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| By Frank Brown |
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Christianity's Two Grievous Mistakes
In the New Testament we find that Believers were warned time and again about false teachers coming in among them and watering down and destroying their belief system by introducing false doctrines and false "gospels." Notice some of the warnings:
Yahshua Himself sounded this warning in the gospels and inspired His Apostles to warn others
(Mat 24:12-14 KJV) "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. {13} But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. {14} And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
The Gospel is being preached, but there are also other Gospels being taught that have led millions astray over the years, and it is getting worse with each passing day. Notice that it was already being done in Paul's day, still within the lifetimes of the original Apostles. Bear in mind that about 1,950 years have passed since those days. How much worse is it now than then!
(Gal 1:6-7 KJV) "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of the Messiah unto another gospel: {7} Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of the Messiah."
Jude echoes the same warning. Truth was being trampled in his day. False teachers were spreading lies and leading people astray. (Jude 1:3-4 KJV) "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. {4} For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our Elohim into lasciviousness, and denying the only Sovereign Yahweh, and our Master Yahshua the Messiah."
Notice that these "ungodly men" were turning grace into lawlessness. They were teaching that "the law is done away; today we are under grace only."
(2 Thes. 2:7 NRSV) "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work, but only until the one who now restrains it is removed."
What is this "mystery of lawlessness"? It is the doctrine we find in the Christian churches today, that "the law is done away; we are under grace only." They say that to obey the law is "legalism." However, that goes against the teachings of our Savior, who told the young man, "If you will enter into life, keep the Commandments." (Mat. 19:17).
(1 Pet 5:8 KJV) "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
And he is finding plenty of people to devour, since the whole of Christendom has fallen for this insidious lie that we do not have to keep the Commandments. Did you know that the very definition of sin is, "the transgression of the law"? (I John 3:4).
(2 Pet 2:1-2 KJV) "But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Master that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. {2} And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of."
That is so true today. The way of truth is scorned and laughed at, and roundly rejected by the vast majority of Christians today.
(1 John 4:1 KJV) "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of Yah: because many false prophets are gone out into the world."
So we see that Christianity has allowed Satan to dupe them into making mind-boggling doctrinal mistakes during the course of its history as the major world religion. Over the past 2,000 years, since the birth of Yahshua, the Jewish Messiah, they have inexplicably (to some) committed grievous errors that have taken away the "keys to the Kingdom," spoken of by Yahshua Himself (Luke 11:52 and other places)
Two of these mistakes, whether intentional or not, have combined to create a Christian Church that is for the most part devoid of Biblical truth, and will prevent their followers access to the Kingdom of Yahweh. The keys to the Kingdom have truly been taken away. These are harsh words, I know. But it is time we quit mealy-mouthing around, and speak plainly. Otherwise, millions of people who think they are "on the way to Heaven," are doomed to the lake of fire if they do not recognize these two errors and repent.
What are these "keys to the Kingdom," that have been taken away? Both have to do with two of the Ten Commandments. Strangely, one error was caused by a desire to quit doing anything they perceived as being "Jewish," and the other was caused by following a Jewish custom.
I am speaking of the Third and Fourth Commandments. Let me explain. We will take the Third Commandment first:
In the Third Commandment, Yahweh Himself said, "Thou shalt not take the Name of Yahweh in vain; for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who taketh his name in vain." Then in another place, He said, "I am Yahweh. That is My Name and My glory will I not give to another, neither My praise to graven images" (Isa. 42:8)
In the Book of Exodus, when calling Moses to lead His people out of Egypt, He said, (Exo 3:15 KJV) And Elohim said moreover unto Moses, "Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, YHWH, Elohim of your fathers, the Elohim of Abraham, the Elohim of Isaac, and the Elohim of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name forever, and this is my memorial unto all generations."
There are literally hundreds of additional places where He emphasizes the importance of His Name. In fact, the Jews use this very emphasis as reason to stop using it. How could this be? Besides the 3rd Commandment admonition, He inspired Moses to write, (Lev 24:16 KJV) "And he that blasphemeth the name of YHWH, he shall surely be put to death, and all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name of YHWH, shall be put to death."
