Today's blog post is a re-post from Richard Mather's blog, Defense of the Israeli people.  It is very well-written and clearly explains the doctrine and history of "Christian Palestinianism."

In case you were wondering, I do NOT agree with Christian Palestinianism as set forth in this article.  I believe in the dignity and value of every human being, but I also firmly believe the Biblical promise of the Land that was given to Abraham in Genesis chapters 12, 15, and 17 as an everlasting covenant; and lest there be any confusion, God confirmed the covenant with Isaac in Genesis 26:3 and then with Jacob in Genesis 28.

EXPOSING CHRISTIAN PALESTINIANISM

“We have been taught for centuries that the Jews are the Chosen People. We do not believe anymore that they are the Chosen People of God, since now we have a new understanding of that Choseness.” (Father Elias Chacour, Catholic Archbishop of Israel)

What is Christian Palestinianism?
Christian Palestinianism is a phrase coined by Paul Wilkinson, an evangelical author based in Manchester, England. Wilkinson defines Christian Palestinianism as “an inverted mirror image of Christian Zionism,” and describes it as “diametrically opposed to that of biblical Christian Zionism, and whose opposition to Israel and her Christian allies is expressed in their outspoken support of the Palestinian agenda.”


The term Palestinianism, however, seems to have originated in the writings of Jewish Egyptian author Bat Ye’or. In Eurabia: the Euro-Arab Axis, she outlines the growing phenomenon of Palestinian replacement theology and the gradual Islamisation of Christianity. Christian Palestinianists, according to Ye’or interpret the Bible from the viewpoint of the Quran and “do not admit to any historical or theological link between the biblical Israel, the Jewish people and the modern State of Israel.”

Chrislam uniting against Israel

Christian Palestinianists and their supporters in the West recognize the political benefit of undermining the State of Israel’s biblical foundations. This is achieved by stripping the Bible of its Jewishness, neutralizing the prophetic significance of the Land of Israel and recasting Jesus as a Palestinian. This is despite the fact that Jesus was a Galilean Jew and the “Palestine” didn’t exist as a political or national entity during his lifetime.


Wilkinson places the birth of Christian Palestinianism at the end of the 1980s. However, the groundwork had already been laid in 1967 by an Arab-Christian memorandum entitled “What is Required of the Christian Faith Concerning the Palestine Problem.” The document, which had the blessing of Catholic and Orthodox clergy, declared that it is “a total misunderstanding of the story of salvation and a perversion of God’s plan for a Christian to want to re-establish a Jewish nation as a political entity.”

In one of its most audacious passages, the memorandum reads: “The Christian conscience should always discern what is the authentic vocation of the Jewish people and what is the other side of the coin, that is, the racist State of Israel.” In fact, the memorandum calls for a permanent exile of the Jews on the grounds that “the Jewish race was chosen to serve the salvation of Humanity and not to establish itself in any particular religious or racial way.”

Pope Francis with Muslims at the Dome of the Rock, May 2014

The theological underpinning of Christian Palestinianism is a rebranded version of replacement theology. Fulfilment theology is based on the premise that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus was a spiritual fulfilment of God’s promise to return the Jews to Israel. Therefore the Jews – and by extension the Land of Israel – have no prophetic meaning and have fulfilled their roles in salvation history. The theologian N.T. Wright, for example, argues that Israel’s restoration was achieved through the resurrection and that Jewish ethnic identity is no longer important on a religious level. The Land of Israel, Jerusalem and Temple are all obsolete, according to Wright, because Jesus embodies all three.

Although keen to neutralise the prophetic significance of the Bible for Jews, Christian Palestinianists have no problem with appropriating the tradition for themselves. In 2005, the Anglican bishop of Jerusalem, Riah Abu el-Assal, claimed of Palestinian Christians: “We are the true Israel […] no-one can deny me the right to inherit the promises, and after all the promises were first given to Abraham and Abraham is never spoken of in the Bible as a Jew.”

In 1997, the Palestinian Authority aired a program that claimed the stories in the Torah took place in Yemen, not in Israel. The PA also says there is no evidence that the Western Wall has anything to do with Second Temple.

Christian Palestinianists question or even condemn passages in the Bible that elevate Israel above other nations. In fact, the prime mover of the Christian Palestinianist movement, Naim Ateek, who is the Anglican canon of St. George’s Cathedral in Jerusalem , has stated that some Bible passages are explicitly “exclusivist.” There is a “great need to ‘de-Zionize’ these texts,” he believes.

In 1989, Ateek published the founding document of Christian Palestinianism, Justice and Only Justice: A Palestinian Theology of Liberation, which drew much of its strength from South American liberation theology. Five years later, Ateek founded an organization called Sabeel – the Palestinian Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. Sabeel means “the way,” which is a clear reference to both Jesus as “the way,” and the early name of the Christians, who were called “followers of the way.”

The version of liberation theology espoused by Ateek is that of Jesus as “a Palestinian living under an occupation.” In his 2001 Easter message, Ateek spoke of Jesus as “the powerless Palestinian humiliated at a checkpoint.” Apart from the fact that Jesus wasn’t a Palestinian, this is harmless enough. But Ateek then steps up the rhetoric, with disturbing anti-Semitic undertones:
“In this season of Lent, it seems to many of us that Jesus is on the cross again with thousands of crucified Palestinians around him. It only takes people of insight to see the hundreds of thousands of crosses throughout the land, Palestinian men, women, and children being crucified. Palestine has become one huge Golgotha. The Israeli government crucifixion system is operating daily. Palestine has become the place of the skull.”

This is shocking and inflammatory on a number of levels. The Palestinians are indeed restricted in their movements because of the terror threat, but being held up at a checkpoint is hardly a crucifixion. The reference to “hundreds of thousands of crosses throughout the land” is obviously figurative but the image is overblown and patently absurd. If any place on earth should be dubbed Golgotha, surely it should be Auschwitz or Treblinka, not the West Bank. The reference to the “Israeli government crucifixion system” is outrageous and quite anti-Semitic, given the old canard about Jews being responsible for the death of Jesus.

The Kairos Palestine Document
Perhaps the Christian Palestinianist movement found its ultimate expression in the Kairos Palestine Document. Published in 2009 and subtitled “A moment of truth: A word of faith, hope and love from the heart of Palestinian suffering,” the paper was a rehash of the 1967 Arab-Christian memorandum.
Notably, the Kairos document (which can be found on the World Council of Churches website) speaks on behalf of Christian and Muslim Palestinians, who apparently share a “deeply rooted” history and a “natural right” to the land. In contrast, Israel is an alien entity, and only exists because of Western guilt over the Holocaust. Not surprisingly, the document makes no mention of Muslim involvement in the Holocaust, nor does it comment on the decades of Jewish immigration in the decades before Hitler’s genocide.

