Rejecting Truth

If a biblical text is plainly stated, yet you do not believe what it says due to the ramifications of what it means, your mind will redefine the passage in such a way as to make it conform to what you believe, and you will never be consciously aware of what you did.

Good works are lawful, on the Sabbath, where good works are contrasted to evil works.

A plainly stated truth, by Truth Incarnate, that Adventists do not believe. They redefine good and evil works, so that evil becomes good in some circumstances and good becomes evil.

If Sabbatarians actually believed Jesus; TRUTH Incarnate, they would be forced to abandon the Sabbath commandment, for ALL the works of a Christian; works now “wrought in God” to the glory of God, can never be construed as evil by God, who judges according to the heart; a new heart He gives the actual believer.

As God judges, all the works of those with the good heart He provides are seen as good works and never as evil, sinful works.

Those with the unregenerate hearts, labeled by God as “deceitful and desperately wicked” hearts; hearts of stone and evil hearts of unbelief, all works are deemed evil in His sight.

And despite all the biblical evidence to support all this, Sabbatarians will still reject all of it, for the Sabbath is more important to them than truth and God, and His Word.

What does this mean? That the Sabbath is held in higher esteem than God's revealed truths found in Scripture. The Sabbath is another god, not only “besides” God but greater than God, where they view Jesus as being subject to the Sabbath so that they unashamedly proclaim that had God Incarnate actually “worked” on the Sabbath He; God Incarnate, would have sinned.

When it came to the Sabbath, Jesus openly declared that what He did on the Sabbath was work and that even the Father in Heaven works on the Sabbath.

This rejection of what both the Father and the Son do on the Sabbath, doing only good works, is all you need to know when it comes to true Christians and false ones, who will deny God and what He plainly declared, recorded in the Scriptures.

They will not repent and believe the Gospel; salvation found solely in Christ Jesus. They follow another god where they believe they will be saved by doing what the Sabbath says to do; rest from their evil works, where not doing evil is seen as doing good, despite their evil hearts of unbelief where unbelief; faithlessness is lawlessness in regards to the New Covenant law of faith and the Spirit. They are without Spiritual law. They embrace the letter of the law that kills. They embrace the physically oriented commandment with physical rites and rituals, such as the Sabbath that was a physical rest from physical labor that was temporary, and where their evil works eventually lead to death; not life.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Distopian / Utopian and the Impact of Law

A number of years ago, I sat on a jury pool. The prosecuting attorney queried the jury pool,

“On a scale of 1 to 5, how important is law in a perfect society?”

I was sitting towards the back of the group, so most people answered before I did, and this gave me a bit more time to ponder the question. When it came to me, I answered: “Zero”. Curious, the prosecutor asked me why zero. I replied that in a perfect society, there would be no need for law, seeing as it was a perfect society, where no one did anything wrong.

Imagine at that moment the others in the jury pool coming to realize that this would be true, and perhaps some of them realized the question was dishonest to begin with, leading the jury pool to believe in the necessity of laws even in a supposedly Utopian society.

The prosecutor modified his question by stating it in terms of a society seeking to be perfect, which brings up an interesting aspect in this regard.

If your “perfect” society is built on a foundation of laws that punish law breakers, where the punishment is severe, that being the death sentence for any infraction, you will have a “perfect” society where no one does anything wrong, but your perfect society will be Distopian. The control is external. Like an beast, beaten into submission. All members of society are motivated by fear; dread. People motivated only to not be punished. Your law enforcement personnel will be more “Gestapo” than “Peace Keepers.” The safest place in such a society is to be a member in good standing within the “Politburo.” And even then, they fear the glorious leader.

The “ideal” Utopian society would be one not under such draconian laws or legal system built around punitive measures regarding transgressions of the law. The control is no longer external. Like a friend, cooperating to a common goal. People would be motivated to be doing good in relation to one another, with a system of reward for doing good; all sharing in the blessing. This Utopian state though would require a population not inclined to do bad (evil) things injurious to the society.

Given mankind’s overall present condition, as pointed out by God in Scripture, this Utopian state is not possible. Mankind’s state of being is that of people with what is called a “deceitful and desperately wicked heart,” a “heart of stone” that understands only one thing about behavior: that those who are caught doing wicked, evil things will be punished, severely.

