Thursday, June 7, 2012

THE UNITED CHURCH OF GOD - ANOTHER BOOKLET PROMOTING FLAWED ARMSTRONG THEOLOGY

The United Church of God (UCG) has just published a new booklet titled God’s Holy Day Plan: The Promise of Hope for All Mankind downloadable from their website. As an attempt to entice the reader to read this booklet they offer some challenges on their web site. The following is another glaring example of why they have no business teaching others about Christianity. While they try to prove that the Old Testament Festivals commanded for ancient Israel found in Leviticus 23 are relevant to New Testament Christians they as usual set up an erroneous premise that undermines their entire thesis.
Review their challenge below that appears on their Website and see if you can find the errors. (Text in blue is taken from the UCG website and  booklet)

God's Festivals in the New Testament

The New Testament records Jesus Christ, the Apostles and the Church keeping the Holy Days.

1. Passover

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:5
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament:
Matthew 26:2 , 17-19 Mark 14:12-16 Luke 2:41-42 ; 22:1, 7-20 John 2:13 , 23; 6:4; 13:1-30 1 Corinthians 11:23-29

2. Feast of Unleavened Bread

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:6-8
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament: Matthew 26:17 Mark 14:12 Luke 2:41-42 , 22:1,7 Acts 20:6 1 Corinthians 5:6-8

3. Feast of Pentecost

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:15-22
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament: Acts 2:1-21 ; 20:16 1 Corinthians 16:8

4. Feast of Trumpets*

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:23-25
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament: Matthew 24:30-31 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 Revelation 11:15

5. Day of Atonement

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:26-32
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament: Acts 27:9

6. Feast of Tabernacles

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:33-43
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament: John 7:1-2 , 8, 10, 14

7. The Eighth Day (sometimes called the Last Great Day)

Commanded in Old Testament: Leviticus 23:36
Observed by Jesus Christ, the apostles or the Church in the New Testament:
John chapters 7-9
*Although the Feast of Trumpets is not mentioned by name in the New Testament, the theme of the day—the sounding of trumpets announcing Jesus Christ's return—is mentioned by several New Testament authors as noted in the references.

If you have not figured it out yet here is your first  clue: What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? See it yet? 

Your second clue: Is the New Testament synonymous with New Covenant? Apparently the UCG writer believes it is and there is the answer.

The New Testament and the New Covenant are NOT synonymous. The premise the UCG uses is wrong.

The flawed premise they use in attempting to prove that the seven feast days commanded in Leviticus 23 for ancient Israel apply today is that Jesus and the Apostles kept them in the New Testament so they are also required to be observed by New Covenant Christians. And then they refer to proofs found in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These books record the life and times of Jesus and his death and resurrection. The very end of Luke records a 40 day period in the life of the resurrected Christ before his ascension and before the day of Pentecost in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit was sent to the believers as promised. 

The New Testament Gospels recorded a time period fully under the Old Covenant and a time period where every thing that Jesus did was in strict adherence to the Torah. The only exception are the few verses that record the days after Jesus' resurrection before he ascended to heaven to His Father's right hand and became our Spiritual High Priest. (Luke 24)

The New Covenant did not begin until the Holy Spirit was sent to the believers and the Church of Christ officially began. The symbols of the New Covenant (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, John 6:56) were established at the last supper of Jesus with His disciples just prior to His betrayal by Judas, Trial, Scourging and Crucifixion.The UCG writer fails to point this all important fact out to his readers. Herbert Armstrong likewise failed to grasp this obvious fact as well that led him to deceive many who followed him into this error that as Paul warns cuts one off from Christ and causes them to fall from grace.


The writer uses several verses that are not from the gospels but from Acts 20:16, I Corinthians 11:23-29, I Corinthians 16:8, and Thessalonians 4:16-17. Let's examine these four passages:


1) Acts 20:16, Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost. Not at all proof that the New Testament church was observing the feasts under the New Covenant. There is absolutely NO indication that Paul was teaching the observance of Pentecost, only as a marker of time. What is missing is Paul "commanding" all of the believers he is speaking to in this chapter to come with him to keep the feast in Jerusalem. There were many Jews among the Gentiles in Asia that would have gone, but there is no indication of this. Paul most likely knew that many Jews that he could draw to Christ would be gathered there or some other reason.

2) 1 Corinthians 11:23-29 is the second of four which is a passage that refers to a historical event that occurred and was recorded in the Gospels.
Read the context:
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. 29 For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves.  
The event is a historical event from the life and times of Jesus recorded in the Gospels under the Old Covenant and a past event. Again no indication that the New Covenant Church of Christ was keeping this Old Covenant feast. Paul even states in verse 20 it is NOT the passover (or Feats of Unleavened Bread as it was known in Jerusalem) they were keeping;
20 "So then, when you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat," (NIV) They were just having a church social and some were going hungry while the wealthier members dined sumptuously apparently not sharing with those having no or little food. 
Again wrong premise and irrelevant passage taken out of context used as proof. 

