Welcome to October everyone! We apologize for the delay in publishing this month: We moved to new housing and it took a week for our phone service to be reconnected. (With all the high tech things these days...some stuff still lags! ). Our guest column this month features an article regarding the state of organized religion and it's future, which is something we believe gives much food for thought.  Also, because of the length of the article, we have removed the NewsBytes column for this month, in order to lessen the length of the eNewsletter. May Yah's blessings continue with you all throughout the month!

Apocrypha and Canon
The Gospel of the Birth of Mary
(From the Lost Books of Eden)
http://www.globusz.com/ebooks/ForbiddenGospels/00000013.htm
    This particular work is only eight chapters longs, but is full of errors, inconsistencies,  and unverifiable information that doesn't match with canonical scripture. For example:
Chapter 1:2 states that Mary's father was named Joachin. However, the canon lists the name as Heli at Luke 3:23.
Chapter 2:6 states that Abraham's wife, Sarah, was barren until she was eighty years old. However, the canon states that she was at least ninety when she finally bore a child, as shown in that Abraham was one hundred years old when he was born (Genesis 21:5), and Sarah was only ten years younger than Abraham (Genesis 17:17). Although it is only a difference of ten years, facts must agree in order to be true. It cannot be both ways.
Also, this book claims that Mary was born of barren parents and that she was their only, divinely born, child (Chapters 2- 3).  However, the canon states Mary had at least one sister (John 19:25). This Gospel of Mary also claims that Mary was raised and educated in the Temple in Jerusalem (Chapter4-5). However, it wasn't customary for women to be raised and educated at the temple. Finally, we'd like to point out that nowhere in the canon were female children given to barren mothers. If you look, you will see that all the accounts of barren women being blessed with children were always blessed with males (Genesis 17:19, 30:22-23, 35:16-17, Judges 13:3, 1 Samuel 1:20, Psalms 113:9).
Just from this quick glance, we can see that this apocryphal book also has too many errors in it to have been a divinely inspired work.

ARCHAEOLOGY/ HISTORY
Bethlehem, Part 2
Although many people know the biblical history of the town of Bethlehem, many don't realize that the town was involved in other historical events later on as well. The following information is courtesy of: http://www.holylandnetwork.com/bethlehem/bethlehem.htm
Bethlehem is located about 10 Kilometers (6 miles) southwest of Jerusalem by the hill country of Judea on the way to Hebron... Bethlehem is sacred to all three religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Christian tradition,  perhaps as early as the second century CE, identified a cave as the site of Jesus' birth. [editor's note: tradition isn't always truth] About 338 CE Constantine, the Roman emperor and his mother, Helena, built a church over the grotto and In 527 Justinian the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire resettled in Bethlehem, his reign was one of great prosperity and expansion of churches. The site of the Nativity is a central pilgrimage destination for Christians from all over the world.
Bethlehem was a city of importance to the Crusaders, who conquered it in the year 1100. Over years of wars between the Crusaders and the Muslims the city was destroyed, and then subsequently rebuilt. The Turks destroyed the city in 1244, but the church somehow escaped, Bethlehem was rebuilt once again.
When finally the Crusaders were driven from Palestine in 1291, the Moslem rulers used the holy places for political and financial ends. Although Bethlehem was still nominally endowed, collection of revenue from the land was impossible. In 1332 Pope John XXII wrote to Edward III of England, to David II of Scotland and to Simon of Meopham, Archbishop of Canterbury, asking them to help the bishop of Bethlehem to regain his interest and so enable him to return to Bethlehem and carry out repairs. It seems little was done.
Decay and destruction proceeded over the years as a result of fighting between the local Christian and Muslim residents.
The Population of Bethlehem today is made up of Christians and Moslems. Among the Christians: Catholics of Latin, Syrian, Malachite, Armenian and Maronite rites and Orthodox of Greek, Syrian and Armenian denominations. Protestants are present in the Judean town.
As a result of the Six-Day War, Bethlehem came under Israeli rule.
In December 1995, the town of Bethlehem reverted to Palestinian control. Israelis still have access to Rachel's tomb, on the northern outskirts of the city. Unfortunately, occasional outbreaks of violence continue to occur between Palestinian demonstrators from Bethlehem and Israeli troops stationed outside the city's limits.

