Yom Kippur is also called the Day of Atonement.
Updated Yom Kippur, 12 Oct 2024.
The Bible tells us to teach God’s Word to our children. This free Yom Kippur book is another one of my endeavours to do so.
Teach your children
Teach them (God’s Holy Word) to your children,
speaking about them when you sit at home
and when you walk along the road,
when you lie down and when you get up.
(Deuteronomy 11:19)
Click here to download your free guide to Yom Kippur for 2024.
This year – 2024 – Yom Kippur is from the evening of October 11 till the evening of October 12.
it shall be a statute for ever
throughout your generations
in all your dwellings.
(Leviticus 23:31)
In the Bible in Leviticus 23 it is written that,
The Lord says, ‘these are my feasts.’
Concerning the Feasts of the LORD,
these are my Feasts… (Leviticus 23:2)
Concerning the feasts of the Lord.
Scripture states that Yom Kippur is concerning the feasts of the Lord. It does not say, ‘the feasts of the Jewish people’ and it does not say, ‘the feasts of the Christian people’ and it does not say, ‘the feast for followers of the Bible.’ No, it clearly says, ‘Concerning the feasts of the Lord … these are my feasts.’
This means that anyone following the Lord (Yahweh), be they Jewish or Christian or followers of the Bible are invited to celebrate these feasts. In fact even ‘strangers’ such as any people of any culture are invited to celebrate Yom Kippur as follows,
A statute for ever throughout your generation
Yom Kippur is considered one of the most important, if not the most important and holiest feast day of the year and is mentioned by the LORD as ‘a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month
there shall be a day of atonement:
it shall be an holy convocation unto you;
and ye shall afflict your souls,
and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
And ye shall do no work in that same day:
for it is a day of atonement,
to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God…
Ye shall do no manner of work:
it shall be a statute for ever
throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest,
and ye shall afflict your souls:
in the ninth day of the month at even,
from even unto even,
shall ye celebrate your sabbath.(Read Leviticus 23)
On the 10th day of the Seventh Month (Tishrei) is the holiday known as Yom Ha-Kipurim (or Yom Kippur), “The Day of Atonement”. This is a day dedicated to fasting and prayer on which we ask Yahweh to atone for our sins. You can read more about Yom Kippur when you visit Nehemia’s wall and Hebrew4Christians.
A statute for ever
Note the words: ‘it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’
Christians seem to argue that the feast days ‘have been done away with’ when Jesus was crucified. However none of my Christian friends have been able to point out where in the Bible, Jesus or His Father specifically mention that the feast days ‘have been done away with.’
What we do know is that the feast days are called the feast days of the Lord, and were instigated ‘for ever’ throughout all dwellings and this includes the dwellings of the stranger. From this it follows that anyone choosing to be part of God’s posse keeps the feast days as proclaimed. By not keeping the feast days one automatically chooses not to be part of God’s posse.
The other thing we know is that Jesus Himself kept the feast days and we are supposed to follow Him and walk as He walked.
Live for ever .. feasts for ever
On this blog we examine who is invited to live for ever. Yom Kippur is another one of Yehovah’s feasts to be ‘kept for ever’ and we are invited to attend. You can click here for a guide FROM CHABAD.ORG on how to celebrate Yom Kippur according to Jewish traditions. Each follower can decide for themselves if they want to be part of this feast, or not.
Click here to download free guide for Yom Kippur with Biblical references Oct 2024.
– * –
ABOUT MIMI – find me on www.mimiemmanuel.com and my books on www.mimiemmanuel.com/books
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word.. Popular opinion tells us
that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all. To be one of the first people to receive a free kindle at my next book launch you can click here. You can find my current books here.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications. Occasionally I partner with people because I like their products and you can read about that here.
ABOUT INSPIRING SCRIPTURE VERSES – If you want to send encouraging Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
NEW BOOKS RELEASES, INTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS – As a member of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance and as a member of the Christian Indie Authors Reading Group and as the current Administrator of Christian Authors Worldwide as well as OMEGA WRITERS non-fiction, I share new book releases, interviews and reviews with my readers. Stay tuned!
all rights reserved copyright myemmanuel 2024
Differences and similarities between Easter and the Passover
In this episode of Hebrew Voices, An Early Christian Passover, Nehemia Gordon continues his fascinating discussion with Prof. Shaye Cohen of Harvard University.
Thank you Nehemia Gordon for allowing me to share this talk.
