“Expectation is the root of all heartache.”
William Shakespeare

If expectation is the root of all heartache, then what can be said of false expectations?
Even worse, right?

I’ve been hand-writing the bible. I’ve completed Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and about half of Numbers so far.
What am I learning?
Expectations are the downfall of many.

In particular, we see the people of the Exodus.  Yehovah appears before them as a pillar of clouds by day, and a pillar of fire by night.
There is no mistaken identity going on.
Yehovah works many miracles before these people.
There is no confusion about who is in charge, and who is making things happen.

And yet…
What do we see?
We see a nation of complainers.
We see a nation of people who have expectations that are not being met.
This happens to everyone at some point, right?
But what about these people?
If you were in the presence of the Creator of all things, who has made promises to you — would you forget Him and His promises?
Would you complain and rebel against Him?

Really.
Seriously.
I’m asking in earnest.
Would you?

We see over and over and over again that the outcome is very bad for those who doubt, deny, rebel, question, disbelieve, complain, and exhibit all sorts of bad behavior.

What bad outcome?
Consumed by fire.
Sucked into the earth alive.
Bitten by fiery serpents.
Fall by the sword.
Fall by the plague.
Smitten with leprosy.
Stoned to death.

And, consider this…
These are Yehova’s chosen people, whom He loves.
Why would a loving God have such consequences for those He has chosen?
Because He is a just God.
Because Yehovah gave us His instructions for living, and those instructions must be followed.
Even God must abide by His teachings.
If He gave us instructions [the law] and told us what the consequences are for not following those instructions, then He has to adhere to the consequences when men rebel. Otherwise, His word is void.

Churches today teach that Jesus loves us and we can do no wrong. Well, we can do wrong, but it will be forgiven, because Jesus loves us.
Is this true?
No, not exactly. It is just a bit different in scripture.
If we truly turn to Messiah, and follow Him, and repent, turn away from, our sins, then yes, He will forgive us, because He loves us.
But what happens if we go through all of this, but continue to sin willfully?
“I’m just a sinner saved by grace.”

Hebrews 10:26-31 paints a horrific picture for those who continue to sin willfully.
²⁶ If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, ²⁷ but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. ²⁸ Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” ³¹ It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Did you expect to hear that in scripture?
Churches don’t teach us this truth.
Could I be wrong about this?
What does John 3:36 say?
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.

Has your pastor taught you John 3:36?
Has your pastor taught you that obedience is expected and required? Or has your pastor only taught you the promise of John 3:16?
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16 is a wonderful promise in scripture, but we have to establish our beliefs and our doctrine on all of scripture, not just the promises.
The warnings are important.  They are just as important as the promises.
What expectations do you have based on mainstream church teachings?  Have you tested those expectations against the truth of scripture? What if they turn out to be false expectations, established by false teachers?
Is this possible?

Jeremiah 16:19-20 refers to end times:
¹⁹ O Lord, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

Do you understand the implications of these verses?
1. In end times
2. The Gentiles
3. Will realize they’ve inherited nothing but lies
4. The lies have no value in them
5. The result of the lies is that man will make up gods who are not gods.

Could this be describing our churches?
Hebrews 10 and John 3 indicate it could be true about our churches.
Jeremiah predicts this will happen.
Can we trust Jeremiah?
Jeremiah 1:4-9
⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
Before you were born I sanctified you;
I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
⁶ Then said I:
“Ah, Lord God!
Behold, I cannot speak, for I am a youth.”
⁷ But the Lord said to me:
“Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’
For you shall go to all to whom I send you,
And whatever I command you, you shall speak.
⁸ Do not be afraid of their faces,
For I am with you to deliver you,” says the Lord.
⁹ Then the Lord put forth His hand and touched my mouth, and
he Lord said to me:
“Behold, I have put My words in your mouth.”

Wow, did you catch that in verse 9?
Yehova put His words into Jeremiah’s mouth.
I think we can trust Jeremiah.

If that’s the case, then we can say the warning of Jeremiah 16:19-20 is true.  Is it true today, or is it true for some time in the future?
This question can easily be answered by studying scripture.
Hebrews 10
John 3
What about these words from Messiah Himself?
John 14:15
“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
John 14:21
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.
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.

