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If You Were a Faithful Jew 2,000 Years Ago

If You Were a Faithful Jew 2,000 Years Ago

If you were a faithful Jew in AD 27, what would you have believed? Who would you have trusted? Where would you have placed your loyalty?

Your entire life, you would have been taught by your parents, teachers, and priests that you were a member of God’s specially chosen people, a people who had the inspired writings of the prophets and who were waiting for the coming of the Messiah.

Your entire life, you would have been taught that all the other religions of the world are false.

Your entire life, you would have participated in weekly Sabbath observance, regular sacrifice at the temple, and annual feasts, such as Passover and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

Your entire life, you would have trusted the religious leaders—the priests, the Sanhedrin—to interpret the sacred writings, to tell you of your duty to God, to define religious rights and wrongs, and to identify heresy and blasphemy.

And your entire life would have been a burden—a life lived under the fear of sin, the weight of legal religious duties, the fear of failure, the unremitting doubt, the sense of inadequacy, the constant worry that perhaps despite all your tithe paying, all the animal sacrifices, all the hard work of trying to conform to the rules, that you were still not accepted by God.

If you were that Jew, what would you do? Was there another organized religious institution through whom God was working other than Israel? Was there a better Bible (scriptures) with more accurate revelations from God than the Torah?

Would that mean the leadership of the Jewish organization was teaching the truth?

If you were a Jew 2,000 years ago, would it have been wise to trust the priests, Levites, and Sanhedrin to determine what is true? What is God’s will? What is sin? How is one saved from sin?

What did the Jewish religious leaders have wrong? They couched their interpretations of Scripture in the wrong understanding of law. They viewed God’s law as functioning like human law—imposed rules that require imposed punishments. Thus, they misconstrued the ceremonies and symbols to be literal requirements for salvation, rather than theater, metaphor, object lessons to teach reality.

And then Jesus came and taught with authority (see our blog Authority And Satan’s End-Time Deception) the authority of how reality works. All of His parables taught God’s laws as design laws—how things actually function. Jesus broke manmade religious rules to advance the kingdom of heaven. Jesus healed on the Sabbath and socialized with prostitutes, tax collectors, and Samaritans. Why? Because Jesus deals with reality—and the reality is that God created one human species in Eden. Adam infected himself with sin and, therefore, every single human being is born with that terminal sin condition (Psalm 51:5); every human being needs the exact same solution, treatment, remedy to that sin condition; and Jesus came to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29) in order to provide the remedy to our sin condition, saving and healing all who partake of what He has provided (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4). Sin cannot be resolved by rules and rule-keeping—only by recreation, healing, cleansing of hearts and minds by the recreative power of God!

Jesus said,

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16,17 NIV84).

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30 NIV84).

And the religious leaders, the leaders of God’s chosen people, when they saw Jesus healing, blessing, and forgiving, said of Him,

“Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?” (John 8:48 NIV84).

If you were a faithful Jew 2,000 years ago working for the “church,” how would you have responded if confronted by your leadership as these faithful followers were:

Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”

“No one ever spoke the way this man does,” the guards declared.

“You mean he has deceived you also?” the Pharisees retorted. “Has any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him? No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them” (John 7:45–49 NIV84)?

So, if you were a faithful Jew 2,000 years ago, would you continue to be faithful by being loyal to your denomination, the orthodoxy as taught by the teachers, priests, Levites, and Sanhedrin? Or, if you followed those leaders of God’s chosen and blessed system, would you have moved from faithfulness to rebelliousness and joined them in crucifying Jesus?

What about today?

If you are a faithful Christian, belonging to a denomination that is called by God to take the gospel of Jesus to the world and advance “right” doctrines, will you be able to stay faithful if you surrender your thinking to your pastors, priests, theology professors, and church officers—or must you think for yourself and know the truth for yourself?

As Paul advised in Romans 14:5, shouldn’t you be fully persuaded in your own mind of what is true? Might it be that in order to stay faithful to Jesus, you will need to be like Peter, Paul, and the other apostles and reject the teachings of your church leadership?

This is not hypothetical; it is historical—a fact of history that has recurred and will recur again. As one of the founders of the Adventist Church notes in her commentary on the life of Christ, The Desire of Ages,

The Sanhedrin had rejected Christ’s message and was bent upon His death; therefore Jesus departed from Jerusalem, from the priests, the temple, the religious leaders, the people who had been instructed in the law, and turned to another class to proclaim His message, and to gather out those who should carry the gospel to all nations.