Further complicating this Distopia is the unavoidable fact that even the enforcers of the law would themselves be in the same category as everyone else, possessed by an wicked, evil heart where they are quite aware that their position in society as one of the Politburo enforcers, effectively makes them immune to any prosecution of wrong doing as long as it can be made to look like they are doing their intended jobs within such a society.

This type of society is what has historically been the status quo. People adapt to it, even become comfortable with it, trying to make the best of it, all the while under the belief that no other, better way exists or could exist.

What no one talks about is that evil people who wrest power for themselves thrive in a dystopian system. A truly Utopian system would spell their ruin in this regard.

However, such a Utopian system of governance has its shortcomings.

It is predicated upon the cooperation of all parties to it. The closest any country has come has been the USA, established by men of faith, looking for the common good and self-governance based on the constituents being dedicated to the maintenance of that common good. But like as in nature, parasites are attracted to what is perceived as open ground for exploitation. On the other end of the spectrum are those who, through their inflated egos, the narcissists, believing that they are best suited for running things, being in command, and deciding what is best for society as a whole so that they actively yet surreptitiously, undermine any system of such self-governance, then turn around and decry the failure was due to the flaws within the system. Rather than cream rising to the top, the most ruthless rise.

(John 10:8) When Jesus; God Incarnate came among His own, as prophesied, His own rejected Him.

They had an established order, where Jesus stated publicly that “All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

He was their true and rightful King; their Ruler. But they were not going to give up without a fight, and they knew just how to manipulate the masses to rally behind them, despite the fear they instilled in them. The unspoken message was you either backed them, seeing as they administered the law, or they would subject you to the same treatment they applied to Jesus, using the law to their own advantage, manipulating the law; reinterpreting the law. Is it any wonder then that Jesus would berate them over their administration of the law, where they claimed and practiced obedience to it right down to the minutia of the law, tithing on the increase of even an herb garden, while ignoring the “weightier” matters of the law; justice, mercy, and faith; attributes they were incapable of embracing, being themselves among those with the deceitful and desperately wicked hearts of stone, whose only interest was their own aggrandizement and position within the Jewish society and social order.

God is preparing His governmental rule on earth where actual good people; those in possession of the “new heart” aka His Holy Spirit, are no longer subject to laws applied arbitrarily by people led by their own flesh; their evil, deceitful hearts of stone and unbelief. There is no need for them to be under and subjected to a law designed to punish evil doers, such as the old covenant law did. They are under another law, unlike any law ever made by man on earth; a law of faith and the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that frees them from the previous law of sin and death, applicable only to those led by their self-centered flesh that seeks its own desires, often to the detriment of others.

In the end, it will be those led by the Spirit, in the kingdom of God populated by His children, only, where there will be no call for laws that governed the faithless and “lawless” who lived outside the jurisdiction of the law of faith and the Spirit.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Denying Babel, Erasing Israel

All attempts to get some Old Covenant law without actually entering the Old Covenant, to get what was given to Israel without joining Israel, are attempts to undo the rejection of the Gentiles without Christ's redemption.

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In the past, we've talked about the many "back doors" which Sabbatarians create to sneak into the Old Covenant and snatch the Sabbath day along with a few other laws, leaving everything else behind. So many back doors! (For more, see the "Common Legalist Arguments" series.)
We have also talked about how God disinherited the Gentiles. When mankind rejected Him for the third time, God disinherited them. Immediately after Babel, He called Abraham to be the father of the covenant people Israel who would eventually be the means for the coming of the Messiah who was destined to heal the rejection of the Gentiles. (For more, see "Once and Future Kingdom - Part II" and the "What of the Gentiles" series.)
We have talked about how Israel was formed to be the covenant nation. The law and the prophets were given to Israel alone. If you wanted a relationship with the true God, you joined Israel. You joined Israel, you got the law. You can easily see the law was for Israel just by reading how it was written. (For more, see the "Acts 15" series and "Editing the Commandments".)

There is a very distinct difference between Jew and Gentile in the Old Testament. To Israel were given "the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises" (ROM. 9:4). Gentiles were strangers to these things (EPH. 2:12); sinners and worshippers of demons. Yet, they were destined to be redeemed by the Messiah (GEN. 12:3).