The Holocaust aside, the State of Israel is associated with the words “evil” and “sin.” According to the text, the “occupation” is an affront to both humanity and the divine, and “distorts the image of God in the Israeli who has become an occupier.”

The document criticizes Christian Zionism as being “far from Christian teachings” and praises the first intifada, referring to it as a “peaceful struggle.” Terrorism, while not sanctioned, is excused on the grounds that Israel is ultimately responsible for Palestinian acts of violence against Jewish civilians.

And if any proof is needed that conformity is in fashion, the document calls for economic sanctions against Israel: “Palestinian civil organizations, as well as international organizations, NGOs and certain religious institutions call on individuals, companies and states to engage in divestment and in an economic and commercial boycott of everything produced by the occupation.”

This, according to the writers of the text, is an example of non-violent protest, despite the fact that there is nothing praiseworthy about ruining Jewish businesses and putting Palestinians out of work.

Christian Palestinianism in the West
Since the turn of the century, Christian Palestinianism has been warmly embraced by various Christian groups in the West, notably Anglicans, Presbyterians, evangelicals and left-wing protestants, such as the Quakers. Apart from attacking Israel, westernized Christian Palestinianists have gone to great lengths to ridicule and invalidate Christian Zionism.

In 2004, the General Synod of the Reformed Church in America declared Christian Zionism to be an “extreme form of dispensationalism,” a “distortion of the biblical message,” and an impediment to a “just peace in Israel/Palestine.” In 2007, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland accused Christian Zionism of portraying “an unjust God, with an unjust people.”

Many of the books attacking Christian Zionists accuse the latter of advocating “Armageddon” rather than justice. As well as removing the prophetic significance of the scriptures, books such as Anglican vicar Reverend Dr Stephen Sizer’s Christian Zionism: Road-map to Armageddon?misrepresent and deride centuries of mainstream protestant tradition.

Sizer, a virulent opponent of Israel, believes there is a sharp distinction between God’s covenant with Israel and the beliefs of Jesus’s disciples. “There is,” he says, “no evidence that the apostles believed that the Jewish people still had a divine right to the land, or that Jewish possession of the land would be important, let alone that Jerusalem would remain a central aspect of God’s purposes for the world.” Sizer adds: Jerusalem and the Land of Israel “have been made irrelevant to God’s redemptive purposes.”

Sizer is a regular contributor to Islamic media outlets, including Iran’s Press TV. He has been photographed with Arafat, and with Zahra Mostafavi Khomeini, the daughter of the Ayatollah. He has met with – and publicly defended – Raed Salah, a Hamas fundraiser who accuses the Jews of making Passover bread with the blood of Christian children. (There are numerous photos of Sizer and Salah enjoying each other’s company.)

Steven Sizer with Yasser Arafat

Sizer seems unembarrassed by the fact that his own remarks and writings stray into anti-Semitic territory. For instance, he once stated that the reason Jews “were expelled from the land was that they were more interested in money and power and treated the poor and aliens with contempt.” In 2011, he posted a link on his Facebook page to an anti-Semitic website called “The Ugly Truth,” and in the same year, he went to Malaysia to work with Viva Palestina, whose leading activists include Holocaust-denier Matthias Chang.

Another Anglican notable, Desmond Tutu, has likened Zionism to racism and repeatedly referred to Israel as an “apartheid” state. He is also a supporter of boycotts. Tutu, a friend of Yasser Arafat and Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, accepted the role as patron of Sabeel International in 2003. This is the same Sabeel that is spearheading the Christian Palestinianist movement in the Middle East. It is perhaps no surprise that US attorney Alan Dershowitz has called Tutu a “racist and a bigot.”

The number of Christian organizations censuring the Jewish state is increasing. It is common for left-wing Christians to exonerate the Palestinians of any historical and contemporary accountability, thereby holding Israel solely responsible for ending the crisis. In 2009, the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches released a statement condemning the so-called Israeli occupation and encouraging a boycott of goods made in settlements. Significantly, the World Council of Churches is also calling for the internationalization of Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, Christian Aid and the Quakers are calling on the UK government to implement a total ban of settlement goods. In North America, the United Church of Canada is heading towards an official boycott policy. And the Church of England, which has a large overseas membership, is considering whether it should adopt the World Council of Churches’ Ecumenical Accompaniers Programme in Palestine and Israel. The EAPPI is blatantly pro-Palestinian and holds the Jewish state solely responsible for resolving the situation in the West Bank.

A religion of resentment 
Christian Palestinianism is a religion of resentment. It is a projection of a sense of inferiority onto an external scapegoat. Thwarted by failure, Christian Palestinianists blame their problems on “the Jews.” The God of Israel is declared dead, only to be replaced by the anti-Semitic God of Palestine.

Propoganda portraying Yeshua as "Palestinian"

Of all the anti-Israel discourses that exist today, Christian Palestinianism is perhaps one of the most shocking. Shocking because it wants to de-Judaize the Bible and undermine Jewish identity. Shocking because it also revives the notion of Jews as killers of Christ. Moreover, the post-Holocaust reconciliation of Jews and Christians is lethally undermined. The work of Geza Vermes, and others like him, who have examined in close detail the Jewishness of Jesus, is being cast aside in favour of a quasi-gnostic Jesus.

On a theological level, Christian Palestinianism is entirely self-defeating. If God no longer honours his covenant with the Jews and the Land of Israel, then the whole foundation of Christianity collapses. A God who changes his mind about the Jews is no longer the God of Abraham, Moses or Jesus. Palestinianism is not only un-Biblical, it is un-Christian.

Pro-Palestinian Christians in the West need to take a long, hard look at themselves and ask whether it is ethical to be consorting with liars, terrorists and anti-Semites. They should also ask themselves if their actions are likely to lead to a fresh outburst of religiously-motivated anti-Semitism. The trouble is, history shows that many Christians need no excuse to persecute the Jews. There seems to be an in-built tendency to raise their fists against the descendants of Isaac and Jacob. This is bad news not only for the State of Israel and the Jewish diaspora, but also for Christianity itself, which will not survive another destructive wave of anti-Semitism.

As it says in Ezekiel 35, “Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you.”

The Church as a Midwife

We owe a huge debt to Israel.

Without the Jews, we would have no covenants, no prophets, no apostles, no Bible, and no Messiah!  Yeshua Himself declared in John 4:22, "Salvation is of the Jews."

But God's plan was not only for the Jews.  They were His starting point, to be a light to the nations.  But they are also going to be His ending point as well.  Romans 11 tells us that it was for our benefit (the Gentiles) that the natural branches (Israel) were blinded in part, so that salvation could go out to the rest of the world, and then the nation of Israel would be saved.  We are also warned in Romans 11 not to be arrogant toward those natural branches.

Sadly, church history shows that the opposite happened.

