Author: FCC Admin

The Sign of God’s People

Here is how to be identified as a child of God.

Videos through Rumble, Twitter, and Spotify below.

The Sign of God’s People

Slide 2 For you are all sons of God through faith in Messiah Yeshua. For all of you who were baptized into Messiah have clothed yourselves with Messiah. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua. And if you belong to Messiah, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise. (Gal 3:26-29)

While we do not condemn mainstream Christianity by any means, we have discovered some fundamental flaws in those systems and have moved as close to the early Christian beliefs as possible. The general feeling we get from the mainstream churches is that a new religion was established in the New Testament. That the Old Testament was effectively nullified with the New Covenant and how we worship was fundamentally changed. Some go so far as to say the church replaces Israel. This is just not the case. While the New Covenant is definitely new and different, the author of Hebrews tells us it’s a change in the law, not an abolition of the law. We can see in the New Testament that it was mostly Jewish people and proselytes (like the centurion who made the synagogue) for the first ten or so years after Yeshua’s ascension. Then significant numbers of gentiles, people like us, started coming to the faith all over the world. Paul is telling us here that was the intent all along. This is another step in the plan of salvation, that now people can join the family of God through accepting Yeshua as the Messiah and being baptized. Paul is saying here that gentiles who accept Yeshua join the family of God. We join Israel and come alongside those from Israel who accepted the Messiah as well. The text of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31, which Yeshua quoted the night He was betrayed, shows that the New Covenant is with Judah and Israel. It’s not with gentiles. In order for us to matter, for the New Covenant to even apply to us, we have to have a mechanism for joining Judah or Israel. Paul explains this right here. This is why we call each other brother and sister, because we are adopted family now, and heirs according to the promise Yahweh made with Abraham to make his descendants more numerous than the stars.

Slide 3 “Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” (Act 15:19-21)

This passage of Acts 15 is almost always cited without verse 21, that I have in bold here. Paul had traveled throughout the Roman Empire spreading the news of the Messiah primarily in the synagogues. Over time, significant amounts of gentile start joining in. The meeting in Acts 15 is estimated to be about 45-50 AD, fifteen years or so after Yeshua ascended. These dates are significant because it means for about ten years, there weren’t enough gentiles joining in for this to be an issue. What happened here is that many gentiles were showing up at synagogue, hearing of Yeshua, learning Torah, etc. that the Jewish believers wanted them to be circumcised. The response was to limit them to a few things right out of the gate, to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from fornication as a start. They were already attending synagogue and hearing Moses each week, they would continue to do that and learn as they went. This is the same pattern we follow today, isn’t it? We learn of the Messiah, then we start attending somewhere, and grow as we learn.

When you are adopted into a family, you learn the family’s rules and customs and adopt them. First century gentile converts had to do this, hence attending synagogue to learn Moses.

Slide 4 YHVH spoke to Moses, saying, “But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am YHVH who sanctifies you.” (Exo 31:12-13)

Now we arrive at the sign. The sabbaths. You’ll notice this is plural, not singular. It means the weekly Sabbath and the Holy Days. But it starts with the weekly. Those who learned about the Messiah were keeping the weekly Sabbath to learn Moses. They adopted the sign, well one of them. We know the Shema also tells us the Torah is to be a sign as well. But this is specifically about observing Yahweh’s appointed times. This is addressed to the “sons of Israel”. That benim Yisrael. It means children, not just men or sons. And the children of Israel is synonymous with the children of Abraham. One we are adopted into the family, we take the signs of the family, which means a change in behavior. We keep the Sabbaths.

Slide 5 Yeshua said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mar 2:27)

Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts. By the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. (Gen 2:1-3)

The word for man in Mark 2:27 is Anthropos, which is Greek for mankind. It’s interesting that the word adam, which means the guy, also means mankind. The LXX actually uses Anthropos for adam in some places. Without getting to much into the word-weeds, the Sabbath was made for all of mankind to observe. It began as a sign for all of the people and was meant to be that for all of this era. In our western reckoning, from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, we are to rest and enjoy creation. Yahweh rested on the 7th day of creation as did Adam. This pattern is here for us to emulate because we are made in the image of God. That means more than just photocopying. We are made to work, to labor, to enjoy creation, and then on Shabbat to take a break and commune with our Creator.

Slide 6 “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. “Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of YHVH your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days YHVH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore YHVH blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.” (Exo 20:8-11)

The 4th commandment, in Yahweh’s voice, told them to remember. That can be taken two ways. The first is that they forgot it in Egypt and they needed to remember it, to get back to it. The second is to not forget about it. To keep doing it. The commandment is comprehensive. Nobody works, everybody gets the day off. Even the animals. Yahweh is big about his creation getting a break. He even built in land rests for the earth, meaning soil. This commandment reminds us about Creation as well. How honoring the Sabbath emulates our Creator in how He rested while also keeping us humble. Knowing that we are but dust. The one who made the heavens and the earth made each of us, which means we are special, that He would think of us. But also that we are feeble in need of our Creator and cannot provide for ourselves without His providence.

