If you read my last posting regarding our experiences with the Jehovah’s Witnesses, you will have heard discussion about my experiences with three Jehovah’s Witnesses last month. It had been several years since I’d last had any contact with a Jehovah’s Witness and having now met with some of their representatives, I found their doctrines, teachings, and beliefs to be quite disturbing.
Now I’m not coming at this from the perspective that because the JWs belief system doesn’t align with my belief system, I label them a cult as this has for centuries been the common knee-jerk and uncaring practice of popular churchianity. Indeed, as I’ve mentioned in other episodes, we as individual humans are on individual journeys and it falls upon each of us to make the most informed decision we possibly can regarding our eternal destiny. Heck, I’m certain that many in popular churchianity and possibly the JWs even, would consider us to be part of or even leading a cult. And if that is indeed the case, I’m okay with that. You see, history is replete with examples of humans feeling more at ease and secure when they are associated with a majority or well defined and established group. Popular Christianity, or as I like to refer to it, churchianity, is no exception. But then, where did this practice of abhorring and villainizing faiths that differ from orthodoxy come from? Weren’t we all taught at one time that the Christian religion was a religion of love and understanding?
Well, as the Faith once delivered devolved to a composite of Jewish, Greek, and Roman philosophies and traditions, and the 3rd and 4th century leaders saw the opportunity to bring unto themselves wealth and influence over the masses, the religion that became the Holy Roman Catholic Church took expansive actions to insure that all peoples within their sphere of influence would capitulate to their faith. Free will to determine what one believed or followed in their choice of religion was removed as a life option. Failure to affiliate with the Catholic Church in many cases meant death, if not at the very least loss of one’s ability to make a living for themselves and their families. As the Catholic Church split as a result of Martin Luther’s opposition to papal authority, the emerging protestant reform saw a new aspect of judgmental self-righteousness take center stage, although not to the extent that Catholicism’s bloody history portrayed to the world during the period of the 4th to the 15th centuries. Protestantism came on the world scene with seemingly the same Godly sentiments that was common to the Faith once delivered, but continued to carry much of the paganistic baggage of Catholicism–e.g., the observance of Sunday and the designated day of worship; the celebration of Christmas and Easter. As orthodox Christianity devolved over time to its current state of churchianity (i.e., the faith that is taught to the adherents of orthodox Christianity by its modern and happy-go-lucky and hip teachers and preachers–that your eternal destiny rests with your involvement in the church and not in you and Yeshua alone or better yet, the practice of churching its members), belief in God and Jesus Christ became codified in sound-bites and denominational “Statements of Beliefs or Faiths.” Thus, if one does not personally identify with the stated beliefs of the mainstream denominations but you practice a form of religion that possesses elements of Christianity, you and your affiliate organization are generally labeled a heretic or a cult. Of course, the label cult brings with it very negative connotations as memories of David Koresh’s Branch Dividian and Jim Jones’ “Peoples Temple” are brought front and center to the discussion. These two leaders along with their organizations came to a tragic and violent end, generally because their extreme belief-systems clouded their ability to think and behave rationally; not to mention their undying loyalty and faith in their leaders further stoked the flames of their destruction.
Organizations such as the Branch Dividian and the Peoples Temple are inherently dangerous because they tend to isolate their adherents from the rest of the world and essentially indoctrinate them to the level of brainwashing in to the beliefs of the organizations’ leaders. Certainly, living in America, we are blessed to have so-called freedom of religion and speech and I believe with my whole heart in those rights. I do take exception when I see seemingly genuine and well-intentioned souls as those who visited Hilary and me last month being led astray by an organization who should know better and who do not leave their members to learn for themselves the truths contained in the Holy Writ. I do not look down upon the JWs nor do I group them in with sects such as the Branch Dividians or the Peoples’ Temple. Nevertheless, my heart does go out to them and I pray that those members who visited our home last month, and others like them, are able to seek the face of Yehovah for themselves and take personal responsibility for their eternal destiny. I pray that they establish a one-on-one relationship with Yeshua and not rely upon their organization to provide such a nebulous relationship.
