only remember giving this study one other time, several years ago in Kansas. A controversy had arisen among some, about whether or not Church Membership was an important concept. Well, I didn't have any answers, and because I was the evangelist there, I was sort of put on the spot to come up with some answers. So I sought Yah's Throne, and petitioned Him in prayer, and that night He gave me some answers. Well, the next evening we had this study, and it was satisfactory to those that had entered into controversy. It ended the controversy, and we praised Yah for His timely intervention, and the wisdom that He bestowed upon us through the Scriptures. Since that time, I have not had occasion to go over these concepts again.
Recently, on February 23rd of this year, we officially organized the St. Joseph Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church here in St. Joseph, TN, and the subject of Church membership has come up again. I asked Yah if there was anything that I needed to share about this, and He began to unveil some things, and add to the understandings He had given me before. I wanted to share these things with you, and with those who are listening on the Internet, so that we can all have a better understanding of what Yah would have us know about this matter.
First of all, it is helpful to see where we've been and where we've come from. Many of us have Church backgrounds, some of us do not have Church backgrounds, a few of us have come from the occult. So many different backgrounds from which we come... I was raised a southern Baptist, and I had certain deceptions and misunderstandings about... the Sabbath, the state of the dead, hellfire, the character of the Father and the Son; many things. But as I studied through the years, Yah brought me out of those deceptions. And for most of you, you have also had certain areas of your lives that had to be updated. You had to get new information. You had to receive a newer and more clear understanding; to find more truth that you might walk in it.
The Bible tells us in Acts 3 – we can turn there together. In Acts 3 the Bible tells us that there is a "time of refreshing." There is going to be a restoration of holy things. It doesn't tell us when this time will be, exactly. It doesn't tell us how long it will last, but let's read about it in Acts 3:19-21, and I am reading from the King James Version, which is really the best version from which to read this passage. It's our tradition here to read from the KJV in meetings at any rate. So, beginning at verse 19: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Yahshua the Messiah, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the world began."
As we look at Church history, we see the Apostolic Church being formed. Actually, it had its beginning when Yahshua was yet alive. He had His twelve disciples. He called them out of the synagogue and taught them separately, and then after His death, burial and resurrection, the Apostolic church continued. Of course, it was somewhat influenced by Judaism for a time, but it had pure doctrine, a clear understanding of the work of the Messiah, a clear understanding of Salvation: by faith –by grace through faith, Ephesians 2:8 and 9 we're going to quote it properly, so we should turn there.
Eph 2:8 and 9: "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of Yah: Not of works, lest any man should boast."
So in the Apostolic Church, the Law and the Gospel were balanced, and the members had a good understanding of Yah's will for their lives. The good news went to the Gentiles, and they began to be added to the Church, which was predominantly Jewish at the beginning. As time went on, if you trace Church history, Satan planted tares among the wheat, and little by little a falling away came. Paul even warned in Thessalonians that "that Day," or the coming of Christ, shall not arrive unless there is a falling away that comes first, and the man of sin be revealed. Well, we know that by 538 AD the papacy was well formed, and the Roman Catholic Church was well established. By this time many of the pure doctrines of the Apostolic Church were fading away.
Throughout the dark ages, for about 1200 years, the papacy ruled. And during those years, the good news and the holy things of Yah were laid aside until there were certain ones, such as Martin Luther, John Wesley and many others that we could list here, the reformers, that came on the scene and began to find difficulty accepting the papal institution and the Roman Catholic Church doctrines. These did not line up with the Bible, and so they protested. Eventually we had separation – the reformers separated, or were forced to separate, from the Roman Catholic fellowship, and they went their various ways forming various scattered denominations: Lutherans, Methodists, Anabaptists, Waldensians, and so forth. And there were others along the way.
