Posted: Fri Nov 23, 2012 12:29 pm Post subject: Discourse on the Two Paths of So Called Christianity - The G
Discourse on the Two Paths of So Called Christianity - The Genuine and the Counterfeit
INTRODUCTION:
Most religions of the world take a two part single path as they have some good and some bad. However, so called Christianity did NOT follow in the mold of other religions such as the Hindus, Islam, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, etc. Instead, so called Christianity took two different paths. These two paths are as follows:
[1] In 325 AD the greater part of the so called Christian faith went apostate to when the good favor of a pagan emperor, a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun. And this branch of apostate Christians went on to commit many atrocities such as the rape of Goa, the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the burning of individuals at the stake for disagreeing with them including one Bruno for simply saying that the earth revolved around the sun; whereas, they said the sun revolved around the earth.
[2] A second and much smaller group of Christians that remained genuine Christians and did NOT go apostate, but followed in the footsteps of Christ their leader and savior. These did NOT commit any atrocities.
Thus, as can be readily seen, Christianity did not take the same path as most other religions that of having some good and some bad, but instead had a bad large group, and a much smaller good group. The colonial powers, however, brought the bad group to India, Pakistan, the New World [most of South America and North America], and many of the islands of the sea; and they went on committing atrocities in all of these places. This was because the apostate Christians were actually doing Satan the Devils' work per 2 Corinthians 4:4, "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (Authorized King James Bible; AV); and John 5:19, "And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness." (AV).
WRONG OPINION HELD BY MANY:
Due to the wrong actions, atrocities, committed by the first group, the apostate Christians, "[1] In 325 AD the greater part of the so called Christian faith went apostate to when the good favor of a pagan emperor, a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun. And this branch of apostate Christians went on to commit many atrocities such as the rape of Goa, the Crusades, the Inquisitions, the burning of individuals at the stake for disagreeing with them including one Bruno for simply saying that the earth revolved around the sun; whereas, they said the sun revolved around the earth." Many hold wrong opinions of ALL Christians. Why? Because they have generalized the actions and wrongs of the first group and incorrectly applied them to genuine footstep followers of Christ also, the "[2] A second and much smaller group of Christians that remained genuine Christians and did NOT go apostate, but followed in the footsteps of Christ their leader and savior. These did NOT commit any atrocities."
Of course this generalization results in a wrong understanding of Christianity on the part of many. One writer who did NOT understand the crucial difference between these two groups said,
"You use one bunch of Christians to expose the bullsh**t propagated by another bunch of Christians. All of the Christians are more than 50% crap."
Clearly showing he had no comprehension of the two different paths taken by so called Christianity.
Another writer, in this case a Hindu, showed the same lack of comprehension with respect the two different paths taken by so called Christianity and said.
"You just using counterfeit christianity as a tool to dissaccociate yourself from the same christians that commited the most horrendous attrocities, live with it, you all have blood stained on your hands, I admit I am ashamed of what the brahmins, what's dont is done, we are doing what we can to uplift the dalits."
Obviously this individual also does not understand that so called Christianity took two different paths, and is NOT being rational either as he has shown that he can not bear to hear the truth, the facts? Well let's look at the counterfeit side of Christianity and the atrocities they have committed, and maybe individual like these two will start to realize the truth with respect the two different paths so called Christianity took.
THE ATROCITIES COMMITTED BY THE APOSTATE PATH OF CHRISTIANITY:
History and current events clearly show that the apostate (counterfeit) side of so called Christianity did NOT follow in the footsteps of the Prince of Peace, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ. Now, let's look at a few examples that prove this fact:
[Item one] "The History and Practices of the Catholic church
and her Christian daughter Protestant Churches ( a brief history)
Standard Number One: Commandment Nine, "Thou Shalt Not Bear False Witness," and Commandment Six, "Thou Shalt Not Murder." According to Hebrews 4:12, This not only includes actual murder, but the desire to murder or have murdered. In other words, a person or a Church (group of people) can have murder committed for them, and they don't actually have to get their hands bloody. All they have to do is desire for a murder to occur (murder is the "Intent of Their Hearts")!
The written history of the "Inquisition" is specific in its' details; and some of those details are as follows:
The Inquisition was a medieval Catholic church court instituted to seek out and prosecute heretics (heretics, by Catholic definition, were almost always Sabbath Keeping Sabbatarians). The Church worked in conjunction with the military powers of the land (Kings & Queens) to accomplish their misdeeds. Papal documents as well as the Second, Third, and Fourth Lateran councils (1139, 1179, 1215) prescribed imprisonment (with torture), and confiscation of property as punishment for heresy and threatened to excommunicate princes (Kings & Queens) who failed to punish heretics. They were notoriously harsh, and their procedures resulted in unbelievable tortures, most often resulting in excruciating death; "The Crusaders" were the soldiers used by the inquisition to round up the so called Sabbatarian heretics. The Sabbatarians (Any and All Seventh Day Sabbath Keepers) were burned at the stake, buried alive, had their feet burned off, and were hacked into pieces by the Crusaders. The Inquisition was defended during the Middle Ages by appeal to biblical practices and to the Catholic church father (the "So Called") saint Augustine (354-430AD.), who chose to interpret Luke 14:23 as endorsing the use of physical force against so called heretics.
Luke 14:23 (a physical to Spiritual parallel or anthropomorphism)
23 The lord said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my (Spiritual) house may (ultimately) be filled.
Note: The word Compel, as used in Luke cannot go against Yahweh's Laws of Love. Therefore, the wicked saint Augustine used physical force, when Matthew intended for them to use Moral argument to convince people to come into G_d's house. A True Saint would have known this, but a True Power Hungry Heretic would not care. So here we have an example of a True Heretic (saint Augustine) pretending to be a Saint, and torturing True Saints (Sabbath Keepers) and calling them heretics. One last thought on this standard: Sabbatarians, as a group, never murdered, tortured or persecuted anyone; but, whenever they try to make the Truth Known, they are quickly called "Catholic Bashers." What will Yahweh be called, when He destroys the True Heretical Catholic-christians (Christopagans) from off the face of the Earth?
