Chapter 1
I grew up in a Baptist Church in Chicago, and “heeded the call of God” to be baptized and become devoted to Him at a very early age. Then, after a few years in public school, my parents sent us to a Catholic elementary school for a time and I was confirmed Catholic. As an adult, I mostly attended Baptist churches in North Carolina, but visited and studied with over 12 denominations in my late 20’s. Throughout, I maintained a core understanding and belief about God.
It wasn’t until I started to read the Bible and study the Bible (mostly topical and word studies) that my understanding began to change, and I began to question the “correctness” of my faith — my understanding about God.
My faith was, generally:
I was sure that there was a God, that he had a son named Jesus, and that Jesus had been killed as a “move“ in some sort of spiritual gamesmanship between God and “the devil”, to allow humans to escape hell when we die.
We all deserved to go to hell because we were hopelessly bad people who could not stop sinning, no matter what. Sinning was doing bad things, things that were forbidden by God. Chief among the sins were those of a sexual nature and murder.
Jesus was a teacher who was a hybrid god-man who came to teach mankind how to stop sinning and love each other, and then died to take the punishment for our sins away from us. That punishment was eternal death in hell.
We needed a savior, so God gave us one on the first Christmas — “his only begotten/biological son, Jesus.” Jesus was successful in saving us when he was killed without having sinned, and God miraculously resurrected him from the dead on the first Easter. He was born on December 25th and was killed three days before Easter, and that is why we celebrate those two holidays.
I was sure that what God wanted us to do was to go to church, sing, pray, study the Bible a little, and listen to sermons every Sunday. If we *really* believed Jesus died for us and God raised him on the third day after he was killed for us, then we were saved, which means we would get to go to heaven when we die, regardless of the bad things we had done in life. We also needed to say “the sinners’ prayer” and get baptized.
So I did all that, and became a teacher/preacher to help tell people about it.
But, then I was led to study the whole Bible in depth, without considering the doctrines that I had learned, and my faith was enlightened. My understanding about God changed extensively. °
Chapter 2
From the time I was an adolescent, up until my early 20s, what I knew of the Bible came primarily from Sunday School lessons during childhood. In Sunday School we read sections of scripture (mainly the same stories each year), and we were taught the morals of the stories.
From the time that I stopped going to Sunday School (’cause I was old enough to decide for myself), what I learned about and from the Bible came from the sermons I heard. Usually the preacher would read one to five sentences of scripture (not explaining the context) and then preach on something outside the context of the scripture, providing a contemporary message of encouragement.
At some churches, the sermons would always end with a telling of the “Easter story.” One pastor was fond of saying, “You haven’t finished preaching until you’ve hung him on the cross, and raised him from the dead!”
In my tradition, it was a common understanding that if the church wasn’t emotionally charged by the end of the sermon, then “the preacher didn’t preach” or “you didn’t have church.” Now and then the music was emotionally compelling enough to qualify for having “had church,” even without preaching.
Throughout my late teens, I had many occasions to reflect on the surreal experience of being called to follow God and to be baptized at such an early age. The memory compelled me to believe I was special to God. So, my earnest prayer every night became:
“God: Thank you for everything you’ve done for me in the past; everything you’re doing for me right now; and, everything you have in store for my future. As soon as you let me know what you want me to do, I’ll do it. Until then, I’m going to do what I want to do. Amen.”
I prayed that prayer every night for years before going to sleep. Then one night I sensed God saying, “How about doing what I’ve asked everybody to do, then I’ll give you assignments.”
I knew that meant to read “the book,” but when I tried to read it, it seemed odd with thee’s and thou’s and wert’s, etc. So I didn’t get far until a Jehovah’s Witness (coworker) bet me that some of the things I thought were in there (Christmas, Easter, etc.) were not in there. I bet my paycheck!
I had to borrow a Bible from a neighbor because I didn’t own one. They gave me a New Testament – their only spare. After searching that Bible for the holidays, then going to my Pastor and finding out they weren’t in there, I knew I had been wrong. Thank God my coworker didn’t want my check, ‘cause I would have given it to him.
After that I started reading, then studying, the New Testament; primarily through word studies and subject studies. As I read, I realized there was a lot I didn’t know, though I thought I knew it. I also started listening to televangelists, including Jimmy Swaggart’s “A Study in The Word” show, Fred Price’s “Ever Increasing Faith” show, and Herbert Armstrong’s “The World Tomorrow.” They were teaching from the Bible, which was a new concept for me.
I “rededicated my life to God” (several times) and promised God that as He taught me, I would obey. I asked God not to let me die and be wrong. I also asked God for wisdom beyond that which He gave to Solomon.
Despite all of these resources, I was confused. What I read was different from what I saw in my church. Jimmy Swaggart, Fred Price, and the other preachers all agreed on some things, but disagreed on a host of other topics. I began to visit other denominations as I studied. As I visited, I found that each denomination, and even some churches within denominations, agreed on many things and disagreed on many others. What was most confusing was that all of them had some teachings that agreed with what I was reading, but none completely matched. All were using the same Bible. How was that possible?
I remember riding in a car with my family; my dad was driving, and I was in the back seat studying as usual. Studying the Bible had consumed me. My father asked me what I was studying so hard for. I told him that I was trying to figure out which church was right. My dad said, “Didn’t Jesus say that HE is the way?” I closed my Bible and said, “You’re right.”
