YAIY Beacon • March - April 2009 1 · YAIY Beacon • March - April 2009 7 Last year, 2008, was...

YAIY Beacon • March - April 2009 1

2 YAIY Beacon • March - April 2009

Our Mission and purpose is to reachpeople around the world with themessage of the revealed personalNames of Yahweh and His SonYahshua the Messiah, as well asteaching the salvation truths thathave been neglected for centuries.

This magazine, YAIY Beacon, ispublished bi-monthly by Yahweh’sAssembly in Yahshua, 2963 Co. Rd.233, Kingdom City, MO 65262.

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MISSIONSTATEMENT

TABLE OF CONTENTSVolume 3 Number 2

Passover 3Passover is a night to be much remembered. by Elder Donald R. Mansager

The First Feast Season 7The first block of Yahweh’s Holy Days follows Pass-over and is called the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

by Elder John Fisher

Revealing the Truth TV Broadcast 23

Be Not Deceived! - Part 3 - 11This Is Not It!Don’t let Satan make you believe that this worldhas all the answers you need to achieve a place inYahweh’s Kingdom. by Elder Buel Hallpike

20

Fruit of the Vine and the 14Passover CupWhat is used as the emblem representing theblood which Yahshua shed at Passover? by the late Elder Ralph Henrie


Passover

Many are familiar with the first Passover observed in Egyptby Israel, Exodus 12. Even before this memorable event,however, presageful incidents carrying gems of truth heraldedthe actual event as far back as Genesis 4. Bible truthstaught here and continuing up to the point of the Exodus(chapter 12) give us deeper insight into the significance ofPassover and the ceremonies connected with it. In spite of the direct command not to eat of the tree ofKnowledge of Good and Evil, both Adam and Eve ate of itand were driven out of the garden.

Passover Offering in GenesisYahweh made known to Adam and his progeny that theycould please Him through sacrifices. Now, outside thegarden, the two sons brought special sacrifices: And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain broughtof the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yahweh. AndAbel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and ofthe fat thereof. And Yahweh had respect unto Abel and tohis offering: But unto Cain and to his offering He had notrespect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenancefell. And Yahweh said unto Cain, Why are you wroth? Andwhy is your countenance fallen? If you do well, shall younot be accepted? And if you do not well, sin lies at thedoor. And unto you [shall be] his desire, and you shall ruleover him. (Gen. 4:3-7) Notice the account starts with the statement, “In theprocess of time it came to pass…” The Hebrew reads, “Atthe end of days.” The sense is that time went along andsuddenly a special event arrived. Something important wasabout to take place that some Bible scholars maintain wasthe time of the first Passover.

A Night to beMuch

Remembered Notice that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, cropsthat he had raised and harvested. His offering was theworks of his hands. Abel, on the other hand, brought of thefirstlings of his flock. Not only did he bring firstlings but healso brought something extra: the fat of the animals, whichwas really not required. Abel brought the proper sacrifices above what apparentlyYahweh required. Notice the difference: Cain brought whathe had harvested, the works of his own hands. Abelapproached Yahweh through the blood of the lamb, asacrificial animal! Obviously this pointed toward thePassover sacrifice, and ultimately to the death of Yahshuathe Messiah. Blood was shed in Abel’s sacrifice as hecame before Yahweh. No wonder we read the followingcommendation in the faith chapter: By faith Abel offered unto Elohim a more excellentsacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that hewas righteous, Elohim testifying of his gifts: and by it hebeing dead yet speaks. (Heb. 11:4) In his human effort to reconcile himself to Yahweh, Abelacted out the Passover sacrifice by offering a sacrificiallamb. Cain perhaps arrogantly brought a harvest or Feastof Tabernacles offering, the last feast of the year, ignoringall other annual Feasts. It should also be pointed out that Yahweh Himself madegarments of skins of animals whereby He clothed Adamand Eve after they had made themselves aprons of fig leavesto cover themselves. Thus, Yahweh sacrificed animals,shedding their blood, to cover Adam and Eve’s nakednesswith animal skins. This is a type, indicating that Yahweh will ultimatelyprovide His people with special garments acceptable to Him.Yahweh clothes His saints with the garments of salvation:


I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh, mysoul shall be joyful in my Elohim; forHe has clothed me with the robe ofrighteousness, as a bridegroom deckshimself with ornaments, and as a brideadorns herself with her jewels. (Isa.61:10) Note the “garments of salvation” arealso described as “robes ofrighteousness,” which are put on thosewho obey Yahweh’s laws and acceptHis Son as the propitiation for our sins. And I said unto him, Sir, you know.And he said to me, these are they whichcame out of great tribulation, and havewashed their robes, and made themwhite in the blood of the Lamb. (Rev.7:14)

Leaving the Sin of EgyptEach Passover we celebrate thesalvation of Israel from Egyptianbondage. It was a time of joy as theslaves were given their freedom andloaded down with gifts from their formermasters. They were starting on theirway to the Promised Land. What a beautiful picture! Just asancient Israel was spared in the firstPassover’s slaying of the firstborn, weaccept the blood of the Lamb as asacrifice for our past sins. Inanswering the high calling we have inYahshua the Messiah, we realize weare a type of the firstfruits, and becauseof the great promises given us, westrive the more to be in that firstresurrection. Blessed and holy is he that haspart in the first resurrection: on suchthe second death has no power, butthey shall be priests of Yahweh and ofMessiah, and shall reign with him athousand years. (Rev. 20:6) With our past sins forgiven, we aredetermined, with Yahweh’s help, torepent and turn our life around andfollow the Savior’s example of rightliving. Israel left Egypt, a

sophisticated, worldly, cosmopolitansociety, to seek the Promised Land.We, also, are leaving our old, worldlyways and bad habits behind as webegin our trek toward the Kingdom.We are careful to make our calling andelection sure. Israel had the pillar of cloud by day,and the pillar of fire by night to guidethem. We have Yahweh’s promise andHis guidebook in the Old and the NewTestaments to direct us and give usinstruction for every facet of life. Weare also given the promise by the Saviorthat He would never leave us norforsake us. The Holy Spirit fromYahweh continues to guide and keepus in the narrow way.

Upon accepting our Savior’ssacrifice, our walk will seem at timesto be a lonely one. Many obstacleswill be ahead of us, and we can expectto be tried. Yahweh does not want usto “play church.” He is looking forthose who, like Abraham, obedientlyleft Ur of the Chaldees (Gen. 12:1-3),being uncertain what was in store forhim. Abraham believed the promises ofYahweh even to the point of beingwilling to sacrifice his son, Isaac,whom he loved (Gen. 22). Just asYahweh so loved the world that Hesacrificed His only begotten Son,Abraham also was willing to sacrificehis son Isaac, if need be, thus provinghis faith by willing obedience. Are wewilling to prove our faith by beingobedient in keeping His Passover? And Abraham said unto his youngmen, Abide you here with the ass; andI and the lad will go yonder and worship,and come again to you. (Gen. 22:5) Abraham showed that he believedin the resurrection by telling the youngmen that he and Isaac would returnfrom Mount Moriah. Abraham passeda most stringent test and continued infaithful obedience. To this dayAbraham is known as “the father of thefaithful.” We need the same faith andobedience Abraham had.

Isaac a Type of MessiahTradition has it that Abraham left Ur atthe season of the Passover. His faithin Yahweh was tested many times. Hewas tested first to leave his homeland,forsaking his relatives and friends. Hethen had to live among the Canaaniteswho were totally absorbed in heathenculture and worship. He had to separate from hisnephew Lot. For 25 years after cominginto Canaan he awaited the birth ofIsaac until he and Sarah were beyondthe prime of life. He apparently wasfond of Ishmael, but had to send him

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away. Abraham’s willingness tosacrifice his son, his “only” son Isaac,was surely the most difficult of all tests. “Only” means only in the sense ofunique, one-of-a-kind, and special.Abraham’s only hope of fulfillment ofthe salvation-promise was Isaac.Interestingly, Hebrews 11:17 refers tothis by the Greek word monogenes,the same word use for Yahshua in John3:16. Isaac was clearly a type ofYahweh’s beloved Son (Matt. 3:17),Yahshua, the sacrifice for the sins ofthe world.

Passover at Year’s StartThe Passover, we learn, is to be onthe fourteenth of the month of Abib(Hebrew, meaning “green ears”). It isin the spring when the earth againcomes to life in the northernhemisphere. The spring rains haveceased. The warming sun brings ongreen grass, while the fragrance offlowers and budding trees again fillsthe air. The birds return for the summerand the earth is bursting with renewal. Abib is the true beginning of thenew year with its new growth. January, which falls in the dead ofwinter in the northern hemisphere whensnow covers the ground and cold northwinds sweep the land, is not the propertime to start a new year. Yahweh saidto us through Moses: This month[Abib] shall be unto you the beginningof months: it shall be the first monthof the year to you. (Ex. 12:2) Not only is this month thebeginning of the religious year inYahweh’s calendar, but it also bringsus Passover, a renewal of theCovenant that we have made withYahweh. When our hearts and mindshave been opened to the truth ofYahweh’s word and we understand thatwe are called and set apart for aspecial purpose, we have an inner

desire to be immersed into the savingName of Yahshua. Being baptized into Yahshua’ssaving Name means that we are sorryfor our sins and want to be forgiven ofthem. When we are baptized into Hissaving Name, all past sins are washedaway, and we stand before Yahwehjustified, just as if we had never sinned. We are now cleansed from our pastand can start over in a new life. Oncepurged of our reprobate past, wedetermine to walk in a new life ofobedience to Yahweh’sCommandments. It is this willingobedience to Yahweh’sCommandments that sanctifies us and

gives us the garments ofrighteousness.

Making a NewCommitmentPassover is Yahweh’s call to the newconvert to accept the salvation He hasmade available through His SonYahshua. We accept His shed bloodas the atonement or ransom price forour sins that are past because weaccept Yahweh’s sacrifice of His Son,the “Lamb that takes away the sins ofthe world:” Whom Elohim has set forthto be a propitiation through faith in hisblood, to declare His righteousness forthe remission of sins that are past,through the forbearance of Elohim.(Rom. 3:25) Just as ancient Israel left Egyptand headed for the Promised Land, sowe make a commitment each year atPassover when we remember the cruelbeatings and impalement of our Savior.We meditate on Yahweh’s plan formankind and realize that one day soonHe will send His Son back to this earthto end the madness and corruption thatis rampant today. Yahshua will rulewith a rod of iron, and will put a stop towars, hunger, disease, calamities,crime and murders, and finally bringus peace. He is seeking a group of peoplewho are also seeking real answers toour present world problems.Conditions will degenerate and worsenas problems grow and intensify. He wants those who are willing tofollow Yahweh’s Commandments andlearn of Him. He wants those who areteachable and of a willing heart to bein that first resurrection: Blessed and holy is he that haspart in the first resurrection: on suchthe second death has not power, butthey shall be priests of Elohim and ofMessiah, and shall reign with Him athousand years. (Rev. 20:60)


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Doctrinal HousecleaningAfter we have accepted the sacrificeof Yahshua for our sins, then we are tohave a “spring housecleaning” of Urdoctrines, seeking only those truthsthe Bible teaches. We are to have afervent desire to stop sinning, to stopdoing those things for which our Saviordied. This attitude is central to theFeast that immediately followsPassover, the Feast of UnleavenedBread. Paul tells us that once we acceptYahshua’s Passover sacrifice of Hislife for our sins that we are to clean upour thinking, to have new goals, newattitudes, new aspirations. We are toleave our old ways and bad habitsbehind. Because we have acceptedthe sacrifice of the Savior we are toturn from the old “leaven,” oldteachings, false doctrines, corrupthabits. Now we are to follow theexample of Yahshua and become purein our thinking, our attitude, and setproper goals for this life: Purge out therefore the old leaven,that you may be a new lump, as youare unleavened. For even Messiah ourPassover is sacrificed for us:Therefore let us keep the feast, notwith old leaven, neither with the leavenof malice and wickedness; but with theunleavened [bread] of sincerity andtruth. (I Cor. 5:7-8) The Passover is followed by aspecial seven days in which we desistfrom eating anything leavened, butseek the pure bread of life, theunleavened bread of sincerity and truth.We strive to be obedient in physicallynot eating leavened products, so thatwe will be more deeply impressed withspiritual truth.