Listen to: Hebrew Voices #68 – An Early Christian Passover
Also read Passover special and From Slavery to Freedom and What is the difference between Easter and the Passover?
GOD’S HOLY FEAST
Post from Nehemia Gordon, Find the full post here.
Sukkot (Feast of Booths) & Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Assembly)
On Chag Ha-Sukkot, Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) we are commanded to build a Sukkah (Booth) using as building materials the “4 species” listed in Lev 23:40. Rabbinical tradition teaches that a bundle of these building materials must be ritually waved in the air during the festival.
We’re commanded to celebrate the Feast of Booths (Chag Ha-Sukkot) for seven days, from the 15th to the 21st of the Seventh Hebrew month. This holiday is also known as the “Feast of Tabernacles”. Work is forbidden on the first day of the seven days.
Visit Nehemia’s Wall to read the complete post. Thank you Nehemia!
Feast of Booths is a lot of fun. We cut palm fronds and olive and eucalyptus branches and decorate our veranda with this.
With Sukkot we remember and celebrate the years that the Jewish people spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land. We recall the ways that our Father protected them whilst they traveled through the desert and lived in tents.
More information on Sukkot from our friends at Chabad Org.
*
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications. Occasionally I partner with people because I like their products and you can read about that here.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
MY BOOKS AND A FREE VIDEO COURSE – To download a copy of MY STORY OF SURVIVAL click here. For a copy of MIMI’S BOOK LAUNCH PLAN, click here. For a copy of GOD HEALED ME click here. For a free video course on how to write a bestseller,click here.
NEW BOOKS RELEASES, INTERVIEWS, AND REVIEWS – As a member of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance and as a member of the Christian Indie Authors Reading Group and as the current Administrator of Christian Authors Worldwide, This is FUN! Mimi’s Launch Party and co-administrator of OMEGA nonfiction writers I share new book releases, interviews and reviews with my readers. Stay tuned!
HOLY FEAST
YOM KIPPUR
My children asked me what Yom Kippur is all about, so it is for their sake that I wrote this book.
The questions that came up
1. When did Yom Kippur start?
2. What is Yom Kippur all about?
3. When do we celebrate Yom Kippur?
4..Can anyone celebrate Yom Kippur?
5. Is Yom Kippur just for Jewish people?
6. Can Christian people celebrate Yom Kippur?
7. Are we still supposed to be celebrating the Holy Feasts?
To be able to answer these questions I studied the Bible and pulled up references relating to Yom Kippur and atonement, repentance and forgiveness. I studied also how the Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur and found that rabbinical traditions do not always correlate with what the Bible, God’s Holy Word, tells us.
The Yom Kippur as described in this book YOM KIPPUR, Day of Atonement, is not written according to Christian traditions, nor is it Yom Kippur according to Jewish traditions.
The Yom Kippur that I describe in my book is the Holy Feast of The Lord. It is HIS Feast, not ours. We’re invited to participate in His Holy Feast.
This Yom Kippur book is based on the directions given by our Father and contains His Words about His Feast as well as (in Chapter Two) a description of Jewish traditions including the Al Chet (confession of sins).
Chapter One
Is Yom Kippur the Holiest day of the year, to be celebrated forever, and is everyone invited?
Chapter Two
Jewish traditions including the Al Chet (confession of sins).
Chapter Three
Biblical references
Traditionally on Yom Kippur the story of Jonah is read out to remind us of God’s mercy.
Jonah goes to Nineveh
Jonah goes to Nineveh settings quality on our screen is best on 240p but may differ on different screens and can be adjusted on bottom right of screen by adjusting the little wheel next to youtube symbol on the left
Jonah goes to Nineveh
When GOD told Jonah to go to Nineveh to give the inhabitants a chance to save themselves, Jonah tried to run away from the task that he had been given. So much so that he didn’t really care if he would live or die as long as he did not have to tell the wicked people in Nineveh that they could be saved.
As far as he was concerned they were bad people who deserved what was coming to them and he was not prepared to help save them from their fate.
Jonah tried without much success to hide from GOD; he was thrown out of the boat, swallowed by the whale, spat out on the beach and eventually did as he was told.
Jonah sulked when people were forgiven
Soon after Jonah delivered his message to the people of Nineveh they felt bad enough about their wicked deeds to ask GOD to forgive them. And GOD forgave them. This made Jonah even more upset than he had been before and he went to sulk outside of the city in the shade and told GOD, “It is better for me to die than to live.” Jonah wished death upon himself because he was so very angry that GOD forgave wicked people after they asked him for forgiveness.