I realized then that the only perfect pattern to follow was Jesus, and that it didn’t matter what denominations, churches, and preachers said. The only thing that really mattered was that I followed Jesus. The only way to follow Jesus was to read the Bible to know how.
Chapter 3
I fully expected “the study” to corroborate what I previously understood. After all, I had been studying the Bible for many years and had a solid understanding. I simply expected a deeper understanding of the truth of what I already knew. The sense that God wanted us to study the Bible in its entirety, without any preconceived notions, to allow us to understand without doctrinal interference, was clear and compelling.
The single most important understanding from the entire study is how much God loves us and wants the best for us. Like children, we don’t usually know what is best for us, so we don’t make the best decisions according to the most useful information. God, knowing the most useful information, provides us instructions to help us to have the very best.
The second most important understanding from the entire study was how much God wants us to love Him in return. God wants us to trust him above all, and to obey him out of that trust. Obedience is important to the relationship between mankind and God. The understanding that when God gives you instructions, you are to follow them without wavering, is abundantly clear. To not follow God’s instructions (to disobey) is the simple definition of sin. It is through obedience that God experiences our love for Him.
The next most important understanding came from the countless times when God gave instructions, and others contradicted those instructions. Because those receiving the instructions from God listened to someone other than God — following them instead of God — they were punished by God. They and those who persuaded them to sin were punished.
Before the study I understood sin to be a list of rules that we follow “because God said so,” and that they were bad things to do in general. Through the study, I learned that it’s all about the relationship between us and God, and that the instructions are meant to provide the very best for mankind. We ARE to follow them because God said so, but more importantly; God said so because God knows what is best for us, and God loves us enough to provide instructions for us. °
Chapter 4
At first, it was shocking to find contradictions to my faith in the Bible. Like when I couldn’t find Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny in the text. I honestly did not know that the traditions that we followed for Christmas and Easter were not in there. I didn’t know that the words Christmas and Easter were not in there. It was one of those blank stare moments.
I think I was around 23 when I tried to find “Christmas” in the Bible (trying to win a bet with a Jehovah’s Witness at work). I’d never read the book, but I assumed “the most wonderful time of the year” and the most celebrated event in every church I’d ever been in just *had* to be in there. Right?
I looked in the concordance in the back of the Bible and “Christmas” wasn’t there. That was weird. I figured my pastor would have better resources, so I went to his study and he offered me his reference books. He asked me what I was looking for. I said, “I’m trying to find Christmas in the Bible.” He told me where I could find the story of Jesus’ birth in the Bible. I said “Thanks, but I’m looking for where it says Jesus was born December 25; where it tells how to do Santa Claus, Christmas trees, gift giving, turkey and ham for dinner… you know… Christmas.” He said, “Oh, that’s not in there.”
I was stunned! I asked, what about Easter, Halloween? He said, “Those either.” (Blank stare.) I asked, “How can y’all do that? How can you tell people about these holidays and they aren’t even in the book?” He said, “Well, you have the book – why haven’t you read it?” … That shut me up. I had no rebuttal.
As I “tucked tail” and headed home, I knew I had to know what else *they* had been less than forthcoming about. If the only way to know what was and was not from the book was to study the book, then I had to study the book. Sigh…
To my dismay, not only were those holidays not in the Bible, they were relatively new inventions. There was no one source for the traditions, but they had evolved over time. Nobody in the whole Bible had celebrated any of them, so why did we? After all, celebrating Christmas and Easter were part of what made a Christian a Christian. Right?
But, if God didn’t say to celebrate them, then who was I following by celebrating them? It wasn’t Jesus, and it wasn’t God. Was it okay to celebrate them, even if it wasn’t in the book?
It didn’t take long for my Jehovah’s Witness friend to show me scripture saying not to follow pagan traditions and pointing out the origins of many of the Christmas traditions were pagan. It was another blank stare moment. It struck me that if God said *not* to do it, then Jesus wouldn’t do it; and, if I’m following Jesus, then I shouldn’t do it either. Right?
People told me I was overthinking it, and that the traditions were harmless because Christian celebrations were not for the same reason as the pagan celebrations. However, “people” were not who I was supposed be following, right?
If I stopped celebrating them, because it’s not something God wanted me to do, and because it is actually something God instructed His followers not to do, then am I still a Christian? °
Chapter 5
I had a healthy distrust of theology by the time we started the study, so it was relatively easy for me to shove all of that aside — throw it on a heap, burn it, and cast the ashes to the winds. However, as sure as I was about God’s will for us to conduct the study without any preconceived notions, there were two foundational understandings that seemed to go without saying. The two that undergirded the study were the veracity of the Bible and understanding that Jesus is the Son of God/Savior. One of these came under scrutiny almost as soon as we started.
As we read and discussed the text, we sometimes ran into trouble because what we read just didn’t make sense. A word would seem to be out of place or just *odd* given the context of the passage or sentence. At those times, we would look at other versions of the Bible to see if they all agreed. Invariably, the versions of the Bible disagreed on how it should have been translated. They never all agreed on how it should read. To add to the confusion, we learned that sometimes it depended on the source of the text as to which word was even supposed to be translated.
