Greetings from HomeWorship 101™

“I am the LORD, I do not change!”

The word of the LORD endures forever.” - Mal 3:61; Pet 1:25

2008-14 National Bible Week

National Bible Week starts Sunday. Although it is the textbook that America was founded on you probably won't hear much about it in the media. National Bible Week is celebrated each year from Sunday to Sunday of the Thanksgiving week, beginning this year on November 23-30, 2008, and it encourages everyone to read the Bible.

“A thorough knowledge of the Bible

is worth more then a college education.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

Bible Week is a good time to pause and consider, as a nation how are the Bible studies going. The Bible is still the best selling book, but the question is are people reading it, or are they just using it as a decoration for a table or shelf? Is it that the laity does not want to learn, or is it that the religionists do not want to teach?

A basic familiarity with the Bible’s contents was once considered the mark of an educated person. Today however, most believers have become a church of Biblical illiterates. Whom does this reflect upon? The clergy who do not teach? Or the laity who really do not seek GOD’S word? Surveys say a majority of Americans believe the Ten Commandments are still valid rules for living today - but just don’t ask them to name them.

Knowledge is power, and Divine knowledge is the most powerful - that is what political and religious leaders fear. There are mysteries at the heart of the universe, but it’s no secret. In our CREATOR’S Kingdom, information is available to all, and all are encouraged to research - with sophistication - and qualify the spiritual truths they accept as righteous.

One of my Bible pet peeves is that Christianity has taken the Bible hostage. When I register my website with Internet search engines it is usually in the Bible studies, or Bible history, which is a sub-category under Christianity. Regular readers of my work know I do not teach standard Christianity, nor is it standard Hebraic or Messianic Judaism. That is why I have a hard time with my ministry because it is mostly churches – Messianic or Christian - that hold Bible study classes with a predetermined agenda, and they do not want independent free-thinking teachers. (The spiritual – new age – groups do not care to hear me either.) In my strange way of seeing it, the Bible should be it’s own main category and the religions should be subcategories under it because the Bible spawns the various religions, not the other way around.

Talking religion on the web is like herding cats; everybody has their own mind about it so I don’t even get into it. The Bible is my passion. I have studied many religions, but in my humble opinion the Bible is the most unique book in the possession of humankind – and often times it is the most hated book in the possession of humankind.

“...I am GOD, and there is none like ME.
Declaring the end from the beginning.

And from ancient times

things that are not yet done…”
- Isaiah 46:9-10

The Bible is unique among the religious books of humankind in that it dares to predict future events in great detail – that is how YHWH validates HIS Word. Although rarely taught, the Bible contains thousands of detailed prophecies concerning various nations, events, and individuals, covering thousands of years. Of these many prophetic verses, through all of history, not one verse has ever been proven conclusively wrong. In my opinion, the Bible by itself is a coded book of wisdom. To completely understand the history and prophecies of humankind’s spiritual evolution one needs to study both the Old and New Testaments.

“Facts are stubborn things;

and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations,

or the dictums of our passions,

they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.”

—U.S. President John Adams December 1770

It may upset some folks when I say the Bible is not a religious book. If it is then which religion does it teach? Not today’s Christianity (or Judaism), as I have said before, what is called today’s radical right in nothing but a bunch of New Testament liberals. Today, the Bible-based men that founded our country would be considered a bunch of Bible zealots and would be run out of town. The New Testament does not teach today’s Christianity anymore then the Old Testament teaches Judaism.

“…For the LORD giveth wisdom:

out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.”

- Proverbs 2:1-6

The keyword in the above verse is “wisdom, knowledge, understanding”- not religion! The Bible is the textbook of spiritual warfare. The Bible is a library of books: It is a history book. It is a book of healthful living. It is a philosophy book. It is the Book of the Covenants. It is a Book of Prophecy. It is the Book of our CREATOR’S plan for humanity. The Bible illimunates YHWH's Path (Jer.6:16 ESV; Pro.3:6;Ps.25:4 ).

Some may be startled to hear that the the Bible is not a religious book. I get some strange looks when I call my book and website a “non-religious” Bible teaching website, it seems I’m the lone fish swimming against the current. I teach at the grass roots level, using simple language, with a no-BS ethic of an engineer, more concerned with education rather than indoctrination. That is why the religionists run into problems with teaching the Bible in public schools, instead of teaching the Bible in an unbiased manner, they use the Bible for religious indoctrination - woe the mishegoss of religion.

“So the hammers of infidels have been

pecking away at this Book for ages,

but the hammers are worn out,

and the anvil still endures.

If this book had not been the book of GOD,

men would have destroyed it long ago.

Emperors and popes, kings and priests, princes and rulers,

have all tried their hand at it;

they die and the Book still lives.”

- H.L. Hastings

B-i-b-l-e stands for: Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

The Bible is a spiritual story of hope, telling all those who would listen of the great Heavenly master plan of humanity from chaos to eternity.

