When we spread love and kindness in the world, we touch our own divinity and recognize it. The Bible is a beautiful holy book, but like all great and ancient works, some passages are outdated. Some even call for intolerance or judgment. The time has come to see these verses as later interpolations, contrary to the message of love and truth, which otherwise radiates through scripture. In accordance with our new understanding, we will begin to ordain women as cardinals, bishops and priests. In the future, it is my hope that we will have a woman pope one day. Let no door be closed to women that is open to men! A few cardinals in the Catholic church are against Pope Francis’ latest declarations. Watch out for the report."[87]
"Tolerance is the last virtue of
a depraved society. When an immoral society has blatantly and proudly violated
all the commandments, it insists upon one last virtue, tolerance for its
immorality. It will not tolerate condemnation of its perversions. It creates a
whole new world in which only the intolerant critic of intolerable evil is
evil."[88] We hide in our churches while the elite usurp the
Christian foundations of our nation. Tolerance
toward people is desirable while tolerance toward truth is sin and
unacceptable.
To be labeled a Christian fanatic is a
'red badge of courage' in today’s world.
In fact, the Bible was the foundational book of our nation. Throughout
the years, mostly from the 1920’s on, it has been diminished to the point that
President Obama had the audacity to proclaim that we are not a Christian
nation. Our founders, when they
expressed the term ‘freedom of religion’, meant freedom of the different sects
of Christianity and of
Judaism,
but not Islam, Hindu, Buddhism, or any other religion, agnosticism or
antitheism.
I presented the above examples from the Catholic and Presbyterian churches only as examples. I don't wish to demean a particular denomination. My wife and I are currently involved in the Episcopal church: not that it is without spot or blemish, but rather because our pastor seems to be on fire for the Lord, delivers Bible based sermons and the congregation is filled with God's wonderful people. It also provides the lighting and volumes that we, with our disabilities, are able to endure. There is plenty of blame to go around in Christendom. I have been exposed to apostasy from other denominations as well. I am acting as a 'watchman on the wall' to alert the "Church" of the impending danger. As stated above, Jesus, the apostles and the prophets all gave the same warnings. Ezekiel 3:17-21 talks about a watchman as being a messenger to warn the people or suffer the consequences. Ezekiel 33:8-9 says that watchmen are held responsible for warning the people. Before you condemn what I am saying, remember what Jesus said in the Gospel of Matthew: "For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children".
A big
lie, that has even infiltrated the church, is evolution. "Darwin
"When may a revival be expected?
When the wickedness of the wicked grieves and distresses the Christian."[89] Billy
Sunday also said: “I’ll not stand
anyone’s saying anything against the church as an institution, but I will
rebuke its sins and point out shortcomings.”
My daily prayers contain a request for revival, repentance and renewal
in 'The Church'; as well as supplying us with governmental leaders who will be
given the wisdom and knowledge to follow the will of God, and the inclination
to do it.
David, in the Psalms, said: Why Lord do you let evil
prosper? Luke 9:54-56 says: Jesus let
evil remain in the world so that all who were destined to be saved would get
the chance - without the ability to make a choice for good or evil, there could
be no salvation.
I have made the point for some time
that a bastard is someone without a father.
The same thing is expounded on in the Bible. Jesus said that He and the Father are
one. Hebrews 12:8
says: "But if ye be without chastisement,
whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons." The false teachers should not be feared by
Christians, as the old Latin saying goes: "Illegitimus Non Tatum
Carborundem" (don't let the bastards grind you down). Jesus said many things about the Father,
including in John 10:30 "I and the Father are one". Matthew 10:32 says: "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will
I confess also before my Father which is in heaven". Therefore, have no fear of the bastards in
the apostate church: you, Christian, are a child of the Father.
Although we, during the buildup to the
'end times', will see many things which will be distasteful to us, be not dismayed, keep looking up.
Satan In The
Church
For almost 2,000 years the Church has
been warned that apostasy would be inserted into the Christian Church. This apostasy began in several ways. First, the judaizers and the Gnostics caused
trouble in the early apostolic churches, as described in the scriptures. Second, and even more insidious, is the
'Replacement Theology' as developed by the Roman church in the second and third
centuries. This abominable misinterpretation/misrepresentation
of scripture is the basis on which many borderline Christians, and those who
are Christian in name only, are led to believe God has abandoned His 'chosen
people' in favor of the Church. This
blasphemy has been espoused by many of today's denominations such as the
Presbyterian, Episcopal, the Vatican
To believe in this doctrine, over the
doctrine of God, you must ignore all of the Old Testament and many of the New
Testament references to The Hebrew
people as being "His people".
Abraham was the first Hebrew, and by his seed the nation of Israel
It is well documented in scripture,
that when one becomes a "Born Again" Christian, they are grafted into
the vine of Judaism, whose root is God.
