Judaizers of the Faith 

“…the sect of the Pharisees who believed (in Christ) rose up, saying,

 “It is necessary to circumcise them, (the new Gentile Believers)

and to command them to keep the law of Moses.”

Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.”

- Acts 15:5-6

Occasionally I receive a letter saying that there are some things that they disagree with in my ministry, such as why I believe in legalism?  Why I do keep the Sacred Names, the food Laws, the Sabbath, and the annual Holy Days listed in Leviticus ch.23.  Why do I believe in going backwards when the New Covenant tells us look forward?  Why do I believe in Judaizing the Faith?  (I beg your patience, this topic could fill a book, which is making a normally short newsletter more of an article because it will run a little long, to hasten the pace please allow me to paraphrase a little.  I would also appreciate any feedback.)

“No advance has ever been made in science, politics, or religion,

without great controversy."

What I publish in my book and website startles many Christians, but the critics miss my point.  I am not Judazing the faith because I am going further back in history, before “Jewish law,” and I am looking forward by learning from the past.  Allow me a moment to explain, I learned the Bible from two timeline directions, from Adam and Eve forward, and from current Protestant church history backwards, with both timelines converging around the time of Christ and the Apostles.  I’ll highlight some of the pivotal events important to this discussion, the time of Adam & Eve, then Noah, Abraham, the Patriarch’s of Israel, the time of Moses, the rule of the kings when Israel rejected YHWH’s rule and elected king Saul who was their first earthly king, and the Israelites return from exile in Babylon and the start of the Sanhedrin, Jewish law – the Talmud, and rabbinical rule.  From our modern time backwards we have the Protestant revolution, the rule of the Roman Catholics, the time of Emperor Constantine around 300 CE when emerging Christianity merged with Roman paganism, the early church in the first two to three hundred years after Christ, and the Nazarenes - the time of Christ and His Apostles.

What does all this mean?  From the time of Adam & Eve to Noah I learned how YHWH’s knowledge was perverted and almost destroyed humanity (ref. The Forgotten Books of Eden - The First and Second Books of Adam and Eve).  The unrighteous descendents of Cain shunned YHWH’s teachings, they reasoned, “... the old laws do not cover all the needs of our developing society, we need a new system ...” - they gave themselves over to the dark ways of Satan, which eventually lead to the near destruction of all humanity.  

In the time of Noah humanity was given 7 commandments and all the subsequent generations, the forerunners of the 3 major races,  had the same knowledge of YHWH until the time of the Tower of Babel were once again YHWH knowledge was corrupted.  The majority of society reasoned, “... the old laws do not cover all the needs of our developing society, we need a new system...” – thinking that they were being progressive they gave themselves over to the dark ways of Satan, building a tower dedicated to him, which lead to their destruction, and scattering the remaining humanity to the four winds.

Throughout all this time from Adam and Eve on, a family lineage remained true to YHWH, which leads us to Abraham and the Patriarchs of Israel.  In this time the faith was a little more simple and true to YHWH.  I learned that the head of the households were empowered by YHWH to be the priests of the family, they blessed YHWH and they blessed their children, they did not have to seek out Melechedisk, the High Priest of YHWH, to do this.  For example when YHWH asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac he was not commanded to seek out Melechedisk to perform the sacrificial ceremony, he had to do it himself, and there are many examples of blessing children and bestowing birthright from the head of the family. 

In the time of Moses, a descendant of Abraham, I learned that because of the Israelites long captivity by the Egyptians they lost most of YHWH’s knowledge that was passed on to them, and through Moses, YHWH restored their spiritual knowledge and revealed more of HIS mysteries to them.  For example, this was the first time that the mysteries of Passover were revealed to the world, which as we know today is the key step in canceling the curse of sin via YHWH’s sacrificial lamb – HIS Messiah.  HE also revealed HIS annual Holy Days, which teaches humanity HIS plan of redemption leading to HIS promised eternal life (Lev.ch.23). 

During the time of Moses and for the next 450 years YHWH ruled Israel until they rejected HIS rule and opted for an earthly king to be more like the pagan nations around them (Bible Books of Judges, 1&2 Samuel).  Thinking that they were being progressive they voted for a change.  They reasoned “... the old laws do not cover all the needs of our developing society, we need a new system…,” and as we all know, this was a big mistake and once again YHWH’s knowledge was corrupted (1Sam.ch.8).  It took about five hundred years but little by little their divorce from YHWH’s rule lead to Israel’s complete destruction.  First the ten tribes of Northern Kingdom was destroyed and removed from their lands never to be heard from again.  Next the Babylonians dealt the final blow to the three tribes (including the priestly tribe of the Levities) of the Southern Kingdom (Bible Book of Lamentations).  The remnants of the Southern Kingdom (commonly called the Judeans or Jews) returned almost a hundred years later and rebuilt Jerusalem.  Here the Israelites reasoned that the enemy is within us, it is that evil impulse that is inside every man and woman and comes with human nature.  “We have met the enemy and he is us,” and they figured out a solution to their problem. 

