Do you believe in a lie?

"Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it" ― Leo Tolstoy, A Confession

"Being confident you are right is not the same as being right" ― Steven D. Levitt, Think Like a Freak

If you have seen the film "Matrix" you will be familiar with the concept of people living in an artificial reality, not being able to see the truth as it so well hidden from their consciousness, and not knowing that they cannot see the truth. Their minds and consciousness are controlled within the artificial reality. When someone awakes and can see reason to question, or they find the truth, they are quickly removed. The lies that people are taught create a "veil" to their understanding, that is, education effectively prevents people from seeing and seeking the truth set out in the Scriptures. Unless you question the basis of your faith, and open yourself to the Father, you will remain unaware, living in an artificial reality that to you, seems real.

The way people learn or think tends to constrict their understanding. Let anyone whom they distrust present a new concept that is provable, and most will immediately reject it as false and fraudulent. Then let someone who is respected, for instance within the doctrine they follow, say the same thing, and the response will be positive. If new or corrected information is not provided to us by a trusted person, and despite overwhelming evidence, people have an aversion to changing their views. This because of the way our minds have been trained by our religious, educational, economic and political systems.

Our minds are trained by our education and church teaching not to see the truth of the Father. We cannot ever hope to understand how things really do work in the spiritual world that surrounds us as we are educated not to see it - but we all need to take a first step in faith. Many miracles that the Messiah performed required a person to take a step in faith to be healed. Will you take a step in faith and open your mind? The way we think is not the same way that the Father thinks

Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares Yahuah. 9 “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

The message in Isaiah 55 is that we cannot apply our interpretation, understanding and thoughts to the Fathers Word. Language now, idioms, phrases and meanings are very different to what they were 3,000 years ago. Many idioms and commons sayings at that time are no longer understood. Applying our current language to individual words means that we are at risk of mis-interpreting the message conveyed to us in the Fathers Word. We instead should be ready sections of the Scriptures in context with surrounding Scripture, and rely on the Set Apart Spirit to guide our understanding. Quoting Scripture out of context seems very common in many denominations where focus is moved from the Fathers message and bent to fit into a denominations unique and particular doctrine.

We cannot pick and choose meaning and string different sections of the Scriptures together to prove a certain doctrine, the truth is the truth despite it being inconvenient to certain doctrines. If you are in a denomination at the moment, take a step in faith and examine the doctrine you are believing in with an open mind, and compare it to the Scriptures, in context. Doing so cannot hurt you, it may expose lies that you are taught and believe. If your denomination stands up to that scrutiny, then it is really good. But if it does not, it is not a place that you should be. You will need a really good translation of the Scriptures, test what you have been told and only believe what the Set Apart Spirit guides you with. We use several translations as well considering the context in the original Hebrew and Greek.

Many people get trapped in a denomination, hearing repeatedly the denominations’ view is different to learning Scriptures, but the secret to discerning the truth is to understand the Scriptures. Understanding only comes with challenge, time and the Set Apart Spirit leading an open mind.
Despite that, many people still prefer a familiar and reassuring lie to what may be an inconvenient truth. The real story of the Scriptures is far from what is taught in many churches, denominations and doctrines. But unfortunately, it is what is taught that the majority of people believe, as it is harder to challenge an interpretation than to prove it is correct.

Many churches and denominations are thinly disguised commercial organisations, one of the key questions for people within a church denomination is “can you openly challenge the doctrine”, another is “what happens if your own Scriptural research shows that the doctrine or teaching is incorrect”. I think that in most cases, as a member of that organisation, you would be removed to prevent others from learning the truth – that is, the commercial organisations try to maintain captive clients. This is babylon economics at its worst. The Messiah disagreed with the pharisees who did exactly this Matthew 23:13

Matthew 23:13 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the reign of the heavens before men, for you do not go in, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you eat up widows’ houses, and for a show make long prayers. Because of this you shall receive greater judgment. 15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you go about the land and the sea to win one convert, and when he is won, you make him a son of Gehenna twofold more than yourselves

Incorrect translations of the original Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, the bias expressed by individual church doctrine and misguided teachers that interpret Scriptures give incorrect meaning to the Scriptures (false doctrine).