Therefore we see that a 'true' Christian is in fact a part of Judaism,
rather than antagonist to it. From the
beginning of the "Christian Era"(The Church) there were Jews that accepted Jesus as Messiah, and
those who as yet have not. There were
those Jews who were pruned out of the branch and there were gentiles who, when
they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior were grafted in. Nowhere is it stated
that the new branches replaced the old branches, but rather that the old
discarded branches could be grafted back in again. Let us not forget the 144,000 Jewish boys who
are going to recognize Jesus and preach His salvation during the tribulation period.
Divestment in Israeli businesses, and
companies who do business with Israeli companies, as proposed by some groups
and associations, falls into direct conflict with "I will bless those who
bless thee", and calls forth "I will curse those who curse
thee".
Joint control over Jerusalem ,
where God chooses to place His Name, by the three monotheistic religions as
proposed by the Vatican Jerusalem
The name Palestine
was given to Jerusalem Jerusalem
When are we going to finally
acknowledge that Jesus, when He was begotten here on the earth, was born as a
Jew? He, being God, decided that He
would accomplish his work through His 'chosen people'. Throughout the Old Testament, the coming of
Jesus is prophesied. He was born
through a Jewish girl, raised by a Jewish man, lived as a Jew, was schooled as
a Jew, worked as a Jew, respected the Mosaic laws, His disciples were mostly
Jewish, He preached to the Jews, and died as a Jew.
Anti-Semitism
The evil one, dammed be he, was the first anti-Semite
because of his hatred for the Holy One, blessed be He. The Hebrews are God’s chosen people; composed
of Jews who could be either active Hebrews or just those who claim their place
due to their heritage. It drives me
crazy when people in Israel
Abraham was not only the father of the
Hebrew people, but also of the Arab people (not the Islamic/Muslim people
because Islam is a man made religion, invented by Mohammad, approximately 600
years after the Birth of the Messiah).
Non Jewish Christians, through faith, become sons of Abraham by being
grafted into the vine of Judaism.
During the crusades
Jews were slaughtered, by misguided doctrines under the guise of Christianity,
in their synagogues; the same way that Christians are slaughtered, by Moslems,
in their churches today. During the
Spanish Inquisition, Jews were killed if they wouldn’t convert to Catholicism. The Catholic Church has brought about much of
the apostasy in the church. Indulgences,
replacement theology and the belief that you have to go through another man to
have your sins forgiven are just a few.
Is it any wonder they didn't want the common man to have a Bible he
could read for himself.
Martin Luther, regardless of his accomplishment to bringing
about a bible for the common man, was himself an anti-Semite. Writings by
President Jimmy Carter, despite his protestations to the contrary, are very
anti-Semitic.
Replacement theology is a misunderstanding of Gods
sovereignty. It is the teaching that the Church of Jesus Christ has replaced Israel
Adolph Hitler’s grandfather was a Jew and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was
born a Jew. Hitler was ashamed of his
Jewish roots and tried to destroy all evidence of it. When Mahmoud was four, Ahmadinejad’s father
converted his family to Islam for business reasons.
It is a known fact that Moslems build a trophy when they
conquer a city or land (or convert something).
The thumb in the eye (Dome of the Rock) shrine is a good example of
this. This abomination is on the temple mount for one reason only; to claim
ownership of the temple mount. “According to Islamic tradition, the (Dome of
the) rock is the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven accompanied by the angel Gabriel. Further, Muhammad was supposedly taken there by Gabriel to pray with Abraham, Moses,
and Jesus.”[90] Mohammed was not lifted to heaven, along with the
angel Gabriel, to talk to the Jesus of the Bible. Isa, the Arabic name for Jesus, is not the
Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is God,
Abraham’s faith was a faith in the God of the Bible and Moses was a
Hebrew. Can you imagine the conversation
if Muhammad actually did have a talk with those three. What would Muhammad have to say to two of
God’s favorites and God Himself?
“During the Crusades the Dome of the Rock was given to the
Augustinians, who turned it into a church while the Al-Aqsa Mosque became a royal stable. The Knights Templar
believed the Dome of the Rock was the site of the Temple of Solomon.”[91] Cathedral–Mosque of Cordoba
The Dome
of the Rock is a slap in the face to both Jews and Christians. We must realize that under the Moslem rule of
WAQF; once a territory becomes Moslem, it is Moslem forever. That would include the Cordoba Mosque, the
Dome of the Rock/Temple Mount and the Twin Towers Twin
Towers
Christians,
who are truly ‘born again Christians’, are in essence adopted Jews. The Bible says we are grafted into the vine
of Judaism, of which the root is God.
There can be no anti-Semitism in true Christianity because Jesus came to
the earth as a Jew. Jesus did not start
a new religion.
