Wednesday, September 24, 2014

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When You are Feeling Discouraged


** I have the privilege of being a part of a vibrant prayer chain in the service of our Lord and Savior.  The following was written as an outpouring to that body:  Sometimes it seems as though everything, including the kitchen sink (and far worse) is being thrown out upon the body of believers by that liar of all liars, as he endeavors to ‘act’ like a roaring lion seeking whom he may destroy.  I refuse to even mention his name for he is not worthy of having one.  Rather, I submit for our remembrance, especially during the trials of life, that we serve Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, the LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH!” There is power in the name of Jesus, and it is in His name that we have the victory over the enemy, for even death has been defeated.  PRAISE THE NAME OF JESUS!!   

 

          Why doesn’t God heal every born again believer of every disease or infliction?  My answer of course is “I don’t know.”  Many years ago, the Lord spoke to my heart these words as I was about to enter my home: “If you were to loose this house and every thing within in it, God will still be God.”  I said to Him: “OK Lord, I don’t understand or know why you are telling me this, but I recognize that it is you speaking to me.”  Over the years, I was reminded of that statement time and time again.  He revealed, at least in part, what He had wanted me to know: “God is neither limited to nor defined by what happens to us in life.  Knowing this should help us to understand that it is not what happens to us in life that is important, but rather our response to God in the midst of whatever is taking place.  Over time, I began to understand that God is always in control, no matter how chaotic the world or our lives may appear.  In addition, as the trials, tribulations, or afflictions came upon me, I learned that how to deal with situations was not best understood through the question “Why me Lord?” but rather “Alright Lord, what is it you want me to learn in and through this?”  Then more recently, through one of my writing adventures, He revealed more of His meaning of the words which He had originally spoken to me: “When you suffered through asthma, was I not still God?  When you had three early miscarriages, was I not still God?  When you began to hemorrhage in the seventh month of pregnancy, and lost a baby girl due to multiple birth defects was I still not God?  When doctors advised you not to get pregnant again, and yet you chose to put your trust in Me, and you were delivered of your third child, a beautiful healthy baby boy, was I not still God?”  I could go on and on, but I think I was beginning to understand more, little by little.

          Does God still heal miraculously and instantly? Yes, without a doubt.  When He walked the earth, could He have healed and delivered every one around Him instantly by the power of His word or the touch of His hand? Yes, He could have, but He did not. Doubt and unbelief often had much to do with who was or was not healed.  Other times, they had nothing to do with it, but rather sometimes prayers for healing or deliverance were met with the answer, “My grace is sufficient for Thee.”  On the surface, that may look as though God was playing favorites; but not so.  You and I must remember that God sees the beginning, the end, and all that is in between, while we see only in part.  As you and I may be crying out to God, “Lord, I beg you to take me out of the fire NOW!” His answer may be, “No, but I’ll go through the fire with you, and you will come out stronger on the other side.” 

          I can just hear the skepticism that initially comes to our thoughts: “Ha, stronger you say?  Look at Joni Erickson Tada, doomed to a life as a quadriplegic; how is that strength for her?”  Because we are yet mortals, we look at the present as if life in this world were of supreme importance.  Again, our view and insight is finite, but God’s is infinite.  Her body may be weak, yet she is made stronger and stronger in the spirit.  In addition, her life has been an inspiration and drawn many to faith in the Lord. Though her body is withered, yet the strength of the Lord shines out with such a mighty force that it not only makes her able to stand against the fiery darts of the enemy, but also inspires others to seek the God that she serves.

          Loved ones in the Lord let us encourage one another in the midst of the stormy seas of life.  Though afflictions may occur, and the battle may seem endless at times, let us take heart in the knowledge that we have the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Yes, we celebrate with gratitude unto the Lord for the gift of life that God has granted unto us.  We are to fight the good fight while we have our being, and to serve the Lord with gladness.  The time is growing short, for Jesus may come at any time, and none of us is guaranteed a tomorrow.  Let us live each day with urgency and a sense of purpose, as it may be our last chance to praise the Lord on this side of life. It may be our last chance to pray for someone, or to touch the life another that they too might believe.  Perhaps another may choose to believe in  and follow God the Father, God the Son- Jesus, the one and only risen Lord, and God the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.

