Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Don't keep pagan SUNday!

"On the venerable day of the Sun [SUNday] let the Magistrates and the people residing in the cities rest, and let all workshops be closed."
Edict of Constantine A.D. 321



I have yet to be shown any historical record of such a command regarding Saturn day (Saturday). It's evident to honest observers that those who foolishly continue to follow Constantine (not Christ) and keep pagan SUNday, also swallow hook, line and sinker pagan Easter and Christmas and other unclean doctrines of idolatrous men like the spiritual drunks and whores they are, inviting disaster upon our nations.

A Nation of Drunks and Whores

The Plain Truth About Easter

Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?

Remember the Sabbath


http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Jews helped win WWII

One who chooses to remain anonymous writes:


Re: Jews responsible for mass murder of Christians?

I don't know about Lipstadt, but Christianity is responsible for rivers of Jewish blood through the centuries.

In regard to WWII, where you say "It was Christians who fought and won WWII," I tell you, overall, some 300,000 Jewish soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines died serving in the armies of the UN in World War II; and nearly 1,500,000 Jewish servicemen served in the armies of the United Nations. Large numbers of Jewish scientists played a decisive role in developing the atom bomb, thus saving millions of American and allied lives from dying in an invasion of Japan with the dropping of the bomb on Hiroshima. There were hundreds of Jewish generals and admirals in the various militarys (excerpts from How many Jewish-American soldiers were killed or wounded in action in World War 2?)


I agree Roman Catholicism is responsible for murdering Jews throughout history, as well as persecuting and murdering Sabbath-keeping Christians who reject Rome for Jerusalem, and continue their insatiable appetite for blood with current collaboration with Jews and Israelis over Jerusalem's future.

I also agree that Jews fought and/or contributed to the defeat of the Nazis, but was making a point by generally speaking when I said Christians fought and won WWII, since Deborah Lipstadt and too many other Jews make generalizations against Christians (and I didn't even mention the documented facts of Jews in Hitler's army) - sort of "answering a fool according to his folly" and putting things in perspective.

I note you didn't acknowledge or deny Jews (again, generally speaking) have been guilty of rivers of professing Christian blood throughout history with their godless isms, their perverted messianic drives and purges that have polluted the world and cursed mankind.

I hope and pray Joseph and Judah both repent of our personal and national sins and prepare to meet our God.


http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Opposition to papal visit to Israel grows

The upcoming visit of the Pope to Israel this May, has some people worried. Are there designs to relinquish Jewish sovereignty in Israel's capital, Jerusalem, by the Church? Dr. Daisy Stern of Israel Truth Times has done extensive research and is working with the Sanhedrin to expose what she says is an attempt, with various Israeli leaders' cooperation, to hand over parts of Jerusalem to the Vatican.

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/820

It will only be available for download for a week, so if you want to keep this audio interview, make sure to DOWNLOAD it ( arrow facing down on the little buttons).

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The Vatican plot against Jerusalem exposed!
Jerusalem Under Siege!
The Secret Nazis Covet the Temple Mount

Red Envelopes













I only found out about this today, so this is my show of support for such a noble project and pray it affect the hearts and minds of Americans and others worldwide who will become aware of these prayerful life-saving efforts that God will surely bless since, as the Talmud states: "Whoever saves a single life, saves a whole world."


http://redenvelopeproject.org/


Here are a few pro-life articles I've written, pleading on behalf of the preborn:


Abortion: Blood of Innocents (Jeremiah 7:31)
The cult of Choice is the worst symptom evident in society of the Hellenist disease. It sacrifices children upon the hedonistic altars of convenience and irresponsibility in an immoral and idolatrous way. It disguises itself as progressive and enlightened, but it is actually a dark throwback to the pagan rituals performed in the Valley of Hinnom: the holocaust of children that the prophet Jeremiah condemned (Jeremiah 7:31).


Hitler Will Judge Us!
It used to be a country’s worst enemies who ripped up their pregnant women—now we’ve turned on ourselves. Don't abort our future: Think twice, choose life, let love grow.



www.davidbenariel.org

Monday, March 30, 2009

Christians who refuse to follow Christ's command to obey the Pharisees

Further excerpts from a forum that amount to vain opposition from professing Christians (who should know better) to the God-given authority of the Jews, specifically the Pharisees (today's Rabbinic Judaism), to proclaim the proper holy days/dates from Moses' Seat. What follows are comments and my responses:

Christ kept the Passover as the Sadducees - as the fourteenth was coming in - not as the Pharisees - as the Passover was going out.

So you believe Yeshua was a hypocrite? He recognized the God-given authority of the Pharisees and said to DO what they said. Furthermore, is the Son greater than the Father? The Father had Yeshua die at the exact same time as the majority of Jews, correctly following the Pharisees, had their lambs slain.

The Passover Memorial

Christ addresses the Pharisees because they controlled the Temple during His time but it could have just as easily been the Sadducee.

Not so, because the Sadducees did work in the Temple but the Pharisees rightly saw to it that they went by what the Pharisees said to DO, just like Yeshua commanded His followers to DO.

Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!
God's empowered the - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.

Here's the problem with all of this. Indeed the Father gave the Jews this very auspicious honour but like so many other things they failed to keep it. How many different ways do the Jews use to calculate the Passover?

The problem is folks refuse to submit that Yeshua acknowledged the PHARISEES alone, today's rabbinic Judaism, have this God-given authority. They have not failed to preserve God's Word, His sacred calendar and God has not reneged on His gifts and calling for Judah.

The Oracles of God

Remember though, God originally told the Levitical Priests to determine the New Moons - a priesthood that no longer exists!. God said He had caused His Sabbaths and His Holy Days to be forgotten in Zion. (Lam. 2:6)

That's what MOSES' SEAT is all about - only those in Moses' Seat have God-given authority to proclaim and determine these matters. Yeshua clearly said the PHARISEES - not any of the other competing groups - have this God-given authority. Rabbinic Judaism still exists and Judah will continue to hold the scepter - whether Gentiles or Gentilized Israelites like it or not - until Shiloh, the King of the Jews, returns and reigns from Jerusalem.

The Pharisees

Those who rightly divide the Word of truth no that God's holy days have never been forgotten, and that Lamentations was referring to Jerusalem as a festive site sitting barren and desolate without their observance. It's absolutely ludicrous and unscriptural to think the Jews who Yeshua said sit in Moses' Seat and Paul acknowledged the oracles of God have been committed to, have "forgotten" them! If that were true, Yeshua and Paul were liars and sinners not properly keeping the right days or dates, and the Jews who met for Shavuot and received the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem (not Rome) didn't have a clue, but thankfully they did and the Jews continue to preserve this knowledge despite their imperfections, just as God has decreed.

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Obey Christ and the Pharisees!

Jews hold scepter until Shiloh comes

http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Vatican-Israeli collaboration

Warning Issued Not to Sign With Vatican
by Hillel Fendel

Pope Benedictus XVI is scheduled to arrive in Israel six weeks from now, and concern is growing over possibly irreversible Israeli concessions to the Church.

For more than ten years, Israel and the Vatican have been negotiating a diplomatic agreement regarding their tax dispute over Catholic Church properties in Israel, as well as other issues over which they disagree. Though public details are sparse to nil, Foreign Ministry officials say major progress has been made – leading many to fear that the Church will be granted a political and religious foothold in the Holy Land.

Though Church officials hope the agreement will be completed before the Pope’s arrival in May, this is not certain. The Foreign Ministry’s Bahij Mansour, who heads its religious affairs section, said two weeks ago, "We are 85-90% there.”

Mansour also said that most issues still in dispute would be resolved in a meeting in April. Different reports say the meeting will take place either April 7 or April 23 - before and after Passover, respectively - and is to involve relatively high-level officials from both the Vatican and Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

The Sanhedrin, a body of 71 rabbis that is attempting to renew the ancient tradition of Judaism’s most authoritative court, has written a public letter to Israel’s leading officials, warning that any agreement regarding the transfer of national, historic, and/or religious Jewish assets to the Catholic Church will be null and void and will not be recognized by Jewish authorities. ...more

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The Vatican plot against Jerusalem exposed!
Jerusalem Under Siege!
The Secret Nazis Covet the Temple Mount

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?

Which Day is the Christian Sabbath?

Here is an absolutely VITAL subject that is far more important than most people even begin to realize! It has everything to do with whether or not you really “know” the true God—the Creator. In fact, it directly affects your inheriting everlasting life in His soon-coming Kingdom.
Read this Booklet Online
Download this Booklet Now

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Prayer and Fasting

Scripture tells us what our Savior did to acquire spiritual strength, in connection with the devil's attack on Him: "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted [or tried] by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry" (Matthew 4:1-2). Notice--He fasted! Read more

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Vatican tightens screws on Jerusalem

The Vatican's Plot Against Jerusalem
by Daisy J. Stern, MD

In this paper I describe the history of the secret agreements between Israel and the Vatican, how the Vatican manipulated and deceived the Jews into entering into these negotiations, how it interfered with the political process in Israel in order to gain sovereignty over Land in Israel it considers belongs to the Church; how these secret deals went on behind the back of the Jewish People and are about to be finalized before the visit of Benedict XVI to Israel; the consequences of finalizing the agreement - internationalization of Jerusalem, abandonment of Jewish sovereignty over its Divine inheritance to the Catholic Church, and permanent establishment of the Holy German Empire with the pope at its helm in Jerusalem; as well as the consequences of refusing to sign the final papers - worldwide, raging anti-Semitism, and loss of diplomatic relations with the Vatican...

Since the time of the Crusades, the Vatican had entrusted the CUSTODY of the HOLY LAND to the Franciscan Order in Jerusalem. Their function, essentially, consisted of helping the local Catholic population, as well as of watching over the properties the Church considered hers.

Now of course, let us not forget HOW those properties came about to belong to the Church in the first place: after the SACKING OF JERUSALEM BY ROME, which happened by PURE FORCE , BRUTALITY, AND UNSPEAKABLE HORRORS inflicted on the JEWISH POPULATION OF ISRAEL, the likes of which history has scant comparison for, AND AFTER ROBBING THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF ALL ITS POSSESSIONS, - the depiction of which is found to this day on the ARCH OF TITUS IN ROME, - and following the subsequent desolation of Judea, Samaria and all of the Land of Israel, various rulers assumed ownership of the Land, and felt free to trade in it as though it belonged to them, which of course it did not. STOLEN PROPERTY CANNOT BE TRADED AT WILL. TITLE TO STOLEN PROPERTY SOLD BY A THIEF IS INVALID AND ILLEGAL NO MATTER HOW YOU LOOK AT IT. For example, take Madoff’s investors: even though they unwittingly, innocently and unknowingly came to possess stolen goods, they nevertheless have to return the loot. So much cannot be stated of the Catholic Church, which knew perfectly well that the goods and real estate in Jerusalem , Judea, the Galilee, etc, were STOLEN PROPERTY, yet still claimed, and claims, ownership for it all even after 2000 years . ESAV [Esau] WILL NOT WILLINGLY RETURN THE BLESSING OF ERETZ YISRAEL [Land of Israel] TO JACOB. REMEMBER, ROME IS ESAV - and I would venture to add, ROME HAS PROVEN BY ITS BEHAVIOR THAT IT IS AMALEK AS WELL.

In addition, let us not forget the brutality and massacres inflicted by the Crusaders on the local Jewish population... more

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Worldwide Church Of God All Over Again?

Worldwide Church Of God All Over Again?
Let’s see to it that Philadelphia Church of God (Judah) doesn’t go the way of the Worldwide Church of God (Israel). These biblical principles still apply: don’t put undue trust in men; work out your own salvation, it’s not a group affair; beware the scholarly approach that demands you rely on men - not God’s Spirit or personal Bible study.


The above was written years ago and since then, sadly, the PCG has also proven it has failed to learn from Israel (WCG) and will go into captivity, punished for its sins.

Jews hold scepter until Shiloh comes

Re: Obey Christ and the Pharisees!


With regards to the 'authority of the Pharisees,' I have yet to be presented with any scripture which suggests in the least that their authority extended beyond that particular time period when Christ spoke in this regard


I've properly presented plenty of Scriptures that don't only "suggest" but prove the God-given authority of the Pharisees is established until Shiloh comes - the return of the King of the Jews - who will reign from Jerusalem.