Jonah experienced GOD’s compassion himself when he was forgiven after running away from GOD. And when he consequently was thrown into the sea and swallowed by a whale and yet lived. GOD even grew Jonah a large plant to shade him from the hot sun whilst Jonah was feeling sorry for himself. Yet Jonah struggled to understand why GOD would forgive evil people even though they showed some measure of remorse for their bad deeds.
Jonah felt sorry for a plant which withered but couldn’t forgive people who showed remorse after they had done the wrong thing.
GOD is merciful and responds to remorse
Jonah said “I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.”
The book of Jonah teaches us about God’s mercy and is read in its entirety during the Feast of Yom Kippor which is the day of atonement as mentioned in the bible.
Jonah – A Lesson in Compassion by Rabbi Dr Greg Killian
Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian tells us in his study “Jonah – a lesson in compassion” that “Yonah son of Amittai was the son of the widow from Tzorphath with whom Elijah the prophet stayed during the years of famine, and that it was this boy that Elijah revived.”
Yonah’s mother was from the tribe of Asher, and his father from Zevulun.
Amittai is derived from the Hebrew word: ‘emet’, meaning truth. From this we understand that Jonah (Yonah means dove in Hebrew) is a man of truth. Truth, as Jonah understands it, demands that evil never be overlooked; evil must be punished. Jonah is the “son of truth”, a man of unbending commitment to the truth. This may explain Jonah’s stance that evil must be punished. He was struggling to comprehend GOD’s compassion for evil people even though he experienced GOD’s mercy himself.
The story of Jonah teaches us to be compassionate towards one and other.
Jesus said, blessed are the merciful because they shall obtain mercy.
***
– re-posted edited version from 2014 –
***
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications. Occasionally I partner with people because I like their products and you can read about that here.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
MY BOOKS AND A FREE VIDEO COURSE – To download a copy of MY STORY OF SURVIVAL click here. For a copy of MIMI’S BOOK LAUNCH PLAN, click here. For a copy of GOD HEALED ME click here. For a free video course on how to write a bestseller,click here.
NEW BOOKS RELEASES, INTERVIEWS, AND REVIEWS – As a member of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance and as a member of the Christian Indie Authors Reading Group and as the current Administrator of Christian Authors Worldwide,This is FUN! Mimi’s Launch Party and co-administrator of OMEGA nonfiction writers I share new book releases, interviews and reviews with my readers. Stay tuned!
GOD’S HOLY FEAST
Post from Nehemiah Gordon. Find the full post here.
Yom Teruah
On the 1st day of the Seventh Month (Tishrei) the Torah commands us to observe the holy day of Yom Teruah which means “Day of Shouting” (Leviticus 23:23-25; Numbers 29:1-6). Yom Teruah is a day of rest on which work is forbidden.
One of the unique things about Yom Teruah is that the Torah does not say what the purpose of this holy day is. The Torah gives at least one reason for all the other holy days and two reasons for some.
The Feast of Matzot (Unleavened Bread) commemorates the Exodus from Egypt, but it is also a celebration of the beginning of the barley harvest (Exodus 23:15; Leviticus 23:4–14). The Feast of Shavuot (Weeks) is a celebration of the wheat harvest (Exodus 23:16; 34:22). Yom Ha-Kippurim is a national day of atonement as described in great detail in Leviticus 16. Finally, the Feast of Sukkot (Booths) commemorates the wandering of the Israelites in the desert and is also a celebration of the ingathering of agricultural produce (Exodus 23:16). In contrast to all these Torah festivals, Yom Teruah has no clear purpose other than that we are commended to rest on this day.
Go to Nehemia’s Wall to read the complete post. Thank you Nehemia!
*
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications. Occasionally I partner with people because I like their products and you can read about that here.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here.
MY BOOKS AND A FREE VIDEO COURSE – To download a copy of MY STORY OF SURVIVAL click here. For a copy of MIMI’S BOOK LAUNCH PLAN, click here. For a copy of GOD HEALED ME click here. For a free video course on how to write a bestseller,click here.
