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We are the New Covenant Israelites, of the faith of Abraham; reconciled through a Spiritual adoption to eternal life through our Messiah Yah'shua, by the grace of Yahweh. |
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The Natural Congregation of Yahweh is what the secular world, modern traditional 'Christians', and the modern 'Jews', would phrase as, "The Natural Church of God" |
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BACK TO BIBLE BASICS: HOPE - A RENEWED WAY OF THINKING Bribery, cheating, corruption, fraud, graft, larceny - have you paid attention to the news lately? If so, you know these are the focal points of the majority of leading stories and headlines. Consider these trend setters: * Hundreds of U.S. and other major banking institutions have gone bankrupt or are on the verge of collapse. No one knows (or will admit) the cost of rescuing depositor's funds. Heading the list of reasons as the cause of these failures - an uncontrolled lending binge, that turned sour due largely to human greed and corruption. The conclusion in one sample study of 26 institutions was that fraud or insider abuse existed in every case. Estimates say such fraud accounts for over 80% of all banking failures. * Counterfeit, and often substandard parts have been found in nuclear plants, commercial airliners, missiles, trucks, bridges, hospitals, schools, buses and even the U.S. space shuttle. * A corrupt and shoddy Soviet construction industry was largely responsible for the huge death toll in the 1988 Armenian earthquake, the later Chernobyl nuclear disaster and others. * White collar crime is estimated at nearly US$80 billion annually in North America - about US$60 billion in West Germany. Many investment bankers, corporate executives, lawyers, politicians and securities firms have been convicted of criminal offences over the past few years, with many such cases still pending. * Insider trading scandals have reached every facet of ours, as well as the world's economic community - even forcing a recent Japanese Prime Minister and members of his cabinet to resign. * Hundreds of billions of U.S. weapons contracts have been tainted by corruption - these are only the ones we know of! Evidence has linked U.S. government agencies to being major profit-taking participants in huge international drug smuggling operations. Government employees of dozens of countries have passed along classified information to business acquaintances. * Bribery is a problem with no temporal or geographical bounds. America instituted the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in 1977, as a result of the Senate being informed of over 300 bribes paid by American companies. After the Act was passed, widespread complaints of reduced business were waged! One U.S. aerospace firm defended itself against bribery charges, saying: "Such payments...are in keeping with business practices in many foreign countries" (The Economist). * Shoplifters cause over US$35 billion in annual losses to North American retailers. British retailers put such losses at nearly US$15 billion, with all shop crime losses at nearly US$60 billion. Its not just drug addicts, the impoverished, or professional thieves who steal. These groups, due to our woefully inadequate distribution of wealth, do comprise the majority of incidents and the majority of the criminally penalized, but they only account for less than 5% of thefts by dollar amounts! It seems, the "establishment", about 5% of our top executives and political leaders, that so efficiently manage to "direct" (and keep) over 95% of all the goods and services in our societies, exert considerable influence on these down-trodden "peasants", when they attempt to "steal" (back) a measly 5% of the wealth - especially for a purpose as trivial as survival! The tragic profile for theft, is "nearly everybody"! To write in this chapter, all the known examples of theft, corruption and other unethical business practices, would literally take a lifetime - and then it would only be a repeat of the "daily news" anyway. We pay dearly for this across-the-board dishonesty. The most obvious cost is financial. But the consequences of dishonesty go far beyond the money. Money is, after all, merely dead trees with ink on it. Dishonesty saps the spirit and soul of a nation. Personal and national cynicism - decaying morals - fear - mistrust - insecurity - anger - hatred - revenge - these are the real and lasting tragedies. In a dishonest society we are constantly looking over our shoulders. When honesty breaks down, when trust is violated, when morality no longer governs human action - everything and everyone becomes suspect. When we can not trust our government, our neighbour, our colleague, our advisor, our boss, our employee - the very fabric of society has already begun to unravel! Corruption and dishonesty in government and business - the so-called leaders of our communities, causes an increase in dishonesty throughout society. A type of pragmatic cynicism takes hold, and people reason, since everyone is cheating, they also have a right - a need to do likewise. It becomes a question of economic survival. In other words, disrespect for authority fosters a self-serving cynicism. "If its alright for them - its alright for me! After all, what have they done for me lately?" People thus begin making moral decisions based on "situation ethics". They believe that no moral code can apply to everyone at all times and under all circumstances. It is only the "naive" who maintain a man or woman can be honest and succeed at the same time. When cynicism says it is impossible to prosper without being "equally", or "competitively" dishonest as the next party - it is also saying morality must be circumstantial. It is saying, take advantage of immoral means, if necessary, then opportunity will present itself. Not fast enough to win the race? Use illegal drugs to enhance your normal abilities - the other runners do. Losing a hefty contract? Offer a bribe - the other companies are. Don't have the qualifications for the job? Lie about your credentials - other applicants do. Our entire global village has been polluted by this "sophisticated" thinking. Visualize an ideal society in which everyone is honest. We would ALL benefit. Collective, across-the-board honesty would create trust and confidence in a world full of security and safety. This type of honesty must come from within. It begins in the hearts and minds of people. No government can legislate this goodness, honesty or integrity. Laws are only effective if the people are willing to obey them. Without individual support and participation, ethics or moral legislation does not work. To be honest is to love your neighbour as yourself. Yah’shua said that we should treat others as we would like them to treat us. The apostle Paul said it this way: "Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others" (Phil. 2:4; New English Version). Following these principles would make honesty the dominant theme of our society. However, it would require change. It would require a fundamental acceptance of revealed truth. A prominent philosopher once said that revealed truth is first ridiculed, later resisted, and finally becomes self-evident. This insight does not seem so profound as we enter into the final years of this century. Diplomats, historians, politicians, scientists and sociologists are all taking the pulse of the times. None likes what he sees - all say a new way of thinking is needed - but somehow, as a society, we simply don't change. What we need, is a "new mind", because the old way of thinking, the "old mind", is proving incapable of handling the world we have made for ourselves. The human mind is now "mismatched" for the world it has created. This serious and dangerous mismatch occurs because civilization seems only to be threatened by its perception of changes that take place over years and decades. But changes required over short periods seem too difficult for us to perceive. We therefore do not allow ourselves to feel threatened in the short term. We are impressed with dramatic changes at the beginning and end of events, but become insensitive to what happens in between. For example, the first atomic bombs that levelled Hiroshima and Nagasaki still shock the world. Yet they are trifling compared to the explosive power of what we continue to store. These stockpiled megaton warheads, although thousands of times as destructive, do not pose the same mental impact on us as the very first