Eventually what happened in the 1800s was that there was a great awakening, a great religious awakening in this country {U.S.A.} and around the world, and it started around the years 1830 to 1831. It became known as the Great Advent Movement, because there were those who saw, from the Scriptures, prophecies that pointed to the second coming of Christ. The coming of Messiah, they said, was imminent. "You need to get your spiritual house in order." This began the spirit of the times of refreshing. This was the beginning of what would become the "restoration of all things." But it had to begin with the reestablishment of the "second coming of Christ" doctrine. The fact that He will be coming personally to receive His Church.
And so the doctrine spread around the world and was gratefully received by people from every denomination in Christianity. It eventually ended up in what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church. The question may be asked: "In this time of refreshing, in this restoration time, what has been restored, and through what means?" Well truth has always been restored by a careful study of Scripture, a prayerful study of Scripture. People getting on their knees, laboring over these Scriptures and coming to an understanding of the knowledge of truth.
Well, what has been restored? Before I give you a list of these things I want to share with you that the Seventh-day Adventist Church ended its search for new things, it closed its door to new light, it ended its reformation, and therefore necessitated a continuation of the Reformation, which has now been called of our Father in Heaven. That new Reformation is known as the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church. Yes, there are other reformers out there that are not in our fellowship. We might look upon them as other Tribes of Israel. Let us look at ourselves as one tribe in Israel, one tribe of the final Reformation.
Now let's ask ourselves, "What has been restored?" And let's talk about those things. We see the channel through which they have been restored, through the great Advent movement, through the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the various Seventh-day Adventist tribes that have branched off from where the Seventh-day Adventist Church stopped.
What has been restored?
Number 1: The names of the Father and the Son, and the truth about the Godhead. Is there a Trinity? IS the Trinity doctrine the truth? The great "central doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church," is it the truth? We say, "Nay, it is not the truth.{1}" Let's look at Scripture concerning who has names: Proverbs 30:4.
If the Trinity were true, the Holy Spirit would have a name. But in Proverbs we are given the key to this understanding. Proverbs 30:4: "Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? Who hath gathered the wind in His fists? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son's name, if thou canst tell?"
Well, in the refreshing time we have come to know. From an intense study of Scripture we have come to know that His name is YAH. Some call Him Yahweh, some call Him Yahovah, Yaveh, Yavah, Yahuah, various pronunciations. But the KJV makes it clear His name is YAH; {Psalm 68:4 points this out, and demonstrates that the first part of the name is sufficient to identify the Father}. And so, every believing group around the world that knows of this Creator knows how to say "Hallelu-Yah," "Praise Yah." In English we say, "Praise the Lord." We have come to understand that the Father and Son have proper names, and They want to be spoken of in their proper names.
Let's look at Revelation 3:12 as a New Testament example. Rev 3:12, the Savior is talking here now: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God [or my Father], and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my [Father], and the name of the city of my [Father], which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my [Father]: and I will write upon him my new name."
So, they that overcome sin are going to have three names written upon them: the name of the Savior's Father, the name of the city of the Father, which is the New Jerusalem, and the name of Yahshua Himself. There is no name for the Holy Spirit. We are not going to preach about the Trinity or the non-Trinity doctrine today, but the non-Trinity understanding has come back to us from early Adventism, and has been restored as a pillar of truth.
Now what is another thing that has been restored? In Daniel 7:25 – we need to turn there, and if I am rushing a little bit please take notes and you can go back over this at the end, later this evening, or at some time when you have a personal study. Daniel 7:25, speaking of AntiChrist, speaking of that papal power, says: "And he [AntiChrist] shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out [persecute] the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time."
We understand from prophetic interpretation that this is the 1200 years of domination by the papacy. It says he will speak words against the Most High, that's against Yah the Father, and His Son Yahshua. He shall persecute, or wear out, the saints of the Most High, and he shall "think to change times and laws." Now, if he changed times and laws, that means there are some times and laws that need to be restored.
So what are these times and laws that were to be restored? Well, in Leviticus 23 – we will not turn there right now, but you can read it for yourself – in Leviticus 23, the whole chapter, you find the holy times or the appointed times of Yah. These are the times that Yah set aside for worship, for holy convocation, and they have never been changed, although the Roman Catholic system changed them. But now they have been restored to Yah's people. In Colossians 2:16 you can read about the annual Feast days, the monthly New Moon festivals, and the weekly Sabbath. All of these have been restored to Yah's people: they are holy times.