NEW BOOKS RELEASES, INTERVIEWS, AND REVIEWS – As a member of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance and as a member of the Christian Indie Authors Reading Group and as the current Administrator of Christian Authors Worldwide, This is FUN! Mimi’s Launch Party and co-administrator of OMEGA nonfiction writers I share new book releases, interviews and reviews with my readers. Stay tuned!
Unity vs Uniformity
Since the 1980s I have been striving to understand our Creator’s holy calendar and live in accordance with the times He hard-wired into Creation. Over the years I have seen a proliferation of calendar systems among those turning to Scripture, … Continue reading → The post Unity vs Uniformity appeared first on Nehemia’s Wall.
via Unity vs Uniformity — Nehemia’s Wall
It is the Passover!
To celebrate the Passover I am sharing the Passover Special with Nehemia Gordon and friends and also ‘From Slavery to Freedom’ from Nehemia Gordon’s website.
This is an interview that Nehemia had with Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski who draws on his vast experience as a world-renowned Rabbi and psychiatrist to explain why it is important to get out of our comfort zone in order to achieve true spirituality.
Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski is the author of over 70 books and a canonical Jewish prayer sung in every synagogue, Rabbi Twerski’s stature in the Jewish world parallels that of Billy Graham in the Christian world. He opens the episode singing a Psalm, shares how he once saved a man by getting a special dispensation from the Pope, and describes a practical plan to break the chains of spiritual slavery in order to attain true freedom and maximize our full potential and purpose in life.
For your convenience, Nehemia includes a transcript of the conversation, with links to the many terms, concepts and books mentioned, for further study. You can access the interview here.
Nehemia also includes a traditional karaite matzah recipe which traditionally is eaten in all Jewish homes during the Passover. You can access the recipe here.
To find out what the Passover is all about, read the Book of Exodus in your Bible and from the Gospels Matthew 26 and Luke 22.
*
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications. Occasionally I partner with people because I like their products and you can read about that here.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here. To download a copy of my Story of Survival click here.
NEW BOOKS RELEASES, INTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS – As a member of the Australian Christian Readers Blog Alliance and as a member of the Christian Indie Authors Reading Group and as the current Administrator of Christian Authors Worldwide, I share new book releases, interviews and reviews with my readers. Stay tuned!
Yom Kippur is also called the Day of Atonement.
In 2015 Yom Kippur is celebrated from nightfall on September 24 for the following 24 hours according to Karaite Jews.
it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
In the bible in Leviticus 23 it is written that,
The Lord says, ‘these are my feasts.’
Concerning the feasts of the Lord.
Scripture states that Yom Kippur is concerning the feasts of the Lord. It does not say, ‘the feasts of the Jewish people’ and it does not say, ‘the feasts of the Christian people’ and it does not say, ‘the feast for followers of the bible.’ No, it clearly says, ‘Concerning the feasts of the Lord … these are my feasts.’
This means that anyone following the Lord, be they Jewish or Christian or followers of the bible are invited to celebrate these feasts. In fact even ‘strangers’ such as any people of any culture are invited to celebrate Yom Kippur as follows,
Most Jewish people celebrate Yom Kippur on the 3rd of October this year but the Karaite Jews, who follow the biblical calendar, have calculated that the Day of Atonement falls on the 5th of October in 2014. Keith and Nehemia were on an interesting trip where they didn’t quite reinstate the calculating of the biblical feasts according to the moon calendar, but they certainly reminded all of us how it is supposed to be done.
A statute for ever throughout your generation
Yom Kippur is considered one of the most important, if not the most important and holiest feast day of the year and is mentioned by the LORD as ‘a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God … Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
On the 10th day of the Seventh Month (Tishrei) is the holiday known as Yom Ha-Kipurim (or Yom Kippur), “The Day of Atonement”. This is a day dedicated to fasting and prayer on which we ask Yehovah to atone for our sins. You can read more about Yom Kippur when you visit Nehemia’s wall and Hebrew4Christians.
A statute for ever
Note the words: ‘it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’
If you chose not to be part of this feast, according to scripture, you chose not to be part of God’s posse.
Christians seem to argue that the feast days ‘have been done away with’ when Jesus was crucified. However none of my Christian friends have been able to point out where in the bible Jesus or his Father specifically mention that the feast days ‘have been done away with.’
What we do know is that the feast days are called the feast days of the Lord, and were instigated ‘for ever’ throughout all dwellings and this includes the dwellings of the stranger. From this it follows that anyone choosing to be part of God’s posse keeps the feast days as proclaimed. By not keeping the feast days one automatically chooses not to be part of God’s posse.
