Beware of False Teachers

I guess you could say this post is a continuation of previous posts, "The Origin of Easter" and "Resurrection Sunday". However, it is much more than that. It is very personal and comes from the depths of my heart. Today, as I watched the news and saw nothing but people "celebrating" the resurrection with dyed eggs, face painting, candy, bunnies, and baby chicks, I was sickened to the core of my being. Just hearing the phrase "Happy Easter" sends chills down my spine. Easter, the Babylonian bare-breasted goddess named the queen of heaven, the reincarnated Semiramis, the wife of Nimrod has nothing to do with my savior.

How have so many in the world come to associate the resurrection of Yeshua with Babylonian sun-god worship? What do the ancient fertility rites and traditions of pagan cultures have to do with the Messiah? If you consider yourself to be a believer in Yeshua, saved by his blood, secure in your hope of eternal life through him, you should seriously ask yourself that question and, even more seriously, be careful how you answer.

I faced the truth many, many years ago and it is a bitter pill to swallow. It is not pleasant to go against the accepted traditions of an entire culture. You find yourself isolated from all that has previously been your reality. You are no longer comfortable in a world that you once were very much a part of. Yet, once you know and accept the truth, however painful it may be, there is no going back. You can't unlearn what has been revealed to you. The blinders are off, the veil has been lifted. You once were blind but now you see, and what you now see is a world under judgment, a world that will one day soon be stripped of all of its false gods, it's religions, governments, educational institutions, it's very culture. Everything they have put their trust in will collapse before their very eyes and they will see the awful truth, that they had been fed nothing but lies.

I read in an article this morning that says Easter is also known as Pascha (Passover). That is an absolute lie. Easter has nothing to do with Passover. None of it's ancient celebrations, rituals, or customs identify with anything remotely associated with Yeshua. Do you know where the custom of dying eggs comes from? On the first Sunday after the vernal equinox, the priests of Easter would impregnate virgins on the altar of Easter and the next year sacrifice those three-month-old babies, dying eggs in their blood. Is this the ritual we are rehearsing with our children. Many will respond, "That's not what it means to me!" Well, what does it mean to you? You tell me! When you are telling your children the story of the resurrection, how do you insert egg-laying rabbits, baby chicks and baskets filled with candy?

Yehovah's warning to his called-out ones is to stay away from the worship of pagan cultures, not to learn the ways in which they honored their gods and attempt to do so to him. It is an abomination. Jeremiah 10:2, "Learn not the way of the heathen". God tells his people in Revelation 18:4 to come out of Babylon, that we are not partakers of her sins, and receive not of her plagues.

It doesn't matter how sincere we may be. We are to worship him in spirit and in truth. He shows us what that true worship is in his sight. Ancient Israel rehearsed, through their temple services, the shadow pictures of the Messiah and how he would save mankind. The celebration of each of the festivals and the manner in which they were to be observed were to tell the story of Yeshua, both his first coming as the lamb of God and his second coming as King of kings. He fulfilled the Spring feasts two thousand years ago through his death, burial, and resurrection. These shadow pictures are beautiful illustrations that pagan practices can never duplicate or replace. However, because the majority of mankind has abandoned these feasts and celebrations for those of pagan sun-god worship, his second coming will be that of judgment on a disobedient, God-rejecting world. We have been warned. Jude 1:3 begs us to earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints for, even in the first century, many crept in unawares among the early believers, bringing in false doctrine and leading many astray, turning God's grace into license. Too many today believe that God accepts any form of worship we choose to offer him, but God is not mocked. He has revealed to us how he wants to be worshiped.

The religions we have today come from the deluded mind of Emperor Constantine in 325 A.D. who declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire, albeit a hybrid religion. He purged the empire of the teachings of Yeshua and the early apostles and ushered in a corrupted form of religion that merged pagan sun-god worship with the worship of God.  Any who refused to comply with the new religion were executed. To appease those followers of Yeshua who remained, he changed the names of all the pagan festivals to cover up their origins, so as to make them more acceptable. So, here we are today, nearly two thousand years later, completely immersed in Babylonian sun-god worship, and it's not just Easter. It permeates nearly everything in our culture. We should not be surprised. The bible tells us that Satan is the god of this age and has deceived the whole world.

We have been warned, but will we heed the warning? We can do nothing about what we have inherited. It goes back much farther than our parents or grandparents. All we can do is repent and ask God to show us the truth. Can we do that? If we are taught the truth, can we turn from what has become so familiar, from those traditions that have become so dear to our hearts, those which we thought were honoring God but were birthed in the mind of a madman who remained a sun-god worshiper to the day of his death?

