Deception in the Church

Deception is the devil’s tactic and man is the devils tool.

It has been since the beginning, the devil’s purpose to persuade mankind to disbelieve God and His Word. Satan took the Word of God and changed it, deceiving not only Adam and Eve but all of mankind with his lies. Satan, just the same today, still deceives people into believing his lies, making evil appear as light, making many deny the truth of God’s words through corrupt bible translations (adding to, taking from, and changing the Lord’s Words to sell his lies), and also through false teachers and man’s religion. This is called: SATAN’S DECEPTION OF THE TRUTH

Satan is deceiving whomever he can so that they in turn can make their own private interpretations of the Word, quoting many verses in the Bible in order to prove that their interpretation is the only belief that one should follow, and that is just not true. This is why the Scripture warns us: “...such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” - 2 Corinthians 11:13-14.

Satan is an expert Scripture interpreter - and he has many religions to prove it. Satan also invented lying, beginning with Eve in the Garden of Eden when he told her lies mixed with truth: “Yea, has God said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?...You shall not surely die: For God does know that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil” This was the first of Satan’s big lies, lies that included some truth, being they would know “evil” once they sinned.

 

Have you ever been setting in a chair only to find that you've drifted off to sleep?  It's upon awakening that you become aware that you fell asleep.  Until you awoke, you didn't know you were asleep.  That is how it is with deception, you do not know you are deceived until you awake from your deception.  A deceived person will not even check to see if they are deceived.  Why would they, they do not know they are deceived.

 Deception is a powerful tool that Satan uses on the human race for it's destruction and Satan's deception is very subtle and mixed with some truth to make it palatable. 

The most serious deceptive practice of Satan is to cause the people to believe a gospel that he has promoted, instead of the true gospel of Christ. It is only belief in the true gospel of Christ that can save us from eternal damnation and cause us to not receive the promise of God, ETERNAL LIFE.

A group of theologians met together back in 325AD to discuss the deity of Jesus Christ and determined by a majority vote among them that Jesus was God in the flesh instead of what the scriptures tell us about Jesus, that He is the SON of GOD.

Paul the Apostle tells us: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that which you have received, let him be accursed.

 

This is just what occurred in our time. There was an angel saying he came from heaven and proclaimed that Jesus of the New Testament was Jehovah of the Old Testament, making Jesus and Jehovah the same person and many people were caused to believe it, another deceptive lie of Satan.

Here is what the Apostle Paul preached: I Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he had promised before by his prophets in the holy scriptures, concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:1-4)

 

The Author of the Gospel of Mark started his writing saying: “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” (Mark 1:1)

The first woman Eve, in the Garden of Eden was deceived by the Serpent because she had not personally heard God’s commandment concerning not eating of the certain tree. She may have even thought that the Serpent was God and was correcting what Adam thought God had said to him.

She might have had an excuse, but we don’t because God’s Word is there in the scriptures for all of us to read. Please don’t think that God will accept your excuse of being deceived by Satan’s lies, it just won’t fly.

The bottom line is this. Will you believe the Word of God as it is written in the Bible, or will you continue to be deceived by Satan’s lies being taught in your church today?

Following are additional false teaching being promoted in today’s churches. Don’t just believe me, check the scriptures yourself.

1. I AM is not God’s name according to Bible Scripture.

Click here for the details

2. The qualification for taking communion or the Lord’s Supper in the church is being taught in error.

Click here to read details

 

3. Scriptural proof that Jesus and God the Father are two different persons.

Click here to read the explanation

 

4. The practice of foot washing in the church occurs because of a misunderstanding of scripture.

Click here to read

 

5. The doctrine that women should not cut their hair was developed because of a misunderstanding by bible students about what Paul the Apostle said in one of his letters.

Click here to read the details

 

6. The practice of Tithing in the New Testament Church is not scriptural and shouldn’t be required of the people.

Click here for the details

 

7. Some preachers teach that all 120 of Jesus’ disciples were baptized with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost Day in the Upper room, but this is not true according to a close reading of scripture.