The land that God gave the Jews
encompasses a lot more than is in present day Israel
The real
“occupiers” today are the nations surrounding Israel
As we can see, from the map above; in reality Israel owns
present day Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza strip, all of Jordan, all of Syria,
all of Lebanon, part of Saudi Arabia, part of Iraq and part of Egypt.
Anti-Semitism
is an abomination to the Hebrew people, as well as Christians and to God
Himself (who chose them as His own).
It’s up to you: God said if we bless Israel
Believing The Lie
The Bible tells us that in the end time there will be great deceit, delusion and deception; even if possible to the point of deceiving the elect. What is the "lie" the Bible is talking about. The most heinous lie, and the most damaging to mankind, is that there is more than one way to Heaven. Regardless of what garbage is slung around in the world, there is only one salvation; and that is through Jesus.
The Bible tells us that in the end time, there will be a falling away from the truth [93]. Romans 16:17-19 says to "mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the uneducated. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil." 2 Timothy 4:3 says: "For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"
False Teaching
Galatians 1:8 "But though
we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which
we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."
2 Corinthians 11:3-4 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaching another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him."
Matthew 24:24 "For there shall arise false Christ's, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."
Atheism
"Today’s “new atheists” seek to deprive you of your
belief system in order to elevate their own.
Atheists believe in mans’ superiority, rather than the superiority of
God. “A man says, in his heart, there is
no God.” (Psalm 14:1, Psalm 10:4) “A man is right in his own eyes.” (Proverbs
21:2, Proverbs 28:11) An
evolutionary atheist is a person who uses the gifts God has given him to prove
there is no God. Today’s “new Atheists”
not only consider you less intelligent than they are, but also consider you
their enemy. They have forgotten that
they were only allowed to exist in our country because of the tolerance of our
Christian nation."[94
Dave
Muscato, communications director, American Atheists says.......
1. "Christmas is better without Christ"
2. "Thanksgiving is a secular holiday
and has nothing to do with religion."
Does he
realize that Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ? Does he know that the purpose of thanksgiving is to give thanks to the Lord? "If there were no God, you couldn't be an
atheist."[95] Atheists must believe in God or they wouldn't
have anything to be against.
Apostate church
"The
following are some of the things to look out for:
1. The sign of
the cross being removed from the interior and exterior of the church building.
2. Music so
loud that it can be ‘felt’. Its purpose
becomes more centered on promoting a ‘feeling’ rather than worship.
3. “New”
translations of the Bible are in use, which vary greatly from the accepted
translations. “The Message” was written by Eugene Paterson who himself says, it
should not be considered the word of God, and urges that it not be used in
formal worship services.
4. There are
many paths to Heaven. This is known as Universalism, Syncretism, or
Interfaithism.
5. Social
justice, the new code word for income redistribution. Much to the chagrin of
some, Jesus was not a communist.
6. Making the
church look like a night club.
7. Using the
phrases churched and unchurched instead of saved and unsaved. A watering down of the Gospel, such as not
talking about sin.
8. Basing your
faith on experience, and or spirit guides, rather than doctrine.
9. Replacement
theology, which is the belief that the Christians have replaced the Jews, in
the covenants.
10. Adding to, or detracting from, The Word of
God. Books like 'The Book of
Mormon’. If someone tells you to read the
Bible less and their book more, be very skeptical.
11. Denying the virgin birth.
12. Denying the bodily resurrection of Jesus
13. Denying the inerrancy of the Bible.
14. Denying the Lordship of Jesus.
15. Denying that the Trinity is the one true and living
God.
16. Using wrong
names for God. Example: Allah is not the
name of the God of the Bible. Jehovah is
not the same thing as Allah. God’s name is the name above all names, not Allah,
Buddha, Mohamed, mother nature, mother
earth or any other name concocted by man.
17. Attempts to combine religions. Example: Chrislam, which attempts to say that
‘Allah’ and ‘God the Father’ are the same personage. It denies the trinity of God, and the lordship
of Jesus.
18. The teaching of evolution. The New Age manuscripts
worship the creation rather than the creator. ‘Pantheism’ is the assertion that God is ‘in’
all things; again, the worship of the creation.
19. A serious red flag is known as
“Conplemplative Prayer” which is nothing more or less than “Eastern Meditation” (Matthew 6:7)
20. The assertion that there is no Hell
and that everyone is going to Heaven.