The other thing we know is that Jesus himself kept the feast days and we are supposed to follow him and walk as he walked.
Live for ever .. feasts for ever
On this blog we examine who is invited to live for ever. Yom Kippur is another one of Yehovah’s feasts to be ‘kept for ever’ and we are invited to attend. You can click here for a guide on how to celebrate Yom Kippur. Each follower can decide for themselves if they want to be part of this feast, or not.
all rights reserved copyright myemmanuel 2014
originally published on October 3, 2014 and amended and republished today.
Yom Teruah or Feast of Trumpets or Day of Shouting
Are we to remember and celebrate this feast?
There is another celebration coming up! A Feast of The Lord! I know that God wants us to remember and celebrate His Feasts. How do I know that? Because; The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, Concerning the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are my feasts. In Leviticus 23 we’re told 5 times about the LORD’s Feasts, that
it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations inall your dwellings.
Yom Teruah
Yom Teruah is celebrated on September 15 this year (if moon is sighted on September 14, according to Karaite Judaism).
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month,in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath,a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.Ye shall do no servile work therein:but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord.
The Bible tells us on the day of Yom Teruah to make a noise, no work and an offering of fire.
There are Jewish traditions which celebrate Yom Teruah as the Jewish New Year. This is not a Biblical but a Rabbinical tradition. How Yom Teruah became Rosh Hashanah is best explained by Nehemia Gordon. It is undeniable and recognised by the Rabbi’s that Exodus 12:2 states, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. This reference is made when the Feast of Unleavened Bread takes place and this would be the Biblical New Year, not around Yom Teruah. Nehemia explains very well how Rosh Hashanah came about due to pagan Babylonian influences.
How to celebrate Yom Teruah?
More information on how to celebrate Yom Teruah can be found in the Book of Numbers 29.
The main thing to understand is; Noise-No work-offering and that Yom Teruah is ten days before Yom Kippur. And we are supposed to be contemplating during this period of time if we are living the life God intends for us. According to Jewish tradition these coming ten days we are to repent of our sins and ask to be forgiven so that God will include his true followers in the Book of Life.
The Feast of Yom Teruah reminds us to examine our actions to see if we are worthy of the promise of eternal life.
Many churches and believers think that the ‘Feasts have been done away with.’
However these Feasts are called ‘Feasts of the Lord to be kept throughout your generations in all your dwellings.’
These Feasts are not called Feasts of the Jewish people nor Feasts of the Christian people. No, these Feasts are called ‘Feasts of the Lord to be kept forever.’
I am accepting the invite; what about you?
For more on the Jewish Feasts and particularly on the Feast of Yom Teruah and how to celebrate this visit Hebrews4Christians.
***
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here. To download a free copy of my Story of Survival click here. For more freebies and our catalogue go to NewsFlash.
Everlasting life according to the Gospels
My last blogpost mentioned: God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This week we’ll see what Jesus has to say about everlasting life in the Gospels.
This morning I listened to a podcast by Nehemia Gordon and Pastor A.J. Bernard. It was lovely to hear a Karaite Jew and Methodist Pastor in agreement about having the same Father walking along together in the journey of life and, for whatever reason, one has met the Son (been revealed to him) and the other one has not (yet?).
No biggie. In the end we’re all children of the same Father and what matters is what’s in our heart and how that manifests in our life. As far as I’m concerned that’s the end of arguments and discussions about different belief systems and world view. There’s a whole bunch of Torah Pearls that Nehemia has created with Methodist Pastor Keith Johnson and they are well worth listening to.
Everlasting Life in the Book of Daniel
Jesus repeatedly said that He came not to speak his own words but the words of His Father, and He always referred to Scripture. What I mean to say here is that Jesus did not make anything up himself. Whatever He spoke about was quoted from the prophets, as mentioned also last week where we quoted from the Book of Daniel,
Everlasting life in the Gospels
In the Book of Matthew
The first reference made in the Gospels to everlasting life is in Chapter 18 in the Book of Matthew,
Yikes, I find that scary. Isn’t the common perception that once we are resurrected, we’ll go to heaven (enter into life) and, regardless of our previous sins, we’ll all look like gorgeous sixteen year olds (minus the acne) and never look back?
Mmm, that is not what Jesus says here. Although some kind of transformation obviously takes place, having been resurrected.