The Bible is a textbook of metaphysics - a manual for the growth of the spirit. The real strength of a person is not physical, but moral and spiritual. The Bible answers all questions from this point of view using common terms and addressing it in terms of the relationship to the spirit.

The Bible is something of a working spiritual manual from the CREATOR to all of HIS Creation. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” 2Timothy 3:16.

The Bible is truthful and frank, and Biblical wisdom is practical - not theoretical. It teaches how-to-live life skillfully in a GODLY way, in an un-GODLY world.

The Bible gives us practical information: The Earth is round (Isa.40:22) and present days’ ocean shipping lanes were based on a verse in Psalms 8:8.

Unfortunately, the Bible is also a study in one of humanities’ greatest paradoxes. In centuries past, Biblical debates have imploded ecumenical councils, confounded theologians and touched off wars that raged on for decades sometimes centuries, over a Book that basically teaches peace.

"As for God, his way is perfect;

the word of the LORD is flawless.

He is a shield for all who take refuge in him."

- 2 Samuel 22:31

YHWH used the Hebrew people to write down and preserve HIS words for the succeeding generations, and they did a good job. They were exceptional in their dedication to accurately preserving the original words, this is proven today’s Dead Sea Scrolls. The Dead Sea Scrolls are ancient books of today’s Bible written about 19 centuries ago, then sealed up in clay jars and buried in the desert hills outside of Jerusalem. These clay jar time capsules were found in the 1950’s and they are about 99% accurate when compared to today’s Hebrew – Old – Testament of the Bible.

The Jews were better at preserving and sharing the Bible then the Gentiles. For example, a controversy arose around 280 B.C.E. when the King of Egypt Ptolemy II wished to have a translation of the Jewish Torah for his famous library in Alexandria. Alexandria was a large city with a great Jewish population who spoke Greek. Most of the Jews living in the Greek areas having long forgotten their native Hebrew or Aramaic asked for a Greek translation that they could possess for study. The Jewish High Priest Eleazer of Jerusalem agreed and sent 72 men (six from each tribe) to Egypt with the Hebrew scroll of the Law to produce the Greek translation. In 72 days each one of the 72 men translated one section from their scroll, and afterwards they decided on the final wording together. The finished Greek translation was called the Septuagint, meaning the translation of the 70, abbreviated LXX. Later other religious scrolls of the Jews were added to the great library. This is an important spiritual milestone because this event is that it marks the first translation of the Sacred Hebrew Torah into Greek, which is called the “Pentateuch,” meaning the Five Books of Moses. It was a controversial decision because it was the first time that the Jews publicly said, “…that as Sacred as Hebrew is, it is more important that people read the Law and know it, then for it to remain in its original tongue.”

This is profound, basically they were saying, we do not care what language you speak, the message here is so important that one has to be able to read it for themselves. Contrast this attitude to the Roman Catholics who only allowed Latin translation of the Bible for priests and outlawed it for the common people to possess. The Roman Catholics dictatorial hold on the Scriptures was only broken with the bloodshed of Martin Luther’s Protestant Revolution when the Bible finally was translated into German, English, and all the languages of the common people.

Modern churches to the Bible preachers:

“You’re not welcome!”

Unfortunately today most churches find the Bible inconvenient. I’ll quote: “On the whole, America's Christians today do not want to hear the truth. They want a place where they can be made to feel good, where they can be entertained, where they can socialize and make business contacts, and where their children can have a place to play.

To many Christian parents, it is far more important that their church have a gymnasium and constant youth programs than it is that their children hear the truth of God's Word and learn the rigorous disciplines of a Christian life. Recreation is far more important to them than Bible study. In fact, most parents seem to believe that the only way to "keep the kids in church" is to have constant, non-stop entertainment. Of course, it doesn't work.” Click for Source

"Watch your life and doctrine closely."

- 1 Timothy 4:16

Satan and his dark minions hate YHWH’S Words. Through the centuries his tactics are so similar it is a wonder why more people do not see it. One can see it in the Sabbaths 7th day rest. The idea of resting 1 day in 7 only comes from YHWH. In the ancient pagan world there is no profit in such idleness. When the Hebrews kept it and promoted the concept, the dark side wanted them dead in order to suppress the information. In time, once the word about the Sabbath rest was out, then Satan slowly began to use the day as a wedge to divide people, by promoting the idea that Sunday is a better worship day, not Saturday. It was one of the issues that tore ancient Israel in two. Soon after the civil divide, the Sunday keeping northern kingdom of Israel was wiped off the map, never to be heard from again. And today after all the torture, murder, and bloodshed, to bring this information to the world, most think it is irrelevant. In our 24/7 world, the idea of resting and not working, is inconvenient, does not seem important, and is generally ignored. It is the same with the Bible, after all the countless controversies, torture, and murders to suppress it, today few people - really - care about the Bible and it’s message. Mostly the words of the Bible are twisted to alter the originally intended message, because it’s message is generally considered inconvenient, so the idea that the Bible (or YHWH’s Words), are not as important as to what the leadership dictates is promoted, and the Bible generally is ignored.

