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Before we begin we must understand one thing. When a definite article is used in a sentence such as the word "the" it means unique, special, only one of a kind. When a definite article is used such as an "a" it means "one of several". Notice now that when Paul says:
Ephesians 4:13 "Till we all come in the unity of the faith" he was referring to only ONE faith...and that the faith that existed at that time.
Answer for yourself: To what was Paul referring as this "the" faith? Which "one" was it? Was it to normative Biblical Judaism? Was it a "literal" interpretation of these texts we have today in our Bibles? Does our Bible have considerably "more texts" and "alterations" than the theology of which Paul spoke 2,000 years ago? Or could Paul have been referring in this Ephesian texts to a more Gnostic understanding of the ancient Spiritual Wisdom which we find expressed not only in every major world religion including Judaism as well as early pre-Roman Christianity and at various "places" in our Bibles today? Could it be that this ancient "faith" called "the faith" by Paul refer to the ancient Egyptian Religion and its Metaphysical understanding of the Soul which is later shadowed by the Jewish cultural expressions of this "same" faith in God we find in the Bible? Or have we failed to understand the real message of the Bible because our approach and interpretation is basically one of "literalism" instead of "allegory" as this Paul originally intended? What should this passage in the Book of Ephesians mean to you? Do you practice this "same faith" that Paul speaks or is your faith "another" in Paul's mind and you don't recognize that it is since your study of your own faith is lacking in this regard? Does this mean we need to become Jewish and convert to Judaism or does it more correctly mean that in coming to this "unity of the faith" we are called to uncover the hidden "mysteries" of this ancient "faith" that are suppressed and hidden from us today in the ashes of Roman Church history and the altered Scriptural texts we have inherited? Does our typical Baptist, Methodist, Catholic, or other such Christian typical experiences today fulfill this desire of Paul for this "unity" of this "one faith" for all believers or could it be that in our typical Christian experience are we so far afield of the truth that Paul refers in this passage 2,000 years ago that we don't know that we are inadvertently involved in a Roman "replacement religion" that rejected totally "the faith" of which Paul spoke 2,000 years ago? Do you want the truth about these questions and should it matter to you?
You must decide when reading the materials from Bet Emet Ministries if you are in "the" faith that Paul was referring to at the time of the writing of this above passage. Either your faith is grounded in the faith and principles expressed in the first century church, expressed on the pages of our Bibles as a Metaphysical expression of Biblical Judaism or, it is not. If you think that our typical Christian experiences today reflect and mirrors what Paul was speaking about then have I got news for you. If you think that Messianic Judaism is this "faith" with a "literal Jesus Christ" then you are sadly mistaken. In a nutshell let it be known up front that as seen today Gentile Christianity with its "literal interpretation" of these ancient Scriptures is a sad replacement religion that opposes much of what this ancient "faith" which Paul says was "once given to the saints" not only possessed but desires be taught to all of God's children. Now, on with the article.
Slowly over the years of my Pastorate in Dallas, Texas, I have witnessed a slow awakening, and I stress "slow" awakening of the Gentile Christian Church to the Jewish roots of their faith. This is encouraging, especially in light of the great need for such a "restoration" once you come to the knowledge of the truth concerning how Gentile Christianity has strayed from the ideals and original Apostolic Religious Doctrines that James and the Jerusalem Church desired for her and her Gentile brothers and sisters. I have witnessed over the years a new emphasis within the Church on the singing of the Psalms in their worship, the use of banners at various occasions in the tradition of the Tribes of Israel, the celebration of the Biblical feast days (Passover, Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Rosh Ha Shannah, Yom Kippur, Tabernacles, etc.). But this is but a small start in the awakening of the Spirit within man to the Divine Truths of the ancients who first gave us these Scriptures we read today. This awakening is wonderful and necessary for our repentance if we ever wish to return to "the faith" and the Spiritual Truths embodied within it which we read on the pages of our Bibles which dear ones we see is Biblical Judaism and not 2nd century Roman Christianity. Not only that but sacred dancing, especially in Charismatic churches, is prominent. But it needs be said emotionalism is not wrong except when such expressions are used to deceptively reinforce Spiritual untruths. Then we are deceived in not obtaining the truth behind these texts we read but we "feel good" about our experience any way. Spirit and Flesh are never to be confused together but sadly usually are in our Churches today. Never forget that the intellect works with the Spirit in one's worship of God and the criteria given for us to to judge all things is expressed in a duality: "Spirit and Truth".
