It may seem shocking to many, but much of what is done in modern “Christian” religion today is mutually exclusive and diametrically opposed to what The Bible says. The churches have progressively moved more and more to a liberal interpretation of grace where statements like “we’re not under the law”, “that’s not a salvation issue”, and “I don’t think God would send anyone to hell for that” (whatever that may be in that moment) rule and reign in the hearts of men.
If you dare to take a stand for truth and speak of obeying God’s commandments, especially those long written off by the liberal religious folks, you will be called a legalist—a word not mentioned one time in the entirety of The Bible. In their mind if you are “a law-keeper” then you have fallen from grace and voided the work of the cross (more on that in a moment).
This completely unbiblical line of thinking is what I have come to refer to as the delusion of the lawless, as it is totally absurd to deem a Book to be the absolute Word of God and then claim that it contains commandments that are not to be followed. Yet that is what the liberal hyper-grace “Christian” would have you to believe—that God voided His own Laws through the resurrection of His Son and our Messiah. It may seem crazy when you look at it like this, but there are a lot of people today who, through what is being taught as the “modern message of Christianity”, genuinely believe this to at least some extent.
In this message I want to talk about what the Apostles had to say about this delusion of the lawless. We will examine statements from four of the Apostles whose writings contributed to the canon of Scripture: Paul, Peter, James, and John. I will then apply what they said about those who oppose following Torah to some individual commandments often rejected by the modern “Christian” to illustrate further what the Apostles actually taught. This study will not sit well with the “not under the law” crowd, but it is what the Apostles had to say and truth is truth even if not accepted as such.
The Apostles And The Torah
In 2 Thessalonians 2 the Apostle Paul speaks about a demonic entity he refers to as “the man of lawlessness” (also called “the lawless one”), and says that this “lawless one” is connected with the activity of Satan. This is a statement that says if this lawless one is not Satan himself it’s about as close as something can be to Satan without actually being Satan—in other words, at the very least this would be descriptive of a right-hand-man to the devil. In verses 11 and 12 the Apostle says: “For this reason God sends them a delusional force, to lead them to believe what is false, so that they may be judged—all those who did not believe the truth but delighted in wickedness.”
Lawlessness, from a biblical perspective, is a reference to breaking God’s Torah. This is easily shown through a proper study of the positive attitude of Yeshua and all of the first century Apostles who have written works included in the canon of Scripture, as well as in an important first century document called The Didache—The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles (which I fully believe Acts 2:42 makes reference to). Seeing as Paul here states that the work of lawlessness is built on a “delusional force”, it is clear that Paul was saying that those who oppose The Torah are delusional. Let’s hone in on some specific things commanded in Torah that are commonly rejected by the “not under the law Christians” of today’s religion and apply this concept.
Paul is essentially saying that…
—Christians who say the food laws from Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are voided and they can eat whatever they want, including unclean things like pork, shellfish, rodents, or anything else on the list of prohibited meats are delusional.
—Christians who think “Jesus is their Sabbath” and so they do not have to keep the biblical Sabbath are delusional. (More on the “Jesus is my Sabbath” thing later in this message.)
—Christians who say they are “not Jewish” and so do not have to keep the biblical Feasts, even though Yeshua and all the Apostles are seen in Scripture keeping them, are delusional.
—Christians who think that the only prohibition against tattoos is if they are “for the dead” are delusional. (I have a great teaching on the matter of tattoos that shows where many are “getting it wrong” titled The Mark Of God.)
—Christians who believe that they can ignore the commandment of Deuteronomy 12:29-31 against assimilating pagan rites, ceremonies, and religious practices into Yahwism and celebrate holidays appropriated from such paganism—like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween—are delusional.
Look, I am sure I can go on and on, but this list right here pretty much covers possibly up to 99% of everyone in popular “modernChristianity” today.
We can also turn to Peter, who talks about people who twist the Scripture to their own destruction, calling them “ignorant and unstable”—referring to this as the error of the lawless (see 2 Peter 3:15-17). Again, with lawless and lawlessness being words that refer to those who defy Torah, Peter is essentially saying… —Christians who say the food laws from Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are voided and they can eat whatever they want, including unclean things like pork, shellfish, rodents, or anything else on the list of prohibited meats are ignorant and unstable.
—Christians who think “Jesus is their Sabbath” and so they do not have to keep the biblical Sabbath are ignorant and unstable.
—Christians who say they are “not Jewish” and so do not have to keep the biblical Feasts, even though Yeshua and all the Apostles are seen in Scripture keeping them, are ignorant and unstable.
—Christians who think that the only prohibition against tattoos is if they are “for the dead” are ignorant and unstable.
—Christians who believe that they can ignore the commandment of Deuteronomy 12:29-31 against assimilating pagan rites, ceremonies, and religious practices into Yahwism and celebrate holidays appropriated from such paganism—like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween—are ignorant and unstable.
Next we come to the Apostle James, who in the opening of his epistle speaks about those who are hearers of the Word but not doers of the word (James 1:22). This parallels with Paul’s words in Romans 2:13 (TLV) where he says it is not the hearers of the Torah, but the doers of Torah who will be justified. James says that those who are then not doers of Torah are double-minded (James 1:8), unstable (James 1:8), and deluded (James 1:22). So, James, who beyond being an Apostle was the literal half-brother of Yeshua, essentially says that… —Christians who say the food laws from Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are voided and they can eat whatever they want, including unclean things like pork, shellfish, rodents, or anything else on the list of prohibited meats are double-minded, ignorant, and deluded.
—Christians who think “Jesus is their Sabbath” and so they do not have to keep the biblical Sabbath are double-minded, ignorant, and deluded.
—Christians who say they are “not Jewish” and so do not have to keep the biblical Feasts, even though Yeshua and all the Apostles are seen in Scripture keeping them, are double-minded, ignorant, and deluded.
—Christians who think that the only prohibition against tattoos is if they are “for the dead” are double-minded, ignorant, and deluded.
—Christians who believe that they can ignore the commandment of Deuteronomy 12:29-31 against assimilating pagan rites, ceremonies, and religious practices into Yahwism and celebrate holidays appropriated from such paganism—like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween—are double-minded, ignorant, and deluded.
