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A GUIDE TO FINDING

“THE TRUE CHURCH”

Author: Glenda McLachlan

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THE BIBLE:

The bible: King James Version.

Written by over 40 individuals

Over six thousand years.

Composed of an intricate skilfully designed integrated message system

Which provably has its origin from outside our time dominion.

The New Testament is in the Old Testament concealed.

The Old Testament is in the New Testament revealed.

The truth is in the details.

Archaeological discoveries.

Documentary studies.

Competent analysis.

The facts, the science and the evidence proves it.

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Introduction

Through a search to find the ‘True Church’ I was led to follow

a religion, locked into its rules rituals and traditions. I followed

it blindly and accepted its doctrine without question, many

times feeling very uncomfortable with parts of it, but I knew no

better. I felt the Lords love for me yet I never was truly

satisfied with the belief because it had

Contradictions within its own doctrine and also with the bible.

One day whilst reading the bible a scripture impacted on my

mind, calling me to prove all things. Had I done that?

Absolutely not! I had followed blindly, copying and doing all

that this religion required. Forever trying to prove myself

worthy of God’s love.

1 Thessalonians 5:21 (KJV)

21 Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.

I simply woke up, the door to my eternal existence opened

ever so slightly and I could see that I needed to go through

that opening to find my destiny and to find the truth and what

God wanted from me. I began to delve and prove everything I

had ever known about God and things that I had been taught

to believe. I shed off the layers of heavy burdens that had me

working my way to salvation, through repetitious rituals.

I disassociated myself from all my previous beliefs and

theories and began again, topic by topic, asking God through

prayer what I needed to know and what was truth and what

was fable. With every question and every thought, answers

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began flooding my mind and were all provable in scripture. I

felt strongly that I should write down all that I was

learning and not allow any influence or pre conceived idea to

thwart my new understanding. I studied the bible 18 hours a

day, 7 days a week and in doing this I walked away from

man- made religion and into the living gospel where I was

actually, truly following Jesus Christ by taking up the offer to,

“Come follow Me” and in doing that I became a member of

‘His Church,’ His Bride.

With the help and guidance of the Lord I have had an

amazing journey of astounding revelation, a complete change

of mind and heart, a whole new understanding of who God is

and of His intimate and unconditional

love for me. I have come to love the Lord with all my heart,

mind and soul and in knowing Him on a personal level I

realise that,

God Hates Religion!

Amos 5:21

"I hate, I despise your religious festivals; your assemblies

are a stench to me.

God hates religion! Many will be offended by such a

statement, for they have identified God with religion.

Religion, therefore, needs to be defined and differentiated

from the Christian gospel.

The English word "religion" is etymologically derived from

the Latin word ‘religo’ meaning to "bind up."

Religion binds people up in rules and regulations and in

ritualistic patterns of devotion.

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Christianity, on the other hand, was never meant to be a

religion. Christianity is the dynamic spiritual life of the risen

Lord Jesus indwelling the spirit of man so as to create

functional behaviour to the glory of God.

Granted, men have attempted to force Christianity into the

moulds and forms of religion. That is evident by all the

Chapels, Steeples, Temples, Sanctuaries and places of

Worship that dot the landscape of our society.

It is the propensity of man to formulate religion to take that

which is of the invisible God and attempt to make it

visible, tangible and controllable.

Man-made religion! The Apostle Paul refers to it as "self-

made religion" (Colossians 2:23), and goes on to indicate that

it is of no value against fleshly indulgence. In essence, Paul is

saying that "religion is of no value against man's sinfulness."

In fact, religion is a co-dependent enabler of the sins of

mankind.

Religion is essentially idolatry. Men worship their man-

made formations and structures, their ideological idols formed

in the concrete of inflexible minds.

When the Apostle Paul came to Athens (Acts 17:22), he

observed their idols and exclaimed, "Men of Athens, I

observe that you are very religious in all respects." The

Greek word that Paul used for “ligare” literally means "to

be tied up in false doctrine."

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Amos 5:21-24

"I hate, I reject your festivals; nor do I delight in

your solemn assemblies...take away from Me the noise

of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of

your harps."

Christianity is not a religion. Christianity is the proclamation

of the end of religion. If the cross is a sign, then it is a sign

that God put an end to religion and has solved the world’s

problems. It did not take a single human being to do it, or a

single religious work. Religion cannot do a thing to solve

mankind’s problems. It never will and never did.

Religion is inevitably the result of man taking that which is of

God and forming it, formulating it, in such a way that men

end up "playing at being God." Men can form idols out of

wood or stone in an attempt to represent God, or they can

formulate ideological idols, belief-systems,

doctrinal definitions, and theological thesis. The men who

thus form and formulate become the "chief priests" of the

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new religion because they are regarded as knowing the

most about what God is like.

Religion is a ritualised “Return to Bondage”

Many religions begin with the claim of a prophet or persons

whom an Angel appeared and instructed them with further

teachings and set up their rules and doctrines. Muhammad

visited by Gabriel, who left him feeling full of dread and

absolute fear, and Joseph Smith who was held down by an

unseen ‘spirit being’ that overpowered him until he had

given up hope, being full of dread and fear, in contrast to

the biblical Gabriel who visited Mary and Joseph and said

“Do not be afraid.”

Was it Gabriel, who visited Muhammad or Moroni who visited

Joseph Smith or was it Satan masquerading as an Angel?

2 Corinthians 11:14

14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into

an angel of light.

In the bible the Apostles did not commune with the angels to

get their inspiration for Scripture, Angels brought a message

which came to pass shortly after their appearance, they did

not come with a whole other gospel or doctrine contrary to

the bible.

Christianity centres on Christ, its message content does not

come from angels. All these and other religions have had

communion with angels for their extra-biblical books or are

given new revelation for a new interpretation on the Bible.

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Mormons worship a God who was a man who previously

before that was an angel (Spirit child as they put it). In either

case it is idolatry. Since they are not worshipping the Eternal

Creator but an angel who incarnated becomes a god from

formerly being an exalted man.

Jehovah Witnesses say Michael the Arch-angel is no other

than the only begotten son of God, now Jesus Christ. It is

this same Michael that became flesh and died for the sins

of the J. W.’s. He was disintegrated after he died and then

copied by the Father by memory and raised in spirit again

as Michael. This Michael / Jesus came back in 1874

invisibly and then came to the Watchtower headquarters in

New York in 1914 to inspect Jehovah’s organization to see

if everything is running right. The good news of their earthly

kingdom is under angelic direction and support

(Watchtower April, 1 1972 p.200.)

The only angel the Bible writes about that wanted to become

a God is Satan.

Muslim, Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses have violated

the instruction of the Holy Spirit through Paul where in…

Galatians 1:6-9(KJV)

"I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who

called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel;

which is really not another; only there are some who are

disturbing you, and want to distort the

Gospel of Christ But even though we, or an angel from

heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that

which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As

we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is

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preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you

received, let him be accursed."

Not only do they have another Gospel which removes them

from covenant with God, but it is an angel that has delivered

it. For the Mormons and J.W. it is the angel Jesus that

appeared to them, that they have received their instruction

from and are speaking about. This is not the Jesus of the

Bible neither is it the same message.

The need for more angels coming with another gospel

message and different messages at that, is not biblical and

not necessary. Christ overcame the world He said “It is

finished.” We were instructed to remain faithful until He

comes.

1 Corinthians 4:1 ‘Let a man consider us as servants of

Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God moreover it

is required in stewards that one be found faithful’.

Apostle Paul is saying God has entrusted us with His

mysteries but we must be faithful.

A good servant does what His master says. He is there to please his

master. Faith, hope and love would continue to be the basis in

Christian life until He returns. We have been asked to stand firm and

remain faithful to the teachings of the bible until He returns.

1 Corinthians 15:58

So then, dear brothers and sisters, be firm. Do not be moved!

Always be outstanding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your

labour is not in vain in the Lord.

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10. James 5:8

You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s

coming is near.

Roman RULE

The Roman Emperor Constantine claimed he saw a vision of

a cross before a battle, believing it was of God he converted

to Christianity, bringing into it, his pagan beliefs and

established himself as the head of the Roman Catholic

Church around 313 A.D., which made this new "Christianity"

the official religion of the Roman Empire. This ungodly

system eventually ushered in the darkest period of history

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known to man, properly known as the "Dark Ages" (500-

1500 A.D.). Through popes, bishops, and priests, Satan

ruled Europe, and Biblical Christianity became illegal, bibles

confiscated and a false doctrine contrived and forced.

Millions of Christian Jews were slaughtered by this

pagan religion, those who did not conform to its

doctrine were hung on crosses outside of Jerusalem

and set on fire to burn as an example to those who

tried to defy it. Home groups were banned, bibles

burned. Christianity was punishable by death during

this era, yet pardon was available to those willing to

renounce their religion by offering sacrifice to the

emperor or Roman gods. Honouring Rome's gods and

goddesses was considered a civic obligation and, it

was the law.

But many Christians refused to break with their faith.

They were often executed and then hailed by their

coreligionists as martyrs.

First, the apostles were continually threatened and

pressured to deny their Lord during their ministry;

especially as they faced torture and martyrdom.

However, none of these men who spent time with

Jesus chose to save their lives by denying their faith in

Him.

Yet, history reveals that not one of these men, who

knew Jesus personally, ever denied their testimony

about Him despite the threat and reality of imminent

death. This proves to any fair-minded observer that

these men possessed an absolute unshakable

personal knowledge about the truth of the life, death,

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and resurrection of Jesus. Each of the Apostles were

called upon to pay the ultimate price to prove their

faith in Jesus, affirming with their life's blood that

Jesus was the true Messiah, the Son of God, and the

only hope of salvation for a sinful humanity.

The Apostles were murdered, thrown off buildings,

slaughtered, boiled in oil, hanged.

Paul was believed to have been tortured and then

beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67.

Peter was crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross,

according to church tradition because he told his

tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same way

that Jesus Christ had died.

The Papacy and Priesthood

In the Bible there are no popes or priests to rule over the

church. Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Heb. 3:1; 4:14-15;

5:5; 8:1; 9:11), and all true Christians make up a spiritual

priesthood (I Pet. 2:5). Jesus Christ has sanctified all

Christians who believe on Him. (Heb. 10:10-11), Jesus

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Christ is the High Priest and all who believe in Him and

follow Him are automatically part of his royal priesthood,

male and female. Priests in these days are unbiblical.

Furthermore, the practice of calling a priest "father" is

forbidden by Jesus Christ in Matthew 23:9. There is only

ONE mediator between God and men that is (I Tim. 2:5).

Jesus Christ.

The Catholic Religion teaches that Peter was the first Pope

and the earthly head of the church, but the Bible never says

this once. In fact, it was Peter himself who spoke against

"being Lords over God's heritage" in I Peter 5:3. Popes do

not marry, although Peter was married (Mat. 8:14; I Cor.

9:5). The Bible never speaks of Peter being in Rome, and it

was Paul, not Peter, who wrote the epistle to the Romans. In

the New Testament, Paul wrote 100 chapters with 2,325

verses, while Peter wrote only 8 chapters with 166 verses. In

Peter's first epistle he stated that he was simply "an Apostle

of Jesus Christ," not a Pope (I Pet. 1:1).

The Roman papacy and priesthood is just a huge fraud to

keep members in bondage to a corrupt pagan church, who

worships Mother Mary and has altered and violated the

teachings of the bible, it shows itself in wealth and ornate

trappings, decked out in purple and scarlet, carrying a staff

with an emancipated Jesus on a cross or showing Him as a

weak and helpless baby in his mother’s arms. IT claims to be

god’s representative on the earth. It has pardoned sins and

ordained saints, it has corrupted the feasts of the Lord

replacing them with pagan festivals and added some

Christianity to them to fool the people and the followers of

Jesus Christ.

God sent His representative in Jesus Christ and His word.

There is no need for any man to represent God as the work is

finished with Jesus Christ. No man can speak for Him nor can

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any man change His commandments. No man can forgive

your sins and no man can change the plan of salvation. Jesus

Christ alone is our mediator with God there is none other

beside He.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none

other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be

saved.

Catholics, Muslims, Mormons, Jehovah’s Witness and any

other form of religion bring another type of God, with different

characteristics who is changeable and different from the

biblical God. Their God has set them up as the true church,

and they have extra scripture and doctrine other than the

bible and are on earth as representatives from God, or ‘so

they believe.’

Many modern thinkers hold to the concept that "truth" is totally

subjective, and that the more mature a person is, the less

dogmatic he will be about anything. But the New Testament

view of maturity is different. Solid, stable truth is held up as a

worthy goal, and Christians are urged to get past the stage as

quickly as possible where they're apt to be blown back and

forth by "every wind of doctrine." We're not to be

stubborn, of course. But neither are we to be gullible.

Although we're to hold our convictions gently and humbly,

the fact remains that we are to hold them. And as time goes

by, we're to become more skilled at seeing

through deception. We can't acquire perfect knowledge, but

we certainly can grow to "full age" and be among those

"who by reason of use have their senses exercised to

discern both good and evil."

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(Hebrews 5:14). In short, we can learn to discern -- and

we're in danger if we don't.

All those who have obeyed the gospel need to be reminded

that the devil's power to destroy people lays in his ability to

deceive them, leading them away from the truth upon which

their salvation depends. (John. 8:31, 32; 2 Cor. 11:1-4). His

weapon has always been the lie (John.8:44), and it is still the

horrible means by which he defrauds people of their hope.

(Col. 2:8, 18). For this obvious reason, the New Testament

warns against what the devil can do. In particular, it warns

against what he can do through those human deceivers who

further his program by being false teachers.

The greatest warning of the New Testament was to

beware of false teachers and false prophets.

(1) Jesus taught, "Beware of false prophets, who come to you

in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

You will know them by their fruits" (Mathew. 7:15, 16).

The apostle Peter devotes most of 2 Peter to warning

against false teachers. Jude devotes his entire letter to the

same theme. John in his epistles repeatedly warns of false

teachers. Paul’s final words to the Ephesians warned them

of false prophets and teachers. Acts 20:28-30.

Prideful deception allows man to pervert the pure word of the

bible and they each bring with them further scripture,

diverting those who are unawares from the pure undefiled

word of God. Catholic Cannon, Muslim Quran, Book of

Mormon, Doctrine and Covenants, to name a few.

Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. In what are regarded as

the more personalist religions of the West, doctrines and

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dogmas tend to function as aids to theological reflection. In

all the religions, doctrines emerge and develop in the service

of instruction for the faithful: interpreting their sacred

scriptures, understanding their obligations and duties, all of

which help to chart the religious pathway to wisdom,

rectitude, and fulfilment and are all subject to manmade

theory rather than the living word of God.

Deuteronomy 13:1-3.

"If a prophet arises among you . . . and if he says, 'Let us

go after other gods,' which you have not known, 'and let us

serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that

prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your

God is testing you, to know whether you love the Lord

your God with all your heart"

It is when you step away from religion

and follow the teachings of the bible that

you can come to know the true and living

God.

He desires a personal relationship with you. You

cannot have that relationship if you are aligned to a

religion and have to follow their ideological system.

Jesus Christ gave the example of His church as ‘His

bride.’ Just as in marriage you cannot completely love

and fulfil your commitment to your spouse if you are

having a relationship with another. How can you love

the Lord your God with all of your heart mind and soul

whilst doing it from instructions of a religion that is

based on a particular belief system.

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Most religions have a form of Godliness! But deny the

power of our Lord and Savior!

2 Timothy 3:5

Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And

from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those

who creep into households and make captives of gullible

women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge

of the truth.

His is a clarion call to all Christians to

return to that pure, vibrant, simple

Gospel message that primitive

Christianity received directly from the Apostles. The ancient church lived by it,

and shared it with all who would

listen. And thus, they "turned the

World upside down" (Acts 17:6).

W H A T W A S E A R L Y

C H R I S T I A N I T Y L I K E?

The heart of Christian tradition and the Christian way

of life is Jesus Christ.

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The Church is the Body of Christ (Ephesians 5:23,

Colossians 1:24) and provides continuity for the Word

of God. The three distinguishing marks of the early

church were:

1. Separation from the world,

2. Unconditional love,

3. Childlike obedience to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

S E P A R A T I O N F R O M T H E W O R L D

"No one can serve two masters," declared Jesus to his

disciples (Matt.6:24). However, Christians have spent the

greater portion of the past two millenniums apparently trying

to prove Jesus wrong. We have told ourselves that we can

indeed have both-the things of God and the things of this

world through a man-made version of what it was originally

intended. Many of us live our lives no differently than do

conservative non-Christians, except for the fact that we

attend church regularly each week. We watch the same

entertainment. We share the same concerns

about the problems of this world. And we are frequently just

as involved in the world's commercial and materialistic

pursuits. Often, our being "not of this world" exists in theory

more than in practice.

But the church was not originally like that. The first Christians

lived under a completely different set of principles and values

than the rest of mankind.

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They rejected the world's entertainment, honours, and

riches.

They were already citizens of another kingdom, and they

listened to the voice of a different Master. This was as true of

the second century church as it was of the first.

Lest we think that the early Christians were describing a

lifestyle they didn't really practice, we have the testimony of

the Romans themselves.

One pagan antagonist of the Christians remarked:

‘They despise the temples as houses of the dead. They

reject the gods. They laugh at sacred things. Wretched, they

pity our priests. Half-naked themselves, they despise

honours and purple robes. What incredible audacity and

foolishness! They are not afraid of present torments, but they

fear those that are uncertain and future. While they do not

fear to die for the present, they fear to die after death.’

When I first read the criticisms that the Romans levelled

against the Christians, I painfully realized that no one

would accuse Christians today of those same charges.

Religion teaches Salvation through Works!

Through infant baptism, taking sacraments, church

membership, praying to Mary, confession, temple worship,

ritual and tokens, (just to mention a few), these religions

have developed a system of salvation through

WORKS. God's word says that we are saved by grace

through faith in Jesus Christ, not through works:

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Ephesians. 2:8-9

"For by grace are ye saved through faith;

and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of

God: Not of works, lest any man should

boast."

U N C O N D I T I O N A L L O V E

Early Christians did not meet in church buildings. Homes

were their sanctuary. Synagogues were a room on the

home, often upstairs or built along the side the house, some

groups met by the river side for prayer meetings. Servants,

extended families, neighbours and their workers joined

them, but primarily the husband or main care giver was to

be head over their own home and to teach their family in the

ways of the Lord, thus making communities Christian with

neighbourly love toward one another.

The original church was never about a building or bricks and

mortar, it was about the indwelling of the spirit within man,

becoming perfected through a desire to live as Christ lived

and as taught to us by Jesus and the Apostles.

1 Timothy 3:4

One that rules well his own house, having his children

in subjection with all gravity;

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Matthew 24:43

But know this that if the good man of the house had

known in what watch the thief would come, he would

have watched, and would not have suffered his house

to be broken up.

Jesus and the Apostles went from house to house to

teach and read scriptures. The people only coming

together collectively when they gathered together in

Jerusalem for the Lords Feast Days.

Dictionary meaning of Synagogue: A house or place where

people gather, assemble themselves.

Mark 5:35

While Jesus was still speaking, some people came from

the house of Jairus, the synagogue leader. "Your

daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher

anymore?"

Acts 18:7

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the

house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God.

Mark 5:38

When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus

saw a commotion, with people crying and wailing loudly.