What commandments is He speaking of?
Scripture will tell us, if we look.
These are the people that will be in the Kingdom of Heaven:
Revelation 14:12
¹² Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Does this describe you?
Do you keep the commandments of Yehovah?
Do you have the faith of Messiah?

Does Messiah say what will happen to those who do not keep the law, the commandments of God?  Our churches teach us the law is done away with.
But what does Messiah say about it?
This is a direct quote of Yeshua Messiah, otherwise known as Jesus:
Matthew 7:21-23
²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Do you want to hear “Well done good and faithful servant!”
Or do you want to hear “I never knew you. Depart from Me.”?

It is your choice to make.
Has your pastor taught you about these things?
Or does your pastor only teach you that Jesus loves you and you will go to heaven if you pray Him into your heart?
I ask you this:
Show me in scripture where it talks about this “praying Jesus into your heart” stuff. I can’t seem to find it anywhere.

Do you have false expectations?
Do you expect to go to heaven one day?
Do you even know what that means?
Church culture tells us that heaven is some imaginary place up in the sky.  Just look up.  Can’t see it, but it’s up there, right?
Somewhere…
Try reading Revelation 21 and 22.
Learn about the City of New Jerusalem.
Did you know that eternal heaven is in the City of New Jerusalem?
Did you know that it will be here on restored earth?
Does your pastor teach you these things?

If not, then you’ve bet your eternity on the teachings of men, instead of the truth of scripture.
False expectations.
There is but One who can grant you salvation.
Do you know Him?
Or do you just think you know Him?

1John 2:3-6
³ Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. ⁴ He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. ⁵ But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. ⁶ He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

I don’t write these things to criticize or condemn.
I don’t write these things to discourage you.
I write these things so you will know what scripture says.
Our churches do not teach the truth.
They teach what they learned from other men in college.

If I’ve shown you some things in scripture that you were unaware of, you need to explore it more. Don’t take my word for it, and don’t take your pastor’s word for it.
Your eternity is at stake.
Do you hear His voice?
John 10:27
“My sheep hear My voice. I know them, and they follow Me.”
John 10:14
 “I am the Good Shepherd. I know My own and My own know Me”

Revelation 14:12 tells us who the saints are, the elect, the saved…
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”  [NKJV]

Do you see the issue here?
When it comes to religions that use the bible as their basis, there are two main concepts:
Judaism and Christianity.
Each of these religions can be broken into various segments/denominations based on slight doctrinal differences, but no matter…

Do you see the problem, when we compare these two concepts to the scriptural definition of who is in the Kingdom?

We must keep the commandments of God.
And we must have the faith of Messiah.

Do you see the problem here?
Judaism has the Torah, the law, the commandments (basically), but they are taught to reject Messiah.
Christianity has ‘Jesus’ (basically), but they are taught to reject the Torah, the law, the commandments of God.

Do you understand this problem?
Both major religious branches that use the bible as the basis of their belief only have half at best.

How is it possible that men teach only half of what scripture requires of us?
Satan is a busy fella, that’s how.

If you identify with one or the other of these two religious groups, what are you going to do about it?

What do these two verses have in common?
Together, they paint us a picture.
The Big Picture

What do I mean by this?
We could interview a thousand Christian pastors and ask them what the big picture of scripture is…
We’d get an overwhelming response that Jesus died on a cross for our sins, so that we might be forgiven. And He did so because He loves us.
They would be absolutely correct.
Yeshua Messiah did die for us so that we might be forgiven.
But is this the big picture?
I propose that Messiah is a piece of the big picture, and absolutely necessary and critical.

Bear with me here…
The Big Picture of scripture is that Yehova created all that there is, and there was no fault in all of Creation.
But man committed sin, introducing death into the world.
The Big Picture is getting back to His original Creation, and Messiah plays the key role in this plan.
But our churches neglect much of scripture, and concentrate only on the parts they like.
Their “Big Picture” is not the same as Yehova’s “Big Picture”. Even though the church’s big picture is derived from words written in scripture, it is important for us to see Yehova’s big picture, not to create our own from portions of the Word.
So let’s summarize Mainstream Christian Big Picture, along with Scripture’s Big Picture:

Christianity:
God created all there is, and it was perfect.
Man committed sin, introducing death into the world.
God gave His law to man.
Man failed to keep the law.
Jesus died on the cross and did away with the law.
Man is forgiven by believing in Jesus.
Everybody who believes in Jesus goes to heaven.
Everyone else goes to Hell forever.

