Many people in the Church believe in Replacement Theology concerning Israel. They believe that the Church has replaced Israel as the ‘chosen ones,’ and they are the Bride of Christ. This idea comes from an anti-Semitic teaching that states that the Jews lost their standing with God, and forfeited it to the Church. The reason for this, they claim, was because the temple in 70 CE was destroyed. The peoples were dispersed, and with the advent of the Church, the Jewish customs, and G-d’s Old Testament teachings were made to have no bearing on faith in the Messiah, Yeshua.

The Church has been on the earth for almost 2000 years and it (Christianity) makes up 33% of all religions. We have to ask ourselves a question: Has the Church been successful? Let’s look at some statistics for the Church of today:

51% of pastors say cyber-porn is a possible temptation. 37% say it is a current struggle. Over half of evangelical pastors admits viewing pornography last year. 33% of clergy admitted to having visited a sexually explicit Web site. Of those who had visited a porn site, 53% had visited such sites “a few times” in the past year, and 18% visit sexually explicit sites between a couple of times a month and more than once a week. 29% of born again adults in the U.S. feel it is morally acceptable to view movies with explicit sexual behavior. 57% of pastors say that addiction to pornography is the most sexually damaging issue to their congregation. A 1996 Promise Keepers survey at one of their stadium events revealed that over 50% of the men in attendance were involved with pornography within one week of attending the event. *(1)

Based on the statistics it seems that the Church is failing in proselytizing the world, and because of her immorality, she is imploding on herself. If the bride is composed of those who are sexually immoral, that is, those involved in pornography, adultery, and fornication, then this ‘bride’ doesn’t have spots or wrinkles on her garments, she is completely unclothed. She has assimilated herself totally into the world; just like the Jews before they were exiled to Babylon.

Here is an excerpt from Religious Tolerance.Org:

During the 20th century prior to 1990, the popularity of Christianity had been stable in the U.S. About 87% of adults identified themselves as Christians. The country then experienced a major change. Significant numbers of American adults began to disaffiliate themselves from Christianity and from other organized religions. By 2008, the percentage of Christians had reached 76% and is believed to be continuing its decline.

The former-Christians do not seem to have joined new religious movements (NRMs) or other world religions; they mostly left organized religion entirely and became secularists. Since World War II, this same process had been observed in other countries, like the U.K., other European countries, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand.

Judaism makes up a very small percentage of the world’s religions, (2%) and now Christianity is on the decline. Why? It’s because G-d never sent Yeshua to start a new religion. Christianity is a man-made religion that G-d has chosen to tolerate, just waiting for his real Bride to manifest herself. The Bride, I believe, will have many aspects of Judaism, but very little, if anything, from Christianity. The Jesus of Christianity is not an accurate depiction of who our Savior is, because the true Messiah is Jewish. Many people forget that the Savior is a Jew, and that He said salvation is from the Jews. The name Yeshua is a Hebrew word, (name) which in English means Salvation. He did not advocate the changing of the Sabbath to Sunday observance, the abolishment of the kosher dietary laws, or the removal of G-d’s Holy Days. See Leviticus Chapter 23.

If Yeshua is a Jew, and is embraced by the Church, why were the Jews who came across the Atlantic Ocean during the war on the cruise ship MS St Louis treated so poorly? They came to Cuba in 1939, seeking refuge, and were turned away, they came to the United States, and they were turned away, (They were actually fired at by the Americans.) they came to Canada and were turned away. There were 930 Jewish people on the ship including children, most of them were accepted into France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, 227 to 254 of them perished. *(2)

These three countries turned their backs on the Jews. Were not our nations much more Christian than they are today. Why didn’t the Church intervene on behalf of these people? The reason is because there are Church people, and leaders, who unfortunately, are anti-Semitic. They do not acknowledge the Jewishness of Yeshua. They read anti-Semitic bibles that promote anti-Semitic teachings, more precisely, the change of the seventh day Sabbath to Sunday, the dietary laws abolished, and the discontinuation of the observance of G-d’s Holy days. Where did this division begin? Let’s look at the Roman Emperor Constantine who claimed to have converted to Christianity. Let’s look in depth at some of the facts about the Council of Nicea which he called to order:

By the time Constantine called the first general Church council together at Nicea in 325 CE, anti-Semitism was already endemic in what had become apostate Christianity. The Council of Nicea was attended by 318 bishops, none of whom were of Jewish extraction. In fact, no Jewish believers were even invited, even though Messianic Judaism continued to persist among many Jewish believers, as well as Gentile God-fearers.