King Louis IX of France (1229 AD) called Sabbath Keepers heretics.
Catholic canon (Law) #3 (1229 AD) (The Council of Toulouse) Quote: The Lords of the different districts shall search the villas and woods for the hiding places of the Sabbath Keeping heretics.
Standard Number Two: Commandment Four, "Keep The Seventh Day Sabbath Holy." True Believing Sabbatarian Congregations are Overt and not Covert. Why? Mainly, because True Believers have nothing to hide, they are not deceptive, use secret codes or hide behind clever semantics. Additionally, True Believers are humble and obedient to the Words of Yahweh. True Believers are not heretics, who at first pretend to be True Believers, and then over a period of time change their beliefs. The Seventh Day Sabbath was observed as a Holy Day of Convocation, even by the Catholic church, and it wasn't until the Catholic church imagined that they had the power to change the Laws of Yahweh that those "In Power" re-invented "The Lord's Day," and started enforcing Sunday as their "Day of Rest." Revelation 1:10, Acts 2:20, 1 Corinthians 5:5, 1 Thess. 5:2, and 2 Peter 3:10 are the only places in the Bible that the "Lord's Day" is even mentioned, and those who are Spiritually enlightened know that this is always referring to the (future) Day of "The First Resurrection" when "The Last Trumpet" will sound, and the kingdoms of this Earth become the kingdom(s) of The Son(s) of Yahweh.
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet
So when and how did the Catholic-Christian (Christopagan) church begin to reveal its' true identity? History records that the Catholic-Christian church began to show her true colors about the late third or early fourth century.
However, the Catholic-Christian church in Scotland remained loyal to The Saturday Sabbath well into the tenth century, according to: "Adamnan Life of St. Columbs" 1874, p.96 by W.T. Skene; "History of The Catholic church in Scotland," Vol. 1, p.86, by Bellesheim (a Catholic Historian); "The Rise of The Mediaeval Church," p.237, by Flick; "History of Scotland From The Roman occupation," Vol. 1, p.96, by Andrew Lang; and "Celtic Scotland" Vol. 2, pp.330-349.
The Seventh Day Sabbath prevailed in the Catholic church in Wales until 1115AD. when St. David's Cathedral seated its very first Roman Catholic indoctrinated bishop.
Roman Catholic canon (Law) #26 (305 AD) of The Council of Elvira, Spain, reveals that the church in Spain observed the Seventh Day Sabbath, but were at odds with the church in Rome, because the Rome church had already imposed a Sabbath Fasting Period (to make the True Sabbath unpopular with the masses).
Catholic canon (Law) #16: On Saturday the Gospels and Scripture shall be read aloud.
Catholic canon (Law) #29: Catholic-Christians shall not JUDAIZE (a Jew Hater statement) and be idle on the Sabbath, but shall work on that day, but shall not work on the (re-invented) "Lord's Day."
Pope Sylvester (314-335AD.) was the first to order that the Catholic church "Fast" (go hungry and thirsty) each and every Sabbath (Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset). This was a major change in the Sabbath (and not according to Holy Scripture), and was done to make the Sabbath less appealing than Sunday. Of course, this only psychologically affected the members of The Catholic church, as True Believers (Sabbatarians) continued to keep the True Sabbath according to G_d's Word.
Pope Innocent (402-417) made fasting on The Sabbath a binding law for all in subjugation (psychological and legal slavery) to the Catholic church.
Pope Gregory I (590-604 AD.), according to epistles #1 and #B 13:1, called all those within the Catholic church who forbid working on the Saturday Sabbath, "Antichrists."
Catholic canon (Law) #13: "Council of Friaul," Italy, 791AD., Sunday, the so called "Lord's Day," became a commanded observance (purely CULT tactics).
...
Conclusion: I could continue for days on this subject, but I doubt that very many people would take the time to read it all. Kind of like owning a Bible, which you don't even read. Did you know that having a Bible is a privilege, that not many people have had through the centuries.
Catholic canon Law #14 (of the thirteenth century in France) "Lay members are not allowed to possess the books of the Old or the New Testaments."
Now why would a so called Christian church prohibit their members from having access to the word of YHWH? Could it be because ignorant members are easier for cults to lie to and control, and because control is power, and power relates to profit and vanity? Yes! But more importantly, it relates to "The Will of Satan."
My friends, this Roman Government sponsored church and its' christian harlot daughter churches have not only failed to represent the True Children of G_d, but have murdered them. Has this church group changed its' spots or truly repented of their sins? No! For even now they are trying to regroup and regain the powers that they once had. Have you not heard of Ecumenism? If not click here. The Catholic church is a threat to all True Sabbatarian Believers everywhere. Will we wait in disbelief as the Jews did in World War II? I pray not!
Finally, can any True Believer, follow any of the holiday traditions or ritual practices belonging to or coming out of The Catholic church? Absolutely Not! Why? Because this church is the original "Cult Church" and The Mother of Christian (Christopagan) harlots as mentioned in Revelation 17:4-6. They have perverted every Holy Tradition of Yahweh, mistranslated scripture, replaced Yahweh's Weekly Sabbath with Sunday and Yahweh's Annual Sabbath Holy Days with pagan holidays (Xmas & Easter/Ishtar, etc...), suppressed the study of scripture, murdered True Believers and Jews, assisted Hitler in World War II, perverted the "Breaking of Unleavened Bread" at Passover to the unbroken Sun Wafer of the "Eucharist" at Ishtar/Easter Time and other non-Holy days, and the list goes on. How can any brain conscious human being ever place even an ounce of faith in this perverted religious system.
Revelation 17:4-6
4 The woman (spiritual harlot / false church) was dressed in purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of (Spiritual) abominations (read Ezekiel & Jeremiah), even the unclean things of her (Spiritual) sexual immorality (with pagan gods and goddesses),
5 and on her forehead a name written, "MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE (Spiritual) PROSTITUTES (Christianity & others) AND OF THE (Spiritual) ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."
6 I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the (TRUE) saints (Sabbatarians), and with the blood of the martyrs of Yahshua (The TRUE Messiah). When I saw her, I wondered with great amazement.