Abomination
"Webster’s
dictionary defines the word 'abomination' as a 'loathsome or disgusting
act.' This serves as an adequate biblical definition as well, for when
the bible mentions something as an 'abomination' it means 'an act which is
loathsome or disgusting in the eyes of God.' "[97] The worship of false gods, abortion
(sacrificing children), the practice of homosexuality, witchcraft, false teaching, the evil-minded person, a
false balance, the sacrifices of the wicked, the thoughts of the wicked, the
justification of the wicked and the condemnation of the just, a proud look, a
lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked
imaginations, feet that are swift in running to mischief, a false witness,
blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and one who sows discord among brethren are all
described as abominations in the Bible.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10 says: "Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God kingdom
of God
Worship of false gods
Worship of false gods
"Welcome to the official
website of the Church
of Satan
I found a web site that listed 4980 different false gods,
from the Bible and throughout the history of the world[98].
Suffice it to say that anything that
replaces God in your life is your false god.
"All people are religious in one way or another. Christians worship the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit who is the One True and Living God. Other, misguided people, worship false gods
like, Allah, Buddha, Baal and Secular Humanism.
There are others who worship the creation, rather than the Creator. There are some who don’t know what they
believe and still others who have set themselves as god in their own
minds."[99]
LGBT
LGBT
"The relationship between religion
and lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender people can vary greatly across time
and place, within and between different religions and sects, and regarding
different forms of homosexuality, bisexuality, and transgenderism.
Some of the authoritative bodies and doctrines of the world's largest religions may view these negatively. This can range from quietly discouragement, explicitly forbidding same-sex sexual practices or sex/gender reassignment among adherents, actively opposing social acceptance of LGBT identities, to execution of people engaging in homosexual acts while tolerating sex/gender reassignment in specific cases.
Liberal and progressive voices within these religions tend to view LGBT people more positively, and some liberal religious denominations may bless same-sex marriages, as well as accepting and marrying people who are transgender. Historically, some cultures and religions accommodated, institutionalized, or revered same-sex love and sexuality; such mythologies and traditions can be found around the world; elements of religious and cultural incorporation of non-heterosexual practice can still be identified in traditions that have survived into the modern era, such as the Berdache, Hijra, and Xanith."[101] The majority of the non-Christian religions call for the expulsion and or execution of the LGBT people.
"These are
excellent examples of distorted
thinking, vain imagination and a reprobate mind. 'As a bisexual, I
obviously don't believe anything is wrong with being gay or bi or trisexual
(try anything). I further don't believe in hell. I believe we go to another
dimension where we bathe in true love of god and our soul group, review our
past lives and plan with our group who will play what roles in our next
incarnation. We learn how our actions affected people in the recent life we had
here, and choose what lessons we will learn next time. There is no judgment in
this dimension, only understanding love, with zero punishment. 'To understand
all is to forgive all' and I believe god gets who we are and loves us
unconditionally. The concept of consequence is built on good and bad, I think.
I don't believe in bad or devil or evil. I don't believe in judgments that
things are better than other things. I guess there are consequences from what
we choose while we are here, but not punishment on the other side. I do believe
that good can be found in everything, if you can raise your perspective high
enough to see the big picture.' Where is
the yang? Does the ying stand alone?
What happened to the equal and opposite reaction that goes along with
the ‘for every action’? Looks like some people want to say they believe in God
but don’t think He believes in His own Word.
In reference to
the Bible, one gay man told me: 'I prefer another book of FAIRY TALES...OZ has
much more personal/universal truth and inspiration for me!!!' He obviously didn’t think this was insulting
my belief system, or he didn’t care. The
Bible says that a man is right in his own eyes."[102]
Resurgence of ancient pagan worship.
The Host of Heaven
"Host of heaven has two basic meanings depending on the context..
1 Heavenly Bodies = stars - as created things and/or as objects of idolatry
2 Heavenly Beings = angels or spirit beings
The first Scriptural use of 'Host of Heaven' is found in Deut 4:19
Deut 4:19 'And beware not to lift up your eyes
to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and
worship them and serve them (note the progressive decline in the preceding
verbs), those which the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the
whole heaven.'
Morris commenting on this passage writes that...
The
pagan nations of Canaan, as well as Egypt and the other nations of antiquity,
had once known the true God of creation but had long since become evolutionary
pantheists, worshipping the creation instead of the Creator. The children of Israel
Jeremiah records that despite God's clear warning not to worship the host of heaven they disobeyed...
'And
the houses of Jerusalem and the houses of the kings of Judah will be defiled like
the place Topheth, because of
all the houses on whose rooftops (flat roofs of the houses were used for
worshiping astral deities) they burned sacrifices to all the heavenly host and poured out libations
to other gods.' (Jeremiah 19:13)
In summary the first Scriptural use of the phrase host of heaven is a warning to
Throughout the Bible, when people are confronted by angels, the tendency is to bow down and worship them. Each time this happens, the angel tells the person not to, because they are servants just like them.
Queen of Heaven
Jeremiah 7:18 "The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger."
Jeremiah 44:18 "But since we left off to burn incense to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her, we have wanted all things, and have been consumed by the sword and by the famine."