Jesus declared that "the scribes and the PHARISEES sit in Moses' seat" of AUTHORITY (Matt. 23:2). God has ordained that the Jews preserve His Word on the Law, Prophets and Writings - despite themselves (Rom. 3:2-3).

Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.

And I've always stressed they have that God-given authority over us at least in regard to proclaiming and determining the proper holy dates/days.

And note well this important fact: Paul wrote that God has given it to the Jews to preserve "the oracles of God" (God's Word, sacred calendar, holy days) even after Jesus had given authority to His disciples. He didn't say, "Now God's Church has seized control of everything." That's a Catholic doctrine of demons; part of its accursed replacement theology and attempt to change the times and the seasons. Furthermore, Yeshua commanded His disciples/apostles to teach others what He had commanded them and that includes the recognition of the God-given authority of the Pharisees.

Romans 3
1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.

Genesis 49
10 The scepter shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh comes

This clearly proves to those not wearing traditional blinders that the JEWS are responsible for these matters, and Yeshua and Paul clarified which Jews by acknowledging the God-given authority of the Pharisees. Two witnesses against those who would shamefully teach otherwise.

God is true and those who oppose His Word and Will are liars, because God will not renege on giving Judah this special calling and precious gift that some covet and others seek to steal (Gen. 49:10, Rom. 11:29).

Romans 11
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

God has clearly stated He has empowered the Jews, specifically the Pharisees, to preserve His oracles and proclaim and determine His holy dates/days until Shiloh comes, until the return of the King of the JEWS. How plain and simple and consistent for those with eyes to see.

The Oracles of God

The Pharisees

Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Jews, White Israelites and Africa

Re: Revolution in South Africa?


Originally Posted by Denny
I think it's odd that the same sort of people who feel Jews have an ancestral claim for dominion over the lands of Israel because they lived there 2000 years ago


It's strange that apparently you still just don't get it that it's not only because Jews lived in Israel for thousands of years, but because our Great Creator God decreed it the Promised Land of ISRAEL - not Ishmael or "Palestine. " The Jews have every political, historical and biblical right to the Jewish homeland of Israel regardless if some folks fail to recognize it.

don't feel that the same right belongs to the black people of Africa, where whites came in and took over just during the last few centuries.


"Took over"? What prejudicial language. Some of the places White Israelites inherited were uninhabited. Regardless, you blather as if the "black people of Africa" were one united people rather than, as history proves, a bunch of disjointed, warring tribes at each others' throats much like the Beringian immigrants ("Indians) in America. Shaka Zulu ring a bell? But typical racist liberals usually don't care if one black tribe conquers or slaughters another black tribe, because they're all black, but become "concerned" when superior White Israelite tribes comes and claims their God-given land, prophesied for the tribes of Israel.Manifest Destiny wasn't limited to these "Lands of the Covenant" (the USA in Hebrew - Artzot habrit), the inheritance of Manasseh the son of Joseph, but included all those God-given areas of God's good Earth preserved for His People British-Israel.

Reflections on Washita Battlefield National Historic Site

Israel in the Isles

South Africa under Black Misrule to Revise History
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http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Monday, March 23, 2009

Gerald Flurry and Nebuchadnezzar

A multimillion-dollar house for God in Edmond?


Re: Gerald Flurry's Royal Vision March – April 2009

What a crying shame that Gerald Flurry digs himself in deeper, condemning himself before both God and man, taking some biblical truths and polluting and adulterating them with his idolatrous ideas! The House of God is to be built in JERUSALEM - not Edmond, Oklahama! Gerald Flurry pontificates:


...we are building another house for God. Today it will be the ultimate message to the Laodiceans and this world. The Head of this Church, the one who gave the key of David vision, is going to have a house and live on this campus in spirit!
THAT HOUSE WILL ILLUSTRATE THAT GOD IS ALIVE ON THIS CAMPUS AND IN GOD’S VERY ELECT. That house will be the greatest sign of hope on Earth! That hope is embodied in the key of David vision, which will be the dominant vision emanating from that auditorium.

How can an exorbitantly expensive music hall in Edmond, Oklahoma - on the campus of a cult that gives a bad name to what's left of their religion that's biblical - even remotely be considered "the greatest sign of hope on Earth"? How bizarre! I'm all for the Third Temple that will soon be built where it belongs - in JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - and yet I wouldn't have the chutzpah to declare it's the greatest sign of hope on Earth!


And for Gerald Flurry to blather his diamond in the dust (since the United States will soon suffer national destruction, defeat and deportation) will illustrate God is alive on their campus and in their cult is blasphemous! It paints a very ugly picture of how Satan is twisting Gerald Flurry around his little finger, sifting him like wheat, mocking spiritual and prophetic principles that will be fulfilled in God's good time. Those who aren't brainwashed by Gerald Flurry and his sycophant ministers know Jesus Christ said, "you shall know them by their fruits" - the spiritual fruits of the Holy Spirit - especially divine love for one another, not by their physical backyard projects!

As I've written in Flurry's focus on Edmond over Jerusalem -


You don't need any "special revelation" to read and believe the Bible that clearly shows God's House on Earth has always been in Jerusalem - not elsewhere like Mormons and others mislead.

Gerald Flurry foolishly attempts to spiritualize everything away when it comes to the holy temple of God that will be built in Jerusalem. The least he could do is encourage the Jews to fulfill their responsibility to build God's House - the Embassy of the Eternal - in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount and stop equating Edmond with Jerusalem!


Where's the Temple On the Temple Mount?

Third Temple Coming Soon to Jerusalem!

The Temple of God in Holy Jerusalem


As for the Stone of Scone, the Stone of Destiny, and the possibility of King David's descendants, British Royal Family members, accompanying God's Church members accounted worthy to escape to wherever God has predetermined to protect us, Beyond Babylon has said that for years! See "God Save the Sons of Princess Diana!" It's been said Gerald Flurry plagiarized much of Malachi's Message, and now he appears to be stealing sections from Beyond Babylon and claiming it as his revelation!


It's great that the Philadelphia Church of God is at least participating in archaeological digs in Jerusalem, as I've encouraged them (and the other Church of God groups) to get involved in Israel, as documented in The Great Mideast Commission: Reaching the Cities of Judah and Stephen Flurry's response to Judean Voice ad - but that should knock in the head any of his foolish notions about Edmond being some new Jerusalem! What does he want to do? Build his "house of God" and proclaim himself "God" in it? He already claims to be "that Prophet" that those not under his evil influence know refers to Jesus Christ. He already refers to himself as their "king." These are his own self-incriminating words:


As I point out in Who Is “That Prophet”?, Micah 2:13 refers to the office Christ has given me as that of “their king.”
May God wake up Gerald Flurry from his drunk, deliver him from his delusions, and save the PCG (Philadelphia Church of God) from further heresies! God let proud Nebuchadnezzar go off the deep end for quite awhile too to humble him and then brought him around.


All this could have been avoided if Gerald Flurry had humbled himself when first presented with Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall. Instead he ran out of steam with Malachi's Message, tried to rally folks with what had already been done - getting Mystery of the Ages out - then Stephen Flurry's book Raising the Ruins ( a repeat of Malachi's Message in greater detail, but same old, same old) and now his grandiose music hall that will leave them singing the blues!


The Work of God Must Go Forward!

Blow the Trumpet website

From Blow the Trumpet website:

Who We Are

Beloved, now we are the sons of God,
and it does not yet appear what we shall be:
but we know that, when He shall appear,
we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3:2

P erhaps the best way to introduce ourselves is to explain who (and what) we are not. Blow the Trumpet is not a church. It does not have congregations or members per se. However, our work is very real and those who contribute to it are deeply committed to its mission and goals. This highly dedicated community of believers traces its roots to the church founded by Jesus Christ on the day of Pentecost 31 A.D. That church has endured for nearly two thousand years, just as Jesus said it would (Mt.16:18).

In recent history, Blow the Trumpet and its supporters trace their roots to the work Jesus Christ raised up through Herbert W. Armstrong. During the first half of the twentieth century, Mr. Armstrong began to preach a powerful Gospel message on radio. That message warned its audience that this world was in grave danger and that unless it repented it would find itself on the wrong end of God’s judgment. He would later produce The World Tomorrow television program, which grew to become the most watched religious broadcast in America.

In the middle of the twentieth century, Mr. Armstrong founded Ambassador College, a liberal arts institution with campuses in the United States and England. However, his work was not limited to media broadcasting and higher education. Mr. Armstrong was also a prolific author. He wrote numerous books and virtually scores of booklets. Furthermore, he was the architect and publisher of The Plain Truth, a magazine with international scope and a circulation of more than eight million readers. Through all of this, Mr. Armstrong continued to proclaim a stern warning to both the world and the church. His message was clear and direct: obey and live or rebel and perish. He saw God as a Magnificent Merciful Being with a marvelous plan that would culminate with His physical family becoming literal sons and daughters in an eternal Kingdom (1Jn.3:2). However, he also saw God as just, and that defiance to Him or His law was a mockery that would result in severe consequences (Gal.6:7).

Mr. Armstrong traveled the world as what he characterized an "ambassador without portfolio,” taking a unique message to kings, prime ministers, and numerous world leaders. As he proclaimed the Gospel, Mr. Armstrong continually admonished people to read the Bible and to “prove all things" (1Thes.5:21). He taught that while salvation is a gift from God (Eph.2:8), obedience is an essential part of the Christian walk (Rom.2:13). He also taught that the Ten Commandments represent the way of love toward God and neighbor, and that there are two paths in life – God’s way of “give” and man’s way of “get.”

After Mr. Armstrong's death in 1986, his successors repudiated everything he had taught, and began teaching doctrines that were never embraced by the Church Jesus founded. The apostle Paul warned that at the end of the age there would come “a falling away” (2Thes.2:3). We at Blow the Trumpet believe Mr. Armstrong's successors have fulfilled that prophecy.

Since the passing of Mr. Armstrong and the subsequent introduction of false teachings within the church, God's people have been scattered just as the prophets foretold (Ezk.34;Jer.23). As a result, numerous fellowships (splinter groups) have emerged. For the most part, these groups share a common core theology, but vary greatly in their approach to the work of proclaiming the Gospel as a witness. Some believe this aspect of the work is finished. Others who believe it must be carried on proclaim a softer message fearing public reaction to an Ezekiel warning. As a result, the work of God seems to be plodding along, as opposed to advancing forcefully. For this reason, members of numerous Church of God fellowships have come together to lift up their voice and cry aloud. Blow the Trumpet is such a voice.

Blow the Trumpet was founded in the early summer of 2004 by Dennis Fischer and Randy Vild. It is also supported by a team of men and women who see themselves as literal ambassadors of God’s Kingdom. Our unqualified loyalty is to that Kingdom and its King. We represent its laws and its ways. Furthermore, we see this world as totally hostile to everything our Kingdom represents. For this reason we are taking a powerful message to the leaders of this land as well as to the leaders of God’s church. Our commitment to this cause is steadfast and resolute. We will not waiver in this mission nor ever apologize for it. Throughout the scriptures, God has promised that a real warning will be proclaimed as a witness and then the end shall come (Mt.24:14). This is such a warning.

Home

Saturday, March 21, 2009

National Captivity Coming

Shape up or get shipped out!


God gives us what we want, but we usually don’t take Him seriously, UNTIL it’s too late! When the heat’s on and we feel the pressure, but still maintain our “innocence” and wonder what’s going on, God calls our bluff and lays it on the line: “Just as you have forsaken Me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve aliens in a land that is not yours” (Jer. 5:19).

If British-Israel’s so captivated with TINSEL TRADITIONS, God lets their lies blind them: “But My people would not heed My voice, and Israel would have [nothing to do with Me]. So I gave them over to their own stubborn heart, to walk in their own counsels”—to follow their own advice and get a taste of their own medicine (Psalm 81:11-12).

Are we any different? Haven’t we also insisted on doing our own thing? Don’t we take pride in the “I did it my way” approach? “Just as they have chosen their own way, and their soul delights in their abominations, so will I choose their delusions, and bring their fears on them because when I called, no one answered, when I spoke they did not hear but they did evil before My eyes, and chose that in which I do not delight” (Isa. 66:3-4).

We’re going to be left alone! Just like we thought we wanted! But we’re going to find out how scary isolation can be!

