Judah's Glory: A moment of clarity

Recently there seems to be waves of gossip and rumor mills which occasionally swell in the church and then die down only to swell again. I wonder when we will come to our senses and realize we are never to interfere in a work of the Lord: it seems Judah's Glory even from the beginning has been beset by wrongful information that has reached a point I think is best addressed openly.

1. Currently, Judah's Glory is primarily an online resource of Bible Studies, Coloring Books, Music, Webart, and teaching, including audio teaching at sermon.net/judahsglory. It is not a free standing institution, and is not a government registered entity. We are respectful and law abiding, but not a corporation of the State.

2. We are pro-Israel, and teach the church their rightful and scriptural role towards the Jews of gratitude and Mercy (Romans 8-12). We are what I call a segue ministry about half way between the traditional gentile church, and full Torah observant Messianic Synagogues. I say Jesus and Yshua without flinching.

3. WE ARE ABSOLUTELY NOT Jehovah's Witness, or any other dissensioned version of the faith once delivered. WE ARE NOT CATHOLIC! but I am a former Catholic, a former agnostic, and have been a Gospel believing born again Christian for 25 years. I am a former college professor with a doctorate in Psychology, which is also 'another gospel'. I left the field formally in 1987 in obedience to the Lord.

4. I am not insane. By the way, that is a legal rubric, not a diagnostic category. Part of the rumors that have beset this small ministry have come from those of dissension faiths or carnal Christians trying to take over the ministry materials.

5. Judah's Glory is in no way affiliated with Elwood McQuaid's magazine "Israel My Glory": that is another title, thing and concept. Judah's Glory is not the term mentioned in a catholic hymn about Mary: the term is not directly found in the scriptures, but refers to Judah, the head of the tribes of Israel, and her Glory which is Messiah. He is the Lion of Judah, from the house of Judah, and who else would possibly match his claim to the title "Judah's Glory".

6. We are not affiliated with Jews for Jesus, IBJM mission board or any other group. Because of the nature of town I reside in, a Messianic ministry is not currently possible because of the trouble it would start. As soon as a move is accomplished, I will begin Judah's Glory as at least a Saturday Bible Study ministry, and teach it myself until an appropriate pastor/rabbi may be found. My doctrinal statement may be found on the site.

7. We believe first and foremost in the perfect, infallible Word of God, expressed in Creation by the Creator, expressed in the Word of God written down and through the Prophets, and the Incarnate Word, the Logos, Yeshua HaMeschiach, Jesus Christ the Messiah of Israel, the Holy One of Israel. We believe in a blood bought salvation, the blood atonement on the Cross, and a literal resurrection which gave eternal life to all those who believe. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and there in no other name given by which we may be saved. After thorough study, I believe that the preserved Word of God is found currently only in the Authorized, King James Version, as it is the 'apostolic' line of transmission. I believe completely that all gifts taught and given from Pentecost on, (and before) are still extant, and in power to those who believe and surrender to the Messiah. The power of God is not a dispensational age. Man divided the Word into segments and theoretical eras, not God, who breathed a whole Word for all time. I believe in healing, tongues, prophecy, word of knowledge, and all the rest, when they line up with the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, acknowledging there are counterfeits. While I would best be characterized as an 'eternal security' believer, I believe that a true understanding is that we are truly saved and kept by the Lord and Savior, but that we also must truly follow after, walking in the Holy Spirit, the 'Way, the Truth, and the Life'. But then why wouldn't you?

7. Judah's Glory is not for sale ever nor are its materials. Free use however does not mean stealing the publications, rewriting them a little, commercializing them and then charging money for some other ministry or pocketbook. That is actually a felony and is destroying the church, watering down the Gospel into whatever sells, and ruining small sincere ministries who care only about the Lord. The big ministries who do this are often not ministries at all, but fund raising organizations who couldn't care less about the Word of God or the real Gospel. When the Church dissolves into warmongering dogfights and copyright theft, it ruins the church, sincere ministries, and eventually the country. Judah's Glory ministry has stood against those foul practices since the beginning and will continue.

Any other questions, please write to either judahsglory@gmail.com or elizabeth.best@gmail.com. Please, though help us to put an end to exaggerated misinformation, so that I can continue this labor intensive and for-free ministry, without compromise.

Back to Antioch and Jerusalem Indeed

With so many modern believers who truly have been born again from above, who believe in the Gospel fully, and wince at what goes under the name 'church' today, I have been accused of many things, including being insane and wanting more than is possible in some believer's eyes. The standard charge is that we want everyone to go 'back to Antioch' and wear sandals and wear tunics. Even the charge of being archaic though is wrought with error: while many consider Antioch to be the traditional birthplace of the church, the Church was born in Jerusalem and Galilee and the surrounds, and even when the great move of God took place in Antioch, where they were first 'called' Christians, the apostles and other disciples still saw the Jews in Jerusalem as central, under the headship of Messiah. Nonetheless, modernists continue to ridicule the notion of true belief and genuine adherence to the Word of God being a possibility, and see as shortsighted those who really do desire a return to true belief.

For centuries, there was never a quandary about what the Gospel was or wasn't, although it was often somewhat dissensioned by the Roman Church and other entities which worked through language and obscurity to keep the Word of God out of the hands of regular folk who might see that far more was required than membership in some 'mother church'. Wycliffe endeavored to place the Bible in the hands of the masses, though still translating off Latin versions, but until Tyndale, Coverdale, Stephanus and others, the English bible off the Received Texts did not come about. By 1611 when the KJV committee added a finishing touch to Tyndale's version, the Word of God was finally in the general public's hands, so that all could determine true faith without the sieve of the Nicolaitans.

Even then though, the Church was still a far cry from the form of the Church taught by Jesus and his early followers. They had over the centuries fallen into rituals, false practices, austere 'priesthoods' not of believers but of a special class of clergy who alone could interpret the scriptures, sacraments, indulgences etc, and even Henry VIII's break with Rome was not over doctrine, but over his carnal lust for divorce and new wives. Unfortunately, though there was a great move to return to essential doctrines such as Salvation by Grace in the Reformation, there was not an equivalent move to return to the true form and nature of the Church, and while some doctrine was corrected and many went back to a lived and not a contrived faith, the form and order of the church was still seen 'through a glass darkly' and the seditioned form of the church, across denominations degenerated even further, until today in Western civilization, where what we call 'church' is more of a fraternity with entertainment value.

The first real parting of the ways for the early church, came when certain heresies began to be introduced: Arianism and Marcionism tried to divorce Jesus from the incarnation, and the New Testament from the Old, declaring a different God for those who remained in Judaism. Gnostics brought in 'damnable heresies' and 'another gospel' mixed with legends, eastern and mystery religions, and before the close of the true canon in the late 60s ad, the apostles were already warning of heresies and deceptive practices. One could easily even go so far as to say that the first divorce of the true form of the church was the marriage of the State and Church, so prevalent in the first century, that by the end of Gospel, the Pharisees who turned Jesus over to Rome were crying

The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar. John 19:15

The true church lasted mostly in biblical form until around 313ad when Constantine, thinking to do God a favor, and with the help of his mentor Eusebius, legalized christian worship, but went on to do a few things otherwise which have affected the church till now:

1. He declared the Christian Church the official State Church
2. He introduced Arianism fully as the accepted position on Christ
3. He expelled the Jews
4. He mingled pagan concepts, deities , practices, and symbols with basic Christian doctrine
5. He ordered 50 Bibles from Eusebius which were brought back from the area of Alexandria, which were highly suspect as gnostic-tainted texts supporting Arianism and other heresies, the position of the palace. These bibles became the standard in what the church of Constantine would develop into: the Holy Roman Empire, and Roman Catholic [Universal] Church.