Click here to read about it

 

8. The Apostle John didn’t write the fourth Gospel, but the person who did recorded more of Jesus’ teaching than anyone else.

Click here to read

 

 

9. Were Adam and Eve the first humans to inhabit Earth? This might not be true according to a close inspection of bible scripture.

Click here for the details

 

 

10. We have been taught that the Israelites were in bondage in Egypt for 430 years, but this is incorrect according to bible chronology.

Click here to see the proof

 

 

My friends

Please remember that the Bible is our link with God and without the Bible, we would not have learned that we have a God. The Bible contains the true word of God and He has a right for his word to be believed. There are those who stand behind our pulpits and use some scripture mixed with their own understanding and lead astray their followers from the true and complete word of God. Not intentionally, but they have been deceived to believe that what they preach is the truth and most of the time it is not. Everyone of us have our own bible and should use it to verify that what we are being told is according to scripture. If it isn’t, those who are teaching us wrong should be challenged and not let to continue teaching us wrong.

The time is getting closer when God will bring an end to this dispensation of time and eternity will set in for those who will inherit eternal life. Be sure that you are one that enters into the Kingdom of Heaven.

If anyone needs additional information about what I have written, please ask and using the Bible I’ll attempt to answer all your questions.

Blessing from the Bible Man

 

 

Rev William Branham and the Angel

Brother Branham testified that an Angel was in contact with him throughout his life. He said that when he was a young boy the Angel would speak to him from the top of a tree as he heard what sounded like the wind blowing through the tree. The first time he actually saw this Angel was when he was alone praying and the Angel approached him out of a bright light which appeared in the room he was in. He said that the Angel came to inform him of a ministry of divine healing that God was commissioning him to minister in. He recognized that the Angel that visited him was the same one that had been speaking to him starting when he was very young and knew it was because of the sounding of his voice. Brother Branham also testified that the Angel was always present when he was holding his meetings and was responsible for the operation of the discernment gift and the visions that he experienced.

There are some who question whether this Angel was actually an Angel of God or not. That is the reason that I decided to write this article so that you who read this can decide for yourself after looking at the facts which are stated here. You will read what Brother Branham said in his own words along with my comments which will be based upon what I am inclined to believe as I relate the things that were said by Brother Branham and how the veracity of the statements line up with bible scripture.

My big concern is that most of Brother Branham’s teaching on the bible did not conform to written scripture, but consisted of his own interpretation. Also my concern is just how much of Brother Branham’s teaching was influenced by the presence of this Angel, especially if he was not an Angel of God.

Up until I was about 34 years old there was no doubt in my mind that Brother Branham’s complete ministry was ordained by God. I believed that he truly was a Prophet of God and had the gift of divine healing. All of this was my belief because of all that I heard about which took place in his meetings. Even more than what I heard about him, I knew him personally and members of my family were actively involved in his evangelist crusades and I had a personal insight into everything that was taking place in his ministry. We all considered our relationship with Brother Branham as though he was part of our family. Had it not been for my discovery in 1969, shortly after his death, because of my intense bible study, I became aware that a problem with his bible teaching existed and that was the reason I began to take a closer look at his complete ministry. If it was not that his teaching was in conflict with bible scripture I would never have doubted anything about his complete ministry having been ordained of God. So following is some of what I discovered.

We are all interested in the truth of this matter because God has the right for us to know the truth of His Word. So following are the facts that I have gleaned from the transcript of Brother Branham’s preaching.

This is all about the Angel according to what Brother Branham said.

“I raised up. I laid down on the bed, and there It was, above the bed, milling around, like a whole lot of colors in a rainbow, milling around”

“And then when I opened my eyes, there He was, just above the bed whirling around and around.”