Questionable Standards

Who isn’t an “a la carte” Christian or Jew? What church or synagogue wants God to order that they can only pick and choose from a “kosher menu?” What Christian today feels any shame for celebrating Christmas (shades of Saturnalia), or expresses heartfelt remorse over observing an Easter-sunrise service? (Ezek. 8:16). Who says we can now eat pork? Peter’s vision of the “unclean animals” was about GENTILES whom God had cleansed. Read his interpretation of it—after all, it was given to him to understand (Acts 10:28).

God’s people must accept GOD’S STANDARDS of good and evil, right and wrong, clean and unclean—but we’ve thrown everything in together and can’t seem to get things sorted out, having taken a liberty with God’s word and law that He hasn’t given us.

“Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall [the slain] at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down, says the LORD” (Jer. 6:15).

God’s going to put us back in our place! We’re acting presumptuous when we follow man-made rules and regulations. We’re to follow GOD—if we want to live!

Abominable Christians

Professing Christianity—steeped in unscriptural ways—enjoys participating in every pagan abomination. They certainly don’t feel any guilt or see anything wrong with it—because they’re reprobate and blind! They don’t even realize their gall before God, who says He can’t stomach their ways! “So then, because you are lukewarm [useless], and neither cold nor hot [serve no definite purpose, as far as God’s concerned], I WILL VOMIT YOU OUT OF MY MOUTH” (Rev. 3:16).

God says He’s sick of our religious sins! He’s disgusted that those who should know better, who say that they’re in shape, are spiritually soft and flabby. They’re going to get a workout real soon to show them their pitiful condition: shape-up, or get shipped out—with all the other prisoners of war!

But no matter how hard some try to whitewash their ways, or camouflage their pagan practices with Christian-labels, they’re not fooling anybody but themselves: “For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before Me, says the Lord GOD. How can you say I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals?” (Jer. 2:22-23).

Jesus ISN’T Lord!

But we’ve followed false Christs! That’s why Jesus asked: “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46). Whether we realize it or not, too many have given their hearts to “another Jesus,” received “another spirit” and believed “another gospel” (2 Cor. 11:4).

How can professing Christians claim they’re following Jesus when He kept the seventh day Sabbath and they’re chasing after SUNday? Keep pagan holidays, when Jesus only celebrated God’s holy days? Believe you go to Heaven or Hell, when Christ taught the New Jerusalem will be established on Earth and the wicked will be destroyed? (Rev. 21:2,8). Eat pork and shrimp and lobster, when Christ would throw up at the thought? Weren’t we warned about those who would pull a fast one about the times and laws (Dan. 7:25)?

The Babylonian Whore

We can’t get away with the excuse that “everybody’s doing it.” We’re to get as far away as we can from those traditions that have led us astray. God says to run for your life (Jer. 51:9)! But some are still falling for Rome’s father figure!

The CATHOLIC WHORES have sold-out and bought the Babylonian lies—as promoted by that pimp, Simon Magus (Acts 8:9). Not to be outdone, the PROTESTANT PROSTITUTES strut their stuff, sacrificing purity for paganism, violating God’s laws for their lewd ways. Most Protestants know who the Babylonian whore of Revelation 17:5 is and loudly say so. What they don’t realize is that they’re condemning themselves also, because “LIKE MOTHER, LIKE DAUGHTER!” (Ezek. 16:44).

God’s not tricked by traditions, and isn’t sold on religious ideas! Jesus’ true followers aren’t defiled with deceit (Rev. 14:4-5). They’ve learned to be honest.

God doesn’t prostitute the truth to make it more palatable (Deut. 23:17-18). He’s not so “easy.” But traditional Christianity, like an adulterous woman, “…eats and wipes her mouth, and says, ‘I have done no wickedness’” (Prov. 30:20).

TOO MANY CHRISTIANS ARE IN DENIAL! They sit down at Baal’s corner bar and grill and make a pig of themselves—eating unclean things! (Acts 15:29). But God’s not a slob! He doesn’t lower His standards or forget His values (Rev. 3:20). Think about it: Would Christ feel comfortable at your dinner table or worship services?

Jesus’ virgins resist peer pressure. They don’t give in for a SUNday dinner. But “Christianity” has cheapened itself! When God got wind of their ways, He blasted their rank religion and rejected it (Isa. 65:5). Their holier-than-thou attitude STINKS!

It gets God burning mad, and irritates Him to no end, that ministers keep screwing their members and twisting the truth! Shamefully, people prefer PERVERTED PREACHERS! Consenting Christians love their lies! They delight in deception! But God condemns their SPIRITUAL PREFERENCE as inexcusable!

Jesus even exposed certain cities of His day as worse than Sodom and Gomorrah, and indicated that they would’ve repented given half a chance. He did state that their “day in court” would be better than those who had seen the Light and yet chose to remain in their traditional darkness (Matt. 11:20-24). Christ didn’t sanction their choice— He denounced their “alternative lifestyle.”

Idolatry and Immorality

God condemns our countries for IDOLATRY—not just for immorality! We’ve got to come to see, know and realize that God doesn’t go for us following traditions all starry-eyed. We’re supposed to be in love with God’s way and follow His commandments! We’ve got to get our priorities straight and stop putting our ways before God’s ways (Isa. 55:7-9, Ezek. 20:18-21).

If we stubbornly insist on observing pagan holidays, we’re nothing more than idol-worshippers! When we rebelliously reject God’s holy days, we’re worse than witches: “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry” (1 Sam. 15:23).

Since we’ve rejected God’s word, He’s rejected us! Europe’s about to forcibly remove us from office! We’ve jeopardized our position as leader of the free world, and are already staggering, having lost our biblical balance—it’s only a matter of time before we fall!

It’s strange—but true! It’s actually the religious, the Christians and Jews, who are immoral! Because we’ve polluted our land with pluralism, flirted with foreigners and whored around with pagans, God’s going to let them have their way with us.

We’re going to be RAPED AND BEATEN! Our enemies are going to strip us bare and show us no mercy! They’re going to treat us like white trash! We haven’t kept ourselves for God, so we’ll be given to others. We’re going to be sent away (as slaves) in SHAME AND CONFUSION!

And, believe it or not, it’s our “trusted allies,” our “faithful friends,” who are going to commit this date rape! It’s our INTERNATIONAL LOVERS who’ll betray us (Ezek. 23).

(Excerpt from Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall
)

Death to America?

Death to the American, British & Jewish peoples?

Will God Curse Our Countries for Christmas?

A Nation of Drunks and Whores

Europe Nukes US! (David Ben-Ariel YouTube video)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Gerald Flurry

Gerald Flurry, pastor general of the PCG, is guilty of what he charges others. The disgruntled leader of the Edmond, Oklahoma-based Philadelphia Church of God has launched an outrageous attack against me due to his indignation over FOX 25's Primetime News at Nine special report on the PCG that aired two nights in a row. Flurry's fury was poured out in a full-page ad in The Oklahoman today.

Fox 25 Special Report on Philadelphia Church of God

Gerald Flurry has every right to offer his review of the special report on the PCG (and some of his ire is merited), but one wonders why he refused to be interviewed and set the record straight then, and even tape it himself to avoid being taken out of context?

Gerald Flurry hypocritically rants and raves against yellow journalism, scandalous unsubstantiated allegations, "telling part of the truth can make the truth out to be a lie," and then turns right around and engages in all those "dangerously demented tactics" against the Branch Davidians and against David Ben-Ariel - little ol' me!

Gerald Flurry (and son Stephen Flurry) feigns surprise that I knew about the special report allegedly before they did, but he fails to make honest mention that I sent out that information to both the PCG and many other of the Church of God branches, as many can testify. Considering how his former right-hand man and terrible sycophant (who was a cruel counsellor to many of the battered brethren), Dennis Leap, apparently withheld information from him about my book, Beyond Babylon, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't know what was going on. I tried.

Gerald Flurry should be ashamed that he would abuse me as his straw man against reporter Nick Winkler and Fox 25, especially when I made it very clear to Mr. Winkler that I did not want to be part of any hit piece after I reviewed some questions he graciously sent me, as these emails prove:

David wrote:
I'm curious if those questions are for everybody you'll talk to or do you plan to talk to present members of the PCG too for balance or not or what? Is it a hit piece or an honest and unbiased report?

Original Message
From: Nick Winkler
Sent: Oct 14, 2008 8:25 PM
To: David
Subject: Re: (no subject)

No. I plan on contacting Flurry and members who live nearby.
I understand they may even be having an open house for the public.
Those questions will be asked of Flurry as well.
Feel free to disagree with the nature of any of the questions.
Correct anything you think is not being asked fairly.
Some of the questions are derived from law enforcement who have
investigated the church in the past.
Feel free to ask me whatever you'd like..or to add to the questions I sent.

Nick

From: "David"
To: "Nick Winkler"
Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 8:28 PM
Subject: Constructive criticism
I'm pleasantly surprised by your refreshing reply, Nick. Thank you. The questions simply seemed biased and hateful IF those are the only questions that bitter former members would revel in but someone like me wouldn't want to be party to since we have constructive criticism (even TOUGH LOVE) of the PCG and still maintain the same basic beliefs as they do: Sabbath, holy days, dietary laws, no pagan holidays or traditional heaven and hell BS from Rome.

You might have noted in several articles I took Mr. Flurry to task, saying IF he truly believes we're in the last of the last days, why is he spending a fortune in Edmond (on jewels, buildings, etc.) instead of getting the Word out and becoming a household name? It is inconsistent and a squandering of time and money.

If Mr. Flurry or current Church members speak with you, I'll be surprised, since Mr. Armstrong told us all years ago how he ONCE permitted himself to be interviewed and after they "edited" it and went with it he felt totally betrayed and misrepresented. A great and deserving mistrust exists among the brethren due to such negative experiences. I'm willing to be interviewed, because what have I got to lose? :-)

Cheers,
David

Gerald Flurry, and son Stephen Flurry, wrote in his full page ad:

"Our Church briefly communicated with David Ben-Ariel in the early 1990s.
But we quickly cut off all contact after learning about his bizarre and even radical views." And then he goes on to mention: "Ben-Ariel -- whose name used to be Hoover -- was detained by Israeli police and interrogated for six hours for allegedly plotting to blow up the Al-Aqsa mosque" and was later deported. Flurry failed to report that the Israeli authorities acknowledged to The Jerusalem Post that they "lacked sufficient evidence" to convict me - because there was no plot except the one they conspired against me, due to an article published in The Traveller magazine in Jerusalem, as revealed within: Exposing the German-Vatican Plot to Occupy Jerusalem and Still at Large!

Gerald Flurry and son failed to mention I was an official member of the Philadelphia Church of God in the early 1990s, and that I was put out of the PCG for daring to write a book, Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall, without being an ordained minister. Dennis Leap was infuriated when I told him that by his insistence that I must be a minister to write such a book, he was still looking to "men of stature" (which Flurry's book, Malachi's Message, condemns) and that he was unbiblical and playing politics by his dictates that I must "forget about Beyond Babylon" and act "like a regular lay member." I was disfellowshipped and later "marked" after exposing all this in various *articles (which is what reporter Nick Day found on the Internet and is why he contacted me).

Wayne Turgeon [Gerald Flurry's son-in-law] handed Flurry a print out of Beyond Babylon years ago and he returned it to him saying, "He's always sending us stuff." Mr. Flurry even responded to me several times on various issues including his confusion of Mount Carmel with Mount Hermon which I brought to his attention (having been blessed to live next to both of them), and my disagreement with him when he said the pope was the only religious leader to sit on a throne and I mentioned the Queen of England is also head of the Anglican Church (although agreeing with the point he was making against the Roman Catholic Cult)... Later I sent an autographed copy of a self-published BB (Beyond Babylon) [before Publish America published it] to Flurry's home for him and his wife who said to me (during the Feast of Tabernacles in Louisville) about my name, "What a strong Judah name!"

- excerpt from Politics in the Church of God Hinders Progress

When Caesar Plays God: When the State Oversteps its Bounds

*Philadelphia Church of God Leads the Laodicean Era (Part 1)
Philadelphia Church of God Leads Laodicean Era (Conclusion)

Gerald Flurry and son failed to mention that the PCG believes in the same "bizarre and even radical views" that I do, whether it's about a German-EU, under the heavy influence of the Roman Catholic Church, that will brutally betray the American, British and Jewish peoples, igniting WWIII, and that professing Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter are nothing but baptized paganism, idolatry and immorality, that are fuel on the fires of God's judgment upon our White Israelite nations, leading to destruction, defeat and deportation!

