Please explain your understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in an extension of Yahweh’s power and not the third person of triune majesty. It should be noted that the Holy Spirit is never directly prayed to or addressed. Instead, Yahweh uses His Spirit to guide His people into His truth. Note the definition of the word ruach (Heb. for “spirit”): “The basic meaning of ruach is both ‘wind’ or ‘breath,’ but neither is understood as essence; rather it is the power encountered in the breath and the wind, whose whence and whither remains mysterious…2. ruach as a designation for the wind is necessarily something found in motion with the power to set other things in motion…The divine designation also apparently has an intensifying function in a few passages: ruach elohim (Gen 1:2) and ruach yhwh (Isa 59:19)” (Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, “Ruach”). This lexicon also states that ruach implies a power that is within the breath and wind, which is connected to the Name YHWH or Yahweh.
The Holy Spirit is the power emanating from Yahweh, the Heavenly Father. It can be further demonstrated through Scriptures that the Holy Spirit is not a separate being, but an inanimate power that proceeds from the Father. In Isaiah 32:15, 44:3, and Acts 2:17 the Holy Spirit is described as being poured. How can a being be “poured” into another? Titus 3:5-6 and Acts 2:33 testify that the spirit is shed. How can a being “shed” itself onto another? The Spirit is also described as something that can be stirred up, 2Tim. 1:6; quenched, 1Thes. 5:19, and renewed, 2Cor. 4:16. These attributes are far more fitting for a power than a person.
In your statement of beliefs, you describe the Holy Spirit as a force…can you be more specific?
Based on Scripture the Holy Spirit is the force or power of Almighty Yahweh that guides and directs His people. In Scripture the Holy Spirit is used an extension of Yahweh Himself (e.g. Luke 11:13, Eph. 4:30, 1Thess. 4:8).
The word “Spirit” is derived from the Hebrew ruach and the Greek word pneuma.
“Ruwach (roo’-akh); from OT: 7306; wind; by resemblance breath…” (Strong’s Concordance). “Pneuma (pnyoo’-mah); from NT:4154; a current of air, i.e. breath (blast) or a breeze; by analogy or figuratively, a spirit…” (Strong’s Concordance).
Notice that for both words the first definition conveys the idea of wind or a current of air, neither of which are living beings, but a force or power. In the same way the Holy Spirit is the force or power of our Father in heaven. We never see anyone communicating or praying directly to the Spirit. In addition, in the opening salutations of the various New Testament books we often find the writer addressing the Father and Son, but never the Holy Spirit.
The Scriptures are clear that the Father and Son are not equal. We find multiple statements that the Father is greater than the Son in both knowledge and authority:
• ”But of that day and that hour knows no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father” (Mark 13:32, KJV).
• ”Yahshua said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father” (Matt. 20:23, NIV).
• ”You have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If you loved me, you would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I” (John 14:28, KJV).
• ”But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Messiah; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Messiah is Yahweh” (1Cor. 11:3, KJV).
• ”One Elohim and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:6, KJV).
• “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:29, KJV).
Do you teach the concept of the trinity or do you believe in the Unity? Why? Proof, please.
We teach that Yahweh the Father is supreme. Yahweh’s Spokesman was and is Yahshua, who is called the Word in John 1. The Holy Spirit is the essence of Yahweh’s power and strength which accomplishes His will. This is evident in the Hebrew designation of the Spirit: Ruach HaKodesh, meaning the holy power (Acts 1:8, Luke 24:49).
Some have alleged that we teach a “duality” or a “twin”ity. Yahshua was clear that He is lesser than the Father. In John 14:28Yahshua said, “My Father is greater than I.” In John 10:29, Yahshua said His Father “is greater than all.” John 5:30 is clear that Yahshua can do nothing if it isn’t in the Father’s will.
Q. Is the Messiah Yahshua a lesser being or is he Yahweh (Oneness)?
A. What does the Bible say about Oneness? The Son was created by the Father, which is why He is known as the Son, Revelation 3:14, John 5:26. He is never called a colleague, associate, or co-regent. Paul said the Father is head of the Son, as all fathers are, 1Corinthians 11:3. Ephesians 4:6 says the Father is above all. Several passages either tell us directly or demonstrate to us that the Father is greater than the Son:John 8:42, 13:16, 14:28, 1Corinthians 15:28, and Philippians 2:9.
