Immorality Today—And What We Can Do About It

Many are wondering why the world has become so ugly and hate filled—even by those who claim to be God’s people. The Bible gives us a very direct answer:

“Where there is no prophetic vision or divine guidance, the people cast off restraint. But blessed is he who obeys God’s law.” (Proverbs 29:18)

What is this prophetic vision or divine guidance? It is “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.” (Col. 1:26) If a people do not hear and obey God’s Word, then we can only expect society to break down—even within local churches. 

We see it within our own government officials and throughout the world. With the next presidential election coming up this year we hear all kinds of promises from the candidates: Immigration reform, equality for women, ending sex trafficking, Medicare for all, free college education, higher minimum wage, and taxing the wealthy to pay for it all. 

But do you know what won’t be mentioned in any of the speeches? Human rights for children, how to prevent sexual abuse of children and how to protect children from pedophiles living in their own homes or employed at their schools and daycares.

It was recently reported that at least 56 Nebraska educators were linked to sexual misconduct since 2014! Fifty six! And that’s only the ones who were reported! 

At least 74 students or recent high school graduates were victimized. In some cases, the abuse occurred years before the perpetrators were caught!  

• In return for pictures of a 14-year-old student’s naked breasts, a Norfolk student teacher bumped the girl’s grade from a 79 to a 95. (He was only sentenced to six months in jail)

• A Loup City teacher set up a camera in a locker room to spy on high school girls changing their clothes. 

• An Omaha middle school math teacher groomed and then sexually assaulted a female student in his classroom during lunch.

A national expert said less than 10% of abused students tell somebody about the abuse because of fear, guilt or a misguided desire to protect the educator.

(read more at https://www.omaha.com/news/plus/i-m-really-disgusted-to-see-that-number-nebraska-educators/article_3fd2f36a-d6d2-59ae-baab-74fbb029f90c.html)

While many will be outraged by this, (and rightly so) they may be ringing their hands and asking, “How could this happen?” The truth is the reason there is so much immorality today is because God’s Word is not obeyed. And God’s way is perfect. (Psalm 18:30) But the real danger lies in defiling a holy God by transgressing His boundaries. Our God is a God of justice, and “the ways of man are before the eyes of the Jehovah, and all his ways He observes.” (Proverbs 5:21)

Stories of racism and anti-semitism has been in all of the news outlets lately. I just want to say that I love the people of Israel. But I also love the people of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Russia—Just as much as I love the mixed people living in the United States. The problem is not the people, but the political and military leaders of these people. 

It is time that the God fearing people in the world today put away their hate, repent, turn back to God and pray for our enemies. Remember: 

“You are far across the ocean in a war that’s your own—And while you’re winning theirs, you’re gonna lose the one at home—Do you really think the only way to bring about the peace—Is to sacrifice your children and kill all your enemies?” — Great American Novel by Larry Norman

 

 

What Are We Really Celebrating?

This month, many will gather around the dinner table to celebrate Thanksgiving. For many Americans, the Thanksgiving meal includes seasonal dishes such as roast turkey with stuffing, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, yams and pumpkin pie.

For years we have been taught that in 1620 the Pilgrims sailed from England on the Mayflower to escape religious persecution and landed at what became Plymouth, Massachusetts. Over 1/2 of them died during the winter of 1620—even though by local standards, that winter was a fairly mild one. The Plymouth settlers were inexperienced at farming and not used to being exposed to the elements. The next year, with the help of the local natives, the pilgrims celebrated their first good harvest and invited a group of Native American allies to celebrate with them. The feast lasted three days. And ever since then, as the story goes, Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, this is a celebration that is based on a lie.

So what’s the true version of what happened?

The notion that the first Thanksgiving was some kind of cross-cultural love-fest, as it has been portrayed, has even been disputed by historians, who say that the settlers and the Indians were brought together more by their mutual need than by genuine friendship. The two struggling communities were never more than wary allies against other tribes. More like, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”.

The colonists were actually contemptuous of the Indians, who they regarded as uncivilized, paganistic heathens, and the fragile early peace between Native Americans and the early settlers would soon unravel into a horrific slaughter. When their “Native American allies” were celebrating their own green corn festival, a band of Puritans descended on their village and shot, clubbed and burned alive over 700 native men, women and children.