The Savior Kept thePassoverPassover precedes the first of theseven annual Feasts of Yahweh.

Passover and the following days ofUnleavened Bread were observed bythe Savior through His childhood andyoung adult years and His three-yearministry. Because He is the true Passover,which all previous observances pointedto, we would be wise to hold thatmemorial service as He instructed Hisdisciples. This includes thefootwashing as given in John chapter13 and the other Passover accountsin Matthew, Mark, and Luke. There is no doubt that just beforeHis death the Savior kept the Passoverand did so with His disciples at theright time. He directed them toprepare the Passover, saying, “I will

keep the Passover at your house withMy disciples,” Matt. 26:18 and otherplaces. Nowhere do we find thedisciples questioning His intentions. Peter said we are to do what Hedid, when He did it, I Peter 2:21.Yahshua kept the Passover the samenight in which He was betrayed,according to Paul, I Cor. 11:23. Hedied on the tree about the time theJews, who were following thePharisees’ teaching, were belatedlykilling their Passover lambs. Theywere keeping Passover at the end ofthe fourteenth (one day late), just asthey continue doing in our time. To this day Rabbinic Jews continueto follow the Pharisees, who mergedPassover with the days of UnleavenedBread. This is admitted in theEncyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 13,article: Passover, page 169, “The feast of Passover consists oftwo parts: the Passover ceremony, andthe Feast of Unleavened Bread.Originally, both parts existedseparately; but at the beginning of theexile they were combined.” Consider what Yahweh says aboutthese special times: And this day shall be unto you fora memorial; and you shall keep it afeast to Yahweh throughout yourgenerations; you shall keep it a feastby an ordinance forever. (Ex. 12:14) Take special note: it is “this day”which is to be kept for a memorial, notthe exact manner of observance. Wemay not keep it precisely as did theIsraelites anciently by sacrificing ananimal. But the day itself is to be keptas a memorial. It is to be observed asa feast, a special gathering. It is to beobserved forever! Throughout the Book of Leviticuswe read of the command, “It shall be astatute forever in all your dwellingsthroughout your generations!” These


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<Passover see page 19>


Last year, 2008, was an interesting year in terms of thedifference between Yahweh’s Calendar of His AppointedTimes and the disparate calendar of Christendom. TheChristian calendar held fast to the pagan tradition of theequinox determination of the celebration of the goddess,Easter, for which their celebration is named. Ironically, herein Fulton, Missouri, (as well as elsewhere in this nation) itsnowed that Sunday, obliterating any notion that “springhas arrived.” Several friends commented to me about it. AChristian friend, with whom I have shared the true andstartling facts about Scripture, e-mailed me and asked, “Doyou know anything about this?” She was referring to anarticle that stated, “This year is the earliest Easter any ofus will ever see the rest of our lives!” The article also stated,“This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar thatHebrew people used to identify Passover, which is why itmoves around on our Roman calendar.” … I don’t think so.Number one, Easter is pre-determined by the RomanCatholic Church, based on the FULL moon, not the NEWmoon, and it doesn’t “move around;” at least not in the waythat Yahweh determines His Feasts. They celebrated Easterin March. On Yahweh’s Scriptural Calendar, the New Year,that is “the Beginning of Months,” began on April 7, andPassover was celebrated on April 20, a month after theChristian rites of spring. I wrote a long e-mail back to theindividual who had asked me, “Do you know anything aboutthis?” You can read my response in our April 2008 YAIYNews Newsletter. Basically, I rolled out the Scripture forher as it pertains to Yahweh’s Feasts. Also, I was startled at a luncheon in March, when aCatholic friend, to whom I’ve shared much of my beliefs,asked me out of the blue, “John, I have a question; and, Iknow that you’ll have the correct answer.” I couldn’t imaginewhat she was going to ask me. She said, “Did Easter cometoo early this year?” If her first statement wasn’t startlingenough, this one caused me to drop my fork. You know, wedon’t often have opportunities like this to enlighten ourfriends, and it wasn’t until the next day that it dawned onme what the perfect answer might have been. I should have

TheFirstFeast

Seasonanswered her question about Easter coming early withanother question, “What does Scripture say?” As much asthat may have been the “right” answer, perhaps it wasYahweh’s Spirit that prevented me from saying that, as itmay have been taken as condemnation, especially in frontof her friends, since there is clearly nothing in Scriptureabout the celebration of Easter. What I said to her was,“Well, of course it’s correct! After all, the Catholic Churchcreated it.” I’m not sure anyone there understood thesarcasm in my answer. After all, by the definition of “Holy”,who among us of the flesh has the right to make up theirown “Holy Days”?

Is Easter Scriptural?When Jeremiah was confronting the people on their wickedways, we read in Jeremiah 44:16-29, As for the word that you have spoken to us in the nameof Yahweh, we will not listen to you! But we will certainly dowhatever has gone out of our own mouth, to burn incenseto the queen of heaven and pour out drink offerings to her,as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and ourprinces, in the cities of Judah and in the streets ofJerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off,and saw no trouble. But since we stopped burning incenseto the queen of heaven and pouring out drink offerings toher, we have lacked everything and have been consumedby the sword and by famine.The women also said, “Andwhen we burned incense to the queen of heaven and pouredout drink offerings to her, did we make cakes for her, toworship her, and pour out drink offerings to her without ourhusbands’ permission?” (In other words, the women weresaying, “Why are you talking to us? Talk to our husbands;they know what we’re doing! Who do you think is teachingus these things!”) Then Jeremiah spoke to all the people –the men, the women, and all the people who had given himthat answer – saying: “The incense that you burned in thecities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem, you andyour fathers, your kings and your princes, and the peopleof the land – did not Yahweh remember them, and did it not


come into His mind? So Yahweh couldno longer bear it, because of the evilof your doings and because of theabominations which you committed.[That’s why] your land is a desolation,an astonishment, a curse, and withoutan inhabitant, as it is this day. Becauseyou have burned incense and becauseyou have sinned against Yahweh, andhave not obeyed the voice of Yahwehor walked in His law, in His statutes orin His testimonies, therefore thiscalamity has happened to you, as atthis day.” Moreover Jeremiah (orYirmehYah, whose name means, “YahWill Rise”) said to all the people andto all the women, “Hear the word ofYahweh, all Judah who are in the landof Egypt! Thus says Yahweh of hosts,the Elohi of Israel, saying: ‘You andyour wives have spoken with yourmouths and fulfilled with yourhands, saying, “We will surelykeep our vows that we have made,to burn incense to the queen ofheaven and pour out drinkofferings to her.” You will surelykeep your vows and perform yourvows!’” Therefore hear the wordof Yahweh, all Judah who dwellin the land of Egypt: “Behold, Ihave sworn by My great name,”says Yahweh, “that My nameshall no more be named in themouth of any man of Judah in allthe land of Egypt, saying, ‘TheSovereign Yahweh lives. Behold,I will watch over them foradversity and not for good. And all themen of Judah who are in the land ofEgypt shall be consumed by the swordand by famine, until there is an end tothem. Yet a small number who escapethe sword shall return from the land ofEgypt to the land of Judah; and all theremnant of Judah, who have gone tothe land of Egypt to dwell there, shallknow whose words will stand, Mine ortheirs. And this shall be a sign to you,’says Yahweh, ‘that I will punish you inthis place, that you may know that Mywords will surely stand against you foradversity.’”

Queen of HeavenNow, THAT is a righteous and harshjudgment! And why were they judged

so harshly? Why was Yahweh soangry? The reason was they went “tothe land of Egypt to dwell there.” Theytook up the worship of false deities,and the men were fully aware that theirwives were worshipping “the Queen ofHeaven.” And, exactly who is thisQueen of Heaven? None other thanEaster, the goddess of springtime,heralded in at the time of the springequinox. In keeping with the pagantradition of changing the names ofdeities, while keeping the holiday ofEaster, the Catholic Church has founda new Queen of Heaven. Who is she?She is none other than “Mary.” I was,in fact, startled to discover on theinternet, the “Queen of Heaven Parish”in Erlanger, Kentucky. Hello! Howmany sermons do you think you’ll hear

in that church that quote the 44th

chapter of Jeremiah – with any respectat all to Yahweh? I would not want tobe in that building when Yahshuareturns.

Son of the Queen of HeavenIn Ezekiel 8:12-14, we read, Then He said to me, “Son of man,have you seen what the elders of thehouse of Israel do in the dark, everyman in the room of his idols? For theysay, ‘Yahweh does not see us, Yahwehhas forsaken the land.’ And He said tome, ‘Turn again, and you will seegreater abominations that they aredoing’.” So He brought me to the doorof the north gate of the House of

Yahweh; and to my dismay, womenwere sitting there weeping for Tammuz. Tammuz is a Babylonian deity, theson of the sun god, Nimrod, husbandto Semiramis, who deified herself asthe Queen of Heaven. The story of this“holy” family is too long to explain indetail here. Let it be simply said thatthis story lives on, but with othernames like Ashterah (Easter, the fertileone), Zeus (the mighty king), Mithra(the son) and so on. It is a story thatattempts to replace the true plan ofsalvation with fraudulence in order tolead many astray from the true Elohim,Yahweh Almighty, and His Son,Yahshua the Messiah.