          Oh how our hearts do burn within us, when we take the time to commune with the Holy Spirit whom He sent to LIVE within every believer.  Oh the joy of being in His presence every time we turn our hearts to Him, to be with Him through His word by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Oh Lord Jesus, let us have ears to hear as we draw near to Thee, to bask in the light of your word and revel in the power of your love as you pour it into our lives till we are filled to overflowing.  Help us to yearn daily to seek you that we may “be being filled” daily with the peace of Thy Holy Spirit who guides and leads us into all truth.

          I know it seems sometimes as if everything that can be thrown at us, it being thrown at us to try to keep us down and destroy us.  At times, there are even those that look at the circumstances of our lives and say “Ha!  And just where is your mighty God now?”  They are the ones to be most pitied, for they have be deceived into thinking and living as though this present and temporary life on earth is all there is, and more important than anything else.  We have the mystery and secrets of the Lord written on the tablets of our hearts.  Let us arise and shout with the joy of the Lord!  From outward appearances, it may look as if we have been defeated in more than one battle.  But that is only because they have not the eyes to see the spiritual battles that have been won within us.  Nor are they able to know that the War has already been won through faith in Jesus Christ. 

          What is it that I pray to impart which each of us may carry within us this day?  First, live this day as unto the Lord, but live it not as though this is all there is to life.  Our life on earth is but a moment in time, and its purpose is that we may glorify the Lord in all our ways.  Far more important is our eternal life to come.  Keep our eyes not on the things of this world, but on God and the things that He has prepared for us: our life to come with Him, in His eternal kingdom, where there will be no more suffering, but only the joy of the Lord forever and ever.  Every day that goes by means that we are another day closer to going to be with Him.  Live life with a purpose!  That’s why the word tells us: “TODAY IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HATH MADE; REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!” and “TODAY IS THE DAY OF SALVATION!”

          Loved ones let not your hearts be troubled, for our hope is not in the things of this world, but in our Lord and all that He has done and provided for us.  Remember, no matter what is happening, we are living in a win/win situation.  Afflictions are but for a moment, but victory over pain, sorrow, disease, sin and death is ours in the name of Jesus. We know the end of the story, and it says “World without End Forever and Ever.”  There is no sorrow that Heaven can not heal.  “Let God Arise and His Enemies Be Scattered.”  LIVE TODAY FOR THE LORD THAT YOU MAY LIVE ALL YOUR TOMORROWS WITH THE LORD!!!           


          The word of the Lord is powerful and a two edged sword.  “He sent his word and healed them.”  If we have not it is because we ask not, or because we ask amiss.  I never refrain from asking for the miraculous to be worked by the Lord.  But whether the miraculous comes instantly or is delivered through other avenues of His choosing over a period of time, all is done in and through Him; therefore, the one is just as miraculous as the other.  “Let the meditations of our hearts and the words of our mouths be pleasing in His sight.”  “His word does not go forth and return void, but accomplishes that which it was sent to do.”

 

Trust and depend upon the Lord and the truth of His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

Psalm 34:17-19 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

Isaiah 41:10 fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 40:31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 42:16 And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Matthew 11:28 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Romans 8:28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

2 Corinthians 5:7 for we walk by faith, not by sight.

Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.

Philippians 4:1-9 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 1:6-9 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

II Cor. 4: 16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
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Monday, September 1, 2014

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Mashugana For Yehoshua


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................................................................................27

7.  God and Israel.................................................................31

8.  What Christians Believe.................................................34

9.  Jesus' Instructions...........................................................39

10. The Emergence of The Emergent Church.....................43

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." (Claudius 5.25.4)

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. In this he mentions Jesus and alludes to the New Testament.

12. Ignatius of Antioch:  Wrote a series of letters as he was taken to Rome to be killed for his faith in 117AD. He mentions Jesus and quotes from the New Testament.

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”

8. that he had a brother called James"[11]

"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. Jesus was crucified by the Romans near 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 will be called Jehovah Shammah.

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 Jerusalem (Ezra 7:19)
  • Elah Yisrael, God of Israel (Ezra 5:1)
  • 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 Israel—"Holy One of Israel"
  • 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 Israel"
  • 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 Israel—"Rock of Israel"

          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 Israel regarding the plan, purpose, and promises of God.