Slide 7 YHVH spoke again to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘YHVH’S appointed times which you shall proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these: ‘For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to YHVH in all your dwellings.” (Lev 23:1-3)

This is where the entire earth gets the notion to come to church. The word holy convocations is miqra kodesh, a sacred or holy assembly. The idea of having a weekly assembly for the purpose of worship starts right here and it’s tied to the 7th day sabbath. Leviticus 23 outlines all the Sabbaths, more broadly all the appointed times. Appointed times are the word moedim, which is the same word translated seasons when the sun, moon, and stars are made in Genesis 1. The weekly sabbath is counted apart from the months by having an evening and a morning. Yahweh then added in the moon, the sun, and the stars for us to have annual observances. Our following these times shows the world that our God is Yahweh. Getting together on this day to have a set-apart assembly is a commandment, a blessing, and a sign. It gives us a pattern for our lives and keeps us grounded while we honor the creator. We look forward to seeing each other, sharing stories, a meal, and the Word of God. This is not a burden at all. Surrendering to Yahweh’s will and surrounding ourselves with those who do the same is a blessing. It shows our humility and our faith. You might even say it’s a sign 😊

Slide 8 After these things he (Paul) left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. (Act 18:1-4)

Here we are, three chapters after Acts 15, and Paul is reasoning with both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue on Shabbat. They were having holy convocations on the day the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob declared and that’s who Paul preached Yeshua to. Paul was working six days and resting, worshiping, and preaching on Shabbat. Just was it was in the beginning so it should be to this day. The Greeks had adopted the sign of Yahweh’s people by turning from their pagan holidays and practices and adopting the true worship commanded by Yahweh and exemplified by Yeshua, the Messiah, the Son of God. Paul preached to these people because they knew the Tanakh, the Old Testament, and would know about the Messiah.

I often give a message about how the holy days, if they had been kept properly by Israel, would have resulted in peace. Had the nation of Israel actually followed Torah as they were supposed to, there would have been a predictability to life through weekly and annual observances. They would have been blessed with an abundance to bring as offerings year after year and the society would have flourished. These things are components of Yahweh intends for us to have shalom like the peace of that first Sabbath in Eden. When sin entered the world, it spiraled out of control until Yahweh was sad He made mankind and He brought a violent end for all but Noah and his family. That violent end was the result of mankind defying Yahweh and being incredibly sinful. Brothers and sisters, we find ourselves in another time that looks very similar to then. And this all ties together with October 7, 2023. When Israelis and those from all over the earth were keeping both the weekly Sabbath and an annual Sabbath in Israel. They were observing Shemini Atzaret and make no mistake about it, American and all sorts of foreign Christians were they observing along with the Jewish people. They were trying to experience shalom, peace. And the evil ones came, Chamas, the violent ones. Their thoughts are evil continually. And they hate the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and especially of Yeshua. So they attack on a day when they knew God’s people would be resting and they destroyed Yahweh’s rest.  

Many have said there would be a Sunday law in the end times and that was the lawlessness of the end times. That never made sense to me because it isn’t “Sabbath-less-ness”, it’s comprehensive lawlessness. Today, though, I realize that keeping the Sabbath and the Holy Days is indeed part of the present tribulation.  I see lawlessness and a rejection of God entirely, like in the days of Noah. We see plainly how an enormous amount of people want to kill God’s people and bring pure lawlessness across the entire world. This isn’t limited to the middle east, as we have seen people protest in favor of the demons all over the world, even here in America. This makes no sense because those who killed Israelis and foreigners in Israel would absolutely love to kill us, too. But now we are seeing people go after Jews very publicly. Please realize that we look like Jews because we have been adopted into the family of God. We are God’s people and by adopting His signs, His Torah, His commandments, we are targets just like the Jews. However, we keep the Sabbath because it is the sign of God’s people. And it appears the world wants to kill God’s people. So maybe there was something to this commandment playing a role in the end times.

We have a Spiritual Problem

Many on the news and in social media are saying we have a mental problem with all the violence in the country and the world. I contend we have a spiritual problem.

Rumble, Twitter, and Spotify below. No written version of this one.

Managing Emotions and Seeing Truth Clearly

I talk about managing emotions from a biblical perspective and how believers should react to the Israel Attack in this week’s message. Yes, it’s OK to be angry. Then what?

Messages below are from Rumble, then Twitter, then Spotify so folks can use the platform they are most familiar with. Then the written version below.

Managing Emotions

The truck story. We researched what we needed in a vehicle. It needed to be a 4X, have 4 doors, tow 9K pounds minimum, have certain interior comforts and cost no more than a certain price. I sent out for bids and a dealer said “come on down”. So we went down and they had two beautiful trucks ready for us. A blue one with the ride of a Cadillac and a black one with a stiffer ride but an upgraded engine. We drove the trucks and there was no way they cost what we could afford. When we asked them, they said there was no truck available that could do what we want for what we wanted to pay, would we like the blue one or the black one? The sales people had deceived us to get us to drive the trucks so we would make a huge financial decision based on emotion.

We left the dealership and got a message on the way home about a truck that matched what we wanted for our exact price point. Yahweh provided.

I tried to think about something else to talk about this week but this topic is so front and center that I just couldn’t. Or the Ruach pushed me in this direction. Last night, when it is customary for us to say Shabbat shalom to each other online, I couldn’t. That would make this time too normal. And when I think of saying it, I imagine the poor people being held hostage in dark tunnels beneath Gaza. They have no peace right now. They can only hope the Israelis find them quickly and free them. So here we are.