NOTE: This woman is Spiritual Babylon, which was pure paganism (false religions) prior to The Messiah, but was covertly transferred to The Catholic church (Mother of Christianity) even before The Messiah's Sacrifice.[source - The Mother of All Cults
by Dan J. Love, Minister, SCY- www.sabbatarian.com/Spotl...rCult.html ]
Now let's look at some more evidence of the atrocity committing path taken by apostate (Counterfeit) Christians who did NOT follow in the footsteps of him whom they falsely claim is their leader, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, the Prince of Peace.
[item two] "Persecution of the Waldenses in France
Popery having brought various innovations into the Church, and overspread the Christian world with darkness and superstition, some few, who plainly perceived the pernicious tendency of such errors, determined to show the light of the Gospel in its real purity, and to disperse those clouds which artful priests had raised about it, in order to blind the people, and obscure its real brightness.
The principal among these was Berengarius, who, about the year 1000, boldly preached Gospel truths, according to their primitive purity. Many, from conviction, assented to his doctrine, and were, on that account, called Berengarians. To Berengarius succeeded Peer Bruis, who preached at Toulouse, under the protection of an earl, named Hildephonsus; and the whole tenets of the reformers, with the reasons of their separation from the Church of Rome, were published in a book written by Bruis, under the title of "Antichrist."
By the year of Christ 1140, the number of the reformed was very great, and the probability of its increasing alarmed the pope, who wrote to several princes to banish them from their dominions, and employed many learned men to write against their doctrines.
In A.D. 1147, because of Henry of Toulouse, deemed their most eminent preacher, they were called Henericians; and as they would not admit of any proofs relative to religion, but what could be deduced from the Scriptures themselves, the popish party gave them the name of apostolics. At length, Peter Waldo, or Valdo, a native of Lyons, eminent for his piety and learning, became a strenuous opposer of popery; and from him the reformed, at that time, received the appellation of Waldenses or Waldoys.
Pope Alexander III being informed by the bishop of Lyons of these transactions, excommunicated Waldo and his adherents, and commanded the bishop to exterminate them, if possible, from the face of the earth; hence began the papal persecutions against the Waldenses.
The proceedings of Waldo and the reformed, occasioned the first rise of the inquisitors; for Pope Innocent III authorized certain monks as inquisitors, to inquire for, and deliver over, the reformed to the secular power. The process was short, as an accusation was deemed adequate to guilt, and a candid trial was never granted to the accused.
The pope, finding that these cruel means had not the intended effect, sent several learned monks to preach among the Waldenses, and to endeavor to argue them out of their opinions. Among these monks was one Dominic, who appeared extremely zealous in the cause of popery. This Dominic instituted an order, which, from him, was called the order of Dominican friars; and the members of this order have ever since been the principal inquisitors in the various inquisitions in the world. The power of the inquisitors was unlimited; they proceeded against whom they pleased, without any consideration of age, sex, or rank. Let the accusers be ever so infamous, the accusation was deemed valid; and even anonymous informations, sent by letter, were thought sufficient evidence. To be rich was a crime equal to heresy; therefore many who had money were accused of heresy, or of being favorers of heretics, that they might be obliged to pay for their opinions. The dearest friends or nearest kindred could not, without danger, serve any one who was imprisoned on account of religion. To convey to those who were confined, a little straw, or give them a cup of water, was called favoring of the heretics, and they were prosecuted accordingly. No lawyer dared to plead for his own brother, and their malice even extended beyond the grave; hence the bones of many were dug up and burnt, as examples to the living. If a man on his deathbed was accused of being a follower of Waldo, his estates were confiscated, and the heir to them defrauded of his inheritance; and some were sent to the Holy Land, while the Dominicans took possession of their houses and properties, and, when the owners returned, would often pretend not to know them. These persecutions were continued for several centuries under different popes and other great dignitaries of the Catholic Church.
Persecutions of the Albigenses
The Albigenses were a people of the reformed religion, who inhabited the country of Albi. They were condemned on the score of religion in the Council of Lateran, by order of Pope Alexander III. Nevertheless, they increased so prodigiously, that many cities were inhabited by persons only of their persuasion, and several eminent noblemen embraced their doctrines. Among the latter were Raymond, earl of Toulouse, Raymond, earl of Foix, the earl of Beziers, etc.
A friar, named Peter, having been murdered in the dominions of the earl of Toulouse, the pope made the murder a pretense to persecute that nobleman and his subjects. To effect this, he sent persons throughout all Europe, in order to raise forces to act coercively against the Albigenses, and promised paradise to all that would come to this war, which he termed a Holy War, and bear arms for forty days. The same indulgences were likewise held out to all who entered themselves for the purpose as to such as engaged in crusades to the Holy Land. The brave earl defended Toulouse and other places with the most heroic bravery and various success against the pope's legates and Simon, earl of Montfort, a bigoted Catholic nobleman. Unable to subdue the earl of Toulouse openly, the king of France, and the queen mother, and three archbishops raised another formidable army, and had the art to persuade the earl of Toulouse to come to a conference, when he was treacherously seized upon, made a prisoner, forced to appear barefooted and bareheaded before his enemies, and compelled to subscribe an abject recantation. This was followed by a severe persecution against the Albigenses; and express orders that the laity should not be permitted to read the sacred Scriptures. In the year 1620 also, the persecution against the Albigenses was very severe. In 1648 a heavy persecution raged throughout Lithuania and Poland. The cruelty of the Cossacks was so excessive that the Tartars themselves were ashamed of their barbarities. Among others who suffered was the Rev. Adrian Chalinski, who was roasted alive by a slow fire, and whose sufferings and mode of death may depict the horrors which the professors of Christianity have endured from the enemies of the Redeemer.
The reformation of papistical error very early was projected in France; for in the third century a learned man, named Almericus, and six of his disciples, were ordered to be burnt at Paris for asserting that God was no otherwise present in the sacramental bread than in any other bread; that it was idolatry to build altars or shrines to saints and that it was ridiculous to offer incense to them.
