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Top Ten Lies
of the Church
“Do
not be deceived,” James 1:16-17
Have
you been mislead? Is your faith real?
Scripture, encyclopedias, history, dictionaries, and general
knowledge supports everything presented in this teaching. You
are not reading someone’s opinions, but the facts. Study
to show yourself approved. And please, please, don’t believe
the Top 10 Lies of the Church:
Lie # 10: Sunday is the Sabbath
From the 10 Commandments we learn “ Remember the Sabbath
day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all
thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy
God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor
thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle,
nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the
LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is,
and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath
day, and hallowed it,” Exodus, chapter 20
Now, compare this verse to a calendar. What day is the seventh?
Sunday is clearly the first day of the week and therefore cannot
be the Biblical Sabbath! The Savior kept the seventh day Sabbath
and so did the apostles, including Paul. “And because
he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for
by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in
the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the
Greeks. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching
the word of God among them,”- Acts, chapter 18:3,4,11.
Paul’s actions were the same as the Savior’s: to
be in the synagogue on the Sabbath. “Now when they had
passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica,
where was a synagogue of the Jews: And Paul, as his manner was,
went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them
out of the scriptures,” -- Acts, chapter 17:1,2.
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up:
and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath
day, and stood up for to read,” Luke, chapter 4:16.
From creation, the Seventh day has been Saturday. Mankind has
not lost track of time, nor confused which day is which. Nowhere
in the Bible is the day of worship changed from Saturday to
Sunday. This change was not made by the Almighty, but by the
Roman Catholic Church.
“Prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep
Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law
of the Roman Catholic Church alone. Chapter 20, verse 8 of Exodus
says ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’
The Catholic Church says not, but by its divine power it abolishes
the Sabbath day and commands we 'keep holy the first day of
the week'. And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in reverent
obedience to the command of the Holy Catholic Church,”
wrote Father Thomas Enrich, in the Roman Catholic journal The
American Sentinel.
It is very important that we dedicate the seventh day for rest
and worship. Honoring any other day than the seventh as the
Sabbath is a direct violation of one of the Ten Commandments.
Of those who do this, the Savior said, "But in vain they
do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men,”
Matthew, chapter 15:9
Lie # 9: The rapture
Do a Bible search for the word “rapture.” Go ahead,
flip through some Bible pages and look for the word. No luck?
This term just can’t be found in the Scriptures. It isn’t
in the Bible. Anywhere. The idea of Christians being suddenly
taken to heaven comes from preachers who misinterpret 1 Thessalonians
- “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump
of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which
are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in
the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever
be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words,”
I Thessalonians 4:16,17.
Many churches now teach that believers will suddenly disappear
at the beginning of a seven-year period of Tribulation. The
time of the anti-Christ will then begin, until the visible Second
Coming of the Savior. Yet, this doctrine is fairly new when
compared to the major tenets of the Christian faith.
The false teaching of the pre-tribulation rapture first surfaced
around the 1830’s. This is when a thirteen-year old little
girl had a vision that those baptized in the Spirit would be
raptured before the antichrist came to power. She also saw that
a second group of believers would then be raptured at the end
of the tribulation. About the same time, a book was released
about the Savior coming first to rapture His church and then,
again to defeat the anti-Christ. Bible publisher C.I. Scofield
promoted these ideas in his popular study bible, and the Church
hasn’t looked back since. From movies to TV preachers
to best-selling books, the church is taken with the pre-tribulation
rapture theology.
The New Testament does speak of a certain event taking place,
“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed,” 1 Corinthians,
chapter 15:52.
Again, many suppose this is the sudden disappearance of Christians.
Is this really what Paul meant? No. The Bible does not teach
a pre-tribulation catching away where unbelievers are “left
behind.” Man teaches this. Don’t get caught up,
in this false hope. Strengthen your faith for whatever the future
holds.
Lie # 8: “Jesus” is the Savior’s name
Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of the Christ,”
detailed the last hours of the life of Messiah. The film was
recorded totally in the ancient languages of Latin and Aramaic.
