You will do well if you can find one in 10,000 who knows the fundamental biblical teaching on the afterlife, and even fewer who conform to its requisites.
In sampling common beliefs, I selected a few responses to an online blog asking the question of why humans exist. Why on earth am I here?
• “Ah, yes, the most mysterious question that everyone ponders. When this happens in your life, then you begin your journey to know your truth. Everything in your life is placed there to awaken you to your truth and nobody else’s. The truth reveals itself through many and not just one. It’s a puzzle just like we are many but from the one. All I can give you is to stay grounded in love and gratitude.”
• “Isn’t it to be remembered long after you are gone? There had been billions and billions of lives that have been completed before us but almost all of them are forgotten except a few whose names we still remember…That’s the worst fear I have…the fear that the world will forget that I even existed.”
• “I feel life is a test and we don’t know anything because that’s part of the test.”
• “If you don’t want a purpose that’s up to you. Having no purpose is the same as being dead. Life is too short to make just one decision, music is too large for just one station, love is too big for just one, and G-d is too big for just one religion.”
The answer that came closest to the truth was the following (except for the zinger at the end): “The purpose is to know your creator. Then connect to your creator and follow his commands. everything created on this earth had a purpose so how about us? who created us? He is Allah – Almighty the most gracious the most merciful.”
Of the many comments surveyed, not one gave a Bible-based response.
Your Kingdom Potential
Biblical ignorance has serious consequences. Nowhere is that more so than living without knowing why. Yahweh says, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you, that thou shall be no priest to me…” Hosea 4:6.
The Bible gives us the clear answer to the purpose for life as Yahshua taught it. He said the goal in this life is to prepare to be a kingdom of priests in the coming rulership of Yahshua. Revelation 5:10 explains, “And hast made us unto our Elohim kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”
Because they ignore and miss this simple truth, we see countless questions and uncertainties that have troubled the masses for millennia. Beyond this very plain teaching of Yahshua lie all the misconceptions, false notions, bogus doctrines, man-made creeds and traditional fallacies about what life is about and what follows it.
As a youngster in Sunday school class I once read to the class Revelation 2:26, “And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.” The teacher just smiled, nodded to me, and continued his lesson praising the Emperor Constantine and his “conversion” to Christianity.
It is this goal of the believer as taught by Yahshua that is hidden in plain sight. It is this teaching that defines our life’s purpose and why we must strive to obey the Truth taught by Yahshua.
Today thousands of ministries spend billions of dollars – and most all of them totally miss the mark when it comes to understanding the destiny of the chosen and what is acceptable in worship and what is not.
The Greatest Story Never Told
What does it mean to become a priestly Kingdom, Revelation 5:10, and how do we fit into that divine plan of salvation now? Do we need to change from a life of sin or come “just as I am” without a plea?
The Apostles and disciples were in training to take on leadership roles in Yahshua’s Work and ultimately to help govern the earth in the Kingdom. The called-out are in the same training now.
How could many overlook Yahweh’s overarching plan of expanding His family on earth? The same way they cannot see the clear Sabbath command, the numerous directives to keep His Feasts, His Name, and many other plain biblical teachings. Most are willingly ignorant.
A columnist in a commercial newspaper explained why so many firmly embrace false beliefs. Two reasons were given:
• Beliefs that are passed down by parents are tightly held to, whether they have a basis in truth or not.
• A person will hold firmly to beliefs that are internalized to become part of a person’s very identity.
Many respond viscerally if someone differs with their beliefs. Disagreements are often seen as a personal attack.
Yahweh has grand plans. The human family is a mere reflection of a far greater one to come. Paul wrote in 1Corinthians 2:9: “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which Elohim hath prepared for them that love him.”
Half of Yahshua’s ministry was about His Kingdom coming to rule the earth. The other half was how to be included in that Kingdom. It’s today’s major truth never taught, even though it is clear as crystal in Scripture and openly seen throughout the New Testament.
Even Yahshua brings it out in His popular model prayer: “Thy Kingdom COME, thy will be DONE, on EARTH as it is in heaven.” His Kingdom is coming to earth and His plan will culminate on earth at that time!
