Laodicean Church: Awaken! Will you pass the test and make the grade?

Life is a series of tests. We either pass or fail them. YHVH is the school teacher who determines whether we will pass or fail, not us. His Word is our text book that tells us how to pass. If we learn the lessons and put to practice the things we have learned, we will pass. If not, we will fail. 

The problem is that we’re not just in a regular school classroom where if we fail, it’s really not a big deal in the bigger scope of life. No. Our “classroom” is this life. Whether we pass or fail will determine not only whether we will obtain eternal life or eternal damnation, but if we pass, the grade we get will determine our level of rewards in YHVH’s eternal kingdom. As should be obvious, there are a couple of important things going on here: there is not only the issue of life after death, but if we pass the test of life and are granted eternal life, where will we be, what will we be doing and, most importantly, how close will we be to the Creator. Some people will be existing in close proximity to YHVH Elohim, while others will be living further away.

When YHVH calls us with his holy calling and we respond, we have a choice. The choice we make will determine whether we will be the least or the greatest in his kingdom (Matt 5:19). If we choose to obey him a little, we will be least in his kingdom. If we choose to obey him all the way, we will be the greatest in his kingdom. Our level of obedience to his commandments determines our level of rewards in his kingdom.

If we give him our all by loving Elohim with all our heart, soul and strength like virtuous Ruth did when she chose to forsake the world and follow Naomi and her Elohim, we can become the bride of Yeshua and live forever in his eternal kingdom. Ruth is a prophetic picture of Yeshua’s bride. The heart-attitude of the bride is: your people will be my people, your Elohim will be mine, and where you go, I will go (Ruth 1:16).

Yeshua refers to his bride in the book of Revelation. She is unreservedly faithful to him. Yeshua’s bride is comprised of those who are following the Lamb of Elohim wherever he goes. They don’t just follow him only when it is convenient, nor do they draw near to him with their mouths, but their hearts are far from him like so many other religious people (Isa 29:13; Matt 15:8)!

And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father’s name written in their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: and they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God. (Rev 14:1–5)

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The Parable of the Prodigal Son: An End Times Prophetic Picture of Jews and Christians

Luke 15:11–32

In this parable, a certain man had two sons the youngest of which requested his share of the inheritance of his father’s estate. The young man took his inheritance from his father and left home to journey into a far country where he wasted it on riotous living. A famine broke out and the penniless and hungry son joined (literally, glued, joined tightly) himself to a citizen of that country as a servant. His new master then sent him into the fields to feed husks to the swine. Conditions were so bad for the son and his hunger so acute that he desired to eat the swine’s food. Out of desperation and in realization of his sinful condition, the young man determined to return to his father’s house, willing no longer worthy to be received as a son, but to be received only a hired servant. His father spotted him a great way off, had compassion on him, ran to greet him and fell on his neck and kissed him where upon the son confessed to his father that he had sinned against heaven and that he was no longer worthy to be called a son. The father, out of joy, dressed his son in the finest robe, put a ring on his finger and shoes on his feet. The father had the fatted calf killed and merriment was made over the return of the prodigal. To the father, the son was dead, but was now alive, was lost and was now found. Feasting ensued with music and dancing. When the elder brother heard the feasting and found out about the return of his younger brother, he was angry and refused to participate in the celebration. The father pleaded with him to join the feast. The jealous older brother stated that he had faithfully served the father during the intervening years and that a feast had never been made for him, but that the younger son who had wasted his inheritance on harlots and riotous living was now receiving royal treatment. The father replied that the elder son had no reason to be angry since he had always been with the father enjoying the rights and privileges of that position and that it was only proper to celebrate the return of the prodigal brother who had been “dead” and was “alive” again, had been lost and was now found.