3) I Corinthians 16:8, (vs.5-8 for context)
5 After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you —for I will be going through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. 7 For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost, 9 because a great door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.
Paul gives no indication that he was going to Jerusalem to observe the Feast of Pentecost, just another time marker of a former Pharisee who now teaches against Judaism. Again, where is Paul saying, "Let us all go up to Jerusalem to keep Pentecost as God commands?" Again false premise and an erroneous Biblical reference as proof. 
4) I Thessalonians 4:16-17; (vs 13-18 for context)

Believers Who Have Died

13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.

I need very little comment here since this passage is again erroneous proof text style and self evident. This is Paul talking about a future resurrection and clearly not an indication of the Church observing one of the seven feasts of Leviticus 23 known as the Feast of Trumpets. 
It is a fact that the New Covenant was not like the Old Covenant that God made with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai in Exodus 20. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote in chapter 31 of the Old Testament book that bears his name: (vs 31-34 given for context)
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
    “when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
    and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
    I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
    to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
    though I was a husband to[d] them,[e]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
    after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
    and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.
34 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
    or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
    from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the Lord.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
    and will remember their sins no more.”
The New Covenant completely replaced the Old Covenant and made the Old obsolete and it has vanished away as the writer of Hebrews states in Hebrews 8:13, 
13 "In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away."
The writer of Hebrews quotes the passage from Jeremiah in this chapter as proof of the New Covenant.

To conclude. We see that the premise that the UCG writer employs leads to the flawed conclusion that the feast days of Leviticus 23 that were part of the Old Covenant are required and were part of the New Covenant, just because Jesus and His Apostles kept them in the New Testament - the part found in the four gospels and four historical references to the life and times of Jesus Christ living under the Old Covenant and fulfilling all of the Law and the Prophets. The Law and the Prophets were all prophetic - about the coming of the Lord and the culmination of the TRUE PLAN of salvation through Grace and Faith. 

In Christ's own words; "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."John 14:6. 

The true hope for mankind is found ONLY in Jesus Christ and by faith in Him, not in obsolete feasts of a broken and obsolete covenant.
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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

False Prophet Ron Weinland - Another Ellen G. White Style Apologist

I became aware of Ron Weinland's prophecy that Christ would return on May 27, 2012 just a few days before the date. Knowing he professes to be a prophet, no surprise since he sat at the feet of Herbert Armstrong at Ambassador College. Herb was his mentor and another professional con- man and false prophet. That made me laugh in disgust. I commented that it would be a prophetic disaster similar to the one by William Miller and sycophant  Ellen G. White in 1843. The Millerite movement, founded by a Minister named William Miller, began in the early 1800's.  The  failed prophecy of Christ's return was later called the great disappointment of  October 22, 1844. The Millerite movement splinters eventually evolved into the Seventh Day Adventists and the Church of God 7th Day -  progenitors of Armstrongism. 

I stated when his prophecy fails he will have some way to spin it, Armstrong always did, but I didn't know how correct I would be. He used nearly the identical reasoning as Ellen did 128 years ago to excuse William Miller's three fold failed prophecy.  

Read this excerpt from Ron's letter dated May 30, 2012;


"May 27th (2012) has come and gone, so how can I say this is still the day of Christ’s return? The answer is a matter of God’s revelation which is spiritual in nature, but having a definite physical outcome. It is prophetic. I did not know that when I stated this was the “day” of Christ’s coming. I viewed it in a physical manner until God revealed that it was spiritual. In the Pentecost sermon (given May 27th), it was clearly revealed that the job of the two witnesses had now come to an end. It ended at the end of the weekly Sabbath of the 26th, after the completion of the time God gave for their “witness” to be fulfilled, which was for a period of 1260 days."

When Christ did not return on three dates in 1844 as self-proclaimed prophet  William Miller had prophesied, Ellen G. White, a prominent member of the movement, claimed to have had a vision that it was merely Christ moving from one room to another in heaven, Miller just misunderstood and thought it was the physical return to earth. Many of Miller's 50-100,000 followers (the WCG had about 100,000 in 1975) left his movement after the last disappointment. But all of his followers languish in poverty after selling all they owned and became homeless often arrested and jailed for vagrancy as they wandered the villages and towns where they had once owned homes, farms and businesses. Now scorned and persecuted for their odd beliefs and their loud raucous worship services and ridiculed for being duped by a false prophet. 

This reminds me of Herb's failed prophecy published in the infamous booklet published by the Worldwide Church of God titled 1975 In Prophecy


I just hope his followers left a little cash in their ATM accounts so they can buy some food and get a motel room tonight. 

Date Line - June 3, 2012. Well no return of Christ, No Nuclear War and as expected Ron has spun his false prophecy into a mere misunderstanding of what God had revealed to him. He now understands it was a spiritual meaning rather than a literal return of Christ. OY VEY!