_____________________________________________________

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Luke 8:41

Then a man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, came

and fell at Jesus' feet, pleading with him to come to his

house.

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Acts 16:13

And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a river

side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat

down, and spake unto the women which resorted

thither.

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Acts 16:11-40

Lydia Baptized at Philippi

13 And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the

riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we

sat down and spoke to the women who met there.

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C H I L D L I K E O B E D I E N C E T O T H E

T E A C H I N G S O F J E S U S C H R I S T.

The last words Jesus spoke to the Apostles before He

ascended was.

Mat. 28:18-20

"And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, ‘All authority

in heaven and in earth has been given to Me. Therefore, go

and make disciples in all nations, baptizing them into the

name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I

HAVE COMMANDED YOU: and lo, I am with you always,

even until the completion of the age”.

Let's understand from the very words of Jesus Christ, that

the Apostles were to teach and do only those things they

had learned from Jesus.

THEY DID NOT LEARN nor did they teach ANYTHING

ABOUT SUNDAY AS A DAY OF WORSHIP.

We can be sure of that because the original Apostles never

taught it.

Sabbath-keeping is A Sign between God and His People

Ex. 31:12-13.

“And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak thou unto

the Children of Israel, saying, verily My Sabbaths, ye shall

keep: for it [the keeping of the Sabbaths] is a SIGN

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BETWEEN ME AND YOU throughout your generations; that

you may know that I am the LORD that doeth sanctify

you"

NOTHING COULD BE CLEARER! Part of that

sanctification is the keeping of God's Sabbaths AS a SIGN

between God and His followers.

The prophet Isaiah prophesied that in the end times, just

before the return of Jesus Christ, that salvation includes

Sabbath-keeping.

Isaiah. 56:1-2, 6, KJV.

"Thus says the LORD, Keep ye judgment and do justice: For

My salvation is near to come [that is the return of Jesus

Christ], and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is

the man that doeth this, and the son of man that lay hold on

it; that keep the Sabbath from polluting it, and keep his

hand from doing any evil....Also the sons of the stranger,

that join themselves to the LORD [the conversion of the

Gentiles through Jesus Christ], to serve Him, and to love the

name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone that keep

the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My

covenant [The New Covenant]"

God tells us there is a blessing for keeping His holy

Sabbath. Moreover, Gentiles are also to keep the

Sabbath. God never at any time appointed another day

of worship for Gentiles. The truth is that all sin is the

transgression of the law and that curses are the result of

sin.

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God gives a special blessing, if we truly honour and keep His

holy Sabbath. Notice God’s promise:

Isa. 58:13-14, KJV

"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing your

pleasure on My holy day and call the Sabbath a delight, the

holy of the Lord, honourable; and shall honour Him, not

doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor

speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight yourself in

the Lord; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of

the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father;

for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

God is speaking of His Holy Day, he did not say make your

own day and choose whatever day of the week you want. He

has clearly stated the

Sabbath that he sanctioned before Israel was founded, is the

one and only Sabbath day to be honoured as it is His Holy

convocation with us.

John 1:1-3

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,

and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning

with God. All things were made by Him, and without Him

not anything was made that was made." 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,

(and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only

begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

What is this plainly telling us? Let's examine it in the light of

what we already know. We have seen that IN THE

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BEGINNING GOD CREATED ALL THINGS, AND THE ONE

WHO DID THE CREATING WAS THE ONE WHO BECAME

JESUS CHRIST.

This knowledge is of the utmost significance because it

means that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the seventh-day

Sabbath. He was the one who blessed it, sanctified it,

made it holy, and commanded that it be kept forever.

Furthermore, the Apostle John is telling us that the Lord God

of the Old Testament, who became Jesus Christ of the New

Testament, was, in fact, the one who gave the Ten

Commandments and all of the laws, commandments,

statutes and judgments to ancient Israel at Mt. Sinai.

God has told us that these laws, commandments, statutes

and judgments are holy, righteous and good. God gave

these to us for our well-being and for our good that He might

bless us in everything, because God loves us. (See Deut.

4:1,37-40; 5:29-33; 6:1-6,17-18,24-25; 7:6-15; 10:12-15;

11:1-28—Please read all these Scriptures before you go on.

It is extremely important, so that you will understand the full

impact of Jesus' teachings in the New Testament).

When Jesus Christ began His ministry, He set the record

straight, as to where He stood in relationship to God's laws.

These were the very laws and commandments, which He, as

the Lord God of the Old Testament created and commanded

to be kept forever!

"Will I believe God, the Word of God, Jesus Christ and

His teachings, or will I believe the teachings and

doctrines of men?”

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Exodus 20:8-11

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you

shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the

Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work:

you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant,

nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger

who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the

heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and

rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the

Sabbath day and hallowed it.”

Mathew 5:18

"For truly I say unto you, until heaven and earth shall pass

away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass from the

law until everything has been fulfilled.”

Do heaven and earth still exist? The answer is a

resoundingly, YES! They still exist. What does that mean?

The heaven and earth are a witness that the laws and

commandments of God are still in full force and effect.

The Ten Commandments were written in stone by the

finger of God, unchangeable to stand for ever. They were

placed in the Ark of the

Covenant, whereas the Laws of Moses of which there

were some 616 laws were placed in the side of the Ark.

These were sacrificial laws and most were fulfilled and

no longer necessary, as Christ was our ultimate

sacrifice.

How does Jesus Christ look at commandment-keeping?

What does He say about commandment-breakers?

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Jesus clarified which laws and commandments He was

talking about!

Mathew 5:19

"Therefore, whoever shall break one of these least

commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called

least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever shall practice

and teach them, this one shall be called great in the

kingdom of God.”

Jesus Christ Himself said that we are blessed, if we do and

teach even one of the least of the commandments.

Furthermore, when asked what a person must do to inherit

eternal life, Jesus gave this answer: "...If you desire to enter

into life keep [Greek: poiaoo--means to be practicing] the

commandments" (Mat. 19:17).

This is exactly what early New Testament Christians were

taught. In the 90’s AD, the apostle John made it clear that

Christians were to keep the commandments of God.

I John 3:22, 24

“And whatever we may ask we receive from Him, because

we are keeping His commandments and are practicing

those things that are pleasing in His sight….And the one

who is keeping His commandments dwells in Him, and

He in him; and by this we know that He is dwelling in us: by

the Spirit which He gave to us”.

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Mat. 22:37-40

‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and

with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the

first and greatest commandment; and the second one is

like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these

two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Jesus expanded the meaning of these two great

commandments even more as recorded in the Gospel of

John. Jesus said, John 14:15-24

“If you love Me, keep My commandments…. The one who

has My commandments and is keeping them, that is the

one who loves Me; and the one who loves Me shall be

loved by My Father, and I will love him and will manifest

Myself to him…If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word;

and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and

make Our abode with him. The one who does not love Me

does not keep My words; and the word that you hear is not

Mine, but the Father's, Who sent Me.”

Jesus Christ observed the weekly seventh-day Sabbath;

it was something that He always did. We find this

account preserved for us in the Fourth Chapter of the

Gospel of Luke. This event is extremely significant

because the occasion was when Jesus began preaching

the Gospel in Galilee:

Luke 4:16

“And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up;

and according to His custom, He went into the

synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.”

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After Jesus left Nazareth, He continued throughout all

Galilee and was teaching the people on the Sabbath

days. He did not proclaim that He had come to do away

with the Sabbath commandment. Notice! “Then He went

down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and TAUGHT THEM

ON THE SABBATH DAYS. And they were astonished at His

teaching: for His word was with power" (Luke 4:31-32).

Jesus preached on many consecutive Sabbaths. The

Sabbath as we have previously learned was made to be

a blessing for all mankind. Jesus used the Sabbath to

preach, teach and extend the blessings of God through

healing and casting out demons. Jesus Christ used the

Sabbath to release people from sin-- Hence, the Sabbath

day is a day of redemption and salvation--a day of

blessing!

This is why Jesus continually healed on the Sabbath

day. In the account in the Fifth Chapter of John, we

again find the loving, forgiving, healing attitude and acts

of Jesus contrasted with the hypocritical, super self-

righteousness of the Pharisees. So much so, that in the

minds of the Pharisees, Jesus' act of healing on the

Sabbath, constituted what they claimed to be Sabbath-

breaking.

In reality, Jesus' act of healing was an extension of God's

loving kindness, which was a most appropriate

expression of the meaning and intent of the Sabbath day.

God created the Sabbath so mankind could be in contact

with the True God and receive His blessings. What

greater blessing could a crippled man receive from God,

than to be healed on the Sabbath-day?

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Jesus Christ Is Lord of The Sabbath. He Is Not Lord Of

Sunday!

After another dispute about Sabbath-keeping, because

the disciples plucked ears of grain to eat, Jesus made it

absolutely clear that He was Lord of the Sabbath day!

"And He said unto them, THE SABBATH WAS MADE FOR

MAN, NOT MAN FOR THE SABBATH [Jesus ought to have

known, because He created it!] THEREFORE THE SON OF

MAN IS LORD EVEN OF THE SABBATH” (Mark 2:27-28,

AT). Nothing could be more truthful—Jesus Christ as Creator

of the Sabbath owns it.

WHAT DAY DID JESUS SAY WAS THE LORD'S DAY, HIS

DAY? WAS IT SUNDAY? Absolutely not!

The Lord’s Day is not Sunday, as most professing Christians

have been taught, Jesus said that the Lord’s Day was the

Sabbath day. He is Lord of that day! The Sabbath Day is

the seventh day of the week, known as Saturday. It is

not Sunday, known as the first day of the week.

Therefore, the true Lord’s Day of the New Testament is

the seventh day weekly Sabbath.

The Apostles Kept The Sabbath.

In fact, history shows that it was almost 313AD years before

the official substitution of Sunday for the Sabbath was

orchestrated by the Roman Emperor Constantine, who made

Christianity the official state religion to secure political

advantage over a defeated contender for the office of

Emperor. His rival supported a policy of persecuting and

killing Christians. Constantine was quick to grasp the political

advantage of accepting and supporting Christians, but that

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acceptance came with a price: It gave him State control over

all religious matters.

Nowhere in the Bible does either the Father or Jesus

Christ ever grant permission to change the time of the

Sabbath from the seventh day to Sunday, the first day

of the week. No human being, institution or state has

ever had the right to tamper with what God has made

sacred.

In the book of Acts we find that the apostle Paul taught

the people on the Sabbath. In fact, when Paul first

began preaching in Greece proper, he observed the

Sabbath. It would have been a perfect time for Paul to

begin teaching the Gentiles that they did not have to

observe the seventh day Sabbath, wouldn't it! But did

he?

NO, HE DID NOT!

Let's see some more examples of Paul's teachings and

practices.

Acts 17:2

"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and

three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the

Scriptures.”

Paul Taught the Gentiles on the Sabbath Day.

The apostle Paul and Barnabas did not teach the

Gentiles that grace eliminated the need to obey the

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Fourth Commandment. Rather, they were told to

continue in the grace of God with Sabbath- keeping!

Because this is such an important matter, and the

Scriptures clearly reveal that Paul did not teach Sunday-

keeping, it needs to be repeated:

Acts 13:43

“Now after the synagogue was dismissed, many of the Jews

and the worshiping proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas,

who speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the

grace of God. Then on the coming Sabbath [not the next

day Sunday--but the next Sabbath], almost the whole city

was gathered together to hear the word of God” came

almost the whole city together to hear the word of God"

In his epistle to the Romans, the Apostle Paul taught that

grace establishes the law. Notice:

Rom. 3:30-31

“Since, indeed, it is one God who will justify the circumcision

by faith, and the uncircumcision through faith. Are we, then,

abolishing law through faith? MAY IT NEVER BE! On the

contrary, we are establishing law.”

Again, Paul makes it absolutely clear that a Christian

cannot continue in sin, transgressing the

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commandments of God—including the Fourth

Commandment. He leaves no doubt whatsoever. Notice:

Romans 6:1

“What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin, so that

grace may abound? MAY IT NEVER BE! We who died to

sin, how shall we live any longer therein? Or are you

ignorant that we, as many as were baptised into Christ Jesus,

were baptised into His death?”

If One Transgresses One of the Commandments, He

is Guilty of Breaking Them All!

The major commandment that is rejected by mainstream

Christianity today, is the Fourth Commandment. Yet, as

strange as it may seem, those who reject this

commandment will profess to keep the other

commandments and claim that they are doing the will of

God. But the apostle James declares that breaking even

one of the commandments of God is sin, and brings the

same condemnation as breaking them all.

James 2:10

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in

one point, he is guilty of all.

1 John 2:1-29

Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his

commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but

whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is

perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: ...

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In his epistle, James shows that Jesus’ teachings

concerning the spirit of the law did not eliminate the need

to obey the Letter of the Law. James explains Jesus’

command to “love your neighbour as yourself” requires

obedience to the commandments of God. James

specifically refers to the Sixth and Seventh

commandments, and makes it very clear that to break

any of God’s commandments is sin:

James 2:8-12

If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt

love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if you have

respect of persons, you are committing sin, and are

convicted by the law as transgressors; because whoever

shall keep the whole law, but sin in one aspect, becomes

guilty of all. For He who said, ‘You shall not commit

adultery,’ also said, ‘You shall not commit murder.’ Now if

you do not commit adultery, but you commit murder, you have

become a transgressor of the law. In this manner speak and

in this manner behave: as those who are about to be judged

by the law of freedom”

The same standard also applies to the Sabbath

commandment of God, to keep the seventh day Sabbath

holy.

Let us examine God’s Word:

Ex. 20:8-11, KJV

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days

shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is

the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any

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work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant,

nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is

within thy gates: for in six days the LORD made heaven

and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the

seventh day:

Where fore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and

hallowed it."

This was instituted in the beginning, before Israel was

chosen to receive the Laws of God.

Nowhere in the entire Bible, do we find a single

Scripture that changes the day of rest and worship

from, the seventh day of the week, Saturday, to the first

day of the week, Sunday. There are some Scriptures

that have been misinterpreted to make it appear that

Sunday is the day on which Christians should worship.

However, when those Scriptures are properly

understood and interpreted, it is clear that Jesus Christ

did not change the Sabbath day from the seventh day

of the week to the first day of the week.

Paul preaching until midnight on the first day of the week at

the time of the crucifixion is one such example where

modern Christendom says that shows now Sunday worship,

the first day of the week because that is the day the Lord

was resurrected. However Paul preaching on that particular

first day of the week is the practice of unleavened feast and

Passover observance, in which the first day of the week and

the following days are special biblical readings.

Unleavened feast including Passover extends for several

days. Thus Jesus on the day of His resurrection walked with

two men seven miles and taught from the Old Testament,

reading from the Torah on this day which is the practice kept

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annually for Passover and unleavened bread observance. If

Christians understood the Feasts of the Lord they would know

that Paul was keeping unleavened bread observance of

Passover by preaching on that particular first day of the week.

He was not changing church to Sunday.

The Sabbath day begins at sunset Friday evening until the

evening of Saturday.

John 20:19

Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the

week, when the doors were shut where the disciples

were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and

stood in their midst and said unto them,

“Peace be unto you.”

The reason the disciples were assembled clearly tells us it

was for ‘fear of the Jews,’ it does not say that they were

changing the Sabbath day to the first day of the week. Jesus

had been crucified and they were in hiding, but Paul still kept

the unleavened feast biblical readings, but this is not for a

church service on Sunday.

Matthew 26:17

17 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the

disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do you want us

to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”

The disciples certainly understood the feasts and the

requirements for the 7 day observance of Passover and

Unleavened bread.

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Rejecting the Commandments of God Is Lawlessness.

Everyone who teaches disobedience to the laws and

commandments of God is following in the steps of Satan,

who was the first lawbreaker. That is why Jesus told the

Pharisees that their father was the devil (John 8:44). While

professing to teach and practice the laws and

commandments of God, they were teaching and practicing

their own religious laws and traditions in place of the

commandments of God.

During His ministry, Jesus condemned the religious leaders

of Judaism for their traditions, which they held in higher

esteem than the laws and commandments of God. He

made it clear that in observing their own human traditions,

they were rejecting the commandments of God:

“…The Pharisees and the scribes questioned Him, saying,

Mark 9:11

‘Why don't your disciples walk according to the tradition of

the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands?’ And He

answered and said to them, ‘Well did Isaiah prophesy

concerning you hypocrites, as it is written,

Matthew 15:8 “This people honour me with their lips, but

their hearts are far away from Me.” But in vain do they

worship Me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of

men. For leaving the commandment of God, you hold

fast the tradition of men, such as the washing of pots

and cups; and you practice many other things like this.’

“Then He said to them,

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Mark 7:5-13

‘Full well do you reject the commandment of God, so

that you may observe your own tradition. For Moses said,

“Honour your father and your mother”; and, “The one who

speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.” But

you say, “If a man shall say to his father or mother,

‘Whatever benefit you might receive from me is corban’ (that

is, set aside as a gift to God), he is not obligated to help his

parents.” And you excuse him from doing anything for

his father or his mother, nullifying the authority of the

Word of God by your tradition which you have passed

down; and you practice many traditions such as this.”

In his first epistle, the Apostle John clearly defines

lawlessness:

I John 3:4,

“Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law, for sin is

the transgression of the law.” The literal meaning of the

Greek text. Here is a more precise translation of John’s

words:

“Everyone who is practicing sin is also practicing

lawlessness, for sin is lawlessness.”

To practice lawlessness is to live in a state of sin, committing

sin as a habitual way of life. In other words, lawlessness is

the habitual breaking of God’s laws and commandments,

which is sin. Religious leaders who teach and practice

lawlessness, appear to be righteous because they use the

names of God and Jesus Christ and quote Scripture.

However, they are not true servants of God because they

reject His laws and commandments.

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A close examination of the history of Christianity will show

that this is precisely what has happened. They have

established their own self-righteous religions and have

rejected the true righteousness of God. True Christianity, as

originally taught by Jesus Christ and His apostles, was

subverted from within by false teachers of lawlessness. The

teachings of these “ungodly men” that Jude and Peter wrote

about were passed down in the writings of the “early church

fathers” and were accepted by the Roman church as

authoritative traditions. Through the centuries the Roman

church grew in power, using its influence to stamp out vestige

of the true teachings of Jesus Christ. After a power struggle

between the Bishop of Rome and Constantinople, the church

split into the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox

churches. As the influence of the Orthodox Church

dominated the East, so the teachings of the Roman Catholic

Church moulded the thinking of the entire Western world.

The promotions of lawlessness have succeeded in deceiving

the vast majority of professing Christians into accepting a

false grace. As the New Testament shows, this distorted

view of grace does not lead to salvation. In the Judgment

Day, the teachers of lawlessness, who have been honoured

as religious leaders and have even done noteworthy deeds in

the name of Jesus Christ, will be rejected:

Mat 7:22-23,

“Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not

prophesy through Your name? And did we not cast out

demons through Your name? And did we not perform many

works of power through Your name?' And then I will confess

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to them, 'I never knew you. Depart from Me, you who work

lawlessness”.

If you believe that Sunday worship is Christian, and that

God's inspired Word, the Holy Scriptures teach Sunday-

keeping, then search the Scriptures and you will not find

it anywhere:

God blessed the seventh-day and named it Sabbath. (Ex.

20:10-11).