“We must save the people from themselves,” the rabbis lamented.  The answer seemed easy, in addition to the Teachings of YHWH, they would just add a few simple layers of new Jewish laws to it, to guide the people to righteousness.  Thinking that they were being progressive, publicly they said, “... the old laws do not cover all the needs of our developing society, we need a new system ....”  Sound familiar?

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,

hypocrites! ...Serpents, brood of vipers!

How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”

- Yahshua, Matthew 23:29-33

“Now therefore,

why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples

which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?”

- Acts 15:11

YHWH is not a burden, HE is a blessing.  The Jews reasoned that with this new system they could catch their people breaking Jewish law first, before they broke any really serious Biblical Law, then they could handle the problem in house, so to speak.  They hoped, that this way, YHWH would not notice a small transgression and hold it against them.  This is called Jewish legalism; here “the Teachings” became “the Law.”  This system causes people to live in slavery to the letter of the law, and the freedom of the CREATOR’S self-government is lost.  This was the first attempt to micro-manage personal behavior - it would have been better had they just repented.  Later in time, in the New Testament we learn that Yahshua strongly scolded the Jewish religious leaders of the day for the regressive man designed laws - rabbinical Jewish law - they added onto YHWH’s Laws making HIS Way a burden.   

Back to the timeline, from modern times going backwards, being raised a Lutheran, I learned early on of the Protestant revolution and the bloodshed caused by the movement to put YHWH’s knowledge (the Bible) back into hands of the common people, get back to a truer Path, and to once again spiritually empower the individual (Foxe’s Book of the Martyrs ch.6-13).  Prior, the Roman Catholic hierarchy controlled the Scriptures (YHWH knowledge) and perverted it for their own empowerment over the people (in other words keeping the people spiritually dumbed down and in fear or they would be killed, Foxe’s Book of the Martyrs ch.4-5).

Going further back into history to the year 321 C.E. - the time of sensible heresy.  It was the time of the Roman Emperor Constantine, and there I learned how he merged Roman paganism with the emerging Christianity.  The new Roman Christianity did not embrace the Jewish / gentile believers and their traditions, by then they had been mostly killed off, it was yesterday’s pagan priests who became today’s new Christian priests with their pagan traditions taking on new Christian themes.  Some would say if you mix clean water with dirty water you still have dirty water.  In other words, as I pointed out in my Palm Sunday (GOD test) newsletter, there still are many pagan elements in today’s Christianity that were put there by Constantine (I.E. Christmas Tree - Jer.10:1-7).

Continuing back in time from 300 C.E. to the time of the Apostles I learned how YHWH’s Messianic faithful, the original Jerusalem Messianic church (the Jewish and gentile true believers of Yahshua), were hunted and murdered simply for their belief in Christ and His Messianic teachings - ref. Foxe’s Book of the Martyrs ch.1-2.

What does all this mean?  We can see a pattern that every once in a while throughout history we get a glimpse of YHWH true teachings and then they become perverted and eventually lost or hidden.  Those who try to learn YHWH’s truth and live by it are hunted and murdered simply for their beliefs.  These people, followers of YHWH, do not lie, they do not steal because they answer to a higher authority, and they are hated for it.  Why?  Because YHWH’s truth empowers the individual encourages them to be self-reliant and not to be reliant on kings, false priests, and politicians.  Once the true believers have been silenced then rulers move their societies away from YHWH teaching, which eventually leads to their destruction. 

"The true man of God is heartsick,

grieved at the worldliness of the Church...

grieved at the toleration of sin in the Church,

grieved at the prayerlessness in the Church.

He is disturbed that the corporate prayer of the Church

no longer pulls down the strongholds of the devil."

- Leonard Ravenhill

Hmmm, I wonder, is there a lesson in that for today?  In America, the current political thinking is that we have to be more progressive and vote for a change.  The new deal being trumpeted is,  “... the old laws do not cover all the needs of our developing society, we need a new system…”  Sound familiar?  I worry, as America drifts further and further away from our founder’s Biblical values that we may be heading down a slippery slope to our ruin.  

Besides studying the Bible I also study nutritional and herbal medicine and there are amazing similarities.  Great herbalists of the past and present are hunted and jailed (ref. Dr. Christopher USA herbalist - see my links page), the wise women of the middle ages who were healers and mid-wives, were branded witches and murdered, their books burned and their knowledge lost.  Why?  YHWH created herbs, spices, fruits, nuts, etc. to help us take care of our health and well being, but the ruling powers to be (doctors, pharmaceutical companies, and politicians), hate this concept of empowering the individual want to control healthcare so then the government bureaucracy can indirectly control the populace – it’s an age old socialist concept.

