Book of Bible Articles I by Yahweh's Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church

Book of Bible Articles

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DEDICATION The Book of Bible Articles is dedicated to Yahweh God, His Son Christ Jesus, my wife Rhonda and the other Elders and Members of Yahwehâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church for their help, support and encouragement to learn about Yahweh God, developing a loving relationship with him and for convincing me to actually put all of my Bible Articles for the Church into one book. .

CONTENTS Acknowledgments

About the Church

Preamble

Prayers

Gifts of God

Idols and Scriptural Idolatry

Eternal Life

The 144,000

Jesus Christ and the Archangel Michael

The Sabbath Day

Conclusion and Closing

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I want to Acknowledge and Thank Yahweh God and my Lord and Saviour Christ Jesus, for the aid given to me to gather the courage and giving me the Gifts of Knowledge and Writing to allow me to actually write the Articles and then move to publishing them all in one book. I would like to Acknowledge my wife Rhonda for convincing me to put all the Bible Articles that I have written for Yahwehâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church into a single book. My thanks also to the Elders and Members of the Church for their support and encouragement in writing these Articles in the first place, it was a bit like Yahweh God and Moses in the initial stages but the support I received from them was great and I appreciate it. I also want to Acknowledge Amazon for the ability to publish the Book and giving me the avenue to organise a place to actually have this, my first book published in a paper form other than just as an eBook should people wish to have one. Finally, I want to Acknowledge everybody that buys this Book, I hope the information contained within it you will find, if not straight away, sometime later, beneficial to your relationship with Yahweh God, and for the Contribution that your purchase will have on supplying extra funds to the Church for its works with the community. Yahweh Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Will Be Done!

About the Church The Yahweh’s Truth in New Jerusalem Church is a Christian Church that has taken its name from Revelation, where the New Jerusalem descends from Heaven for all those that have accepted the Truth Yahweh (Jehovah) God has given us from the Bible. The Church is made up of many people from many different Countries who have all come to the exact same understanding of the Biblical Truths, some of which are contained in this eBook from the Churches Articles. We hold no actual doctrines for people to believe, just Biblical Truths, when people come to understand the Biblical Truths they effectively join the Church as members. There are no membership fees, no tithes required; no service demanded of members, each serves the Church in their own capacity and with the abilities given to them by Yahweh God. The Church always uses God’s Name, whether it be Yahweh or Jehovah or even Jehova, it matters not to the Church which name is used. Yahweh is taken from the old Hebrew version of YHVH and Jehovah is the Transliteration of Yahweh translated into Latin. The old versions of the Bible often incorporated God’s name, however more recent versions have removed it and replaced it with the title: LORD which then makes it more confusing for people that actually read the Bible to understand. It should be made clear here that the YTNJ Christian Church and its members do not use the term LORD in relation to God, it is a title much as God is a Title. God has a name and is quite clear about his name in the Bible. For further information about the Yahweh’s Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church, feel free to visit our website. If you would like to contact somebody from the Church you may email us from the site. If you would 1

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like to discuss the Articles in this eBook further or ask questions about the contents of a specific article in this eBook, then please feel free to do so on the Churches Article Site, but please ensure you follow the Site Rules before posting. Yahwehâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church Book Prepared by: Elder Sean Website: http://www.ytnj.org/ Articles Site: http://b.ytnj.org/

Preamble The following book is a collection of Bible Articles taken from the Yahweh's Truth in New Jerusalem Church and compiled into one book for the benefit of those that would like all the information from them in one place. The Church fully understands and expects that many people out there will disagree with some or all of the Articles presented in this work, however we also understand that this is Biblical Truth, that it will stand out to some very quickly as Biblical Truth and others will need to read, look and then contemplate the articles before they come to understand them as Biblical Truth. This is the main purpose of what the Church and its Elders aim for regarding the publication of this eBook, we aim to cause people to look and study deeper and further than they have ever done before regarding the bible and we hope and Pray that these Articles will help you as they have helped hundreds of others come to an understanding of the Bible. We also fully understand and expect that there are some people in this world who will never accept the Biblical Truths published in this book, that is to be expected as well and we can do nothing more than pass on the information with our Love and wishes, and pray further that sometime in the near future and with further personal study, you too will come to the same understanding that we have. Any money made from the sale of this eBook will go directly to the Church, allowing the Elders to live and pay their bills but also for them to help those less fortunate than others with the small things in life that they often just need those couple of extra dollars to buy, like that loaf of bread, 3

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milk or maybe pay the last of that utility bill that has been haunting them for several months. The production of this Articles eBook, the Church Website and Articles used are not paid for by the Author, as a member of the Church it is his gift to the Church to help those that need the information and any money can be used specifically by the other Elders of the Church out helping those in need in small way every day. I hope that you truly find this eBook helpful, enjoyable and thought provoking. I hope that the Articles and writings within it will lead you to study further and if we are lucky, even lead you in the correct direction to get you started on the joyous journey of truly finding Yahweh God and having him in your life. I would like to leave you with this small pray before I let you get on and read: "Yahweh Bless You, and Keep You; May Yahweh Make his Face Shine Upon You, and Be Gracious To You; May Yahweh Lift Up His Countenance Upon You, and Give You Peace."

Prayers The concept and use of prayer has been around since the beginning of Biblical History. I would like to show you a couple of verses in the Old Testament regarding prayer first from Exodus: NJB Exodus 8:8-13

The second plague: the frogs

8. Pharaoh then summoned Moses and Aaron and said, "Entreat Yahweh to take the frogs away from me and my subjects, and I promise to let the people go and sacrifice to Yahweh." 9. Moses said to Pharaoh, "You are the one to gain by it: when would you like me to pray for you, your officials and your subjects, so as to rid you and your houses of the frogs so that they will be left only in the River?" 10. "Tomorrow," he said. Moses said, "It shall be as you say, so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. 11. The frogs will leave you, your houses, your officials and your subjects and will be left only in the River." 12. Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh's presence, and Moses pleaded with Yahweh about the frogs which he had inflicted on Pharaoh. 13. Yahweh did as Moses asked, and in house and courtyard and field the frogs died. In these verses we can actually see Pharaoh entreating/begging Moses to Pray to Yahweh (Jehovah) God on his behalf to get rid of the frogs. Moses does and Yahweh (Jehovah) God hears Mosesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Prayer and the frogs die. NJB Exodus 32:7-14

Moses forewarned by Yahweh 5

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7. Yahweh then said to Moses, "Go down at once, for your people whom you brought here from Egypt have become corrupt. 8. They have quickly left the way which I ordered them to follow. They have cast themselves a metal calf, worshipped it and offered sacrifice to it, shouting, `Israel, here is your God who brought you here from Egypt!' " 9. Yahweh then said to Moses, "I know these people; I know how obstinate they are! 10. So leave me now, so that my anger can blaze at them and I can put an end to them! I shall make a great nation out of you instead."