Yahshua said he could do nothing of Himself but only what the Father does, John 5:19. The Father shows His supremacy by being the only one with immortality, 1Timothy 6:15, which He gives to His Son, John 5:26, 10:28.
Yahshua told a woman as well as others that they would worship the Father. The only change would be in location: “Yahshua saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father,”John 4:21. Two verses later He said, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him,” John 4:23. In His model prayer of John 17 He tells us to pray to the Father. He never mentions the Son.
The Messiah was never really worshiped in Scripture, only given profound honor, if you follow the meaning of the Greek. While on earth He was human. Note that he made a distinction between what He was in heaven and then on earth. John 17:5 says, “And now, O Father, honor me with thine own self with the majesty which I had with you before the world was.” Philippians 2:6-8 reads, “Who, being in the form of Yahweh, thought it not robbery to be equal [Gr. 2470 isos = agree together] with Yahweh: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form [Gr. 3444 morphe= nature, essence] of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the [torture] stake.”
Yahshua was divested of His former Yahweh-like glory and He became physical man here on earth so that we would have a perfect example to follow in all our own trials and temptations.
For more information, watch Pastor Folliard’s message exposing Modalism (Oneness):
Isn’t Jerusalem the only proper place to keep the Biblical Feast days?
Some think that worship is sanctioned and properly kept only at Jerusalem. Yahweh commanded in Deuteronomy 12:5 to worship where He places His Name. Yahweh didn’t place His name just in Jerusalem. Granted, when the kingdom comes to earth Jerusalem will be the capital of the earth and also the focal point of worship and the Feasts, 2Kings 21:7. Until then, as Yahshua said to the woman at Jacob’s well, “Believe me, the hour cometh, when you shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father,” John 4:21. The following are several times when the Feasts were kept away from Jerusalem:
Exodus 12 – Israel kept the Passover in Goshen, and Unleavened Bread on the way to the Promised Land.
Numbers 9:5 – Israel kept Passover and Unleavened Bread in the Sinai wilderness
Joshua 5:10 – Israel kept Passover on the plains of Jericho
Acts 20:6 – Paul kept Unleavened Bread in Philippi
1Cor. 5:8 – The Corinthians kept Unleavened Bread in Corinth. Paul in his missionary journeys kept the Feasts wherever he was, and at times was more than a thousand miles from Jerusalem.
Concerning the calendar and holy days, weren’t these days instituted by Yahweh to remind Israel of what He had done for them and how He wanted Israel to live? What do these days have to do with us in the 21st century?
Paul said what happened to Israel is a lesson for us, 1Corinthians 10. There are not two (or more) ways to salvation.There is only one basic plan for all who would take hold of the promise. That plan centers on obedience. What Yahweh wanted Israel to do He wants us to do, too—meaning to obey Him. It’s that simple
Remember that the Messiah and His disciples all kept the Biblical holy days and their lives are examples for us. He didn’t give us a different set of instructions from what He Himself followed. If these annual days were only reminders for Israel, why did Yahshua Himself keep them religiously and teach His disciples to do so as well? Paul instructs us in Philippians 2:5, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Yahshua the Messiah.” In John 10:4 we learn that He is the Shepherd that guides His sheep: “And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.” We as His sheep follow the Shepherd. Therefore, when He kept Passover, so do we. When He kept Pentecost and Tabernacles, we do as well.
Please explain why you observe Old Testament days of worship? Paul seems to say that these days are no longer important, like Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16.
Our Savior an d every Apostle and disciple in the New Testament kept the Feast days commanded by Yahweh for His people Israel. Yahshua kept the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread with His disciples before He died, Matthew 26:17. He became the Passover Lamb sacrificed for the sins of the world. He kept the other Feasts like Tabernacles as well, Luke 2:42. Surprising to some, the champion of Christians, the Apostle Paul, kept these Feast days as well, as is clear from many passages in the New Testament. In Acts 18:21 he was resolute: “I must by all means keep this feast that comes to Jerusalem.”
All the big events in Scripture occurred or will occur at a Feast times. At Passover was the release of Israel and our Savior’s atoning death; His resurrection occurred during the Feast of Unleavened Bread. On Pentecost both the law and Holy Spirit were given. Yahshua will likely return at Trumpets. Tabernacles and Last Great Day represent the establishing of the Kingdom.