The Town of Bethlehem seems to have been an important site for many people over the years, so much so that some have fought for control of it on occasion. It is apparent that throughout history, the Town of Bethlehem has remained an important religious location across the three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

BIBLE TOPIC
The Animal Kingdom

Although animals are generally considered to be inferior to humans in most cases, the bible shows animals were important to God (Genesis 1:20-25, Genesis 6:19-20, Deuteronomy 22:6, Matthew 10:29).  Sometimes they were even used by God to work His purposes, as shown at Numbers 22:28, 1 Kings 17:2-6, and 1 Samuel 6:8-14.
Yah also gave particular rules and regulations on the treatment and consumption of animals. For example, in the Jewish Law Code given to the Israelites there were certain animals that were "clean" to eat (allowed), and certain animals which were "unclean" to eat (forbidden).  These were all listed in Leviticus chapter 11. "Clean" animals included: cud chewers with cleft hooves, fish which had fins and scales, birds which weren't hunters or scavengers, locusts, beetles and grasshoppers. Anyone who touched the dead bodies of the unclean animals were to perform a ritual cleansing to clean themselves of the filth.
As for the treatment of beasts, God made it clear that the animals were to be dealt with in a humane manner. For example, beasts of burden were not to be unevenly yoked together when working a field (Deuteronomy 22:10). If you found someone's lost animal, you were to immediately return it to the owner (Deuteronomy 22:1-2). If you saw your enemy's animal collapse under a heavy load you were to help it (Exodus 23:5). If you saw someone's animal fall down, you were to help it get back up (Deuteronomy 22:4).

Scripture also tells us that we humans are to be the caretakers of the earth (Genesis 2:15), which includes taking care of the beasts that roam upon it (Genesis 1:26-28). There are various ways that each of us can fulfill this God-given duty. This goes beyond simply refraining from abusing animals. The more obvious ways include becoming veterinarians, wildlife conservationists and ecologists. Other, less obvious, ways of taking care of the animals include: keeping pets updated on their health examinations/vaccinations, helping strays, contacting wildlife professionals when an injured animal is found, and spaying/neutering pets to prevent overpopulation. We can also teach our children to respect and help animals while they are still young by involving them in the education of animals. Teach them to help take care of the family pet, watch wildlife documentaries together, teach them respect and care. By keeping conscious of our obligation to care for God's creations according to our individual abilities, we are fulfilling our divinely assigned work of being the caretakers of the earth.

BIBLE Version Critique
Young's Literal Translation
http://yltbible.com/

Virtues: This is a public domain version which uses God's personal name ("Jehovah") throughout it's Old Testament text. It also treats each verse of each chapter as it's own little paragraph, making it easier to find the verses.
Flaws: The language is an older version of English, making it difficult for younger people to understand.

According to the BibleGateway.com bible site, the Young's Literal Translation text  is from the 1898 Young's Literal Translation by Robert Young who also compiled Young's Analytical Concordance. This is an extremely literal translation that attempts to preserve the tense and word usage as found in the original Greek and Hebrew writings.

Encouraging Word
James 1:5
And if any of you do lack wisdom, let him ask from God, who is giving to all liberally, and not reproaching, and it shall be given to him;
(Young's Literal Translation)

This scripture is a reminder that God will generously give us the wisdom that we ask for. It isn't a matter of Him trying to keep us unlearned, He is willing to give us the wisdom we seek so we can know Him better. This is an encouraging thought, as it shows His desire to allow us to draw closer to Him.

GUEST COLUMNIST
Why Will All Organized Religions Be Destroyed?

Does that question surprise you? What are the facts behind the question? What has organized religion done to deserve destruction? Who is to blame for the condition organized religion is in today? Has your religion let you down? Are you disappointed with your religion? Do you have the feeling that you are in bondage to it? Do you feel that the love of God is somehow missing from your religious services? If so, you are not alone. There are millions upon millions of others that feel the same as you do! They feel that they have been "let down" by their religions, ministers, priests, elders, mullahs, bishops, deacons, and all the rest ...... You are not to blame.

The religious leaders of today are like those of Jesus's  day. The Lord Jesus said this about those religious leaders, that they "have seated themselves in the seat of Moses" and "They bind up heavy loads and put them upon the shoulders of men, but they are not willing to budge them with their finger." Also, "All the works they do they do to be viewed by men." Review all of Mathew chapter twenty-three and see how Jesus himself condemns false religious leaders, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, that disregard justice, mercy and faithfulness, serpents and offspring of vipers, whitewashed graves, murderers, only wanting money (mammon) instead.

This raises many questions. Among them are:  What good are they? Does God approve of them? and Will all organized religions actually be destroyed? The following information will give the simple answer, WHY? Consider this:

Simply because organized religion has betrayed mankind and is part of a world that is controlled by mankind's greatest enemy, Satan the Devil. The whole world is based on lies. The apostle John wrote near the end of the first century A. D., “the whole world is under the control of the evil one.” 1 John 5:19 NIV. He is evil because he created lies, and Jesus said that he is a murderer and the “father of the lie." John 8:44. In studying organized religion, the facts reveal that there are great divisions between them, because they ALL LIE by claiming to be the “ONLY TRUE RELIGION." This creates divisions between the honest hearted people within all of the various religions.
Investigation has revealed that all religions have some truth, but NONE have ALL OF THE TRUTH. But that does not prevent them from arrogantly claiming that they alone have the one “true” religion, that they alone have the only “real truth,” and that God is dealing only with them so that they alone represent God to mankind, or that they alone are the true “channel” that God uses. They conveniently forget that God deals with each one of His creatures ALONE, on an individual basis, through our Lord and savior Jesus Christ (Yahshua Messiah). (See 1 Cor. 12:27; Rev. 20:13).