Replacement Theology arose in the second century among the early church fathers.  This theology (wrongfully) teaches that God is done with the Jews for good, and that all blessings and promises have been transferred to the church.  Perhaps these church fathers were well-meaning; after all, the Jews had been kicked out of the Holy Land with no prospect of ever returning.  That would take a miracle!

However, this dangerous theology has led to the death of millions of Jews throughout the 19 centuries of their exile.  There has been persecution, pogroms, expulsions, the Crusades, blood libel accusations, forced conversions, accusations toward the Jews of deicide (aka "Christ killers"), the Spanish Inquisition, and the Holocaust, all too often perpetuated in the name of the Jewish Messiah.

This theology also continues today in many (if not most) mainline denominations, in spite of the totally miraculous return of the Jews to their Promised Land.  Whoa!  Talk about messing with one's theology!  This explains why so many Christians today are actually AGAINST the rebirth of the nation of Israel - treating it as a renegade nation instead of the fulfillment of God's promise, thousands of years ago, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

But God has given the church a very special role to play in these last days.  We actually get to be the midwife for Israel's spiritual rebirth - forerunners, so to speak.  Intercessors.  What a privilege!  There are four things that Scripture calls us to do.  (He who has ears to hear, let him hear!)

**Update!  Four years later, I realize that I forgot one.  So make that five ways!

#1 - Bless Israel

Genesis 12:1-3 says, Now the Lord had said to Abram:  “Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”

This promise was repeated to Isaac in Genesis 26 and Jacob in Genesis 28.  This promise to Israel, regarding the Land, the Seed, and the Blessing, is the Abrahamic covenant.  It is everlasting and was never rescinded.

Notice the promise of blessing to those who bless God's people.  Scripture also gives us warnings if we neglect to bless them.  There are two words used for curse in the above reference.  The second word for curse actually means to lightly esteem, or to treat as unimportant.

Zechariah 2:8-9 says, For thus says the Lord of hosts: “He sent Me after glory, to the nations which plunder you; for he who touches you touches the apple of His eye. For surely I will shake My hand against them, and they shall become spoil for their servants. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me.

#2 - Comfort Israel

Isaiah 40:1-2 says

Comfort, yes, comfort My people!”

Says your God.  (Think of the pronouns used here... comfort MY people says YOUR God)
 “Speak comfort to Jerusalem, and cry out to her,
That her warfare is ended,
That her iniquity is pardoned;
For she has received from the Lord’s hand
Double for all her sins.”

Matt 25:37-40, in the context of the last days, says “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?  When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? ³⁹ Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’  And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’  (The Greek word for brethren literally means relatives or close kinsmen).

#3 - Make Israel Envious

Deuteronomy 32:21 (repeated in Romans 10:19) says,
But I will provoke them to jealousy by those who are not a nation;

I will move them to anger by a foolish nation.

Romans 11:11 - I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles.

Romans 11:14 (Paul is speaking here) if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them.

#4 - Intercede for Israel:

Psalm 122:6 says –  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who love you.  (Another scripture with a promise!)

Is 62:6-7 - I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem;

They shall never hold their peace day or night.
You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent,
And give Him no rest till He establishes
And till He makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

And just who are these watchmen?  It's you who make mention of the LORD.  Do YOU make mention of the LORD?  Are you His follower?  If so, He's talking to you.  You must not keep silent!

**Here it is, the missing fifth directive in regard to our treatment of Israel.

#5 - Support Israel

Acts 11:27-29

And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea.

Romans 14:27

For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they (us) owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings

Romans 15:25-27

But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.

1 Cor 16:1-3

Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem.

Musings on the Fifth Commandment

Exodus 20:12 tells us, Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

Obedience to the fifth commandment comes with a special blessing, unlike the other nine.  Could there be more to this commandment than meets the eye?

I have said before that Yeshua did not come to Earth to start a new religion called Christianity. (I know, I am changing the subject, but bear with me). 

He is the Messiah, the fulfillment of all that was written about Him in the Tanakh, the Hebrew scriptures (aka the "Old Testament"). Christianity is simply a continuation of YHVH's plan. He was first promised in Genesis 3:15 as the Seed of the woman... the first suggestion of parenthood in scripture. 

Biblical Judaism and Christianity were both birthed from the ultimate parent, YHVH Himself.  But scriptures are filled with all sorts of family analogies.  We can also say that Christianity was birthed out of Biblical Judaism, after Yeshua came to earth - as the Seed of the Woman - and was sacrificed for our sins.  In this way, Biblical Judaism can be called our parent faith.  (Rabbinic Judaism, birthed after the destruction of the temple, re-wrote Biblical Judaism).

The early church was all Jewish.  But as it grew and expanded, it became more and more Gentile.  By the fourth century, the Roman Emperor Constantine had adopted Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire.  Tragically, he (and so many others) did not like the Jews.  He forbade any Jewish expression of faith within the Roman church.  The Sabbath was abolished and the day of worship was changed to Sunday.  The Biblical feasts - which ALL point to Yeshua - were made illegal, and are still generally not taught in the church today.  The faith became something that was totally unrecognizable to the Jewish people (much like Joseph, who had fully taken on the look of an Egyptian and was not known by his brothers).

Even worse, the disassociation did not stop here.  Throughout history, Jewish people have been horribly persecuted, many times in the name of Christ.  Major events like the crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, the Pogroms, and the Holocaust, are accompanied by hundreds of lesser-known tragedies such as forced conversions, expulsions, tortures, and massacres.  It is not hard at all to understand why Jews would distrust Christians.

We did not honor our parent faith. 

Genesis 12:3 says this:  I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

There is a promise of blessing when we bless Israel.  There is also a curse attached to cursing them.  But it is important to know that two different Hebrew words are used for curse here.  The first one, arar, means to curse, and the second one, qalal, means to lightly esteem, or treat as unimportant. 

The very last verse in the Tanakh, Malachai 4:6, is in the context of the Day of the Lord, when Messiah returns to Earth. 

And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.

Can this mean that the historical rifts between the Jews and the Christians will be healed in the days leading up to Yeshua's return?  I hope so!
 
The church has a lot of repenting to do for its sins against the Jews.  And many in the church still cling to Replacement Theology, the idea that YHVH is done with the Jews, has disowned them, and has instead given all the Biblically-promised blessings to the church.

To the early church fathers, Replacement Theology seemed logical.  The Jews had been scattered to the four corners of the Earth after the temple was destroyed 70 AD.  No ethnic group could possibly keep their cultural identity and then be re-gathered from such a scattering abroad, not even after one generation.  No, that was humanly impossible; it had never happened in the history of the world.

All that changed in 1948.  The miraculous  rebirth of Israel took place, as foretold in the scriptures.  The Jewish people came - and are still coming - from the four corners of the earth to settle in that little gem of land no bigger than New Jersey.