Prophetic Points to Analyze:

  • verse 11— two sons
  • verse 13— far country
  • verse 13— riotous living
  • verse 15— joined himself to a citizen of that country
  • verse 15— feed husks to the swine
  • verse 16— desired to fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat
  • verse 18— return to my father
  • verse 22— best robe
  • verse 24— he was lost, and is found
  • verse 25— elder son
  • verse 27— your younger brother
  • verse 30— wasted his inheritance with harlots
  • verse 32— was dead and is alive again
  • verse 32— was lost and is found

This parable, in a nutshell, outlines much of the history of Israel up to the end time final redemption. This is a parable that is a genre of ancient Jewish literature called aggadah. The purpose of aggadic literature was not to establish line-by-line dogma, doctrine or theological truth, but was a means to teach general moral principles in story form. We will discuss this at greater length latter in our treatment of the Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man in Luke 16.

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Judgment Is Upon the Church in America (and elsewhere)!

We continue to read in the news headlines how a few well-known mainstream Christian leaders are decrying the turn of recent political events in the US with respect to the outcome of the recent elections and America’s decided move toward the Antichrist religion of leftism. Sadly, these Christian leaders, when shooting their verbal guns, are still missing the main target.

In the Word of Elohim, we read,

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of Elohim; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of Elohim? Now “IF THE RIGHTEOUS ONE IS SCARCELY SAVED, WHERE WILL THE UNGODLY AND THE SINNER APPEAR?” (1 Pet 4:17–18, emphasis added)

In the previous quoted Scripture passage, I emphasized the words “for the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of Elohim” (i.e. the churches) because the church leaders blindly refuse to lead their sheeple in repentance for their own sins, and instead keep pointing to the sins of the nation as the cause of the present divine judgment against this America and other formerly so-called Christian nations. Well, I see judgment definitely coming on the Christian church right now in several areas. Here are is a list:

A) For many years, YHVH has allowed the lid to the taken of the garbage can of many Christian leaders’ lives to reveal their sexual sins. The leftist mainstream news media continue to gleefully splash their headlines with these salacious reports.

B) For many years, YHVH has allowed the lid to the taken of the garbage can of many Christian leaders’ private lives to reveal their covetous greed when it comes to money and material possessions including their lavish lifestyles and how they have innovatively and habitually conned countless people out of vast sums of money in the name of “God”.

C) Now Covid has been unleashed upon the world, and the political forces of Antichrist are hellbent on keeping churches from meeting along with family gatherings, holiday gatherings, weddings and funerals, while at the same time allowing riots and demonstrations, sex shops, drug shops, homo shops, porn shops and the like to operate largely unhindered. 

The closing of churches has had a profound negative impact on the finances of most churches such that many are in danger of closing their doors because people have reduced or stopped their financial giving—the church’s financial gravy train.

Financial issues wouldn’t be a problem to the pastors, churches, denominations and ministries if the leaders of these corporate companies masquerading as churches and religious organizations had regular secular jobs or trades like the rest of us. If they were tent-makers like Paul, they wouldn’t need to always have their hand out begging for donations, and they wouldn’t always be trying to peddle the gospel (in the form of videos, books, speaking honorariums, conferences, religious trinkets etc., etc.) to make a buck. Can’t you see how YHVH is using Covid to dry up the funds of these greedy, sheep-fleecing hierlings (John 10:11–13), who are (to use the exact biblical language for them) dumb and greedy dogs (Isa 56:10–11, also see Ezek 34 where Elohim further denounces them)?

When we talk of greedy pastors, Bible teachers and other religious leaders, we cannot turn a blind eye to the majority of major “Messianic” and “Hebrew roots” teachers who have also learned well the art of money grubbing from their Christians and religious Jewish mentors. Shame on all of them! You cannot give me a single verse of Scripture to justify your shameful behavior. Neither the Levites, prophets nor Yeshua and nor any of his apostles acted as you have acted and are acting. In this, you are worhshipping the god of mammon, not the Elohim of the Bible.