To sum up, for today's post we need to have in mind these three things:
1) Modern Gentile Sabbatarians want some of the law, so they say the law is for all, 2) but ancient Gentiles were disinherited until Messiah could redeem them and were strangers to the covenant with its laws, 3) and the law was given to the covenant people Israel to guard them until Messiah could come, so if you want the covenant law you must join Israel.

But Sabbatarianism says no, the law was for all mankind.

ERASE AND REPLACE

While writing the Acts 15 articles, these points came together and something occurred to me. All of these back doors into the Old Covenant and claims of universal laws that we've reviewed over the years are really attempts to vacate God's decision to disinherit the Gentiles. To break into the Old Covenant, shove Israel aside, and take what was given to them. Since the Gentiles were disinherited and the only way to bring them back was to send the Messiah to redeem them, claiming the covenant law secretly belonged to the world, that is the Gentiles, is also an attempt at redemption without the Redeemer.
In short, saying the law really belonged to mankind all these centuries is a denial that Gentiles were disinherited, which means they never needed a Redeemer, and is also a usurpation of what was given to Israel. 

Denying Babel and erasing Israel. Consciously done with forethought and intent? No. But it is what it is all the same.
And that's a good thing? That's "obedience"?

You might be wondering how I came to those conclusions.

The now defunct Old Covenant with its terms - its laws - applied to Israel. Alone. It says this repeatedly. I'm not talking about an edited, romanticized, "the law predated Israel" version of the law. I mean the actual law as written. The law. Look through the Ten Commandments. It's even in the very description of the glorious Sabbath day itself:

(EXO. 31:13, 16-17) 13 “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ... 16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. 17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.

Between God and Israel, forever; not God and everyone.

Three times in four verses it makes this clear. Sabbatarians ignore this and claim these verses say the Sabbath was for all mankind because verse 17 mentions creation. Read it carefully. It does not say the Sabbath was created on day 7. It does not say it was commanded for mankind on day 7. It says God rested on day 7. Everything else is assumed in.
As an aside, someone might wonder how else it should be understood. Verse 17 is saying that because God rested on the seventh day of creation, therefore He put Israel's Sabbath rest on the seventh day of the week. (Note, no mention of going to church.) The Sabbath draws imagery from creation. It is not saying the Sabbath was created and given to all mankind on the seventh day of creation. Genesis 2 doesn't say that either. (For more, see "The Sabbath Rest of Genesis 2".)

If it was an obligation for all, then how is it a special sign for Israel .. a special sign for Israel forever? Doesn't a sign require some kind of exclusivity?

If the Old Covenant with its terms - the law - applied to all mankind and not to Israel alone, then what was the point of Israel? If we say, "Look what God says to us," when we turn to Exodus or Leviticus (just for example), then what was given to Israel? If we say, "The Covenant is for everyone," then what was the Covenant with Israel for?
If the law is for people outside the covenant, then what is the point of being inside? If the Sabbath is for the stranger, then what does it mean to be part of the community? What is disinheritance if it is the same as inheritance?  Paul might as well have said, "What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? Meh. What's the difference?"

This Sabbatarian view looks to me like rank usurpation of Israel's place as the chosen people of the Old Covenant. Is this not a denial that the Gentiles were in fact disinherited to begin with? Is that not a countermanding of God's judgment? It vacates God's decision. What gives man the right to overrule God?

Denying Babel and erasing Israel.

VEGAS-STYLE

Sabbatarianism doesn't want the whole law from Israel, though. No. Only some laws. Herbert Armstrong claimed if circumcision were required then the whole law would be required, including the ceremonial law. And he was right! That's exactly what Paul said. Because in this context, it would mean you've joined Israel and taken on Israel's covenant responsibilities. But Armstrong' thought he'd found a loophole. His point was, if circumcision is avoided then we are free to keep some of the law without being obligated to all of it. That is what he took away from reading Acts 15.
Think about this, though.
The inescapable result of that virtual "law buffet" is that we've just undermined everything from Abraham to Jesus. How so? Because it circumvents Abraham and Israel and Jesus.

How does it circumvent Abraham and Israel?