Prime examples are the merging of the Scriptures with pagan practices, pagan deity worship and witchcraft have delivered a false religious system. It is a thinly disguised system of pagan worship. This false pagan system follows pagan false deity worship, pagan deity festivals and while it all sounds good, do not teach the worship of the Father as the Father set out in the Scriptures. In other words, many churches teach what is a lie. Or instance, does your church or doctrine celebrate c-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s or e-a-s-t-e-r? These are strictly pagan celebrations, taking part in these is merging paganism with the pure Word. I have heard many reasons for this like “we choose to remember the Messiahs birth on 25 December”. The issue is that the Messiahs birth is playing second fiddle to a false deity – this is demeaning the Father, it is contaminated worship and it is a lie.

How many mega and super churches do we see that do not lift a finger to teach the true pagan free Word that is set out in the Scriptures. How many of these organisations operate as a business and extract money from their members for commercial use, and not for assisting the poor and needy? Remember also the words of Luke 13:23

Luke 13:23 and someone said to Him, “Master, are there few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, because many, I say to you, shall seek to enter in and shall not be able. 25 “When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, ‘Master, Master, open for us,’ and He shall answer and say to you, ‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you shall begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 “But He shall say, ‘I say to you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of unrighteousness.’

Many churches teachings and practices are so contradictory and different from the Scriptures that it is easy to see through them. Signs of pagan sun deity worship are in cultures around the world including in the West. These are apparent in symbols on products, websites, corporations, tee shirts, the various beliefs and doctrine of denominations, and especially in church pagan rituals and emblems. Tough message, but please, do some research on symbols that you see within denominations and churches and you will see that these relate to false deities and magic.

Many people are so trapped in a deception that they cannot, and do not, desire to see the truth. Their mind is closed to anything outside of what a particular church doctrine is, sometimes due to significant membership coercion. If you are a member of a church or denomination, try telling the teacher/elders that you are seeking the truth using original Hebrew and Greek documents and accurate translations, and you will find yourself outside of that denomination very quickly.

S-a-t-a-n has fooled most denominations, hiding the truth with poorly informed teaching, mis-translations and introducing pagan worship on believers. Stakes are high, the battle is for your soul. He has set in place what seems perfectly believable counterfeits. That is, he makes something that is not the truth, but is close enough to appear to be the truth look believable. Unless you study with an open mind and seek understanding, you will not see the small signs that indicate that you are being deceived. Coupled with apathy and coercion (you cannot belong to this church unless you follow this particular belief) he guides peoples understanding so that their mind becomes closed to the true message of the Scriptures. Remember the strong warning we are given in 2 Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 2:9 The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power and signs and wonders of falsehood, 10 and with all deceit of unrighteousness in those perishing, because they did not receive the love of the truth, in order for them to be saved. 11 And for this reason Elohim sends them a working of delusion, for them to believe the falsehood

The biggest weapon of the devil is deception, the second biggest is apathy. Through deception, s-a-t-a-n can capture focus in one direction caused a misdirection of a church’s focus, and through apathy, believers will not care in the clear instructions given to us in the Scriptures.

The early church studied and followed the Old Testament, as the New Testament did not exist until it was written. The Old Testament was the Scriptures that the Messiah and the disciples referred to. So do not be seduced by the harlot referred to in Revelations. In reality the harlot is a spirit that pervades many different churches, denominations, and even individuals. She has been active since the days of the early church, hiding and bending the truth, and is especially so in our modern days. It is important to know who the harlot is and what significance she has for us. Revelation 17 sets this out that she is false teaching and mixed pagan/Scripture teaching and belief.