( Brother Branham speaking to his son) “Now, you remember that night in Vandalia, Illinois, when you were laying, sleeping on the bed, and the Angel of the Lord was standing over me there?”

“And I wasn't but eighteen months old when the vision came. And the very time when I was born, that Angel that you see on the picture here was hanging over the little crib bed, where I was born in.”

“that Angel stood right over the bed where I was born in a little cabin down in the mountains of Kentucky. And now that same Angel is not five feet from where I'm standing right now”

“And--and that Angel of God, at five o'clock in the morning, April 6, 1909, at five o'clock in the morning, come right in and stood over that little bed where I was laying.”

“I told her that the Lord was going to heal her. And I... Brother George and I got down to pray, and when I started to pray, well, that Angel that I see, that--that you see in the picture, I seen it hanging over the bed.”

(Note) Here was some very strange occurrences. An Angel of God that made a habit of flying around over the bed that Brother Branham was sleeping on. This was similar to Brother Branham testifying that during some of his meetings the angel would be flying around over the congregation, hanging over someone he was to call upon.

Brother Branham spoke about waiting for the Angel to arrive before he could start a meeting because the discernment wouldn’t work unless the Angel was present.

‘Say, "You're stalling for something, Brother Branham." That's exactly right. Sure, I'm waiting on Him, and if He doesn't come, I can't minister. I can do nothing, not a thing. But when He's here He can do all things, and He can do it through me if I can submit myself enough to Him. in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ I take every person, every spirit under my control for His glory.”

( Note) Isn’t that something, that Brother Branham had to wait for the Angel to arrive? The Angel must have been busy doing something else.

“I want this audience in one control. I want to take these spirits under my control”

“Don't move now; set still. See, each one of you are spirits, and every one of those spirits is right in my control. See?”

Do you see what Brother Branham said about him not being able to do anything in a meeting until the Angel arrived and when the Angel arrived he spoke through Brother Branham that he was taking everyone under his control? It becomes obvious that he didn’t depend upon the anointing of the Holy Spirit to help him in the meetings. He depended upon the Angel to help him and the Angel to operate the gifts, because Brother Branham didn’t possess the gifts that the Angel said would be given to him.

Brother Branham said that when the discernment was in operation, it wasn’t him doing the talking, it was the Angel just using his voice and talking through him. The only way Brother Branham would know what the Angel spoke through him was to listen to the tapes after the service was over. See just a few examples below.

“Now, I do not know what I said to the woman; that wasn't me talking; that was that Angel you see on that picture”

“Tomorrow you know the only way I will know what I said to you? When them recorders right there, see them going, see here? When them recorders they play it back to me, and I see what I said. See?”

“That was Him just using my voice. "What is it?" you say. It's the way I have just submitted myself to the Spirit. And He does the talking”

 

The following are comments by the Author

Over and over Brother Branham stated that the Angel would talk through him, using Brother Branham’s voice, but it was the Angel’s words. For this to work for the operation of the gifts is one thing, but I have a concern that the Angel might have been responsible for some of the teaching that did not conform to Bible scripture. Did the Angel just use Brother Branham’s voice, speaking through him and doing some of the teaching?

One of the most egregious things that I realized occurred when Brother Branham’s angel first visited him on May 7, 1946. The angel told him that he was being given two signs that could be used to help convince the people that God had given him a gift of divine healing and nothing could stand before his prayer. The angel said that he was being given two signs just like God gave Moses two signs to prove to the people that God had sent him. The problem with this is that the angel made a mistake quoting scripture. Moses was given three signs and not two.

So the angel was wrong about everything. Brother Branham wasn’t given a gift of healing. Instead he could only pray for sick people and if they really believed that he had this gift from God, then God would heal them. Brother Branham also wasn’t given even two signs because it was the angel that operated the gift of discernment, not Brother Branham as has been stated before in Brother Branham’s own words.

