What is the new covenant and who is it with? If you are a Christian or were raised attending Sunday school, you have likely heard of the new covenant. Many times, terms are mentioned that were taught about years ago, and now, it is just assumed everyone knows what they mean, when in fact, many times they have just became terms no one really understands or cares about. If you go to church now, you may hear the phrase new covenant during communion or thrown about in a sermon. So the intent here is to define the new covenant based on scripture. Once we do that, it will raise some questions many of us in the church have never been asked. If a person does a search in the bible for the phrase new covenant, the first place we find the term is in Jeremiah.

Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

Here the LORD Yahweh, tells us the new covenant is with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, and the problem with the old covenant, given at Mount Horeb, was that they broke it. The reference to marriage between Yahweh and his set apart or holy people is consistent through scripture. Yahweh goes on to say he will put his law in the inward parts and write it in the hearts of his people. So based on this scripture, the new covenant is with two people groups: the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Jesus mentions the new covenant at the last supper, which was presumably the Passover meal with his disciples.

Luk 22:14 And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him.
Luk 22:15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Luk 22:16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Luk 22:17 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, “Take this, and divide it among yourselves.
Luk 22:18 For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
Luk 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

The writer of Hebrews, who is thought to be Paul or possibly Barnabas, also speaks of the new covenant. He quotes Jeremiah essentially word for word, also adding commentary.

Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.
Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
Heb 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

After reading these verses in Hebrews, we can conclude the following:

• The new covenant is better than the old.
• The new covenant is still with the house of Israel and the house of Judah.
• The problem with the old covenant came from the fault of the people it was with.
• The old covenant is obsolete.

In order to understand these points, we have to answer the following questions:

• What is a covenant?
• Who are the two people groups; house of Israel and house of Judah?
• What was the old covenant?
• What was done to cause the old covenant to become obsolete?

The word covenant used in the letter to the Hebrews is Strong’s G1242. The Hebrew word for covenant in Jeremiah is Strong’s H1285. Based on these two words and their definitions, we can conclude a covenant is a constitution, pledge or arrangement between two entities, in this case between Yahweh and a group of people.

G1242
διαθήκη
diathēkē
Thayer Definition:
1) a disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, the last disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a testament or will
2) a compact, a covenant, a testament
2a) God’s covenant with Noah, etc.
Part of Speech: noun feminine

H1285
בּרית
berı̂yth
BDB Definition:
1) covenant, alliance, pledge
1a) between men
1a1) treaty, alliance, league (man to man)
1a2) constitution, ordinance (monarch to subjects)
1a3) agreement, pledge (man to man)
1a4) alliance (of friendship)
1a5) alliance (of marriage)
1b) between God and man
1b1) alliance (of friendship)
1b2) covenant (divine ordinance with signs or pledges)

The people groups these covenants are made with are not hard to define. The new covenant is with the house of Judah and the house of Israel as described in Jeremiah and the letter to the Hebrews. In Jeremiah, Yahweh says the following concerning who he made the old covenant with, “Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:”. So the old covenant was with the fathers of the house of Israel and the house of Judah who he brought out of Egypt. It should be clear that this is speaking of the twelve tribes of Israel, the children of Jacob. So what was the covenant or agreement that Yahweh God made with the twelve tribes?

Exo 19:2 For they were departed from Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mount.
Exo 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel;
Exo 19:4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exo 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

Here we see Yahweh presenting a covenant for the people. If they obey his voice, in return he will make them a treasured people, a kingdom of priests. They all agreed they would do what Yahweh God commanded. That is the old covenant; the children of Israel would become a holy or set apart nation from the rest of the nations of the world in exchange for obeying Yahweh’s voice and following the commands of his covenant. It is interesting to note that Peter uses the same language actually quoting Exodus 19:6:

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:
1Pe 2:10 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.

Where Peter is using the same language for those in the new covenant, does that mean it could be better called a renewed covenant? The Strong’s word for new is H2319, but look at the word it comes from, H2318. It has the same spelling in Hebrew with a slight difference in pronunciation.

H2319
חדשׁ
châdâsh
BDB Definition:
1) new, new thing, fresh
Part of Speech: adjective
A Related Word by BDB/Strong’s Number: from H2318

H2318
חדשׁ
châdash
BDB Definition:
1) to be new, renew, repair
1a) (Piel)
1a1) to renew, make anew
1a2) to repair
1b) (Hithpael) to renew oneself

It could be argued that the new covenant is a repaired old covenant, completely fresh yet renewed from something old. That is a thought that is not my own, but something I find worth considering.

The old covenant was made with the twelve tribes of Israel at Mount Horeb or Sinai. So who is the house of Israel and the house of Judah that the new covenant is made with, and where do we who have faith in Jesus fit in to this new covenant?

1Ki 11:31 And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee:
1Ki 11:32 (But he shall have one tribe for my servant David’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:)
1Ki 11:33 Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father.
1Ki 11:34 Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant’s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes:
1Ki 11:35 But I will take the kingdom out of his son’s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.
1Ki 11:36 And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.
1Ki 11:37 And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
1Ki 11:38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
1Ki 11:39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.

The above passage in the book of 1st Kings, best summarizes where the house of Judah and the house of Israel originate. King Solomon, son of David in the tribe of Judah, sinned beyond what Yahweh could bare. Yahweh took ten of the twelve tribes and gave them to Jeroboam, which became the house of Israel, Ephraim or Joseph, and gave one tribe, Benjamin to Solomon’s son, which became the southern kingdom consisting of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. So here he was giving Jeroboam a chance to carry on the covenant that was made at Mount Horeb. That didn’t last too long though. Jeroboam went and made up his own feast or holiday, which Yahweh never commanded along with using images and customs of the nations to worship Yahweh.

1Ki 12:25 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel.
1Ki 12:26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David:
1Ki 12:27 If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
1Ki 12:28 Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
1Ki 12:29 And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
1Ki 12:30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
1Ki 12:31 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
1Ki 12:32 And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
1Ki 12:33 So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.

1Ki 14:15 For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gave to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger.
1Ki 14:16 And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin.

Yahweh scattered the house of Israel into the nations of the earth for their disobedience, making up their own holy days instead of following his holy days, using the symbols of the nations to worship Yahweh, which he forbid. With this he seeded the nations, as alluded to in Hosea.

Hos 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.
Hos 1:3 So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim; which conceived, and bare him a son.
Hos 1:4 And the LORD said unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and I will avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu, and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
Hos 1:5 And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
Hos 1:6 And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God said unto him, Call her name Loruhamah: for I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but I will utterly take them away.
Hos 1:7 But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
Hos 1:8 Now when she had weaned Loruhamah, she conceived, and bare a son.
Hos 1:9 Then said God, Call his name Loammi: for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
Hos 1:10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered; and it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God.
Hos 1:11 Then shall the children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.

Jazreel, the name Yahweh tells Hosea to name his son representing the northern tribes of Israel, or the house of Israel, meaning God sow’s. Strong’s H3157.

H3157
יזרעאל
yizre‛ê’l
BDB Definition:
Jezreel = “God sows”
1) a descendant of the father or founder of Etam of Judah (noun proper masculine)
2) first son of Hosea the prophet (noun proper masculine)
3) a city in the Nekeb of Judah (noun proper locative)
4) a city in Issachar on the northwest spur of Mount Gilboa (noun proper locative

Paul refers to these scriptures in his letter to the Roman’s.

Rom 9:22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
Rom 9:23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Rom 9:24 even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
Rom 9:25 As indeed he says in Hosea, “Those who were not my people I will call ‘my people,’ and her who was not beloved I will call ‘beloved.’”
Rom 9:26 “And in the very place where it was said to them, ‘You are not my people,’ there they will be called ‘sons of the living God.’”
Rom 9:27 And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved,
Rom 9:28 for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”
Rom 9:29 And as Isaiah predicted, “If the Lord of hosts had not left us offspring, we would have been like Sodom and become like Gomorrah.”

