Costa Rica Community Update

It has been a long, long time since we have sent out any community updates because very little was happening.

The task to get an Intentional Community up and running is a daunting one indeed, and it has been about two years since we have really tried to put something together. Our last attempt almost succeeded, but we lost the option on the land we had found just as people were starting to show interest.

But now, with the worldwide economic crisis as well as the fact that food you buy commercially is generally not fit for human consumption, as well as many other problems of modern city "life," the need to get a self sustaining community in place has never been more urgent.

This is a preliminary email to let you know that we are reactivating this project and are going to use one or two new approaches.

One of the problems with getting a community up and running is a people problem. Sad to say, personality conflicts and disagreements have caused many community start up efforts in Costa Rica to blow up over the years.

I believe I have a way to nip this problem in the bud before it develops into a monster that could destroy the project before it comes into being, as has happened several times to my personal knowledge alone, and has surely caused hundreds if not thousands of failures in Costa Rica alone.

What we need to do is get together a core group of like minded people who are interested in working with us to build the community of our dreams. Over the years, various screening processes have been kicked around, most of which appeared quite promising, but none of which have ever worked out.

Yet, as the global situation gets more dire by the day, the urgency to get this project moving forward again has never been greater. If we don't get off of our rear ends and do something soon, the world situation will slam the door shut on such opportunities, at least for some time.

What I propose is very simple. We need a small, dedicated, core group to make this work. People who are committed to this dream and are willing to work with each other to bring it about. This core group will help to shape the character, vision, and, in fact, everything about our new home.

The simple idea I have is to invite those of you who are willing and able to relocate to Costa Rica NOW to do so. I propose that those coming down rent a house or apartment within a short distance of my location, so that we can have dinners, planning sessions, get togethers, and other social functions several times per week.

We need to get to know each other and get used to working with each other NOW, before the community is born, because, if we can't do that before the community is born, we most certainly can't do it once we have our new dream home.

Some people won't like other people, and some won't be able to work with and integrate into our group. That is human nature, but it's better to find this out BEFORE you invest your money in the community than to find out AFTER.

In other words, the situation I am proposing is a low impact way to find out if you are comfortable with the group BEFORE you make any real commitments or time or money. If someone doesn't fit in with the group or doesn't like the way things are going, it will be easy to leave and find a group you are more compatible with.

Further, if you understand the MasterMind principal and the Law of Attraction, you will already know that the larger the group we have working towards the same goal, the faster and easier it will be to obtain that goal. I will be writing more on these matters in the coming week, both on our community page and in my Costa Rica blog.

Once we have a group dynamic and have formed a MasterMind, then the Law of Attraction will see to it that we attain our goals. But we must be a group with common interests all working towards the same goals. That is the only way this is going to work.

Some of you reading this message subscribed to our autoresponder some time ago. You don't have to do anything to receive further updates, since you are already on this list. Others will be reading this on my blog or on a newsgroup or forum posting.

If you want to receive all of the updates, you need to subscribe to our autoresponder by entering your information at the bottom of the Community Page at So Ya Wanna Move to Costa Rica.

The url to this page is:

http://soyawannamove.com/costarica/wanna13.shtml

I will be sending out another announcement over the weekend or early next week once that page has been updated. We will also figure out how we want to "get together" to discuss these things.

I am considering using a Skype conference or chat once or twice a week, but if there is a better idea, please let me know by filling out a Helpdesk Ticket at the above website..

I look forward to getting this project moving forward, building our future in harmony with nature and ourselves.

Sincerely,

John Allen

Does It Matter WHICH DAYS We Observe?

Does It Matter WHICH DAYS We Observe?

Some brethren need to WAKE UP from their spiritual laxity and
begin to perform what Jesus commanded!


OUR BAPTIZING tours have discovered a dreadful spiritual
condition among some brethren. They have found, for example,
that some have been carelessly neglecting Jesus' passover
command: "DO this in remembrance of Me."
Some admitted they just "forgot" about the passover service.
Others insisted they did not know where to purchase wine!
Brethren! IF, INDEED SOME OF YOU ARE BRETHREN, THIS MUST NOT
BE!
THINK of it! Some of you have supposedly ACCEPTED THE BLOOD
OF JESUS CHRIST -- His PERFECT, Holy, Righteous Self, in YOUR
stead! You have asked your Heavenly Father to apply the
sacrifice of THAT perfect Life to blot out YOUR SINS!
WHAT AN INEXCUSABLE, UNTHINKABLE, HEEDLESS, CARELESS,
UNGRATEFUL ACT -- to IGNORE the command of YOUR SAVIOUR to
observe the commemoration of the SHEDDING of that precious blood!
You who have done such a thing, I sternly REBUKE with the very
indignation of Almighty God, and in the name of the Jesus Christ
you have been FORGETTING!
Don't carelessly say: "I don't see as it makes any difference
whether I observe these days"!

It Does Make a Difference!

Brethren, it does make a difference! YOUR ETERNAL DESTINY
depends on it! You are soon -- very soon -- going to stand
before the judgment bar of Christ. Then you won't carelessly
say: "I do not think it makes much difference"; or, "Here is the
way I look at my situation."
It does not matter how YOU look at it, or what you think. God
says it makes a difference WITH HIM! You can't treat His Son
with disrespect and get away with it! There is a way that seems
right to a man -- to some of YOU but the end result are the ways
of DEATH (Proverbs 14:12).
You will be judged by what God says -- not by what you think!
But neglect of the passover service is not the only cause of
spiritual lack. Many more of you have been neglecting to attend
the Feast of Tabernacles. Some living no more than 250 miles from
the Tabernacle grounds claim "it is too far to go" -- or they
just did not have the money."
These typical excuses are NOT valid reasons. The only reason
some of you do not have sufficient money is that you have failed
to save your second tithe -- you have been disobedient! And as
for distance -- there is no distance too great to keep you from
the feast IF YOU WANT TO COME. Some brethren travel 2500 miles
each way to attend!
The real reason why some of you have not been coming is that
you are ashamed of your spiritual condition -- your smoking
habits you haven't overcome -- your other problems. Brethren,
that is just the reason you NEED the Feast of Tabernacles! You
cannot afford to miss it!
I met one man last year at the feast whom I had not seen for
six years! He confessed to me: "I HAD TO COME. I FOUND MYSELF
DRIFTING -- I knew I could not continue that any longer. So I am
here and will continue to be here henceforth."
Yes, it does make a difference!

A New Testament Command

The Church of God today is a New Testament Church. Its Head,
Jesus Christ, preached the New Testament gospel. Nowhere did
Jesus during His entire New Testament ministry ever observe the
temporary customs of the law of Moses.
Christ never once offered an animal sacrifice. Yet Christ
kept the sabbath and the annual festivals -- and we shall see He
commanded us to do the same.
Jesus kept the feast of Tabernacles (John 7:2, 10, 14, 37).
He set us an example that we should follow His steps! The
apostle John was inspired to write: "He that saith he abideth in
him (Jesus Christ) ought himself also so to walk, even as he
(Christ) walked" (I John 2:6).
Are we walking as Christ walked? Are we doing the things
Christ commanded?
Jesus commanded His apostles to teach their converts "to
observe ALL THINGS WHATSOEVER I HAVE COMMANDED You" (Matthew
28:20). You have been taught these things. But it seems some
have carelessly neglected to HEED that teaching!
The apostle Paul commanded Christians to follow him as he
followed Christ. What was Paul's example?
Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, not only observed the
sabbath and the annual festivals, BUT COMMANDED HIS CONVERTS TO
DO THE SAME! It is in your New Testament!
So the sabbath and the annual Holy Days were not done away
with after all. Of course! They originated before the law of
Moses -- and they now continue long after the law of Moses ceased
to be binding.
But notice the examples of Scripture. Notice the inspired New
Testament practice of God's Church. Notice why we do these
things today!

The New Testament PROOF

In I Corinthians 5:7-8 we have a New Testament command to a
church predominantly of Gentile origin. Notice Paul's
instruction! "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be
a new lump ..." Why? Why put out leaven, the type of sin?
"For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us." Sin has
been paid for. Christ paid for and conquered sin in the flesh!
Therefore let us keep sin from recapturing us. Let us keep sin
out of our lives! How? By what annual reminder? Here is the
apostle's answer:
"THEREFORE LET US KEEP THE FEAST, not with old leaven" -- put
away leaven out of your houses each feast -- not only the
physical leaven and leavening agents, but also "the leaven of
malice and wickedness" and keep the feast "with the unleavened
bread of sincerity and truth."
No Easter here. No Lent here. But instead the New Testament
passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.
In I Corinthians 11:18-34 the apostle had to explain in detail
how to keep the passover in the local congregation.
To these same Gentile converts at Corinth Paul writes: "For I
will not see you now by the way; but I trust to remain a while
with you, if the Lord permit. But I will remain at Ephesus until
Pentecost" (I Cor. 16:7-8). No Hallowe'en here -- or Christmas
or Whitsunday! But what do we find? The feast of Pentecost --
and in the predominantly Gentile city of Ephesus!
That should not surprise us. Fifty-four days after everything
that was nailed to the cross was abolished the disciples and
apostles were assembled to keep the day of Pentecost! Notice
Acts 2:1, "And when the day of Pentecost" -- one of the annual
festivals God ordained, not some pagan feast -- "... when the day
of Pentecost was being fulfilled, all were together in the one
place" (Panin trans.).
Here again is the New Testament example. What could be
plainer!
Now turn to Acts 20:6. "And we" -- Luke and those with him --
"sailed away from Philippi" -- a Gentile city -- "after the days
of unleavened bread ..." Notice. Luke did not sail after Easter
or some other pagan holiday. They sailed away after they had
marked the days of unleavened bread!