Modern day Christianity, as we know it, has been the recipient of this hybrid religion and our priests, ministers and pastors have continued in its teachings down through the centuries. Some have seen the light and discontinued their association with their previous denominations. Most have remained, many who know the origins of their religion but who are afraid to preach it for fear of losing their position in the church. They weakly proclaim that it doesn't make any difference. Well, lets read the message of Yehovah to Jeremiah and see if it makes a difference to him. You alone are responsible for your life, for the decision you make. God has set before us life and death. I pray you choose life.

Jer 2:8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit.

Jer 10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Jer 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness

Jer 22:22 The wind shall eat up all thy pastors, and thy lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shalt thou be ashamed and confounded for all thy wickedness.

Jer 23:1-2 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD. Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

Jer 16:19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

The Cultivated Mind

I love the parable of the sower. Yeshua often used agricultural analogies to bring to light spiritual principles. We learn from this parable that God sows his word like seed in the world. His purpose in sowing the word is that it might bring forth abundance in people's lives. We are likened unto the ground in the parable. Some people hear the word of God, but don't understand it at all. They are pictured as the ground by the side of the road. The seed falls on it, but the birds come quickly and take the seed away. Maybe these are those who are not interested or maybe they don't believe in God, the bible doesn't say. What it does say is that the evil one (HaSatan) immediately takes it away so that it has no chance to make a difference in that one's life. 

Some are compared to rocky ground. This is ground that may quickly receive a seed, per chance, and bring forth a small plant. I've seen impatiens grow in some pretty rocky soil, but they have no opportunity to reach their full potential. This represents people that eagerly receive the word, but have no depth within their hearts that allows the word to get down deep, where it can grow.

Others are compared to ground that contains thorny weeds. These weeds, the cares of this life, the pursuit of possessions, fame or fortune, choke out the word. These people are too busy pursuing their own agenda to give ear to God's word.

Some, however, are likened unto good ground, cultivated soil that can produce abundant fruit. I was thinking this morning about cultivated soil. The tractor, tiller, shovel or hoe has to break up that ground to prepare it for the seed. The Holy Spirit's job is to prepare the way for God's word. Our hearts and minds need to be cultivated so that, when God's word is planted inside of us, we can accept it and allow it to grow and produce an abundant harvest for the Kingdom. To produce the greatest fruit, we often must be broken, humbled or chastened to prepare us for the growth to come, much like a plant needs pruning to bring forth a greater yield.

The important lesson here is that we are not the ones who produce the fruit. The fruit is produced by the word (seed). We are the ground. The ground does not, of itself, produce fruit. It receives the seed that produces the fruit. Any so-called goodness within us comes from God. We have no goodness within ourselves. We are a receptacle for his word. We must receive that word into cultivated minds and hearts, that it may be able to produce his purpose for our lives.

Never Give Up

Yeshua tells us that all things are possible with God. Sometimes we humans have a hard time believing that. We live in a world of limits, or so we think. The ones who truly excel are those who conceive a thought or an idea and bring it to full fruition with a never give up attitude and a boundless faith in their ability to achieve it.

Take every invention that we are the recipients of today. Each one began as a seed in the inventor's mind. They saw it clearly in their mind's eye first before they were able to manifest it in the physical world.

Every musician hears the music before he/she creates the notes. A writer sees their characters and story line before they appear on paper. An artist imagines the strokes of a painting before the picture is put to canvas.

What is man really capable of? What are each of us capable of? More than we can ever imagine! That's why I know, at the deepest level of my being, that we can eradicate negativity in our lives and we can rise above any obstacles that loom large in front of us and conquer them with an unwavering faith that all things are possible. Good things don't just happen to the "lucky" few, the rich and powerful, the educated or the famous. We are all on equal footing when it comes to faith. We hear all the time of people who have risen above their circumstances; humble beginnings, poverty, disabilities, abuse, whatever.

What did they all have in common? They were tired of the status quo. They assessed the situation and dared to believe. They put one foot in front of the other with determination and a will to fight for what they wanted, and they rose above every barrier, every naysayer, every mountain, fought every giant and their own doubts and fears until they achieved their dream. That's what each of us needs to do. We need to know that nothing can tear us down if we don't let it. It's up to us. How bad do we want it? That's the only question.

CHOICES

America has made her choice in Tuesday's election, for better or worse. It is no surprise that she continues to be divided right down the middle. Many hearts are broken, others are beating with excitement. I personally was under no illusion that either candidate would turn this country back to God. I pray the new administration will seek the best interests of the American people. Our problems are numerous and answers are few. We are a nation on the operating table in critical condition. Our wounds are so numerous and each so serious, any wrong decision during surgery could render a death blow to the patient.