If God named the seventh day of the week Sabbath?

Nowhere in the Bible do we find a command to observe any

other day of the week as holy, as a substitute or replacement

of the seventh-day Sabbath.

Just as there is no record in all the scriptures where God

has changed any of the Ten Commandments and given a

different meaning to them. He wrote them is stone to

show they were unchangeable!

But still we think we can change one of them?

Below this scripture is not saying to not keep the Sabbaths, it

is telling us to not allow ourselves to be judged on keeping

them as the Pharisees tried to do to Jesus.

Colossians 2:16

Let no man therefore judge you in meat or drink, or in

respect to a holy day or the new moon or the Sabbath days,

The Sabbath commandment, one of the longest of the Ten, is

one of the commandments God gave to His people to

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observe that shows our love and obedience towards God.

(Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15; Mat. 22:37-40).

Jesus kept and observed the Sabbath, which expressed His

love and obedience toward God the Father. (Luke. 4:16).

Jesus Christ is Lord of the Sabbath, and as such the Sabbath

is the TRUE LORD'S DAY. (Mk.2:28; Isa. 58:13; Mat. 12:8).

Jesus Christ recognized the Sabbath commandment as

binding. (Mat. 12:12; 5:17-18; Mk. 3:4).

Jesus Christ kept His Father's commandments which

included the seventh-day Sabbath. (John 15:10; 8:29; 5:46-

47).

The Sabbath was observed at the time of the crucifixion.

(Luke. 23:56).

Observance of the Sabbath was the practice years after the

crucifixion. (Acts 17:2).

Paul recognized and observed the Sabbath during his

ministry, about 45 A.D. (Acts 13:27).

Paul taught the Gentiles on the Sabbath day, at their own

request. (Acts 13:42).

Paul preached to an entire city on the Sabbath day. (Acts

13:44).

Paul attended a prayer meeting on the Sabbath day, when no

synagogue was available. (Acts 16:13).

It was Paul's custom to preach Jesus Christ on the Sabbath

day. (Acts 17:2-3).

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At Corinth Paul preached every Sabbath for eighteen months

(Acts 18:14.11).

James recognized the seventh-day Sabbath many years after

Christ's resurrection. (Acts 15:21).

The seventh-day Sabbath will be observed and kept during

the time of the millennium. (Isa. 66:23).

If the above does not prove it to you then the following

scriptures tells you that if the day of rest had been

changed then Jesus would have told you so……

Hebrews 4:4-16

4 For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on

this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his

works.

5 And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.

6 Seeing therefore it remains that some must enter

therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered

not in because of unbelief:

7 Again, he limit a certain day, saying in David, To-day,

after so long a time; as it is said, To-day if ye will hear

his voice, harden not your hearts.

8 For if Jesus had given them rest, then would he not

afterward have spoken of another day.

9 There remains therefore a rest to the people of God.

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10 For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath

ceased from his own works, as God did from his.

11 Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any

man fall after the same example of unbelief.

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and

sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to

the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the

joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts

and intents of the heart.

The Apostle Paul made it clear that the day of rest, the

seventh day Sabbath was to be observed as a holy day.

As above scripture shows the sanctity of the seventh-day

was never changed by Jesus Christ, nor by the Apostles, to

the first day of the week, neither did it change after the

resurrection of Jesus Christ nor otherwise. Paul is clearly

instructing us in the above scriptures to observe the Lords

day of rest as sanctified by God. He even goes so far as to

say that if you think it was changed to another day then

Jesus would have told you so.

As part of our Christian requirements to receive eternal life

that we must keep all of God’s Ten Commandments (Mat.

19:17; Rev. 22:14).

The seventh-day Sabbath remains as the day of rest for

God's people.

Jesus warned that in the end time, as the tribulation was

beginning, that we should not flee on the Sabbath (Mat.

24:20).

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The sign of God's people in the end time is that they would be

keeping the commandments of God (Rev. 12:17; 14:12).

Sabbath is a day of rest from work and to be kept Holy

unto the Lord.

Catholic and Protestant Admissions about

Sabbath/Sunday, and the Trinity Doctrine.

“Our opponents sometimes claim that no belief should be

held dogmatically which is not explicitly stated in scripture,

but the Protestant Churches have themselves accepted such

dogmas, as the Trinity, for which there is no such precise

authority in the Gospels.” (Graham Greene, (celebrated

Catholic Author,) Life Magazine, 30Oct. 1950.

http://www.trinitytruth.org/paganoriginsofthetrinity.html

The Roman Catholic Church understands that the Bible

specifically sanctifies the seventh-day weekly Sabbath.

Furthermore, it also admits and boasts that the establishment

of Sunday worship is based solely on the ecclesiastical

authority of the Roman Catholic Church and not on the

authority of the Scriptures. Here are some famous

statements made by the Catholic officials in regard to the

seventh-day weekly Sabbath and the first day of the week--

Sunday.

"You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you

will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of

Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of

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Saturday, a day which we never sanctify" (Cardinal Gibbon,

Faith of Our Fathers, 1892, p. 111).

"Sunday is a Roman Catholic institution, and its claims to

observance can be defended only on Catholic

principles...From the beginning to the end of Scripture there is

not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly

public worship from the last day of the week to the first"

(Catholic Press [Sydney Australia], August 25, 1900).

The Roman Catholic Church boasts that by its authority alone

they changed the day of worship from the Sabbath to Sunday:

“Question: Which is the Sabbath day?

Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Question: Why do we worship [on] Sunday instead of

Saturday?

Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because

the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 336),

transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.

Question: Have you a way of proving that the Church [Roman

Catholic] has the power to institute festivals of precept?

Answer: had she no such power, she should not have done

that in which all modern religions agree with her—she could

not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day

of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day,

a change for which there is no Scriptural authority” (Doctrinal

Catechism, p. 147 and The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic

Doctrine, p. 50, 1927 edition).

Catholic Church claiming to have authority and that they

have the power to change God’s Law.

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No man has that authority on this earth, nor in the heavens

above. Any religion, man or culture who states that they have

the authority to change the laws of God are of Satan. If the

Catholic Church does not have authority then no other self-

professed prophet or saint can change the Laws of God.

"The observation of the first instead of the seventh day rests

on the testimony of the Catholic church, and the Catholic

church alone" (Hobort Church News [Episcopalian], July 2,

1894).

The overwhelming evidence of the Bible and history proves

that the Seventh day Sabbath—is the true day of rest and

worship of God. God puts His presence into that day. He

fellowships with His people on that day, as well as, the annual

Holy Feast days which, He has commanded to be observed

in worship of Him.

What is God’s mark, sign or symbol of authority?

Ezekiel 20:12

Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign

between me and them that they might know that I am the

Lord that sanctify them.

Hebrews 10:16

16 “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says

the Lord.

I will put my laws in their hearts,

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And I will write them on their minds.”

God is saying in the scriptures above that He gave us His

Sabbath as a glorious sign of His power to create and His

power to sanctify convert and save us. In the bible, the words

seal, sign, and mark are used interchangeably: God’s sign,

the Sabbath, represents His Holy power to rule as Creator

and Saviour.

Revelation 7:1-3 says it will be written upon the foreheads,

minds, of His people. Hebrews 10:16 It will signify that they

are owned by Him and have His character. Hebrews 4:4-10

confirms this by saying that when we enter His rest (receive

salvation), we should keep His seventh-day

Sabbath Holy as a symbol, or mark of salvation.

True Sabbath-keeping signifies that a person has

surrendered his life to Jesus Christ and is willing to follow

where-ever Jesus leads.

Since the symbol, or mark of God’s authority and power is

His holy Sabbath day, it seems likely that the symbol, or

mark, of God’s challenger, the beast, might also involve a

holy day. Let’s see if it does. What does papacy say is her

symbol or mark of authority?

Taken from Catholic catechism: “Had she not such power,

she could not have done that in which all modern religionists

agree with her she could not have substituted the

observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the

observance of Sabbath the seventh day, a change for which

there is no scriptural authority.”

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Pope demands Sunday to be a day of Rest!!!

The Pope is calling for the world to acknowledge and

honour Sunday as a day of rest. Legislation that will force

the world to worship and rest on Sunday is being put into

place. There are many voices clamouring to fulfil exactly

such a goal, using the economy, the environment, and

even the family as reasons to legislate Sunday rest.

The ungodly Roman Church is rising again in these last

days to force it’s pagan sun god worship, to fulfil prophecy

and usher in the final battle of the Anti-Christ’s attempt to

overrule the world before the Kingdom of God comes in its

fullness.

Forced Sunday worship is the mark of the beast!

********

There are some who still argue that Sabbath keeping

and the feast observances are for Israel.

I feel at this point I need to clarify who is Israel? Where

they are and what is their part in prophecy.

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EPHRAIM AND MANASSEH

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(GENESIS 48:3-20)

"And Jacob said unto Joseph, thy two sons, Ephraim and

Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt

before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben

and Simeon, they shall be mine... And Joseph took them

both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand,

and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand,

and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out

his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was

the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head,

guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my

fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me

all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed

me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named

on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac;

and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand

upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held

up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto

Manasseh's head And Joseph said unto his father, Not so,

my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon

his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my

son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also

shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater

than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.

And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel

bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as

Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh." -

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To fully appreciate the significance of the blessing of

Joseph's two sons, we need to understand some

background with regard to both history and prophecy

in relation to Israel.

The promises to the tribes of Israel were specifically

reserved for the "LAST DAYS", or "CHRISTIAN ERA" -

Genesis 49:1, Hebrews 1:1,2. The rebellion of the ten

tribes in the North, against the Throne of David, in the time

of Solomon's son, Rehoboam, is foretold in 1 Kings 11:9-

13, and 29-32. This northern ten-tribe division retained the

name ISRAEL. The tribe of Judah, in the South, were

granted the loyal support of the tribe of Benjamin, and were

collectively known as JUDAH. Understanding this division

of ISRAEL and JUDAH is essential, in order to rightly apply

prophecy. 2 Kings 17 gives a summary of how, because of

sin, God took ten-tribe ISRAEL away from the throne of

Judah, and eventually caused them to go into exile in

Assyria. They did not return! The fact is, both Ezra and

Nehemiah record that only 42,360 of the tribes of Judah

and Benjamin, returned to Judea from exile in Babylon,

together with a "mixed multitude" see Ezra 2:64, Nehemiah

7:66, 13:3. From these, the Jews of Jesus' day descended.

It is clear therefore, that to identify ISRAEL in both history

and prophecy we have to distinguish Israel from the Jews.

It was prophesied that ISRAEL would lose their identity,

God referring to them as "not my people", in other words, a

people who would not be identified as Israel (Hosea 1:10,

2:23), yet we may identify Israel by the destiny they were to

fulfil! I Chronicles 5:1 tells us the "BIRTHRIGHT was given

unto the SONS OF JOSEPH". This means that, through the

descendants of the SONS OF JOSEPH, God would fulfil

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the great promises of Israel's greatness! That greatness

included the promise given to Jacob in Genesis 35:11:

"I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply: a NATION and

a COMPANY OF NATIONS shall be of thee, and Kings

shall come out of thy loins... "

Clearly ISRAEL was to be a NATION with a

MONARCHY, which would expand to become a

"COMPANY OF NATIONS"!

The account of the blessing of Joseph's sons, EPHRAIM

and MANASSEH, is recorded in Genesis Chapter 48. It is

staggering that Jacob chose his grandsons, the sons of

Joseph to be bearers of the BIRTHRIGHT. That birthright

was the passing on of the promises given to Abraham,

Isaac and Jacob himself! This included the promise given

to Jacob that his seed would become a "NATION AND

COMPANY OF NATIONS"! The reason was that, though

they were actually his grandsons, Jacob adopted the sons

of Joseph as his own sons. It was, in fact, the highest

honour he could give to Joseph, that his sons would not

only be equal with the other sons of Jacob, but would have

the birthright. Yet Jacob went further than this. Although

Manasseh was the elder of the two lads, whilst giving both

EPHRAIM and MANASSEH a share of the birthright, Jacob

gave the firstborn-portion to EPHRAIM! In fact, Ephraim is

God's firstborn! (Jeremiah 31:9)

To identify modern ISRAEL, we are clearly looking for a

people who, though not recognised as Israel, have the

hallmarks of Israel-identity. God had told Abraham his seed

would be GREAT and their name "GREAT"! Jacob's

descendants were to become a "NATION AND COMPANY

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OF NATIONS", a prophecy entailed in the birthright given

to the sons of Joseph.

The indisputable fact that no other Nation is

named "GREAT", or has become a Company or

Commonwealth of Nations in precisely this way, is in itself

irrefutable proof that GREAT BRITAIN is EPHRAIM, and

that the prophecy had firstborn fulfilment in the Nation of

Great Britain and its Commonwealth of Nations, the

"Multitude of Nations" prophesied by Jacob. The Roman

Empire, at its height, tyrannically ruled approximately a

quarter of the then known world. At its height, the benign

British Empire ruled over a third of the earth's surface,

becoming the greatest Empire of all time,

its "branches ran over the wall!"(Genesis 49:22.)

Many of these nations now have independence, yet

Queen Elizabeth II remains "Head of the

Commonwealth", representing over 30% of the

world's population.

The portion of the birthright given to MANASSEH is

unquestionably fulfilled in the UNITED STATES OF

AMERICA. Joseph represented the greatest, richest

power on earth in his day, and that blessing was

passed on to both his sons, first Ephraim and

second Manasseh. Ephraim's position has

diminished, at this time, partly for reasons of

judgment, and partly to allow Manasseh to enjoy, in

turn, Joseph's pre-eminence in wealth and power.

But this does not alter history, or reverse Ephraim's

prophetic mandate.

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Clearly EPHRAIM is the leading tribe of Great Britain and

the Commonwealth of Nations. As firstborn of the

birthright, EPHRAIM-BRITAIN became the greatest,

richest power on earth. For this reason, as well as many

others, GREAT BRITAIN is identified as EPHRAIM! The

firstborn was known as the "bull" - a symbol of Great

Britain (Deuteronomy 33:17).

Let us not forget, however, that BRITAIN once

occupied that position in a far greater capacity than

ANY other nation, past or present! Also, whilst the

riches and power of MANASSEH-U.S.A. are

contained within a single

republic, EPHRAIM represents the combined

population, wealth and influence of GREAT

BRITAIN, its MONARCHY, and COMMONWEALTH

OF NATIONS!

(10) Ephraim would be a "Multitude of Nations" and

Manasseh a "Great People":

The prophecy contained in Genesis 48:19 is a

confirmation of Genesis 35:11, that Israel would be a

Nation and Company of Nations. The major

fulfilment of this prophecy to Israel was entailed in

the birthright given to Ephraim and Manasseh, and it

was Ephraim, the designated firstborn, who was to

fulfil the greater part, becoming a Company of

Nations!

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As the "Firstborn", Ephraim would have the primary

hallmarks of Israel Identity:

Israel was to be a great nation, actually

named "GREAT" (Genesis 12:2).The word "name"

here is more than a descriptive term, but is a word

commonly used with reference to a NAME! The

double use of "great", coupled with the

word "name" indicates that Israel would not only be

great but would actually be named "GREAT"!

They were to be relocated in ISLES, in the North-

West (Isaiah 41:1, 8, 42:4, 49:1-3,12). They would

number many millions, and would possess

the "gates of their enemies" (Genesis 22:17, 24:60).

They would "dwell in the midst of the earth" (Genesis

48:16) and be a colonising people (Isaiah 49:20).

They would be a monarchy whose 'hand' or power-

base would be "IN THE SEA" [i.e. in ISLES] (Psalm

89:25). Each of these marks of identity has been

fulfilled by Great Britain.

Britain's Ephraim-Mandate is evident in that it was

Britain that colonised and built the world's greatest

Empire, and established its Commonwealth of

Nations. It was Britain that led the way in Industrial

Revolution. Britain was in the forefront of many

major technological and engineering developments,

including building the first computer.

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In fact, there have sadly been attempts to re-write

history, in order to play-down or ignore the

significant role played by Britain, in major

technological, scientific and military achievements.

For a number of years America has been

enjoying Manasseh's portion of the birthright. Some

believe that, although Jacob appointed his younger

brother Ephraim as Israel's firstborn, this did not

prejudice Manasseh's inheritance as Joseph's

firstborn. In other words, whilst Ephraim would

inherit the primary Israel birthright, territorial

blessing and monarchy, Manasseh would receive

the double-portion of Joseph's material legacy of

wealth and power.

With the greatest respect and honour to those

Americans, who fought or gave their lives in two

World Wars, it cannot be denied, as a fact of history,

that Great Britain and its Commonwealth allies

fought a substantial part of two World Wars prior to

U.S. involvement. As one writer states: "The first and

second World Wars were won by Britain and her

daughters, with the U.S.A. assisting and assuring

victory AFTER the trend of the struggle had been

decided in both cases".

The British R.A.F., with Commonwealth support,

defending the British Isles against the axis-powers'

air attack, fought and won the Battle of Britain in

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1940. There is no parallel in modem history! It was

the major turning-point of World War II (see

1Chronicles 17:9-10).

It is to be noted that when the United States did join

the war effort, they did so, not as individual states,

but as a SINGLE nation or people (MANASSEH) -

joining forces with an alliance of nations - Great

Britain and the Commonwealth of

Nations (EPHRAIM) (Deuteronomy 33:17).

The initial, decisive role played by the British-

Commonwealth Alliance of Nations all giving

allegiance to the British Crown - the Throne of

David - in the two greatest Wars of human history -

as well as all the other facts mentioned - are

undeniable proofs of the identity of Great Britain and

the Commonwealth as EPHRAIM,

the firstborn of birthright Israel!

It is not without significance that it is the British Flag,

the Union Jack - signifying the Union of Jacob - that

has the diagonal cross at its centre, symbolic of

Jacob's crossed hands, which affirmed the role to be

fulfilled by Ephraim! The British Flag is the symbol

of Ephraim's Blessing.

Even the name 'BRIT-ISH' derives from the Hebrew

meaning 'Covenant-Man'!

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Reference could also be made to the location of the

Throne of David in Great Britain, which is, in itself,

essential to the distinctive role of EPHRAIM-

BRITAIN as the heartland of the Birthright

COMPANY OF NATIONS! According to Hebrew

scholarship, the

name "Ephraim" denotes 'aristocracy'. It is GREAT

BRITAIN that has an aristocracy -

Without doubt, that which above all, gives Ephraim-

Britain precedence is its THRONE! Its cohesive

influence, and the respect and loyalty it commands

both within and beyond the Commonwealth,

represents perhaps the greatest influence and

stabilising factor in the modern world. Concerning

that Throne, God said there would always be a

descendant of David to occupy the throne of the

house of Israel (Jeremiah 33:17).The British Throne

is the Throne of the house of Israel. Israel is located

where the throne is, reigning not only over Israel in

the Isles, but over all the other branches of the

house of Israel, who still give allegiance to that

Throne!

I should add, allegiance is to the Throne, and what it

represents. The Royal Family is fallible, like the rest

of us. But what that Throne represents is a Covenant

that cannot be broken, and a Kingdom that cannot

be shaken, and He shall come whose right it is, to

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take His Throne, as great David's greater Son, the

Lord Jesus Christ!