Gentile, Strong’s G1484, is a made up word from the Latin which makes it sound like it is a special people group. It is just people who are not from the tribe of Judah, (Jews), and includes the house of Israel that was scattered into the nations as God’s seeds, to extend his covenant to all the nations of the world.

G1484
ἔθνος
ethnos
eth’-nos
Probably from G1486; a race (as of the same habit), that is, a tribe; specifically a foreign (non-Jewish) one (usually by implication pagan): – Gentile, heathen, nation, people.

To summarize what we know so far; the old covenant was with all twelve tribes of the the Israelite’s, and it consisted of a pact between the twelve tribes and Yahweh that they would do what he said and follow his instructions. The twelve tribes broke into two groups because of Solomon’s idolatry and sorcery. Ten tribes went under the leadership of Jeroboam and one tribe stayed with Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, and the tribe of Judea. These two groups were called the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Jeroboam lead the house of Israel astray, and they were scattered into the nations, seeding the nations as in Jazreel. The house of Judah remained for the sake of David because he followed Yahweh’s commandments. However, they had many trials due to their idolatry and lawlessness.

Now we need to answer why the new covenant is better, and how do we fit into the new covenant as followers of Jesus. Notice there is no mention of the church in the new covenant, only the house of Israel and the house of Judah. This is not because the prophets did not see the church and Yahweh had to change his plans, as some doctrines suggest. Church is simply a word for congregation or a set apart people that I have defined in my other blogs. It is Ekklesia, Strong’s G1577.

G1577
ἐκκλησία
ekklēsia
Thayer Definition:
1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
1a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
1b) the assembly of the Israelites
1c) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
1d) in a Christian sense
1d1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting
1d2) a company of Christian, or of those who, hoping for eternal salvation through Jesus Christ, observe their own religious rites, hold their own religious meetings, and manage their own affairs, according to regulations prescribed for the body for order’s sake
1d3) those who anywhere, in a city, village, constitute such a company and are united into one body
1d4) the whole body of Christians scattered throughout the earth
1d5) the assembly of faithful Christians already dead and received into heaven

Paul does a good job of explaining how we, as twenty first century Christians, are part of the new covenant through grafting into the green olive tree. We will look into that shortly. The old covenant grew old and vanished not because Yahweh changed his laws or commandments, or did away with anything, it is because the people who entered the agreement with Yahweh broke their end of the contract. The language that God uses is pretty clear. They broke the wedlock that they had on Mount Horeb where he was a husband to them. The new covenant is better because it opened up to all the nations through the scattering of the house of Israel and through the work on the cross that Jesus did. By the shed blood, he has made a way for us to keep his commandments by writing them on our hearts and sending his Holy Spirit to be a helper living inside of us. “Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Based on the above scriptures, Jesus didn’t come to change any of the father Yahweh’s commandments. He intensified them, and gave us a way to be able to keep them through the power of the Holy Spirit. “Php 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”.

Next we will explore how the modern follower of Jesus is grafted into the new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In Jeremiah, we see more information regarding the old covenant. The old covenant was an agreement where the twelve tribes would follow Yahweh’s commandments, which in turn Yahweh would bring them into the promised land with blessings. If they failed to follow his word, the result would be curses and a broken covenant.

Jer 11:1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Jer 11:2 Hear ye the words of this covenant, and speak unto the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Jer 11:3 And say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel; Cursed be the man that obeyeth not the words of this covenant,
Jer 11:4 Which I commanded your fathers in the day that I brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, from the iron furnace, saying, Obey my voice, and do them, according to all which I command you: so shall ye be my people, and I will be your God:
Jer 11:5 That I may perform the oath which I have sworn unto your fathers, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey, as it is this day. Then answered I, and said, So be it, O LORD.
Jer 11:6 Then the LORD said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
Jer 11:7 For I earnestly protested unto your fathers in the day that I brought them up out of the land of Egypt, even unto this day, rising early and protesting, saying, Obey my voice.
Jer 11:8 Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their evil heart: therefore I will bring upon them all the words of this covenant, which I commanded them to do; but they did them not.
Jer 11:9 And the LORD said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.
Jer 11:10 They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, which refused to hear my words; and they went after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers.
Jer 11:11 Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
Jer 11:12 Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
Jer 11:13 For according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem have ye set up altars to that shameful thing, even altars to burn incense unto Baal.
Jer 11:14 Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up a cry or prayer for them: for I will not hear them in the time that they cry unto me for their trouble.
Jer 11:15 What hath my beloved to do in mine house, seeing she hath wrought lewdness with many, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? when thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.
Jer 11:16 The LORD called thy name, A green olive tree, fair, and of goodly fruit: with the noise of a great tumult he hath kindled fire upon it, and the branches of it are broken.
Jer 11:17 For the LORD of hosts, that planted thee, hath pronounced evil against thee, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.

Israel was called a green olive tree that Yahweh planted. Now due to Israel breaking the covenant, branches have broken off of the tree. God also tells Jeremiah that he will bring them back together again.

Jer 16:14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 16:15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.

We pick up the olive tree comparison with Paul in his letter to the Roman’s. I am using the Modern King James Version for their rendering of the Greek word ethnos as nations instead of the Latin word gentile with a capital g, which has grown into something more than it is. It is worth mentioning here that once we are grafted in, or back in to the root, we are no longer of the nations or “gentiles” any longer. Also, I am quoting more than needed just to provide the context.

Rom 11:1 I say then, Did not God put away His people? Let it not be said! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
Rom 11:2 God did not thrust out His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture said in Elijah, how he pleaded with God against Israel, saying,
Rom 11:3 “Lord, they killed Your prophets and dug down Your altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life.”
Rom 11:4 But what does the Divine answer say to him? “I have reserved to Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.”
Rom 11:5 Even so then, also in this present time a remnant according to the election of grace has come into being.
Rom 11:6 But if by grace, then it is no more of works; otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it is of works, then it is no more of grace; otherwise work is no more work.
Rom 11:7 What then? Israel has not obtained that which it seeks, but the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened
Rom 11:8 even as it is written, “God gave to them a spirit of slumber, eyes not seeing, and ears not hearing” until this day.
Rom 11:9 And David said, “Let their table become for a snare and a trap and a stumbling block and a recompense to them.
Rom 11:10 Let their eyes be darkened so that they may not see, and their back always bowing.”
Rom 11:11 I say then, Did they not stumble that they fall? Let it not be! But by their slipping away came salvation to the nations, to provoke them to jealousy.
Rom 11:12 But if their slipping away is the riches of the world, and their default is the riches of the nations, how much more their fullness?
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you, the nations; since I am the apostle of the nations, I glorify my ministry;
Rom 11:14 if by any means I may provoke those who are my flesh to jealousy, and might save some of them.
Rom 11:15 For if their casting away is the reconciling of the world, what is the reception except life from the dead?
Rom 11:16 For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, also the branches.
Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and became a sharer of the root and the fatness of the olive tree with them,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, it is not you that bears the root, but the root bears you.
Rom 11:19 You will say then, The branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.
Rom 11:20 Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be high-minded, but fear.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, fear lest He also may not spare you either!
Rom 11:22 Behold then the kindness, and the severity of God; on those having fallen, severity; but on you, kindness, if you continue in the kindness. Otherwise you also will be cut off.
Rom 11:23 And those also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in. For God is able to graft them in again.

In order to make this clearer, let’s look at the root of this olive tree. Now would be a good time to read the parable of the prodigal son. It was never talking about what is typically assigned to it in modern sermons. Jesus was referring to the younger brother Ephraim coming home to the Father, and the older brother Judah having a problem with that.