Two weeks ago, we saw an incredibly horrific, planned, premeditated attack on Israel by Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists. The terrorists attacked on the 8th day, also known as Shemini Atzaret, the 8th day of sukkot, which is a high sabbath culminating a week long festival. They did this on purpose. It was beyond dastardly. It was pure evil. After the attack was over, the Israelis found evidence that this was the sole purpose of the attack. Killing civilians, women and children, the elderly, and taking them hostage was the goal. In our country, we periodically have mass shootings where somebody goes berserk and shoots up a mall or a school. That’s evil. That might be the pinnacle of evil. But in this case, we have hundreds of people planning and financing a large scale version of this. To distract from the invasion, Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched thousands of rockets, thousands, into Israel to try and get past their missile defenses and make them think that was all that was happening.

In the aftermath, we are seeing videos of incredibly depraved behavior. Most of it completely unspeakable and I try not to watch. One video I saw was the incredibly cruel burning alive of two Israeli hostages. They were chained so they could not escape or quell the flames. I could not watch the whole thing. The terrorists are burning bodies of victims so badly that the Israelis can’t identify them. The world has not seen barbarism on a scale like this in a very long time.

Are you angry? Are you outraged? Is that OK?

Slide 2 Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH EACH ONE of you WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Eph 4:25-27 NAS95)

Being made in God’s image, we are supposed to have emotions because He has them. His Son was quite emotional when He was on the earth as well. We saw him pour out compassion on individuals and then on mankind as a whole with His death. Yeshua had a job to do and, while feeling things probably as deeper than anyone else ever has, He remained faithful and on mission. The flip side of emotions with Yeshua’s crucifixion is how the people were convinced very quickly to betray not only the Messiah, but to deny their very purpose and existence when they cried out “we have no king but Caesar”.

You can see the danger here with making rash decisions in the heat of the moment. Of course, Yeshua’s sacrifice and everything that happened with it were part of Yahweh’s plan of salvation. Those people reacted the way they were supposed to so God could be glorified. But what happened 50-ish days later when the Holy Spirit came and Peter preached Yeshua? Those who had been spun into a frenzy saw the error of their ways and asked how to make it right.

There are some things that are so awful that we react to them without thinking it through. Like when terrorists premeditatedly paraglide into an innocent country for the specific purpose of mass murder. Reacting viscerally to that is the proper reaction. Reacting violently to attack on yourself, your country, or innocents is normal and just. Reacting violently when it’s not a life and death situation is not. We need to have control of our emotions. A safeguard against making bad decisions in the heat of the moment is to make the bible our foundation. For us to channel our emotions to be useful or good, we must build our intellect and our culture on justice. We must have a solid foundation so when we react to something emotionally, we react properly. When we see tragedies, do we take it personally and have empathy? Or do we look at it as being disconnected?

Slide 3 “Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another. Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Mat 24:9-14)

Facing reality for a moment, hasn’t our love grown cold because lawlessness has increased? The amount of violence in the US today seems out of control. We have mass shootings almost routinely. We’re saturated with bad news of lawless deeds. That has an effect on us whether we like it or not. It’s simple reality when bad behavior happens so much it becomes normalized. We need to find a way to keep our hearts soft in these trying times.

Are you still outraged about what happened to Israel a week and a half ago? I am. I walked outside to get the mail yesterday and saw a neighbor walking his dog. I immediately thought of those in Israel who were doing normal things on October 7 when the monsters attacked them. I introduced myself to the neighbor and thanked God we live in a place that is still peaceful. It’s a sad state of affairs when the simple act of meeting a stranger on the street and saying hello is somehow fulfilling.

Slide 4 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. (Rev 20:7-10 NAS95)

We know this is not now. It says “when the thousand years are completed”. They haven’t even started. Let’s be clear, in scripture events can happen several times. Prophesies can be fulfilled on a small scale and then on a big one. Satan also plays a huge role in deceiving the world, so he is surely getting warmed up here before the 1000 years starts. But these protests in favor of the terrorists and the refusal for colleges and others to support Israel is really astonishing. These protests all over the world of people hating Israel and supporting the bad guys is just shocking. And terrifying.

Now’s the time to say why we support Israel. It’s not because of theology. It’s not because of prophecy. It’s because they have a free and open society. They accept people from all over the world to come enjoy the promised land. People from more than two dozen countries were kidnapped when the monsters invaded. We know that the country called Israel today is not governed like Israel should be and we know they have huge sins in their multi-cultural society, but the reality is that we have to live in the now. They have enormous military might and the use it to defend their tiny country. They have had the power to erase Gaza for decades and have not done it. Because they just want to be left alone and free to live as they see fit. They are innocent and were attacked yet the world decries their response 100X or even 1000X the brutality of the attack by the monsters. It’s like we’re living in the twilight zone. But guess what, it’s a global deception. It’s a complete lie. It’s calling evil good and good evil on a global scale. So while we know this is not the ultimate time when all nations will go against Jerusalem, it’s still happening and we have to acknowledge it. Not because of theology, but because justice demands it.