ones. Our old mental system typically struggles and often fails to distinguish the relevant from the trivial, just as the ability to make such distinctions becomes crucial. The human mental system is failing to comprehend the modern world. The old mind is struggling to cope and it is realizing that the problems it used to tackle are now of a totally different nature. We have allowed critical issues to go beyond human scale and individual human capacity. Today, it's not families that are starving, but nations. It's not patches of drought that are spreading, whole farming regions are suffering and deserts are growing. It's not furnaces that blow up, but nuclear reactors. The predicaments we face are like weeds we have ignored in our lawn. We turn around and they have taken over. No longer is simply weeding sufficient - we have to totally destroy the old lawn and reseed. We do not just need a new mind because the old one can't adapt. We need a new way of thinking - a change - a new mind, because the old mindset has failed us. Look at our present situation - watch the news, it provides ample evidence. Our environment is one excellent example of how the old mind makes crucial issues appear trivial. In the '50s, we dismissed cries to save the land, conserve the water or clean the air. In the '60s, we belittled and ignored them. In the '70s, we ridiculed what we resisted in the '80s, until finally, in the '90s, it has become self-evident that the environmental crisis is real, and that we must take action to address it! The way our old mind works, we would like to stick our heads in the sand, and hope the problem would somehow go away. Or at best, we would like to throw the blame of degradation of the environment on others - preferably far away - like on overpopulated third world countries. But studies prove that the biggest contributors to environmental degradation, measured by waste generation, come from countries where population growth has been stable, if not declining for some time. These countries (like ours), have primarily absorbed themselves in technology, armaments build-up and industrial development. Technology has twice the effect on the environment as population. War has been proven even more damaging. According to one study conducted by the United Nations in an attempt to illustrate the "limited damaging effects" of war on the environment, it was established that during the brief period between 1955-75, war denuded more than 2.5 million acres of forest, and rendered close to 6 million acres unproductive due to "Agent Orange" herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals. No amount of deforestation in Brazil, desertification in the Sahel, or water pollution in the Nile can compare with the cumulative effects of war. Today, more than half of all people who have ever lived are alive. As conditions get more crowded, competition and greed will increase, and human conflicts will keep rising. Wars in many places in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have already seriously affected food production and critical water supplies. None of us would talk in terms of a future catastrophe if our present family income was less than a dollar a day - if we lived with our family in a hut or shack without heat, water or electricity - if we were starving and lost every second child to malnutrition - if our surviving children were physically or mentally destroyed by deficiency diseases - if there were no medical help available. If this were the case, it would be obvious to us that we were living in a current state of catastrophe. THIS IS HOW OVER 80% OF HUMANITY LIVES TODAY - these people are not distant, small groups - they represent the majority of mankind right now! For most of us reading this, it is difficult to perceive that in about five years, over 85% of the world's population will live in what we call developing countries. Then, the "world" will be "developing", not countries. Today, developing nations have accumulated a large share of the world's debt - many trillions of dollars, and about 60,000 children die before sunset each day. The old mind just has not registered these vast numbers. Concerned, informed voices, are saying if we want a brand new cultural and ecological standard, no longer can we delude ourselves by dividing the world into the rich and the poor, the east and the west, the haves and the have nots - because we will inevitably have to admit, that we - the "haves", are vastly outnumbered by them - the "have nots". Nearly 6 billion people, of which nearly 5 billion are poor and starving, are living on this planet - temporarily segregated. Our old minds tell us we have a firm grip on life, based on our self-defined values, laws and ideas. Our world, we say, is stable despite our over-filled prisons, false contracts, drugged youths, failing families, government corruption and political scandals. We are a world of people afraid to own up to ourselves. We all sense that the rules that we live by are no longer valid. That our laws, religions and customs are archaic - in no way suited to the present. We know exactly how many ounces of powder it takes to kill a man, but we don't know how to pray to Yahweh - or worse yet, we don't think we need to! The old mind says that in the next few years, about 5% of the world (us, in the so-called "developed nations"), can look forward to talking toasters, hundreds of cable channels, interactive TV, computer shopping and maybe even environmentally friendly cars. The other 95% of the world (them), will continue to hope for tomorrows - for a ration of water barely equal to one flush of a toilet, for a speedy death to their starvation-tortured loved ones. Fair or unfair, we have wrapped our old minds around this self-centered concept of "economic" thinking, that we have convinced ourselves is the basis of our "success"! The old way of thinking - the old mind, is obsolete and we don't want to face it. It is not simply time for a change. Change is essential for our very survival. Our old way has been around since we gave ourselves the authority to determine truth and error. Having not learned the truth, we were bound to err. Not wanting to be taught, we were bound to suffer. Not wanting to heed warning, we were doomed to fail. It was once said: "To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear...But am I the one they are provoking?. Are they not rather harming themselves, to their own shame?" (Jeremiah 6:10;7:19). This was Yahweh warning us - teaching us to seek a new mind before it is too late. At conferences concerning the future of our planet, we hear that we need a more culturally compatible world, we should maybe start instituting a new ecological ethos and new social standards, leading to a type of global interdependency. But these are not new ideas. They are ideas that stem from revealed truth, that for centuries have been ridiculed, then resisted, until finally, they are becoming self-evident. Global interdependency, merely means working together. A new ecological ethos, merely means working within the laws of nature. The new social standards proposed, merely mean doing unto others as you would want them to do unto you. So we see that we do not need new ideas, simply a "new mind" - to get around the old ideas, to re-think and re-evaluate what we have previously ridiculed and resisted. Agronomists and farmers are realizing that in order to feed some 100 million more mouths every year as 24 billion tons of topsoil is blown and/or washed away, we had better start looking at the health of the land. Increasing world fertilizer consumption from 14 million tons in 1950 to nearly 150 million tons today, has proven to be a "new idea" that is not an effective answer. It does not work! Leaving land fallow, or letting it rest every few years has long been ridiculed. It has also been resisted until recently, when several progressive farming communities in North America have tried it out as a "new idea". After several experiments, the concept, "proved" that it worked, and it has since become another example of the many self-evident truths revealed in the Bible. As we approach the 21st century, there is hope. The self-evident principles that work, are not old - they are timeless. They were merely first written down for our benefit about three and one half thousand years ago. They would have worked then, they will work now and they will work for all eternity - if we learn to stop ridiculing and resisting them long enough to recognize the revealed truths that are so self-evidently contained in them.