As you can see, that is not what your King James Bible says, nor most other versions either, for that matter. A substitute title has been placed in our Bibles and the true Name of the Creator has been removed. This was done almost 7,000 times in the Old Testament alone. It happened like this:
While the Jews were in captivity in Babylon, from about 586 BCE until the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, a period of about 70 years, a superstition developed among them. It had to do with pronouncing the Name of your god. The Babylonians and other pagan people would not pronounce the names of their gods, for fear that their enemies would hear, and invoke this name against them. Unfortunately, the Jews seemed to think that this was a good idea, so they stopped pronouncing it. This was also based on a misunderstanding of the 3rd Commandment, and the afore-mentioned Lev. 24:16, which had to do with possibly blaspheming His Name if they pronounced it.
Later, after they returned to the land of Israel, they continued this practice. They referred to the Creator as simply "Ha Shem," which means "The Name," or "Adonai," which means "My Lord," or "Eternal," or "Elohim," which means in English, "God." During the time of Yahshua the Messiah it was forbidden for a Jew to pronounce the Name of Yahweh. Yet Yahweh had declared that those who call upon His Name shall be saved.
(Acts 2:21 KJV) "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved." This is a quote from Joel 2:32.
Yet they had enough reverence for the Name that they did not remove it from their scrolls. No, they used a clever method of writing the vowel points of Adonai or Elohim up over the Name, YHWH, so that the reader would see Yahweh, but pronounce the vowel points for Lord, which was Adonai in Hebrew. In some instances, they wrote the vowel points for Elohim instead. Then the reader knew to pronounce Elohim, instead of Yahweh.
When the English translators came along, they did not know what the Hebrew scribes had done, so they used all the letters in both YHWH and ADONAI, coming up with the artificial term, "YEHOVAH." Later still, the Y was given the J sound, so we now have JEHOVAH. But instead of using this erroneous term, the translators decided to use LORD and GOD in place of the correct "YAHWEH." (Write for a short booklet called, "A Cardinal Sin - What the Translators Admit They Have Done to the Father's Name," which quotes from several different Bible prefaces where they explain what they did, and why)
This Name is the "key to the Kingdom," and the "key of knowledge" that Yahshua said they had taken away. Remember, He said: (Luke 11:52 KJV) "Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered."
They would not use the Name, and they forbade the common people from using it, too. So this practice comes down to us today as a holdover from those days about 2,500 years ago, when the Jews decided for themselves that the Name that Yahweh had declared as His Memorial Name unto all generations, should no longer be pronounced.
Remember, "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of Yahweh shall be saved." (Acts 2:21 KJV)
What does Yahweh think of this? He declares that they have taken His Name away for Baal (another name for Lord), and that His people will know His Name; also that they blaspheme His Name every day.
(Jer 23:26-27 KJV) "How long shall this be in the heart of the prophets that prophesy lies? yea, they are prophets of the deceit of their own heart; {27} Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal."
(Isa 52:5-6 KJV) "Now therefore, what have I here, saith Yahweh, that my people is taken away for nought? they that rule over them make them to howl,(mourn) saith Yahweh; and my name continually every day is blasphemed. {6} Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I."
So we see that Yahweh's Name was taken away by the Jews. It was and is a Jewish practice, and the Christians adopted this practice. Today, many think "the LORD,' and "GOD," are actually His names, and/or He doesn't care what we call Him. Nothing could be farther from the truth. He absolutely hates the pagan titles that have been passed off as His Holy Name. He is so zealous for His Name that He used a whole Commandment to protect its sanctity.
The second mistake Christians have made is in assuming that the Sabbath has been changed by Biblical authority from the seventh day of the week, Saturday, to the first day of the week, Sunday. For about 1,600 years now, since about 375 CE (Common Era), most Christians have been arguing that the Bible sanctions this change in divine Law. They claim it was either changed to honor the resurrection of the Messiah, which they wrongly assume was on Sunday morning, or was done away with completely. They teach that all the Commandments (the Law) ceased after the resurrection, and then nine of them were brought back, leaving out the Sabbath command. They staunchly defend Sunday worship, claiming Biblical authority, and that Sunday worship honors Yahshua. {for proof that the resurrection was not on Sunday, write for my article, "Three Days and Three Nights," or read it online at www.search-the-scriptures.org.
This article proves that Yahshua's statement in Matthew 12:39-40, that He would be in the "heart of the earth" for three days AND three nights is absolutely accurate, and therefore the "Friday evening - Sunday morning" idea cannot be correct}
But is this claim accurate? Does the Bible sanction a change of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first? Even if the resurrection had been on Sunday as nearly everybody believes, would that justify a change in one of Yahweh's Ten Commandments? The answer to all these questions is a big, resounding "NO." Then where did this belief come from? To answer that, we need to look back into the pages of history.