Throughout the blockbuster, the Savior is called “Y’shua”
in Aramaic. This further shows that Jesus is not Savior’s
name. Just think about it, how could the Jewish Messiah have
an English name?
When the angel spoke to Mary and Joseph about the pregnancy,
the Hebrew-speaking couple was told that the Savior’s
name was “Yahshua,” meaning “Salvation is
of YHWH.” (more on the phrase YHWH to follow)
One basic reason that the name Jesus is not correct is that
the English language is not that old. Moses did not speak King
James English. And the Savior’s name could not start with
a “j” because it simply did not exist. There isn’t
even a Hebrew letter sound similar to “j.”
The King of the Jews was given a Jewish name. Christianity has
used the name of Jesus for so long, that few people stop to
question how a Hebrew Messiah could have an a Greek/English
name. When the Messiah walked this earth, He was never called
“Jesus.” His name was, and is, Yahshua. From this
point forward, this teaching will refer to Him by His true name.
The name “Jesus” is derived from the Greek name
“Ieasus,” which actually means “son of Zeus.”
Sadly, when people call upon the name of Jesus they are actually
speaking of Greek mythology. The Bible clearly reveals that
salvation is available in only one name: “Neither is there
salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved,” Acts, chapter
4:12. What is found in English Bibles is a fake name. Mel Gibson
was right after all.
Lie # 7: Just ask “Jesus” into your heart
and you will be saved
Evangelical churches’ message of salvation is pretty simple.
They say to just “ask Jesus into your heart and you will
be saved.” This message is so simple, that it can be understood
by people of all ages. However, the idea of a fast and convenient
salvation is a lie.
The Savior Himself never told anyone to pray the “Sinner’s
prayer.” Nor can a single person in the New Testament
be found asking Yahshua "into their heart". Even the
criminal on the cross, who died beside the Savior, didn’t
ask Yahshua into his heart. Yet, to this thief, Yahshua said,
“today you will be with me in paradise.” Asking
the Savior into your heart is an invention of man, aiding in
the gospel of fire insurance. Promoting this heresy is promising
a “get out of hell free card” to anyone who repeats
a prayer. Sorry, but there is more to salvation than saying
a prayer. The prayer of repentance is not some magical incantation
that grants us access to heaven. Salvation is “by grace
through faith” in the Savior. We must enter into agreement
with him about our sinfulness, turn from our wrongdoing, and
pursue His Kingdom. Trusting in the atoning sacrifice of Yahshua
is the only path to salvation. This trust might begin with a
prayer, but is shouldn’t end there.
Lie # 6: The Jews killed Jesus
Anti-Semitism is the ugly hatred of anything Jewish. “Anti-Semitism
has its roots planted deep in the soil of the world religions
of Christianity and Islam. Both of these claim to be the “true”
religion of the Scriptures and claim to have replaced Judaism.
Christianity, as it now exists, claims to be the “New
Israel” and they claim the “New Covenant”
has replaced the inferior “Old Covenant”. The “New
Testament “god is one of love and grace, while the god
of the “Old” is judgmental and shows no mercy to
the sinner. The Torah is bondage and their anti-Torah teachings
are called freedom in “Christ”. Their Messiah came
to free the Jews from the law and to put an end to their legalistic
religion. According to their doctrines, Yahshua came to stop
all tradition and Torah observance. In their mixed up world,
the “Church” replaces Yisrael and the Jews are destined
for hell-fire unless they convert to their brand of Christianity.
The Christian religion claims to love the Jewish people, yet
their history only proves their distain and persecution of the
Jews,” wrote Rabbi Ed Nydle.
Sadly, for many years anti-Semitism has been taught in the church
by suggesting that the Jewish people killed the savior. This
idea breeds dislike and disgust of the Hebrew people.
The Jews did not kill Yahshua. Nor did the Romans. No one took
Yahshua’s life from Him. He gave up His life freely for
all mankind. “I lay down My life that I may take it again.