When Paul wrote his letter to the Ephesians, he
was telling us: "This I say, therefore, and testify in Yahweh, that you should
no longer walk as the rest...having their understanding darkened, being
alienated from Yahweh...because of the ignorance that is in them...who, being
past feeling, have given themselves over to licentiousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness...but you...put off concerning your former conduct,
the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and BE RENEWED
IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, and that you put on the new man which was created
according to Yahweh" (4:17-24). And in
So our hope then, is that we place our faith in the absolute - that we stop ridiculing and resisting the Bible - that we start believing - accepting the overwhelming self-evidence of the many simple but awesome truths revealed in it! ALL KNOWLEDGE needed for humans to enjoy a happy, prosperous, healthy and wonderful world, has been carefully and thoroughly set forth in the Bible - FREELY GIVEN, for all of us to benefit from. Answers to who and what is man, who and what is God, what is our relationship with Yahweh, what is man's purpose and potential, why man was given dominion over the earth with instructions to "dress and to keep it" - meaning to manage and preserve our environment, the history of life PRIOR to the account of Genesis - Genesis being the RE-CREATION of the earth for Yahweh's newly added human life, how to have successful marriages and great sex, happy families, friendly neighbours, honest governments, what is honourable employment, proper education, entertainment, food, exercise, sleep, waste management and much more. Information for today's ever-doubtful, sceptical reader, on how to successfully and objectively reconcile the Bible with the many versions of modern Christianity, modern science, history, and archaeology is revealed. The theme of this book, which is the simple truth of how we come to understand the Bible, and how to SHARE this understanding with others, is revealed in Yahweh’s WORD. In keeping with the theme of this book, only a few details essential to explaining some obvious examples of revealed truth, are outlined. If you are honestly seeking answers to any important issue, including those listed above, you will find them by READING Yahweh's WORD AND FOLLOWING HIS INSTRUCTIONS. Some Bible topics may at first seem obscure and difficult, but as you come to understand - as you are RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND, you will see this as part of Yahweh's purpose, and you will marvel at the Bible's simplicity. By reading the Bible with a NEW MIND, we can learn to SOLVE OUR GREATEST PROBLEMS - all of them! TOP ^
IS ANYTHING WRONG ANYMORE? Whatever happened to standards of right and wrong? Why do we need them? A story in a major news magazine went like this: "Students were debating whether one student was right in returning $200 she'd found in the hallway to its owner. They concluded that she'd done a dumb thing, and asked the counsellor’s opinion. "He replied; `Well, I think she did the right thing. But I'm not going to push my idea of right and wrong on you. After all, I'm your counsellor'". But what is a counsellor for, if not to steer people toward a right course of action? What good is a neutral stand like that? How can there even be a neutral position between right and wrong? This counsellor, whoever he is, was correct not to want to push his ideas on his students - but what on earth made him think that his telling young people that it is wrong to steal, was his idea? And why was he prepared to concede for one second that the students might have a point, when they thought the finder was stupid to return the money? Is stealing or not stealing just a "matter of opinion"? It's time we took a long hard look at what's been happening to our society's values of right and wrong over the last 50 years or so. The world of the 1930's was a very different world from today. In some ways circumstances were much worse. During the years of the great depression many lived under conditions of great privation - lines of the unemployed stretched for blocks, and once proud bread-winners were forced to soup kitchens. People ate stale food, wore old clothing and struggled to survive. But in spite of that, there was still a popular understanding of the difference between right and wrong. People were not perfect, but there was no serious question that it was wrong to lie, cheat, steal, commit adultery, or to treat others rudely. But our attitudes have changed dramatically since then. Now, it's quite acceptable - even fashionable, to cheat on taxes, to have an affair, to have sex before marriage, or to adopt what we euphemistically call "alternative lifestyles", just so long as it "doesn't hurt anyone else"! It seems that as long as we're consenting adults, anything goes and nothing could be considered wrong. Now that might be so, if there were no moral law, absolute in nature, governing human conduct. Today, it seems old fashioned to think that there might be such a timeless law. But why should it be? Let's look at it objectively. We live in a law-abiding universe with laws of gravity, chemistry, physics, motion and others. We did not make these laws, but over the centuries, we've learned to define, accept and respect them - to understand them and to rely on them. Because we study the physical laws of the universe, and are willing to apply them, we are able to launch space probes from earth and have them rendezvous with distant planets years later. Because we accept the inevitability of physical laws, we can predict where planets will be - to the exact moment of time. It would be arrogant and foolish to think we could ignore such laws. Rather, we spare no effort to get in step with them, and because we do, we succeed. So what makes us think we can disregard the laws governing morality - showing us the difference between what is right and wrong? Every society has realized that it must have laws to live by. When laws are kept, society is stabilized. When they are broken, penalties are paid. If enough people break them often enough, then society collapses. In the western world, when we think of the highest law, we should think of the Ten Commandments. They have been the basis of human concepts of right and wrong for centuries. Great lawmakers, such as King Alfred the Great of England and the men who drafted the Constitution of the United States, or the many other collaborators of the various founding Agreements of most English speaking democracies in the world, all held Yahweh's Law in high esteem. Even what we might consider as primitive societies govern themselves with very similar codes of ethics. The Pygmies of the Central African Ituri forest have a body of moral law and practice, predating the coming of the Europeans to their continent. The Efe Pygmies of Zaire have an enlightened philosophy and laws regulating their relationships to one another, to their environment, and to a God they recognize as the Creator and Sustainer. Their moral laws forbid wars, killing, adultery, lying, theft, blasphemy, pre-marital sex, devil worship and sorcery, disrespect toward elders and other forms of inconsiderate behaviour. It is interesting to notice how many of their laws coincide with the Ten Commandments. It seems that deep down, all men realize the need for some type of law, against stealing, adultery, murder and other basic principles. Even many animals are not able to live without some basic behavioural and "moral" laws in their social structures. The difference is, our Creator made these laws contained in the Ten Commandments, and GAVE them to us FREELY, in order to give us an advantage. He made them concerning our interaction as humans, just as surely as He made the laws that govern the physical universe. Yet our "natural", carnal minds, like "brute beasts that are meant to be destroyed", would have us reject and attack these laws! That is the very reason why we have situations like the high school counsellor being reluctant to teach what is right or wrong. It isn't his idea! "Thou shalt not steal", is our law, given to us by Yahweh! Why would there be any question about it? How quickly and "convenient" we forget the lessons of history. Biblical and secular history confirm unequivocally, the near total self-annihilation of many civilizations due solely to diseases resulting from their sexual promiscuity as an example, however, most people somehow believe that this "couldn't possibly still be the case"! Paul wrote to the early Israelites in Colosse, saying; "Beware lest any one cheat [or deceive] you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to the Messiah". Today, the influence of many of these philosophers has many people questioning our basic laws of morality. There are several ideas that have dominated our time. They come directly or indirectly from the minds of men like Charles Darwin, Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud - three "great" minds of our recent times. Darwin was one of the first proponents of the theory of evolution; Marx was the originator of the system known as atheistic communism; and Freud fathered modern psychiatry. These men's ideas have been greatly modified - and in some cases even discarded - by some of their most devoted disciples. Yet the notions of these men have come together with an incredible impact on our society. It is as if the effects of their thinking over 100 years ago, have finally reached critical mass. A common starting point for each of these men was their mis-conception that the Bible, BECAUSE OF FALSE TEACHINGS OF TRADITIONAL RELIGION, does not provide the answer to life's fundamental questions. Darwin gave expression to the notion that mankind is the outcome of a natural progression from lower life forms - originating from an unknown source. That idea is not new - Aristotle wondered about it as well. But Darwin brought together several isolated threads of human reasoning and produced his version of the origin of