Example of the Colossian Church

Did you know that your New Testament reveals the Gentile
converts at Colosse were keeping the annual sabbaths, were
following God's calendar, and rested each weekly sabbath? It is
there and yet you probably have never noticed it! The very
scripture most often quoted against these days is, in fact, the
strongest proof they were being kept!
These Gentile converts, like the Thessalonians, "became
followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ
Jesus" (I Thess. 2:14). The churches of God in Judaea kept these
days. They followed the example of the Headquarters church in
Jerusalem. And the scattered churches of God in the Gentile
world followed their example!
Notice Paul's commendation of the converts at Colosse. "For
though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit,
joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your
faith in Christ" (Col. 2:5). Paul had never seen or visited with
these converts. The local church had been raised up by one of
Paul's evangelists. The apostle Paul had received a glowing
report of the church. The Church of God at Colosse was following
Christ -- doing the things He did, keeping the days He kept.
They had ceased their pagan customs. They had quit their heathen
practices. "And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in
your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he (Christ) reconciled in
the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable ... if ye continue in the faith grounded and settled,
and be nor moved away from the hope of the gospel ..." (Col.
1:21-23).
These Gentile converts, verse 27, had been called out of the
world -- called to separate from the traditions of the world --
but they still lived in a world steeped with pagan superstition
and custom. They were under pressure from their neighbors to
give up their new-found faith. Their Gentile neighbors did not
like them taking up with Biblical practices. They did not want
any "Jewish practices" developing in their community! They wanted
everybody to continue with the traditions and doctrines of the
pagan philosophers, whom the world respected. They weren't about
to have their pagan holidays replaced by God's holy days, or
their sunworship rites superseded by the weekly sabbath, or the
pagan Roman calendar replaced by God's calendar.

Gentile Colossians Were Ascetic

Colosse was a very ascetic community. The people there did
not believe in enjoying pleasure. They believed in a religion of
severity. They believed in rigidly suppressing the body "in
order to purify the soul." They thought that any indulgence of
the senses was wrong. They fasted often, punished themselves,
were vegetarians in part, refused to eat those clean meats God
created for us, and thought drinking wine was terrible!
To keep everybody "in line" they brought social pressure, and
instituted local "blue laws" to keep the preaching of the gospel
from spreading. (See "The Church in the Roman Empire Before A.D.
170," by W. M. Ramsay, Chapter X.) These pagan beliefs were
commonly known to the heathen by the name "philosophy." Paul
used this very word in Colossians 2:8: "Beware lest any man spoil
you through PHILOSOPHY and vain deceit, after the tradition of
men, after the rudiments (or basic concepts) of the world, and
not after Christ."
Philosophy was the doctrine that you could pay for your own
sins by denying yourself the pleasures of the body. It was a
pagan doctrine which denied the need of a Saviour. It was called
philosophy because the pagan PHILOSOPHERS were responsible for
its introduction. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, among others,
taught that the soul was immortal, that the body was a prison
house, that the soul could be released from this prison house of
flesh only if it were purified from any desires of the flesh.
The early Catholic writers used this same expression in their
day to mean asceticism. "It was very common ... to call an
ascetic mode of life 'philosophical,' or 'the life of a
philosopher.' ... The growing sentiment had its roots partly in
the prevailing ideas of CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY, which
instinctively emphasized strongly the dualism of spirit and
matter, and the necessity of subduing the latter to the former,
and partly in the increasing moral corruptness of society." "The
Neo-Platonic philosophy of the times, through its doctrine of the
purification of the soul by its liberation from the body or
sensuous things, taught celibacy and ascetic practices
generally." (From pp. 252 and 546 of "Nicene and Post-Nicene
Fathers of the Christian Church," second series, edited by Schaff
and Wace.)
Those who followed this philosophy were stern ascetics. They
were the opposite of many other Gentiles who loved pleasure and
indulged in the sins of the flesh, whose motto was "Let us eat
and drink, for tomorrow we die."
Not so the Grecian Gentiles at Colosse. They severely judged
their Christian neighbors for the least infraction of ascetic
behavior. They did not like to see the Christians freely eating
meat good for food, or drinking moderately, or keeping the
sabbath and the annual festivals. That is why Paul wrote; "Let
no man therefore judge you for eating or drinking, or in
connection with the observance of an holyday, or of the new moon,
or of the sabbath days" (Col. 2:16, margin).
Here were Gentile converts, judged by relatives and neighbors,
for doing the things Jesus did, Gentiles being judged for their
part in the celebration of festivals commanded to be observed
forever. Here were Gentiles judged for keeping holy the days God
made holy! And yet this verse has been cleverly quoted by the
churches to make it say the exact opposite of what it does say.
It is time we noticed what this chapter really says. It is time
we see for ourselves the meaning of this scripture, and quit
taking for granted what it nowhere says!

Not Law of Moses

Probably most of us have taken for granted for years that Paul
is writing about the law of Moses in Colossians that the newly
converted Gentiles there were being led into "Judaism." This is
absolutely untrue! There is not one indication that there were
any Jews attempting to lead Christians into Judaism. (See the
plain admission of this in the Introduction to Colossians in the
"International Critical Commentary.")
Paul DOES indeed speak of Judaism in Galatians and Romans, but
not here in the book of Colossians. Notice with your own eyes the
startling proof here revealed -- proof that the converted Gentile
Colossians were being judged by their heathen neighbors FOR
KEEPING THE DAYS GOD MADE HOLY!
Consider verse 8 again. "Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit -- it does NOT say the law of Moses.
It does speak of pagans who adhered to "philosophy."
Continuing: "after the rudiments (fundamental beliefs) OF THE
WORLD, and not after Christ." The evil doctrines Paul is
condemning were OF THE WORLD. The world then was a GENTILE
world. It was a pagan Roman world, filled with foolish and vain
traditions. The Jews prided themselves on being racially
separate from the world. The Jews thought themselves superior to
the sinful Gentile world. So these traditions were Gentile
traditions which Paul warns us to beware of!
Now verses 9 and on: "For in him (Christ) dwelleth all the
fullness of the Godhead bodily." God dwelt in Christ, not in the
philosophers. "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of
all principality and power." We are made perfect in Christ, not
through asceticism and human traditions. Christ is the Head over
all. He is the One we must look to, not to the highly vaunted
philosophers.
"In whom (Christ) also ye are circumcised with the
circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the
sins of the flesh by the circumcision or Christ" (verse 10).
Paul elsewhere reveals we are to be circumcised in the heart"
(Romans 2:29).
Christ conquered sin in the flesh. If we surrender ourselves
to Christ, He will enter into us through His Holy Spirit and
clean us up, conquer our sins -- circumcise our hearts or minds
spiritually. Physical circumcision involves cutting away a tiny
portion of flesh, but Christ circumcises the WHOLE BODY which is
full of sin. He enables us to completely cut away sin out of our
lives -- enables us to bury all our past sins in the waters of
baptism, as you read in Col. 2:12: "Buried with him in baptism,
wherein also we are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God" -- faith in God's ability to supply us with the
Holy Spirit and raise us from a dead past to new life just as He
"hath raised him (Christ) from the dead."

Sin, Not Law, Blotted Out

"And you," Paul continues, "being dead in your sins and the
UNCIRCUMCISION OF YOUR FLESH" -- these people were, prior to
conversion, uncircumcised Gentiles -- "hath he (the Father)
quickened together with him (Christ), having forgiven you all
trespasses.
God forgives sin. These Gentile converts had sinned. They
had been following the foul, heathenish practices of the world
about them. They had been trying to pay for their own hurt
consciences by penance, by ascetism. But always they had their
past to live with. No matter what they gave up or denied
themselves, their consciences continued to plague them. They
still weren't forgiven.
NOW things were different. They had really been forgiven.
They were no longer bound to their past sins. They had no longer
the guilt of following human customs, human ordinances, human
decrees and vanity. Their sins had been blotted out; Christ had
taken them away. Every truly converted person knows what a
relief it is to have his sins BLOTTED OUT forever, never to
reappear in the judgment. And it was all accomplished by Christ
who "bare our sins in his own body on the tree" (I Peter 2:24).

What Was Nailed to the Cross?

Notice that CHRIST was nailed to the cross. HE bore our SINS.
When He shed His blood from the cross in our stead, He thereby
blotted out all our sins by paying for them in full with His own
life. It is SIN which was blotted out. Notice Acts 3:19, "that
your SINS may be BLOTTED OUT." "Have mercy upon me, cried David,
"blot out my TRANSGRESSIONS ... Hide thy face from my SINS, and
BLOT OUT all mine INIQUITIES" (Psalm 51:1,9).
Turn now to II Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad." Are your bad deeds covered by the
blood of Christ? Are the SINS WHICH STOOD AGAINST YOU blotted
out?
Next, read Revelation 20:12. Here is what happens in the
final judgment. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God; and the books were opened ... and the dead were
judged out of those things which were WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS,
ACCORDING TO THEIR WORKS."
The record of your past sins stands at this moment AGAINST YOU
-- unless Christ's blood covers them, blots them out. Christ
died to blot our the written record of your and my guilty past.
The record of our past sins has been figuratively nailed to the
cross, taken out of the way.
Now we all can better understand Colossians 2:14. Notice this
verse as it stands in the King James Version. "Blotting our the
handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary
to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross."
Haven't you assumed this verse to mean God's law? -- some
assume the ten commandments, others the law of Moses. But look
at the verse again.
What is blotted out? SIN! It does not say "the ten
commandments." It does not read "law of Moses," or "works of the
law." It reads "handwriting of ordinances."
What "ordinances" were these?