We learned that the Bible as we know it did not come from one source. There was no original Bible. The Bible is actually a compilation of what used to be individual writings that were put together like an anthology and declared to be authoritative by theological leadership. Nevertheless, even that is not entirely the picture. Some of what we know as the Bible’s earliest manuscripts come from scraps of paper containing pieces of pages. These scraps are compared with each other and often they are not identical in content.
It’s easy to understand how that can happen when we understand that there was no printing press, so to get a copy of something, someone would have to literally look at a manuscript and write what they saw – hand copy it. As far as it is known, we have no true originals to check our current version against, but those we have are actually copies of copies. You can imagine the errors that could be made when copying from one person’s handwriting to another. Whatever errors, changes, and even notes that were made by one person were copied by the next person and understood to be from the original.
Added to this dilemma is the issue of verbal transmission. Before any of it was written down, it was only verbally passed on from one person to another. Remember the game where one person would whisper something in another person’s ear, and they would whisper it to the next person until it was whispered around the room back to the original person? It always came back altered, if not completely different.
The theology of the development of the Bible is that God, through His Holy Spirit, guided the development from verbal transmission, to hand-copied transmission, to accepted authoritative compilation culminating into an “inerrant” Bible. The term “inerrancy of the Bible” does not mean the text is without error, but that the teaching, central meaning, and understandings derived from the text are true.
That there are many versions (not identical) of the same text that disagree begs the question — if God, through His Holy Spirit, orchestrated the development of “THE Bible” — then which version?
- Not all Bibles have the same books.
- Not all bibles with the same books have the books in the same order.
- Not all bibles with the same books in the same order include all of the same passages.
- Not all passages of bibles with the same books, in the same order, with the same number of books, use all of the same words.
- Finally, they aren’t all translated the same.
So when we encountered these kinds of problems during the study, we looked for as much scholarship as we could find on the passage, and prayerfully accepted the most probable meaning. Often those meanings were very important to understanding the passage, and to understanding an idea that would help us to understand subsequent passages. Whenever scripture is mentioned in the Bible, it refers to what is best known as the Old Testament, because the New Testament did not exist yet.
In the end, we understood that no version of the Bible could be declared 100% accurate. None is perfect. Since they aren’t perfect, did God provide an imperfect Guide by which we should understand? Were we studying “what God has to say to us,” as was our understanding when we started the study?
- The Bible, regardless of the version, rarely quotes God.
- It is not a compilation of “words spoken by God.”
- God never mentions the Bible, anywhere in the Bible, in any version of the Bible.
- No prophets prophesy about the Bible’s development or its authority.
- No heroes of the Bible mention the Bible.
What can be definitively understood about the Bible is that it is a compilation of writings inspired by occurrences related to God. There is no evidence that God requires us to believe everything in “the Bible” is absolute, nor that it comes directly or indirectly from Him.
Still, in the end, the Bible is a wonderful ancient resource for information about God, and people associated with God; and, according to your faith – a lot more. °
Chapter 6
An innumerable number of times during the study, we paused in our process to discuss, explore, and research. Often it was because we came to the end of a saga or book, just to recap. Sometimes it was because we ran into a word or phrase that just didn’t make sense. Other times it was because the implications of what we had just read just seemed odd or awe inspiring.
From the first sentence, “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,” we stopped to fathom. “In the beginning” of what? After all, it couldn’t be the beginning of all that ever has been, because God already existed. Then there is the question of what exactly is “God.” Not who, but what is a god – this God. How is it that God could exist before the beginning? Is there anything else that was before the beginning? Did it matter? Then – what exactly are the heavens?
Most of the time the answers to our questions became clear the more we read, but sometimes the conundrums remained puzzling; this even after reading scholarly and religious commentaries. If we were baffled, astonished, or stumped, we found that there was little agreement among commentaries, nor in academia.
An example is the first murder, when Cain killed his brother Able. God told him that he would have to leave the place that his family had begun to call home after they were banished from Eden. Cain’s response was baffling.
“[…] I will be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth. It will happen that whoever finds me will kill me.” Yehowah said to him, “Therefore whoever slays Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold.” Yehowah appointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should strike him. Cain went out from Yehowah’s presence, and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden. Cain procreated with his wife.
According to the simple reading of Bible, there were no other people on the planet besides Adam and Eve and their children. So who was Cain afraid would kill him, so he would therefore need God’s protection and a sign? What sign was that? How would the people in the place where he was going know what the sign meant? Who did Cain marry? With whom did his children marry and have children? Where did all of these other people come from?
Neither Genesis nor the rest of the Bible purport to tell the story of all that occurred in all time. It is not meant to be a history book. It is not the story of the development of humankind and its lineage; rather, it simply provides an account of the development of the relationship between Yehowah and Yehowah’s people – from those first in the lineage. Those who wrote it were in that lineage.
Not all of the answers to the questions we posed needed answers in order for us to get the message. When we disobey God’s explicit instructions (don’t eat of this one tree) it strains relations with God; we will be punished because of it. Our actions do not have to be in direct disobedience for them to strain relations with God and warrant punishment (Cain murdering Able). Even if we are punished, God provides for our well-being during the punishment. °
Chapter 7
One of the most discombobulating of revelations that came from our study was about “the Law.” The Law includes the commandments, precepts, and statutes provided directly by God, and those provided by Moses through the authority given directly from God.
