What
Happened with Christianity?
"As the apostolic age comes to a close, the Church seems to pass
through a dark tunnel. When it comes out at the other side, the original bond
of unity, the clear Standards, and the love of [Yahweh] seem to have been replaced
by an unsettling, institutionalized spirit of domination and by beliefs which
are more Gnostic than Christian. What happened? We are now confronted with the
possibility that the original identity and true definition of Christianity have
become lost." from “The Apostasy of
the Lost Century”.
____________________________________________________
Scholars,
historians, and sincere clerics agree that during the first 200 years following
the deaths of the Apostles, drastic, unscriptural changes came about within the
early Assembly that would flourish down to our day. It was prophesied in the
Bible. But the Bible also speaks of a "remnant" who will be adhering
to the original, scriptural truths in these last days. Understand what
happened, and the urgent need today to return to the "faith which was once
delivered to the saints"! (Jude 3)
SIMON, THE ELDERLY BIBLE STUDENT, twisted restlessly in his auditorium seat, wondering
how he should respond to the preacher's call. A friend insisted he come along
to this special revival service because Simon "needed to be straightened
out." Simon had always been very much interested in the Bible (which he
referred to as the "Textbook of Life") and welcomed the opportunity
to attend a revival service hoping to increase his Bible knowledge.
"All who do not believe in Jesus Christ as
Savior, please stand up," intoned the evangelist as his talk drew to a
close. Simon stood up.
Simon believed deeply in the personal Savior sent to
pay the penalty for man's sins. But he had always wondered, would the angel
Gabriel have told Miriam (Mary) to call her Son by a Latinized-Greek name?
After all, she was a Jewish virgin in the Hebrew community of
Furthermore, Simon had observed that whenever a
celestial being spoke to mankind, it was to those who understood Hebrew. The
name Jesus Christ is not a Hebrew name. Nor is it entirely Greek, or Latin.
"Will all those who are standing, please come
down to the front of the auditorium," invited the evangelist. Old Simon
shrugged and shuffled with the others down to the front.
A waiting helper at the lectern asked, "Are you a
Christian?"
"Am I what?" Simon responded. "Are you
a Christian-you know-do you believe Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior?"
"Not exactly," was our friend's reply, "but I do believe the
Bible-every bit of it."
"But doesn't your Bible say that the name of the
Savior is Jesus Christ?" insisted the young man. Simon smiled and replied
that the Bible we have is but a translation of the Latin, which is a
translation of the Greek, which is a translation of the Hebrew. The names
people call the Father and Son are far different from those originally given to
mankind. Furthermore, what we have now is a three-times-removed, man-made
translation of the originally inspired Old and New Testaments, none of which
could have contained the name "Jesus Christ."
"Somewhere the true name Yahshua, our Hebrew-born
Savior, was lost and our beloved King James Bible has given us a
substitute," Simon explained. "But it is the word 'Christian' that
puzzles me," he went on. "Why has Christianity twisted so much of the
Bible's truth, teaching another evangel, another doctrine? It seems to me that
a movement identifying itself so closely with the Messiah would teach what He
taught!"
Preaching Another Evangel
Our
friend Simon is not a fictitious character. The experience related above
actually took place in a tent meeting years ago. Through much study on his own
he had drawn conclusions that differed from what is routinely taught in nominal
Christianity throughout our land.
Do we need a priest or minister to interpret for us
what the Bible says? Surely the Creator of this universe would not leave an
instruction Book for man that humble, sincere, truth-seeking people could not
properly understand!
Is truth that leads to salvation so complicated that
it can be grasped only by those with seminary degrees in Bible interpretation?
Translators Changed Names
With
the help of today's concordances, lexicons, dictionaries, and other Bible study
helps, we can come to a better understanding of many archaic words and
renditions found in the King James Bible.
As we move closer to the end of the age, knowledge of
the Bible's true message shall be increased, Daniel 12:4. At the same time
there will be a restoring of original truth neglected through the centuries,
Acts 3:21.