Sinful Pagan Customs

Let the Bible answer. Paul tells us in verses 20 to 23 of
this same chapter!
"Wherefore if ye" -- the Gentile converts -- "be dead with
Christ from the rudiments (fundamental principles or ideas) of
the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to
ORDINANCES" (verse 20). ORDINANCES! Notice it. But which
ordinances? Notice the answer in the next verse: "(Touch not;
taste not; handle not; which are all to perish with the using;)
AFTER THE COMMANDMENTS AND DOCTRINES OF MEN?"
There you are! They were human traditions! Ways of sin!
Continuing:
"Which things have indeed a shew of wisdom in WILL WORSHIP" --
pagan asceticism -- "and humility, and neglecting of the body" --
appearing outwardly humble and self-denying, but inwardly
self-righteous -- "BUT ARE OF NO VALUE AGAINST INDULGENCE OF THE
FLESH" (last part from Panin trans.).
Did you catch it? These evil practices were pagan ordinances,
or customs of men -- based on the commandments and doctrines of
pagan speculative philosophy. They were HEATHEN ordinances,
HEATHEN customs forbidding people from touching, tasting and
handling those things God allows. We see the same customs today:
don't dance, don't drink, etc. in pseudo-Christianity today!
Those heathen Gentiles at Colosse did not want THE
RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD. They wanted THEIR OWN righteousness.
"Don't eat this! Don't drink that! Don't touch something else."
In other words, a pagan religion of "don'ts!"
So the original inspired Greek for "handwriting of ordinances"
is not even referring to Moses' laws! In fact this is not a
proper translation! The original Greek reads "cheirographon tois
dogmasin." It does not mean a code of laws.
The Greek word for "handwriting" originally referred to "a
note of hand, or writing in which one acknowledges that money has
either been deposited with him or lent to him by another, to be
returned at an appointed time." (From Thayer's "Lexicon.")
It came later to refer to any acknowledgment of debt. We all
owe a spiritual debt to God because of sin. We have all sinned
and must pay that penalty or have Christ pay it for us. That is
the meaning of the word "handwriting" here -- all acknowledgment
of debt. But how was it originally incurred? What did the
Colossians do that brought on that debt of sin? The answer is in
verse 13. What was blotted out were TRESPASSES (verse 13, last
part) incurred through following SINFUL ORDINANCES, believing
LYING DOGMAS -- like the doctrine of the immortality of the soul
which was at the root of pagan asceticism!
Nothing is said here about any "law of Moses." Those Gentiles
had never heard of or kept THAT law!
So the written record of SINS which were blotted out involved
the frightful practice of evil pagan ordinances for which Christ
paid the penalty and God forgave us.

How Colossians OBEYED

The Colossians had been taught the gospel. They obeyed it.
They were doing the things Christ did. Christ was living His
life in them as they yielded to Him. They were being knit
together in love (Col. 2:2). Love is the FULFILLMENT OF THE LAW
(Romans 13:10). The Colossians were KEEPING God's law. Like
other Gentiles they had not heard of God's law before it was
preached to them. (See Romans 2:12,13.) They did not know the
way of love. But now they not only knew it, they were practicing
it!
They were no longer ascetics, trying to conquer the flesh by
themselves. They were conquering themselves through the Holy
Spirit. But God gives His Holy Spirit only to those "who OBEY
Him" (Acts 5:32). Because the Colossian Christians were obeying
God, it made their neighbors feel self-condemned and inferior.
Their neighbors began sitting in judgment of them -- condemning
them -- for following the ways of Christ which they had newly
learned. And what were these Christians being judged for?
Notice it! It was not for keeping Christmas and Easter and
Sunday -- pagan holidays, not for abstinence from certain foods
and alcohol! No indeed! But -- notice it:
"Let no man therefore judge you in eating and drinking"
(margin) -- the Colossians were no longer ascetics -- or in
connection with the observance of an holyday, or of the new moon,
or of the sabbaths."
That is what they were being judged for -- "in connection with
the observance" (as Moffatt translates it) -- of God's festivals,
His calendar measured by the new moon, and the sabbath!
The once-pagan Colossians never kept these days before! They
were heathen prior to conversion. Now that they had learned the
gospel, they were keeping holy the days God made holy. And Paul
is warning them not to return to or be influenced by their old
pagan ways -- the ways of their relatives and neighbors who hated
God's law and His festivals.
For years most of us have taken for granted that these verses
in Colossians were speaking of the law of Moses and rituals and
sacrifices. They are not! There is nothing here about the
ceremonial law -- about animal sacrifices and drink offerings.
The original Greek is "en broosei" and "en posei" and means
"in eating and in drinking." It does not mean meat and drink
offerings. Every competent scholar acknowledges this to be true
-- yet they ASSUME it does not mean eating and drinking but
sacrificial rituals!
No, these verses are speaking of the Christian liberty to
enjoy life! Jesus came eating and drinking (Matthew 11:19 and
Luke 7:34). Jesus set us the example. He was no ascetic! And
neither were the Colossian Christians any longer! They were
daily enjoying the Christian life in temperance and self-control,
and especially in connection with each feast, every new month and
the weekly sabbaths!

What Did They Foreshadow?

Now notice verse 17. "Which are shadows of things to come ..."
Or, better translated, "which foreshadow things to come." Did
these scriptural days foreshadow things to come? Indeed!
Does the weekly sabbath foreshadow good things to come?
Indeed it does! Not only is the weekly sabbath a memorial of
creation -- but it also fore-shadows the seventh 1000-years in
which man shall rest from his labors of sin. In speaking of the
SEVENTH DAY OF THE WEEK, in Hebrews 4:4, the apostle Paul goes
right on to show that that day foreshadows God's thousand year
millennial rest. But does that do away with the weekly sabbath?
Not at all! "There REMAINETH therefore THE KEEPING OF A SABBATH
to the people of God (Hebrews 4:9, margin). Sabbathkeeping is a
TEST OF OBEDIENCE. NO one shall enter into an eternal rest
unless he first, here and now, is willing to enter into the rest
of each sabbath, each seventh day of the week. And that is
exactly what the Colossians were doing -- observing the weekly
sabbaths.
In like manner the annual festivals, instituted as MEMORIALS,
also foreshadow the plan of God. They were given to the Church
in order to keep the Church in the knowledge of that plan.
Only one festival has been entirely fulfilled in type -- the
passover. Yet Jesus said that each year we are to celebrate it
again: "DO THIS in remembrance of Me."
Seventh Day Adventists and other groups claim that Colossians
2:16 refers "to annual feasts, new moons, and annual sabbaths" --
not to the weekly sabbaths.
THIS IS NOT TRUE! Whenever the expression "sabbath days" is
used WITH "holy days" and "new moons," the WEEKLY sabbaths are
ALWAYS meant! There is no exception. Read I Chr. 23:31; II Chr.
2:4; 31:3; Ezra 3:5; Neh. 10:33.
All annual holy days ARE annual sabbaths!
Notice that in all these verses the weekly sabbaths are
referred to IN THE PLURAL just as in Colossians 2:16! Col. 2:16
includes BOTH weekly AND annual sabbaths! If it abolishes one,
it abolishes the other. But as it establishes one, SO IT
ESTABLISHES THE OTHER AS NEW TESTAMENT PRACTICE.

The Body of Christ

"Let no man therefore judge you" in these matters, said Paul,
"but (rather) the body OF Christ" (Col. 2:17, last part).
This verse has troubled many. Yet it should not. Notice that
the word "is" in the King James Version is in italics. It does
not appear in the original. The original Greek says only: "the
body of Christ." What is the body of Christ? How does Paul use
this expression in Colossians?
Turn to chapter 1. In verse 18 we find that Christ "is the
Head of the body, THE CHURCH." And in Col. 2:19: "And not holding
the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands [has]
nourishment ministered ..."
The true Church of God is the body of Christ. Just as the
Spirit of God once dwelled in the earthly body of Jesus Christ,
so now the Holy Spirit dwells in each member of the Church and
together we constitute one body, doing the very work Christ did.
We are therefore Christ's body today! And Christ is the Head as
the Husband is the head of the wife (Ephesians 5:23).
No man is to sit in judgment of our Christian conduct, Paul is
declaring in Colossians 2:16-17. Man does not determine how we
should live. But it is the responsibility of the Church -- the
body of Christ -- to determine these matters! The Church is to
teach how to observe the festivals -- to explain the meaning of
self-control, etc. So these little-understood verses ought to be
translated clearly: "Let no man therefore judge you ... but
(rather) let the body of Christ (determine it). Greek scholars
recognize that the first expression "let no man" demands that
there be a subsequent expression which tells who is to do the
judging of the matter!
How plain these verses are. How clear that the Colossians
were keeping holy the time God made holy!
Since the true meaning of the expression "handwriting of
ordinances" according to the Bible is "acknowledgment of guilt
through (following human) dogmas" -- what about the "law of
commandments in ordinances" mentioned in Ephesians 2:15?

Another Common Assumption

Here again people take for granted the Law of God or the
"ceremonial" law of Moses! But it is neither! Notice hurriedly
verses 11-12 of chapter 2: "Wherefore remember, that ye being in
time past Gentiles in the flesh" -- not Jews, notice, but
Gentiles -- "who are called Uncircumcision by that which is
called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that
time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise" -- having
no knowledge of God's covenants and His laws -- "having no hope,
and without God in the world."
But Christ came to bring those far off near to God. How?
Through the blood of Christ (verse 13). Christ reconciled us to
God -- reconciled the Gentile who was far off and the Jew who was
near. This is explained in verse 16: "And that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were
afar off, and to them that were nigh." So we now have access to
God by the Holy Spirit and whether Jew or Gentile are part of the
one body -- the body of Christ!
How did God reconcile us to Himself? Through the sacrifice of
Christ! Christ paid for our sins! He condemned sin in the
flesh. He conquered the carnal mind. "The carnal mind is ENMITY
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither
indeed can be" (Romans 8:7). It was because of the enmity -- the
ill-will, the hatred -- of the natural mind in every human being
that Christ had to die. What stood between all humanity and God
was the natural enmity in every human mind. That is what
separated us from God. "But your iniquities have separated
between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from
you, that He will not hear" (Isaiah 59:2).
It is not the law of God that has separated us from God. It
is the violation of that law -- sin -- that separated us. That
is the meaning of Ephesians 2:14 -- "and hath broken down the
middle wall of partition" Notice that the words "between us" have
been added and are in italics. Granted that there was a physical
wall in the temple which separated the Jews who were "near" to
God from the Gentiles who were "far off," but merely reconciling
Jew with Gentile would not reconcile us with God. It is our
relationship to God that counts! The only wall referred to in
Scripture is the wall that separates man from God. Notice
Ezekiel 43:8. Because of idolatry -- sin, God says "there was a
wall between Me and them" (margin). That wall of sin -- the
natural ENMITY in the human heart and in society is broken down.
Christ paid for it by sacrificing His own life for ours --
"having abolished in his flesh the ENMITY" -- having paid for sin
and making possible the receipt of the Holy Spirit to conquer the
carnality of man, the carnal opposition of society with its ways.
Jesus said, "I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Through
the power of the Spirit in our lives, we, too, can overcome the
world, its customs, its false teachings, its heathen dogmas
masquerading in the name of Christ, the dictates of society!
That is what Christ abolished -- "Having abolished in his flesh
the ENMITY, even the law of commandments in ordinances". Notice
it!
The enmity against God is expressed by commands in the form of
"ordinances" -- "dogmasin," in the Greek -- the very commandments
of men, human tradition, heathen customs, the dictates of
society, which Paul condemned in Colossians. That is what Christ
abolished through His sacrifice. The Gentile Ephesians did not
know the law of God -- they never practiced the law of Moses. It
was their frightful sins which separated them from God.
Now they were reconciled to God, forgiven of their past sin.
They had the Spirit of God to overcome themselves and to overcome
the world around them, with its human traditions, its human
dogmas, its human commandments which were in opposition to God
and to His law! There is certainly not one word here about the
law of Moses or the Ten Commandments being annulled.
Yes, it does make a difference to God whether we obey Him. It
does make a difference which days we keep!
But what about Galatians 4:10 and Romans 14:5-6. What are the
days referred to here?