To cling to the idea that YHVH has disowned His chosen people is to miss the heart of the Father for His chosen people.  Yeshua gave us the story of the Prodigal Son.  It is a terrible thing for the church to take on the attitude of the arrogant older brother.

Now more than ever, we need to bless and esteem the members of our parent faith.  Very soon, Yeshua will return to the very soil of Israel and reveal Himself to those who do not yet believe.

The Four Cups of Passover

Passover is just around the corner, that joyful celebration of deliverance from physical bondage in Egypt and spiritual bondage from sin.

The four cups of Passover are deeply symbolic.  They have been around in Jewish tradition for thousands of years.  Two cups are drank before dinner, and the other two after dinner.

The cups are based on the four "I Will" statements from Exodus 6:6-7.  Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.  I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

The first cup is the cup of Sanctification.  That word means holy, or set apart.  God set apart the Israelites as His chosen people.  In the Seder, the first cup is called the Kiddush, which comes from the same root word as Kadosh, meaning holy.

The second cup is the cup of Judgement.  When Yeshua was praying in the garden, He asked his father to take this cup from him.  But to do His father's will, He agreed to "drink of it" so that we would not have to. 

The third cup is the cup of Redemption.  Just as the Lord God redeemed Israel from Egypt with an outstretched arm, so too did Yeshua redeem us with His outstretched arm on the cross.  During the Seder that night, Yeshua instutited the new covenant, which had been promised to Israel in Jeremiah 31:31.  Luke 22:20 tells us, Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.  Jesus was literally sealing the new covenant promise with this third cup of the Seder, the Cup of Redemption.  He did not drink of it Himself, therefore excluding Himself from redemption so that He could become redemption for us.  He gave the cup to His disciples to drink, in order to seal the deal with them.

The fourth cup, called the Cup of Praise, is reserved for the future wedding of the Lamb.  This is why Yeshua promised that He would not drink of the fruit of the vine with them until the Kingdom of God is set up on Earth when He returns.

Jesus came to Earth to become our sacrificial Passover Lamb.  This is the pivotal point of all history, the fulfillment of God's promise in the garden to send a redeemer who would crush satan's head. 

 

Unfortunately, the church was overtaken by Rome in the fourth century, and all Jewish forms of worship were made illegal. The rich, Biblical foreshadowing of what Yeshua fulfilled at Passover (and Unleavened Bread, and Feast of Firstfruits) was swapped for a pagan festival named after a Babylonian fertility goddess.   "Easter" (or Ishtar, or Ashtoreth, or Astarte, or Eostre - they are all the same) had been celebrated by pagans for thousands of years before Yeshua came to Earth to redeem us.

I was an adult before I knew that the "Last Supper" was a Passover Seder. 

I don't know about you, but it seems quite incongruous to me to celebrate our redemption by the Passover Lamb with an Easter Ham... just sayin'!

Tongues of Men and Angels?

Ahh, the gift of tongues.

I believe no other subject causes more division in the church (unless you count music styles or which Bible version one must use).

For the sake of this post, let's say there are two groups of people - Christians that speak in tongues (Group A), and Christians who do not (Group B).

I belonged to Group B for about the first 15 years of being a believer, and didn't have too much exposure to Group A.  I was born again in a church that taught that the spiritual gifts are no longer for today, because the Bible was complete and the Holy Spirit power gifts (such as tongues, prophecy, miracles, etc) weren't needed anymore.  There was always this unspoken implication (okay, I have actually heard people speak it, too) that speaking in tongues verged on the demonic, and that it blasphemed the Holy Spirit.  And frankly, the idea of speaking in tongues was a little weird!

But I kept meeting people who had this strange gift.   I grew curious about it, because the people didn't SEEM like they were the spawn of satan.  (Although I WAS really irritated by the woman who told me that I was probably not born again because I didn't speak in tongues).

I reached a turning point almost three years ago when I went on a mission trip to Mexico.  I was blown away by the presence of God in the place we visited.  I purchased a book written by the founder, Charla Pereau, in which she gives her testimony, called Charla's Children.  She'd been saved as a child and was a good Lutheran housewife in her 40s - looking forward to her youngest child entering school so that she would have more free time to have coffee and grocery coupon parties with other moms while the kids were at school.

The Holy Spirit wrecked her comfortable life.

Like me, she had been taught that tongues or the other miraculous gifts were NOT for today.  But for her, the subject kept coming up through different people that she came in contact with.  Eventually, she received the baptism of the Holy Spirit (along with the gift of tongues), all the while kicking and vehemently protesting!  But the Holy Spirit really got ahold of her and changed her life.  She will be the first to say that it was because of His power in her life that she was led to found the orphanage in Mexico that eventually grew into a full-fledged mission featuring many ministries and outreaches.

It was a combination of seeing the fruit of the mission, and then reading her book, that totally changed my thinking on the matter of tongues (and the other gifts of the Holy Spirit as well).  I prayed for, and received, the gift of tongues just over a year ago.

When studying any doctrine, it is important to study everything the Word says about it and not use a "proof-text"  (which is a verse taken out of context to prove a point).  For example, when Paul is encouraging the Corinthian church to make sure there is an interpreter, he is chiding that congregation for its absolute chaos.  They were immoral, carnal, full of strife... spiritual babes not ready yet for meat.  He was trying to teach them to tone it down a little, for heaven's sake. 

Putting all the passages on a topic together and then studying them out is called "systematic theology."  Doing so gives one a much more balanced doctrinal viewpoint.

One thing to remember is that scripture teaches that there are different kinds of tongues.  There is the kind in Acts 2, when the apostles were able to speak the languages of all the people visiting Jerusalem for Shavuot (Pentecost).  This happened to my friend Patty - she was able to speak Spanish in an emergency when she didn't know Spanish.

1 Corinthians 14:2 gives us a glimpse of another kind of tongue -  For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands him; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries.  Chapter 12 lists a variety of gifts, including tongues, that the Holy Spirit distributes according to the will of God.  Mark 16:17 promises that this would happen - And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues - the Greek word for "new," kainos, means just that:  a new kind, unprecedented, novel, uncommon, previously unheard of.

So are they wrong?  Those denominations and seminaries who claim that tongues are not for today? After all, scripture teaches that where there are tongues, they will cease (1 Corinthians 13:8).

I do believe that they have legitimate reasons for what they teach, and it has to do with church history.

The letter to the seven churches in Revelation gives us a prophetic and sequential picture of what was going to happen in the church throughout the messianic age, leading up to the return of Jesus.  Each one, in order, coincides with what took place, and is taking place, in church history.  (Seven represents completeness in scripture).  If you would like more information, click on the "Seven Churches" label on the right side of this page and have a look.