Let’s take a look at the statements of one final Apostle—John. In 1 John 2:4 the Apostle says that those who claim to know God but do not keep the commandments are liars and the truth is not in them. Then in 1 John 5:3 he says that the love of God is found in keeping the commandments. This, of course, parallels with what the Apostle records Yeshua teaching in John 14:15 where He said: “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” So John is essentially saying, looking at our same list of specific Torah commandments most commonly rejected by the most people in “Christianity” today, that…
—Christians who say the food laws from Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 are voided and they can eat whatever they want, including unclean things like pork, shellfish, rodents, or anything else on the list of prohibited meats are liars who do not love God.
—Christians who think “Jesus is their Sabbath” and so they do not have to keep the biblical Sabbath are liars who do not love God.
—Christians who say they are “not Jewish” and so do not have to keep the biblical Feasts, even though Yeshua and all the Apostles are seen in Scripture keeping them, are liars who do not love God.
—Christians who think that the only prohibition against tattoos is if they are “for the dead” are liars who do not love God.
—Christians who believe that they can ignore the commandment of Deuteronomy 12:29-31 against assimilating pagan rites, ceremonies, and religious practices into Yahwism and celebrate holidays appropriated from such paganism—like Christmas, Easter, and Halloween—are liars who do not love God.
Today’s “Christian” misquotes Paul in saying that “not under the law but under grace” (Romans 6:14) means that they are not to follow The Torah. But if you read the whole sentence it first says that sin shall not be master over you, and 1 John 3:4 defines sin as the breaking, violating, transgressing of The Torah. So not being under the law but under grace applies to those who obey The Torah. The Apostles said that these people who claim they are “not under the law” and that Torah-obedience is “not a salvation issue” are delusional, unstable, ignorant, and double-minded liars who do not love God.
To take things a little further we could also look at the short Epistle of Jude, which contains a mere 25 verses and can be read in less than 5 minutes. This is a brief letter that addresses lawless people who, as the Apostle says, slip in and pervert the grace of our God into indecency. In this short writing Jude describes those who pervert grace—lawless ones—as: “waterless clouds, carried along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, foaming up their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 12-13). He further describes them as: “ungodly sinners, bellyaching grumblers, worldly-minded, and scoffers, following after their own ungodly desires” (Jude 15-19). This is how the Apostles who wrote the latter parts of The Bible viewed those in their day who hold beliefs like those held by the majority of professing “Christians” today.
Yeshua said that narrow is the gate that leads to life and few find it (Matthew 7:13-14). He also said that many will come to Him talking about how they cast out devils, prophesied, and worked miracles in His name and His reply to them will be “Depart from Me, I never knew you, worker of LAWLESSNESS” (Matthew 7:22-23). Again, lawlessness in The Bible refers to people who do not obey The Torah. Only “Christians” can be described as prophesying, working miracles, casting out devils, or anything else IN THE NAME OF YESHUA (or in the name of “Jesus” for that matter, since that’s what most “Christians” use). That’s the key, He wasn’t talking about pagans and practitioners of witchcraft who do these things not in His name.
If God allowed entry into His Kingdom to the delusional, unstable, ignorant, double-minded liars who, according to the words of Yeshua Himself (John 14:15) hate Him because they break His Father’s Torah, then The Bible simply is not true. If you love God, you keep His commandments. That’s what The Bible says and The Bible is the only absolute truth on the face of the earth.
The Lawless One And The Righteous One
One of the major themes of The Bible is that there is a lawless one and there is a righteous one. Of course, these are Satan, the ancient serpent who deceives the whole world (Rev. 12:9), and Yeshua the Messiah who came to redeem that which was lost. The use of this term the lawless one in 2 Thessalonians says this character is connected with the activity of Satan, which may lead some to conclude it is not actually Satan himself. But if not, then the point of being connected with Satan’s agenda in this way leads to this lawless one at the very least being a right-hand-man to the devil. Personally, I believe it’s both because clearly Satan is the master deceiver whose whole agenda is to lead people into whatever level of lawlessness he can achieve, but it is equally true that anyone who is following this agenda is also a lawless one.
It’s a fascinating thing, you know. In Eden the ancient serpent that is Satan, of which we could certainly also call the lawless one, did not need to convince Adam and/or Eve to commit some act we might consider extremely vile. He only needed to sway them to believe it was OK to eat something God said not to eat. Isn’t it interesting that today there is an entire religion that claims one-third of the world’s total population, an estimated 2.4 billion people the last time I checked, who believe they are following The Bible and Yeshua while simultaneously believing that it is acceptable to eat things God said not to eat? This religion, of course, is commonly known as “Christianity”.
But it doesn’t stop there. Once the door is open, the lawless one will advance and continue to lead the people further into deception. Another commandment rejected by the masses of popular “Christian” religion is The Sabbath Day. This one really has me baffled, you know. I can grasp those who believe in keeping The Sabbath and have minor disagreements on how to keep the day holy—debates over what you can do, cannot do, should do, should not do, or are permitted or prohibited to do on The Sabbath. But the majority view in “Christianity” says things like The Sabbath is ‘Old Testament’ and is no longer required or one of my personal favorites ‘Jesus’ is my Sabbath and I rest in Him every day.
Well, neither The Bible nor Yeshua ever says ‘Jesus’ is The Sabbath now, but let’s entertain this ideology for just a moment and watch it completely fall apart. Yeshua said He is the bread of life, and in Him we will not be hungry. So, why do “Christians” not stop eating actual food? On the contrary, many “Christians” are gluttons and I have even heard some say that since Christianity opposes many other things—such as drinking alcohol, smoking, pornography, and so on—that food is the only “vice” they have. Yeshua said that He is the light of the world and in Him there is no darkness. So why don’t “Christians” go live in dark caves or at the very least get rid of all the light fixtures in their home and board up all the windows? Yeshua said that He is the door. So why don’t “Christians” remove the doors from their homes and rely on Him to keep the bugs and burglars out?