Still don’t!
Don’t murder and don’t commit adultery are God’s laws, delivered to the people of God by Moses, which all Christians agree are to still be obeyed. Others that most Christians agree still need to be obeyed are laws for giving offerings, and against bestiality, and incest. These others are not part of the “Ten Commandments” but are understood to be still in effect today.
Do our do’s and don’t do our don’ts!
Christianity (and Rabbinic Judaism) add, to God’s laws, man-made laws and traditions including prohibitions against drinking alcoholic beverages and polygamy (depending on the sect/denomination), neither of which are against God’s law according to the Bible. Christianity also renounces God’s appointed observances (Holy-days/Holidays/Feasts), while religiously observing man-made holidays including Lent, Easter, Christmas, Sunday Church, etc. These are not in the Bible as being created by God.
Do some, and then don’t!
So when Christianity insists that “we are no longer under the Law,” what it really means is we are no longer under some of God’s laws; some laws don’t need to be followed by Christians anymore, but all of those that Christianity made up need to be followed. Christianity (various men who started and perpetuate the firmly held traditions and doctrines, which were created after Jesus left earth) has determined which laws we are still “under.”
Got it twisted!
In the same passage where God declared that His people will not murder or commit adultery is the passage that (in even greater detail than all the other commandments) describes the seventh-day Sabbath. Most Christians don’t believe this one needs to be followed anymore, or they think we don’t need to follow it according to the instructions that God himself provided.
Most follow a first-day (Sunday) worship day in place of it. This is not something God instructed to be done. Some believe that when Jesus said “[…] son of man is lord of the Sabbath” he repealed the seventh-day Sabbath; however, (if one reads it in context) he did not repeal the Sabbath in this passage. Rather, he clarified that what is considered “work” is a matter of personal perspective/judgement.
What does God say?
God himself is quoted in the Bible making his Laws. In the Bible, God himself did not repeal any of them, and has not given anyone the right to repeal his laws.
God’s laws are the substance of the vows which God and His people agreed to for their marriage/covenant. If God were going to change His laws, He would do so himself or personally and publicly appoint someone else to do so.
Y’shua explicitly stated that he did not come to change the Law of God, but to accomplish or carry it out.
About Man-made laws/traditions…
God has not ratified the additional laws that men have created, nor their twists on His laws. Sadly, His people have routinely listened to religious leaders, claiming authority in God, who led them to sin by altering their understanding of God’s laws and adding their own. Jesus explicitly warned against such practices.
Not every law is for everybody.
It is important to understand that God never expected everybody to follow all of the laws; after all, they don’t all apply to everyone. For example: the Levite have additional laws because God, through the Law, gave them additional responsibilities – likewise any king of Israel, etc.
Laws can become obsolete
God’s laws also include instructions for the journey from the wilderness to permanent location in “the land of promise.” Once they achieved settlement and built the temple, God’s laws concerning the tabernacle (a temporary portable structure) such as encampment locations around the tabernacle; which families would care for which parts of the tabernacle for assembly, carrying, and disassembling; and when to break and make camp, became obsolete.
In covenant with / Married to God
When the people of God are instructed to do something, or instructed not to do something, and we have the means to follow his Instructions/Laws, we are covenant/vows-bound to follow them – to do otherwise is the definition of sin.
“We’re not under the law” may be the most dangerous statement ever for a follower of the God of Israel and those who believe they do so through Y’shua. °
Hierarchy of trusted sources
1. Hear directly from God.
2. Read about quotes of God.
3. Hear directly from those whom God gave authority.
4. Read quotes of those whom God gave authority.
All subject to measurement against the previous
Short of hearing directly from God (1.), the best resource we have available is the Bible (2. & 3.), but if you haven’t read and studied the whole thing then your ability to discern the truth is limited and could result in disaster. °
Chapter 9
The Bible is replete with accounts of people becoming champions and heroes for God! …until they failed God with disastrous ends. Examples include:
Moses
“Thus Yehowah used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend.”
When God’s people complained because they didn’t have enough water, God instructed Moses to gather his people, and in front of them “speak to the rock” and water would be provided. Moses disobeyed God, spoke to the people instead of the rock, and then hit the rock. God considered his actions disrespectful and punished Moses severely. As revered and respected as Moses was and still is, he strained his extraordinary, long-term relationship with God by this seemingly slight deviation from God’s commandment — sealing his fate.
The Kingdom
“Then you [Moses] shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says Yehowah, ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn.’ So I said to you, ‘Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.”
God’s kingdom of Israel, under King David, was an extraordinary people. But after King Solomon, the kingdom of Israel, with its 12 tribes, was split in two with 10 tribes retaining the name “Israel” — the Northern Kingdom. The kings of this Israel never honored their covenant with God. The people didn’t have Bibles of their own (most are thought to have been illiterate anyway), so they had to rely on the kings and priests to lead them in keeping the covenant with God. So as the kings of Israel dishonored God, so did the people of Israel. [Map of Tribes][Kings of Israel and Judah]
The other two tribes were Judah and Benjamin — the Southern Kingdom. Along with some people who defected from the other 10 tribes, they became known as the kingdom of Judah. Judah had sole possession of Jerusalem and thus the temple and priests in their territory. They had the only means through which the people of God could honor their covenant with God. Yet the kings and priests of Judah did not consistently honor their covenant with God either. Subsequently, the people of Judah did not consistently honor their covenant with God.