They also arrogantly assume their own greatness by assuming great titles to themselves, some of which belong only to the Great God Yahweh (Jehovah). These apostates all love their titles within their religious hierarchies (rules by priests), and their followings and prominences within their organizations and the world. They use such titles as, Father, Holy Father, Reverend, Right Reverend, Bishop, Cardinal, Elder, Overseer, Rabbi, leader, priest, president, chairman, presiding elder, mullahs, cosmopolitans, ayatollahs, Pope, etc., etc., to “lord it over the flock of God.” They love to be on the board of directors, the governing body, the ruling twelve, the council of seventy, the Curia, the local governments, the international governments, and ultimately, to take the place of God and rule over the entire earth.

Most of these men of treachery have forgotten that God does not need them, but deals with each one of His creatures on an individual basis and deals with humans individually through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. They have become faithless non-believers like the Scribes and Pharisees, because they “are accepting glory from one another and ... are not seeking the glory that is from the only God.” John 5:44 NW. They are getting their reward in full.

All “organized” religions have two things in common:
(1)    Some idea, doctrine, belief, healing, speaking in tongues, snake handling, baptisms, door to door preaching, women worship, men worship, demon worship, presbyters, episcopos, councils of seventy, governing bodies, apostles, popes, bishops, faithful and wise servants, ayatollahs, Buddhas, Mohammeds, Krishnas, or some other thing that they say sets them apart from all of the others, so that they alone represent God on this planet.
Going on with their great arrogance, they maintain that they alone have the Holy Spirit from God and no one else’s prayers are heard by the “Father,” only theirs; and that all others are cut off by God and will die and burn in hell-fire, at Armageddon, the lake of fire, Gehenna, the second death, and/or the earth itself will be burnt up and they alone will survive to rule on a new earth and/or flit off to heaven and play a harp on a cloud.
     This is the DOCTRINE OF THE ORGANIZATION and it is more deadly and perverse in its power and seduction of power-hungry humans, and is greater in it’s EVIL than all of the other Babylonish doctrines combined.
These include, but are not limited to, the Trinity doctrine, the Eucharist, the Hell-fire doctrine, the immortal-soul doctrine, and all of the other doctrines that originated in ancient Babylon. After all, the DOCTRINE OF THE ORGANIZATION was originated there too, for promoting all of the other FALSE DOCTRINES for religious control of mankind down through the ages.
(2)    All therein have surrendered their freedom from God and Christ to the organizations and hierarchies of which they are a part. They have all put their church or organization in the place of the Father, Jehovah God, and taken Jesus Christ out of the way, only giving lip service to each, but glorifying their organizations above both.
They all maintain that they alone represent God, while their rigid doctrines and/or organizations continue to strangle the Holy Spirit and the spiritual direction of the Lord and his holy angels over their congregations.
They pledge their allegiances to their organizations by taking vows of faithfulness, fidelity, poverty, blood, or whatever else their organization desires them to do, thus disavowing their relationship with God, but continually confirming it to their organization.
This is happening in ALL organized religions. They all talk about “truth,” but deny it in their personal lives, hierarchies, and organizations.

The promotion and survival of the organization is the primary motive in all organized religions. In fact, it is the primary motive IN ALL ORGANIZATIONS. When this happens, the Holy Spirit’s activity is being restricted more and more. Just as with humans that act hypocritically and lead a “double life,” so do organizations. As a result, Jehovah God eventually withdraws His Holy Spirit and they gradually DIE SPIRITUALLY.

The Holy Spirit may remain on certain individuals, but is generally dead within the organization itself. The Spirit may continue to work on certain congregations in which there are real brothers serving (acting as servants of) God and the brethren. However, the Spirit never continues indefinitely on Satan inspired, man-made organizations. They all are eventually destroyed absolutely, as in the case of the decadent Jewish religious organization in the year 70 A.D..

Because of this phenomenon that happens within all religious organizations, they are only useful for a limited period. The Jewish “system of things” (their ORGANIZATION), was no longer useful after its function of producing the Messiah was accomplished. Many others down through the centuries have been used for various purposes and then died out.

Recognize this: ALL ORGANIZATIONS ARE IN BUSINESS FOR THEMSELVES. This includes ALL ORGANIZED RELIGIONS. They ALL turn into worldly religious enterprises and businesses, recognized as such by the people, merchants, suppliers, and governments alike. As such, they are a part of “this world.” Jesus said of his disciples when in prayer to the Father, “they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” John 17:14,16 NW. And later to the Roman governor Pilate Jesus said, “My kingdom is no part of this world . . . my kingdom is not from this source.” John 18:36 NW.

(Important note 1:  As followers of Yahshua Messiah (Jesus Christ) we are "in the world, but not a part of it" and do not take part in any governmental organization or non-governmental organizational activity. (Phil. 3:20).

