Category Archives: Christian Church

Beware of the End Times Prophecy Gurus Who Claim to Hear From Elohim!

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In these last days, and especially with the advent of the internet, numerous self-proclaimed and so-called prophets have arisen in the Christian church, who claim to have an inside communication track with Elohim. Claims are one thing, reality and biblical Truth are another, totally different thing.

Face it. Who does not want to know what the future holds for them, especially in these days of tenuous uncertainty? In the current “pandem!c” crisis, many well meaning Bible believers are wondering whether they will be able to keep their jobs, their homes, travel, buy or sell, or even survive financially in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. If not, then what…? And what about the infamous mark of the beast that seems to glaring at us from just around the corner? Will we, at the least be ostracized and excluded from society, and, at worst, be fined out of existence or imprisoned for not acquiescing to the powers at be? These are legitimate questions that we all have.

Face it. Our faith is being tested, and this is only the beginning of trials and tribulation!

Into this time of gnawing questions and the void of critical uncertainty steps the prophetic pundit. Now with the internet, anyone can get a website and procure a video channel for little or no cost and upload their prognostications—and do so from their basement with their smart phone. Of course, if they don’t have something to sell you (e.g., videos, DVDs, books, podcasts or prepping supplies), they will, at the very least, have a big, bold “DONATE” button right next to their subscribe button. Shame on these gospel peddlers and likely charlatans, who fail to meet the critical test of a true biblical prophet.

Do not be fooled. Yeshua warned us against these guys and gals in Matthew 24:11 as did Peter (2 Pet 2:1–3).

Although many of my well-meaning Hebraic brethren regularly draw my attention to many Christian gurus, who claim to have an inside track on being able to foretell the future in the name of “the Lord”, I have yet to find a single one in our day who meets the biblical criteria of a true prophet of Elohim. These folks may indeed possess genuine prophetic gifts, but everyone of their track records have failed to pass the test of biblical scrutiny of actually being a prophet of Elohim .

Yes, over the years, I have supported and even promoted a couple of them. One even wanted to ordain me and make me part of his ministry. I prayed about it and declined the offer. I found out later that many of his prophecies failed to come to pass in the time frame he set forth according to what “God told him”. When this happened, instead of repenting, he simply moved the target of date of his prophecy, so that the arrows of his false and errant prophecies would hit it. Some 10 to 15 years later these prophecies still have failed to come to pass. That is when I stopped supporting him. Years later, he is still playing this same game, all the while begging for money monthly from his gullible supporters. How sad.

Please read on for some vital instructions from the Word of Elohim on how not to be fooled by those in the church, who prophesy out of the dictates of their own hearts as Jeremiah warned use about so long ago. —Natan

2 Peter 1:21, Prophecy never came by the will of man. This is a key, even foundational verse that is overlooked by most so-called “prophets” in the modern church as well as proponents of “personal prophecy”. 

What this verse is saying is that YHVH does not give prophetic revelation to someone because they seek or demand it. In other words, prophetic revelation from heaven does not come on demand. No! It comes as YHVH sovereignly, by his own choice and will, “moves” on holy men (or women) by his Holy Spirit, as this verse clearly states. He chooses when, how and to whom he will give his prophetic words. So those “prophets” who claim to be receiving prophetic revelation from Elohim because they asked for it are suspect, at the very least, of hearing from the dictates of their own hearts. Jeremiah the prophet rebuked the carnally mined, so-called “prophets” of his day for this (e.g., Jer 3:17; 23:17). It is very possible that some of these individuals are psycho-emotionally delusional or have ulterior motives, such as seeking a following for personal benefit or gain. Beware of them!

How many times do we see the true prophets of Elohim in Scripture asking him for a prophetic revelation? True, Yeshua tells his disciples, that is you and me, to ask and we shall receive, seek and we shall find, and so on. But he never tells us that the answer will be immediate. In fact, in the psalms we are admonished repeatedly to “wait on YHVH” for the answers to our prayers. 

It is true that Elijah asked Elohim for a divine revelation when in the cave on Mount Sinai and the answer was, as best we can tell, somewhat immediate. The same is true of Moses when he would enter the tabernacle to seek an answer from Elohim on particular matters. Yet how many prophets then and now were of the spiritual calibre of these men and are able to receive a fairly immediate response when asking for divine revelation? Nahum, another true prophet of Elohim, on the other hand, when seeking prophetic revelation had to wait for it (Nah 2:1).

For the majority of biblical prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Amos and others, as 2 Peter 1:21 clearly states, the “prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of Elohim spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” So any modern prophets who claim that Elohim spoke to them when they sought it, are, at best, suspect for not following the biblical model. Again, beware!

 

The Origins of Christmas—The Rest of the Story (just the facts, nothing more)

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How and When Christmas Came Into the Church

Did you ever wonder how the non-biblical holiday called “Christmas” came into the mainstream Christians church? What follows is the backstory to Christmas—the rest of the story.

Christmas was not among the earliest festivals of the Church. Irenaeus and Tertullian omit it from their lists of feasts; Origen glancing perhaps at the discreditable imperial Natalitia, asserts (in Lev. Hom. viii in Migne, P.G., XII, 495) that in the Scriptures sinners alone, not saints, celebrate their birthday; Amodbius (VII, 32 in P.L., V, 1264) can still ridicule the “birthdays” of the gods. (The Catholic Encyclopedia, “Christmas”)

Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn, in the Roman Forum, and a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, continual partying, and a carnival atmosphere that overturned Roman social norms: gambling was permitted, and masters provided table service for their slaves. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saturnalia)

Saturnalia may have influenced some of the customs associated with later celebrations in western Europe occurring in midwinter, particularly traditions associated with Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents, and Epiphany. (ibid.)

The popularity of Saturnalia continued into the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, and as the Roman Empire came under Christian rule, many of its customs were recast into or at least influenced the seasonal celebrations surrounding Christmas and the New Year. (ibid.)

According to The Catholic Encyclopedia, Christmas is not included in Irenaeus’s nor Tertullian’s list of Christian feasts, the earliest known lists of Christian feasts. The earliest evidence of celebration is from Alexandria, in about 200, when Clement of says that certain Egyptian theologians “over curiously” assign not just the year but also the actual day of Christ’s birth as 25 Pachon (May 20) in the twenty-eighth year of Augustus. By the time of the Council of Nicea in 325, the Alexandrian church had fixed a dies Nativitatis et Epiphaniae. The December feast reached Egypt in the fith century. In Jerusalem, the fourth century pilgrim Egeria from Bordeaux witnessed the Feast of the Presentation, forty days after January 6, which must have been the date of the Nativity there. At Antioch, probably in 386, St. John Chrysostom urged the community to unite in celebrating Christ’s birth on December 25, a part of the community having already kept it on that day for at least ten years. 

Some scholars maintain that December 25 was only adopted in the fourth century as a Christian holiday after Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity to encourage a common religious festival for both Christians and pagan. Perusal of historical records indicates that the first mention of such a feast in Constantinople was not until 379, under Gregory. In Rome, it can only be confirmed as being mentioned in a document from approximately 350 but without any mention of sanction by Emperor Constantine. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas)

Evidently, Christmas was birthed out of the infant baptism heresy that was gripping the church theologically in the fourth century. The precursor to Christmas was a reaction or counter-revolt against Marcionite the heretic who denied the birth of Yeshua claiming that the Messiah was not a person, but rather a phantom. By emphasizing the nativity of the literal birth of Yeshua this heresy was countered, and by placing Yeshua’s birth on December 25, Saturnalia, it was a way to woo the sun worshipping heathens into Christianity. Here is what the historians have to say on this subject:

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