Close to 100 nations joined in the celebrations of the

Queen's Jubilee on June 2nd-3rd 2002. This event

has helped to awaken us to the amazing significance

of the British Monarchy, as the Throne of David, a

significance rooted in Israel's history and Biblical

prophecy. BRITAIN-EPHRAIM, even in its present

spiritual blindness, is still fulfilling a role of far greater

significance than most people recognise?

Essentially, we are all one people, and there are

representations of both tribes of Ephraim and

Manasseh on both sides of the Atlantic, though in

differing proportions. All the tribes of Israel are

undoubtedly represented, in varying degrees, in all

the Israel nations, and therefore we all have an

equally significant role to play regardless of what

tribe we represent.

At the end of the day, the primary issue is that we

recognise our collective Israel identity. Tribalism and

narrow nationalism really has no place in God's

economy. Regardless of what part of Israel we live

in, we should rejoice in the fulfilling of the plan and

purpose of God, and we should glory, not in our

nationhood, or even our Israelitish identity, but in

the GOD of Israel- "He that glories, let him glory in

the Lord".

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Hasten the day, when the Lord Jesus Christ Himself

will reign, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and all

the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of

our Lord Jesus Christ, and He shall reign for ever

and ever!

Prince Williams Crest. Lion of Judah, Unicorn of Ephraim

and the Harp of King David.

THE LAW VERSES GRACE.

What is the meaning of grace? Does it nullify—“do away

with”—the law? Is grace a “license” to sin? Does “not under

the law” mean grace has replaced it—and removed any

need for Christians to produce good works?

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What did Christ and His apostles teach?

What does the Bible really say?

What is the New Testament teaching on “law and grace”?

Is it one or the other—law versus grace—or both—law and

grace?

This is a subject of great controversy, leaving many confused.

This need not be. Here is the plain Bible teaching!

The meaning of grace in the New Testament has nothing to

do with abolishing God’s laws. False teachers who promote

“grace” over obedience are unaware that the New Testament

was written for those whom God calls to assume roles of

great responsibility in His kingdom. These false teachers

misunderstand because God has neither opened their minds

nor given them His Holy Spirit, which is necessary to

comprehend His truth.

The Christian calling (Rom. 8:29-30) is based on grace—

unmerited pardon of past sins and forgiveness upon

genuine repentance. Christians understand that the very

salvation offered to them is a gift, and that they must

continue to live a lifetime of obedience and overcoming.

(Acts 5:32, John 14:15)

The Law in perspective

Many religionists claim that God’s law was abolished by

Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. They think that mankind is no longer

burdened by the stringent requirements of that “harsh law”

that stands in their way of freedom— of “having a good time.”

But the Apostle Paul wrote, in Romans 7:7, “What shall we

say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. No, I had not known sin,

but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had

said, you shall not covet.”

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Most churchmen have traditionally condemned the law while

absolving sin. However, it is not the law that is at fault, but

sin. On our own, we cannot discover God’s perfect law. God

has to reveal and teach it to us. Leaders of professing

Christianity insist that God’s spiritual law—is done away.

They call it the “law of Moses,” claiming that it was

abolished by Christ’s sacrifice. But they do not know the

difference between the Levitical sacrificial rituals, ‘the Law

of Moses’ and ‘the law of God.’

The Ten Commandments were not called the Law of Moses,

but rather the law of God. The Law of Moses consisted of:

(1) the civil laws—the statutes and judgments that Moses

relayed to the people from God,

recorded in Exodus 21-23 and the remaining books of the

Law—and (2) the ritualistic laws (Greek: ergon) added later,

summarized in Hebrews

9:10. These ordinances regulated the Levitical sacrifices

(Lev. 1-7) and related duties. Ergon means “works,” as in the

“works of the law” (Gal.2:16). This referred to the labour

involving Levitical rituals - abolished by Christ’s sacrifice.

The Ten Commandments were never part of the Law of

Moses or the Levitical sacrificial system. The civil laws and

sacrifices were based on God’s Commandments, which

make up the core of God’s laws. Thus, the Ten

Commandments precede and transcend every lesser law

based upon them—statutes, judgments, precepts and

ordinances. Most professing Christians falsely brand the

Ten Commandments as the “Old Covenant.”

Consider this analogy: The idea promoted by most

professing Christians—that God’s spiritual law, the Ten

Commandments, has been abolished—is as ridiculous as

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claiming that the physical laws of gravity and inertia are no

longer enforced. Theologians cannot negate God’s law any

more than scientists can void the laws of gravity and

inertia.

How did the leaders of the New Testament Church view the

laws of God?

Paul wrote,

“Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and

just, and good” (Rom. 7:12).

The Apostle John wrote, “For this is the love of God that we

keep His commandments and His commandments are not

grievous” (I John 5:3).

And Christ summed up the matter, saying… Mathew 19:17

“…if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.”

In Matthew 7:21, He also said, “Not everyone that says unto

Me, Lord,

Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that

does the will of My Father which is in heaven”!

The “Grace” of False Christianity.

Let’s examine traditional Christianity’s teaching of grace. It

teaches that the Old Covenant was the Ten

Commandments. It maintains that Christ came to establish

a “New Covenant” containing only grace and promises—

liberty to do whatever one pleases. Law is not included in

their package. In their own minds, these creative

religionists have devised a way to “have a good time” and

have a clear conscience. They had to eliminate the source

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of their gnawing guilt. The solution was simple: “Grace

alone ‘saves’ men. The burden of commandment-keeping

is no longer necessary.”

This diabolical teaching would lead you to believe that the

law of God is harsh and cruel. It proclaims that the fault of

the Old Covenant was with the law, and since God gave the

law, the fault must have been His.

Read what Christ says to those who follow these false

precepts: Mark 7:7-9. “Howbeit in vain do you worship Me,

teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. For laying

aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of

men…Full well you reject the commandment of God, that

you may keep your own tradition.”

Notice the warning that God inspired in the book of Jude:

Jude 3-4 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto

you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write

unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend

for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For

there are certain men crept in unawares who were before

of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning

the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the

only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Even before the New Testament was completely written,

ungodly men had crept into the Church in an attempt to

corrupt it by turning grace into lasciviousness. This was

precisely the false gospel taught by Simon Magus,

Nicholas of Samaria, Cerinthus and other “founders” of

counterfeit Christianity.

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In the above passages, “under the law” means under the

authority of the old covenant law. That is also its meaning in

the only other occurrence in the New Testament:

Romans 6:14-15

“Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under

law, but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we

are not under law but under grace? By no means!”

We are not under the authority of the law, but under the

authority of grace — but grace does not mean that we are

free to do our own thing. Rather, grace comes with obligation

— we are under the law of Christ. We are to obey him.

Therefore, the law no longer has authority over us, since we

belong to Christ, not to the law. Christ is the one we obey, so

that we can bear spiritual fruit. The law is contrasted with

Christ, and it is the old covenant law that Paul is talking about

— the Torah, the Law portion of the Scriptures. We can be

under the law, or under Christ. Being under both is not an

option.

Galatians 4:30

Paul’s allegory of the covenants, Abraham, Hagar and

Sarah. Hagar stands for the old covenant (verse 24), and

Paul tells us to get rid of her (verse 30). Those who are

under her covenant are slaves, whereas those under the

authority of the new covenant have the full rights of children.

(verse 4). In Galatians 5, Paul makes it clear again. Although

the old covenant law enslaves those who are under it, we

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have been set free from that law (verse 1). But if we submit

to the old covenant law of circumcision, then Christ is of no

value to us (verse 2). We are either under the new covenant

or the old; we cannot be under both. The basis of our

Relationship with God should be faith in Christ, not the Law

of Moses.

But if we want to be under the old covenant, then we are

“obligated to obey the whole law” (verse 3). Christians,

however, are not obligated to obey the whole law. Paul is

not talking about just sacrificial or ceremonial laws —The

entire Law of Moses is fulfilled in Christ and Christians are

not under its authority, they are under Christ.

Christians obey some of the laws of Moses, of course. We

should not covet or lie to one another. But we obey these

laws not because Moses wrote about them, but because

they are part of the Christ-like life. We are under Christ, not

Moses.

As one more illustration of Paul’s use of the word law, let’s

look at Ephesians 2:11-19. Paul is saying that gentiles

were once separated from the covenants, separated from

Christ. But in Christ they have now been brought near. How

is this possible? Because Christ has destroyed the barrier

that kept the gentiles away. He has abolished the law.

Which law? The law that had commandments and

regulations separating Jews from gentiles.

Because Jesus has destroyed the legal basis for

discriminating against gentiles, gentiles have become part

of God’s people. Does this mean that gentiles have to

become like Jews? No, as the Jews were under sacrificial

laws and had to obey laws pertaining to Israel.

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Moses' law was the temporary, ceremonial law of the Old

Testament. It regulated the priesthood, sacrifices, rituals,

meat and drink offerings, etc., all of which foreshadowed

the cross. This law was added "till the seed should come,"

and that seed was Christ (Galatians 3:16, 19). The ritual

and ceremony of Moses' law pointed forward to Christ's

sacrifice. When He died, this law came to an end, but the

Ten Commandments (God's law) "stand fast for ever and

ever." Psalm 111:7,8.

There are two laws that are made crystal clear in the

following verses below. Daniel 9:10 is talking about God's

law and verse 11 is talking about Moses' law:

"Neither have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God,

to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants

the prophets."

Daniel 9:10, 11.

"Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by

departing, that they might not obey thy voice; therefore the

curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is written in the

law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned

against him."

Special Note: Please note that God's law also called the

Ten Commandments has existed at least as long as sin

has existed. The Bible says, Romans 4:15 "Where no law

is, there is no transgression [or sin]."

So God's Ten Commandment law existed from the

beginning. Men broke that law. Adam and Eve being the

first to be dealt consequence for sin. Cain killed Abel and

God dealt out consequences for sin before Israel existed.

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1 John 3:4

"Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin

is the transgression of the law."

Because of sin (or breaking God's law), Moses law was

given (or "added" Galatians 3:16, 19) till Christ should

come and die.

Two separate laws involved:

God's law and Moses law.

One

The major point of difference between these two laws is the

way they were recorded:

Exodus 31:18 “And He gave unto Moses, when He had

made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai,

two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the

finger of God.”

No one can confuse the Ten Commandments writing with

the way the Mosaic Law was produced:

Deuteronomy 31:9, “And Moses wrote this law.”

Two

Another major point of difference between these two laws

is the way they were given to God’s People.

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Deuteronomy 4:36; 5:22, “Out of heaven He made thee to

hear His voice, that He might instruct thee:…These words

The LORD spake unto all your assembly in the mount out

of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick

darkness, with a great voice: and He added no more.

And He wrote them in two tables of stone, and delivered

them unto me.”

It is important to notice that after God wrote the Ten

Commandments, He “added no more” to this Law, yet God

gave Moses statutes, precepts, judgements, and

ordinances afterwards.

If the Mosaic Law was part of the Ten Commandments,

there would be a contradiction here, because God did add

more to this law! But there was no contradiction, because

God considered the Ten Commandments to be a separate

Law. The Ten Commandments were spoken by God

Himself to the people, so that God would instruct them.

There was no mediator involved!

Moses was not the mediator of the Ten Commandments.

But he was the mediator of the sacrificial laws:

Exodus 33:9. “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into

the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at

the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with

Moses.”

2 Chronicles 34:14, “Hilkiah the priest found a book of the

law of the LORD given by Moses.”

Unlike the Ten Commandments, in which God talked

directly to the people, the sacrificial and ceremonial laws

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were spoken to Moses only. Moses was the mediator of

these temporary laws, but not the Ten Commandments.

Three

God made known this distinction to Moses, and Moses

explained it to the people at Mt Horeb:

Deuteronomy 4:13-14, “And he declared unto you his

covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten

commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of

stone. And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach

you statutes and judgements, that ye might do them in the

land wither ye go over to possess it.”

Please notice how Moses clearly separated the Ten

Commandments which “he commanded you”, from the

statutes which “he commanded me” to give the people.

See also Exodus 19:7; 39:1,5,7,21,26,29,31,32,42,43;

40:19,21,23,25,27,29,32 and Leviticus 7:38;

Four

“Neither will I make the feet of Israel move any more out of

the land which I gave their fathers; only if they will observe

to do according to all that I have commanded them, and

according to all the law that my servant Moses commanded

them.”

Here we are assured that the statutes which Moses gave

the people were called a “law” Two different laws are being

described now. God speaks of the Law.”

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I commanded (The Ten Commandments) and also of the

law “Moses commanded” (the Law of Moses).

(See also Leviticus 9:5 and Deuteronomy 33:4 for the

commandments of Moses. Deuteronomy 6:2; 8:11; 11:22,

27,28; 13:18; 15:5; 19:9;27:10; 28:1,15 and Joshua 22:5 for

two different laws. And Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 for the

commandments of God)

Five

Daniel was inspired to make the same careful distinction:

Daniel 9:11, “Yea, all Israel have transgressed thy law,

even by departing, that they might not obey thy voice;

therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that is

written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we

have sinned against him.”

Once more we see “thy law” (God’s law, the Ten

Commandments) and “the law of Moses” (the

commandments of Moses), and are different in content.

There are no curses recorded in the Ten Commandments

that God wrote. Only the book of Moses has curses

(Deuteronomy. 29:20,21,27,2 Chronicles 34:24).

(See also Exodus 20:6 for a passage on how the Ten

Commandments were considered God’s commandment,

and not Moses commandments)

Six

The following verses show that the “Ten Commandments”

and the “law of Moses” are 2 separate laws, because they

were separated physically:

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Deuteronomy 31:24-26, “And it came to pass, when Moses

had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book,

until they were finished.

That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of

the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law,

and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord

your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.”

The book of statutes and judgements which Moses wrote in

a book was placed in a pocket on the side of the ark. In

contrast, the Law written by God on tables of stone was

placed inside the Ark of the Covenant.

Exodus 25:16, “And thou shalt put into the ark the

testimony which I shall give thee.”

The spiritual lesson of this physical separation is that we

are to spiritually separate the Ten Commandments from

the laws of Moses.

Seven

And finally, the most important point. Did you know God

himself wrote the Ten Commandments a second time?

Moses broke the first Ten Commandments.

Exodus 34:1, “Hew thee two tablets of stone like unto first;

and I will write upon the tablets the words that were on the

first tables, which thou didst break.”

Deuteronomy 10:1 “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto

the first, and come up onto me into the mount; and make

thee an Ark of wood.”

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Now, first of all, if the Ten Commandments were part of the

Law of Moses, there would be no need for God to write the

Ten Commandments a second time after Moses broke the

original Ten Commandments. Why? Because the Ten

Commandments would already exist within, and be

included in and be a part of the book of Moses. The book of

Moses still existed at that time, and was still being

observed. But God wrote the Ten Commandments a

second time, which would have been meaningless if it was

considered a part of the Law of Moses, or the book of

Moses. So obviously, God considered His Law (His Ten

Commandments) to be separate from the Law of Moses

(the commandments of Moses). This shows that the two

laws are to be considered separate and distinct laws from

each other.

It is evident that these Ten Commandments were in place

from the beginning as God delivered consequences to Cain

for the murder of his brother.

Conclusion.

To summarise, we can note several distinction in the two

laws. They were originally written on different materials,

were spoken by different law-givers, were placed in

different locations in the ark, and they had totally different

content.

This shows, by example, how they are to be considered and

treated as separate laws.

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In addition, the Ten Commandments were spoken from

God’s mouth (Exodus 18:19; 20:1, Deuteronomy. 4:10. 12;

5:22-26; 18:16, Nehemiah 9:13), and God said he would

not “alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.” (Psalm

89:34). The Ten Commandments went out of God’s lips,

so the Ten Commandments could not have been altered!

Psalm 111:8

Ten Commandments (God's Law) "stand fast for ever and ever.”

Jesus said in Mt.22:40: “To love the lord your God with all

your heart your soul and your mind and love your neighbour

as yourself. On these two hang all the law and the prophets.

So Jesus sums up the Spirit of the law in this simple saying

love God, love your neighbour as you would yourself.

Many of the commandments from the OT are found in the

N.T. become intensified.

John.15:12: “this is my commandment that you love one

another as I have loved you.”

The commandments are fulfilled first by love. The only way

this can be realized is to have the love of Christ in us by the

Holy Spirit so we can obey from a sincere heart.

Moses covenant-Lev. 19:8: “Love your neighbour as

yourself.”

New Covenant- John l5:13: “Love your neighbour even as I have

loved you.”

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Eph. 6:1-3: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this

is right. “Honour your father and mother,” which is the first

commandment with promise: “that it may be well with you and

you may live long on the earth.”

Here Peter quotes one of the 10 and then gives new

application, instead of long life in the land it now is expanded

to on the earth. The reason is because it is no longer

exclusive to Israel.

Hebrews 7:12:

Under the law we needed to forgive to be forgiven, under

grace we forgive because we have been forgiven.

It is a whole new incentive and motivation. One was to

receive, the other is because we have received.

This is the concept of grace, He died for us while we were

sinners not when we stopped sinning.

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SEVEN FEASTS OF THE LORD

Again I have been told by well-intentioned Christians

that these feasts are only for Israel. As we have already

established we are Israel. It is us who have forgotten

our identity. Even so in my investigation on feasts I

soon discovered the feasts are not only for Israel but

for all.

In Deuteronomy 16: 10-11.

10"Then you shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks to the

LORD your God with a tribute of a free will offering of your

hand, which you shall give just as the LORD your God

blesses you;

11. And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God,

you and your son and your daughter and your male

and female servants and the Levite who is in your

town. And the stranger and the orphan and the widow

who are in your midst, in the place where the LORD

your God chooses to establish His name.

The Seven Feasts of The Lord are key points on a road map

in holy history. They tell the story of the main Covenant

events between God and His Elect people as they occur

here on the earth and in time. The story begins back with

the people God called in Old Testament times.

And it extends right through to the apocalyptic events John

saw in vision and wrote about in the Book of Revelation.

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The Seven Feasts will take us beyond the Apocalypse. The

seventh feast, the joyous Feast of Tabernacles, will come

into its ultimate fulfilment as the true new age dawns. This

will bring in the Millennium of Messiah, that glorious age to

come. The deserts will bloom and streams of waters will

break forth upon the dry ground. God will camp out with

mankind for 1,000 years as Emmanuel, "God with us". And

as a shepherd feeds and tends his sheep He will draw His

people to Himself.

The first four of the Seven Feasts of Israel have already

been fulfilled.

They were fulfilled in spectacular fashion. They were fulfilled

right on the auspicious Hebrew calendar dates on which they

have been celebrated in times past, the same dates that will

be celebrated forever more.

The three spring feasts were fulfilled by Jesus our Saviour.

The Summer Feast of Pentecost was fulfilled as well.

It was fulfilled by the Holy Spirit 2,000 years ago.

Here is the situation so far.

1. Passover Fulfilled!

(By Jesus/Yeshua at His crucifixion on Nisan 14 in the spring

of 32 A.D.)

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread Fulfilled!

(By Jesus/Yeshua at His burial in the tomb on Nisan 15 in the

spring of 32

A. D.)

3. Feast of Firstfruits Fulfilled!

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(By Jesus/Yeshua at His Resurrection on Nisan 17 in the

spring of 32

A. D.)

4. Feast of Pentecost Fulfilled!

5.

