Issued: 03/8/24

“God [Son] looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God [Father]. All have turned away; they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Psalms 53:2-3

PLEASE NOTE:  Because Bible versions sometimes differ from each other in crucial ways, the version quoted here will be the one that best clarifies the point being made.  For a quick comparison between versions, please go to: http://www.biblehub.com.

   All bracketed material may be authorial comments, attempts at proper syntax, or minimal rewordings of Scripture for the sake of clarity and continuity.  These emendations will not be italicized.

   The “/” will be used to signify “and/or.”  The symbol “↔” is used to connect verses corroborating each other and so establishing doctrinal truths (Matthew 18:16↔2Corinthians 13:1).

   In differentiating between Yahweh Son [Jesus] and Yahweh Father [the Most High God], lower case letters have been used when discussing the former; upper case letters are reserved for the Only and Most High God.  Since Jesus was at pains to differentiate himself from Father, we have followed his lead here.

   The term neo-Christians will be used to differentiate between false Christians and Jesus’ true followers.

   Father had a plan of redemption. He had created Son to implement it. All that remained was to choose a nation to implement it on.

   One singular—and telling—aspect of Scripture is that it focuses exclusively on Israel; and there are strategic as well as pragmatic reasons why this is so.

   Strategy-wise, we must first consider the notion of ‘potentiality,’ an argument we introduced elsewhere based on Paul’s conclusions in Hebrews 7:1-10. According to Paul, Abraham paid tithes to eternal High Priest Melchizedek [verse 3, a foreshadowing of Jesus if not Yahweh Son in that guise↔Hebrews 7:15-28]; and in so doing, so did Levi, Abraham’s grandson and Patriarch of Israel’s priestly class, because Levi was ‘potentially’ present in Abraham’s loins. Though not as clearly worded, the same argument could be applied to Adam, in whose loins mankind was ‘potentially’ present; so that by bearing his seed, Eve became the mother of humankind (Genesis 3:20).¹

   This strategic ‘loop’ repeats itself over and over: Jesus, ‘potentially’ present in Isaac, was the seed (Galatians 3:16) inheriting the promise Father made Abraham (Genesis 15:4-5, 22:18); Jesus, ‘potentially’ present in Solomon, was the issue of David who would build Father‘s everlasting abode, the human-bricked Church (2Samuel 7:12-13↔Psalms 89:3-4↔Isaiah 22:22; Revelation 3:7; Psalms 132:11↔Revelation 22:16; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1Peter 2:5); and as Redeemer, those who would live eternally were ‘potentially’ present in Jesus, “the last Adam” (1Corinthians 15:45-49), whose bride, the Church/Heavenly Jerusalem, was their mother (Galatians 4:26; Revelation 21:9-10↔Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:23,30-32).² One could even argue that Mary was ‘potentially’ present in Creator Son, so that as it turned out to be the case (Luke 1:31-35), she played no role in Jesus’ conception except as the portal through whom Creator Son entered the world.

   Secondly, since only Judeo-Christianity paved the way to Father (John 14:6), there was no room for religious eclecticism/interfaith dialogues, Satanic “fiery darts” [↔Ephesians 6:16] that have scored bull’s-eyes amongst men. Better focus on one nation from which the whole of mankind could extrapolate lessons to be learned and behaviors to shun. That nation was Israel, chosen not for superior moral qualities—they were as bad as every other nation and told so to their face in case they misunderstood their ‘chosen’ status (Deuteronomy 9:4-6); but because a) they were powerless and insignificant in the geopolitical realities of their time and b) Father had a promise to keep (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Paul later explained the objective of this strategic choice: “God [Father] chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise…the weak things of the world to shame the strong [and] the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him” (1Corinthians 1:26-29↔Isaiah 46:10-11).

   Paul was obviously extrapolating from Ezekiel 21:25-27, the prophesied end of Satan and all forms of human governance entrusted to him [↔Luke 4:5-6; John 14:30; 1John 5:19]: “And you, O profane and wicked prince of Israel, the day has come for your final punishment. This is what the Lord Yahweh [Father] says, ‘Remove the turn and take off the crown. Things will not remain as they are: Exalt the lowly and humble the exalted.‘ A ruin, a ruin, I will make it a ruin! The crown will not be restored until he [Son] to whom it rightfully belongs shall come; to him I [Father↔Isaiah 22:20-25] will give it'” [↔Psalms 110:1; Ezekiel 21:10-13; Matthew 28:18].