{There are many examples from the New Testament of Christians, even Gentile Christians, keeping the feast days, and in terms of ecclesiastical history, the continued observance of the annual feasts is very easily demonstrated. We include here a brief testimony from Polycrates, a bishop of the early Church, which he made before the Nicean Council. This took place over three centuries after the crucifixion of the Savior, as the compromising leaders were attempting to move the celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ from the Passover's Feast (of Unleavened Bread) to Easter Sunday:
"We for our part keep the day scrupulously, without addition or subtraction. For in Asia great luminaries sleep who shall rise again on the day of the Lord's advent, when He is coming with glory from heaven and shall search out all His saints such as Philip, one of the twelve apostles, who sleeps in Hierapolis with two of his daughters, who remained unmarried to the end of their days, while his other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and rests in Ephesus. Again there is John, who leant back upon the Lord's breast, and who became a sacrificing priest wearing the mitre, a martyr, and a teacher; he too sleeps in Ephesus. Then in Smyrna there is Polycarp, bishop and martyr; and Thraseas, the bishop and martyr from Eumenia, who also sleeps in Smyrna.Need I mention Sagaris, bishop and martyr, who sleeps in Laodicea, or blessed Papirius, or Melito the eunuch, who lived entirely in the Holy Spirit, and who lies in Sardis waiting for the visitation from heaven when he shall rise from the dead? All of these kept the fourteenth day of the month [Nisan] as the beginning of the Paschal festival, in accordance with the Gospel, not deviating in the least but following in the rule of faith. Last of all I too, Polycrates, the least of you all, act according to the tradition of my family, some members of which I have actually followed; for seven of them were bishops and I am the eighth, and my family have always kept the day when the people put away the leaven. So I, my friends, after spending sixty-five years in the Lord's service and conversing with Christians from all parts of the world, and going carefully through all Holy Scripture, am not scared of threats. Better people than I have said: 'We must obey God rather than men.'" [The History of The Church, Eusebius, pp. 171, 172]}
So we've had holy names restored, we have had holy times restored. What about laws? Were there any holy laws that were done away? Yes, there were. The 10 commandments were changed by the Roman Catholic system, and through, and during, the great Advent movement, the Sabbath commandment was placed back into its proper place in the 10 commandments, and the commandment against making images and worshipping them was placed back in its proper perspective.
Health laws. What about the laws of the clean and the unclean? What we should eat? Eat the clean and avoid the unclean. We find that in Leviticus 11:2.
What about the law against consuming blood? Let's read some of these. You know, today people still eat bloody steaks, bloody hamburger? Christians do this – the Bible condemns it, and we're going to read these Scriptures. Genesis 9:3 and 4: "Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat [food] for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. But flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat."
That was from the beginning. Yah forbade them to eat the blood; they were not to eat meat with the blood in it. It is stated again in Acts 15:20 and 29. If some are tempted to say the Old Testament is to be done away for such things, that the laws of the Old Testament have been done away, let's look at Acts 15:20. This is after the council of Jerusalem; they had to make some decisions about what to tell the Gentiles. What are they going to teach the Gentiles? In verse 20 it says: "But that we write unto them [the Gentiles], that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." And then in verse 29: "That ye abstain from meats [foods] offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well."
I want to go back to verse 21 now. It says in verse 20 what they were going to require of the new converts of the Gentiles, but then it further says in verse 21: "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day."
In other words a new convert, a new Gentile coming into the faith, would be required to observe these things, and they weren't going to put any more on them because they could learn it from listening to Moses in the synagogues on the Sabbath. The Gentiles were to learn the proper ways to do things, but little by little by little, see. Little by little – they weren't going to put on them more than they could bear right up front, but they could hear Moses being preached in the synagogues every Sabbath. This was very early in the Apostolic church.