Anyway, the church separated itself from her Jewish roots beginning in about the fourth century, which led to mass confusion and corruption.  The church in the middle ages is represented by the church at Thyratira (the corrupt church), followed by the Reformation Age church, represented by Sardis (the dead church).  These were eras where there wasn't a whole lot of Holy Spirit action.  (I struggled with the Reformation church being called dead, until I realized that, in the words of Jesus, a grain of seed must fall to the ground and die before new life could spring up.) 

The next church, Philadelphia, is a church that sprang to life after the turmoil of the Reformation.   The great Missionary age was born, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit began to return.

Here is where it gets exciting!  The Pentecostal movement was born at the same time as modern day Zionism, which really took off in the late 1800s.  Think of the Welsh Revival and the Azuza Street revival in the early 1900s, and there have been many other great revivals since then.  Now that Israel has become a nation again, the words of Joel 2 (he is speaking of the last days) are literally being fulfilled now: 

And it shall come to pass afterward
That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your old men shall dream dreams,
Your young men shall see visions.
And also on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.
 
I know that not everyone will agree with me, and that is fine, but I believe that people on both sides of this doctrine really need to take 1 Corinthians 13:1 to heart:

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.

Please, no matter which side you are on, be kind to those who hold to a different doctrine than you do.  Please don't point fingers and call them demonic, blasphemers, unsaved, a lesser Christian, etc. etc.  Remember the prayer that Jesus prayed in the garden before His death, that his believers will be one in Him.  (John 17:20-23). 

Faith, hope, and love remain, but the greatest of these is LOVE!  1 Cor 13:13
 

A Look at Priesthood

A recent comment by a Catholic friend of mine has raised a question in my mind.

What exactly is a priest?

Let's look at the definition of priest, according to the dictionary (American Heritage by Houghton Mifflin, 2000):

priest [priːst] feminine, priestess

n

1. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) Christianity a person ordained to act as a mediator between God and man in administering the sacraments, preaching, blessing, guiding, etc.

2. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) (in episcopal Churches) a minister in the second grade of the hierarchy of holy orders, ranking below a bishop but above a deacon

3. (Christianity / Ecclesiastical Terms) a minister of any religion

4. (Non-Christian Religions / Judaism) Judaism a descendant of the family of Aaron who has certain privileges in the synagogue service

5. (Non-Christian Religions / Other Non-Christian Religions) (in some non-Christian religions) an official who offers sacrifice on behalf of the people and performs other religious ceremonies

6. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Breeds) (sometimes capital) a variety of fancy pigeon having a bald pate with a crest or peak at the back of the head (side note: is this where that bald-on-top monk haircut came from? Just curious!)

7. (Individual Sports & Recreations / Angling) Angling a small club used to kill fish caught 

In Biblical Judaism, priests came from the tribe of Levi.  They were the ones who served at the temple.  The High Priest was the head honcho, the one who went in to the Holy of Holies once a year to atone for his own sins and the sins of Israel.  He was the mediator between man and God.  The Hebrew word is Kohen.  Today, the Jewish surnames such as Cohen, Cohn, Levine, Levy... they all reflect back to the priestly tribe of Levi.

The first mention of a priest in scripture, however, was Melchizedek, king of Salem, in Genesis 14:18, which is actually a preincarnate appearance of the Messiah.  The next mention of a priest is in Genesis 41:45, where Joseph marries the daughter of a priest of On in Egypt.  There are numerous other references to these Egyptian priests.  The next mention comes when Moses is taking a wife in Midian - her father Jethro was a priest.  After the Levitical priesthood was established in the Moses Covenant, the scriptures make hundreds and hundreds of references to the Levitical priests, and to pagan priests as well (priests of Ba'al, for example).

After the temple was destroyed in 70 AD, the Judaic priesthood was abolished along with the temple sacrifices.  Since then, the Jewish faith has had rabbis and sages, but no priests.  The early believers in Yeshua did not have priests, either. (Paganism, however, continued to have priests and priestesses at their temples that were scattered throughout the Roman Empire and all over the world.)

As that early body of believers grew, the congregations began to appoint leaders to their fellowships.  Several words are used for this leadership, and they are synonymous and used interchangeably.  The word bishop comes from the Greek word episkopouv, meaning overseer.  The  Greek word presbureros means elder. The word for pastor - poiemen - means shepherd.   Look at Acts 20:28, in which Paul was addressing the elders (presbureros) of Ephesus: Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers (episkopos), to shepherd (poimaino) the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.  This is not a hierarchy of church leadership (ie: priest, bishop, archbishop, cardinal, pope).  This is a group of godly leaders - protecting, guiding, and discipling their local fellowship, with Yeshua as the head.

The entire book of Hebrews gives a wonderful description of the priesthood, and explains how Yeshua has now fulfilled this office for us.  The curtain was torn, and we now have direct access to Almighty God through Him, our mediator and High Priest. 

There are three more references to the priesthood in scripture after the book of Hebrews; two in 1 Peter 2, and one in Revelation 1:6.  These do not refer to church leadership, but to US!  Listen to this:

1 Peter 2:9  But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. 

ALL of us as believers are to be priests... that is, mediators between God and a lost and dying world!  Living stones, according to verse 5, being built up into a spiritual household!

So why do some churches still distinguish between clergy and laity, the clergy being the priests?  In the 4th century, the Roman Emperor Constantine had a vision which led to him declaring Christianity as the legal, state religion of the Roman Empire.  All the pagan temples that were scattered about became "Christian," as did the priests that served there.  Thus, there was a "resurrecting" of the priesthood for church leadership.  Much more could be said on that subject, and in fact, my posts under the label seven churches have a lot of information regarding church history if you wish to read further.

No Christmas Tree, No Christmas Tree

I've been taking a little good-natured heat for my stance on Christmas.  I love my friends dearly, which is why I shared the scripture from Jeremiah 10 about cutting down trees from the woods and decorating them like the pagans do.  But in the last twenty four hours I've heard expressed to me both "legalism" and "well, it's just the Old Testament" (with a shrug).

Perhaps, in hindsight, I shouldn't have started with Jeremiah 10.  I had been studying paganism in the church for a long time before I stumbled onto that verse.  "Christmas" isn't in scripture.  It was begun in the fourth century when Constantine "converted" to Christianity, outlawed the celebration of any biblical Feasts or Sabbaths, persecuted the Jews, and made all the pagan Roman festivals into "Christian" ones.  Friends, Jesus was Jewish, not Roman.  Whenever I hear "Keep Christ in Christmas," I want to shout out that He wasn't there in the first place - it was Saturnalia; the celebration of the death and resurrection of the sun god!  But of course, that would be rude, so I keep my mouth shut.  (Well, ok, not always - but sometimes I can't HELP it!). 