Esteeming One Day Above Another

Let's notice what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 14:5, 6.
"One MAN esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth
every day alike. Let every man be FULLY PERSUADED in his own
mind" (Romans 14:5, 6).
By taking these verses out of their setting, people make Paul
say something altogether different from what he intended. Does
Paul say to observe Christmas, Easter, Lent, Good Friday, Sunday,
or the Festival of the Assumption of Mary into Heaven?
Does he say here that Jesus by His death did away with the
very days He kept during His whole life?
Does Paul say "GOD esteemeth one day above another" and "GOD
esteemeth every day alike?" NO! The Scripture says "one MAN
esteemeth one day above another." This tells us what certain MEN
thought, not what God says!
We are not to be JUDGED by what MEN think, but by the word of
God! John 12:48 reads: "The WORD that I have spoken, THE SAME
shall judge him in the last day." Jesus is not going to judge
you by what any MAN believes, but by the words He spoke!
Next, notice that these saints at Rome, having differing
opinions, were forbidden to JUDGE ONE ANOTHER as unworthy of
Christ. "Who are you that judges another man's servant? to his
own master he stands or falls. Yes, he shall be helped up: for
GOD IS ABLE TO MAKE HIM STAND" (Rom. 14:4).
Paul is not sanctioning nor condemning any particular periods
of time, but warning the saints not to JUDGE one another and
cause strife for having differing opinions about things THEY DID
NOT YET UNDERSTAND CLEARLY.
The Lord is the Judge of their deeds. "He that regardeth the
day, regardeth it UNTO THE LORD, and he that regardeth not the
day, to the Lord he doth not regard it."
Continuing, "Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind."
Does this give license to believe whatever you want? God
commands: "Lean not unto thine own understanding" (Prov. 3:5).
How are you going to be fully assured in your own mind UNTIL YOU
KNOW WHAT GOD SAYS IN HIS WORD? "The holy scriptures ... are
able to make you wise to salvation," wrote Paul (II Tim. 3:15).
By studying the Word of God to prove all things, and by
holding fast that which is good (I Thess. 5:21), YOU BECOME FULLY
PERSUADED IN YOUR OWN MINDS concerning what GOD says.

Converts at Rome Were Weak

The saints at Rome were weak in the faith, not having acquired
perfect knowledge. Paul says: "For I long to see you, that I may
impart to you some spiritual gift, to the end that you MAY BE
ESTABLISHED" (Rom. 1:11).
It is so plain. Here were new converts at Rome, without a
regular local congregation, still weak in the faith, who were
divided in their regard of certain customs. Paul told them not
to sit in judgment of one another, but to follow peace, because
GOD would judge them, after setting them aright through more
perfect knowledge which Paul was going to preach to them. In the
meantime they were to act in accordance with the best they knew
from GOD'S Word, not MAN'S word.
This did not give them liberty to do as they pleased. They
were to obey what God revealed. It would be sin if they
disobeyed AFTER THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRUTH HAD COME. For to him
that KNOWS to do good and doesn't do it, it is sin (James 4:17;
John 9:41).

What Were These Days?

But what days was Paul referring to?
Let's read these verses in Romans 14 in their setting, rather
than take them out of their context. Notice! Paul is writing to
the saints at Rome, both Jew and Gentile. He admonished them to
receive those who are weak in the faith (Rom. 14:1), not to
dispute with them over unimportant matters and sit in judgment on
them. Some of these recently converted Gentiles, being weak in
the faith, refused to eat meats, subsisting on vegetables mainly.
The reason for this is explained in I Corinthians 8. Most
meat that could be bought had been offered to idols. Therefore
some, with conscience of the idol "ate it as a thing offered unto
an idol; and their conscience being WEAK is defiled. But meat
commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the
better; neither, if we eat not are we the worse" (I Cor. 8:7, 8).
There is the simple answer! Some Gentiles at Rome had been
converted and HAD GIVEN UP IDOLATRY. But they still held
superstitious beliefs in their minds, thinking that the idol was
something REAL.
But why did Paul break into his dissertation -- about eating
meat or refraining from eating it -- and mention "days?"
Notice the answer in the Moffatt translation of this passage:
"Then again, this man rates one day above another, while that
man rates all days alike. Well, everyone must be convinced in
his mind; the man who values a particular day does so to the
Lord. The eater eats to the Lord, since he thanks God for his
food; the non-eater abstains to the Lord, and he too thanks God"
(Rom. 14:5, 6).
Did you catch what Paul wrote? Not only were there weak
converts who were afraid of eating meat offered to idols, but
there were others also who customarily ABSTAINED FROM PARTICULAR
FOODS -- THEY SEMI-FASTED -- ON CERTAIN PARTICULAR DAYS. STILL
OTHERS REFUSED TO PRACTICE A SEMI-FAST OR ABSTAIN FROM FOODS BUT
REGARDED EVERY DAY IN THE SAME WAY.
The whole question surrounded the matter of abstention on
particular days. It is not a question of pagan holidays or God's
Holy Days. It is merely a question of the days upon which many
voluntarily abstained from certain foods.
Jesus said that our fasting should be done before God, and not
to be seen or known of men unnecessarily (Matthew 6:16). But
many Jews and Gentiles both practiced semi-fasts on particular
days of each week or month. The Jews customarily fasted "twice
in the week" -- Monday and Thursday (Luke 18:12). They also
fasted during certain months (Zech. 7:4-7). The Jews were
divided on this matter. The Gentiles also had their divisions
over when to abstain from certain foods. See Hasting's
"Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics."
In God's sight it does not matter when one abstains or fasts
-- but it does matter that we do it with a right heart. Paul was
going to Rome to straighten the brethren out on when and how to
abstain, but for the moment he wanted them to live at peace with
one another.
SO THESE DAYS WEREN'T GOD'S DAYS AFTER ALL!
There is nothing here referring to the Sabbath or the holy
days of God which Paul commanded to be observed by the Gentiles.
But what about Paul's warning to the churches in Galatia
against observing "days, months, times and years"? What were
THESE DAYS against which Paul preached? The answer will probably
stun you!

The Letter to the Galatians

Here is what Paul wrote to the Galatians:
"Howbeit then, WHEN YOU KNEW NOT GOD, YOU DID SERVICE TO THEM
WHICH BY NATURE ARE NO GODS. But now, AFTER you have known God,
HOW TURN YOU BACK AGAIN to the weak and beggarly elements
[Gentile traditions] where-unto you desire AGAIN to be in
bondage? YOU OBSERVE DAYS, AND MONTHS, AND TIMES, AND YEARS" --
(Galatians 4:8-11). I am alarmed about you, he concludes!
What is this that Paul is saying?
Read it again!
Did he say, "Ye observe the Sabbath and annual holy days such
as the Passover, Pentecost and Feast of Tabernacles"? No!
Paul said: "Days and months, and times, and years" --
something altogether different!

What Days Were These!

Notice this entire fourth chapter of Galatians. Paul begins
the chapter by addressing the JEWS -- not Gentiles, but Jews --
who had been enslaved to worldly traditions sinful practices
inherited from the Gentiles since the days of Alexander the
Great's conquest of Palestine.
These worldly traditions, which the apostle called "elements
of the world" (Gal. 4:3), came to be known as Judaism. These
were NOT God's laws, but the "traditions of the elders" (Mark
7:9) -- worldly customs the Jews had adopted. Paul addresses
these Jews as "we," because Paul was also a Jew. He says "we" --
THE JEWS -- were redeemed from "under the law"' -- that is,
redeemed from death -- the penalty of breaking God's spiritual
law. The law had a claim over our lives because of our sins --
because of following human, sinful practices (verse 5).
Beginning with verse 6, PAUL CEASES TO SPEAK TO THE JEWS. Now
he is speaking to the Gentile converts. He does not say "we,"
but "you." Notice it! "Howbeit, then, WHEN YE KNEW NOT GOD" --
remember, THE JEWS KNEW GOD, but the Gentiles had not known God
before the preaching of the gospel! Jesus said to the Gentile
Samaritan woman: "YE" the Gentiles -- "worship ye know not what:
WE" -- the Jews -- "know what we worship for salvation is of the
JEWS" (John 4:22).
Continuing with Gal. 4:8: "When YE knew not God, ye did
service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after
that ye have known God ... how turn YE again unto the weak and
beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire AGAIN to be in bondage?"
These converts to whom Paul is now writing WERE NOT JEWS!
They were Gentiles by birth. These GENTILE converts in times
past did not know God, were cut off from Him (see Eph. 2:12),
"were slaves to gods which were no gods at all." They had been
serving demons and idols, not the Living God. False teachers
were coming among them, perverting the true gospel, beguiling
them to TURN AGAIN TO THEIR FORMER WAYS. Paul was alarmed. They
were departing from the gospel and RETURNING to WHAT? "Days, and
months, and times and years."
Pagan practices! -- doing penance an Christmas, Easter, New
Year's, Sunday!
They couldn't be returning to God's festivals. They never
kept them before Paul preached about them.