This slaughter, according to Robert Jensen, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, was the real origin of Thanksgiving—so proclaimed in 1637 by Massachusetts Bay Governor John Winthrop in gratitude for God’s destruction of the defenseless Pequot village. Thereafter massacres of the Indians were routinely followed by “days of thanksgiving.”

Native Americans and Israel

Although many of the early European settlers saw the Native Americans as savages (and treated them accordingly), others believed them to be the lost ten tribes of Israel. William Penn, for whom the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is named, was one who believed strongly that Native Americans came from the stock of Israelites. He was well known for his good relationships and successful treaties with the natives.

Although many Jewish scholars and historians have disputed this for years, the similarities between Israelite and Native American culture are remarkable:

They both worship one God. (Or one Great Spirit) Both groups were minorities in the face of enemy oppression—The Native Americans faced off against the expanding European colonists, while the Israelites were crushed by the powers of the Assyrians and Babylonians. Both groups have faced slavery, exile and the threat of genocide throughout history.

But what I find particularly remarkable is the similarities between Native American feasts and celebrations and God’s feasts set in the Bible. Both the Native American celebrations and the biblical Fall Feast Days typically coincide in the late summer and early fall and are tied to the ripening and harvesting of crops. They are both marked with dancing, feasting, fasting and religious observations. Activities vary from tribe to tribe, but the common thread is giving proper thanks to God.

In 1973 Dr. Joseph Mahan, an expert in ancient Indian ethnology of the southeastern Indians of the United States, discovered that the Yuchi tribe of Florida and Georgia amazingly showed strong evidence that they had contact with some form of Judaism in historic times. They had a custom that every year on the fifteenth day of the sacred month of harvest, in the fall, for eight days they lived in “booths” with roofs open to the sky, covered with branches and leaves and foliage. During this festival, they danced around the sacred fire, and called upon the name of God.

The ancient Israelites had virtually the identical custom in many respects. In the harvest season in the fall, on the 15th day of the seventh month, (Tishri) Jews and Torah observant believers celebrate the festival of booths for eight days. (Also known as the Feast of Tabernacles, or Sukkot in Hebrew) They live in temporary booths, covered with branches and leaves from “goodly trees”. This festival, and many others, goes back to the time of Moses and the Exodus from ancient Egypt. (See Leviticus 23)

Dr. Cyrus Gordon, of Brandeis University in Boston, was privileged to sit in on one of the fall harvest festivals of the Yuchi Indians, and listened to their chants, songs, and sacred ceremonies. An expert in Hebrew, Minoan, and many Middle Eastern languages, he was incredulous as he listened to the chants. He exclaimed to his companion, “They are speaking the Hebrew names for God!”

How is it that two totally separated peoples observe the identical custom? And since it has been a long standing custom during Sukkot to invite friends and family to share a meal inside their Sukkah, or shelter, is it possible that it was the Native Americans who invited the Pilgrims to celebrate their own fall harvest feast, and not the other way around?

Summary: 

In any civilization, error can be present, and false spirituality can arise. While I am not suggesting that Thanksgiving should become the occasion for a yearly guilt trip, we would do well to remember, as we sit around the bountiful table with our family and friends, the high price the first indigenous Americans paid for European expansion into their territories. Only by openly acknowledging the sins of our collective past, is it possible to proceed toward a future that all Americans can feel thankful for.

We need to de-program ourselves from arrogantly thinking that God would only want to reveal himself (and his laws) to just one part of his creation. We need to realize that God wants ALL of his creation to know him as Father, Creator and supplier of all our needs.

It is also worthy to note that the Native Americans themselves did not choose to identity themselves with the oppressed Jews, but outside powers did that for them.

It is clear that Native Americans possess a special spirituality, that should remind us of the holy teachings given by God—if we would only study God’s holy word and listen to his small, still voice.

Israel and the Jews

It is very important for every student of the Bible, in fact, it is absolutely necessary for every Christian, to see the distinction the Bible makes between the Jews (The House of Judah) and the other Tribes of Israel. (The House of Israel)

Many people today suppose that where Israel is mentioned in the Bible, it means the Jews. We read articles and hear sermons today in which the writers and speakers refer to Abraham as a Jew. Isaac and Jacob are often called Jews. But that is an impossible thing as we shall see from the Scriptures.

Thousands of Christians use the terms Israel, Jew, The House of Israel, and The House of Judah, as if the Bible always refers to the same people. But according to Biblical history, there were no people known as Jews until about 15 centuries AFTER Abraham was born, and until 600 years after the death of Moses!