Therefore, many of the promises that God made to Israel must be spiritualized.  For example, when it speaks of Israel being restored to the land, this really means that the Christian church will be blessed.  Also, covenants made with Israel are fulfilled in the Christian church so, for example,

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" refers to the church.

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 Israel as the primary means by which the world is blessed by God's work. Though it is true that the church does replace Israel in some areas such as properly representing God on earth, acknowledging the promise of the Messiah, etc., it is not biblical to say that God is completely done with Israel and that the Christian church is its complete replacement."[20]

          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 in the 1960's said: about Jesus the Jew, that every word that came from his mouth had its source in the Torah.  “As a religious Jew,” said Rabbi Dr. Eugene  Korn, “I believe that Christians believe in many of the fundamentals of Judaism. So religiously there is every reason to have better relations.  “Why does the Messiah tarry? When will He come?” These were questions which continually agitated young Rabbi Leopold Cohn, D.D.'s  mind. One day, while poring over a volume of the Talmud, he came upon the following citation: “The world will stand six thousand years. There will be two thousand years of confusion, two thousand years under the law, and two thousand years of the time of the Messiah.”  Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, one of the most revered rabbis in history, named the Messiah as Yehoshua[29] (
            "And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith."[31]  "That the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:"[32]  "And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:"  "For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.  For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.  For the body is not one member, but many."[33]

          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 Israel in God’s plan. The term “Replacement Theology” is relatively new and unfamiliar to many people (in some cases, even those who believe in it). Among theologians, the older and more widely used term is “supersessionism.” The Church “supersedes” Israel. Its proponents teach that God has set aside Israel and made the Church “new Israel,” the new and improved people of God. There are many variations within the broad spectrum of Replacement Theology, but two of the main approaches are these:

1. Israel’s role as the people of God was completed (economic supersessionism). This is the kinder and gentler way of stating the basic thesis of Replacement Theology. It says that once the Messiah came 2,000 years ago, Israel’s mission was completed. A transition occurred at that point, and the Church took over as the people of God and became the focal point for the outworking of God’s plan and purpose in redemption. God is no longer working administratively through ethnic Israel.
2. Israel’s place as the people of God was forfeited (punitive supersessionism). Other Replacement theologians are more straightforward and actually say that the supposed replacement of Israel was a divine judgment on the nation for its rejection of the Messiah in the first century. This is what some writers have called ‘punitive secessionism.’[50]

          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 Egypt is known as an Arab nation[51].  This leads to the speculation that Egypt, and other nations in the area, is not Arab but some other race of peoples since they are not descendants of Ishmael. 

          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 would belong to the Jewish people today. Since we all know Allah is not God and therefore cannot direct the affairs of men, we must submit to the authority of the real God of the Bible.  Recognizing this truth, we see that Israel will never be “wiped off the face of the earth” as the Islamists contend.

          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.

          There is no such thing as a Palestinian.  Yasser Arafat claimed ownership of the territories because the Palestinians were descendents of the Philistines.  That was a lie.  In 1967, before the war, the lands that Israel won in battle were occupied by Syrians, Egyptians and Jordanians.  When the war was over, these countries abandoned those people.  Nobody wanted them. 

 

          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’s existence preparing to try again.  “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing time after time and expect a different result.”[54]  It seems to be that Ishmael turned out to be what God said – a wild ass. 

 

          The Arab people living in Israel have more rights, prosperity and freedoms than any of the like people living in the surrounding countries.  These Arabs don’t want the “Palestinians” to be successful: they would no longer have the freedoms and advantages they presently enjoy.         
 

          Why do I defend Israel?  The borders that God Almighty set for Israel encompassed a lot more territory than Israel’s present borders.  Perhaps the world powers should have enough sense to go back to those borders.  Perhaps the Arabs know what the real borders should be, and therefore want to obliterate Israel before God can have His way with the land.  What I think is the real basis of the conflict is that the Arabs know they are not God’s chosen people and are therefore jealous.  God said: “As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord”[55]. 
 