Circumcision was the act, the sign and seal, which entered a man and his family into the Abrahamic covenant. Jew and Gentile alike. If a Gentile did these things, he joined Israel and ceased being a Gentile. If a Jew would not do these things, they were cut off from their people. Upon entering the Abrahamic Covenant, these ones were joined to the covenant people of Israel. By joining Israel they were also bound to Israel's Old Covenant obligations - all of them. The Covenant and its law is a singular, indivisible whole. Each person may not have been required to observe every last one of the 613 laws, but they were bound to it all. And the act, the sign and seal, of their participation in the Old Covenant was the Sabbath day.
Circumcision → join Israel → Old Covenant law → Sabbath day.
Herbert Armstrong said if you avoid the first sign (and thus circumvent Abraham), you are free to get Israel's signs and laws without joining them (and thus circumvent Israel). To claim what is Israel's without any right.

Erasing Israel.

Whatever happened to "Thou shalt not steal"? Excuse me if I don't agree that is what the Apostles proposed and the believing Pharisees aligned to.

How does it circumvent Jesus?

Consider this - if we can do that now, if we can circumvent Abraham and Israel to have a "law buffet" now, then we could always have done it.
Circumcision and the Sabbath were the signs of two covenants that the Gentiles were not part of. In those days, God was not their God and they were not His people. The means for Gentiles to be reclaimed was Jesus. A Gentile's choices were join Israel or wait for the Jesus. But if those Gentiles could simply sidestep Abraham and Israel to ingratiate themselves back into God's good graces on their own, then they have circumvented Jesus. This is another way of saying those Gentiles of old could un-reject themselves; undo God's judgment after Babel. No need for a Redeemer. No Messiah necessary. No Israel necessary. They simply vacate God's judgment, and all it took was avoiding circumcision.

Denying Babel.

We've just undermined everything from Abraham to Jesus. "Hi God! We know you kicked us out, but we've thought about it and we've decided we're back. Shabbat Shalom!"

Are you objecting? Then you're objecting that it can be done now as well! And I agree with you.

"But Jesus is my Redeemer," I will no doubt hear. Yes ... if you accept Him as such. Please do! But is He really? He did not redeem us into the Old Covenant but the New (GAL. 4:21-31). If He truly is your Redeemer, then what is with these many attempts to find a back door into the Old Covenant to get that shiny, candy-like law you so covet (GAL. 5:4)??

Do some not covet?
Look at how some want to usurp Israel. Look at British-Israelism/Anglo-Israelism. They defy all history and genetics so they can pretend to be Israel in order to take what is not theirs. A hundred versions of where and how it played out, and none agree. Or look at the way they call themselves the 144,000. Meaning, the 144,000 from the book of Revelation. A group who is described in exclusively Israelite terms. Or look at the way some pretend to speak Hebrew. "Jesus wasn't His name, it was [insert spelling of the month]." Yah, Yahashua, Yeshua, Yoshua, Yahua, Jehovah, etc etc etc. Changing all the time. A hundred spellings and they're all the most correct one. Arguing amongst themselves over the right way to to render the Hebrew into English, as if Hebrew is some magic spell that will grant you special power. "I say Yasheshuech rather than Jesus, and sh'abbat rather than Sabbath. God will hear me but not you!"
Is that not usurping Israel? Is that not covetousness?

The catch-22 here is, if you are Israel, then you are beholden to all of Israel's covenant responsibilities. Avoiding circumcision will not help you. The "law buffet" is closed. Can't have it both ways.

THE NEW OLD COVENANT

Someone might say to me that this 'bypass circumcision' option only became available after Jesus. Then why claim the law was always for the world? That's not after Jesus. But this 'after Jesus' claim doesn't make things better. It means A) Jesus fundamentally modified the Old Covenant rather than ending it at His death and replacing it with the New Covenant, and B) takes us right back again to the heart of what the Jerusalem Council was debating.

In the Jerusalem Council, the choices were:
A) [Pharisees] circumcision → join Israel → Old Covenant law, as it had always been, or
B) [Apostles] the Gentiles were cleansed and elect without joining Israel, and thus they were not entering into any of Israel's legal obligations. Gentiles were not joining Israel and the Old Covenant; all were joining the Body of Christ in the New Covenant.
It's A) all, or B) nothing. There is no C) law buffet.