Brother Branham received a calling from God to be an Evangelist preaching the gospel of Christ and praying for sick people and was very successful in this ministry. When the Angel came along, which I am certain was not an Angel of God, Brother Branham’s ministry changed for the worse. Because of the operation of these supernatural signs performed by this Angel, Brother Branham began to think of himself as more than just an Evangelist. He was convinced that he was a Prophet of God, but there is evidence that his prophecies did not come to pass as the prophecies of a God called Prophet did. He thought that his ministry reflected the return of Christ and his preaching convinced the people that he actually was the return of Christ. When he began to teach scripture and saw that the supernatural signs continued to work, he was convinced that God had revealed his interpretation of scripture to be true, but it wasn’t according to the God inspired Holy scriptures.

One of the most dangerous doctrines that he taught because of the influence of that angel was the gospel he preached which was a different gospel that the bible presents and it is of utmost importance to believe the true gospel of Christ according to the bible in order to be saved and inherit eternal life.

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The Upper Room on Pentecost Day

After the resurrection of Jesus, he spent time with His Apostles instructing them as to what they should do pertaining to the kingdom of God. Jesus told them that they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days and would receive miracle-working power to aid them in their ministry. He told the apostles they were to witness for Him throughout the world spreading the Gospel of the Kingdom, but they were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them.

Acts 1:2   “Until the day in which he was taken up, after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments unto the apostles who he had chosen: Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, said he, you have heard of me. Acts 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. Acts 1:8 And you shall receive power, after the Holy Spirit is come upon you: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

 

The point needs to be made here that Jesus did not meet with all of His disciples, who numbered about one hundred and twenty at the time; He met only with His eleven Apostles. Jesus told these eleven they were to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit with power, but they were to wait at Jerusalem until it happened.

 

After Jesus had been taken up into Heaven, the apostles returned to Jerusalem and went into an upper room and continued with prayer and supplication with some of the Women who followed Jesus’ ministry, with Mary His Mother and His brothers, the other children of Mary. All of the disciples of Jesus were not in the upper room, just the ones named in the following verses.

 

Acts 1:12 “Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a Sabbath day’s journey. Acts 1:13 And when they had come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. Acts 1:14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers”.

 

During those days, the apostles met with all of the disciples, who numbered about one hundred and twenty to select someone to take the place of Judas. A disciple named Matthias was selected.

 

          After this, when the day of Pentecost came, the apostles were gathered together in one accord waiting for the Holy Spirit to come upon them just as Jesus had commanded them to do. To be noted once again, this commandment was to the apostles only and not to all of the disciples of Jesus.

 

Acts 2:1 “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”

 

After the multitude came together because of the phenomenon that was occurring, Peter stood up with the other eleven apostles present and began to explain to the onlookers what was happening. Note again that Peter stood up with the eleven and not the one hundred and twenty.

 

Acts 2:14 “But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said to them, You men of Judaea, and all you that dwell at Jerusalem, let this be known unto you, and hearken to my words: Acts 2:16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;”

 

After Peter finished speaking to the multitude and explaining to them what had occurred, the multitude spoke to Peter and the other apostles and said: “men and brethren, what shall we do”? Note that the multitude that were listening addressed the apostles as “men and brethren,” asking them what they should do, they did not say brothers and sisters and were not addressing the whole company of about one hundred and twenty disciples including the women.

 

Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do”?

 

That same day, because of the signs and wonders performed by the apostles, about three thousand of them were baptized and without a doubt, just as Peter had told them, received the gift of the Holy Spirit. Note that God vindicated that He had given the apostles the bap­tism of the Holy Spirit by providing signs and wonders by their hands as a testimony. Notice that it says by the apostles and not by the whole church.

 

Acts 2:41 “Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there was added unto them about three thousand souls. Acts 2:43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.”

 

Many times I have heard men preach that when the apostles returned to Jerusalem, after the Lord’s ascension into Heaven, they gathered together into an upper room, with the women and His brethren, and they were all baptized with the Holy Spirit. One even preached that Mary, the mother of Jesus, received the Holy Spirit, and she went out into the street, speaking in tongues and dancing in the Spirit. This to me sounds good and wonderful and I believe that it was possible, but I do not read this in the scriptures.