Most Hebrews are not Jews

Beginning with Adam, we have not only the chronology, but the genealogical tables of the Bible. There are ten generations from Adam to Noah, and ten generations from Shem, Noah’s son, to Abraham. Eber or Heber (or descendants of Heber) was the fourth in the generation from Shem. All of the descendants of Heber were Hebrews. Abraham wasn’t born until six generations later. He, therefore, was a Hebrew. The Hebrews were not Jews, because Judah, from whom the Jews descended, was not yet born! When that time came, there were a very small portion of Jews on the earth. And the great mass of Hebrews were not Jews then, and are not today. Let us closely follow the facts.

Sons of Abraham

Abraham had eight sons. One son was Ishmael whose mother was Hagar. One son was Isaac, whose mother was Sarah. After Sarah’s death, Abraham married Keturah, and she bore unto him six sons. Abraham, being a Hebrew, his descendants would of course be Hebrews; and their descendants would also be Hebrews. But their descendants are not Jews. If they were, that would make the Arabs Jews!

Now Isaac had two sons, Esau and Jacob. If Isaac was a Jew, then both Esau and Jacob would be Jews. This would make the descendants of Esau also Jews, but the descendants of Esau became the Edomites, and later the Turks. Also the Pharaohs who oppressed the Hebrews were of the line of Esau, but none of these people were Jews.

To call Abraham a Jew would make him a descendant of Isaac’s yet unborn grandson Judah! The Tribe of Judah had no existence on earth during the time of Abraham and Isaac. If Isaac was a Jew, then surely his twin sons, Jacob and Esau would be Jews. We all know that Esau, Jacob’s twin brother, became the father of the Arab nations as they are known today. If Jacob was a Jew, how could it be that his twin brother would not also be a Jew, since they were both born of the same father and mother?

Descendants do not name their ancestors 

Jacob, one of these twin brothers had 12 sons, which came from four different mothers. None of these 12 sons were Jews. One of his 12 sons was Judah, but this racial type or remnant we know as the Jews is only a small portion of the descendants of Judah. There are no Jews among any of the descendants of Jacob’s other 11 sons.

Now Judah had three sons. The descendants of one son, Zarah, peopled the shores of the Mediterranean, leaving Egypt before the exodus of the children of Israel. Pharez, the twin brother of Zarah, became the father of the tribe of Judah. The tribe of Judah descending from Pharez was divided by the Lord into two Houses—the “House of David” and the “House of Judah.”

Abraham was the father of Isaac; Isaac was the father of Jacob; Jacob, who was later named “Israel,” and became the father of Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin. The 12 sons each became the head of a Tribe called after his own personal name. From Judah, the fourth son of Jacob, are descended the Jews. The word “Jew” being simply an abbreviation of the name “Judah.” A glance at the genealogy will show that it is impossible for Abraham, or Isaac, or Jacob to have been Jews.

Only the descendants of Judah—those coming after him—could be called by his name, not his ancestors. No one had ever been named Judah until more than 200 years after Abraham was named! Many parents give their sons the same name as a great grandfather or other ancestors. Your ancestor who lived two hundred years before you would not be named after you, but you would be named after your ancestor. So naming Jacob’s fourth son Judah would not make Abraham, his great grandfather, a Jew.

Israel and Judah are separate nations

The 12 Tribes of Israel became two nations, with widely different destinies, until the time when they will be united in the coming age. (Ezekiel 37:22) The distinction or separation between Judah and Israel was foreshadowed at an early date. We read in Psalm 114:1, 2 “When Israel went out of Egypt…Judah became His sanctuary and Israel His dominion.” In Samuel’s day, the two Houses, Judah and Israel, were numbered separately. In I Samuel 11:8 we read “And when he numbered them in Bezek, the children of Israel were three hundred thousands and the men of Judah thirty thousand.” Notice that Israel and Judah were numbered separately. And even at this early date, Israel numbered ten times more than Judah. The contrast today is even greater. The Bible tells us that the Jews would be “few in number,” (Jeremiah 44:28) but it tells us that Israel would become a multitude as the sands of the sea. (Hosea 1:10)

The Scriptures tell us that David reigned seven years over Judah before he was made King over Israel. If Judah and Israel are the same, how could David be king for seven years over Judah before he was made King over Israel? Until the year 975 B.C. the descendants of Jacob formed one nation. But they are spoken of as “the two families which the Lord hath chosen”. (Jeremiah 33:24)

In the year 975 B.C. at the death of King Solomon, the nation was divided into two nations. In I Samuel 18:16 Israel and Judah are separated in this passage: “But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he went out and came in before them.” In II Chronicles 10:12-14 we are told that when Solomon died, and his son Rehoboam came to the throne, the ten tribes rebelled, and under Jereboam, formed the Northern Nation; while Judah, along with Benjamin and certain Levites, formed the Southern Nation.