While we’re at this, Yeshua also said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), all statements originally said of The Torah (Psalm 119:1, 142, 153-154). This does not mean Yeshua replaces The Torah or is greater than The Torah. It means that both are equal pillars that are to equally be followed (Rev. 14:12). You cannot pick one or the other to follow the way popular “Christianity” and “Judaism” teaches. You have to follow both equally. I have even heard teachings from some Messianic and Hebrew Roots teachers going around that Yeshua is greater than The Torah, and this too is blasphemous. They are deemed equal in Scripture and they are both to be followed equally.
You see, this is all part of the delusion of the lawless. They believe things that are not at all supported by Scripture. The Sabbath was established during the week of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3), is one of the “Ten Commandments” (Ex. 20:8-11), is called a sign of being in covenant with God (Ez. 20:12, 20), was kept by Yeshua (Luke 4:16, 6:6, 13:10), was kept by the apostles (Acts 13:13-14, 16:13, 17:2, 18:4—there are 85 Sabbaths documented in Acts that were observed by the apostles), made for man’s blessing and benefit (Mark 2:27), remains in the new covenant time period for God’s people (Heb. 4:9), and will be kept by everyone living during the Millennium (Is. 66:23). How in the world can any logical person think that we no longer have to observe The Sabbath Day? They can’t! Those who believe things like ‘Jesus’ is my Sabbath and we’re no longer under The Law are delusional and following the ways of the lawless one.
Deuteronomy 6:25 says: “It will be righteousness to us, if we take care to do all this commandment before Adonai our God, just as He has commanded us.’” This is what I refer to as a definition verse, which is a Scripture that defines an important Bible word, one that is a major doctrine. In this case it is defining the word “righteous” or “righteousness”, and it declares that this word refers to those who do all of the commandments. Righteousness, as The Bible defines it, is the exact opposite of lawlessness or sin. 1 John 3:4, another definition verse, gives us the Bible definition of sin—the breaking, transgressing, violating of The Torah (God’s Laws).
Again, there is a righteous one and there is a lawless one. The righteous one is the one who follows both Yeshua and The Torah. Revelation 14:12 (TLV) says: “Here is the perseverance of the kedoshim—those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Yeshua.” That word kedoshim is a Hebrew word that refers to “the holy ones”. Romans 6:19 says that holiness is the result of righteousness. So you can’t be holy without being righteous and righteousness is defined as following The Torah. Lawlessness and sin is defined as breaking The Torah.
You know, The Bible is so simple to understand if you can grasp these basic principles. If you go back to Genesis 3 and read it, you will see how Satan, the serpent, the lawless one, operates. He took God’s own words and fed them back to the woman and used God’s Words to convince her that she could eat what God said not to eat. Today “Christian” beliefs in opposition to things like the Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 food laws use vague passages from The Bible like Matthew 15, Mark 7, Acts 10, Colossians 2:16-17, Romans 14, 1 Timothy 4:3-5, 1 Corinthians 8, and 1 Corinthians 10 as their “proof-texts” that they no longer have to follow the clear commandments of God. The fact is, all of these passages are set in a context that has nothing to do with the Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 14 food laws and they were all written by people who believed in following The Torah—including Paul who many seem to think was divinely chosen to start a whole new religion where The Law is done away with.
But Paul addressed those who in his own lifetime claimed he was teaching a message that Torah was no longer needed. In Acts 24:14 he said to his accusers, words that everyone who today believes Paul taught against following The Torah should heed, “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way (which they call a sect), I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything written in the Torah and the Prophets.” To take things further, in Romans 2:13 he said, “For it is not the hearers of Torah who are righteous before God; rather, it is the doers of Torah who will be justified.”
Does this sound like what “Christianity” teaches? It’s not! “Christianity” teaches a belief system built on the activity of Satan, the lawless one ever seeking to persuade people that there are at least some commandments that no longer apply. I know this will not sit well with a lot of people, but the plain fact of the matter is that “Christianity” as practiced by the masses today is the serpent’s religion. Satan owns it, not God. Satan is behind the curtain of “Christian” religion and he is in control of all of it.
Look, Satan can create amazing “church services”. Satan can create the most intense worship music—according to traditional views he was the “worship leader” in heaven, which would make him quite skilled in creating what “Christians” think is an atmosphere of worship. Satan can present all sorts of “miracles”—let’s face reality, if Satan can make you sick he can also remove that sickness in one of his “Christian church services” or “miracle crusades” for the sole purpose of making people think that God is moving in an place where everyone is in open defiance toward His commandments in their daily lives.
Do you know what Satan cannot do? He cannot lead people to fully follow Yeshua and The Torah as stated in Revelation 14:12. He cannot do this because he is the lawless one. If you really want to know if you have found a place of Bible truth it’s not found where there is worship that pulls your emotions and it’s not where some fiery preacher does a great job at preaching a culturally acceptable form of holiness and it’s not where you see all sorts of miracles, signs, and wonders. If you want to know you have found a place of true Bible truth it’s where all of those things happen BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF FOLLOWING THE TORAH. Wherever The Law is not being followed, you can be sure the lawless one is in control—and even that much more where the beliefs are openly antinomian, anti-Torah, opposed to following all of God’s Laws.
We Need Whole Bible Context
A lot of people like to talk about reading The Bible in context, and I absolutely, wholly, 100% agree with that. It is important to not cherry-pick a sentence or even a portion of a sentence, isolate it from the immediate context from where it was taken, and use it as a “proof-text” for a belief that is contrary to the message of The Bible. There is context found in the surrounding verses, context found in the chapter the verse is contained in, context in the entire book the verse comes from, context in reviewing every book a particular Bible writer penned (Paul, for example, wrote at least 13 books of The Bible, some believe he wrote Hebrews, and we also have Paul quoted in Acts—all of these writings and citations of Paul should be considered when trying to understand a single statement he made). However, I would contend the most important context to consider when determining what something in The Bible means is something I call whole Bible context or whole Bible theology.