No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own
initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority
to take it up again,” John 10:17-18. Don’t blame
the Jews! Don’t harbor anti-Semitism. The Hebrew people
were and are the chosen people of YHWH.
Lie # 5: The Law has been done away with
Like a boxing battle for truth, this lie has probably bruised
and beaten more people than any other. In one corner is the
church that proclaims the law is legalism and has been nailed
to the cross. In the other corner is the Messiah who said, "Think
not that I have come to abolish the Law and the prophets; I
have come not to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly,
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota,
not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these Commandments
and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of
heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven,” Matthew 5: 17-19. The
issue seems pretty plain doesn’t it? Heaven and earth
are still here, so the Law must be too! What was wrong to do
during the times of Moses is still wrong. What was commanded
during the time Moses is still commanded today.
Many misunderstand and misquote Paul about this subject. Yet,
if Savior didn’t do away with the Law how could Paul?
Grace and faith have not taken the Law’s place. Consider
these verses on the subject:
- "Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid:
yea, we establish the law," Romans 3:31
- "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that
grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to
sin, live any longer therein," Romans 6:1-2
- “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy,
and just, and good," Romans 7:12
- “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
for sin is the transgression of the law," 1 John 3: 4
Part of the misunderstanding concerning this subject is in how
we view the term “law.” For many, the idea of “law”
seems to be like a binding set of rules that hinder enjoyment.
Don’t think like this. Consider instead the Law to be
like a stoplight that allows life, cautions when things aren’t
going right, and stops dangerous behavior. Just read Psalm 119
for insight on how we should approach the Law of Moses.
So, don’t call it “law” anymore. This word
is a horrible translation of the Hebrew. Instead of referring
to the commandments as laws, use the Hebrew term “Torah.”
Torah is the ancient Hebrew word for teaching and instructions.
Torah is more like instruction manual than it is a rulebook.
Found within the Torah is our blueprint for living, with information
on pretty much every part of life, from what to eat, to how
to dress, and when to worship. “Christians usually call
the Torah "the Law," because most English translations
of scripture translate Torah as Law. The reason this came about
is because some rabbis translated the Hebrew Scriptures into
Greek, called the Septuagint. The Septuagint translated Torah
into the Greek word Nomia. Nomia was used in Greek culture to
mean an unalterable law. Following this tradition, the Greek
New Testament also used nomia to signify the Torah. The Torah
is unalterable, and technically it is Law, since breaking it
does have penal consequences. (Remember, this includes all that
God gave to the Prophets.) However, the Torah is first of all
the teaching of a protective parent, the Most High Father, Abba,
who loves His children enough to preserve them in righteousness,”
wrote David M. Hargis.
Lie # 4: The Church
The word “church” originally comes from an Old English
term “kirke.” Long ago, the Anglo-Saxons used to
refer to their pagan places of worship as a “kirke.”
When the Anglo-Saxons accepted Christianity, they simply continued
to call their worship centers kirkes, which eventually evolved
into “churches.” The word “church” is
in fact a pagan term that describes a pagan worship system founded
by man.
Early believers were never called “church goers”
or even “Christians.” The faith in Messiah was originally
just a sect of Judaism. The first believers were called “Nazarenes”
or “Followers of the Way.” In Paul’s trial
before Felix, the lawyer for the prosecution said, “We
have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots
among the Jews all over the world. He is a ring leader of the
Nazarene sect,” Acts 24: 5.
So when did the church start? Catholics proclaim that the church
began when the Savior commissioned Peter to become the first
Pope. They believe the apostles were the original Catholics
who lead the early believers to start the new religion of Christianity.
They reasoned that since the Jews killed, God had now turned
his attention to the rest of the world. “After the crucifixion,
the apostles passed to the Early Church Fathers, the Faith.
Later Emperors, like Constantine, and Monarchs accepted the
Creed; their subjects followed. That's how it started,”
says one web site. It was Roman Emperor Constantine who mandated
Christianity to be the universal religion. Before he did this
though, he made huge changes in the faith. Constantine gave
several edicts that would separate the church from Biblical
Judaism. These decrees mandated ancient pagan practices, like
Christmas, Communion, Easter, and Sun day worship, as “Christian.”
