By guest contributor Chris Sabine
To start let’s get one thing straight, the disciples, apostles, and new believers did not call themselves a church. They never built a building in order to worship as they understood that THEY were now the temple and therefore there was no need for a physical building to go worship in. Furthermore, they did not call themselves Christians as this was an offensive term used by Romans to mock and ridicule on the same level as calling someone a murderer or thief. They were believers, the ekklesia or called out assembly.
There are major differences in the observances, practices, and doctrines of each and you can draw a very distinct line as to which is worshiping the one true God (Yah) and which is worshiping a counterfeit. We know who the master deceiver is and if it’s a counterfeit then guess who that worship belongs to?
Before I dig in, I would like to state that I once was a Christian and was for over 40 years. I was “saved” at the age of six in a small Baptist church. I then bounced around and experienced many different denominations which I call flavors as that term seems to fit best since there are over 41,000 different variations with all disagreeing with one another on different aspects. I was in “church” and “saved” many different times and baptized three different times as each flavor has their own permanence of salvation and requirements, until I was basically uninvited and told to make myself scarce due to questions that I had that they could not answer. If they did answer, it still would not line up with scripture and I knew something was off.
At that point some 20 plus years ago, I began searching for truth. The strange thing is that the truth came from a friend of mine that I have known for over 30 years. He had been sharing truth for many years but for whatever reason, it was hidden from me until one fateful day that the very question that got me “uninvited” from church was answered. When I ran across it and all the questions that I had all of a sudden had legitimate truthful scriptural answers, I accepted the truth. I did not just hear it or read it and then go on about my life. I searched the answers out in an effort to debunk them, but I could not. So, I conceded and accepted. There is a difference between hearing the truth and accepting the truth. Accepting leads to applying. Just hearing is not enough as that can lead to just arguing your point and walking away never thinking anything else about it.
I accepted truth. I believed truth. I identified with truth. I applied truth. Truth accepted me, assured me, sealed me, and began revealing more to me. It even revealed why it was hidden from me previously. I was under the grand delusion mentioned in 2 Thess. 2:17 and my understanding had not been opened (Luke 24:45).
With all this said, I will now dive into truth versus lies as related to days the “church” teaches and the days the believers (ekklesia) teach.
Believers:
Weekly Sabbath (Ex. 20:8, Ex 23:12 Lev. 23:3 just to name a few) Day of rest to be observed by all belonging to Yah
Passover (Ex 12:1-14, Lev. 23:5) Yahoshua sacrificed as the perfect Lamb on this day.
Feast of Unleavened Bread (Ex 12:15-17 Lev. 23:6-8) In the tomb/removal of sin.
Firstfruits (Lev. 23:10-14) Yahoshua rose during the night on this day.
Feast of Weeks (Lev. 23 15-21) Giving of the covenant both physical and spiritual on this day.
Feast of Trumpets (Lev. 23 23-25) Wedding of the Messiah, The last trump, day or hour no man knows
Day of Atonement (Lev. 23:26-32) Armageddon
Feast of Tabernacles (Lev. 23:33-43) Millennial reign
All of these days are found in scripture and can be seen observed while Yahoshua was here with the disciples and after He had ascended. He never said anything about doing away with the weekly or yearly Sabbaths. If anything, there are warnings associated with doing away with them and worshiping Him in the ways the pagans do and doing away with Yah’s traditions. (Deut. 12:30-32) Doing such removes His timeline and prophetic calendar. He fulfilled four in order and on the day. He will fulfill the remaining three in order and on the day.
Church:
SUNday assembling (not scriptural and was the day pagans used for sun worship)
Ash Wednesday (not scriptural and is a pagan ritual praying for Odin’s protection)
Lent (is found in Ez. 8 but is punished by death in Ez. 9)
Good Friday (not scriptural and is just a random day with no meaning)
Easter (sunrise service is found in Ez. 8 and once again punished by death in Ez. 9)
Valentine’s Day (part of a pagan fertility ritual which called for wild, unbridled sex and fornication)
Halloween (not scriptural and pagan day of the dead)
Christmas (not scriptural but the tree is alluded to in Jer. 10:1-5. Pagan sun god’s birthday around the globe)
None of the days the church observes contain any truth, timeline, or prophetic calendar. Everything is pagan, random, out of place, and makes the Almighty Creator look like He has a severe case of schizophrenia.
Now what question was I asking that got me uninvited from “church”? I simply wanted to know how Friday at sunset to Sunday at sunrise was 3 days and nights as Christ said it would be. I heard everything from “you have to count the day He was crucified as well as the day He rose” and “parts of three different days” and this one being my favorite “there were eight days in the Roman calendar”. OK so Yah bent to using the Roman calendar instead of the one He created? This did not sit with me as a perfect God would be perfect in His timing and do what He said without question and room for error.
Once I received the answer of Him being crucified on Wednesday (Passover), in the tomb for Unleavened Bread, rising during the night on Sunday (First Fruits), I was overjoyed and mad at the same time. Overjoyed in the fact that He is perfect but mad that I didn’t see it before and the answer was right in front of me the whole time. But then again, I DID NOT KNOW the traditions. When I did learn the traditions, it all fell into place and made perfect sense.
I can hear the excuses now:
“He knows my heart”. Yes, He does and calls it deceitful above all things and desperately wicked (Jer 17:9).
“It doesn’t matter as long as we are worshipping Him”. The Messiah argues against that decisively in John 4:24, and Matt. 15:8-9.
“We are still going to the same place”. Once again, you shouldn’t be so sure. The Messiah paints a picture of those who just knew with all certainty they were going to heaven and what happens to them in Matt. 7: 21-23.
One is the real faith of scripture (Ekklesia), and one is a cheap imitation (church). One is acceptable to the Father, and one is not, and He will spit them out of His mouth (Rev. 3:16-18).
For more information: Messiah’s Bride Is NOT the “Church”