Some kings were much worse than others were, but few of them “did what was right in the sight of God” for their entire reign. Some of those who did better, still “sacrificed on the high places” — behavior strictly prohibited by their agreement with God. They mixed pagan traditions with some of God’s instructions.
For their disloyalty and disobedience, God eventually had Israel utterly decimated and dispersed into the kingdoms that had been their enemies. Judah, likewise, was utterly defeated and taken off to Babylon.
Josiah
“Before him [Josiah] there was no king like him who turned to Yehowah with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses; nor did any like him arise after him.”
One of my favorite people described in the Bible is King Josiah. This young king of Judah assumed his reign after a long period of Judah dishonoring God. He reformed the kingdom, and after the book of the covenant was found he enacted radical reforms to rid the kingdom of all pagan influences. He finally destroyed all of the high places and slaughtered those who perpetuated those practices. Sadly Josiah decided, without consulting God, to go to battle, where he died.
We should never take it upon ourselves to do dangerous things without consulting with God. We should always conduct ourselves according to our covenant with God — without even the slightest deviation. But, we need to understand our obligations under the covenant before we can fulfill them. °
Chapter 10
The end of the whole matter let us hear: – ‘Fear God, and keep His commands, for this is the whole of mankind. [Ecclesiastes 12]
The term “bottom line,” in a figurative sense, is from profit and loss accounting, where the final figure is on the last line or bottom of the page.” After all of the figuring and adjustments are made, it is the conclusion. What is left and arguably what is most important.
After studying the Old Testament/Tanakh the bottom line is clear and clearly stated by many. Its about relationships. Its about roles and responsibilities within the relationships. Its about the most important of all relationships — that with God. God’s role is like that of a Father or Husband; of multi-faceted provision and protection above all. It is how God demonstrates love for us.
‘And now, Israel, what is Yehowah your God asking from you, except to fear Yehowah your God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve Yehowah God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, to keep the commands of Yehowah, and His statutes which I am commanding you today, for good to you? [Deuteronomy 10]
Our role is also multi-faceted yet simple. In a word, “obedience.” This obedience isn’t like a dog obeys a harsh master, with ears laid back , sad eyed, and tail tucked between its legs. No, this obedience stands tall, shoulders squared and eyes fixed. It trusts unreservedly with wholehearted loyalty and appreciation. It seeks the greater good selflessly — with deference for God who is infinitely more intelligent, knowing, capable, powerful, and loving. This obedience, with these ideals as a foundation, creates within us a will to do what we are told just because we’re told by God. It is how God experiences love from us.
He has declared to you, O mankind, what [is] good; Yes, what is Yehowah requiring of you, Except — to do justly, and love kindness, and lowly to walk with thy God?
[Micah 6] °
Chapter 11
The approximately 400 years between the periods of the Old Testament and the New Testament is called the “Intertestamental Period.” Things are much different!
Imagine someone from 1616 (four hundred years ago) when most people didn’t have indoor plumbing, automobiles, airplanes, or telephones, transported to 2016 with our surround sound in-home theater systems, smartphones, microwave ovens, and indoor plumbing. Talk about culture shock! Well, that’s the kind of jolt that we experienced when we ended our long period of studying Old Testamentstudy and began the New Testament.
In the Old Testament, there is no “devil” nor demons; there was no “Rome” with its Caesars nor Greek culture and tax collectors; there were no synagogues, Rabbis, Pharisees, nor Sadducees. It seemed everything had changed politically and religiously. Yet Yehowah was still God and Judah (Israel) were still His people.
In the New Testament, His people longed for someone whom God would send to overthrow Rome and lead them back to pure worship. They called this person “the Messiah,” whose characteristics were established by Rabbis — the theologians or scriptural interpreters.
The Romans who ruled the region of “Judah” called it “Judea,” and the people of the region, Judeans — Jews for short. It is in this oppressive foreign culture that John the Baptist, a religious zealot, street preacher, and critic of the Jewish leadership, held public rallies to beg Jews to return to obedience to Yehowah by strictly following the Laws of God. Those who repented from disobeying the law, John would baptize — a sign of spiritual cleansing that was well known to the Jews.
Some believed John would become their anointed savior, their Messiah, because he preached about the Kingdom/reign/authority/rule of the heavens, also known as the kingdom of God, which was going take over. His reformation movement picked up steam when a young preacher from a neighboring community called Nazareth began to preach the same message, only he performed miracles too. His name was Yehoshua (Joshua), called Y’shua for short. The Hebrew name Y’shua was eventually translated to “Jesus.”
John the Baptist and Y’shua were kin. They were Jews, raised Jewish, in Jewish communities, who practiced strict Judaism with only Jews and taught only other Jews, who in turn were to teach only Jews.
‘I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.’ – Y’shua of Nazareth
“Do not goonto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. – Y’shua of Nazareth
Y’shua made it clear that he did not intend to change the purity of the Law, nor the teachings of the Prophets; rather, he intended to show Jews how to follow them perfectly.