You see, we have certain themes in The Bible. As this study is drawing much attention to, there is a theme of the lawless one and the righteous one. There is a theme that goes along with this of worldliness vs. godliness. In fact, Titus 2:11-12 tells us that grace is defined as the thing that trains or teaches us how to stop embracing worldliness and start practicing righteousness—which is ultimately saying that grace teaches us first to stop breaking The Torah and then teaches us to start keeping The Torah.
Of the themes we see in Scripture one seems to jump out from time to time. Exodus 12:49 and Numbers 15:16 says that the same Torah applies to both the native-born Israelite and the stranger/sojourner among them. That word stranger or sojourner in the text is the Hebrew ger and it is the word for individuals among the Gentile nations. Ecclesiastes 12:13 says that keeping the commandments is what being human is all about and applies to all people (see how the verse is rendered in the Complete Jewish Bible and Tree Of Life Version). Romans 2:13 says that it will be the doers of The Torah who will be justified. John 14:15, 21 quotes Yeshua as saying that loving Him is dependent on keeping the commandments. Revelation 14:12 says that the perseverance of the holy ones, those who are true Believers, is that they both have the faith of Yeshua and they keep the commandments.
Whenever we evaluate statements in The Bible that many “Christians” seem to think voids the requirements of The Torah we have to, in actuality, read them with the whole Bible context of Torah applying to all people at all times in history. If you do that, you will quickly find out that nothing in the Apostolic Writings (what “Christians” refer to, wrongly, as the “New Testament”), even and especially the books written by Paul, says any such thing. Whole Bible context dictates that everything written in The Bible is written from a Torah-positive theology. The fact of the matter is that every single person who wrote anything that is contained in the canon of Scripture was a Torah-keeping Israelite (some would argue that Job and Luke were not Hebrews, but they were most certainly covenant Believers and there are even god arguments that Luke was of Jewish descent). Not only does it go against whole Bible theology to say that some vague statement somewhere voids any of the commandments, it is in direct contradiction to take the words of someone who believed in following The Torah and use their own words against their own beliefs. This is just plain dishonest scholarship.
I sometimes quote some of the old revivalist preachers—men like A.W. Tozer, Leonard Ravenhill, A.W. Pink, and others. These men said a lot of things that appear to be absolute truth—and the hard truths that “Christians” need to hear at that. And while it seems that their intent really was to call people to obey The Bible, I am often left wondering if they really were doing that or even with the intensity that they spoke they too were deceived and deceiving people. After all, despite some of the many powerful words they spoke—even standing against the unbiblical holidays “Christians” are in love with—all indications are that they did not keep The Sabbath, did not celebrate The Feasts of Yah, did not adhere to the Leviticus 11 food laws, and likely did not have regard for other commandments either. So even when it appears that “Christian” preachers are telling the truth in reality they are not.
Is it really unfathomable to consider that Satan has created this thing we call “Christianity”? I mean, I don’t think I am aware of a single group in the whole of the religion that truly teaches a whole Bible theology. Even in the realms of Messianic Judaism and the controversial Hebrew Roots Movement there are major concerns. I once heard a well-known Messianic Rabbi say on his television program that “Gentiles” or “Christians” (whatever term it was he used) are under a curse if they seek to keep The Torah. I heard another one, who happens to be one of the most revered scholars today in the area of ancient Semitic languages, say that there is nothing in The Bible that imposes the food laws on “Gentiles” or “Christians”. Another popular view among Messianic Jewish Rabbis and Teachers is that “non-Jews” are not bound to keep The Torah, only something called “The Noahide Laws”. These “Noahide Laws” are not really supported by Scripture at all. They show a vague similarity to Acts 15, but at best that makes them a good starting point for new converts and not “the only requirements”. The “Noahide Laws” concept goes directly against The Bible, as I already pointed out that The Bible teaches Torah applies to all people at all times in the history of the world. These are not your typical lawless Christian pastors, these are Messianic Jewish leaders saying these things. Do these people not read Exodus 12:49, Numbers 15:16, Ecclesiastes 12:13, John 14:15 and 21, Romans 2:13, Revelation 14:12, and any number of other passages that promote the whole Bible context that The Torah applies to all people at all times—that if you are a human being and you are alive on this planet The Father’s intent is for you to keep His Torah?
Another popular topic to debate is the major holidays of “Christianity”—I am, of course, referring to Christmas, Easter, and perhaps even in many cases Halloween. I have heard, among Messianic and Hebrew Roots teachers, teachings that would imply that if we cannot with 100% certainty determine that these holidays originated from the paganism long alleged to them we should deem them not pagan. I don’t know how many times I have heard someone say that while there is no commandment in The Bible to celebrate these holidays, there is also no commandment not to celebrate them. The problem with this, of course, is that there is a commandment not to appropriate things used in worship of the gods of the nations. So these people have it totally backwards when they say these things. It should not be that if we cannot prove with 100% certainty that they are pagan we should treat them as cultural customs that are not pagan. It should be, when you weigh in commandments like those found in Deuteronomy 12:29-32, 18:9-12, 20:17-18, that unless we can prove beyond all doubt that there is not one shred of influence from other religions in these holidays we should regard them at the very least as possibly and probably pagan and possibly and probably a violation of Torah and not celebrate them.
After all, it’s not like there is a shortage of holidays in The Bible. If you cannot give up three one-day-long worldly and possibly and probably pagan holidays for nine Bible Holy Days, some of them being a whole week long, then there is something really wrong. The Bible offers three times as many annual Holy Days and 10 times as many days of celebrating compared to the “big three” holidays of Christmas, Easter, and Halloween, yet most “Christians” and even a good number of Messianic and Hebrew Roots people will fight with everything they have to defend what is at the very least possibly and probably pagan.
At some point we must come to a realization that those we have held in high esteem for their intellectualism or their boldness or whatever are really just more pawns of the devil. They come up with all sorts of crafty ways to say why “you” don’t have to follow “that commandment”. Whatever “that commandment” happens to be at the moment. It’s not just the hyper-grace heretics telling people we need to “unhitch from the Old Testament” or whatever that are a danger. More subtle and more deadly are the ones who sound like preachers of Bible truth but every once in a while slip in those lies that some particular commandment is not really for you. And such preachers of lawlessness are everywhere, even having prominence in Messianic Jewish and Hebrew Roots Movement circles. They are all extensions of the same thing—the man of lawlessness.