Both pagans and Jewish people chuckle at Christians around Christmastime.  Many of them know about the pagan roots to the holiday, even if believers don't.  The God of the Bible wants to be worshipped in spirit and in truth.  God has a way that He wants to be worshipped.  He calls the mixing in of pagan things "harlotry."  Remember the golden calf?  The high places?  The cakes baked for the queen of heaven?

Let me go back to that "it's just the Old Testament" comment for a moment.  There's this idea in Christianity that it's outdated and no longer relevant.  Not true.  Look at Acts 17:11-12 - These [Bereans] were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. 

These guys, both Jewish and gentile, weren't searching through the New Testament scriptures - those hadn't been written yet.  They poured through the Tanakh (aka "Old Testament"), which points to the Messiah Yeshua in every single book.  Yeshua fulfilled the Mosaic covenant (the old covenant law) when he gave us the new covenant through His blood (see Jeremiah 31:31-33), but there's a whole lot more to the Tanakh than the Mosaic covenant.  We are grafted into the kingdom of God - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Israel) - and we'd best be studying ALL the scriptures for ourselves. 

Here's the thing.  Jeremiah 10 says the customs of the gentiles are futile - they cut trees and decorate them.  This statement was never abrogated (overruled, reversed) anywhere in scripture.  Well, I'm going with scripture, and not the traditions of men.

By the way, only two more days till Hanukkah!  Woohoo!  Now there's a biblical holiday!  (John 10)

Happy Birthday?

In my last post, I briefly explained our journey out of Christmas.  Perhaps you are one of those who asks, "Is it wrong to celebrate the birthday of Jesus on December 25?"

One of the things that crossed my mind while thinking this through was, what if we eliminate the words "on December 25?"  Is it something we should be doing, period?  Scripture is not clear on the date of Yeshua's birth.  Two of the gospels don't even mention it.  Do you suppose that God did this on purpose?

I found two clear birthday celebrations in scripture, with an allusion to a third.  Let's look at them:

Exodus 40:20-22:  Now it came to pass on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday, that he made a feast for all his servants; and he lifted up the head of the chief butler and of the chief baker among his servants.  Then he restored the chief butler to his butlership again, and he placed the cup in Pharaoh’s hand.  But he hanged the chief baker, as Joseph had interpreted to them.

Matthew 14 and Mark 6 tell the story of the daughter of Herodias dancing before Herod on his birthday.  The ultimate result was the beheading of John the Baptist.

The final allusion to a birthday takes place in the first chapter of Job.  Some translations use the word birthday; others do not.  Here is the NIV translation:  His sons used to hold feasts in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular custom. 

These are the only references in the scriptures to birthdays, and frankly, none of them had uplifting results.  I have also heard that the three most important holidays to practicing witches are Samhain (Halloween), Beltane (May 1), and their birthday.  I don't remember where I read this, and I am not totally certain that it is true.

We are never once commanded to celebrate the birthday of the Son of God.  So does that mean we should not do it?  This is a question that only you can answer, through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.  I am not going to condemn you if you do.  But I hope that you won't condemn me or call me Scrooge because I don't.   I know that the battle cry of the Reformation was "Sola Scriptura!"  Personally, I think that "Sola Scriptura Unless It Is A Long-Held Tradition " is more accurate.

And lest you think I am a JW and don't do birthdays at all, I do acknowledge the days that my children joined the family. But I am careful not to make more of those days than I ought.  Know what I mean? 

I also think that God left us a few clues in His Word to let us know when Yeshua was born.  Watch for my next post (if you are still with me, that is!).

That time of year again...

Ah, December.

The frenzy.  The shopping.  The boycotting of stores who refuse to say "Merry Christmas."  The rushing around, preparing for and attending all sorts of parties.  The stress of buying just the right gift for Aunt Matilda.  The extra rehearsals for the Christmas pageant at church.  Pausing from the hubbub to remind ourselves for "the reason for the season."  The overindulgence.  The signs in the yard that say "Keep Christ in Christmas."  The ridiculous overspending.

I just can't do it anymore.

Our family has been on a journey "out of Christmas" for the past few years.  It began when I decided to stop sending out my annual mass-mailing of Christmas cards to pretty much everyone I had ever met.  (I initially changed the mass-mailing to Easter instead, but that eventually had to go, too).

The journey continued as I began to study the Jewish roots of my faith.  My studying included looking at church history.  I learned how ancient Rome under Constantine took everything Jewish away from the faith, and instead tried to "Christianize" the pagan festivals that were celebrated by the Romans.  Saturnalia, the celebration of the death and resurrection of the sun god, became Christmas.  Easter became.... well, Easter.  (They didn't even bother to change the name of that one because Passover was Jewish, so they kept the name of their fertility goddess.)  Even their priests were changed into "Christian" priests without really having to change much.  Instead of worshipping various gods, the people were given various "patron saints" to pray to.

Scripture warns us in numerous places not to mix pagan customs with the worship of the Lord.  Here is one of them that really stood out to me when I read it; Jeremiah 10:2-4: 

Thus says the LORD: 
“ Do not learn the way of the Gentiles;
Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven,
For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.  
  For the customs of the peoples are futile;
For one cuts a tree from the forest,
The work of the hands of the workman, with the ax.
They decorate it with silver and gold;
They fasten it with nails and hammers
So that it will not topple. 

If I'm not mistaken, that sure sounds like our modern-day Christmas tree!  You can see scripturally that the custom of cutting down a tree and decorating it originated way before Yeshua was born, and that it was a completely pagan custom.

The more I learned about the pagan-rooted holidays, the less joy I felt in trying to celebrate them.  And the more I learn about the Biblical Feasts and how they all point to Yeshua the Messiah, the more joyful they have become!

You're probably thinking, "Oh, your poor children!  How can you rob them of Christmas?"  My poor children are learning the Biblical Feasts, too.  And my poor children are not being trained in the frenzy of materialism of Black Friday, the Shopping Season, and Christmas morning.  During Hanukkah, we light the menorah, make latkes in the oil that represents the Holy Spirit, and celebrate the fact that Yeshua is the Light of the World.

I have been asked, "Well, is it wrong for us to celebrate the birth of Jesus on December 25?"   I'll give you my thoughts on that in my next post.

A new religion??

Let me just say this: Yeshua did not come to create a new religion. Yeshua was not a Christian. Yeshua was not Catholic. Jesus was Jewish from start to finish!

Over the past weekend, we held a "Feast of Feasts" at our house. We invited the youth (and their families) over for an afternoon of learning and feasting - feasting on food and the Word.

The seven Feasts found in Leviticus 23 create a mural for us of God's entire redemptive plan. Yeshua fulfilled the spring feasts of Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Shavuot (Pentecost) with His death, burial, resurrection, and sending of the Holy Spirit. At His first coming, He was the Suffering Servant.