The Bible is hated because it brings light to the shadowy world of the hypocrites. Getting the Book of Peace into the hands of the common man has a very bloody history. It is a history of grisly persecutions of those who are nonviolent soldiers armed only with the Scriptures. Today in the west, it is easy to take the Bible for granted, but throughout time brave men have obeyed their calling and risked horrifying death to make the forbidden Holy Scriptures accessible - whether it was translating, distributing, or teaching - and is still continuing in many parts of the world today.

“When I pray, I talk to GOD;

when I study Scriptures, GOD talks to me.”

A type of homeWorship is studying the Bible. Want to prove a spiritual truth research how much bloodshed there was in order to suppress the information. Read Foxes Book of the Martyrs and learn the horror stories of those who died to further the Word of GOD. They were merciless tortured and murdered not because they had a sword in their hands, but because they were armed with a simple book, or in ancient times a scroll, which is just words on paper. Today in many parts of the world people are still being beheaded, tortured, and killed for simply wanting to study Scriptures.

What mere mortal has the authority to change YHWH’s words? The Bible contains inconvenient truths that many Bible teachers simply ignore. For example: some religious groups dislike music and dance in their churches. My response when I am talking to them would be to open my Bible to Psalm 149 and 150 and say, “here tear these pages from my Bible. When you have done that then which other passages do you have a problem with, lets go there and tear those pages out, then the next, and the next.” There are some Bible dullards still to this day who think they can rewrite the Bible. Log on for an article on the latest rewrite from the Western Bible Foundation. Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes (Isa.5:20).

Learning spiritual truths begins with critical thinking and it is done with lightly salted diplomacy. When hearing Bible teachers, first listen with your heart, when something doesn’t feel right, then politely say, “please excuse my cynical reaction, but....” When interpretation of spiritual matters gets so confusing, then it is time to return to the original source, the Bible. Sometimes in Biblical research we must even return to the original Hebrew source for a more precise and clearer meaning.

2tk

Owning a Bible is a responsibility to be respected,

and it is read with sophistication.

Reading with sophistication means do not interpret verses singularly (2Pet.1:20). It has been said that: “Divine knowledge humbles great men, astonishes the common man, and puffs up the little man,“ and “a half truth is the worst kind of lie.” Through the ages, and up to the present time, there always have been the petty, the manipulative or misguided religious troubadours, who are guided solely by their own narrow-minded prejudices to become very skillful in taking Bible verses out of context to support their limited point of view – the little men. My purpose is the illumination of some spiritual truths that are rarely taught. Although I quote certain verses, space does not allow me to use the complete context in which the verse is used. I encourage all readers to refer to their own Bibles, read with sophistication, and consider the complete historical context in which the verse was quoted from. For greater in-depth study, excellent research helps are “study Bibles” which provide more background information and help in understanding the historical circumstances in which the chapter and verse were written.

It’s a good time to be a Bible believer!

Dig the Bible! When discussing the Bible, many times people will tell me that you cannot trust the Bible translations, because some translators made changes to it, either from ignorance, Hebrew prejudice, honest mistake, or for the purposes of deception. Sixty years ago it was a good argument, but today Biblical archeology has been flourishing since the nation of Israel has been reborn, and nothing has been found that contradicts the Bible. Many archaeological discoveries such as the Dead Sea Scrolls do more to prove the general integrity of the Bible, then to disprove it, and it’s causing some nervous hand ringing around the tables of the Bible critics.

Computers are also being used to dig the Bible. The Torah, or Books of Moses, had long been assumed by skeptics to be the work of multiple authors. Scripture scholar Moshe Katz, and computer expert Menachem Wiener of the Israel Institute of Technology, analyzed the Masoretic text through sophisticated computer analysis, and discovered an intricate pattern of significant words concealed in the canon, spelled by letters separated at fixed intervals. Such recent discoveries called codes in the Hebrew Bible contain coded messages are proving its Divine authorship. So don’t only just read your Bible in the shadows, but log on to my website and teach your family, friends, and critics, to see it in a renewed light. Remember the believers are the salt of the Earth, and it only takes a little bit of salt to purify.

“I have no greater joy

than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

- IIIJohn 4

Shine on (Mat.5:16)!

Peace and blessings, Errol.

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Errol Mueller, chronicler extraordinaire

e-mail: errol@homeworship101.com

website: www.homeworship101.com

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WSC Newsletter 2008-14, posted 11/22/08.

Copyright © 2008 Errol Mueller. All rights reserved. Short quotations, page copying, or redistribution for personal or non-commercial group study is permitted and encouraged, provided they are copied in total with no alterations or deletions. Author’s name, website address, and copyright notice must be included. If any other use is desired, written permission is required.

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Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Holy Bible.

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