When Jesus met with his Apostles after his crucifixtion we learn that He said to Thomas,
At that time, just days after His resurrection, Jesus’ wounds were clearly still showing. Mmm.
Everlasting fire.
My Bible teaching Pastor, whom I loved and adored, taught me that there is no everlasting fire.
Jesus said there is; so I looked it up. There’s no getting away from it. Jesus really said and meant everlasting fire.
How do I know that Jesus meant it? I know that for sure because in the Book of Matthew, Jesus did not refer to it just once, but he repeated his warning twice to make sure that we would really get it.
In the Book of Mark
In Book 9 of Mark Jesus gives us three warnings,
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me,
it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck,
and he were cast into the sea.
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off:
it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell,
into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life,
than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out:
it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye,
than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
What we’ve just established here is that according to Jesus there is hell fire, and that is where you’ll end up if you cause offence. And particularly if you cause offence to a little child or newcomer to the faith.
What does it mean to cause offence?
What does it mean to cause offence? The varying Bible translations have translated as follows, ‘If your hand causes you to stumble,’ ‘If your hand causes you to sin or fall into sin,’ ‘If your hand causes your downfall,’ ‘If your hand causes subverts you,’ ‘If your hand causes you to lose your faith,’ ‘If your hand cause you to fall,’ and finally ‘If your hand scandalises you or serve as a snare to you.’
Don’t do the wrong thing
The first verse in the Gospels that refers to ‘everlasting life (enter into life)’ is immediately followed by a verse which refers to ‘everlasting fire.’
The warnings are very clear and specific. Don’t cause trouble with your hand, foot or eyes. With all your might, restrain yourself and do whatever is necessary to stop offending, even if this causes some kind of hurt or disability in your life. If you don’t restrain yourself and stop yourself from offending others or falling into sin, there’s a really hot place reserved especially for people just like you.
I believe that these verses also throw out of the window the doctrine of ‘once saved, always saved.’
Now what? If I make a blooper, and we all do, then what? Is that the end?
No, that is not the end. Our Father is a forgiving Father. And there are many instances in the Jewish Bible as well as in the Gospels were we are told that, feeling sorry about having made stupid mistakes, accounts for much.
The Book of Luke
In the Book of Luke we’re told that it is impossible to expect never to be offended. All I have to do is make sure that it is not me causing the offence!
This seems like a very hard thing to do. Especially considering that many believers defend their belief with all their might, misguided as we all at times may be. I have, unfortunately, offended people by telling Christian jokes such as the one told by Emo Philips which has been voted the funniest religious joke of all times.
If this joke was offensive to someone why would I give a link to it and refer to it and possibly cause offence again? Because the person who was offended by it, decided because of this joke, not to follow my blog any longer, and therefore won’t read about this again. And the joke simply points out the hypocrisy of certain believers. I posted the joke to say, ‘please don’t push me off the bridge just because I believe differently from how you may believe.’ And guess what? The first person who read the joke, pushed.
Jesus told parables and therefore I believe that it is fine to talk in parables at times to get certain points across. After the warning, about not causing offence, Jesus gives guidelines on how to deal with people who trespass. What does trespass mean? It means doing the wrong thing by people. It means to sin. It means to break God’s law.
It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck,
and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him;
and if he repent, forgive him.
And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day,
and seven times in a day turn again to thee,
saying, I repent;
thou shalt forgive him.
If people genuinely feel sorry about doing wrong and genuinely ask for forgiveness, we are to forgive them. How many times? A lot of times. Why?
Because we all make mistakes.
In the end it always comes down to just plain old loving each other. What do you reckon?
Here’s another reminder of what Love is all about. I have a huge soft spot for the Commandments because they spell it out so perfectly.
Next week we’ll have a look at the second time that ‘everlasting life’ is mentioned by Jesus.
***
ABOUT THIS BLOG – We’re researching the truth of living forever according to GOD’s Holy Word; Sola Scripture. Popular opinion tells us that everyone who ‘believes’ and has ‘faith’ will go to heaven. Is this true? I decided to ask the prophets about the truth of it all.
ABOUT THE CONTENT – All content on this website is copyrighted and you can read more about this here. Please also read the disclaimer about my authority and qualifications.
ABOUT SCRIPTURE CARDS – If you want to send free Scripture Cards to your friends click here and you you want to buy hard copies of Scripture Cards you can click here. To download a free copy of my Story of Survival click here.