Now I’m not saying that the whole group of one hundred and twenty did not receive the Holy Spirit, as a matter of fact I’m sure they did because God had promised they would. But what I say here and what the scriptures tell me is that only the apostles, at that time, received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There is a difference in receiving the indwelling Holy Spirit that comes to a believer as part of the conversion process and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

 

The Lord Jesus had called these apostles together to learn His Word and prepare them to go out and preach the gospel. He did not call the whole church to preach, just the apostles. Even after He had called them, He knew they needed something else to prepare them to be effective in their ministry, and that was the baptism of the Holy Spirit. For He told them they would be bap­tized with the Holy Spirit not long after He left them (Acts 1:5), but they were to wait upon their ministry until the Holy Spirit came and gave them the supernatural power needed to be effective in their ministries.

 

The apostles were called by Jesus to follow Him and learn of Him, but they were not sent out to preach until they were ready, both by the knowledge of His Word and the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

 

If this was true then, and it was, then the same applies today. Many men are called to prea­ch the gospel today, but few are sent. Why is this? Because they do not wait upon the real baptism of the Holy Spirit to give them the power to be effective in their ministry and/or they fail to follow the instruction of Peter, to repent and be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

God will vindicate the calling and ministry of those He sends out to preach with signs and wonders just as He did for the apostles, if they will be patient and wait upon God to prepare them. This is not for everyone in the church, just those who He selects by a calling and the sending out.

 

 

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Women cutting their hair

The Apostle Paul was without a doubt chosen by the Lord to take the gospel message to the Gentiles. While delivering this message, he not only visited many cities and countries setting up churches, but he also wrote letters to several churches in order to instruct them in the way of the Lord, to chastise them because of wrongs they were committing, and to answer some questions they had written to him. Most of Paul’s letters were very straightforward and it was clear what he was explaining to the people. The major part of his writing was used to explain his ministry and his position on a number of subjects and to give specific instruction on church order and doctrine.

But in his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul also re­sponded to some questions that the Corinthians had written to him about, as he stated in chapter 7, verse 1. “Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me.” As anyone would know, who has corresponded to others in a letter, there are times when you answer a question that you have received in a previous let­ter. If another person reads your letter, not knowing exactly what the question was, they may not quite understand what the answer means, or what it is referring to. There are also cases when the person answering the question might repeat all or part of the question before giving the answer, which would make it appear to a third party reading the letter, that what they were reading, was the receiving person’s position on the subject instead of it being a repeat of the question by the person who was going to answer it.

 

I firmly believe this is what has happened on a few occa­sions in the letters that Paul wrote and has caused some misleading doctrines to be formed in today’s churches. Too many times we have a tendency to take statements out of context and accept literally what is said, instead of trying to understand what message is being conveyed by the whole document or the com­plete passage.

 

It is important to remember that the Word of God is consis­tent from Genesis to Revelations. God does not change his mind about anything He says, for what He says the first time is per­fect and cannot be improved upon. So if we read something in His Word that we think contradicts something else we have read, we must keep in mind that we might not understand what we have read because there are no contradictions in God’s Word.

Keeping these things in mind let us examine some of the passages that I have been referring to and see if we can better understand the position Paul really took on certain issues.

 

The first passage to be examined is in First Corinthians chap­ter 11, verses 1 through 16. These verses deal with the subject of a person having their head covered while praying or prophesying in the church. Many modern day churches, using this passage for reference, teach their followers that women should not cut their hair, since their hair was given to them as a covering and if they do, it is dishonorable.