(By the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost on Sivan 7 in the

summer of 32 A.D.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

(A gap of 2000 years or so has allowed the Light of

Israel to go forth into the nations for the Gentiles to be

evangelized).

- - - - - - - - - - - - WE ARE HERE - - - - - - - - -

.

Now here come the next three holy days on the Hebrew

Calendar.

Feast of Trumpets

Day of Atonement

Tabernacles.

They are awaiting fulfilment and are probably just up

ahead.

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They are; The festivals of the Lord found in Leviticus 23

were given to us by God so His people could understand

the coming of the Messiah

(Mashiach) and the role that the Messiah (Mashiach) would

play in redeeming and restoring both man and the earth

back to God following the fall of man in the Garden of

Eden. Although most non Jewish Bible believers have

heard of the feasts, the deep meaning and the importance

of these feasts are almost universally not understood.

The apostle Paul wrote to the Gentile believers in

Colossae that the feasts of the Lord, the new moon, and the

Sabbath (shabbat) days were a shadow of things to come to

teach us about the Messiah (Mashiach).

If they are a shadow of things to come. How

important to understand them do you think it

would be?

(Colossians 2:16-17). Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus,

which means "salvation") was the substance or fulfilment of

the greater plan that God revealed and foreshadowed in

these seven important festivals.

To all the readers who are familiar with the festivals, you will

be fascinated to discover that the first four feasts or festivals,

which are Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Hag

HaMatzah), First Fruits (Bikkurim), and Pentecost (Shavuot),

primarily teach about the significant events, the first coming

of the Messiah (Mashiach) and why these events were an

important part of God's redemption of man.

In addition, you will discover that the last three feasts,

which are the Feast of Trumpets (known as Rosh

HaShanah), the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and

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the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles (Sukkot), give

fascinating insight concerning important events that

surround the second coming of the Messiah

(Mashiach).

WHY STUDY THE FEASTS?

Many non-Jewish Bible believers wonder why they

should study and observe the feasts. I believe there are

two good reasons. First, although all Bible believers love

God with all their heart and seek to serve Him daily, most

Bible believers do not have an in-depth understanding of

the Bible and do not understand the deep depth of the

personal relationship that God desires us to have with

Him. Most Bible believers understand their personal

relationship with God the same way I viewed my

Personal relationship with God for many, many years: Attend

the religion or local congregation of your choice, faithfully

and regularly and be a good, moral, honest, and decent

person in living your daily life, following man- made

traditions.

Now with my new devotion to finding my purpose, God

began to teach me and show me the deeper things

concerning my personal relationship with Him, and a spiritual

understanding of the festivals was a big key to unlocking this

mystery.

If you are a Bible believer and you desire to understand God

in a greater way than you do today, the festivals will reveal

to you the deeper things concerning your personal

relationship with Him. In the Feasts is God’s plan of

salvation for the human race.

The festivals are God's feasts and His appointed

times that we are to observe.

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God gave the festivals to teach about the death, burial, and

resurrection of the Messiah (Mashiach); the empowering of

the believers by the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh); the

resurrection of the dead; the coronation of the Messiah; the

wedding of the Messiah; the tribulation (Chevlai shel

Mashiach); the second coming of the Messiah; the

millennium (the Messianic age or the Athid Lavo); and

much, much more.

The Bible provides several powerful reasons for studying

and understanding the seven festivals of the Messiah:

The feasts are in the Bible, and all the Bible is inspired by

God (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

The feasts are a shadow of things to come that teach us

about the Messiah (Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:1).

The feasts are prophetic types and examples

foreshadowing significant events in God's plan of

redemption. (1 Corinthians 10:16, 11).

God gave the feasts so we could learn and understand

God's plan of redemption for the world and our personal

relationship to Him (Romans 15:4).

The feasts, as part of the Torah (which means

"instruction"), are as a schoolmaster or tutor that leads us

to the Messiah (Galatians 3:24).

The feasts will point to the Messiah and God's plan for the

world through the Messiah (Psalm [Tehillim] 40:6-8;

Hebrews 10:7).

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Yeshua (Jesus) came to fulfill all that was written in the Old

Testament (Tanach), which consists of three parts: the

Torah, the prophets (Nevi'im), and the writings (Ketuvim -

personified by the Psalms) concerning Him (Luke 24:26-

27,44-45; John [Yochanan] 5:46-47).

The feasts set forth the pattern of heavenly things on earth

(Hebrews 8:1-2,5; 9:8-9,23; Exodus [Shemot] 25:8-9,40;

26:30; Numbers [Bamidbar] 8:4; Ezekiel [Yechezekel] 43:1-

6,10-12). God gives the natural to explain the spiritual (1

Corinthians 15:46-47). By studying the natural, we can

understand the spiritual (1

Corinthians 2:9-13; 2 Corinthians 4:18.

WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THE WORD FEAST IN THE

BIBLE?

Two important Hebrew words appear in Leviticus

(Vayikra) chapter 23, and each word is translated as feast

in English. In verse 2, the word for feast is the Hebrew

word mo'ed, as it is written, "Speak unto the children of

Israel, and say unto them, concerning the feasts [mo'ed] of

the Lord...." The word mo'ed means "an appointment, a

fixed time or season, a cycle or year, an assembly, an

appointed time, a set time or exact time.

By understanding the Hebrew meaning of the English

word feast, we can see that God is telling us that He is

ordaining a "set time or exact time or an appointed time"

when He has an appointment with humanity to fulfil certain

events in the redemption.

In fact, Yeshua (Jesus) came to earth at the exact time

ordained by God (Galatians 4:2,4), and God has an exact

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time or set appointment when, in the future, He will judge

the world (Acts 17:31).

In verse 6 is another Hebrew word translated as feast,

as it is written, "And on the fifteenth day of the same month

is the feast [chag] of unleavened bread...." The Hebrew

word chag, which means a "festival,"³ is derived from the

Hebrew root word chagag, which means "to move in a

circle, to march in a sacred procession, to celebrate,

dance, to hold a solemn feast or holiday."

By this we can see that God gave the festivals as cycles to

be observed yearly so that, by doing them, we can

understand God's redemptive plan for the world; the role

that the Messiah (Yeshua) would play in that redemption;

and our personal relationship to God concerning how we

grow from a baby Bible believer to a mature Bible believer.

Although God gave us the festivals to observe, God never

gave the festivals so we would obtain salvation from Him

by observing them because salvation only comes by faith

(emunah); however, God did give the festivals for the

purpose of teaching and instructing His people concerning

His plan of redemption and our personal relationship to

Him.

THREE times A YEAR THEY WERE TO ASSEMBLE

Although there are a total of seven feasts (the divine

number for perfection or completeness in the Bible), God

divided the seven festivals into three major festival

seasons.

The feasts of Passover (Pesach), Unleavened Bread (Hag

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HaMatzah), and First Fruits (Bikkurim) are in the Hebrew

month of Nisan, which is the first month of God's religious

calendar in the spring of the year. The Feast of Weeks

(Shavuot), or Pentecost, is observed in the third month,

which is the Hebrew month of Sivan. The Feast of

Trumpets (Yom Teruah), Atonement (Yom Kippur), and

Tabernacles (Sukkot) are observed in the seventh month of

Tishrei, which is in the fall of the year (Exodus [Shemot]

23:14-17; 34:22-23: Deuteronomy [Devarim] 16:16-17).

Three is the number of complete and perfect testimony and

witness (Deuteronomy [Devarim] 17:6; 19:15; Matthew

[Mattityahu] 18:19-20; Luke 24:4445; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1

Timothy 5:19; 1 John [Yochanan] 5:8). So the feasts are a

witness to God's divine plan and the role of Messiah

(Yeshua) fulfilling that plan. This is the message being

communicated to Bible believers concerning the three

major festival periods in the year.

Traditionally, non-Jewish Bible believers understand

the festivals to be exclusively Jewish feasts. However,

Leviticus 23:1- 2,4 tells us very clearly that these are

festivals of the Lord . In reality, God in His divine wisdom

instructed us that these festivals are for both Jew and non-

Jew, and are to be celebrated jointly with each other

Deuteronomy 16:10-11King James Version (KJV)

10 And thou shalt keep the feast of weeks unto the LORD thy

God with a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which

thou shalt give unto theLORD thy God, according as

the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:

Deuteronomy 16:14-16King James Version (KJV)

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14 And thou shalt rejoice in thy feast, thou, and thy son, and

thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant,

and the Levite, the stranger, and the fatherless, and the

widow, that are within thy gates.

15 Seven days shalt thou keep a solemn feast unto

the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD shall choose:

because the LORD thy God shall bless thee in all thine

increase, and in all the works of thine hands, therefore thou

shalt surely rejoice.

16 Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before

the LORD thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the

feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and

in the feast of tabernacles: and they shall not appear before

the LORD empty:

11 And thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God, thou, and

thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy

maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the

stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are

among you, in the place which the LORD thy God hath

chosen to place his name there.

Leviticus 23:4

These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations,

which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.

Rev 4:1: After this I looked, and there before me was a

door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first

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heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here,

and I will show you what must take place after this.”

Feasts Now and Forever

A Warning

It is interesting to note that Jude warned that, "For

certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago

were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men

who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and

deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ"

(Jude 4).

This is interesting because in the next verse he ties

this problem with deliverance (from Egypt) during the

Days of Unleavened Bread (which should be kept as an

annual reminder of sin and deliverance, Exodus 13:3-

10, I Corinthians 5:8).

(Romans 2:13). Paul warned, "For if we sin wilfully after we

have received knowledge of the truth, there no longer

remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation

of judgment, and fiery indignation" (Hebrews 10:26-27).

By not keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, many have

fallen for a religion based upon traditions of men instead of

God's commands!

The Bible vs. 'Traditions of Men'

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Believe it or not Jesus ran into the same problem in His

day. The religious rulers (the Pharisees) were condemned

because "you have made the commandment of God of no

effect by your tradition" (Matthew 15:6).

Although traditions of men say that Jesus condemned the

Pharisees for keeping the law, the opposite is true.

Remember that Jesus said to them that "inside you are

filled with lawlessness and hypocrisy" (Matthew 23:28).

actually, they pretended that they believed the Bible, but

taught that their understandings (hermeneutics in modern

terms) were more important than the literal commands in

the Bible (Mark 7:8-9). This problem exists today.

Many professing Christians believe God's laws and Holy

Days are no longer in effect even though all the ten

commandments are specifically enjoined in the New

Testament and all the biblical Holy Days are mentioned

after the crucifixion of Jesus (unleavened bread is also

mentioned before Mount Sinai in Genesis 19:3).

The Apostle Paul warned:

7...Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This

persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A

little leaven leavens the whole lump (Galatians 5:7-9).

Paul was warning Christians that they should not allow a

little compromise with the world (apparently including

arguments of

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friends/acquaintances) should affect them. Christians who

kept the Days of Unleavened Bread understood that then,

and still understand that today.

Had Jesus or Paul told us that under the New Covenant we

don't need to observe the seven annual Feasts, then we

would not bother. The reality is, no one in the New

Testament said such a thing.

In fact, we find a myriad of passages in the New Testament

where people intended to keep them, were keeping them,

and would keep them in the coming Kingdom. And these

included Jesus Himself. Here are some: • "And when he

was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the

custom of the feast." (The Saviour's parents were in the act

of keeping Passover and Unleavened Bread in Luke 2:42.)

"After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went

up to Jerusalem." (Jesus went to Jerusalem to keep

Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, John 5:1.)

"You know that after two days is [the feast of] the Passover,

and the Son of man is betrayed to be impaled." (Jesus was

to become the Passover sacrifice in Matt. 26:2.)

"Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the

disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, where will you

that we prepare for you to eat the Passover?" (Jesus

always was planning to keep the Passover, Matt. 26:17.) •

"Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. But when

his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the

feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. Now about the

midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and

taught." (Here’s proof that Jesus kept this fall Feast, John

7:2, 10, 14.) "And there were certain Greeks among them

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that came up to worship at the feast." (Non-Jews observed

Passover John 12:20.)

"But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep

this feast that comes in Jerusalem: but I will return again

unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus." (Paul in

Acts 18:21 was speaking after the Saviour's resurrection

about his intentions to observe the Feast.)

1Corinthians. 5:8 • "Therefore let us keep the

feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice

and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity

and truth." (Paul is telling us to observe the Feast of

Unleavened Bread with a new emphasis in.)

"But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of

the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my

Father's kingdom." (Our Saviour’s statement promises that

He would observe Passover in the Kingdom with the

faithful, Mathew. 26:29.)

Considering God’s many commandments to keep His

Feasts, as well as patriarchs doing just that, what hinders

us to fulfil righteousness as well? Clearly the only holidays

in the Bible are those kept by Israel and by the Apostles

and our Saviour as well. All else is man-made.

Colossians 3-4 is a long passage that describes the

complete commitment we must make. We must allow God

to change our very nature, and we must learn to imitate

Jesus in everything we do. If we are truly yielded to God,

Christ will live His life in us through the power of God’s Holy

Spirit (Galatians 2:20).

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In addition to I Corinthians 5:7-8, we can see that the Days

of Unleavened Bread were still to be kept after the

crucifixion. In Acts 12:3, it says that, "Now that was during

the Days of Unleavened Bread". It does not say that these

days were done away. Also, Luke wrote,

Acts 20:6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days

of Unleavened Bread.

Philippi was a gentile town. It was in Macedonia and was

ruled by the Romans. Thus, in at least two places in the

New Testament, in gentile areas, we see that the Days of

Unleavened Bread were to be kept (I Corinthians 5:7; Acts

20:6). If Christians were not to keep the Days of

Unleavened Bread, why didn't Luke or Paul say so? Why

did Paul say to keep them?

If the Days of Unleavened Bread were always kept in

conjunction with Passover (which they always are in the

Bible.) If every time one consumed the symbols

representing body and blood of Jesus, they also had to

keep seven days of Unleavened Bread and this was done

weekly, as some religions do instead of once a year, then

those so doing would never consume regular bread!

Now for those that argue that keeping the Days of

Unleavened Bread is just a physical thing, there are two

points to consider: the point of purging leaven out is to

have sin out of our life (which is spiritual) and consuming

the "Lamb of God" is also physical (with spiritual

Implications). Doing one without the other reminds me of

certain Asiatic religions which feel that spinning a prayer

wheel is equivalent to spending hours in prayer. Those

followers probably at least think about some deity before

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they spin the wheel, but is that how God really wants to be

worshiped? Does He approve of other "traditions of men"

over His word?

Jesus kept the Days of Unleavened Bread. And while He

often did that in Jerusalem (Luke 22:1,) He also seemed to

have kept the Days of Unleavened Bread in or near Galilee

(Luke 6:1, some may wonder if early Christians kept the

Days of Unleavened Bread. Well, as shown before, Paul

taught that they should.

One theologian reported:

To the first Christians the yearly recurrence of the Passover

must have brought vivid memories of all that had happened

at the Passover of A.D. 29.

These associations soon gave a Christian meaning to the

very word Pascha ' Christ our Pascha is sacrificed for us,'

wrote Paul; and the Sacrifice and Resurrection,

remembered at first, perhaps, together with the night of the

Exodus, soon became the chief and only reason for

observing the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

And while Jesus apparently was crucified a year or two

later and there are multiple reasons to observe the Feast of

Unleavened Bread, it is true that the faithful have kept it

from the earliest times and that they have understood that

Paul's writings also support this.

In the days of unleavened bread Paul, coming down from

Galatia, arrived in Asia, considering the repose among the

faithful in Smyrna to be a great refreshment in Christ Jesus

after his severe toil, and intending afterwards to depart to

Jerusalem. So in Smyrna he went to visit Strataeas, who

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had been his hearer in Pamphylia, being a son of Eunice

the daughter of Lois. These are they of whom he makes

mention when writing to Timothy, saying; Of the unfeigned

faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother

Lois and in thy mother Eunice; whence we find that

Strataeas was a brother of Timothy. Paul then, entering his

house and gathering together the faithful there, speaks to

them concerning the Passover and the Pentecost,

reminding them of the New

Covenant of the offering of bread and the cup; how that

they ought most assuredly to celebrate it during the days of

unleavened bread, but to hold fast the new mystery of the

Passion and Resurrection. For here the Apostle plainly

teaches that we ought neither to keep it outside the season

of unleavened bread, as the heretics do, especially the

Phrygians...but named the days of unleavened bread,

the Passover, and the Pentecost, thus ratifying the

Gospel.

1 Corinthians 16:8

For I do not wish to see you now on the way; but I hope to

stay a while with you, if the Lord permits. But I will tarry in

Ephesus until Pentecost.

This shows that Paul knew when Pentecost was, that he

felt that the Corinthians must know when Pentecost was,

and that the Ephesians would have known when Pentecost

was. Thus, it apparently was being observed by Paul and

the Gentiles in Ephesus and Corinth.

In another year, the Apostle Paul also wished to be in

Jerusalem for Pentecost, around 60 A.D.:

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For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he

would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying

to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost

(Acts 20:16).

Thus, Christians in Jerusalem were still observing

Pentecost and Paul was observing it too.

Like the Apostle John (the last of the original Apostles to

die), the early faithful Christians observed Passover and

the Days of Unleavened Bread.

In the late third century, Anatolius of Alexandria wrote the

following:

“But nothing was difficult to them with whom it was lawful to

celebrate the Passover on any day when the fourteenth of

the moon happened after the equinox. Following their

example up to the present time all the bishops of Asia—as

themselves also receiving the rule from an unimpeachable

authority, to wit, the evangelist John, who leant on the

Lord’s breast, and drank in instructions spiritual without

doubt—were in the way of celebrating the Paschal feast,

without question, every year, whenever the fourteenth day

of the moon had come, and the lamb was sacrificed by the

Jews after the equinox was past; not acquiescing, so far as

regards this matter, with the authority of some”(THE

PASCHAL CANON OF ANATOLIUS OF ALEXANDRIA.

Chapters V,X, p. 415, 419).

The Last Day of Unleavened Bread The last day of Unleavened Bread is a Holy Day and, like the

first day, is a time for a holy convocation:

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Leviticus 23:6-8

6. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast

of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat

unleavened bread. 7. On the first day you shall have a holy

convocation; you shall do no customary work on it. 8. But

you shall offer an offering made by fire to the Lord for

seven days. The seventh day shall be a holy convocation;

you shall do no customary work on it.

We in the church follow the biblical admonitions and keep

the days of unleavened bread. As a time of a holy

convocation, we abstain from carnal activities such as

working for a living.

Those who can, meet together with like-minded, abstain

from leaven, etc. And those who cannot meet together, still

abstain from leaven, pray, and normally will watch an

online sermon, such as Christians and the Days of

Unleavened Bread, as part of their observance (and of

course, eat some amount of unleavened bread).

Notice that Paul is telling Christians to keep the feast. In

addition to I Corinthians 5:7-8, we can see that the Days of

Unleavened Bread were still to be kept after the crucifixion.

In Acts 12:3, it says that, “Now that was during the Days of

Unleavened Bread”. It does not say that these days were

done away. Also, Luke wrote,

Acts 20:6

6 But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of

Unleavened Bread.

In Conclusion

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Although the Days of Unleavened Bread are first mentioned

in the Old Testament, it is in the New Testament that we

learn more fully that today's leaven pictures false religion

and sin. The New Testament shows the connection between

Jesus' Passover sacrifice and the removal of false religion

and sin from our lives.