The Intelligence Summit Misses the Mark: the German-Jesuit Threat to World Peace

Gerald Flurry's attack against me failed to address the two issues I raised:
1) How I was put out of the PCG for writing Beyond Babylon, and 2) how he's wasting tithes on a $15 million Art Center on their Edmond, Oklahoma site instead of properly getting out the Word of God, as I decry in PCG: Carrying on "Business as Usual".

Gerald Flurry has been given an opportunity to go public, taking out full page ads that I called upon him to do years ago, to share our beliefs, the plain truth of the Bible, to warn the world, now that FOX 25 has afforded him coverage. May God bless Gerald Flurry to repent and do just that.

David Ben-Ariel
Author, Beyond Babylon: Europe's Rise and Fall
http://www.davidbenariel.org/

Obey Christ and the Pharisees!

Excerpts from a Sabbath-keeping Church of God forum:

If you want to obey Christ, then follow Christ's command to DO as the Pharisees said to do and respect their God-given authority.

Yeshua clearly said the Pharisees - however imperfect- sit in Moses' Seat (even though He was aware they rejected Him at that time). Yeshua clearly said DO AS THEY - the Pharisees - SAY.

shall we obey everything the Pharisees have to say? even when they place burdens upon others which are part of their own tradition and not the law of God? certainly not!

The Pharisees alone have the right to proclaim and determine the holy days/dates from Moses' Seat. He didn't disagree with them on their observances of Passover/Shavuot, and where He did disagree was made evident. He clearly disagreed with the Sadducees (who too many in the Church still follow), since the Pharisees strongly disagree with their observance of Shavuot. Yeshua sided, like Paul did, with the Pharisees - all things considered.

The Pharisees
Who isn't aware of the sins of the Pharisees? Especially the Accuser of the Brethren? But does that mean the truths they teach, even if they don't live them, are no longer true?

You speak of the "Jews" as though they are still sitting in Moses' seat. Aren't the "Jews" the ones who deny Messiah came in the flesh?

The Jews - specifically rabbinic Judaism, the continuation of the Pharisess - do still sit in Moses' Seat and will continue to do so UNTIL Shiloh comes, the King of the Jews, and regathers all 12 tribes and reigns. The Scriptures are plain and clear.

Did the general Jewish rejection of Yeshua catch Christ by surprise? Or the Father? Did God make a mistake in Genesis where He said the scepter will not depart from Judah until Shiloh comes and regathers the people? Yeshua is not on King David's throne yet, He has not regathered the people, and is not yet reigning as King of the Jews, the King of Israel.

Do you think the Pharisees accepted Yeshua at the time He acknowledged their God-given authority? Did that stop Him from upholding God's Word that the scepter would remain among JEWS? No. Like Paul, He knew it all had a purpose, was part of the plan being worked out.

I have more than answered every objection, every argument, every twist and turn possible since some appear driven to shamefully wrest authority from the Jews on these matters (specifically proclaiming the holy days/dates) rather than submit to the Word of God, the government of God that has ordained the Jews responsible for these matters.

Passover and Pentecost Differences Settled!

The Oracles of God
God's empowered the Jews - despite themselves - to preserve His Word. They are the only people on Earth that God has blessed and ordained to fulfill such a calling! God will not retract His Word or renege on this gift and responsibility that He's graciously bestowed upon Judah.

The apostle Paul was inspired to write for the record - after Yeshua's death and resurrection - that "the oracles of God" were committed to the Jews. The sacred calendar is clearly a part of "the oracles of God" (Ex. 12:2; Lev. 23:4). The purpose of the sacred calendar is for the Jews to determine and declare when the holy days of God are to be observed.

Jesus clearly revealed which Jews were responsible for these holy matters. Jesus declared that "the scribes and the PHARISEES sit in Moses' seat" of AUTHORITY (Matt. 23:2). God has ordained that the Jews preserve His Word on the Law, Prophets and Writings - despite themselves (Rom. 3:2-3). God will not renege on giving Judah this special calling and precious gift (Gen. 49:10, Rom. 11:29).

1John 4:
4:1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God,
3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.


What if the Jews, specifically the Pharisees whom God has chosen, are less than perfect? Does it make God's purpose for them null and void? Paul answers: "GOD FORBID!"

Romans 3
1What advantage then hath the Jew? or what profit is there of circumcision?
2Much every way: chiefly, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God.
3For what if some did not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God without effect?
4God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man a liar
; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified in thy sayings, and mightest overcome when thou art judged.

Romans 11
28 Concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.

Who is currently sitting in Moses' seat? I've never given this issue much thought, but it occurs to me that followers of Christ are currently sitting there -- anyone who follows after Christ. We have the authority because Christ gave us this authority.

The Jews are currently sitting in Moses' Seat - just as God has ordained and Christ confirmed. I have given this much prayerful thought and study and the Scriptures are clear and consistent on it. God has not given any authority to fickle Church of God groups to proclaim or determine the holy days/dates - He gave that responsibility to the Jews, even though God knew, as Yeshua and Paul knew, many of them would be temporarily enemies of the gospel.

no human, or organization of humans (including the "Jews") have authority over us. Christ is our intercessor to the Father, and no other.

Acts 15 reveals there is a proper Church of God authority, and the Bible clearly reveals the Jews have GOD-GIVEN authority over us to bless us with the proper days/dates for the holy days. God has ordained it. Those who love and obey God submit to this fact and don't have a problem with it. Of course Yeshua is our intercessor, that is non sequitor and nobody has said otherwise.

The biblical record reveals God has only authorized the Pharisees to chair "Moses' seat" and judge with his authority on these matters.

Psalm 60
Judah is My lawgiver.

Psalm 108
Judah is My lawgiver.

Those who would attempt to usurp their God-given position would do well to remember Gamaliel's advice about fighting against God. God has clearly given certain responsibilities to His Jewish servants to fulfill and that's what they'll continue to do until the King of the Jews reigns in Jerusalem with these honors.

Genesis 49
10The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Circumcision for Christian Israelites and Jews

Galatians 6:15
15Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.

Some twist this to mean circumcision is no longer necessary for Jews and Israelites, throwing the baby out with the bathwater, condemning themselves and others who they mislead. Paul was making the point (pardon the pun) that circumcision of and by itself is nothing IF your heart isn't circumcised - just like any other physical act of obedience. But those who love and obey God worship Him in spirit and in truth, the letter and spirit of the law, while others try to spiritualize everything away - whether it's the Sabbath rest in Yeshua versus the literal seventh day Sabbath rest (as well as rest in Yeshua), circumcision, or the dietary laws, King David's throne, etc.


Remember the Sabbath

The Queen's Royal Descent from King David the Psalmist

Romans 14
17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Does this mean it doesn't matter what you eat or drink? Not to those who rightly divide the Word of truth.


Jesus Upheld the Biblical Dietary Laws

Colossians 2
16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Does this mean it doesn't matter what you eat or drink? Not to those who rightly divide the Word of truth.


Unclean Christianity vs. Peter's Vision

God commanded Abraham and his physical descendants to be circumcised. Most Jews still do it and most Gentilized Israelites (outside of the Untied States) don't. It's not required of Gentiles.

The English-Speaking Nations of White Israelites

God commands Jews and Israelites, the Twelve Tribes of Israel, to be circumcised as part of our loving obedience to Him and has not changed His mind. It is part of our very personal NATIONAL IDENTIFICATION God has decreed - not required of Gentile converts to Christianity.

Romans 3
1What advantage, then, is there in being a Jew, or what value is there in circumcision? 2Much in every way! First of all, they have been entrusted with the very words of God.

The apostles and elders of the Jewish Church of God encouraged Paul to prove to their fellow Jews that - unlike too many professing Christians today - he wasn't seeking to undermine the Law and the Prophets and the biblical traditions reserved for Jews and Israelites.

Acts 16
1 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek. 2 He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.

The strict Pharisee Paul, who continued to call himself a Pharisee AFTER his Christian conversion, saying, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" (Acts 23:6), NEVER said there was no need of circumcision anymore, of Temple services or ritual commandments of the Torah for the JEWS, but he did say many of these holy things weren't required of GENTILE converts to Christianity, agreeing with the Jerusalem Council that decreed:

Acts 15
19 Therefore I judge that we should not trouble those from among the GENTILES who are turning to God, 20 but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality,from things strangled, and from blood. 21 For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.
22 Then it pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole church, to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, namely, Judas who was also named Barsabas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren. 23 They wrote this, letter by them:

The apostles, the elders, and the brethren,
To the brethren who are of the GENTILES in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia:

Greetings.
24 Since we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you [Gentiles] with words, unsettling your souls, saying, "You must be circumcised and keep the law"--to whom we gave no such commandment-- 25 it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well."

So you see that Paul taught that the GENTILES should keep the minimum requirements of abstaining from immorality, obeying the dietary laws, keeping the biblical Sabbath and festivals!


The early Christian fellowship in Jerusalem, led by James the brother of Jesus (Yeshua), tried to correct this STUBBORN STIGMA AGAINST PAUL that continues to this day and advised him:

Acts 21
20 And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 25 But concerning the GENTILES who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality."
26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them....

So here the Jewish-Christian leaders in Jerusalem praised the zeal and devotion of the Jews, but were acknowledging that wild rumors and false allegations, disinformation, had been spread against Paul. To prove such charges were groundless, that Paul continued to follow halacha, Jewish traditions and Torah, they encouraged him to go sacrifice with Jews under a Nazarite vow, which he did! Paul sacrificed in the Temple, but then another misunderstanding and rumor spread that he had taken a Gentile into the Temple! Oy veh!

Paul never taught that the Jews' rejection of Jesus changed their status as the Chosen People! He taught that the prophesied partial blindness had happened, but that it was all for the mysterious purpose of God bringing in converted Gentiles into the Israelite fold, the Israelite root and branch of the Jewish Church of God!

Romans 11
1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

Romans 11
25 For I do not desire, [Gentile] brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
" The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
27 For this is My covenant with them,
When I take away their sins."

28 Concerning the gospel they are [presently] enemies for your sake, but concerning the election they are beloved for the sake of the fathers. 29 For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. 30 For as you were once disobedient to God, yet have now obtained mercy through their disobedience, 31 even so these also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you they also may obtain mercy. 32 For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all. 33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!
34 "For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?"
35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?"
36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

Paul acknowledges the animosity between Judaism and biblical Christianity, but believes, according to his God-given understanding of the prophecies, that all's well that ends well, and that it's all for a great purpose that God is working out in the lives of all mankind. Paul reminds his Gentile audience that they're grafted into ISRAEL, the Jews aren't grafted into a Gentile root and branch - that is counterfeit Christianity represented by the Roman wolves in sheep's clothing!

I know Paul's writings concerning this veiled mystery of partial blindness and ultimate restoration of all Israel (all Twelve Tribes) is difficult to grasp, but at least we should clearly see that Paul NEVER taught that Jews should stop circumcising their children, forsake the Temple services (he participated in them!) or abandon the ritual commandments of the Torah. He merely taught that such things were not necessary for GENTILE converts to Christianity, as God is witness.

www.davidbenariel.org


Thursday, March 19, 2009

Gerald Flurry's backyard project

Due to cultic complaints by Gerald Flurry to Blogger who politely contacted me -


We are asking that you please remove the allegedly infringing content in your blog. If you do not do this within the next 3 days (by 3/20/09), we will be forced to remove the posts in question. If we did not do so, we would be subject to a claim of copyright infringement, regardless of its merits.

I've therefore modified the post. The entire (rather boring) sermon by Gerald Flurry can be found elsewhere on the internet, but was available here long enough for plenty of people to see for themselves how bizarre and dangerous Gerald Flurry's unbiblical beliefs appear to be (in addition to - in true papal fashion - his assuming many blasphemous religious titles to himself). Apparently this is what Gerald Flurry feared and vainly attempted to prevent, throwing fuel on the fire.

Would to God Gerald Flurry (and his myriad of sycophants) would repent of his expensive backyard project in Edmond, Oklahoma, digging his own grave (responsible for those he has miserably failed to warn), and remember the Work he was originally called to do with a focus on JERUSALEM - a WORLDWIDE Work.


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The Elijah Family Vision Sermon: GRF November 3, 2007 .