In the preface to Edward Gibbon's History of Christianity, we
read: "If Paganism was conquered by Christianity, it is
equally true that Christianity was corrupted by Paganism. The
pure Deism of the first Christians; was changed, by the Church
of Rome, into the incomprehensible dogma of the trinity. Many
of the pagan tenets, invented by the Egyptians and idealized
by Plato, were retained as being worthy of belief."
Lie
# 3: Christianity
If the term “church” is incorrect, what about “Christianity?”
Isn’t our faith just another denomination of Christianity?
No. Even the using the word “Christianity” is another
mistake that needs to be exposed. Again, the earliest believers
were called “Nazarenes.” The saints were only called
“Christians” by those who did not understand the
faith! The Bible shows though, that for a follower of Messiah,
being called a “Christian” is not a good thing.
The word “Christian” can be found only a few times
in the Bible. The three times it is used, are to describe a
totally separate religion than the Biblical faith.
Christianity, as a religious system, has been perverted by paganism
and corrupted by man. Everyone misled by traditional Christianity
are not evil. The system itself is.
In our Bibles, the word “Christian” is derived from
the Greek “Khristos.” Kristos is a popular ancient
Egyptian god, better known as Horus. “Khristos”
also means, “anointed one” in Greek. Confusion set
in as outsiders mistook early followers of the Savior as members
of another group that worshipped “Krist.”
Interestingly there are many similarities between the pagan
god of Krist and the Christian version of Jesus. For example,
Greek mythology tells of Krist bring born to the virgin Isis
on December 25. This confusion isn’t new. The apostle
Peter understood the confusion surrounding Krist and Christ
when he wrote, “Yet if any of you suffers as a Khristian,
do not consider it a disgrace,” I Peter 4:16. The other
places the term “Kristian” appears in the Bible
are:
- Acts 11: 25, “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for
Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. So for
a whole year Barnabas and Saul met with the church and taught
great numbers of people. The disciples were first (mistakenly)
called Khristians at Antioch.”
- Acts 26: 28, “Agrippa said to Paul, "Are you so
quickly persuading me to become a Khristian?"
Lie # 2: The Trinity
This doctrine of the church just doesn’t make any sense.
Many different Trinitarian ideas exist, which generally present
the Godhead as three persons. This doctrine says that the Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost are separate but each equally “god.”
This is very confusing! Even the Encyclopedia Americana notes
that the doctrine of the Trinity is considered to be “beyond
the grasp of human reason.” When questioned about this
doctrine, most preachers respond that we should “just
believe” and that we might not every really understand
the trinity.
Not surprisingly, the word Trinity cannot be found in the Bible.
And it wasn’t formally a part of church doctrine until
the 4th century, when the Catholic Church first began teaching
god as being in three separate persons. The New Catholic Encyclopedia
says, “the Trinity is not directly and immediately the
word of God. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught
in the Old Testament." The Savior himself said, “Eternal
life is this: to know you, the only true God, and Jesus whom
you have sent,” John 17:30. It is pretty clear that Messiah
didn’t believe in the Trinity.
The truth is, that the Bible doesn’t teach the trinity.
What the Bible teaches is Unity. The Father, Son, and Spirit
are One. Devarim 6:4, “Hear O Israel YHWH our God is the
one, the only YHWH.” Paul wrote that “God is only
one,” in Galatians 3:20. "I am YHWH your God; You
shall have no gods except me,” Exodus 20: 2,3. The Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit are not three separate persons with different
personalities. The Father is not some upset parent ready to
strike disobedient people with a lightening bolt. The Son did
not come to save us from His angry Father. The Savior came,
as an expression of the Father’s love, to save us from
our sins.
Lie # 1: The LORD our GOD
Throughout this teaching, the words “god” and “lord”
have been used to describe the recipient of Christian worship.