Sweet Nothings Order of the Day
Useless tradition is what drives worship today, while the focus of billions is living to please number one. Lives are spent without direction or promise because of a refusal to obey Yahweh, disrespecting the only one who grants everlasting life.
Suppose you just started a new job. How long would it last if you told the boss that you would come to work whenever you pleased? What if you told your employer that you would decide yourself the tasks you would do? What if you told your boss that you didn’t need to do what he expects you to do? But you still expected a paycheck regardless?
Crazy? Sure. Unheard of? Absolutely. The subordinate doesn’t call the shots. But apparently millions of professing Bible believers think they do. They themselves determine how and when they will worship their Heavenly Father. They defer to fossilized traditions rather than to Yahweh’s Word. Many have the impudence to tell the Supreme Ruler of the universe what name they will call Him – or no name at all.
Biblical worship is never about pleasing the worshiper. It’s always about pleasing the One worshiped. Worship with a future promise of Kingdom rule means learning about and then doing Yahweh’s will.
Billions have no clue about the covenant Yahweh gave to His people. Billions never will until after the thousand years of millennial rule are finished and they are brought up in the Second Resurrection.
The True Believer must never be discouraged when criticized for following the faith. Just remember, a day of reckoning is coming. Today it is the believer who is up for judgment.
It was no accident that Yahweh called you to obedience. Answer the call as did Peter, James, and John at Galilee, who without hesitation or excuse dropped everything to answer Yahshua’s summons.
That means we must keep the same laws Yahshua did, including the Sabbath and Feasts.
The Evil One is well aware that Yahweh Himself wants you at His Feasts. Satan would not try so hard to make it challenging if these were just man-made celebrations like Xmas or the Fourth of July. Yahweh’s Feasts are holy times to Him and are called “His.”
Disobedience Is Sin
We sin when we know Yahweh’s days are obligatory but refuse to observe them anyway. James wrote in 4:17, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
At its core sin stems from ignorance of Yahweh. If man could see Yahweh in all His magnificence, in all His unfathomable power, all His glory, man would be as dumb as rocks not to humble himself instantly and obey without question.
Children who obey their parents have a healthy respect for their parents and know the consequences of rebellion. But those who ignorantly break Yahweh’s laws don’t know Yahweh and have no fear of the consequences.
Anyone who has ever held a job is familiar with one of the oldest excuses for not attempting something different: “But that’s the way we’ve always done it.” How does that make it right or better? For thousands of years people bowed to non-existent, pagan deities. Does that mean we should continue that pointless worship?
Proverbs 16:25 tells us: “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
All that matters is what Yahweh dictates. Period. He makes the final ruling.
Where in the 66 books of the Bible does righteousness come by anything other than what the Bible says it does? Where does it say that righteousness comes by doing what we ourselves decide is best?
The very definition of righteousness means doing what is right. Yahweh sets the standard for what is “right.” How can we be righteous with Yahweh if we don’t measure up to His standard? Including the days He commands us to observe?
That is why from the very start in the very first Commandment He lays down an imperative. He says I am Yahweh and you must worship none else. Everything about proper worship emanates from that first commandment. There is no other way. Many still believe otherwise.
This is illustrated in a book on textual interpretation. The author was discussing a controversial verse with a fellow. The author realized the man misinterpreted the text because of the archaic English of the KJV and also because the verse misrepresented the Greek text. So the author gently suggested that the fellow was in error. The fellow’s response was that the Holy Spirit doesn’t lie and so his own interpretation had to be right, citing 1Corinthians 2:10-15, that spiritual things must be spiritually discerned, which left little doubt as to the status of the author. The author then asked, but what if Yahweh had given ME the proper interpretation? After a pause the fellow said, “I guess that would mean the Spirit says the Bible means different things to different people.”
Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:5 that there is “one Master, one faith, one baptism.” There is only one right interpretation.
Romans 6:16: “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Sin is doing what the Word prohibits.
Please Yahweh and Be Blessed
Nothing is more fundamental than honoring the one we worship in all things. It means following what Yahweh expects and not what we desire and decide. Biblical worship has a promise, a future, and His blessing.