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You don't need any "special revelation" to read and believe the Bible that clearly shows God's House on Earth has always been in Jerusalem - not elsewhere like Mormons and others mislead.
Gerald Flurry foolishly attempts to spiritualize everything away when it comes to the holy temple of God that will be built in Jerusalem. The least he could do is encourage the Jews to fulfill their responsibility to build God's House - the Embassy of the Eternal - in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount and stop equating Edmond with Jerusalem! What chutzpah! What madness!


Third Temple
Where's the Temple On the Temple Mount?
Third Temple Coming Soon to Jerusalem!
The Temple of God in Holy Jerusalem

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Philadelphia Church of God complains about revealing post

The World's Obsession with Israel

It doesn't matter what is going on in the world, the focus is always on Israel. Why is Israel's land the desire of foreign nations? Why do Israel's leaders seem to go along with land give-aways even though it threatens Israel's own existence? What does Israel giving water to Jordan, the Russians, and the Pope all have in common? Barry Chamish joins Tamar and shares his views of what is going on behind the political scene, and why our leaders seem to be selling Israel out.

Audio: The World's Obsession with Israel

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Beyond Babylon warns: Beware Roman wolves in sheep's clothing! Europe's New Crusade has its evil eye on Mount Zion and is after the Temple Mount.

The Vatican plot against Jerusalem exposed!

Israel must reject Vatican overtures for peace or lose Jerusalem! The bloody vulture Shimon Peres (Peres is Hebrew for vulture) is right where the Vatican-controlled Israeli oligarchy wants him to be: positioned as president of Israel, dark prince of perfidy, as orchestrated. Woe to Ariel! Jerusalem will soon suffer EU occupation: THE GERMANS ARE COMING!

Restoring Apostolic Christianity

Restoring Apostolic Christianity
By Roderick C. Meredith

If Jesus of Nazareth were to return to the earth today, would He recognize the religion that is using His name? Not at all! Mankind has twisted Jesus Christ’s teachings so that the religion bearing His name has practically no relationship to what He and the Apostles actually lived and believed. Can you find a Church that strives to live by the teachings of true Apostolic Christianity? Can you prove for yourself what God’s Truth really is? This booklet will give you the all-important answers to those questions!

Yet most genuine religious scholars recognize that vast changes have overtaken professing Christianity—rendering it totally different from the Christianity of Jesus and the Apostles! As respected mainline Protestant scholar Jesse Lyman Hurlbut acknowledges:

"For fifty years after St. Paul’s life a curtain hangs over the church, through which we strive vainly to look; and when at last it rises, about 120 A.D. with the writings of the earliest church-fathers, we find a church in many aspects very different from that in the days of St. Peter and St. Paul" (Story of the Christian Church, p. 41).

If the leaders, during this time that Mr. Hurlbut elsewhere called an "age of shadows," were filled with and led by God’s Spirit, then why would the Church suddenly be "very different"? For the Bible tells us that Christ is "the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). Yet the professing Christian church today is not even remotely the same as the one Jesus founded.

Describing the time period after all the original Apostles and their successors had died out, Hurlbut writes:

"The services of worship increased in splendor, but were less spiritual and hearty than those of former times. The forms and ceremonies of paganism gradually crept into the worship. Some of the old heathen feasts became church festivals with change of name and of worship. About 405 A.D. images of saints and martyrs began to appear in the churches, at first as memorials, then in succession revered, adored, and worshiped. The adoration of the Virgin Mary was substituted for the worship of Venus and Diana; the Lord’s supper became a sacrifice in place of a memorial; and the elder evolved from a preacher into a priest" (p. 79).

Notice Mr. Hurlbut’s statement that "some of the old heathen feasts became church festivals." They "became" that way because God Himself had predicted that evil men and false leaders would take over most of the Church! Remember this inspired warning the Apostle Paul gave the Ephesian elders: "For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears" (Acts 20:29–31). When Paul realized the depth of the apostasy that would overtake most of the Church, it hit him emotionally. He then "did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears"! Very few people today seem to be concerned enough about this massive apostasy to even begin to shed tears over this awesome change.

HOW Could This Happen?
This massive apostasy occurred because men and women back then, just like today, did not zealously prove to themselves where God’s Truth was being taught. That is why the living Christ corrected those Christians living near the end of the Apostolic Era: "Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent" (Revelation 2:4–5).

And what about today? How can we account for the more than 400 different denominations and sects—all calling themselves "Christian"? And all of them having some type of different ideas, traditions and approaches and yet claiming to follow the same Jesus Christ?

Part of the answer is the fact that extremely few professing Christians really study their Bibles! So they do not "prove" virtually anything they believe by carefully researching it in the Bible! Oh, they may enthusiastically study books and articles on health, on self-improvement or on investing and making more money. But somehow it does not occur to them to thoroughly study the most vital subjects of all: Is there a real God? If so, what is His purpose in creating human beings? And how can we fulfill that purpose? Yet the Bible commands: "Prove all things, hold fast that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, KJV).

Most people have just "accepted" the religion passed down through their families. Most have just "gone along" with the beliefs and the traditions taught to them as children. Noting the public’s lack of attention to their religion, Los Angeles Times religion writer Teresa Watanabe reported:

"According to one religious research firm, two-thirds of Americans don’t regularly read the Bible or know the names of the Four Gospels. More than half of Americans surveyed can’t name even five of the Ten Commandments. And the majority say they find the Good Book irrelevant.… ‘We still hold the Bible in high regard, but in terms of actually spending the time reading it, studying it and applying it—that is a thing of the past,’ said George Barna. The reasons cited range from changes in American culture to the intrinsic difficulty of the text itself.

Now religious organizations are making a major effort to jazz up the ancient Scripture’s doddering image. Bible publishers are producing a dizzying array of products, with translations and editions pitched to every conceivable niche market, to convince people that the book is neither arcane nor irrelevant" (Los Angeles Times, July 23, 1999).

Of course, the real underlying cause of this massive religious apostasy is that this is Satan’s world and that he has totally deceived the vast majority of humanity. In the comfortable surroundings of western civilization, most Americans, Canadians and others fail to realize that the overwhelming majority of human beings have never believed in any form of "Christianity"—let alone the real Christianity of Christ and the Apostles! The vast majority of humans are—and always have been—Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Shintoists, atheists or agnostics.

A Very REAL Satan Is Involved
If you will study and believe your own Bible, you will find that Satan the devil is described as the one "who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9). You will also find Satan referred to as "the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience" (Ephesians 2:2). For Satan "broadcasts" a selfish, rebellious attitude throughout this earth. He is the one who is influencing deceived men into injecting enormous amounts of licentious sex, violence and a general spirit of disrespect and lawlessness into the so-called "entertainment" you and your children see or hear on television, at the movies, on the radio or when playing various kinds of perverted computer games which simulate almost indescribable acts of perversion or violence. Do you know who is really laughing at all this "fun stuff"? Satan is! For by perverting mankind’s normal interest in sex and excitement, and by cleverly injecting sick humor into so many of television’s "situation comedies," Satan is able to cleverly mislead mankind into abusing, degrading and ultimately destroying itself if God does not intervene at the last minute to stop it (Matthew 24:21–22). Satan is truly the "god" of this present world! The Apostle Paul was inspired to write, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:3–4). Most important of all, Satan has injected into mainstream "Christianity" a whole series of totally false ideas about the origin and destiny of man, of what God is like, of what God’s awesome purpose is, and how we are to achieve that great purpose. Additionally, Satan has confused people about prophecy so much that most professing Christians and even most professing Christian ministers and priests simply throw up their hands and almost totally neglect biblical prophecy. Yet our Creator devotes about one-fourth of the entire Bible to the "sure word of prophecy" (2 Peter 1:19, KJV).

Have you ever looked at traditional Christianity and asked yourself: "Is this religion really based on the Bible? Is this the religion founded by Jesus Christ and taught by His Apostles?" If Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world, then his life should be an example for His followers. But practically no one actually follows His example!

Christianity Without Christ?
Instead, mankind has made its own religion that is almost completely different from what Jesus Christ preached and practiced. And they call that religion "Christianity," as if it were connected with Jesus Christ! As the philosopher and theologian Soren Kirkegaard put it:

"The Christianity of the New Testament simply does not exist… what has to be done is to throw light upon a criminal offense against Christianity prolonged through centuries, perpetrated by millions (more or less guiltily), whereby they have cunningly, under the guise of perfecting Christianity, sought little by little to cheat God out of Christianity and have succeeded in making Christianity exactly the opposite of what it is in the New Testament" (Attack Upon Christendom, Kirkegaard, 1956, pp. 32–33).

Those are strong words, but they are hardly unique. Professor Rufus M. Jones concurs, noting how Christ’s true teachings were quickly detached from the religion bearing His name:
"If by any chance Christ Himself had been taken by His later followers as the model and pattern of the new way, and a serious attempt had been made to set up His life and teaching as the standard and norm for the Church, Christianity would have been something vastly different from what it became. Then ‘heresy’ would have been as it is not now, deviation from His way, His teaching, His spirit, His kingdom.… What we may properly call ‘Galilean Christianity’ had a short life, though there have been notable attempts to revive it and make it live again, and here and there spiritual prophets have insisted that anything else other than this simple Galilean religion is ‘heresy’; but the main line of historic development has taken a different course and has marked the emphasis very differently" (The Church’s Debt to Heretics, Jones, 1924, pp. 15–16).

We should not be surprised that mankind tried to remake Christianity its own way. Mankind has tried for thousands of years to find its own way. Humanism, materialism, socialism, communism or capitalism—human society has invented so many philosophies in the vain hope of giving meaning to life without God, and creating through human effort a happy and prosperous society on the earth.

The truth is clear. Modern "Christianity" has become "vastly different"—as Professor Jones wrote—from the Christianity of Christ! But what has been the result? Nations are almost constantly at war with each other, the rich prosper while the poor starve and disease runs rampant. "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation," wrote Henry David Thoreau. He was right! But neither Thoreau nor most of mankind have had their eyes opened to the solution, the Truth that would fill their lives with meaning and joy and peace.

Some might say, "So what?" But this is no small matter we are talking about. Frankly, we are talking about the way to eternal life on the one hand, or eternal death on the other (Romans 6:23). For if you do not have the Christianity of Christ, you have no Christianity whatsoever!

Jesus Himself warned, "Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’" (Matthew 7:21–23). It is important to realize that Christ will say to those failing to do the "will" of the Father: "I never knew you." In plain language, these deceived church goers will be told that they were, in fact, never acquainted with the Christ they claim to serve. They were never really converted. They were never really "Christian"!

Again, Jesus said, "But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). A "lord" or "master" is someone you obey. But most professing Christian ministers and their followers do not follow the clear teachings and examples of Jesus and the Apostles. And most of them do not even bother to deeply study their Bibles to find what those teachings and examples are!

Restoring Apostolic Christianity
The key issue, then, is our desire and willingness to get back to the true Christian faith, "the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Are you willing to genuinely try to follow the Christianity of Christ? Or are you willing to "take a chance" in your relationship with God and in your quest for eternal life?

Frankly, the "little flock" (Luke 12:32)—the true Church of God—has always understood the need to pattern itself after the teachings and examples of Christ and the Apostles. Although very few have seriously attempted to follow this pattern, many scholars and religious historians have understood the concept of the "Jerusalem Church of God." This is a vital concept to understand if we are sincerely interested in contending "for the faith once delivered."

The Apostle Paul was inspired to write to the Thessalonians, "For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 2:14). The book of Acts makes it clear that the earthly "headquarters" Church of God—for many decades—was the Jerusalem Church. It was here that the Holy Spirit was originally poured out on the true Christians (Acts 2). It was here where Peter, James and John carried on most of their ministry for many years (cf. Acts 4:1; 8:1; 11:1–2). Later, it was to the leadership at Jerusalem that Paul and Barnabas came to settle the major question of circumcision for the Gentiles and related questions (Acts 15:4-6).

As renowned historian Edward Gibbon wrote: "The first fifteen bishops of Jerusalem were all circumcised Jews; and the congregation over which they presided united the law of Moses with the doctrine of Christ. It was natural that the primitive tradition of a church which was founded only forty days after the death of Christ, and was governed almost as many years under the immediate inspection of his apostle, should be received as the standard of orthodoxy. The distant churches very frequently appealed to the authority of their venerable Parent" (The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chap. 15, sec. 1, p. 389).