Most modern churches have taken on the form of Constantine's State Church, and while over the years some have been more like it and some less, our churches in Europe and the US, and even most of the world bear some common elements that are NOT scriptural, and are so rigidly held, that by continuing such practices, we are stating that we are a 'rebellious house' and that we are not walking in the 'Way, the Truth and the Life."

Major Ways Our Church Today differs from the True Church

One could no doubt write an entire book regarding the differences between the Church described in scripture and the thing we call church today. Before talking about the differences, we need to consider just a few basic descriptions of the church: mind you this is not an all inclusive consideration, nor is it denominational or doctrinal: the Bible is extremely clear on what a church is.

The very name 'church' is so misused today that most consider it the building where a group of people meet to worship. Most biblically based faiths know this to be error: the word 'church' in Greek is ikklesia, meaning 'an assembly', and the Word of God talks about the Church being the body of Christ, with Christ as the head.

Eph 4:16 From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
Eph 5:30 For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
Eph 5:23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Eph 5:29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:

The Lord loves the Church. The Church is comprised of a body of believers, with Christ as the head. The Lord added "daily to their numbers such as would be saved".(Acts). The Church is loved and nourished by Christ, who as head appointed it offices and ministries and gifts, in a living body, doing his will in his created world. The gifts are a topic for another time, but include the gifts of prophecy,discernment, tongues, a word of knowledge, etc. (I Corinthians), and also offices of prophet, bishop, deacons, and so forth. The place of worship most often mentioned in the New Testament was either synagogues or homes, though toward the end , homes prevailed. Old Testament worship of the 'congregation of God' was first at altars in the open air, and then at the Tabernacle, later at a fixed Temple by Solomon's time, and when the church went into captivity, even a river bank suffied, and synagogues were mentioned as early as David in psalms:

Psa 74:8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land.

The whole point is, that the 'congregation of God' like the New Testament 'ikklesia' or church, were groups or a body of worshipers, not a building with particular fixtures.

How does our Modern Church hold up in comparison to the church God created? Consider the following:

1. Most do not consider a church a church without a building.
2. Most governments either outlaw home churches, or disdain them.
3. Most modern churches think an altar is a stage, with a platform and podium: no where in either the Old or New Testament is an altar a place apart from the congregation where things are done to be watched. An altar in the Old Testament began as rocks, wood and fire , pillars and a lamb or bullock for sacrifice under an Oak or Terebinth tree. Later worship and sacrifice would occur in the linen curtain surrounded Tabernacle, and still later, a house built with hands, in Solomon's temple. Modern 'altars' are stages. They hold speeches, and entertainment, but they are primarily 'watched' events with some participation.

4. Pastors are no longer called bishops

in most churches, and bishops are seen as a regional bureaucrat. Bishops of the early church were to be temperate 'ministers' who guided and taught, were of high moral character and belief, but who shepherded the body of Christ under his headship to its fullest and most fruitful state. They are to 'lift up in love'.
5. Deacons were appointed and anointed ministers, called to their positions to minister and teach the body. They were not 'boards of directors' with a CEO pastor or administrator.
6. Most critically: Christ is the head of the church: no ifs,ands or buts: he died for the Church, rose and gave it life at Pentecost. All are to answer to him ultimately. A state registered church (5013c) which answers daily and yearly to the State, like any other agency, which pays taxes to the state, has the State as head. Modern churches keep a US flag on the altar, though it is called in federal code a 'living thing' making it an idol by God's Word. (No, I am not a JW). They submit yearly or more often the bound minutes of meetings of a board of directors, and are considered by the state a registered corporation in the same way exactly that United Way, or nonprofit homosexual organizations are: the state sees no difference. Christ does.
7. Music in too many modern churches is performance, not praise, or repetitive verses which lose all meaning. There is almost no 'singing in the spirit'.
8. Services are timed, delineated by ages old liturgy, which never changes, and are not lead nor prompted by the Holy Spirit. Most pastors who preach beyond 12pm lose congregates who have to get home or go out to eat. If the pastor received a Word from the Lord regarding the world ending tomorrow, most would not stay to listen.
9. Most pastors today are not called, anointed, or often even saved, a great travesty. People pick theology and pastoral training the way they choose any other career: I knew of one seminary who used a Personality inventory to determine a 'call'. That is not the call of Jesus. Because seminaries are set up like colleges, any one with recommendations, the money and paperwork and grades can attend and get a degree. I have met seminarians who did not even believe in God, or in the basic tenets of the faith once delivered.
10. Most churches have abandoned the laying on of hands, healing, the practice of the gifts of the Holy spirit and other foundational marks of the church: some even teach that the gifts died in the first century.
11. Churches no longer send out missionaries per se: they send contributions to corporations called Mission Boards: an unscriptural practice. Local churches are to appoint and anoint called missionaries and fund them, pray and support them. Missionaries should not have to go on deputation to raise money to go on a field. That ought to bring the wrath of Kahn upon me.
12.The Word of God is now seen as relative: more of as a guideline than as God's Word and commandments. Further, the influx of hundreds of translations and versions has lead to division and doctrinal apathy: teaching from the Received Text of centuries leads to being called a bigot or ignorant, when it truly provides more unity and cohesion and sound doctrine.
13. Churches were not meant to be thousand person entities, where one might never interact with over 95 percent of the members. The church is a living breathing body.
14. The breaking of bread and taking of communion was to be every service, though not in a line walking up to a stage, nor passed around in silver tins. The meaning is lost.

We will discuss further differences in the next entry.

Rainbows and Unicorns: The Beautiful Side of God

In the late 80's, my children and I were relatively new Christians. We were determined to be as dedicated as we could be, so we tried to obey everything in the scriptures we could find. We believed without question that the Lord Jesus had paid it all, so we were not oriented towards 'works salvation', but like many new Christians who are on fire for the Lord, we wanted to obey completely. With a little less discernment in those beginning years, we were not always carefully adapting to who to listen to and who not: we listened often to radio programs exposing one of 16 or 17 commonly exposed cults, admonitions about whether mighty mouse might be metaphorically encouraging crack cocaine when he sniffed flowers for power, and we heard all about how Madeleine Murray Ohare wanted to forbid Christian programming forever, and how Proctor and Gamble were really occultist because of their old logo.

Witchcraft was a popular topic 20 or so years ago, and testimonies were given by those who had been in covens, or come out of satanic cults or wicca, but even then, we listened with a grain of salt, because we were daily in the Word, and began sifting the wheat from the chaff. A very popular book back then called "The Beautiful Side of Evil" came out inciting riot against Rainbows and Unicorns, etc, as sinister symbols of the New Age. One day when we expected a visit from a local 'cult hobbyist' who wanted to start a newsletter, we knocked the horn off my daughter's unicorn pencil holder just to make sure we weren't typecast. I'm not sure she ever forgave me, because she really liked that pencil holder, and well, in the end, it was the cult guy that turned out not to be kosher.

Now, we were true believing Christians back then, and I've held strongly to my faith for 25 years, so we cut out TV, (which was a right choice), homeschooled, and really walked the walk, ridding the house of what was not right nor pleasing to the Lord, and we had a pretty peaceful household. I am not advocating throwing all that away and returning to the world at all, because I have seen the difference when things which counter the Word of God are brought into one's life, and there is a real power of the demonic which attaches itself to things like occultism and the dark arts, and holding on to that sort of stuff is like an invitation to chaos and the demonic.