Look, The Torah is quite clear when a commandment has a specific prerequisite. It tells you when you have to be a king in Israel, a Levite priest, a judge in Israel, a man, a woman, a child, whatever the case may be. The most commonly rejected commandments today—the food laws, The Sabbath, the Feast Days, prohibitions against paganism that would apply to Christmas and Easter (Deut. 12:29-31), the prohibition against tattooing your body, and several others—have no prerequisites. They apply to everyone, it does not matter whether or not you have a single drop of Israelite blood in your DNA you are still obligated to obey them if you claim to be a child of God. And if we got right down to it, because of things like the diaspora most people today likely have at least one percent of Israelite DNA, so there’s that. Perhaps those who want to insist that Torah is only required of Hebrew people should also insist that people have their DNA tested to ensure they don’t have a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of Hebrew DNA before deciding Torah is not for them.
Is “The Church” A God Thing Or A Satan Thing?
I realize that this message is hitting a little harder than even I do most of the time. After all, it’s not every day that someone does an entire message about how The Bible literally says the majority view of “Christian religion” is delusional. I know there are people out there who would rather I just clarify for them passages like the thing about not boiling a young goat in it’s mother’s milk, as I did in a recent article. I enjoy helping people who have already determined that The Bible absolutely calls us to follow The Torah with difficult passages like that, but sometimes I feel burdened to just tell people the truth that doesn’t sit well with the religious deceived.
It may shock you to know that the word “church” is not found anywhere in The Bible. Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Oh, that’s not true, I got me a King James Bible and it says ‘church’ one hundred and eleven times in the New Testament.” That is true; the King James does use the word “church” as do most English translations. However, the plain fact of the matter is that where you see the word “church” in modern translations of The Bible it is in actuality the word ekklesia and this word does not translate to “church”. The word ekklesia is a compound of two other words: ek (out of) and kaleo (to call). In other words, it is a reference to those who have been called out of the world. It is a reference to the kedoshim we see referenced in Revelation 14:12 who follow both The Torah and Messiah Yeshua.
If you look into the etymology of the word “church” you will find some interesting things. The first thing that jumps out is that this word originates from the Greek word circe. This is also the origin word for “circus” (which speaks of an “entertainment” spirit and atmosphere) and “circle” (in the context of something like a coven of witches gathered in a circle). Additionally, there appears to be some level of influence from the Welsh word caer into the English word “church”. The Welsh caer refers to a fortress, citadel, or stronghold. That last one should ring a bell, as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 10:4, “For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful through God for the tearing down of strongholds” (emphasis added).
In addition to this, Circe was the name of one of the Greco-Roman goddesses. She was a goddess of witchcraft and manipulation. I’ll just leave that right there for a moment.
The plain fact of the matter, which is to date confirmed through archaeology and historical records, is that there was no such a thing as a “church” in “Christianity” until the fourth century when the Emperor Constantine established a religion that blended the Roman paganism with the words of The Bible to create what was then called “The New Roman Religion”. This, of course, is what we know today as Roman Catholicism. “Modern Christianity” (aka, Protestantism) is a mere 500 years old and nothing more than a still-perverted religion claiming to follow The Bible but not actually following it. It’s simply not a religion based on The Bible.
If you look at how “Christian” doctrine is established, there tends to be a whole lot of developing beliefs and then turning to The Bible to find passages that might support them. This is almost always done by using passages of Scripture out of context. The correct way to establish doctrine is to read The Bible and do what it says, in context and the way it says to do it. “Christians” talk a lot about following The Bible, yet pretty much nothing done in “Christian churches” actually traces back to The Bible. It all comes from either secular culture or outright paganism and then passages from The Bible that sound vaguely similar to the practice are used to say “See, The Bible supports this.” No, actually The Bible does not support it.
Look, I know these are hard words to hear. Imagine being the one led by The Spirit to write them! But you can verify what I stated about the etymological origins and influences of the English word “church” through resources like the Online Etymology Dictionary and Smith’s Bible Dictionary. Whether anyone likes it or not or wants to hear it or not, all indications are that contained within the word “church” is witchcraft, manipulation, worldly entertainment, and a stronghold that we are called to tear down. And when you get serious and look at what “church” does and what The Bible says, if you are truly led by The Spirit of God, you should be able to see clearly that “the Christian church” is not of God at all. “Church” is clearly the creation of Satan and he has total power over the masses in “Christian” religion who are blinded by the delusion of the lawless.
False Prophets Prophe-lying
Ezekiel 22:25-26, 28 says: “There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing prey. They have devoured lives, they take wealth and valuables, they multiply widows in her midst. Her kohanim have done violence to My Torah and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, nor have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean. They shut their eyes to My Shabbatot. So I am profaned among them. … Her prophets have plastered them with whitewash, seeing false visions and predicting lies to them, saying ‘Thus says Adonai Elohim,’ when Adonai has not spoken.” There may be no more precise description of the “Christian religion” in The Bible aside from Matthew 7:21-23. Just try talking to most “Christians” about the two highlighted points—The Sabbath and the clean/unclean distinctions (especially with regard to the food laws)—and you will find out how much this passage relates to the “Christian religion” today. When you talk about The Sabbath, the Feasts (which are also Sabbaths), or the food laws most people will act like that’s all you talk about and why you don’t highlight other things. Well, the prophet here highlighted those very things and those things remain at the very top of the list of the most rejected of all commandments from The Torah.