species, casting doubt on the belief that mankind is a special creation in the universe. In his autobiography he wrote this: "I gradually came to disbelieve in Christianity as a divine revelation..." But he also came to doubt the validity of his own theories: "I am conscious that I am in an utterly hopeless muddle. I cannot think that the world as we see it, is the result of chance". Even with Darwin's own recanting, his theory has done massive damage on the 20th century and its thinking about Yahweh's authority. Marx was also opposed to traditional religion. He dismissed it as "the opium of the people", and wrote: "The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of men, is a demand for their real happiness". Marx developed his ideas in the early days of the Industrial Revolution - a time of great social upheaval in Europe. He rightly identified the abuses suffered by the working classes and campaigned against their exploitation. Persecuted on a charge of trying to overthrow the German government, he gave a speech in his own defence that shows his view of the law: "Society is not based on the law. That is legal fiction. Rather, law must be based on society. It must be the expression of society's common interests and needs...any attempted assertion of the eternal validity of laws clashes with present needs". For Marx the idea of absolute moral law was a fiction of man's imagination. He has changed the way many societies think. Whether we agree with him or not, Marx has played a major part in shaping our ideas about society. Like Marx, Freud was of Jewish background, and he too was desirous of denying the religion of his forefathers. From case histories of his patients, he devised an elaborate road map of man's mental structure - purporting to explain the dark stirrings of the human heart, and of the unconscious mind with its attendant fantasies. The idea of the unconscious mind determining what we do was an invention of Freud's own mind - somehow he seemed to overlook what "un"conscious really means! His ideas allowed modern man to believe that he can "free himself from the guilt and responsibility of his actions". Blame and guilt have become irrelevant and meaningless! But are we really just victims of our unconscious minds with all of their bizarre sexual conflicts? If that is true, we certainly can't be responsible for our actions in any meaningful way. Freud himself was quite prudish about sex, although his theories and speculations have been construed by many as justification for disregarding standards and ethics in their own sexual behaviour! So instead of hearing about right and wrong, we hear about right and "oppressed (or repressed)", or right and not "mentally healthy", or right and "liberated". What used to be self-indulgence is now "self-fulfillment". What we used to call living in sin is now a "meaningful" relationship. What was once discipline is now "repression". Our "advanced" behaviour allows us to accept the platitude that we are "sexual beings". Frankly, I find this instant regression to mere animal status, a sad comment on society's view of itself! Like it or not, thinkers like Darwin, Marx and Freud have had a massive effect on modern man's view of Yahweh. We react strongly against someone imposing his or her ideas of right and wrong on others. But that is exactly what these three men have done; and what we continue to do when we support them! We have set up our own structures of morality on the shakiest of all foundations; human reasoning! All of us have to some extent, been influenced by these and other philosophers that, "knew better" than Yahweh. Yahweh, time and again warned us of this: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!" (Isaiah 5:20,21). He explained the reason for this moral confusion in verse 24: "Because they have rejected the law of Yahweh the Lord of Hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel". Yahweh places the blame on false teachers, ministers, and philosophers who set themselves up as authorities to decide what is right and wrong. Those are positions of trust, and Yahweh does not take it lightly when that trust is abused. Yahweh, through Jeremiah's prophesy for our time, says about them: "And I have seen the folly of the prophets of Samaria: they have prophesied by Baal and caused my people to err. Also I have seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery and walk in lies; they also strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns back from his wickedness...Do not listen to the words of the prophets...they make you worthless; they speak a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of Yahweh". Can't we realize that this is not some ancient Biblical epic? This (our current social crisis) is always what happens when people drift away from the moral laws of Yahweh, and decide for themselves what is right and wrong. Yahweh says: "We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes; we stumble at noonday as at twilight; we are as dead men in desolate places" (Isaiah 59:10). And that's what we are like today. We want to be tolerant but we're at the point of tolerating things that society cannot put up with and stay healthy. We shy away from judging others, to the point of believing that all judgements are wrong - we're lost at sea without a compass. Many of our young people are not being taught the difference between right and wrong. They're not immoral anymore - they're amoral - they don't even know the law, never mind the difference - confusion reigns! We have the knowledge Yahweh gave us, but like the old adage says: "we don't have the sense Yahweh gave us" to use that knowledge! Never before has the Bible been so readily available, but read so little. There are more copies in the world than can be counted.
The Ten Commandments (and others) are listed in
But knowledge demands responsibility, and responsibility in turn, demands accountability. Like it or not, and despite Freud's theories, we are responsible for our actions. Times change - but the universal laws of Yahweh - and their universality, never change. The benefits of obeying them and the penalties for breaking them are as sure today as they were thousands of years ago - and will be thousands of years from now. They truly are timeless laws - just like gravity! We see ourselves as religious, even Yahweh-fearing people. North Americans "say" they are strong believers in the Ten Commandments - and think they are more so than other western countries. Yet the judgement of Yahweh is hanging over our nations. Why? A Gallup survey found that we, in overwhelming percentages, said the Ten Commandments "applied fully" to ourselves. Here is a sample: You shall not kill - 93 percent said it applied personally; You shall not steal - 93 percent said it applied to them; Honour your parents - 90 percent think it applies; You shall not bear false witness (lie) - 89 percent say, applies; You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife - 89 percent; You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods - 88 percent; You shall not commit adultery - 87 percent said it applied. You shall remember the Sabbath - 57 percent said it applied, although most (93%) did not know when it was. Studies show 90 to 95 percent of Americans professed a belief in a God. 65 percent believe our God is a personal deity. 70 percent say they are church members and 60 percent claim they attend worship service at least once a month. 69 percent feel their important life decisions have been specifically guided by our God. Chief executives of leading corporations claim even greater degrees of religious commitment. Forbes magazine found that most executives "called religion an important influence in their lives". College students say religion is very important (50 percent) or fairly important (33 percent) to them. American presidents Carter, Reagan, Bush and others claim to be strong believers in Bible, our God and morality! So how can someone presume to say that Yahweh's judgement for national sin, evil and immorality, is hanging over our nations? We stand behind a commitment for human rights, fair laws, justice and equality for all. Bringing these principles to other nations has been a major, if not overriding objective of our nations' foreign policies. Here is what former U.S. President Carter said: "In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our nation...here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President in 1789...opened to a timeless admonition from the ancient prophet Micah: `He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth Yahweh require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God'" (Micah 6:8). He continued: "Our commitment to human rights must be absolute...there can be no nobler nor more ambitious task for America to undertake on this day of a new beginning than to help shape a just and peaceful world that is truly humane". With such noble national aims, how can our nations be suffering a crisis in morality? Even when excluding Yahweh and religion from ethical questions, secularists often come down hard on the side of morality. Let's look at the question of adultery. In the survey, respondents were asked whether they thought extramarital sex was wrong. 