This I can say about myself, as Paul said of himself,

For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of Elohim; but as of sincerity, but as from Elohim, we speak in the sight of Elohim in Messiah. (1 Cor 12:17)

D) In recent times, YHVH has raised up the so-called Messianic or Hebrew roots movement, for all of its flaws and shortcomings, as a judgment against the mainstream Christian church for abandoning its biblical Hebraic roots back in the second century A.D. The Hebraic, biblical foundations, biblical truth movement or whatever label you choose, is shining a giant spotlight exposing many areas of fraud and lies that have existed unchallenged and unexposed in the mainstream church. It it fixing a spotlight on many important biblical truths (including the importance of the Torah) that the church has been overlooking and teaching lies about, as well as the numerous unbiblical traditions and manmade doctrines that have cleverly crept into so-called normative, mainstream Christianity.

So far, most, if not all, current major mainstream church leaders are ignoring this divinely inspired and orchestrated move of the Spirit of Elohim to restore truth in the last days as Peter predicted must occur before Yeshua the Messiah can return (it’s not good for the business of religion to preach the whole Truth, now is it?):

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that He may send Yeshua the Messiah, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must receive until the times of restoration of all things, which Elohim has spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began. (Acts 3:19–21, emphasis added)

It is high time for the mainstream church leaders to wake up from their spiritual sleep and to repent for the right things instead of pointing fingers at others and conveniently letting themselves off the hook all the way to the bank.

 

Celebrate the Birth and Resurrection of Yeshua Minus the Paganism? (Say What?)

Doubtless, this post is bound to generate some controversial and interesting comments. — Natan

Zechariah 8:19, The fast of. What are these four fasts of the house of Judah (the Jews) that YHVH is here approving and refers to as “appointments” or moedim (though not necessarily “divine appointments” [except for the fast of the tenth month, which is Yom Kippur], since they weren’t mandated by YHVH)? These four fasts are (according to https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/609607/jewish/Jewish-Fast-Days.htm):

The fast of the fourth month of Tammuz: Shivah Asar B’Tammuz— The fast actually commemorates five tragic events that occurred on this date:

  • Moses broke the tablets when he saw the Jewish people worshipping the Golden Calf.
  • During the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, the Jews were forced to cease offering the daily sacrifices due to the lack of sheep.
  • Apostomos burned the holy Torah.1
  • An idol was placed in the Holy Temple.2
  • The walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans, in 69 CE, after a lengthy siege. (Three weeks later, after the Jews put up a valiant struggle, the Romans destroyed the second Holy Temple on the 9th of Av.)The Jerusalem Talmud maintains that this is also the date when the Babylonians breached the walls of Jerusalem on their way to destroying the first Temple.

The fast of the fifth month of Av: Tisha B’Av— The saddest day on the Jewish calendar is the Ninth of Av, “Tisha B’Av.” It is the date when both our Holy Temples were destroyed, and an era of exile, persecution and spiritual blackness began.

The fast of the seventh month of Tishrei: Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement

The fast of the tenth month of Tevet: Asarah B’Tevet— On Asarah B’Tevet, the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet, in the year 3336 from Creation (425 BCE), the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Asarah B’Tevet is observed as a day of fasting, mourning and repentance. 

What can we learn from this Bible passage? This verse tells us that YHVH is not opposed to our observance of man-made, extra-biblical holidays if they commemorate important events in the religious history of his people and if they are done on the basis of love and peace. This could be applied to such momentous biblical events as the birth and resurrection of Yeshua the Messiah as long as we do not substitute these for YHVH’s commanded biblical festivals as listed and commanded in Leviticus 23 and elsewhere. Of course, it is patently contrary to the Word of Elohim for any man-made holidays to contain any taint of paganism (Jer 10:2–5; Lev 18:3; 20:23; Deut 12:30–31) as do most if not all of the popular modern Christian holidays.

 

Jewish and Christian Opposition to Moses’ Messianic Prophecy

Deuteronomy 18:15, A prophet from your midst, like me, shall YHVH your Elohim raise up for you. 