ALL ORGANIZED RELIGIONS ARE PART OF THE GREAT HARLOT "BABYLON THE GREAT". (See Rev. 17:3-6).
To understand the ramifications of this information, we must go back to “the world’s” beginning. If you examine the very first command given to mankind after the flood, you will see that it is the same as the first command God gave to Adam and Eve when they were created. He told them, “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth.” Gen. 1:28; 9:1 NIV.

This command told humans to spread out over all of the earth and beautify it as they went. God never meant for humans to gather in constricted concentrated areas or camps. But, since this “world is under the control of the wicked one” Satan the Devil, (1 John 5:19) the question arose: Would the humans obey this command?

Satan’s first move was to have people gather together, in opposition to the command to spread out and “fill the earth.” Then he used Nimrod to carry out this opposition to God’s command by gathering men into concentrated areas called cities (gr. polis or many). This required implementing a new concept to men, the ORGANIZATION, which was in direct conflict to God’s command to “fill the earth.”

And by opposing this command, Nimrod became the first ‘hunter of men’ in opposition to God, by gathering them into ORGANIZED CITIES. Since this required the use of power to establish “authority,” it required terrorist threats of death to the people, producing fear, which was used to promote unified goals and agendas of those in the organized power structure.

Two ideas were then promoted by Satan through his human representative Nimrod:
(1)    Mankind’s need to worship was corrupted by setting rules and counterfeit moral laws, with fear of punishment for breaking them, (i.e., torture, death, and/or the eternal torture of their souls) to control the populace in the newly created cities.
Fear in turn produced superstition, mysticism, esoteric knowledge, secret societies, murder, etc., which makes it easy to introduce all sorts of fanatical, unreasonable beliefs.
Thus, false religious doctrines and priesthoods were introduced to back it up, which brought about the establishment of ORGANIZED RELIGION.
(2)    The use of power and fear of physical harm by a police state ruled over by an all-powerful autocratic ruler, or dictator king, brought further consolidation of control over the masses huddled in the cities. And in this setting, the new idea of ORGANIZATIONAL structure, power, and control was introduced. This was the beginning of the ORGANIZED POLITICAL STATE.
These two entities are the roots of our present world, which some erroneously call, “civilization.”

Fear produces irrational thinking and feelings, these then produced the bi-cameral mind, which feeds on superstition, error, power structures, boundaries, organization of details, aggression, territoriality, social, political, commercial and religious hierarchies, rituals, worship of humans and idols, etc..
Such thinking became the basis for this civilization. The result has been fanatical patriotism, religious intolerance and hypocrisy, and acceptance of inane, insane, stupid, and often-comical ideas and doctrines, which all originated back then, that are still in vogue and used by organized religion today. They also sanction the spiritual and physical murder of people within their own organizations, and they specially sanctify killing people in other religious and political organizations … very civilized!!

It is thought that Nimrod declared himself a “god” and he had incestuous relations with his mother, so he became both the “father and the son,” which is where the Holy Trinity doctrine originated (see the book “The Two Babylons,” by Rev. Alexander Hyslop). His mother then became the “mother of god,” and this ridiculous notion has continued to be promoted down through the millennia by the worship of many women, such as Ninkharsag, Semiramis, Dianna, Hecate, Astoreth, Astarte, Isis, etc., ending with Mary, who is once again called “the mother of God!” And mankind has been suffering from this “Madonna” and/or “Mama” complex ever since.

When Nimrod died, his mother thereafter sought to consolidate her power and further promote the first lie, (see Gen. 3:4) by saying that he did not die, but was still alive as a “Holy Ghost,” to watch over the people and to punish them if they did not obey the religious organization, the political rulers, and their laws. This became the immortal soul doctrine.
Yet, none of this is very different from the ideas and doctrines that are promoted as “truth” by the organized religions today.

Whether all the information about Nimrod and his mother is correct or not is irrelevant, for we do know that these doctrines originated in Babylon and were incorporated into the “Universal” (Latin- “Catholic”) Church as the “Athanasian Creed” by a vote of bishops (later the College of Cardinals) at the first “ecumenical council,” held 323-325 C.E., which was presided over by the murderer, war lord, and corrupt political leader and Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great. Those doctrines were thereafter embedded in most all organized religions of both Christendom and pagandom, and are still being used to control the faithful.

But Wait! What if someone’s religious organization does not believe in those doctrines? Does that mean that they have the only “true” organized religion? Emphatically NO!!! All religions have some “truth,” just as all individuals have some truth. Admittedly, some religions have more truth than others do, but that is meaningless if their organization produces rotten fruit, as did the Scribes and Pharisees in their actions and attitudes. It isn’t just the false doctrines that constitute false religion, it includes all the things that their ORGANIZATION does to belief systems and the people who espouse it over time.