The prayer of Moses

11. Moses tried to pacify Yahweh his God. "Yahweh," he said, "why should your anger blaze at your people, whom you have brought out of Egypt by your great power and mighty hand? 12. Why should the Egyptians say, `He brought them out with evil intention, to slaughter them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth?' Give up your burning wrath; relent over this disaster intended for your people. 13. Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to whom you swore by your very self and made this promise: `I shall make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and this whole country of which I have spoken, I shall give to your descendants, and it will be their heritage for ever.' " 14. Yahweh then relented over the disaster which he had intended to inflict on his people. It can be seen from these verses that Jehovah God heard Moses prayer, so it was possible by the use of prayer to cool Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s anger towards someone or something. There are many areas in the Old Testament where prayer is used for various reasons to entreat Jehovah God for something or on behalf of somebody. There are also many areas in the New Testament in which the Lord Jesus Christ mentions pray and he is quite often seen praying himself. Jesus Christ mentions Pray in the bible and even goes as far as indicating how to pray, which is interesting in itself as can be seen in these verses: NJB Matthew 6:5-6

Prayer in secret

5. `And when you pray, do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the synagogues and at the street 6

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corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you, they have had their reward. 6. But when you pray, go to your private room, shut yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. It is interesting to note in these verses that Christ Jesus tells us to pray in private and quietly, rather than doing it in the open and out loud. This seems to indicate that those that do this out loud and in the open are trying to prove something to others rather than honestly praying to Jehovah God. NJB Matthew 18:19-20

Prayer in common

19. `In truth I tell you once again, if two of you on earth agree to ask anything at all, it will be granted to you by my Father in heaven. 20. For where two or three meet in my name, I am there among them." These verses may seem contradictory in relation to Mat 6:5-6 above, however it is still possible to pray as individuals for the same thing or the same purpose. This doesn’t need to be done openly and loudly, it can still be done quietly and even privately, so the 2 verse sections don’t counter each other or make it confusing. It also doesn’t need to be done as a large group and in public; you could have 1 friend doing this, both in different locations. NJB Matthew 6:7-13

How to pray. The Lord's Prayer

7. `In your prayers do not babble as the gentiles do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. 8. Do not be like them; your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9. So you should pray like this: Our Father in heaven, may your name be held holy, 10. your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. 11. Give us today our daily bread. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us. 13. And do not put us to the test, but save us from the Evil One. Many people simply copy these verses and use the excuse that it is the Lord’s Prayer. It is our Lord Jesus Christ’s personal prayer to Jehovah 7

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God, but it was said as an example, not as a prayer that should be simply quoted and copied by rote. Using this prayer and not actually meaning the words in them is a waste of your time and Jehovah God’s. It is better for you to use your own words when you pray, remember, be direct, don’t babble, after all, Jehovah God already knows what you need. NJB Matthew 7:7-11

Effective prayer

7. `Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. 9. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? 10. Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? 11. If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! These Verses regarding prayer are very interesting. Christ Jesus tells us that if you ask, search, knock you will receive. The one thing we need to be aware of however is that Prayer alone will not always bring about what we are looking for; we need to have faith as well. Faith in Jehovah God, faith that our request or pray is just and faith that our request is part of God’s plan. This requirement of Faith can be seen in the following verses from scripture: NJB Matthew 21:18-22

The barren fig tree withers; Faith and prayer

18. As he was returning to the city in the early morning, he felt hungry. 19. Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it and found nothing on it but leaves. And he said to it, "May you never bear fruit again," and instantly the fig tree withered. 20. The disciples were amazed when they saw it and said, "How is it that the fig tree withered instantly?" 21. Jesus answered, "In truth I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt at all, not only will you do what I have done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, `Be pulled up and thrown into the sea,' it will be done. 22. And if you have faith, everything you ask for in prayer, you will receive."

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These verses are interesting. It shows several things to us. Firstly, and most obviously, it shows us that Christ Jesus is the Lord and Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament, it shows us his divine nature and that he is the Son of Jehovah God. It also shows the faith he has in his commands and prayers, understanding and accepting completely that it will occur, no doubt, something us mere mortals find hard to have, mainly because of the constant disappointments we suffer during our life. We tend to forget however that not everything we ask for is in our own best interest, and that maybe some of the things we ask for do not fit into Jehovah Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plans, either in full or for us specifically. This can be seen in the following verse: NJB Matthew 26:36-46

Gethsemane

36. Then Jesus came with them to a plot of land called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, "Stay here while I go over there to pray." 37. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee with him. And he began to feel sadness and anguish. 38. Then he said to them, "My soul is sorrowful to the point of death. Wait here and stay awake with me." 39. And going on a little further he fell on his face and prayed. "My Father," he said, "if it is possible, let this cup pass me by. Nevertheless, let it be as you, not I, would have it." 40. He came back to the disciples and found them sleeping, and he said to Peter, "So you had not the strength to stay awake with me for one hour? 41. Stay awake, and pray not to be put to the test. The spirit is willing enough, but human nature is weak." 42. Again, a second time, he went away and prayed: "My Father," he said, "if this cup cannot pass by, but I must drink it, your will be done!" 43. And he came back again and found them sleeping, their eyes were so heavy. 44. Leaving them there, he went away again and prayed for the third time, repeating the same words. 45. Then he came back to the disciples and said to them, "You can sleep on now and have your rest. Look, the hour has come when the Son of man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 46. Get up! Let us go! Look, my betrayer is not far away." Notice in this prayer to Jehovah God, Christ Jesus asks in verse 39 that the Father, if it is possible, let this cup (the period of sacrifice Jesus must undergo) pass by him. At the end, Jesus adds, that it be as Jehovah God 9

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would have it, according to Jehovah God’s will, not Jesus’ will. Again, in verse 42, Christ Jesus comments that if this cup cannot pass by, and that he must drink of it, that Jehovah God’s will be done. In other words, although Jesus is praying to Jehovah God that the period of sacrifice may be taken from him, he places himself in Gods’ hands and will do as required according to God’s will not his own. Many of us seem to forget that all prayers, although asked for, are still subject to God’s will. God knows what we want, Jesus tells us this in Matthew 6:8 when he tells us “…your Father knows what you need before you ask him”. This also returns to the Faith issue. Not only should we have faith that our prayers will be answered, but the faith we have should also be faith in Jehovah God to know what is best for us. This can be hard for us, all too often we tend to believe that we know what’s best for ourselves. For example, I’m sure that many of us would believe that we need 1 million dollars, and with that I’m sure we all think we would know how to handle and use that type of money if it was given to us, yet if you honestly sit down and think about this, unless you have actually had 1 million dollars before, would you real know what to do with it? Would it in fact corrupt us and destroy our relationship with God if he gave it to us? Money is the root of all evil, it is a thing of this world and the god of this world, Satan, is the one that will ensure our pure wealth. So with this understanding, if you are honest with yourself, can you understand why Jehovah God, who knows us better than we will ever know ourselves, would give us something that we could not handle? It would be like asking for food and Jehovah God giving us rotten food to eat when he knows that it will not be healthy for us and will make us sick. Jesus also explains to us that prayer should be offered from a humble position, to show this, he uses a parable in the bible, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector shown below: NJB Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee and the tax collector

9. He spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being upright and despised everyone else, 10. `Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. 11. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, `I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. 12. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.'

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13. The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' 14. This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up." One can see that all the Pharisee does in his prayer to Jehovah God is extol his supposed virtues while comparing himself to other so called worse people. All the Tax collector does is mention that he knows he is a sinner and asks Jehovah God to be merciful to him. Looking through the bible, you will find that Prayer is mentioned numerous times throughout. In many cases, prayer is said by one or more people for others, very rarely do you see prayers being made directly for something personal; however it is done and should be. Prayers are always better if requests, coming from somebody else. Prayers arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just for asking for something either. Pray is also a form of worship, talking to Jehovah God is also a prayer, telling him how much you Love him, thanking him for the things he does in your life, even though you may not be able to see exactly what or how he does those things. Telling him about your day, what happened, how it affected you. Many things can be done in prayer, constant prayer between yourself and Jehovah God, whether simply to talk about your day, thank him for something, perhaps the glorious weather you might have had, asking for his help or aid, either for yourself, a loved one or even an enemy means that you are praying, and praying brings us closer to Jehovah God, it creates a bond and a relationship, it helps strengthen the personal relationship we have with God. This is what Jehovah God wants with us, a personal relationship, one between Father and Child, Creator and Created, the best, quickest and easiest way for this to occur is for us to pray to him and do it often. The relationship has to be built from our side, the bridge is already and always built from his side towards us.