Isa 11:10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart, and those who harass Judah shall be cut off; Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah, and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.

Rom 15:8 And I say, Jesus Christ has become a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,
Rom 15:9 and that the nations might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written, “For this cause I will confess to You in the nations, and I will praise Your name.”
Rom 15:10 And again He says, “Rejoice, O nations, with His people.”
Rom 15:11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all the nations, and praise Him, all the peoples.”
Rom 15:12 And again Isaiah says, “There shall be a root of Jesse, and He who shall rise to reign over the nations, in Him shall the nations trust.”
Rom 15:13 And may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

As you can see, from the above passage in Roman’s, this is not my interpretation of Isaiah, but Paul’s. Jesse was King David’s father whose line brought forth the Messiah, Jesus. What does Jesus say about all of this?

Joh 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Joh 15:3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Joh 15:4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
Joh 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.
Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.

Mat 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Joh 10:16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Once we are grafted into the vine, we leave the nations and become part of the green olive tree. This is the new covenant. “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, the nations, in time past were in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 and that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For He is our peace, He making us both one, and He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us,
Eph 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity (the Law of commandments contained in ordinances) so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, making peace between them;
Eph 2:16 and so that He might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity in Himself.
Eph 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near.
Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
Eph 2:20 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Eph 2:21 in whom every building having been fitly framed together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord;
Eph 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.

Through hundreds of years of replacement theology, dispensationalism theology, apostasy, lawlessness and anomianism, we as believers have lost our identity. We think we are “the church” on a separate journey with Yahweh, distinguished from the tribe of Judah, or we have replaced Judah. We still call ourselves “gentiles”, when if we are grafted back into the vine, we are part of the Commonwealth of Israel, because there are only two groups of people in the new covenant: the house of Israel and the house of Judah. However, we are all one now through Christ Jesus, being Abraham’s seed. There is only the olive tree, no walnuts, hickories or pines.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What does this mean then? For one, it changes the end time prophecy narrative responsible for millions of dollars of book and movie sales. If the “church” is grafted into the Commonwealth of Israel, then there is no separate path for “Jews” and the “church”. This also makes the bible much easier to understand because we do not need charts and graphs to figure out what dispensation we are in or what group of people are doing what when. As followers of Jesus, we are grafted in to the good olive tree, the vine of which Jesus is, connected to the root, and we are all into the end times together.

Rev 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
Rev 14:7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
Rev 14:8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 14:11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
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 14:14 And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
Rev 14:16 And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.
Rev 14:17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.
Rev 14:18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
Rev 14:19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Rev 14:20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

Mat 13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
Mat 13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
Mat 13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
Mat 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Photo by Emma Vail

The Sabbath is listed as the first feast day of God יהוה. Lev 23:3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places”. What is the Sabbath day? It is one of the Ten Commandments, yet is it taken seriously? The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, which is our Saturday; or is it Sunday? What is the Lord’s day? My intention is to never try to fully answer these questions. Obviously I have my opinions, but is up to you, the reader, to know for yourself the truth. Hopefully with some of the information provided, it will give you something to study and not blindly follow traditions of men. In Jesus’ prayer to the Father, He defines truth for us as “thy word is truth”.

Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

Below is a question and answer section of the Catholic Catechism:

“356Q. Are the Sabbath and the Sunday the same? A. The Sabbath day and the Sunday are not the same. The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, and is the day which was kept holy in the Old Law; the Sunday is the first day of the week, and is the day which is kept in the New Law. “Old Law means the law God gave to the Jews, the New Law, the law that our Lord gave to the Christians.

357Q. Why does the Church command us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath? A. The Church commands us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday He sent the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles. We keep Sunday instead of Saturday also to teach that the Old Law is not now binding on us, but that we must keep the New Law, which takes its place.”

What is this “New Law” spoken of here that has replaced the “Old Law”? Wait a minute; What??? The old law is not binding, but now there is a new law that takes its place? Where did this new law come from? Did it come from the Word of God, or did it come from tradition and Rome in the way of Roman canons? Below is Canon XXIX from the Synod of Laodicea 343 AD:

Canon XXIX.Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ. Notes. Ancient Epitome of Canon XXIX.A Christian shall not stop work on the Sabbath, but on the Lord’s Day. Balsamon.Here the Fathers order that no one of the faithful shall stop work on the Sabbath as do the Jews, but that they should honour the Lord’s Day, on account of the Lord’s resurrection, and that on that day they should abstain from manual labour and go to church. But thus abstaining from work on Sunday they do not lay down as a necessity, but they add, “if they can.” For if through need or any other necessity any one worked on the Lord’s day this was not reckoned against him.

Did Rome have the authority to change the laws of God, יהוה? Here is what Jesus said about the law.

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

Another later canon regarding the Sabbath:

Canon VIII of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, 787 AD:

Canon VIII.That Hebrews ought not to be received unless they have been converted in sincerity of heart. Since certain, erring in the superstitions of the Hebrews, have thought to mock at Christ our God, and feigning to be converted to the religion of Christ do deny him, and in private and secretly keep the Sabbath and observe other Jewish customs, we decree that such persons be not received to communion, nor to prayers, nor into the Church; but let them be openly Hebrews according to their religion, and let them not bring their children to baptism, nor purchase or possess a slave. But if any of them,out of a sincere heart and in faith,is converted and makes profession with his whole heart, setting at naught their customs and observances, and so that others may be convinced and converted, such an one is to be received and bap- tized, and his children likewise; and let them be taught to take care to hold aloof from the ordinances of the Hebrews. But if they will not do this, let them in no wise be received.

Is Sabbath keeping really just a “Jewish Custom”? Below we see Moses’ account of the event where יהוה God spoke face to face with all twelve tribes of Israel, and those who sojourned with them, not just the tribe of Judah, who are commonly referred to as Jews.

Deu 5:4 The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire,
Deu 5:5 while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said:
Deu 5:6 “‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
Deu 5:7 “‘You shall have no other gods before me.
Deu 5:8 “‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.
Deu 5:9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,
Deu 5:10 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Deu 5:11 “‘You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
Deu 5:12 “‘Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you.
Deu 5:13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Deu 5:14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.
Deu 5:15 You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Deu 5:16 “‘Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
Deu 5:17 “‘You shall not murder.
Deu 5:18 “‘And you shall not commit adultery.
Deu 5:19 “‘And you shall not steal.
Deu 5:20 “‘And you shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Deu 5:21 “‘And you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. And you shall not desire your neighbor’s house, his field, or his male servant, or his female servant, his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.’
Deu 5:22 “These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly at the mountain out of the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a loud voice; and he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me.
Deu 5:23 And as soon as you heard the voice out of the midst of the darkness, while the mountain was burning with fire, you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes, and your elders.
Deu 5:24 And you said, ‘Behold, the LORD our God has shown us his glory and greatness, and we have heard his voice out of the midst of the fire. This day we have seen God speak with man, and man still live.
Deu 5:25 Now therefore why should we die? For this great fire will consume us. If we hear the voice of the LORD our God any more, we shall die.
Deu 5:26 For who is there of all flesh, that has heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of fire as we have, and has still lived?
Deu 5:27 Go near and hear all that the LORD our God will say, and speak to us all that the LORD our God will speak to you, and we will hear and do it.’
Deu 5:28 “And the LORD heard your words, when you spoke to me. And the LORD said to me, ‘I have heard the words of this people, which they have spoken to you. They are right in all that they have spoken.
Deu 5:29 Oh that they had such a heart as this always, to fear me and to keep all my commandments, that it might go well with them and with their descendants forever!

We are talking about a very large group of people if we consider twelve tribes of Israel, those who sojourned with them, and all of their descendants. If all of these people would have a heart always, to fear and keep God’s commands, it will go well with their descendants forever.