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. – Y’shua of Nazareth
He also taught about the nature of the Kingdom of God, saying numerous times, “The kingdom of God is like…” and then providing a simile or telling a story/parable to explain how God’s rule would be different from any they’ve known. His message, called the “good news” or “gospel” of the Kingdom, was about the restored rule of Yehowah.
What caused him to lose his freedom and his life was the growth of his following and popularity, with prominent members of the leadership beginning to take him seriously. His rhetoric was increasingly condemning of the Jewish leadership and the status quo, warning his followers that they abused their offices and led people away from God.
You have disregarded the commandment of God to keep the tradition of men. […] You neatly set aside the commandment of God to maintain your own tradition. – Y’shua of Nazareth
He died living a life of obedience to God through the law and the writings of the prophets, teaching Jews that they should follow his “way” and to ignore the leadership when they taught otherwise. If they did so, then they would become part of the Kingdom of the Heavens — the Kingdom of God. °
Chapter 12
To be a Christian means to be a follower of “Christ.” Simple. Right? It may not be as simple as you think. What does the word “Christ” mean, and what does it mean to follow someone who is not in view? Every Christian should understand these very important words before they call themselves Christians.
Christ:
The word Christ is a translation of the Hebrew term “Messiah,” which means “Anointed,” and in this context, “The Anointed One.” The title was developed by Jewish sages who interpreted several Old Testament prophecies — deducing that God would send an anointed man to lead an overthrow of their oppressors and guide Israel back to following God more perfectly. Several men since the time they developed this understanding were thought to have been the Messiah. This was before Jesus of Nazareth’s followers believed that he was. There were also some others who were believed to be the Messiah after Jesus’ departure.
To follow:
While Jesus was on earth, to follow him meant to do as he did and taught. Here are some things we know about what he did and taught. He was a Jew, raised Jewish by Jews in a Jewish community. He practiced strict Judaism with only Jews, and taught only Jews, who in turn were to teach only Jews. Get the picture?
He taught and demonstrated life without sin. Sin is defined as disobedience to anything God says is to be done. On the other hand, obedience means to do exactly as God says to do, when God says to do it, in the way God says to do it. Any deviation from this is sin.
God conveys what we are to do through direct contact or by trusted emissaries. But, how can we know that someone is a trusted emissary for God? An emissary for God can be trusted if God directly tells you that they are his emissary, or they say they are an emissary of God and they do not contradict God.
Another emissary (of a sort) is the compilation of written accounts of God saying what is to be done, or written accounts of God’s trusted emissaries saying what is to be done.
For Jesus and his followers, the definitive written accounts representing what God said to do directly and what God’s emissaries said to do were “the Law” and the writings of “the Prophets.”
And so, Jesus lived a life of perfect obedience to God in all these ways. This was Jesus’ way. This was “the way, the truth, and the life.”
The Gospel:
Jesus taught that the reign of the Kingdom of God and the heavens (which would result from what the Messiah was to accomplish) was imminent. The belief that the reign of God was about to begin became known as “the gospel,” which means “the good news.”
After Y’shua (Jesus’ Hebrew name) was executed, primarily for insurrection against Jewish leadership, and brought back to life by God, he expanded the mission of his core group of followers, saying,
“go to all the lands/nations/world and share the good news with every creature”
“encourage others to become followers”
“teach them to obey all that I have commanded you”
In summary:
To be a follower of Y’shua, one must live a life without sin according what God tells us directly, according to God’s trusted emissaries, according to the Law and according to the writings of the Prophets found in the Old Testament. This is what Y’shua did and taught.
But, does that describe the Christianity generally practiced today? °
Chapter 13
“I do confess to you, however, that I worship the God of our fathers according to The Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that is laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets.” –Paul of Tarsus
The movement that was created by those who followed Jesus was first known as “The Way.” The Apostle Paul said he prosecuted “this Way,” and Governor Felix knew about “this Way.” Paul said he followed “the Way,” which the authorities considered a sect of Judaism, saying that he believed in following “the Law and the Prophets.” His attempt at persuasion was meant to dispel their concerns that “The Way” and he were in opposition to the Law and the Prophets.
Early in the formation of the ministry after Jesus’ departure, there was a struggle for what it meant to follow Jesus. Much of the struggle had to do with how much of Judaism was required of gentiles, and it was Paul’s attempts to teach gentiles how to follow Jesus that caused much confusion.
“Some parts of [Paul’s] letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.” — Apostle Peter
Paul was accused of being against following the law. At least once he was asked by Peter to demonstrate that he lived in obedience to the law (just as Jesus taught as the Way) and he did.
“Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the Law.” — Apostle Peter
But, this seems to contradict what Paul explains to the gentiles of Galatia, who were used to conducting rituals to appease their gods. He explained that their old thinking, that conducting rituals would save them, did not apply to their new faith. Learning a new set of rituals, as they understood the Law to be, was not what the God of Israel wanted; rather, following Jesus was. He had a very difficult time convincing them.
Samuel said, “Has Yehowah as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of Yahweh? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”
When Paul came back from a mission trip, he told the Jerusalem council (Peter, James, and the others who started out with Jesus) that the gentiles showed signs of receiving the Holy Spirit just as the Jews had, and he insisted that since God gave them the Holy Spirit, then God had already accepted those gentiles and they did not need to be circumcised. As a result, the council deduced that such gentiles would only need to follow four laws.