I do feel the need though to remark on the opposite extreme, when we become so legalistic towards a few things, like rainbows and Unicorns, that some people will not allow a sleepover for a child if their friend has unicorn blankets. Some christians would not read nor see "Chronicles of Narnia" because they had fauns and the like, even though they represented believers that are sort of 'half and half', even knowing the great faith and understanding of C.S. Lewis. What I am striking for is balance, in thoroughly obeying the Word and casting out idolatry and elements of 'darkness' but not being so foolish as to throw away the depth of understanding that God offers, even using the same things.

I am not talking about cartoons like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" or sitcoms about teen witches and vampires: I still even today, even with a doctorate in Psychology do not agree with that influence, seeing it as a 'boiling frog' which begins a serious dissension in thinking about the world, but there are these two things which I would like to take back from the whole hysteria, and put them back in the Bible where they came from and belong: Rainbows, and Unicorns.

Rainbows
Can rainbows be used as occult symbols? Sure: and they can be used on candy, and on logos, and toys, and Rainbow brite dolls if they are still around, and on 3d pencils, etc. etc. etc. The use of rainbows though is too significant in the Word of God to ignore, nor to allow a 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' mentality.

When Noah landed on dry ground, the few saved out of the many, the beginning of the line of Shem, and the re-establishment of the human race and the confirmation of the covenant begun from when Adam and Eve left the Garden, God sets a rainbow in sky as a seal on the covenant, that he will no more destroy all flesh in a flood. While there are only a few mentions of rainbows in the Bible, each is a seal of the Noahic covenant, or mentioned in conjunction with the throne of God:

Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.
Gen 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:
Gen 9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that [is] upon the earth.

This is not to be ignored, nor assigned to some Christian taboo because today alot of occultists use it symbolically. That bow in the cloud was:

1. A sign of God's Love
2. A sign of the Everlasting Covenant
3. A sign of God's Glory
4. A seal on the covenant, meaning, it was immutable.

The bow is seen again as an element of the likeness of God's glory:

Eze 1:28 As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so [was] the appearance of the brightness round about. This [was] the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw [it], I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

And is mentioned with regard to the throne and glory of God:

Rev 4:3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and [there was] a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
Rev 10:1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow [was] upon his head, and his face [was] as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

In earlier days, closer to the time of Noah, in the years of replenishing the earth, we can only imagine how wondrous it must have been to see that bow in the sky, in the clouds. Every time it appeared, with prism colors, it was God showing his seal of his Covenant with man: a tangible, God given ensign of salvation and deliverance. A foreshadowing of glory yet to be revealed in the clouds. Even now, rather than search our children's closets when they go to school or out to play for their 'rainbow' stash, shouldn't we 'take back the rainbow' and hold it for the gift it is: the sign of God with us and for us. The sign of an everlasting covenant!

Unicorns:

Contrary to some modern bible translations, unicorn(s) really are in the Bible, and were most likely a real species, but the greatest reference to a unicorn in scripture, points to the Messiah:

Num 24:8 God brought him forth out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn: he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce [them] through with his arrows.

The reference is part of Balaam's prophecy which turned to a blessing of Israel, and her Messiah. A similar passage is:

Num 23:22 God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn.

A 'horn' in scripture is a symbol of power: even Moses is spoken of as sporting horns. The unicorn is in Hebrew, 'Re'em', which some lexicons denote as an extinct and wild animal. The word 'horn' is in the useage at hand, qeren, which can mean e.g. a ram's horn, but can also refer to rays of light, as in a radiant array. In Dt 33:17 Jacob in his blessings mentions Joseph, a type of Messiah,as pushing back the nations with the horn of a unicorn.

Deu 33:17 His glory [is like] the firstling of his bullock, and his horns [are like] the horns of unicorns: with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth: and they [are] the ten thousands of Ephraim, and they [are] the thousands of Manasseh.

Unicorns are used also as a metaphor of the uniqueness of the glory of God:

Psa 22:21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

and the 'horns of the unicorns', particularly of 'the' unicorn, is the singular power of the Son of God. The 'horns' of the altar (same word) are the place of the blood anointing of the sacrifice for sin. (!)

David correlates his God given glory, as the King of Israel with power over enmity with a unicorn:

Psa 92:10 But my horn shalt thou exalt like [the horn of] an unicorn: I shall be anointed with fresh oil.

A number of other passages refer to this unique, powerful, free and remarkable creature, and the symbol of the unicorn representing Messiah has been generally agreed upon since very early.

God is not Mocked: Rendering unto God, the things of God
There will be those no doubt that will misrepresent what I am saying and say that I have backslidden and am advocating New Age thinking , for that is the unfortunate state of affairs in Church today: we always want to think the worst. It was God, though, who set the bow in the cloud: it was God who ordained the metaphor of the unicorn in His Word, and one can never suggest that because those in the dark arts may take and run with a Christian or Jewish symbol, that it in any way makes the symbol occultic: it rather makes the misunderstanding occultic.

As time proceeds, and satanic thought and practice becomes more and more prevalent, not just the 'spooky' stuff portrayed these days, but concepts which really overthrow any orientation toward 'The Mind of Christ', it will be more and more important to reserve Christian concepts and metaphor from being misunderstood, or adopted out from under us. New Age use of unicorns, does not need to undermine a Biblical understanding, nor overthrow us in our thinking. This does not mean we start purchasing New Age crystals with glowing unicorns, or consume massive doses of 'Princess Shira' riding unicorns (she still around?), but that whether it is Rainbows, Unicorns, dragons, leviathan, or any other reference to unusual things in the Word of God, we think about such things in terms of careful Bible study,and teach our children not to 'fear' such symbols, but teach them to know the difference between their biblical and right use and meaning vs. the way worldly people use them or the way those in satanic cults use them.

I say, take back the things that belong to God, like the beautiful side of rainbows and unicorns, and learn discernment instead of attitudes which the world will never understand, and may unnecessarily polarize Christians, who are already more than seen as a 'peculiar people'. One can always use the misunderstanding as a segue into discussing the wondrous seal of the Covenant, from the singular and unique one with the horn of power who will push back nations.

Why are there so many songs about Rainbows? hmm?

ekb

Twisted Excuses for Disobedience

I have now been a Christian for 25 years, and like so many of you, I've seen things I never suspected could possibly be. The 'visible' Church, I have learned, has become an essentially state registered Church, where Jesus is mentioned often as LORD, but not CEO. With the Lord and Savior being relegated to second position or lower as head of the Church, I cannot truly endorse according to the Word of God, that the modern American 5013c non-profit status corporation with trademarked signs out front is even remotely the church Jesus Christ died to save. I am not attacking the true church, in fact far from it: the true church though, alive somewhere in, around, and outside the modern corporate churches is being suffocated by the ways of the world. Admonishments to 'love not the world' are met with cold stares as though one is trying to run one's life or tell them what to do, and too many regard that command to be an unloving legalism, but it is the admonishment to walk in the Way, the Truth, and the Life of Christ. A passage I read the other day in one of Paul's epistles said,

Gal 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

Walking in the Spirit requires some discipline and I do not write this as 'finger pointing' without three pointing back, having just watched a movie instead of studying my Bible in quiet, but the rebuke is there: I have two choices: I can turn away from my 'lazy' carnal habits, or I can find an excuse for them. It is that second path, that modern Christians are using almost exclusively, and it is destroying churches and the 'faith once delivered'. When we do wrong, we need to repent and turn from it, pray for help and victory in it, or ask others for counsel and prayer, but before all, we need to learn not to make excuses.