Gifts of God This article will look at the Gifts of God, or Gifts of the Holy Spirit which God gives to some people. Not everybody will receive every Gift from the Holy Spirit, some will get more than others and some will only get a few, depending on their role within The Church and what Yahweh God may require of us. To start with, we will be looking at the different types of Gifts of the Holy Spirit given to people mentioned in the bible. Many think that the Gifts of the Holy Spirit granted by Yahweh God are only Religious or Church oriented type gifts, however we see in the Beginning of the Bible that this is actually not the case, that more practical gifts from Yahweh God can be granted through the Holy Spirit. The first record of Gifts from the Holy Spirit granted to somebody is found in Exodus, in the Old Testament. NJB Exodus 35:30-35

The craftsmen for the sanctuary

30. Moses then said to the Israelites, "Look, Yahweh has singled out Bezalel son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, 31. and has filled him with the spirit of God in wisdom, knowledge and skill in every kind of craft: 32. in designing and carrying out work in gold and silver and bronze, 33. in cutting stones to be set, in wood carving and in executing every kind of work. 12

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34. And on him and on Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan, he has bestowed the gift of teaching, 35. and filled them with the skill to carry out every kind of work, that of the engraver, that of the embroiderer, that of the needleworker in violet-purple, red-purple and crimson materials and fine linen, that of the weaver, and indeed that of every kind of craftsman and designer." While some of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit poured out upon Bezalel and on Oholiab were Church oriented, regarding wisdom, knowledge and teaching, there was also the gift of skill on crafting given to both of them, skills that are useful to them and the Israelites for general work in a manner that would allow them to make a living and also the ability for them to teach those crafts and skills to other people. The next accounting of a Gift of God granted to man through the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Daniel. NJB Daniel 1:8-17

THE YOUNG HEBREWS NEBUCHADNEZZAR

THE

COURT

8. Daniel, who was determined not to incur pollution by food and wine from the royal table, begged the chief eunuch to spare him this defilement. 9. God allowed Daniel to receive faithful love and sympathy from the chief eunuch. 10. But the eunuch warned Daniel, "I am afraid of my lord the king: he has assigned you food and drink, and if he sees you looking thinner in the face than the other boys of your age, my head will be in danger with the king because of you." 11. To the guard assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah by the chief eunuch, Daniel then said, 12. `Please allow your servants a ten days' trial, during which we are given only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13. You can then compare our looks with those of the boys who eat the king's food; go by what you see, and treat your servants accordingly." 14. The man agreed to do what they asked and put them on ten days' trial. 15. When the ten days were over, they looked better and fatter than any of the boys who had eaten their allowance from the royal table; 16. so the guard withdrew their allowance of food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. 13

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17. To these four boys God gave knowledge and skill in every aspect of literature and learning; Daniel also had the gift of interpreting every kind of vision and dream. Notice how Daniel received an extra Gift. This gift of prophecy was more the Gift of Interpretation as it says, allowing Daniel to interpret visions and dreams. Daniel uses his Gift of Interpretation regularly through the Book of Daniel and you should read Daniel for more information about how his Gift of Interpretation from the Holy Spirit is used. The first instances of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit being granted in the New Testament start in Mark. These Gifts are granted by Christ through the Holy Spirit to the Apostles when he appears before them and sends them out into the world to preach the good news of the Gospel. NJB Mark 16:14-20

Appearances of the risen Christ

14. Lastly, he showed himself to the Eleven themselves while they were at table. He reproached them for their incredulity and obstinacy, because they had refused to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15. And he said to them, "Go out to the whole world; proclaim the gospel to all creation. 16. Whoever believes and is baptised will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17. These are the signs that will be associated with believers: in my name they will cast out devils; they will have the gift of tongues; 18. they will pick up snakes in their hands and be unharmed should they drink deadly poison; they will lay their hands on the sick, who will recover." 19. And so the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven; there at the right hand of God he took his place, 20. while they, going out, preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word by the signs that accompanied it. There are only 2 Gifts of the Holy Spirit mentioned here, the Gift of Tongues and the Gift of Healing. Tongues is the ability to speak and understand different languages, in those days not many people could translate or speak and most of the information about Jesus was in Aramaic before being translated into Greek. None of the Apostles at the time spoke Greek, although they may have spoken bits of Latin with the Roman occupation. The Gift of Tongues for them would have been a great gift, being able to speak and understand people in their own languages and 14

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directly impart the knowledge that Christ and God wanted them to impart about the Church and The Truth to people allowed them to do it directly. The Gift of Healing is not really a gift as can be seen by the way it is mentioned in the above verse. It was a gift in the sense that Christ Jesus commanded the Spirit to give them the ability to request healing for people, but healing is more about the forgiveness of sin and the repair of the body through the removal of that sin. This type of thing can be seen in other verses where Jesus himself heals somebody and tells them not to sin again, indicating that their affliction was caused by sin. Another Gift that many donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t actually see as a Gift is the Gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not just come to anybody, it does not just reside within any person, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a gift in itself from Yahweh God and Christ Jesus when a Person repents of their sins and is baptised into the Truth. This can be seen in several verses in the Bible shown below: NJB Acts 2:37-41 37. Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "What are we to do, brothers?" 38. `You must repent," Peter answered, "and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39. The promise that was made is for you and your children, and for all those who are far away, for all those whom the Lord our God is calling to himself." 40. He spoke to them for a long time using many other arguments, and he urged them, "Save yourselves from this perverse generation." 41. They accepted what he said and were baptised. That very day about three thousand were added to their number. NJB Acts 10:43-48

Baptism of the first gentiles

44. While Peter was still speaking the Holy Spirit came down on all the listeners. 45. Jewish believers who had accompanied Peter were all astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should be poured out on gentiles too, 46. since they could hear them speaking strange languages and proclaiming the greatness of God. Peter himself then said, 47. `Could anyone refuse the water of baptism to these people, now they have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?" 15

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48. He then gave orders for them to be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ. Afterwards they begged him to stay on for some days. The Gift of the Holy Spirit would have to be the first gift received by a member of the Church. The following verses from the Bible point to many different types of Gifts, none of which would be received without the Gift of the Holy Spirit that bestows the others upon us. NJB Romans 12:3-13

Humility and charity

3. And through the grace that I have been given, I say this to every one of you: never pride yourself on being better than you really are, but think of yourself dispassionately, recognising that God has given to each one his measure of faith. 4. Just as each of us has various parts in one body, and the parts do not all have the same function: 5. in the same way, all of us, though there are so many of us, make up one body in Christ, and as different parts we are all joined to one another. 6. Then since the gifts that we have differ according to the grace that was given to each of us: if it is a gift of prophecy, we should prophesy as much as our faith tells us; 7. if it is a gift of practical service, let us devote ourselves to serving; if it is teaching, to teaching; 8. if it is encouraging, to encouraging. When you give, you should give generously from the heart; if you are put in charge, you must be conscientious; if you do works of mercy, let it be because you enjoy doing them. 9. Let love be without any pretence. Avoid what is evil; stick to what is good. 10. In brotherly love let your feelings of deep affection for one another come to expression and regard others as more important than yourself. 11. In the service of the Lord, work not half-heartedly but with conscientiousness and an eager spirit. 12. Be joyful in hope, persevere in hardship; keep praying regularly; 13. share with any of God's holy people who are in need; look for opportunities to be hospitable. More Gifts of the Holy Spirit are mentioned in the following verses:

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NJB 1 Corinthians 12:4-11

The variety and the unity of gifts

4. There are many different gifts, but it is always the same Spirit; 5. there are many different ways of serving, but it is always the same Lord. 6. There are many different forms of activity, but in everybody it is the same God who is at work in them all. 7. The particular manifestation of the Spirit granted to each one is to be used for the general good. 8. To one is given from the Spirit the gift of utterance expressing wisdom; to another the gift of utterance expressing knowledge, in accordance with the same Spirit; 9. to another, faith, from the same Spirit; and to another, the gifts of healing, through this one Spirit; 10. to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecy; to another, the power of distinguishing spirits; to one, the gift of different tongues and to another, the interpretation of tongues. 11. But at work in all these is one and the same Spirit, distributing them at will to each individual. It interesting that listed in the above verses from the Bible, one of the Gifts listed is the Gift of Faith. Faith comes in different measures, and develops, although is still biblically seen a gift. Can it be developed, yes most likely as Jesus tells us many times to have and to keep our faith. For those that learn the Truth, it would be hard to lose or leave your faith in the Truth, how can you leave or lose your faith in the one thing that set you free? It should be mentioned that some of the Gifts are no longer given specifically, or are only granted on the very rare occasion if the need should arise. The Gift of Tongues is one such, there is no need for the Gift of Tongues in most cases now, the bible has been translated into every single language currently known to mankind. It may be granted to somebody that goes to a tribe in the middle of nowhere that has had no outside contact with the rest of the world and whose language is not known by anybody. This would then be when the Gift of Tongues would be granted for the spreading of Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s word only. The Gift of healing is another one that is rare these days. With medical technology advanced and continuing to advance at a rapid pass, there is very little need for the Gift of Healing. It is still awarded to those in The Truth, but normally would just occur through prayer rather than the actual granting of the Gift of Healing. This type of person would be mobbed 17

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these days. This can be seen in the Bible where Jesus was mobbed by the masses at times when he was going around healing. Most of the other Gifts mentioned however are still around to some degree or another.

Idols and Scriptural Idolatry In this Bible Study we will be looking at exactly what an Idol is according to the Bible and Yahweh God allowing to decide if they have become Biblical idolaters. This Bible Study article will be long, as we will be looking at not just Biblical verses but the meanings of the Hebrew words used in those verses to represent the English words for Idol, Image and Worship, bowing down or serving (them). References to the words “Image” and “Idol” are interchangeable with each other in this Bible Study due to the original Hebrew meanings which are discussed at the beginning, showing that they mean the same where Yahweh was and is concerned in relation to the Bible’s information. Let us first look at the Hebrew words for Image and Idols from Strong’s concordance, the Strong's Hebrew Dictionary. The words used in the Bible, especially the original Hebrew words from the Old Testament have a direct impact on ones understanding of what Yahweh God was informing us of: There are 2 Hebrew words used to represent idols / images in the Old Testament, these are the words and their English meanings: Strong's Number: 5566 Transliterated: cemel Phonetic: seh'-mel Text: or cemel {say'-mel}; root meaning to resemble; a likeness: -figure, idol, image. 19

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Strong's Number: 6091 Transliterated: `atsab Phonetic: aw-tsawb' Text: from 6087; an (idolatrous) image: --idol, image. Now let us first look at what Yahweh has told us about Idols / Images: NJB Exodus 20:4-6 4. You shall not make yourself a carved image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth. 5. You shall not bow down to them or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God and I punish a parent's fault in the children, the grandchildren, and the great-grandchildren among those who hate me; 6. but I act with faithful love towards thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. The following is taken from the 10 Commandments. Notice that it states quite specifically that we are to make NO CARVED IMAGE OR ANY LIKENESS OF ANYTHING. Again in Deuteronomy we can see the same thing listed where the 10 Commandments are set out once again for us: NJB Deuteronomy 5:8-10 8. `You must not make yourselves any image or any likeness of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters under the earth; 9. you must not bow down to these gods or serve them. For I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God and I punish the parents' fault in the children, the grandchildren and the greatgrandchildren, among those who hate me; 10. but I show faithful love to thousands, to those who love me and keep my commandments. Again Yahweh tells us not to make any images / idols of anything. With this information in black and white, directly from Yahweh God, it is hard to think that anybody could say that it was ok to have images or idols of anything at all no matter what the idea of them. It is quite clear that Yahweh tells us NOT to make images / idols in the LIKENESS of ANYTHING in Heaven or on Earth. Let us look at another couple of verses from the Bible in respect to images / idols. 20

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NJB Deuteronomy 4:14-20 14. Yahweh then ordered me to teach you the laws and customs that you were to observe in the country into which you are about to cross, to take possession of it. 15. `Hence, be very careful what you do. Since you saw no shape that day at Horeb when Yahweh spoke to you from the heart of the fire, 16. see that you do not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the shape of anything whatever: be it statue of man or of woman, 17. or of any animal on the earth, or of any bird that flies in the heavens, 18. or of any reptile that crawls on the ground, or of any fish in the waters under the earth. 19. When you raise your eyes to heaven, when you see the sun, the moon, the stars, the entire array of heaven, do not be tempted to worship them and serve them. Yahweh your God has allotted these to all the other peoples under heaven, 20. but Yahweh has chosen you, bringing you out of the ironfoundry, Egypt, to be his own people, his own people as you still are today. Note specifically Moses’ commands from verses 15 and 16 which states quite specifically: “`Hence, be very careful what you do. Since you saw no shape that day at Horeb when Yahweh spoke to you from the heart of the fire, see that you do not corrupt yourselves by making an image in the shape of anything whatever: be it statue of man or of woman.” If God has commanded us, through Moses NOT TO CORRUPT ourselves by making images of ANYTHING, is it not the same as corrupting ourselves by owning one of these images also? NJB Deuteronomy 4:23-24 23. Be careful not to forget the covenant which Yahweh your God has made with you, by sculpting an image or making a statue of anything, since Yahweh your God has forbidden this; 24. for Yahweh your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Again Moses tells us about Images / Idols, and how wrong it is for us to make them or have them. Yet do people listen to our Father in Heaven’s command regarding this? No! They continue to make and acquire images 21