Venerable Day of the SunContinuing with Ezekiel 8:15-16,

Then He said to me, “Have youseen this, O son of man? Turnagain, you will see greaterabominations than these.” So Hebrought me into the inner court ofYahweh’s house; and there, at thedoor of the temple of Yahweh,between the porch and the altar,were about twenty-five men withtheir backs toward the temple ofYahweh and their faces toward theeast, and they were worshiping thesun toward the east. “Sol Invictus,” the “UnconqueredSun,” was the Roman sun godcreated by the emperor Aurelian in274. It overshadowed other Easterncults in importance, until the

abolition of paganism underTheodosius I. The Romans held afestival on December 25 of Dies NatalisSolis Invicti, “the birthday of theunconquered sun,” the date after thewinter solstice with the first detectablelengthening of daylight hours. The Israelites, the Greeks and theRomans submitted to the falseteachings originating from Babylon. Itseems that, without the presence ofthe Holy Spirit of Yahweh working inthe hearts and minds of men, there islittle strength to endure the call of theflesh. After these things I saw anotherangel coming down from heaven,having great authority, and the earthwas illuminated with his glory. And he

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cried mightily with a loud voice, saying,“Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,and has become a dwelling place ofdemons, a prison for every foul spirit,and a cage for every unclean and hatedbird! For all the nations have drunk ofthe wine of the wrath of her fornication,the kings of the earth have committedfornication with her, and the merchantsof the earth have become rich throughthe abundance of her luxury,”Revelation 18:1-3. It should be noted here that, in thephrase “Babylon the great is fallen, isfallen, and has become a dwellingplace of demons, a prison for every foulspirit, and a cage for every unclean andhated bird,” the word “fallen” does notmean destroyed, at least in thispresent time. How can it? Babylon ISa dwelling place ofdemons, a prison forevery foul spirit, and acage for every uncleanand hated bird. The word,fallen, is the Greek word,pipto , and means“alighting, to light upon, tofly or to fall”. In otherwords, the eagle, asymbol of Babylon, haslanded! Babylon is here,right in front of our eyes. And I heard anothervoice from heavensaying, “Come out of her,my people, lest you sharein her sins, and lest youreceive of her plagues.For her sins havereached to heaven, and Yahweh hasremembered her iniquities. Render toher just as she rendered to you, andrepay her double according to herworks; in the cup which she has mixed,mix double for her. In the measure thatshe glorified herself and livedluxuriously, in the same measure giveher torment and sorrow; for she saysin her heart, ‘I sit as queen, and amno widow (in other words, “I have manyrich and powerful lovers, none of whomdo I respect or commit my life to”), andwill not see sorrow.’ Therefore herplagues will come in one day – deathand mourning and famine. And she willbe utterly burned with fire, for strong

is the Sovereign Yahweh who judgesher, Revelation 18:4-8. The fear of Yahweh is the beginningof wisdom, and the knowledge of theHoly one is understanding, Proverbs9:10.

Similarities and Differencesof True and False HolyDaysYears ago, as I remember lookingthrough the newsletter where I work, Isaw the annual announcements for the“holy season schedule.” I was notsurprised to see Easter, AshWednesday and Good Friday on theschedule; but I was somewhatsurprised to see “Holy (or Maundy)

Thursday” and “Pentecost” on theschedule. My attention to the articlegrew stronger when I compared theircalendar with Yahweh’s Calendarposted on the wall of my office, uponwhich was noted: the first day of theScriptural new year, Passover, the 1st

and last days of the Feast ofUnleavened Bread and the Feast ofWeeks (or Pentecost). What struckme was that their schedule haddesignated “holy days” whichcorresponded directly to the timing ofsome of the Scriptural set-apart days.What I mean is they matched thesame days, but not the same purposeor meaning. They would be celebrating

“Holy Thursday” and “Good Friday”when we will be celebrating Passoverand the 1st Day of the Feast ofUnleavened Bread. The only day that had a mutual timeAND name was Pentecost. There wasno comparable day on their calendarfor the Scriptural first day of the newyear or the Last Day of UnleavenedBread. Interestingly, on the Christiancalendar the First and Last Day ofUnleavened Bread is equivalent to PalmSunday and Easter Sunday; both are8 days long. When we consider this,though, we realize that any apparentsimilarity that might be seen betweenchurchianity’s “holy days” and theScriptural Set-Apart days is, purely,coincidental. In fact, if we comparethese two 8-day festivals, they were 6

days apart from oneanother that year, inspite of the apparentalignment of Passover,First Day of UnleavenedBread and the SheafWave Offering.Ironically, the only directcorrelation between ourfaith and Christianity isPentecost, calledShavuot or Feast ofWeeks. And, even withthat, from year-to-yearthe days do not alwaysline up, due to theirunscriptural doctrine ofdetermining the dates(the equinox, Sundayand full-moon instead of

the Scriptural sighting of the new moonand the ripeness of the barley harvestin Jerusalem). Most people know that thedisciples received the set-apart Spiriton the day of Pentecost; however, mostpeople don’t know that it was the“anniversary” of the day that Moseswent up to receive, for the Israelites,the Ten Commandments on MountSinai, after walking 7 weeks in thewilderness of Sinai.

The Sheaf Wave OfferingIn Leviticus 23, beginning at verse 10,we read about another Holy day.Yahweh is speaking to Moses:

Rabbits, eggs and hot cross buns are symbols associatedwith the pagan Easter


Speak to the sons of Israel andsay to them, “When you enter the landwhich I am going to give to you andreap its harvest, then you shall bringin the sheaf of the first fruits of yourharvest to the priest,” Leviticus 23:10. Yahshua was THE FIRST of thefirstfruits. He shall wave the sheaf beforeYahweh for you to be accepted; onthe day after the Sabbath the priestshall wave it, Leviticus 23:11. The sheaf wave (symbolically,Yahshua), is offered on the 1st day ofthe week, which today is called‘Sunday.’ It’s important to know,though, that this CANNOT besymbolic of the resurrection.Yahshua arose prior to sunset, on theweekly Sabbath, “as the first day ofthe week was ‘dawning’ – not dawn,but at sunset,” when the new daybegan in Biblical times! The clearesttranslation that I have found was writtenin 1890 by J. N. Darby. Now late on Sabbath, as it wasthe dusk of the next day afterSabbath, came Mary of Magdala andthe other Mary to look at the sepulcher,Matthew 28:1 John N. Darby,Translation 1890. Just a note: John Darby was bornin 1800 and died in 1882. Hisbiography includes this statement: “Asoccasion arose he would throw offreligious conventionality. Darby,constrained by the Scriptural view ofthe Church as independent of theState, relinquished his parochialposition in 1827, and in the next yearcompleted his separation from theEstablishment by ‘breaking bread’ inDublin with” … like-minded“associates.” I think we might havegotten along well with John Darby,simply because he seems to besearching Scripture, not tradition,when seeking truth. The Greek word for “dusk” (whichis most commonly translated inEnglish as “dawn” in this verse), isepiphosko, which is used to meaneither physical or intellectualillumination; and as Darby translatesit, he is undoubtedly making areference to a Hebrew idiom which istranslated, “between the evenings,”

meaning the time in-between thesetting of the sun and when darknesshas fully come. It resembles, if notduplicates, our English term, “twilight,”which is probably a derivative of thepossible phrase, “betwixt the light ofthe day and the light of the night.” Now,the words “light” here do notnecessarily refer to the aspect of“lightness,” but to the two lightsdescribed in Genesis 1:16 – “AndElohim made two great lights; thegreater light to rule the day, and thelesser light to rule the night ….” Thismakes even more sense to us whosearch for the new moon each month.We know, by experience, that after thelight of the day (the sun gone down),there is a brief period of time in whichneither the moon or the sun are visible.

Then we see the moon! It’s stillexciting for me. The conclusion toMatthew 28:1 is this: The two womencame to the sepulcher at sundown,late on Sabbath – NOT at sunrise thenext day! Yahshua therefore rose fromthe grave on the day before Sunday. The English word late is the Greekword opse, meaning, “late in the day,”and by extension, “after the close ofthe day.” It is used in the King JamesVersion as “at even” and “in the end.” I’d love to expand on this theme,but it would require more space thanwe have here; however, the firstquestion leading into such a discussionwould be, “What is the ONE sign thatthe Messiah gave that He was indeedthe Messiah?” The answer is, ofcourse, the sign of Jonah, thatYahshua would be in the belly of the

earth for 3 days and 3 nights, makinga Friday afternoon burial to Sundaymorning resurrection impossible. Yahshua rose from the grave onShabbat, the 7th day Sabbath ofYahweh. On the first day of the weekHe ascended into heaven as the SheafWave Offering. He then returned fromheaven to earth to meet with HisDisciples for the next 40 days, atwhich time, He again ascended intoHeaven to sit at the right hand of HisFather, Yahweh. Ten days after Hisascension, His disciples received theSet-Apart Spirit of Yahweh andperformed mighty miracles. In 2008 the sheaf wave offering onthe day after the weekly Sabbath inthe midst of the Feast of UnleavenedBread is an Appointed Time of Yahweh,but is not one of the annual HighSabbaths of Yahweh. It symbolizesthe ascent of Yahshua into heaven asthe Sheaf Wave Offering. It is not aday for convocation. And, it IS a daythat Yahweh says “is to be aperpetual statute throughout ourgenerations in all our dwelling places,”the same designation that is given toeach of the High or Annual Sabbathsgiven by Yahweh. Now on the day when you wave thesheaf, you shall offer a male lambone year old without defect for aburnt offering to Yahweh. Its grainoffering shall then be two-tenths of anephah of fine flour mixed with oil, anoffering by fire to Yahweh for asoothing aroma, with its drink offering,a fourth of a hin of wine. Until thissame day, until you have brought inthe offering of your Elohim, you shalleat neither bread nor roasted grain nornew growth. It is to be a perpetualstatute throughout your generations inall your dwelling places, Leviticus23:12 –14.

PentecostThe day of the sheaf wave offering isused to count towards Pentecost,which means “fiftieth day” in Greek. You shall also count for yourselvesfrom the day after the Sabbath, fromthe day when you brought in the sheaf

<First Season see page 19>


IntroductionIn the previous parts of this series we had shown how, byignoring the commands of Yahweh, many persons havebeen deceived and have wandered farther from Him. If youdelved deeper to find the fundamental reasons why manchooses the wrong paths, perhaps you would agree thatignorance and obsession with self are the two maincontenders. In this part we shall consider that man’soverriding desire to satisfy his needs and wants, whencombined with his attachment to and fascination with thingspertaining to this transitory life, obscures the true purposesof life and deprives him of his heritage. Any decision to disobey Yahweh is always preceded byan irresistible craving to satisfy or pander to self. This intensedesire to indulge self is perhaps the greatest single causeof errors of judgment that have ever been made. One willalways be deluded when the fixation with the glitter, glamouror even the necessity of the moment veils the underlyingpitfalls.

Examples of Egocentric DelusionEve made this mistake when she was tempted in the Gardenof Eden and ate of the forbidden fruit. She was thinking onlyof satisfying her senses. The here and now rather than thehereafter was what really mattered to her. She had madethis decision even though she knew she would havedispleased Yahweh by violating His command, and wasaware of the consequences Yahweh had said would followsuch disobedience. As she gazed upon that enticing fruitbefore her, and listened to the seductive words of theserpent, the words of Yahweh faded almost to the point ofpeaceful oblivion. There was only one compelling thought:

Be NotDeceived!

(Note: Except where otherwise stated all Bible references are taken from the New King James Version – NKJV with theHoly Names inserted.)