As the light and life of men was rejected by the ecclesiastical authorities in the days of Christ, so it has been rejected in every succeeding generation. Again and again the history of Christ’s withdrawal from Judea has been repeated. When the Reformers preached the word of God, they had no thought of separating themselves from the established church; but the religious leaders would not tolerate the light, and those that bore it were forced to seek another class, who were longing for the truth. In our day few of the professed followers of the Reformers are actuated by their spirit. Few are listening for the voice of God, and ready to accept truth in whatever guise it may be presented. Often those who follow in the steps of the Reformers are forced to turn away from the churches they love, in order to declare the plain teaching of the word of God. And many times those who are seeking for light are by the same teaching obliged to leave the church of their fathers, that they may render obedience (The Desire of Ages, pg 232, emphasis mine).

I challenge you: Don’t fall into the trap of surrendering your mind to others, but always think for yourself and stay loyal to Jesus above all others!

 

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Testimony 13

I borrowed “Healing The Mind” DVDs from a friend and showed them at my home for a small gathering of women friends. Neither of my friends are Adventist, but they both enjoyed and embraced the messages you taught. In fact, one of the ladies prayed out loud in our group and that was the first time she had ever had public prayer.

J.B. ,Dalles, OR, USA

 

Testimony 70

I have been watching you for many years and have learned to love God with all my heart. I was raised by a loving Christian mother that had been lied to about who God really was, so our religious upbringing was hell fire and damnation. As soon as I was old enough and moved out, I not only left the church, I ran as fast as I could to get away from it. Sad to say, it wasn’t until the past couple of years that I learned and understand who my Father really is and how much He loves me. I understand God’s Design Laws (which make sense) and when I’m teaching my church Bible study class, I’m able to really put to use the things I’ve been learning and Holy Spirit is leading. Thank you for introducing me to my Father of true, pure love. Everyday with Him is new and exciting. One thing that breaks my heart is that I didn’t know Him sooner. God Bless you and your ministry!

Judy Phelps, Reno, NV, USA

Testimony 27

Your teachings about our heavenly Father have changed my life. Thank you sooooooo very very much! I know He’s doing some serious healing in my heart and life and I look forward to each new day to learn something new about Him and to just hear you speak about Him. Thank you, forever.

Nancy S.

 

Testimony 48

I just want to tell you how blessed I have been reading “The Remedy!” It has become a daily part of my devotional relationship with God. In it I have found a God of love and a God that loves me! The bible has come alive for me! It is the first time that I can say that I have felt hope fill my heart as I have read God’s word. This is good news I can share! Thank you, Dr Jennings! Thank you for your heart for others. I can’t put into words how this has set me free! It has strengthened my trust and love for God.

Jason H.

 

Testimony 67

I was introduced to Come And Reason by a friend of my mother-in-law, who gave me several CD’s of Dr. Jennings. The clarity of the message and recognition that God’s is a God of love was so clear, advancing beyond Dr. Maxwell’s message. However, grappled with Maxwell saying God used emergency measures for the fallen world. Now after several years of being a regular listener of the Come And Reasoning bible study class and attending Jennings’ meetings in Dallas/Fort Worth, TX, things are becoming clearer for me. Design law versus imposed law has added so much to my personal understanding of theology. This message has really impacted my work in counseling so many people miserable because they are searching for and trusting human governments to create order and peace or believing in a God who says love Me or I will kill you. I am grateful that I have an alternative view to offer my clients that makes sense. I teach a bible study class on a semi-regular basis and I value the materials that Come And Reason so freely offers to aid me in presenting this vital message. Thank you for continuing to provide advancement in our very limited understanding of a Infinite God that is rational and believable.

Dr. Roger D, Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 47

I can’t even begin to thank you and your ministry enough for introducing me to the Truth about a loving and merciful God! I have my daughter and her in-laws to thank for sharing with me “The God-Shaped Brain” as well as your website. I listen to the Bible study class lessons on my daily walk. May God continue to bless your thirst-quenching ministry!