 

Let us start out by looking at the 5th and 6th verses. The 5th verse says that if a woman prays or prophesies with her head uncovered, she might as well have her head shaved. And the first part of the 6th says the same thing, and then adds if it is a shame for a woman to be shaven, let her be covered. It seems obvi­ous here that Paul was asked if women shouldn’t wear a head cov­ering or some kind of veil over her head in church, because the questioner believed it was not proper for her to be uncovered. He goes on to say that if she isn’t covered, she might as well have her head shaven. Now there is no way these two verses could be speaking of anything except a woman wearing a covering over her head in church and the person must have wrote Paul to see if he agreed with them.

Paul tells them, as is recorded in the 13th verse, “Judge in yourselves” or “You be the judge.” Then he asks them “is it come­ly (proper) that a woman prays unto God uncovered?” Then he as­sumes their answer will be “no it is not proper in our judgment.” Then Paul goes on to tell them, as is in verse 15, “a wo­man’s hair is given to her for a covering”. Saying, to them, I’m sure that it is not necessary for a woman to wear anything on her head, for her hair serves the purpose. I do not see anything here where Paul agrees with them that a woman should wear a covering on her head, but he tells them to decide for themselves, and if they decide she should, they should consider her hair to be the covering.

 

Paul continues in the 16th verse to tell them, if any man wants to be contentious or quarrelsome, there exists no such customs in the churches that he is associated with for a woman to wear a head covering.

 

Nowhere in these passages do I see Paul saying that it is wrong for a woman to cut her hair. He does say in the 15th verse that it is a glory for a woman to have long hair, but says nothing about it being wrong to cut it. I do not believe that all the words you read in this passage are those of Paul. The statements in verses 5 and 6 sound like the words of the questioner and not Paul, saying that if a woman’s head is not covered, she might as well be shaven.

 

Now does this sound reasonable? Does this sound like some­thing our Lord would require? If it is, then another scripture should back it up for “by two or three witnesses, every word should be established.” But there are no other scrip­tures in the Bible that say a woman should not cut her hair and this doc­trine is obviously a misunderstanding of the meaning of this passage in 1st Corinthians chapter 11.

 

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Paying Tithes to the Church

The subject of tithes and offerings has a very definite place in the church, but has not been taught according to the scriptures in the Bible. As we begin this exposition of why tithes and offerings are a part of the Christian life and how they should be followed in the church, it is important to look at what the scriptures say to us, as only the scriptures are the inspired Word of God, and to put aside what man has said on the subject.

Tithes were first mentioned in the scriptures when Abraham was returning from the slaughter of those armies who had attacked Sodom and Gomorrah and carried away Lot, Abraham’s nephew. On his return, Abraham met Melchizedek the King of Salem, who was the priest of the highest God, and Melchizedek, blessed Abraham and served him bread and wine. In return for the ministering that Melchizedek provided to Abraham, Abraham gave Melchizedek tithes amounting to a tenth of all that he had captured:

Gen 14:18 “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God. (19) And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: (20) and blessed be the most high God, which has delivered your enemies into your hand. And he gave him tithes of all.”

 

Heb 7:1 “For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him; (2) To who also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;”

 Later on, when Moses delivered the Law and commandments to the Israelites, the Israelites were commanded to give tithes amounting to a tenth of their increase, to the tribe of Levi in return for their continuing service in the tabernacle of the congregation, for the tribe of Levi did not receive an inheri­tance of land as did the other tribes:

 

Num 18:20 “And the LORD spoke unto Aaron, You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them: I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel. (21) And, be­hold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service, which they serve, even the service of the tabernacle of the congrega­tion.”

 So it was the commandment of the Lord given in the Law that Moses gave to the Israelites that every other tribe was to tithe one tenth of their increase to the tribe of Levi for their service to the Tabernacle of the Lord. The tribe of Levi was then to tithe one tenth of all they received and give it to Aaron the priest for his service in the Tabernacle of the Lord:

 

Num 18:26 “Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When you take of the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it for the LORD, even a tenth part of the tithe. (28) Thus you also shall offer a heave of­fer­ing unto the LORD of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Israel; and you shall give thereof the LORD’S heave offering to Aaron the priest.”