The first edict in favour of the “Venerable Day of the Sun” (Sunday) was made at this Council. Although some Christians had begun observing Sun Day before Nicea, most Christians generally observed the seventh day Sabbath according to the Biblical commandment before Nicea.

It was also at the Council of Nicea that the standard creed for the Trinity was formulated, consisting of belief in a Three-Person Godhead, co-equal, co-eternal, and co-substantial (of the same substance). Belief in the Trinity became mandatory, and those who did not hold to the belief in Trinity as constituted by Nicea were subject to tremendous persecution. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, were murdered by the “Church” after Nicea for not holding to this doctrine. In large part, Nicea was the genuine “birthplace” of the Catholic Church, the direct result of the marriage of Church and State.

Nicea, with its theological anti-Judaism, laid the foundation for the anti-Semitic legislation and judgements of later church councils. The Council of Antioch (341 CE) prohibited Christians from celebrating Passover with the Jews. The Council of Laodicea in the same century forbade Christians from observing the Jewish (and biblical) Sabbath. (Prior to this time, Christianity was somewhat divided, with some Christians observing the Sabbath, some observing Sunday, and some observing both!) *(3)

If the claims in this article are true, and I believe they are, then why does the Church still observe the doctrines of the Council of Nicea? It was the birthplace of the Roman Catholic Church and where Christianity was solemnized. The article goes on to say that every decision made by the Council of Nicea was backed up by military power. It was through death, domination, and manipulation that the Church had her start. The Church has completely removed her Jewish Roots. The Sabbath, the Kosher, dietary laws, and the Holy days that G-d appointed were all removed. There came a strict observance of man-made holidays like Christmas and Easter.

So why don’t Pastors, and other Christian leaders acknowledge their sin in teaching others that the Sabbath was moved to Sunday, that it’s OK to eat pork and shellfish, to observe Christmas and Easter, and forsake G-d’s Holy days? There is no mention of Christmas, or Easter in the bible.

Let’s look at some scriptures in the bible in the Apostolic Writings (New Testament):

17″Don’t think that I have come to abolish the Torah or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete.18Yes indeed! I tell you that until heaven and earth pass away, not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah — not until everything that must happen has happened. (Complete Jewish Bible) {Most other translations like the King James are very anti-Semitic.}

This is Yeshua speaking. He’s saying that the Law, or better translated ‘instructions’, hence the Hebrew term Torah, is still in effect. He did NOT nail it to the cross. It’s the only thing on earth that can show us our sin, and where we go wrong. Yeshua did not abolish Torah, he explained it in greater detail. For example, the parable of the good Samaritan complements where the Torah says to love your neighbor as yourself. (And who is my neighbour?) Leviticus 19:18, Luke 10:29.

If we think we have arrived in our spiritual walk with the Lord and are not observing the commandments G-d gave us then we are walking in error, and the truth does not abide in us.

Let God be true and every man a liar. Romans 3:4; look at what 1Timothy 1:9-10 has to say:

9We are aware that Torah is not for a person who is righteous, but for those who are heedless of Torah and rebellious, ungodly and sinful, wicked and worldly, for people who kill their fathers and mothers, for murderers,10 the sexually immoral – both heterosexual and homosexual – slave dealers, liars, perjurers, and anyone who acts contrary to the sound teaching.