There are a few fairly common excuses that are used for everything from minor peccadilloes all the way to the deadly 7. (All sin 'counts', save for the blood of Christ). A few are included here, and we need to lovingly but firmly say 'no more' to some of these verbal excuses we think so little of using, and yet are doorways into serious damage of some lives and faith. Consider the following:

1.The Lord hath need of it..... This passage comes from the time of preparation for the Passover dinner at which the Messiah breaks bread and offers his body and blood for atonement. The disciples are asked to go to a certain field where a foal is tied up, untie it, and if the owner questions say 'the Lord hath need of it':

Luk 19:31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose [him]? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.

This one verse has accounted for more 'christianized' stealing than any other. To begin with, it was the Lord, the creator of the animal, who was merely requistioning his property which he already owned, from the 'earthly' owner, his caretaker. Under the rarest of circumstances, it is not impossible that the Holy Spirit would not direct such an action today, but I have seen even computer equipment walk out of offices, and cars stolen and joy-ridden using that verse by severely twisting its intent to commit a crime. Did God direct you to steal those office supplies? Or notes? God is the author of donkeys, but is also NOT the author of confusion. Confront this one---it is not o.k. to steal from anyone, much less another Christian, but it instead causes trial, trouble and heartache in the church which leads to serious division.

2.David and Solomon both had many wives
Well, folks, David and Solomon lived in ancient Israel,and their multiple wives and concubines led to multiple problems and partially even the division later in the Kingdom. The excuse "David and Solomon had many wives" is used by preachers and other church folk being seduced or seducing into sexual sin and adultery, by trying to justify the clearly sinful act as merely some common human need that everyone participates in! Even today, even among the unsaved, not all marriages succumb to adultery. Of marriages that go the distance, only a lesser percentage are troubled by former 'flings'. How about, "you are not David or Solomon". Multiple wives back then among Kings was still against God's Law. For the better part of the '1000s', they were political marriages solidifying alliances with other Kingdoms, and many of those other kingdoms were idolatrous. It was a form of not trusting God enough to obey his law, but trusting convention and human 'reasoning', political reasoning to assure allies against e.g. Babylon or Assyria. Solomon's many alliances and wives from them, produced a reintroduction of worship of false gods:

1Ki 11:4 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, [that] his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as [was] the heart of David his father.

No adultery goes unnoticed, no adultery goes uncovered at least to some extent, and no adultery is painless and without consequences, often affecting wives, children, finances, households and careers. It certainly affects faith, and quenches the Holy Spirit. Do not let that reasoning prosper.

We have to find a better person to represent your work.
This one is a little dear to my heart, because I have found it used by church people whom we met sometimes 10,15, and 20 years ago, who think every Bible Study I write or publish on the net or in another form, is somehow free for their pocketbooks, and that they are somehow 'better' because they:
1. Weigh less
2. Smell Better
3. Dress better
4. Have more money
5. Go to a _______________Church (fill in the blank)
6. Have different doctrine
7. Are infinitely less 'peculiar'.

We are, dear friends, a peculiar people and we are all a little odd, are we not, especially under the worst of circumstances. We are still tied though to the law of the land and we are called to be good stewards of our work. I have heard repeated , "she just doesn't know how much her work is worth, and I do"....this statement would be funny if people did not use it as an excuse to plagiarize or steal. Charles Spurgeon, D.L.Moody, and a few others were hefty folk, but it did not require their replacement. The Christian sense of smell is among the finest in the world: many in church smell everything, and have very high standards, so that no one meets them, on any given day, save for themselves. That suggestion is an age old degradation, and still does not affect opportunity or authorship. Dress better? Well, perhaps one does dress more expensively and better, but again, it bears no effect on who owns or governs a work: Jeremiah, the prophet was once instructed to hide a loin cloth in the dirt and then put it on for God's illustration in a prophetic utterance: imagine how a few Baptist ladies would have handled that! Isaiah once walked naked through the desert....but enough. The issue of clothing, smell, looks, weight, age or height are such peripherals to the work of God, that they should not be considered. This is not broadcast news. Most Christians if they have the ability to afford it, groom themselves acceptably, and cleanliness within reasonable limits is in all but a few cases well within bounds. Some may have only one pair of often repaired jeans: would that preclude them from singing with a beautiful and anointed voice? Should your best preacher be seldom called on because he wears the same suit when he preaches? Maybe his 'suit money' went to feed the poor or help a widow. Does he preach less well than the shouter on TV with the rolex and somebody else's sermon notes? Of course not. We lose the power of God in our worship, lives and services, because we keep making lesser human choices based upon personal preference, instead of considering what God wants, or what may grieve the Holy Spirit. Some poorer folks may actually tithe more quietly than the well to do, who do not tithe at all, but consider a church blessed to have them.
When God makes a choice, by gifting someone with a talent or ability, and then via the Spirit points that person out to the Church for service, those personal opinions need to be laid aside. The notion that money and grooming have to do with whom God selects and anoints is ludicrous. Right up to the end, as far as I remember, most prophets (except the Kings perhaps) had dirty feet. John ate locusts and honey and lived in the wilderness. He prepared the way of the LORD.

This does not conversely mean that just because someone is poor and downtrodden that they should be used for an appointment either: the issues is OBEDIENCE. We err in the opposite direction far too often, but the plumbline, is whether or not the choice is of the LORD. While opinion differs regarding the choosing of the last apostle to replace Judas, scripture notes that the other apostles pray and then cast lots, and they fall on Malchus

Act 1:26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

but it could be argued that they did not wait long enough, and that Paul was to be considered the selection of the Holy Spirit as the 12th apostle, since Matthias, although of 'good report' is not mentioned again in the Book of Acts after the selection. At the time, Paul was still Saul of Tarsus and had not only not encountered the Lord, but was imprisoning believers. Likewise, [MY DAUGHTER SARAH SAW THIS FIRST] when the apostles were confronted by the Greeks who claimed their widows were being left out of the 'daily ministration' they appointed two to attend to their needs, because in their words:

Act 6:2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples [unto them], and said, It is not reason that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables.

It probably was best that those who had been with the Messiah continued teaching, but it is noteworthy that Stephen, who agreed to waiting tables, ended up giving a sermon as he was being stoned that lasted 2000 years, and led to the appointment of the apostle Paul, standing at the stoning watching the coats.

Further, no one from any doctrinal position, has the write to rewrite someone else's doctrine to their liking. We are all sure we are right. I am not nor will ever be a doctrinal relativist, holding to the firm line of the scriptures as final authority, but when I hear as I did the other day a great sermon Billy Graham preached back in the late 50s, and wanted to add a few more points, it is simply NOT my right, and if I did, it would cause division and heartache. J. Vernon McGee tells of an incident such as this when he attended a young preacher's sermon only to find out he was preaching one of McGee's better known sermons! While he did think it was well written, it ruffled some feathers, and would have come to blows with a lesser person. We do not all have the same calling, and until we find our calling and gift, and have hands layed upon us for the knowledge and appointment/anointing of it, we will be walking afoul of the Holy Spirit. Some people spend their whole Christian lives wanting to Preach, or write, or sing, but it is not their calling. Not their gift. Spiritual gift inventories are malarkey! If one is uncertain, someone with the gift of prophecy , or a word of knowledge may be able to help, and often other Christians can see a gifting in us which we cannot see ourselves, while we run after things we think we would like to do, but are not appointed to.