This was no mystery to the pagans, who sought to please their deity in ways they believed were acceptable. Whether that meant sacrificing children to Molech, burning fires to the sun divinity Mithra, or coloring eggs in honor of the goddess Astarte – each was done specifically for their mighty one.
No doubt they learned the concept of worship itself from how Yahweh instructed man to worship Him soon after creation (Gen. 4:4-5).
The difference is that pagans are generally more dedicated in their false worship.
Paul asks in Romans 9:21, “Has not the potter power over the clay…?” Who put the clay in charge?
All of this is to say that a correct understanding of the Bible necessitates that we know its author. We cannot worship in truth unless we know the One we worship and what He expects. The more we know who Yahweh is, the more our worship will honor Him.
The less we know about Him, the more likely we will be living and worshiping in ways He does not accept. And that has been a problem through the millennia.
He says, “Because you have rejected knowledge, I will reject you, that you shall be no priest to me.” Do you want to be a priest in the Kingdom? If so get educated. Learn about Him. Why? Because in rejecting knowledge, you also reject knowing Yahweh, which is a basic expectation of His.
Once we humble ourselves before Yahweh the errors of our past worship end. Now we do it His way, all the way, and in no other way, or else have no part in the Kingdom reward.
If we are not pleasing Him by our conduct and worship, we are wasting our time. Our very blueprint for worship, Yahshua the Son, said He came to do His Father’s will, John 4:34. That’s also what we must do.
Peter wrote in 1Peter 2:21, “For even here unto were ye called: because Messiah also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps.”
To be free from your past life of sin takes action. Just praying the sinner’s prayer won’t cut it. Just saying I’m sorry is not enough without a permanent change.
Even though He lived a life without sin, Yahshua took on our sins. Our transgressions, which were placed upon Him, had to be dealt with. By His death and resurrection He showed that those sins were remitted permanently.
Yahweh is not taken seriously when we are not serious about our own destiny. Israel didn’t take Him seriously most of the time, either.
The prophet Jeremiah wrote in 5:2-4 (although this is a prophecy, it has had a prior fulfillment in the rebellion of Judah): “And though they say, Yahweh liveth; surely they swear falsely. O Yahweh, are not thine eyes upon the truth? thou hast stricken them, but they have not grieved; thou hast consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction: they have made their faces harder than a rock; they have refused to return. Therefore I said, Surely these are poor; they are foolish: for they know not the way of Yahweh, nor the judgment of their Elohim.”
Our desire is to present to the world the real Father in heaven. We do this by revealing what He expects of His people. He has a Name, He has a family, and He has a plan to expand His family to the far reaches of the very universe itself – starting with us, here on planet earth.
We find in the prayer of Hannah, in the writings of the prophet Samuel, “Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let [not] arrogancy come out of your mouth: for Yahweh is an Elohim of Knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” (1Sam. 2:3)
All Our Actions Reveal Us
Why is He weighing actions? Because it takes more than faith alone. Two facts are key to our relationship with our Heavenly Father: He is: “An Elohim of knowledge” and “By Him actions are weighed…” Whose actions? OURS! Here the prophet applies Yahweh’s wisdom, His understanding, His knowledge to OUR actions.
To find out whether we are pleasing Him by our lives, we need to know how He looks at our behavior, what His desires are for His creation and what we can expect from our actions. We must know His standard of measurement and judgment. A reverential respect of Yahweh will lead us to greater knowledge still. He promises it.
“The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom” the Psalmist wrote, “a good understanding have all they that do his commandments” (Ps. 111:10). This being the case, the reverse is true as well. A person who will not obey and do His commandments will lack understanding.
The next time you are tempted to listen to someone claiming to be a minister of the Word, ask, does the man pattern His own life by Yahweh’s Word? Does he call on Yahweh’s Name (2nd-3rd Commandments)? Does he remember the Sabbath and Feast days to keep them holy? Does he live by the statutes of Scripture? Is his life moral and an example for others to follow?
We are in training to be a kingdom of priests, according to Revelation 1:6. A biblical priest is very well educated in the office he holds.
So, ask yourself again “Why on earth am I here?”
This life is a training ground. Doing Yahweh’s will is central to a future in His Kingdom soon coming to earth.
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