As indicated above, the only major ministerial conference indicated in the New Testament was held at Jerusalem. Here lived the leading original Apostles. Here was the true "mother" church (not Rome!). And it was to Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas had come even earlier, lest, as Paul had put it, "I might run, or had run, in vain" (Galatians 2:1–2). After the major Jerusalem conference, Paul and Silas traveled through Asia Minor visiting the churches: "And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem" (Acts 16:4).

Paul Looked to Jerusalem
Clearly the original Apostles and the Jerusalem Church of God set the inspired "pattern" for true Christianity—not just for that time—but for all time! Contrary to the heretical Protestant ideas that the Apostle Paul later was used by God to "reinvent" Christianity, the real Apostle Paul of the Bible—as we have seen—constantly showed deep respect for the original Apostles and deferred to the leadership at Jerusalem in all major matters! And it was the Apostle Paul who wrote the primarily Gentile church at Corinth: "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters" (1 Corinthians 7:19). Noted historian Carl von Weiszäcker wrote in 1895:

"Paul was far from confining his interest to the Gentile Christian Church which he had himself founded. His thoughts were much too lofty to leave Jewish Christianity to itself. He toiled not merely for his own work, but for the Church of God… the whole Church. He never forgot for a moment the true birthplace of the gospel. And for him the Christians in Jerusalem were always the [saints].… He did not however merely entertain a grand policy of ecclesiastical union, but his first and constant thought was that the primitive Church was the foremost divine institution under the Gospel.… In the early Apostles he saw… the Apostles of the Lord. From them the testimony of the Resurrection emanated (1 Corinthians 15:1 ff.). They were ever the apostles, whom God had placed at the head of His Church, the first of those divinely commissioned men who held the leading office in the Body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:28) (The Apostolic Age of the Christian Church, pp. 12–13).

Later in Paul’s ministry, he traveled again to Jerusalem: "And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present" (Acts 21:17–18). Notice that Paul presented himself to James, the Lord’s brother, who by now was undoubtedly the chief Apostle at Jerusalem—Peter probably having gone to the "lost sheep" of the house of Israel in northwest Europe and the British Isles.

After rejoicing in the good news Paul brought about God’s Work among the Gentiles, the Jerusalem leadership told Paul: "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law" (v. 20). The term "myriad" literally means "tens of thousands." So as not to confuse or discourage these many Jewish Christians, Paul was asked by the Jerusalem Church to go through an offering ceremony to publicly demonstrate that he was not teaching in any way against God’s laws. The Jerusalem leaders exhorted Paul: "Take these men along and be purified with them and pay all the expenses connected with the shaving of their heads. This will let everyone know there is no truth in the reports they have heard about you and that you still regularly observe the Law" (v. 24, Jerusalem Bible).

If Paul had in fact been teaching against God’s Law in any way—especially the spiritual law containing the Ten Commandments—he most certainly would not have gone through this ceremony of the law of Moses! That particular ceremony—probably a thanks offering at the conclusion of the Nazarite vow—was not necessary for a New Testament Christian. But it was not "sinful" either! And Paul’s deep respect for God’s Law, for the original mother church and the pattern of obedience to God’s Law—all this guided Paul in his decision to go ahead and participate in this ceremony. By guiding Paul in this—and putting this example in the Bible—God is showing all of us that Paul’s approach was one of obedience to law, not one who tried to do away with or "reason around" God’s spiritual laws as so many Protestant theologians teach!

What Did Christ Do on Earth?
Nearly all professing Christians understand that in order to be an acceptable sacrifice for mankind’s sins, Jesus Christ had to keep the Law perfectly. But what law did He keep, and what did He expect of His followers? Here is how Christ Himself described His mission:

"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:17–20).

Many Christians do not grasp the importance of those words. Christ said that not "one jot or one tittle" (the tiniest marks in the Hebrew script) of the law would pass from the law until heaven and earth pass away. Since heaven and earth have not passed away, we must understand that the law remains. And Christ condemned those who would falsely teach men to break even the "least of these commandments." Rather, He explained that those who both do and teach the commandments will be called "great" in the kingdom of heaven!

Did His "fulfilling" the law somehow change these commands? Or did they change after Christ’s resurrection? No! Heaven and earth did not pass away at His resurrection. And we must understand what He meant when He said that he would "fulfill" the law. One scholar explains His words as follows:

"Did [Jesus] fill or fulfill the [Law]? The common word plerôsai means ‘to fill.’ At [Matthew] 5:17 most translations render it ‘to fulfill.’ The theological implications often drawn are that [Jesus] fulfilled all the prophecies of the [Old Testament] pertaining to the Jews, so that none remain for them now; and that he kept the [Law] perfectly, so that no one need obey it today. But these conclusions do not follow logically, and in fact they contradict [Jesus’] immediately preceding statement that he did not come to abolish (or destroy) the [Law]. More fundamental for translation, however, is the question of whether plerôsai in this verse should be rendered ‘to fulfill’ at all. [This] translator’s view is that [Jesus] came to fill the [Law] and the ethical pronouncements of the Prophets full with their complete meaning, so that everyone can know all that obedience entails. For this reason the Jewish New Testament says that [Jesus] came ‘not to abolish but to complete.’ In fact, this is the subject of the entire Sermon on the Mount; and [Matthew] 5:17, understood in this way, is its theme sentence" (Jewish New Testament, Stern, 1995, pp. xxii–xxiii).

In other words, Jesus came, as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 42:21), to "magnify" God’s law and to show its fullest intent and purpose. What Jesus Christ sought to abolish were the abuses of the law, and the man-made traditions that perverted the law. His sacrificial death, foreshadowed by the temple sacrifices, made those animal sacrifices and washings irrelevant for Christians. But His life showed that the spiritual law—the Ten Commandments—was and would remain relevant for those seeking to obey Him. One cannot properly understand His teachings without understanding the Old Testament scriptures and the law they contain, as noted by Frederick Holmgren:

"The Old Testament brings gifts to the Christian tradition. One of those gifts is the Torah (the Law).… Jesus embraced the Torah of Moses; he came not to end it but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17)—to carry its teachings forward. Further, to those who came to him seeking eternal life, he held it up as the essential teaching to be observed (Luke 10:25–28). Despite Jesus’ conflict with some interpreters of his day, both Jewish and Christian scholars see him as one who honored and followed the Law. When Jesus proclaims the coming rule of God, he speaks nowhere in detail about the inner character of this rule. He does not need to because that has already been described in the Old Testament.… The Old Testament is not an antiquated Scripture; its life-giving teachings are needed by the church" (Frederick C. Holmgren, "Preaching the Gospel Without Anti-Judaism," Removing Anti-Judaism from the Pulpit, ed. Howard Clark Kee and Irvin J. Borowski, 1996, pp. 72–73).

Indeed, Jesus Christ taught from the Old Testament, and He lived by it, as did His followers.

What Did the Apostles Teach?
We have seen that Jesus Christ plainly upheld God’s law. Yet some churches falsely accuse the Apostles—especially the Apostle Paul—of teaching that Christians need no longer follow Jesus Christ’s example. Indeed, even in Apostolic times we see that some were twisting Paul’s words for their purposes (cf. 2 Peter 3:16). Yet when writing to the young evangelist Timothy, Paul plainly reminded him "that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:15–16).

When Timothy was a child, the "Holy Scriptures" he knew were the Old Testament scriptures. Most of the New Testament books did not yet exist! Paul says that these Old Testament scriptures are "able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." Paul saw no conflict between Old Testament scripture and Christian faith and practice, and confirmed that all Scripture (including the Old Testament) is profitable for doctrine and for instruction in righteousness. These are not the words of someone teaching that the God’s Old Testament laws have been done away!

The Apostle Paul instructed Christians: "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1). The Apostle John observed: "He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:6).

These two, like all the Apostles, knew that Jesus Christ came to show the perfect example, and that Christians ought to follow His example, strengthened by the Holy Spirit. This was the commonplace understanding in the Apostle Paul’s day, as Christianity spread across the Roman Empire.

"Everywhere, especially in the East of the Roman Empire, there would be Jewish Christians whose outward way of life would not be markedly different from that of the Jews. They took for granted that the gospel was continuous with [the religion of Moses]; for them the New Covenant, which Jesus had set up at the Last Supper with His disciples… did not mean that the covenant made between God and Israel was no longer in force. They still observed the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles; they also continued to be circumcised, to keep the weekly Sabbath and the Mosaic regulations concerning food. According to some scholars, they must have been so strong that right up to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 they were the dominant element in the Christian movement" (Judeo-christianisme, "Paul and Jewish Christianity," Davies, 1972, p. 72, quoted in Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday, p. 151).

So for about the first 40 years of Christianity, guided by the Holy Spirit, the "dominant element" in the Church of God was still following Christ’s example of keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths commanded by God. They were still following the example set by the Jerusalem Church of God!

Who dared to change all of that?

As we have seen, it was not the Apostle Paul. It was certainly not any of the original 12 Apostles. Rather, as the time period—which is fittingly called the "Dark Ages"—began to get underway, misguided false religious leaders began to change virtually everything that had made the Christian religion totally different from the pagan cults of the Roman Empire.

Some wrongly teach that after Jerusalem fell and the Temple was destroyed in 70ad, Christians were no longer to keep the law as had Jesus Christ and the Apostles. So it is important to note that the Apostle John, the last surviving Apostle, wrote the book of Revelation after the Temple was destroyed. And in that book, he upheld the law of God! "Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14). John heard these words from God, and knew the importance of obeying Him: "And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations" (Revelation 2:26). Clearly, Christians were keeping the law, living just as Jesus Christ did, long after the Temple was destroyed! Scholars concur. "The first Christians continued to observe the Jewish festivals [the biblically-taught festivals], though in a new spirit, as commemorations of events which those festivals had foreshadowed" (Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed., vol. 8, p. 828).

What Was Apostolic Christianity Really Like?
Most professing Christians today have no idea what first century Christianity was really like! Yet for decades—long after the cross and the reception of the Holy Spirit—the true Christians all believed and practiced a way of life and worship totally different from professing Christianity today!

How was it different?

As we saw earlier from Professor Davies, the early Christians "took for granted that the gospel was continuous with [the religion of Moses]; for them the New Covenant, which Jesus had set up at the Last Supper with His disciples… did not mean that the covenant made between God and Israel was no longer in force. They still observed the feasts of Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles; they also continued to be circumcised, to keep the weekly Sabbath and the Mosaic regulations concerning food."

Subtly, but surely, Satan the devil has deceived most of today’s professing ministers into believing that Christianity was a "brand new religion"—seemingly cut off from the Old Testament and the teaching God gave through Moses. And although some may not be consciously aware of it, a definite anti-Jewish bias crept into early Christianity and has continued to this day!

But the biblical and historical facts show that Christianity was a continuation—an enlargement and "magnification" of the teachings God gave through Moses—not something brand new! As the Apostle Paul was inspired in the New Testament to explain to the Gentile Christians at Ephesus: "Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone" (Ephesians 2:19–20). So a basic part of the very "foundation" of Christianity was the writings and teachings of the Old Testament prophets—those writings which Christ and the Apostles referred to as "Scripture" again and again!

For Jesus Christ was a circumcised Jew (Luke 2:21–22; Hebrews 7:14). It was Jesus’ "custom" to keep the seventh-day Sabbath—right along with the other Jews (Luke 4:16). Far from abrogating God’s Sabbath, Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for "man"—not just the Jews, and that He was "Lord" of the Sabbath. So the Sabbath is, in fact, the true "Lord’s Day" as far as a day of rest and worship is concerned!

Long after the crucifixion, it was the Apostle Paul’s "custom" also to keep the seventh-day Sabbath (Acts 17:2). We also find Paul observing the annual biblical festivals such as Pentecost (1 Corinthians 16:8), Passover and Unleavened Bread (1 Corinthians 5:7–8) and other festivals.

The true Church of God—named "Church of God" 12 times in the New Testament—was itself started on the Day of Pentecost, one of the seven annual Sabbaths God gave Israel. At His second coming, Christ Himself will return at the "seventh trump" (Revelation 11:15)—pictured by the Feast of Trumpets, another one of the biblical Holy Days. And the Living Jesus Christ, who inspired the entire Bible, also inspired His servant Zechariah to explain that after Christ’s second coming the whole world will be observing the Feast of Tabernacles! (read carefully the entire 14th chapter of Zechariah). Also, during the soon-coming Millennial reign of Christ, Isaiah tells us, "‘And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me,’ says the Lord" (Isaiah 66:23).