Most of us with a little study can easily find a
number of incongruities and even serious errors perpetuated by churchianity. As
alluded to above, the name "Jesus" appears in Acts 7:45 in the King
James, which obviously refers to Joshua the son of Nun, the great Israelite
general. Hebrews 4:8 is another place where Joshua-or more correctly Yahshua-should appear in the King James
Bible. The newer Bible versions recognize this error and have since changed the
name to the Latinized "Joshua" in both Acts and Hebrews. These are
definitive examples revealing that the Savior's name Yahshua (later altered to
Joshua) was changed wholesale to "Jesus" by translators!
The average churchgoer has no idea what the word
"Christ" means or where it came from. Bible dictionaries show that
"Christ" derives from the Greek christos (Strong's Concordance Greek Dictionary No. 5547, from "chrio" meaning to anoint or rub with oil). It means anointed, as does the Hebrew meshiach. Why would a Jewish Savior,
speaking Hebrew, be given the Greek title "Christ?"
Yahshua Himself said our salvation is of the Jews (not
Greeks, John
It does seem rather strange that the Greek title
"Christos" is transliterated (that is, brought over into English with the same sound), yet the Name of
Yahweh and His Son Yahshua are both translated by the English "Lord" in our New Testament. Too often
in the King James Version the word "Lord" leaves us in doubt who is
meant, Yahweh the Father or Yahshua the Son (see Acts 2:34, Heb. 10:30 and many
others).
Strange Practices And Customs
There
is a grass roots religious or spiritual movement afoot around the world to free
mankind from the shackles of pagan customs and beliefs. This is true not only
in the
The problem with mankind is simply one of human nature
and sin. Yahweh clearly defines sin for us: "Whosoever
commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the
law." (1 John 3:4) We cannot do things as we alone see fit, but are
obligated to follow His instructions, living His way. He is the final Judge.
When our lives are over and we are in the grave, Almighty Yahweh will be the
One who matters. So we must please Him now, while we can.
As we near the end of the age it appears that Yahweh
is moving to clear from the minds of sincere truth seekers the accumulated
rubbish of pagan influence that has overwhelmed and saturated the faith once
delivered. Error is evident everywhere, yet the majority attending weekly church
services are ignorant of the subtle and pervasive influence of pagan customs.
Christianity perpetuates the error instead of rejecting paganism and retracing
its steps back to truth.
Profane Customs Hard To Shake
It
is no secret that the first Israelite Bishops and overseers were replaced at
death by converts from paganism. Brumback's History Of The Church states on page 53, "The Roman emperor,
by the office of Pontifex Maximus, directed all religious affairs. When
Christianity became the state religion,
As more pagans were supposedly converted to Yahshua,
the true Redeemer of Israel, the more difficult it was to resist the strong
influence of pagan practices and customs they brought along. Halley's Bible Handbook includes a
section on church history entitled "Paganization of the Church,"
which aptly details what happened since the time of Constantine who was the
first Christian emperor.
While
"Emperor Theodosius, 378-395 CE, made
Christianity the state Religion of the
"But now the military spirit of Imperial Rome had
entered the Church. The Church had conquered the
"The
"Worship, at first very simple, was developed
into elaborate, stately, imposing ceremonies having all the outward splendor
that had belonged to heathen temples...
"Conversion
of the Barbarians. The Gothes, Vandals and Huns who overthrew the Roman
Empire accepted Christianity; but to a large extent their conversion was nominal;
and this further filled the Church with pagan practices..." p. 867, Halley's Bible Handbook.
Transformation Of The Early Faith
Historians
attest to the change that came over the early fledgling Assemblies following
the death of the Apostles, all of whom had been Jews. It is as if a curtain had
come down upon their activities, and when it is raised a hundred years or so
later, an entirely different situation is seen. Syncretism-the merging of pagan
practices with Bible truth-is obvious everywhere. The heathens continued
keeping their former pagan ways, but under a new name and with a slightly
different meaning.