So, today we understand that certain meats are unhealthy for us, and that we should not eat any meat that has the blood still in it. The Jews have a process they call "Koshering" where they kosher the meat, and most meat eaters would not be likely to enjoy the meat after it had been koshered, because it probably doesn't have as much taste. I've never eaten koshered meat myself.
There are other health laws that have been restored to us. But before those health laws could be restored, something else had to be restored, the proper understanding of spiritual gifts. You see, some of the churches threw out spiritual gifts altogether and said, "When Revelation was ended, there were no more spiritual gifts." That's the way they taught me in the Baptist church. "There'll be no more prophets, there'll be no more healings." And there were others that went to another extreme, and they're speaking in tongues and doing all sorts of things to try to prove that they've got the Holy Spirit, going overboard on that side of the issue{2}.
So, spiritual gifts had to be placed in its proper perspective. And what happened in the great Advent movement? There was a prophet called, and that prophet's name was Ellen G. Harmon, who became Ellen G. White. She received the gift of prophecy, and through that gift of prophecy the great Advent movement received instruction on health. From Biblical principle she drew the eight laws of health. And today, we have an acronym, I guess you would call it, or a way to remember it in the words NEW START.
N stands for good Nutrition. The E stands for wholesome Exercise. The W stands for plenty of pure Water, inside and out. S, the beginning letter for START, is plenty of Sunshine. T stands for Temperance, or self-control. A stands for pure Air, breathe deeply of pure air. The R stands for good Rest, which includes a restful day of Sabbath each week. And the final letter T represents Trust in God: trust in the Father and the Son.
These laws of our being were brought to view by the Spirit of Prophecy, and restored a health message which grew into a great sanitarium, that Dr. Harvey Kellogg administered for some time. People from all over the world came to this sanitarium for healing. And the first health food stores that were ever opened were Seventh-day Adventist health food stores, all of this initiated by the Spirit of Prophecy that was restored to Yah's people.
There were other things restored, having to do with ecclesiastical law, or church law. during the years of the Reformation, the reformers began to be called Protestants. If you ask someone today what a Protestant is, they will say any number of things. I think if you look it up in the dictionary it will say any who "protest" against the Roman Catholic church, or something like that. But that's not what "Protestant" means. A Protestant is one who believes two cardinal points of doctrine.
Number 1- as Protestants, we believe that in matters of religion, the individual's conscience takes pre-eminence over the judgment of a magistrate, a civil magistrate. In matters of religion, the individual's conscience is over the decision of the civil magistrate.
And Number 2 – as Protestants we hold the Word of Yah, from Scripture, above the decisions and the councils of the Church. In other words, the Word of Yah holds pre-eminence over the arbitrary authority of the Church. Now that defines Protestantism right there – those two points. If you don't believe those two points, you're not a Protestant.
And yes, they protested against the evils of the Roman Catholic church and the papacy; but today, we as protestants must protest things that are being done even in the Seventh-day Adventist Church – because they have left the principles of Protestantism. So we as Creation Seventh Day Adventists are restoring the principles of Protestantism.
There was, in the Reform churches, an understanding of the "Priesthood of Believers." Have you ever heard that phrase before, "the Priesthood of Believers?" There's nobody above anyone else? Yahshua said, "Ye are all brethren." {Matthew 23:8} Let's read about it in 1Peter 2:9: "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."
We are a Priesthood of Believers. There are none above any of the others; we are all equal in Christ. There isn't even male or female, it says, in Christ. {Galatians 3:28} We are all equals. So this has been restored as a holy position, a holy priesthood.
We as Creation Seventh Day Adventists have restored a couple of other things. One is the mode and manner of baptism. You witnessed it at the last baptism we just had, where the officiating pastor or evangelist is nothing more than a facilitator, facilitating baptism by immersion (by the way). Yes, our friends the Baptists helped us bring that one back into view, and restored the place of immersion. But they did not, neither they nor any of the others in the Advent movement, restore the proper manner of baptism.