   In this manner salvation coming from the Jews came to pass (John 4:22); yet Israel itself was shadow to the substance of that other, all-inclusive Israel to be saved at end-times (Romans 11:26), consisting of faithful Judeo-Christians the world over (Acts 10:34-35; Galatians 3:28). Implicit in this objective was the amalgamation of Jews and Christians; to wit, “the tribes of Israel” [ethnic Jews] becoming one nation with Judah [Christendom], Jesus’ “tribe” (Hebrews 7:14), so that they would no longer be divided (Ezekiel 37:17-22↔Ephesians 1:3-10). And the fact that Abraham had been given his promise before circumcision meant that his faith would be the standard justifying Jews and Gentiles (Romans 4:9-18); so that ethnic ‘Jewishness’ or religious conversion mattered zilch in the scheme of things (Romans 2:29↔Jeremiah 4:4; Galatians 3:28).

   Consequently, Revelation 7:3-8 is to be understood symbolically, the 12,000 from each tribe consisting of ‘potentially present’ Jews and Gentiles whose blamelessness before Father rests on never having compromised His truth or consorted [i.e., their “virgin” status] with adulterous synagogues/churches (Revelation 14:4-6). It is those two indubitably costly achievements that merits the “sealing” sparing them the final plagues (Revelation 7:2-3↔Ezekiel 9:4-6)—NO “RAPTURE,” folks—and qualifies them to be Jesus’ eternal entourage (Revelation 7:3, 14:4).

   Thirdly, there was no need to engage in long-winded discussions about the merits/demerits of non Judeo-Christian religions: They were irrelevant and immaterial in Father‘s plan of salvation. But because offshoots of Abrahamic faith were to be compromised, warnings of angelic/human-mediated, false gospels to be anathematized: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” Obvious candidates are the Koran and the Book of Mormon.

   Finally, it was easier to chart human apostasy by following Israel’s trajectory from freedom to self-imposed-bondage in sin; from punishments to recidivism; from professing to serve the Yahweh Son to betraying and crucifying him. And not only Jewish apostasy but Christian apostasy as well, since Jesus, through Joseph (Luke 2:4), was ‘potentially’ present in Judah, one of the tribal Patriarchs correlated with many themes of Jesus’ Messiahship [Genesis 49:8-11↔Revelation 5:5 (lion); scepter (Ezekiel 21:10,13); legislator (Isaiah 9:6); Zechariah 9:9↔Luke 19:28-35 (donkey/colt); Isaiah 63:3↔Revelation 19:15 (blood of grapes)]. Even the name “Shiloh” references Heavenly Jerusalem [“Place of Peace”] and the Messiah himself [“He whose it is,” “He who is to be sent,” “that which belongs to him”]. That Christendom would retrace Judaism’s failures is the gist of the Psalms quote that opens this essay.

   What about pragmatic reasons? From Abel (Genesis 4:4) to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE, the only way to remit sins was through the blood of sacrificial animals [↔Hebrews 9:22]; please note that Abel observed the protocols—and underlying objectives—later codified in Mosaic Law (Exodus 13:2, 34:19; Leviticus 22:19-20; Deuteronomy 17:1↔Hebrews 9:14, 12:24; 1Peter 1:19). But with the destruction of the Temple in and the Jewish Diaspora after 70 CE, Jerusalem as the center to access Father came to an end; yet a change of venue had been provided to remedy that. Whereas in the past all sacrifices had to be conducted in Jerusalem and nowhere else (Deuteronomy 12:5-6,8,11-14),³ worship post-crucifixion would resume in a heavenly Holy of Holies accessible through the “veil” of Jesus’ flesh, the barrier of the mystical body wherein the plenitude of the Divinity dwells (Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 8:1-2, 10:19-22).⁴ Thus faithful Judeo-Christians the world over could access Father in prayer, already cleansed by Jesus’ blood, without having to travel anywhere to do so or sacrifice any animals [↔Isaiah 1:10-12; 1Corinthians 10:20; Hebrews 10:6]. No economic or geographic impediments plus a boon for animal lovers. Pragmatic and comprehensive, indeed!

The Betrayers

   One cherished neo-Christian spin nowadays is that humanity is en route to an age of spiritual renewal. Unless that means Father‘s Kingdom after our world has burned away and created anew, mankind is currently living in the apostasy Paul prophesied must precede Jesus’ second coming (2Thessalonians 2:1-3)—not to mention so globally corrupt that even the elect will be at risk of contamination (Matthew 24:22). Paul, after all, was channeling the Holy Spirit and summarizing worldwide destruction following the end of the Judeo-Christian experiment on earth (Isaiah 65:17, 66:22; Matthew 24:35; 2Peter 3:10-13↔Amos 9:5; Micah 1:4; Nahum 2:5; Zephaniah 1:2-3; Revelation 20:7-15, 21:1).