Could Isaiah 1:4-6 be a commentary, not only of the ancient nation of Israel, but America as well? "Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken Yehovah, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment."

America declares itself "God's nation", but are we? We say we are a Christian nation, but do our fruits show that to be true? I believe us to be a nation in which Christians reside, but the nation as a whole long ago rejected His divine authority over us.

Would you agree that the apostle Paul saw our day 2000 years ago and declared it in his second letter to Timothy? Does this, in any way, describe what we see in America today?

2 Timothy 3:1-4 "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;"

Don't get me wrong. I am not America bashing. This applies to every nation throughout the world. This is a universal problem. The point I am making is that no person, government, company, denomination, civic organization, educational institution, healthcare system or immigration policy can heal what is wrong with us as a nation.

Whether or not you voted for Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump in this election, I hope you weren't putting your trust in either of them to do what only God can do. I pray that Mr. Trump will bow his knee to God and, as King Solomon did, ask for the wisdom to rule this mighty nation and lead us back to His righteousness. With that said, whether or not God will be welcome in the White House, I can absolutely declare that He has been and will continue to be welcome in my house.

A Prayer for America

Our Father, America stands at the crossroads of the most important time in our history. In a few days we will elect the next president of the United States and usher in events that will forever change the course of history, not only for our country but for the entire world. May your spirit guide and direct us to your will for this nation. My heart is exceedingly troubled as I view the events of the days in which we now live through the perspective of biblical prophecy and the path we have embarked on from our inception as a nation. I believe with all my being that America was birthed to be a light to the world, to live according to your laws, statutes and judgments and make your name great throughout all the earth. Father, You have blessed this nation above all others and we have been a blessing to many throughout our history, yet we have forgotten that our continued blessings are contingent upon our obedience to you. Sadly, rather than be a godly example to the world, we have allowed ourselves to be influenced by the world and have turned from righteousness to ungodliness. Like Israel before us, who likewise was birthed to be a nation under God, we have succumbed to following the ways of those who do not know or worship you. We have inherited their godless forms of religion whereby we practice recycled customs and traditions of pagan sun-god worship rather than the commandments of our God. These have not revealed your ways to us, for they are but the manufactured devises of imperfect men that have not known you. We have exchanged our glory for that which does not profit. We have abandoned the beautiful shadow pictures of your holy times and seasons for celebrations that contain no truth, no understanding. Your instructions have been pushed aside as ancient teachings for an ancient people, no longer relevant for the modern times in which we live. I beg you, please remove the veil that covers our eyes and understanding. Show us the ugly truth, that the god of this world has deceived us and caused us to go astray. We have rejected the tree of life for the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Is it yet too late for America to repent, to turn to you with all her heart? May we yet be able to find redemption and salvation? Has she gone too far to find her way home, her way back to you? I pray not! Will it take chastisement, punishment to awaken us and pull us from the deadly precipice upon which we stand? Please have mercy upon us. Please raise up a people among us who will blow the trumpet and sound the alarm, who will stand as watchmen upon the wall, who will bring us to repentance and turn our hearts back to you, our only hope. We cannot put our trust in any other. No elected leader can save us.You are our only Savior,   If we want America to be great again, then the American people have to aspire to be great again as individuals, to repent of their abominations and turn to You with all their heart. Again, we stand at a crossroads. What will our response be? I fear judgment stands at the door. May we wake up before it is too late, in Yeshua's name I pray, AMEN!

Resurrection Sunday

Many Christians call this day "Resurrection Sunday". It is believed by many that Christ was crucified on what is termed "Good Friday" and resurrected on "Easter" or "Resurrection" Sunday. As is the case with many of the customs and traditions the West has adopted from ancient pagan civilizations, such is this one.

The problem with this belief is that it actually is diametrically opposite of what Jesus revealed to us as proclaimed in the gospels. It seems that many believe in Jesus, but few actually believe most of what he said.  He spoke on many occasions about his imminent death, burial and resurrection. Matthew 12:38-40  "Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Also, read Matthew 15:32, 26:61, 27:40, 63, Mark 8:31, 9:31, 10:34, 14:58-59, John 2:19-20.

You would think, as it is a major theme in the teachings of Jesus, it would demand our attention. Yet our entire religious system today is based on a Good Friday, Resurrection Sunday theology. How can this be? I have yet to find one person who can come up with three days and three nights in this scenario. Where does this concept come from? I asked that very question in a Sunday School class on Easter Sunday once and, after some uneasy moments of silence on the part of our teacher, I was told it made no difference.