We are now in the long, hot summer between the feasts, where the Kingdom of God is offered to the whole world. Then someday, Yeshua will return and fulfill the fall feasts of Trumpets, Day of Atonement, and Shavuot (Feast of Tabernacles). This He will do as a Conquering King.

Folks like to say that Pentecost was the "birth of the church," and that we are now in the "church age." I say that it is simply the next step in God's redemptive plan, which is first to the Jew an then to the Gentile. The first believers were all Jewish. Yeshua said to the woman at the well in Samaria, You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. True, most of His brethren rejected Him as Messiah. But the early believers were the remnant who were empowered to take the good news to the rest of the world. The two loaves made with leaven that are eaten at Shavuot represent Jew and Gentile coming together as one new man in God's redemptive plan.

The word ekklesia, which is translated church in so many Bible versions, is a Greek word that means assembly. It can be a political ekklesia, a social ekklesia, whatever. It had no religious connotation at all. You can actually find the word in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Tanakh, which happened 300 years before Yeshua came to earth), being applied to the Jewish assembly.

Since about the fourth century, a dangerous theology called Replacement Theology has been taught within the church. This theology says that God is done with the Jews, and that the church is the new Israel. This theology has been responsible for the deaths of millions and millions of Jews as they were shunned, pushed out, forced to convert, or killed throughout church history - labeled "Christ killers" and being accused of all sorts of ridiculous things like killing Christian children at Passover and using their blood to make matzah. How stupid is that? Matzah is made with wheat and water, nothing else.

This theology has the capability of harming Gentiles as well. I recently read an article at aish.com, written by a former Gentile Christian who could not make sense of Replacement Theology. His heart was drawn toward the Jewish people (as is mine), but because all his studying was done through the lens of Replacement Theology, he could not reconcile Christianity. He is now an orthodox Jew living in Israel and has completely rejected Yeshua as the Messiah. He and I have had a brief exchange of emails in which he clarified his Rabbinic Jewish beliefs, and with a mildly hostile attitude, I might add. His article can be found here: http://www.aish.com/sp/so/My_Long_Road_Home.html. Sad, sad, sad!

I love the study of the Jewish roots of my faith (obviously, given the title of this blog). However, I have no fear of losing my faith in Yeshua. His amazing footprints are ALL OVER the Tanakh (old testament). Unfortunately, most of these ideas are not taught in the church, which for the most part is still entrenched in replacement theology.

Not convinced? Here is an example: does your church teach a pre-tribulational rapture of the church? This theology, made popular in the 1830s, shows a move toward a more biblical view of Israel - that God will deal with them in the end - but it still teaches that the church is entirely a separate entity from Israel. It is important to read (and understand) Ephesians 2, Romans 11, and Jeremiah 31:31. The covenants were all made with Israel, and we Gentiles were graciously allowed to be grafted into God's covenant with THEM. Scripture clearly shows the believers in Yeshua are still around in Revelation 12:17 (among other places). But that is altogether another post (or six) for another time.

I don't think the early church was entirely malicious in its formation of Replacement Theology.  After all, Israel had been completely destroyed, purged of Jewish people, and renamed Palestine (by the Roman Emperor Hadrian - who hated the Jews - and not by any Arab person).   And Israel had no homeland for centuries and centuries.  Perhaps it seemed logical to the church that they really were the new Israel.  (However, this does not excuse the historical treatment of the Jews by the church).

But now Israel is a nation again in her own homeland, a miracle, wrought by the hand of God alone!   People have been digging into the scriptures and re-examining their beliefs in this light.  Praise Adonai!

The Letter to the Congregation at Laodicea

The final letter to the seven churches is to Laodicea.

And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write,
‘These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God:  “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.  So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.  Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked—  I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.  To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.  
  “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

The word Laodicea means customs or judgements of the people. The time represented by this church began in around the 1900s and will continue until the Lord returns.  Remember that there is some of each church present during each time period, but the letters outline the main happenings of each era.

Laodicea was a very wealthy city – famous for gold and banking, located between Colosse (known for its refreshing ice cold water) and Hieropolis (famous for hot springs). The city was also known for its special breed of black sheep, which produced wool for the expensive black fabric that Laodicea was known for.  The city had no defenses – armies would take over and they would succumb to them.  Finally, Laodicea had a medical clinic in the city that was well-known for its eye salve.

Laodicea had no water of its own; it had to be piped in from the neighboring cities and was nasty - lukewarm.  So many commentaries say that this was a lukewarm church, and that God would wish them to be hot or cold instead.  As if being cold in your faith was a good thing?   Both hot and cold in this letter were good and refreshing.These were not passive believers, these were religious unbelievers.  They had not been born again.

It is stressed in the beginning of this letter that He is Faithful and True - unlike the church.  It was a false church, succumbing to the "armies" around it.  It is interesting to note that the creation of God is mentioned.  One of the great heresies of the end-times church denies the creation and promotes evolution instead.  Today's politically correct church does not want to mention the atoning blood of Yeshua as being the only way to God.  Many churches today have succumbed to many other liberal ideas as well - such as the Bible is obsolete, inviting Muslims to prayer meetings (claiming that we serve the same God), ordaining homosexuals (claiming they were born that way, so it's fine), etc.

2 Timothy 3 says:  But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,  having a form of godliness but denying its power

The good news is that God loves the people of Laodicea!  He gives them three appeals.  He says they are poor, naked, wretched, and blind (in the midst of wealth and gold, expensive black clothes, falsehood, and eye salve).  But He loves them and wants to give them a white robe, which represents salvation (Revelation 7).   He knocks at the door.  Notice the picture below - there is no doorknob on the outside.  It must be opened from within.  This church is ruled by people, with God on the outside.

The church of Laodicea will be refined during the end.  It will be a tough time - many will fall away, but others will heed the warning.

In Zechariah 12, God says: 

I will bring the one-third through the fire,
Will refine them as silver is refined,
And test them as gold is tested.
They will call on My name,
And I will answer them.
I will say, ‘This is My people’;
And each one will say, ‘The LORD is my God.

The Letter to the Congregation at Philadelphia

Ahhh, the church at Philadelphia.  Finally!

They, along with Smyrna, did not get a bad report.  And Philadelphia and Smyrna are the only two cities of the seven that still stand today, even though they now have different names.

The modern Turkish city of Alasehir began as Philadelphia. It was established in 189 B.C. by King Eumenes II of Pergamos (197-160 B.C.). Eumenes II named the city for the love of his brother, who would be his successor, Attalus II (159-138 B.C.), whose loyalty earned him the nickname "Philadelphos", literally "one who loves his brother".  Today’s church in Alasehir is underground due to persecution from Islam.

Here is the letter, Rev 3:7-12:

 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write,
‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”:  “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name.  Indeed I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews and are not, but lie—indeed I will make them come and worship before your feet, and to know that I have loved you. Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.  Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.  He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.   