According to the New Testament and the records of

historians, the original practice of the earliest

Christians observed Passover and the Days of

Unleavened Bread. Christians, like some of the

observant Jews, purge their homes of leaven prior to

sunset on the 15th of Nisan. And Christians avoid

leaven for those seven days. This is something that

the Bible teaches and early Christians practiced.

Will you follow those who followed Christ?

1)“There was a definite time — a definite hour — when He

held this supper, setting us an example.... It was `when the

hour was come,’ [Luke 22:14] that Jesus first introduced the

bread and the wine.”

2 We take unleavened bread, symbolizing his broken body,

and the wine, symbolizing his shed blood, as a memorial,

looking back to his death.... The time for commemorating

Passover...is once a year. Jesus set us an example (1 Peter

2:21), observing it at this set time once a year (Luke 2:42).”

3) “We do it in remembrance of the Lord’s death — a

memorial of His death. And memorials of momentous

occasions always are observed annually, once a year, on the

anniversary of the event they commemorate.”

Jesus Christ carefully chose His time of death and

resurrection.

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Luke 22:15.

Is timing of all things important to the Lord?

Yes He died on the High Sabbath of the

Passover, he rested in His tomb on the weekly Sabbath,

The Days of Unleavened Bread, which come immediately

after Passover, picture being cleansed from sin by the

acceptance of the sacrifice of Jesus (2 Peter 1:9-11). They

also picture that the leaven of hypocrisy, malice, and

wickedness need to be purged (Luke 12:1; 1 Corinthians

5:6-13). The Apostle Paul was inspired to write, “Therefore

let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the

leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened

bread of sincerity and truth”

(1 Corinthians 5:8).

By keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread, Christians

picture that they have heard the word of God, accepted the

sacrifice of Jesus, try to put the word of God into practice,

and have symbolically put false religion and sin out of their

lives. By keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread,

Christians show that they are willing to obey God over the

traditions of men. In conclusion, as is says in,

I Corinthians 5:8, "Therefore let us keep the feast."

The ‘true church’ is alive and well on this earth and there

are millions of people who are following the bible and its

teachings.

They are NOT following a religion or prophet who has set

their own interpretation on the word, but people who are led

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and guided by Jesus Christ Himself. He said “come follow

me” “Do as I do” “Be ye therefore perfect, even as I am

perfect.” You can only obey this if you are doing as HE did

and His Apostles did as they taught us through scripture to

follow His ways and His commandments, His Sabbaths,

His celebrations and His feasts. There is no other way to

God but through the son, Jesus Christ.

Christmas and Easter are pagan celebrations which were

instituted by the Roman Emperor Constantine around

316AD where he removed the biblical feasts of the Lord

and changed the Sabbath from seventh day of the week to

the first day of the week and constructed his own

celebrations which were pagan festivals and they were

incorporated into another form of religious observance

which held some Christian belief mingled with pagan sun

god worship.

These pagan celebrations had been instituted long before

Christ was born.

Jeremiah 10:2-4

“Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…. For

the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out

of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the

axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with

nails and with hammers, that it move not.”

If Christmas and Easter are the feasts you observe only

then they are not of ‘His Church,’ but are of the traditions of

men.

How do I know this? Because the bible does not speak of

these feasts and Jesus or the Apostles did not celebrate

these days.

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Tithes and Offerings

Mathew 6:2

“Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet

before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in

the streets that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say

to you, they have received their reward.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand

know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may

be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will

reward you.”

The terrible thing about our acts of devotion is how easy

they are to twist in order to put our faithfulness on display.

Once we’ve made ourselves the object and focus of our

generosity, we have undermined the act.

God has always promised reward for the faithfulness of his

saints, but Jesus tells us that when you draw attention to

your giving, the respect and awe you’ve inspired becomes

your reward—invalidating further blessing.

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Old Testament

The tithing system described in the Bible was designed

specifically to meet the needs of the religious, economic

and political system of ancient Israel.

Each of the twelve tribes of Israel, except the tribe of Levi,

initially received an allotment of land in the promised land

of Canaan. The Levites were assistants to Israel's priests

and were supported by a tithe offering from other eleven

tribes. All families of those eleven tribes were to give a

tenth of all produce, flocks, and cattle to the Levites. In

turn, the Levites were to give a tenth of that to support the

priests (Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:21-28). Tithes

were also used to meet the needs of foreigners, orphans

and widows. (Deuteronomy 26:12-13) In addition, everyone

was to be generous with those in need:

Deuteronomy 15:7-8

“If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the

towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do

not be hardhearted or tight fisted toward your poor brother.

Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he

needs.”

New Testament

Jesus seems to support the tithe in Matthew 23:23-24, but

these verses are primarily intended as a criticism of the

Pharisees as hypocrites who obeyed the letter of the law

but not the spirit of the law. They were so meticulous about

the law that they tithed even the small amounts of spices

they grew in household gardens, but they ignored the more

important matters of justice, mercy and faith!

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However, Jesus made it clear that we are obligated to be

generous to those in need (Matthew 25:31-46).

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from

the one who wants to borrow from you. Matthew 5:42

Giving is to be done cheerfully, rather than as an obligation

(2 Corinthians 9:6-7), and not for the purpose of public

recognition (Matthew 6:1-4). The right amount to give may

be more or less than ten percent, depending on one's

circumstances (Matthew 19:21, Luke 18:22, 21:1-4,

Hebrews 13:16, 1 John 3:17).

Generous giving is an acknowledgment that everything we

have is a gift from God, and is to be used in His service

(Luke 12:33, Acts 20:35, 1 Timothy 6:17-19, James 1:17,

1:27, 1 Peter 4:10).

Rather than give a certain amount as an obligation, we are

urged to share generously of whatever talents, abilities and

wealth God has entrusted to us:

We have different gifts

Romans 12:6-8.

If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to

his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let

him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is

contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously;

if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing

mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

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1 Corinthians 9:14

“Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the

gospel should live of the gospel.”

Tithing should provide a living for those who preach the

gospel.

TITHING PUTS THE WRONG EMPHASIS UPON GIVING.

Many religions require one tenth of your earnings.

Tithing emphasises your obligation to God; New Testament

giving, as we shall see, emphasises your willing, loving

response to God’s grace. Furthermore, tithing limits giving

by making a person feel that he has paid his dues (so to

speak) and thus nothing more is required, when, in fact,

much more could be done. Tithing has a tendency to put a

person on a legal basis with God, rather than a love

relationship. It’s the wrong emphasis.

TITHING LEADS TO A FALSE CONCEPT OF

STEWARDSHIP.

It leads to the notion that 10 percent is God’s money and

90 percent is my money. In reality, 100 percent is God’s

money, and He may want me to channel 90 percent into

His work and live on 10 percent. Tithing can be a bad rut.

TITHING IS BURDENSOME FOR SOME AND EASY

FOR OTHERS.

If a man with a family of five makes $20,000 a year and

tithes, he has $18,000 (apart from taxes) to support five

people. If a childless couple makes $100,000 a year and

tithes, they have $90,000 (apart from taxes) to support two

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people. That would be burdensome to the man with five

mouths to feed, but ridiculously easy for the couple.

Generous grace giving is the New Testament standard.

When you say “grace,” a lot of people, unfortunately,

connect it with hang loose, undisciplined living. But that is

not grace! Nor is grace the balance point between legalism

and licentiousness.

Rather grace (as a system) is totally opposed both to

legalism and licentiousness, which are two sides of the

same coin.

Legalism and licentiousness both operate on the principle

of the flesh. Legalism is an attempt to earn standing with

God through human effort and leads to pride or

condemnation, depending on how well you do.

Licentiousness casts off restraint and lives to gratify the

flesh.

But God’s grace is His unmerited favour based on Christ’s

sacrifice. The motivating power in grace is the indwelling

Spirit of God. The person under grace responds out of love

and gratitude to God and depends upon the indwelling Holy

Spirit to conform his life to what God requires. With that

basic understanding of grace, let me spell out some things

that grace giving is not, and then some things that grace

giving is.

GRACE GIVING IS NOT...

Random and irresponsible. It does not mean that you give

every now and then, hit and miss; rather it is planned and

systematic (1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Cor. 9:7).

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Being under grace does not mean living by feelings. Living

under grace means walking by faith and obedience in

response to God’s love.

There are many commands under grace.

God’s grace should motivate us to excel far more than the

minimum under the law (1 Cor. 15:10).

Giving God the leftovers. God deserves the best, not just

what is convenient. If we love God with all our heart, soul,

mind, and strength, then we won’t just give Him what’s left

over after the bills are paid. He deserves first place.

Thus grace giving is not, haphazard giving whenever we

feel like it.

GRACE GIVING IS BASED ON...

God’s example in Christ (2 Cor. 8:9). Aren’t you glad that

God did not just give a tenth! He gave all. The Lord Jesus

Christ was infinitely rich. He dwelled in the unimaginable

splendour of heaven, apart from the sin and corruption of

this world. But He gave that up, laid aside His privileges,

and took on human flesh.

He could have chosen to be born as a prince in palatial

splendour.

But instead He was born and lived in poverty. He ultimately

impoverished Himself to the maximum by taking upon

Himself the sin of the human race in order that we might

become rich (2 Cor. 5:21).

Grace giving looks to the nail-pierced hands of the Lord

Jesus, who gave Himself so that we might be rescued from

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the wrath of God, and says, “Lord, You gave all for me!

What can I give back to You?”

The concept of stewardship. “You are not your own, for you

have been bought with a price ...” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). All that

we are and have belongs to God, not just a tenth. I am

merely the manager of His resources. As a good manager,

I use the Owner’s resources to further His work (see Acts

2:44-45; 4:32-37; 11:2730 for some examples).

Inner motivation, not outward compulsion (2 Cor. 8:3-5;

9:7). Motive and attitude are crucial. It is better to give a

small amount based on a

loving response to God’s grace than it is to give a large

amount based on outward pressure or pride. Note the

attitude of the Macedonian believers: they had an

abundance of joy (2 Cor. 8:2); they gave of their own

accord.

(8:3); they begged with much entreaty for the favour (8:4!);

first they gave themselves to the Lord (8:5); they had both

the readiness and desire (8:10-12, 9:2); they gave

cheerfully, not grudgingly or under compulsion (9:7).

We should not think, “How much do I have to give?” but

rather, “How much can I give?” We should not wait for

someone to pressure us with a need; we should look for

needs that we can meet (8:4 Christians ought to give based

upon inner motivation, not outward pressure. Grace giving

is based on...

(4) A new relationship with the Holy Spirit, not the old

dispensation of the Law.

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Romans 8:14

“For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are

the sons of God.” Galatians 5:18

“But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the

Law.”

The context of both passages shows that Paul is talking

about the Holy Spirit leading the believer into righteous,

godly living. In Galatians, such righteous living is spelled

out in the context, in part, as sharing financial resources

(6:6, 10).

It’s easier in some ways to follow a set of rules. Just give

your 10 percent and that takes care of the matter. But God

wants us to be led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit might

want me to give 35 percent or who knows how much! But

the point is, I am not living by rules, but in a relationship

with the living God.

(5) How much should you give? How much has God

prospered you?

Corinthians 16:2

1 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by

him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no

gatherings when I come.

Paul was coming to collect fruit and grain to take to those

who were suffering through drought.

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Acts 11:29

29 Then the disciples, every man according to his ability,

determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in

Judaea:

Corinthians 8:3

For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their

power they were willing of themselves;

2 Corinthians 8:11

11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a

readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out

of that which ye have.

2 Corinthians 8:12

11 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according

to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

Generally, they gave according to their ability, and in some

cases beyond their ability. Sometimes you should give

sacrificially. But the general principle is, give as God has

prospered you.

When God entrusts you with more money, instead of

spending it on more junk that you have to protect from

moths, rust, and thieves, you should ask, “Lord, how do

you want this money used in Your kingdom?”

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As God gives you more, you should increase the

percentage you give, not just the amount. If you have

enough to live comfortably, then invest the rest where God

pays guaranteed, eternal dividends.

But here’s the catch: we need to start giving where we’re

at, and not put it off until someday when we’re rich.

The Macedonians gave in the midst of a great ordeal of

affliction, out of deep poverty.

2 Corinthians 8:2

Jesus commended the poor widow who gave all she had to

live on, but He was not impressed with the large gifts of the

rich, because they had much left over.

Mark 12:41-44 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury,

and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury:

and many that were rich cast in much.

And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two

mites, which make a farthing.

And He called unto him his disciples, and said unto them,

Verily I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast more

in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her

want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

Generosity and grace giving are built on the qualities we

have already studied. If you’re free from bondage to greed

and debt, you won’t be enslaved to money. If you’re a

person of integrity and if you’re faithful as a manager, not

the owner, of your money, then when God supplies you

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with more, you will prayerfully channel anything above

personal and family needs into His kingdom.

I believe the way to meet these needs is to help God’s

people get their hearts right before Him and to teach what

His Word says about money and giving. As we respond to

God’s grace by giving generously, the needs will be met.

“Give all you can.” God has given all for us; He wants us to

be cheerful, generous givers who respond to His grace.

The faithful giver

Obviously the point of this passage is in the faith of the

widow to give what she had out of poverty. This is a

beautiful picture of trust in God’s provision, and Christ’s

response to this act of faith demonstrates God’s feelings

toward our sacrifice and generosity.

What is also interesting here is the fact that Jesus went out

of his way to sit and watch people give their offerings.

God’s interest in our giving isn’t cursory. He recognizes

more than we do how our faith is revealed in our habits of

giving.

Tithing and justice

Luke 11:42

“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and

every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These

you ought to have done, without neglecting the others”

Even to a gentile like Luke, Jesus words that we need to

give and be mindful of expressing God’s love and justice is

important.

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Tithing and pride

Luke 18:9-14(KJV)

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in

themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a

Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I

thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners,

unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

11 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so

much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,

saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

1 To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being

by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also

King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

With this discussion on Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek, we’ve

come full circle. Moses first tells us of this tithe in Genesis, and

the author of Hebrews readdresses it as he compares Christ’s

ministry to the priest Melchizedek.

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I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather

than the other: for every one that exalts himself shall be

abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted.

The Pharisee in this parable finds his value and justification

in his devotional acts. He holds up his fasting and tithes up

to God like a badge and thanks God that he isn’t like this

lowly tax gatherer. As we have seen, the tithe tied Israel

together. It was an offering that was common to all and was

used to take care of the nation’s priests, widows, orphans,

and transients. It wasn’t intended to make the giver self-

righteous and prideful.

Tithing to Melchizedek Hebrews 7:1-2 (KJV)

For this Melchizedek king of Salem, priest of the most high

God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the

kings, and blessed him;

The author of Hebrews argues that, although the tithe was

supposed to be paid to the Levites, Abraham gave a tenth of

his spoils to the priest Melchizedek. And that, through this

act, the Levites also metaphorically tithed to Melchizedek.

Not only did the priest take a tithe from Abraham, he blessed

him. Hebrew’s author says, “It is beyond dispute that the

inferior is blessed by the superior. (v. 7)” The whole chapter

compares the priesthood of Christ to this mysterious Old

Testament character.

It’s only appropriate that the last place the tithe is mentioned

it’s being used to point to Christ’s pre-eminence.

So what’s this mean for us?

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In the end, tithing wasn’t something Israel did in the same

way we mindlessly toss a gratuity into the collection box. It

was an intentional practice through which God intended to

teach Israel about his sovereign ownership of everything.

Instead of being consumers of their blessings, they had to

stop and think through just how much blessing they had.

Through the tithe, God took care of his people—and through

the act of generous giving, God continues to bless his

people.

Baptism

The word baptise is from the Greek word baptizo, and the

word baptism is from the Greek word batismaor,

baptismos. Together they are found 100 times in the New

Testament. Primary meanings of the word baptise:

To cleanse by dipping or submerging, to wash, to make

clean with water metaphorically, to overwhelm.

15 Times figuratively of those 100 times, 14 are found in

the four Gospel accounts of the time Jesus uses the word

figuratively to refer to the overwhelming sufferings of His

life. Matthew's account (20:22) tells of Jesus asking His

disciples, "Are you able to drink of the cup that I shall drink

of, and be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised

with?" One other time the word is used figuratively in 1

Corinthians 10:2 in reference to Moses and the Israelites.

There it says: "And all were baptised into Moses in the

cloud and in the sea."

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"Baptism of the Holy Spirit"

Acts 1:5, Jesus told His Apostles shortly before the day of

Pentecost, "John baptised with water, but you shall be

baptised with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." The

fulfilment of that takes place in Acts 2:4 when Peter and the

others are "filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak

with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them

utterance." Notice this baptism was not performed by men,

but by God Himself from above.

The only other time this occurs is in Acts 10-11. There the

Gentiles are also given the gift of speaking in tongues for

the purpose of convincing the Jewish brethren that

proclaiming the gospel message to the Gentiles was

indeed God's will. Peter says in Acts 11:15-16, "The Holy

Spirit fell on them, just as He did upon us at the beginning.

And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to

say, `John baptised with water, but you shall be baptised

with the Holy Spirit.'" The phrase "at the beginning" refers

to the gift of speaking in other languages that first occurred

on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2. This too was a baptism

performed not by men, but by God. (See also 1 Corinthians

12:13.)

The NT Teaching on Baptism

In Matthew 28:19, Jesus commanded His disciples to go

and baptise all nations. In Mark 16:16, Jesus said, "He that

believeth and is baptised shall be saved; he that believeth

not shall be damned." In Acts 2:38, as already mentioned,

after the people asked what they needed to do, Peter said,

"Repent, and let each of you be baptised in the name of

Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you shall

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receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." Verse 41 says "those

who received his word were baptised" and there were

about 3000 then added to the church. In Acts 22:16,

Ananias told Saul, "Arise, and be baptised, and wash away

your sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

Does Jesus want His servants to continue baptising

new disciples?

“And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘… Go

therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptising

them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the

Holy Spirit, 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 28:18-20).

Jesus commanded His disciples to continue baptising after

His death and resurrection. His promise to be with them

until the end of the age—which has not yet occurred—

shows that He intended for baptism to be a part of His

followers’ responsibilities through all intervening ages,

including our own.

Why is baptism important?

“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who

does not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:16).

Baptism goes right to the heart of God’s forgiveness of our

sins and His gift of salvation. Through His death Christ

paid the penalty (Romans 6:23) for our sins. At the

Passover meal the night before His crucifixion, Jesus

blessed a cup of wine and said to His disciples, “For this is

My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for

the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

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Paul explained that “God demonstrates His own love

toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died

for us” (Romans 5:8). Then He added, “… Having now been

justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath

through Him” (Romans 5:9). Paul also wrote, “This is a

faithful saying: ‘For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him’ ” (2 Timothy 2:11).

In what way do we die with Christ?

“… Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized

into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?” (Romans

6:3).

“For I delivered to you first of all,” wrote Paul, “that which I

also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the

Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again

the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Corinthians

15:3-4).

Paul also explained: “… Since all have sinned and fall short

of the glory of God; they are now justified by His grace as a

gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom

God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement by his blood …”

(Romans 3:23-25, NRSV).

Through the ceremony of baptism we become symbolically

united with Christ. “For if we have been united together in

the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the

likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self

was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done

away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin”

(Romans 6:5-6).