The martyrdom of Almericus and his pupils did not, however, prevent many from acknowledging the justness of his notions, and seeing the purity of the reformed religion, so that the faith of Christ continually increased, and in time not only spread itself over many parts of France, but diffused the light of the Gospel over various other countries.
In the year 1524, at a town in France, called Melden, one John Clark set up a bill on the church door, wherein he called the pope Antichrist. For this offence he was repeatedly whipped, and then branded on the forehead. Going afterward to Mentz, in Lorraine, he demolished some images, for which he had his right hand and nose cut off, and his arms and breast torn with pincers. He sustained these cruelties with amazing fortitude, and was even sufficiently cool to sing the One hundredth and fifteenth Psalm, which expressly forbids idolatry; after which he was thrown into the fire, and burnt to ashes.
Many persons of the reformed persuasion were, about this time, beaten, racked, scourged, and burnt to death, in several parts of France, but more particularly at Paris, Malda, and Limosin.
A native of Malda was burnt by a slow fire, for saying that Mass was a plain denial of the death and passion of Christ. At Limosin, John de Cadurco, a clergyman of the reformed religion, was apprehended and ordered to be burnt.
Francis Bribard, secretary to cardinal de Pellay, for speaking in favor of the reformed, had his tongue cut out, and was then burnt, A.D. 1545. James Cobard, a schoolmaster in the city of St. Michael, was burnt, A.D. 1545, for saying 'That Mass was useless and absurd'; and about the same time, fourteen men were burnt at Malda, their wives being compelled to stand by and behold the execution.
A.D. 1546, Peter Chapot brought a number of Bibles in the French tongue to France, and publicly sold them there; for which he was brought to trial, sentenced, and executed a few days afterward. Soon after, a cripple of Meaux, a schoolmaster of Fera, named Stephen Poliot, and a man named John English, were burnt for the faith.
Monsieur Blondel, a rich jeweler, was, in A.D. 1548, apprehended at Lyons, and sent to Paris; there he was burnt for the faith by order of the court, A.D. 1549. Herbert, a youth of nineteen years of age, was committed to the flames at Dijon; as was also Florent Venote in the same year.
In the year 1554, two men of the reformed religion, with the son and daughter of one of them, were apprehended and committed to the castle of Niverne. On examination, they confessed their faith, and were ordered to execution; being smeared with grease, brimstone, and gunpowder, they cried, "Salt on, salt on this sinful and rotten flesh." Their tongues were then cut out, and they were afterward committed to the flames, which soon consumed them, by means of the combustible matter with which they were besmeared. [source - Foxe's Book of Martyrs by John Fox (or Foxe) was born at Boston, in Lincolnshire, in 1517 and edited by William Byron Forbush]"
Now let's look yet another time at some more evidence of the atrocity committing path taken by apostate (Counterfeit) Christians who did NOT follow in the footsteps of him whom they falsely claim is their leader, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, the Prince of Peace.
[item three] "This is where the theologian Michael Servitus comes in. In 1546 he wrote a book on spiritual regeneration. He attacked the doctrine of the Trinity. He thought the Nicene Creed dishonored the idea of redemption. That was dangerous thinking during the Protestant Reformation.
Servitus -- almost incidentally -- described the regeneration of blood in the lungs. It was part of his theology of regeneration. But it was quite accurate. Servitus told us just what Harvey did, 85 years later.
Servitus sent a copy of his book to Calvin. Calvin took it very badly. He ordered Servitus's arrest and trial as a heretic. A tribunal sentenced Servitus to burn in a fire fueled by slow-burning green wood and his own books. [source - MICHAEL SERVITUS, by John H. Li]"
Now of course these are only representative examples of atrocities and genocide's committed by apostate (counterfeit) Christians. However, it must also be recognized that both World Wars, 1 and 2, were both started by so called Christian nations and backed by the clergy of apostate (counterfeit) Christians, but not by genuine Christians, the real footstep followers of the Prince of Peace, Jesus (Yeshua), the Son of God (YHWH).
APOSTATE CHRISTIANITY ADOPTED PAGAN FESTIVALS AS THEIR OWN:
Interestingly in the way of festivals and holidays the two distinct paths of so called Christianity also were very different. The apostate (counterfeit) Christians adopted pagan festivals and holidays and gave them a so called Christian facade; whereas, the genuine footstep followers had nothing to do with them.
Let's look at an example of this so called Christian façade being put on a pagan festival and holiday.
"The Two Babylons, by Alexander Hislop
Chapter III
Festivals
Section I. Christmas and Lady-day
If Rome be indeed the Babylon of the Apocalypse, and the Madonna enshrined in her sanctuaries be the very queen of heaven, for the worshipping of whom the fierce anger of God was provoked against the Jews in the days of Jeremiah, it is of the last consequence that the fact should be established beyond all possibility of doubt; for that being once established, every one who trembles at the Word of God must shudder at the very thought of giving such a system, either individually or nationally, the least countenance or support. Something has been said already that goes far to prove the identity of the Roman and Babylonian systems; but at every step the evidence becomes still more overwhelming. That which arises from comparing the different festivals is peculiarly so.
The festivals of Rome are innumerable; but five of the most important may be singled out for elucidation--viz., Christmas-day, Lady-day, Easter, the Nativity of St. John, and the Feast of the Assumption. Each and all of these can be proved to be Babylonian. And first, as to the festival in honour of the birth of Christ, or Christmas. How comes it that that festival was connected with the 25th of December? There is not a word in the Scriptures about the precise day of His birth, or the time of the year when He was born. What is recorded there, implies that at what time soever His birth took place, it could not have been on the 25th of December. At the time that the angel announced His birth to the shepherds of Bethlehem, they were feeding their flocks by night in the open fields. Now, no doubt, the climate of Palestine is not so severe as the climate of this country; but even there, though the heat of the day be considerable, the cold of the night, from December to February, is very piercing, and it was not the custom for the shepherds of Judea to watch their flocks in the open fields later than about the end of October. *
* GILL, in his Commentary on Luke 2:8, has the following: "There are two sorts of cattle with the Jews...there are the cattle of the house that lie in the city; the cattle of the wilderness are they that lie in the pastures. On which one of the commentators (MAIMONIDES, in Misn. Betza), observes, 'These lie in the pastures, which are in the villages, all the days of the cold and heat, and do not go into the cities until the rains descend.' The first rain falls in the month Marchesvan, which answers to the latter part of our October and the former part of November...From whence it appears that Christ must be born before the middle of October, since the first rain was not yet come." KITTO, on Deuteronomy 11:14 (Illustrated Commentary), says that the "first rain," is in "autumn," "that is, in September or October." This would make the time of the removal of the flocks from the fields somewhat earlier than I have stated in the text; but there is no doubt that it could not be later than there stated, according to the testimony of Maimonides, whose acquaintance with all that concerns Jewish customs is well known.