Scripture’s Big Picture [I could spend days on this, but I’ll try to keep it short]:
Yehova created all there is, and it was perfect.
Man committed sin, introducing death into the world.
Yehova created His chosen people, the Hebrew nation.
Yehova gave His instructions for living to these people, and to the non-Hebrews who lived among them (the instructions are for everyone).
The people (Hebrews and the strangers among them) failed to follow the instructions.  The Hebrew nation split into two kingdoms. Both rebelled against Yehova and His ways.
One nation (Judah) was punished by exile for 70 years (Ezekiel 4) and they repented and partially turned back to Yehova.
The other nation, Israel, did not repent. They were divorced from the covenant and scattered among all the nations of the earth.
Torah states that a divorced bride cannot be remarried unless the original groom dies.  In order to restore the nation of Israel to Yehova, the original groom must first die. Messiah came to earth and died on the stake, thus fulfilling Torah, allowing the divorced nation of Israel the ability to return into covenant with Yehova. This action also gave Messiah the power over death, for the wages of sin are death. His death without sin gave Him the power to overcome death, which allows Him to forgive us when we repent of our sins.
Per Ezekiel 4, the exile of the nation of Israel was to last 390 years.  But they did not repent, so the exile lasted 2730 years instead, in accordance with Torah instructions (multiplied by seven for lack of repentance).
This nation’s punishment ended in 2009-ish (exile began in 720BC when the Assyrians defeated and began scattering them).
People began turning back to Torah, the ways of the Father.
Jeremiah 16 tells us there will be a second exodus, greater than the first.  The people who have turned back to the ways of the Father will be gathered and protected.
Tribulation will come to test the people, in an attempt to get them to turn to the Father.
Messiah will return in the end, when time is up.
All people, throughout all of time, who were in covenant with Yehova will be given incorruptible bodies, restoring Creation to what Yehova had intended from the beginning.  The City of New Jerusalem will be placed upon the restored earth, and the saints will live there for eternity in the presence of Yehova.
Those people, throughout all of time, who were not in covenant with Yehova will experience second death in the Lake of Fire.

As you can see, my representation of the Big Picture of scripture is quite different from that of the mainstream church.
Why the big difference?
Because I read and believe all of scripture.
The churches disregard most of the bible and build false doctrine using the writings of Paul (we are warned specifically not to do this in scripture — 2Peter 3:14-17 — and Jeremiah tells us it will happen anyway — Jeremiah 16:19-20).

Where do we land today, in 2018? What is our place in the Big Picture?
We live in a culture where most people interested in scripture are chasing after the traditions of men, developed from the twisting of Paul’s writings, as we are warned NOT to do.
But the exile of Ezekiel 4 is over. Many are returning to the ways and the instructions of the Father.  Many are returning to be in covenant with Yehova. But the masses reject this idea because they love their lies.  Messiah says who will not be in His kingdom in Revelation 22:15
But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.

All the way back in Deuteronomy, in the Torah, Yehova tells us that His chosen people [to include the strangers among them who want to be in covenant with Yehova] will be scattered because of their disobedience, but will be gathered again one day when they return to His ways.
In Jeremiah 16, we see the promise of the gathering, the second exodus.

The church believes Messiah came to die for us, so that we might be forgiven.  That is part of His purpose.  But before His death, what did He teach?
Messiah came to teach us how to return to the Father [which Deuteronomy 30 tells us is necessary] , by teaching what the Father taught…
John 12:49-50
 For I did not speak on My own, but the Father Himself who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and speak. ⁵⁰ And I know that His commandment is life everlasting. Therefore what I say, I say just as the Father has told Me.”
John 7:16
Yeshua answered, “My teaching is not from Me, but from Him who sent Me. 
John 14:10
Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on My own; but the Father dwelling in Me does His works. 
John 8:42-47
Yeshua said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for from God I came and now I am here. For I have not come on My own, but He sent Me. ⁴³ Why don’t you understand My speech? Because you’re not able to hear My word! ⁴⁴ You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks lies he is just being himself—for he is a liar and the father of lies.
⁴⁵ “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. ⁴⁶ Which one of you convicts Me of sinning? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe Me? ⁴⁷ He who belongs to God hears the words of God. The reason you don’t hear is because you do not belong to God.”