The day called "Sunday" was the day upon which the pagans worshipped their deity, Apollo, the sun god. That is where the day gets its name. After the apostasy in the new Assembly, which was prophesied by both the Messiah and the Apostles, there was a push made to fasten Sunday upon the new religion as the day for worship, and to call it "the Lord's Day." They even went to far as to declare that the Apostle John was referring to Sunday when he said, in Revelation 1:10, that he was in the spirit "on the Lord's day." This makes Yahshua a liar when He said in Mark 2:27-28 that He is "Lord of the Sabbath Day." However, for the first 300 years, there was still a majority of Sabbath-keepers among the Christian converts. But gradually, over time, the Sunday worshippers won out. This was caused by a little help from the Roman Catholic Church and the secular government in the person of the emperor.
In the year 321 CE, the Roman emperor Constantine, still a pagan sun-worshipper at this time, issued a decree in which he said, "Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty attend to the business of agriculture;…"
Sir William Domville, in his work, "Examination of the Six Texts," says, "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before the Sunday was observed by the Christian Church as a Sabbath. History does not furnish us with a single proof or indication that it was at any time so observed previous to the Sabbatical edict of Constantine in A. D. 321."
A recent English writer says of Constantine's Sunday law that it "would seem to have been rather to promote heathen than Christian worship." He then explains how this heathen statute became a Christian law:
"At a later period, carried away by the current of opinion, he declared himself a convert to the church. Christianity, then, or what he was pleased to call by that name, became the law of the land, and the edict of A. D. 321, being unrevoked, was enforced as a Christian ordinance."
Sylvester, the Bishop of Rome at that time, quickly made it a church institution, and gave Sunday the imposing title, "LORD's day." So we see that Sunday went from a day of heathen sun-worship to the Christian "LORD's day merely by the decree of the emperor Constantine and the bishop of the Roman church, Sylvester. There was not then and never has been any Scriptural support for such changes.
Then, at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE, (a council of the Roman Catholic Church), Constantine issued a decree which declared that keeping the seventh day Sabbath, that day of "the detestable Jews," is forbidden, and men were ordered to work on Saturday and keep Sunday as the Lord's Day. Their idea of "Judaizing" was the keeping of the Law of Yahweh, with particular attention to the Seventh Day Sabbath and the Annual Holy Days. Easter was imposed instead of Passover, and was ordered to be observed on Sunday to "commemorate the resurrection."
So we see the two grievous errors of Christianity. One, refusing to use Yahweh's Name, was caused by following a long-standing Jewish custom instead of Scripture; and the other, the change of the Sabbath, was caused by hatred of the Jews and a desire to completely separate their religious practices from anything that might be considered Jewish.
The facts presented here are historically accurate and are from sources found in most libraries, especially at colleges and universities. They are not secrets. They are there for all to see who want to see. In fact, the Roman Catholics cheerfully admit that they are responsible for the change from the seventh day Sabbath to the so-called "Lord's day," Sunday.
Write for a booklet I have called, "Rome's Challenge - Why Do Protestants Keep Sunday?" It was written by Catholics and was published in "The Catholic Mirror," as a series of editorials in 1893. It reflects the official position of the Roman Catholic Church regarding the change. They chide Protestants for claiming Biblical authority for the change, saying there is no authority for it except the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. They say they have authority to change Biblical laws, and that the Protestants are following them in Sunday worship.
I hope you will investigate these two grievous errors that have been committed in the name of Christianity, and be motivated to do something about it. Your very eternal life may well depend on it. Yahshua said, "If you will enter into life, keep the Commandments." How can we say we keep the Commandments if we refuse to honor His Name by calling upon it, and insist on worshipping Him on a day dedicated to paganism, while ignoring the true Sabbath that He instituted at Creation?
Those who will be saved will be keeping the Commandments of Yahweh and have the testimony and faith of Yahshua the Messiah (Rev. 12:17 and 14:12.) He said He is "Lord of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28). He said He had revealed Yahweh's Name to the disciples (John 17:6) We are told in Joel and again in Acts that those who call upon the Name of Yahweh will be saved (Joel 2:32 and Acts 2:21). I sincerely hope that you and I are among these.
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