These false prophets never get the fact that they are liars, right Herb? Can't they read the scriptures? "No man knows the hour, only God the Father."


We would love to hear your thoughts and comments so feel free to post a comment or question below.
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Saturday, February 25, 2012

Paul Warns Against The Deadly Leaven of False Doctrine


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Many who joined or grew up in the churches of God that sprang from the Worldwide Church of God founded by Herbert W, Armstrong and now in the many tiny splinter groups led by ministers trained by Him are readying for the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread. These Annual festivals are found in Leviticus 23 and Deuteronomy 16. They were commanded observances for the ancient Israelites who had just come out of Egyptian slavery by the delivering hand of God. Herbert W. Armstrong (HWA) taught his followers that God COMMANDED the church to observe this Feast of the Lord along with the other six.

You were never taught the truth by your ministers that Jesus Christ during His life time condemned this and His words are recorded in the Gospel of John! The observance of the Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread are part of what was considered Temple worship by the Jews in Christ's time,  Passover in the Old Testament. Neither was I during my 45 year journey through the churches of God (COG). I was among the thousands of children that came into the church with parents and grew up under the teachings of HWA. I was strict in observing these feasts as were my parents (actually not observing, but that is a topic for another time). I married in the church and was blessed with two beautiful children. I faithfully attended all of the Festivals until two years ago. I had been attending the United Church of God and began to understand why the churches had been fractured so badly after the death of HWA in 1986. 

The Churches of God teach that observance of the Old Testament Annual Sabbaths, or Feasts, are commanded by God for New Covenant Christians. This doctrine was introduced by Herbert W, Armstrong while he was still and elder in the Sabbath keeping Church of God Seventh Day in Oregon.[1] This was several years before he started the Radio Church of God, later renamed the Worldwide Church of God. From the founding of the Christian Church by the original Apostles Christ appointed on Pentecost 31 A.D. until today the Apostolic church of God did NOT observe the Old Covenant Laws of Moses. Many historians and Biblical Scholars have written histories of the true church and confirmed this. There are many volumes that are available on the internet that confirm this fact. One example HWA used were the Sabbath Keeping Waldensians, under the leadership of Peter Waldo in the 12th century. They did observe the Sabbath but they shunned the Old Testament rituals as Pharisaical and legalistic. They knew they had been ended at the cross (Colossians 2:14). Catholic Church documents confirm this. When the Sabbath keepers were martyred for rejecting the Catholic Church, it was noted that they also rejected Judaism and the law of Moses as pharisaical. They were being burned at the stake for their belief in salvation by Grace through Faith and nothing else thus rejecting  both Judaism and Popish legalism. It was their rejection of the Pope and the purported authority the church claimed to possess that cost them their lives.

Jesus himself taught against the same practices. His teachings at the well of Jacob in Samaria are pivotal in the establishment of the new covenant with Jesus as the mediator. This event is found in the Gospel of John chapter 4:21-24 where Christ taught clearly that the Temple worship ended at that very hour and God must be worshiped in a NEW way. “In spirit and truth,  because God is spirit.” Jesus said no longer would worship be with physical rituals in physical temples. Read Jesus’ own words in the following passage,

John 4:21-24 (KJV)
 21Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain [2], nor yet at Jerusalem [3], worship the Father. 22Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Why then does the ministry of your church, if you are following Armstrongism,  contradict Jesus’ own words?  Jesus also taught that the Law and the Prophets were only prophetic of Him and the coming of Salvation through Faith.


Matthew 11:13; (KJV)
 "13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John."  

Not after. The law and the prophets came to a sudden end at Christ. Christ was the End of the Law. Romans 10:4.
What does the Apostle Paul teach about Christians going back to the Law of Moses, and what does Paul say about those who teach Christians they must? 

Galatians 5:1-6; (KJV)
1Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. [4]  2Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.  3For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.  4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.  6For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.  7Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?  8This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.  9A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.

Paul is fighting against Jews who came to the churches in Asia teaching they had to go back to the law of Moses for salvation. This issue was decided by the Apostles of the Jerusalem Church in Acts 15. The law was not required for salvation. Only The Grace of God and our Faith in Christ crucified was required. Anyone going back to the old covenant laws and practices were fallen from grace (4Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.) 

A very dire warning that your ministers ignore!

While being diligent in removing leavening from your homes you actually bring in another leaven that is far worse as Paul writes in verses 8 and 9;   This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.  9A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Paul is saying that by going back to practices of the old covenant it is a more deadly type of leaven of false doctrine that cuts a believer off from salvation. Any who teach you this false doctrine of observing the Passover and days of unleavened bread are “hindering you from obeying the truth.” 

See verse 7; Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?   

Paul is clearly telling us that keeping the old law is teaching us to NOT OBEY truth. In fact, the True Doctrine of Christ is the opposite of what your ministers teach you! These ministers are blinded by a veil over their minds that Paul writes about. It is there and will remain blinding them until they accept Jesus through Grace exactly as God offered through His Grace and not our works of the law.   