 
          Jesus didn’t come to do away with Judaism.  He came to fulfill Judaism.  That is why we Christians are actually Jews in the spiritual sense: we have been grafted into the vine[56]  Paul said: “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[58]. 
          What is a gentile?  The Old Testament definition was anyone who was not a Hebrew.  The New Testament definition is anyone who is not a Hebrew or Christian.  Christians are grafted into the vine and are children of God.[59]  God said: “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), and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."[62]  Can you see the difference in prosperity between Israel and the surrounding nations?
          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.  The present administration seems to be going in the wrong direction.  The same type of rhetoric that the Nazi’s used against the Jews is rampant throughout the world.  It’s almost as if it is the in thing to be anti-Semitic.  There are even people in our country that want to outlaw circumcision.  That would prevent the Jews from fulfilling their covenant with God.  Literature, put out by the author of this legislation in San Francisco, is promoting the worst anti-Semitic drivel I have ever seen.   Keep in mind that God was going to kill Moses because he had not circumcised his son.[63] 
          What should we do as a nation?  Do we abandon Israel in this obvious time of need?  President Barack Obama has announced that the starting point for peace negotiation with the ‘Palestinians’ should be the pre 1967 borders. That would be suicide for Israel, and he should appreciate that fact.  Israel cannot be defended with those borders.  President Obama has now been rebuked three times in his efforts to hurt Israel’s border security: First, by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, second by our congress by their positive reception of the Israeli Prime Minister, and third by the Canadian Prime Minister at the G8 conference.

          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?  The last time this happened we lost six million Jews. 
 

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.  “The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to Israel, I am God over all who come into the world, but I have only associated my name with you.  I am not the God of idolaters but the God of Israel.”[64]  When we accept Jesus, as our Savior and Lord, we are grafted into the vine of the God of Israel.  Whenever the Israelis were exiled, the Shechinah Glory of God remained with them.  In the same way, the Shechinah Glory of God is with Christians in the person of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God.  “All the peoples of the world proclaim the praise of, The Holy One, blessed be He, but mine (Israel) is more acceptable than theirs.  Israel declares, ‘Hear oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one’, and the Holy Spirit cries, ‘who is like thy people Israel, a nation one in the earth’.  Whoever helps Israel is as though he helped The Holy One, Blessed be He; whoever hates Israel is like one who hates Him.”[65] 

          All the nations of the world were given access to the Torah; but only Israel accepted it.  Christ Jesus is the fulfillment of the Torah.  Accept Christ, and The Holy One, blessed be He, will accept you.   A gentile was accepted as a believer by the Israelites, as one of them, if he came to the Lord with pure motives.  After instruction in the Torah, and the plight of the Jewish people, the proposed convert would accept the condition of his conversion and “he is circumcised forthwith.  After he is healed, he undergoes immersion without delay, and two disciples of the Sages stand by him and instruct him in some of the minor and more important precepts.  When he has immersed himself and ascended from the water he is an Israelite in every respect”[66].  Under Christ, circumcision is not physical, but spiritual.  Baptism, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, in the same way, represents the death of the old and birth into the new life.   God, the Father, accepts those who sincerely receive Christ as Savior and Lord; then He sends His Holy Spirit to guide them, whether they are Jew or gentile. 

          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 10:9That 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,

1599 Geneva Bible
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]

[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 Bible (GNV)
 [a]And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to [b]every creature.
Footnotes:
  1. 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.
  2. Mark 16:15 Not to the Jews only, nor in Judea only, but to all men, and everywhere: and so must all the Apostles do.

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)
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, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

New King James Version (NKJV)
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, and to the end of the earth.”

1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)
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, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.[78]

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 is the adopted name of the changing of the Body of Christ (the church) into the apostate condition which will usher in the end time One World Religion.  Even a cursory viewing of the present spiritual condition of the main line denominations leaves no doubt that this is happening today; and has been for some time.  This doesn't mean that 'the people' in the congregations are anti-Christian, but simply being mislead.  It is my contention that there are Christians in every congregation, however, they simply don't know what to do about the apostasy.  