   Those religious leaders who tell us otherwise, and see Father‘s hand in every execrable and abominable human shenanigans, are themselves patent proof of what Paul called “the severity of God” (Romans 11:22): He has cut them off His loop, committing them to the “hardness of heart” (Lamentations 3:65), mediated by Satan (2Thessalonians 2:11-12), that prevents them for recognizing their own complicity in evildoing (2Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2↔1Kings 22:19-23). Much of Scripture is a litany about the falseness of secular and religious leaders—often working in concert—to undermine Father‘s will and Jesus’ mission (Jeremiah 2:8, 5:31, 6:13-14, 38:3-4↔Mark 14:53-57, 15:10-15; Luke 22:22, 23:13-23; John 11:49-53, 18:12-14,28-31, 19:12-15; Ezekiel 22:26-27; Zephaniah 3:3-4; Malachi 2:7-8; Acts 12:1-3,20:29-30, 23:12-15↔1John 2:19; 3John 1:9-10). As prophesied, modern neo-Christians have joined their bandwagon.

   No one can accuse Jesus of having had a positive outlook regarding the state of Christendom at end-times. He knew the score: His soul-rescue mission was just that, an attempt to give mankind a shot at redemption but meant only to succeed amongst his obedient faithful (John 10:16↔Ezekiel 34:23)⁵—even a time would come when faith itself would become a moot point (Luke 18:8). None of the “elect” would be lost (Matthew 18:14; John 6:39↔Acts 13:48), but a large portion of humankind foreknown to default did not stand a chance (Romans 9:22; Revelation 20:8-10).⁶ Some of the redeemed would be saved by shortening end-times (Matthew 24:22-24); but transgressors ensnared by Satan would go down doing his bidding (Revelation 9:20-21↔Daniel 12:10). There is absolutely no evidence in the whole of the Bible that the Judeo-Christian endeavor as planned by Father would endure in this order of things.

   We find written evidence to the contrary. The cult of a heavenly queen reviled in Jeremiah 44:4-9,15-25 was reinvented as Mariology under a Christian veneer; please note references to women justifying the cult because their husbands consented, all of which is Scriptural code for ‘bodies obedient to their heads’—i.e., leaders and their denominations mirroring the template outlined in Ephesians 5:22-31. Mariology is a dogma concocted by male, religious leaders, and preached in churches which Scripture often symbolize as female harlots (Proverbs 6:26, 7:10-23 [note reference in verse 19 to husband away on a long trip, insinuating Jesus]; Ecclesiastes 7:26; Jeremiah 5:7; Revelation 17:5). Most importantly only Jeremiah proscribed this cult, specifically because he was prophesying in Jerusalem prior to its fall; and since Jerusalem/Judah symbolize Christendom, the place where Father‘s Temple is to be found, the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah was telling us that Christians would revive that cult.

   Pay attention to detail: Though based in Jerusalem, Jeremiah was prophesying in general to Jews living “in land of Egypt” (Jeremiah 44:1), a nation foreshadowing the world at large; first because it was from Egypt that Israel was led into the Promised Land [i.e., Jesus leading his people from the bondage of sin through a wilderness [↔Isaiah 40:3] of hardships and dangers into Father‘s Promised Land]; and secondly, because Egypt symbolizes the realm of this world’s Pharaoh: Satan (Ezekiel 29:3; Revelation 20:2↔Luke 4:5-6; John 14:30; 1John 5:19).

   But must we blame religious leaders exclusively? No, because though in sync with their master to do his bidding (John 8:44), they are enabled and abetted by followers freely choosing to follow their lead. Which brings us to Romans 6:16: “Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Of course, Paul was focusing on choices people in their right senses could make, not impenetrable [↔Zechariah 7:12] mindsets already remanded to “hardness of heart.” In both Isaiah 59:2-15 and Jeremiah 16:10-12, we encounter transgressors at a loss to understand why their God was dead set against them despite round after round of pointed accusations (Isaiah 1:23, 5:20-23; Jeremiah 6:13-14, 7:25-31, 10:21, 29:19, 44:4; Lamentations 2:14, 4:13; Ezekiel 22:26-30).