This brings me to the issue at hand. One of the things that came out of our rather contentious meeting with the JWs was this understanding that Christianity (including the JWs) is built upon the teachings of Paul with just a sprinkling of Jesus here and there for taste. Devoid altogether was any notion that the elemental faith that our respective belief systems sprung from is built upon Hebraic roots–specifically having a Torah foundation. Bear in mind that I said Hebraic roots and not Judaism. I fully believe that Judaism is a religion in the strictest sense of the word like the religions of Catholicism and Islam. Yet the Catholicism and Islam religions of today have not abandoned their roots nor denied their respective histories. Christianity and the JWs, on the other hand, with embarrassment totally denied their Hebraic roots and Israelite foundations. These groups have sought to teach their adherents a doctrine that villainizes the Torah and the ancient and present day nation of Israel. The leader of the group contended that the Israelites and the Jews had their chance and now they are doomed. We, the Christians of today, have effectively taken the Israelite’s place in the promises of the Father that He once bestowed upon His chosen people. Consequently, the future, according to this JW, holds no redemption or even significance for neither the nation of Israel nor the Israelitish peoples of the earth. Game over for God’s once chosen people.
But is this indeed the case?
I look back to the Prophet Jeremiah who predicted through the guidance and revelation of Yah’s Holy Spirit:
ESV Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. 20 Can man make for himself gods? Such are not gods!” 21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that my name is the LORD.” (Jer 16:19-21 ESV)
We know from God’s appointed prophets that Israel will come to their senses and will return to the covenant they once had with Yehovah and thus enjoy the promises that we, the true Believers in Messiah embrace with love and great passion. Indeed, something will provoke the Jewish and Israelitish peoples of the earth to jealousy and come to Yehovah in Spirit and Truth.
CJB Romans 11:11 “In that case, I say, isn’t it that they have stumbled with the result that they have permanently fallen away?” Heaven forbid! Quite the contrary, it is by means of their stumbling that the deliverance has come to the Gentiles, in order to provoke them to jealousy. (Rom 11:11 CJB) Continuing to verse 14: CJB Romans 11:14 in the hope that somehow I may provoke some of my own people to jealousy and save some of them! (Rom 11:14 CJB)
In the end times, the nation of Israel will come to know Yehovah through Yeshua Hamashiach and thus they will be a light to the nations of the world:
ESV Zechariah 8:23 Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'” (Zec 8:23 ESV)
As pompous and puffed us as we may become in our claims of being the present day chosen ones of God, replacing Israel who dropped the proverbial ball, we must be cognizant that Yah calls the shots. He has never nor will he ever abandon His people to oblivion. When Yehovah calls the peoples of the scattered nations of Israel out of the world, there will be move of the Spirit that will be unprecedented in the history of our Faith. Jew and Israelite will come to a full understanding and acceptance of Yeshua as Messiah and live Torah in the power and might of Ruach HaKodesh. Thus, the root and the ingrafted branch will come together and reign with the Master for a 1000-years.
And if we are so sure that Torah has been done away with like the Israelites of old, what says the Prophet Isaiah on this subject?
CJB Isaiah 2:3 Many peoples will go and say, “Come, let’s go up to the mountain of ADONAI, to the house of the God of Ya’akov! He will teach us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” For out of Tziyon will go forth Torah, the word of ADONAI from Yerushalayim. (Isa 2:3 CJB)
I believe we must resist the lies of hasatan that the Israelites and the Jews and Torah are forever eliminated. Accepting such unbiblical lies will only lead to our ultimate destruction and our inability to be effective witnesses for the Master. Let us pray for our Jewish brothers as well as for those caught in religion–that they will escape the scourge and bondage of religion for the only truth known to the human race and that is the Faith once delivered to the first century saints by Yeshua HaMashiach.
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