“If I could just touch it, and taste it…now!” Her fingersresponded to the irresistible wave of temptation that hadcaptivated her mind and body and shut down any contraryconsideration. She touched and tasted that which she hadthought was unobtainable. Her curiosity was appeased, andher desire satisfied, but she did not know the unendingprice all future generations would pay for her one momentof folly. Esau did the same thing. When overcome by intensehunger he sacrificed his birthright that promised a securefuture, just for a bowl of stew. He said to Jacob, Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright tome? (Gen 25:32) Judas did likewise when he betrayed the Saviour. Hesurrendered the highest and unique privilege of being inYahshua’s inner circle of twelve disciples and of spendingeternity with Him, for the sake of the paltry and incomparablesum of thirty pieces of silver. The prodigal son made thesame choice when he collected his inheritance from hisfather and walked away from the security and privileges ofhis father’s house, for the freedom to be a man on his own,and to ‘do his own thing’ with lots of money jangling in hispocket, but ended up eating the left-overs of pigs. Like Eve, Esau, Judas and the prodigal son, manypersons today are so preoccupied with the dazzling thingsof this present world and the immediate satisfaction of theirfleshy appetites, that they have no time or inclination toplease Yahweh or to prepare for their future eternal home.For ages Satan has continually led people astray from theireverlasting Father by causing them to focus their mindsupon and to form close bonds with transient things of thisworld as though this present life were all that mattered. Hehas always presented the objects of his distractions as

Part 3This Is Not It!


possessing such surpassing benefitsthat they demand instant selection.Like the proverbial dog dropping itsbone to snap at its shadow, so too thisworld has dropped what really mattersfor the delusion of instant gratification.

Where Are We Today?Today, Satan, “the ruler of this world,”John 12:31, is filled with “great wrath,because he knows that he has a shorttime,” Rev 12:12, and that the day isfast approaching when in accordancewith Yahweh’s time clock he will nolonger have the freedom to deceivepeople. In his remaining time, Satanis employing the same self-indulgentappeal that he used so effectively inthe Garden of Eden to lead people awayfrom Yahweh and eternal life, to deathand destruction. He has launched an all-out assaultthat targets man’s strongest negativeemotions and arouses the mostpassionate responses. Feelings suchas lust, pride, fear, hatred, selfishnessand greed are being sumptuously fedand encouraged to grow in a conduciveenvironment. In this massive finalthrust to wreak havoc, Satan is playingan active role in destabilizing the worldand causing many to focus even moreon their self-interests. Worldwide terrorism is spreadingthe wildfire of hatred and fear. Evildeeds like an active volcanic chain areerupting, causing disruption, sufferingand grief with unceasing regularity, andexpanding in scope and age range tosurpass anything the world has everknown. Through the influence of mediaand internet communication subtle andexplicit suggestions that pander to theelevation and obsession of self arebeing manufactured globally andthrown at us in total violation of ourright to control the gateways of ourmind. Sensuality in all of its manydevious forms is being promoted.Depravity is rampant. The appealing trap of greed andselfishness that has wooed the wholeworld is now inflicting its deadliestwound on all. The world’s strongest andlargest economies have begun tocollapse, trapping and crushing the

poorest countries that lie helplesslybeneath this monstrous debacle. Thehopes of many are being shattered withthe disintegration of the safety netsthey had so carefully devised. Theyhave properties that have depreciatedin value and which they cannot sell,debts that cannot be repaid,investments that have crumbled, andjobs that were deemed to be securebut are either lost or are like fragileprops that are inadequate to sustainthem. Dreams and ambitions are dailybeing wrecked. Now at last we can fully understandthe potential for the fulfilment of theprophecies in the book of Revelation: Babylon is fallen, is fallen, thatgreat city, because she has made allnations drink of the wine of the wrathof her fornication, Rev 14:8. “Alas, alas, that great city Babylon,that mighty city! For in one hour yourjudgment has come.” “‘For in one hoursuch great riches came to nothing.’Every shipmaster, all who travel byship, sailors, and as many as trade onthe sea, stood at a distance.” “Theythrew dust on their heads and criedout, weeping and wailing, and saying,‘Alas, alas, that great city, in which allwho had ships on the sea became richby her wealth! For in one hour she ismade desolate’,” Rev 18:10, 17 and 19. In spite of the global evidence ofthe fragility of this world’s fortune andthe futility of man’s best endeavours,minds are still deceived and people arenot yet turning to the only One whooffers unending security. Instead ofawakening to the folly of an attachmentto perishable things, people areallowing their emotions and health tosuffer a downturn that is far greaterthan the economic one. They cannotbear the thought of the threat that liesahead, yet they will not turn from theiridolatrous ways to Yahweh who cancalm the storms, make a way wherethere is no way, and give to themeternal life where no moth and rust cancorrupt. They are still obsessed with thehere and now even though it offers littleor no hope. “Those who trust in their wealth andboast in the multitude of their riches,

none of them can by any meansredeem his brother, nor give to Yahweha ransom for him.” “Likewise the fooland the senseless person perish, andleave their wealth to others. Their innerthought is that their houses will lastforever, their dwelling places to allgenerations; they call their lands aftertheir own names. Nevertheless man,though in honor, does not remain; Heis like the beasts that perish,” Psa49:5-7, 10-12. The global deterioration is a rudebut necessary reminder and stimulusto those who believe that this world isnot our home or the reason for ourhope. Paul wrote: If in this life only we have hope in[the Messiah], we are of all men themost pitiable, 1 Cor 15:19. The demise of the foundations uponwhich man had built his hopes is anessential prelude to the day when “theelements will melt with fervent heat”and “the earth and the works that arein it will be burned up”… Neverthelesswe, according to His promise, look fornew heavens and a new earth in whichrighteousness dwells,” 2 Pet 3:10,13. The curtain is closing to end thistransitory Scene in order that the finalAct will begin in which the true andfaithful will enter their long awaitedeternal home and the unrighteous willbe punished. Meanwhile, the majorityof spectators are dazed by theunfolding events and cannot thinkbeyond the threat of this present life.They are duped by their fascinationwith self and their preoccupation withthe here and now.

Materialistic DoctrinesMan does not need help orencouragement to be egocentric.Nevertheless, amidst the globalcollapse, many religiousdenominations are still unwittinglyfostering materialism and theaggrandizement of self, by their over-emphasis on the natural benefits ofserving Yahweh. They take verses out of contextsuch as “Yahweh will make you thehead and not the tail; you shall beabove only, and not be beneath,”without quoting the conditions


attached to promises such as, “if youheed the commandments of Yahwehyour Elohim, which I command youtoday, and are careful to observethem,” Deut 28:13. Pre-eminence isgiven to receiving from Yahweh ratherthan on honouring, serving, loving andobeying Him. It is as if the prodigalson thought he could continue to eatfrom his father’s house while he wasaway from him. Be not deluded by the law-breakingministries that will entice you to givemoney to their causes and promisethat in return Yahweh will bless you.They often freely misquoteDeuteronomy 28 that “All theseblessings shall come upon you andovertake you, because you obey thevoice of Yahweh your Elohim: Blessedshall you be in the city, and blessedshall you be in the country. Blessedshall be the fruit of your body, theproduce of your ground and theincrease of your herds, the increaseof your cattle and the offspring of yourflocks. Blessed shall be your basketand your kneading bowl. Blessed shallyou be when you come in, and blessedshall you be when you go out. Yahwehwill cause your enemies who riseagainst you to be defeated before yourface; they shall come out against youone way and flee before you sevenways. Yahweh will command theblessing on you in your storehousesand in all to which you set your hand,and He will bless you in the land whichYahweh your Elohim is giving you,” Deut28:2-8. The misquotation comes as beforeby taking these verses out of contextand ignoring that such blessings willcome, not by bribing Yahweh withgifts, but by “Diligently [obeying] thevoice of Yahweh your Elohim, toobserve carefully all Hiscommandments,” Deut 28:1. It is a misuse and abuse of theScriptures for preachers to substitutethe conditional clause in a passagewith their own and still promise thesame results that Yahweh hadpromised. Such ‘cut-and-paste’theology is false. The self-centered oroptimistic commands of men do notguarantee Yahweh’s blessings. They

only serve to keep self-interest on thethrone that should be occupied byYahweh. Such misleading teachings,instead of enhancing a love of Yahweh,encourages a love of one’s self. Ingiving, their followers are not trulyinvesting in Yahweh’s cause, but intheir own. They are giving merelybecause they have been persuadedthat they will be blessed if they give.Their motivation is not Yahweh butselfishness. Yahshua’s teaching was quitedifferent. He taught self-denial. He said, If anyone desires to come afterMe, let him deny himself, and take uphis [yoke], and follow Me, Matt 16:24. He said, Do not labour for the food whichperishes, but for the food whichendures to everlasting life, which theSon of Man will give you, John 6:27. He taught we should not “Lay upfor [ourselves] treasures on earth,where moth and rust destroy and wherethieves break in and steal; but lay upfor yourselves treasures in heaven,where neither moth nor rust destroysand where thieves do not break in andsteal. For where your treasure is, thereyour heart will be also,” Matt 6:19-21. His priority for us is to “Seek firstthe kingdom of Yahweh and Hisrighteousness, and all these thingsshall be added to you,” Matt 6:31-33. You do not put Yahweh first whenyou make token gestures designed toattract His attention while your eyesare firmly riveted on receiving from Hishands the benefits that you reallydesire more earnestly than Him. Youare deceived if you think that by takingone half-hearted step towards YahwehHe will take note and gratefully openthe windows of heaven to pour outblessings upon you. This is self-centered theology dressed up withsome convenient supporting versestaken from the Bible. You cannot bribeYahweh with gifts that are purportedto be to Him, but are in fact down-payments on the rewards you seek. Whilst claiming Yahweh’s laws areabolished, preachers highlighting thetheme of prosperity audaciously drawvery heavily on the law of tithing.Without any qualms of conscience,

they quote freely from Malachi 3 thatYahweh will bless you if you pay tithesto their assemblies, even thoughaccording to their own teachings,tithes should have been lumpedtogether with the other laws anddumped when grace appeared! It isstrange how conveniently andshamelessly they forsake theirfavourite doctrine that Yahweh’s lawsare abolished in order to gain financialsustenance for their organizations.They gladly rummage in the rubbishbins in which Yahweh’s laws aresupposed to be confined, in order tosalvage the means for their financialupkeep. Necessity is no excuse orbasis for compromising one’s beliefsor for selectively observing some ofYahweh’s commands. The promoters and adherents ofsuch teachings give priority to theirown interests and are deceived inthinking that Yahweh is hoodwinkedby their hypocrisy. These convenientdoctrines are subtle satanic deceptionscomparable with the strategy used inthe Garden of Eden of putting self-interest first. Although Yahweh can andis willing to bless us here and now, wewere created for a purpose that farexceeds His choicest blessings in thislife. The things in this world aredestined only for destruction. Theycannot last forever. It is not Yahweh’smaterial or physical blessings that aremost important but our eternalheritage, and He Himself. His mostabundant blessings now are like lightsprinkles of rain when compared to theheavy unending showers that await usin His Kingdom. Beware of all materialisticdoctrines. They are deeply anchoredon SELF and not upon Yahweh.Yahshua, when asked which is the firstcommandment, replied “You shall loveYahweh your Elohim with all your heart,with all your soul, with all your mind,and with all your strength. This is thefirst commandment. And the second,like it, is this: ‘You shall love yourneighbor as yourself.’ There is no othercommandment greater than these,”Mark 12:30 and 31. As self-interest increases, the lovetowards Yahweh and our fellowmen


declines. Yahshua warned that“Because lawlessness will abound, thelove of many will grow cold,” Matt24:12. The evangel that Yahshua and Hisdisciples proclaimed was of a comingKingdom and of the urgent need torepent. Their message was the exactopposite of the popular doctrines thatare being emphasized in an alreadymaterialistic and self-centered world.The important teachings of Yahshuaare virtually silenced by thematerialistic sermons and motivationallectures that flow incessantly frommany of today’s pulpits. Self-enhancement has its place in oursociety, but cannot replace thefundamental messages of salvation andrighteousness that are vital forinheriting eternal life. Yahshua did notcome to repair this old world or to putHis “new wine into old wineskins,” Matt9:17. In answer to today’s over-workedself-improvement ‘sermons’ He wouldsay, “That which is born of the flesh isflesh,” however much we may try torefine it. A swine will continue to be aswine though dressed in costliestapparel in a king’s palace. Yahshua’s mission was for thoseof us who believe on Him and obeyHim to have eternal life. He said thatHis way involves death to self andleaving all in this world to follow Him,not following Him in order to gaineverything in this life. Real life comesby dying to self. Death comes by livingfor self.