It is in the last degree incredible, then, that the birth of Christ could have taken place at the end of December. There is great unanimity among commentators on this point. Besides Barnes, Doddridge, Lightfoot, Joseph Scaliger, and Jennings, in his "Jewish Antiquities," who are all of opinion that December 25th could not be the right time of our Lord's nativity, the celebrated Joseph Mede pronounces a very decisive opinion to the same effect. After a long and careful disquisition on the subject, among other arguments he adduces the following;--"At the birth of Christ every woman and child was to go to be taxed at the city whereto they belonged, whither some had long journeys; but the middle of winter was not fitting for such a business, especially for women with child, and children to travel in. Therefore, Christ could not be born in the depth of winter. Again, at the time of Christ's birth, the shepherds lay abroad watching with their flocks in the night time; but this was not likely to be in the middle of winter. And if any shall think the winter wind was not so extreme in these parts, let him remember the words of Christ in the gospel, 'Pray that your flight be not in the winter.' If the winter was so bad a time to flee in, it seems no fit time for shepherds to lie in the fields in, and women and children to travel in." Indeed, it is admitted by the most learned and candid writers of all parties * that the day of our Lord's birth cannot be determined, ** and that within the Christian Church no such festival as Christmas was ever heard of till the third century, and that not till the fourth century was far advanced did it gain much observance.
* Archdeacon WOOD, in Christian Annotator, LORIMER's Manual of Presbytery. Lorimer quotes Sir Peter King, who, in his Enquiry into the Worship of the Primitive Church, &c., infers that no such festival was observed in that Church, and adds--"It seems improbably that they should celebrate Christ's nativity when they disagreed about the month and the day when Christ was born." See also Rev. J. RYLE, in his Commentary on Luke, who admits that the time of Christ's birth is uncertain, although he opposes the idea that the flocks could not have been in the open fields in December, by an appeal to Jacob's complaint to Laban, "By day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night." Now the whole force of Jacob's complaint against his churlish kinsman lay in this, that Laban made him do what no other man would have done, and, therefore, if he refers to the cold nights of winter (which, however, is not the common understanding of the expression), it proves just the opposite of what it is brought by Mr. Ryle to prove--viz., that it was not the custom for shepherds to tend their flocks in the fields by night in winter.
** GIESELER, CHRYSOSTOM (Monitum in Hom. de Natal. Christi), writing in Antioch about AD 380, says: "It is not yet ten years since this day was made known to us". "What follows," adds Gieseler, "furnishes a remarkable illustration of the ease with which customs of recent date could assume the character of apostolic institutions." Thus proceeds Chrysostom: "Among those inhabiting the west, it was known before from ancient and primitive times, and to the dwellers from Thrace to Gadeira [Cadiz] it was previously familiar and well-known," that is, the birth-day of our Lord, which was unknown at Antioch in the east, on the very borders of the Holy Land, where He was born, was perfectly well-known in all the European region of the west, from Thrace even to Spain!
How, then, did the Romish Church fix on December the 25th as Christmas-day? Why, thus: Long before the fourth century, and long before the Christian era itself, a festival was celebrated among the heathen, at that precise time of the year, in honour of the birth of the son of the Babylonian queen of heaven; and it may fairly be presumed that, in order to conciliate the heathen, and to swell the number of the nominal adherents of Christianity, the same festival was adopted by the Roman Church, giving it only the name of Christ. This tendency on the part of Christians to meet Paganism half-way was very early developed; and we find Tertullian, even in his day, about the year 230, bitterly lamenting the inconsistency of the disciples of Christ in this respect, and contrasting it with the strict fidelity of the Pagans to their own superstition. "By us," says he, "who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons, and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia, the feasts of January, the Brumalia, and Matronalia, are now frequented; gifts are carried to and fro, new year's day presents are made with din, and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar; oh, how much more faithful are the heathen to their religion, who take special care to adopt no solemnity from the Christians." Upright men strive to stem the tide, but in spite of all their efforts, the apostacy went on, till the Church, with the exception of a small remnant, was submerged under Pagan superstition. That Christmas was originally a Pagan festival, is beyond all doubt. The time of the year, and the ceremonies with which it is still celebrated, prove its origin. In Egypt, the son of Isis, the Egyptian title for the queen of heaven, was born at this very time, "about the time of the winter solstice." The very name by which Christmas is popularly known among ourselves--Yule-day --proves at once its Pagan and Babylonian origin. "Yule" is the Chaldee name for an "infant" or "little child"; * and as the 25th of December was called by our Pagan Anglo-Saxon ancestors, "Yule-day," or the "Child's day," and the night that preceded it, "Mother-night," long before they came in contact with Christianity, that sufficiently proves its real character.
* From Eol, an "infant." In Scotland, at least in the Lowlands, the Yule-cakes are also called Nur-cakes. Now in Chaldee Nour signifies "birth." Therefore, Nur-cakes are "birth-cakes." The Scandinavian goddesses, called "norns," who appointed children their destinies at their birth, evidently derived their name from the cognate Chaldee word "Nor," a child.