Well, if you have ever taken the time to contemplate this seeming contradiction and feel it matters to you to know the truth, take heart. There is an answer, but it cannot be found in most, if not all, Christian denominations. It lies in the Old Testament, the part of the bible Christians have been taught has been nailed to the cross. It is, however, found in the teachings of the Spring feasts of God given to Israel; specifically Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

I would think that most Christians would be somewhat familiar with these, especially Passover, through the story of the children of Israel being released from Egyptian bondage. I would also dare to think that it has not escaped most of us that the lamb sacrificed on Passover represented our savior, who we are told in scripture is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The duality is inescapable.

Jesus is indeed our Passover and, as such, was crucified on Passover. That year, Passover fell on a Wednesday. The following day was the first Day of Unleavened Bread, a high Holy Sabbath. That is why Jesus had to be removed from the cross before sundown, for the Sabbath drew nigh. He was in the grave Wednesday night, all day Thursday, Thursday night and all day Friday, Friday night and all day Saturday, rising at the end of the weekly Sabbath right before sunset. When the women approached the tomb early Sunday morning, they found it empty. He had already risen,

For those who are interested in embracing truth rather than tradition, there is so much to be learned from studying the Festivals of God. They contain the entire plan of God for mankind and how Jesus is at the center of each one in their seasons. The bible cannot be fully understood without this knowledge, for they open up scripture in ways the traditional teachings of Christianity can never satisfy. The symbols and customs of ancient paganism have so infiltrated the Church that it has obscured the clear teachings of our bibles and kept millions of sincere Christians from the faith once delivered to the saints.

The Origin of Easter

Today is the day Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some call it the holiest day of the year. Multitudes attend religious services, reliving the events surrounding the final days and hours of their savior's life here on earth. Many attend sunrise services and read the biblical account of the early morning discovery of the empty tomb. Beautiful and moving songs are sung in churches throughout the world proclaiming "He Is Risen".

There is, however, another celebration being rehearsed on this day, originating thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Many Christians celebrate it alongside their celebration of the resurrection of Christ, although it is also very popular with non-Christians as well. It is "Easter", the worship of the fertility goddess and wife of Nimrod, the great-grandson of Noah, the founder of Babel (Babylon).

Whereas Easter has become closely associated with the resurrection of Christ, nothing could be further from the truth. They have nothing remotely in common. The origins of Easter are rooted in Babylonian sun-god worship, Easter herself being worshipped as the queen of heaven. She became known by various names as peoples migrated from Babel after the confusion of the languages; Semiramis, Ishtar, Ashtoroth, Ashrtoreth, Eostre, Ostera and Eastre, You may recognize some of these names from the Old Testament, always associated with abominable practices. No matter the name, the core worship remained the same, fertility rituals associated with the worship of the mother goddess.That's why, even today, Easter is celebrated with colored eggs, rabbits, and baby chicks. Christians participate in many of these practices, totally oblivious to their pagan origins. They innocently gather with their children to dye Easter eggs, unaware that they are doing that which ancient priests of Easter did annually when they dyed eggs in the blood of sacrificed babies on the alter of Easter. The egg was a sacred symbol in all the ancient mystery religions and still is in some parts of the world today.

Many, when confronted with these facts, will loudly proclaim "That's not what it means to me". That is between you and your God. As for me, I personally had to face these facts many years ago and it shook me to the core of my being. I had been raised with these customs and traditions and passed them down to my daughter. As God dealt with me I will not pretend it was easy for me to give these practices up. I had to face the same things you, no doubt, are thinking at this very moment. How could you possibly turn from that which has become such an important part of your life? Your celebrations have become an integral part of your very being. They define you in so many ways. What would your family think, your friends, your co-workers, your church? I can tell you what they would think, for I have lived it. I can tell you, not only what they will think, but what they will whisper behind your back and worse, what they will say to your face. I will not share the names I have been called, the lies, the looks, the separation, friendships lost, church fellowship removed. I have former friends today that will turn and go the other way when they run into me in public.

It was difficult at first, but no longer bothers me. I am not afraid of truth. I do not feel guilty because I once was ignorant of that truth. God knows I was deceived, as we all have been. His concern for me was what I would do when confronted with truth. Would he have to say to me, as he said to the Pharisees of his day, that tradition was more important to me than truth?

I am not going to share here the origins of Easter. It has been proclaimed, debated and ignored by modern Christianity for centuries. This morning I googled "The Origins of Easter" and found 13,100,000 results. For those who care, you have access to the information. For those who don't, it doesn't matter. What I have written, I do for one reason. I want to witness, before my God and my King, that I believe His word, that I have repented and come out of Babylon. I pray you join me.