What Are "Times"?

Next, turn to Leviticus 19:26 and Deuteronomy 18:10, 14. Here
Moses, according to the command of God, orders the Israelites NOT
TO OBSERVE "TIMES!" This is ABSOLUTE PROOF that the days Paul is
forbidding are pagan and NOT God-given. To observe TIMES
originally was a HEATHEN practice often attached to the heavenly
bodies, especially in determining the pagan calendar and the
heathen religious seasons.
Some today try to make you believe Paul was condemning Jews
for returning to the Sabbath and holy days of God, which they
claim were in the Law of Moses. But the Law of Moses forbade
observance of "times." Paul was writing to GENTILES who wanted to
return to observing penance on the Gentile "days" associated with
"times" -- pagan "times" or "seasons" -- such as the Easter and
Christmas seasons!
The Catholic Bishop Chrysostom, who lived in the fourth
century, admits that these superstitious TIMES which Paul
forbids, were PAGAN CUSTOMS practiced by "Christians" in his day,
as in the days of old. He says: "Many were superstitiously
addicted to divination ... upon them ... In the celebration of
these TIMES [they] set up lamps in the marketplace, and CROWN
THEIR DOORS WITH GARLANDS" -- as is done at Christmas time today!
(From "Bingham's Antiquities of the Christian Church," pp. 1123,
1124).
Besides TIMES, the Greeks observed special DAYS in honor of
the dead. "The rites took place on the ... unlucky DAYS
accompanied by complete idleness and cessation of business" (From
"Rest Days," p. 79). Today several churches celebrate pagan days
in honor of the dead, such as All Souls' Day and All Saints Day
[CALLED Hallowe'en by the world]. These are the heathen days
Paul forbids Christians to observe!
These Gentile Galatians were returning to the custom of doing
penance on the old pagan days -- days which now masquerade under
Christian sounding names!
"Many of the holy days in the religious calendar of
Christendom were BORROWED, as is well known, FROM THE FESTIVALS
OF ANCIENT PAGANISM" ("Rest Days," p. 306).
Paul denounces this vain and abominable practice. We are NOT
TO LEARN the way of the heathen (Jer. 10).
In connection with the old pagan idolatry, WERE NUMEROUS DAYS
OBSERVED AS IDOLATROUS PENITENTIAL FESTIVALS. These days were
consecrated to deities of the state religious cults and were
"UNLUCKY" because of the supposed influence of the gods!
These religious holidays were set aside as periods of penance
because they were "regarded as unsuitable for many purposes, both
public and private: for battles, levies, sacred rites, journeys
and marriages. We are told that they owed their unlucky quality
to the pronouncement of the Senate and pontiffs." (From "Rest
Days" by Webster, p. 171.)
As many as ONE THIRD OF THE DAYS OF the old Greek and Roman
calendars were marked as "unlawful for judicial and political
business ... and ... on which the state expected the citizens to
abstain, as far as possible, from their private business and
labour!"
No wonder Paul spoke of "days!"
And how many "worldly" as well as religious people still have
similar beliefs today! Such as "unlucky" FRIDAY THE THIRTEENTH!
Paul was writing to the Galatians to enlighten their minds so
they would GIVE UP this foolish regard of heathen days.

Other Heathen Holidays

Notice that Paul also condemns the pagan custom of observing
"months and years" -- another pagan custom!
Certain MONTHS of the year were considered sacred to the Greek
gods, Apollo (April, October), Zeus (February, June), Artemas
(April), Bacchus (January) and many others which you can read of
in the "Encyclopedia Americana," article "Festival." God never
commanded His people to commemorate months.
But the world today has adopted the heathen months of the
Roman calendar -- and forgotten God's calendar!
Also certain YEARS were set aside quadrennially and biennially
during which were national idolatrous feasts and the celebration
of the Olympic, Ithmaian, Nemean and Pythian games. Every one of
these was connected with idolatrous worship and ceremony.
Paul was forbidding Gentile converts to return to these
heathen practices.
So, many of the present holidays of Christendom were
celebrated in the heathen world WHEN PAUL AND CHRIST WERE ON
EARTH, but they refused to observe them and commanded the true
Church not to observe them!

It Was Prophesied to Happen!

"Why," it is often asked, "did the Bible not warn us that
pagan holidays would be substituted for the holy days?"
The answer is that THE BIBLE DOES WARN US! It was prophesied
in advance -- over 800 years before Paul warned about it in
Galatians 4:10.
Turn to the book of Hosea. The prophet had a message for the
future -- for our day! Notice: "And I" -- God is quoted by the
prophet -- "will punish her" -- our people today -- "for the
FEAST DAYS OF THE BAALS!"
Sunday, Christmas, Easter, Halloween are feast days of Baal!
What could be plainer! Our people "forgot Me, says the Lord"
-- because they have rejected His holy days. "And in that day"
-- the very near future when Christ intervenes in world affairs
-- "I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they
shall be mentioned by name no more" (Hosea 2:13, 17, RSV) .
How clear! Israel today -- our people -- have adopted the
feast days of Baal. The greatest of church holidays -- Easter --
is named after the wife of Baal or Nimrod. God forbids us to
honor Him by celebrating these Babylonish feasts. God warns:
"Take heed ... that thou inquire not ...`How used these nations
to serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.' THOU SHALT NOT
DO SO UNTO THE LORD THY GOD. For every abomination which He
hateth, have they done unto their gods" (Deut. 12:30-31).
These pagan abominations are forbidden by the apostle Paul in
Galatians. THAT is New Testament teaching!

Misunderstood Texts in the Old Testament

God chose Israel for a special mission they have failed to
perform. He revealed to them His Sabbath as a sign so they would
never forget that He is the Creator. He also gave Israel annual
holy days, MEMORIALS, to commemorate Israel's deliverance from
Egypt -- A PICTURE FOR HIS CHURCH OF THE PLAN OF GOD IN
DELIVERING THE WORLD FROM SIN.
But Israel did not remain faithful to these God-given
festivals! They invented days of their own!
Several chapters are devoted by the prophet Ezekiel to a
CONDEMNATION OF ISRAEL FOR BREAKING THE SABBATHS GOD HAD GIVEN.
Take special note of Ezekiel 20:12-26 and 22:26. The punishment
inflicted upon the House of Israel was for desecrating the
Sabbaths.
What was the extreme evil of Sabbath-breaking? With the
desecration of the Sabbaths, idolatry was a natural consequence,
and Sunday, Christmas and Easter were introduced. THESE pagan
holidays God calls "abominations!"
Some claim there are texts in the Old Testament in which God
says "My" Sabbaths and festivals "I hate." This is not true. God
said: "I hate, I DESPISE your feast days, and ... YOUR solemn
assemblies." Notice it. "YOUR new moons and YOUR appointed
feasts my soul hateth: for they are a trouble unto me" (Amos
5:21; 8:10, Isaiah 1:10-15; Hosea 2:11) .
These were not divine institutions, but MAN-APPOINTED days
observed in Israel. These days God despised.
Ancient Israel did NOT continue to observe the holy days of
God. They refused His judgments and statutes (Ezekiel 20:18).
They copied the heathen idolatrous feasts of surrounding nations.
History proves this fact!
The chronicler of ancient Israel preserved a record of just
such A CHANGE IN THE LAWS of God, WHEN THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
SEPARATED FROM JUDAH.
"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 ... sacrificing unto the calves
that he had made the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in
the month WHICH HE HAD DEVISED OF HIS OWN HEART ..." (I Kings
12:32, 33). This feast is the origin of Hallowe'en!
Thereafter ISRAEL ALTERED THE NEW MOONS AND CHANGED THE SACRED
CALENDAR. They EXCHANGED THE SABBATHS FOR IDOLATROUS DAYS FOR
SUN-WORSHIP -- the rest day was transferred from Saturday to
Sunday. Israel, taking over the feasts of the HEATHEN BAAL --
SUN-WORSHIP turned them into IDOLATROUS rest days according to
the statutes of the kings of Israel (II Kings 17:8).
When the House of Israel is next found in history, as the
nations of Northwestern Europe, they are keeping the day of the
sun! So the Ever-Living God never hated nor abolished His
feasts. But He did hate the different days which Israel
invented!
Now let us continue with the history of the Jews.

Did Judah Remain Faithful?

Consider now what God says about "Jewish" feasts!
Now notice the first chapter of Isaiah. It is addressed in
particular to Judah. Like the ancient people of Sodom and
Gomorrah, the Jews instituted their own appointed feasts and
tampered with the period of the new moon. "YOUR new moons and
YOUR appointed feasts my soul hateth," said the Word of the Lord
(Isaiah 1:14). This was the beginning of what are customarily
called "Jewish feasts." Being instituted BY THE JEWS they were
naturally "Jewish."
But NOTHING is said about the Jews' instituting their own
Sabbath! It is not surprising then, that THE JEWS HAVE PRESERVED
THE RIGHT SABBATH of God to our generation. The house of Israel
(the Democratic nations of the Western World) which did not keep
the seventh day as the Sabbath, has NEVER OBSERVED IT SINCE.
Although the Jews added their own appointed feasts and new
moons, they ALSO RETAINED the Biblical ones -- "THE new moons and
Sabbaths, THE calling of assemblies." These they turned into
abominations and profaned by idolatry and labor. "I cannot
endure iniquity," says God, along with the solemn assembly." No
wonder GOD ABHORRED THE MANNER in which the Jews treated His holy
Sabbath and festivals (Isa. 1:13).
For that sin, especially, they were driven out of Judea and
DEPRIVED OF ONE OF THE MAJOR BLESSINGS OF GOD -- the joy of
keeping His days. They became the property of their enemies and
"the Lord ... caused the solemn feasts and Sabbaths to be
forgotten in Zion" (Lamentations 2:6). Jeremiah does NOT joy
over the abolition of the festivals, but LAMENTS OVER THEIR BEING
FORGOTTEN!
Notice that at the return of Christ -- when He brings "good
tidings" and "announceth peace" -- He also commands His feasts to
BE KEPT ONCE AGAIN (Nahum 1:15 and Zechariah 14:16-19 and Isaiah
56).
It is time we begin to follow Jesus' example and keep holy the
days God made holy, instead of neglecting them!
Let's all be at the Feast of Tabernacles!