2 Corinthians 3:1-18, (KJV)
 1Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?  2Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:  3Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.  4And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;  6Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.  7But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:  8How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?  9For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory.  10For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.  11For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.  12Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech:  13And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:  14But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart.  16Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.  17Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.  18But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

At this time of year we must focus on Jesus and the supreme sacrifice He offered as our Passover. His own broken body and shed blood are the memorial of the final passover sacrifice once and for all. The Apostle Matthew records the NEW symbols that Jesus Christ instituted for New Covenant Christians. They are a memorial sacriment so Christians, "as often as you do this" do in rememberance of Me.


Matthew 26:26-28,
 26 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  

Finally, in John 15:10 - Christ tells us that we must keep HIS commandments as He kept His Fathers. In this we can be sure we will remain in His love.

John 15:10(NIV)

10 If you keep My commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love.

In verse 12, Jesus encapsulates HIS command for us in this; "...that you love one another as I have loved you."

By reading from the Torah, or Law of Moses, and thus teaching Christians that they must observe abolished and obsolete rituals and customs cuts the believer off from Christ and is left fallen from Grace. This was a prophesied stumbling stone to the Jews who loved the fact that they had the Law of Moses. They rejected and murdered the prophesied Messiah because they lacked the Faith to accept Him. But were in fact blinded by the veil over their understanding.  The Churches of God follow this doctrine of blaspheming the Words of Christ and the Apostles. They do this by denying men access to eternal life through faith IN Jesus Christ,  Our Only Passover!
Christ has been victorious over sin for us, we ARE the unleavened now. All of these things were fulfilled in Christ as prophesied.  It is not the leaven of yeast that the Christian has to fear now, but the deadly spiritual leaven of FALSE DOCTRINE that infests the Churches of God!
Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees as Jesus warned.


[1] See: Steve Nichols History of WCG, and John Kiesz Letter, Elder of the Church of God (7th Day).  [2] . On this mountain referred to Mt. Gerizim in Samaria in the town of Sychar (formerly called Shechem) where a Samaritan Temple once stood that rivaled the Temple in Jerusalem in Nehemiah’s time.  Both the Samaritans and the Jews worshiped the same true God in Christ’s time, the Samaritans were more strict in many ways than the Jews. [3] The Jerusalem Temple was the Temple King Herod build for the Jews, it was a replacement for the Temple built in Nehemiah’s time that was destroyed in 175 B.C. It was the religious center of Judaism in Christ’s time. [4] See Acts 15 Jerusalem conference (v10) for Peter’s teaching on burden of the law.

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Thursday, November 3, 2011

THE RED HEIFER OF NUMBERS 19 – WAS IT A TYPE OF CHRIST?



Recently one of our readers brought up an interesting topic discussing the red heifer found in Numbers chapter 19. He called this a great mystery to the Jews and Moses' most important writing. He equates the red heifer with the purifying sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He also wrote that the Jews are looking for another red heifer as precursor or a sign of the Messiah's return.

As Christians understand, Jesus died for our sins. His shed blood covers our sins like the sin sacrifices under the Torah did for the people of Israel. The difference is that Christ's sacrifice was once for all. This occurred at Passover and the New Covenant symbols are the Blood and Body of Christ symbolized in the Bread and the Wine of the new Passover. Christ became our Passover Lamb. There was no longer the need for the continual sacrifices to be offered, first for the priests then for the people. Christ did it once at the appointed time and then became our High Priest. There was no longer any need for the physical Temple, the physical priesthood, the physical altar, or any of the rituals that were performed there. It was all ended in Christ (Rom 10:4) who fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets and the Psalms, as He said in Luke 24:44.

Our reader referred to the red heifer as purification from sin. And the passage in Numbers 19:9 does indicate that;
 
9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin.

So is there really a great mystery surrounding this and was Christ symbolized by or a type of this red heifer?

Let us look at the entire passage and discover what the story of the red heifer really is.
 
The instruction of the Lord that came to Moses and Aaron in Numbers 19:1 was called an ordinance of the law. The instruction was that the children bring a red heifer (which is a FEMALE COW NOT MALE, please note that for later). It must be without blemish , no defects. and never have worn a yoke.
 
vs3 It was taken by the Priest outside the camp and slaughtered.
vs4 The priest was to sprinkle blood seven times in front of the Tabernacle.
vs5 Then the red heifer was burned, skin, blood, flesh, innards.
vs 6 HERE IT GETS INTERESTING: The priest ADDS; Cedar Wood, Hyssop and Scarlet Wool to the midst of the fire.

vs9 Then a man who is clean gathers these ashes and they are stored in a clean place outside the camp. It is kept for the water of purification, it is for purifying from sin. These ashes were mixed with water to make a purifying solution. vs 17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them.