The usual response to this is, "One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you." But no. Only if the Gentile was intent on joining in the worship of God. Exodus 12:49 appears in a section that literally spells this out. Same with Numbers 15:16. Citing these "one law" verses to claim the Gentiles were expected to keep the law without joining Israel is not getting around the problem I am describing, it is exactly the problem I am describing (good thing it's a bad reading).
The only laws the Apostles required of the Gentiles were the laws that always applied to all Gentiles in Israel, whether they were joining the worship of God or not. And James confirmed this years later in Acts 21. Who had the law and the traditions? The Jewish converts. Who was taught no such thing? The Gentile converts. (For more, see "Acts 15 - What Was Debated?".)

No, this 'bypass circumcision to get some law' option did not become available after Jesus. It was never an option. There was never the possibility of sitting on a fence between the Old Covenant and the New; truly satisfying neither. Either you believe Jesus did something utterly game-changing, or you believe He did practically nothing. Take your pick. Either way, there is no law buffet.

That isn't what Sabbatarianism needs to happen, though. With option C we are right back again to nullifying everything from Abraham to Jesus. And around and around we shall go.

SAY MY NAME

"It's God's law!" Yes, but to whom? The Sabbath was a sign to whom forever? The Ten Commandments were for whom? The law itself literally says it's for Israel. Over and over and over again. To get that law, Sabbatarianism erases Israel and inserts themselves. Every time Sabbatarians erase Israel - saying things like, "Moses told people," (meaning us) or "God said to us," etc etc - they show how they believe the Gentiles were not strangers at all and there was no substantive point to Israel.

Take this meme pictured here for one example of myriads. Ignore the obvious 'doom and gloom' emotional manipulation and just look at the first line. "Moses told the people," it says. Is there anything odd about that? I asked the author a simple question: "What people?" That's literally all I said. The author clearly did not like this and responded rather harshly, "If you are asking that question, that’s telling me you don’t understand history, biblical history and you lack hermeneutics! I will not entertain arguments here." To which I responded, "Why not just write the people to whom Moses spoke?" No response.

What about my question was so threatening? There is a one-word answer, and it would be simple to write: Israel.
Moses did not tell "people" (meaning the world); he told Israel.

But we can't have that, can we? We need to edit Israel out so we can replace it with "us" because the goal is to get that law (some of it), to take what is not ours, and to look sanctimonious and holy and obedient as we do it. Consider the absurdity: We disobey God if we don't vacate God's judgment against the Gentiles, replace Israel as the chosen people, heavily edit the law so we can keep a small fraction of it, and do it all through backdoors!?!
"We're obeying!"
Sure you are!

You know exactly what was threatening about my question. The author knew it. Her statement, "I will not entertain arguments here," gives it away. All that, "you don’t understand history," stuff was just bluster and distraction. She knew that to say "Israel" was to betray her goal. That is why she snapped at me.

CONCLUSION

This is what goes on behind the curtain:
Reverse Gentile disinheritance → replace Israel → heavily edit the law → retain a fraction of it → claim we love Torah and we're obeying God's will.
I reject all of that.

Here is what I see in the Bible:
Gentile disinheritance → Israel called and given the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the law, the service of God, and the promises → Messiah comes and dies to redeem us → believing Jews and Gentiles join the Body of Christ → following the Holy Spirit into righteousness by faith expressed in acts of love.

It's better to give than receive, but it's better to receive than to take.

I do have a deep respect for the law, even if I don't believe the letter of those written codes directly apply to me. There is much to be learned from the law even if it was not mine to keep. And what do I respect most? The law shows my insufficiency and need for a Savior. Those laws belonged to Israel. It is their heritage. I can't have the law ...unless I join Israel. In which case I get all the law, including its condemnations (GAL. 5:3). But that's the wrong Covenant.

Know that those things we look to get from the law, like righteousness and obedience, do not come from the law in the first place. Sabbatarianism confuses law with righteousness. True righteousness does not come from the law. The law shows us that we are not righteous, then punishes us for it. So why do we pursue it? Rather, pursue what can bring these things. The righteousness God is looking for, the righteousness the patriarchs had, is the righteousness which only comes by faith - His own righteousness. In us and credited to us by faith from first to last.
Sabbatarianism goes chasing after the wrong thing in the wrong place, and causes chaos along the way.