4. Bodily Exercise Profiteth Little

Now, for those of us in our 50s who have a little extra girth than when younger, we may like to quote Paul's words "bodily exercise profiteth little" or "those who trust in the Lord shall be made fat", but the truth is, we are given a body described as a temple, and many of us neglect the care of it till we get older. Jokes about it do the same as the other excuses: it seriously diminishes the likelihood we will be obedient in that area. Paul was right: bodily exercise does indeed profit little in the realm of the Spirit, or with regard to eternal life, so no scripture is in any way in error, but we can't pull it out of context.

1Ti 4:8 For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.

Paul never suggested that overweight people never go on a diet to combat gluttony, or that we should all become sedentary couch potatoes. In another passage, he makes the point that the body is a temple of the indwelling Holy Spirit:

1Cr 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

We are appointed caretakers and are accountable for what God has given us.

5. We are a Peculiar People

This verse is a real scripture verse, referring to the called of God being sanctified and separated from the world:

1Pe 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Being a 'peculiar people' means being set apart. The word peculiar in the above in Greek is περιποίησις, and refers to ownership and setting apart, and a corollary use in Titus is
περιούσιος- very similar which has the connotation of a called out people. It does not mean that we have an excuse to act unnecessarily odd or weird. Real Christians have no trouble around the world being seen as 'peculiar'---most do not drink, smoke, or participate in other activities so freely appreciated by the world, and even those peripheral marks separate them out of hand from others. They may speak in tongues, or pray and study the Bible often, causing them to be seen as strange and overly religious, even for what we are commanded to do by the Word. A lot of persons use this scripture lightly with a sense of humor to excuse 'goofy' behavior (I've done it too), but when we do, we lighten our respect for the Word, and if we are not careful, we can grieve the Holy Spirit. I laugh at some Christian comedy one can view on Youtube.com but the truth is, some of it is well over the line of disrespecting God's house and Word. We don't have to fall into legalism, but on the other hand, we are not on earth for entertainment, but for the telling of the Everlasting Gospel which heals for ever.
Conclusion
These are just a few misquotes or misuses of excuses we use to disobey God, and quench the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. What's more important? God doing a work through us, or us 'fitting in'? Or experiencing a carnal satisfaction? As one surrenders, God goes to work. Does the world so cloud your eyes, or your own wants and desires, that we would rather have the momentary 'turkish taffy' (apologies to Narnia) than see God use us in great ways? The power to overcome the temptations and excuses is not our own: it comes from the LORD. Better to do away with 'Twisted excuses' and obey the Lord and Savior, learning surrender, instead of how to live in the Lord without ever surrendering the World. ekbest

Mocking

Among the less notable things that have increased over the past 30 or 40 years in our society is the mocking and bullying of people who believe in the Lord.

The above'Youtube' episode show a campus street preacher confronted with a young man who dresses like hitler and begins to imitate what he feels is the 'style' of street preaching. The young man, quite obviously not a Christian, is cutting and cruel and far from 'teasing' is outright decrying the preacher for exercising his free speech rights. If it had occurred to an Islamic preacher, or to Hari Krishnas, or to a Rabbi explaining Judaism, no doubt the student might have been held on hate crime charges and possibly even expelled. Christians, though, it seems are first to be mocked, cruelly imitated and bullied with the rest of society looking on, muttering something about how they probably deserved it.

TV shows regularly mock Christians and Christ. SNL became well known for the 'church lady' many years ago, which was fairly funny because she really was like a lot of unsaved church ladies, and other shows like the Colbert Report and the one with that other fellow whose name I can't remember make cruel fun of belief in Jesus all the time. Recently a few have taken to ridiculing healing, and the gift of prophecy, and movies galore make mincemeat of Bible stories relegating belief in the Word of God to foolish superstition.

Street preachers, God love them they are often on the front line, get ridiculed on a regular basis, only some of the mocking and ridicule has turned violent. I don't agree with all the methods street preachers use: some are very condemnatory and rather than preach about Jesus and Salvation, focus very message on going to hell, sending every one that walks buy there with a bullhorn. I am not one of the lighthearted who believe hell should not be preached, I believe it should and even in public, but the job of the preacher is to lift up the Savior so that he can draw all men unto him, because as he notes,

"John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. "

Whether I would preach their way or not though is immaterial: while we may occasionally foster some extra mocking by being unkind, the kindest, gentlest most loving preacher in the world, or minister or missionary, or Sunday school teacher or any believer, are finding themselves prey to sometimes even tortuous mocking and bullying in an effort to shut down preaching and teaching about the love of Jesus Christ.

The Youtube video above is not a singular example. There are dozens of clips of street preachers being arrested for very little trangressions if any at all, having rocks or bottles thrown at them, bikes and motorbikes run at them, or in one clip I saw, two young bikini clad college students on spring break ran up and posed sexually in front of the preacher. He went right on preaching. Even now, writing at a wee hour of the morning, what I write is constantly 'attended' ---I was a college professor who stopped teaching Psychology to follow Christ---you cannot imagine,nor could have I, the psychotic abuse that has been attendant on that choice, much less on any preaching , teaching or writing that I have done. "Well, you wouldn't, like really, stand up out in public and preach would you?" "Would you tell them where you got your degree?" Yea, maybe. So what? I've seen what the mockers do in their private lives and out in public: drunkenness, lewdness, perversions, beliefs in the occult, homosexuality,etc, yet if I mocked or even pointed out their lifestyles, I'd probably be charged with a hate crime.

Now, I'll be frank. I don't care for big yeller and black pasteboards that say 'yer dyin and goin' to hell' even though I believe its true. I was in the world for the first 30 years of my 55 years, and when I heard that kind of rhetoric, even if true, I didn't fear hell or not being saved, I, well, I MOCKED it. The public doesn't see hell as eternal anguish,suffering and degeneration, as the nemesis for unbelief---the general public sees hell as a joke with costumed devils who they think like to do 'sin' stuff. How many times have we all heard about how some dear fellow wants to go to hell because all of his friends will be there? C.S. Lewis once noted in the Screwtape Letters that the embodiment of all evil, the Devil, or whatever name one chooses [the Adversary, Satan, Abaddon, etc] appreciates the amelioration of Hell: he intends to gather what he can. There can be things as Christians we do, annoying little peccadilloes which make people want to mock us, but the kind of mocking I am referring to, is a form of hatred and violent railing against the whole idea of God, and against the love of God.

Mocking Since the Beginning of Time

We can't really as believers expect that we will not be mocked. The first incident I can think of in the Bible is of Balaam accusing his donkey of mocking him, or when Delilah accuses Samson. Elijah at one point is confronted by mocking boys:

2Ki 2:23 And he went up from thence unto Bethel: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him, and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head.

and one must be made aware, that the mocking of the Prophet brought out bears which mauled the poor fellows. Elijah has his own turn at mocking the prophets of Ba-al:

1Ki 18:27 And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he [is] a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, [or] peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked.

Hezekiah's posts are mocked when they travel throughout Israel declaring a return to the observation of Passover. Sanballat mocks the Jews who are trying to rebuild Jerusalem as though it was a hopeless task:

Neh 4:1 But it came to pass, that when Sanballat heard that we builded the wall, he was wroth, and took great indignation, and mocked the Jews.