As an example of deception

The Scriptural day is sunrise to sunrise. The current Israeli interpretation (sunset to sunset is babylonian) and the gregorian day period (midnight to midnight is pagan) - it is important for you to understand why. Contrary to common belief, and you can obverse it through the Scriptures. It is particularly evident in Exodus 12:6, Matthew 26:17 and Luke 22:7 where it is clear that Passover lambs were slaughtered on Passover day and eaten on the evening of Passover day. Refer to The Hebrew "day" (24 hour period) for discussion
Sunday is the day of the sun (hence the name), and was considered by Mithraist a sacred day of rest. Sunday observance is of pagan origin and has absolutely nothing to do with the Scriptures. Treating this day as a Sabbath demeans the Fathers Sabbath by placing it second to a pagan deity day of worship.
December 25th was celebrated as the birth of the sun, given birth by the 'Queen of Heaven'... The observance of December 25 is of pagan origin and has absolutely no Scriptural authority." (refer to the page "CHRISTMAS - pagan festival). Sunday was 'Christianized' several hundred years after the Messiah. The seventh day of the week, Saturday, is the Scriptural Sabbath. During the first century AD, Judeans, Christians, and even the whole known world observed the seventh day Sabbath. Observing and worshiping on Sunday instead of the Sabbath is one of the many lies taught within churches, misleading believers and blending paganism and the Fathers Word.
The Father has provided a list of Feasts (refer to "Should we keep the Feasts") that He has determined should be celebrated by all believers in remembrance of what The Father has done throughout history for the salvation plan of mankind. It is very interesting that the early church fathers such as Tertullian were very adamant about not celebrating pagan holidays or associating themselves in any manner with such festivals or customs. This certainly begs the question as to why 25 December and e-a-s-t-e-r fit into church denominations and doctrine. Keeping these pagan festivals is another of the many lies misleading believers and normalising worship to pagan deities.
the rapture - there is no Scriptural evidence to support a rapture, and the term did not exist with the early believers, it is a relatively recent doctrine. The theory of the rapture may have first come from a “prophetic vision” or by John Darby in 1830 and was popularized in the Scofield Reference Bible from 1909. Prior to 1830, no church or denomination taught it. It is just another example of incorporated error in denominations with no Scriptural authority.
the Messiah was born on 25 December - a highly pagan date and totally non-Scriptural. This just cannot be true, as the Scriptures set out the Messiahs birth date, refer to "CHRISTMAS - pagan festival"
the Messiah was crucified on e-a-s-t-e-r Friday - a highly pagan date and totally non-Scriptural. This just cannot be true, as the Scriptures set out the Messiahs arrest on Passover day evening, and his crucifixion on the High Sabbath of the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (on the pharisees calendar he was crucified on Passover), refer to "EASTER - pagan festival"
the New Testament is a new covenant, and not a renewed covenant - well the original Scripture texts say it is a renewed covenant. The first covenant has not been terminated or replaced. Instead certain sections (but not all) have been fulfilled by the Messiahs sacrifice.
lots of different church denominations all with their own special interpretations - you can pick the church to suit your lifestyle, including entertainment venues bordering on being the best nightclubs......
"once saved always saved" - that is not what the Scriptures say. You can lose your salvation, you need to develop a personal relationship with the Father through prayer, study and obedience.
mis-translations, teaching in error, merging of paganism into worship (including music), all of these water down the Word of the Father and divert people from the true path to Salvation.
emblems in the church represent the Messiah. Pagan sun worship is built into what churches teach, pagan and magic symbols are usually contained within churches and their doctrines and document. Next time you are in a church, have a look at the emblems.

Lies can be very hard to recognise. The harlot presents her wine in a golden cup (Revelation 17:4) which is the Word of the Father. Words, phrases, doctrine taught look and sound believable because of errors in translations of the Scriptures. This is a common trick of s-a-t-a-n and his servants and to ensure people are misled, rather than understanding the Scriptures.

2 Corinthians 11:14 And no wonder! For Satan himself masquerades as a messenger of light!

Unless your mind is open to the Scriptures, you will not understand the true meaning set behind them. The Scriptures refer to the secrets of the Father, and these are set out in the Scriptures for believers. But unless your mind is opened by the Father, you will not understand the Scriptures until the sounding of the seventh messenger. For instance have a look at the attached verses

Mark 4:11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the secret of the reign of Elohim, but to those who are outside, all are done in parables,

Romans 16:25 And to Him who is able to establish you according to my Good News and the preaching of Yahusha Messiah, according to the revelation of the secret which was kept silent since times of old,

Revelation 10:7 but in the days of the sounding of the seventh messenger, when he is about to sound, the secret of Elohim shall also be ended, as He declared to His servants the prophets.