The protesting Catholics, otherwise known as Protestants, seem to be in agreement with the Roman canons in the Westminster Confessions regarding the Sabbath:

“VII. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him:437 which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week,438 which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s Day, 439 and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath.440
VIII. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations,441 but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. 442”

Where do they get this from? Can we find where the Sabbath was changed to the Lord’s day in scripture? Would we not read somewhere in the Prophets that in the future God’s law would change? Again, why would God change something that was already perfect?

Mal 2:17 You have wearied the LORD with your words. But you say, “How have we wearied him?” By saying, “Everyone who does evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delights in them.” Or by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”

Mal 3:6 “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Mal 3:7 From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’

A common scripture to justify the changing of the Sabbath to the first day of the week is found in Acts 20:7.

Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

Let’s look at this with the Strong’s numbers.

Act 20:7 And G1161  upon G1722  the G3588  first G3391  day of the G3588  week, G4521  when the G3588  disciples G3101  came together G4863  to break G2806  bread, G740  Paul G3972  preached G1256  unto them, G846  ready G3195  to depart G1826  on the G3588  morrow; G1887  and G5037  continued G3905  his speech G3056  until G3360  midnight. G3317

Notice the word “day” does not have a Strong’s number associated to it. It will be italizied in most Bibles to indicate the word has been added by the translators. That bit of information usually can be found in the Bible preface. G4863 is referencing the word “to” and G4521 is for the word “week”. Below is Thayer’s Greek lexicon’s definition of Strong’s G4521:

σάββατον
sabbaton
Thayer Definition:
1) the seventh day of each week which was a sacred festival on which the Israelites were required to abstain from all work
1a) the institution of the sabbath, the law for keeping holy every seventh day of the week
1b) a single sabbath, sabbath day
2) seven days, a week
Part of Speech: noun neuter
A Related Word by Thayer’s/Strong’s Number: of Hebrew origin H7676

The first definition is the Sabbath day and the second definition is “a week”. Let’s look at the related Hebrew word, Strong’s H7676:

H7676
שׁבּת
shabbâth
BDB Definition:
1) Sabbath
1a) sabbath
1b) day of atonement
1c) sabbath year
1d) week
1e) produce (in sabbath year)
Part of Speech: noun feminine or masculine

Week is the fifth choice in this list. Since the translators had to add the word “day” to make “week” work as the translation of Sabbath, it is possible one of the other definitions would work better. If we look at it in context we see this passage occurs during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

Act 20:6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.
Act 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.

It could be translated “on the first Sabbath” where seven weeks are counted until the feast of Shavuot. In verse 20:6 they sailed away after the days of Unleavened Bread and arrived in five days. The first Sabbath in the counting of the weeks would be the day they are speaking of. See the following regarding the counting of the weeks.

Lev 23:15 “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering.
Lev 23:16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD.

In Leviticus 23:15, it is talking about counting seven weeks starting after the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. That day would have been First Fruits. So the first Sabbath in the counting of the weeks would occur after they arrived in Troas in verse six. By the time the New Testament was translated to English, the Roman Canon establishing the “New Law” had been in place over 1000 years. It makes sense the translators would force a Roman mindset on the text instead of a Hebrew mindset. It is no fault of theirs and completely understandable. Yet it is highly likely Acts 20:7 was talking about the first Sabbath, not the first day of the week.

Of course this can be argued against, but it comes down to whether or not a person believes there is a “New Law” we are required to follow, and if the church or government of Rome had the power to change the day of the Sabbath. Also, even if the Apostles did meet on the first day, where is the command for us to change the Sabbath? Acts also shows the Apostles meeting every day house to house.

Act 5:41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
Act 5:42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that the Christ is Jesus.

Another verse in Revelation speaks of the Lord’s day. Yet there is no commandment given here either that the Sabbath has been changed to the Lord’s day.

Rev 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.

“Lord’s” is Strong’s G2960, possessive form of the word the Greeks used to translate יהוה in the Greek version of the Old Testament around the third century BC. Is that what we use to establish changing the Law of the Sabbath? Could John be referring to the Day of the Lord here? If John’s vision happens on the Lord’s day, and that is referring to Sunday, does that mean we are not to honour the fourth commandment any more?

G2960 (Strong)
κυριακός
kuriakos
koo-ree-ak-os’
From G2962; belonging to the Lord (Jehovah or Jesus): – Lord’s.

Let’s look at some of the other canons from where Canon XXIX was given around 343 AD in Laodicea. “The Canons of the Synod Held in the City of Laodicea, in Phrygia Pacatiana, in which Many Blessed Fathers from Divers Provinces of Asia Were Gathered Together”.

Canon II.
They who have sinned in divers particulars, if they have persevered in the prayer of confession and penance, and are wholly converted from their faults, shall be received again to communion, through the mercy and goodness of God, after a time of penance appointed to them, in proportion to the nature of their offence.

Canon III.
He who has been recently baptized ought not to be promoted to the sacerdotal order

Canon IX.
The members of the Church are not allowed to meet in the cemeteries, nor attend the so-called martyries of any of the heretics, for prayer or service; but such as so do, if they be communicants, shall be excommunicated for a time; but if they repent and confess that they have sinned they shall be received.

Canon XV.
No others shall sing in the Church, save only the canonical singers, who go up into the ambo and sing from a book.

Canon XX.
It is not right for a deacon to sit in the presence of a presbyter, unless he be bidden by the presbyter to sit down. Likewise the deacons shall have worship of the subdeacons and all the [inferior] clergy.

Canon XXIV.
No one of the priesthood, from presbyters to deacons, and so on in the ecclesiastical order to subdeacons, readers, singers, exorcists, door-keepers, or any of the class of the As- cetics, ought to enter a tavern.

Canon XXV.
A subdeacon must not give the Bread, nor bless the Cup.

Canon XXIX.
Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.

The Canons go on and on. Many of these are adhered to today, one way or another, in the 40,000 plus denominations of the church. The following chart shows how the major denominations all descend from Rome, and why many still hold on to the Roman Canons. It is important to remember that catholic simply means universal, and there has been only one true “catholic” church. Many of the splits were caused by political divisions as well as doctrinal disagreements.

If we really are under a “New Law” as the Catholic Catechism states, it cannot be found in the bible. So what was wrong with the “Old Law” anyway?

Psa 19:7 The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple;
Psa 19:8 the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes;
Psa 19:9 the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether.

Why would something that was perfect, right and pure have to be made better? Was the Sabbath of the Ten Commandments not good enough that it had to be changed in the 343 AD Council in Laodicea? By the time of Jesus, the Pharisees had made up their own laws by the means of the Jewish Talmud. This is what Jesus said to them regarding changing the laws of God, יהוה:

Mat 15:1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
Mat 15:2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.”
Mat 15:3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?
Mat 15:4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’
Mat 15:5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”
Mat 15:6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
Mat 15:7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:
Mat 15:8 “‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me;
Mat 15:9 in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

Here we see the Pharisees holding Jesus to a Talmudic Law. Washing hands before eating is not a law given to Moses in the Torah. Adding laws is in itself a violation of God’s commandments. This is what Jesus was talking about. A major misconception today is the Pharisees were keeping the law of God, and Jesus was scolding them for that. Jesus kept the entire Law of God perfectly, and knew it perfectly because he is the Word in flesh that originally gave it.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Joh 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God.
Joh 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Word is Strong’s G3056, Logos. Here is the Thayer’s Greek lexicon definition of Logos. “The sayings of God”, “moral precepts given by God”, and “Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets” , are all appropriate definitions.