Keeping our hearts and minds about us in tumultuous times is a challenge. The best way to know justice, maybe the only way, is to read our bibles. The whole thing. Cover to cover. And then continue to meditate on the Word of God.

Slide 4 “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’” (Mat 25:31-36)

These words are telling us parts of how not to grow cold. They are telling us how to be found doing His will when He returns. Be compassionate, be hospitable. Don’t forget the parables which were spoken just before this. Have oil in our lamps and use our talents. Stay involved, stay kind, and stay loving. And be around people who are like this, too.

When we get emotional, the best way to not sin and to be able to see the truth is to have filled our minds and our hearts with the Word of God. We are to speak truth to our neighbors. That means we have to know truth. Most consider this doctrine, which it includes, but for the love of Yahweh the entire world seems to be uniting against the country that was attacked. They are uniting in a lie. And it’s not some smoky back room conspiracy, it’s right in our faces. We have to give praise to Yahweh and Yeshua for those who can still tell the difference between good and evil, for we are a dwindling lot.

We study our Bibles to be closer to God and His Son. If we fill our minds and hearts with their will, then when something sad or awful happens, we will be much more likely to respond in a biblical fashion. When we fill our minds and our hearts with the ways of the world, we are more likely to respond in a worldly fashion. The world loves lies. The world loves evil. We love truth and peace. We are not to let the sun go down on our anger so that means there’s a limit to excusing mistakes carried out because of emotion. After we sleep on issues, we can then begin to divorce emotion and sort things out logically. How did this bad thing happen? Could we have done anything different? How can we make a change so the bad thing doesn’t happen again or is that even possible? After we cool down, then we can contemplate.

In the case of the attack on Israel, I’m still outraged and now even astonished at how many people in the west are already growing cold over it. Even to the point of supporting the monsters. Israel was providing water and electricity to those who attacked them. We are to be a forgiving people, we are to turn the other cheek, but there comes a point when action needs to be taken. This continent suffered tyranny under King George for many, many years before declaring our independence and going to war. Israel cannot be expected to live on the knife’s edge like this anymore. They must destroy those monsters for any sort of peace to exist. Let me be clear, I’m not supporting Israel because of some prophecy interpretation or because they are called Israel. I’m supporting them because they are an open and free country that just wants to be left alone. They allow people from all over the world to come and go because they are caretakers of the holy land. The behavior of their enemies is the opposite. I support Israel because their enemies are our enemies. The monsters who paraglided into Israel to kill women and children would do the same to us if given half the chance. When I see those poor teenage girls who have been kidnapped and drug into Gaza, I think of my own girls. And I think of how to protect my own girls and what I would do to get my own girls back should that happen to me.

This is because I love my neighbor as myself. I have empathy. And compassion. And a sense of justice. These all come from my relationship with Yahweh and His Son. And these traits run through my entire life, as they should yours. How long we suffer in bad relationships, how long we suffer in bad jobs, how long we tolerate injustice and misbehavior in all our lives needs to come from our relationship with God. Being patient and longsuffering has limits and sometimes we have to draw a line in the sand and say no more. The same apostle who taught about patience and perseverance also scolded the Corinthian church for tolerating immorality. So we know there are limits. When the bible tells us to care for the widows and the orphans, we better take heed.

Judgment Day

Judgment Day

What will happen to those who never believed and when is Judgment Day?

Christianity has a skewed vision of end time events. The day of Judgment is almost always scrunched in with the return of Jesus, whom we call Yeshua. However, the Judgment is actually 1000 years after His return. The period of time between his return and the judgment is called the millennium. Revelation 20 explains this gap of time clearly. Unfortunately, modern Christian teachings about the end of days ignores this period of time. When the Messiah returns, those who accepted Him as the Son of God are resurrected. They, along with the believers alive at that time, rise and meet Him in the air. He then descends to rule from Jerusalem for this 1000-year period of time. At the end of the 1000 years, unrepentant sinners and those who had never heard of Jesus, aka Yeshua, in their lifetimes are resurrected and judged against the context of their lives.

The Two Resurrections and the Book of Life

Yeshua speaks of two resurrections in John 5. The first is a resurrection of life, which is generically called “the first resurrection.” Revelation 20 and Matthew 25 speak directly to the requirements for salvation at the resurrection of judgment. The Greek words for judgment in the relevant verses are either krisis or krino, both of which mean, effectively, “decision time”. When all the nations are gathered before Yeshua’s throne, they are judged according to the deeds they did in their lifetimes. The text clearly states that some of the people present at the second resurrection are written in the Book of Life and are granted eternal life, which runs contrary to most Christian teaching today.

The video above is a message explaining all the relevant verses about the topics summarized. It includes good insight from a few of our congregants as well. Understanding that Yahweh (God) has provided an opportunity for the bulk of mankind to enter eternal life is a blessing. The pdf below is a written-out study in case you want to be able to look these things up without listening and pausing. The relevant verses are quite easy to understand, so please enjoy this teaching and please give a share if it blesses you.

Judgment-Day-pdfDownload

The Feast of Tabernacles!

We’re off to the Feast of Tabernacles! Here’s a little primer for those who’ve never heard of it or why Christians would even do such a thing! And here’s the link to the message I refer to in this video. https://firstcenturychristianity.net/paganism-in-christianity/

Paganism in Christianity

It really boils down to a binary choice: Are we going to worship the God of the Bible or not? And if you want to know who the harlot of Revelation is, start here.