The Questions: What do you get when you mix animal and wood ashes, water, and rendered fat? Lye Soap. What about adding Cedar Wood ashes? Good smelling Lye Soap. also Cedar Wood Oil is used as an anti-bacterial, fungicide. From a Wikipedia article on Cedar Wood Oil; "Cedar-wood oil is a mixture of organic compounds considered generally safe by the FDA as a food additive preservative. The oil has healing and antibacterial effects."

The by product of wood ashes when mixed with water is potassium carbonate. From a Wikipedia on potassium carbonate; "Wood ashes produce Potash (especially potassium carbonate) has been used from the dawn of history in bleaching textiles, making glass, and, from about A.D. 500, in making soap."

What about burning Hyssop too? Extremely fine aroma also used in modern colognes.  
What about adding Scarlet? In the tradition of Maimonides, he said that he Cedar wood was wrapped in the Hyssop and then bound with a scarlet yarn made of wool. A package that could be easily deposited into a raging fire on top of the heifer.

THE ANSWERS: The collected ash combination when mixed with water would be a very strong Lye Soap; anti-fungal, anti-bacterial anti-microbial sanitizer/cleanser with a pleasant fragrance of Cedar and Hyssop. The Cedar and Hyssop would act to preserve the ashes stored in a clean place from decomposition with these natural preservatives. The Ancient Egyptians used Cedar Oil in embalming due to it's powerful preserving properties. Something the Ancient Israelites would have been quite familiar with on a first hand basis at this particular time in their history having just left Egypt in the exodus.

One time when my wife and I were camping many years ago we built a campfire to cook our dinner over. The wood we used turned out to be cedar which was difficult to light but once lit burned with a very hot pink flame and smelled wonderful. The next day when we were washing our cooking pots and pans we noticed the bottoms were coated black with soot from the cedar fire. When we got them wet the soot had a very strong wonderful cedar smell. We decided the fragrance was so unique and enjoyable that we would only wash the insides of the pots and pans and not the outsides to preserve the aroma. For many subsequent years when we went camping we enjoyed the cedar fragrance on the pots and pans and reminisced about our adventure. So I can easily imagine the ashes of the heifer having that same wonderful cedar aroma I remember mixed with the fragrance of the hyssop which is strong mint. Once combined in fresh water it would have been a very pleasant smelling cleanser.

What about the red wool yarn? Scarlet had significance in the priestly functions in the Temple. The priest had scarlet threads on his robe. The priests had scarlet threads in their windows. Scarlet was the color of royalty. There are several possibilities, even as simple as they had a lot on hand and it was used to conveniently bundle the wood and hyssop.

SECOND QUESTION: Was the solution called the "Water of Purification" for the purifying from sin? Lets look a the pertinent verse in two translations.

(NIV) 9 “A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for purification from sin. For purification from sin is indicated. What about other translations?
 
(KJV) 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification;[a] it is for purifying from sin. Both agree. But what does the original Hebrew record? My Interlinear Bible says nothing about sin in the original Hebrew. It reads," ...for a water of impurity. it is a purging offering."

The original writer of the book of Numbers tells us this was actually  a cleansing solution to be used to cleanse and purify.  Like Purell today or anti-bacterial Bath Soap? Or even stronger like Lye Soap. Did the Scarlet tread merely brand the ash powder as the Lords for use by the Israelites and foreigners among them? I think so.

SECOND ANSWER: The Water of Purification was not used in the covering of Sin. The Sprinkling of  Blood was for that purpose and came from the blood of the Sin Offering. The Water of Purification was to purify physical ceremonial uncleanness ONLY so an unclean person did not wander into the Tabernacle and defile it. This is a practical application because meats were being processed and eaten in the Tabernacle by the people of Israel and the Priests. Germs could easily spread causing illness and death if the area where the meats were processed and eaten were not kept very clean so those coming into the Temple must be clean.




Let’s look at the actual scriptures that list the uncleanness this water is to purify. Note there are no violations of the Decalogue listed here, so these thing are NOT sins according to the law.


11 Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean. 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the LORD’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them. 14 “This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean. 16 “Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days. 17 “For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean. 21 This is a lasting ordinance for them. “The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening.”




We see that this purification is for ceremonial purification so that no one who is unclean or exposed to something that could harbor germs or may pass germs to others goes into the Tabernacle and defiles it. That is a serious infraction that requires banishment from the camp of Israel.

There were already provisions made for one who sins unintentionally called a “Sin Sacrifice.” This was given in detail in Leviticus 4:1-35. Sin sacrifices were with a bull, a MALE or a MALE goat for a priest who sins. But for the common people who sin they bring a female kid. The original Passover Lamb that the Israelites sacrificed and painted it’s blood on their door posts so the Death angel would pass over them was a male only without blemish of the first year.