Get Your Priorities RightThe world and the cherished things init will pass away. Eve, Esau, Judasand the prodigal son selected theinstant perishable commodities. Theirrecord would have been quite differentif, instead of giving in to their impulses,they had been determined to satisfytheir long-term interest rather than afleeting attraction. The reality is thatwhen for whatever reasons a self-centered alternative dominates, thereis hardly a choice. The tendency thenis for one to yield to self rather thanstruggle against one’s will. The rootcause of our preferences is muchdeeper than the momentary selection.

The underlying reason for the choicewe make is dependent on who or whathas priority in our lives. Yahshua said, No one can serve two masters; foreither he will hate the one and love theother, or else he will be loyal to theone and despise the other, Matt 6:24. If ‘self’ is predominant, it will beyour master. Many persons are still hankeringafter the corruptible goods of this life,which are disintegrating. They stillprefer the diminishing gifts to the Giver.Few persons make a conscious effortto choose Satan and not Yahweh. Butmany, by seeking mostly to gratifythemselves, leave an open door for theenemy to enter. Meanwhile Satan continues tobombard and poison the minds ofpeople causing them to focus on thingsthat will not last. In good times theyare preoccupied with gaining more ofthis world’s goods. In hard times theyworry about losing it all. The ‘world, the flesh and the devil’thus form a triple force, which isirresistible except we are fully yieldedto the over-riding power of Yahweh’sSpirit. Without Yahweh’s help we aredefenceless and can be blinded anddeluded when tempted by tangible andtemporary rewards that for a momentmay seem more desirable than theinestimable glory that is to be revealedby following Yahshua! As Satanbeguiled Eve by a fruit, so he is busydeceiving people with the glittering oreven fading things of this world. If, as Yahshua said, we should seekfirst the kingdom of Yahweh, then thisworld with all of its attractions wouldnot have any strong hold on us.Wherever and whenever Yahweh is notuppermost in our thoughts, we arevulnerable to Satan’s duplicity. Our“kingdom is not of this world,” John18:36. By contrast to the expecteddemise of this world’s kingdoms, thekingdom of Yahweh is “An everlastingkingdom, and [His] dominion enduresthroughout all generations,” Psa145:13. The present time is too serious forus to be focussed on things of noeternal value. While Satanic forces are

intensifying their efforts to lead theworld astray, those whose hearts arein tune with Yahweh should desire,now more than ever, to put Yahweh firstand to “always do those things thatplease Him,” John 8:29. TheBridegroom is almost here. It is timeto awake from deluded slumber, throwoff the cosy coverings of self-interestand go forth blazing our torches of truthto shine the path that leads to Him. The greatest splendour in this worldcannot in any way be compared withthe glory that awaits us. Our eternal heritage is tooimportant to sacrifice it for thetemporary appeasement of our fleshlyappetites.

ConclusionThe time referred to in Revelationchapters 14 and 18 is surely coming.Nothing and no one will prevent it. Thebig calamity is on its way. Now is notthe time to “spend money for what isnot bread, and your wages for whatdoes not satisfy.” Instead, it is the timeto “Listen carefully to [Yahweh], andeat what is good, and let your souldelight itself in [His] abundance,” Isa55:2. Worldly goods and pleasures havelured many from the narrow andstraight paths of righteousness into thebroad road that leads to destruction. John wrote in his first epistle: Do not love the world or the thingsin the world. If anyone loves the world,the love of the Father is not in him, 1John 2:15. When self-centeredness and thepursuits and cares of this life are one’sfirst priority, other more importantthings are squeezed out. True believers do not have to bedeceived by “The cares of this world,the deceitfulness of riches, and thedesires for other things,” Mark 4:19. This tottering world is not our finaldestination. We are travellers and notresidents. Hebrews 11:13, 14 and 16show that we are “Strangers andpilgrims on the earth… [seeking] ahomeland and … desire a better, that

<Deceived see page 18>


Each year as Passover approaches, the question isdebated: does wine or grape juice symbolize the blood ofthe New Covenant? Many papers contending for one or the other substanceappear each year and a few even argue that the cupcontained water. (Yahshua specifically called the contentsof the cup “fruit of the vine.” How can water be consideredfruit of the vine?) Some congregations use grape juice because of a fearof alcohol rather than because they have Scriptural prooffor grape juice. Perfect love casts out fear, John 4:18. Therefore, if Scriptures indicate wine is the right choice,why fear the alcohol it contains? Technically, both are fruitof the vine. Surely, though, Scriptures verify one or the otherand even though Yahshua’s reference to “fruit of the vine” isambiguous, a Bible student should be able to determinewhich is the right choice. Nave’s Topical Bible refers to Matthew 26:27-29 asproof that wine symbolizes Yahshua’ s blood. TheseScriptures read: Then He took the cup, gave thanks and offered it tothem saying, “Drink from it all of you. This is my blood ofthe covenant, which is poured out for many for theforgiveness of sins. I tell you, I will not drink of this fruit ofthe vine from now on until that day when I drink it anew withyou in my Father’s kingdom.” This doesn’t prove that the cup contained wine. It justproves the content of cup was fruit of the vine which couldeither be wine or grape juice. The belief that Matthew 26:27-29 proves that the cup contained wine is a traditional belief.The unreliability of tradition as a basis of belief is illustratedby the following anecdote: A man’s wife always cuts off the ends of a steak before

Fruit of theVine and the

PassoverCup

cooking it, so one day he asked, “Why do you always cutthe ends off a steak before you cook it?” She replied, “I learned to cook from my mother and shealways cut the ends off a steak before cooking it. She musthave had a reason, so I do it, too.” The man went to his mother-in-law and asked her whyshe always cut the ends off a steak before she cooked it. “I learned to cook from my mother and she always cutthe ends off a steak before she cooked it. She didn’t tell methe reason, and I didn’t ask her. I just do it because I believeshe had a good reason.” Because his wife’s grandmother was still living, he wentto her with the same question. The elderly lady told him that when she was cooking forthe family she seldom could buy a steak that fit the smallpan she had, so she cut it down to fit the pan.

Wine: Yahweh’s WrathRed wine has been considered a symbol of blood sinceancient times. It is a traditional belief that originated inBabylon and was passed down from generation togeneration as unthinkingly as the woman who blindlyrepeated the culinary routine of her mother. No doubt many people use wine at Passover becausethat is what their fathers traditionally used. Let’s not standon tradition. We must base our belief and practice on whatwe can verify in Yahweh’s Word. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:21, You cannot drink the cup of Yahweh, and the cup ofdevils: you cannot be partakers of Yahweh’s table, and thetable of devils. Paul refers to the cup that Yahshua gave to His disciplesas the cup of blessing. Psalm 23:5 says, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of


mine enemies: thou anointest my headwith oil; my cup runneth over. Overflows with what? The cupYahweh gives to the righteousoverflows with blessings, but to thewicked He gives the cup of wrath. In Psalm 75:8 we read, In the hand of Yahweh is a cup fullof foaming wine [red wine, KJV] mixedwith spices; he pours it out, and allthe wicked drink it down to the verydregs. Jeremiah 25:15-16 says, The Mighty One of Israel said tome: “Take from my hand this cup filledwith wine of my wrath and make all thenations to whom I send you drink it.When they drink it they will staggerand go mad because of the sword Iwill send them.” Wine is the symbol of Yahweh’swrath! Would Yahshua be contradictingHis Heavenly Father if He used winein the cup of blessing as the symbolof the blood of the covenant? Job 19:29tells us wrath brings punishment bythe sword. The sword is a symbol ofwar! The sword makes blood flow andPaul tells us in Ephesians 5:6 that itwill be the blood of the disobedient(wicked) that will flow when Yahwehpours out His wrath. Isaiah the prophet describes theend-time fury of a returning Savior: I have trodden the winepress alone;from the nations no one was with me.I trampled them in my anger and trodthem in my wrath; their blood spatteredmy garments, and stained all myclothing. For the day of my vengeancewas in my heart, and the year of myredemption has come. I looked butthere was no one to help, I wasappalled that no one gave support; somy own arm worked salvation for me,and my own wrath sustained me. Itrampled the nations in my anger; inmy wrath I made them drink andpoured their blood on the ground,Isaiah 63:3-6.

‘Wine’press and Grapes“Winepress” is merely a figure ofspeech in these verses. The blood that

spattered His garments flowed from thepeople upon whom His wrath fell, notfrom the winepress. This indicates that the juice of thetrampled grapes symbolizes the bloodof the sin-tainted people, notYahshua’s sinless blood. Thewinepress (more properly, grape juicepress) represents His fury andjudgment, Revelation 19:11-16. Hisvesture is dipped in blood, verse 13,the juice of the grape. He makes grass grow for cattle,and plants for man to cultivate bringingforth food from the earth: wine thatgladdens the heart of man, oil to makehis face shine, and bread that sustainshis heart, Psalm 104:14-15. Here wine is listed among the goodthings Yahweh provides from the earth.Paul could not say, “Stop drinking onlywater, and use a little wine for thestomach” (1Tim. 5:23) if wine wasconsidered bad in itself. But, he doeswarn us not to drink too much wine.

Excessive Wine DisruptsDo not get drunk on wine which leadsto debauchery, Ephesians 5:18. And He says a drunkard will neverenter into the Kingdom of Heaven, 1Corinthians 6:9-10. The dangers of alcohol are many,even in Scriptures. We are told inGenesis 9:20-21 that Noah planted avineyard after the flood and got drunkon the wine produced from it. Proverbs 4:14-17 says, Do not set foot on the path of thewicked or walk in the way of evil men.Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn fromit and go on your way. For they cannotsleep until they do evil; they arerobbed of slumber till they makesomeone fall. They eat the bread ofwickedness and drink the wine ofviolence. The Bread of Life is symbolized byunleavened bread. Is the opposite,bread of wickedness, symbolized byleavened bread? Aren’t wrath andviolence the opposite of the peace ofYahweh? In the Scriptures we have

considered, wine is used as a symbolof the opposite of peace. Is itreasonable to assume Yahshua woulduse wine as a symbol of the blood ofthe covenant? Noah was not a drunkard. Heslipped up once after the flood and lostcontrol of himself, but the fact that hewas saved from Yahweh’s wrath andcounted among the righteous inHebrews 11 is proof that Noah did notwalk in the way of evil men and eatthe bread of wickedness.