So true Christians who observe the biblical Sabbaths and biblical festivals are, in fact, "pioneers." They are not only following the "pattern" of Apostolic Christianity, but are "pioneering" the Way of life which all nations will soon be learning in tomorrow’s world!

For example, the seventh-day Sabbath pictures the reign of Christ during the coming seventh millennium of human history. It is the "rest" which God commanded from the beginning (Hebrews 4:4). That is why Paul was inspired to write, "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God" (v. 9). It is important to realize that the Greek word here translated "rest" is sabbatismos—the "keeping of a Sabbath"—whereas katapausin is the normal Greek word for taking rest and is the word used throughout the rest of Hebrews 4. Incidentally, if you would like full, documented proof that Christians today should keep the biblical Sabbath, then write for our powerful and absolutely vital booklet, Which Day is the Christian Sabbath? It will be sent to you at no charge upon your request. Just write or call us at the address nearest you listed at the end of this booklet.

God’s Sabbath and His annual Holy Days picture His great Plan. But true Apostolic Christianity, of course, involves far more than keeping the biblical Sabbaths. As we have already intimated, it involves an entire Way of life based on Jesus’ example and His teaching, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God" (Luke 4:4).

Jesus MAGNIFIED God’s Law
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus certainly did not "do away" with God’s spiritual law (Matthew 5:17). Rather, He "magnified" the Ten Commandments. He explained that we must not only refrain from killing other human beings, we must not even look on them with contempt or hatred (vv. 20–23), as that is the "spirit" of murder. We are not to "hate" even our enemies. As Jesus said clearly: "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (v. 44). We are never to commit adultery. But, as Jesus clearly said: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (vv. 27–28).

The early Christians were taught that they should give in a very private manner—not showing off, or having a big "foundation" in their own name to perpetuate their honor in the giving (Matthew 6:1–4). True Christians were to pray regularly and privately—not showing off their oratorical skills before men or using certain words or phrases over and over in "vain repetition" (vv. 5–13). And true Christians certainly would fast regularly (vv. 16–18), following biblical examples of doing without food and water in order to humble the self and get closer to the invisible God as Jesus did (Matthew 4), Moses did (Deuteronomy 9:9, 18) and the Apostle Paul did (Acts 9:9).

In our materialistic age, we need to understand that the original Christians did not allow themselves to be overcome by the desires for money, or material things as most professing Christians do today (Matthew 6:19–20). As Jesus later warned His followers: "Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22). Rather, as the book of Acts explains: "Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common" (Acts 4:32).

First century Christianity was squarely based on the teachings of the "law and prophets"—except for those animal sacrifices and washings which pre-figured the sacrifice of Christ and the cleansing of the Holy Spirit. These sacrifices and washings were made obsolete (Hebrews 9:9–12). But the spiritual laws of God were never done away. Rather, as Jesus’ beloved disciple John was inspired to write: "Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus" (Revelation 14:12).

A View of Apostolic Christianity
If you could somehow "look in on" true Christianity during the first century and even beyond, what would you see? You would see a group of dedicated believers in Jesus as the promised Messiah. You would see a community of believers to whom the God of Israel, the God of Creation, was real. For these people would not just talk about the person of Jesus Christ. They would do what He commanded.

With Christ living in them through the promised Holy Spirit, they would keep all ten of the Ten Commandments as a way of life. As they learned to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18), there would be in their community no crime—no murder, rape, robbery or assault. No fornication or adultery. And except in rare incidents of sexual misconduct, there would be no divorce and remarriage (Matthew 5:32). Obviously, such Christians would have in their society no pornography and no gross sex and violence of any kind in their "entertainment"—whether in books, plays, or (among today’s Christians) television, movies, computer games or the Internet. Rather, all these dedicated, wholesome families would be obeying their "Lord," not just using His name while they contradicted by their lifestyle everything He taught (Luke 6:46). They would be resting and worshiping God on the seventh-day Sabbath as He commanded—constantly being reminded by this biblical day of worship that the true God is the Creator of all that is (Exodus 20:8–11).

True Apostolic Christians, for instance, would never be found fighting or butchering their fellow Christians—as has happened over and over again in the last few centuries in France, Belgium, Germany and Italy. In first century Christianity, the members of God’s Church never prayed to dead, so-called "saints" or to idols. They never worshiped the Virgin Mary. Of course, they understood that as a normal wife, Mary had at least six other children by her husband after Jesus’ supernatural birth had taken place (Matthew 13:55–56).

In first century Christianity, the dedicated ministers and elders in the Church of God were primarily husbands and fathers (1 Timothy 3:1–5; Titus 1:5–9). They were taught that in "latter times" some would be deceived by "doctrines of demons" into thinking it was wrong for men—certainly including ministers or priests—to marry (1 Timothy 4:1–3). Meeting regularly in plain surroundings on the day God made holy, His Sabbath, God’s ministers were instructed: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:2–4).

Indeed, as we have seen, mankind has been turned aside to "fables." Today, in dark, dank, foreboding cathedrals, priests and ministers in strange-looking "Mother Hubbard" gowns go through incomprehensible rituals, chant prayers and responsive readings—and expound the Bible itself very seldom. They have very little to say about the way of life which Christ and the Apostles taught or about the one-fourth of the Bible which was prophetic, or about the true purpose which God is working out here on earth.

As the New Testament makes plain, first century Christians would be "feeding on Christ" (John 6:57) by constant study of the Bible. Remember God’s description of the Bereans? "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

First century Christians, then, would be trying sincerely, with God’s promised help, to live by every Word of God. They would be following Christ’s example of obedience to God’s laws—not the ways, the rituals or the religious festivals learned from the pagans around them.

Again, they would not only believe in the person of Jesus Christ, but they would believe and practice what He taught: "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" (John 14:23). And they would believe what the Apostle John wrote near the end of the Apostolic Age:

"Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father" (1 John 2:24). Most first century Christians would have deeply understood the fundamental teaching of the Apostle Paul: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, KJV). The Bible makes it clear that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).

So true Christians—through Christ living in them—would be obeying the Ten Commandments as Jesus did, keeping the seventh-day Sabbath and biblical Holy Days as Jesus did and following the entire way of life modeled by Jesus Christ and the original Apostolic Church. As they worshiped together, sang together and served one another, they would have been filled with love—with worship and adoration toward the Great God, and with kindness and out-flowing concern toward one another.

For Christ would be living within them His loving, serving and obedient life. And they would be filled with and led by God’s Spirit (Romans 8:14). That very love of God flows down the riverbed of the Ten Commandments. As Jesus’ beloved Apostle explains: "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome" (1 John 5:3).

HOW Was the Truth Lost?
Some teach that their denomination was given the authority to change Christ’s teachings, and that by this authority its members need no longer obey Christ’s commandments or follow His example. The largest professing Christian sect calls itself both universal and Apostolic, and claims to trace its human leadership back to the Apostle Peter, from whom it claims the authority to change biblical doctrines, even though Peter himself never did so. Sincere members of that church would be shocked to learn that many of those who today call themselves Christians can trace their faith not to Peter, but to Simon Magus, mentioned in Acts 8! This Simon Magus was at the heart of the apostasy that turned much of the Apostolic Church away from Christ’s teachings.

Scripture recounts that all of Samaria gave heed to Simon Magus as someone great, calling him "the great power of God" (Acts 8:9–10). That phrase represents Simon’s "claim to be the bearer of divine revelation" (The New Testament Environment, Lohse, p. 269). Simon received baptism and became a nominal Christian, but the Apostle Peter recognized Simon as being "poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity" (Acts 8:23). Simon’s Samaritan religion was also greatly influenced by Greek philosophy, and early Christian writers reviled him. Eerdman’s Handbook to the History of Christianity notes: "Early Christian writers regarded Simon as the fount of all heresies" (p. 100). The Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.) in its article on Simon Magus identifies him as the "founder of a school of Gnostics and as a father of heresy." Noted historian Edward Gibbon says the Gnostics "blended with the faith of Christ many sublime but obscure tenets which they derived from oriental philosophy" (The Triumph of Christendom in the Roman Empire, p. 15).

Simon Magus and others sought to create a syncretistic faith, mixing popular devotions with their philosophies, and adding a covering of Christ’s words, to create a religion that could win mass acceptance. As noted historian Will Durant wrote:

"Christianity did not destroy paganism; it adopted it. The Greek mind, dying, came to a transmigrated life in the theology and liturgy of the Church; the Greek language, having reigned for centuries over philosophy, became the vehicle of Christian literature and ritual; the Greek mysteries passed down into the impressive mystery of the Mass. Other pagan cultures contributed to the syncretist result. From Egypt came the ideas of a divine trinity… and a personal immortality of reward and punishment; from Egypt the adoration of the Mother and Child, and the mystic theosophy that made Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, and obscured the Christian creed; there, too, Christian monasticism would find its exemplars and its source. From Phrygia came the worship of the Great Mother; from Syria the resurrection drama of Adonis; from Thrace, perhaps, the cult of Dionysus, the dying and saving god.… The Mithraic ritual so closely resembled the eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass that Christian fathers charged the Devil with inventing these similarities to mislead frail minds. Christianity was the last great creation of the ancient pagan world.… [The Eucharist] was a conception long sanctified by time; the pagan mind needed no schooling to receive it; by embodying the ‘mystery of the Mass,’ Christianity became the last and greatest of the mystery religions" (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 5, Durant, pp. 595, 599).

In the fourth century after Christ, the Roman emperor Constantine adopted Christianity as his religion. More properly, one might say that he "adapted" it, since the original Apostolic Christianity was dramatically transformed under his imperial influence.

Under Constantine’s direction, the Council of Nicaea was held in 325ad. Though he had not yet been baptized, Constantine presided over the council’s opening session and took part in its discussions, believing that it was his duty as emperor to oversee the establishment of doctrine for the church. But was Constantine presiding over the council as a former pagan now turned Christian, or did he use the Council of Nicaea to infuse his pagan background into what would become "official" Christianity? Respected historian Paul Johnson has observed the following regarding Constantine’s religious views:

"There is some doubt about the magnitude of Constantine’s change of ideas.… He himself appears to have been a sun-worshipper, one of a number of late-pagan cults which had observances in common with the Christians. Thus the followers of Isis adored a madonna nursing her holy child; the cult of Attis and Cybele celebrated a day of blood and fasting, followed by the Hilaria resurrection-feast, a day of joy, on 25 March; the elitist Mithraics, many of whom were senior army officers, ate a sacred meal. Constantine was almost certainly a Mithraic, and his triumphal arch, built after his ‘conversion,’ testifies to the Sun-god, or ‘unconquered sun.’ Many Christians did not make a clear distinction between this sun-cult and their own. They referred to Christ ‘driving his chariot across the sky,’ they held their services on Sunday, knelt towards the East and had their nativity-feast on 25 December, the birthday of the sun at the winter solstice. During the later pagan revival under the Emperor Julian many Christians found it easy to apostatize because of this confusion; the Bishop of Troy told Julian he had always prayed secretly to the sun. Constantine never abandoned sun-worship and kept the sun on his coins. He made Sunday into a day of rest.…" (A History of Christianity, Johnson, 1976, pp. 67–69).

If you read the above historical quotes carefully, you will understand that—during the appropriately named "Dark Ages"—nearly all the aspects of paganism were introduced into professing Christianity. False concepts of the "mystery of the mass," the worship of the Virgin Mary patterned directly after the worship of the pagan goddesses, the idea of a "little Lord Jesus" being born on December 25, calling it "Christmas" and connecting it with all the pagan rituals of the Saturnalia—all these false concepts and more were woven into what became "mainstream" Christianity.

Centuries later, the Protestant "reformers" were able to see a few of the problems of this Roman religion. But most of these pagan concepts were so thoroughly inculcated into their minds that the reformers made only a very few "surface" changes.

The "Reformation" Reformed Very Little
Martin Luther—the "father" of the Reformation—and other reformers still held hostile attitudes against all things "Jewish," including the Sabbath of Jesus Christ, the annual festivals and, in fact, literal obedience to the Ten Commandments. That is one reason Martin Luther presumptuously added something to God’s own Word! In Luther’s translation of the New Testament, he deliberately added the word "alone" to Romans 3:28. Luther was so adamant against the necessity of obeying God’s law—confusing it perhaps with Catholic canon law and Catholic rituals—that he added a word to God’s inspired revelation!