G3056
λόγος
logos
Thayer Definition:
1) of speech
1a) a word, uttered by a living voice, embodies a conception or idea
1b) what someone has said
1b1) a word
1b2) the sayings of God
1b3) decree, mandate or order
1b4) of the moral precepts given by God
1b5) Old Testament prophecy given by the prophets
1b6) what is declared, a thought, declaration, aphorism, a weighty saying, a dictum, a maxim
1c) discourse
1c1) the act of speaking, speech
1c2) the faculty of speech, skill and practice in speaking
1c3) a kind or style of speaking
1c4) a continuous speaking discourse – instruction
1d) doctrine, teaching
1e) anything reported in speech; a narration, narrative
1f) matter under discussion, thing spoken of, affair, a matter in dispute, case, suit at law
1g) the thing spoken of or talked about; event, deed
2) its use as respect to the MIND alone
2a) reason, the mental faculty of thinking, meditating, reasoning, calculating
2b) account, i.e. regard, consideration
2c) account, i.e. reckoning, score
2d) account, i.e. answer or explanation in reference to judgment
2e) relation, i.e. with whom as judge we stand in relation
2e1) reason would
2f) reason, cause, ground
3) In John, denotes the essential Word of God, Jesus Christ, the personal wisdom and power in union with God, his minister in creation and government of the universe, the cause of all the world’s life both physical and ethical, which for the procurement of man’s salvation put on human nature in the person of Jesus the Messiah, the second person in the Godhead, and shone forth conspicuously from His words and deeds.

Psa 43:3 Send out your light and your truth; let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy hill and to your dwelling!
Psa 43:4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God my exceeding joy, and I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God.

Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

This whole idea that the Word is God’s laws and precepts, as is Jesus, is a whole study in itself worth pursuing. There is much to gain by learning the biblical definitions of truth, light and the way. Once the truth sets you free, it is impossible to succumb to so called truth that is not truth at all, but sayings of men.

Joh 8:31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
Joh 8:32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Joh 8:33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.
Joh 8:35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.
Joh 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Joh 8:37 I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you.
Joh 8:38 I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
Joh 8:39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did,
Joh 8:40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did.
Joh 8:41 You are doing the works your father did.” They said to him, “We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.”
Joh 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me.
Joh 8:43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word.
Joh 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Joh 8:45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
Joh 8:46 Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?
Joh 8:47 Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.”

The book of Jubilees, an extra biblical text, was found in the caves of Qumrân along side of the oldest known copies of Genesis. Presumed to be a work of Moses, it speaks of the Sabbath and its significance in the heavens.

And he finished all his work on the sixth day all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the seas and in the abysses, and in the light and in the darkness, and in everything. And he gave us a great sign, the Shabbath, that we should work six days, but guard the Shabbath on the seventh day from all work. And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes he has bidden us to guard the Shabbath with him in heaven and on earth. And he said unto us: Behold, I will separate unto myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall guard the Shabbath, and I will sanctify them unto myself as my people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Shabbath and do sanctify it unto myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be my people and I will be their ELOHIYM. And I have chosen the seed of Ya`aqov from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as my firstborn son, and have sanctified him unto myself forever and ever; and I will teach them the Shabbath, that they may guard the Shabbath thereon from all work. And thus he created therein a sign in accordance with which they should guard the Shabbath with us on the seventh day, to eat and to drink, and to bless him who has created all things as he has blessed and sanctified unto himself a peculiar people above all peoples, and that they should guard the Shabbath together with us. YOVHELIYM (JUBILEES) 2:17-22 את CEPHER

Do יהוה God, Jesus the Messiah, and the rest of heaven now follow the Roman Canon stating we are to no longer rest on the Sabbath, but observe the Lord’s day, abstaining from work only if convenient? It is a question to consider. If the “New Law” replaces the “Old Law”, as The Catholic Catechism and The Westminster Confessions imply, what do we do with Matthew 5:18, “For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.” Did the Earth pass away? In Matthew 24, speaking of a time in the future, Jesus says the following, indicating the Sabbath is still being observed by the elect:

Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened.

שלום

After doing a study on the Biblical feast days with my church small group some time ago, I was surprised to learn the significance of the feast days, and the prophetic implications of them. Why had I never learned any of this before? I had read about them, but obviously while wearing blinders. Unfortunately, church tradition, misunderstandings, antisemitism in the early church, and a calculated move by the church to replace these holy days, has left us believing they are merely irrelevant, Jewish holidays. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I recommend reading my post, The church and Israel, the church or Israel, or both, before continuing.

Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Once the church is defined, and we realize that God, יהוה, delivered his instructions to twelve tribes, not just one (Judah or the “Jews”), then we can start to understand what words like forever, and phrases like, “in all your generations” actually mean. These feasts are eternal, predating Moses, and in our future as believers.

Lev 23:1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
Lev 23:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, These are the appointed feasts of the LORD that you shall proclaim as holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.
The Sabbath
Lev 23:3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the LORD in all your dwelling places.
The Passover
Lev 23:4 “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them.
Lev 23:5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover.
Lev 23:6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.
Lev 23:7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.
Lev 23:8 But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

Notice they are the feasts of the LORD, יהוה, not feasts of the “Jews”. A side note; whenever you see LORD in the Bible, it is a substitution for יהוה. That is the name of God, pronounced Yahweh or Yahuah , and LORD is a substitution in most Bibles. You can read about that in the preface of your Bible. I prefer using יהוה, because it leaves no doubt as to the identity of the Lord or God I am referring to. So we have the feasts of יהוה, and now we will see that they are forever.

Passover:

Exo 12:14 “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Unleavened Bread:

Exo 12:17 And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

Feast of First Fruits:

Lev 23:14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain parched or fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.

Feast of Weeks, Shavuot or Pentecost:

Lev 23:21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.

Day of Atonement:

Lev 23:31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.

Feast of Tabernacles Or Booths:

Lev 23:41 You shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD for seven days in the year. It is a statute forever throughout your generations; you shall celebrate it in the seventh month.

A definition of forever, Strong’s H5769, from the Brown Driver Briggs lexicon:

H5769
עלם / עולם
‛ôlâm
BDB Definition:
1) long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world
1a) ancient time, long time (of past)
1b) (of future)
1b1) for ever, always
1b2) continuous existence, perpetual
1b3) everlasting, indefinite or unending future, eternity

So עולם is not only eternity forward, it is also eternity backward. Where else do these feasts show up in the Bible? Referring to a time in the future after the Day of the LORD, Zechariah prophesies the following:

Zec 14:16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths.
Zec 14:17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
Zec 14:18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain; there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths.

If we take the book of Jubilees found in the caves of Qumran, along side the oldest fragments of Genesis, at the very least as historically important, it sheds more light on the origins of these feasts.

And he gave to Noach and his sons a sign that there should not again be a flood on the earth. He set his bow in the cloud for a sign of the eternal covenant that there should not again be a flood on the earth to destroy it all the days of the earth. For this reason it is ordained and written on the heavenly tablets, that they should celebrate the Feast of Shavu’oth in this month once a year, to renew the covenant every year. And this whole feast was celebrated in heaven from the day of creation till the days of Noach twenty six jubilees and five weeks of years: and Noach and his sons observed it for seven jubilees and one week of years, till the day of Noach’s death, and from the day of Noach’s death his sons did away with it until the days of Avraham, and they ate blood. But Avraham observed it, and Yitschaq and Ya`aqov and his children observed it up to your days, and in your days the children of Yashar’el forgot it until ye celebrated it anew on this mountain. And do you command the children of Yashar’el to observe this feast in all their generations for a commandment unto them: one day in the year in this month they shall celebrate the feast. YOVHELIYM (JUBILEES) 6:15-20 את CEPHER

We also see Jesus keeping the Sabbath, Passover, and actually being the Passover lamb, rising as the First Fruits of the resurrection, which I will cover in a future post, Three days and Three Nights, or Two Nights and a Day. The following passage is speaking of Jesus:

Luk 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.