John 4:24 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. (KJV)
With the deplorable condition of our public school system home schooling has become a viable alternative for many. This is a great opportunity to teach truths you learn from your personal study of the "Jewish Roots" of Christianity along with the many vistas to which it such study leads such as the true comparison of the Biblical texts when compared in the Hebrew, Greek, and English, the alterations of the Messianic Promises in the Hebrew Scriptures when purposefully misrepresented in both our Christian Old and New Testaments supposed translations, the radial "reinterpretation" of the Biblical texts as it changed from "allegorical interpretation" to "literal interpretation", the celestial days of worship of God called the "Feasts and Festivals" which are the hidden story of the salvation of the Soul, the parallel study of comparative religions with their own "Jesus Story" and "Christ Story" as found over twenty times in ancient religions since the beginning of time, the correct understanding of Gnosticism along with the Gnostic "key" to unraveling this puzzle behind Rome's alteration and approach to the "Christ Story", astronomy, archeology, etc. Let is be said that Sabbath celebrations in homes of traditional Sunday Christians are very encouraging and likewise great opportunities for spiritual enlightenment and growth instead of the standard Sunday church fare which we are so accustomed. One hour in serious study can do more for the Spirit and Soul than ten hours of erroneous preaching reinforced by emotionally charged music and songs in our Churches. Study was and yet is considered in Judaism to be the "highest form of worship" one can give God. Study, not preaching, is one of the Gifts of the Spirit according to this same Paul. This awaking today of Christianity's "Jewish Roots" has even progressed in some congregations so far as to teach the correct doctrine regarding the Biblical Tithe. Many are even beginning to use the Hebrew name of God (Yahweh) where this was unheard of only a few years ago. Little do they know in beginning to restore the Hebrew Roots of their Christian Faith that long before the name Yahweh was used by the Jewish People it was known in Ancient Egypt thousands of years earlier. Even more startling is the same can be said about the name "Jesus Christ". What we have to consider is if this reference to "Jesus Christ", the "Egyptian Messa or Messiah" was some "Jewish Rabbi" that was to come some time in the future or have we lost the true meaning of "the Christ" today due to inheriting Rome's antisemitism and alteration of Judaism in their dogmas and texts. Some Christian Churches are displaying Jewish symbolism (Menorahs, Stars of David, Shofars, etc.) in their congregations; again not aware that we find such things as the Star of David expressed thousands of years earlier again in Ancient Egypt as the very central piece of their Religion "("So Above, So Below"), the intersecting of two triangles, one pointing up to Heaven and one pointing down to Earth). But all of this you will learn as our studies advance. These are but a few of the elements drawn from our Judaic heritage that are now becoming common place in the worship, practice and teachings of many Christian congregations today who are studying their Jewish roots of their faith. What is startling is that what beings to look like "Jewish Roots" is in truth "Egyptian Roots"! It is but a short step taken in the "right direction" that connects Jewish Roots with their earlier Egyptian Roots. This is the most fascinating study one can ever undertake in their life but it is so necessary that we don't get the cart before the horse and we take things step by step and in order if we are to fully grasp what is ahead for us in the study of the Soul, which by the way, is the "key" to all religious texts and symbolism one way or the other. But you will come to see this as your studies advance.
But not all are open to such attempts at recovering the truth and the rich heritage of their Christian faith before it was tragically altered by Rome during the 2nd through the 5th century. Although many of these activities are not yet the accepted norm in all Christian circles, it is only the beginning of a rapidly developing trend which can hardly be ignored. But the restoration of "Jewish Roots" to the Christian Faith is not the final goal, but only one step of many needing to be taken today toward the restoration of Spiritual Truth which the ancients cherished for thousands of years which sadly almost passed totally from mankind knowledge in the fires and ashes of Rome and their purge of the world's Sacred Spiritual Wisdom and Knowledge during the 2nd through the 5th centuries. But in spite of the many who have failed to "discern the times" those who have are contributing to a Judeo-Christian restoration that was prophesied in the Jewish Scriptures which is but another opportunity for the Spiritual advancement of the human species that is connected today with the changing of the age (from Pisces to Aquarius). Mankind is taking a step into a Higher Spiritual Consciousness as we speak and all of this might sound strange to a typical Christian but believe me the scope of this is mind-boggling when you see it and Bet Emet Ministries has for twenty years been diligent to put the pieces of this puzzle together for the betterment of mankind and we make it a gift to you, the "truth seeker" and "lover of God".
However, some in Christian leadership are expressing apprehension in returning to "'the' faith once given to the saints". I can remember speaking about this great need with my previous senior Pastor and he could only say over and over again "we are not living in the first century any longer". True, but what escaped him, as well as many, is that the Commandments of God are Eternal; whether it be the first century or the twentieth century, or the Dynasties of ancient Egypt. God's word and Laws are immutable. Man's fears were born out of a fear of legalism which is propagated by an incorrect emphasis on the Pauline writings as well as their "alterations" as you will come to see as your studies advance.
May God hasten the day when something is judged, not by whether it is Jewish or Christian, but by whether or not it is Biblical centered
I find that most people are familiar with the term "Judeo-Christianity". The term can be found to be used frequently by scholars, Bible students and commentators who write on the early church. Simply said, it means "having roots in both Judaism and Christianity". Judaism and Christianity were publicly coined words. The word "Christian" was first used in A.D. 42 in the city of Antioch as seen in Acts 11:26. Yet we find that the word "Christian" was adopted later than the text implies for the purpose of differentiating between developing groups of "believers"; one group who had faith in the inherited oral traditions of this "Christ" as a "historical and literal person" and Jews who did not accept this idea of this "Jesus Christ" as their Messiah let alone the altered concept of the indwelling "Christ within" all humanity which was accordingly modified by this "literal Jesus" teaching. This will become plain as our studies advance but for now know that the concept of the "indwelling Christ" was altered to the "external Christ" who is "limited to but one person" by Rome.