These notes do not do this message justice. Please watch the video for undeniable proof about the paganism in Christianity.

Refresh where we’ve been. Studying the Torah. It’s clear as can be that God forbids us from making up our own ways of worshiping Him and he has explicitly told us not to worship the ways of the nations. Yom Kippur starts just 24 hours from now. This is the time to talk about repenting of sins. Often time we focus on the “love your neighbor” type sins that we need to repent of. This is a great topic, but I want to talk about the “love God with all your heart” sins today. We learn that the Day of Atonement includes sins committed in ignorance. Well, the paganism inside of Christianity contains an incredible amount of sins committed in ignorance. After today, though, you won’t be ignorant any more.

Slide 2 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. (Act 19:24-26)

The disciples were preaching against idolatry. They were not Christianizing pagan practices.  This topic is the one that got me out of mainstream Christianity. Once I accepted that the biggest doctrines of Christianity of Sunday, Christmas, crosses, and Easter were not founded on scripture, I dove into a period of study to find out where they came from. In reality, I was trying desperately to find a way for those doctrines to be true. I was desperate to find some mechanism for what I was learning to be wrong. Because if it were true, then all of my ancestors, relatives, and friends were in deep error. The word for blending religious practices is syncretism but in the bible, it’s called harlotry or adultery.

The reason this is important is because it is THE sin that Israel kept committing over and over. We just finished a year of deep diving into Torah. What topic was addressed more than any other? That’s right, worshiping other gods or blending pagan worship with worship of the true God. This sin did not stop being a sin after Yeshua died. In fact, this sin defines God’s people all the way to the end of this age.

Slide 3 After these things I heard something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God; BECAUSE HIS JUDGMENTS ARE TRUE AND RIGHTEOUS; for He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth with her immorality, and HE HAS AVENGED THE BLOOD OF HIS BOND-SERVANTS ON HER.” (Rev 19:1-2)

The great harlot. Yes, this includes sexual immorality but it is talking more about paganism. The end time bad guy is the great harlot. That means idolatry, worshiping false gods, and taking Yahweh’s Name in vain are the big sins of the end times. They were the big sins when Abraham lived, the big sins when Moses lived, the big sins when Israel got smote, Israel refused these sins after they came back from captivity, we see the Apostles going all over the earth preaching against false gods, and then the end times judgment is about false god worship. This all adds up to spiritual harlotry, or syncretism, being a very big sin whenever you live.

Slide 4 Pat Robertson video

Pat Robertson and that lady are very popular Protestant ministers. Tens of millions of people follow these people and others like them. For them to be so open about this is shocking. The big reason I put this video up is to show that they actually know all the things I’m teaching today. And they don’t care. Idolatry is wrong. It’s the sin that Yahweh destroyed Israel for over and over. He loathed it, and He forbade any blending whatsoever. It’s a strange idea to say that Yahweh killed all the idolators of Egypt and Canaan, then punished Israel for doing it by killing them, and then all of a sudden it’s OK in the New Testament. That would be a God of confusion, whom Yahweh is not. We know from Acts that they preached against idolatry to the point that the merchants thought the world would turn from it. We need to stick with that. We need to get this stuff out of our lives.

Slide 5 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down from the mountain, the people assembled about Aaron and said to him, “Come, make us a god who will go before us; as for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” Aaron said to them, “Tear off the gold rings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” Then all the people tore off the gold rings which were in their ears and brought them to Aaron. He took this from their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool and made it into a molten calf; and they said, “This is your god, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.” Now when Aaron saw this, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made a proclamation and said, “Tomorrow shall be a feast to YHVH.” So the next day they rose early and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play. (Exo 32:1-6)

This is specifically the blending that is forbidden. Nobody is allowed to make up how they worship Yahweh. None of us get to make that decision. Aaron was left in charge of the nation and folded, quickly, too. This is the huge warning against clergy blending things, it’s simply a death penalty sin. Many people were executed for this right then and there. They named the calf YHVH and made up a day for worship that included celebratory practices. This is all of the bad stuff wrapped up in one. Their celebratory practices included lewd behavior so the net result was similar to Saturnalia, a multi-day wintertime celebration by pagans that included debauchery, and treated December 25 and January 1 as holy days. Pat Robertson acknowledged that clergy decided to Christianize that, which is completely forbidden and why we do what we do. And Christianity’s acceptance of these practices is a cause of the end time harlotry. Those who know better are not telling their flocks the truth.

Slide 6 Ankh and Crosses It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour, because the sun was obscured; and the veil of the temple was torn in two. (Luk 23:44-45)

Rome crucified people to show they were in charge. The excruciating public execution was meant to teach a lesson. Often people were crucified at the entrance of a city so all coming and going had to be reminded of who was in charge. There’s one instance where 1000 people were crucified at the same time to crush a rebellion and show the world what happens if you defy Rome. In this literal sense, it’s bizarre that the cross became a symbol of anything holy. But in a religious sense, crosses are a symbol of sun worship and have been since Egypt, hence the ankh on the picture. Do we think Yahweh want’s us to use an Egyptian religious icon in our worship of Him? Rhetorical question.