Let’s establish that Jesus did not come with a different doctrine than that of his Father, יהוה. Also, the only sacred writings Timothy would have been aquatinted with would not have included anything from our “New Testament”.

Joh 14:23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Joh 14:24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Joh 14:25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you.

2Ti 3:14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it
2Ti 3:15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.
2Ti 3:16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
2Ti 3:17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

It was on the Day of Pentecost, which was the Feast of Shavuot, that the Spirit of יהוה was sent to the apostles gathered for the feast.

Act 2:1 When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place.
Act 2:2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting.
Act 2:3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
Act 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

See below the definition of Pentecost, Strong’s G4005, from Thayer’s Greek lexicon. It is the fiftieth day, counted from after the regular sabbath, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This feast does get celebrated by some denominations today, but some of its history and significance gets over looked. This day was celebrated when Noah got off the ark, at the giving of the Ten Commandments and at “Pentecost”.

πεντηκοστή
pentēkostē
Thayer Definition:
Pentecost = “the fiftieth day”
1) the second of the three great Jewish feasts, celebrated at Jerusalem yearly, the seventh week after the Passover, in grateful recognition of the completed harvest

Paul was also keeping feasts after the death and resurrection of Jesus:

Act 18:20 When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not;
Act 18:21 But bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.

Maybe some of the best evidence for keeping the feasts comes from some of the reasons the church has strayed from the keeping the feasts. Below is part of a writing from a fourth century church father, John Chrysostom, in “Against the Jews, Homily 1, chapter 5”.

(5) What is this disease? The festivals of the pitiful and miserable Jews are soon to march upon us one after the other and in quick succession: the feast of Trumpets, the feast of Tabernacles, the fasts. There are many in our ranks who say they think as we do. Yet some of these are going to watch the festivals and others will join the Jews in keeping their feasts and observing their fasts. I wish to drive this perverse custom from the Church right now. My homilies against the Anomians can be put off to another time, and the postponement would cause no harm. But now that the Jewish festivals are close by and at the very door, if I should fail to cure those who are sick with the Judaizing disease. I am afraid that, because of their ill-suited association and deep ignorance, some Christians may partake in the Jews’ transgressions; once they have done so, I fear my homilies on these transgressions will be in vain. For if they hear no word from me today, they will then join the Jews in their fasts; once they have committed this sin it will be useless for me to apply the remedy.

John Chrysostom obviously had contempt for the Jewish people, but in order for him to be so worked up about it, there must have been church people still keeping the feasts in the fourth century. This is especially evident as he states he wants to drive the perverse custom from the church. How can one call something God, יהוה, calls “my feasts”, perverse customs? I find that very disturbing. Maybe he learned this from the Roman Emperor Constantine who wrote the following concerning Passover to the bishops who could not attend the 325 AD Council of Nice.

From the Letter of the Emperor to all those not present at the Council.
(Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib. iii., 18–20.)
When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose, it was universally
thought that it would be convenient that all should keep the feast on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more desirable, than to see this festival, through which we receive the hope of immortality, celebrated by all with one accord, and in the same manner? It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the holiest of all festivals, to follow the custom [the calculation] of the Jews, who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom, 113 we may transmit to our des-cendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter, which we have observed from the time of the Saviour’s Passion to the present day [according to the day of the week]. We ought not, therefore, to have anything in common with the Jews, for the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship follows a more legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the week); and consequently, in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire, dearest brethren, to separate ourselves from the detestable company of the Jews, for it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They do not possess the truth in this Easter question; for, in their blindness and repugnance to all im- provements, they frequently celebrate two passovers in the same year. We could not imitate those who are openly in error. How, then, could we follow these Jews, who are most certainly blinded by error? for to celebrate the passover twice in one year is totally inadmissible. But even if this were not so, it would still be your duty not to tarnish your soul by communications with such wicked people[theJews]. Besides, consider well, that in such an important matter, and on a subject of such great solemnity, there ought not to be any division. Our Saviour has left us only one festal day of our redemption, that is to say, of his holy passion, and he desired [to establish] only one Catholic Church. Think, then, how unseemly it is, that on the same day some should be fasting whilst others are seated at a banquet; and that after Easter, some should be rejoicing at feasts, whilst others are still observing a strict fast.

Below is a chart of the feast days of יהוה:

So what did the church replace these feast days with? It is a totally different holiday wheel, and I know we can argue about Yule being on December 23 and the purity and good intentions the Roman church had when picking these dates, but I think the Wiccan wheel of holidays speaks for itself.

Ostara, Astoreth, Isis, Venus and Ishtar are all the same goddess of fertility, throughout the ages with egg and rabbit symbols. Imbolic is kept alive as ground hog day, Beltane is May Day, where they used to dance around the May pole or Ashera pole. Samhain is embodied as All Saints Day and Halloween. Yule needs no explanation. The best understanding for these holidays are found on Wiccan, Druid and Church of Satan websites. Here is a quote from wiccaliving.com:

”Before Christianity came to dominate the cultures of Europe, most pagans celebrated festivals on or near the Equinox, often honoring deities associated with fertility and abundance. One such deity was Ostara (also known as Eostre), a Northern European goddess of fertility who was worshipped in many areas populated by Germanic tribes. As part of the strategy to absorb and therefore eliminate the pagan religions, the Christians eventually adopted the name Easter for their own Spring holiday, and the Equinox festivals gradually declined over time.

However, as we know, the Old Religion never fully disappeared—just as with Yule, some traditions that are now associated with Easter actually have Pagan roots. For example, painting eggs was a custom among Druids and ancient Eastern European cultures, and the rabbit has always been a symbol of fertility. So if you grew up with these typical Easter customs, you’ve already tapped in to the power of Ostara!“

One more quote from wiccaliving.com, this time regarding Yule.

“This is a celebration of the renewal of life, but compared to other Sabbats it is a relatively quiet, indoor holiday, as people gather within the warm shelters of their homes to be merry and give thanks. As a Yule ritual, many Wiccans decorate their altars with evergreen branches, such as cedar, pine, hemlock and spruce, as well as bright sprigs of holly, pinecones, and other festive winter flora.

Candles are paramount to this Sabbat, of course, with Yule traditions emphasizing the colors red, green, white, and gold. Images of the Sun are also appropriate. Those lucky enough to have a fireplace can burn a sacred Yule log, but you don’t need an actual hearth to brighten up your home with candles galore! Interestingly, many traditions which are generally thought of as belonging to Christmas—including the Yule log, a decorated tree, wreaths, and even caroling—are actually rooted in pre-Christian pagan traditions. So it’s quite likely that you’ve already been celebrating Yule for years, with or without your knowledge!”

Here is one from churchofsatan.com regarding Yule:

“The Christians stole this holiday from the pagans—Santa Claus has come to signify indulgence, and he is a combination of Dionysos and Silenus from Roman and Greek myths (the Romans celebrated the orgiastic Saturnalia at this time). The Nazarene has little place in the general public’s celebrations of this season, which were meant by pagans to be celebrations of abundance during a season of cold and emptiness. So for the Yule holiday season we enjoy the richness of life and the company of people whom we cherish, as we will often be the only ones who know where the traditions really came from!“

The Wiccans and Satanists are more honest about their holy days then Christianity. They are willing to say their holy days have been Christianized, and that if you are interested in the Wiccan religion and grew up with typical Christian symbols, you have already been celebrating Wiccan or Satanist traditions. Christians don’t like admitting this, and some won’t hear of the fact that many of their traditions come from Mystery Babylon. A good place to learn of the gods of these holidays, that Wiccans and Satanists celebrate, is in the Old Testament of your Bible.