So does this red heifer in some way symbolize Jesus as our Passover? As a purification for sin? We cannot conclude this from the context of Numbers 19 as we have read. While there were specific sin sacrifices already and shed blood for the atoning of the priests and the people’s sins. This water of purification was for ceremonial purposes only and not for sins committed by breaking a law. As a final proof the original Hebrew does not refer to “sin” at all.


The lesson we can learn from the red heifer and the water of purification is that the cleansing was only external from external uncleanness. It did not cleanse the person internally from sin nor was it intended to.

Jesus said Woe to the Scribes and Pharisees who lived this way;

Matthew 23:23-25 (NIV) 23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and
Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the
outside of the cup and dish, but inside
 they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 
 Hebrews 9:11-28,
 11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,[a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!
 15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
 16 In the case of a will,[d] it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. 18 This is why even the first covenant was not put into effect without blood. 19 When Moses had proclaimed every command of the law to all the people, he took the blood of calves, together with water, scarlet wool and branches of hyssop, and sprinkled the scroll and all the people. 20 He said, “This is the blood of the covenant, which God has commanded you to keep.”[e] 21 In the same way, he sprinkled with the blood both the tabernacle and everything used in its ceremonies. 22 In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
 23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. 

In conclusion verse 13 we see again that the ashes of the Red Heifer were strictly for the outward purification. The blood of Christ was for the inner purification from Sin. So the Red Heifer could not symbolize Christ or His atoning sacrifice.
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Monday, October 31, 2011

A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.

A little philosophy inclineth man's mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men's minds about to religion.
Francis Bacon
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Sunday, October 30, 2011

NEW COVENANT AND ACTS 21 CHALLENGED BY A HEBREW READER

A Hebrew reader recently made a comment after reading my letter "Unraveling Armstrong's Doctrinal Errors" on this blog.


Here is his interesting challenge which I will endeavor to answer.
ImAHebrew said...


Shalom Michael, you have made a very severe mistake in how you looked at Acts 21. Paul was accused/reported to be teaching JEWS which lived amoung the Gentiles, certain things. You don't make that distinction in your flawed argument. Paul submits to a sacrificial ritual to "prove" there is NOTHING (no truth) to those accuations/reports (Acts 21:25). You also fail to mention how the Believing Jews were Zealous in KEEPING THE LAW (Acts 21:20). And then, obviously, you failed to mention what happened later in Acts 28:17, where Paul reaffirms that he did not do as you and those who spread the false reports think he did, for he was not teaching the JEWS which lived amoung the Gentiles to forsake Moses, the circumcising of their children, or the customs. You need to re-write and re-think everything you have written about the Law of Moses and Paul. ImAHebrew


October 30, 2011 6:29 AM


Thank you for visiting my blog and offering your insights into Paul’s teachings and things written about him. I also have Hebrew Blood in my veins and grew up in a church that taught a blend of Old Covenant and New Covenant theology. So I have a unique perspective on issues of law and grace few people possess.


You state I have made an error in my understanding of Acts. 21. Here is why I believe and write what I do concerning the Law of Moses. I write in light of Jesus Christ the Messiah crucified instituting a New Covenant in His blood. The Holy Spirit given to believers and salvation made available to believers through grace by faith in Jesus. I use the NIV Bible throughout unless specified.




ACTS 15 -THE CONTROVERSY




The controversy begins at Antioch where Paul and Barnabas oppose teachings that salvation is only through Moses by circumcision and keeping the law.




Acts 15:1, 1 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.




Paul and Barnabas are asked by the church in Antioch to go to the church of Jerusalem and clear this up with the original Apostles. 

Acts 15:2 “…So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.”

THE JERUSALEM CONFERENCE – JEWS AND GENTILES SAVED BY GRACE


The first men to speak up are a group of Pharisees (like Paul was) who are adamant about the same teaching.


Acts 15:5, 5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” Peter, after much discussion, intervenes to decide the issue. Peter was the one Jesus gave the authority to loose and bind in the church, so here he uses that power and authority (Matthew 16:19). Both Jew and Gentile were the same to God, both received the Holy Spirit and no distinction was placed on either in terms of salvation (Acts 10:43-47). Peter calls placing the burden of the law on the Gentiles “testing God.” Peter refers to this yoke one neither we (the Jews) nor their ancestors could bear. He concludes salvation is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that saves both Jew and Gentile alike.




Acts 15:6-11, The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”




A letter is then sent out written by the Apostle James verifying this and giving only four commands for the Gentiles to keep. They did not have to become circumcised or obey the Laws of Moses.




Acts 15:19-20, “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.