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and Idols, things that are an abomination to God and what’s worse is that some even kneel before these images. It should be noted at this time that kneeling before them is classified as praying to them. From Strong's Hebrew Dictionary kneeling or worshipping incorporates the following meanings: Strong's Number: 7812 Transliterated: shachah Phonetic: shaw-khaw' Text: a primitive root; to depress, i.e. prostrate (especially reflexive, in homage to royalty or God): --bow (self) down, crouch, fall down (flat), humbly beseech, do (make) obeisance, do reverence, make to stoop, worship. Some Churches even make images and idols of Mary, Jesus’ mother and of the Saints, and kneel before them as well. Some Churches, in fact many churches and their congregations also have images of Crosses made, the torture implements used by Satan and those that tortured and murdered our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. Just how disgusting is it that people would willingly wear or own an image of the torture implement that inflicted so much pain on the one person they claim they love? Some say that they use their images of Jesus or others etc. as we would use a picture of somebody we love. Firstly, it is irrelevant, as Yahweh tells us to not have any images of any kind, (faith in him is enough). Secondly, most of the images of the Saints and especially of Jesus are not even Jesus or even a close likeness of him, they are purely wrong and frauds, a quick look at most of the Catholic and most other Church’s images of Jesus for example is enough to prove this point as many of the images / idols of him show him with long hair. This in itself goes against Yahweh’s command to the Hebrews / Jews, so Jesus would have had short hair not long. This can be seen in the following Biblical Verses: For Priests of Yahweh. NJB Ezekiel 44:20 20. They may neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long, but must cut their hair carefully

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NJB Psalms 68:20-21 20. This God of ours is a God who saves; from Lord Yahweh comes escape from death; 21. but God smashes the head of his enemies, the long-haired skull of the prowling criminal. NJB 1 Corinthians 11:14-15 14. Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, 15. but when a woman has long hair, it is her glory? After all, her hair was given to her to be a covering. Thirdly, many people kneel before these images / idols when they pray, which is also against Yahweh’s commands. Jesus said the following about worshipping Yahweh God: NJB John 4:23,24 23. But the hour is coming, indeed is already here, when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks. 24. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth. If you have Images or idols, then you are breaking Yahweh’s Commands to us, therefore you are not worshipping him as Christ Jesus commanded us to worship him in John 4:23 and 24, you are not worshipping Our Father in Heaven in Spirit and Truth, but you are worshipping an Idol or image which is not Truth. You are not even showing your faith in him, because if you did have faith in him, you would not need an images, or the images of your Church. I would like to add some of the following information from Elwell’s Evangelical Dictionary which will give you an even better understanding of the historical nature of images and idols.

Idolatry The worship of an idol or of a deity represented by an idol, usually as an image. Idolatry, as a form of religious practice, was common in both OT and NT times. Literary and archaeological evidence for the practice has survived from Mesopotamia, Syria-Palestine, Egypt, and from the Roman Empire. 23

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One of the most distinctive features of Hebrew religion during the OT period was the absence of idolatry. Its practice was prohibited among the Hebrews, and the archaeological evidence indicates that the prohibition was observed for the most part. There were two prevalent forms of idolatry in OT times, both banned by the Decalogue: (1) The first commandment prohibited the Israelites from worshiping any other god than the Lord (Exod. 20:3), thereby eliminating the false forms of idolatrous religion practiced in neighbouring nations. (2) The second commandment forbade the worship of the God of Israel in the form of an image or idol (Exod. 20:4-6). Of the two prohibitions, the latter was crucial to the integrity of Israel's theology. To worship God in the form of an idol would be to reduce God the Creator to the substance of creation (that which was represented in the idol), thereby undermining fundamentally the conception of the transcendent creator God. The idol gave to devotees a sense of the physical proximity of a deity and perhaps also the conviction that the deity's power could be harnessed by human beings. The God of Israel was immanent, but that immanence could not be expressed in physical or tangible form; it remained the essence of faith and of experience. Despite the prohibition of idolatry in Hebrew law, it clearly remained a fundamental form of temptation throughout Israel's history, whether in worshiping false gods through their idols or in reducing the worship of the one true God to idolatrous form. Hence, the denunciation of idolatry in its various forms is a recurrent theme in both the law and the prophets (Deut. 7:25-26; 29:16-17; Isa. 40:18-23). In NT times idolatry was practiced in various forms throughout the Roman Empire and was steadfastly resisted by the early Christian church. It was understood as a sign of human folly (Rom. 1:22-23), representing a perversion of true religion. More frequently, however, the NT writers used the 24

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concept of idolatry in a metaphorical sense, particularly with respect to covetousness (Eph. 5:5, Col. 3:5); covetousness is an "idol" by virtue of becoming the immediate focus of a person's desires and "worship," displacing the worship of God. In the later history of Christianity, idolatry in the strict sense has continued to be opposed in the terms of the ancient biblical prohibitions. But the continuing danger has more commonly returned in the metaphorical sense delineated in the NT; it is the "worship" (i.e., the total dedication of a person) of that which is seen and tangible, the goals of covetousness, rather than the unseen spiritual being that is God. P. C. CRAIGIE Bibliography. O. Barfield, Saving the Appearances: A Study of Idolatry; P. C. Craigie, The Book of Deuteronomy; R. de Vaux, Ancient Israel. The above information outlines far better than any I can think of outside of Biblical Scripture about the dangers and errors of Images, Statues or other forms of Idols in the worship, or focus of worship of Yahweh God. There are many other verses regarding Idols and images in the Bible, however I see no need to go any further in regard to this bible study with them, the evidence and the Truth of the matter is mentioned just in the few verses already mentioned in this Article, with further clarifying information based on the information produced in Elwellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dictionary. Yahweh tells us not to make Idols / images of ANYTHING, no matter what it is or where it is, if you have anything, a picture or statue of Jesus, of Mary or any of the Saints, of a cross or your church has any of these things, then by Biblical Judgment alone you and your church is breaking the commands of Yahweh God by having Idols.

Eternal Life Many of the Churches believe that when we die we go either to Heaven or Hell based on our deeds. While the concept of our deeds being judged as the location for where we will go when we are judged basically true, Heaven and Hell are not the only locations that could be our place. Yahweh God first granted Adam and Eve our first parents the Earth. It was given them for eternity. NJB Genesis 1:27-30 27. God created man in the image of himself, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. 28. God blessed them, saying to them, "Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that move on earth." 29. God also said, "Look, to you I give all the seed-bearing plants everywhere on the surface of the earth, and all the trees with seedbearing fruit; this will be your food. 30. And to all the wild animals, all the birds of heaven and all the living creatures that creep along the ground, I give all the foliage of the plants as their food." And so it was. Yahweh God, even though Adam and Eve sinned wilfully against His command and they were thrown out of the Garden of Eden for their transgression and they would die, Yahweh God always wanted mankind to live on the earth.

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With Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s arrival on the Earth however, mankind was given a third option to eternal life on the earth or Hell. This third option was a heavenly existence with Christ and Yahweh God. We can see that this option was given to us in Matthew with 2 distinct options being given: NJB Matthew 5:3-12 3. How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4. Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance. 5. Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. 7. Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God. 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11. `Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account. 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you. As can be seen, these verses indicate that the Bible and Christ himself (as they are from The Beatitudes or Sermon on the Mount given by Christ) has proclaimed that these two options now exist for mankind. Most of the people resurrected will be given an Earthly Existence when they are resurrected; only 144,000 will be granted a Heavenly existence (the topic of the 144,000 will be discussed in another article "The 144,000"). This gaining entry to Hell is easy, ignore the commands of Yahweh God, do not follow his laws and continue to sin. Gaining eternal life will be hard, follow the narrow path, study to show yourself worthy, follow Our Heavenly Father's commandments and come to know God personally, and do not sin, for in coming to know the Truth, your sins have been washed away unless you sin wilfully. Gaining a heavenly existence will be much harder, but many would not want a heavenly existence, they would prefer a life on the New Earth.