Messiah said this:
“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.”
The Law (the Torah instructions) are how we return to the Father.
The Prophets all taught that we are to return to the Father, by keeping His instructions.

This is the Big Picture: We must return to the ways of Yehova.
Messiah plays a crucial role.  He is the cornerstone to allow all of this to play out…
John 14:6
⁶ Yeshua said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

Mainstream Churches teach that Jesus is the destination.
He is not.
He is the path to the Father.
We must come to Messiah, but we keep going to the Father.
If you stop at the foot of the cross and stay there, then you have not finished your race.
Is any of this making sense?
I understand it is different than what most of us were taught.
It is different than what billions of people believe.
Will you side with the masses, simply because they are the masses?
Or will you side with scripture?
Read the whole bible.
Believe the whole bible.
Get rid of the mis-taught words of Paul’s writings.
Choose life.
Choose blessing.

Deuteronomy 30:15-16
 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, ¹⁶ in that I command you today to love the Yehova your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Yehova your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess.”
Our churches say this only applies to the people of that time.
Our churches say this only applies to Israel, to the modern day Jews.
Well, scripture says otherwise.
The Jews only comprise the nation of Judah.
The ten tribes of the nation of Israel are scattered among all the nations. Much of the bible is about the restoration of these people!!
Churches do not teach this.
Even Messiah says so:
Matthew 15:24 [words of Messiah]
 But He responded, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Do you wish to be restored?
Or do you love and practice lies?
Jeremiah 16:19 tells us that our churches teach lies:
Yehova, my strength, my stronghold,
        my refuge in the day of affliction,
    to You will the nations come
        from the ends of the earth and say:
    “Our fathers have inherited nothing
        but lies, futility and useless things.”

What will you believe?
Will you be restored?

I hear sometimes that people think my blog posts are negative.
I consider them positive.
For example, if I knew there was poisoned food, and I let you eat it, you would become very sick or maybe even die.
However, if I warned you not to eat the food, my advice might just save your life.

That is how I see these posts.
That is the reason I study and write.
I am here to warn others.

If Messiah gives us a warning that results in our destruction if we fail to heed it, why do people think I’m being negative when I point it out to them?
It is for several reasons:
1.  It is not what they’ve been taught their whole lives. It calls into question what their parents and their grandparents believe.
It is a hard pill to swallow.
Jeremiah tells us this is exactly what will happen, though.
Jeremiah 16:19-20

2.  They don’t care for the truth. They would rather stick with their lies — the ones that Jeremiah warned us about.
Messiah says those who prefer their lies over the truth will not be in the kingdom of heaven.
Revelation 22:14-15

3.  People simply don’t believe that our entire religious system could get this wrong. It just isn’t possible for that many people to be wrong.
Messiah tells us what will happen to teachers who get it wrong. He also says what will happen to their followers.
Matthew 23:13
Messiah tells us few will find the truth, the narrow path.
Matthew 7:13-14

I don’t write these posts to criticize others.
I don’t write these posts to condemn.
I write them to make others aware of the warnings in scripture, especially the direct quotes of Messiah.
I share these things out of love.
Believe it or not…

Yehova:  “See, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil. ¹⁶ What I am commanding you today is to love Yehova your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, statutes and ordinances.”

Prophets: “Always turn back to Yehova and His instructions.”

Messiah: “I did not come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets.”

Churches: The Torah and the Prophets are no longer applicable. Trust me on this. I went to college.

Who will you believe?
The Creator of all things, His prophets, and His Son who willingly died on your behalf?
Or the mainstream church doctrine, which opposes Yehova, the Prophets, and our Messiah?
Choose wisely.
Your decision has eternal consequences.

Zechariah 1:7-10
 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, which is the month Shevat, in the second year of Darius, the word of Yehova came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, saying: ⁸ “In the night I saw, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse was standing among the myrtle trees that were in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel and white horses.
⁹ Then I asked, ‘What are these, my lord?’
Now the angel speaking with me said to me, ‘I will show you what these are.’
¹⁰ Then the man standing among the myrtle trees answered and said, ‘These are the ones Yehova has sent to walk back and forth throughout the earth.’

I am reminded me of this in Job:
Job 1:6-7
⁶ Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. ⁷ And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?”
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”

Things that make you go hmmm….