Answer for yourself: What did I just say?
In this last sentence is the great division on the
road to Spiritual Truth; one you will be called to travel. Bet Emet will help
you discern the correct path to be taken in this regard by presenting to the
reader many infallible proofs which will enable the student and "truth
seeker" to discern the truth behind the "Jesus Story"
which we have inherited at the hands of Rome. Let me say there are abundant
reasons why the Jewish people for over 2,000 years don't believe our simple
"Jesus Story". You need to see and understand the reasons for such a
rejection of the "literal Jesus Story". Recovering our Jewish Roots
is but the first step of many whereby the goal of recovering the truth of the
ancient Spiritual Wisdom that existed before the rise of Rome can be
successfully restored and obtained by the "truth seeker" in his life.
Even more so the word "Christian" is a play upon the long existing
name for the lovers of Wisdom, called "Gnostics" and who were
likewise known as "Chrestains" or "lovers of the good".
Under Rome's efforts and their Replacement Religion the word
"Chrestian" will become "Christian" and will also come to
be used to identify the entire Gentile Church over time, a church which is now
directed by Rome and not Jerusalem and which has lost the "keys" not
only to this ancient Spiritual Wisdom of the Soul but its "Jewish
Roots" as well, many of which were vistas into this deeper Spiritual
understanding of the Scriptural texts we mistaken interpret
"literally" today. The
irony of the whole thing is that the vast majority of those who call themselves
followers of the "Christ" (the term "Messiah" in Hebrew)
and identify with the term "Christian" have little in common with the religious belief
system of this Jewish Jesus or first century Biblical Judaism.
Take a second to read the "link" and the article above
which compares numerous religious dogmas between Judaism and Christianity and
ask yourself:
If you have ever put on your "thinking cap" it is time now to do so. When you are finished with this above "link" it is time for another exercise in intellectual expansion. Read and wonder why the typical Christian have little if anything to do with a "Jewish Jesus" and his "religious belief system"! Such a statement is an undeniable fact to those who study the "Christ of Judaism" in the first century and then compare what the example of this "Jewish Jesus" believed in the first century as concerning his "religious belief system" with what they have been taught by their Gentile Churches and their current "Christian religious belief system". They are not the same! This second "link" is a must read if you are serious about your studies and desire to acquire the "Truth" about the true origins of Christianity today.
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that the "Jewish Christ" taught a completely different "Gospel" than the one that the Romanized Paul of later Roman theology taught?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that the "Jewish Christ" taught a completely different way of inheriting Eternal Life than the way that the Romanized Paul taught inheriting Eternal Life?
Answer for yourself: After having read the above articles then is there any doubt in your mind that as a typical Christian that you are not a follower of this Jesus or "the Jewish Christ"?
Answer for yourself: Where do we find the real Paul and the real "Mind of Christ" in a Bible we inherited full of later Roman alterations of the texts as seen when compared to the Hebrew originals? Where do we find the truth about the real "Jesus" and the real "Christ" following the Roman invention of a "literalized" Christianity as a replacement religion for Judaism?
Let me assure you that you are closer to the truth than you have ever been in your life before now. In these articles and in other websites from Bet Emet Ministries puzzle pieces of knowledge come together one after another in order to help paint for the reader and "truth seeker" the hidden truths behind the allegories and stories of our Bibles which were never meant to be taken as historical narratives as we are taught them today. The "keys" to the proper interpretation of these Sacred Texts come one after another as your studies advance. Diligence in such study will be rewarded by clear vision and Spiritual Understanding in time because it is not easy to investigate 2,000 years of altered theology as the hands of the monks but that is what we have to do if we ever hope today of recovering the Divine Spiritual Wisdom imparted to humanity in its beginning long before the rise of Rome and its "radical reinterpretation" of the ancient Divine Spiritual Wisdom.
Now take a break and don't get upset at what I just said and showed you. You are blessed to see this and begin to "think" of what God just allowed you to both hear and see. Behind these shocking truths lies a "Pattern of Worship" that you don't understand yet; a "pattern" given to all mankind in the beginning of time which was handed down by God to ancient Egypt and later to Moses and Israel as the "pattern in the Mount" for all mankind. It is this "pattern" which through Israel was taught to whole Gentile world in the earliest centuries of the Christian era; well that is until the 3rd century when the great antisemite Constantine will emerge and change this "Pattern of Worship" for the whole known world and give the world a "replacement religion" that goes by the name of Roman and Protestant Christianity today. It is time to learn the truth of what has happened long ago to "the faith" once given the Saints!