 Moses went on to tell the people that some of these tithes were to be used to supply the needs of the widows, orphans and those strangers who were in need that entered within their gates:

 

Deut. 14:28-29 “At the end of three years you shall bring forth all the tithe of your increase the same year, and shall lay it up within your gates: (29) And the Levite, (be­cause he has no part nor inheri­tance with you,) and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the wi­dow, which are within your gates, shall come, and shall eat and be satisfied; that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do.”

 

Deut. 26:12 “When you have made an end of tithing all the tithes of your increase the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the wi­dow, that they may eat within your gates, and be filled;”

 So the history of the tithe offering, according to the scrip­tures, was to be given to those in the ministry of the Lord, to provide for their needs as well as the needs of the poor, widows and orphans, and the needs of any strangers within the gates of the Israelites. This was God’s commandment to His people, the Israelites, and was a part of the Law that Moses delivered to them after they were delivered from the land of Egypt:

 

Heb 7:5 “And truly they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the pr­iesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the Law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham;”

 Just as the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the commandment for the giving of tithes was for the Israelites and was a part of the Mosaic Law.

 Nowhere in the scriptures does it say that the Gentile na­tions were commanded to continue in the Mosaic Law. In fact, it does say that the Gentiles are not under the Law:

 

Rom 2:14 “For when the Gentiles, which have not the Law, do by nature the things con­tained in the Law, these, having not the Law, are a Law unto themselves:”

 Neither did the Lord Jesus or any of the apostles say that believers had an obligation to continue in the commandment to tithe a tenth of their increase. This was for Israel to do as a means to provide for the tribe of Levi who were called out to provide the ministry for, first, the tabernacle of the congrega­tion, and then the temple.

 When Jesus came, He preached that you should not covet mate­rial possessions, but on a number of occasions told His fol­lowers to sell what they possessed and give to the poor. He did not say to give the poor a tenth of it, but, all of it:

 

Mat 19:21 “Jesus said unto him, if you will be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the poor and you shall have trea­sure in heaven: and come and follow me.”

 

Mark 10:21 “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said to him, One thing you lack­: go your way, sell whatsoever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”

 

Luke 18:22 “Now when Jesus heard these things, he said to him, yet lack you one thing: sell all that you have, and dis­tribute to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.”

 After the resurrection of Jesus, in the early days of the church, that is exactly what the people did. They sold all their possessions and gave the proceeds to the apostles to distribute to any who were in need:

Acts 2:43 “And fear came upon every soul: and the apostles did many wonders and signs. (44) And all that believed were together, and had all things common; (45) and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.”

 

Acts 4:32 “And the multitude of them that believed was of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that any of the things that he possessed was his own; but they had all things common. (34) Nei­ther was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold, (35) And laid them down at the apostles’ feet: and distri­bution was made to every man according as he had need.”

 Unlike the churches of today, who only distribute baskets of food to the needy on Christmas, this was a daily thing for the early church to provide for those in need. It became such a tre­mendous task that they appointed certain men to do this on a daily basis so the apostles could spend their time in the minis­try of the Word:

 

Acts 6:1 “And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the He­brews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. (2) Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples to them, and said it is not right that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. (3) Wherefore, brethren, search out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, which we may ap­point over this business. (4) And we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. (5) And the say­ing pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nica­nor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch:”

 As the church began to grow and more Gentile people were brought into the church, they were taught to share their prosper­ity with those who were in need; the less fortunate. Many times offerings were taken and sent to the poor saints in Judaea by way of the traveling apostles and evangelists:

 

Gal 2:9 “And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go to the heathen, and they to the circumcision. (10) Only they asked that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was diligent to do.”

 

Rom 15:25 “But now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. (26) For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.”

 

2 Cor 9:6 “But this I say, He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully. (7) Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give, not grudgingly, or because of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.”