2Ki 17:9 And the people of Israel did secretly against the LORD their God things that were not right. They built for themselves high places in all their towns, from watchtower to fortified city.
2Ki 17:10 They set up for themselves pillars and Asherim on every high hill and under every green tree,
2Ki 17:11 and there they made offerings on all the high places, as the nations did whom the LORD carried away before them. And they did wicked things, provoking the LORD to anger,
2Ki 17:12 and they served idols, of which the LORD had said to them, “You shall not do this.”
2Ki 17:13 Yet the LORD warned Israel and Judah by every prophet and every seer, saying, “Turn from your evil ways and keep my commandments and my statutes, in accordance with all the Law that I commanded your fathers, and that I sent to you by my servants the prophets.”

Jer 7:15 And I will cast you out of my sight, as I cast out all your kinsmen, all the offspring of Ephraim.
Jer 7:16 “As for you, do not pray for this people, or lift up a cry or prayer for them, and do not intercede with me, for I will not hear you.
Jer 7:17 Do you not see what they are doing in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?
Jer 7:18 The children gather wood, the fathers kindle fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven. And they pour out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger.
Jer 7:19 Is it I whom they provoke? declares the LORD. Is it not themselves, to their own shame?
Jer 7:20 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, my anger and my wrath will be poured out on this place, upon man and beast, upon the trees of the field and the fruit of the ground; it will burn and not be quenched.”
Jer 7:21 Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh.
Jer 7:22 For in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to your fathers or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices.
Jer 7:23 But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’

With a little research, it is not hard to determine who the queen of heaven is that Jeremiah is speaking of. The cited sources of a Wikipedia entry can be valuable resources. Here is one to some Sumerian literature, http://etcsl.orinst.ox.ac.uk/section1/tr141.htm about Inanna, likely the predecessor to Isis, Astarte, Ishtar, Eostre, the queen of heaven. The best source of information, of course, is from the Bible, and after reading about all of the customs of the sun gods and the fertility goddesses that entrap the tribes of Israel, it doesn’t take long to understand the two holiday wheels. Here is Isaiah speaking of the daughter of Babylon.

Isa 47:1 Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon; sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you shall no more be called tender and delicate.
Isa 47:2 Take the millstones and grind flour, put off your veil, strip off your robe, uncover your legs, pass through the rivers.
Isa 47:3 Your nakedness shall be uncovered, and your disgrace shall be seen. I will take vengeance, and I will spare no one.
Isa 47:4 Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name— is the Holy One of Israel.
Isa 47:5 Sit in silence, and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans; for you shall no more be called the mistress of kingdoms.

Below, the Apostle John speaks of the woman representing Babylon. We can see the connection between the mother of harlots and the queen of heaven.

Rev 17:3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
Rev 17:4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
Rev 17:5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
Rev 17:6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

We can also speak of sun god worship, Asherah poles and Obelisks, which Ezekiel saw at the temple, calling it the image of jealousy. You can research the obelisk yourself, but it is all related to Ishtar and Baal worship, complete with temple prostitutes and child sacrifice.

Eze 8:3 He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy.
Eze 8:4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley.
Eze 8:5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy.
Eze 8:6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.”

Israel continued to forsake Yahweh, יהוה, turning to the queen of heaven, Asherah, Ishtar, Baal and the many others. We continue to do the same thing today. I am not trying to single out any denomination, just bringing to light the mixture of religious symbolism that has been passed down to every denomination from the early beginnings of the church. Rome cannot be separated from the tradition of all of the Christian churches today, whether still protesting or not!

Did Rome and the Christian church have the authority to cancel the appointed feast days of יהוה, and change the sabbath to the day of the sun? Much research can be done, and it will come down to whether or not you believe the church has more authority than scripture. Many believe that to be the case, but if it is not true; does what we believe to be true or untrue change God, יהוה? There were believers keeping the feasts and sabbaths well into the 8th century that church fathers were trying to stamp out. Is this what the Apostle John speaks about in Revelation?

Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

A final word from John.

1Jn 2:1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
1Jn 2:2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
1Jn 2:3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him,
1Jn 2:5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him:
1Jn 2:6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
1Jn 2:7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
1Jn 2:8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining.

שלום

When did the church begin? What is the church anyway? Who or what is Israel? Replacement theology; Dispensational theology; Covenant theology; Commonwealth theology; does anyone even know what theology system their brand of Christianity is? Does anyone care? What are the core beliefs of your doctrine, and where did they come from? The purpose of this blog post is not to answer all of these questions for you, but to provide some information to make you at least aware that there are questions that need to be answered.

Rom 9:1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
Rom 9:2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
Rom 9:3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh:
Rom 9:4 Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises;
Rom 9:5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
Rom 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel:
Rom 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Paul says that they are not all Israel, which are of Israel. What is he talking about here? We are quick to think of Israel as a country in the present time, but there was no nation state of Israel when Paul was alive.

Gen 35:9 God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Paddan-aram, and blessed him.
Gen 35:10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; no longer shall your name be called Jacob, but Israel shall be your name.” So he called his name Israel.
Gen 35:11 And God said to him, “I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply. A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, and kings shall come from your own body.
Gen 35:12 The land that I gave to Abraham and Isaac I will give to you, and I will give the land to your offspring after you.”

So Jacob, the son of Isaac and grandson of Abraham, became Israel. He had twelve sons and prophesied over all twelve, before he died.

Gen 49:1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
Gen 49:2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
Gen 49:3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
Gen 49:4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
Gen 49:5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
Gen 49:6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
Gen 49:7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
Gen 49:8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee.
Gen 49:9 Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
Gen 49:10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
Gen 49:11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass’s colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
Gen 49:12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
Gen 49:13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
Gen 49:14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
Gen 49:15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
Gen 49:16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
Gen 49:17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Gen 49:18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
Gen 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
Gen 49:20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
Gen 49:21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
Gen 49:22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
Gen 49:23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
Gen 49:24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
Gen 49:25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
Gen 49:26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
Gen 49:27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.

All of these prophesies are important, but for the purpose of this blog I highlighted the blessing (prophesy) on Israel’s son Judah, the son whose descendants include, King David, Solomon, Mary and Jesus. Judah’s sons are the tribe of Judah and are referred to as Jews. “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law giver from between his feet until Shiloh comes”. The tribe of Judah has been the keeper of the law, even to this day, and Jesus holds the sceptre in his hand.

Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
Rev 19:12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
Rev 19:13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
Rev 19:14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Rev 19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
Rev 19:16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.

The other sons of Israel are still part of the whole house of Israel, even though the kingdom divided from civil war after Solomon was king. The Northern Kingdom was called The House of Israel and the Southern Kingdom, the House of Judah. It is important to note that Joseph passed his first born status to his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh. Sometimes the Northern kingdom is referred to as the House of Ephraim. Israel said of Manasseh, “but truly his younger brother [Ephraim] shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations“. Both the House of Israel and The House of Judah disappointed God greatly due to their disobedience and following after gods of other nations. God divorces the House of Israel, they get dispersed by the conquering Assyria, and Judah is conquered by Babylon a while later fulfilling the prophecy Moses gave hundreds of years before.

Deu 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
Deu 4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
Deu 4:25 When thou shalt beget children, and children’s children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
Deu 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.
Deu 4:27 And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.
Deu 4:28 And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men’s hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.
Deu 4:29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
Deu 4:30 When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;
Deu 4:31 (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.

Jer 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.

God, יהוה, will bring these twelve tribes back together someday as Jeremiah prophesied.

Jer 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Jer 23:7 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that they shall no more say, The LORD liveth, which brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;
Jer 23:8 But, The LORD liveth, which brought up and which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all countries whither I had driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land.

Isaiah:

Isa 11:10 And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
Isa 11:11 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
Isa 11:12 And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
Isa 11:13 The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim.

Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. Read the parable of the prodigal son seeing the older brother as Judah, and the prodigal son as Ephraim, or the northern kingdom.