Look at the so-called “prophets” of today also, as Ezekiel called out false prophets in his statements. I have sat and literally watched people claiming to be a “prophet” stand before a crowd and tell people what their name is and where they live and all the “Christians” eating it up like it’s some great thing. Peter Popoff was exposed in 1986 by a stage magician who showed that the tactics he used were nothing more than what magicians, illusionists, and psychics use. A whole movie was inspired by Popoff’s scam, Leap Of Faith starring actor Steve Martin, which highlighted a flashy tent preacher using an earpiece to be fed information about attendees of his events gathered by his team before he took the stage. And yet a huge number of “Christians” continue to fall for this nonsense. The Bible tells us how to identify a true prophet in Deuteronomy 13. It says that true prophets will always lead you and call you to follow The Torah and if a so-called “prophet” does all sorts of signs and wonders but does anything other that telling you to follow The Torah they are to be completely rejected as if they are dead.
Some people, who think they are clever, will say that The Bible calls for false prophets to be stoned (see Deuteronomy 13:11, 18:20). They want to say that if you speak against false prophets but don’t stone them you are a hypocrite—they make this same argument with many other things. But The Torah gives requirements that must be met before someone can be stoned and at least some of those prerequisites are not possible today. So it would actually be against Torah to stone a false prophet today, but we can still use that age-old phrase “you’re dead to me” and then treat them as such following the portion of the commandment to not listen to them. When a false prophet is exposed—be it one of these hucksters using wizardry and clairvoyance to make people think they have some supernatural gift from God, those who falsely predicted the end of the world or the return of Messiah or some other eschatological event, or are in any other way a false prophet—we should regard them as if they are dead and should not listen to a word they have to say. It doesn’t matter if they repented and appear to be following the truth now. Good, let them follow the truth—sitting down under a qualified spiritual leader and never acting in the capacity of a prophet or claiming to be such ever again. That’s the biblical position. If the Torah requirements could be met, then perhaps they would be stoned. But even while that is not an option today, as far as “being a prophet” is concerned they can and must be treated as one who was stoned—don’t listen to them. And The Bible also doesn’t say they get to “apologize for missing it”, and then turn around and miss it again and again and make excuse after excuse. I’ve literally heard self-professed prophets blame parishioners for their “missed prophecies”. It’s sad and sick and totally unbiblical.
And I know there are otherwise Torah-positive ministers who have met the qualifications of being declared a false prophet, and I do not listen to them either. One of the most popular Messianic teachers to this day is a man named Monte Judah. I am sure he has given many good teachings. I am sure he has been right more than he has been wrong. I am sure he’s a really great guy. My objective in calling his name is not to disparage him or anything like that. But it is well documented that he gave a major false prophecy. I’ve actually had the opportunity to discuss the issue on the phone with one of the leaders in the ministry he started—and I am pleased to say that they are working to lead that ministry in a better direction. But that does not excuse the stigma of a major false prophecy nor does it void the requirement of Torah to not listen to the words of a declared false prophet.
The Torah says we should not listen to a false prophet. I have never and do not intend to ever listen to a message delivered by or read a book or article written by Monte Judah or any other false prophet. I don’t listen to teachings from Hal Lindsey. I don’t listen to teachings from Harold Camping. If someone proves to be a false prophet, I follow the guidance of The Torah and I don’t listen to them. Once it is revealed that a person claiming to be a prophet in any way is shown to meet the biblical parameters of being a false prophet, that is the moment I will make it a point to not listen to anything they have to say. And that is what I advise everyone who wants to really follow The Bible to do. Most so-called “Christian” prophets today are nothing more than psychic mediums who use The Bible. They should be cut off. And this is nothing new anyway, Ezekiel 13 talks about people who used witchcraft to claim they were prophets of God.
Among the defenders of Christmas one thing I hear from time to time is a reference to the lesser-known works of an early third century theology writer named Hippolytus. In his work Commentary To Daniel there is a debated reference to December 25th being the date Yeshua was born. It is debated because it is unclear if this line was written by the author himself or inserted later as a forgery. On top of that, this Hippolytus believed and taught that the end of the world would come 500 years after the birth of Yeshua. Well, clearly we are long past that time so this man meets the parameters of a false prophet. That means that even if the entry about December 25th is authentic The Torah tells us not to consider it. Besides that, statements made in Scripture that can be studied out lead to an absolute conclusion that a winter dating of the birth of Messiah is a biblical impossibility. Events surrounding the story according to the biblical record, such as the shepherds living in distant fields with their flocks and the census that was taking place, all point to His being born in the fall during the biblical Feast of Sukkot. And if we are totally honest, this makes the “Christ of Christmas” a 2 Corinthians 11:4 “other Jesus”.
Do a good study on what The Bible says about false prophets. One of the things you will quickly discover is that a prominent characteristic of them is that they tell people what they want to hear instead of the hard truths of Scripture. They tickle the ears with a one-sided positive message. They are the people who say it’s perfectly fine if you don’t keep The Torah, so long as your heart is in the right place. As Ezekiel said, they declare shalom (peace) where there is none. It’s no wonder The Torah says the number one characteristic of false prophets is antinomianism because there is no more ear-tickling of a message than one that says you don’t have to follow the whole Bible if you don’t want to—in the modern age these would be pretty much all “Christian” preachers who say that all you have to do is believe “Jesus is the Christ” and if you want to go farther with things, that’s cool. Read your Bible. You will find out that from Genesis to Revelation keeping The Torah as a mandated part of faith in Yahweh, The God of The Bible, is the message of every book in The Bible. And just like everything else in The Bible, “believing in Jesus” also originates as a Torah commandment (Deut. 18:15-19). Everything in The Bible goes back to following The Torah—God’s Laws—which are ultimately the evidence that you believe God is God. Questioning, rejecting, and breaking commandments is the pattern of the serpent in Genesis 3 and those who believe the “not under the law” message of “Christianity” are followers of Satan.
Voiding The Work Of The Cross?
Clearly that is not what Paul meant by his statement in Romans. After all, when we look at the whole Book of Romans in context we find, as already stated, Romans 2:13 saying, “For it is not the hearers of Torah who are righteous before God; rather, it is the doers of Torah who will be justified,” as well as Romans 7:12 proclaiming, “The Torah is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.” Even in Acts 24:14 we find Paul’s declaration of faith—“believing everything written in the Torah and the Prophets”. He was a fully Torah-keeping Jew, a Pharisee of Pharisees, of the tribe of Benjamin. I promise you Paul was not saying and never would say you have to sin more so that you can have more grace.