   Which is not to say they neglected to go through the motions of worship [↔Isaiah 1:10-4, 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31-32], but that they were not wholly on board with Father‘s righteousness—Paul’s argument regarding Judaism in Romans 9:31-32↔Matthew 23:23. That being said, Christianity—save for the truly faithful—has followed in Judaism’s steps, where actions/endeavors undertaken in name of Father and Jesus have furthered Satan’s objectives. An obvious example of this self-righteous but spiritually bankrupt mindset is evident in Matthew 7:22-23: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

   But we do not need to wait until Judgment Day for Jesus to identify them; he has already told us how: By their words and deeds you shall know them (Matthew 7:15-20; Luke 6:45). By the fact that the world will listen to them (John 15:18-19↔1John 4:5); and their preaching will ensnare the unenlightened (Acts 20:29-30; 2Timothy 4:3-4↔Ezekiel 34:2-10) yoking them to the whims/agendas of the powers that be. Not for them the penuries Jesus and the Apostles suffered, but comfy lodgings whereas the former slept on hard ground under open skies; the glory seeking Jesus objected to (Matthew 23:5-6; John 5:41); limos and jets instead of walking marathons; real estate holdings rather than assets in heavenly vaults (Matthew 6:19-20); and staking claims in a world which the faithful repudiated from the beginning (Hebrews 11:8-10).

   It is not as if divine expectations for success had been part of Father‘s plan: As long as Satan existed, men could never best him, but the mere attempt of resisting him—and persevering at it (Hebrews 10:38)—was enough to satisfy Father‘s standards. Thus passive resistance against any form of attack deployed by Satan through his minions was exalted (Luke 6:29-30; Romans 12:17-21; 1Peter 2:15,20-21): It served to differentiate the wheat from “thistles and thorns” [↔Genesis 3:17; Isaiah 27:4; Ezekiel 2:6); the forgiving from the vengeful; the unresisting victim from the bloodthirsty aggressor. This did not mean that Father wanted men to suffer arbitrarily, but that by enduring His harsh discipline (Hebrews 12:5-6) to atone for past sins (Jeremiah 46:28↔Leviticus 26:43; Psalms 51:4; Micah 7:9), men proved to Him and to the world at large their willingness to make good. And that is the quintessential answer to the nagging human questions of why we live and what purpose we have on this earth: So that we learn to value, aspire to, and be grateful for all the bounties Father has given and will give to us (Jeremiah 29:11; 1Corinthians 2:9; Revelation 21:4)—if only we get it through our intractable minds that men we place our trust/hopes on do not have the power to resolve their/our problems.

All is as it should be

   It is our intention to examine how neo-Christians not only help dig their own graves along with our own in a forthcoming essay entitled “The Night When No One Can Work.” But dire and dismal though this discussion may seem up to this point, let us never forget that nothing happens in our world, nor can Satan act unilaterally, unless Father allows it. From First Day, He has been running the show (Isaiah 46:10↔John 5:17) and will put an end to it (Revelation 16:16-17, 20:7-10).

   No matter how bad things get—and rest assured they will, each of us living at end-times will be sorely tried but never beyond our endurance (1Corinthians 10:13). Only those worthier 144,000 will be prevented from suffering divine wrath (Revelation 7:1-3, 9:4), just like the righteous before Jerusalem’s fall were (Ezekiel 9:4-6) and for the same reason: For grieving and lamenting what everybody else was pursuing while dismissing prophecies of doom (2Chronicles 36:16; Jeremiah 29:18-19↔John 15:22; Romans 3:20).⁷ Which not only involves prioritizing worldly concerns up to Jesus’ second coming (Luke 17:26-30), but mistaking Father‘s kindness as an entitlement to do what each one of us prefers. And since Judeo-Christians have been made aware of these things but transgress despite knowing better, Father‘s purge always begins with the members of His own household (Ezekiel 9:6; 1Peter 4:17).

   So yes, let us despair of what lies ahead, but never to the point of believing all is lost (Hebrews 12:2-4↔John 16:33; 2Corinthians 12:9; Hebrews 2:10). For every prophecy of inescapable doom, there are reminders of dashed hopes and sustaining ones (Romans 4:18; Hebrews 11:13-16,39); exhortations to patiently persevere until Father‘s wrath passes (Isaiah 57:16, 60:10; Micah 7:9; Matthew 24:13; Luke 21:19); because in the end, after all the powers that be are consumed at Armageddon, “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4).