I’m going to deviate a little bit from my norm…
When is the last time you did something you’ve never done?
When is the last time you did something, even though you didn’t know how to do it?
Think about something you used to do, and haven’t done for a long time…    Why did you stop?

I look around at the world, and I see lots of people who no longer do things.  I see a world full of people who watch other people do things instead.  I’ve seen teenagers watch a Youtube video of someone else playing a video game.
Do you understand?  Someone played a video game and recorded it in live time, and then uploaded the video to the internet. And people spend (cumulatively) millions of hours watching…
Do you know what could be accomplished in this world with millions of man-hours?
Just about anything, that’s what.
What if people spent those millions of hours doing something?

There is a Youtube phenomenon.
Casey Niestat.
I don’t know much about Casey, but millions upon millions of people know about him. He has a Youtube channel with short (5 to 15 minute) videos, mini-clips of his life.  His channel has accumulated BILLIONS of views in the last few years.
I recently viewed about 8 or 10 of his videos.
Here is what I learned about Casey Niestat:

Casey Niestat does lots of stuff.
He never stops doing stuff.
I am not promoting Casey Niestat here, but I am promoting the idea of doing things. Do lots of things. Do things you never imagined doing.  Meet people. Make things.  Interact.  Get fresh air. Get a fresh perspective.  Live a little…  No, live a lot!!

Tracy and I stopped watching television several years ago.  We stopped going to movies.  How many billions or trillions of hours have televisions stolen from mankind over the decades?
Go outside.
Find something.
Look at things.
Say Hi to someone.
Smile.
Go somewhere.
Eat something.
Try something new.

How can I tie this idea to my normal subject matter here?
I believe one of the biggest frauds perpetrated on the unsuspecting public is the idea that the study of scripture is to be left to the experts. Do nothing, but listen to others who did something.
In general, the church-going-public has surrendered the knowledge of the truth to someone else.
Instead of studying scripture, they go to a building and WATCH and LISTEN to someone else who has studied scripture. Or if people do study, they do so within the context of doctrine they have already learned from others.
Eternity is an especially valuable reward.
Do you trust your eternity to what some guy learned in college?
Did he learn the truth of scripture in college?
Or did he learn what other men think about scripture?
If you’ve read any of my blog posts, you’ll know what I think about that.  But my opinion doesn’t matter.

Jeremiah tells us that our entire religious system will get it WRONG.
Not a little bit WRONG, but COMPLETELY WRONG.
I’ve quoted this before, many times, but it is critical that we see this bit of scripture as a bright, screaming siren.  We need to realize the significance of this warning, and we need to realize it applies to us today. It is not speaking of something that happened in ancient times. Verses 14-15 set the time frame (has not happened yet), and verses 19-20 give us an earth shattering warning about what is to come:
Jeremiah 16:14-20
¹⁴ “Therefore, the days are quickly coming,” declares Yehova, “when it will no longer be said. ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.’ ¹⁵ Rather, ‘As Yehova lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.’ So I will bring them back into their land that I gave to their fathers.
¹⁶ “Behold, I will send for many fishers,” says Yehova, “and they will fish for them. After that, I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down from every mountain and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. ¹⁷ For My eyes are on all their ways. They are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity concealed from My eyes. ¹⁸ First I will repay them double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have profaned My land, and they have filled My possession with the carcasses of their vile things and their abominations.”
¹⁹ Yehova, my strength and my fortress,
My refuge in the day of affliction,
The Gentiles shall come to You
From the ends of the earth and say,
“Surely our fathers have inherited lies,
Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
²⁰ Will a man make gods for himself,
Which are not gods?

If you do nothing else, take ownership of your eternity.
Do not leave it in the hands of others…
If you had a million dollars, would you leave it out in your front yard unguarded?
Would you treat it like it has no value?
Would you take for granted that it would still be there tomorrow?
In a week, in a year from now? Would it still be there?
Your eternity is much more valuable than money. It is priceless.
Do you take ownership of it?
Do you protect it and guard it?

Do Something.
Pick up your bible and read it.
Start at the front, as that is the only way to purge the lies of our ‘modern-religious-systems’ that Jeremiah speaks of.
My opinion does not matter ~~~ scripture says our doctrine is worthless and unprofitable. Disagree with me? Study it. Test it and see if there is any truth to what Jeremiah is saying above. 