Let me illustrate just how foolish this belief is. The idea is that grace abounds much more when you sin more, which means that if eating pork or celebrating Christmas really is a sin—as I will vehemently contend they are—then it just means you are given a greater measure of grace to cover those things as long as you mentally acknowledge that “Jesus is the Christ”. So, what about something like murder or bestiality? Why don’t those who act like this with their theology say that about those acts of sin? Could you imagine the looks the hyper-grace heretics would get if they stood in their pulpit one day and said: “Paul taught that where sin abounds grace abounds much more, so as ‘Christians’ we should be going around murdering people and having sex with animals so God can impart His grace on us that much more”?
I think “Christians” would do good to think on the words of Hebrews 10:26-27. It says: “For if we keep on sinning willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but only a terrifying expectation of judgment and a fury of fire about to devour the enemies of God.” The context of these passages is set in a discourse comparing Messiah Yeshua and the work of the cross with the Levitical sacrificial system. The passage has a parallel in The Torah, Numbers 15:22-31, where it talks about how sins committed in ignorance can be forgiven but intentionally committed sins cannot. So the passage in Hebrews, built on what is founded on The Torah, says that when you know something is a sin and do it anyway, even the work of the cross is no longer able to save you. That’s what it says. I know most people will reject that fact, but it is what it is.
Do you recall those famous words uttered by our Messiah from the cross? “Forgive them, Father, for they know not what they do.” Why do you think He said that specifically? He said it because the only way you can biblically be forgiven of your sins, even through the work of the cross, is if your sin meets the parameters of ignorance—if your sin is committed knowing not what you do. Now, I do believe that part of this is knowing what The Bible says of sin committed through ignorance and sin committed through intent (you both knew it goes against The Bible and that there is no forgiveness for sins committed when you know it goes against The Bible). So while most “Christians” are not living according to the covenant they claim they embrace, they are also likely still meeting the parameters of sinning in ignorance and therefore still qualify for forgiveness. Otherwise I would be wasting my time even writing a message like this.
Even having studied and taught The Bible from a Torah-positive perspective for many years now I never cease to be amazed at how pretty much everything Yeshua said and everything the Apostles said traces back to The Torah while precious little if any of what modern-day “Christian” preachers believe and teach legitimately traces back to The Bible at all. You simply cannot establish unbiblical beliefs and then dig out passages from The Bible to use in support of such beliefs because when you isolate your text from its proper context it kind of halfway vaguely sounds like it proves your beliefs are connected to a Bible that in reality opposes them. Remember, Peter says it’s lawless men who twist the Scripture. He said they are ignorant and unstable. ALL of the antinomian views of popular “Christian” religion, everything from the hyper-grace heretics to the Messianic Jews saying that “Gentiles” only have to follow some so-called Noahide Laws and everything in between, is what the Apostles called delusional, ignorant, unstable, lies, and so many other things. If you believe anything from The Torah does not apply today, you should rethink your theology because the Apostles were talking about YOU.
I know I have already said it twice, but the Bible definition of sin is the breaking, violating, transgressing of The Torah (1 John 3:4). So this begs the question: How can following The Torah void the work of the cross when Hebrews 10:26-27 says that it is sinning—breaking The Torah—when you have come to the knowledge of the truth that voids the work of the cross? If you continue, Hebrews 10:29 talks about trampling underfoot The Messiah and insulting the Spirit of grace—grace, again, being defined biblically as what teaches you to stop breaking The Torah and also teaches you to follow The Torah.
Matthew 7 offers some very powerful insights into how we should approach The Bible and the matter of whether or not The Torah is valid or voided in our faith. In verses 13 and 14 Yeshua talks about the contrast between the narrow gate that FEW will find and the broad way that MANY follow. Then in verses 21 through 23 He touches a little more on that MANY saying they will come to Him talking about all sorts of things they did in His name and He will tell them to depart because of LAWLESSNESS. Religious beliefs that even just portions of The Torah have been voided or don’t apply to “Christians” consume “Christianity”—including Messianic and Hebrew Roots forms of “Christian religion”. The most popular one is that the food laws have been abrogated, something that is so easily shown to be a false view. Yeshua taught that such would be the beliefs of MANY and it would lead to their rejection and destruction while the FEW would come to realize that we really are supposed to follow God’s Laws.
As I have already pointed out, Satan can do pretty much anything and everything we see done in churches today. There is not one reason in the world to think that “Christianity” and “Christian churches” are not fully owned and operated by Satan. The lawless one and the delusion of lawlessness is connected to the activity of Satan. The moment someone says they are not under the law or that any or even all of the commandments are voided is the moment you know you are in a temple of Satan. And most “Christian churches” are just that. I’ll leave room for a “FEW” churches who may have found that narrow gate, and there are more and more taking at least a casual interest in rethinking The Torah. But, again, if a “church” is taking a casual interest in things like the Feasts because they have become a little more trendy in popular religion but still maintains things like the food laws, The Sabbath, tattoo prohibitions, or even the Feasts they are exploring cannot “imposed on” or “mandated to” their parishioners we must still conclude that they are followers of the lawless one, just in a little more subtle and less easily detected form of Satanic deception. Satan will absolutely lead people to follow certain things in The Torah so long as it ultimately leads to them rejecting at least something in The Torah.
The work of the cross was not to void The Torah, it was to issue in the new covenant in Yeshua’s blood where the sign and seal of the new covenant on the Believer is The Torah put into the mind and written on the heart (Jeremiah 31:32, Hebrews 8:10). To go further, Ezekiel 36:27 says that under the new covenant God will put His Spirit in us, in addition to putting His Torah in our mind and on our heart, and His Spirit will then CAUSE US to walk in His Laws—The Torah, that is put into our mind and written on our heart. To say that following Torah makes the work of the cross to be in vain is nothing more than another Genesis 3 deception of the serpent.
A Final Word
I recognize that a message like this is not comfortable. To say that the two primary religions claiming to be based on The Bible—Christianity and Judaism—are wrong is quite a bold statement. To further claim having found the truth that the two primary Bible religions have not is an even bigger claim that many would think absurd. But you know what? The fact of the matter is The Bible sides with what I am saying.
