“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
_____________
#####
It’s Time for Serious Change in Christendom
There was no New Testament when the Messiah was with us.
There was no New Testament when Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John wrote the gospels or when Luke wrote The Acts of the Apostles.
There was no New Testament when Paul and others wrote letters to believers about the Messiah.
Therefore, when the New Testament talks about “Scripture”, it is talking about the Old Testament/Tanach.
Paul went out of his way to say that he was not deviating from Scripture, i.e., the Old Testament/Tanach.
The New Testament is not Scripture. It’s important, because it’s eyewitness testimony about the Messiah: His life and what He did and said. It also proves that the Messiah presented in the Old Testament/Tanach completed His mission to redeem and save people who have faith in Yahweh. In other words, the New Testament proves that prophecies in Scripture were fulfilled. Yahweh became a Man to deliver His people from eternal bondage to sin and death. He is the Good Shepherd. He is the Lion from the tribe of Judah.
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares Yahweh, “when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch. He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteousness in the land. In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. This is His Name by which He will be called, ‘Yahweh our righteousness.’” (Jeremiah 23: 5-6)
All of us like sheep have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way, but Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53: 6)
For thus says Adonai Yahweh, “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd cares for his herd in the day when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will care for My sheep and will deliver them from all the places to which they were scattered on a cloudy and gloomy day. I will bring them out from the peoples and gather them from the countries and bring them to their own land, and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams, and in all the inhabited places of the land. I will feed them in a good pasture, and their grazing ground will be on the mountain heights of Israel. There they will lie down on good grazing ground and feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. I will feed My flock and I will lead them to rest,” declares Adonai Yahweh. I will seek the lost, bring back the scattered, bind up the broken and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them with judgment.” (Ezekiel 34: 11-16)
“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (John 10: 11)
Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look into it, and one of the elders said to me, “Stop weeping. Behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.” (Revelation 5: 4-5)
The Messiah did not attempt to create a new religion. He urged people to return to Yahweh, to His laws and ordinances in the Old Testament/Tanach, and He warned people about the consequences if they don’t return to Yahweh.
Keep in mind that the Messiah was talking to 1st century Jewish people. They needed to hear that message, because they had been hoodwinked by the religious elite in Pharisaic Judaism, a.k.a., Rabbinic Judaism. Even so, the things He said apply to everyone.
The Messiah’s early believers were Jewish. They were considered a sect of Judaism: The Sect of the Nazarenes. None of them tried to create a new religion. The Messiah did not call them to a religion. He called them to faith in Yahweh and obedience to Him.
Eventually, Jewish believers were thrown out of synagogues for obeying Yahweh instead of the religious elite in Pharisaic Judaism. Rabbis of the Messiah’s day hated Him, because He threatened their economic, social, and political power. They had no idea who they were up against.
Paul never even hinted at creating a new religion. That thought never entered his mind.
All of these facts are easily verifiable, because they are discussed in the New Testament. In other words, the New Testament proves that the New Testament isn’t Scripture. It also proves that faith in Yahweh and obedience to Him is not about religion.
“The disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” (Acts 11: 26) That was about 300 years before Christianity became religion. It’s a man-made religion just like Pharisaic Judaism.
Roman Emperor Constantine created Christianity in the 300s AD. He wasn’t a believer. He created the Roman Catholic Church for political reasons. He wanted to unify Roman citizens under the umbrella of a national religion. It helped him keep a tight grip on power. Constantine was head of the Roman Catholic Church.
Roman citizens worshiped many gods, the sun god (Sol Invictus) and Ishtar (the fertility goddess) in particular, so Constantine incorporated their most cherished celebrations into his new church. Christmas was the sun god celebration at the winter solstice. Easter was the spring festival for Ishtar worshipers. “Easter” is the correct pronunciation of Ishtar.
Even now, Christmas and Easter are the two biggest days on the church calendar for Catholics and Protestants. Both have pagan origins and pagan symbols. Those pagan symbols are incorporated in worship, and they are on display. Few churchgoers know that they are being led in what amounts to idol worship. Those celebrations violate the first two of the Ten Commandments.
“I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, Yahweh your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” (Exodus 20: 2-6)
Jewish believers didn’t accept Constantine’s changes. They objected vehemently to Easter, because Constantine dropped Passover (a required celebration) and substituted Easter (worship of the fertility goddess) in its place.
For resisting Constantine’s edicts, many Jewish believers were tortured and murdered. Before he was through, Constantine excommunicated most Jewish believers for his church. To save their lives, Jewish believers were told that they had to “convert to Christianity”. That was the birth of Christianity as we know it today.
Ironically, in the 100s AD, Jewish believers (the Sect of the Nazarenes) were thrown out of synagogues for refusing to accept Jewish traditions (the Oral Law or Halacha) that contradicted Yahweh’s commands. In the 300s AD, they were excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church for refusing to accept Constantine’s edicts that violated the first two commandments.
It’s also ironic that Jewish believers were the first to accept that the Messiah is Yahweh and to spread the good news about our Savior, but they were thrown out of the church for adhering to their beliefs.
So, why do preachers talk about people converting to Christianity? No one writing what came to be known as the New Testament did that. They talked about people returning to Yahweh and accepting the Messiah’s gift of salvation. They talked about having faith in Yahweh and obeying Him. They didn’t talk about religion.
“Now, therefore, fear Yahweh and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve Yahweh. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.” (Joshua 24: 14-15)
Why do preachers focus almost all of their attention on the New Testament and on Paul’s letters in particular? Constantine’s influence is the root of that problem.
It’s no wonder people are confused. Preachers are the most confused of all. They talk about the power of Yahweh’s word, but they rarely mention it.
Having faith in Yahweh and obeying Him leads to salvation. Joining a religion is a feel good thing. Lots of religious people are on the road to hell, but they feel good about it. That’s a tragedy.
The Messiah talked about coming out from under the heavy burden of religion. As I said, His message was delivered to 1st century Jewish people who were suffering under the heavy yoke of Pharisaic Judaism. He talked with them about having faith in Yahweh and obeying Him. He did not talk with them about religion. In fact, He warned against religion. Matthew 23 and John 8 are the best examples of this.
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11: 28-30)
Revelation is the only book in the New Testament that is Scripture.
It’s time for serious change in Christendom. It’s coming, so get ready.
Read His Name is Yahweh: Revised Edition and The Trilogy.
I think I understand why so few preachers tell the truth:
- Many of them don’t know the truth. They simply regurgitate things they have been taught by the religious Christian elite.
- Many preachers who know the truth are afraid to tell it, because they think telling the truth will cost them their jobs. I call them “pocket preachers”, because they are in other people’s pockets.
Yahweh has had just about enough.
#####
_____________
#####
_____________
#####
“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