Moses—A Prophetic Type of the Messiah

Obviously, Moses’ Deuteronomy 18 prophecy concerning the Messiah was fulfilled in the person of Yeshua. Who else in the history of the world could have fulfilled this prophecy? Despite this, the non-believing religious Jews, to their discredit, run around in philosophical circles attempting to prove that this verse does not apply to Yeshua. Similarly, the Christian church, in its own way, also disbelieves this prophecy. Let us examine some of the arguments attempting to circumvent the simple truth of this messianic prophecy.

For example, the Orthodox Jewish Torah translation The ArtScroll Stone Edition Chumash in its commentary states, “Moses told the nation that just as he was one of them, so God would designate future prophets [plural] from among the people to bring them his word” (p. 1033, emphasis added). What is wrong with this statement? Is the verse quoted accurately? Moses said “prophet” singular, not “prophets” plural, as the commentary says. So in this manner, the Jewish commentators switch the focus off of one single prophet who would arise, and make it appear as if all the prophets recorded in the Scriptures helped to fulfill this prophecy. This is dishonest biblical interpretation.

On another note, does the “Jesus” of the mainstream church who, it is taught by many church leaders, broke the Sabbath and came to do away with the Torah-law of Moses fulfill this prophecy? Didn’t Moses say that the prophet would speak only the words that Elohim would give him (and the implication is that those words would not contradict what was given at Mount Sinai)? So did Yeshua come to do away with the Torah-law or not? (Read Matt 5:17–19.) In commissioning his disciples in Matthew 28:20, didn’t Yeshua tell them to do and to pass on to others all that he had commanded them? Didn’t Paul tell us to, “Follow me as I follow the Messiah” (1 Cor 11:1)? So how is it that so many people in the mainstream church believe otherwise about Messiah Yeshua and Paul relative to their teachings on the Torah-law? The point we are trying to make here is that the “Jesus” of the Sunday church who, it is taught, came to annul the Torah, does not fit the criteria of this prophecy of Deuteronomy 18:15–19. Either the Torah is correct and the mainstream church is wrong or it is the other way around. We choose the former to be the truth, not the latter!

A prophet…like unto me. Let’s now study the parallels between Moses (Heb. Moshe) and Yeshua the Messiah (Heb. Machiach)to see how Yeshua perfectly fulfilled this prophecy.

Moses’ early life seems to foreshadow some details of Yeshua’s life and ministry. This really should not surprise us when we consider the words of the book of Hebrews (10:7 from Ps 40:7), which attributed to YHVH-Yeshua, who said, “The volume of the scroll was written of me.” Yeshua himself, when confronting the Pharisees in John 5:46, said “For had you believed Moses, you would have believed me, for he wrote of me.”

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Colossians 2—What was wiped out and nailed to the cross?

Liar!

The mainstream church has lied to you about Colossians chapter two. How is this, you ask? Read on for the answer…

Colossians 2:14, Having wiped out. Here Paul mentions that Yeshua blotted out the handwritings of legal decrees that were against us when he died on the cross (Col 2:12–15). What was against us? It was the Torah law that specified that the sin of adultery carried the death penalty (Lev 20:10). For those who are washed in Yeshua’s redeeming blood and have been buried with him by water immersion or baptism (Col 2:12 cp. Rom 6:3–11), the devil, who is the accuser of the brethren (Rev 12:10), no longer has any legal basis against which to lay the charges of the sin of unfaithfulness against us before the Almighty (Col 2:15). Likely, there is a heavenly record of each man’s sins written in one of the books (which are in addition to the book of life) mentioned in Revelation 20:12. These books be opened at the last judgement and will be used to determine one’s eternal rewards based on one’s works of righteousness (v. 12). Some will be granted eternal life, while others will be destroyed in the lake of fire (v. 15). As mentioned, those who are under the blood of Yeshua and whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life, there is no condemnation. 