Many churches teach that you can have "both the world and the Father" or "once saved always saved" or "you are saved by grace" or "you do not need to worship the Father in the manner he has set out" or "don't bother with the Old Testament as it is just history and was replaced with the New Testament" or “the Old Covenant was terminated and replaced with a New Covenant” – these are all wrong. The harlot uses the Scriptures and quotes many verses and expressions that sound very good and correct. But underneath all of that glittering gold there is a murky current of deception designed to steer people away from the Fathers true path and prevent people from developing a relationship with the Father in their lives. The Messiah noted this in the Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 7:15 “But beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are savage wolves.

Matthew 7:22 “Many shall say to Me in that day, ‘Master, Master, have we not prophesied in Your Name, and cast out demons in Your Name, and done many mighty works in Your Name?’ 23 “And then I shall declare to them, ‘I never knew you, depart from Me, you who work lawlessness

The Messiah was saying in this verse, there are people who thought they were doing his work, but instead they were working lawlessness. At that time, lawlessness meant not following the Scriptures.

It becomes harder for people to recognise true Scriptural living when teaching includes so many mis-truths, poor teaching and translations, and pretty words. This is why the harlot is not manifest in just one denomination but she reaches out to many. The more denominations and interpretations that there is, then the harder it is to understand the true message in the Scriptures. People pick and choose their denominations and doctrine as people would choose an entertainment venue - pick one to suit a persons desired lifestyle, and not align with the lifestyle the Fathers requires of us. Giving people so much choice and creating division between denominations creates confusion and is the best way for s-a-t-a-n to ensure that people are brain washed into a false sense of security.

Do not be deceived. Do not blend worship of the Father with the pagan rituals, pagan festivals and witchcraft that exist in so many denominations.

When reading the Scriptures, you should think about the context in which the Scriptures were written through the lens of knowledge and meanings that existed at the time the Scriptures were written. Current culture, knowledge, meanings given to words, or current values or actions cannot be applied. Failing to account for the context in which the Scriptures were written leads to error and confusion. We have seen many examples of faulty interpretation being used to support false teaching.

Sadly, many people struggle to fill in the resulting gaps and do not develop the relationship they should have with the Father. They misunderstand some of the most important events in the Scriptures. These important events include worshiping the Father in the manner he instructed, the Messiahs death and resurrection. Understanding of the Fathers Salvation plant set out in the Feasts is no exception, but is the most widely twisted message in the Scriptures.

In order to worship the Father in the manner he has instructed, we need to learn to live in a manner that respects the presence of the Father. Parts of the Law (such as sacrifices for the atonement of sin) are fulfilled in the first coming of the Messiah and His sacrifice, but the call to be set-apart from the world and obey the Torah still stands.

Many people ask if we should study and obey the Torah as the Messiah did, we believe that the answer is "yes", although we must be clear exactly what this means, especially with the teaching of the New Testament. The Messiahs death and resurrection fulfilled the ceremonial and sacrificial sections of the Torah, but the Ten Commandments remain as do the Autumn Feasts (the gathering of the harvest) which are yet to be fulfilled - we should remember them as they teach us what is yet to come.

The Messiah said

Matthew 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Torah or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to complete."

Now does that sound like the Torah no longer applies - from this statement the Messiah is saying that the Torah applies and his first coming did not abolish the Torah, he came to complete it. Understanding exactly what the Messiah meant by this statement (and therefore understanding his view of the Torah) defies a short answer. If the question is "if a believer should follow the interpretation of the law developed under Judaism and become a Jew", then we think that believers are not subject to any authority that rejects the true Messiah. But if the question is "if a believer should follow the Torah now" then the Messiah is saying that the Torah applies to us.

Some churches will teach that the Torah only applies to Judaism. The Ten Commandments and the Torah were "nailed to the Messiahs cross" and no longer are to be obeyed by believers! This is totally unscriptural and is incorrect, if you have been taught this and believe this, then you have been deceived. We need to honour all of the Commandments which includes honouring the Sabbath. The Messiah very clearly stated in Matthew 5:17 that he did not come to abolish (i.e. "do away with") the Law (or "Torah") but to fulfil (or "keep") them. The Messiah taught his followers to obey all the commandments given by the Father to Moses, including the very "least" of them. If the commandments were done away with the Messiah would not have taught them.