The worst mocking of all comes at various times in the Gospel [e.g. 'can anything good come out of Nazareth?] as the crowds and Pharisees at various times mocked Jesus, and the culmination of the worst mocking comes on the way to the Cross and on the Cross:

Mat 27:29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put [it] upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
Mat 27:31 And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify [him].

but that mocking had been predicted:

Luk 18:32 For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:

and the mocking at the cross was the worst: they fed him Gall, a vinegar type wine in jest, he wore a crown of thorns, and even above his head the sign though declaring the glory of God was a mocking one:

Luk 23:38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

He really was the King of the Jews then as now, but Pilate meant it as a cruel remark to the Jews [see your king?]

Later, belief in the resurrection was mocked and so was the idea that God could come in the form of a man and then rise from the dead, as Paul speaks at Aeropagus on Mars Hill:

Act 17:32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of this [matter].

Even the thief next to Jesus on the Cross mocked him, as had Herod asking him in dying breath for a display of his power.

All that said, it is imminently clear we cannot escape that no matter how loving and kind we might try to be, the reaction of many in an increasing cruel world is to mock true belief. They cannot see, they are blind, and to them, as Corinthians notes, it seems foolishness because it requires divine understanding and not merely limited human reasoning.

Reacting to Mocking

The great task for all of us then, becomes whether preaching the Gospel in a pulpit or the open air, or merely having a Bible in a drawer at work, or even for no reason at all, the task is to confront mocking not with railing and mocking back (I am particularly good at that), but with Holy Spirit control, and a little Holy Spirit 'strategy'. There are a few loving ways that can defuse at least some mocking:

1. Turn the mocking into self-teasing, e.g. 'O---the lady really does carry a big black bible, yes I do, but I don't thump I study and this is what I've found..." or "You mean you don't like my big yellow sign with the big red letters telling you that you are a sinner?---maybe I should have said...fill in the blank".

2. Diffuse anger: when people hear the Gospel preached they are afraid of being criticized, condemned and having to toe a line they don't feel they can reach: they are not hearing the Word of God nor the Love of God: they are hearing some guy with a loudspeaker telling them they are no ----good. At least many are mocking that. Humor, righteous humor can go a long way to diffuse anger so can 'a soft answer'. Ask God for a way to meet anger.

3. Realize it is a spiritual war: Remember all the teaching about the armor of God? The Sword of the Spirit is the Word of God: that's your weapon. I have found when people get out of hand, or argue false doctrine, the thing that works is that sword! Not an argument or debate. I don't know HOW it works, I know THAT it works. Someone wants to argue 'soul sleep'? Respond, "It is given unto man once to die and then the judgment". It is the Word that heals, convicts, corrects,and teaches.

4. Some mocking requires interpersonal skills, not psychologically oriented but biblically: learn biblically how to deal with demonic people: missionaries on many fields have had to. You can take authority over the powers that are not of God. You may though merely need to reflect back the anger and mocking, by outwardly asking the mocker, "Why do you think this is funny?" It engages a conversation, and when they find out you care for them and are a kind-hearted sort of guy or gal, you may find them opening up, and receiving the Word. Or even confront: "You mean you don't love Jesus? Why? "Do you think hard-hearted people who claim they believe, were for real? It at least carries the conversation out of the mocking realm.
5. BE KIND. Have an extra pepsi? Offer it to mocker. Ask his or her name. etc.etc.
6. Some people will not be diffused in their anger or mocking. Lately, preachers are getting more and more abuse, many undeservedly. The Lord did not promise you a rose garden, but a Gethsemane. You will be mocked. Some will be beat up. Some will have vile substances thrown at them, or bottles, or rocks. Count it all joy and don't give up. Once when Paul was beat up with in an inch of his life, he dusted himself off and went back into the city that beat him up, and stayed one more night before moving on. [Look it up] Some of what I have experienced overwhelmed me: why would people hate great love? They do though, they hate it with a passion. They are blinded and you have to see them that way. They will break bones in this world, trample old women, put rodents in your house or on your person, beat with sticks or even hammers, break backs, throw scalding water, cut your hair, disfigure your face, and pour caustic substances down your throat. Tyndale before being burned at the stake had been poisoned and persecuted: the apostles died the cruelest deaths imaginable: but they could see Heaven from where they stood.
7. Fight the battle divinely. This has already been mentioned, but one can use the Word to fight, prayer to fight, [never go out in public preaching without praying mightily for God's protection, guidance and anointing;], and remember to plead the blood of Jesus, or affirm His blood covenant, and that God inhabits the praises of His people. When all else fails, start praising God. I have never seen it fail.

The more you obey, the less the mocking and violence affects you. Its not that you relish physical harm, or cruel taunts, in fact the taunts can be more demoralizing than physical injuries which heal. The closer you get though to accomplishing God's Will for your life, the closer to Him, the more you will understand and tolerate the weaknesses of others and the need to let God render justice. Above all, stay daily and often in the Word of God. It is the Word of Life. And thank God for being accounted worthy to suffer for His Name's Sake.

In His healing Name, E.K.Best

Shall he find faith on the earth? --Are there any honest Believers left in the U.S.?

Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? Luke 18:8

I have just resigned a link listing for a Messianic group whom I have always had great respect for. I will not name it, because it does no one any good: I believe at least many of the people associated with the group are fine believers. I have also held Messianic congregations in the highest esteem, and though we do not have one in our area, consider myself an ardent Messianic believer, although I find 'messianic' and 'believer' to be redundant. There should not be 'Messianic Christians' and "Christians', but the word Messianic should be inherent in the profession of faith.

Recently though, I have seen the worst of 'Christianity' in many forms: I believe it happens often in the decline of a society, as well as in the beginning of one's life being 'poured out' for the Gospel: in the end, most true believers, who have 'gone all the way' with the Lord, will find themselves alone.

It is not that their sufferings might not be noted, even worldwide, such as in the case of the attorney GAO from China, but even when there is widespread human rights support, the one who obeys the Lord Jesus, or Yeshua, or Adonai, or Jesu, or Yetsunu, or whatever name is forefront, finds themselves alone and little understood even by other believers.

That said, though, what has happened recently without going into detail, has left me disheartened to say the least, and while I was going to write a Bible study on why Universities are like they are (watch there be 50 bible studies on that topic before I get to it), I think instead it is time for a sincere rebuke of what pastors , rabbis and congregations have allowed themselves to become: 'worldlings' in the words of a former friend.

Over the years I have been scrutinized for whether I say 'Jesus' or 'Yeshua', whether I eat cheese with meat, to see if I am truly 'Torah observant', whether I celebrate the feasts the way even messianics do etc, etc.

I do not always, and neither does anyone else, including the very best who occasionally slip and buy the wrong kind of candle, or run to the store just after twilight on Shabbat. And as we all know, if we offend in one part of the law, we offend in all. I try though, from the heart, to do the most right I can, and I pray for help in the rest, wanting neither to be legalistic nor licentious. There are a few things though, that I know from the heart that will, can, or have ruined congregations and belief in general and love among the brethren. One of the greatest is crass competition, and stealing one another's work for the Lord and otherwise.

A few years ago, I wrote a Bible study on the 'Lion of Judah'. I researched carefully to see what else was available online and off, and surprisingly found very little and in a very different vein than I was going, though the term is a common one. The bible study sat for years in a subsection of judahsglory.com, getting little attention, but I liked it, so I felt it was worthwhile because I learned in the process. About 5 or 6 years ago, another group , a fundamentalist group who hails from down south, became a little over attentive at everything I was doing and writing. Within a week of having to block some IPs, all kinds of bible studies on the Lion of Judah starting appearing on the net. I did a little research and found that almost all of them traced back to that particular group, or were alumni from there.