The term "Judaism" was born of similar circumstances and was, no doubt, coined for the purpose of implying a "divorcement" from Christianity and their errant beliefs which often contradicted the ancient Divine Spiritual Wisdom, the Hebrew Scriptures and the teachings of great anointed people like Moses, the later Writings, and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible, etc.
the proper system of worship and
practice for the people of God is not "Christian" in a religious
sense, but "Jewish" simply because "Jewish worship"
patterns for us best the Divine example and
"idea" in a Biblical sense and therefore remains eternal and
universal for all nations
What a truth that you will come to see. Nevertheless, there are acceptable terms which we will use for identification and orientation as we continue in our studies. The phrase Judeo-Christianity is perhaps most ideal of these terms in that it expresses and maintains the inherent bond between that religious faith which Yahweh gave and reiterated at Sinai.
Eph 4:5 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, (KJV)
In the Book of Malachi God, through the prophet said: For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Do you really believe the above Scriptures? Do you really? If you really believe that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, then I challenge you to be brutally honest with yourself in answering the following questions:
Answer for yourself: Why then is there such a startling difference between Christianity and Judaism on so many religious doctrines and beliefs? Have you ever studied these "contradictions" between earlier Judaism and later Christianity for yourself? Have you ever studied both "when" and "why" such changes were made? Well I have and it will take your breath away when you see just how divergent that Biblical Judaism and Roman Christianity really are along with the reasons why Christianity decided to "split" from its mother's faith. Take time right now and follow this above link and "think" how Christianity can be the "fulfillment" of Judaism when Christianity basically denies the whole of Judaism and its religious belief system. Carry with you the thought that God "changes not" since this "Divine Pattern" of Spiritual Knowledge and Divine Wisdom can be found reproduced faithfully from nation to nation, from every major religion over and over again until the rise of Roman Orthodoxy in the 2nd century when this "pattern" is "radically reinterpreted" at the hands of Rome.
Answer for yourself: How can two religions, Judaism and Christianity, that came from the same God who is One and a complete Unity have so many conflicting doctrines like those on atonement, sacrifice, salvation, Christology, Messiah, the Soul, Sabbath, days of worship, etc.?
Answer for yourself: Did Jesus start an entirely new religion in spite of the fact that he is recorded saying in Matt. 5:17: Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. (KJV) Then "who did"?
Answer for yourself: Is Jesus responsible for all of the differing doctrines and practices that bear the name of Christianity today as found in over 2,000 different Christian denominations in the world today which all claim to represent the truth about this Jesus?
Answer for yourself: Is there a difference between the "Christ of Faith" and the "Christ of History" and if so do you know what it is?
Well we are not ready to tackle all of these big problems yet but understand that the "Christ of Faith" and the "Christ of History" are NOT the same by any stretch of the imagination. But this understanding will come in time. You will come to see how there have been 3 different understandings of "the Christ" taught since the beginning of time; two are correct and one is in error and the one we inherited in Christianity given us by Rome is the one "in error". But this again this fact will become plain as the nose on your face in time.
Answer for yourself: Who is the "real Jesus" and the "real Christ" as distinguished from the various thousands of different Christian denominations and non-denominations that exist today who claim to follow this Jesus but have so many conflicting doctrines, rites, ceremonies, dogmas, canons, tenets, observances, liturgies, formalities, services, festivals, Sabbaths, etc.?
Answer for yourself: Now for a horrible thought. Could it be that the Jews, who follow the same religion that the Jewish Jesus supposedly did, and have for thousands of years since ancient Egypt by the way, be right in their religion and its dogmas and those who follow the Roman New Testament and its theological doctrines, which can by the way be shown to "opposed to Judaism" when its New Testament texts are compared to the unforged Hebrew Scriptures, be incorrect? Of course such an answer and the "Truth" to this question is the quest of Bet Emet Ministries but let me also say that this question predisposes that the reader must become aware of the adulterated and forgery and purposeful mistranslation and misquotation of Scriptures and texts that is abundant in our Christian Old and New Testaments. Study is not an option for the "truth seeker". You probably never knew these alterations in our Christian Bible exist but know it now for certain that the above statement is tragically true as you will personally see for yourself as our studies advance. In seeing the facts for yourself your eyes and heart will slowly turn from Rome to Jerusalem and the faith of the Jewish people as the depository for Divine Truth, truths we will have to acknowledge are not taught in our Roman "New Testament" under it current "literalistic" method of interpretation in vogue today.
Answer for yourself: How trustworthy are the copyists of our Christian Bibles? As your studies increase you will see and I did upon my own personal investigation into the "translation of the Hebrew Texts" when used in the New Testament that these copyist strayed from the intended reading of the prior Hebrew Texts with free license in hundreds of example, many of which are "key" parts to this replacement religion which we have today.