Romans 3:28 in the New King James Version reads: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." Luther added the word "alone" (sola in Latin) so that in his German-language New Testament the phrase became "justified by faith alone"—a plainly wrong change without support in the text. When one critic raised an objection to his changing Scripture, Luther haughtily replied: "Should your Pope give himself any useless annoyance about the word sola, you may promptly reply: ‘It is the will of Dr. Martin Luther that it should be so.’" (John Alzog, Manual of Universal Church History, Dublin: M.H. Gill and Son, 1902, p. 199). And, we may add on good authority, no other reason for such unscriptural changes as these was ever given. When it came to Luther’s own personal doctrinal convictions, Martin Luther was truly a self-willed man.

His third tractate of 1520, On Christian Liberty, asserts that a Christian man is spiritually subject to no man or to any law. He contended that since we are justified by faith alone, we are no longer under obligation to keep the law of God.

And, as is well known, Luther called the book of James an "epistle of straw" because James clearly taught the necessity of obedience to the Ten Commandments! Notice James 2:10–12: "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty."

It is exceedingly clear in this passage of inspired Scripture that James is talking about the ten "points" of the Ten Commandments. He tells Christians to keep the whole law. James then concludes by teaching New Testament Christians to "speak and to do" as those who will be judged by God’s law.

So although often sincere, the Protestant reformers carried over most of the anti-law, anti-obedience attitudes they had come to adopt in their rebellion against "Mother Rome." Yet, like Rome, they were still involved in a paganized system of false doctrines, wrong Holy Days and false concepts of God, which God Himself describes in Revelation 17:4–5: "The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication. And on her forehead a name was written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

As this form of "Christianity" became the state religion, masses of former pagans "converted." Many did so out of convenience rather than conviction, and kept their old beliefs privately. Others came to the new syncretistic faith uneducated in its beliefs, and able to receive only the most basic instruction.

A PAGANIZED "Christianity"
The church gained from Constantine and the Empire not just new doctrines, but new organization. Rome had a long-standing imperial cult, and its practices found a home in this compromised Christianity. Will Durant observes:

"Christianity… grew by the absorption of pagan faith and ritual; it became a triumphant Church by inheriting the organizing patterns and genius of Rome.… As Judea had given Christianity ethics, and Greece had given it theology, so now Rome gave it organization; all these, with a dozen absorbed and rival faiths, entered into the Christian synthesis. It was not merely that the Church took over some religious customs and forms common in pre-Christian Rome—the stole and other vestments of pagan priests, the use of incense and holy water in purifications, the burning of candles and an everlasting light before the altar, the worship of the saints, the architecture of the basilica, the law of Rome as a basis for canon law, the title of Pontifex Maximus for the Supreme Pontiff, and, in the fourth century, the Latin language as the noble and enduring vehicle of Catholic ritual. The Roman gift was above all a vast framework of government, which, as secular authority failed, became the structure of ecclesiastical rule. Soon the bishops, rather than the Roman prefects, would be the source of order and the seat of power in the cities; the metropolitans, or archbishops, would support, if not supplant, the provincial governors; and the synod of bishops would succeed the provincial assembly. The Roman Church followed in the footsteps of the Roman state; it conquered the provinces, beautified the capital, and established discipline and unity from frontier to frontier. Rome died in giving birth to the Church; the Church matured by inheriting and accepting the responsibilities of Rome" (The Story of Civilization, Vol. 5, Durant, pp. 575, 618–619).

As new and false elements were added to this "Christianity," the authentic elements were crowded out. Sometimes this occurred because of anti-Semitic feelings. Since Jesus Christ was physically from the tribe of Judah, many Gnostics denied His bodily appearance—they refused to accept that their God had been from this much-despised tribe. Others perverted Christ’s teachings because they hated the nation from which those teachings came. They knew that Christians kept the "Jewish" Holy Days and adhered to other practices that pagan observers found offensive. Early church historian Eusebius wrote of those who, holding this sentiment, sought to replace the New Testament Passover that Christ kept with the Easter festival drawn from Ishtar-worship:

"It appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews [of keeping Passover on the 14th of Nisan], who have impiously defiled their hands with enormous sin, and are, therefore, deservedly afflicted with blindness of soul.… Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd; for we have received from our Savior a different way.… Beloved brethren, let us with one consent adopt this course, and withdraw ourselves from all participation in their baseness.… For how should they be capable of forming a sound judgment, who, since their… guilt in slaying their Lord, have been subject to the direction, not of reason, but of… every impulse of the mad spirit that is in them?… Strive and pray continually that the purity of your soul may not seem in anything to be sullied by fellowship with the custom of these most wicked men.… All should unite in desiring that which sound reason appears to demand, avoiding all participation in the perjured conduct of the Jews" (Eusebius, The Life of Constantine, bk. 3, chaps. 18–19, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 1979, vol. 1, pp. 524–525).

A Far "Different" Way
Yes, many taught that "we have received from our Savior a different way." But that way is not found in the Bible. Instead, it is found in the customs of the Greeks and Romans and other European converts who adopted Christianity on the surface but kept their old ways. With the passage of time, these old ways overwhelmed the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Apostles, as discussed by John Romer below:

"Subtly, so subtly that the bishops themselves had not seen them, the old gods had entered their churches like the air of the Mediterranean. And they live still in Christian ritual, in the iconography and the festivals of Christianity. When Julian arrived in Antioch in 362… the great Christian city was in mourning, bewailing in the Levantine manner the annual death of Adonis, Venus’s beautiful lover. At Ephesus, though the sanctuary of Diana, goddess of the city, was taken down… her statues were carefully buried in dry sand. And when the Third Council of the church assembly at Ephesus solemnly voted that henceforth the Virgin Mary should be honoured with the title of Theotokos, the God-bearer, Ephesus, itself for centuries the city of the virgin hunter Diana, became the city of the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. In Egypt, too, the ancient sign of life, the ankh, which the gods had carried in their sculptures for thousands of years, was easily transformed into the Christian cross; the figure of Isis nursing her child Horus, Isis Lactans, became the figure of the Virgin with Jesus at her breast.… At Rome, Romulus and Remus were swapped for the biblical saints Peter and Paul. And still in the fifth century, the Pope had to stop the early morning congregation of St Peter’s from walking up the church steps backwards so as not to offend Sol, the rising sun god. Similarly, 25 December, now Christ’s birthday, was also the day of Sol Invictus’ festival and Constantine’s birthday. This festival was celebrated by cutting green branches and hanging little lights on them, and presents were given out in the god’s name. Sol’s weekly festival Sol-day—Sunday—became the Christian Sabbath. Just as Apollo of Delphi had made a beautiful transformation to become the Roman Sol Invictus, so later he became a Christ of the sun. All three of them are sometimes pictured in their fiery chariots… with… radiant haloes" (Testament: The Bible and History, Romer, 1988, pp. 230–31).

So we can see that true Christianity has been opposed from the very beginning by those who would turn it away from the true God whose commandments Jesus Christ upheld. But many of today’s professing Christians do not realize just where those commandments came from, and who proclaimed them on Mount Sinai.

The God of the Old Testament
In Matthew 22:42–45, Jesus challenged the religious leaders: "‘What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?’ They said to Him, ‘The Son of David.’ He said to them, ‘How then does David in the Spirit call Him "Lord," saying: "The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool’"? If David then calls Him "Lord," how is He his Son?’" The Pharisees were not able to answer. For they knew that King David of Israel certainly had no human "lord." This scripture had to be describing two personalities in God’s Family—one greater than the other. And, as should be obvious to us, David’s immediate "Lord"—the one who later became Jesus of Nazareth—was told to sit at the right hand of the Father until it was time for Him to become King of kings.

Yet the Jews had known that the coming Messiah was to be a literal "son of David." How could this one also be David’s "Lord," but have a still "greater" Lord telling Him what to do?

In 1 Corinthians 10:1–4, we read that ancient Israel was baptized into Moses and they all "ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock that followed them, and that rock was Christ." Again, it is clear—as a number of Bible commentaries acknowledge—that the spirit Personality who dealt with ancient Israel was the One who became Christ. For, as we have seen, Jesus said that "no one" had ever seen "God"—obviously meaning the One we call the Father.

Yet, right after giving the Ten Commandments and some of the statutes to ancient Israel, we find that the "God of Israel" did indeed appear to some of Israel’s leaders! "Then Moses went up, also Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity. But on the nobles of the children of Israel He did not lay His hand. So they saw God, and they ate and drank" (Exodus 24:9–11). So more than 70 of the leaders of Israel "saw the God of Israel"—not God the Father, but the "Word" who later became Jesus Christ (John 1:1–12). Could anything be more clear?

It was the One who became Jesus Christ who literally walked and talked with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He was the One who dealt directly with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He was the One who spoke "face to face" with Moses (Numbers 12:8). He was the One who spoke the Ten Commandments from the top of Mount Sinai! He was the One who commanded the seventh-day Sabbath.

If all professing Christians were taught the truth that the One who became their Savior is the One who gave the Ten Commandments, perhaps their actions would be quite different. The world would be a much safer place! All would realize that true Christianity is a law abiding religion—a way of life based on the great spiritual law of God. They would learn that—although no one is suddenly perfect, and we are commanded to grow in Christ’s character—it is possible to follow Christ’s inspired example through His Spirit within us.

How Can a Christian Live as Christ Did?
The Bible makes it plain that Christians are to keep God’s commandments. The Apostle John wrote: "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked" (1 John 2:3–6).

But how can Christians walk "just as He walked"? If Jesus Christ had to come and give His life because all have violated God’s law, how can anyone keep that law? Again, perhaps the most concise explanation was given by the Apostle Paul. "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20, KJV).

A Christian does not obey the law on his own, but through the power of Christ living in Him. Paul goes on to emphasize that law-keeping comes through the grace of God, and that law-keeping does not earn grace. "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain" (Galatians 2:21). With God’s grace, a converted Christian will keep the law; but without that grace, no amount of effort will bring righteousness and salvation.

What Should a Christian Do?
One can recognize a true Christian as someone striving, through Christ’s help, to live by every word of God (cf. Matthew 4:4). "Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matthew 5:48). By yielding to Jesus Christ, the fruits of the Spirit will become more and more evident in a Christian’s life. A Christian is more than someone who "knows" the truth. The Gnostics believed that "knowledge" brought salvation, and some today would deny that one has to "do" anything as a faithful Christian. Yet Scripture gives a very different instruction: "But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22).

Christians are to do as Christ did. In the "Great Commission" He instructed His followers: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations… teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19–20). Christians are to take His message to "all the nations" and teach "all things" that He commanded! They were not to change His message so much that it is today almost unrecognizable!

Sadly, many who call themselves Christians today—even commandment-keeping Christians—have turned inward. Saying that they must "prepare the bride" (the Church) for Christ’s return, they neglect the Bridegroom’s instructions. How can the Church "prepare" for His coming by neglecting His instruction to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to all nations? (Matthew 24:14). It cannot! That is why the Living Church of God has sent you this booklet, and why we print booklets, magazines, a Bible study course and other publications. It is why we broadcast the Tomorrow’s World telecast. It is why we use the Internet and other tools that God provides to do His work as He opens doors for His Message to be given to the world as a witness before He returns!

It is important that all our readers fully recognize that those of us in this Work—those of us on the staff of the Tomorrow’s World magazine, of the Tomorrow’s World television program and, indeed, all of us involved in this Work of the Living Church of God—are all dedicated to the task of restoring Apostolic Christianity!

As you read our articles and booklets, and as you view the Tomorrow’s World program, it is vital that you recognize "where we are coming from." For we intend to continue to preach and teach the same message that Jesus and the early Apostles did. We intend to restore—in all of its spiritual aspects—the way of life that Jesus and the Apostles lived and taught. Also, guided by God’s Spirit, we will continue to preach the inspired prophecies of the Bible and warn those willing to listen of what lies ahead.

As the time of God’s intervention in human affairs and the soon-coming Great Tribulation approaches, it is absolutely vital that you and your loved ones make sure that you truly belong to Jesus Christ—the Christ of the Bible—that you are worshiping God "in spirit and in truth" (John 4:23), and that you are part of the true Church of God which teaches and practices Apostolic Christianity: the Christianity of Jesus and the original Apostles. "He who has an ear, let him hear" (Revelation 3:13).