 

1 Cor 16:1 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so you should do. (2) Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God has pros­pered you, that there are no gather­ings when I come. (3) And when I come, whomsoever you shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusa­lem.”

 

Acts 11:28 “And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth th­roughout all the world: which came to pass in the days of Claudi­us Caesar. (29) Then the disciples, every man according to his abili­ty, deter­mined to send relief to the bre­thren who dwelt in Judaea: (30) which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.”

 Special attention was given to the widows and orphans by the early church. If the individual families could not provide for their widows and orphans, then the church took on that task on a daily basis. Special mention was also given to supply the needs of strangers who entered into their gates, just as the scripture spoke of in the Old Testament.

 

Acts 20:35 “I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

 

1 Tim 5:3 “Honor widows that are widows indeed. (4) But if any widow has children or nephews, let them learn first to show piety at home, and to requite their parents: for that is good and acceptable before God. (16) If any man or woman that believ­es has widows, let them relieve them, and let not the church be char­ged; that it may relieve them that are widows indeed.”

 

James 1:27 “Pure religion and undefiled be­fore God and the Father is this, to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflic­tion, and to keep themselves unspotted from the world.”

 

Heb 13:2 “Be not forgetful to entertain st­rangers: for thereby some have entertained angels’ unawares.”

 

3 John 1:5 “Beloved, you should do faithfully whatsoever you do to the brethren, and to strangers.”

 Then finally the scriptures in the New Testament speak of the church supplying the needs of those who minister to them.

 

1 Tim 5:17 “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor especially they who labor in the word and doc­trine. (18) For the scripture says, You shall not muz­zle the ox that tread­s out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his reward.”

 

Phil 4:15 “Now you Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I de­parted from Macedonia, no church communi­cated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but you only. (16) For even in Thess­alonica you sent once and again unto my neces­sity. (17) Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your ac­count.”

 So, as we review the scriptures of the New Testament, we first see the church pooling all their possessions and making distribution to all who are in need. Offerings were taken up for poor and needy saints in other cities. Provision was made for widows, orphans and any strangers coming into the gates of the believers. And finally, provision was made for the ministers of the Word.

 But we see no reference made to the paying of tithes by the new Christian church, and rightfully so, since the paying of tithes was a commandment to the Israelites, by God, through the Law delivered to the people by Moses. Once again, tithes were a part of the Law, which we Christians are not under. If we consid­er ourselves to still be subject to the Law, then we are subject to the whole Law and should obey every facet of it. The paying of tithes was instituted by God to provide for the needs of the Levites because they received no part of the inheritance, and were consecrated to the duties of the Temple of God.

 But even though we have not been commanded to pay tithes, we still have a responsibility to supply a portion of our increase to provide for the needs of the poor, the widows and or­phans, the strangers who visit our cities and are in need, and to provide for the needs of those who God has set over us to minis­ter the Word to us.

 Too much of the money that believers give to the church in the manner of tithes and offerings are being spent in a way incon­sistent with what God intended. The erection of large church structures with plush carpets, upholstered chairs and stained glass windows is not what God intended for us to use those tithes and offerings for. Neither are they to be used for expensive trips to the Holy Land every year, conventions, or enormous salaries for our ministers.

  Ministers pound their flock from the pulpit and make them ashamed for not donating a tenth of their increase. Many people avoid going to church on a regular basis or, not at all, because they know that it will be expected of them to pay regular tithes – a tenth of their income.

 The paying of tithes is just another example of ministers using scripture out of context to put their people under some kind of bondage, instead of preaching the Word and making pro­vision for the needs of the unsaved, the poor, widows, and or­phans.

 The doctrine of man and his misinterpretation of God’s Word has been taught from the pulpits for so many hundreds of years that people have taken it for the gospel. If a man believes that he has been called of God to preach His Word, that man should take a closer look at what God’s Word really says and preach it the way it was given to the prophets and apostles.

 

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