Jeremiah 44:19 "And when we burned incense to the queen of heaven, and poured out drink offerings unto her, did we make her cakes to worship her, and pour out drink offerings unto her, without our men?"
Jeremiah 44:25 "Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saying; Ye and your wives
have both spoken with your mouths, and fulfilled with your hand, saying, We
will surely perform our vows that we have vowed, to burn incense to the queen
of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto her: ye will surely accomplish your vows, and
surely perform your vows."
CUUPS
"CUUPS (Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans) is an independent affiliate of the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) honoring earth-centered, goddess-based, tribal and pagan spiritual paths. UU Paganism is a liturgical and theological community under the umbrella of the UUA. Membership in CUUPS is open to UUs and those in sympathy with UU Purposes and Principles."[104]
EarthSpirit Sisters
"EarthSpirit Sisters are a spirit-filled community of sisters, supporting each other with love and respect; creating safe, sacred spaces in which we share rituals and celebrate milestones. We honor our sisters with love and trust as we share our journeys and seek our truths. We gather to create sacred space for ritual work and activities. We are affiliated with the UUC, and we often hold rituals, workshops, and seasonal celebrations at the UUC in Elarth Hall. However, it is not necessary to belong to the UUC in order to attend EarthSpirit Sisters meetings and rituals; our membership is open to all who seek sisterhood and desire a deeper understanding and spiritual awareness of ancient Earth-centered traditions."[105]
Permaculture
"Permaculture is a branch of ecological design, ecological engineering, and environmental design that develops sustainable architecture and self-maintained agricultural systems modeled from natural ecosystems. The term permaculture (as a systematic method) was first coined by Australians Bill Mollison and David Holmgren in 1978. The word permaculture originally referred to 'permanent agriculture' but was expanded to stand also for 'permanent culture,' as it was seen that social aspects were integral to a truly sustainable system as inspired by Fukuoka natural farming philosophy."[106]
"Permaculture is a philosophy of working with, rather than against nature; of protracted and thoughtful observation rather than protracted and thoughtless labor; and of looking at plants and animals in all their functions, rather than treating any area as a single product system."-Bill Mollison[107] Romans 1:25 says: "They changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever".
Witchcraft and Sorcery
1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee from being king."
2 Kings 9:22 "And it came to pass, when Joram saw Jehu, that he said, Is it peace, Jehu? And he answered, What peace, so long as the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her witchcrafts are so many?"
2 Chronicles 33:6 "And
he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of
Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments,
and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards:
he wrought much evil in the sight of the Lord, to
provoke him to anger."
Micah 5:12 "And
I will cut off witchcrafts out of your hand; and you shall have no more soothsayers:"
Nahum 3:4 "Because
of the multitude of the whoredoms of the well-favored harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that sells nations through her
whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts."
Galatians
5:19-21 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you
before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things
shall not inherit the kingdom of God."
Acts 8:9 "But there was
a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery,
and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one."
The groups and mislead people, mentioned above, don't seem
to realize that they are not hated by
Christians. Our duty, assigned by
God, is to love everyone regardless of their beliefs and practices. The Bible
tells us we never know who will come to the truth. "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make
you free.” (free from the curse of sin and death). (John 8:32) The Secular world, by political correctness, has
distorted the definition of tolerance.
Tolerance now asserts that one must not only make allowances for
differences in others but also accept and condone their behavior and beliefs as
being acceptable, thus taking away the freedom to disagree without being
labeled as bigots and haters. There are,
however, things that, according to the Word of God, should not be tolerated.
What I'm going to say now is going to upset those who have
not accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.
If you have heard about Jesus, and not accepted his gift of Salvation,
don't you dare ask about all those people who haven't heard about Jesus. There are many unsaved people who use the
argument that God shouldn't send people to Hell who haven't been told about the
gospel. If you haven't been Born Again,
you need to get right with God and go out and tell all those people who haven't
been told yet. All creation displays and
testifies to the existence of God. Romans 1:18-20 says: "For the wrath of God
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who
hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in
them; for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of
the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:" John 1:1-2 tells us that "In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God." The name we know Him by
is Jesus.
As the time grows closer, to the end of this age, we need
to know what we are going to be faced with; because "My people are
destroyed for the lack of knowledge"(Hosea
4:6) and knowledge is power. "The fear
(respect) of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and
instruction."(Proverbs 1:7) The
Bible gives us all the knowledge we need to see us through the most difficult
of times. Being like minded with Christ,
through the Word (In the beginning was the Word, and
the Word was with God, and the Word was God, (John 1:1)), will guard us from Believing The Lie.