The ten tribes of Israel are never called Jews

The Northern Nation, which consisted of the Ten Tribes of Israel were not Jews and nothing can be more unscriptural than to call all Israelites Jews; it is as absurd as calling all Americans Californians! Most Israelites are not Jews because they are the descendants of the other tribes of Israel. The term “Jew” is never used until more than a thousand years after Abraham. It appears for the first time in II Kings 16:6, where we are told that the King of Israel, together with the King of Assyria, made war against the King of Judah. Now if the Israelites and the Jews are one and the same, how could it wage war against itself? The Scriptures never once refer to the Ten-Tribed House of Israel as “The Jews;” neither past, present, nor future.

The ten lost tribes of Israel

The subject of the lost tribes of Israel is a study of great interest. Yet it is remarkable to me that there is little or no serious enquiry in Christian circles regarding the fate of the ten tribes. Two perplexing questions continue to captivate Bible scholars and students alike: How is it that so little is known of the ten tribes of Israel, and why has so little enquiry taken place concerning them? This may well be because the devil has succeeded in frustrating any serious research into the matter.

The distinction between the two nations of Judah and Israel began before their final separation under Jeroboam, and Rehoboam. You will find in 2 Samuel 2, that David was anointed king over Judah only, while Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, was made king over all Israel. Immediately after the death of Solomon, and from that time to the present Judah and Israel have remained absolutely distinct. They were carried into captivity separately, at different times and by different nations: Israel was taken in captivity by the Assyrians B.C. 721 (2 Kings 17:6), while Judah was carried into captivity by the Babylonians B.C. 588 (2 Kings 25:21). A portion of Judah was permitted to return after seventy years, as had been predicted (Ezra 2:1), but Israel never returned nor was there any prediction that they should return until the final glorious restoration at the return of Messiah.

The descendants of the tribes of Israel certainly exist, the question is, Where? The Jews we know, but where is Israel? Some people assert that God has cut Israel out of His divine program, and replaced Israel with the Church. But in Jeremiah 31:35-36 we read:

“Thus saith the Lord, which giveth the sun for a light by day and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar: The Lord of Hosts is His name: If those ordinances (that is the sun and moon and stars) depart from before me, saith the Lord, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.”

This passage distinctly declares that while sun and moon and stars exist the nation of Israel will remain before God. Where are the ten tribes? Where is the nation of Israel? Which nation on earth today represents them? I have learned that if we really want to know about God’s people, the Bible is the book in which to look; let us, therefore, go to the Bible for the history of God’s chosen people Israel. Unless God’s promises have failed, Israel must still be in existence today.

It is perfectly clear that Israel, who had been dispersed for more than 700 years, was much in Jesus’ mind during His three years’ ministry upon earth. Because many references to Israel were made by Him. Christ Himself declared in Matthew 15:24 regarding His own mission: “He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

Again our Lord says in Matthew 21:43: “Therefore say I unto you (He was speaking to the Jews), the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation (the Jews had long since ceased to be a nation) bringing forth the fruits thereof.”

The Jews themselves evidently understood His statements, for in John 7:35 we read: “Then said the Jews among themselves, Whither will He go, that we shall not find Him? Will He go unto the dispersed among the Gentiles, and teach the Gentiles?” (The word “Gentile” is derived from the Hebrew word “Goyim” and means non-Jew i.e.; not from the tribe of Judah)

Israel was evidently in the minds of the apostles themselves. On the day of the ascension they asked Him: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6)

Scripture appears to me to furnish strong evidence that the Anglo-Saxon race today are the physical descendants of the house of Israel. If this be true, it adds tremendously to our responsibilities—spiritual responsibilities as well as temporal responsibilities, and will open to us possibilities that no human tongue can describe.

Let none of us, however, be so taken up with the literal fulfillment of prophecy that we forget the spiritual interpretation of it. For this reason it is extremely important that those who study this subject should be filled with the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fullness of spiritual blessings that goes with it.