72 percent said it was always wrong, while 16 percent said it was almost always wrong. Only 2 percent said it was not wrong at all. (65 percent of the same husbands admitted "cheating", while 58 percent of wives admit it!) In a recent issue, Time magazine published a short article distilling 46,000 letters it had received the year before. Here is how that magazine summarized its reader's thinking: "The temper of the TIME reader was gloomy and out of sorts...moral lapses, abuse of power, greed and hypocrisy were the themes that had readers indignant, anxious, furious and despairing...The letters often reflected a sense of moral backsliding, a kind of national falling from grace. Readers mourned a lack of direction". There was so much interest in the moral condition of the nation that Time inaugurated its new "Ethics" section! And even "God" has a private column in the magazine under "Religion". Responding to their cover story "Whatever Happened to Ethics", they continued: "...seemed to mirror the feeling of many readers that the nation needed an ethical corrective. In writing about America's diminished commitment to moral standards, one of the more than 700 correspondents noted, `You have started a debate that is good for the nation'". Our American neighbours seem to be a nation, like ours, concerned with values - with a commitment to good triumphing over evil. Even the non-religious, who think in terms of morality and ethics rather than sin and righteousness, speak out for higher moral standards! Our concern for things ethical is merely a veil hiding an underlying spiritual problem. Imagine yourself reading this chapter while at lunch in a restaurant. You watch the waiters scurry back and forth taking orders, chatting to customers and each other. People of various ages, race and size are eating, laughing and talking about the normal things. You say to yourself, these are just ordinary folks like myself. Hard working, decent, concerned with their families and friends, facing many of life's problems. Then you reflect on this chapter and conclude: Yet this chapter is speaking of Yahweh's impending judgement hanging over these people - their nations - the world - because of the way they live their lives! Is this fair, you wonder? Humanly speaking, these people are wrestling with the same concerns as people the world over. Trying to make ends meet. Worrying about health. Feeling pangs of tension about the latest rounds of fighting in Europe and the Middle East. They, like people everywhere, know the world is a jungle, full of problems that could potentially lead to another world war. They reflect nations of people ostensibly concerned with bringing a better life and human rights to the whole world. And like all humans, they are against fundamental injustices like poison gas, apartheid, terrorism and starving people. So what is this about some impending divine wrath to fall on these nice folks? Sadly, there is another side to the face of our nations. It is not a pretty profile from Yahweh's point of view. That's the side that has Yahweh concerned and grieving - a side, in part, exposed to various national and international scandals. And in a greater part, the side that has adopted a spiritual indifference toward Yahweh's Way and Yahweh Himself. What does Yahweh see? He sees people who strongly endorse the Ten Commandments - even use them as guidelines for judging their leaders. But they tend to be situation ethics! One Gallup survey found that 60 percent of us think there "can never be clear absolute guidelines about what is good and evil"! One writer commented: "We are a people strong on religion but weak on morality". The paradox is clear: Religious concerns are up; morality is down. George Gallup Jr. has said: "Religion is growing in importance among our people, but morality is losing ground". He should know - his organization has conducted numerous polls on morality over the years. One poll found that over 65 percent of our population feel it is not wrong to have sexual relations outside of a committed relationship - marriage. It is considered a normal rite of passage. Yahweh is not pleased with that statistic or that horrendously stupid, and self-destructive attitude. That same poll found that out of every 100 parties: 24 admit to cheating on their tax returns; 20 admit to lying once in a while to boss and colleagues; 22 admit to lying often to members of their family; 33 admit calling in sick when they are not; 18 admit to padding expense accounts; 22 feel justified in stealing from their employer. These might be considered insignificant lapses of personal morality by some, but Yahweh is not pleased. And He certainly is very disturbed by our high incidences of murder, child abuse, illicit sex, graft and injustice. But these offences are being ADMITTED to by the same people that claim to believe in the Ten Commandments! Our nations consume about 65 percent of the world's illegal drugs. Some 90 percent of teenage females report having sex before marriage. Each year about 1.5 million babies are born out of wedlock - resulting in about 700,000 abortions (murders), with most of the remaining 800,000 children raised in single mother homes - leading to unsupervised children, to gangs, to violence, to drugs, to crime, to aimlessness - and immense public expense. Not everyone is committing adultery but millions are - not everyone indulges in pre-marital sex but millions do - not everyone is divorcing but millions do - not everyone is a thief, a murderer, a rapist or a child abuser but millions are - not everyone cheats on income tax or in business deals - not everyone aspires to business deals based on greed but millions do. Above all failings, our nations worship our God as they see fit - or they don't worship Him at all! Many so-called "New Age" thinkers, have regressed so far back in their beliefs, that they have deluded themselves into renewing many ancient pagan myths under the guise of "New Age Faith", such as the "Universal Force", "Universal Knowledge", or "Universal Power". These are simply euphemisms for pagan faiths that have existed for centuries; excuses for people that do not want to acknowledge Yahweh's Word! They acknowledge a "Universal Creative Force", or "Power", sometimes even calling it "God", but they refuse to accept that this same "God-Force", (that they admit created the entire Universe) could have, or would have caused a "Bible" to have been written which explains "ALL KNOWLEDGE" needed for man! The Bible (which most of these people have obviously pre-judged, without having ever read) clearly predicts this regressive thinking as just one more example of Satan's manipulations. Sadly, traditional Christianity has distorted the truth of Yahweh's Word, the Bible, to such a degree that they (Christians) have actually been the catalyst for much of this backward thinking! Worse, these traditional Christians unwittingly WORSHIP Satan when they celebrate all of our national pagan "holi"days such as Easter, Christmas, Halloween, New Year's etc., even if they think they are worshipping the True God! (See chapter 17, for details.) "These people draw near Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men" (Isaiah 29:13). Even in the name of religion, our nations commonly condone that which Yahweh hates! Yahweh says "Learn not the way of the heathen...For the customs of the people are vain..." (Jer. 10:2,3). "From the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness" (Jer. 6:13). Can we believe that these prophecies were meant for us! "Alas, sinful nation, people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken Yahweh" (Isaiah 1:4). "Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury...follow other gods...and say, `We are safe' - safe to do all these detestable things?" (Jer. 7:9,10). And the prophet Isaiah was certainly addressing our North American Nations when he wrote: "...who swear by the name of Yahweh, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth or righteousness" (48:1). Today, our nations, above all others, universally swear by the name of Yahweh and talk of God - but without any substance to the talk. The prophet Ezekiel sums up the current state of our nations rather eloquently: "In you they have made light of father and mother; in your midst they have oppressed the stranger ...mistreated the fatherless and the widow. You have despised My Holy things and profaned My Sabbaths [substituting false holidays]...In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you ...one commits abominations with his neighbour’s wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; and another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter...they take bribes to shed blood; you take usury and increase; you have made profit from your neighbours by extortion, and have forgotten Me,...Behold, therefore, I beat My fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst" (Ezekiel 22:7-13). Yahweh is perfect justice, perfect righteousness, perfect character - Yahweh is perfect Love - all written out for us in very straight-forward, simple English - all we have to do is read His Word! Will anyone out there actually READ it? The answers to our seemingly insurmountable social problems are ever so obvious - and right before our very eyes! And "planted in our hearts" - have you never wondered how you "just know" what is right or wrong or good or bad - the answer is contained in your conscience that Yahweh has so graciously given you - for Yahweh's sake use it! Yahweh further says about us through Ezekiel, that if we continue to do evil our days are numbered. "Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it..." (14:13). And if that nation turns from its evil, Yahweh will relent His punishment. "If that nation of whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it" (Jer. 18:8). Yahweh's words of extended mercy given by Ezekiel are for our nations to HEAR TODAY: "As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?" (33:11). Yahweh is not eager to punish us - He is interested in a deep and lasting spiritual-ethical change in our moral landscape. Someone has to deliver the message about the choices Yahweh has given us. Through the prophet Isaiah, Yahweh wrote: "Cry aloud, spare not; lift up your voice like a trumpet; tell My people their transgression" (58:1). What about it, you people of America and the British Commonwealth - and you others around the world? Are you ready to start practicing what you preach? Are you willing to make serious, yet simple and enjoyable changes in your lives? The kind that will result in your actions bringing harmony, peace and HOPE to all around you - as humble examples of Yahweh's Laws to the world? Are you who live in modern spiritual Israel ready and willing to assume responsibility for helping to save our great nations from certain destruction - or the responsibility of not helping? Make a start. Get out your Bible and read it with a NEW MIND! It is a wonderful, masterful work of literature - fascinating in its simple complexities. Most of all, it is THE MOST PRACTICAL BOOK YOU WILL EVER READ! GUARANTEED! Begin applying Yahweh's Law in your life, in your thinking and in your actions, and you will PROVE to yourself that it is a set of LIVING LAWS THAT WORK - just like gravity! The Bible - Yahweh's Word, truly is man's only HOPE! TOP ^