Combining
Religions
Today, there are many that say we all
worship the same God, although we use different names. This is the work of Satan. Although our Lord and Savior is known by
several names, none of them is the name of a false god. The Lord God Jehovah, the
creator of the heavens and the earth as well as the entire universe is a jealous
God. He is not willing to share His
place with any of the man made gods. What an insult; to call Him by the name of
a god made with hands that cannot speak, cannot see and cannot hear. I will
admit that you might get an answer if, from the depths of your heart, you cried
out "does anyone out there love me?", but you had better check out
who answers. Don't forget, Satan can
shape shift, and is the great deceiver.
There are many "religions"
in the world today. The major religions are Judaism/Christianity, Islam,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Shinto and Confucianism.
There are many smaller, and mostly tribal religions. Except for the Universalistic/Syncretistic groups and organizations such as the World
Council of Churches, there are not many trying to combine these different
religions. The Bible tells us that in
the future, at the end of this dispensation or age, a One World Religion will
be set up, by the false prophet.
There are four
groups, or sects, of Judaism today: the Orthodox, the Conservative, the
Reformed and the Christian. As we now
see, these four groups of professing Jews and Christians prove the promise of
God to Abraham; that his seed would be without number. Today, there are over 2.5 billion professing
Jewish people which includes all four groups.
The next closest are the Islamists, with 1.3 billion followers.
A book I have
recently read, titled The World Religions[108],
lists Judaism as a non Christian religion.
We can therefore understand the world's confusion about what is Judaism
and what is not. We can see that they
are right in one way only: Judaism is not part of Christianity, Christianity is
a part of Judaism: always was, is now and always will be[109]. Even a cursory reading of what Jesus said
verifies this: "Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one tittle
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled"[110],
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or
the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill."[111]. This book also
refers to Christianity and Islam as daughter religions of Judaism. It shows a real misunderstanding of who God
is. To try to establish a relationship
between the God of the Bible and the god of the cult of Islam is blasphemy. Yahweh, the Hebrew deity, is the creator God
who made everything, who always has been, is now and always will be. Allah, the god of Islam, is the pagan moon
god, worshiped by Mohammed's parents. It
always amazes me to see how people can look at the historical records and come
up with such off the wall conclusions.
There is only one true and living God.
During the millennium[112],
the combined religion of Christianity and Judaism will become one harmonious
people and reign in Jerusalem
All Jews will be Messianic after the
second coming of Jesus.
Chrisraelies ?
Christalites ? Jebrews? Hebrewanity?
Judeanity? How about we just call ourselves children of the One True and
Living God. The Lord calls us "His
people". The world belonged to God when He created it, is now, and always
will be. This is another reason to side with Israel
David Flusser, a teacher at the Hebrew University
The current movement to combine
Christianity and Islam is an abomination in the Lord's eyes. This is known as Chrislam. Since there is only one True and Living God;
He will not share His glory with a false god of any kind.
One thing we should all keep in mind:
the Messiah Jesus (Yehoshua Ha-Mashiach) is the only one who offers salvation
from our sins. There is no other
religion that has someone who suffered and died for you, rose again on the
third day and now offers the only path to Heaven: price paid, free of charge
and with no works necessary. Works are
not followed by salvation, salvation is followed by works to bring glory to
God.
At
Jesus' return, all will recognize him.
Isaiah 45:23 "I have
sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall
not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear."
Romans 14:11 "For it
is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to
me, and every tongue shall
confess to God."
Philippians 2:10 "That at
the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and
things in earth, and things under the earth;"
Acts
4:12 "Neither is there salvation in any other:
for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved."
Born Again
John 3:16-18 tells us: For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son
into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be
saved. He
that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned
already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God.
Romans 10:9-17 tells us: That if thou shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God hath raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Acts 4:12 tells us: Neither is
there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved.
This is the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus,
who was a Pharisee and a member
of the Sanhedrin (John 3:3-8) -
Jesus - Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God
Nicodemus - How can a man be born when
he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
Jesus - You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must
be born again.
Amen, amen I say to thee,
unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter
into the kingdom
of God
1 Peter 1:3 says: All praise to God, the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again,
because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead.
1 Peter 1:23 says: For you have been born again, not
of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word
of God.
Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of
sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.
If you call yourself a Christian, and are not born again, you are deceiving yourself. The Christian church has gotten a bad name,
in some circles over the centuries, because of the people who did things in the
name of Christ but did not know Christ.[114]
You cannot know Christ without being born
again. Some of the biggest lies of
the devil are: that you can be born a Christian because your family is
Christian, Jesus is not the only way to Heaven, you can get to Heaven by good
works, and church membership qualifies you as being a Christian. Jesus said:
"you cannot get into Heaven without being born again". Becoming born again is a personal choice, for
which we are each individually responsible.
The Jews are afraid of Christians because they have a
corrupted idea of what a Christian is.