You can’t get around passages in The Bible that say the same Torah applies to the native-born Israelite and one from the nations or that keeping the commandments applies to all people and is what being human is all about. You can’t contest The Bible when it says that it is the doers of Torah who will be justified or when it says the perseverance of those set apart through covenant is in both keeping the commandments and having the faith of Yeshua—which pretty much rules out the followers of “Judaism” and the followers of “Christianity” and solely includes the true followers of Yeshua and His Torah lifestyle.
The simple fact of the matter is that the earliest followers of Yeshua did not identify as “Christians” and they existed as a distinct sect within the existing Jewish world of the first century through at least the third century and likely well beyond that. There is a record from the early fourth century, correspondence between Augustine and Jerome, that there existed a sect still calling themselves The Nazarenes (see Acts 24:5) who were seen as a problem to the communities of “Judaism” because they considered Yeshua to be The Messiah and a problem to the communities of “Christianity” because they believed The Torah was still mandated to followers of Yeshua. There are also indications that those with this belief eventually made their way west toward the British isles and this faith that included both Yeshua and Torah equally continued through the works of men like Patrick of Ireland and Columba of Scotland.
You see, often times, as I can testify personally, when you go after the deceptions in religion with a message like this there are those who will falsely accuse you of attacking or bashing those currently following these false religions that include “Judaism” and “Christianity”. But this is all just a part of the delusional force the masses are under, that which comes on the lawless followers of religion.
Let’s just think about it for a moment. “Christians” reject at least some commandments, really quite a few when you get right down to it—topping the list being their rejection of the food laws, The Sabbath Day, the Feasts of Yah, and their celebration of holidays that come from other religions. “Orthodox Jews” tend to keep most of the commandments, but there is at least one that gets them—Deuteronomy 18:15-19 commands that we follow the prophet like Moses, which is Yeshua The Messiah. Even in “Messianic Judaism” there are many who believe Torah is not for whoever they deem “non-Jews” in contradiction to the statement that the same Torah applies to the native born and the stranger/sojourner—which in reality is a commandment and so to teach against it is the rejection of a commandment. Again, go back to Genesis 3, Satan only needs to convince you to reject one. If he can get you to reject more than one that only gives him that much more power. But as long as he can get you to see one—be it a rejection of the food laws, The Sabbath, following the prophet like Moses, Torah being for all people, or anything else—he gets you right where he wants you: out of covenant.
What those who take truth to the point of just bashing “Christianity” tend to fail to realize is that in order for there to be a counterfeit, there must be something real to counterfeit. Biblical passages like 2 Corinthians 11:4 and Galatians 1:6 tell us definitively that there would be and perhaps already was at the time of their writing a counterfeit to the biblical new covenant and 2 Timothy 4:3-4 indicates that it would become the dominant view. We are living in that time. We may not yet be living in the fullness of it, believe it or not, but we certainly are in it to some degree and the overwhelming majority of what is called “Christianity” today and ever since about at least the fourth century is the counterfeit of the real truth.
Now, I do understand that many who find the real truth are taking exception to the term “Christian” as an identity because of how perverted that term has become. I also get it that there are solid Bible scholars, people with a Ph.D. in religious and biblical studies behind their name, who contend that the use of the word “Christian” in Acts 11:26 was used in a derogatory sense by pagans who said it in mockery—and that is worthy of consideration. Also to be considered is the fact that all indications, even from The Bible, are that the first century followers of Yeshua called themselves “The Way”—which is most likely short for the phrase “the way of life” that was used in reference to The Torah by Believers of that period and a statement that is seen prominently in The Didache. So there is good evidence to suggest at the very least that “Christian” and “Christianity” were not terms used formally of a religion until much later, if it was used in any prominence at all and if it was ever used in a positive sense among the true Believers prior to the fourth century and especially in the first and early second century.
My point here is that if you prefer to adhere to the term “Christian” as an identity, there might not be anything wrong with that. However, it needs to be considered that in the present day the term is so tainted with false religious views that if you do use it you will be essentially be associating yourself with this completely false religion that claims one-third of the world’s total population. Perhaps something worth considering at this point is how the bronze serpent Moses created in The Torah became a source of idolatry later in Israel’s history to the point where the righteous king of the time had it destroyed. It makes me think back to the potential influence of the Welsh word caer in the development of the modern word “church” and how this word means “stronghold”—the very thing The Bible tells us to tear down. Perhaps, much like that bronze serpent, it really is time to “tear down” the unbiblical concept of “church” and abandon terms of identity so heavily ingrained in idolatrous religion and seek to move forward with real truth with those few who seek the narrow gate and The Way that lies beyond it.
Personally, I have come to primarily refer to myself simply as a Believer. It’s simple, biblical, and religious people who think you need a religious badge of identity go nuts when you reject the labels.
Technically speaking, the word “Christian” is supposed to mean “Christ one”, which is the essence of 1 John 2:6, “…whoever claims to abide in Him must walk just as He walked.” However, I don’t know many people who actually do believe in walking as He walked, much less who still desire to identify as being a “Christian”. And yet in its truest sense the word “Christian” is supposed to refer to a person who actually does walk as He walked. But I do really wonder if it’s even worth fighting for to salvage the title “Christian” from what it has come to represent. After all, our salvation does not hinge on titles and what we call ourselves. Neither should we particularly care whether or not we are associated with the lawless masses of popular religion if we are a part of the FEW, the remnant, who choose to walk the often-lonely path of true truth.
This message may not sit well with the majority of people today. It may not be well received by those who believe what “Christianity” teaches or what “Judaism” teaches. But the gate is narrow, the path is difficult, and few will find it. Perhaps you have read this message and you know someone who is struggling to reconcile what they hear and see in “churches” with what they read in The Bible. Share this message with them. Let them know that they are not alone in this struggle and that there are answers available. Together, one person at a time, we really can lead some to the path of truth.
~Blessings and Shalom~
©2021 Truth Ignited Ministry