Far and wide, in the realms of Paganism, was this birth-day observed. This festival has been commonly believed to have had only an astronomical character, referring simply to the completion of the sun's yearly course, and the commencement of a new cycle. But there is indubitably evidence that the festival in question had a much higher reference than this--that it commemorated not merely the figurative birth-day of the sun in the renewal of its course, but the birth-day of the grand Deliverer. Among the Sabeans of Arabia, who regarded the moon, and not the sun, as the visible symbol of the favourite object of their idolatry, the same period was observed as the birth festival. Thus we read in Stanley's Sabean Philosophy: "On the 24th of the tenth month," that is December, according to our reckoning, "the Arabians celebrated the BIRTHDAY OF THE LORD--that is the Moon." The Lord Moon was the great object of Arabian worship, and that Lord Moon, according to them, was born on the 24th of December, which clearly shows that the birth which they celebrated had no necessary connection with the course of the sun. It is worthy of special note, too, that if Christmas-day among the ancient Saxons of this island, was observed to celebrate the birth of any Lord of the host of heaven, the case must have been precisely the same here as it was in Arabia. The Saxons, as is well known, regarded the Sun as a female divinity, and the Moon as a male. *
See Page 2 _________________ Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today!
SHARON TURNER. Turner cites an Arabic poem which proves that a female sun and a masculine moon were recognised in Arabia as well as by the Anglo-Saxons.
It must have been the birth-day of the Lord Moon, therefore, and not of the Sun, that was celebrated by them on the 25th of December, even as the birth-day of the same Lord Moon was observed by the Arabians on the 24th of December. The name of the Lord Moon in the East seems to have been Meni, for this appears the most natural interpretation of the Divine statement in Isaiah lxv. 11, "But ye are they that forsake my holy mountain, that prepare a temple for Gad, and that furnish the drink-offering unto Meni." There is reason to believe that Gad refers to the sun-god, and that Meni in like manner designates the moon-divinity. *
*See KITTO, vol. iv. p. 66, end of Note. The name Gad evidently refers, in the first instance, to the war-god, for it signifies to assault; but it also signifies "the assembler"; and under both ideas it is applicable to Nimrod, whose general character was that of the sun-god, for he was the first grand warrior; and, under the name Phoroneus, he was celebrated for having first gathered mankind into social communities. The name Meni, "the numberer," on the other hand, seems just a synonym for the name of Cush or Chus, which, while it signifies "to cover" or "hide," signifies also "to count or number." The true proper meaning of the name Cush is, I have no doubt, "The numberer" or "Arithmetician"; for while Nimrod his son, as the "mighty" one, was the grand propagator of the Babylonian system of idolatry, by force and power, he, as Hermes, was the real concocter of that system, for he is said to have "taught men the proper mode of approaching the Deity with prayers and sacrifice" (WILKINSON); and seeing idolatry and astronomy were intimately combined, to enable him to do so with effect, it was indispensable that he should be pre-eminently skilled in the science of numbers. Now, Hermes (that is Cush) is said to have "first discovered numbers, and the art of reckoning, geometry, and astronomy, the games of chess and hazard" (Ibid.); and it is in all probability from reference to the meaning of the name of Cush, that some called "NUMBER the father of gods and men" (Ibid.). The name Meni is just the Chaldee form of the Hebrew "Mene," the "numberer" for in Chaldee i often takes the place of the final e. As we have seen reason to conclude with Gesenius, that Nebo, the great prophetic god of Babylon, was just the same god as Hermes, this shows the peculiar emphasis of the first words in the Divine sentence that sealed the doom of Belshazzar, as representing the primeval god--"MENE, MENE, Tekel, Upharsin," which is as much as covertly to say, "The numberer is numbered." As the cup was peculiarly the symbol of Cush, hence the pouring out of the drink-offering to him as the god of the cup; and as he was the great Diviner, hence the divinations as to the future year, which Jerome connects with the divinity referred to by Isaiah. Now Hermes, in Egypt as the "numberer," was identified with the moon that numbers the months. He was called "Lord of the moon" (BUNSEN); and as the "dispenser of time" (WILKINSON), he held a "palm branch, emblematic of a year" (Ibid.). Thus, then, if Gad was the "sun-divinity," Meni was very naturally regarded as "The Lord Moon."
Meni, or Manai, signifies "The Numberer." And it is by the changes of the moon that the months are numbered: Psalm civ. 19, "He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth the time of its going down." The name of the "Man of the Moon," or the god who presided over that luminary among the Saxons, was Mane, as given in the "Edda," and Mani, in the "Voluspa." That it was the birth of the "Lord Moon" that was celebrated among our ancestors at Christmas, we have remarkable evidence in the name that is still given in the lowlands of Scotland to the feast on the last day of the year, which seems to be a remnant of the old birth festival for the cakes then made are called Nur-Cakes, or Birth-cakes. That name is Hogmanay. Now, "Hog-Manai" in Chaldee signifies "The feast of the Numberer"; in other words, the festival of Deus Lunus, or of the Man of the Moon. To show the connection between country and country, and the inveterate endurance of old customs, it is worthy of remark, that Jerome, commenting on the very words of Isaiah already quoted, about spreading "a table for Gad," and "pouring out a drink-offering to Meni," observes that it "was the custom so late as his time [in the fourth century], in all cities especially in Egypt and at Alexandria, to set tables, and furnish them with various luxurious articles of food, and with goblets containing a mixture of new wine, on the last day of the month and the year, and that the people drew omens from them in respect of the fruitfulness of the year." The Egyptian year began at a different time from ours; but this is a near as possible (only substituting whisky for wine), the way in which Hogmanay is still observed on the last day of the last month of our year in Scotland. I do not know that any omens are drawn from anything that takes place at that time, but everybody in the south of Scotland is personally cognisant of the fact, that, on Hogmanay, or the evening before New Year's day, among those who observe old customs, a table is spread, and that while buns and other dainties are provided by those who can afford them, oat cakes and cheese are brought forth among those who never see oat cakes but on this occasion, and that strong drink forms an essential article of the provision.