Man's desire to do things his way, rebelling against
the commands of Yahweh, started back in the Garden with Adam and Eve. Rebellion
continued, forcing Yahweh to intervene through the flood, the
The point of Isaiah's rebuke and that of Yahshua
reveals that the syncretism has continued throughout history. Carnal man has
continued to inject his own thoughts and concepts in his worship and thus early
on contaminated the True Worship of our pure and holy Creator Yahweh.
We Have Not Learned
Having
come out of
Psalm 80:8-11 clearly shows that what Yahweh sought
from
What happened?
When
This new generation of Israelites should have gotten
the paganism of
After the death of
It Happens All Over Again
History
repeated itself centuries later after the Messiah left His group of 12
disciples and returned to the heavens. The first disciples were all Israelites,
as were the first bishops. Within the first hundred years, however, the
"called-out ones" no longer were of the characteristic Hebrew flavor.
Paganism had moved in and taken over.
Yahshua our Redeemer came to bring us the pure
religion of Yahweh, teaching us to follow His ways instead of carnal, human
understanding.
Historically we see that Christianity rejected the
Hebrew religion, which led to a despising of the Mosaic Law given by Yahweh
Himself to man (Rev. 22:14). Instead, it tolerated and absorbed pagan customs
and teachings in flagrant violation of Scripture.
The Oxford
Illustrated History of Christianity, commenting on the widespread infusion
of pagan influence, on page 84 states: "The 'opaque' areas of experience,
of institutions and daily living, if they had not disappeared by [Pope]
Gregory's time had become absorbed into a Christian universe as translucent parts.
In principle, there was nothing that could not be absorbed into the radically
Christian world."
The religion of modern churchianity has absorbed many
foreign doctrines that have no basis in the Bible, but are rooted in Mystery
Religions. Many today could be likened to the rebellious Israelites who took up
whatever new worldly fad or liberal trend came upon the scene. Yahweh is
completely out of their thoughts.
"And
even as they did not like to retain Yahweh in their knowledge, Yahweh gave them
up to a reprobate mind [unfit to pass judgment], to do those things which are
not convenient: being filled with all unrighteousness...who knowing the
judgment of Yahweh, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them," Romans 1:28-29, 32.
Baptized, But Not Reformed
Historians
attest to the change that came over the early fledgling Assemblies following
the death of the Apostles. With the exception of Luke, all the New Testament
writers were Jews. They had grown up following Israelite customs, keeping the
Saturday Sabbath, the annual Feast Days and hearing the Torah (Law) read to
them each Sabbath. Yet, there are those who contend that these Jews were
dyed-in-the-wool Christians and wrote their books of the New Testament in
Greek! (Write for our free ministudy, Was
the New Testament Originally Greek?)
Syncretism (the merging of paganism with Bible truth)
is obvious everywhere. The pagans continued keeping their pagan ways, but under
a new name and with a slightly different meaning.
We quote again from the Oxford History of Christianity, page 85, "Baptism turned a
pagan into a Christian...What constituted a 'pagan' was a matter of definition
by clerical authority; in practice it meant what evaded the bishop's control.
Gregory the Great's decision that English converts to Christianity might
continue to use their traditional places of worship provided they were
sprinkled with holy water was a revolutionary extension of clerical tolerance,
with momentous implications for later missionary activity."
All of this is to say the pagans were baptized, but
returned to their former houses of idolatry and continued to worship as before.
Only the name had been changed to gain larger numbers of converts to Christianity.
Disquieting Facts From A Detached
Historian
The
following is taken from the book, The Jewish Christians of the Early Centuries
of Christianity According to a New Source, written by Shlomo Pines. The
Islamic historian reveals much about growing dissension between Jews and
Christians shortly after the Savior's time and the blending of pagan beliefs
brought into Christianity by the growing number of gentile converts.
Pines makes revealing comments from his vantage point
of an outside spectator, namely, as an observer of the history of the two
distinct groups which emerged from Judaism-Christianity and Islam.
First, there were Jewish Christians who adhered to the
teachings of Moses. Beginning with the Apostles, the first converts to the
Messiah were from Judaism, especially from the synagogues where the Apostles
went to preach.