In this passage, Paul may be alluding to the law of the jealous regarding an unfaithful woman (Num 5:11–31). In this case, the Torah instructs a man to bring his wife whom he suspects of adultery before the priests along with an offering of barley meal. What follows is one of the Torah’s more curious rituals. The priests, in front of the woman, sprinkle some dirt from the door of the tabernacle into an earthen vessel filled with holy water. Her head is uncovered, and she is then made to hold the barley meal, while she is put under oath and questioned about her alleged extramarital sexual activities. A curse is put on her if she has been unfaithful, and the curses are written in a book. The words are then scraped from the book and put into the water. The woman is then made to drink the bitter waters. If she is guilty, the curse takes effect causing her belly to swell and her thigh to rot. 

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Christianity and Aleister Crowleyism

The occultist and Satanist Aleister Crowley (1875-1947)

Deuteronomy 10:4–5, Wrote on the tablets…put the tablets in the ark. If the two tablets are biblical symbols for the heart of man onto which YHVH Elohim writes his laws (see notes at Exod 34:1), then the ark of acacia wood which sites in the holy of holies (the earthly representation of Elohim’s throne room) into which the two tablets were deposited represents the human body and life which, ideally, should abide in the presence of Elohim guided by the Torah-Word of Elohim. Aaron’s rod that budded and the pot of manna, which the ark also contained, respectively represent the tree of life or tree-cross on which Yeshua gave his life as an atonement for our sin and Yeshua as the bread of life, which is a prophetic picture of the Word of Elohim that the saint must feed on in order to obtain eternal life.

Ten Commandments…down from the mountain. Moses received the Torah-instructions from out of the fiery presence of Elohim and brought them down from the mountain—a symbol of heaven. Elohim gave his Torah-law or instructions in righteousness to man to be deposited in the ark (a symbol of the human heart and mind). In light of these facts, it is unthinkable that Christian theologians came along many centuries latter and developed a philosophical system that, to one degree or another, relegated YHVH’s Torah-law—his instructions in righteousness—to past times and people, and subsequently declared to millions of Christians that the Torah was “done ways with,” “fulfilled,” “nailed to the cross” and was “against us,” and therefore is largely irrelevant and unnecessary to obey. The pride and hubris of such a belief is, frankly, astounding and clearly demonstrates to what degree the carnal mind of man will twist the Word of Elohim to devise his own religious system to fit his own will. 

This mainstream Christian belief system is totally in accordance with the lying words of the snake in the tree: “Has Elohim indeed said?” (Gen 3:1), and the rebellious deceitfulness and sinfulness of the unregenerate human heart (Jer 17:9; Rom 8:7).

Moreover, such a theological approach is akin to the occult social or spiritual philosophy developed in the early 1900s by the occultist and Satanist Aliester Crowley—dubbed at the time as “The wickedest man in the world” (1875-1947). Crowely dubbed his Torah-hating religious system Thelema where the mantra was, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” Crowley taught that “adherents of Thelema should seek out and follow their true path, i.e. find or determine their True Will” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelema). 

How is the philosophy of Thelema any different than the one that the serpent seduced Adam and Eve at the tree of knowledge into believing when he questioned the Torah-Word and sovereign authority of the Creator of the universe? Now follow the bouncing ball. Christian theology that, to one degree or another, advocates the abrogation and irrelevance of YHVH’s Torah contains within it the same underlaying fundamental philosophical strains as the Satanic religious system that Crowley founded more than a century ago. In mainstream Christianity, “Do what thou wilt” means, in essence, that one has the freedom to pick and choose only those aspects Elohim’s Torah-law that one desires or wills to follow. Sadly, this belief system simply illustrates what two biblical authors wrote long ago about the inherent sinful and rebellious nature of man:

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jer 17:9)

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against Elohim; for it is not subject to the Torah-law of Elohim, nor indeed can be. (Rom 8:5–7, emphasis added)

To wit, most Christians do not follow the Holy Bible, which declares that man shall live by every word the proceeds from the mouth of Elohim (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matt 4:4), Rather they follow the Holey Bible, the Swiss Cheese Version—a version with pages ripped out of it. Those pages contain the instructions of Elohim that they deem not necessary to obey.

I have a lot of Bibles in the Bible collection in my personal library. This is my least favorite one! — NL