   And if this sounds too maudlin or treacly to powers that be and Father‘s deniers, remember that they are the primary cause for all the tears, death, mourning, crying and pain that make our world the hellish place it is.

¹ Eve is the Latinized form of the Hebrew “Chava/Hava,” words meaning “life” or “living one.” As such, they imply “full of life” or “mother of life.”

² The word “living” has a specialized meaning in Scripture. Jesus told us that though someone were dead, he/she would live (John 11:25)—referring to the righteous “asleep” who would be reawakened at the first resurrection [↔Luke 8:52; Acts 7:60; 1Corinthians 15:51-53; 1Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 6:9-11, 20:6]. Yet when he told one of his disciples to let “the dead bury their dead” (Matthew 8:21-22), Jesus was differentiating between living people doing the burying and real corpses; the former “dead” presumably because focused on worldly concerns, they had no chance of attaining immortal life. The same notion is implied in Matthew 22:32, where Jesus quotes Scripture as proof that for Father, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, though long dead, remained “alive” to Him. As far as Father and Jesus are concerned, mortal death has no bearing on the state of peoples’ souls or the spiritual life immanent in the remains of the faithful departed [↔2Kings 13:21; Psalms 49:15; Isaiah 26:19; Ezekiel 37: 2-13; Daniel 12:2; 1Corinthians 15:54-55↔Hosea 13:14); whereas in Satan’s realm of death, the world as we know it (Hebrews 2:14; 1John 5:19), the living faithless are as good as dead.

³ Though Moses is ostensibly doing the talking, his speech begins in Deuteronomy 10:1, where Moses stated he was repeating what Yahweh Son—not the never heard Yahweh Father—had told him. In this respect, Moses was relaying verbatim instructions given by Son; so that the “Yahweh God” being referenced was not Son but Father. How do we know this? From Deuteronomy 6:4-5, 10:12,17-20, which are stock and parcel of Christian doctrine: One God higher in rank than Jesus (Mark 12:29; John 14:28), Who had to be loved above all things (Matthew 22:37-38); fraternal love for one’s neighbors (Matthew 22:39-40); and fear of a Father Who rejected the disobedient (Matthew 10:28; Romans 1:28-32, 2:5-11; Hebrews 10:26-27). If Jesus was Yahweh Son in his pre-existence, and as Paul argued he has always been the same (Hebrews 13:8), then the precepts Son was giving Moses were not of Son‘s devising but Father‘s [↔John 7:16].

⁴ Which explains why the veil separating the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies in the Jerusalem Temple was rent following Jesus’ death on the cross (Matthew 27:51): It had been upgraded from perishable material to Jesus’ immortal flesh, so that nothing earthly/worldly—be it men or institutions—would ever again play a role in spiritual matters (Hebrews 7:15-28, 8:1-7, 9:1-2,8-12,23-28, 10:1-21).

⁵ Ezekiel 34 is a clear example of how Scripture differentiates between Father [verse 24] and Son, the Judge of all Flesh (John 5:22↔Acts 10:42, 17:31). Please note how the following verses reference aspects of Jesus’ Messiahship: incarnation (v. 34:11); Judgement Day protocols (v. 34:17↔Matthew 25:32); Jesus as King/High Priest over Father‘s people (v. 34:23-24,30-31↔Ezekiel 37:24-25; Hebrews 21-28; Revelation 19:16).

⁶ Note Paul’s tell-tale usage of the word “vessels” in reference to the unrighteous. In this context, they are counted amongst house articles for honorable or dishonorable use by the Master (2Timothy 2:20-21); meaning that they play a role in Father‘s plan of redemption. However, the unrighteous are not mindless, soulless pottery: They could, if they wanted to, become “honorable” vessels by repenting of their ways; a notion implicit in Ezekiel 18:30-32 and 2Peter 3:9. Despite Calvinist rhetoric, no one is predestined for destruction; but destroyed they will be as comeuppance for willful choices made in life.

⁷ What follows is a short sampling of pertinent prophecies and their fulfillment at end-times: Job 38:22-23↔Revelation 16:21; Psalms 18:15↔Revelation 16:20; Isaiah 13:11,13, 24:19-20↔Revelation 16:28; Jeremiah 51:44↔Revelation 16:13; Isaiah 34:3; Jeremiah 7:33, 25:33; Ezekiel 39:17-20↔Revelation 19:17-18; Jeremiah 9:15↔Revelation 8:11; Jeremiah 8:16-17; Joel 2:2-11↔Revelation 9:1-11.