It is even considered, by some of them, a sin to read the New Testament
and parts of Isaiah because they describe Jesus as the Messiah. The most
revered Rabbi in Israel (Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri[115]),
who recently died, left a note to be read a year after he died, naming Yehoshua
(Hebrew for Jesus) as the Messiah and said He would be coming very soon.
The Moslem's are afraid of Christians because their
religion inventor lied about Jesus, the Old Testament and the New testament, in
order to guide his people away from the one true and living God. They also consider it a sin to read the
Bible. Many Moslems have come to believe
in Jesus, in recent years, because of dreams and visions. Others have read the Bible and accepted
Jesus, because they came to realize it was the truth of God.
Ephesians 2:8-9 tells us we are saved by Grace, not by
works - that grace is the availability of salvation through Jesus
John 20:30-31 says: And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Why do we believe in the fundamentals of the faith?
Paul said if Jesus wasn't
raised from the dead we have nothing to believe in.
"When you are Born Again you receive the Holy Spirit,
but how much of you does the Holy Spirit receive?"[116]
The synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), as well as
Paul's writings, were in circulation while the eyewitnesses to Jesus life,
death and resurrection, were still alive.
John's gospel, and the other books he wrote, were written after most of
the eyewitnesses had passed on. Common
knowledge of the synoptic gospels, Acts and the books by Paul, Peter and James
were all circulated in the early church.
Almost two thousand years of documentation has proven that the Bible we
have today is an accurate record of these writings.
If a Jew accepts Jesus. he simply becomes a Messianic
Jew. When a gentile accepts Jesus he
transforms from a non-believer to a believer in the God of Israel, and is
adopted into the root and branch of Judaism.
A Christian is an adopted son of God whether he is a completed Jew and
therefore a son of God as well as a son of Abraham, while the gentile who
becomes a Christian, becomes a adopted Jew: circumcised in his heart. It is significant that the Jews are brought
to Jesus by Jehovah while the gentiles are brought to Jehovah by Jesus.
Jesus disciples were for the most part Jews. Those, both for and against Him, knew the Old
Testament scriptures and were either convinced by them or were afraid because
of them. Time and again the apostles
used these Old Testament scriptures to prove, to the Jews, who Jesus was.
God has given us the choice to believe in Him or not to
believe in Him. The consequences of that
choice will live with us forever. We can't let others influence our
decision. The Bible tells us that if we
will truly seek Him, He will manifest Himself to us.
It has been said that our walk with Jesus is a process[117]. Paul discusses this by talking about baby
Christians that are only able to receive the milk of the Gospel and that the
more mature Christians are able to understand the meat of the Gospel. Regardless of the depth of your walk, once
you have been born again, your ticket to Heaven has been
punched; your journey has begun.
Future notes
As we have seen, Christianity and Judaism are the same
religion. We are all God's people and
subject to His wishes. God warned
"His people" ahead of time about the Flood of Noah, the Babylonian
destruction of Israel and
the Roman destruction of Israel
In searching for a concluding chapter, to tie the
information together, I came across an article by J.R. Church
Jacob's son Joseph was a type of Christ. When his brothers (representing the Israeli
people) did not recognize him as their brother (whom they had rejected) had to
wait until he revealed himself to them. While
many Jews will come to the belief that Jesus is their Messiah, before the
"time of Jacob's trouble", the majority will not. Jesus will reveal Himself to those Jews
remaining, after the rapture; some during the tribulation and the rest at the
end of the tribulation. As the Old and
New Testaments agree; every knee will bow and every tongue will confess the
truth of Jesus the Messiah.
The Bible tells us that with the Lord; a thousand years are
as a day, and a day as a thousand years.