Can Science be Reconciled to our Creator? Science has historically mathematicized all theories, including the “Big Bang” theory that was first proposed by a Catholic Monk, Georges Lemaitre, in 1927. And of course, science has claimed this Big Bang theory as “theirs” ever since. Unfortunately for science however, their equations even today, have one serious deficiency that only Yahweh can answer. The exact moment of creation - time zero. Even today, scientists cannot grasp the initial moment of creation. Their equations explain the universe quite effectively, but as they move back in time, approaching time zero, suddenly all mathematics disintegrate, and everything about their math becomes meaningless, or so the scientists claim….. Medicine, electronic communications, space travel, genetic manipulation; these are the miracles about which we now tell our children. These are the miracles we herald as proof that science will bring us answers. The ancient stories of immaculate conceptions, burning bushes, and parting seas are no longer relevant. Yahweh has become obsolete. Science has won the battle of common acceptance. But science’s victory has cost every one of us deeply. Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadgetry for our entertainment and convenience, but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self worth as human beings has been destroyed. Science proclaims that planet earth and its inhabitants are a meaningless speck in the grand scheme. A cosmic accident - a basic mistake! Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us is now electronically connected to the global population, yet we feel utterly alone. We are bombarded with violence, division, fracture, and betrayal. Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof have become enlightened thinking. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history? Does science hold anything sacred? Science looks for answers by probing our unborn fetuses. Science even presumes to rearrange our own DNA. It shatters Yahweh’s world into smaller and smaller pieces in quest of meaning, and all it finds are more questions. The ancient war between science and religion is over. For the most part, the human race believes that science has won. But when we look objectively, we see that they did not win fairly. They did not win by providing answers. They won by so radically reorienting our society that the truths we once saw as signposts, now seem inapplicable. Religion cannot keep up to exponential scientific growth. Science feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for more new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks - we are spinning out of control. The rift between science and religion grows deeper and deeper, and as religion is left behind, people find themselves in a spiritual void. We cry out for meaning, for purpose. We envision UFO’s, engage in channeling, spirit contacts, horoscopes, out of body experiences, mind quests - all these eccentric ideas with a scientific veneer, but they are unashamedly irrational. They are the desperate cry of the modern spirit; lonely and tormented, crippled by its own enlightenment and its inability to accept meaning in anything removed from “proven” technology. Science, they say, will save us. Science, Yahweh says, will destroy us! Really, it has destroyed the greater part of us already. The efforts of religion to slow science have been relentless for centuries; sometimes misguided, but always with benevolent intentions. Nonetheless, the temptations are too great for man to resist. The alluring promises of science have not been kept. Promises of efficiency and simplicity have bred nothing but pollution and chaos. We are a fractured and frantic species moving down a path of destruction. Who is this “god” of science? Who is the god who offers his people such power but with no moral framework to tell you how to use that power? What kind of god gives a child fire but does not warn the child of its dangers? The language of science comes with no signposts about good or bad. Science texts tell us how to create a nuclear reaction, yet they contain no chapter asking us if it is a good or bad idea. Religion has become exhausted in its efforts to be the signposts for science. So many divisions and fractures of the true religion have resulted that any further opposition from religion is now seen as a mere nuisance, offered by religious fanatics - with no “proof” to support their opposition. Science plows blindly on in its quest for smaller chips and larger profits. Wise men ask scientists not why they will not govern themselves, but how can they? Their world moves so fast that if they stop even for an instant to consider the implications of their actions, someone more efficient will whip past them in a blur. So they move on. They proliferate weapons of mass destruction. They make technological breakthroughs, they clone living creatures, but it is religion that reminds them of their conscience and the moral implications of their actions. They encourage people to interact on phones, video screens, and computers, but Yahweh’s people open their doors and remind them to commune in person as they were meant to do. They even murder unborn babies in the name of research that will save lives. Again, it is Yahweh’s people who point out the obvious fallacy of such reasoning. All the while, science proclaims that Yahweh’s people are ignorant. But who is more ignorant? The man who cannot define lightning, or the man who does not respect its awesome power? Yahweh is reaching out to everyone - even to scientists. Yahweh’s people are reaching out too. Yet the more we reach, the more we are pushed away. Show us proof that a God exists, they shout. We say, use your telescopes to look into the heavens and tell us how you can prove there is no God! They ask what does your God look like? We say, where did such a question come from? The answers are one and the same. Did you not see Yahweh in your science? How can you miss Him? You proclaim that even the slightest change in the force of gravity or the weight of an atom would have rendered our universe a lifeless mist rather than our magnificent sea of heavenly bodies, yet you fail to see Yahweh’s hand in this? Is it really so much easier to believe that we simply chose the right card from a deck of billions? Have we become so spiritually bankrupt that we would rather believe in mathematical impossibilities than in a power greater than ourselves? Whether or not science believes in Yahweh, we must all believe this. When we as a species abandon our trust in the Power greater than ourselves, we abandon our sense of accountability. Faith, all faiths, are admonitions that there is something we cannot understand, something to which we are accountable. With faith, we are at least accountable to each other. With faith we are accountable to ourselves and to a higher truth. Religion is flawed, but only because man is flawed. If the secular world, including science, could see the world as Yahweh’s children do; looking beyond the rituals of religious services, they would see a modern miracle - a Brotherhood of imperfect people wanting only to be a voice of compassion in a world spinning out of control. Is Yahweh obsolete? Are Yahweh’s children obsolete? Does the world really need a voice for the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the unborn child? Do we really need people like this who, though imperfect, spend their lives imploring each of us to read the signposts of morality and not lose our way? Or shall we simply trust in science? None of us can truly afford to be apathetic. Whether we see this scientific evil as Satan’s work, corruption, immorality, or even evil at all, the unguided works of science are alive and continue to grow out of control all around us. Do not ignore it! Science, though mighty, is not invincible. Goodness can prevail. Listen to your hearts. Listen to Yahweh. Together we can step back from this scientific abyss and enjoy true progress. Its not science that needs to be reconciled to Yahweh - it's people - real people just like you!
ADDENDUM: 1. For further information on the topic of evolution, please consider obtaining a copy of the most excellent movie: "The Evolution Conspiracy", by Jeremiah Films.
2. For great fun and more information on the topic of evolution, check out this web-site: http://www.creationscience.com/onlinebook/index.html This understandable, comprehensive, and meticulously documented resource will give new insight to readers of all backgrounds. In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood takes a different look at a currently hot topic. Evidence that could revolutionize our understanding of origins is carefully explained. You will be challenged to consider fresh ideas in this age-old debate. Part I of In the Beginning discusses, in quick overview, 136 categories of evidence from biology, astronomy, and the physical and earth sciences. More technical discussions and documentation are found in the author’s extensive endnotes.
Part II introduces and describes the hydro-plate theory—a new theory developed after more than 30 years of study by Dr. Walt Brown, a former evolutionist. This theory explains a catastrophic event in earth’s history and answers a host of previously unexplained questions raised by physical observations. For decades, evolutionists complained that creationists only criticized evolution and did not have sound scientific theories of their own. The hydro-plate theory ends that complaint and explains, with overwhelming evidence, earth’s defining geological event—a worldwide flood.