Crosses are a symbol of religions that Yahweh commanded His people to avoid and destroy. The cross is how the Messiah was executed for a couple of reasons, one being that’s how non-Romans were executed by Rome. It showed He was not Roman and served its gruesome purpose, but who would ever use the instrument of murder to memorialize someone? At the reformation, many protestant faiths took those things down but they keep coming back. We don’t use these because they are pagan and for a bunch of other reasons.

Yeshua being killed on the symbol of a sun god was a huge insult. The sun going dark when He died showed that sun god did not win but the sun, the moon, and the stars are under Yahweh and Yeshua’s authority. But now you know a little why you don’t see any crosses around here!

Slide 7 And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

(Act 12:4 KJV)

When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people. (Act 12:4 NAS95)

Easter is also pagan. The first thing I want to show you is the remarkable syncretism that found it’s way into the KJV, the most popular Bible ever. The Greek word behind Easter is Pascha, which is the same as paschal lamb. There is ZERO doubt this is supposed to be Passover. Easter is a day for the pagan Goddess Eostre!

Slide 8 more Easter. This one is everywhere. Fertility goddess. Yes, Starbucks logo is a fertility goddess and they know it.

Slide 9 Sun Day

This is a sermon all by itself, but Sunday worship isn’t just an invented day to replace the Sabbath. Sol Invictus was one of the gods in the Roman empire that became the god of the Roman empire in the second and third centuries. Christmas traces to this god as well as Sunday worship. You may not realize it, but our days of the week and even some of our months are named after Roman gods. Sun-day is exactly that, the day of worshiping the sun god. Saturday is Saturn day, and so on. Rome hated the Jews and the Jews were known by Shabbat. No working, resting, no commerce from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. The Romans wanted this gone. Christians were forced to give up the Sabbath when Christianity became the Roman religion, but it wasn’t really Christianity. It was a mixed up faith that all the Roman regions could adopt. And they worshiped on Sunday, not Shabbat. So Shabbat was banned, first by clergy and then by civil law. There are numerous quotes from both Catholics and Protestants about the change. The Catholics brazenly claim to have switched the day of worship and brag that the Protestants follow them. And they are correct. Sunday worship is 100% pagan, unless it’s Pentecost Sunday or some other high day. The Bible only sanctifies Shabbat.

Slide 10 Repent

This is a ton of information and just skims the top a bit. Many of us got into this faith of keeping the commandments because we discovered just one of these items was a huge error and then we unraveled all of it. When people discover this, their faith is often shaken and they go through a period of study that can last years. I was one of those types. You have to come to a point, though, about whether you will obey and turn from this wickedness or not. As I showed earlier, classically trained ministers know what we teach and they simply do not care. They somehow conclude that it’s OK to allow idolatry and syncretism even though the bible and history say no. It’s not even close to a grey area. We are not supposed to do any of these things at all, let alone in the Name of Yahweh.

Abraham was the first Hebrew. The word Hebrew means “one from beyond” but can also mean to cross over. Abraham crossed over from idolatry to worship of Yahweh. Crossing the Red Sea and then the Jordan also symbolizes this. After the faith went forth from Zion in the first century, people are invited to become as Abraham all over the world. We are invited to cross over from idolatry to worshiping the trued God. Take the invite.

As we prepare for Yom Kippur, let’s call to mind all of our sins. Today’s message was new information to some of you but old hat to others. I have some books on order to share that will educate everyone on the details of this wickedness. But I wanted to put this out just before Yom Kippur so we can repent comprehensively. Shalom.

Can You Do this One Thing for God?

If you knew there was something you were supposed to do for God, would you do it?

Imagine being at the crucifixion. Imagine being one of the disciples and witnessing the greatest Teacher of all time, the One to restore Israel, being murdered innocently by the overwhelming Roman Empire. Imagine watching your own countrymen defy their own laws to get Him crucified. Imagine hearing the cheers and jeers while watching. How helpless would you feel?

Did you know there is an annual holiday for being helpless that is part of the prophecy for the Messiah? Did you know that we’re supposed to be keeping this holiday?

When considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, since even the fast was already over, Paul started admonishing them, saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” (Act 27:9-10)

The author of Acts, whom we believe to be Luke, referenced the change of seasons by using the Day of Atonement. The seas were changing because the planet was entering fall and that’s when seas got rough over there. Acts 27 is about Paul’s journey to Rome which occurred about 60 AD and was then recorded later. This casual reference three decades after Yeshua’s death and resurrection proves the Apostles continued to observe this day and intended for all who read Acts to be doing the same. This day starts at sunset, September 24th and ends Monday, September 25th at sunset this year. If you look outside here in the Kansas City Metro, you can see the seasons changing and the corn being harvested. Right on time.

One can fast for the faith pretty much whenever. But once a year, we are all supposed to fast. In reality, it’s deeper than that. It’s a day to humble our souls and fasting is part of that humbling. There are many ways to think about it, but it’s a day when we refuse food and water for 24 whole hours, from sunset to sunset, and effectively show how helpless we are. We need God to provide food and water for us to survive. We need Him to provide air to breathe as well. We are incapable of sustaining ourselves at all, let alone save ourselves from he wrath to come.