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God tells us that there will be a New Earth and a New Heaven. With both swept clean of sin and wickedness, how much better will these be? The Bible tells us: NJB Isaiah 65:17 17. For look, I am going to create new heavens and a new earth, and the past will not be remembered and will come no more to mind. NJB Isaiah 66:22 22. For as the new heavens and the new earth I am making will endure before me, declares Yahweh, so will your race and your name endure. 2 Peter 3:11-14 11. Since everything is coming to an end like this, what holy and saintly lives you should be living 12. while you wait for the Day of God to come, and try to hasten its coming: on that Day the sky will dissolve in flames and the elements melt in the heat. 13. What we are waiting for, relying on his promises, is the new heavens and new earth, where uprightness will be at home. 14. So then, my dear friends, while you are waiting, do your best to live blameless and unsullied lives so that he will find you at peace. NJB Revelation 21:1-2 1. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. 2. I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride dressed for her husband. So strive always for the Truth, and continually ask God in Christ Jesus' name for his Spirit to be with you, and guide you to eternal life.

The 144,000 In this article I would like to follow on a little from the previous article Eternal Life. In this case I would like to discuss the 144,000 or 144,000 Saints as they are occasionally referred to. To start this Article off I would like to present, once again some scriptural verses from Matthew 5, covering comments made by Christ Jesus at the Sermon on the Mount. NJB Matthew 5:3-12 3. How blessed are the poor in spirit: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4. Blessed are the gentle: they shall have the earth as inheritance. 5. Blessed are those who mourn: they shall be comforted. 6. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for uprightness: they shall have their fill. 7. Blessed are the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. 8. Blessed are the pure in heart: they shall see God. 9. Blessed are the peacemakers: they shall be recognised as children of God. 10. Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of uprightness: the kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 11. `Blessed are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you falsely on my account. 12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven; this is how they persecuted the prophets before you. 29

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As pointed out in the previous article about Eternal Life, Christ Jesus mentions himself quite specifically that there are 2 places that will be allocated humans after judgement. One being the Earth and one being the kingdom of Heaven. Many of you may ask why or how it is known that there will only be 144,000 people will receive a Heavenly existence. This can be seen from various other Scriptural references from the Bible which I will present shortly. The first reference I would like to present regarding this point is the following: NJB Luke 12:22-32 22. Then he said to his disciples, "That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. 23. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24. Think of the ravens. They do not sow or reap; they have no storehouses and no barns; yet God feeds them. And how much more you are worth than the birds! 25. Can any of you, however much you worry, add a single cubit to your span of life? 26. If a very small thing is beyond your powers, why worry about the rest? 27. Think how the flowers grow; they never have to spin or weave; yet, I assure you, not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of them. 28. Now if that is how God clothes a flower which is growing wild today and is thrown into the furnace tomorrow, how much more will he look after you, who have so little faith! 29. But you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. 30. It is the gentiles of this world who set their hearts on all these things. Your Father well knows you need them. 31. No; set your hearts on his kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well. 32. `There is no need to be afraid, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom. Firstly, notice 2 things from these verses. Besides the fact that to accomplish all that he has written and asked of you, you would most certainly have to be exceptionally devout and have great faith in God, if you do this he tells you to set your hearts on his kingdom. The "his" in 30

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this scripture represents God. For the kingdom of heaven belongs to God. Also notice that that in the last verse, Jesus uses the term "little flock" when he refers to this group of people and that it is this little flock that God (your Father) gives you the kingdom. This term "little flock" is important, as you will see in another scripture later on. The next section of Scripture that I would like to present to you is the following: NJB Revelation 5:7-10 7. The Lamb came forward to take the scroll from the right hand of the One sitting on the throne, 8. and when he took it, the four living creatures prostrated themselves before him and with them the twenty-four elders; each one of them was holding a harp and had a golden bowl full of incense which are the prayers of the saints. 9. They sang a new hymn: You are worthy to take the scroll and to break its seals, because you were sacrificed, and with your blood you bought people for God of every race, language, people and nation 10. and made them a line of kings and priests for God, to rule the world. Firstly take note of verse 7. I believe that pretty much every Christian can accept that the "Lamb" mentioned here is Christ Jesus. I wanted to ensure that you were aware of who was coming forward before the One (this being Yahweh God) sitting on the throne. In verse 9 and 10 you notice that the Lamb was sacrificed and with his blood he bought people for God, and made them a line of kings and priests for God. These people are the "little flock" mentioned in the previous verses in Luke 12. NJB Revelation 6:9-11 9. When he broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of all the people who had been killed on account of the Word of God, for witnessing to it. 10. They shouted in a loud voice, "Holy, true Master, how much longer will you wait before you pass sentence and take vengeance for our death on the inhabitants of the earth?" 31

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11. Each of them was given a white robe, and they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was completed of their fellow-servants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been. The white robes in these verses indicate the Saints. These verses and those killed on account of the Word (this being Christ Jesus) of God, and for witnessing for it. These are those of the "little flock" again. This will become clearer further on. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also interesting to note that they are told to be patient a little longer "until the roll was completed of their fellowservants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been". These other Saints will be killed for witnessing about the Word of God. Very few could do that knowing that they would die for witnessing about Christ Jesus. NJB Revelation 7:1-4 1. Next I saw four angels, standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the world to keep them from blowing over the land or the sea or any tree. 2. Then I saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, 3. `Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4. And I heard how many had been sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel. The Angel commands the four angels to wait before they do any damage until the seal has been placed on the servants of God. The number mentioned is 144,000. You will also notice that it says "out of all the tribes of Israel". This does not exclude Gentiles and it most certainly doesn't mean the 144,000 will only be Jews / Hebrews. Remember that Israel is now all those that come to Yahweh God through Christ Jesus. Finally, I want to present one final piece of information for you. NJB Revelation 14:1-5 1. Next in my vision I saw Mount Zion, and standing on it the Lamb who had with him a hundred and forty-four thousand people, all with his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads.

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2. I heard a sound coming out of heaven like the sound of the ocean or the roar of thunder; it was like the sound of harpists playing their harps. 3. There before the throne they were singing a new hymn in the presence of the four living creatures and the elders, a hymn that could be learnt only by the hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the world. 4. These are the sons who have kept their virginity and not been defiled with women; they follow the Lamb wherever he goes; they, out of all people, have been redeemed to be the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb. 5. No lie was found in their mouths and no fault can be found in them. Firstly notice that in verse 1 it mentions specifically 144,000 people, standing with the Lamb, all with the Lamb's and his Father's name written on their forehead. Then notice that these 144,000 are singing a new hymn that could be learnt ONLY by the 144,000 who had been redeemed (to set free; rescued or ransomed) them from the world. Next you will notice in verse 4 that these people, the 144,000, are those that have kept their virginity, virginity represents that they have not been defiled by Satan, or that they have not (if men in this case) committed adultery or fornicated without being married. In verse 5 it also mentions that no fault can be found in them and that interestingly enough, no lie was found in their mouth. This lie being found in their mouth could be any lie, but it could quite possibly be any lie relating to the word and Word of God.