Later came the torrent of Gentile converts who are
referred to simply as "Christians." While the Jewish Christians
continued keeping of the law and the ways taught by Yahshua the Messiah, those
converts coming from non-Israelite nations became known as Gentile Christians
(whom author Pines refers to only as "Christians"). These retained
their many heathen doctrines, blending them into "Christianity."
Shlomo Pines writes of the early centuries of
Christianity and states, "The original Gospel was regarded as written in
Hebrew." He goes on to point out what history has verified, that the
Gentile converts to the Messiah no longer used the Hebrew texts to bring about
the conversion of many other nations. Because of the infusion of foreign
doctrines by Christianity, the Gentile bishops and teachers avoided the Hebrew
Scriptures, relying mostly on the Greek texts. Pines tells us why in this
eye-opening statement:
"In their view, this was a deliberate policy on
the part of the Christian leaders, who did not want to have their doctrines
demolished by the scholars grounded in the Scriptures who were numerous among
the Jews."
It is noteworthy that this Islamic writer is acutely
aware of the many unscriptural doctrines of early Christianity. Christians had
abandoned the Commandments of the Old Testament and substituted alien laws and
heathen customs and practices.
Rather than evangelize the nations around them through
the authentic Hebrew Scriptures, the Christian leaders from Gentile backgrounds
avoided the Hebrew texts because so many of their "Christian"
doctrines were nowhere found in the Bible. Thus, they avoided any clash with
those knowledgeable of the Hebrew Scriptures which condemned taking on any
aspect of worship foreign to the Word of Yahweh.
Author Pines contends that Emperor Constantine turned
against the pagan philosophers and adds, "The
philosophers' books were burnt and monks were lodged in their temples, which
were transformed into churches (or monasteries)" p. 30.
Unscriptural Teachings Flourish
That
the pagan temples were turned into churches or monasteries explains the heathen
derivation of the word "church" used in the King James and other
Bibles. The Greek word ekklesia literally
means "the called-out ones," which carries the same meaning as the
Hebrew "kahal." Ekklesia refers to a body of people, not a building.
The word "church" is a poor translation of ekklesia. Church refers to
the building, coming to us through the Anglo-Saxon circe. Circe was the Greek goddess who turned men into swine. In
Scottish the word is kirk, relating
to the Hebrew kikkar, meaning a
circuit or disc-the sun! The ancient link to sun worship (on Sun-day) is
undeniable.
Following are excerpts taken from Pines' work.
"The Romans and the Greeks had a feast called the
Nativity of Time, which celebrated the return of the sun in January. They
introduced into it various modifications and called it 'The Nativity of
[Messiah]' or the Nativity. This feast was unknown at the time of [Yahshua] and
of His companions.
"The Jewish Christians...are not vegetarians and
they do not reject certain portions of the Old Testament. Like the Jewish
Christians of our texts, they are, as far as the observance of commandments is
concerned, orthodox Jews...They thus carried on the old tradition of the first
Christian community of
A footnote on page 39 reveals, "Strecker points
out that the Jewish Christian doctrine started out by being the Christian
church doctrine and became a heresy only in the wars of historical
evolution."
In other words, paganism and worldly doctrines
infiltrated the early body of believers and corrupted it. As more pagan
converts became "Christians," they flooded the church with their traditional
practices that soon were "baptized" by the Christian clergy and
absorbed as doctrine. This is how Sunday, New Year's, Xmas, Easter, Lent,
Halloween, Valentine's Day, and much more crept into and became
"holy-days" (holidays) of churchianity. More on that momentarily.
Two Distinct Christian Groups
The
early movement saw one group of Christians as rooted in the teachings of
Messiah which still clung to Israelite laws. These converted Jews known as
"Jewish-Christians" continued to meet in the synagogues of the Jews
as did Paul, Acts 13:14; 15; 42; 14:1.