Many people, in fact almost all of Christianity, look at the faith of the Old Testament as a works based salvation. This day dispels that myth completely. This day shows that we literally must do nothing to be saved. Remember that helplessness I mentioned above? We are commanded to do exactly nothing so that someone else can atone for our sins. This, brothers and sisters, is from the Torah, the Old Testament, from long before Yeshua. Yeshua’s death shows us a fuller meaning of this day.

The Day of Atonement aka Yom Kippur aka the fast is also supremely impactful because everyone must do exactly the same nothing at the same time. This shows how we are all sinners and have fallen short of the glory. It’s a leveling of the playing field, showing that rich or poor, royalty or commoner, we all must fast and humble our souls or be removed from the Kingdom of God.

Everyone does the same humbling but the High Priest had work to do in temple days. The High Priest had to do extra purification work and then offer sacrifices for himself and then for the people. The book of Hebrews speaks of this in great detail and shows how Yeshua’s sacrifice fulfills Yom Kippur as well as Passover. We have a High Priest that willingly died sinless in order to mediate between us and Yahweh. Observing the fast shows our appreciation for that sacrifice.

Humbling ourselves also includes calling to mind our sins and shortcomings and repenting. The Day of Atonement was specifically to cleanse Israel of sins year by year. While Yeshua’s sacrifice accomplished this task once for all time, looking forward and looking backward, we still need to honor the day and call to mind our sins, as is evidenced by the verse on the screen. Judaism has a liturgy on Yom Kippur publicly confessing everything one can think of. Please do not wait for Yom Kippur to confess your sins. Prepare over these next few days. Reflect on your past year, or, if this is your first time, your entire life. Realize when you have wronged others and sinned against Yahweh. One sin we in the west don’t realize is idolatry, which is alive and well but masked behind a Christian veil. I will speak of this at length on Shabbat this week. Remember, the Torah tells us what sin is, so we study the Torah to live properly and understand where we have fallen short.

Yom Kippur is a day for the forgiveness of sins committed in ignorance as well. This is a remarkable blessing because as we learn the Bible, we continually learn sins we didn’t know of before. For teachers, we also sin when we teach incorrectly. Before we know things fully, we can often steer people wrong. This is very bad, but those are sins committed in ignorance.

On this note, we all must remember to be humble throughout the year and to be teachable. When Yeshua came the first time, the folks who had the hardest time accepting Him were those who thought they had their doctrine figured out completely. He told us specifically to come to the Kingdom like children, innocent and ready to learn from our Master the way a child looks to His parents. The knowledge of the fast is very powerful and impactful, please receive this information like a child. Investigate and understand that if Yeshua could die for us, then we can surely go 24 hours without food and water, abstain from all work, and get together in His Name one day a year. Remember, the disciples were told Yeshua was going to die, watched it, heard Him cry out scripture on the cross, and didn’t understand it until He was resurrected and then explained it to them. The author of Hebrews was obviously an educated Jew who had to be able to learn new information, like how Yeshua is now the High Priest sitting at the right hand of God. These examples of some of the most blessed people in history being teachable is an example for us all. Being able to accept new information is difficult, especially when one was raised to believe things a particular way. So our example from the disciples turned apostles is that we must be strong in our faith, but not so strong that the Messiah or His Father cannot show us a fuller understanding.

I will close with the question again. Can you do this one thing? Can you humble yourself for 24 hours to show your love of Yahweh and Yeshua? Can you?

Get Your Kids Out of the Government Schools!

At some point you need to realize it is more important for your daughter to not get raped by a boy pretending to be a girl in the girl’s bathroom at school than it is for her to learn how to plot an oval on graph paper. This is a podcast on why to get your kids out of the government schools.

The education tips mentioned in this podcast are available here Homeschooling Tips! – (firstcenturychristianity.net)

The Day of Trumpets

Explaining the Day of Trumpets and the return of the Messiah . A brief prophecy primer and what we can do to prepare for His return!

The Greatest Commandment

When Jesus told the scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees what the Greatest Commandment was, He was telling them a whole lot more than to just love God. Understanding His words hinge on understanding Moses and the entire Old Testament. This message explains the two greatest commandments in a way you’ve probably never heard before.

Thanks for coming to worship with us! We’re a unique bunch so you may be seeing new things. We pattern our worship off the first century church, which was a little different than you see in modern Christianity. The first difference to touch on is that we sometimes pronounce God’s Name, Yahweh, in our assembly. We also often pronounce Jesus’ Name in Hebrew as well, which is Yeshua. This is to show respect for Yahweh and Yeshua but does not preclude us from saying God and Jesus as well. The second difference I’m going to explain is the topic of this message, a prayer called the Shema. This prayer comes directly from the book of Deuteronomy. The word Shema is Hebrew for listen or hear. Oftentimes passages or books in Hebrew are called by their first word. The first words of the Shema are “Hear oh Israel…”, hence it’s called The Shema. So why would a Christian be concerned with a prayer from the Old Testament. Funny you should ask!

Slide 2 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, ” ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ This is the great and foremost commandment.” (Mat 22:36-38)

The words that are in all caps are that way because the bible I use does that when the NT quotes the OT. This is a very helpful hint to show that a whole lot of the NT is really verses from the OT. Jesus, who was Jewish, is saying a little bit more than just the words in caps comprise the greatest commandment. So let me explain.