Jesus Christ and the Archangel Michael This Article is about Christ Jesus and Michael the Archangel. Is Christ Jesus the Archangel Michael made flesh? Biblically, it is easy to see that Christ Jesus was the Archangel Michael made Flesh, actually Christ Jesus was only Michael the Angel made flesh, because Michael didn't become the Archangel until AFTER Jesus ascended into Heaven. The Term and word "Archangel" is not used anywhere in the OT. In the Old Covenant (Old Testament) there are a number of verses that relate to the Angel Michael and point out his special position with Yahweh God and his place in the Heavenly hierarchy. The Biblical verses indicating the Angel Michael being of special note with Yahweh God and therefore leading to Jesus being the Angel Michael are as follows: NJB Daniel 10:13-14 13. The Prince of the kingdom of Persia has been resisting me for twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the Chief Princes, came to my assistance. I have left him confronting the kings of Persia 14. and have come to tell you what will happen to your people in the final days. For here is a new vision about those days." NJB Daniel 12:1-2 1. `At that time Michael will arise, the great Prince, defender of your people. That will be a time of great distress, unparalleled since nations first came into existence. When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book.

Resurrection and retribution 34

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2. `Of those who are sleeping in the Land of Dust, many will awaken, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting disgrace. It is interesting to note that in Daniel 12:1 it states “Michael will arise”, and in both scriptures Michael is referred to as both a Chief Prince and then the great Prince. Also note that in Daniel 12:1 the last sentence “When that time comes, your own people will be spared, all those whose names are found written in the Book.” The book mentioned here is the Book of Life. As can be seen from the information from Daniel 12:2, the clarification about the nature of the Book mentioned in Daniel 12:1 comes up in Revelation and also in Philippians as can be seen in the verses below: NJB Philippians 4:2-3 2. I urge Euodia, and I urge Syntyche to come to agreement with each other in the Lord; 3. and I ask you, Syzygus, really to be a "partner" and help them. These women have struggled hard for the gospel with me, along with Clement and all my other fellow-workers, whose names are written in the book of life. NJB Revelation 20:10-15

The Last Judgement

11. Then I saw a great white throne and the One who was sitting on it. In his presence, earth and sky vanished, leaving no trace. 12. I saw the dead, great and small alike, standing in front of his throne while the books lay open. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged from what was written in the books, as their deeds deserved. 13. The sea gave up all the dead who were in it; 14. Death and Hades were emptied of the dead that were in them; and every one was judged as his deeds deserved. Then Death and Hades were hurled into the burning lake. This burning lake is the second death; 15. and anybody whose name could not be found written in the book of life was hurled into the burning lake. It is important to note these verses, especially in relation to Daniel which points to future events. The books of Daniel often refer a lot to the birth of Christ and what will happen at the end of Revelation for Mankind. The next set of verses are interesting to note as well: 35

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NJB Exodus 23:20-21 20. Look, I am sending an angel to precede you, to guard you as you go and bring you to the place that I have prepared. 21. Revere him and obey what he says. Do not defy him: he will not forgive any wrongdoing on your part, for my name is in him. Notice in verse 21 that it says that the people are to "REVERE" him and to "OBEY" what he says. Notice also that the verse says: " he will not forgive any wrongdoing on your part, for my name is in him.". Why would it matter if an Angel did not forgive you, as long as Yahweh God forgave you then surely that is sufficient. Yet why would Yahweh God be telling the Hebrews to REVERE an angel, unless the Angel was the Great Prince, Michael. The word REVERE in the Dictionary means: From the Oxford English Reference Dictionary Ed. 1996

Hold in deep and usu. Affectionate or religious respect; venerate. The angel of the covenant. The new Covenant was created by Jesus. Yahweh God sent him to create and bring about this New Covenant. In the New Testament we find the following verses referring to Michael, but the difference here is the fact that they refer to the Archangel Michael and all are stated AFTER Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s death and ascension into Heaven: NJB 1 Thessalonians 4:16 16. At the signal given by the voice of the Archangel and the trumpet of God, the Lord himself will come down from heaven; those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, NJB Jude 1:9 9. Not even the archangel Michael, when he was engaged in argument with the devil about the corpse of Moses, dared to denounce him in the language of abuse; all he said was, "May the Lord rebuke you." Notice that in 1 Thessalonians it says the voice of THE Archangel, indicating that there is only ONE of them. Then in Jude 1:9 we are told the Archangel is Michael. Notice in the following verse that Christ is referred to as the FIRSTBORN OF ALL CREATION:

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NJB Colossians 1:15 15. He is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, Then in the next verse, we see that Jesus is telling John to write a letter to the angel of the Church of Laodicea and in that Letter he refers to HIMSELF as the Principal of God's creation. The word PRINCIPAL in the Dictionary means: From the Oxford English Reference Dictionary Ed. 1996

adj & n 1. first in rank or importance; chief. 2. main, leading n 1 a head, ruler or superior.

NJB Revelation 3:14 14. `Write to the angel of the church in Laodicea and say, `Here is the message of the Amen, the trustworthy, the true witness, the Principal of God's creation: Now that the information about Michael is laid bare before you, if you look up the meaning of the name Michael you find the following: "Michael" is a Hebrew word meaning: One Who Is Like God. A correct translation of the Greek Text of John 1:1 and 2 the following appeared. Below you will see the current translation, and under it, the actual one in Blue. Notice the changed words in Purple:

ok, the words Greek To / Towards in this instance relate or represents or is equivalent to the English word "Like" so you have the word Like in here...this makes this line read as follows:

In [the] beginning was the Word, and the Word was *LIKE* God,

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Ok, the [a] is actually in the New World Translations Bible. Christ talks about humanity as being gods (Notice the small ( g ) instead of the capital one used for Jehovah / Yahweh, also, Yahweh tells us that we are gods, again using the small ( g ) instead of the big one. So thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s why the change from God to a god, the Word was a god. Plus, you change the word/s Greek "To / Towards" to "Like" again, which is its true English equivalent meaning and you get this:

and [a] god was the Word. He was in [the] beginning *LIKE*

God So when viewed properly, with the correct translation, and all other information you can see that Jesus was the Physical embodiment of the Archangel Michael, the whole secret of the Bible and how it was written in regards to the Greek text was interpreted incorrectly and with preconceived doctrinal ideas working predominantly from the concept of the Doctrine of the Trinity. If you have questions feel free to ask one of the Elders or ask on the Articles Blog. I would also like to leave people with one more very very interesting Biblical Verse: NJB Malachi 3:1 1. `Look, I shall send my messenger to clear a way before me. And suddenly the Lord whom you seek will come to his

Temple; yes, the angel of the covenant, for whom you long, is on his way, says Yahweh Sabaoth. Notice how Yahweh God actually, specifically and pointedly tells us that he will send his messenger to clear a way before Him, and that the Lord whom we seek will come to his temple, and that the Lord will be the angel of the covenant that we have longed for. He tells us that the Lord, our Lord and Saviour was and is an Angel and is the Angel of the Covenant. Christ Jesus is our Lord, he is the Archangel Michael, the Angel of the New Covenant.