This was not in keeping with what Jesus had taught them. It was not the way. Jesus did not teach them to make adjustments for gentiles when he commissioned the Apostles to preach the good news to gentiles too. If he had, there would have been no need for discussion, reasoning, and deduction.
The process of deducing and reasoning what is right to do, rather than hearing directly from God, or through strict adherence to the Law and the Prophets, is how people throughout the Bible eroded the purity of their relationship with God. The Apostles were beginning to follow that pattern.
This new twist was not as Jesus taught. It was not The Way.
“For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before Yehowah. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.” — Yehowah (God) °
Chapter 14
What we know as Christianity was developed after Jesus’ departure to the heavens. The changes were gradual, over many generations, and are still occurring. So, with these changes, is what we know as Christianity still following what Jesus of Nazareth did and taught?
It may come as much of a surprise to you, as it did to me, that the word “Christianity” does not appear anywhere in the text of Bible. In fact, the word Christianity wasn’t *created* until nearly a millennium after the Bible was created, and the Bible was not created until more than two centuries after the last manuscript that became part of the Bible was written. The earliest Christian writings known to us were written approximately 70 years after Jesus’ departure from earth.
The Merriam Webster dictionary defines Christianity this way:
1: the religion derived from Jesus Christ, based on the Bible as sacred scripture, and professed by Eastern, Roman Catholic, and Protestant bodies
2: conformity to the Christian religion
3: the practice of Christianity
The word “Christ,” on which the word Christianity is based, is a translation of the Hebrew word “Messiah,” which means “anointed” or “anointed one.” It is a term used to describe something or someone upon which or whom oil has been poured, to demonstrate and to “seal” in observers’ minds that it has or they have been set apart for service to God.
Jewish sages/theologians use the term to describe one man whom Israel’s scripture called the Tanakh (Christians call it the Old Testament) foretold would be sent by God to lead Israel to a better relationship with God and to rule the world from Jerusalem. This man would become “anointed” as the king of Israel. Although Kings, Priests, and the instruments used in Temple worship were all anointed, the term “the messiah” came to be understood exclusively as the man who would return Israel and the world to an honorable relationship with God.
The word “Christians,” meaning “little Messiahs,” was a term used to mock or make fun of the disciples of Jesus who believed Jesus of Nazareth was the “Messiah,” because even though Jesus had not been anointed King (Rome still ruled) and Jesus was dead (thus evidently ending his chances of ever fulfilling all of the prophecies required to be accepted as “the Messiah”) they still believed him to be The Messiah. Following such a person seemed ridiculous to them.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the term Christian was not used by anyone. After his ministry and during the time when the Bible says Jesus was executed, resurrected, and ascended into the heavens, nobody was recorded to have used the term. Even during the development and creation of his Apostles’ ministry, the term was not used. It was not until theologian (turned prosecutor, turned convert, and eventually apostle/emissary) Paul’s ministry to the gentiles began that the term “Christian” was first used in Antioch – a gentile area (Acts 11:26).
The movement that was born out of those who followed Jesus was also known as “the way” (Acts 22:4, Acts 24:22). Paul said he prosecuted “this Way” and the Governor Felix knew about “this Way.” Paul said he followed “the Way,” which the authorities considered a sect of Judaism, saying that he believed in following “the law and the prophets” (Acts 24:14). His attempt at persuasion was meant to dispel their concerns that “the Way” was in opposition to scripture. Scripture for Judaism, at that time, only consisted of the Tanakh, which includes the first five books of what is commonly today called the Old Testament, the writings ascribed to the prophets, and what is called “the writings,” which includes Psalms, Ecclesiastes, etc.
It is easy to deduce that the term “the way” may have come from one of Jesus’ sayings, recorded in the book of John, where Jesus is recorded to have proclaimed himself to be “the way, the truth, and the life,” and said, “no one comes to the Father (God) but by [Him.]” The passage is generally accepted to mean that to be in God’s favor, one must live the way Jesus lived and taught, because his Way was the true way to life with God.
“The Way” was Jesus’ way – a sect of Judaism. Jesus grew up Jewish and followed Jewish customs. He said, the Law and the the prophets would not “pass away” until all is fulfilled (Matthew 5:18) and until heaven and earth passes away. He taught his disciples likewise.
They too were Jewish men, who grew up Jewish, and followed Jewish customs. Jesus went as far as to say to one gentile that he only came to “the lost sheep of the household of Israel” (Matthew 15:24). He called them lost in the sense that they were wayward – even perishing, not that they could not be found. So his teachings were from a Jewish perspective, exclusively to Jewish people, about Jewish topics. Jesus’ “way” was a Jewish way and all of his chosen students/disciples, who were Jewish, were taught to live this way. They still went to the synagogue regularly, which was a custom and not a law from God. They still honored the seventh-day Sabbath. They still celebrated the holy-days as given by God. They did not eat unclean meats and they did not engage in activities that were pagan in any way.