Grapes are Firstfruits Fermentation of grape juice is causedby the same enzyme in grapes that isin yeast that leavens bread. Yahshuais sinless and is symbolized by thefirst fruits of the spring grain harvest.He is represented by the wave sheafof maturing, unleavened grain cut fromthe field before the harvest begins. Hisbody is sinless. Therefore, it issymbolized by unleavened bread eatenat Passover- bread unchanged by thefermenting process. Pure, unfermented, unchangedgrape juice is the first product obtainedfrom crushing the fruit of the vine. It isthe “firstfruit” of the process. Wine is a byproduct. It is used inScripture in reference to wrath andviolence that causes sinful humanblood to flow. In light of these factsalone, the correct Scriptural symbolfor Yahshua’s sinless blood of thecovenant must be grape juice.

Fermenting GrapesIn Luke 12:1, Yahshua likens hypocrisyof the Pharisees to leaven and in 1Corinthians 5:8, Paul refers to theleaven of malice and wickedness. Bothare references to the influence ofbeliefs and practices that cause achange in the spiritual nature of people. The dictionary defines leaven as anagent that acts in or upon somethingto produce a gradual change in thething acted upon. Leavening is referredto as the fermentation of a new batchof dough. That fermentation is causedby the same agent, yeast, that induces


fermentation in liquids during theproduction of alcoholic beverages. In other words, fermentation ofgrape juice is the same change fromits original purity that occurs in theleavening of dough. This last is a reference to a nonscriptural authority that is given toshow that the conclusion drawn fromthe Scriptures can be verified byobservation of things in this world thatwere made by Yahweh. A congregationthat uses wine as a symbol ofYahshua’s blood is not demonstratingunderstanding of the hidden wisdomin Yahweh’s use of symbols!

Priestly AbstentionThe Bible is full of warnings againstoverindulgence of wine or strong drink,but Yahweh does not advocate totalabstinence from either. True, a personwho has a problem with physicaladdiction or emotional dependencemust exercise the self-controlnecessary to abstain from any use ofalcoholic beverages at all times underall circumstances. There are two occasions uponwhich normal people are to abstainfrom wine or strong drink and oneoccasion upon which we are not todrink even grape juice. The twoScriptures are Lev 10:8-10 andNumbers 6:1-4. Then Yahweh said to Aaron, “Youand your sons are not to drink wine orother fermented drink whenever you gointo the Tent of Meeting, or you willdie. This is a lasting ordinance for thegenerations to come. You mustdistinguish between the holy and theunholy and between the unclean andthe clean,” Lev 10:8-10. Are we not told that everyone in theNew Covenant is or will be a priest orking? Are we not in Yahweh’s presencewhen we gather with brethren topartake of Passover? Wouldn’tYahshua have transgressed thiscommandment if He had given Hisdisciples wine to drink at His lastPassover with them? Yahweh said to Moses, “Speak to

the Israelites and say to them: If a manor woman wants to make a specialvow, a vow of separation to Yahweh asa Nazarite, he must abstain from wineand other fermented drink and mustnot drink vinegar made from wine orfrom other fermented drink. He mustnot drink grape juice or eat grapes orraisins. As long as he is a Nazarite,he must not eat anything that comesfrom the grapevine, not even the seedsor skins,” Number 6:1-4.

A person partaking of Passover isin Yahweh’s presence, but he is nottaking a Nazarite vow in the OldCovenant sense. Therefore, drinkinggrape juice at Passover would not bebreaking this commandment. Butdrinking wine would break thecommandment not to drink wine in Hispresence.

Symbolism in WorshipThe New Testament mentions fivethings from which total abstinence iscommanded and neither wine norstrong drinks are among them. Acts15:29 gives three of them: foodsacrificed to idols, blood, and sexualimmorality. We are literally to abstain fromfood sacrificed to idols and figurativelynot to feed our minds on false doctrinesof paganism. We must literally abstain fromeating or drinking blood of animals.What about symbolically drinking theblood of human “animals”? Yes, literal sexual immorality. AndYahweh calls any worship not directedto Him adultery. In a spiritual sense,then, any worship borrowed frompaganism is not directed to Him andis not pleasing to Him. It would bespiritual immorality and Yahwehemphatically tells us in Deuteronomy12:30-31 not to worship Him in waysthe pagans worshiped their idols. Take heed to thyself that thou benot snared by following them, after thatthey be destroyed from before thee;and that thou inquire not after theiridols, saying, How did these nations

serve their idols? even so will I dolikewise. Thou shalt not do so untoYahweh thy Elohim: for everyabomination to Yahweh, which hehateth, have they done unto theiridols; for even their sons and theirdaughters they have burnt in the fireto their idols. The fourth thing from which we areto abstain is mentioned in 1Peter 2:11and that is sinful desires. The KingJames calls sinful desires lust of theflesh, meaning inordinate and perversesexual desire, literally, and figurativelymeaning the lusts of a carnal mind forworldly pleasures, treasures, andcreature comforts. We are told the fifth thing fromwhich we are to abstain in1Thessalonians 5:22. This verse saysto avoid every kind of evil. The KingJames says to “abstain from allappearance of evil.” Obeying this commandment canput a person in a real bind to decidewhat is really evil and what onlyappears to be evil. When people areconfronted with this decision, theaction they choose is generallydetermined, whether they realize it ornot, by whose eyes they wish to appeargood in - Yahweh’s or man’s. Theydecide on the basis of what theybelieve appears good to Yahweh andevil to man and what appears evil toYahweh and good to man.

Yahweh says: “Woe to those whocall evil good and good evil,” Isaiah5:20.

Babylonian CorruptionIsaiah 29:1-8 is a veiled prophecy ofArmageddon and what will happen toJerusalem, poetically called Ariel.“Ariel” is a Hebrew word that means“altar of EI” and is translated “altarhearth” in verse 2 of the NlV translation.Continuing from verse 9 to verse 12we read: Be stunned and amazed, blindyourselves and be sightless; be drunk,but not from wine, stagger, but notfrom beer. Yahweh has brought over


you a deep sleep: He has sealed youreyes (the prophets); He has coveredyour heads (the seers). For you thiswhole vision is nothing but wordssealed in a scroll. And if you give thescroll to someone who can read, andsay to him, “Read this, please,” he willanswer, “I can’t; it is sealed.” Or if yougive the scroll to someone who cannotread, and say, “Read this, please,” hewill answer, “I don’t know how to read.” This is not talking about literaldrunkenness resulting from drinkingtoo much wine or strong drink. It refersto a spiritual stupor that results fromdrinking (figuratively speaking) fromthe cup in the hand of Babylon theGreat. Most people who have a Bible canread, but John tells us the words ofthe book are shut and sealed until thetime of the end. The seal is broken and the mind isopened to understanding for only thoseto whom Yahweh has given His HolySpirit because they believe His Son,Yahshua, is the Messiah and are willingto abide by every truth the Spirit revealsto them.

A second angel followed and said,“Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great.Which has made all the nations drinkthe maddening wine of heradulteries.”… With her the kings of theearth committed adultery and theinhabitants of the earth wereintoxicated with the wine of heradulteries. I saw the woman was drunkwith the blood of the saints, the bloodof those who bore the testimony ofYahshua, Revelation 14:8; 17: 2-6. Would wine or grape juice bestsymbolize the contents of the cup inthe hand of Babylon the Great, thecorrupted system? What would be the best symbol forthe blood of the saints (none of whomwere without sin) - wine or grape juice? Can there be any question on thebasis of what Scriptures tell us aboutwine that the answer to both questionsmust be wine?

Erroneous TraditionsSome may use wine at Passoverbecause the Jews do. Yahweh’s Wordwas committed to Israel and wine hasbeen used at Passover for centuriesbefore Yahshua was born. Since theJews use wine at Passover is wine whatwe should use also? Drinking wine at Passover is aJewish tradition that traces backthrough rabbinical teachings to longbefore Yahshua’ s birth. Red wine isused in most Jewish Passoverservices because of its quality. Jewsare required to drink four full gobletsduring the ceremony at the risk evenof intoxication. The wine is drunk atfour prescribed points during theservice in commemoration of the fourexpressions of redemption found in theBook of Exodus. The symbol of the paschal lamb inthe Jewish Seder plate is a roastedshankbone. The Hebrew word forshankbone literally means “forearm”and the bone commemorates the factthat Yahweh said He brought Israel outof Egypt with an outstretched arm.Nothing in the Jewish Passover relatesto Yahshua’s sacrifice for sin and thechange in the Covenant that occurredon the Passover day He died. Theyignore the Savior’s first coming, andso it is useless to look to the Jews forclues in choosing the Scripturalsymbol for the blood of the NewCovenant.

How can anyone who has given anythought to symbolism in Yahweh’sWord use wine as a symbol ofYahshua’ s sinless blood of thecovenant at Passover?

<Deceived from page 14>

Elder Buel Hallpike

is, a heavenly country … whereYahweh has prepared a city for [us]. Our deepest longing must be forour eternal home. We are commanded

to “Seek first the kingdom of Yahwehand His righteousness,” Matt 6:33. The end of all things is at hand, 1Peter 4:7. Now is the time for us to practicewhat the Bible teaches while we waitexpectantly to enter our eternalinheritance. It is not time to bedeceived and weighed down with thecares of this world. Will you set your eyes on thatwhich is not? For riches certainly makethemselves wings; They fly away likean eagle toward heaven, Prov 23:5. The world will continue to reap thefull harvest of the seeds ofdisobedience to Yahweh that they hadsown and nurtured for countlessgenerations. For those of us who haveresolved to put Yahweh first, thoughwe may go through this night ofdarkest gloom, there is no need orroom for pessimism. Our day will dawnwhen we will enter “the city of the greatKing,” Psa 48:2. While we wait, if weare faithful to Him and put our trust inHim, He “will never leave [us] norforsake [us],” Heb 13:5. There is no hope in man, who doesnot have the answer and cannot help,or in your crumbling possessions, orin some egocentric deluded doctrinethat promises much in this life withoutthe authority and ability to deliver. Oursafest hope is not in a change in ourcircumstances. Our hope is in Yahwehalone. We do not look for a new cityfrom the pile of this world’s rubble. Welook for the “new heaven and a newearth, … and …the holy city, NewJerusalem,” which will come “down outof heaven from Yahweh, prepared asa bride adorned for her husband,” Rev21:1-3. Be not deceived! This world isnot it!