Even where the sun was the favourite object of worship, as in Babylon itself and elsewhere, at this festival he was worshipped not merely as the orb of day, but as God incarnate. It was an essential principle of the Babylonian system, that the Sun or Baal was the one only God. When, therefore, Tammuz was worshipped as God incarnate, that implied also that he was an incarnation of the Sun. In the Hindoo Mythology, which is admitted to be essentially Babylonian, this comes out very distinctly. There, Surya, or the sun, is represented as being incarnate, and born for the purpose of subduing the enemies of the gods, who, without such a birth, could not have been subdued. *
See the Sanscrit Researches of Col. VANS KENNEDY. Col. K., a most distinguished Sanscrit scholar, brings the Brahmins from Babylon (Ibid.). Be it observed the very name Surya, given to the sun over all India, is connected with this birth. Though the word had originally a different meaning, it was evidently identified by the priests with the Chaldee "Zero," and made to countenance the idea of the birth of the "Sun-god." The Pracrit name is still nearer the Scriptural name of the promised "seed." It is "Suro." It has been seen, in a previous chapter, that in Egypt also the Sun was represented as born of a goddess.
It was no mere astronomic festival, then, that the Pagans celebrated at the winter solstice. That festival at Rome was called the feast of Saturn, and the mode in which it was celebrated there, showed whence it had been derived. The feast, as regulated by Caligula, lasted five days; * loose reins were given to drunkenness and revelry, slaves had a temporary emancipation, ** and used all manner of freedoms with their masters.
Subsequently the number of the days of the Saturnalia was increased to seven.
** If Saturn, or Kronos, was, as we have seen reason to believe, Phoroneus, "The emancipator," the "temporary emancipation" of the slaves at his festival was exactly in keeping with his supposed character.
[source - The Two Babylon's," by Reverend Alexander Hilsop, Chapter III, which you can read for yourself at philologos.org/__eb-ttb/sect31.htm ]"
CONCLUSION:
Here is something more to think about. True (genuine) Christians are absolute monotheist and reject ALL polytheist tendencies and/or ideas. Here are some articles by others whom I do NOT completely agree with, but contain valuable information you can learn from:
"Monotheism:
The simplest and purest belief that YHVH is one G_d. Not G_d in three or two persons, and not two or three persons in one G_d. Just simply one G_d as one supreme "Self-existent" entity. This is not to say that YHVH cannot Spiritually (mentally) exist in us as a righteous mental attitude or "Mind Set." This is exactly what is meant as having the "Holy Spirit" of YHVH OR being remade "In the Image" of YHVH. While it is true that YHVH is procreating Himself Spiritually; He is only doing so in Righteous Character and not through having sex with a human woman, such as Mary (Miriam). Sex between gods and humans is a totally pagan concept and belief.
In order to be a True G_d, one MUST be "Self-existent," and not be created or born from a mother. Only YHVH is "Self-existent."[source - www.sabbatarian.com/Discl...aimer.html ]"
Obviously, many are ignorant of what the apostate counterfeit Christians did to the true (genuine) Christians as previously shown or they would readily realize that they are two different groups who took entirely different paths. One group which commits atrocities against the other; whereas, the other NEVER commits atrocities. This is clearly revealed in Foxe's Book of Martyrs. We have seen some of these atrocities committed by the apostate counterfeit Christians against those who sought to be true followers of Christ, but of course this is only the 'tip-of-the-iceberg.'
It is high time that you recognize that the Christianity, both genuine and counterfeit (apostate) developed along different lines than Hinduism and many other religions. To wit, as follows:
[1] Counterfeit (apostate) Christianity sold out to paganism to win the favor of a pagan Roman emperor, a worshipper of the Unconquered Sun at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD. Let's look at the facts in brief,
Quote:
Held in 325, this first ecumenical council was convened by Constantine the Great, emperor of Rome, to settle the Arian dispute concerning the nature of Jesus Christ. Of the 1800 bishops in the Roman Empire, 318 attended the council. The Nicene Creed, which defined the Son as consubstantial with the Father, was adopted as the official position of the church regarding the divinity of Christ. The council also fixed the celebration of Easter on the Sunday after the Jewish Pesach, or Passover, and granted to the bishop of Alexandria, Egypt authority in the East in the fashion of Rome's quasi-patriarchal authority, which was not, as sometimes erroneously stated, the same as that of the pope. In this granting of authority lay the origin of the patriarchates throughout the church.[source - Nicaea, Councils of, encarta.msn.com/encyclope...icaea.html ]
This group, as previously shown, has committed many atrocities against the genuine Christians, the true foot step followers of Jesus (Yeshua), and almost everyone else with vicious inquisitions, Crusades, false accusations, burnings at the stake, the rape of Goa, and other wicked forms of persecution.
[2] The genuine Christians who refused to go apostate to win the favor of a pagan Roman emperor, and who are foot step followers of Jesus (Yeshua) who openly recognize what he said at Matthew 22:37-40, "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.
39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (AV). These have committed NO acts of wickedness against others.
Another distinguishing feature of true footstep followers of Christ, genuine Christians is are interested in truly assisting others in knowing more about our savior Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, and are NOT always asking money to build ever bigger edifices and paying ever larger salaries to their ministers. They recognize that the Bible said freely give at Matthew 10:8, "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons: freely ye received, freely give." (ASV).
Apostate (counterfeit) so called Christians, on the other hand, their leaders are always asking for more money and many of them live in great luxury. We can see them in action every Sunday on the radio and the television and their message is always the same, they need more money for God (YHWH). In between this pitch, they superficially discuss some Biblical subject as a cover-up for their money grabbing; who has not for example heard of Praise the Lord Group and Jimmy and Tammy?
But it is not only the so called TV evangelist, the brick and motor churches of the creeds do also. I had one Catholic tell me that he gets pitched for money several times during a service; this is not the exception, but the general rule in all religious services of the mainstream religions (creeds) and in most of the others also. Most pass a contribution plate where everyone can see what they gave so as to 'shame' more money out of everyone, and most never give an accounting for it.
A clear difference, True Christian groups on the other hand never pass a contribution plates and always give an accounting for where or what the money is used for. Also, they do not pay salaries to their ministers as do the creeds.
Genuine Christians, as previously mentioned, serve as ministers and in other functions on an entirely voluntary basis and do NOT draw a salary as they are mindful of what Jesus (Yeshua) Christ said at Matthew 10:8 quoted above and of Revelations 22:17, "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And he that heareth, let him say, Come. And he that is athirst, let him come: he that will, let him take the water of life freely" (American Standard Version; ASV) shows that the waters of life should be free.
