From the last chapter in the Bible:
“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book…for the time is at hand.
- He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still:
- and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come.
And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” (Revelation 22)
Athirst for what? Jesus defines this for us.
“Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.” (Matthew 5:6)
Christianity has been thoroughly paganized by its reliance on calling on the name of a god to improve one’s state in the afterlife while free to continue enjoying the pleasures of sin on earth. Anyone who has truly bonded with the Holy Spirit abhors the sight and sound and touch of sinful behavior for the utter corruption that it is! Who wants to eat rotted meat? Who wants to physically engage in intimate behavior with a corpse?
“ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light…Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.” (I Peter 2:9-12)
For a long time Christianity regarded itself as part of Judaism.
It had its center in Jerusalem (Irenæus, “Adversus Hæreses, i. 26); its first fifteen bishops were circumcised Jews, they observed the Law and were rather unfriendly to heathenism (Sulpicius Severus, “Historia Sacra,” ii. 31; Eusebius, “Hist. Eccl.” iv. 5; compare Matt. xv. 26), while they held friendly intercourse with the leaders of the synagogue (see Grätz, “Gesch. der Juden,” iv. 373 et seq.; and Ebionites, Minim, and Nazarenes). Many a halakic and haggadic discussion is recorded in the Talmud as having taken place between the Christians and the Rabbis (see Jacob the Gnostic). Probably the Christian Congregation, or Church of the Saints, did not distinguish itself in outward form from the “Ḳehala Ḳaddisha” at Jerusalem, under which name the Essene community survived the downfall of the Temple (Ber. 9b; compare Eccl. R. ix. 9: ‘Edah Ḳedoshah)…
The founder of Christian theology…the Apostle of the Gentiles never ceased to consider himself a Pharisee…he was “educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the Law.” Gamaliel was…so learned that the Jews, who keenly honor scholarship, called him “the beauty of the Law,” and gave to him first, as to only six men after him, the title of rabban, “our master.” From him and others Paul learned that shrewd and subtle…manner of Biblical interpretation…he remained to the end a Jew in mind and character, uttered no doubt of the Torah’s inspiration, and proudly maintained the divine election of the Jews as the medium of man’s salvation…
Until 68-70 AD/CE believing & non-believing Jews coexisted, sitting in the same synagogue, and attending the same temple. Early believers kept all the Feasts of God…Jerusalem was between 1/3 & ½ believers in Yeshua before the destruction of the Temple…While many Jews did not agree that Yeshua was Messiah, they respected the believers for their lifestyle & devotion.
The first major split occurred between 68-70 AD/CE. Believers…heeding Yeshua’s words in Matt 24 [to flee the city in advance of the Roman attack caused them to be labeled]…as traitors in the eyes of many Jews [for not helping defend Jerusalem].
Between 70 – 100 AD/CE another major change began, as large numbers of gentiles accepted Jesus…Before 70 AD/CE all leaders in Jerusalem were Jews, after, all were Gentiles.
It was during the last struggle with Rome in the days of Bar Kokba and Akiba [136 AD] that, amidst denunciations on the part of the Christians and execrations on the part of the Jewish leaders, those hostilities began which separated Church and Synagogue forever, and made the former an ally of the arch-enemy.
Let’s revisit what the Apostle Paul, the so-called “founder” of the “new religion” of Christianity, really says about what it takes to be declared righteous in order to gain eternal life in God’s kingdom of Heaven.
“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel [good news] of God, (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures, Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh, And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name [God’s Promised Savior]…
the gospel of Christ / The Promised Deliverer…is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.“ (Romans 1)
“From faith to faith” is commonly taught by Christians to mean converting from faith in animal sacrifices in Judaism to faith in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in Christianity. But if we read the rest of the story we discover there is only one faith.
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was ONCE delivered unto the saints…beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude v. 3, 20-21)
That faith is in CREATOR GOD.
The Bible starts with creation because it is foundational to understanding who is the ultimate power and therefore authority for our soul’s existence now and forever.
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, [Good example being the children of Israel at Mount Sinai making the golden calf.] And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things…Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen…
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.” (Romans 1)
“And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;
For there is no respect of persons with God. For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” (Romans 2)
But there seems to be a contradiction, because Paul goes on to say:
“…Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
What Paul is saying, clearly and repetitively, is that on-one can claim they have accomplished enough “good deeds” to earn eternal life. Fortunately, no-one needs to accomplish enough, or outweighs the amount of bad deeds with good deeds.
“But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law OF MOSES and the prophets WHO QUOTED MOSES; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of YHVH’s Promised Savior unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus / The Eternal I Am’s Promised Savior: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
To declare, I say, at this time his – HIS, GOD’S – righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus / YHVH’s SAVIOR…
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law…it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision…and uncircumcision through faith.” (Romans 3)
Zoroaster is a excellent example of the fundamental faith in, and respect for, Creator God required by, and available to, all humanity from the beginning of history, before there were so much as the Abrahamic Faiths. As in Judaism and Christianity, there are corrupting elements inserted over time, but the original, basic faith of Zoroaster / Zarathustra can be recognized as being true to the ancient biblical teachings.
Zoroaster proclaimed that Ahura Mazda was the supreme creator, the creative and sustaining force of the universe through True Statement / Word /Asha,[6] and that human beings are given a right of choice between supporting Ahura Mazda or not, making them responsible for their choices. Though Ahura Mazda has no equal contesting force, Evil Spirit /Angra Mainyu(destructive spirit / mentality)…is considered the main adversarial force of the religion, standing againstSeven spirits before God’s throne /Spenta Mainyu (creative spirit/mentality)…[17]
Asha (truth, cosmic order), the life force that originates from Ahura Mazda,[6][19] stands in opposition to Druj (falsehood, deceit)[20][21] and Ahura Mazda is considered to be all-good with no evil emanating from the deity.[6] Ahura Mazda works in gētīg (the visible material realm) and mēnōg (the invisible spiritual and mental realm).
Job, the main character in the oldest book of our compilation of records known as the Bible, is the primary example of the need to act on whatever revelation you’ve received. He understands – from the evidence of God’s controlled creation and, in contrast, his own uncontrollable destructive ways – that he needs to enter into a humble relationship with YHVH’s Savior Messenger to be save from his own self-destructive ways.
Can we not recognize how un-right behavior is destroying our world, and that to fix it we can’t just bemoan what others are doing but we must change our ways? If we dispose of trash in the oceans and it washes back up to our beaches and we clean it up only to dispose of it back in the ocean, what have we accomplished?
The equivalent situation occurs in relationships.
Think of the effects of a married couple divorcing. There is exponential damage over time on not just on them but on their children and grandchildren and society as a whole due to the divorce limiting the parents’ ability to put time and attention and effort into not only child-rearing but positive activities in society as a whole. This spreads like a disease and takes exponential effort over the passing of time to restore to rightness.
As anyone who has experienced a broken relationship knows, a relationship can’t be restored until the guilty party acknowledges their guilt, repents, and changes their behavior to treat the other party the right way they are supposed to be treated. Righteousness.
“Then Job answered the LORD / YHVH, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not...I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:1-6)
Kingdom Come 