Elder Ralph Henrie, deceased


appointed times (which, in the Hebrew,is moed) are to be kept forever byYahweh’s faithful people. These dayswere given to Israel as a part of theCovenant Yahweh made with them, andwere written down as a continualreminder for us. The New Testament shows thatYahshua kept the Passover and theFeast days. His disciples kept thePassover. Paul kept them (Acts 18:21)and encouraged the Corinthian convertsto observe them: Purge out therefore the old leaven,that you may be a new lump, as youare unleavened. For even Messiah ourPassover is sacrificed for us:Therefore let us keep the feast, notwith old leaven, neither with the leavenof malice and wickedness; but with theunleavened [bread] of sincerity andtruth. (I Cor. 5:7-8)

Feasts in the ComingKingdomYahshua said that He would againkeep the Passover anew in theKingdom. See Matthew 26:29, Mark14:25, and Luke 22:18. The Old Testament prophets tell ofthe Feasts being held in the Kingdom: In the first month, in the fourteenthday of the month, you shall have thepassover, a feast of seven days;unleavened bread shall be eaten.(Ezek. 45:21) In the seventh month, in thefifteenth day of the month, shall he dothe like in the feast of the seven days,according to the sin offering, according

<Passover from page 6>

to the burnt offering, and according tothe meat offering, and according to theoil. (Ezek. 45:25) Isaiah spoke of the worship beingfrom Sabbath to Sabbath: And it shall come to pass, thatfrom one new moon to another, andfrom one sabbath to another, shall allflesh come to worship before me, saysYahweh. (Isa. 66:23) Other Bible verses confirm that theFeasts will be observed in theKingdom. Yahweh said that His Feastwould be kept by an ordinance forever. We on this side of Golgathaobserve Passover as a memorial of theSavior’s having given His life for the sinsof the world. Passover is not a Feastday (Hebrew = chag, joyous, happytime), but along with the annual Feastsit will be observed again, but likely witha deeper and new meaning. They will likely recall the Savior’sreturn to this earth where He will gatherthe remnant of His flock and bring themto Zion. There He will establish Hisrulership and rule this earth with a rodof iron, Rev. 2:26-27. We are being called now tobecome a priest and teacher in thatKingdom. It is up to us to learn all wecan of these moedim (appointed times)of Yahweh so that we can help othersnow in this life as we prepare for ourrole in the Kingdom: Blessed and holy [is] he that haspart in the first resurrection: on suchthe second death has no power, butthey shall be priests of Yahweh and ofMessiah, and shall reign with him athousand years. (Rev. 20:6) When we come to a knowledge ofthe fantastic future in store for thosewho are faithfully keeping Yahweh’sNew Covenant through the grace givenus by Yahshua, our zeal increases inhope!

Elder Donald R. Mansager

of the wave offering; there shall beseven complete Sabbaths. You shallcount fifty days to the day after theseventh Sabbath; then you shallpresent a new grain offering to Yahweh.You shall bring in from your dwellingplaces two loaves of bread for a waveoffering, made of two-tenths of anephah; they shall be of a fine flour,baked with leaven as first fruits toYahweh, Leviticus 23:15-17. This is very interesting. Twoloaves, leavened, which may (and, Isuspect does) symbolize two groupsof peoples, the House of Judah andthe House of Israel. Leavening is,symbolically, sin; that’s why the Feastof Unleavened Bread is about “comingout of Egypt” (where Egypt is,metaphorically, “sinfulness”). If youlook in Malachi, you will discover thatthe 12 unleavened cakes(symbolizing the entire 12 Tribes ofIsrael), the Showbread, which meansthe “Bread of the Presence” of Yahweh,points to a future time, a time in whichthe righteous will stand before theCreator. Malachi 1:11 says, For from the rising of the sun evento its setting, My name will be greatamong the nations, and in every placeincense is going to be offered to Myname, and a grain offering that ispure; for My name WILL BE greatamong the nations, says Yahweh ofhosts. Until that time, perhaps ourleavened selves, as either a memberof the House of Judah or the House ofIsrael, remain as a grain offering toYahweh. In spite of the fact that the SheafWave Offering is not designated as anAnnual High Day, it remains anAppointed Time, and is to be aperpetual statute in all ourdwelling places throughout ourgenerations. I feel compelled to atleast remember this day as a day ofpraise to Yahweh. It is an eternalstatute that Yahweh has put intoplace, and though animal sacrifice hasbeen replaced by Yahshua’s sacrifice,

we are still compelled to offer up ourpraises to Yahweh. May we come to know Yahweh andHis Son, Yahshua the Messiah, inSpirit and in Truth. HalleluYah!

<First Season from page 10>

Elder John Fisher


My Bible clearly says that on the “firstday” of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:15) weare to remove leaven from our dwelling,but you take it out before then. Why doyou go against what the Bible clearlyteaches?There is misunderstanding of Scripture whenit is taken out of context. Though this is notreadily evident in this particular verse, i.e., inmost all translations, it is when we look atthe original Hebrew wording. The one word we must take a close look

at is the word “first.” It is Strong’s Hebrew word #7223 “rishon”which has two very different meanings depending on thecontext in which it is used: “The suffix ôn makes this term an adjective or adverb asdetermined by context…First, the word can refer to the firstof two or more items. In this capacity, it also occurs in aseries as an ordinal number. Second, it functions as anadverb, ‘before,’ ‘formerly,’ and is often used with wordspertaining to time,” The Complete Biblical Library, byWorld Library Press Inc. In the case of Ex 12:15 the word rishon is found twotimes and going through verse 18 the word appears for atotal of 4 times. Three times meaning one thing and onetime meaning another. The first time the word rishon is usedin Ex 12:15 we find it can only mean “previous” or “prior.”The reason for this is the context in which it is used. It isactually sandwiched in between two confirming statementshighlighted as follows: Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the[prior] (#7223) day ye shall put away leaven out of yourhouses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from thefirst (#7223) day until the seventh day, that soul shall becut off from Israel, Ex 12:15. The last highlighted statement is also reiterated, becauseof importance, in verse 19:

Seven days shall there be no leaven found in yourhouses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, eventhat soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel,whether he be a stranger, or born in the land, Ex 12:19. It is basically saying that if you eat leavened bread onany of these days you’re a dead man! It had that kind ofimpact on the people. They would have been very alert towhat exactly was required. This is why there is no questionas to what rishon meant the first time it was used in Ex12:15. It meant that leaven was to be removed “prior” to theDays of Unleavened Bread, because if you ate it duringthose days you were to be removed and cut off from Israel! It is clear, in context, what rishon was saying. It waseven in between two confirming statements, to makeabsolutely sure it was understood clearly. There are other words in Scripture (both in the Hebrewand Greek) that have double meanings such as Strong’sGreek word # 4151 “pneuma” which can mean “wind”(breath/blow) or “spirit,” again, depending on context. NoticeJohn 3:5-8 in which the word pneuma is used 5 times. Fourtimes meaning one thing, and one time meaning another: Yahshua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Excepta man be born of water and of the Spirit (#4151), he cannotenter into the kingdom of Elohim. That which is born of theflesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit (#4151) isspirit (#4151). Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must beborn again. The wind (#4151) bloweth where it listeth, andthou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence itcometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born ofthe Spirit (#4151), John 3:5-8. One of the few translations that has Ex 12:15 correct,i.e., having translated rishon correctly within context byusing the word “Previous” instead of “first,” is the StoneEdition of the Tanach, 1996, by Mesorah Publications: For a seven-day period shall you eat matzos, but on theprevious (#7223) day you shall nullify the leaven from yourhomes; for anyone who eats leavened food - that soul shallbe cut off from Israel, from the first (#7223) day to theseventh day, Ex 12:15


AreYou Ready? ByBuel Hallpike

This most important question is aimedstraight at YOU personally who profess to

be a believer and claim to have some advantage overthe ‘sinner’. It is a question which demands an answerof YOU. It is not asking about your parentage, up-bringing, the good things you do, or the position youhold in your local assembly or elsewhere. It is notasking whether or not you help the poor, the destituteand infirm, or how much you donate to charity. Inaddressing this question it matters not whether you are abishop, vicar, archbishop, elder, deacon, pastor,evangelist or what other office you may hold. Thisquestion is not concerned about the esteem in whichyou are held or the assembly to which you belong. It isso easy to develop the smug complacency of clubmembership and forget that when the trumpet sounds atYahshua’s return the ‘clubs’ will have become extinct,and will have no control over those who are caught upto meet Him and those who are not. Brushing asidetherefore all delusions of grandeur, the unavoidablequestion is ‘Are you ready for Yahshua’s return?’ Othat the penetrating light of Yahweh’s word would focussharply upon every crevice of your heart and mind, till itreveals to you before it is too late your true condition asYahweh sees it.

Why the Bother?Some may ask why should believers who have beenbaptised and who are busily working for Yahweh beso concerned about this question? The answer issimply this: Yahshua said it matters. In Matthew 7:22-23 He said “Many will say to me in that day,Rabbi, Rabbi, have we not prophesied in thy name?and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thyname done many wonderful works? And then will Iprofess unto them, I never knew you: depart fromme, ye that work iniquity”. The good and wonderfulleave no stone unturned. We must be absolutely certain.

AreYou Ready? ByBuel Hallpike

This most important question is aimedstraight at YOU personally who profess to

be a believer and claim to have some advantage overthe ‘sinner’. It is a question which demands an answerof YOU. It is not asking about your parentage, up-bringing, the good things you do, or the position youhold in your local assembly or elsewhere. It is notasking whether or not you help the poor, the destituteand infirm, or how much you donate to charity. Inaddressing this question it matters not whether you are abishop, vicar, archbishop, elder, deacon, pastor,evangelist or what other office you may hold. Thisquestion is not concerned about the esteem in whichyou are held or the assembly to which you belong. It isso easy to develop the smug complacency of clubmembership and forget that when the trumpet sounds atYahshua’s return the ‘clubs’ will have become extinct,and will have no control over those who are caught upto meet Him and those who are not. Brushing asidetherefore all delusions of grandeur, the unavoidablequestion is ‘Are you ready for Yahshua’s return?’ Othat the penetrating light of Yahweh’s word would focussharply upon every crevice of your heart and mind, till itreveals to you before it is too late your true condition asYahweh sees it.

Why the Bother?Some may ask why should believers who have beenbaptised and who are busily working for Yahweh beso concerned about this question? The answer issimply this: Yahshua said it matters. In Matthew 7:22-23 He said “Many will say to me in that day,Rabbi, Rabbi, have we not prophesied in thy name?and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thyname done many wonderful works? And then will Iprofess unto them, I never knew you: depart fromme, ye that work iniquity”. The good and wonderfulworks will not be enough. Yahshua may still say to you

“Depart from me”. Again in Matthew 25He gave an example of others whothought they were ready. Ten virgins, allseemingly unspotted. All had lamps,signifying they knew they should beshining their light at the groom’s appear-ance. They were all waiting expectantly,looking forward to the appearance of thegroom. Confident of their prepared state,they were at peace, so much so they allslept. Up to that point they all seemed the

same. They would have all passed the most stringenttest. No one could tell the difference. Then suddenly,the bridegroom arrived. That announcement sweptaway all pretensions. The time for the final test ofpreparedness had come. Five of the virgins belatedlydiscovered the alarming truth that they had not reallybeen ready. They tried to rectify this at the last minute.It was too late. The door was shut. “I know you not”were the only words they heard from the groom.Expectation had turned to despair and then to finalseparation. From being one of the in-crowd, each ofthose five foolish virgins became a mere reject - fit onlyfor the scrap heap!

Yahshua cautioned His hearers to be on guard.“Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day northe hour wherein the Son of man cometh.” Matthew25:13.He repeated this command on many other occasions,to emphasise the importance of vigilance. To borrowa Shakespearean expression, it was a command to“make assurance doubly sure”. We cannot afford tobe overconfident that we shall rise to meet Him orthat our final place in the kingdom is assured.Yahshua told His hearers to “Strive to enter in at thestrait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek toenter in, and shall not be able.” Luke 13:24. Therewill be vast numbers of disappointed persons atYahshua’s return. He said “there shall be wailingand gnashing of teeth.” Matt 13:42. The solemnquestion is ‘Are you ready?’