Is World War III Starting Now?

Folks, the news this morning of fighting in Georgia between Russia and Georgia is very disturbing indeed.

It was thought that a provoked war with Iran would start things off, but now it looks like the Evil Elite have decided to start it elsewhere.

It must be remembered that the current Georgian "president" was installed as a result of CIA manipulation and interference, to use Georgia as a front line base for the Evil Elite's future plans against Russia.

To try to expand NATO's borders to Russia on all sides is very provocative and dangerous and they know it, but, they are doing this on purpose as part of their ages old game of manipulation and control.

Russia, if left alone, would mind its own business and not bother anyone. A study of Russian history shows that their only concern is security, but they are in a very insecure area, which has been their curse since the beginning of their nation.

But, the Evil Elite's problem with Putin and the Russians is that Russia refuses to cave in to bribes and pressures to allow the corrupt globalist corporations to loot and pillage Russia's oil and other resources, plus Russia has also committed the additional "sin" of accepting payment for its resources, especially oil, in something besides US dollars.

Also, we must not forget that after the fall of the Soviet Union, Chase Manhattan and other arms of the Bankster's Global Octopus tried to install themselves in Russia to rape and pillage the Russian people the same way they have done in almost every other country in the world.

But, Boris Yeltsin put a stop to this, and threw the banksters out of Russia for good, saying "all you have done is to teach our bankers to steal from the people of Russia. We will not tolerate this."

The other sin was when Russia dislodged the corrupt elements of the gigantic Yukos oil conglomerate and put a stop to the worldwide oil interests' attempt to steal Russian oil.

We must also not forget that in the late '80's, the Soviet economy was destroyed by the machinations of the banksters.

So, as I have said in my landmark series on Bible prophecy, "What's Ahead for our Peoples in Bible Prophecy," the corrupt Evil Elites that are in control of our nations are now making their move to remove the last opposition to their lust and greed for money and power.

But, as I state, this last gasp of the "Elite" is doomed to utter failure. They and their schemes for world domination are about to take a very NASTY FALL, and this lame attempt to start a world war is a transparent diversion from the impending implosion of the entire world economy, which they themselves have caused.

This is an age old technique they have used to put the peoples of this planet into total slavery and subjection. They know that desperate people suffering under abject poverty have great anger, and they are experts at diverting this anger and focusing it on scapegoats foreign and domestic. They do this to both sides in the conflict simultaneously, whipping the slaves on both sides into an emotional and "patriotic" frenzy to go out and kill those on the "other side."

Unfortunately, those on both sides of these "conflicts" fail to recognize that there are those at the top pulling the strings on both sides, and making outrageous profits off of the murder and suffering of millions.

While the blood flows on the battle fields, these elite pigs take in profits by the tanker ship full, making money hand over fist off the backs of the dying on "both sides."

It has happened in almost every war down through human history, and forms the sordid TRUTH behind all of the nationalistic jingoism and "patriotism" fomented on both sides, and the stupid sheeple on "both sides" fall for this ruse each and every time, showing that the "intelligence" of the herd simply does not exist.

THIS is the cycle of violence, death, and oppression that YOUR SAVIOR Jesus Christ came to put a stop to once and for all. And, this is why GOD'S PEOPLE ARE COMMANDED TO COME OUT OF THIS SIN SICK AND EVIL WORLD AND NOT PARTICIPATE IN THIS WORLD'S EVIL AND SATANIC WARS.

The Apostle James put it plainly in this way:

Jas 4:1 Where do wars and fightings among you come from? Don't they come from your pleasures that war in your members?
Jas 4:2 You lust, and don't have. You kill, covet, and can't obtain. You fight and make war. You don't have, because you don't ask.

[This shows that we, both collectively as a people and individually, would HAVE EVERYTHING WE DESIRE IF WE WOULD ONLY ASK RIGHTLY! In fact, God is the GIVER OF ALL GOOD THINGS, and wants us all to "prosper and be in health" -- BUT we must ASK HIM FOR IT! There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for our human wars against each other, which play on our individual lusts and evil mind sets. If we had the MIND OF GOD, then there would be no wars -- PERIOD! God's people are COMMANDED to inculcate God's ways into their minds NOW and to SEPARATE THEMSELVES FROM THIS EVIL WORLD AND IT'S SIN SICK AND EVIL SOCIETY AS MUCH AS WE CAN. We are NOT part of this world, it's societies, and it's governments. We are NOT part of this world's evil so called "civilization," which is ruled over by Satan the Devil, who was a murderer and a liar from the beginning, and has inspired HIS WORLD and HIS CIVILIZATION to act in the same wicked and evil ways.]

Jas 4:3 You ask, and don't receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it for your pleasures.
Jas 4:4 You adulterers and adulteresses, don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
Jas 4:5 Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, "The Spirit who lives in us yearns jealously"?
Jas 4:6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble."
Jas 4:7 Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Jas 4:8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jas 4:9 Lament, mourn, and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to gloom.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Jas 4:11 Don't speak against one another, brothers. He who speaks against a brother and judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas 4:12 Only one is the lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge another?
Jas 4:13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow let's go into this city, and spend a year there, trade, and make a profit."
Jas 4:14 Whereas you don't know what your life will be like tomorrow. For what is your life? For you are a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away.
Jas 4:15 For you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that."
Jas 4:16 But now you glory in your boasting. All such boasting is evil.
Jas 4:17 To him therefore who knows to do good, and doesn't do it, to him it is sin.


Yes, indeed, this passage cuts to the ROOT of our problems, both individually and as a world. We must ADMIT that WE, OURSELVES, ARE EVIL AND WICKED JUST LIKE THIS SIN SICK AND EVIL WORLD.

Then, we must REPENT of our sins, which means to TURN AROUND THE OTHER WAY AND STOP SINNING! John says in his epistle that "Sin is the transgression of the Law," and of course, God's LAW IS LOVE.

We must "love our neighbor as ourselves." Who is our neighbor? EV3ERY OTHER MAN AND WOMAN ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH -- that's who! So HOW DARE WE HATE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS? Because Satan and his servants tell us too?

ALL PEOPLE in the world only want to be left alone to live a peaceful life for themselves and their families. It is SATAN, HIS GOVERNMENTS AND HIS SERVANTS who teach mankind the ways of evil, murder, lies, war, and ungodly lusts.

We must COME OUT OF THIS BABYLON of confusion, and LEARN THE WAYS OF PEACE and ally ourselves with THE PRINCE OF PEACE and learn HIS WAYS, and then we ourselves shall have peace, abundance, joy, and love so full that it overflows.

Very soon now, THIS ENTIRE CIVILIZATION IS GOING TO CRASH AND BURN AROUND US!

If we are aligned with it, we will GO DOWN WITH IT, but, if we are aligned with GOD ALMIGHTY, we will have LIFE ETERNAL, and become KINGS AND PRIESTS in the World Tomorrow.

When Christ returns to DESTROY ALL EARTHLY KINGS AND KINGDOMS, and to establish HIS KINGDOM, which shall RULE FOREVER, you, brethren, if you have repented of your sins and have learned to live HIS WAY, will have a chance to be a RULER IN THE WORLD TOMORROW!

If you have LEARNED TO WALK IN GOD'S WAY in this life, then you will get the chance to teach the shell shocked remnants of humanity who will have survived the WORST TIME OF TROUBLE THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN, and to show them the way of life that leads to life, liberty, and abundance for all!

But, you NEED TO ACT FAST and learn of His ways NOW, while the door is still open. The door to God's precious truth will soon be shut while this civilization crashes and burns. God says to "seek the Eternal while He is near," implying that during the dark years of the Tribulation, He will be far away, and unreachable by most of humanity.

Thus, you need to repent now of your sins while there is still time to build God's Holy, Righteous character into your life.

The Restoration website provides a library CHOCK FULL of vital KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU NEED TO STUDY NOW, before it is too late.

In closing, I would like to say that years ago, and several times since then, God has given me a vision that He will put our peoples through a "mini tribulation" in the months and years ahead, to give our people ONE FINAL CHANCE TO REPENT, before the coming of the GREAT TRIBULATION.

As part of this "last chance," He may well see fit to destroy our central governments, breaking our nations into many, ever smaller, pieces. Further, some of the dreams indicate that there will be one of these pieces, the Western Confederacy, which will have MANY WHO WILL TURN TO REPENTANCE, and that God's people will thrive there for a short time.

I have no information on any of the other pieces, only this one, that may indeed have a special place in God's plans. But, if these dreams are true, then God will give our nations one more final chance to repent of their sins, so that they can be spared the Great Tribulation.

From Bible prophecy, it seems that call to national repentance will be largely ignored, even after the horrible events soon to unfold on our peoples in a last ditch attempt to wake them up to repentance so that God will be moved to spare them.

But, of course, GOD PROMISES TO SPARE HIS PEOPLE, IN HIS CHURCH, FROM THE GREAT TRIBULATION IN ANY CASE. YOU can be one of those to escape the "greatest time of trouble" in human history.

I urge you to avail yourselves of the resources in the Restoration Website Library, and become one of God's people now, while there is still time.

Go to:

http://www.rcg.destiny-worldwide.net

Start on the road to salvation, abundance and happiness today! As David was inspired to write in the Psalms:

"A thousand shall fall at your left, and ten thousand at your right, but the plague shall not come near your door."

What a BLESSING IT IS to hide one's self under the sheltering wings of the Eternal God, and to let HIM fight our battles for us!

John

CHRIST or ANTICHRIST?

Events are plunging toward the eventful climax of Christ's
return. How will you know the REAL CHRIST when he comes?



IS the Pope ignorant of the plain Bible statements that label
HIM "the Antichrist"? What deception will Satan use to keep the
world from realizing the Pope's true identity?
God's Word warns us that this man -- masquerading as a great
"Christian" leader -- will finally declare himself to be GOD! (II
Thes. 2:8.) If he calls HIMSELF "God," whom will he point to as
the ANTICHRIST?