Sadly, even these terms are a lie. They shouldn’t have
been used. God’s name is not the “Lord.” When
a person uses these generic terms, they are actually referring
to the false Babylonian deity of good fortune or luck. This
is according to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and Dictionary
#H1407-1411. This claim is further validated by the Oxford Etymological
Dictionary of the English Language. This dictionary teaches
that ‘god’ comes to modern English from the ancient
Sanskrit language meaning – “to invoke by incantation,
sorcery, magic.”
Please understand that the English word “god” has
been falsely used as a substitute of the Father’s real
name for centuries. This is in prohibition to Exodus 23:13 that
says we are to, “make no mention of the name of other
gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.” God is
not the Creator’s name, is not His title, is not a substitute,
is not a translation, and is not what He desires to be called.
Just ask any person on the street “Who is god?”
and you will get a variety of answers. Most people will say
that he is a “supreme being,” others will argue
god’s name is “Allah” or “Jehovah.”
Most people though, view god from the background and teaching
of their religious affiliation. The truth is that “God”
is the source of worship for those involved in Wicca and Christianity.
Even some people claim to be god! It is both amazing and troubling
that the Muslims and the Masons both call their being of worship
“god.”
It makes no difference whether or not the “g” in
god is capitalized. Using this general term for the creator
is in violation of Exodus 20:7, which tells us not to take the
name of the LORD in vain. Surely calling him the name of a pagan
deity is defaming His character and taking His name in vain.
The Encyclopedia Americana says under the topic “God:
that “god is a common Teutonic word for personal object
of religious worship, formerly applicable to super-human beings
of heathen myth.” While further research reveals that
the Druids called the sun Gud, Gudh, Goth, or Gott which where
translated into English as “gawd” or “god.”
So, if we shouldn’t call the Most High “god”
then what should we call him? Well, why not call Him by His
real name as revealed in the Bible as “YHWH,” which
is usually pronounced “Yahweh.” (YHWH is the English
equivalent to the Hebrew letters yod, hey, wav, hey.)
Just read the introduction in most Bibles and you’ll find
that translators have hidden the name of the Creator within
the English term “LORD.” Whenever we find the English
word “LORD” or “GOD” in all capital
letters, the translators are letting us know that the sacred
name of Yahweh is being used. But, Yahweh says emphatically
in Exodus 3 that Yahweh “is my name forever, and this
is my memorial unto all generations.” This name was not
intended to be hidden by scribes and translators; rather Yahweh
Himself gave it to man as a sign of His existence and as a means
of personal relationship. This is similar to how a person introduces
himself on a first name basis. Yahweh gave us His personal name
so we could approach Him with intimacy.
It’s very important to note that “YHWH” is
used almost 7,000 times throughout the Bible as the only and
unique name of the Mighty One of Israel. The KJV sometimes even
uses the poetic form of “Jah” to reference the mighty
name of Yahweh. (see Psalm 68:4) Other titles such as Adonai
and El Shaddai are just that – they are titles that describe
His attributes and actions. The English word “god”
that you find in your KJV is usually a poor translation for
the Hebrew “Elohim” which according to Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance means “mighty one, judge, or deity.”
One last verse, from the New International Version Isaiah 65:11,
12 "But as for you who forsake Yahweh and forget my holy
mountain, who spread a table for Fortune and fill bowls of mixed
wine for Destiny…you did evil in my sight and chose what
displeases me." Here the capitalized word “Destiny”
is the Hebrew form of the deity of good fortune. It is clear
from this verse that we are not to mix Destiny worship or “god"
worship with the true worship of Yahweh. Those who do, according
to this verse, “displease” the Creator.
Experience a closer relationship with the Most High by using
His name. Follow the footsteps of the only begotten Son of Yahweh,
who said in John 5:43 “I have come in my Father's name.”
The Father’s name is Yahweh, not “god”. It
is in this power that we have been commissioned to proclaim
that “everyone who calls on the name of YHWH will be saved,”
Joel 2: 32.