My last note about a week ago seems to have stirred up quite a hornets’ nest of controversy. As I suspected, I received a number of notes requesting me to remove them from my list. Any one who has asked to be taken off the list, please be patient as I search for your email and remove it. If I don't get to yours right away just email me again until I find your email. Other notes were sent to me as a rebuke for my “harsh approach”. I have been reproved for condemning the church and warned that I must repent of my behavior. I have been called a Judaiser. I’ve been implicated in a plan to discourage believers and accused of denying the resurrection of Yeshua. And yes, I have also had a number of encouraging notes of agreement.
This does not surprise me as I am well aware of people’s aversion to
change. I think the thing that bothers me most about this entire broo ha
ha is that I have been accused of saying things I did not say. People
hear what they want to hear even if it is not there. I can’t defend for
or against the things I didn’t say.
So I think what I will do is start this letter
over again and see if I and you can get it right. Or at least clear up
the things I didn’t say. This time I will give you a little more detail.
This way there is less of a chance for the words I don’t say to be used
against me.
The scripture is a pretty good place start when
writing a paper on Biblical topics. So, turn with me if you will, oops,
sorry I almost thought I was preaching.
2Co
6:14 Do not be bound together with
unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or
what fellowship has light with darkness?
2Co
6:15 Or what harmony has Christ with
Belial, or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?
2Co
6:16 Or what agreement has the temple
of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God
said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR
GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
2Co
6:17 "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR
MIDST AND BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS
UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you.
2Co
6:18 "And I will be a father to you,
And you shall be sons and daughters to Me," Says the Lord Almighty.
The
Corinthian society and culture was full of pagan ritual and customs. It
was pervasive into every aspect
of their lives. The city was full of temples and shrines to the gods, but the most prominent one was
the temple to Aphrodite. Those who worshiped this goddess of love took
full advantage of the 1000 free
consecrated prostitutes. Corinth was a cosmopolitan center of commerce,
entertainment and
pleasure
seeking. The term “to act like a Corinthian” became a synonym for
debauchery and prostitution. This
was a problem for the early believers as the constant pull of pagan
society weighed heavy against them.
Rav Shaul warns them about this in his letter as he appeals to them to
not get mixed up or
associate
with any form of paganism.
Why
should it be any different for us? If we know the origins of a practice
or custom, if we understand the
roots to be birthed in something other than the scripture why is it so
hard for us to just separate ourselves
from the practice and defer to the word of God. This is the problem
first hand. We have allowed
the Gospel to morph into something that is unrecognizable. We have
taken the Gospel out of it’s
roots. We no longer see the Gospel as a Jewish message. This is the
true spirit of replacement theology.
This is why Jewish people look upon “Christianity” as being
the opposite of Judaism instead of the
fulfillment. Once we take the truth of the Gospel out of its culture,
language, history, idioms, we now
have to find another filter in which to
interpret the message.
This
is when the message starts to morph, as it gets pulled out of context.
Context does not just have to do
with words, it also deals with all of the above mentioned factors.
We
live in a different culture than they did when the Gospel was first
preached. This means that to interpret
the Gospel we must be very careful not to allow ours or any other
culture to predominate our interpretation.
Not
only is that the case but we must remember that it was God who
chose/created the Jewish people for
a specific task. That task was to bring the Messiah to the Gentiles.
Gen 12:1-3.
Gen
12:1 Now the LORD said to Abram,
"Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your
father's house, To the land which I will show you;
Gen
12:2 And I will make you a great
nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall
be a blessing;
Gen
12:3 And I will bless those who bless
you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the
families of the earth will be blessed."
Their
culture, customs, Holy days, were created by God for the express
purpose of showing to the world that
the Messiah was to come or He had already come. These were not just "make do, keep busy" items that
God decided to impose upon the people of Israel. They were as the
scripture calls them the Moedim,
appointed times and seasons.
Lev
23:1 The LORD spoke again to
Moses, saying,
Lev
23:2 "Speak to the sons of Israel and
say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times which you shall proclaim as
holy convocations--My appointed times are these:
Lev
23:3 'For six days work may be done,
but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, a holy
convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in
all your dwellings.
Lev
23:4 'These are the appointed times
of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times
appointed for them.
Appointments that could only be kept by Yeshua.
If we don’t celebrate them then we deny the importance of the
appointment and the fulfillment. Passover specifically was one those
Moedim that were to be kept as a perpetual ordinance forever.
Exo 12:14 'Now
this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your
generations you are to celebrate it as
a permanent ordinance.
Exo
12:17 'You shall also observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very
day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt; therefore you shall
observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent ordinance.
Exo
12:19 'Seven days there shall be no
leaven found in your houses; for whoever eats what is leavened, that
person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he is an alien or a native of the land.