The whole concept of ORGANIZATION is a doctrine in itself. A FALSE DOCTRINE, that is no less corrupt than the trinity, hell-fire, or immortal soul doctrines, because the ORGANIZATION DOCTRINE was originated in Babylon too. Why? To promote all of the religious and political propaganda of this world that originated therein.

The goal of every organization is self-preservation, so they establish rules to keep everyone in them under their control. They do this knowingly by deliberately making their adherents mindless, so that they blindly follow whatever the organization says is “truth,” regardless of whether it is or not. The organizations do this by either:
(1)    Withholding truth from them,
(2)    Or by force-feeding them with so much propaganda that they think they are being told all of the truth, but are not.

Then if anyone does any freethinking that may threaten the hierarchy and/or power structure of the organization, he or she is ostracized, kicked out, disfellowshipped, or otherwise excommunicated. Don’t try such freethinking in your religious organization, for disaster is sure to follow. Unless you are very courageous and have great integrity.
It is by LIES, false religious doctrines, political propaganda and power, counterfeit morality, international commercialism, and the composite ORGANIZATION of them all, [called "the world"] that has held mankind in a “death grip” of fear and superstition by Satan and his human henchmen down to this very day. One can only wonder how much worse the world would have become, had not God confused their language.

Genesis 11:1-4 (NIV) says, “Now the whole world had one language and a common speech ...They said to each other, ‘Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower ... that we may make a name for ourselves and NOT BE SCATTERED over the face of the whole earth.’”

This text shows the real motives of the people. Everyone had been convinced and agreed (willingly or by force) to disobey God's command to “fill the earth.” This same thinking is what happens in all organizations, be they cities, states, corporations, hierarchies, republics, democracies, communisms, commercial endeavors, dictatorships, religions, or whatever else there may be. They all eventually turn away from doing right (which is usually what they were first set up to do) and (in the case of religions) they turn away from God completely.

This desire for power is stirred up by Satan within his human dupes for creating power structures [rulership] over other peoples. They infiltrate all organizations that were originally designed to do good, and then quickly turn them around to be completely opposite to the reasons why they were set up to begin with.

Now, when the people refused to follow His command in ancient Babylon, the LORD had to fulfill His own command. And the Bible tells us, “So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth.” Gen. 11:5-9, NIV.

The command to scatter and multiply was given twice, at Gen. 1:28 and Gen. 9:1. Then the fulfillment is stated twice, in Genesis 11:8, 9. That’s how important it was then and how important it is now! For it the commands had been obeyed then, the whole earth would now be a farming and pastoral one, without the great strife, armies, wars, terrorism, hunger, propaganda, crime, murders, etc., that we have today.

Other than Satan and sin, the ORGANIZATION of men into the three basic components of religion, politics, and commercialism (with their inherent decadence) is why God’s Kingdom must destroy all remnants of all these from this planet and restore mankind to their rightful condition and place before God. (See Dan. 2:44,45; Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 22:12).

(Important note 2:  As followers of Yahshua Messiah, Jesus Christ, we are not anarchists, iconoclasts or revolutionaries and take no part in any kind of change in non-governmental organizations and/or governmental organizations).

Corralling people together into cities and ORGANIZING them into the unholy trinity of religions, politics, and commerce under Satan, are the primary reasons for humanity’s current sad state of affairs. Man was not created to live under these horrible conditions. ORGANIZATION is the vehicle created by Satan and used by man to gain total control over the masses of all mankind. Eventually, the strongest of the three will take over completely… and that will be the political element. Politics needs the commercial element and vice, versa. In turn, commercialism needs protection from the false morality of the organized religions to promote their extortion and financial control of the masses.  And being weaker, commercialism must support the political state for its protection.

Until now, politics has needed religion to cheerlead its conquests by blessing and providing approval for the organized killing of men in their wars, and to further its colonialism. That has ended.  As time goes on, organized religion and its usefulness to the world’s political states will continue to deteriorate.

Soon, neither politics nor commerce will need the religious element at all, as it has become a leach and a whore, riding the back of the “wild beast” of politics! Rev. 17:3-6
Organized religion is now a danger and a threat to both politics and commerce due to their new ideas of war, by bringing terrorism on this world’s so-called “civilization.” Organized religion is a threat, because it wants to control not only the people, but also politics and commerce. As with Catholicism, so Islam is bent of world domination at this time.
So, organized religion will soon be destroyed by the radical political elements of the world, while some of her less radical and less powerful politicians and merchants look on fearfully and weep as they “stand at a distance,” and “look at the smoke from the burning of her.” Rev. 18:9-19 NW.

Now, this vital question must be asked, “Who needs organized religion, politics, cities, states, international ORGANIZATIONS, etc., to control the masses of peoples, tribes, national groups, and the like?” Does the Holy Father of us all and/or His wonderful Son, the Lord and King Yahshua (Jesus) need such a Satanically-inspired, man driven invention? The above information should make the answer obvious.