There is no back door into the Old Covenant. There is no secret tunnel to the Sabbath day. The buffet is a lie. Changing Genesis 2 is pointless. Misquoting Mark 2 will not avail. Bypassing Israel or pretending to be Israel is futile. Just let what was written be what it is. The Gentiles were on the outside; Israel was not. If you are a Gentile, then accept it. Own it. Take the L. Have that humility. Be all the more thankful for what God did through Jesus Christ. Join the New Covenant. Our efforts at changing the law to make it applicable to all people circumvents the old process and the new. It undermines everything from Abraham to Jesus. It devalues the Jews. It vacates God's judgment. It diminishes the Messiah. I want nothing to do with this.

I have an underlying theme in my articles which isn't readily apparent: Christ is sufficient. In this case, it takes the form of Christ is the door, and anyone who enters in any other way is a thief and a robber. I could title this article "Christ is the door."

I am a Gentile. I have no business in this, in and of myself. I am excluded from those things. Hopeless. But thanks only to the grace of God, I am now redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Those who were not His are again His. Only by being grafted into Him are we inheritors of the promises to Abraham. As Paul said; a tree we do not naturally belong in. Not because of the law and not to law-keeping, but to faith in Christ expressed in love. I should be eternally grateful to Christ for this thing which He didn't have to do and I didn't earn. 

I enter by the front door. As for me and my house, Christ is sufficient.

As Bereans Did has several articles intended to help people see that there are other things to consider here, other ways to look at verses, other critical facts that have been left out of the Sabbatarian equation

Editing the Ten Commandments
Common Legalist Arguments - Part I
If You Love Me Keep My Commandments
The Covenant and The Testimony
What Does The New Testament Teach About Law and Grace?
Confusing the Covenants
Parties to the Covenants
Is Ceremonial Law Removed?
Without Law There Is No Sin
What Use Is The Old Law?
The Sabbath Rest of Hebrews 4
Are The Ten Commandments Removed?
Is the Sabbath A Test Commandment?
Acts 15 - More Law Later?

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Cloaking the Heart With the Sabbath

(Jeremiah 17:9) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

This is God speaking. It is not the opinion of some man. It is a statement of fact and truth, from the mouth of God.

(Amos 8:4-8) Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail, Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit? That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat? The LORD hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.

There are two main characteristics God attributes to and evil heart. It is "deceitful" and "desperately wicked".

Being deceitful is like a magician who uses misdirection to take one’s focus off of one thing where all the action is occurring. In this regard, The Sabbath is the distraction to shift your focus off of what the evil heart is doing – evil, taking undue advantage of others, all the while giving an air uprightness and piety by keeping the Sabbath (and new moons). It is cloaking one’s evil and evil heart with the Sabbath.

And now will I discover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, and none shall deliver her out of mine hand. I will also cause all her mirth to cease, her feast days, her new moons, and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts. (Hosea 2:10-11) 

If you examine the context here, God is stripping everything away from Israel that He provided, due to her evil lewdness. The holy days wherein Israel celebrated their position in relation to God is to be no more. He is going to take away these things, including the Sabbath. It will be no more.

It is a concept anathema to Adventists and other Sabbatarian sister organizations, for they have equated the Sabbath as something that cannot pass away, any more than can marriage; claiming both were established at the same time at Creation. Yet, here we are… God stripped away the Sabbath and other sacred observances, unmasking and removing the cloaks they used to disguise their evil hearts with their feigned “obedience” to those things.

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) 

Man looks and judges according to the outward appearance, in this case people keeping the Sabbath, while ignoring the heart and behaviors; the evils that emanate from it.

This reveals the magician’s tricks; his MO or “method of operation” whereby he deceives and distracts, using the Sabbath. Look to his “obedience” and not his heart; his deceitful and desperately wicked heart where he readily ignores and rejects what even God has to say on the Subject.