In the spirit of the Torah and not the letter, though I was offended, I let it go: Jesus, Yshua, Jesu, Yetsuni, said that those who do such things should not be stopped, and to resist not evil. The gospel got preached, the Lord was lifted up, and my Bible study, though hacked several times, remained on the net. I forgave them, but I have to say, it takes a while for feelings to die down, especially because certain of the group continued to the point of it being racketeering. I now have to guard my personal handwritten notebooks, worry about who may be illegally entering my house, rough being called 'paranoid' etc, although paranoia alone rarely results in pages ripped out of a dated notebook, or CD backups cracked or files erased.

Last week, I found that a bible study blog I had written online since 2004, first on one service then another, had been copied and 'redone' by a number of folks, including those from a position of Armstrongism, hardly a pro-Semitic stance. Well, I guess its good to be an influence but there is a sincere difference in being an influence and crowding someone out of free speech and practice of religion and being able to serve the Lord as called. I've seen it all: faked diskette dates, faked Search engine optimization (you don't have to worry too much about that, since it disappears after a week or two), fake 'eyewitness reports' of a bunch of folks from a church all claiming the the thief was really first, (well, he said he wrote it), and slander, slander , slander, slander, to the point that honest authors can hardly write any more.

I've never charged for my work which has been good enough for a number at the top to steal. I've always believed, freely given freely give, and that the Gospel is not to be put up for sale or individual 'glory'. God chooses whom he will. Having suffered this long though on barely any budget, and working for free often for 25 years, I am rewarding myself with this brief complaint: stealing and lying, slander and ruining is destroying the house of God in this country, if it still exists at all. That stuff is for the world not for us.

If one is right with the Lord, and obedient, walking in the Holy Spirit, then one is never without ideas of what to write, preach, pray or sing. It is living not stagnant water, a river that runs through the garden. I have hardly ever wanted for an idea of what to write in multiple ongoing studies or websites: in a few cases it was outright obedience, to begin to bring back the foundations of belief including the blood covenant, the laying on of hands, healing, and the gifts. My dear Baptist acquaintances may shudder at that but its in the Book, you know, the one without error from Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today and tomorrow. Love ya, but the only real dispensations are when God appoints out of the ordinary.

I never thought it could get dangerous to continue writing little Bible studies. I never thought I would get more than angry letters on my work on the holocaust, but if the whole truth were known about what has happened, I am afraid some would be discouraged from obeying their calling. God gives grace, but noone tells you the 'Cost of discipleship' early in the game: I suppose even Bonhoeffer could not have guessed.

The little 'petty' borrowings are no longer petty : they are creating lawsuits, threatenings, ill feelings etc as much as they are influencing the Church to go back to its 'one foundation'. It is causing people to give up as they see even pastors and teachers stealing and merchandising other people's work. It is causing true believing young people to think that believers are all a bunch of hypocrites. It has in some cases caused violence. Nobody walking right with the Lord needs to steal or slander another person. Nobody. at all.

Some will no doubt say that nobody can stop them from writing any kind of Bible study or sermon and that is true to an extent, the Word is not bound, but when the theft is purposeful and deliberate and intended to bring someone else down, because they do not 'fit', or to present a false sense of competence about the one who steals--- it guts God's plan for the church. It basically says: "Well God, you may have chosen her, or him, but we thought it better to do it our way": it is an arrogant affront to God's Holy Wisdom.

Without mentioning names, consider how bad it can get: force feeding someone after knocking them out to make them gain weight and look bad so that a younger person will be more 'marketable'. Sneaking into a house and drugging and beating someone or walking on them while knocked out in order to feel 'superior'. Having law enforcement decide that a person doesn't 'look the part' and forcing a relative to hand over material, free of charge to give to someone else. Sending mobbish persons into the genuine servant's children's lives to erase their faith and testimony. Attempting to break the hand with which an author writes, or ruining the physical health of an author. Some of the rest would horrify and you would not believe it is really happening, but it is, in order to intimidate and enslave those who really, even now, still care what God wants, and what His Church really is.  The intimidation and theft is often to prevent a certain point of view from being expressed: namely, the genuine and original Gospel, the same in the first century as in the 21st.

In the Book of Acts, a couple for the first time mentioned after Pentecost, lies to the church, keeping back some money they promised by deceiving the Church, and are met with Peter's solid declaration of their impending death.

Ananias and Sapphira didn't fail to donate to the church, they just told a simple lie; they just didn't give as much as they promised. Many are appalled to think that Peter would announce a death sentence for a seemingly small offense. Do you know why it wasn't small at all? To that point in the history of the church, belief was so great, that the idea of a sin or lying to God or the congregation could not be imagined. Ananias and Sapphira though conspired to defraud the church: they would have been better to have offered nothing at all. They also started a process of merchandising  and deceit which would never end, and would ruin the Bride of Christ in some places.  Neither Peter nor the Lord were being unjust nor too severe:  it was the rent in the garment which would lead to not only persecution from without the church, but division within:  a sin of Jeroboam which earlier in Israel had led to even exile and slavery.

Need an idea for Shabbat sermon? Get in the Word, prayerfully. Seek out someone with a prophetic gift, or even fast and pray. Go back to the last thing God told you to do, that you didn't do, and repair the breach. What the river flow, then.

Lies, slanders, misinformation, and outright theft and violence against another in the House of God harms them, and destroys you and the house of God. A baseball bat swings two ways. If someone is writing on what looks like a 'hot topic', rather than trying to rewrite it 'your' way, or fit it into your doctrine and not theirs, or even trying to ruin or plagiarize, steel yourself and say, 'the reason I really want to write on that topic is __________________________", and then seek for the moment any other topic. It is not wrong to be inspired by a fine sermon or study or song, that is the creative process. That is how creativity grows. There is though a great difference between wanting to be in the position another has, or wanting to have a skill or anointing another has, and working passionately to overthrow that person or retaliate against them for having a gift or idea that was not yours.

Stealing from another believer their hard work, or attempting to steal an anointing or appointment from God, is no different that an enemy of the Lord and Savior trying to destroy God's house. When he returns, "Shall he find faith on the earth?"
Can it be yours?

Blessings in Yshua HaMeschiach, Our Shabbat, Jesus Christ of Nazareth and Heaven, Jesu, Ioesus, Redeemer, Lord and Savior, Adonai, The Way, the Truth and the Life, or whatever beautiful name of His you choose.

E.K. Best

Best and Oldest: Canon was complete in the First Century

Is it really radical to suggest that canon was finished in the first century, during the lifetime of the apostles? No, not at all. In the last blog we saw that even the first few sentences in the book of Luke, the gospel according to Luke, show that the Gospels were collated and written down, by eyewitnesses as they happened, and the accounts given to the premiere eyewitnesses, the Apostles to write so that all reported events of the Life of our Messiah were recounted for believers yet to come. Yet these few verses, (repeated here as a reminder) tell us that they were delivered by those who saw and believed, and at the point Luke wrote to Theophilus in the first century, they were complete.