The chapters and verses of the Bible were added over a thousand years after the close of scripture. We have always had them, so we take them for granted. When we quote something, we say “John 3:16” or “Isaiah 53”. In Jesus’ day, they had a different system for doing this. They also didn’t have Bibles everywhere like we do. Having a printed bible prior to Gutenberg’s press was out of reach for almost everyone. To learn the Bible, people went to synagogue to read the community Torah or hear it read. Starting hundreds of years before Yeshua’s earthly minister, from the return from Babylon, Jewish culture was founded each on man hearing the Torah weekly and many hearing and reading it to the point of memorizing it in synagogue school. The intent of this education was to prevent another captivity through education and a system of accountability: if everybody knows the Bible, then everybody can do the Bible and hold each other to account. They created synagogues, which are the ancestors to modern day churches, where the people would learn the scriptures by hearing them read every Shabbat and they would also send children to school there during the week. This created a culture where Jews, particularly those who were concerned with religion, would communicate to each other by citing verses almost as casually as we talk about professional football. Almost.

Without chapters and numbers, the way they cited passages was to just quote the leading verse, or part of a verse, of a passage. So when Jesus quoted these words from the Shema, He was reminding all the people present of the entire prayer. Let’s look at the verses:

Slide 3 “Hear, O Israel! YHVH is our God, YHVH is one! You shall love YVHV your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deu 6:4-9)

Yeshua, Jesus, tells us that Moses’ lead sentence here to love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength, is the greatest commandment. But then Moses goes on to tell us how we love God. To love God, we need to keep His commandments in the foreground of our lives. We must teach them to our children so they learn to love and fear God. We must talk of them at every step of our day, from when we rise up to when we lie down. While we drive in our cars (or walk on the road if you prefer). Binding them as a sign on our wrists is colorful language telling us to do the commandments. Binding them as frontals on our foreheads means to make God the first thing we think of. Decorating our doorposts and our gates with His words is a reminder when we leave and when we return. Brothers and sisters, this is a recipe for success. Loving God in this lifetime to the extent of the Shema is a gateway to the olam ha ba, the world to come.

Slide 4 One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the foremost of all?” Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘HEAR, O ISRAEL! THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE LORD; AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.’ “The second is this, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”(Mar 12:28-31)

In this instance, Yeshua tells broadens it to the two greatest commandments. You’ll notice that the second commandment is in all caps as well, which means that one is also from the Old Testament. This time from the book of Leviticus.

Slide 5 “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God. You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD. You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD. You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.” (Lev 19:9-18)

This puts some meat on the bone for how to love our neighbor, which is a question that comes up pretty often. If you’re not aware that Jesus is saying more than just “love your neighbor” through the method that they referenced scriptures back then, then it’s kind of up for interpretation. But now that we do know this is not a new commandment and loving your neighbor is defined, we can explore that.

The first part is to leave food in your field or vineyard for the needy at harvest time. This would allow for people to go out and enjoy the harvest that God provided with dignity. A field that wasn’t completely harvested would be the sign of a faithful farm owner who loved his neighbors. The harvest belongs to God, after all.

No stealing, no dealing falsely, and no lying to each other is another way to love our neighbors. This one doesn’t really need a lot of explanation. This develops and honest and open society which is a community of love.

No swearing falsely by the Name of God. Very important. This is why our nation swears politicians in with their hands on the Bible and why we get give sworn testimony in trials. It’s incredibly important when we invoke the Name of God to be as honest and forthright as possible because He knows the whole truth! Having this level of common respect among people is another way we love each other as ourselves because it creates a society of integrity.

The wages of a hired man not remaining overnight is expanded in other verses to mean a man who needed the money to feed his family and such. One who has the means to hire others needs to be cognizant of what it is like to need money and make sure he loves his neighbor, particularly one willing to work for his wages. Oscar de la hoya kept a food stamp in his wallet.

Treating people with disabilities properly is also key to loving our neighbors. Creating a society where people who need help getting around can have it readily shows a society that loves its neighbors. It means that people who are able stopped and realized others who are not need to be able to get around. The Tunnel to Towers Foundation building houses for wounded vets is a great example of this.

Impartially making judgments without respect to wealth or need is also crucial for a society. Each person needs to be judged the same, and the guilty should have the same penalties without respect to means. This commandment is why we have the lady with the blindfold holding the scales of justice. Loving our neighbor means to have fair and impartial rules governing society that are implemented equally.

We are not to slander one another. It goes without saying that this is the opposite of loving our neighbor.

We are not to take vengeance, hate our countrymen, or bear grudges in order to love our neighbor. Seems like such a novel idea, but wouldn’t society be a much better place if we did live like this?

Slide 6 “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (Joh 5:46-47)

Now you can see how rich these sentences really were. Yeshua was building on a system that was already in place, having been given by Yahweh 1500 years prior through Moses. He did not come to make something entirely new, but to clarify and expand on what they already had. In order for us to understand Jesus, we need to study Moses and all the Old Testament, understanding that we are blessed to join into the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Yeshua. And when we study the faith from Genesis to Revelation, the words of the Messiah and the Apostles take one much more meaning. Shalom.