Our modern New Testament contains copyist additions such as Mark 16:9-20 which most are aware of today. Added to that this "free license" to corruption of truth is found outside of the Bible as well. A reference to "Jesus" in Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews (18.3.1) is such a blatant Christian forgery that even Christian scholars admit as much. There are many such "insertions" into the ancient writings that modern scholarship show us today were "added" in order to bolster the claims of the early Church concerning the "literal existence" of Jesus which was received by all from "oral traditions". Also, keep in mind that the same Christians that we are trusting with an accurate transmission of the Bible also are the ones who burned down whole libraries full of Gnostic Scriptures in order to hide and destroy the Ancient Divine Wisdom of God that undergirded mankind's responsibilities to live as incarnated Souls the very same Divine Order of the cosmos that God exhibited to man in the operation of the Laws and cycles of Heaven and Nature. Man was to observe and learn that his existence is follow and be ordered by these same Laws which are to be worked out in his life. Thus, the anti-Law biases of Rome which we read about in our New Testament texts today has no firm foundation other than Gentile's hatred for the Jews. Eusebius, the Church historian, confessed to being more concerned with spreading the Christian faith than recording history accurately. Eusebius is but one example of a known "liar" who helped steer the Christian faith upon the rocks of antisemitism with both his writings that are full of "lies". Lastly let me saw that almost every Messianic Promise recorded in the KJV can be found to be a purposeful "mistranslation", "misquotation", "taken out of context passages", and outright pure "invention of texts" when compared to the Hebrew originals in the Jewish Tanakh. I have done these studies and was absolutely shaken to my very core when in my Pastorate to see that that I had trusted my whole life for "truth" in my Christian Bible concerning the "Jesus Story" was an outright deception. Don't believe me now but as we get to these texts and investigate them one by one when compared with the Hebrew from which they were taken you will see this for yourself. And these are only the beginning of the problems with our Christian texts given and accepted by us as "infallible, inerrant, and inspired". When doing these types of studies will open your eyes to the "Truth" like never before and pay the way to our later study of Gnosticism, Astronomy, the ancient Egyptian Religion and the "keys" to correctly interpreting the ancient Divine Secret Wisdom concerning the Soul which is so tragically altered and misrepresented in our "Jesus Story" as it stands in our Christian Bibles today. We have much to "unlearn" and "learn" in the forthcoming months of study.
Answer for yourself: One may question what I have said and might ask himself: "What difference does it make as to how I worship God so long as I have accepted Christ as my personal savior?"
Perhaps you need to sit down and contemplate on the above thought. The statement is true. Ministries like Bet Emet are called to share such insights with a Gentile Church which has departed from "the faith once given to the saints". (Jude 1:3). Much of what the Gentile Church teaches the non-Jewish believer today are unfortunately "falsehoods" which are recorded in the New Testament by the antisemitic writers of the New Testament. I know you have been taught that the New Testament was written by the Apostles, but other than a few authentic writings by Paul (7 in total), the vast majority of this literature defies identification as to authorship and internal evidences in the texts by this "unknown authors" often betray Gentile hands of authorship. One thing is certain, however; modern scholarship today can prove that most of these writings were drafted by non-Jews with strong antisemitic leanings. Thus we have a document that is full of Replacement Religion and replacement religious dogmas and doctrines which conflicts with the Bible that Jews like this Jewish Jesus would have used, the Hebrew Scriptures, written by "holy men of old". That means those who follow the teachings in the New Testament without comparing them against and with the writings of Moses and the Prophets as taken ONLY from the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew Scriptures of Judaism and NOT the forged Greek, Latin, and English Old Testaments of our Christian Bibles cannot be assured they have Divine Truth let alone are being obedient to the God they say they love.
Answer for yourself: How much do we love God? Well, I cannot answer that for you but I only hope to make the reader consider such a question for himself as our studies advance.
One's love for God must motivate us to be "sure" we are right in what we believe and how we respond and live His truth out in our lives. That means you will have to study hard and often be exposed to materials which will challenge you to your very core. But love for God demands we pay whatever price to ensure we are not opposing Him and disobeying Him out of misdirected zeal or out of ignorance of the truth which has been "tragically altered" and "changed" in the Bibles we were given by Rome.
The precaution given to ancient Israel is a valid one for the Church today. God pleaded with them on several occasions not to worship Him through learning the ways of the heathens. There is a "pattern" of worship and all mankind is called to follow this "pattern". In this day of restoration and renewal of the Church, there is a turning away from many of the man-conceived concepts of worship which have been handed down to us by the historic church fathers with a return to "Biblical patterns", even if they do appear Jewish in nature. You will come to see that behind this Jewish "cultural adaptation" that a higher Divine Truth awaits than you have ever learned before in your Christian life. What I would find for myself and will teach later in forthcoming articles is that behind these "Jewish Patterns of Worship" are deeper Divine Truths about the Soul of man, its incarnation, it growth, its life, its development, its maturation, its trials and tests, and finally the death of its bodily temple whereby it is set free of the prison of the body having learned the lessons intended by its incarnation not in just one person, as Rome will have us believe in this "Jesus:, but in all of God's Sons and Daughters (this means you and me).