Galatians 4:10 speaks of pagan observances, not Yahweh’s appointed times. Colossians 2:16 is an admonishment not to let outsiders judge the believer when it comes to Yahweh’s special days.
An exchange with a Catholic friend and myself about the actual Passover meal got me stu mped. They believe they are literally eating the Messiah’s body and blood. He used the example of the actual meal where after the Passover lamb was killed they all ate it literally afterward. This, he says, shows Christians are to eat literally Messiah. While I strongly disagree, I am trying to find a response to address his example. What verses show the comparison NOT valid.
In the year 1215 Pope Innocent III decreed the doctrine of transubstantiation, meaning that once an ordained priest blesses the bread of the L-rd’s Supper, it is transformed into the actual flesh of Messiah and when he blesses the wine, it is transformed into the actual blood of Messiah (though both retain the properties of bread and wine and are never changed to actual flesh and blood). The support passage cited most frequently is John 6:32-58 and especially verses 53-57, “Yahshua said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life … For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him … so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.’” Yahshua used physical concepts of eating and drinking to teach spiritual lessons. He said in John 6:63, “The words that I speak unto you, [they] are spirit, and [they] are life.” Eating His flesh and drinking His blood are symbolic of fully and completely receiving Him in our lives.
The Passover is a memorial, a “remembrance” pointing to the body and blood of Yahshua (Luke 22:19; 1Corinthians 11:24-25), not the actual consumption of His physical body and blood. In contrast, transubstantiation is viewed by the Roman Church as a “re-sacrifice” of Yahshua for our sins or as a “re-offering and re-presentation” of His sacrifice. This directly violates Scripture, which says that Yahshua died “once for all” and He does not need to be sacrificed again (Hebrews 10:10; 1Peter 3:18). Hebrews 7:27 declares of Him, “Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people’s: for this he did once, when he offered up himself. ” Further, the law strictly forbids drinking blood. “Whatsoever soul [it be] that eateth ANY MANNER of blood, even that soul shall be cut off from his people,” Leviticus 7:27. The clean food laws of Leviticus 11 andDeuteronomy 14 don’t list humans. Being sinless, Yahshua would not violate these ordinances in His teachings. And He never gave the Catholics or any other church the authority to transform his flesh and blood, real or imagined.
If Passover is not a high day, why then does Exodus 34:25 refer to the Passover as a “feast”?
“Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the feast of the Passover be left unto the morning” (Exodus 34:25).
The word “feast” mentioned in Exodus 34:25 should in fact be rendered victim. By the insertion of the word victim the undeniable meaning of this passage will become explicit. The word “feast” in Exodus 34 is from the Hebrew word, No. 2282, chag. The Strong’s Exhaustive Concordancedefines chag as: “from 2287, a festival, or a victim therefor:–(solemn). Feast (day), sacrifice, solemnity.”
The Strong’s only offers a general definition so it becomes a necessity to look at the over all evidence of the Passover and what was commanded not to left until the morning. Chag only offers two possibilities. One possibility being a feast day, and the other possibility being a type of sacrifice or victim.
If we would leave the word “feast” in Exodus 34:25 we would have to conclude that we are not to leave the feast until the morning; however, if the word” “victim” was to be inserted this passage would become unmistakably clear.
By inserting victim this passage would read as follows: “Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leaven; neither shall the sacrifice of the [victim] of the Passover be left unto the morning.” What was the victim of the Passover? The Passover victim was that yearling lamb or goat, which was selecting from the herd of the 10th day of Abib (the first Hebrew month), and then slaughtered for the Passover sacrifice.
Exodus 12:10 reveals that the Passover lamb or goat was not to be left until the morning and if it was it was to be burnt with fire. “And you shall let nothing of it (i.e. the Passover victim) remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.”
Exodus 12 shows plainly that the Passover victim was not to be left until the morning. The word “feast” in Exodus 34 is a poor translation. This translation does not agree with the other passages that concern the Passover, yet through the Strong’s and by example through Exodus 12:10 we would have to resolve that Exodus 34 is speaking of the Passover sacrifice, not a high feast day.
I have heard some say that the “sop” that Yahshua used in the New Testament Passover service was leavened bread. Can that be true?