The other group, composed mostly of Gentile converts,
took on Grecian culture and Hellenistic customs and were simply called
"Christians." According to Pines, this latter group brought about
"the abandonment and portrayal of what is regarded as true Christianity
and its replacement by Greek notions and ways. It is the relation of a historic
failure; victory rests with the agents of corruption," page 14.
In other words, the flood of pagan converts to Christianity
soon overwhelmed the pristine truth of the Messiah, and Christianity became
tainted. Christians today, many unknowingly, observe more pagan carryovers than
days plainly commanded in the Bible. These popular days include Sunday (a day
historically set aside in honor of the sun), Easter (the day honoring Astarte,
alias Ishtar and Ostra, Chaldean Queen of Heaven) Xmas (midwinter
solar-fertility celebration), Lent (40-day fast for Ostra), New Year's (near
the midwinter solstice instead of the Biblical spring), Valentine's Day (Roman
fertility celebration), Halloween (demonic observance), and many others.
There is no teaching or foundation for any of these
"Christian holidays" anywhere in the Bible. They are the concepts and
doctrines of men, firmly embedded in Christianity through centuries of
tradition and practice.
Pines continues: "After Him [Yahshua] His
disciples were with the Jews and the Children of Israel in the latter's
synagogues and observed the prayers and the feasts of (the Jews) in the same
place as the latter'" (page 41).
The early believers (referred to by Pines as
"Jewish-Christians") continued on with the worship of
A decided difference soon arose between the
"Jewish Christians" and "Christianity" itself. The true
believers continued with the "Jewish" worship based on Yahweh's
immutable law, while Christianity had amalgamated into its doctrines almost
every foreign belief and practice necessary to accommodate the new convert.
Accepting Christianity for the pagan was made easy. For him his old ways remained
the same, only the name had been changed.
True Worshipers Alarmed by Changes
The
Jewish Christians were deeply concerned about events that had corrupted many
converts to the Messiah through the Roman Caesars and the "'Romanization'
of Christianity," according to Pines.
"...Jewish Christian authors of our texts and
presumably other members of their sect may have been the only people in the
world-at the relatively late period (perhaps the fifth or sixth century) at
which these texts were composed-who still deplored the split of Judaism and
Christianity, two religions which should have remained one. They also deplored
the fact that the Christians (or perhaps only most of them) no longer read the
Gospels in Hebrew, the language of [Yahshua], and all the prophets. Quite
clearly, these Jewish Christians believed that they preserved and continued
(perhaps clandestinely) the traditions of the first not yet corrupted Christian
community of Jerusalem founded by the immediate disciples of [Yahshua] who
professed His religion, i.e., observed the Mosaic Commandments," p. 65.
Author Shlomo Pines summarizes the accounts of other
historians who maintained that the early believers in the Messiah still
observed the Sabbaths and the Annual Holy Days. Paganism proceeded apace and
soon overwhelmed Bible truth, replacing Scriptural customs and celebrations
with paganized additions and substitutes.
Other Historians Speak Out
While
the comments of historian Pines are revealing, they are by no means unique.
Many astute historians who are aware of the vast changes that took place from
the time of the Messiah until now corroborate what we have read.
Luther H. Martin's book Hellenistic Religions reads on pages 118-119, "One of the
first issues to be debated by Christians was whether they were a new
religion... These early Jewish Christians understood Christianity in terms of
its Jewish past and they continued their observance of Jewish ritual practices
exemplified by dietary requirements and circumcision." Tracing the history
of paganism, Martin writes, "...and by the second century, Christianity
had assumed many of the forms and practices of the mystery cults" p. 162.
Brumback's History
of the Church, referring to the beginning of the true Assembly at Pentecost
in 31 C.E., reveals, "In it practices that are common in the religious
world today were not found," p. 19. Author Brumback explains that the
early church did not celebrate many of the holidays observed by most of
churchianity today, which we have mentioned.