Catholic Interest in Prophecy

God declares that the end-time Pope will be a false PROPHET,
yet the Pope has never declared himself to be a prophet. When
will he deceive the world into thinking that he foresees future
events? What events will he foretell? How will these prophecies
affect YOU? How can you keep from being deceived?
A recently published book reveals a startling Catholic
interest in end-time prophecy. This book, together with
tradition and the writings of some of the "early church Fathers,"
brings to light an eye-opening preview of the false prophecies
that are about to be preached!
Satan knows God's general plan. He has been at work in the
minds of evil and deluded men throughout the ages to lay the
groundwork of the GREAT DELUSION! Though the vials of the wrath
of God are poured out on sinful men, their impenitence remains --
"AND THEY REPENTED NOT" (Rev. 16:9). They will flee from Christ
-- even calling for rocks to fall on them, hiding out in caves --
RUNNING AWAY FROM GOD!
WHY?
Because of "that man of sin ... who opposeth and exalteth
himself above all that is called God, that is worshipped; so that
he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he
IS GOD ... even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and LYING wonders, and with ALL
DECEIVABLENESS." THAT MAN WILL TELL THE WORLD THE BIGGEST LIE
EVER TOLD! Into the ears of those who do not have a love of the
truth he will pour the LIE that our returning King, JESUS CHRIST,
IS THE ANTICHRIST! And they will believe him because God will
have sent them a "strong delusion that they should believe a
LIE"! (II Thes. 2:3-11).
But upon what will the Pope base this claim?
By its own admission, the Catholic Church bases its definition
of the articles of faith on its OWN interpretation of the
Scriptures AND TRADITIONS as explained in the writings of the
early church "Fathers"! "And then it was approved by all, that
THE TRADITIONS should be received as of equal authority with the
Scriptures" ("History of the Council of Trent," page 145).
Any attempt to dispute their interpretation by use of plain
Scripture is greeted, as it was at the time of this declaration,
with the cry of "HERETIC" and branded as "Anathema"! "... the
holy Scripture CANNOT BE EXPOUNDED AGAINST THE SENSE HELD BY THE
HOLY MOTHER THE CHURCH, nor against the common consent of the
Fathers" ("History of the Council of Trent," page 152).

Catholic Definition of Antichrist

Here now, for the professed prophecies in the Catholic
Church's recently published book, "Prophecy for Today."
"Towards the end of the world Antichrist will overthrow the
Pope and usurp his See"! ("prophecy" of Abbott "Merlin" Joachim,
died 1202; see also "Catholic Encyclopedia," article
"Antichrist.")
Because they will not admit the truth the Church believes the
Antichrist will be the one to unseat the Pope, while every Bible
prophecy commissions the true Christ with that job.
"Antichrist will fight a successful battle at Mageddo
[Armageddon] in Palestine after which ... he will hereafter
become lord of the world" (Ibid; Anna Catarina Emmerick, d.
1824). It is almost impossible to see how they could believe
this! But there it is! And here is more! "The Kings will send
armies to the Holy Land, but the Antichrist will slay them all"!
(Ibid.; "Venerable Maria of Agreda." d. 1665). Compare this with
Revelation 19:19.
But to continue. "Antichrist and his army will conquer Rome,
kill the Pope and take the throne ... The Jews will come from
everywhere, and accept Antichrist as the Messiah." (Ibid.; from a
"prophecy" by Venerable Bartholomew Holzhauser, d. 1658).
Just one more quote to illustrate their satanic definition:
"After the destruction of Rome, Antichrist will appear and exalt
himself above pagan deities and the Trinity ... Coming to
Jerusalem, he will succeed through false preaching, miracles,
gifts, terror, aided throughout by the devil. An evil spirit
will come out of the air and descend upon his followers. HE
SHALL FEIGN A RESURRECTION FROM THE DEAD, cause rain to fall ...
and perform other wonders, all through the power of the devil ...
The Jews will welcome him." (Ibid.; Richard Rolle of Hampole, d.
1349).

Compare With Your Bible

Hippolytus is one of the "early church Fathers" upon which the
Catholic church depends for inspiration and dogma. Get your
Bible, and compare the plain statements of Scripture, the Word
and authority of Almighty God, with the blasphemous prophecies
made by Hippolytus about the year 170 A.D. Satan very cleverly
inspired this early writer to pen these prophecies just a hundred
years after the true Church of God had to flee to Pella. Since
that time there have been scattered prophecies by many important
men and women in the Catholic church on this subject of greatest
importance -- even up to as recently as 100 years ago.
HIPPOLYTUS begins by saying, "Believe NOT the enemy who is to
COME AND BE SEEN, for he is an adversary and corrupter and son of
perdition, and deceives you; and for this reason he will kill
you, and smite them with the sword" ("Ante-Nicene Fathers;"
Hippolytus, section XXIX).
GOD'S Word says, "Behold, he [Jesus Christ] cometh with
clouds; and EVERY EYE SHALL SEE HIM ... and all kindreds of the
earth shall wail because of him" (Rev. 1:7).
"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. 19:15).
Hippolytus goes on to say: "... at that time the whole earth
will bewail the life of anguish, and the sea and air in like
manner will bewail it; and the sun, too, will wail; and the wild
beasts, together with the fowls, will wail; mountains and hills,
and the trees of the plain, will wail on account of the race of
man, because all have turned aside from the Holy God, and obeyed
the deceiver, and received the mark of that abominable one, the
enemy of God, INSTEAD OF THE QUICKENING CROSS OF THE SAVIOR"
(Ibid.; section XXXIII).
God's clear revelation shows that the time when the families
of all the earth are going to bewail for anguish is the time of
Christ's return. "And the merchants of the earth shall weep and
mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise anymore: The
merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones ... fine
flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and
chariots, and SLAVES, and SOULS OF MEN ... The merchants of these
things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the
fear of her torment, WEEPING AND WAILING"! (Rev. 18:11-15.)
Hippolytus: "And in the presence of all he exhibits himself as
taken up into heaven with TRUMPETS and SOUNDS, and the MIGHTY
SHOUTING of those who hail him with INDESCRIBABLE HYMNS; the heir
of darkness himself shining like light, and at one time soaring
to the heavens, and at another descending to the earth with great
glory, and again charging the demons, like angels, to execute his
behests with much fear and trembling. For he will show forth his
demons brilliant like angels, and he will bring in hosts of the
incorporeal without number" (Section XXXIII). .
The Holy Spirit through the revelation of YOUR BIBLE says:
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a SHOUT,
with the VOICE OF THE ARCHANGEL, and with the TRUMP OF GOD: and
the DEAD IN CHRIST SHALL RISE first: Then we which are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
MEET the Lord in the air"! (I Thes. 4:16-17.)
As for Hippolytus' "demons brilliant like angels," Daniel
tells us that the resurrected and changed saints "shall shine as
the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to
righteousness as the stars [angels] for ever and ever"! (Dan.
12:3.) See also I Cor. 15:50-53.
And the "indescribable hymns" -- "And they sung as it were a
new song before the throne ... and NO MAN COULD LEARN THAT SONG
but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were REDEEMED
from the earth ... the FIRSTFRUITS unto God and to the Lamb"!
(Rev. 14:3-4.)

More From Hippolytus

"Then that abominable one [if this is not blasphemy against
the very God of Heaven, what is?] will send his commands
throughout every government by the hand at once of demons and of
visible men, who shall say, 'A mighty king has arisen upon the
earth; come ye all to WORSHIP him; come ye all to see the
strength of his kingdom: for, behold, he will give you corn; and
he will bestow upon you wine, and great riches, and lofty
honours. For the WHOLE EARTH AND SEA OBEYS HIS COMMAND. Come ye
all to him'" (Ibid., section XXXVII).
Revelation 14:6-7: "And I saw another 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, 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 fountain of waters
[and therefore the whole EARTH AND SEA OBEYS HIS COMMAND]."
When these false "prophecies" are read from pulpits into the
ears of gullible people and they begin to see God's intervention
come to pass, THEY WILL BELIEVE THE ONLY MEANING THEY HAVE EVER
LEARNED ABOUT THESE SIGNS AND WONDERS ... AND BE CONVINCED THAT
THE GLORIOUS CHRIST RETURNING IN TRIUMPH IS IN TRUTH THE
ANTICHRIST!
A more modern prophetess of the Catholic Church has this to
say about this time of preaching: "Whole nations will join the
Church shortly before the reign of the Antichrist. These
conversions will be amazing. Those who shall survive shall have
to conduct themselves well. There shall be innumerable
conversions of heretics, who will return to the bosom of the
Church" ("Prophecy For Today;" from Anna Maria Taigi d. 1837).
These false doctrines and false prophecies are going to be
preached with ALL DECEIVABLENESS, and are truly going to deceive
ALL THE WORLD. You and I, when we enter God's Kingdom at His
return, are going to have to convince these people of the TRUTH.

Being God's Born Sons Not an Easy Job!

The whole world will be up in arms AGAINST Christ. The chaos
from years of pestilence and plague, the devastation of hydrogen
and nuclear wars of cosmoscide will have to be CLEANED UP.
Complete anarchy will take over in all the countries of the world
as the earthly governments collapse; order will have to be
restored. This CANNOT BE DONE OVERNIGHT.
It will take painstaking effort, even AFTER the complete
cooperation of the population of the earth is gained! Human
nature will resist the Government of God to the bitter end!
It's not going to be easy to convince these hysterically
frightened, demoniacally deceived, pitifully desperate human
beings! This last generation, sinful as it is, will need the
full compassion and mercy you will be able to give as God's Sons.
You will need every ounce of spiritual power and wisdom God will
give you to perform the JOB of rehabilitating millions of crazed,
completely deceived men left on this earth.
They will be gaunt, wild-eyed! They will have seen more
horrible things happen in their lifetime than all the pages of
history have yet recorded.
Driven in stark, raving FEAR AND OPEN TERROR from their homes,
they will seek to hide from the newest and most overawing
manifestation of WORLD-SHAKING POWER that they have yet seen --
the only thought in their tortured minds will be that HERE IS YET
ANOTHER ENEMY IN THIS SICK, HELL-TORN EARTH ... HIDE, HIDE,
HIDE!!!
HIPPOLYTUS agrees with WHAT will happen, but he calls the ONE
WHO CAUSES IT TO HAPPEN the ANTICHRIST and not the TRUE CHRIST!
"Then will he send the cohorts of the demons among MOUNTAINS AND
CAVES AND DENS OF THE EARTH, to track out those who have been
concealed from his eyes, and to bring them forward to worship
him" (Ibid., section XXIX).
The Bible tells us from WHOM men will hide in the rocks, "And
the Kings of the earth and the great men, and the rich men, and
the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and
every free man, hid themselves IN THE DENS AND IN THE ROCKS OF
THE MOUNTAINS; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us,
and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb" (Rev. 6:15-16).
You, as a born son of God, may have to be one of those who is
sent out to track down these frightened people. You may have to
counsel with them and assure them that the true living God has
returned to the earth and that there will be peace from that time
forward.