Today people are church hopping or simply leaving their churches in search of deeper spiritual truths, and they are finding it by looking back into history when the faith was a little clearer and truer.  A similar movement is also happening in health care as people are rediscovering the ancient, but timeless benefits of herbal and nutritional medicine.  To illustrate the point there is a running joke in the herbalist’s circles called:  

The History of Medicine

I have an earache.
2000 B.C. - Here, eat this root.
1000 A.D. -That root is heathen. Here, say this prayer.
1850 A.D. -That prayer is superstition. Here, drink this potion.
1940 A.D. -That potion is snake oil. Here, swallow this pill.
1985 A.D. -That pill is ineffective. Here, take this antibiotic.
2000 A.D. -That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root.

There is a revival afoot to return to our ancient spiritual roots,

but without the religious and Jewish mishegoss.

Humankind constantly thinks they know it better then our CREATOR, and after they have exhausted all other possibilities they will yield to YHWH’s true wisdom  - for a while.  Today there is a movement to return to our original spiritual roots.  Many Christians are part of a fast growing global movement who say it is the ancient ways, the historic, and the Biblical ways that matter most (Jer.6:16).  I know because I have first hand experience in rediscovering the old ways and bring them to life.  It is the focus of my book and website, where my hits and visitors are steadily increasing – YHWH bless the Internet.

Having said all that, allow me a moment to answer my critics.

Many still refuse to allow Bible facts

to get in the way of their feelings.

~ Regarding the Sacred Names ~

In my humble opinion, it is a mistake to say using the Sacred Names is legalism, I’m not a nazi about it, if I talk to Christians who generally use GOD and Jesus then I go along with them because it makes them feel comfortable, and ease into it later in the conversation, but I do use them in my personal prayers because I believe the Sacred Names are more accurate (YHWH vs. God, Yahshua vs. Jesus).  And aren’t we supposed to keep HIS Name Holy?  God is simply not a Holy name. 

“The Lord knows those who are His,” and,

“Let everyone who names the name of Christ

depart from iniquity.” - 2 Timothy 2:19

Biblical archeology proves the name YHWH.  Known as the “Tetragrammaton” they are the four consonants standing for the Hebrew Name of GOD.  Hebrew is read from right to left, and in English it is written as “YHWH.”  “The true pronunciation of the Sacred Name YHWH was never lost” (Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol.7, p.679).  The word has been transliterated to English as “YAHWEH.”  Log on to http://www.homeworship101.com/bb-c1_top_god.htm

The Sacred Name is revealed, and commanded to be used for all generations to come, Exodus 3:15.  There are close to a hundred other passages in the Hebrew Bible commanding its use.  The Prophet Malachi states the Sacred Name was given to be used by all Believers, the Israelites and the gentiles (Mal.1:11). 

Biblical names are a type of job description, and the Sacred Name YAHWEH means eternal, endlessness, everlasting.  YAHWEH is the most powerful living Spirit in the entire universe.  YAHWEH was before all else, and the CREATOR of all.  Jehovah is a modern mispronunciation of the Sacred Name, introduced by Christian theologians during the European middle ages.  Until 1565 C.E. there was no letter J in the alphabet.  Je-hovah is a hybrid name; the suffix “hovah” in Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary is #1943 and means ruin, mischief.  “Havvah” is another form of hovah #1942 which means ruin, calamity, iniquity, mischief, mischievous, perverse, very wickedness.  Jehovah is more the definition of Satan then YAHWEH, and Jewish scholars have never accepted Jehovah as the name of our CREATOR.

I receive many letters referring to Semitic linguistics experts defending the name Jesus or Ieusus from the original Greek.  Like Jehovah it is a mistranslation.  As I said Biblical names have meaning and many prophets of the Bible have descriptive words used together with our CRATORS name, I.E. Elijah/Eliyah means YHWH is God. Jeremiah/Jermyah means YHWH will establish or exalt.  The Messiah comes as salvation of YHWH, Luke 3:6.  Salvation in Hebrew is shua, hence the name Yahshua.  Some Jewish believers say Y’shua or Yeshua, I believe they do this because of Jewish law forbidding the use of the FATHER’s Sacred name and they shorten it.  Jesus has no such meaning.

Some say Yahshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus, making is sound like it is for Hebrews only, but Christians have been using the Sacred Names and Hebrew words.  For example, one of the most widely known words in the world is “Hallelujah,” an imperative meaning “Praise you YAH.”  The Hebrew phrase HalleluYAH is heard the world over and sounds the same in all languages, curiously few people really understand what they are saying.

There is nothing in the Gospels correcting the use of the Sacred Name because Jesus was never called Jesus when He walked the earth. – He was called Yahshua or Yeshua (technically speaking, the better English transliteration of Yeshua would be Joshua).  The Sacred Name churches make a good argument when they say what mere-mortal has the authority to change the name of our Messiah-Christ?  Or our CREATOR? 

~ Regarding the Sabbath ~

In my humble opinion, the number one Biblical challenge still goes unanswered, where in the Bible does it state that the 7th day Sabbath (Saturday) was changed to the 1^st day of the week (Sunday)?  My house observes the Sabbath, my wife lights the two candles, we say our prayers, and share a Sacred Meal, but I do not keep it as the Talmud dictates – that would be Jewish legalism.

~ Regarding the Holy Days of Leviticus ch. 23 ~