Jehovah and Jesus (Yahweh and Yahshua) certainly do not need any religions, politics, oil magnates, bankers, or bakers to represent them on this earth! There is already a “go between” in the divine nature of the only begotten son Yahshua Messiah (Jesus Christ). We have been given a direct line through Jesus Christ to the Father. We need no other false, fake, or counterfeit intermediaries, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, a man, Christ Jesus.” 1 Tim. 2:5. NW

By using the speed of thought (in prayer), we can instantly talk directly to Jehovah God in Jesus’ (Yahshua’s) name, wherever we may be in the universe, and He always knows what is in our hearts and minds. Satan, the demons, and men do not. Therefore, THEY ARE THE ONES THAT NEED ORGANIZATIONS! THEY are the ones in need of “organized” religions, hierarchies, politics, corporations, priesthoods, secret societies, handshakes, secret words, eye movements, etc., to rule-over and control individuals and the masses of mankind. There is no other way for them to have such control over mankind, except by the Satanic concept of organizations.

ALL ORGANIZATIONS become opposite of, and opposed to the ideas that they were conceived for within two or three generations at most. This is so, regardless of who started them, or how altruistic they were when they began! Within 100 years (and in most cases far shorter) ALL ORGANIZATIONS turn APOSTATE to their original purpose and go contrary and exactly opposite of their original mission. This includes all governments, religions, corporations, services, sciences, -isms, and -ologies. They all become self-serving, self-perpetuating bureaucracies who are in business for themselves and serving only themselves. Their business is the promotion of, and the furthering and perpetuating of, their organization, forgetting the original purpose for its creation.

What eventually happens in ALL organizations was summed up by a British parliamentarian in the last century. The people are divided into two different groups:
(1)    Those who are SERVANTS OF THE SPIRIT
(2)    Those who are PRISONERS OF THE ORGANIZATION.

He stated: “Whether the organization be political, religious, or social is immaterial ... The point is that, the idea having embodied itself in organization, the organization then proceeds to gradually slay the idea that gave it birth ... [Its] message will crystallize into a creed. Before long, the principle concern of the church will be to sustain itself as an ORGANIZATION. To this end, any departure from the creed must be controverted and, if necessary, suppressed as heresy. In a few score years what was conceived as a vehicle of a new and higher truth has become a PRISON for the souls of men ... the organization develops a self-interest which has no connection with, and becomes inimical to, the idea with which it began. Now, the thing which permits this process of diversion to take place, so that the organization comes to stand for the opposite of the idea which originally inspired it, is the tendency of men and women to become PRISONERS of the Organization, instead of being Servants of the Spirit ... the organization becomes less the vehicle of the idea than a CHANNEL through which particular interests must be served.”

This inevitably happens in ALL ORGANIZATIONS.

This phenomenon is what happened in First Century Christianity. The “organization men” of the Jewish religion wanted to impose their control over the new Christian congregations by teaching Moses rather than Jesus Christ. (See Acts 15:1,2).  The more the congregations were organized, more problems arose, and the more they strayed away from Christ’s teachings.

In less than 70 years after the death of the Lord, such organizing for control, had already happened. The apostle John wrote (about 96-98 C.E.), “Little children, it is the last hour and as you have heard that Antichrist is coming, even now there are many Antichrists; from which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of our sort; for it they were of our sort, they would have remained with us.” 1 John 2:18-21 NW.

THEY then took the place of Jesus Christ by saying that they alone were his “channel” over the congregations.

The apostle Paul had warned about this apostasy earlier in the First Century, when talking to the “older men” of the Ephesus congregation (Acts 20:28, 29), when he said, “I know that after my going away oppressive wolves will enter in among you and will not treat the flock with tenderness, and from among you yourselves men will rise and speak twisted things to draw the disciples after themselves.” NW.

Paul said they would draw away from the TRUTH, leave the true teachings of Christ Jesus, and establish their own, to control those that went with them for personal power and gain.

Paul said similar things to Timothy in his first letter (1Timothy 4:1, 2), “The spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical LIARS, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” NIV.

This is the MARK of all corrupted organizations! They are full of lies as they were created by the “father of the lie,” Satan the Devil, and his “henchmen” that back and promote the lies. They LOVE THE LIE of the ORGANIZATION DOCTRINE. “So that is why God lets an operation of error go to them, that they may get to believing the lie, in order that they all may be judged because they did not believe the truth but took pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thess. 2:11, 12 NW.

The Lord Jesus foretold this situation in his explanation of the parable of the wheat and the tares, saying, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The Harvest is the end of the Age, and the harvesters are the angels.” (Not men, as some would have you believe). “The Son of man will send out his angels and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil ... Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” Matt. 13:36-43 NIV.

>From that ancient time until now, the wicked one has over sown the field of God. For 1900 years, he has sown the field with unscrupulous, power hungry men. And like “ravenous wolves,” they have infiltrated all organizations claiming to represent God. They have introduced “great falsehoods” (lies) with their organizationalisms, clergy-laity distinctions, Babylonish doctrines, and devices to control and mislead the sheep. In doing so, they are leading the flock AWAY from the “true shepherd,” Jesus, the Christ.