Then follows an explanation of the pagan source of
Lent. "The word 'Lent' is derived from the old English word 'Lencten'
which means spring. It was connected with a pagan feast that was celebrated in
honor of the goddess 'Ostra,' the goddess of the east. The sacrifices to this
deity were offered just about the time of the Passover and in this way it
became associated with the resurrection of [Messiah] which followed the Jewish
Passover.
"Not until the Council of Nice (325 C.E.) decreed
that Easter should be kept on Sunday next after the full moon on or after the
vernal equinox, was there a definite day for the observance of Easter. Here is
the evidence that it has a human origin, as it was not known until after the
fourth century just when Easter would be," p. 20.
Easter is not a Bible celebration. It is found in only
one place in the King James, at Acts 12:4, a woeful mistranslation of the Greek Pascha, or the Passover.
Author Brumback goes on to explain in fuller detail a
bit of Easter's history, adding, "Certainly no such day is authorized by
the teaching of the Apostles."
"What brought these changes about? Why did
disciples submit to having these days set apart as special days for the church?
The answer is found in the failure of those who were the people of [Yahweh] to
know what [Elohim's] Word taught. Lack of this knowledge made it possible to
introduce new doctrines and new practices into the teaching of the church. The
apostasy of the church and the corruption of the [evangel] resulted from
neglect of the church to study [Yahweh's] Word" p. 21.
Old Testament Foundation Was Lost
Brumback
continues on page 31, "In the beginning the church was pure. The divine
plan of the church as revealed in the New Testament was followed. Now the
apostasy of which the apostles warned, began to develop."
"Ultimately Christianity overcame paganism and
thousands of those who had once opposed the church now became identified with
it, without understanding that such a step called for the reformation of life,
separation from the world, and devotion to the cause of [Messiah]. Christianity
in its purity was thus destroyed by paganism," p. 54.
Widespread neglect of the Old Testament meant that
converts were not schooled in the Old Testament and were ignorant of Israelite
background and the books of Moses. They simply accepted the Greek Septuagint as
their source of Old Testament teaching, but knew little and understood even
less of the Feasts and the deep meaning of the sacrificial laws. By and large
the Christians detested the Jews and would have none of their teaching or
understanding of the Torah.
The New Testament is built upon precepts and teachings
of the Old. Paul was inspired to write that salvation is found in the Old
Testament: "And that from a child
you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise unto
salvation through faith which is in Messiah Yahshua" (2Timothy
In Luke 4:4 Yahshua said that man shall live by every
word of Yahweh. He constantly referred to the Scriptures, the Old Testament,
when answering matters concerning the law, divorce, and personal conduct (the
New Testament was not yet in existence at this time! See Luke 24:27).
The last warning of the Bible is that man is not to
add to the Bible or to take anything away, on pain of losing salvation,
Revelation 22:18. "Scripture cannot
be broken," John 10:35. Yahshua said, "Search the Scriptures," John 5:39.
Gentiles did not always comprehend the deep meaning of
the Sabbaths and knew little of the Feast Days found in Leviticus 23. (The
Bible calls them "Yahweh's Feasts," not "Jewish" Feasts.
Write for our booklet, Biblical Holy Days.) They detested the Jews and
would have nothing to do with their practices, nor did they try to understand
or study Hebrew. As a consequence of arrogantly ignoring the Old Testament
basis of truth, Christianity generally still does not understand the foundation
of Scripture. "Now therefore you
are...fellow citizens with the saints...and are built upon the foundation of
the apostles and prophets [Old Testament], Yahshua Himself the chief
cornerstone," Ephesians
Is the Bible Greek to You?
The
influence of paganism is easily found in many historical sources. Charlton
Laird's book, The Miracle of Language, reveals:
"The Church furthered Greek as well as Latin, the
early Fathers of the church wrote Greek, and even as early as the seventh
century Greek was being studied in
This custom of admitting Greek and Latin names
wholesale into English Bibles resulted in replacing and disguising Hebrew
names. These names supplanted the true, original names, making them surrogate
hybrids with a Grecianized flavor.