Torah is sound teaching. Yeshua taught the people from the Torah. He didn’t have a pocket new testament under his belt when he went into the synagogues. It wasn’t written in his time. When he said to “Obey my Commandments” he was talking about the Commandments of Torah. Let’s look at another scripture out of Matthew, again it is Yeshua speaking in Chapter 7:21-23:

21″Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, only those who do what my Father in heaven wants.22On that Day, many will say to me, `Lord, Lord! Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we expel demons in your name? Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’23Then I will tell them to their faces, `I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness!’

Workers of lawlessness can be translated ‘working without Torah.’ It’s clear to see that G-d wants us to obey his laws. How can one commandment out of the Ten Commandments be nullified? When did G-d change his mind? Are there two types of law?

There is the Law which is known more precisely as Torah, or the Book of Instructions, and then there is the law of sin and death. (Torah with a small ‘t’) This is the law that Yeshua did away with for those who believe in him. His death, burial, and resurrection completely did away with the law of sin and death. He bore our sins, and died in our place on the cross. If there was any ‘law’ that was nailed to the cross it was the torah of sin and death.

55″Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting?” 1 Corinthians 1:55

Clearly, Yeshua was dealing with our sin on the cross. If he was the only one to follow Torah completely, why would he abolish it after his resurrection? That doesn’t make sense. If he didn’t need to follow Torah after his death why should he have followed it before? He would never abolish Torah as Yeshua himself is the Torah in the flesh.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with G-d, and the Word was G-d. John 1:1

The Word became a human being and lived with us, and we saw his Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth. John 1:14

We see here in these two scriptures that Yeshua is the word. Now was he the Word of the New Testament, or was it the Torah? The answer to the question is both. The New and Old testaments are both the Torah of G-d. The first Torah set down by Yeshua, the Word, gave the rules for proper living, then Yeshua, the Word, also qualified the Torah. He explained it in greater detail.

“…not so much as a yud or a stroke will pass from the Torah – not until everything that must happen has happened.” Matthew 5:18

Has everything happened? Are we at home with the L-rd? Isn’t there a tribulation to go through? Isn’t there going to be a millennial reign? Not everything has happened yet, that means Torah is still in full force right up until today and into the future. If the Church teaches Sunday observance, no dietary laws and the abolishment of God’s Holy Days, and proselytizes others to do the same; is that true evangelism?

Truly we are in the last days, and the adversary is fighting tooth and nail to keep G-d’s people in bondage to sin in the form of sexual immorality. The body of Messiah is in a very unhealthy state. Let’s look at what I call the Akhan (English: Achan) principle. Akhan took some of the spoils of Jericho, and hid it under his tent. This was in a direct violation of G-d’s command, see Joshua 7:1.

One man committed the sin of coveting, and he stymied the whole nation. It only took one person to stop the whole nation of Israel in their tracks. If that is so, then what is the damage to the body of Christ by having over fifty percent of the men who claim to be Christians, involved in sexual immorality? According to statistics twenty percent of Christian Women are also involved in pornography:*(4)

I heard a pastor say to me that the church is the only thing afloat today and it stinks. I have yet to inform him that the church sank in 325 CE. It is only a shell of what true faith in G-d really is.  Christianity is failing because it doesn’t have the strength of G-d’s Torah backing it up. People need to be shown their sin and repent of it. Until the study of Torah is every believers passion there will be very few people going to heaven. Following Torah cannot get us into heaven, but Torah will show, and convict us of our sin. Immorality is rampant in the Church, and it’s time to get back to the basics. Don’t be fooled any longer, observe Sabbath, observe the dietary laws, and G-d’s Holy Days. If we do this we will find a zeal growing in us like never before, for G-d and his Torah. G-d Bless you.

*(1) http://www.safefamilies.org Under the heading Christians, Pastors, and Church pornography statistics

*(2) From the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_St._Louis

*(3) http://www.petahtikvah.com Anti-Judaism and the Council of Nicea.

*(4) http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?83620-Press-Claims-20-of-Christian-Women-are-Porn-Addicts