Thirty frequently asked questions from those attending seminars by Dr. Brown fill a fascinating Part III, including:
Twenty Questions for Evolutionists To answer a question satisfactorily, one must first understand facts related to that question. When you click on the page numbers following each question, you will be taken to a brief section within the online book, In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood. There you will see why knowledgeable evolutionists have great difficulty answering these questions. If you find evolutionists who feel they or others can answer these questions, then ask one more question: “Why won’t evolutionists enter a strictly scientific, written debate on the creation-evolution issue?”; After you read the entire book, the answer will be evident. For details on this written debate offer, see pages 344-346. 1. Where has macroevolution ever been observed? (See page 6.) What’s the mechanism for getting new complexity, such as new vital organs? (See pages 6–8.) If any of the thousands of vital organs evolved, how could the organism live before getting the vital organ? (Without a vital organ, the organism is dead—by definition.) If a reptile’s leg evolved into a bird’s wing, wouldn’t it become a bad leg long before it became a good wing? How could metamorphosis evolve? (See page 17.) 2. Do you realize how complex living things are? (See page 13.) How could organs as complex as the eye, ear, or brain of even a tiny bird ever come about by chance or natural processes? (See page 8.) How could a bacterial motor evolve? How could such motors work until all components evolved completely and were precisely in place? (See page 19.) 3. If macroevolution happened, where are the billions of transitional fossils that should be there? Billions! Not a handful of questionable transitions. Why don’t we see a reasonably smooth continuum among all living creatures, or in the fossil record, or both? (See page 11.) 4. Textbooks show an evolutionary tree, but where is its trunk and where are its branches? For example, what are the evolutionary ancestors of the insects? (See page 11.) 5. How could the first living cell begin? That’s a greater miracle than for bacteria to evolve into man. How could that first cell reproduce? (See page 14.) Just before life appeared, did the atmosphere have oxygen or did it not have oxygen? Whichever choice you make creates a terrible problem for evolution. Both must come into existence at about the same time. (See page 13.) 6. Please point to a strictly natural process that creates information. What evidence is there that information, such as that in DNA, could ever assemble itself? What about the 4,000 books’ worth of coded information that are in a tiny part of each of your 100 trillion cells? If astronomers received an intelligent signal from some distant galaxy, most people would conclude that it came from an intelligent source. Why then doesn’t the vast information sequence in the DNA molecule of just a bacterium also imply an intelligent source? (See pages 10 and 15.) 7. Which came first, DNA or the proteins needed by DNA, which can only be produced by DNA? (See page 15.) 8. How could sexual reproduction evolve? (See page 18.) How could immune systems evolve? (See page 18.) 9. If it takes intelligence to make an arrowhead, why doesn’t it take vastly more intelligence to create a human? Do you really believe that hydrogen will turn into people if you wait long enough? 10. If the solar system evolved, why do three planets spin backwards? Why do at least 30 moons revolve backwards? (See page 24.) 11. Can you name one reasonable hypothesis on how the moon got there—any hypothesis that is consistent with all the data? Why aren’t students told the scientific reasons for rejecting all the evolutionary theories for the moon’s origin? What about the other 138+ moons in the solar system? (See page 26.) 12. Where did matter, space, time, energy, or even the laws of physics come from? (See page 27.) What about water? (See page 24.) 13. How could stars evolve? (See pages 28–30.) 14. Are you aware of all the unreasonable assumptions and contradictory evidence used by those who say the earth is billions of years old? (See pages 34–37 and 264–269.) 15. Why are living bacteria found inside rocks that you say are hundreds of millions of years old and in meteorites that you say are billions of years old? Clean-room techniques and great care were used to rule out contamination. (See page 33.) 16. Did you know that most scientific dating techniques indicate that the earth, solar system, and universe are young? (See pages 31–37.) 17. Why do so many ancient cultures have flood legends? (See page 45.) 18. Have you heard about the mitochondrial Eve and the genetic Adam? Scientists know that the mitochondrial Eve was the common female ancestor of every living person, and she appears to have lived only about 6,000–7,000 years ago. (See pages 261–263.) 19. Careful researchers have found the following inside meteorites: living bacteria, salt crystals, limestone, water, sugars, terrestrial-like brines, and earthlike isotopic patterns. Doesn’t this implicate Earth as their source—and a powerful launcher, “the fountains of the great deep?” (See page 249.) 20. Would you explain the origin of any of the following 25 features of the earth:
In a broad overview, pages 101–131 explain some obvious problems with evolutionists’ explanations for each of these 24 features and show how all are consequences of a global flood. (Additional page numbers above refer to chapters devoted entirely to a single feature.) TOP ^
ISRAELITE LIVING - LIGHT OF THE WORLDYah’shua clearly explained what a real Israelite is like. As we consider what He said, we need to ask ourselves why the qualities He described seem to be so hard to find in Christian professing nations.
Take Yah’shua's teachings from the Sermon on the
Mount, recorded in
The English poet Shelley commented: "The same means that have supported every other popular belief have supported Christianity. War, imprisonment, assassination and falsehood; deeds of unexampled and incomparable atrocity have made it what it is". How can this be? The one who is supposed to be the founder of the Christian religion taught His followers to, "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you" (Luke 6:27,28). This instruction of Yah’shua is hardly followed by Christian nations in times of war. But then how often is it followed in times of peace? Where is it put into practice in neighbourhoods, in social circles, among the people you know on a day-to-day basis? Yah’shua also said: "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise" (verse 31). That has been called the golden rule. It is thought of as a good slogan to hang on a wall, or to dangle from a charm bracelet, or to teach little children. But live by it? Yah’shua did not mean it as a suggestion. It was not His thought for the day. For Yah’shua, it was meant as a living law that He commanded his followers - Israelites, to apply in their daily lives! "Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father (Yahweh) also is merciful, judge not and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (verses 36,37). How often does merciful kindness govern what is taking place? Think of the competition and greed in business - the cheating, the gouging; the primary emphasis in today's world is on getting the advantage over others, even if it is necessary to hurt them a little (in some cases, a lot) to do it. Our political sphere resounds with name calling, propaganda, condemnation, resentment, personal greed and total deceit. Gossip and back-biting are ever-popular themes in private and public conversation. Movies, novels and television programs, including children’s shows, dwell on ideas of getting even, seeking revenge, sexual promiscuity and violence. All this in a Christian land! Instances of genuine mercy from one human being to another in the media are remarkable and memorable because they are so uncommon. Yah’shua' teaching covered the great themes of life, and it reaches down to simple lacks of consideration such as being responsible for a blaring radio, a loud motorcycle, litter, damage to public facilities, graffiti and so on. The Bible describes a society in our time when its religion is a mere form, not having the substance or power to change people's lives. It reads like the front page of many newspapers: "For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of Yahweh, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it" (2 Timothy 3:2-5). If this doesn't describe most modern western nations, nothing does! Yah’shua knew that some would call him their "Lord", who would profess to belong to him, but who would not put His teachings into practice. Here is what Yah’shua said to his audience, then and now: "Why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46). A "lord" is ruler, a master; one who is to be obeyed. In plain language, Yah’shua said: "If you won't obey me don't call me `Lord'"! He further said, "ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 14:15). Again; "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Clearly, only a man or woman who does what Yah’shua said to do; who puts into practice the great principles He taught, has the right (and the respective blessings) of calling Him "Lord"! True New Covenant Israelite faith involves faith and belief, but it is not merely a set of beliefs or casually joining a man-made "church", or being "born again" into some religion. It is not something to be practiced one day a week or at odd intervals. Early Israelites referred to it as "the Way of Yahweh" (Acts 18:25), and "the way of Yahweh" (verse 26). "I am the way, the truth, and the life", the