Today the claim is made that the entire New Testament
was written in Greek, which is disputed by reputable scholars who find an
unmistakable Hebrew original underlying the Greek text. (For more information
on scholars who uphold an original Hebrew New Testament, write us. Please
include SASE.)
Because early Christian translators were woefully
ignorant of Hebrew, Greco-Latin names soon replaced the inspired Hebrew names.
Even today the King James uses Esaias for Isaiah, Judas for Judah, Elias for
Eliyah (Elijah), Urias for Uriah, Ozias for Uzziah, Josias for Josiah, Ezekias
for Hezekiah, Idumea for
The most holy of all words in the Bible, the sacred
Name Yahweh, was replaced with kyrios and theos, which the King James
renders Lord or God-outright substitutes. (Write us for more information on the
sacred Name.)
Further enlightenment is given on page 118 of The Miracle of Language: "The
Anglo-Saxon word for a general director was stigweard, the sty-ward, the man who looked after the pigpen, for an Anglo-Saxon
capitalist was likely to have his stocks and bonds mostly in the form of
razorbacks. We have reduced the word to steward. The boss himself was a hlafweard, a loafward, the man who looked after the
bread. We cut that word to lord..."
Thus, we can see how the English Bible has reduced the
sacred Name of our Creator Yahweh to
"keeper of the loaf," or Lord! His holy Name Yahweh is now replaced with an inferior title.
In his History
of the Church, Brumback answers the question how pagan ways and pagan days
infiltrated the early church. He points out:
"The answer is found in the failure of those who
were the people of [Yahweh] to know what [His] word taught. Lack of this
knowledge made it possible to introduce new doctrines and new practices into
the teaching and worship of the church. The apostasy of the church and the
corruption of the gospel resulted from neglect of the church to study
[Yahweh's] word."
"Pagans were accustomed to observe a feast to
Proserpine with the burning of candles. To make the transition from pagan
worship to Christian worship easy, the church in apostasy instituted on the
same day a feast to the virgin Mary and burned tapers in her honor. Lactatius,
a historian of the church, spoke of this practice as superstition, ridiculing
those who lighted candles for [Yahweh], as if He lived in the dark.
"Here were changes that appeared in the teaching
and worship of the church as it developed into an apostate institution. Holy
water, the burning of incense, the observance of Lent and Easter...were
connected with paganism. When the church dropped the guidance of [Yahweh's] word
pagan ceremonies found their way into the church and they are today a part of
that system of worship which grew out of the apostasy," page 21-22.
Supreme Source of Error
The
extent to which non-Biblical doctrines and error have become unquestionably
accepted as fundamental truths directly from the Bible has alarmed sincere
Bible students.
The Bible as originally given is indeed the pure Word
of Yahweh. Man has translated the Scriptures into other languages while viewing
the Bible through the eyeglass of human error. Such errors are accepted as the
true teachings of the Messiah without further inquiry. Some are outright
substitutions with no basis in the truth of the Scriptures.
Satan certainly has twisted the minds of some who
perhaps unknowingly have accepted error as truth and call truth error. Thus,
Satan "leads the whole world
astray," Revelation 12:9. And he began a long time ago.
Genesis 3:4 reveals Satan's first lie. He told Eve
that she would continue living, that she had an immortal soul, that she would
not die. Why, she would be as Elohim! Satan is a liar and the father of it,
said our Savior in John 8:44.
Satan needs not to speak directly to mankind today as
he did to Eve, but controls the minds of certain ones who do his will, perhaps
even ignorantly. Satan seems to have complete latitude to proclaim his lies and
is working hard to deceive the whole world. Yahweh also has His people who are
standing fast in His truth and studying the Scriptures to prove whether these
things be so.
The purpose of this study is to help us better
comprehend the source of error so that we can separate truth from falsity.
History shows that all pagan religion has its source in Nimrod's
Teachings right out of
Syncretism: A Dangerous Blend
The
Bible when first given to mankind was inspired by Yahweh's Spirit. It was pure,
holy and undefiled. Problems began when translations were made from one language
to another. Our English Bible, for example, is taken primarily from the Latin.