          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. Hopefully it doesn't take all of their parishioners to Hell. It takes a lot of gall to come out so much against God and His people, Israel. This abominable group says the Palestinians are the rightful heirs to the land God gave to Israel.  It is not the entire Presbyterian church.  It is only the Presbyterian Church USA. They also came out against Evangelical support for Israel as being an uncritical support of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands. My suggestion is to ask your pastor if your unit of the Presbyterian church believes this.  If they do, fill the pews with your absence. 

          "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.”

In the last six months, Catholic cardinals, bishops and theologians have been deliberating in the Vatican City, in discussing the future of the church and redefining long-held Catholic doctrines and dogmas. The Third Vatican Council, is the largest and most important since the Second Vatican Council was concluded in 1962.

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.”

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]

          "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 is ranked higher than Jesus, in the religion of evolution.  He is deemed to be the “father” of evolution.  Evolution could very well be the most feverishly defended religion in the universe.  Our government has established this religion as the state religion of our schools.  No other theories, facts or rebuttals are allowed to be discussed in our classrooms.  Even though the first amendment, of our Constitution, forbids this type of ‘establishment of religion’, our government and courts have done so.  It requires more “faith” to believe in evolution than the Bible. Despite the evolutionists caterwauling about their “scientific evidence”, there is nothing provable about what they worship.  Each and every time the evolutionists have come up with some form of evidence, it has been disproved through scientific study or proved to be a fraud.  There is nothing provable about the Bible; unless you believe the eye witness accounts described therein, and the fact that every prophesy, written therein, has proven to be true to date. . The only prophesies yet to be fulfilled concern the last seven years of the earth as we know it.  Even the believers in the false “separation of Church from State” theory should be aroused by this establishment of a religion which is expressly forbidden."(author unknown)   Anyone that believes that the theory of evolution has “scientific origins” is fooling themselves.  It is actually a deeply pagan religious philosophy that can be traced back for thousands of years.

          "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, the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches and Baptists, among others.  Not all local churches and/or parishioners, within these denominations, are tainted with this false teaching.  Be on alert that you are not deceived in this matter.

          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 developed. 

          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 and others will never be condoned by the 'Creator of the World'.  The name, above all names, is Jehovah,  not Allah; it is that name (and other Jewish derivatives of that name) that He places in Jerusalem.  While we are at it, the Isa in the Koran is not the Jesus in the Bible. You can't get more blasphemous than to deny that Jesus is God, say the Holy Spirit doesn't exist and say that Allah is God the Father, which are the false teachings of the Koran.

 
          The name Palestine was given to Jerusalem, by the Roman emperor Hadrian, as an insult to the Jews, after the rebellion in 130 Anno Domini (year of our Lord). Obviously, the only ones entitled therefore to be referred to as Palestinians are the Jewish residents of Jerusalem. Most of those, who use that name today, are no more than displaced Jordanians.

          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 are interviewed about miracles, which they acknowledge, and then say they are not religious.  In the same way, there are Born Again Christians, and there are those who claim to be Christian without ever having a Born Again experience. 

      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 in God’s covenants. The actual covenant with the Jews is irrevocable.

          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 is a prime example of Moslem’s victory shrines.  What was the Cordoba Mosque was later recaptured by the Spanish and converted to a Catholic church.   “Since the early 2000s, Spanish Muslims have lobbied the Roman Catholic Church to allow them to pray in the cathedral.  The Muslim campaign has been rejected on multiple occasions, by both Spanish Catholic authorities, and the Vatican. In 2010 there was a violent incident over the matter.”[92]

          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.  That is the reason the Moslems want to name the Mosque closest to the Twin Towers, the Cordoba Mosque. 

          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.  In Second Chronicles 6:24-25 Solomon prayed:And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers.”

 The real “occupiers” today are the nations surrounding Israel.  In Second Chronicles 7:20 God says: “my land, which I have given them.”



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, He will bless us, but if we curse Israel He will curse us.  That is a promise direct from God.  

 
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.

21. The denial that Jesus is going to return in glory and bring God’s justice to the world."[96]

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? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,  Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God."   Romans 1:26-32 says: "For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them."  All of these are forgivable sins, except for the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. 