Since all these religious organizations constitute that “old harlot, Babylon the Great,” Jesus says, “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues. For, her sins have massed together clear up to heaven, and God has called her acts of injustice to mind. Render to her even as she herself rendered, and do to her twice as much, yes, twice the number of the things she did.” Rev. 18:4-6 NW.

Yes, “get out of her my people,” for God will hold ALL of these ORGANIZATIONS that comprise the harlot, “Babylon the Great,” responsible for ALL of their APOSTATE works. Think:  Can an organization correct itself?… NO! It cannot CHANGE ITSELF!!  This is because those who promote and support it will not vacate their mindset and change, to comply with Holy Scriptural standards.

They believe that their IDOL, their LOVE, their ORGANIZATION is above the scriptures, as are their Popes, their Jewish traditions, their clergy, their priesthoods, their Mullahs, their Governing Bodies, their Synods, their “Faithful and Discreet Slaves,” their etc., etc.. They believe that it is their duty to preserve their IDOL/GOD/ ORG. at all costs!

ALL religious organizations want you to believe that THEY ALONE can grant you a passport to eternal life. THEY ALONE want to be your mediator with God. THEY ALONE want your sworn loyalty, fidelity, support, and obedience… WHY?  TO KEEP THEMSELVES IN EXISTENCE. Because, only by keeping people under their control and bringing more into their organizations can they stay in existence. And by doing so, they bypass Christ Jesus who is the only way to the Father and to eternal life.
Like thieves, they have stolen the place of Jesus Christ in the lives of His Sheep. They have made their organizations and themselves the “mediator between God and men.” 1 Tim. 2:5 NW.

It is not possible through any Satanic-inspired man-made contrivances known as ORGANIZATIONS to obtain eternal life. Neither is it possible through any Pope, tradition, priest, catechism, “faithful and discreet slave,” political party, banker, oil company, CEO, Ayatollah, door to door witnessing, snake handling, speaking in tongues, Krishnas, law keepers, or anything else. Their organizations are all infiltrated and controlled by Satan's invisible manipulation.

It is only through the Lamb of God, who “takes away the sin of the world”, by belief and faith in him that eternal life is possible, for He is the “way and the truth and the life.” John 14:6 NW. (See also John 1:29 and Rev. 7:9,10)  The Apostle Peter said, "There is no other name under heaven given, by which we can get saved." (Acts 4:12 NW)

(Important note 3:  As Yahshua's "witnesses" Acts 1:8, we walk in his footsteps and practice love for all (see Matt. 22:38,39), cultivating joy, and promoting peace toward all, while we are awaiting "deliverance" by him. Gal. 5:28,29  Therefore, we do not involve ourselves in any kind of violence toward anyone or anything.  We patiently pray for and await God's heavenly kingdom to settle all grievances. Matt. 6:9,10; Dan. 2:44).

However, because she is the “mother of the harlots,” ALL ORGANIZED RELIGIONS WILL BE DESTROYED BY THE RADICAL POLITICAL ELEMENTS OF THIS WORLD, BECAUSE YAHWEH WILL PUT IT IN THEIR MINDS TO DO SO. (See Rev. 16:19; Rev. 17:12-18) So, NOW is the time to: “GET OUT OF HER MY PEOPLE.”!!! Rev. 18:4 NW.

But, many honest hearted people ask, "If we get out of our religion, where can we go?" The answer is given by Jesus Christ himself when he was telling those in the Jewish religion, "COME TO ME". Matt. 11:28. Yes, Jesus Christ himself is inviting YOU to come to HIM. "Come to me, all you who are toiling and loaded down, and I will refresh you. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am mild tempered and lowly in heart, and you will find refreshment for your souls." Matt. 11:28-30 NW.

By prayer you must invite him into your heart and HE will come in. He says, "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me." Rev. 3:20 NIV.

Right now Jesus and the holy angels are opening up millions of in-home congregations consisting of ten to twenty persons as he did in the first century. You can do the same thing. He is now fulfilling Joel 2:28-32 and is pouring the Holy Spirit out on "all flesh" so that they can "get out of Babylon the Great", to freely serve him and his Father. We urge you to do the same.