When Yahshua was baptized, John the Baptist did not take a hold of Him, lay Him down in the water and pick Him up. Yahshua went down into the water of His own volition and came up out of the water, representing His words that said, "I have power to lay my life down and take it up again." {paraphrase of John 10:17,18}
Yes, we are receiving new light and new understanding. You see, we are not to lord anything over anybody. I am a pastor, but I am not to lord it over any of you. And for me to say, "Let me bury you in this baptism, and let me put you down and bring you up;" there's something implied in that, that I have some jurisdiction over you. I'm just your brother; I am a facilitator. I am there to see that you go through this ordinance safely and properly.
Another thing that's been restored recently, through the Creation Seventh Day Adventist movement, is the New Moon doctrine of humility {3}, self-examination, and the holy kiss. The holy kiss... small things in the minds of people, but holy things in the mind of Yah.
Now there's a most important message that has been restored, and that is the Gospel message: the message of Victory over Sin through Righteousness by Faith {4}. Now, there will be many churches that will tell you, "We teach righteousness by faith." The Seventh-day Adventist church will tell you, "We teach, and believe, and accept, righteousness by faith." But it is a counterfeit, let me tell you. For if that righteousness does not reflect the righteousness of Christ Himself, it is a counterfeit.
But the Gospel message of Victory has been restored to the Church, and I challenge you, you who hear this by the internet, I challenge you in this room, to find where this message has been restored. At this moment I have searched the internet far and wide, and I have found but two witnesses, in the whole world, giving this message.
Yes, the truth of Victory over Sin by the righteousness of Yahshua, has been restored. And we should be shouting, "Glory be to the name of Yah!" Let's turn and look at some of the Scriptures that will help to strengthen this in our minds. Deuteronomy 28...
Some may be asking, "What has this to do with Church membership?" Well, I must build a foundation for the Church before I talk about the membership. Deuteronomy 28, verses 9, 10, 13 and 14. We're going to see here, Yah is going to talk about a holy people walking in Victory: "Yah shall establish thee an holy people unto Himself, as He hath sworn unto thee, if thou shalt keep the commandments of Yah thy [Father], and walk in His ways. And all people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Yah; and they shall be afraid of thee." Verses 13 and 14: "And Yah shall make thee the head, and not the tail; and thou shalt be above only, and thou shalt not be beneath; if that thou hearken unto the commandments of Yah thy God, which I command thee this day, to observe and to do them: And thou shalt not go aside from any of the words which I command thee this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them."
This is a holy people, a people that go neither to the right nor to the left. They're always doing the will of the Father and speaking of the will of the Father.
I failed to mention two points, and let me go back and bring those into the message.
I was speaking about health reform, and it's part of the will of the Father that we need to know about. Let's look at Genesis 1:29, the original diet. The original diet has been restored, and this also came through the Spirit of Prophecy. Genesis 1:29, "And Yah said, 'Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat [food].'"
That was the original diet in Eden, and it has been restored to Yah's people in this generation. Now, not everybody will have a body that can accommodate this, we understand. But in general, this is the diet of choice, and it will be the new diet that all of the saints will have in the New Earth. And there is a promise of health that has been made to us, Exodus 15:26, I want to read that to you. Exodus 15:26 says: "If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Yah thy [Father], and wilt do that which is right in His sight, and wilt give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am Yah that healeth thee."
The natural healing movement, the alternative medicine movement, has been brought about; it has come to be understood in Yah's church as a restored part of healing. It is Yah's will for His last day people. It is Yah's will for us to be drug free, and for us to be fully restored to perfect health. We will see more of that in a verse that's coming.
Okay, back to the Victory message, though the health message is all a part of the Victory message:
In Deuteronomy we saw a holy people walking in victory, who would not turn away from Yah's message. Now in Ezekiel 3:17-21 (I will read it quickly), the teaching that the righteous do not commit sin is the basis of this passage. "Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me. When I say unto the wicked, 'Thou shalt surely die;' and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul. Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not [commit] sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."