It is true only if Yahshua were a lawbreaker. The law says that nothing leavened is to be eaten with the Passover, Exodus 12:8;23:18; 34:25; Deuteronomy 16:2-3. To say that leavened bread is acceptable for the Passover memorial emblem is tantamount to blasphemy because leavening in relation to the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread represents several kinds of corruption that lead to sin. (Matt. 16:12; Luke 12:1; 1Cor. 5:8). If Yahshua’s body is represented by leavening then His perfect and sinless life is corrupted.
Some look at the word “sop” in the New Testament and think of a soft, leavened slice of bread. “Sop” derives from the Greek psomion, and means “a morsel,” “a bit,” “a fragment.” Thus, it signifies a piece of food. At the “last supper” the text says the sop was dipped, which does not necessarily suggest that the sop was used for soaking up liquid. It could also be used like a potato chip or tortilla chip for dipping in a sauce or for scooping up another food.
Now let’s examine another word. The Greek artos is used in the New Testament for the bread eaten during the last supper. The New Testament Greek Lexicon defines artos as “food composed of flour mixed with water and baked.” It goes on to say, “The Israelites made it in the form of an oblong or round cake, as thick as one’s thumb, and as large as a plate or platter, hence it was not to be cut but broken.” Obviously, this is a hard, unleavened bread.
The Greek also has a word for “unleavened,” azumos, which means literally “without yeast.” Some have assumed that because azumos does not appear in the Evangel accounts of the last supper that the Passover bread was leavened.
This assumption is invalidated by Kittle’s Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, which says about azumos: “P. Fiebig [a Greek-language scholar] . . . shows that the term artos does not exclude azumos, but that in certain circumstances, e.g., in description of the Passover, it may mean this. Hence the occurrence of artos at the Last Supper is no proof that this was not really the Passover.”
In addition, both early Jewish writers Josephus and Philo use artos in their description of the matzo of the Passover meal. Further, the showbread in the Tabernacle and Temple is called artos in Hebrews 9:2. This is key because the showbread was unleavened. The showbread is mentioned in Exodus 29:2, 23 and is expressed by challah, which is Hebrew meaning “unleavened.” These were unleavened loaves that are also referred to by the Greek artos in the New Testament.
Manna is also rendered by artos, “bread” (John 6:31). In Exodus 16:31 manna is described as a wafer, which is the Hebrew tsappiychith, a “flat cake.” A wafer is not leavened.
Not only is artos used for bread, but it is also employed metaphorically for food in general. For example, when Yahshua prayed to give us our daily bread or artos (Matthew 6:11), He was referring to food in general, not to raised loaves.
Although azumos means “without leaven,” it is not used to describe bread – it is used for the name of the festival itself. What we call the Feast of Unleavened Bread was originally simply called “the Feast of Unleavened.” The term “bread” was added later in English-language Bibles (e.g. Matthew 26:17).
Only once is the word azumos used to describe the spiritual state of being unleavened (1 Cor. 5:7), and even in that case it is not related to bread but to our spiritual state. In the next verse we are told to celebrate the feast with the azumos of sincerity and truth.
Contending that use of the word artos for the Passover bread means that leavened bread was used assumes more than the word signifies. And as we have shown, parallel references in the Hebrew reveal that artos refers to unleavened bread. Even more significantly, use of leavened bread in the Passover is a violation of Torah law.
Issues commonly brought up about the calendar and Passover can almost always be answered if we go back to the law, to the first time the command or instructions were given. If any such teaching pulled from the New Testament does not harmonize with the law then that teaching is bogus.
Please explain your understanding of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit in an extension of Yahweh’s power and not the third person of triune majesty. It should be noted that the Holy Spirit is never directly prayed to or addressed. Instead, Yahweh uses His Spirit to guide His people into His truth. Note the definition of the word ruach (Heb. for “spirit”): “The basic meaning of ruach is both ‘wind’ or ‘breath,’ but neither is understood as essence; rather it is the power encountered in the breath and the wind, whose whence and whither remains mysterious…2. ruach as a designation for the wind is necessarily something found in motion with the power to set other things in motion…The divine designation also apparently has an intensifying function in a few passages: ruach elohim (Gen 1:2) and ruach yhwh (Isa 59:19)” (Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament, “Ruach”). This lexicon also states that ruach implies a power that is within the breath and wind, which is connected to the Name YHWH or Yahweh.
We teach that Yahweh the Father is supreme. Yahweh’s Spokesman was and is Yahshua, who is called the Word in 