What made this Way different than the rest of Judaism was that Jesus taught his disciples to honor “the Law and the Prophets” even when doing so contradicted the teachings and traditions of their spiritual leaders. Jesus chided some of these leaders, saying they had “a fine way” of replacing the instructions of God with their own instructions. This dispute was no small matter because their spiritual leaders (Pharisees/rabbis, scribes, etc), had the understanding that their own teachings carried the weight of and sometimes superseded scripture. They believed they carried on the tradition of being like Moses – able to interpret and expand on God’s instructions, and to determine new laws that were binding upon all who believed in the God of Israel. According to the Bible, Jesus admonished his followers to “do as they teach but not as they do” because they “sat in Moses’ seat.”
It made sense that Moses and subsequent leaders helped to interpret instructions when the people had questions about them. For an example, the prohibition against working on the Sabbath; even with the comparatively lengthy instructions that God Himself provided, people still were not clear and asked for further explanation. For an example, what exactly constituted “work” and was therefore forbidden on the Sabbath? How far can someone walk before it is considered laborious/work? Rabbis provided answers for these and other questions.
Jesus followed the Laws/instructions given by God and the words of the Prophets, through whom God provided information and instructions. He followed traditions and instructions of the Rabbis unless they contradicted God’s instructions. It was such opposition to these contradictions that put him and his movement at odds with the religious establishment.
Following the Way means to follow the ways of Jesus. Jesus’ Way was to follow the Laws, commandments, and instructions given by God and the Prophets and only follow the traditions and instructions of others if they do not contradict God’s instructions. It is followers of this Way that became known as Christians, and from which the religion of the Christians became known as Christianity.
But traditional Christianity teaches that the Law of God and laws of Moses no longer applied after Jesus’s death. They took teachings attributed to Paul as saying that if they tried to follow the laws, they were nullifying the saving grace provided by the sacrifice of Jesus’s death.
This understanding is not what Jesus taught. It is not the Way. So where did it come from? °
Chapter 15
“I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.” –Paul
Saul the Rabbinic theologian converts to the Way, a sect of Judaism that believes a recently crucified, unorthodox Jewish rabbi, is the promised deliverer of Israel; who, after being brought back to life and flying into the air out of sight, will return one day to overthrow those who oppress Israel and lead the world into peace, harmony, and devotion to the God of Israel — Yehowah. This savior and redeemer was Yehoshuah (Y’shua/Jesus) of Nazareth.
Saul was the Apostle’s Jewish name and Paul was his Roman name.
He believes Jesus has tasked him (by implanting in his thoughts, like telepathy) with explaining to the gentiles (non-Jews) how they can become part of the Kingdom of God to come by following the teachings of Y’shua.
Saul’s new students are not Jews, and have not been raised Jewish. They neither know nor understand the history of the relationship between the Jewish people (Israel) and their God. They do not understand the concept of The Messiah; however, they are very cognizant (as subjects of Roman society) of the religions of Hellenism (Greek society), which held that there were many Gods. Many of the gentiles were eager to accept this new god *too.*
The gentiles are used to stories about the gods of Rome. They hear the stories about Jesus and try to make sense of them in the same way they’ve made sense of others. They have the preaching of Paul as their sole guide.
Paul’s method of teaching was to go to an area where there were men gathered and begin to explain Jesus (the good news of the Kingdom) to them from his perspective. Paul, who never walked and talked with Y’shua while he was on earth, and never sat to hear his teachings, tried to teach the complexities of the Kingdom, the Messiah, and Salvation by the Messiah to people who did not have the background to properly grasp it. He did so in a Jewish theologian’s method to which the Gentiles were not accustomed. His desperation and frustration were evident in his letters back to those whom he left as believers.
My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: Individuals among you are saying, “I follow Paul,” “I follow Apollos,” “I follow Cephas,”or “I follow Christ.”
I am astonished how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ.
Paul’s message was obviously confusing to them. It was also confusing for some of those who walked and talked with Jesus and learned directly from Jesus, prompting Peter to pronounce how difficult it was to understand him, and he seemed exasperated to relate that people had twisted what Paul was trying to say with detrimental results.
“Some parts of [Paul’s] letters are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort (as they do the rest of the Scriptures) to their own destruction.” — Apostle Peter
It is this misunderstanding and twisting, and the relating of the misunderstood and twisted messages from Paul, which evolved into the Christianity of today. Gentiles were compounding their misunderstandings with their own interpretations and explanations. People couldn’t understand their misunderstandings, yet they continued to build their understanding upon them.
After Paul taught, as students usually do, his students reasoned among themselves and tried to figure out what it meant. As they did so, Paul was off to another area to spread the good news. What we know of his teachings and his travels comes from letters that he wrote back to those places where he had already taught, and some to places he longed to teach.
Copies of his letters are some of the earliest manuscripts of the Christian Canon. Scholars believe his letters may have influenced even the content of “the Gospels.”
100% of those who followed the Way of Y’shua at the beginning were Jewish, while Christianity is approximately 2% Jewish today. Christianity split from Judaism as early as the first century — split from the Way.
To follow Y’shua is to follow the Way, which is not Christianity. °°
Just my opinion... 
![[Map of Tribes]](https://daiverson.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/e6d79-israel-tribes.jpg){kind=link}
![[Kings of Israel and Judah]](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/7e/a6/d8/7ea6d800c62b4a85ab73362b50328c1e.jpg){kind=link}