That is a summary of the Victory message: the righteous do not commit sin. Look at Zephaniah 3:12, 13 – here we have a prophecy of the Remnant of Israel, and I will tell you that we have come to understand that the Remnant of Israel will be the 144,000 from the book of Revelation chapter 7, and Revelation chapter 14. You'll see it clearly when we read it here. Zephaniah 3:12,13: "I will also leave in the midst of thee an afflicted and poor people, and they shall trust in the name of Yah. The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none [nothing] shall make them afraid."
They have no more fear. They are full of love, they are healthy, they don't commit sin. That's the Remnant of Israel, and that's the prophecy of it in Zephaniah chapter 3. Now let's go to Revelation chapter 14 to see the fulfillment of it. Revelation chapter 14 is the fulfillment of it, starting with verse 1: "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads." It's important to see that "YAH" is written in their forehead.
"And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth. These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto Yah and to the Lamb."
And listen to the verse 5: "And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of Yah." That's the exact same description as we have in Zephaniah chapter 3. Verse 6 takes up the Three Angels' Message, which tells us how these 144,000 came to be without fault before the throne; and the Three Angels' Message has been brought to view through the great Advent movement.
So we have in Revelation 14 the fulfillment of the prophecy of the 144,000, the Remnant of Israel who have the Victory message in their hearts. 2Corinthians 7:1, let's take a look at that. Actually, let's go up to 2Corinthians 6, beginning with verse 17: "'Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate,' saith Yah, 'and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters,' saith Yah the Almighty One." Chapter 7 verse 1: "Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Yah." Perfecting holiness in the fear of Yah. We have restored the Victory message. We are to clean ourselves up, both fleshly and spiritually; we are to cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Yah.
And then in Hebrews 12 we conclude this study. Hebrews 12:10-14: "For they verily for a few days…" Well, let's go back a little bit – to verse 6 so we get a little sense out of this. Verse 6. "For whom Yah loveth He chasteneth [or corrects], and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If ye endure chastening [or correction], Yah dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye [illegitimates], and not sons. Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? For they verily [that is, our earthly fathers] for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but He [that is, the Father of spirits] for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness." And jump down to verse 14: "Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see Yah."
So we are to become partakers of Yah's holiness, and without this holiness we will never see Him. This message has now been restored to the Church. Where do you hear it? Only in Yah's Church. All of the churches out there that claim to be His Church, if they do not teach this message they are not His Church; they are counterfeit. They are Satan's synagogue, if you will. Babylon: confusion. Now, there are good people there. There are good people in those congregations who are deceived; they are yet drunk on the wine of Babylon. They need to be called out of Babylon, into this time of refreshing, into this time of restoration.
Now, next week we will take up the restoration of Church membership to its proper, Biblical, setting. I hope you will all be here for this exciting presentation, not because I'm doing it, but because Yah has restored Church membership to its proper place, and we will be taking that up next week.
Shall we pray?
Our Father in Heaven we thank you for blessing us this day with the Sabbath blessing. We thank you for showing us where the channel of truth is, and where we have come from: all the way from Creation through the Jewish Church, and then to the Apostolic Church, and through the Reformation Churches, and then the great Advent awakening and the great Advent movement. And then the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and then the Reformation Adventist Churches that have split away. And now, culminating into the great Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church movement.
We thank you, Father, for blessing us with light from Heaven. Thank you for blessing us with the gifts of the Spirit, thank you for giving us the gift of prophecy, to understand your will and your ways. Thank you for giving us the breastplate of Righteousness, thank you for giving us the Urim and Thummim, which the high priest had, so that we might know the will of the Father in Heaven. Thank you for blessing us with these truths, and restoring these holy things to their proper places. Father, we look forward to next week, where we will look specifically at what you have done about Church membership.
Dismiss us now, Father, with your love, and may the rest of our Sabbath be as it always is: a great blessing to our hearts. In Yahshua's name, Amen.
{1} See Appendix A1
{2} See Appendix A2
{3} See Appendix A3
{4} See Appendix A4
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