By removing the veil used to cover the wicked heart, the heart is exposed for what it is, and what it does in defense of its evil, wicked, deceitful nature. It is a deceitful heart that ultimately deceives the self. The Sabbath, as well as the rest of the law, is but a cover; an alibi; an excuse. “I keep the law (Decalogue), I keep a version of the Sabbath; pay no attention or heed to the inner man hiding behind this curtain of the law and Sabbath. Pay no attention to the heart – look only to the outward appearance of keeping the law and Sabbath and my "obedience" to God.”

They persecute those who do not conform to their imagery of Sabbath keeping; those whose righteousness is derived through the Spirit and not physical rites and rituals. People who do not match the description of those referenced to in Amos chapter 8, cited above; Sabbath keepers who are impatient for the Sabbath to end so they can go back to work, cheating others, practicing their evils; sating their evil hearts and desires, where the Sabbath is just a means to an end; look good on the outside, so as to further disarm those they deal with by giving off an aura of legitimacy through religious conviction in relation to the works of the law.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Law and/or Holy Spirit?

If you haven’t noticed, there’s an issue with the Holy Spirit that warrants closer examination.

(Matthew 12:31-32) Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

(Acts 7:51) Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Blasphemy is speaking against God and what He stands for and represents; a misrepresentation of God. In the case of the Holy Spirit, it is speaking out against the function He serves in the life of people, denying the Holy Spirit; resisting Him.

Note that over the course of time following the Apostolic era, there was quite a debate about the concept of the Trinity; the triune nature of God. The debates are somewhat classical, as this too is a debate that skirts the real issue that is at the core of the debate, and that is the nature of the Holy Spirit in relation to, and in contrast to the Father and the Son. Does the Holy Spirit possess “person-hood” or is the Holy Spirit merely the “force” or “power” of God when it is manifested?

If the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force / power of God, then how can you possibly blaspheme an emanated power?

My observation is that those who deny the Trinity “doctrine” have no clue as to what the real debate is all about. The classic argument I have heard is that a triune God constitutes pantheism, but a “dual” God does not… No one seems to have a problem with a God made up of the Father and Son, but that is as far as they will go.

An examination then of the function of the Holy Spirit is in order.

(John 16:13) Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

The Holy Spirit “of truth” guides the believer in all truth. He is the means whereby God dwells with man; those who repented and believed the truth; the Gospel of our savlvation.

(Ephesians 1:13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise

So why the dire warning regarding the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Why did the Sanhedrin “resist” the Holy Spirit, going back to the times of the Prophets?

The Prophets spoke for God, who communicated to them through the Holy Spirit. The Sanhedrin, made up of Pharisees, were the ‘competition’ to the Holy Spirit as to who would influence the people. They are the same ones who “hated Jesus without a (just) cause” as well as the Father in Heaven. Like their father the devil, they wanted to hold sway over the people; have the people follow them and what they taught. They taught the law and that obedience to them was obedience to the law, and by extension, obedience to God.

Ever wonder how it was that the devil could sway a third of the angelic host to “fall” away from God? Through the abuse of position within the order ordained by God in Heaven. All this follows the pattern of typology regarding how Israel was given the law, and how those tasked with administering the law became corrupt, using the law as the means to rule over the people, while convincing them they were God’s true representatives on earth. To follow them was to follow the law and follow God.

The Holy Spirit then was their competition, and in order to maintain their power and control over the people, they sought to eliminate the competition, denying the Prophets, persecuting and killing them, and lastly the Son Himself; the heir who came to the land of His possession.

(Matthew 21:33-39) Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.

They, at first, did not realize Jesus was talking about them.

The Holy Spirit guides the believer into all truth. He is the direct competition to the function of the law that was to guide the Hebrews until the faith to be delivered, and by extension, those tasked with administering the law. With people being led by the Holy Spirit, they were ‘out of a job.’

A false prophet today acquires his or her sustenance and status through the false religion they proffer, and the law serves well as a medium for doing so, following the pattern of the Pharisees and Sanhedrin; those Jesus referred to as evil children of the devil, doing the will of their Father, who sought a following by elevating his position; his “throne” to be on par with God in Heaven. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

The Holy Spirit is in direct competition with the law and those who administer it; wield it. They have to diminish the Holy Spirit; denigrate the Holy Spirit; blaspheme the Holy Spirit in order to maintain their control through the use of the law so that it is the law that is seen as what guides the people; not the Holy Spirit with the false prophets now pointing to the law, and stating it is “God’s law” they should be following, or being led by, that happens to benefit them, personally.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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Condemnation by Law or Unbelief?