The Lord has hardened the hearts of the Jews for the past two thousand
years. " After two days (the Church Age) will
He revive us: in the third day (the
millennium reign) he will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight"[118] It could be said of Jesus: "And they
said one to another, we are verily guilty concerning our brother, in that we
saw the anguish of His soul, when He besought us, and we would not hear..."[119]. Over and over again the Bible talks about
those who would not hear. God told
Isaiah that Israel
In Psalm 48 we see the nation of Israel Millennial Kingdom ,
with its headquarters in Jerusalem
[1] Romans
1:16
[2] Acts
22:3
[3] John
4:6-26
[4] Matthew
15:21-28, Mark 7:28
[5] Acts
10:1-20
[6] http://www.jewishvoice.org/messianic-education/messianic-vision/sharing-the-good-news.html
[7] Matthew
9:35
[8] Rabbi
Harvey Cohen, http://www.boskoministries.com/2013/11/yeshuas-teachings-1.html
[9] John
11:50
[10] Acts 5:38-39
[11] http://www.biblethink.org.uk/page26.html
[12] Wikipedia
[13] 1 John
5:7, John 14:26, 1 Peter 1:2,
[14] 'Bible
Doctrines' by Mark G. Cambron, DD, Zondervan Publishing House 1954
[15] John
5:23, John 14:6
[16] John
1:1-4
[17] Philippians 2:8-11
[18] Acts
4:12
[19] Acts 5
[20] http://carm.org/questions-replacement-theology,
article by Matt Slick
[21] Many
times in scripture the Lord refers to the Jews (Hebrews) as His people
[22] John
15:5-8
[23] John
15:1-6
[24] http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2014/07/combining-religions.html
[25] Psalm 102:27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8,
James 1:17
[26] Matthew
5:18
[27] Matthew
5:17
[28] Matthew
22:32
[29] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATuecTsn3fg
[30] http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com/2014/07/combining-religions.html
[31] Acts
6:7
[32]
Ephesians 3:6
[33] 1 Corinthians
12:12-14
[34] Romans
1:16
[35] John
4:1-26
[36] Matthew
15:21-28
[37] Acts 10
[38]
Ephesians 3:1-6, Romans 11:13
[39] David
Jeremiah
[40] 2
Timothy 4:3
[41] 2
Timothy 4:2-4, New American
Standard Bible
[42] 2 Peter
2:1-3, The Complete Jewish Bible
[43] 1
Timothy 4:1-2
[44] Hebrews
1:1-2
[45] Acts
5:25
[46] Acts
5:42
[47] Romans 11:1
[48] Romans 11:29
[49]
Wikipedia
[50] Replacement Theology Its Origins, Teachings and
Errors By Dr. Gary Hedrick ,President of CJF Ministries http://www.shema.com/Combating%20Replacement%20Theology/crt-004.php
[51]
According to Wikipedia
[52] Romans
11:22-23
[53] Romans
2:10
[54] Albert
Einstein
[55] Ezekiel
34:12-15 NIV
[56] Romans
11:13-24 NLV
[57] Romans
11:13-24 NLV
[58] Psalm
122:6
[59] Romans
11
[60] Exodus
34:20
[61] Acts
2:28-29
[62] Genesis
12:31
[63] Exodus
4:24
[64]
Everyman’s Talmud, A. Cohen, 1949
[65]
Everyman’s Talmud
[66] Pg. 65
Everyman’s Talmud
[67] Pg. 45
Everyman’s Talmud
[68]
Everyman’s Talmud, A. Cohen
[69] Billy
Sunday
[70] Pg. 69
Everyman’s Talmud
[71] Billy
Sunday
[72] Mark
12:29-31
[73] http://www.biblegateway.com
[74] http://www.biblegateway.com
[75]
Wikipedia
[76] http://www.biblegateway.com
[78] http://www.biblegateway.com
[79]
http://www.biblegateway.com
[80] Statistical
information from Wikipedia
[81] David
Jeremiah
[83] 2
Timothy 3:16-17
[84]
Inspiration for this writing came from Pastor Mike Tyson, Bozeman , Montana
[85] Mark
16:17-18
[86] http://blogs.answersingenesis.org/blogs/ken-ham/2013/11/19/dont-be-taken-in-by-the-noah-movies-promotion
[87] http://www.naijaurban.com/no-hell-fire-adam-eve-not-real-pope-francis-exposes
[88] Hutton Gibson
[90]
Wikipedia
[91]
Wikipedia
[92]
Wikipedia
[94] "Atheism", Rick Rahn,
www.thespiritsnestministries.com
[95] Gary
Stearman
[96] "The Apostate
Church
[97] http://www.raptureready.com/featured/gillette/bg28.html
[98] http://www.churchofsatan.com
[99] http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=93242
[100] "Choices"
by Rick Rahn, http://www.thespiritsnestministries.com
[101] Wikipedia
[103] http://www.preceptaustin.org/hosts_of_heaven.htm
[104] http://www.uucnrv.org/interest-groups.htm
[105] http://www.uucnrv.org/interest-groups.htm
[106] Wikipedia
[107] Wikipedia
[108]
The World Religions, William B. Eerdman's publishing Co,. Grand Rapids Michigan
[109] Psalm 102:27, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8,
James 1:17
[110]
Matthew 5:18
[111]
Matthew 5:17
[112]
Isaiah 11:10-16
[113] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATuecTsn3fg
[114]
Examples are 1. the Crusades 2. the Inquisition 3. the Nazi's claiming to be
Christian, when in reality they were occultists 4. the apostate churches of the
present time
[115] http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23877
[116]
PastorDave@FBC sarasota.com
[117]
Dr. James Jasper Fason, Jr.
[118] Hosea
6:1-2
[119]
Genesis 42:21
[120]
Acts 28:26-27
[121] Psalm
48:8
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