Dear child of God...if you have not already you soon will see that "Jewish" means "Biblical"
Pontius Pilate asked a significant question of public concern, both for our day and his, when he inquired of the Jewish Jesus, "What is truth"? (John 18.38). The greatest of men still struggle to find the answer to this all-consuming question as they seek to please the living God. We at Bet Emet Ministries are dedicated to finding the truth in order to assure that we are worshipping the Father in Spirit and Truth. Our dedicated study for the past twenty years has shown us that much of what we were taught by Christianity has strayed far from the truth and surely was not given by the Spirit of God to mankind but rather the "flesh" of mankind. Repentance is the order of the day in light of the facts of the current studies that you will have a chance to see for yourself.
Failure of multitudes of believers to fully answer this profound question for themselves has left the Gentile Church in a quicksand of conflicting doctrines and practices. I know many of you who read this article might say that the Jewish Jesus, "the Christ" said, "I am the Truth"; but sadly this question can not be answered satisfactorily with such a simplified answer. Nearly everyone at some time has found himself a victim of these conflicts only to ponder the same question: "What is truth"? Perhaps one of the greatest mistakes to be made in our pursuit of Divine truth has been the failure to acknowledge the source of truth...the Jewish people who were entrusted with Divine revelation for the whole of mankind.
THE SOURCE OF BASIC TRUTH FOR ALL THE WORLD...INCLUDING THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH CAME FROM GOD THROUGH THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THEIR TEACHINGS. MANY TEACHINGS IN CHRISTIANITY THAT ONCE ORIGINATED WITH THE JEWISH PEOPLE CAN BE SHOWN TO BE CORRUPTED BY THE HANDS OF ROME AND TODAY ARE SHOWN TO NOT BE SOUND DOCTRINALLY AND INVARIABLY FLAWED IN ITS CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS...NO MATTER HOW NOBLE IT MIGHT SOUND...
Because of the anti-Semitism of the early Gentile leaders of the Church, we have the gradual drift of the Christian Church from its Egyptian, Hebraic and Jewish Roots that has robbed the believers of their rightful heritage, the power that goes with the Word of God when obeyed, and has rendered the Christian Church a very divided people (over 2,000 different denominations containing multitudes of conflicting doctrines concerning the Christ). We are without an answer when we look to that "one faith" and "one Lord" and "one Baptism" which today has become a myriad of conflicting doctrines and practices within the corporate body of Christ. Somebody got off tract and it was not the Jew who yet today follow the SAME faith and PATTERN of the religion of Sinai.
Answer for yourself: Can you guess who erred?
Answer for yourself: Where is the "faith once given to the saints"? (Jude 1:3). Can it be restored?
Any time Judaism is mentioned along with the Law you can hear sincere Christians respond: "I am not under the Law". Such responses come from a fear of legalism and a failure to understand the Torah, its purpose, and the true salvation message of God. In fact, when properly understood, it is the Jewish Holy Days and Festivals that teach God' true salvation. But such anti-Law statements are based upon an inadequate knowledge and understanding of Judaism in the first place. It is because of differences in dogmas concerning these "Holy Days" that our study must begin with a comparison of Judaism vs Christianity. Although we as Christians and followers of "the Christ" are most likely not well versed in Judaism we must learn right now that when one does something that appears to be Jewish in nature we must stop and remember that the Jewish Jesus said, "Think not (although some still do) that I am come to destroy the law...".
We need to quit "thinking" anti-Law ideas and spend some time in study of Judaism and role and purpose of the Torah and its role in the salvation of mankind. Then, if you do this, then you can never say such things again like "Christ is the end of the Law"; even if Rome wrote such sentiments in their supposedly "infallible" New Testament.
Contrary to what you might think or have been told "the Christ", as seen in this Jewish Jesus, our example, was not advocating a legalistic system for achieving righteousness, nor was he attempting to terminate the Law, which is the guideline or pattern for moral discipline, praise and worship. Biblical Judaism was simply God's chosen system of praise, worship and service entrusted to the Jewish nation and it is through them God's "Pattern" of worship was made available to the "non-Jewish" world in the early Christian era. This is so important to grasp. We are not to become "Jewish" for God made us as "non-Jews" but we are to learn from them that "Salvation is of the Jews"! Within the true Jewish expression of "faith in God" and its "outworkings" is a "Divine Pattern" for both the Jew and the non-Jew to follow in their devotion to God and his "Pattern" for all life.
The Jewish Jesus did not come to start a new religion for the world, let along a church which some believe he was to build. This "Jewish Jesus", as depicted in the New Testament, is shown to be a reformer within Biblical Judaism (Sinai faith). It is this faith, Biblical Judaism, mind you that was to be taken to the Gentiles in Acts 15 and later in the Great Commission as well because within it we find God's "Pattern" for all mankind beginning with the Covenant of Noah and the Laws of Noah for the Gentile world as their introductory covenant with God along with the Covenant of Moses and the Laws of Moses for the Jewish world.
I mentioned earlier the passage that "Christ is the end of the Law". Here is the type of study would will find in our forthcoming articles.