ACTS CHAPTER TWENTY ONE - THE PROPHECY AND PAUL'S RETURN TO JERUSALEM


Before Paul went to Jerusalem a second time he was staying in Caesarea. A prophet from Judea named Agabus told Paul he would be bound by Jews in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. The church members in Caesarea begged him not to go but Paul was not dissuaded and went anyway. What was to happen in Jerusalem was predetermined by Jesus to bring Paul to Rome. So what happened to Paul was God's will to which Paul readily submits ready to die in Jerusalem for Christ if necessary. Here is the account:


Acts 21:10-11, 10 After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’


ACTS TWENTY ONE - THE GREETING


When Paul and his companions arrive in Jerusalem they are greeted by James, the chief Apostle, and all the elders. The first thing recorded is James and those assembled together telling Paul that the believing/Christian Jews in Jerusalem are zealous after the law and have been informed that Paul teaches ALL the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses. They correctly allege here Paul taught against circumcision and following the laws and customs of the Jews.




Acts 21:17-21, 17 When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers and sisters received us warmly. 18 The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. 19 Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.20 When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: “You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.


I believe James was either in denial about the truth of what Paul was teaching, was in fear of the Pharisees in Jerusalem (Acts. 21:22), did not personally accept what Peter said in Acts 15 or, most likely, was in the process of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Later James acknowledges that faith coupled with works is paramount and not deeds of the Law of Moses (Js. 2:14) James refers here to the Commandments of Jesus not of Moses. James wrote of the Law of Liberty instead (Js. 2:12-13).


Acts 21:22 22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. (NKJV)


ACTS TWENTY ONE – THE COVER-UP


James directed Paul to act as though the he was an observant Jew which ended up backfiring and getting Paul arrested and nearly killed in fulfillment of the prophecy of Agabus. Paul took part in a purification ritual by financing the four men who have taken a vow. This was apparently a Nazarite Vow found in the Torah, Numbers 6:2. The key is that Paul was not under a vow himself but merely financing the four who were.




Acts 21: 23-24, 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.


ACTS TWENTY ONE – THE COVER-UP IS EXPOSED


While in the Temple Paul is recognized by Jews from Asia that know first hand what Paul teaches. These were at the Temple involved in some sort of  activity there. These Jews could have been part of the controversy that began in Antioch. What Paul taught, in their view, was heresy and punishable by beating or stoning. It was the same thing Paul did to the Jewish Christians before his amazing conversion (Acts 9:20) immediately preaching Christ. The Jews from Asia knew Paul taught ALL men everywhere, against the people (Israel, Jews), the law (Torah), this place (Temple in Jerusalem).


Acts 21: 27-29, 27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)


ACTS TWENTY ONE- THE AGABUS PROPHECY FULFILLED


Paul and his teachings were verified again and did not agree with what James wanted the people to believe. Paul was exposed by the Jews from Asia who knew what he actually taught to both Jews and Gentiles outside of Judea.

But was this the major lesson recorded here or secondary? Was the spreading of Paul’s message of Grace and Faith throughout the Gentile world the most important thing in Jesus’’ mind. I think so. The controversy had already been settled over what the correct view of the Torah was and what believers were bound to and loosed from in terms of law.


The prophecy is fulfilled and the Lord told Paul to be of good cheer because he had testified for Him in Jerusalem and would also in Rome (Acts. 23:11).

Acts 21:28, When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us!


Acts 23:11, The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”


ACTS TWENTY TWO - PAUL’S PERSICUTION OF CHRIST


To analyze this passage is to discover that Jesus Christ had in fact literally ended the Old Covenant and replaced it with a New Covenant. If Paul, a Pharisee, a devout follower of the Law of Moses was persecuting Jesus, how could that be?




Paul had been hunting down Christian Jews and imprisoning and beating them for what, for following Jesus’ teachings? If the Christian Jews were keeping the Law of Moses what was to prosecute? On the contrary they were expelled from the synagogues for heresy, because they DID NOT follow the Law of Moses any longer. Paul testified of these things before the people who arrested him and the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem.


Acts 22:6,  6“About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.




JOHN CHAPTER FOUR – JESUS ENDS TEMPLE WORSHIP AND ESTABLISHES PAUL’S TEACHINGS




Before the beginning of the Jerusalem Church of Christ on Penticost 31 A.D. and before the crusifiction of the Messiah Jesus made a trip to Samaria to a town named Sychar (ancient Shechem) and at the Well of Jacob announced the end of Temple worship. Christ was living under the law at this time as was prophesied to fulfill all things.




John 4:21-26, 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”


25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”




HOLY SPIRIT GIVEN - THE BODY OF THE BELIEVER BECOMES THE TEMPLE




I Corinthians 6:19-20, 19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.


CHRIST WAS THE FULFILLMENT AND END OF THE LAW


Matthew 11:13-14, For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.


Romans 10:4, 4 Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.


CIRCUMCISION IS NOTHING

Paul teaches that circumcision or uncircumcised is nothing but to keep the law of love is what matters. (John 15:12).




I Cor. 7:18-19, 18 Was a man already circumcised when he was called? He should not become uncircumcised. Was a man uncircumcised when he was called? He should not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts.


THE READING OF MOSES PLACED A VEIL OVER HEARTS- ONLY LIFTED BY TURNING TO CHRIST


2 Corinthians 3:13-18, 13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16 But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.