If repentance and baptism guaranteed eternal lifethere would have been no need for Yahshua to

emphasise vigilance as well. The fact thatHe was so insistent on the need to bewatchful is telling us that we must takenothing for granted. There is no rest tillthe journey’s end. Repentance andbaptism do not cover future sins. Wemust confess and repent of any subse-quent sins, and practise the doctrines andprinciples of the Bible, constantly measur-ing our lives by Yahweh’s word. Vigilancemust be our motto. Paul worked untiringly

for Yahweh and was a shining example of how believersshould conduct themselves, yet he took nothing forgranted. He said. “I keep under my body, and bringit into subjection: lest that by any means, when Ihave preached to others, I myself should be acastaway” 1 Cor 9:27.

No PreferencesThe Bible has repeatedly shown that our concept ofour standing with Yahweh means nothing, if ourlives are not pleasing to Him. In Hosea 8:3 Yahwehsays through His prophet, “Israel shall cry unto me,My El, we know thee”. In the next verse however iswritten “Israel hath cast off the thing that is good:the enemy shall pursue him”. Israel thought thatbecause they were Yahweh’s people, they automati-cally knew Yahweh. Here they were clearly wrong,and their punishment was on its way. Those whoclaim to be Yahweh’s people get no preferentialtreatment when they displease Him. In fact theyseem to incur His added punishment, for “untowhomsoever much is given, of him shall be muchrequired”. Luke 12:48. We are not saved by ourperceived relationship with Yahweh or our conspicu-ous association with those we regard as Yahweh’speople.

Salvation is not through membership of some ‘elite’group or assembly which believes itself to be theonly right one, or that it is blessed by some divineselection. As John the baptizer said to the Phariseesand Sadducees: “think not to say within yourselves,We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you,that Yahweh is able of these stones to raise upchildren unto Abraham.” Matthew 3:9. Member-ship of an assembly is no guarantee of one’s salva-

AreYouReady? ByBuelHallpike

This mostimportantquestion is aimedstraight at YOUpersonally whoprofess to be abeliever and claimto have someadvantage overthe ‘sinner’. It isa question whichdemands ananswer of YOU.It is not askingabout yourparentage,upbringing, thegood things youdo, or theposition youhold in yourlocal assemblyor elsewhere. Itis not askingwhether or notyou help thepoor, the desti-tute and infirm,or how muchyou donate tocharity. Inaddressing thisquestion itmatters notwhether you are a

AreYouReady? ByBuel Hallpike

This mostimportantquestion isaimed straight atYOU personallywho profess tobe a believer andclaim to havesome advantageover the ‘sin-ner’. It is aquestion whichdemands ananswer of YOU.It is not askingabout yourparentage,upbringing, thegood things youdo, or theposition youhold in your many

AreYouReady? ByBuelHallpike

This mostimportant

question is ‘Areyou ready forYahshua’sreturn?’ O thatthe penetratinglight ofYahweh’s wordwould focussharply uponevery crevice ofyour heart andmind, till itreveals to youbefore it is toolate your true

This is pretty simple; there is one wordfor “unleavened bread” (azumos) andone for “leavened bread” (artos) in theGreek, right?

A counterpart to the Greek word artos(Strong’s Greek #744) in the Hebrew can bethe word lechem (Strong’s Hebrew #3899).Lechem is probably the word that artos wastranslated from since we realize that we havea Greek translated New Testament most

likely from Hebrew originals that have since been lost. Todaythere are no original New Testament documents left. The word lechem can be used for leavened or unleavenedbread in context. For example, lechem is used to refer tothe showbread (Ex 25:30; 39:36; 40:23; 1 Kings 7:48).Showbread is unleavened: And thou shalt take fine flour, and bake twelve cakesthereof: two tenth deals shall be in one cake. And thoushalt set them in two rows, six on a row, upon the pure tablebefore Yahweh. And thou shalt put pure frankincense uponeach row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, evenan offering made by fire unto Yahweh, Lev 24:5-7. No meat offering, which ye shall bring unto Yahweh,shall be made with leaven: for ye shall burn no leaven,nor any honey, in any offering of Yahweh made by fire,Lev 2:11. (See also, Lev 6:14-17) The Hebrew word for unleavened bread is matsah(Strong’s Hebrew #4682) and like the Greek word azumos(Strongs Greek # 106) means unleavened or unleavenedbread (more specifically, Feast of Unleavened Bread), incontext. It should be pointed out to those who say artos onlymeans “leavened bread,” that artos is a word that describesmanna, which is unleavened, John 6:49-50. Artos can alsomean “food” in general, just as the word lechem can, Gen3:9; Matt 6:11. Remember, context, context, context. Luke chapter 24 has basically been discredited by thosewho are for leavened bread for Passover since it is yet moreproof against their theory, but anyone doing someinvestigative work in Textual Criticism will find there is notenough evidence against the Greek word artos in referenceto the unleavened bread that Yahshua partook of 3 daysafter Passover. That means He ate artos (unleavened bread,in context) during Days of Unleavened Bread. The Quest for the Original Text of the New Testament,by Philip Wesley Comfort, states: “The testimony of P75 supporting the various additionsin Luke 24:36, 40, 51, 52 added enough extra weight tooverride Wescott and Hort’s ‘Western noninterpolations’ inthe last chapter of Luke.” Beyond Luke 24, the other evidence stands on its ownproving unleavened bread as the proper emblem for theMessiah’s body for the other would not have been available.

In your literature you teach that duringthe “Days of Unleavened Bread” we aresymbolically to remove false doctrines orteachings from our lives and to strive fora sin free life, but the Bible teaches weare to remember these days for the

purpose of remembering that Yahweh brought us outof Egypt with a powerful hand, Ex 13:8-9. What do yousay about this?

Let’s look at another example to clarify ourposition. We teach that the Feast ofTabernacles (FOT) is symbolic of the 1000-year reign of Yahweh’s coming Kingdom onearth. However, we also see that in Lev 23:43the FOT is specifically to remind us of the

exodus and having been in temporary dwellings: And ye shall keep it a feast unto Yahweh seven days inthe year. It shall be a statute for ever in your generations:ye shall celebrate it in the seventh month.Ye shall dwell inbooths seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell inbooths: That your generations may know that I madethe children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I broughtthem out of the land of Egypt: I am Yahweh your Elohim,Lev 23:41-43. Just as the example above on the FOT shows, we don’tnegate the one understanding because the other exists.We understand both to be true, just as you have pointed toEx 13:8-9 as being true, we also find that the following is alesson during the Days of Unleavened Bread: And Yahshua said to them, “Watch out and beware ofthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” And theybegan to discuss among themselves, saying, “It is becausewe took no bread.” But Yahshua, aware of this, said, “Youmen of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselvesthat you have no bread? Do you not yet understand orremember the five loaves of the five thousand, and howmany baskets you took up? Or the seven loaves of thefour thousand, and how many large baskets you took up?How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak toyou concerning bread? But beware of the leaven of thePharisees and Sadducees,”Then they understood that Hedid not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of theteaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Matt 16:6-12(NASB). Clean out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump,just as you are in fact unleavened. For Messiah our Passoveralso has been sacrificed. Let us therefore celebrate thefeast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice andwickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity andtruth, 1 Cor 5:7-8 (NASB). We strive to live sin free and we check our doctrines tomake sure we’re teaching correctly…especially during Daysof Unleavened Bread.


Isn’t there proof that during the firstcentury leavened bread was used in theEastern as it was in the WesternAssemblies of Yahweh’s people. Aren’tthere Bible Scholars who believe that thiswas the case up until the 10th century?

There is no absolute confirmed historicalrecords reliable beyond the clear writings ofScripture concerning what bread had to beused at the Passover Service. Many try to use the Roman Catholic, andGreek Orthodox “church” writings to

substantiate this doctrine. These “churches” were neverYahweh’s Assembly, Hosea 2:2. The Catholic Church has stated quite openly thatUnleavened Bread was used by our Savior the night of the“Last Supper” (Passover supper), with reference to Exodus12:8. They even endorsed that NO LEAVENED BREADwas to be present the night of the Passover. (Douay version.)References along side 1st Corinthians 5 in the DouayVersion goes as far as saying: “Messiah excommunicates the incestuous adulterer, andadmonishes them (the church) to purge out sinners whichare likened to that of old leaven.” In Catholic teachings under the word “Eucharist” theywrite, “The real presence of the Body, and blood of Messiah,and Transubstantiation.” They say this is proved from thefollowing texts: And as they were eating, Yahshua took bread, andblessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, andsaid, Take, eat; this is my body, Matt 26:26. And as they did eat, Yahshua took bread, and blessed,and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this ismy body. And he took the cup, and when he had giventhanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And hesaid unto them, This is my blood of the new testament,which is shed for many, Mark 14:22-24. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, andgave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given foryou: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cupafter supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in myblood, which is shed for you, Luke 22:19-20. I am the living bread which came down from heaven: ifany man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and thebread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the lifeof the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves,saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (John6:51-52) Peter understood what Yahshua was saying, verse 68,but many still did not understand, and walked away.

When we ask Yahweh’s blessing upon our drinking fromthe cup of the fruit of the vine at Yahweh’s table, it meansthat all who drink it are sharing together the blessing ofMessiah’s blood. The bread which we break, shows thatwe are sharing together in the benefits of His body whichwas broken for us, 1 Cor 10:16. (Passover) And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said,Take, eat: this is (a token of) my body, which is broken foryou: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manneralso he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, Thiscup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft asye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eatthis bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Master’sdeath till he come. (See Hebrews 9:25.10:1,3, 11-12; Exodus13:10; Luke 22:13.) Wherefore whosoever shall eat thisbread, and drink this cup of the Master, unworthily, shall beguilty of the body and blood of the Master. But let a manexamine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, anddrink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily,eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerningthe Master’s body. 1 Cor 11:24-29. After reading these texts and having knowledge ofYahweh’s law, Yahshua would never insist on anyone eatingthe body of another human. He was speaking to His peoplein the Spirit. Those emblems of the bread and the fruit ofthe vine were symbolic reminders for His people to partakeof each Passover. Understand that our Savior spoke inparables, so that those who were not chosen would notunderstand, Luke 8:10. The Catholic Church admits that only unleavened bread(no yeast) may be used for the symbol of Messiah’s body.In their manufacture of the wafer they use for their service,it is basically a rice paper mixed with a bi-carb ingredient.Although no yeast is added, the bicarbonate of sodabecomes a leavening agent. That is the reason why thewafer melts so easily on the tongue. With this knowledge and the terrible sins that were done,especially during the bloody medieval times, maybe it isfitting, in part, that the negative aspects of the followingProverb be attributed to them: For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink thewine of violence. But the path of the just is as the shininglight, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. Theway of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at whatthey stumble, Prov 4:17-19. Leaven was held to be a symbol of corruption in thereligious rites of the Canaanites, Babylonians andEgyptians. To the Hebrews and the Romans, leaven was ametaphor for evil (Peak’s Commentary on the Bible 204e);leaven is usually a figure for an evil influence (Peak’s 729h);leaven signifies corruption, a reason why its presence isprohibited at any sacrificial service (Peak’s 185a).



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