.
Whereas, apostate (counterfeit), on the other hand, their ministers and clergy serve for the salaries they draw clearly overlooking what the Apostle Paul said at 2 Corinthians 11:9, "and when I was present with you and was in want, I was not a burden on any man; for the brethren, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my want; and in everything I kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and [so] will I keep [myself]." (ASV); and 2 Thessalonians 3:7, "For yourselves know how ye ought to imitate us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; 8 neither did we eat bread for nought at any man's hand, but in labor and travail, working night and day, that we might not burden any of you:" (ASV).
A clear difference, Thus can be seen, one group gives freely and assist others to learn about our savior, Jesus (Yeshua) Christ, without burdening those being taught; whereas, the counterfeit Christians have leaders that are in effect teachers for hire. Remember 2 Peter 2:15, "forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the [son] of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing;" (ASV) and Jude 11, "Woe unto them! For they went in the way of Cain, and ran riotously in the error of Balaam for hire, and perished in the gainsaying of Korah." (ASV).
Genuine Christians do not participate in traditions that transgress the word of God (YHWH) such as many of the traditions and celebrations of this ungodly world. They are aware of what Jesus (Yeshua) Christ said at Matthew 15:1-9, "Then there come to Jesus from Jerusalem Pharisees and scribes, saying, 2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. 3 And he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God said, Honor thy father and thy mother: and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is given [to God]; 6 he shall not honor his father. And ye have made void the word of God because of your tradition. 7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, 8 This people honoreth me with their lips; But their heart is far from me. 9 But in vain do they worship me, Teaching [as their] doctrines the precepts of men." (ASV), and are careful NOT to follow traditions that transgress the word of God (YHWH).
However, apostate (counterfeit) Go along with the spirit of the world and keep the traditions and celebrations of the world that transgress the word of God (YHWH) such as the celebration of the birth of the Unconquered Sun masquerading as a Christian holiday which it is not. Well does Jesus' (Yeshua's) parable at Matthew 13:13-23 apply to these, "Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; And seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, And their ears are dull of hearing, And their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, And should turn again, And I should heal them. 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and saw them not; and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not. 18 Hear then ye the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, [then] cometh the evil [one], and snatcheth away that which hath been sown in his heart. This is he that was sown by the way side. 20 And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. 22 And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word; and the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (ASV).
A clear difference, True Christians keep the word of God (YHWH); to wit, the Bible as their standard; whereas, the counterfeit Christians strive after the things of the world and keep the traditions of the world and participate in its celebrations and their deceitfulness is shown to be just that at Mark 4:19, "and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful." (ASV).
Genuine Christians only follow the Bible all the way, not halfway or not at all as the various creeds with their false doctrines do. True Christians have no creed and/or church doctrine, but accept and comprehend that the Bible is entirely consistent - both New Testament and Old Testament - and practical for guidance in the way of our lord for our day.
Apostate (counterfeit) Christians on the other hand have their many creeds and false doctrines and often venerate that which is no god at all. They run after the false things of the world and have the teachings of men instead of the teachings of God (YHWH) and his Son, Jesus (Yeshua) for their guidance as shown by 2 Corinthians 4:4, "in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should not dawn [upon them]." (ASV). They teach such doctrines of mankind as the Trinity and Apostolic Succession thus venerating the lie instead of God (YHWH). They willfully over look 1 John 2:15-17, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (ASV).
A clear difference, True Christians follow the Bible and accept the Bible as the Standard God (YHWH) has provided to live by; Whereas, counterfeit Christians do NOT truly accept the Bible and definitely do NOT live by it. They seek after that which belongs to the world and their creeds and false doctrines they love, but make for themselves false prophets and teachers as warned about in 2 Peter 2:1, "But there arose false prophets also among the people, as among you also there shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction." (ASV).
Genuine Christians clearly set themselves apart from the world knowing that the entire world lies in the hands of the Devil as revealed at 1 John 5:19-21, "19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, [even] in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. 21 [My] little children, guard yourselves from idols." (ASV); and are ever mindful of Ephesians 2:2, "And you [did he make alive,] when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins, 2 wherein ye once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the powers of the air, of the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience; 3 among whom we also all once lived in the lust of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest:--" (ASV).
Apostate (counterfeit), However, seek to be a part of the world and its friend in direct violation of the counsel given at James 4:4, "Ye adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore would be a friend of the world maketh himself an enemy of God." (ASV); and 1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." (ASV). False Christians do not keep their form of worship free from the world in keeping with James 1:27, "Pure religion and undefiled before our God and Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep oneself unspotted from the world." (ASV).
A clear difference, The true Christian recognizes that the entire world lies in the power of the Devil and they do NOT seek its association socially as revealed by 1 Peter 4:3-4, "For the time past may suffice to have wrought the desire of the Gentiles, and to have walked in lasciviousness, lusts, winebibbings, revellings, carousings, and abominable idolatries: 4 wherein they think strange that ye run not with [them] into the same excess of riot, speaking evil of [of]:" (ASV); and KEEP the clear admonition given at 1 John 2:15, " Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vain glory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. " (ASV). Whereas, the counterfeit Christian seek the things of the world and DISREGARD the admonition given at Matthew 6:19-33, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 for where thy treasure is, there will thy heart be also. 22 The lamp of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. 23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. 25 Therefore I say unto you, be not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than the food, and the body than the raiment? 26 Behold the birds of the heaven, that they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are not ye of much more value then they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit unto the measure of his life? 28 And why are ye anxious concerning raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: 29 yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God doth so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith? 31 Be not therefore anxious, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? 32 For after all these things do the Gentiles seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. 33 But seek ye first his kingdom, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (ASV).
So as can readily be seen the two groups who took different paths are very different and should NOT BE CONFUSED, one with the other.
Francis David said it long ago, "Neither the sword of popes...nor the image of death will halt the march of truth."Francis David, 1579, written on the wall of his prison cell." Read the book, "What Does The Bible Really Teach" and the Bible today!
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