Rom 10:4 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Have you read that Christ is the "end" of the Law and heard it preached from the pulpits of your Churches? Have you ever understood the passage correctly or just was led to think that the Law for mankind is over with the death and resurrection of Jesus as taught by mainline Christianity?
Clearly "Christ is the end of the Law. He always has been and will be forever. But this Law will NEVER pass away.
Answer for yourself: What is it that we don't see here that makes us want to set the Law aside like we have been taught by the majority of Christianity our whole lives?
[the Greek word for "end" in this verse is actually the word "goal"] of the law for righteousness" (Romans 10:4). Christ-likeness is where we live out these Laws and Commandments of God in our lives on a daily basis, like our example in this "Jewish Jesus". So doing ensures that our Souls are matured properly in this physical existence and doing so lead to Eternal Life with God. "Patterning" our lives after the example give us of the "Jewish Christ" by and so following these Laws in the Torah in our lives assures that our Souls Spiritually mature correctly and thereby we accomplish the purpose of our Earthly incarnation. When we examine the life of "the Christ" then we see that he adhered to Judaism his whole life and taught repentance toward the Laws and Commandments of God which frame one's Covenant with God. This is the example we are to follow and emulate in our lives; not one of antisemitism and anti-Law biases based upon incorrect understanding of the Sacred Scriptures.
For example, the Jewish Jesus never terminated the Passover celebration. He never intended that we replace the Passover, and its mystical meanings given to it by God and substitute Easter observance for the Passover. It was the Passover and not Easter which was given and commanded by God for both Jews and Gentiles alike. Abraham, long before there were ever Jews, can be shown to observe and keep this Passover. Egypt as well had been keeping the Passover thousands of years before Moses and even before Jacob brought his family down to Egypt. There is a "Divine Pattern" here that escapes us completely today in Gentile Christianity along with Gods' Divine Message for you and me that is associated with this "Divine Pattern of Worship". We must restore it. Sadly for most of us, although most of us are unaware, our churches, some on a weekly basis, substitute "crackers" and "grape juice" as a type of pseudo-Communion for the Passover which was to be celebrated only ONCE A YEAR. There is a "Divine Pattern" in the working of the cosmos which is the expression of the Mind of God to mankind and taking this Celestial Event, this Spring Equinox, and transforming it into a weekly "reminder" destroys totally this so important part of the "Divine Plan" for the Soul of mankind and its "salvation". This "alteration" goes unnoticed by most Christians until they are "awakened" to the Spiritual Reality around them, a reality that challenges to the very core Rome's Replacement Religion. The Passover, as you see has an astronomical origin but has as well a Divine Message attached to the Salvation of mankind which is totally missed in Christianity today. When this principle of reform of errant Christianity today is understood and the "fear factor" is eliminated, the Church is going to see an accelerated restoration of Judeo-Christianity. Charges of legalism and of being Judaizers in the historic context will diminish. Taking the former as an wide example for all the Festival day, we as Christians have failed to heed the Jewish Jesus' warning to worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth for our worship is flawed and unacceptable to our Father for the most part if we follow the traditional pattern of most Christian churches where we deviate from the "Pattern of Worship" given by God and which is represented clearly to both Jew and "non-Jew" in Biblical Judaism. The sad fact is that most of the church is unlearned and uninformed about such things because their focus has been limited to redemption only to the exclusion of other important doctrines in the Bible such as worship and teaching that undergirds the Soul's progressive perfection in this incarnational world of our present existence.
Having understood the above warning from the
"Jewish Jesus" in John 4, the return to Judeo-Christianity through intense study and
repentance, thus leading to a return to a more Biblical centered
"Pattern of Worship" of the Father as well as perfecting our Soul
cannot be construed as legalism or a return to religious bondage.
Those who say different are simply wrong and have failed to grasp the real
message of the Scriptures.
"An over-Hellenized over-Latinized Christianity needs a re-Judaizing process to bring it back to its founding Jewish roots and RENEW it more in keeping with its own inherent ideals." (Edward Flannery- Catholic scholar)
Discerning Christian scholars are beginning to recognize the record of the Holy Scriptures and the truth of history. In a very real sense Gentile Christians have been discriminated against by their own leadership. They have been denied their right of equal access to the Judaic heritage guaranteed them by the New Testament. Presbyterian scholar Harry E. Gaylord described it accordingly, "The Christians, as they were eventually called, did not have a uniform approach to Jewish law, but they were not trying to break away from Judaism. They were a group within Judaism trying to make their views normative. First generation Christianity was a part of Biblical Judaism, but the next generation would depart from it."
Answer for yourself: This mind you occurred long after the time of the supposed death of this Jesus which was supposed to "change everything". The facts of history of both Israel and Judaism tell us that "nothing changed" during the 40 years following this supposed death of Jesus. Since the inherent Jewishness of the gospel of the Jewish Jesus is so clear in the first century, the obvious question is, "What brought the massive divorcement of Christianity from Biblical Judaism?"