Worship of false gods





Worship of false gods

"Welcome to the official website of the Church of Satan.    Founded on April 30, 1966 c.e.(notice the Satanist use of c.e. instead of AD) by Anton Szandor LaVey, we are the first above-ground organization in history openly dedicated to the acceptance of Man’s true nature—that of a carnal beast, living in a cosmos that is indifferent to our existence. To us, Satan is the symbol that best suits the nature of we who are carnal by birth—people who feel no battles raging between our thoughts and feelings, we who do not embrace the concept of a soul imprisoned in a body. He represents pride, liberty, and individualism—qualities often defined as Evil by those who worship external deities, who feel there is a war between their minds and emotions. As Anton LaVey explained in his classic work The Satanic Bible, Man—using his brain—invented all the Gods, doing so because many of our species cannot accept or control their personal egos, feeling compelled to conjure up one or a multiplicity of characters who can act without hindrance or guilt upon whims and desires. All Gods are thus externalized forms, magnified projections of the true nature of their creators, personifying aspects of the universe or personal temperaments which many of their followers find to be troubling. Worshipping any God is thus worshipping by proxy those who invented that God. Since the Satanist understands that all Gods are fiction, instead of bending a knee in worship to—or seeking friendship or unity with—such mythical entities, he places himself at the center of his own subjective universe as his own highest value. We Satanists are thus our own "Gods" and as beneficent “deities” we can offer love to those who deserve it and deliver our wrath (within reasonable limits) upon those who seek to cause us—or that which we cherish—harm."[97]

          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 were repeatedly warned against this influence but repeatedly succumbed to it in later years--just as have people in every age. The first of the ten commandments, 'Thou shalt have no other gods before me' (Exodus 20:3) was given explicitly to guard against this ever-present Satanic temptation. (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)

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 Israel not to exchange worship of the Creator for the worship of the creation that included the host of heaven."[103]  

          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.  When the Jews finally recognize Jesus as their Messiah, they will realize that Christianity is really a part of Judaism.  Many Christians realize that this is the case.  The Jews and Christians of today are so close, and yet so far away.  Most Christians don't realize that they are adopted Jews. There are Rabbi's that for hundreds of years say that Jesus was the Messiah to the gentiles, whereas the Jewish Messiah has yet to come.

          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 in disputes over the land mass that God gave to them.  We, being His people, should honor what He has established.

          David Flusser, a teacher at the Hebrew University in the 1960's said: about Jesus the Jew, that every word that came from his mouth had its source in the Torah.  “As a religious Jew,” said Rabbi Dr. Eugene  Korn, “I believe that Christians believe in many of the fundamentals of Judaism. So religiously there is every reason to have better relations.  “Why does the Messiah tarry? When will He come?” These were questions which continually agitated young Rabbi Leopold Cohn, D.D.'s  mind. One day, while poring over a volume of the Talmud, he came upon the following citation: “The world will stand six thousand years. There will be two thousand years of confusion, two thousand years under the law, and two thousand years of the time of the Messiah.”  Rabbi Yitzhak Kaduri, one of the most revered rabbis in history, named the Messiah as Yehoshua[113] ( the Hebrew word for Jesus, which means salvation).
          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 unless they are born again.

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.  The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound thereof, but can't tell from where it comes, and where it goes: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

          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.  He is in the process today of warning about the impending "day of the Lord", the "time of Jacobs trouble" or as it is referred to today "The Tribulation". 

          In searching for a concluding chapter, to tie the information together, I came across an article by J.R. Church in the "Prophecy In The News" magazine titled "The Song of Moses".  This article not only confirmed much of what I wished to write, but also expanded it. 

          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 would become spiritually deaf, and they would be scattered among the nations, only to return in the last days with their spiritual hearing restored.  Paul said: "Well spoke the Holy Ghost by Isaiah the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go into this people, and say, Hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and not perceive."[120]

          In Psalm 48 we see the nation of Israel was established[121], and in 1948 it was re-established.  In the very near future, we shall all see the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom, with its headquarters in Jerusalem.  After the thousand year reign of the Messiah, we shall see the "New Heaven and the New Earth" established, and thus we all, as "His People" will live with the Lord forever.



[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
[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", Rick Rahn, www.thespiritsnestministries.com
[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
[102] Unbelief" by Rick Rahn,www.thespiritsnestministries.com
[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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