Messiah declared (John 14:6). True New Covenant Israelite faith is the Israelite way of life. No one can follow what Yah’shua taught without a marked change in life and lifestyle. Notice how this fact is illustrated in the following example: A rich young man once came to Yah’shua and asked, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life" (Matt. 19:16). This man knew following the Messiah involved DOING something! "And He (Yah’shua) said unto him...if thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS" (verse 17). There was no doubt Yah’shua was talking about the commandments as set out in the Law of Moses. When the young man asked which ones, Yah’shua specifically named the ones having to do with showing love toward one's neighbour. To this, the young man replied that he had been keeping those and all the commandments since youth (he had been reared a Jew), but he wanted to become a follower of Yah’shua. Yah’shua required in His followers, true depth of conversion. He knew the young man had a problem - keeping in their true intent, those commandments regarding SELFLESS LOVE; giving to one's neighbour. So Yah’shua bluntly told him that his wealth was an obstacle to him; that he needed to get rid of it. Only then he could become a true follower of Yah’shua. Of course, just because one is wealthy does not prevent one from being an Israelite. Abraham, Solomon and others of great wealth, were Biblical examples of character that was righteous before Yahweh. But human nature and one's attitude tend toward concentration on self and one's own wealth instead of on the needs of others. Israelites must learn to properly balance both of these. Sadly, the young man departed, unwilling to change his attitude. The Messiah has revealed principles that bear on every facet of life; every activity, every social situation, every endeavour, every goal and plan. We are even to let our innermost thoughts be ruled by the Lord Yah’shua, "bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of the Messiah", as Paul expressed it (2 Corinthians 10:5). But these inspired instructions are seldom followed today. In the mass evangelistic campaigns of the Christian world people are encouraged to make a spur-of-the-moment "decision for the Christ", and to come forward in an "altar call", and to be pronounced "saved" or "born Again"! That is not how the Bible says we are to receive His Holy Spirit, which is the free gift GIVEN BY Yahweh, leading us to eternal life! Here is where many people stumble. They begin to think they know what real New Covenant Israelite faith is all about and to look around at people they know. Or they think of individuals they have known in the past; friends, relatives perhaps, and they use them as standards of comparison. They say to themselves; "Uncle Henry and Aunt Ruth and my friend John did not obey Yah’shua' explicit instructions, but they weren't `bad' people either. They lived the way they thought was right. I'll take my chances along with them and with millions of other professing Christians who are just average good people. Surely Yahweh won't deny eternal life or salvation to them! Yahweh is merciful". Yahweh is merciful, that's true. But then what did Yah’shua mean when He said keep all the commandments? He meant exactly what He said! Uncle Henry and Aunt Ruth and friend John and all the millions who have professed Christianity without ever understanding what it really is to become an Israelite, will eventually have their opportunity to understand. They too will learn that in order to have the mind of the Messiah in us, it is necessary to keep all the commandments!
If learning this doesn't happen in this life it
will happen in a future period of judgement when Yahweh's government rules the
earth. That period of time is described in
John revealed how we can know who is, and who is
not a real Israelite: "And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His
commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a
liar, and the truth is not in him" (1
So a true Israelite will "walk with Yahweh", and will live by Yahweh's law of love; by "every word that proceeds from the mouth of Yahweh". And by exercising this kind of Godly character, he will come to know Yahweh. At this point, some may be wondering how they can become "perfect". They have heard ministers say, "the law is spiritual, and you can't keep it". Both points are absolutely right! The law of Yahweh is spiritual. And man, by himself, cut off from Yahweh, cannot keep that spiritual law perfectly. First, Yahweh does not demand instant perfection. Rather, through His inspired Word, He tells us, "but grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Yah’shua the Messiah" (2 Peter 3:18). The true Israelite life is one of learning, overcoming and growing toward the Yahweh-like character that is our ideal. For Yah’shua said: "I have kept my Father's commandments" (John 15:10). And Paul wrote; "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of the Messiah" (1 Corinthians 11:1). Notice Paul's description of the problem: "The carnal [natural] mind is enmity against Yahweh: for it is not subject to the law of Yahweh, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please Yahweh" (Romans 8:7,8). Paul is saying that what causes the normal (carnal) human being a problem with Yahweh, is that he is antagonistic to Yahweh's law and will not submit to it, but rather submits to the "natural" laws of the physical (carnal) senses. We all are certainly "in the flesh", in the sense that we are human, but Paul means: "But ye are not in the flesh, but in His Holy Spirit, if so be that His Spirit of Yahweh dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of the Messiah, he is none of His" (verse 9). Again, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of Yahweh, these are sons of Yahweh" (verse 14). This is the ultimate key to true New Covenant Israelite faith! If you have been deeply humbled and converted by your Creator; have surrendered, even though not yet perfectly, to allow Yahweh and His Messiah to live in you through the power of His Holy Spirit, then and only then are you truly an Israelite! Of course, you will still have human nature, the world around you and the invisible influence of Satan the devil to overcome. You will grow in grace and in knowledge, studying the Bible for instruction with an open mind and heart, praying for understanding and for the spiritual strength to live Yahweh's way. Then Yahweh will be making you His child by putting His very Spiritual nature in you. Step by step, you will reflect in your daily life, the character and obedience of Yahweh the Father that Yah’shua demonstrated in His human life. Yahweh will become more and more real to you. You will demonstrably see that His laws are living laws, just like the physical law of gravity. They all work automatically, no matter whether you, or this or that theologian, believes in them or not. Yah’shua quoted the prophet Isaiah in speaking of the religious leaders and people of His day: "...this people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me" (Mark 7:6). Religion is often superficial. What is lacking is deeply sincere repentance. This is what distinguishes real New Covenant Israelite faith from the traditional. A dictionary definition of repentance is: "to feel self-reproach, compunction, or contrition for past conduct, to feel such sorrow for sin or fault as to be disposed to change one's life for the better".
Godly repentance means to stop sinning (by first
realizing that sin is the transgression of Yahweh's laws of love -
Speaking of a sinful people, Yahweh says; "And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: ...they rebel against me...They return, but not to the most High" (Hos. 7:14-16). People have made an outward show of returning to Yahweh, but they haven't done it with their hearts. What the world calls repentance, is all too often, outward, superficial worldly repentance, with no real sincerity or deep feeling. Any time you break or disobey any one of the holy, righteous commandments of Yahweh, you have sinned and you need to repent of that sin. No one is excluded. No man, woman or child (other than the Messiah) has ever lived who has not disobeyed and broken Yahweh's law (Romans 3:10,23). therefore, everyone must face the need to repent deeply, and sometimes bitterly. To become a genuine Israelite we each must ask the Father in heaven that the Messiah's shed blood cover our sins; that the sacrifice of His life be accepted in our stead so the penalty for our sins can be removed from us. Then we need to begin to obey Yahweh. We need to establish a new and different approach to life. We now begin to keep His commandments - all of them - with zeal! Of course, we can't just drum up the deep feeling of abhorrence for our sins by ourselves. It has to come from Yahweh; for, "THE GOODNESS OF Yahweh LEADETH THEE TO REPENTANCE" (Romans 2:4). It is Yahweh who helps us to see our own shortcomings, and opens our minds and starts us on the way to repentance. The Bible names dozens of individuals who are going to be in the kingdom of Yahweh. David, Daniel and other servants found out how to reach the Creator of the universe. As soon as they realized Yahweh was displeased with them or their nation's ways, they set out to correct the situation.
Yahweh calls people to repentance through
chastening. Often He allows financial problems, family problems, sickness, or
other serious situations to develop so that we can realize our need of Him.
These trials are proof of the Father's love for each one whom He calls to
repentance. Notice
Instead of fighting these problems in our own strength, we need to learn the lesson Yahweh is teaching us. We need |