Some churches will also argue that when the Messiah said to obey all his commandments (in Matthew 5) he was referring to his "new" teaching which is recorded in the New Testament gospels. But this is just a shabby attempt to ignore the Torah. The whole of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 through 7) is the teaching of the Messiah to the disciples. Every example of proper behavior the Messiah instructs is taken from the Torah. The Messiah did not "do away with" the Torah, but, in fact, he intensified its application to his disciples. For example, His spiritual explanation of the commandment, "Do not murder," is that you should not even hate your brother. And the deeper meaning of "Do not commit adultery" is to not even look at a woman with illicit thoughts!

So it is clear from Scripture that the New Testament does not either replace or speak against the Torah or revoke the original Covenant. It builds on the Torah and it renews the Covenant noting that part of the salvation plan is fulfilled. One way to understand that is that the Old Testament was physical, and the New Testament includes the same message and requirements but it is Spiritual, it is a spiritual reflection of the Old Testament.

The Torah is more than just the Law of Moses. It does contains the Ten Commandments, but it tells us about the Hebrew fathers, it gives us the prophecy of our salvation path, the covenants, and the character of the Father. It tells who the Father is, His Name, and His promises to all of us. It tells us how to come before the Father in worship, and teaches us his path. It is the basis of our faith in the Messiah.

The Apostles, Paul and the early believers made it clear that they followed the Torah. Take for instance Paul taking part in a purification ceremony in Acts 21:22-24. Why would Paul do that if he believed that the Torah had been replaced? The truth is, the New Testament does not say that the Torah has been replaced, this is just another common deception.

Acts 21:24 “Take them and be cleansed with them, and pay their expenses so that they shave their heads. And all shall know that what they have been informed about you is not so, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Torah.

Peter even quotes Leviticus 11:44 and 19:2 when he encourages us to be set-apart in all our behavior (1 Peter 1:15–16).

1 Peter 1:15 instead, as the One who called you is set-apart, so you also should become set-apart in all behaviour, 16 because it has been written, “Be set-apart, for I am set-apart.”

The Spring Feasts set out the Messiahs death and resurrection. The Autumn Feasts, the harvest, set out the in-gathering of souls. If you want to understand the Fathers Salvation Plan, you need to understand the Feasts which means understanding the Torah.

While a study of “Judaism” and the Torah in particular is not essential to read the New Testament, if we don’t take the time and effort to clearly understand the Torah, History and Prophets, we are liable to misinterpret the words of the New Testament, and not fully understand the Fathers Salvation Plan. We cannot take words written 3,000 years ago and apply the meanings that we understand today, as meanings have changed. The Old Testament needs to be translated with an understanding of the customs and meanings that existed at the time.

If you want to follow the Messiah, and live as the Messiah did, you need to follow all of the Ten Commandments (you cannot be selective and decide to just ignore the Sabbath) and the relevant parts of the Torah that have not been fulfilled or completed. You need to follow the Feasts, You need to not blend paganism into your worship or into your life. You need to pray and develop a personal relationship with the Father.

This message goes totally against the majority of denominations teaching and their doctrine. A lot of teaching blends paganism and witchcraft with only certain elements of the Scriptures which are taught in isolation, and using bible translations that have been misinterpreted to follow a particular denominations doctrine.

We all have a free choice of what we want to believe. Some people believe that they are saved by grace, but their lives and minds are not set-apart from the world and paganism – for them, the Scriptures set out what there error is. They are simply living like the worldly people around them. We have to be smarter than that and live by what the Scripture teaches. The Messiah defeated our enemy with Scriptures, he did not use his own words but the Fathers words from the Scriptures. Study it, live it, breath it with every breath. Live the way that the Messiah lived and follow his example and teaching and be set apart from the world. We need to resolve to no longer live according to the sinful lusts and desires of our flesh. We must no longer commit what we know to be sin wilfully and consciously. We must be prepared to give up all elements of paganism, and that may mean leaving a denomination.

Charles Spurgeon said - If your creed and Scripture do not agree, cut your creed to pieces, but make it agree with this book. If there be anything in the church to which you belong which is contrary to the inspired Word, leave that church. That very church which the world likes best is sure to be that which Yahuah abhors.

We need to clearly and immediately obey the call in Revelation 18:4

Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from the heaven saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.

You will only understand all of that by studying the Scriptures with an open mind, and allowing the Set-Apart Spirit to teach you.

Web page last updated 6 May 2023