What responsibility comes with baptism?

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“Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into

death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the

glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness

of life” (Romans 6:4).

Romans 6:11-13

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin,

but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 12 Let not sin

therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the

lusts thereof. 13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of

unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as

those that are alive from the dead, and your members as

instruments of righteousness unto God.

Baptism signifies the end of a life of habitual sinning and

the beginning of a new life devoted to righteousness. “…

Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live

soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking

for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great

God and Saviour Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for

us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and

purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good

works ” (Titus 2:11-14).

Does this responsibility include living an obedient life?

“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by

every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ ” (Matthew 4:4).

“But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: ‘We

ought to obey God rather than men’ ” (Acts 5:29; compare 2

Corinthians 10:3-5).

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The teachings of the entire Bible—both Old and New

Testaments—become our guide to life. The New Testament

explains how we should apply Old Testament teachings

under the New Covenant. The emphasis of the New

Covenant is on the proper implementation of the spirit—the

intent—of God’s laws.

No longer can we live however we want, ignoring God’s

instructions. Jesus made this abundantly clear: “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). We

are to live lawfully, not lawlessly!

Why was Jesus baptised?

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be

baptised by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I

need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?’ But

Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us

in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he

consented” (Matthew 3:13-15,).

Jesus was born to be a perfect example for us as a physical

human being. Though He never sinned and needed no

forgiveness, He was baptised to show us the example we

should follow. As He was baptised, so should we be

baptised. He personally showed us that baptism is the way

He has established for us to unite with Him not only in His

death and resurrection but to signify our love for Him in

obedience to the First great commandment and to

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outwardly show that we desire to be part of His Church and

are accepting Him as our Saviour.

Should children be baptised?

“And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were

baptized” (Acts 18:8).

“Then those who gladly received his word were

baptized” (Acts 2:41).

“But when they believed … both men and women were

baptized” (Acts 8:12).

Baptism is for those mature enough to comprehend and

believe the meaning of repentance and baptism. Children

are precious to God. Jesus took little children into His arms

and blessed them (Mark 10:13-16). In each specific example

of baptism mentioned in the Bible, we see that those being

baptised were old enough and mature enough to

understand repentance, baptism and the commitment.

However it also said that the whole household were

baptised which undoubtedly contained children.

We must be careful to neither add nor take away from

scripture. To add that children cannot be baptised as some

churches teach is not what took place in the early church.

To add that infants were being baptised is not biblical

either. One simply must apply common logic and assume

that those being baptised in the household were those who

belonged to the family who heard and understood and

wished to commit. Jesus corrected His disciples for trying

to stop children coming up to Him and therefore these

children were old enough to know who He was and desire

to be with Him. They were not babies but were children

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who understood and if a child wishes to baptise then I

believe Jesus has told us (Mark 10:13-16) not to prevent

them.

Acts 16:33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and

washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

Acts 16:15And when she was baptized, and her household, she

besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord,

come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

How should we be baptised?

“Now John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim,

because there was much water there. And they came and

were baptized” (John 3:23).

“When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately

from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to

Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove

and alighting upon Him” (Matthew 3:16).

Notice that John the Baptist chose a location where there

was “much water” to baptize those who came to him. And

Jesus “came up … from the water” when He was baptised.

Why is this wording significant? The Greek

word baptizo means to “immerse,” to “dip into” or

to “submerge.”

Jesus set us an example of being fully submerged in water

in a place where there was “much water” to make this

possible. All other examples of baptisms by Christ’s

disciples mentioned in the Scriptures follow this pattern.

For example, we read in Acts 8:38 that “both Philip and the

eunuch went down into the water, and he [Philip] baptized

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him.” There is no biblical example of any other form of

water baptism.

The symbolism of baptism, as the burial of the old self,

requires a ceremony picturing a true burial. Only baptism

by immersion fulfils this symbolic requirement. Therefore,

following the example of our Saviour, we too should be fully

immersed in water when we are baptised.

When in the process of accepting Christ does baptism come

in?

A second question would be, “When should I get baptised:

immediately, as a part of accepting Christ; or later as a follower

of Christ?”

If you’ve been around churches at all, you will run into the

following philosophies:

“Baptism is just an outward sign of an inward grace, so it can

be done later.”

“You need to ‘grow in Christ’ (become good enough) before

you are ready to be baptised.”

“To join our church, you have to be baptised into our church.”

Therefore must commit to our rules and accept all of our

traditional beliefs. Immediately nullifying baptism into Christ but

making it a baptism into a belief system.

The problem with these ideas (and any similar ones) is that they

are in conflict with the Bible. One thing is clear, the Bible always

places believing in Christ for salvation and baptism together.

They are not separated. Consider these references:

Acts chapter 2, verse 41 (Acts 2:41) - 3,000 people were baptized

after believing on the first day of the Christian church. Verses 38

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and 39 make it clear that this is the way that it will always be

done. That is, all people who accept Christ as their saviour will

come to Him in this way.

Acts 8:26-39 - We know where this road from Jerusalem to Gaza

is. Verse 26 terms it a “desert.” The only water there was oasis

water. This means that the eunuch and Philip climbed down into

the people's drinking water to do this. Apparently, Philip and the

eunuch did not think it could wait until later! (You will also

notice they did not take a handful of water and “sprinkle” the

eunuch to keep things sanitary, either.) The Bible states that all

Philip did was “preach Jesus to him” (verse 35) and then the

eunuch said that he wanted to be baptised (verse 36). This means

that the preaching of Jesus includes preaching the need to be

baptised.

Acts 9:18 - after this encounter with Jesus on the Damascus road,

Saul (later renamed Paul) decided to accept Jesus—and was

baptised.

Acts 10:47,48 - Cornelius and those with him were commanded

to be baptized, becoming the first non-Jewish converts to

Christianity.

Acts 16:13-15 - Lydia and her household “believed” and were

baptized.

Acts 16:16-34 - The Philippian jailer “believed” with his

household and they were baptized—and this was in the middle of

the night!

Also consider the following passages:

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Galatians 3:26, 27 - “For you are all sons of God through faith in

Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ

have put on Christ.”

Ephesians 4:4-6 - “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you

were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one

baptism; one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through

all, and in you all.”

On top of all these references, when Jesus left the earth (see the

end of the book of Matthew) He told his followers to make

disciples (followers), baptise them, and teach them all that Jesus

had commanded them. Jesus apparently felt it was pretty

important to make this a priority for His followers.

The Bible is clear—belief and baptism were always together.

Thus, “when we believe” is the right time to be baptized. If you

“believed” some time back and were not baptised, then this

should become a priority for you to fulfil what God asks you do

in the Bible.

Why should someone be baptised?

The Bible gives a number of reasons to be baptised:

Acts 2:38 - Tying repentance and baptism together provides

forgiveness of your sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 6:1-7 - This shows us that the mode of baptism

(immersion) pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

In the same way that He went through these things, our old nature

is to “die” and we are to be “buried with Him through baptism

into death” and raised to “walk in newness of life” (live like

Jesus). So we do not just try to be a better person, we bury the

“old person” in the water and become a “new person” through

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our acceptance of Christ. It is like a new birth and a new

beginning for us.

Galatians 3:27 - We “put on Christ” when we are baptized.

1 Peter 3:21 - Baptism is not an outward cleaning, but saves us

through an inward cleansing. It is an appeal to God for a good

conscience and asks God to take away the guilt of our past sin

(that Christ paid for, wiping our “inner slate” clean).

According to the Bible, any baptised Christian can perform the

baptism by immersing the people who want to get right with God

in water. To actually perform a baptism, it may help to construct

a short checklist.

The person doing the baptising lowers the person being baptised

into the water saying, "I baptise you in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." The person being baptised

only needs to be under water for a second or two, and may find it

a good idea to hold their nose with their fingers to keep water

from getting in their nose.

Raise the person out of the water. Dry off everyone. Celebrate.

By the way, these "steps" and the people's "lines" are not official.

They are merely an example in case you have not seen a

baptism. As we see through scripture, baptism does not require

an elaborate ceremony, and can be done in about 5 minutes

anywhere you can find enough water to immerse someone.

Matthew 28:19-20: Go therefore and make disciples of

ALL THE NATIONS, baptising them in the name of the

Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to

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observe all that I Commanded you; and lo, I am with you

ALWAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE AGE."

This was baptism in water to be performed by men.

To whom was it to be performed? To all nations.

For how long? Apparently always, to the end of the

age.

Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

The Rapture of the Church.

When I first heard the concept of a rapture, I must say I was

somewhat shocked to think that such a miraculous event awaits those

who love the Lord. I have read signs on back of cars with the words

“Jesus saves” Never before had I taken this into account that He would

literally save us from the coming tribulation and wrath that will bring

this system of things to an end. He is going to take away those who

love Him just as He saved Noah from the flood or Lot only moments

before fire and brimstone deluged onto Sodom and Gomorrah. In fact

He even tells us that the end days will be like these two times and the

saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will take us out of the way whilst

the end time prophecies play out.

The view that “the rapture,” “Catching Away” of the Saints

is not mentioned in the bible is from those who do not

understand the scriptures. The rapture event is told

throughout the Old Testament as well as in the Feasts of

the Lord, in parables, the Jewish wedding tradition and

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reference to it in the New Testament has been told many

times over.

Marriage Covenant and Bride Price.

The Apostle Paul wrote in Greek when he addressed the

Romans and used the phrase “caught up”. The phrase

“caught up” is translated in Greek as “harpazo”, which

means to “seize suddenly” or “snatch”. In Latin, the word is

“rapturo”, which means to “seize", "carry away”, or "reap"

(think "reaping the harvest"). It is from this Latin word that

the term "rapture" comes.

Paul teaches that Christ will come at some future point in

time for those who belong to Him. Those who are the "dead

in Christ" will experience their resurrection first and be

gifted with glorified bodies when He comes and moments

later, in the twinkly of an eye those believers in Christ who

are alive at that time will then be instantly transformed from

their earthly state to their eternal state, and will not

experience death. Instead, they will be caught up to be with

all those who have previously gone on to be with the Lord

and be transferred to heaven.

Thessalonians 4:17(KJV)

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be ‘caught up’

together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:

and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

The dead raised first and then the church or people who

follow Christ will be raised up

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2 Thessalonians 2:6-7 (KJV)

6 And now you know what is restraining, that he may be

revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness

is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so

until He is taken out of the way.

Isaiah 26:20

Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut

thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little

moment, until the indignation be over past.

Revelation 3:10

Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will

keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come

upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 - And to wait for his Son from

heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus,

which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5: 9

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain

salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

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There is no mistake as to when each event takes place and

in what order the rapture and the 144,000 Jews and the

second coming take place.

End Time Harvest: Barley, Wheat,

and Grapes.

The three main feast days of Israel are each associated

with a different harvest.

The barley ripens first around the time of Passover;

The wheat ripens next around the time of Pentecost;

The grapes ripen last in the fall around the time of

Tabernacles.

These three crops depict three classes of people. The

barley represents the overcomers; the wheat represents

the rest of the believers; and the grapes represent the

unbelievers.

The Barley Wave-Sheaf Offering

The wave-sheaf offering shortly after Passover was the first

fruits of the ripened barley that the priest offered to God in

the early spring. It was always waved “on the morrow after

the Sabbath” at Passover (Lev 23:10-14).This day is

sometimes called the Feast of First fruits. The

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Ascension of Jesus “on the morrow OF the Sabbath” is

symbolised by the wave-sheaf offering.

The traditional view of the Harvest at the end of the age is

that there is only one harvest, and then comes the end.

That is incorrect. Scripture gives abundant witness to show

that the one harvest mentioned in the below passage

actually consists of three separate phases that differ in

timing, as well as in the crop harvested. These are the

three phases of the harvest - first the barley crop, next the

wheat crop, and finally the crop of grapes.

The Barley Harvest and Rapture of the Saints.

During the growing season of a farmers crop there is a first

fruits growth that comes up in the field first. This crop is to

be an offering to the Lord. It is to be tied with a cord or a

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sheave to make it well known to all who are in the field that

it is an offering to the Lord.

Those who believe are the barley grain. Barley grain is a

soft seed. In days of old when they wanted to separate the

grain from the chaff they would put the barley on a sheet

holding the four corners and would raise the sheet to the

wind. This process is called winnowing. It would easily

separate the two and would give them the pure grain. This

is what we are like. We are soft and pliable in the hands of

the Lord to be corrected and re-aligned to His ways.

When the first ripened grain is harvested and brought to the

priest for the waving. The priest waved the offering in the

air before God, and God blessed the offerings that were

given to Him. Leviticus 23:11

And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be

accepted for you: on the morrow after the Sabbath the

priest shall wave it.

Jesus Christ the first fruits rose and ascended to God on

the day after the Sabbath to be presented to God.

Just as the first fruits, the Lords chosen, His bride, His

church, will be caught up in the air to be waved before

by our High Priest to present worthy before God.

1 Corinthians 15: 20-23

But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the

first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since by

man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the

dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in

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Christ all shall be made alive. But each one in his own

order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's

at His coming.

We will be part of the "in-gathering" (or Rapture) with Christ

Jesus during this time. We will not experience the wrath of

the 7 year Tribulation period:

For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation

through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that

whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with

Him. (1 Thessalonians 5:9-10)

The Wheat Harvest and the Tribulation Rapture.

Half way through the 7 year tribulation period there will be a

Rapture of the Tribulation Saints by the Lord.

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“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude

which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples,

and tongues, standing before the throne and before the

Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their

hands…” Revelation 7:9

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are

these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come

from?"

And I said to him, "Sir, you know."

So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of

the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them

white in the blood of the Lamb.

(Revelation 7:13-14)

So we see in the above passages this wheat harvest will

be a very great harvest, of those that had robes by virtue of

their Faith in Messiah, but were not yet ready when the

Bridegroom came for the Bride at the First Resurrection

Harvest.

Wheat is a tougher grain than barley. Thousands of years

ago, farmers used a tool called a "tribulum" to separate the

chaff from their wheat.

Today our word "tribulation" is derived from the name of

that tool. It takes a tribulum to break the seed from the

chaff. It goes through a breaking process to become free

and be what our Father, the God of Abraham, Issac and

Jacob, would have us to be His sons.

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We have a God who loves us so much that He sent His

only Son, Jesus to come in the flesh and dwell among men,

teach us the way, die for us as a perfect sacrifice with all

the sins of the past, present and future upon Himself, and

taking the stripes upon His back, shedding His precious

blood, was buried, raised, and ascended into heaven,

sitting at the right hand of the Father and making

intercession for us. He did it all for us!

Just as the ancient farmers used a tribulum to separate the

chaff from their wheat, God will use the Tribulation to

separate the chaff from the lives of the Christians at this

time.

The final Harvest and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

The last harvest will be the grapes harvest that comes from

the four corners of the field. The grapes have to be crushed

to be made into

"New Wine."

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The great tribulation will bring this about. This symbolises

the people who accepted Christ during the second half of

the 7 years, known as the Great Tribulation. That group of

people will have to endure the most horrendous time ever.

The Grapes of Wrath.

The weak, untested Christians (grapes) and unsaved

Jews (olives,) will be harvested together, later at the 7th

seal, in the fall, which is about the time of the Feast of

Tabernacles. (Representing God tabernacling with

Israel, and as He will again in the Millennial Kingdom).

In other words this Harvest will be at the time of the

Lords coming to tabernacle here on earth.

The passage that supports this view is Revelation 6:6

And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say,

a measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of

barley for a penny; and thou hurt not the oil and the

wine.

The 3rd angel on the black horse, was told not to touch

either the “oil or wine.” This means they are being

grouped together, for the later harvest time.

It would surely in your best interest to come to know

Jesus as Saviour, early rather than later.

You can claim Him now!

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SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE FOR THE RAPTURE

The word "rapture" is a term used by Christians which

refers to an event that the Apostle Paul describes in the

Bible, which is found in

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about

those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do

who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died

and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with

him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to

you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who

are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those

who have fallen asleep.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of

command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the

sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will

rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be

caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord

in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore

encourage one another with these words.”

Paul speaks about this generation of believers WHO WILL

NOT "TASTE" DEATH when he says in 1 Corinthians

15:51:

“Behold, I shown you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but

we shall all be changed.”

This scripture means that we shall not all physically die, but

we shall all be changed.

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Some professing Christians are preparing to go through the

wrath and tribulation, thinking that they are to be the

remnant of Israel. Israel rejected their God and are

stubborn and stiff-necked and unfortunately it will take the

wine press and absolute crushing of the grapes to bring

them to repentance and they will go through great

tribulation in order to refine them. Not because that is what

God wants to do to them, but He knows the beginning from

the end and has fore warned that is what it will take to get

them prepared to meet their God and cry out for Him to

come back to them.

Rom 11:23-24 ‘And they also (Israel), if they do not

continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able

to graft them in again. For if you (gentiles) were cut off from

what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted

contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much

more shall these who are the natural branches (Israel) be

grafted into their own olive tree?’

Rom 11:25-26 ‘For I do not want you, brethren, to be

uninformed of this mystery, lest you be wise in your own

estimation, that a partial hardening has happened to Israel

until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in; and thus all

Israel will be saved.’

Rom 11:26-28 ‘Just as it is written, “The Deliverer will

come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob.”

“And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their

sins.”

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From the standpoint of the gospel they are enemies for

your sake, but from the standpoint of God’s choice they are

beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the

calling of God are irrevocable.’

Could Paul be any clearer? While the nation of Israel is

currently hardened and to an extent, an enemy of the

Gospel, yet they are still loved because of the promises

made to Israel’s fathers – Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. And

finally the clincher – the giftings and callings of God are

irrevocable. That is, God doesn’t change His mind about

those whom he chooses! Never! If you need any further

proof, please note that Paul quotes from Jeremiah 31:33-

34 to prove that God still has a plan for that nation.

Jeremiah 31, starting in verse 27 speaks of the new

covenant that God will make with the nation of Israel, which

will not be like the one when He took them out of Egypt. In

verses 35-37 God even issues a challenge saying that only

if the heavens can be measured, or day and night cease,

will He cast off the offspring of Israel! And that my friends,

isn’t going to happen! So we have seen that God still has a

plan for the nation of Israel to bring them into a new

covenant and relationship with Him, and that this occurs

‘after the fullness of the church age has come in.

Seemingly every zealous sect throughout the history of

Israel, often simultaneously and competitively, has seen or

views itself as the righteous remnant, true Israel. The

Essenes of Qumran considered themselves the true

remnant, as did their contemporaries, the Pharisees, as do

the varying sects within Orthodox and Chasidic Judaism

today. Mormons believe they are the remnant and that

Jesus Christ will return to America to them.

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For those who don’t believe that God will take His Bride from the earth

prior to the 7 year tribulation/wrath. God loves His bride He

does not need her to be beaten in the tribulation for several

years to prove herself. She chose Him in faith and that is

exactly what He commanded her to do. Obedience is what

He requires. He has promised that His chosen will be

saved from the wrath to come.

God has not appointed His bride (church) to wrath but to

obtain salvation.

God is not a God of pain and terror, at no time has He

wanted that for His chosen ones. He said believe in Him,

keep His commandments and remain faithful and He will

keep us from the wrath and tribulation to come. Those who

cannot accept that gracious gift, are those who say, “No He

doesn’t mean that,” (He wants us to stay through the

tribulation which is the time allocated to Israel to turn back

to God by accepting Jesus Christ,) They have completely

missed His gracious gift and they do not understand the

love of a God who calls us His bride. In short they are

putting man’s ideas in front of Gods commands.