Jesus:

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Mat 24:31 And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

The new covenant is with the these two houses, or the northern tribes and southern tribes.

Jer 31:31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
Jer 31:32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.
Jer 31:33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah:

Heb 8:6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.
Heb 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.
Heb 8:8 For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,
Heb 8:9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

The idea of the new covenant isn’t that new. Moses spoke of it.

Deu 30:3 That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.
Deu 30:4 If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:
Deu 30:5 And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.
Deu 30:6 And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Deu 30:7 And the LORD thy God will put all these curses upon thine enemies, and on them that hate thee, which persecuted thee.
Deu 30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the LORD, and do all his commandments which I command thee this day.

Eze 36:24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
Eze 36:25 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.
Eze 36:26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
Eze 36:28 And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

The first place we see a congregation, (or church), is when the children of Israel were still in Egypt right before the first Passover.

Exo 12:3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:

The word used here that gets translated to congregation is Strong’s H5712, meaning assembly, congregation, family etc.

H5712 (Strong)
עֵדָה
‛êdâh
ay-daw’
Feminine of H5707 in the original sense of fixture; a stated assemblage (specifically a concourse, or generally a family or crowd): – assembly, company, congregation, multitude, people, swarm.

Congregation in the New Testament context is Strong’s G1577, which was similar, but as it evolved into the word Church, the definition took on new meanings.

ekklēsia
Thayer Definition:
1) a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
1a) an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating
1b) the assembly of the Israelites
1c) any gathering or throng of men assembled by chance, tumultuously
1d) in a Christian sense
1d1) an assembly of Christians gathered for worship in a religious meeting

When the first century writers were talking about the ekklēssia, there were no large cathedrals, no Vatican, and no sign of the 40,000 plus denominations there are today.

The first congregational meeting of Israel happened when they were ready to leave Egypt at Passover. One of the next important meetings of the congregation of Israel was in the third month at mount Horeb when God, יהוה, met them face to face to give them the Ten Commandments.

Exo 20:1 And God spake all these words, saying,
Exo 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;
Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.
Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.
Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.
Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.
Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s.
Exo 20:18 And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off.
Exo 20:19 And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
Exo 20:20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not.
Exo 20:21 And the people stood afar off, and Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.

And in the third month from the children of Yashar’el’s departure from Mitsrayim, on the sixth day thereof, YAHUAH gave to Yashar’el the Ten Devariym on Mount Ciynai. And all Yashar’el heard all these commandments, and all Yashar’el rejoiced exceedingly in YAHUAH on that day. And the glory of YAHUAH rested upon Mount Ciynai, and he called to Mosheh, and Mosheh came in the midst of a cloud and ascended the mountain. YASHAR (JASHER) 82:6-8 את CEPHER

It is interesting that the third month is the time of the feast of Shavuot. The book of Jasher, an extra biblical text, has the meeting of the congregation with God happening on the sixth day of the third month. This coincides with the Holy Spirit being given on the feast of Shavuot or Pentecost in Acts.

Dispensationalism is a theology that started in England in the early 19th century. John Nelson Darby is given credit for being the father of dispensationalism. This system believes the church is separate from Israel, and they have two different roles or destinies. This is an over simplification of dispensational theology, but the purpose here is to bring it to light, and for you to know it is what you are subscribing to in most evangelical churches today. Whether good or bad, you should be able to study it and compare it to the Word. Sometimes it is hard to know you are in a dispensational belief system because no one ever will ever tell you “our church follows a dispensational theology model derived from a C.I. Scofield Bible commentary”. In some forms of dispensational theology, it is said that the “church” was not seen by the Old Testament prophets, and God, יהוה, had to readjust his plan when the Jewish people did not accept Jesus as Messiah. According to Amos, this is a problem.

Amo 3:6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
Amo 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

Another premise of dispensational theology is that the “church” is a specific age where only certain things apply to the people of the church age. So, in some forms, when Jesus says to follow the commandments, dispensationalism will say that just applies to the Jewish people before the death and resurrection of Jesus. Here are some words of Jesus:

Mat 5:18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Mat 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

On a side note, jots and tittles are the little pieces of the Hebrew script that distinguish one letter from another. For example, here is a dalet, ד, and here is a resh, ר. The top line of the dalet extends beyond the perpendicular line where the resh doesn’t. That is a tittle.

Once you get to the end times, if you take a verse like the following:

Rev 14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

Dispensationalism will say the saints referred to in this verse must be the Jewish people “left behind” for Jacob’s trouble, because the “church” was removed from the earth earlier. It is also interesting that in Judaism there is the following of the commandments, but no faith in Jesus, and the church has faith in Jesus, but very little commandment keeping. So who are these who both keep the commandments of יהוה, and have faith in Jesus?

The concept that there are two bodies of believers would be foreign thinking to first century followers of Jesus.

Gal 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.
Gal 3:29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Rom 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and became a sharer of the root and the fatness of the olive tree with them,
Rom 11:18 do not boast against the branches. But if you boast, it is not you that bears the root, but the root bears you.
Rom 11:19 You will say then, The branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.
Rom 11:20 Well, because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be high-minded, but fear.
Rom 11:21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, fear lest He also may not spare you either!

Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, the nations, in time past were in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands;
Eph 2:12 and that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.
Eph 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus you who were once afar off are made near by the blood of Christ.
Eph 2:14 For He is our peace, He making us both one, and He has broken down the middle wall of partition between us,
Eph 2:15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity (the Law of commandments contained in ordinances) so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, making peace between them;
Eph 2:16 and so that He might reconcile both to God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity in Himself.
Eph 2:17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to those who were near.
Eph 2:18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God,
Eph 2:20 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone,
Eph 2:21 in whom every building having been fitly framed together, grows into a holy sanctuary in the Lord;
Eph 2:22 in whom you also are built together for a dwelling place of God through the Spirit.

So, if we are grafted in to the cultivated tree, and adopted into the Commonwealth of Israel, it is hard to hold on to the idea of a separate “church” and Israel.

Another belief system to look at is replacement theology. This is where the “church” was said to have replaced Israel. It was a popular Middle Ages theology that you can read about. The scriptures we just looked at clearly state, we that are from the nations can be grafted into Israel, the cultivated tree, not start a new tree.

Covenant theology is another belief system competing with dispensational theology. Unlike dispensational theology, Covenant theology does not separate the “church” and Israel, much like Commonwealth theology, yet it is still distinct.

James, the half brother of Jesus, (whose real name is Jacob), understood the balance between faith and works. This is one of the main points all of the various theologies are trying to define.

Jas 2:14 My brothers, what profit is it if a man says he has faith and does not have works? Can faith save him?
Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food,
Jas 2:16 and if one of you says to them, Go in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them those things which are needful to the body, what good is it?
Jas 2:17 Even so, if it does not have works, faith is dead, being by itself.
Jas 2:18 But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works. Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith from my works.

Lev 25:35 And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee.
Lev 25:36 Take thou no usury of him, or increase: but fear thy God; that thy brother may live with thee.

Paul spends a lot of his time trying to explain works without faith is worthless. Yet many twist Paul’s explanations into a lawless gospel, just as Peter warned us.

2Pe 3:14 Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.
2Pe 3:15 And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him,
2Pe 3:16 as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.
2Pe 3:17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability.
2Pe 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Both Paul and James knew that we are justified through faith in Jesus with the fruits of our faith being demonstrated in our obedience to the commandments of God, יהוה.

1Jn 5:1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him.
1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

There is a lot of material explaining all these forms of theology readily available. I recommend figuring out which you are a part of, (hint: probably dispensationalism), and learning what it is all about. Once you realize there are other methods to interpret the Bible, you can compare these theologies, asking God, יהוה, to help you understand which one best represents scripture.