Remarkable Prophecy

Here is another false prophecy from Hippolytus.
"And by reason of the SCARCITY OF FOOD, all will go to him and
worship him; and he will put his mark on their right hand and on
their forehead, that no one may put the sign of the HONORABLE
CROSS upon his forehead with his right hand; but his hand is
bound" (Ibid., section XXVIII).
Now turn to the Book of Zechariah in your Bible, and read what
the true, triumphant, returning Christ will do to the nations of
this earth in order to get them to worship Him. "And it shall
come to pass, that every one that is LEFT of all the nations
which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year
to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of
tabernacles. And it shall be, that whoso WILL NOT COME UP of all
the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the
Lord of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain. And if the
family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there
shall be the plague, wherewith the Lord will smite the heathen
that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles. This shall be
the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of ALL NATIONS THAT
COME NOT UP TO KEEP THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES" (Zech. 14:16-19).
The Eternal God, at His return, is going to cause the nations
of this earth to recognize Him as Ruler and to worship Him
through the means of CONTROLLING THE WEATHER, causing drought and
famine -- SCARCITY OF FOOD -- until ALL NATIONS COME UP TO KEEP
THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES!

Giant Rehabilitation Program

The "mop-up operation" that will follow the return of Christ,
in which you may be employed, will be the greatest in all
history!
It is difficult to realize the total chaos that will exist!
The truth of your Bible revealed in the pages of Revelation is
not just "apocalyptic writing" -- but these revelations are from
the Almighty God who foresaw this end of civilization and
realized as He told us Himself in Matthew 24:22 that, "Except
those days should be shortened, there should NO FLESH BE SAVED
ALIVE!"
So let your mind dwell for a moment on the REALITY of this.
Let the truth sink in! This will be a time such as the earth has
NEVER FACED BEFORE.
No ships are plying the sea, no forests cover the
mountainsides, no grass clothes the plains, whole islands have
disappeared into the sea, mountain chains have been wrenched out
of shape, peaks have become valleys and valleys have become
plateaus. Even the earth itself is not circling the sun in its
proper orbit, but reeling like a drunken man through the solar
system!
In a situation such as this only those who have God's truth
could be expected to be sane!
"The public service of God shall be extinguished ... at that
time SILVER and GOLD shall be cast out in the streets, and none
shall gather them; but all things shall be an offense" (Ibid.
Hippolytus, section XXXIV).
The "public service," the Catholic Mass, will not be allowed!
Silver and gold won't be worth anything to man, BECAUSE YOU
CANNOT BUY GOD -- only repentance will be worth anything in that
day! "And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into
the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory
of his majesty, when he arises to shake terribly the earth. In
that day a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of
gold, which they made each one for himself to worship to the
moles and to the bats!" (Isa 2:19-20.)
The supreme government on earth is the Government of God.
Christ Himself, with all of the saints born into His Kingdom with
Him, and the multitudes of Israel coming out of captivity are
abiding in peace at Jerusalem. "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. 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. 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;
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 (Jer. 23:5-8).
The first twenty-six verses of Jeremiah 31 repeat again the
establishment of peace and God's rule at Jerusalem over Israel
and over His born-again sons. Read it yourself!
During this same time, "He shall judge among many people, and
rebuke STRONG NATIONS AFAR OFF; and they shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation
shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more" (Micah 4:3).

Millennial Pioneers

Then, after a period of time -- including the three and
one-half years of the ministry of Jesus Christ which He has yet
to finish as a personal ministry to Israel -- those of us who are
the born sons of God AND the physical seed of Israel will go
forth from Jerusalem to establish government, peace and
prosperity. The laws of God will be taught to all the peoples of
the earth, beginning at Jerusalem. "Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, that I will SOW the house of Israel and the house of
Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast" (Jer.
31:27).
When you come to them and say, "This is THE WAY, WALK YE IN
IT!" (Isa. 30:21), when you begin to explain to them that the
Christianity they have known is FALSE, that the Sabbath is the
seventh day of the week -- even when you are able to read the
thoughts of their minds -- it is STILL GOING TO BE DIFFICULT TO
BRING THEM TO THEIR SENSES! They will have been deceived ahead
of time by a clever satanic-inspired prophecy. They will believe
that you will be teaching exactly these things which they have
been told are false! Yes, believe it or not, Satan knows the
Scripture -- he TREMBLES AT GOD'S WORD BECAUSE HE KNOWS IT WILL
COME TO PASS! And he will have tried his best, by his method of
CONFUSING THE FACTS, to so deceive this last generation as to
frustrate the plan of God in setting up His government in the
millennium. Even though Satan himself is restrained at this time
from FURTHER deceiving the nations, HE HAS ALREADY DECEIVED THIS
LAST GENERATION!
Listen to this satanic delusion: "Antichrist will be an
ICONOCLAST [against idols]. Most of the world will adore him.
He will teach that the CHRISTIAN RELIGION IS FALSE, confiscation
of Christian property is legal, SATURDAY IS TO BE OBSERVED
INSTEAD OF SUNDAY, and he will CHANGE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS [that
is, restore them in their ORIGINAL FORM, including the
declaration against idols]. All his wonders could not be written
in a book. They will be more wonderful than the Old and New
Testaments! ... he will READ PEOPLE'S MINDS, RAISE THE DEAD,
REWARD HIS FOLLOWERS AND PUNISH THE REST"! ("Prophecy For
Today;" from Dionysius of Luxemberg, d. 1682.) AND, "... He will
begin by affecting RESPECT FOR THE LAW OF MOSES" (Ibid.; from
Frederick William Faber d. 1863).

The Pope's Prophecy

Here we see in full the prophecies this end-time false prophet
will preach! He will attribute Jesus Christ's intervention in
world affairs to the person and the workings of Antichrist!
Christ is the One who is AGAINST IDOLS! Christ is the One who
will show how perverted this world's "Christianity" has become --
that it is a FALSE RELIGION! CHRIST is the Lord of the Old
Testament whose day of worship is the seventh day, INSTEAD OF
SUNDAY! CHRIST is the One who GAVE the Ten Commandments in their
ORIGINAL FORM, and will restore them. CHRIST IS THE ONE WHO WILL
RAISE THE DEAD AND REWARD HIS FOLLOWERS ... HE IS GOD, AND THERE
IS NONE LIKE HIM!
So we see here the diabolical plot hatched by this professed
"Christian" leader. Here is the age-old attempt of Satan the
Devil to arrogate to himself and to his deceived minions the
OFFICE OF GOD; while he attributes the intervention of the True
Christ in his returning glory to the PERSON AND ACTION OF
ANTICHRIST!
This charges the office and work of the Holy Spirit as having
its origin as a WORK OF THE DEVIL, AND CONSTITUTES UNPARDONABLE
SIN!
These diabolical thoughts, ensconced in the fear-ridden minds
of completely deceived human beings, WILL BE DIFFICULT TO
DISLODGE! You will need all the power God bestows on you as His
born son to do the job He will give you to do.

Peace at Last!

Egypt is an EXAMPLE of all the nations who refuse to come up
to keep the Feast of Tabernacles, to recognize God as the Ruler
of the earth. Then we see the last rebellion put down as those
from the far corners of the earth up in Siberia, and in the
provinces of China -- the farthest spot on earth from Jerusalem
-- will swoop down upon Jerusalem in a vain effort to take away
the great riches that God has bestowed on His peace-loving
people. A thousand years of peace and prosperity, health and
happiness stretch beyond that time that cannot be imagined in
your mind.
And think of it, brethren, YOU have been called to help God
bring His peace to this earth! You are offered a sonship in the
Kingdom of God to teach other people how to become God! By
overcoming yourself daily. By getting close to God in prayer and
Bible study. By learning how to live YOURSELF. By setting a
Christian example in overcoming the petty sins that weight you
down.
As one last illustration of the reality of this fact please
turn to Isaiah 19, and begin reading in verse 16, "In that day
shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear
because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he
shaketh over it ... In that day shall there be a highway out of
Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian shall come into Egypt, and the
Egyptian into Assyria, and the Egyptian shall serve with the
Assyrian. In that day shall Israel be the third with Egypt and
with Assyria, even a blessing in the midst of the land: whom the
Lord of hosts shall bless, saying, BLESSED BE EGYPT MY PEOPLE,
AND ASSYRIA THE WORK OF MY HANDS, AND ISRAEL MY INHERITANCE"!
(Isa. 19:23-25.)
This is real, brethren, and you need to realize it!
THE REWARD OF THE RIGHTEOUS IS NOT ETERNAL RETIREMENT, BUT A
REAL DOWN-TO-EARTH, 24-HOUR-A-DAY JOB ... EMPLOYMENT FOR
ETERNITY, JOYFUL WORK!

For more information on the topics touched upon here, visit the
Restoration Website Library at:

http://rcg.destiny-worldwide.net

And remember, every Thursday at midnight, EDT, we have a very
important and insightful STUDY on Bible Prophecy on The Bible
Study Channel. You can listen to this program either live or from
the archives. To reach the archives or to listen LIVE to the studies,
simply click on the BlogTalkRadio icon at the bottom of our Sermon,
Services, and Bible study page.

Hope to see you there!

John