Remember what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:16-18: “…if the root is holy, the branches are too. But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you…”

Therefore, as we learn day by day to see more evidences of the fulfillment of these prophecies, may God possess in us individually and collectively, and in the thousands of others who in one body of men and women, the ability to yield to Him in heart and life and learn to do His will, proclaim His truth, and glorify His name.

“These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL in mount Sinai.” (Leviticus 27:34)

“For this commandment that I command you today is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend to heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’ But the word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that YOU CAN DO IT!” (Deuteronomy 30:11-14)   (Emphasis mine)

Observing Or Attending God’s Feast of Tabernacles?

This week signaled the beginning of Sukkot, (Feast of Tabernacles) and many will be attending the Feast at various campgrounds around the country.

Each of the three major festivals, the sacred seasons sanctified by God, are designated in Scripture. And each one possess a special quality even today. Passover, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, is known as “the time of our freedom;” this is the holiday of national emancipation. Shavuot, the anniversary of the Sinai Revelation, is “the time of the giving of our Torah.” During these holidays, the entire nation of Israel made the pilgrimage up to Jerusalem and the Holy Temple.

The Lord said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work. (These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing food offerings to the Lord—the burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings required for each day. These offerings are in addition to those for the Lord’s Sabbaths and in addition to your gifts and whatever you have vowed and all the freewill offerings you give to the Lord.) “So beginning with the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days; the first day is a day of sabbath rest, and the eighth day also is a day of sabbath rest. On the first day you are to take branches from luxuriant trees—from palms, willows and other leafy trees—and rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. Celebrate this as a festival to the Lord for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. Live in temporary shelters for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in such shelters so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in temporary shelters when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 23:33-44)

It is appropriate that the Festival of Sukkot is referred to as “the time of our joy.” For although it is marked by the observance of special, highly visible commandments such as the “four species” (referred to by the Jewish people as the lulav) and dwelling in huts, commemorating a specific period in Jewish history, (When Israel dwelt in huts in the wilderness) nonetheless, the central theme of this season is the pure joy of having a relationship with our Creator.

Now, some sages have stated that those original “huts” of that generation were actually God’s Clouds of Glory, which He spread over Israel in His protection and Divine grace. (BT Sukkah 11:B; Rashi) Whether or not this statement is taken literally is irrelevant—for what it symbolizes is a concept that not only personifies the very essence of this holiday, but the essence of our faith in God as well.

That is why Sukkot is marked by such great joy in Israel. Of all the sacred seasons that God commanded Israel to observe, the festival of Tabernacles has the strongest implications for the nations of the world. Even today, vast numbers of Gentiles identify with the holiday of Sukkot, and converge on Jerusalem just to be in the holy city at this time of year. It is as if their heartstrings are pulled by some invisible force.

And yet here in the United States Sukkot has become more like so many of the Christian music festivals—complete with all the venders and money changers profiting from those attending. Is this any different than when Jesus chased away the money changers from the Temple? (Matthew 21:12-13)

For that reason we observe the Feast at home. We stay home and study the Scriptures and do the best we can to capture the spirit and joy of the Feast.

Notice that the Scripture commands us to OBSERVE His feasts, not just ATTEND His feasts. We are commanded to observe the Sabbath and the festivals, even if we are unable to attend a service. It isn’t ideal, but when one is unable to attend the Feast or Sabbath services during times of sickness or other hardship, one can still observe them at home.

God intends that we experience the Feast of Tabernacles in a place that He has chosen. He expects us to attend the Feast when feasible, but it is possible to ATTEND the Feast and not properly OBSERVE the Feast. I’m afraid that at times some have treated the Feast as they would a music festival or vacation—simply time away from home and the normal schedule.

Having observed the Feast at home, I can tell you that when you’re alone with your family, you are forced to consider the spiritual meaning of the Feast in a different way. I am not advocating that you stay away from attending God’s festival at one of the many campgrounds, but I am happy that I learned to observe the Feast before ever attending the Feast. And I believe it made a difference.

I sincerely encourage you to observe the Feast. And if you feel the need to attend the Feast, remember, it’s not a vacation, or a music festival, but a holy assembly. It should be the highlight of your year. Above all, I pray that this Feast will be spiritually rewarding and bring you great joy—indeed, the greatest joy you’ve ever known! Don’t just attend the Feast this year, but make sure you also observe it as God commanded.