This event was not just for the Israelites
it was for everyone, forever.
Exo
12:24 "And you shall observe this
event as an ordinance for you and your children forever.
How
is it that Passover is not only ignored by the “Church” it has been
subverted, replaced, by Easter.
Please forgive me for asking but what Biblical passage commands me to
celebrate Easter?
What is it that we do on that day that shows the prophesied and risen
Messiah.
Once
you take the death burial and resurrection out of the context of the
Passover you can no longer
show the resurrection of Yeshua as a fulfilled event. Because Ishtar
the goddess of fertility just
doesn’t pack the prophetic punch that Passover does. Ishtar was not
appointed by God, it was
appointed by Constantine. Who gave him the authority to
declare God’s appointments null and
void?
From the letter of the Emperor (Constantine) to all those not
present at the council of Nicea. (Found in Eusebius, Vita Const., Lib
III 18-20)
When the question relative to the sacred festival of Easter arose,
it was universally thought that it would be convenient that all should
keep the feast on one day; for what could be more beautiful and more
desirable than to see this festival, through which we receive the hope
of immortality, celebrated by all with one accord and in the same
manner? It was declared to be particularly unworthy for this, the
holiest of festivals, to follow the customs (the calculation) of the
Jews who had soiled their hands with the most fearful of crimes, and
whose minds were blinded. In rejecting their custom we may transmit to
our descendants the legitimate mode of celebrating Easter; which we have
observed from the time of the Saviour’s passion (according to the day
of the week).
We ought not therefore to have anything in common with the Jew, for
the Saviour has shown us another way; our worship following a more
legitimate and more convenient course (the order of the days of the
week: And consequently in unanimously adopting this mode, we desire,
dearest brethren to separate ourselves from the detestable company of
the Jew. For it is truly shameful for us to hear them boast that without
their direction we could not keep this feast. How can they be in the
right, they who, after the death of the Saviour, have no longer been led
by reason but by wild violence, as their delusion may urge them? They
do not possess the truth in this Easter question, for in their blindness
and repugnance to all improvements they frequently celebrate two
Passovers in the same year. We could not imitate those who are openly in
error.
How, then, could we follow these Jews who are most certainly
blinded by error? For to celebrate a Passover twice in one year, is
totally inadmissible.
But even if this were not so it would still be your duty not to
tarnish your soul by communication with such wicked people (the Jews).
You should consider not only that the number of churches in these
provinces make a majority, but also that it is right to demand what our
reason approves, and that we should have nothing in common with the
Jews.
(Gleaned from Dr. Henry R. Percival’s “The Nicean and post Nicean Fathers”. Vol. XIV Grand Rapid: Erdmans pub. 1979,pgs. 54-55)
I find it rather presumptuous of Constantine to think that he had the right to disposes God’s chosen people and God’s appointed times from their eternal place.
As I have said in the past and so
say again today God has not and will not replace His chosen people. For
Him to do that would contradict His very own word.
Jer
31:35 Thus says the LORD, Who gives
the sun for light by day And the fixed order of the moon and the stars
for light by night, Who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar; The
LORD of hosts is His name:
Jer
31:36 "If this fixed order departs
From before Me," declares the LORD, "Then the offspring of Israel also
will cease From being a nation before Me forever."
Jer
31:37 Thus says the LORD, "If the
heavens above can be measured And the foundations of the earth searched
out below, Then I will also cast off all the offspring of Israel For all
that they have done," declares the LORD.
It seems pretty conclusive to me
that God will do away with the natural elements of the universe before
He does away with Israel as a people.
So we have to ask ourselves, is our
worship acceptable if it is from a pagan root, especially if we know the
truth? This is not a matter of small importance. God was very specific
in the creation of every holiday. Each had a reason and prophetic
display of the Messiah to come. Why would we want a substitute that
can’t stand up to the reality of what God has done?
So please as you celebrate this year
ask yourself these questions. Don’t just do what you do because that’s
what you were taught. Ask questions and research for yourself. If it is
not Biblical make a stand and choose the prophetic over the pathetic.
One last thing, let me make
myself perfectly clear. I am not judging anyones salvation or love
for the Lord. What I am questioning is the practice or holiday of Easter
and its legitimacy. I am and continue to be of the understanding that SALVATION
IS BY GRACE. Thank God for that or we would all be in
trouble. I do however have to ask the tough questions. It is through
this process that we grow.
May your celebration before the Lord
be a blessing to you and your family. May your love for the risen
Messiah be stronger than ever. May your Passover be rich with as you
grow in your knowledge of the word and may Yeshua our Passover lamb be
with you always.
Shalom uvracha b’Yeshua
Peace and blessings in Yeshua