The Sabbath Day NJB Exodus 20:7-11 8. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. 9. For six days you shall labour and do all your work, 10. but the seventh day is a Sabbath for Yahweh your God. You shall do no work that day, neither you nor your son nor your daughter nor your servants, men or women, nor your animals nor the alien living with you. 11. For in six days Yahweh made the heavens, earth and sea and all that these contain, but on the seventh day he rested; that is why Yahweh has blessed the Sabbath day and made it sacred. This is the Commandment of Yahweh God from Exodus. But the question is, what exactly is the seventh day of the week that the Sabbath should be observed. The Bible tells us: NJB Genesis 2:2-3 2. On the seventh day God had completed the work he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing. 3. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on that day he rested after all his work of creating. The Sabbath was made Holy by Yahweh God because it was the day that he himself rested after he had completed his creation of Heaven and Earth with all of their array (Genesis 2:1). He wants us to celebrate his 39

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work in the Creation of Heaven and Earth and all of their array with him as well as it being a reminder to us that it is Yahweh God who sanctifies us. This can be seen in the following verse: NJB Exodus 31:12-13 12. Yahweh then said to Moses, 13. "Speak to the Israelites and say, `You will keep my Sabbaths properly, for this is a sign between myself and you for all your generations to come, so that you will know that it is I, Yahweh, who sanctify you. Which day is the Sabbath day? According to the calendar that we use, the seventh day of the week is Saturday. We operate by a Roman Calender and days of the week are named after pagan gods. Yet, in other languages it is demonstrated that their Saturday has a variation of the word "Sabbath"; Saturday in: Spanish: Sabado Greek: Saâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;bato Indonesian: Sabtu Italian: Sabato Malaysian: Sabtu Arabic: Al Sabit If one uses the Hebrew Calender, then it is even easier to know the Sabbath Day. The Hebrew Days operate on an Evening-to-Evening basis, which means that the seventh day or the Sabbath would start Friday Evening and End Saturday Evening (Sunset to Sunset). The reason for this occurring can be seen in Genesis 1: NJB Genesis 1:5,8,13,19,23,31 5. God called light "day", and darkness he called "night". Evening came and morning came: the first day. 8. God called the vault "heaven". Evening came and morning came: the second day. 13. Evening came and morning came: the third day. 19. Evening came and morning came: the fourth day. 23. Evening came and morning came: the fifth day. 31. God saw all he had made, and indeed it was very good. Evening came and morning came: the sixth day.

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As can be seen from these verses, Yahweh God created through Evening and morning. As the next Evening arrived, the next day started. This is why the Sabbath is celebrated Friday Evening and Saturday Day (Until evening). Why do most Christian Churches celebrate the Sabbath on Sunday, the first day of the week? This occurs because the Roman Catholic Church changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday because they wanted to disassociate themselves from the Jews and everything associated with Judaism and continue the tradition of worship on the day of the sun. The Pagan Emperor Constantine made a law for the whole empire (AD 321) that Sunday should be kept as a rest day in all cities and towns; but he allowed an exception in favour of agriculture: “Let all judges and towns

people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the Sun” (Catholic Encyclopaedia, article “Sunday”) It is not surprising that the Emperor Constantine did this, he was a pagan and worshipped pagan gods after all, especially the Sun god. Many Christian Churches try to teach that the Early Church kept Sunday as the Sabbath, yet the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are filled with verses about Our Lord Christ Jesus and his Apostles keeping the Hebrew Sabbath as the Law of Yahweh God declared and as the Commandments of Yahweh God command. The Book of Acts also is filled with examples of the early Church observing the Sabbath. Acts 13:14, 42, 44, Acts 16:13, Acts 17:2 and Acts 18:4 all demonstrate that Paul and the early Church kept the Hebrew Sabbath. Many like to think that with Jesus’ coming, that the Laws of Yahweh God have changed, yet Christ Jesus himself said: NJB Matthew 5:17-19 17. `Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. 18. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is achieved. 19. Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven; but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of Heaven. 41

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Jesus did not come to abolish the Laws of His God. In fact, Christ Jesus kept the Sabbath day himself, with his Apostles and the Early Church. It is even clear that the Sabbath will be observed on the New Earth, this can be seen in the following verse: NJB Isaiah 66:22-23 22. For as the new heavens and the new earth I am making will endure before me, declares Yahweh, so will your race and your name endure. 23. From New Moon to New Moon, from Sabbath to Sabbath, all humanity will come and bow in my presence, Yahweh says. These verses clearly demonstrate that the Sabbath will be observed on the new Earth Yahweh God creates for us. Christians can be recognised by their Faith and their Works as well as their observance of Yahwehâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commandments. Even Yahweh God tells us this. Are you a true Christian? Do you follow the Commandment of Yahweh God and celebrate his Sabbath as he commanded us to do? If you do not keep Yahweh Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s commandments, then you will not see eternal life as scripture says: NJB Matthew 19:16-17 16. And now a man came to him and asked, "Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?" 17. Jesus said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments." NJB John 14:15 15. If you love me you will keep my commandments. NJB 1 Corinthians 7:19 19. To be circumcised is of no importance, and to be uncircumcised is of no importance; what is important is the keeping of God's commandments. NJB 1 John 2:4 4. Whoever says, "I know him" without keeping his commandments, is a liar, and truth has no place in him. NJB 1 John 3:24 42

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24. Whoever keeps his commandments remains in God, and God in him. And this is the proof that he remains in us: the Spirit that he has given us. Do you keep all of Yahweh Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Commandments?

Conclusion and Closing Yahweh’s Truth in New Jerusalem Christian Church Elders hope you have enjoyed this book of Articles from our Church. The articles are a collection used to give to people individually to prompt them into a state of thought, not used as doctrinal requirements to become a member. I and the Elders hope that the collection has done for you what the individual articles were designed to do on their own on a larger scale, prompted you to look personally and more closely at the Bible and what it actually says and lead you to a closer and more Truthful understanding of what we are required to do to gain the Eternal Life he has promised us in his Book of Life the Bible. Yahweh God and his Son Christ Jesus have always said that we must ask and search to receive and find, unless we ask Yahweh God to show us his Truth and actually search allowing ourselves to be able to find, we will never receive nor shall we ever find that which we need, we cannot expect that others will give us that which we should be given. In closing, the Elders and I would like to leave you with the following quote from the Bible to show “Why” you should search for the Truth yourself: NJB Matthew 7:6-11

Effective prayer

7. `Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

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8. Everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened. 9. Is there anyone among you who would hand his son a stone when he asked for bread? 10. Or would hand him a snake when he asked for a fish? 11. If you, then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask him! The Church and Elders also thank you for purchasing this book, the small amount of money you chose to spend will be used properly.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR I was born in Sydney, NSW, Australia and lived in several States around Australia. While baptised High Church of England I quickly became disillusioned with the Church and the more I looked into it the more I became disillusioned with Christianity. This began my long search for the Truth. I knew it was there somewhere and looked into many religions becoming involved with a few for short period, only to find that the Truth wasn't really in them. Before meeting my wife I had become effectively a Universalist, somebody that believed that there was a Supreme Being (The Universe) which guided us and lead us to the things we needed to know and learn. Everything came together when I met my wife, who decided to start sharing the Bible with me. I wasn't interested at the time, I wasn't interested in the "Dogma and Doctrinal" concepts and the hypocrisy of Christianity. Grudgingly at first I accepted her simply giving me Chapters in the Bible to read then we would discuss what I gathered from them. It was the beginning of the Truth and the more I read the more I understood and the more I realised the hypocrisy was in the Churches, not in Christianity. There are a lot of things in the Bible that don't answer the questions of life and other issues (I love to delve into the "what ifs" of things) but more comes to light as time goes by, some things will never be answered, they just aren't important enough for us to know. Yahweh (Jehovah) God leads us to where we are best suited, provided we allow ourselves to be lead. Sometimes we go kicking and screaming like Jonah, and Moses, but eventually we get there anyway if it be Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Will. More about the Author can be found at any of the following sites: YTNJ Church Site: http://eldersean.ytnj.org/ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Sean-Bennetts/e/B00DKBBCWQ/ AuthorsDen: http://www.authorsden.com/seanbennetts