Which was translated from the Greek. Which was translated from the Hebrew, with
much being lost along the way. It is like taking change from one pocket to
place in another and losing some in the process. This is why it is our goal to
return as closely as possible to the original languages.
Through what is known as syncretism, pagan doctrines are merged with Bible teachings and
blindly accepted as if from Scripture. Thus, the pristine Truth of the Bible
has been adulterated with paganism and unknowingly accepted.
On page 109, The
Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity quotes Patrick Wormald on
adaptations of Christianity, "Christianity had been successfully
assimilated by a warrior nobility, a nobility which had no intention of
abandoning its culture or seriously changing its way of life, but which was
willing to throw its traditions, customs, tastes, and loyalties into the
articulation of the new faith."
While the expressed purpose of the church was to
convert pagans and bring them into the fold of Christianity, in reality it was
paganism that triumphed over churchianity. It was the church that absorbed and
retained the pagan rituals, symbols, holidays, and precepts, but gave them a
new name with a new meaning and a "Christian" understanding.
Meyers' Medieval
And Modern History states on page 42, "Many of our religious ideas, festivals and ceremonies, as witness
Easter, and Christmas may be traced back to an origin in the practice and
belief of our heathen ancestors."
Thus, pagan converts felt right at home as they
retained their worship of the sun on Sunday, observed the re-birth of the sun
in December, and called it not "Sol Invictus," but "Christmas." It made for a painless
conversion to "Christianity." So the unregenerate pagan was baptized
and became a "Christian"-but was still a pagan at heart.
Had
Churchianity reads the Bible and sees no parallel
between
The Tabernacle (and later the
Holy Spirit: Given to the Obedient, for Obedience
By
himself, man lacks the ability and moral fiber to be holy. This is the primary
lesson we are to learn here on earth, namely, that man's way is not Yahweh's
way. We are to change our mind, the way we think, by having Yahweh's Spirit
dominate our very being. "The carnal
mind is enmity against Elohim: for it is not subject to the law of Elohim,
neither indeed can be," Romans 8:7.
It is only through the workings of Yahweh's omnipotent
Holy Spirit power, which now is available to us, that we can rise above this
mundane world. This means obediently following the way of life given us
throughout the Bible, for it is through obedience that we are given the Holy
Spirit: "And we are his witnesses of
these things; and [so is] also the Holy Spirit, whom Elohim has given to them
that obey Him." (Acts
By professing to be His worshipers, ancient
"Yea,
you took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your deity Remphan,
figures which you made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond
Doctrine And The Commandments Of Men
Giving
only lip-service is not acceptable to a holy, just, and righteous Yahweh. It
never was and never will be. Genuine obedience comes from a contrite heart.
Yahshua Himself said, "They worship
Me in vain; their teachings are but rules made by men," Mark 7:7, NIV.
This is a direct quotation of Isaiah 29:13, condemning the city of
The Savior then castigates the Pharisees and teachers
of the law with those same words when the Pharisees heap criticism upon His
disciples who apparently paid too little attention to the tradition of the
Pharisees and Jewish elders.
The point of Isaiah's rebuke and that of Yahshua
reveals that the syncretism (mixing pagan concepts and customs with Bible
teaching) has continued throughout history. Unconverted man injects his own
thoughts and notions into his worship and continues to contaminate the pure
worship of a holy Yahweh.
While we hear much of the error that has crept into
the worship of our Creator, many have not studied deeply into the truth of the
Bible and are oblivious and unschooled in what is actually taught as Bible
doctrine. A growing movement of sincere Commandment keepers with faith in the
Savior is prophesied to arise at the end of the age as we see in Revelation:
"Here is
the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of Yahweh,
and the faith of Yahshua," Revelation
Modern
Misstatements Commonly Heard
Few
are aware of the many teachings abounding in nominal religion that are contrary
to the Bible. Here are a few, in which one or two verses of correction follow
the erroneous teaching:
"The
Father, Son and Holy Spirit are three persons in one, and are equal."
"My
Father is greater than I," John
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