You may form your own in-home congregation, consisting of your friends, neighbors and relatives. See how Jesus, the holy angels and the Holy Spirit directed the first century Christians in their homes. We will show you how to hold your own scriptural "testimony" meetings, with all participating and scriptural "prayer" meetings, with all participating. No one was excluded in the first century, nor should they be today. There is no obligation. Everything will be private, free and by e-mail. Matt. 10:8b NW.
But you can freely serve now. HOW?:  Send this to everyone you care about

POSTSCRIPT:  For further free information, e-mail:  orgfree@aol.com

PEOPLE OF THE BIBLE
Jephthah
Jephthah was a brave man who made a foolish promise: In order to gain a victory, Jephthah promised God that he'd sacrifice the first thing that came out of his home if he returned victorious. Unfortunately, the first thing to come out of his home after the victory was Jephthah's one and only child, his daughter. There is much debate as to whether or not she was allowed to live or die because of this promise, and it's a topic we intend to cover in the November eNewsletter. But first, we thought it would be a good idea to give the background on Jephthah, to give an idea of who this man was.
According to the bible, at Judges  Chapter 11: it says: And Jephthah the Gileadite hath been a mighty man of valour, and he [is] son of a woman, a harlot; and Gilead begetteth Jephthah, and the wife of Gilead beareth to him sons, and the wife's sons grow up and cast out Jephthah, and say to him, `Thou dost not inherit in the house of our father; for son of another woman [art] thou.' And Jephthah fleeth from the face of his brethren, and dwelleth in the land of Tob; and vain men gather themselves together unto Jephthah, and they go out with him. And it cometh to pass, after a time, that the Bene-Ammon fight with Israel,  and it cometh to pass, when the Bene-Ammon have fought with Israel, that the elders of Gilead go to take Jephthah from the land of Tob; and they say unto Jephthah, `Come, and thou hast been to us for captain, and we fight against the Bene-Ammon.' And Jephthah saith to the elders of Gilead, `Have not ye hated me? and ye cast me out from the house of my father, and wherefore have ye come unto me now when ye are in distress?'  and the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Therefore, now, we have turned back unto thee; and thou hast gone with us, and fought against the Bene-Ammon, and thou hast been to us for head -- to all the inhabitants of Gilead.'  And Jephthah saith unto the elders of Gilead, `If ye are taking me back to fight against the Bene-Ammon, and Jehovah hath given them before me -- I, am I to you for a head?' And the elders of Gilead say unto Jephthah, `Jehovah is hearkening between us -- if according to thy word we do not so.' And Jephthah goeth with the elders of Gilead, and the people set him over them for head and for captain, and Jephthah speaketh all his words before Jehovah in Mizpeh. And Jephthah sendeth messengers unto the king of the Bene-Ammon, saying, `What -- to me and to thee, that thou hast come in unto me, to fight in my land.'  And the king of the Bene-Ammon saith unto the messengers of Jephthah, `Because Israel took my land in his coming up out of Egypt, from Arnon, and unto the Jabbok, and unto the Jordan; and now, restore them in peace.'   (Young's Literal Translation)

As we can see from this passage of scripture, Jephthah was a valiant man who was the son of a man named Gilead and a prostitute. From the order of the events described, it seems that Jephthah was born first, and then his father married some other woman who bore siblings for Jephthah. These siblings had no respect for Jephthah because he was the son of another woman. Because of their ill treatment of him, Jephthah left his family. Some time later, the Gilead clan becomes oppressed by the Ammonites, thus they summoned Jephthah to help them remove the menace. Jephthah is hesitant at first, but then agrees. First he asks the Ammonites why they are rising up against his family, and was answered that his family was part of the Israelites, and the Israelites took their land away. Reading beyond the above quoted passage, we see that Jephthah tries to reason with the Ammonites but to no avail. It is then that Jephthah asks God to help him be victorious over the Ammonites, with the foolish promise that he made. God gave him the victory, and Jephthah, brokenheartedly, kept his promise. Many people question whether Jephthah truly offered his daughter as a burnt sacrifice to God, or if it were a symbolic statement instead. It is this topic that will be covered in the next (November 2006) CommonTruth eNewsletter.

VOCABULARY ENRICHMENT
Messiah
The Basic meaning of the Hebrew word "Meshiah" and the Greek word "Christos" is "Anointed One". In the Old Testament, the word is used of prophets, priests, and kings who were consecrated to their office with oil. The expression "The Lord's Anointed" and its equivalent is not used as a technical designation of the Messiah, but refers to the king of the line of David, ruling in Jerusalem, and anointed by the Lord through the priest. With the possible exception of Daniel 9:25-26 the title "Messiah" as a reference to Israel's eschatological king does not occur in the Old Testament. It appears in this sense later in the New Testament, where he is almost always called "The Christ". The Old Testament pictures the Messiah as one who will put an end to sin and war and usher in universal righteousness and through his death will make vicarious atonement for the salvation of sinful men. The New Testament concept of the Messiah is developed directly from the teaching of the Old Testament. Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah; he claimed to be and the claim was acknowledged by his disciples. (Luke 4:18-19, Acts 4:27, Acts 10:38).

Source: Zondervan's Compact Bible Dictionary 1993 Edition

WEBSITE OF THE MONTH
Bible Walks
http://www.biblewalks.com

This is a new website which features clickable map of bible lands. Click on certain parts of the map and you will be presented with photos and information (both historical and modern) regarding the places. Although this website is a work in progress, there is still much to see, and is worth the time to visit.