NO ONE IS JUSTIFIED IN GOD’S EYES BY WORKS OF THE LAW


Gal. 2:16, 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[a] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.


ALL WHO TRY TO CONTINUE IN THE LAW MUST OBEY ALL THINGS IN THE TORAH


Who can do everything in the law? Peter said the Jews could not bear the burden in Acts 15:10. God said Isreal would not obey (Deut. 31:16-20). The song of Moses is God’s prophecy that Isreal would not keep the covenant (Deut. 32-33) No man has nor can he continue in the Law perfectly, the law was to reveal sin so God would be glorified in his righteousness and extension of Grace through Jesus’ sacrifice.


Galatians 3:10, 10 For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.”


THE TORAH/LAW WAS ONLY A TUTOR UNTIL FAITH CAME- UNTIL THE SEED


Jesus was the Seed promised to come from Abraham due to faith. The Law was only a tutor until faith. Christians are no longer under the Law. There is no longer Jew or Gentile…alone in Christ.


Galatians 3:19-29, 19 Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. 20 A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one. 21 Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. 22 But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. 23 Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. 24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. 26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. 

A NEW COVENANT WAS PROMISED THAT MAKES THE OLD OBSOLETE


We cannot continue in the keeping of a law that has been fulfilled by a sacrifice and the blood of a perfect man, Jesus Christ our final atonement. Just like one does not continue to serve a commuted sentence or pay a forgiven debt.




Hebrews 8:10-13 (AB) 10For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their minds, even upon their innermost thoughts and understanding, and engrave them upon their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11And it will nevermore be necessary for each one to teach his neighbor and his fellow citizen or each one his brother, saying, Know (perceive, have knowledge of, and get acquainted by experience with) the Lord, for all will know Me, from the smallest to the greatest of them. 12For I will be merciful and gracious toward their sins and I will remember their deeds of unrighteousness no more. 13When God speaks of a new [covenant or agreement], He makes the first one obsolete (out of use). And what is obsolete (out of use and annulled because of age) is ripe for disappearance and to be dispensed with altogether.


IN DEFENSE OF MY VIEW OF ACTS CHAPTER TWENTY ONE


The controversy was that men from Judea taught incorrectly that the Christians in Asia, both Jew and Gentiles, must be circumcised and follow Moses’ Law. They taught this was required for salvation. The Acts 15 conference concluded that all are saved through Faith and the law discarded as a burden and unnecessary. Acts 21 Was the fulfillment of a prophecy given by the Holy Spirit to the prophet Agabus not an indictment of Paul’s teachings as you argue.


James creates an event that will make it look like Paul is still an observant Jew and cause the rumors to die. The cover-up fails but not for reasons of any Mosaic Law violations per se but a false believe that Paul had brought Trophimus, a Gentile, into the Temple which was not permitted.




It was the arrest of Paul on false charges while participating in a Nazarite ceremony that was central. Paul had done nothing to violate any of the Temple laws but was falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the Temple. That is why Paul was arrested, drug out of the Temple and into the street, the Temple doors closed and he was nearly killed by the mob. This answers Acts 28:17.




Christ told Saul that he was persecuting Him. This could not be if what Jesus taught and what Saul practiced were the same, they were not. Saul was trying to wipe out the new Christian Church because of heresy against Moses’ Law.


Jesus had already announced the end of temple worship in John 4. So the Feast Days and the Sacrifices that were contained in Statutes and Ordinances could never again be observed. Paul taught the same thing after his conversion.


The body of the believer becomes the Temple of the Holy Spirit. No more requirements for a physical Temple or a physical priesthood in Jerusalem. Christ prophesied the physical temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed and it was in 70 A.D. Worship becomes in spirit and truth for God is spirit (Jn. 4:23-24).


Christ was the fulfillment and end of the law (Rom 10:4). Circumcision is nothing according to Paul (I Cor. 7:18-19). The reading of Moses without faith leaves one blind until Jesus is accepted then the veil is lifted. Paul taught no one is justified in God’s eyes by keeping the law ( Gal. 2:16). All were under the curse of the Law that was lifted by Jesus at His death. No one can obey and if they do they must keep the whole law.


The law was only a tutor until the Seed, Christ came, then it is of no use. A new covenant that was promised, not like the one I made with your fathers, has come and Christ is the mediator of a better covenant. The new has made the old obsolete (Hebrews 8:10-13).




Your position that Acts 28:17 proves I am in error about Acts 21 was answered previously in this section but once again, Paul’s assertion was correct in v17 in that he had not technically done anything in Acts 21 that was a violation of Temple Law and had been falsely accused that led to his arrest. So I do not believe I spread a false report as you suggest.


I feel my understanding of Acts 21 is solid based upon many different confirming passages found throughout the Old and New Testaments some of which I have offered today. There are dozens more offered in studies on my blog I hope you will explore.
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