For the answer one need only trace the course of history. After the death of the apostle Paul and the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, subsequent generations, which included more and more Gentiles, made every effort to remove all traces of Jewishness from the Divine message within Judaism. As the Church became increasingly Hellenized (Greek) and Latinized (Roman), many of the concepts of a "literalized" polytheism (the literalization of other gods and emanations from this One God [called angels today]) began to appear, gain prominence and become entrenched in the Church. Not only that but the Gentile Church began to collect the writings of the earliest believers of the "Christ Within" (called Gnostics) and corrupt them through numerous alterations whereby purposeful misquotations and mistranslations of the Hebrew Scriptures were used to create new ideas that were foreign to the original Hebrew writers of the Hebrew Scriptures (like a LITERALIZED CHRIST EXCLUSIVE TO ONLY ONE PERSON and not longer shared "within" by all). Like I said there is much to "unlearn" and "learn" truthfully that has been kept from us. That is why when learning all of this over the early years of my Pastorate that I had to resign my Pastorate. Truth is paramount in one's relationship with God, not religious traditions. You will come to see as I did that many Jewish texts were taken out of context on purpose and edited in the Gentile Church's canon of Scripture called the New Testament and such practices only further propagated Rome's Replacement Religion. Purposeful Scriptural misquotations, mistranslations, and misapplications of the "inspired Old Testament", the Bible Jews like this "Jesus used", became overflowing on the pages of the Christian Bible you carry today. And you are not aware most likely because you have, since you are a New Testament Christian instead of an Old Testament Christian, never verified for yourself if what you are reading in your Christian Old and New Testament is a faithful representation of what the Prophets and Moses wrote. You have taken for granted that the New Testament is correct, for after all, it has a black binder which says "Holy Bible" on it. You accepted such a document without question...or should I say "by faith". Dear ones you have been deceived and not know it; that is up to now. I once was where you are most likely at today in the knowledge of Christianity; didn't have much since I only went to Church and ever cracked a book "about my faith or the Bible I was told was inerrant". The Church remains a victim of many of these elements today because few study such things and if you do you are "suspect" by your Pastor and labeled a "troublemaker". Today's Christian has been brainwashed to prefer "preaching" instead of "study". Yet when I try to find "preaching" as gift to the body of Christ it is not there; I only find the gift of the "teacher" instead. Sadly the Christian Church today needs to pray that God send them courageous teachers for only when the teacher does his job is the congregation equipped to be the real proclaimers or "preachers". We have it just backwards today. In spite of such deception restoration and doctrinal renewal for the Church is on God's agenda (Deut. 32:2).
Deut 32:2 2 My doctrine shall drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew, as the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: (KJV)
Many are beginning study for themselves and come to the point in their lives where they are beginning to"... ask for the old paths, where is the good way..." (Jer.6: 16). They will be the prophetic ones who "....shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in" (Isaiah 58:12). Bet Emet Ministries is one of many who have felt the call to return to the old paths which is the good way, and in doing so, build the waste places destroyed by Gentile Christian antisemitism and anti-Judaism. In our pursuit to return to the "faith once given to the saints" we may not have Gentile Christianity's support, but rest confidently in the fact that we are raising up David's tabernacle in fulfillment of Scripture by helping to restore the paths and foundations for many who seek the truth about the God of the Bible. Glory!
The present renewal of the Church in Spirit is going to result in a renewal and restoration of Biblical truth in the area of worship and practice.
Answer for yourself: What is the end purpose of and need for this Judeo-Christian restoration?
Quite simply Paul said it best in the book of Ephesians. Notice this was written to the non-Jew and not the Jew. This is of utmost importance and remains so for the Gentile Christian today.
Eph 2:11-12 11 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; 12 That at that time ye were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: (KJV)
After reading the above verse you can more easily understand why "salvation is of the Jews" and not the Roman Church not her illegitimate sister Protestantism. The non-Jew has nothing apart from Israel and the Revelation of God given to them by the Jews. Only when the "non-Jewish" believer come to the startling understanding that much of his religious belief system is based upon a corrupted, adulterated, an flawed document, his Christian Bible, will he be able to fully understand that not only that many of his "trusted" dogmas and beliefs are in error and he does not know it as well as why the Jews, who do not accept the New Testament, are, in my opinion, the best bearers of God's true salvation in the world today. Only after verifying through diligent personal study for yourself what I said is the truth will you then be able to "fulfill" the following passage, not only in your life, but before the God you love.
Eph 4:13 13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Messiah: (KJV)
The trip for the contemporary Christian believer to acquire such knowledge is long and hard. Many, many tears will flow as he is confronted with the startling facts and realization that he has believed "the lie" which we were warned about to avoid. Anger for being victim to such deception is unavoidable. Only by the grace of God will compassion come to cleans such anger whereby you can experience the compassion of God for your fellow believers who are still trapped in such lies and false religion. May God speed your hunger for truth and your discipline to acquire it. You are a valuable piece of God's puzzle, for without you "unity of the faith once given to the saints will impossible". Shalom. Craig Lyons M.Div.