Amos 5:18

“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to

what end is it for you? The day of the LORD is

darkness, and not light.”

God clearly does not want us to BE DESIRING to go

through the tribulation. He has allocated this time for His

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specific purposes and an appointment with Israel and the

unbelievers.

Christians are to accept His grace and be eagerly awaiting

His imminent return.

Luke 13:34-35 ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills

the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I

wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen

gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not

have it! “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I

say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes

when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE

NAME OF THE LORD!’” ’

‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord’ is a

Messianic title from Psalm 118:26 and it is this title that

some who did believe shouted out to Jesus on His

triumphant entry into Jerusalem. (Luke 19:38) But

Jesus said that Israel would be left desolate, and that they

would not see Him again UNTIL they acknowledge that He

is their Messiah. This is in accordance with Old Testament

scriptures as well, such as…

Hosea 5:14-15 ‘For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like

a young lion to the house of Judah... I will go away and

return to My place until they acknowledge their guilt and

seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.

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Please read the whole passage in Hosea. It is God

speaking, saying that He will return to His place until Israel

admit their guilt and seek His face. Now we know that

Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah and it is in Jesus that

this prophecy is fulfilled. So we have before us the specific

issue that must take place before Israel as a nation can be

saved – they must acknowledge that Jesus is their Messiah

and their guilt in rejecting Him 2000 years ago. So the next

question is…

How does this acknowledgement that Jesus is the

Messiah come about?

From the Hosea passage quoted above, we read ‘in their

affliction they will earnestly seek Me.’ While there are

individual Jews who have come to believe in Jesus, as a

nation, Israel still remains in gross unbelief today. What is

coming upon the nation of Israel is the hardest times in

their entire history. It is in their affliction that they will cry out

for Jesus to come and save them. It is known as the ‘time

of Jacob’s trouble.’

Jer 30:2-7 ‘For, behold, days are coming,‘ declares the

LORD, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel

and Judah.’ The LORD says, ‘I will also bring them back

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to the land that I gave to their forefathers, and they shall

possess it.’ ”Now these are the words which the LORD

spoke concerning Israel and concerning Judah, “For thus

says the LORD, ‘I have heard a sound of terror, of dread,

and there is no peace. ‘ Ask now, and see, if a male can

give birth. Why do I see every man with his hands on his

loins, as a woman in childbirth?

And why have all faces turned pale? ‘Alas! For that day is

great, there is none like it. It is the time of Jacob’s

trouble, but he will be saved from it.’

So forget the current Middle East ‘peace process’. The

Arab nations are not after peace. They are after the

annihilation of Israel. Muhammad himself declared ‘the last

hour will not come before the Muslims fight the Jews and

the Muslims kill them.’ Muslims believe the 21st century to

be the ‘century of Islam’ and that the annihilation of Israel is

simply the precursor to conquest in the West. The war in

the Middle East is not about land, it is about religion. That

Islam (which means ‘absolute submission’) cannot even

deal with this tiny little nation called Israel, which won’t

submit or follow Allah, is a great disgrace for every Muslim

faithful to the Koran. Their intention is still the same as that

penned 3000 years ago.

Psalm 83:1-4 ‘God, do not keep silent; be not quiet, O

God, be not still.

See how your enemies are astir, how your foes rear their

heads. With cunning they conspire against your people;

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they plot against those you cherish. “Come,” they say,

“let us destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel

be remembered no more.’

Jesus Himself testified to how terrible these times would be

saying…

Matt 24:21-22 ‘For then there will be great distress,

unequalled from the beginning of the world until now—

and never to be equalled again. If those days had not been

cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the

elect those days will be shortened.’

What is the climax of this issue?

Hosea 5:15

I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their

offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek

me early.

We have seen that it is ‘in their (Israel’s) affliction that they

will seek me (Jesus)’. I now want to be a little more specific

as to the climax of this issue. The Prophet Zechariah tells

us how things will end saying

Zech 12:1-3 ‘This is the word of the LORD concerning

Israel… “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all

the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as

well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the

earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an

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immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will

injure themselves.’

Israel is currently ranked as having the 4th best army in the

entire world and this has been proven time and time again,

as they have had to fight for their very existence. Just a

quick summary of their wars shows some remarkable

victories –

1948 – War of Independence. Straight after becoming a

nation again,

18,000 Jewish settlers had to fight 7 trained, fully equipped

Arab armies. Many of the Jews fought without even having

a gun, yet they won.

1967 – In the face of another Arab attack, Israel launched a

pre-emptive strike in what is now the famous 6-day War.

This lightening victory left the world gasping and military

academies entering new tactics into the warfare journals!

1973 – The Yom Kippur War. On the Holiest of all Jewish

days, (the day of Atonement), Israel was attacked by a

united Arab force. Israel suffered great losses as it took up

to 3 days to fully mobilise its army. Yet, while outnumbered

4 to 1, (300,000 Israelis fought 1,200,000 Arabs) Israel still

won and were even on the doorsteps of both Cairo and

Damascus when other nations persuaded them to stop.

Yet the war that is coming is even too great for Israel.

Zechariah tells a little more saying -

Zech 14:2-3 ‘I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to

fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses

ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go

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into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from

the city.

In the midst of the chaos however, Zechariah tells us one

more amazing prophetic statement - something that will

completely change the course of this battle! Zechariah tells

us that the following will happen.

Zech 12:10 ‘They will look on me, the one they have

pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an

only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a

firstborn son.’

Luke 13:35 quoted earlier, Israel will first look to Jesus, the

one they pierced on the cross 2000 years ago. The will

recognise that Jesus, their Messiah was ‘the son of Joseph’

who suffered at their own hands.

And then, in a miracle of miracles, they will actually look on

Him, as He comes down to deliver Israel and fight the

nations that have attacked her. In doing so Jesus will fulfil

the prophecies that the Messiah would also be ‘the son of

David’ – a conquering King! In the face of unbelievable

opposition, Israel will cry out for their Messiah to return,

and He will! Listen to their cry -

Isaiah 64:1-3 ‘Oh, that you would rend the heavens and

come down, that the mountains would tremble before you!

As when fire sets twigs ablaze and causes water to boil,

come down to make your name known to your enemies

and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you

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did awesome things that we did not expect, you came

down, and the mountains trembled before you.’

Listen to how incredible, and how frightening, that day will

be for those that have come to fight against Israel.

Zech 14:3-9 ‘Then the LORD will go out and fight against

those nations, as he fights in the day of battle. On that day

his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of

Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from

east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the

mountain moving north and half moving south… Then the

LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.

On that day there will be no light, no cold or frost. It will be

a unique day, without daytime or night time—a day known

to the LORD. When evening comes, there will be light. On

that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half to the

eastern sea and half to the western sea, in summer and in

winter. The LORD will be king over the whole earth.

On that day there will be one LORD, and his name the only

name.’

The Judgement of the Nations

The Prophet Joel also speaks of this time, as well as the

judgement that is to follow. I only mention it here simply to

show the basis upon which this judgement takes place.

Firstly he prophesies the battle itself:

Joel 3:9-11 ‘Proclaim this among the nations: Prepare for

war! Rouse the warriors! Let all the fighting men draw near

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and attack. Beat your plow shares into swords and your

pruning hooks into spears. Let the weakling say, ‘I am

strong!‘ Come quickly, all you nations from every side, and

assemble there.’

There they will be judged on the basis of their

treatment of Israel.

Joel 3:1-2 ‘In those days and at that time, when I restore

the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all

nations and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat.

There I will enter into judgment against them concerning

my inheritance, my people Israel, for they scattered my

people among the nations and divided up my land.’ Joel

3:14-16 ‘Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For

the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. The

sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer

shine. The LORD will roar from Zion and thunder from

Jerusalem; the earth and the sky will tremble. But the

LORD will be a refuge for his people, a stronghold for the

people of Israel.’

Conclusion

The time is at hand for these amazing prophecies to be

fulfilled and Israel has a huge part to play in the coming

days. Even as we look at the news today we see that

Jerusalem is the centre of the world’s attention just as

God said it would be thousands of years ago. But that

which is coming is the ‘time of Jacob’s trouble… but He

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will be saved out of it’. So forget the treaties and false

promises of peace for the Middle East. The word of God

has already revealed what will take place. Through

affliction, God will enable Israel to believe that Jesus is

their Messiah, yet it will not be easy. And if you are a

Christian, then begin to look up, for as we see these

things begin to take place we know that our redemption

draws near!

Isaiah 26: 20 Come, my people, enter thou into thy

chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it

were for a little moment, until the indignation be over past.

Revelation 3:10 - Because thou hast kept the word of my

patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,

which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell

upon the earth.

1 Thessalonians 1:10 - And to wait for his Son from

heaven, whom he raised from the dead, [even] Jesus,

which delivered us from the wrath to come.

1 Thessalonians 5:9

9 For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining

salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Christians (indwelling of His spirit) are the "He" who lets will

let and will be taken out of the way. That is, whatsoever

were bound on earth will be bound in heaven. And once we

are removed/raptured, then the Anti-Christ will have the

freedom to fulfil his plans. After all, the gates of hell cannot

prevail against the Church; (Mathew 16:18), and the

Church is not destined for wrath.

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[2Thess 2:8] And then shall that Wicked be revealed,

whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth,

and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

[2Thess 2:9] Even him, whose coming is after the working

of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

[2Thess 2:10] And with all deceivableness of

unrighteousness in them that perish; because they

received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

[2Thess 2:11] And for this cause God shall send them

strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

[2Thess 2:12] That they all might be damned who believed

not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

[2Thess 2:13] But we are bound to give thanks always to

God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God

hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through

sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

[2Thess 2:14] Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to

the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[2Thess 2:15] Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the

traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or

our epistle.

[2Thess 2:16] Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and

God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given

us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

[2Thess 2:17] Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in

every good word and work.

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I'm speculating that IF the post tribulationist’s really want to

go through the tribulation, Christ may let them. I doubt He

will force anyone to come unto His Kingdom. Those who

want to disobey when the trumpet call goes out to,

"Come up here!"

Will they receive brownie points for desiring to go through

tribulation and wrath when Jesus Christ Has already paid

the bride price for them? I do not think so! God requires

obedience and gratitude, but most of all He asks us to put

our faith in His redemptive gift. I believe it would be

extremely ungrateful to say He didn’t mean it when He said

He has not appointed us to wrath. Does He require them to

get severely crushed in a wine press before they will believe

in His grace?

[Isa 57:1] The righteous perish, and no man layeth it to

heart: and merciful men are taken away, none considering

that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come.

[Mal 3:16] Then they that feared the LORD spake often one

to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a

book of remembrance was written before him for them that

feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.

[Mal 3:17] And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts,

in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare

them, as a man spares his own son that serves him.

[Pss 97:10] Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserves

the souls of his saints; he delivers them out of the hand of

the wicked.

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[Luke 21:36] Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye

may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that

shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

[1 Thessalonians 1:10] And to wait for his Son from

heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which

delivered us from the wrath to come.

Rom 5:9] Much more then, being now justified by his blood,

we shall be saved from wrath through him.

[2Pet 2:9] The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of

temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the ‘day of

judgment’ to be punished:

[Rev 2:22] Behold, I will cast her into a bed, and them

that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except

they repent of their deeds.

[Rev 3:10] Because you have kept my word of patient

endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial which is

coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell upon the

earth.

[Revelation 4:1] After this I looked, and, behold, a door was

opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as

it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, ‘Come up

hither’ and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.

Finally, read all of Psalm 27, which is supposed to be read

daily, every day for 30 days, during the 30 day time period

of repentance that comes prior to the Feast of Trumpets,

also known as 'the last trump' the 'day that no man knows

but the father', the day that comes 'like a thief in the night',

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also known as the 'wedding of the messiah', --and the

Church is the Bride of Christ (Ephesians 5)

And there are many, many more verses that show that God

saves his people during all kinds of trouble and tribulation.

In fact, you could say that God's mercy and deliverance is a

major theme of the Bible. There are no less than 6

examples of the pre-tribulation rapture in Genesis alone;

(Noah and Lot are only two).

Not to mention the examples from the stories and accounts

of Joshua, Esther, Ruth, David, Sampson, Jacob, and

more!

If you study the Feast of Trumpets, and the Jewish

Wedding Ceremony, and compare with all the verses of the

Rapture, you will see that they coincide, and show that the

rapture is prior to the seven year tribulation.

1 Thessalonians 5 King James Version (KJV)

5 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no

need that I write unto you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so

cometh as a thief in the night.

2 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden

destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman

with child; and they shall not escape.

3 But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should

overtake you as a thief. 4 Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day:

we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

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5 Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch

and be sober.

6 For they that sleep in the night; and they that be drunken

are drunken in the night.

7 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the

breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope

of salvation.

8 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain

salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ,

9 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we

should live together with him.

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one

another.

Paul speaks of the rapture as a "mystery" (1 Cor. 15:51-

54), that is a truth not revealed until its disclosure by the

apostles (Col. 1:26), making it a separate event, while the

second coming was predicted in the Old Testament (Dan.

12:1-3; Zech. 12:10; 14:4).

The movement for the believer at the rapture is… from

earth to heaven…. while it is from heaven….. To earth at

……the Second Advent.

At the rapture, the Lord comes for his saints (1 Thess.

4:16), while at the second coming the Lord comes with His

saints (1 Thess. 3:13).

At the rapture, the Lord comes only for believers, but His

return to the earth will impact all people.

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The rapture is a translation/resurrection event where the

Lord takes believers "to the Father's house" in heaven

(John 14:3), while at the second coming believers return

from heaven to the earth (Matt. 24:30). "The different

aspects of our Lord's return are clearly delineated in the

scriptures themselves.

Luke Chapter 21:34

And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your

hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness,

and cares of this life, and [so] that day come upon you

unawares.

35 For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face

of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye

may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come

to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Jesus came to earth the first time “To” His own

approximately 2,000 years ago.

Jesus is coming at the rapture “For” His own.

At the second coming He is coming “With” His own.

The Bible speaks of a rapture event taking place in the

parable of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb.

THE MARRIAGE FEAST

In the parable of the Wedding Supper of the Lamb, Jesus

Christ is the Bridegroom and His church is the Bride

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(Matthew 22:2-14; John 3:29; 2 Corinthians 11:2;

Ephesians 5:25-32.). Both the “Marriage of the

Lamb” and the “Marriage Supper of the Lamb” take place in

heaven

(Revelation 19:6-9) before the “Bridegroom” and the “bride”

return to earth to rule in the new millennium. This is evidence

that the church is in Heaven prior to the return of Christ to

earth. The word “church” appears 19 times in Revelation 1-3

and does not appear again until

Revelation 22:16, emphasizing the absence of the church

from the earth during the judgments of Revelation 4-18. The

marriage of the Lamb and the bride is the eternal union of

the church with Christ following the rapture

(1 Thessalonians 4:17).

"For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I

betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might

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present you as a pure virgin. But I am afraid that, as

the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds

will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of

devotion to Christ." (2 Cor.11)

THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS

In the parable of the "Ten Virgins", we see how five of the

virgins, the WISE ones, who were prepared and had their

oil, were allowed to enter through a “door”. This door was

shut behind them, which left the other five virgins (the

FOOLISH ) upset because they could not enter through it.

This parable demonstrates the rapture event. The parable

reads: “Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto

ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet

the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were

foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no

oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their

lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and

slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the

bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those

virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said

unto the wise, give us of your oil;

for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying,

Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye

rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while

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they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were

ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was

shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord,

Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto

you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the

day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.”

This parable is NOT referring to the Second Coming of

Jesus Christ, but rather the rapture event of the bride of

Christ. As we can see in the Parable, the five foolish virgins

had their lamps (they had a testimony of Jesus), however,

they did NOT have their oil. Conversely, all believers in

Jesus Christ are saved by grace and faith and WILL enter

the kingdom of heaven at some point. THIS parable clearly

points to a different event. If we are NOT ready for this

event, Jesus Christ will come “like a thief in the night".

Thessalonians 5:2-4

For you your selves are fully aware that the day of the Lord

will come like a thief in the night. 3 While people are saying,

“There is peace and security,” then sudden destruction will

come upon them as labour pains come upon a pregnant

woman, and they will not escape. 4 But you are not in

darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief.

The virgins represent the believers in Christ. The lamps

and the door represent the light of the world and the gate

into heaven, which is Jesus

Christ. We can see how the scriptures symbolically

reference Jesus Christ as the “light of the world”; the

“Word”; and the “door”:

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“The other virgins also came saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open up

for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I know you

not.”

Conclusion

I am grateful to the Lord who knows us so well and brings

us to Him in such unique ways.

I walked away from the false teachings and false claims,

feeling absolutely appalled with myself that I had been so

deceived.

It is because of that deception that I have had the desire to

fully know the bible and its teachings.

I have read and studied and asked questions, researched

the bible, delving and questioning everything, not believing

anything until I had proven it through scriptures, carefully

systematically, studying each topic, with an overwhelming

desire to know what God has in His plan for us.

Whilst doing this intense study I came to know just how

much love God has for each one of us.

The most shocking thing to me is that so many of us, even

in the local churches are just blindly following the traditions

of men.

I feel too many people simply become complacent, they

know the basics and are quite content in their knowledge

and think that they are doing the will of the Lord. They

justify by saying ‘beware of legalism’ and we are ‘saved by

grace’. I think that they do know that they are not fully living

by the teachings, but they are in a comfort zone or too

afraid to change or simply too content in their habits, to

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stand up and say there is something missing with all of this.

Just as I thought for a very long time that Jesus has

covered us and will take up the slack in our weaknesses

and our wrongs. I am sure that He will, but I am also sure

that He has given us commands to live by and is waiting for

us to let go of the traditions of men and turn to Him with full

purpose of heart. He has told us many times over that He

does not change. He has given His commandments in love

and sincerity and He has waited for us patiently to

“Come follow Him!”

2 Thessalonians 2:15

So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the

traditions that you were taught by us, either by

our spoken word or by our letter.

We need to follow His commandments. If we want to be

part of His true Church, His Bride, then we have to be pure

and undefiled before Him.

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Ephesians 5:27

“That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not

having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should

be holy and without blemish.”

Westernised religions are under false pretences. We have

grown with the traditions of Sunday worship, Christmas and

Easter and various religious falsehood, so that it is part of

who we are.

It is not part of who the early church were and it is not part

of God’s plan of salvation.

James 1:22

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive

yourselves. Do what it says.

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1 Corinthians 5:7

Purge out therefore the old leaven that ye may be a new

lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our Passover

is sacrificed for us: Therefore let us keep the feast, not with

old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and

wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and

truth.

I exhort you to purge out the old leaven.

Old leaven = False religion, beliefs and traditions.

Keep the appointment that Jesus Christ has with

you, not with the old beliefs but with sincerity and

truth.

He comes soon!

Will you be ready to meet your bride

groom?

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Revelation 17:14 For he is Lord of lords, and

King of kings: and they that are with him are

called, and chosen, and faithful.

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May God bless you!

Glenda McLachlan

Findingtruechurch.weebly.com

glenda.mcl2@bigpond.com