Holy and true - This church upheld that the Messiah is completely holy.  Once can respect someone who is completely holy, and they respected God. They recognized the magnitude of being in a relationship with Someone so completely holy.   He is True. The Greek word means real, genuine, which is the opposite of“religion.” - not a set of rules, or a code, or a god taught by the Romans. 

Key of David – This section is quoted from Isaiah 22, where you can read the account of Shebna.  His authority was taken away and given to Eliakim - the key of David is given to him. Shebna had controlled access to the king.  The key of David represents the Lord opening the way and inviting us into His presence. Shebna means He came near. Eliakim means God will raise up. 

Is 22:22  The key of the house of David
I will lay on his shoulder;
So he shall open, and no one shall shut;
And he shall shut, and no one shall open.       

The open door is an important feature of this letter.  The city of Philadelphia was a gateway city to Asia– it became a missionary center heading into Asia in the first century.  Thus the mention of the open door – the gateway city. 

The main era of history that this church represents is mainly 1800-1900s and probably continuing to the Lord’s return.  Philadelphia replaced a church that was dead with one that is alive.  This is the great missionary movement!  The end of the 1700s saw an explosion of people becoming missionaries… going and sharing the love of Yeshua with the world. Not crusades or inquisitions or state churches. It was motivated by love... love of God and love of people, just like the two greatest commandments tell us.

  

Here are a few examples:  William Carey in 1792 established the Baptist Missionary Society.  This was followed by the London Missionary Society, focusing on the South Pacific and Africa.  Hudson Taylor founded the China Inland Mission in 1865.  Other well-known missionaries of this era were David Livingstone, Amy Carmichael, and Gladys Aylward.

The world was turned upside down by the work of these early missionaries.  Most of the believers before then had been in the west, but today, the church is spreading like wildfire in the 10/40 window of Asia and on the continent of Africa.   The door is closing to outside missionaries in many of these countries, but now indigenous missionaries are being raised up to reach their own people.

Moving on… regarding the synagogue of satan, the church did suffer some persecution from the unbelieving Jewish community there (who eventually became believers, according to writings by Ignatius, pastor of Antioch). 

Isaiah 60:14 gives us a picture: 
Also the sons of those who afflicted you
Shall come bowing to you,
And all those who despised you shall fall prostrate at the soles of your feet;
And they shall call you The City of the LORD,
Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 

Also, remember the letter to Smyrna, regarding those who said they were Jews and were not? The era of the Philadelphia church saw a correction made to Replacement Theology - which is the idea that God is done with Israel and “the church” is the new Israel. People began to rise up and take notice of the scriptures reflecting God’s promises of salvation to Israel. They began “loving the brethren” of Yeshua... the very meaning of the name Philadelphia.

The scriptures go on to say that they have a small amount of strength (the Greek word means power), and they have not denied His name. We all may be asked to deny His name in the near future.  Be ready!

The church at Philadelphia kept His Word – it was a time of restoration of Bible truth.  Truths are still coming forth -spiritual revelations from God.  Nobody talked about end time prophecy before 1948.  Today there are so many learning tools available - lexicons, interlinears, commentaries, Dead Sea Scrolls.  In the era of Sardis (the Reformation), many things were not yet restored.

The church at Philadelphia was promised that they would be kept from the hour of trial facing the whole earth. They will obviously receive protection from something that is bad… could this be special protection during the great tribulation or is it protection from the wrath of God, which follows the great tribulation?  I believe it could be either one.  However,  I do not believe it is a catching away prior to the great tribulation.  Too many scriptures show the presence of believers on earth during this time frame.

Let no man take your crown – Apparently they already had it - had earned it.  Why would the Lord caution them to hold fast to it?  Laodicea is on its way – the lies and deception.  Click here for the last stop in the seven churches series.

The Letter to the congregation at Sardis

The town of Sardis, founded in 2000 BC was one of the greatest and wealthiest cities.  Gold coins were first made there in 600 BC.  The legendary King Midas (everything he touched was gold) was from Sardis.  His mother was the goddess Cybele – who is none other than the Babylonian goddess Semiramis. 

 It sat on a cliff 1000 feet high and was considered unconquerable, so they didn’t guard it.  Cyrus the Persian finally conquered the city, and then it was conquered again 300 years later by Antiochus IV, again, because they didn’t guard it.  The city was great and then became dead.

 I have been trying to figure out what Sardis means, and I just can't seem to find any information on it.

 Here is the letter:

 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write, ‘These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: “I know your works, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead. Be watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die, for I have not found your works perfect before God.  Remember therefore how you have received and heard; hold fast and repent. Therefore if you will not watch, I will come upon you as a thief, and you will not know what hour I will come upon you.  You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.   “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Sardis represents the era of the Reformation, which brought the church out of the dark ages.  The Reformation was a major necessary step to correct the corrupt church of the previous age, but the letter says that the work was not perfect (meaning not complete). 

So why is there no good report in Sardis?  The Reformation was a good thing, was it not?  The letter says they had a name - a reputation - that they are alive, but they were dead.  Could it be that the church of Sardis, representing the Reformation church, had to be like a seed that was dropped to the ground to die, before it could be born again?

In a nutshell – what the Reformation started out to do, it stopped way too soon.  To whom much is given, much is required.  Justification by faith was taught, but the Holy Spirit was not.    The church became filled witth people trusting in a name, but were never born again.  The Spirit gives life, and they were dead.

They also did not correct the anti-semitism or the Replacement Theology (the idea that the church has replaced Israel in God's plan) that had been prevalent in the previous church ages.  Too much false doctrine from the Catholic church remained and was not corrected.  Reformationists even began persecuting Anabaptists because they didn’t baptize infants. 

Additionally, they too became state-run churches – Lutheran in Germany – Calvinism in Switzerland, Anglican in England, etc.

Reformation churches in general were trusting in their name and reputation.  I think of the time my children spent in a Lutheran school.  Reformation Sunday was a huge celebration in late October.  I remember being bothered by how much they focused on Martin Luther. It was all about being Lutheran!  Other mainline protestant denominations are similar.  We joined a Methodist church many years ago, before we were even believers, and we were asked to promise to be loyal to the United Methodist Church.  Really?  Even as an unbeliever, that didn't sit well with me.

The city of Sardis was conquered twice by the spirit of false trust, while they were sleeping.  The Lord will come like a thief, lest they watch, similar to how Sardis was conquered.  Today, the Lord may say to the church, "Wake up!"  But we know that the Lord will not come as a thief to the believers - hallelujah! 

And there is hope offered to those few in the dead church, who have not defiled their garments.  They will be clothed in white and walk with Yeshua, who will confess their names before His Father and the angels - and their names will remain in the Book of Life!

Next up: Philadelphia.