And here is an interesting nugget of information about Casey Niestat.  He has hundreds if not thousands of videos.  I’ve watched only a handful of them.
In one that I saw, he was purchasing Challah bread, for an upcoming “proper Shabbat” as he put it. I don’t know much about Casey,  but there you go…

Eternity is at stake.
Are you a gamblin’ man?
One of the biggest frauds perpetrated on mankind is the idea that understanding scripture has to be left to an educated religious leader. If you want to know what Messiah thinks of educated religious leaders, check out Matthew 23. It is not pretty.
In verse 13, he says those leaders will not enter heaven and neither will their followers. Do you understand the significance of this?

Matthew 23
23 Then Yeshua spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, ² saying, “The Torah scholars and Pharisees sit on the seat of Moses. ³ So whatever they tell you, do and observe. But don’t do what they do; for what they say, they do not do. ⁴ They tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves aren’t willing to lift a finger to move them. ⁵ All their works they do to be noticed by men. They make their tefillin wide and their tzitziyot long.  ⁶ They love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷ greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called rabbi by men.
⁸ “But you are not to be called rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. ⁹ And call no man on earth your father; for One is your Father, who is in heaven. ¹⁰ Nor are you to be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Messiah. ¹¹ But the greatest among you shall be your servant. ¹² Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
¹³ “But woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not enter yourselves, nor do you let those enter who are trying to go in.
¹⁵ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel over land and sea to make one convert. And when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna as yourself.
¹⁶ “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘Whoever swears by the Temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the Temple, he is obligated.’ ¹⁷ O fools and blind ones! Which is greater, the gold or the Temple that made the gold holy?  ¹⁸ And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the offering on it, he is obligated.’ ¹⁹ O blind ones! Which is greater, the offering or the altar that makes the offering holy?  ²⁰ Therefore, whoever swears by the altar, swears both by the altar and everything on it. ²¹ And whoever swears by the Temple, swears both by the Temple and by Him who dwells in it. ²² And whoever swears by heaven, swears both by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
²³ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin, yet you have neglected the weightier matters of Torah—justice and mercy and faithfulness. It is necessary to do these things without neglecting the others. ²⁴ O blind guides, straining out a gnat while swallowing a camel!
²⁵ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and uncontrolled desire. ²⁶ O blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.
²⁷ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. ²⁸ In the same way, you appear righteous to men on the outside, but are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
²⁹ “Woe to you, Torah scholars and Pharisees, hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the tzaddikim. ³⁰ And you say, ‘If we’d been alive in the days of our forefathers, we wouldn’t have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers! ³³ O snakes, you brood of vipers! How will you escape the condemnation of Gehenna?
³⁴ “Because of this, behold, I’m sending you prophets and wise men and Torah scholars. Some of them you will kill and execute at the stake, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. ³⁵ And so, upon you shall come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the Temple and the altar. ³⁶ Amen, I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

Wow, Messiah was not pleased with the educated religious leaders of His day. Does scripture say anything about the educated religious leaders of our day?
Yes, it does.
And again, it is not pretty.
Jeremiah 16:19-20
Adonai, my strength, my stronghold,
        my refuge in the day of affliction,
    to You will the nations come
        from the ends of the earth and say:
    “Our fathers have inherited nothing
        but lies, futility and useless things.”
²⁰ Will man make gods for himself?
    Yet they are not gods.

I’m not saying it is bad to listen to teachers.
What I am saying, within the context of warnings given in scripture, is that we absolutely have to study scripture and test what they are teaching. If you’d like help in understanding, pray the way
James 1:5-8 instructs:
But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all without hesitation and without reproach; and it will be given to him. ⁶ But let him ask in faith, without any doubting—for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord— ⁸ he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

This bit of scripture is how I began my journey.
I began to understand things that are not taught in churches.
And then, I began to understand things that are in conflict with what churches teach.

I am not writing these articles to criticize or condemn.
I am writing these things to sound the alarm.

Anyone who is listening can do one of two things:
#1  Study for themselves and show themselves approved…
2Timothy 2:15
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

#2  Or continue allowing someone else to decide their eternal fate.

What will it be?
Do you trust your pastor enough to bet your eternity on what he learned in college?