Jesus said good works were lawful on the Sabbath, as contrasted to evil works. He gave no further elaboration regarding the nature of good and evil works beyond a comparison of the two in regards to saving life versus destroying it.

Nothing Jesus did had anything to do with the destruction of life. He stated He came to give life abundantly and to save life, and His works all had this in mind.

(John 12:47) And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.

His Gospel message then was a message of life.

(John 11:25-26) Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

(John 3:14-21) And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Jesus is that Light, and evil-hearted ones do not come to the Light. They do not acknowledge the Light. So they are the ones who produce false gospels based on other things besides the Light; other than Jesus. Their gospels will declare other things you must believe in order to be saved; in order to acquire eternal, everlasting life.

What do evil people do that results in their condemnation: break the law and Sabbath of Israel, or refuse to come to Christ Jesus for salvation?

To “do truth” is to come to the Light – Jesus. And the deeds, the works, of those who come to Him are made known (manifest) that they are wrought in God. Not some of their works; all of their works. Good trees, who now produce only good fruits unto God to the Glory of God.

The evil ones in this scenario produce their own gospel of salvation that substitutes faith and belief in Christ Jesus alone with other “requirements.”

Examine the rationalization put forth by Adventists. “Grace is not a license to sin, and sin is what happens when you transgress the law, and if you sin by transgressing “God’s law” you cannot be saved.”

They will cite, in support of their argument:

(1 Corinthians 6:9-10) Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.

(Galatians 5:19-21) Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Murder, for example, is addressed in the law as a sin; a transgression of the law. Therefore, doing any of these things transgresses the law in some fashion, resulting in your exclusion from the kingdom of God / Heaven where those who receive eternal, everlasting life reside.

Now, if you were paying attention, transgressing the law was not stated by Jesus as that which results in condemnation. He specifically stated rejecting Him was the cause of condemnation, not breaking / transgressing the law. Evil people are those who do not respond to, or come to, the “Truth”, which is Jesus Christ. They are evil, and according to the teachings of Jesus, the works of evil people are only evil and sin, even as the works of good people, those who “come to the Light”, are all good works.

God does NOT judge mankind like mankind does. God declared He judges according to the heart. Evil people have evil hearts, and because they have evil hearts, thoughts, intents, they act according to that heart, doing evil things. One evil thing being the refusal to come to the Light, Christ Jesus, so that they might have life eternal.

Evil people, who embrace a religion of law - works of law, righteousness by law, justification by law -such as the law that was given to the Hebrews, use the law in an attempt to build a foundation of religion that gives them the means of “looking good” as a result of keeping it, even as did the Pharisees and other religious elite that Jesus referred to as evil children of the devil, who were doing the will of their father the devil.

Let that sink in. The people who were being addressed by the Prophets, the Hebrews, were told that their hearts were deceitful and desperately wicked.

(Jeremiah 17:9) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

God knew it. Those religious elite could not, being deceived by their own hearts.

(Psalms 109:2) For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

Those versed in what all transpired between Jesus and the Pharisees, et alia, know this to be a prophesy in relation to Christ Jesus. Who spoke against Jesus? Who spoke lies about Him?

The religious elite.
Those who claimed to be religious and doing the will of God, through the law they believed they kept. They hated Him, hated Jesus, because they were evil, and evil ones do not come to the Light. They are the ones who seek to destroy life; not save it. They sought to destroy the Author of Life itself.

Was their undoing by the law, or by their unbelief?

I will leave you, the reader, with this last thought…
Which religious organization - that claims to be the true church, and claims to love "the law, the Ten Commandments" - is the one that has built hospitals around the world, conducting the destruction of life in their hospitals through elective abortions, where they destroy on a routine basis the most innocent of all lives, with absolutely no just hearing or appeal by anyone on their behalf as was required in the law they claim to keep?

(Exodus 20:7) You shall not murder.

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It is important that you understand; Everything on this blog is based on the current understanding of each author. Never take anyone's word for it, always prove it for yourself, it is your responsibility. You cannot ride someone else's coattail into the Kingdom. ; )

Acts 17:11

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