Luk 1:1-3 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus

There is far more evidence though that all of the New Testament , the complete canon was collated and agreed upon by the early church in Jerusalem, Antioch and the reaches beyond where Paul visited, and where the early disciples went in the Great commission: as far as the British Isles, India/Persia, and into Africa.
We really must believe that there was a complete canon in the first century. Why? Because of the Logic of John the Apostle (sometimes referred to as John the Divine )in the following passage:

Rev 22:18-20 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book:
And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and [from] the things which are written in this book.
He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Now, while some may argue that statement is only for Revelation, the book of Revelation was given in Holy Spirit utterance and vision to the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos with the instruction for its writing and distribution to the churches. John was the last apostle to die, and the churches already had copies of the other gospels and epistles. In sovereignty, the Revelation of John is given lastly, beyond which no book could have been written by anyone to include in canon: it is a matter of simple logic: since even later 'councils' like Trent and Nicea demanded an eyewitness account by someone who had seen Jesus and was anointed for the purpose, the accounts by self-attestation, were dried ink and a fixed work before anyone else encountered them, and long before any council of a seditioned and dissensioned church met for discussion.

There is far more evidence though, that there were substantial complete 'bibles' before the last apostle died. Even the word derives from the Greek 'biblion' or 'biblios' referring to the scroll or collation of scrolls. When it is said "in the volume of the book it is written..." it is an expression referring to the totally and completion of what is written.

Modern scholars love to talk of 'oral traditions' and how story was passed from person to person until they were eventually written down, replete with errors and folklore. Common 'agreement' of scholars today refer to 'text families', such as the Byzantine, Syriac, Western and Alexandrian, that refer to where the scroll fragments were found as though they were versions of a bible or even 'different' bibles. Modern sophistry dismisses 'inerrancy' of the Word of God by carefully stating in their doctrinal positions that the 'original autographs' were inerrant and inspired, but they leave unstated their true feelings that everything after that can't be trusted. For years there has been a popular assumption that there was some sort of 'Q' document, a sort of central group that everyone did a version of, or that perhaps there was the gospel of Mark, written by 'God knows who', that everyone else elaborated on because Mark was short in length and the others were extended. If we went only on manuscript evidence, this would not bear out, because the very oldest piece of a gospel (although another is in the offing), is from the gospel of John which scholars argue was later than the others. Papyrii 66 , closely matching the modern KJV reading (textus receptus) supports the authenticity of the KJV line.

The fundamental error in logic though, is that what is reported in the scriptures is in error, so it becomes a cat chasing its tail. If what is reported is erroneous, then anything can be invented, including lengthy oral traditions and later syntheses, all arguing a form of errancy and unbelief. The truth is, their arguments start with unbelief,with a belief that the scriptures are not inerrant and are not the Word of God.

However, men died for that Word, and for Yshua HaMeschiach, Jesus Christ, seeing what they had seen, they abandoned all that is safe, comfortable and respectable in this world, to lay down their lives for the telling of a truth so great they would rather be 'crucified upside down' or boiled in oil or sawn asunder rather than turn on that truth. While a martyr here or there might die for a fable or a lie, it is unlikely that even thousands, and then millions more over the centuries would in love lay down their lives if they had not truly seen something! These believers, dedicated to the truth, dying for the truth, sacrificing themselves and all they loved for the truth, were far more accurate under the scrutiny of men who had lived with Jesus and healed in his name, than the cynical theologians of questionable lifestyles who would snicker at a first century complete Bible.

To go a little farther, though, consider the times in the New Testament that such words as 'write', 'wrote' or writing(s)' are used: you will find that as the events in the life of Messiah occurred, they are very frequently reported as having been written down! More than that, Paul notes at the end of each epistle (meaning 'letter') that either he or one who scribed for him, basically taking dictation, WROTE down the letters: they were 'fixed' (as in a copyright) or complete and inerrant when they were finished.

Prophecy and Writing

Consider then, that the real first 'autographs' were often spoken, and then written, or written as events occurred. I used to wonder when I was an unbeliever or a new believer, how all those roughly 1100+ pages , especially the lengthy prophecies, could have possibly been remembered later to write down. I used to argue than since it was Holy Spirit Utterance in the power of God, that God must have given an anointing and more complete memory for whoever wrote down what the prophets said. As I went back though, into the Old Testament, I was surprised to find that the scribes were often either present at the time of the spoken utterance, or that prophesyings were often WRITTEN. We just assume that prophetic utterances are all spoken, but in some cases, they are letters, and in some cases God tells the prophet to write:

- Exd 34:1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon [these] tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest.
- Exd 34:27 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel.Jer 36:17 And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?
Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

God wrote, Moses wrote, Jeremiah wrote, Baruch wrote, John wrote, Luke wrote etc, etc. The events were conveyed even when oral, immediately by scribe, by word, by the prophet or one present, set for the task.

Until the next blog, consider a different idea about our Word of God and its 'original autographs'. Included below are some scriptures to review:
Jhn 1:45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.


Luk 1:3 It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,

Act 15:20 But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and [from] fornication, and [from] things strangled, and [from] blood.

Act 25:26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to write.

1Cr 4:14 I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn [you].

1Cr 14:37 If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord.

2Cr 1:13 For we write none other things unto you, than what ye read or acknowledge; and I trust ye shall acknowledge even to the end;

2Cr 2:9 For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.

2Cr 9:1 For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:

2Cr 13:2 I told you before, and foretell you, as if I were present, the second time; and being absent now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and to all other, that, if I come again, I will not spare

2Cr 13:10 Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.

Gal 1:20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.

Phl 3:1 Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed [is] not grievous, but for you [it is] safe.

1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

1Th 5:1 But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

1Ti 3:14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
2Th 3:17 The salutation of Paul with mine own hand, which is the token in every epistle:

so I write.:


2Pe 3:1 This second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in [both] which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance:

1Jo 1:4 And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

1Jo 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

1Jo 2:7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.

1Jo 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.

1Jo 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

1Jo 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him [that is] from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.

2Jo 1:12 Having many things to write unto you, I would not [write] with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

3Jo 1:13 I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

Jud 1:3 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.

Rev 1:11
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send [it] unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Rev 1:19
write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
Rev 2:1
Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;
Rev 2:8
And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Rev 2:12
And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword with two edges;
Rev 2:18
And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things saith the Son of God, who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet [are] like fine brass;
Rev 3:1
And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.



Rev 3:7
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

Rev 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Rev 10:4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed [are] the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me, write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, write: for these words are true and faithful.


wrote

Jhn 21:24 This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.

Act 15:23 And they wrote [letters] by them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren [send] greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia:


Rom 16:22 I Tertius, who wrote [this] epistle, salute you in the Lord

. 1Cr 5:9 I wrote unto you in an epistle not to company with fornicators:
1Cr 7:1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: [It is] good for a man not to touch a woman.
2Cr 2:3 And I wrote this same unto you, lest, when I came, I should have sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice; having confidence in you all, that my joy is [the joy] of you all
. 2Cr 2:4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote unto you with many tears; not that ye should be grieved, but that ye might know the love which I have more abundantly unto you.
2Cr 7:12 Wherefore, though I wrote unto you, [I did it] not for his cause that had done the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered wrong, but that our care for you in the sight of God might appear unto you

. Eph 3:3 How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,

Phm 1:21 Having confidence in thy obedience I wrote unto thee, knowing that thou wilt also do more than I say.
2Jo 1:5 And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.

3Jo 1:9 I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.
about 150 times for write , wrote: Not all included above. Most references are the apostles writing or God writing, e.g. Jesus writng in the sand, or write it on their hearts.


More on ‘written' later: ekbest