Yes, I grew up in a time when Styx was a popular band, but this post is not about them or their song Grand Illusions…
I went to church regularly through high school, even though my family did not typically attend.
I was baptized at 17, on the same day I graduated from high school in May of 1983.
Sweet. I was all set, right?
I spent the next 33 years in the mainstream church. Just like most, I obtained my scriptural knowledge from the experts. I was taught what scripture says and what it means by men who had theology degrees.
There is nothing wrong with that, right?
Well, I had questions.
Whenever I cracked open my bible and read scripture for myself, I found things that I couldn’t understand. I found things that seemed to contradict what my church leaders said week in and week out.
Good news, though…
They pretty much all had open door policies. I could approach our church leaders at any time and ask all the questions I wanted. And I did.
There was just one problem, though. If I didn’t accept and believe ‘their explanation’ then the open door got slammed pretty quickly.
Continuing to have questions, or God forbid, not believing their answers was simply not tolerated. Not accepting their answers (and often times, non-answers, since they simply don’t know much about the difficult topics) meant that ‘my heart was not right with God.’
I was never given an explanation of what it meant for my heart to not be right with God. It just seemed like they were angry because my heart was not right with their line of reasoning.
Then a not-so-funny thing happened. I had a severe crisis in my life. My oldest son was on life support at the age of 15. Homicide detectives declared his body a crime scene because a cat scan showed he was brain dead.
You can read all the details of this story here:
My Testimony
To make a long story short, I learned for the very first time in my life how to be wretchedly humble before my Creator. I learned how to fully submit to Him. I learned how to pray that night.
As a result of complete and total submission, and desperate prayer to know and understand God, I started to understand scripture. I prayed as James 1:5-8 tells us to pray.
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
And God kept His promise. He began to reveal His understanding to me.
For the first time in my life, scripture made sense. All of it.
And the more I understood, the more foolish the mainstream message appeared.
I received understanding of the difficult topics. The questions I had that the church leaders could not answer… God revealed His understanding to me, and it is fascinating.
I learned that God’s word was understood by the men of the bible, ancient men. But 400 years of captivity in Egypt caused them to lose much of their knowledge and understanding. As a result, God gave it back to them, via Moses.
“The Law” was not new.. It was just newly learned again.
All throughout Torah, God says His word is forever, never-ending, unchanging, and that it is for all generations.
New Testament scripture supports Torah completely, as does prophecy for future events that have not yet happened.
John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Numbers 23:19
God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind.
James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
Malachi 3:6
“For I am the Lord, I do not change;
John 1:14 tells us that Jesus is the Word in the flesh:
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
And Hebrews 13:8 tells us that He does not and has not changed.
Ever.
And that means the Word does not and has not changed.
Ever.
Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
But…
The mainstream church teaches us that God’s word is not forever.
Mainstream doctrine uses the writings of Paul to say the Torah instruction (The Law) is done away with. (If you wonder how this could be an issue, read 2Peter 3:14-18).
That is not possible.
For if it were true, God is a liar.
The mainstream message is a grand illusion.
It is spoken of in Hebrews 13:9
Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.
If a teaching is not in accordance with Torah, which God said is ever-lasting and does not change, then it is a various and strange doctrine.
Do we see this warning anywhere else in scripture?
2Timothy 4:3-5
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
Yes, we live in the time that Paul described to Timothy so long ago.
Popular doctrine teaches against Torah, not for it.
How do we know a false prophet? Deuteronomy explains to us how we will know:
Deuteronomy 13
“If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’—which you have not known—‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the Lord your God is testing you to know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the Lord your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst.
Mainstream doctrine turns us away from the commandments of God. Anyone who teaches such a thing is a false prophet, according to Deuteronomy 13.
This is a disaster of epic proportions.
Is there anyway to know if what I’m saying is true??
Consider these direct quotes of your Messiah:
Revelation 14:12
Here is the patience of the saints; here are those[g] who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
See that? Jesus says it takes two criteria, not one.
Revelation 22:14
Blessed are those who do His commandments,[g] that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city.
Yes, Jesus said that. Keep the commandments.
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.
Yes, that is Jesus speaking again.
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
Yes, still Jesus…
John 15:10
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
Jesus said that? Yes, He did.
Are you seeing a pattern here?
Does your church teach you these things, straight out of scripture?
Do you “go after other gods”?
You may answer that with a resounding “No!!!”
But do you?
Yes, you may proclaim the gospel of Jesus. But how well do you know Him?
Do you know him from scripture, or do you know what your mainstream teacher has told you about Him?
Please read these articles before you answer this question.
Which Jesus Do You Love?
Things Jesus Ever Said #1
Things Jesus Ever Said #2
Things Jesus Ever Said #3
I ask these questions because it is important to ask these questions.
Your eternal life may depend on it.
The church tells us that anyone who believes in Jesus and prays Him into their heart will have everlasting life. (Show me in scripture where it says to pray Jesus into your heart. I’ll give you a hint… It doesn’t).
We hear John 3:16 often:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Who doesn’t love John 3:16?
The thing to remember is that it does not stand alone. It is true, but it is just one of thousands of small pieces that make up an overall truth.
Are you familiar with John 3:36?
He who trusts in the Son has eternal life. He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
How can these two verses in the same book seem to be contradictory?
3:16 says all we have to do is believe in Jesus and we are saved.
And then, 3:36 says we won’t be saved if we do not obey what Jesus said.
I say they are not contradictory. If we truly know, believe in, and trust Yeshua (Jesus’ real Hebrew name), then we WILL know Him, we WILL trust Him, we WILL obey the things He said.
The two verses go hand in hand.
It is impossible to TRULY know and trust Messiah and not hear Him and not obey Him.
Does your church teach what our Messiah said?
Or does your church teach the traditions of man?
If your church does not encourage you to learn and do Torah instruction (which God said is forever, for all generations), then your church is teaching the traditions of man.
If you’d like to know what Yeshua (Jesus) thinks of men teaching traditions, read Matthew 23.
Are you set apart? Are you hated by the world?
Or are you streaming along with the majority?
What else does Yeshua (Jesus) say?
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
If you think my ideas here are foolish and offensive, please consider His words about the narrow path and the wide path.
Take the time to study scripture to find out which path you are on.
If you are on the path with the majority, you might want to reconsider.