Liz H., Port Angeles, WA, USA

 

 

Testimony 43

Two years ago I stumbled upon your book, “Could It Be This Simple,” and then found “The God-Shaped Brain” videos on YouTube, your bible study class, and the ‘Come And Reason’ mobile app. I shared your book with a friend and after nine months of showing love, patience, and kindness this person has been changed by the love of God, too. The same love that healed me, I now express to other women in tangible ways, such as to a Baptist woman with high anxiety and childhood trauma. She was extremely happy and relieved when I shared about the so-called “judgment of God” and burning in hell. She had no desire to serve a God that was so harsh. I have repeated the phrase dozens of times to her. “What we believe has power over us, but we have power over what we believe…”

This message that you are sharing has changed my life. I will continue to serve other women and bring this message of God’s healing love to their lives by sharing your books, YouTube videos, and The Remedy Bible app. Keep up the good work. Don’t be discouraged. God is doing a mighty work in and through this ministry!

Jill L., Midwest, USA

 

Testimony 17

The blessings of clarity and understanding you and your class inspire me to take from the word of God have impressed upon me so greatly the true, loving character of our Creator. I have found amazing freedom and joy through building a stronger, more intentional relationship with Him. What is new is that this is now a relationship built on love, reverence and respect rather than fear and obligation, and as such my eyes have been slammed OPEN as I am continually impressed by the manifestations of God’s true character in His provisions for fallen man.

T.E.H., Salt Lake City, UT, USA

 

Testimony 55

I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

Dean P., Arlington, TX, USA

 

Testimony 41

I have been blessed by your ministry. I have experienced personally, and deeply resonate with, the God of love and the beautiful picture of God’s character that you present. I have seen your seminar series on YouTube, read ‘The Journal of the Watcher’ book, used your mobile app, and also listen/study the bible study lesson with you each week. I concur with many of the thoughts and perspectives that you share. I understand your conclusions on natural laws vs imposed law and the legal/penal substitution (incorrect diagnosis). This makes perfect sense to me.

Bless you for all you do.

Melissa L.

 

Testimony 11

I would love to have a copy of “Healing the Mind” DVDs to have in my therapy office. I enjoy having clients check out materials to enhance their therapy experience. I have sat under Dr. Jennings’ teaching at an American Association of Christian Counselors convention and respect his work greatly.

K.B., LA, USA

 

Testimony 19

I truly believe that to know who God really is the first step to understand ourselves in a balanced and kind way, so the healing can take place. Your approach really makes sense – Thank you for your ministry!

A.M., Pittsburg, PA, USA

Testimony 64

I’ve been reading the bible and walking with Jesus since I was around 16. I’m 42 now. I’ve mostly been alone in my walk although I went to several churches in different denominations. For the past 3 years God has been showing me His character of agape. It’s been a blessing and changed how I view God and my walk with Jesus. About a year ago I came across the power of love and the principles of design law. These teachings changed how I read scripture and have been such a beautiful blessing. I’m very excited and grateful for these truths. We share these truths of agape, design law and the reality of the principles of the two trees in the garden of Eden with people on Facebook and YouTube. People all over are learning to trust God and His agape design law which makes life possible. Thank you for everything you shared with me. May God continue to bless your ministry and lives.

Bradley M., Hinsdale, NY, USA

 

Testimony 63

I’ve been very blessed by “The God Shaped Brain” and this ministry, through video and podcast, over the last few years. It’s truly opened up my eyes more to the truth about God and the importance of that truth in the present world. The message is so inviting, freeing and enlightening and MORE people need to know about it. I believe it is the last message that can truly, not only prepare a people for salvation and translation, but vindicate the character of God.

Michael V., Yonkers, NY, USA

 

Testimony 52

Your unique way in spreading the truth is what we all need today. Most of us don’t recognize the contamination coming from all the lies and selfishness in the world. Because of our fear of death, we forgot how to live. Lies left and right. I was losing hope and faith, because of so many ideas that are always contradicting each other – so many questions answered by other, more complicated, questions – until I found your channel on YouTube.

You did not just give me answers, you also taught me how to answer new questions that arise in my mind. Now I see things differently. I see God’s mercy, grace, and Love everywhere, in spite of all the chaos that we all have done as humans. I don’t fear death anymore. Accepting the Truth and Love about God is truly a genuine Freedom from all the confusions, sufferings, selfishness, pain, and death.

I just wanted to say, thank you, sooooo much for revealing the real Remedy for our infected life. I have a new hope and now see the world in a different perspective!

Wheinny P., University Place, WA, USA