“Making the word of God of no effect through your tradition....” Mark 7:13 *
Mt Sinai is silent. The Age of its visitation from God has also passed, yet the majority of Christians stand on Mt Sinai rather than Mt Zion, even though their verbal allegiance is to Jesus. Judeo-Christianity is the name ascribed to the belief system of Christian fellowships, and it is proudly and smugly proclaimed to be our “heritage”. But trying to stand on both mountains is not only impossible, it is illegal, for this is NOT a marriage made in heaven--God’s heaven. Who or what we have to thank for this polluted status will be forthcoming in this article, and I don’t believe we can break free of the stigma without totally divorcing all associations with the Christian RELIGION. Sound like heresy? Heresy is just about having an opposing view of the established doctrine of a particular religious affiliation, so, yes, I am speaking heresy! And I see no light emerging without it, for we cannot incorporate God’s visitation on Mt. Sinai into the sending of His Son---unless the former is swallowed up into the latter!
The expression of God (Elohim) at Mt Sinai was one side of a multi-faceted Creator. It was an elementary stage of revealing Himself to a chosen group of mankind, and was a segment of an all-conclusive plan that would be progressively unfolded. Removing those chosen Hebrew slaves from bondage was a first step. He was going to introduce them to things they had not known about THEMSELVES. This journey into the wilderness and to Sinai would establish outward laws not dictated by men, and these outward laws were a type and shadow of inward laws that would be burned into the soul of all mankind after the slaying of a Lamb without spot or blemish. But first the rudiments, to be established outwardly to a beaten down and needy population.
These people were intentionally chosen in a low place of despair, and not in a high place as the Egyptians were in. God didn’t want victors, but a moldable, defeated mind set, with great need for a leader. The Hebrew people only knew of oppression from slavery, and when God pulled them out into the desert, it was the beginning stage of bringing order into the chaos that reigned outwardly (because of the chaos that ruled inwardly). They would learn of the potential for evil inside of every person, a “sin consciousness”, and this was something that hadn’t been spoken of before. But shining light on the dark and beastly potential of the human nature and establishing an offering system to satisfy the need for bloodshed was God’s way of providing a format of control. Human sacrifices were already happening. Human nature requires someone to “pay”, so God substituted animals, even though He found no pleasure in such things. (Isa 1:11)
Thus the Mosaic order, which is now history and officially the “old” covenant. But it served its very important purpose for its time. As I stated above, the outward laws given to Moses were to establish order for a people who had never experienced freedom before, and was the temporary structure until the Lamb of God--carrying the sins of the world--was slain. But the condemnation of the Christian religion speaks loudly of the old covenant, and not of the New. Need I say what the differences are?
While the old covenant spoke of outward laws and sacrifices for sins, the new was a renovation: it was the old updated. The outward and physical became the inward and spiritual. Now, through Christ Jesus, the laws are written ON our hearts, and not in tables of stone. The law is now the spirit of life that the Holy Spirit emanates and quickens within us.
“For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit to death: But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead by which we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.” Romans 7:5-6
Serving under the law is serving in the flesh! The letter is “oldness”, the spirit is “newness”. No 10 commandments anymore. No laws of Moses. Jesus gave His two commandments (Mark 12:30-31) and they concerned love. Every tenor of the law that Moses was given (Ex 34:27) is covered by the new commandments of Jesus, for Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Pet 4:8).
When the Lamb of God was nailed to the cross, all was swallowed up and fulfilled with love and forgiveness. The old covenant and ways of Moses died on the cross, for they were for the soulish, religious man (the 1st Adam), and not for the spiritual man (the 2nd Adam). (1 Cor 15:45-47) We were set free of the old!
“For the law of the Spirit of life, in Christ Jesus, hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” Romans 8:2
This scripture expresses the tremendous redemption we received from God in the giving of his Son. This was His plan, and to turn away from it and go backward (back to prison) would be illegal. The Judge set us free, because He was done with the old. But Judeo-Christianity hasn’t believed that God was done with the old, for it expresses the old ways mixed with the new, making the word of God of no effect, as my opening text states. This mixture is Babylon. Babylon was expressed in the order of Jesus’ day, and it is expressed in Christianity today.
Babylon, or Babel; Hebrew balal: mixture, mingle, confuse, confound (Strong’s). Mixing or mingling the old with the new brings confusion. In the days when the Jewish people were in Babylonian captivity (600 BC), they became sharecroppers and didn’t have an unpleasant life. They became “one” with the heathen ways of their captors, and adopted ideas and symbols they had become comfortable with in captivity. Indeed, when they were released and sent back home, so went some of the pagan ways (the synagogue, the star of David) to be mixed in with the worship style of their heritage. They left Babylon, but Babylon hadn’t left them.
Likewise, when the Mosaic order ended, the Jewish Christians couldn’t shake off the old ways, and kept one foot in each camp. That problem was the purpose for the writing of the book of Hebrews. They continued to offer temple sacrifices (legalism) while also joining in fellowship with followers of Jesus. The Hebrew Christians acknowledged Christ as Savior, but couldn't deny the demands of the Mosaic form of worship! Sounds ridiculous, but it is also conceivable. The old ways--the traditions--were embedded in their soul, and they felt more comfortable hanging on to them while embracing the new. Oh, they had true conversion to Jesus, but their minds could not be loyal to him. And the carnal mind is the enemy of God. (Romans 8:7)
But we have a merciful God, and He gave them about 40 years after the crucifixion to adapt, which--in my book--is a long time. Still, the drastic destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. came, taking down every stone of the Jewish temple and forever ending the old order of animal sacrifice and outward worship of any kind in form. That included the old priesthood, for Jesus is now our only priest. He is also the only mediator between God and ourselves, so a human middle-man is no longer needed. (Heb 4:14, 10:21, 12:24; 1 Ti 2:5) No more outward of anything, and direct access to our heavenly Father.
For Israel in that day, it truly was the end of the world--their world order, just as Jesus had prophesied in Matthew 24. The Greek states “world” as ainos, or age. It was the end of an Age. God ended it. But seeing the old functioning anyway was confusing. Many were confused because the old order (even though dead and Godless) existed along side of the new. In the New order, there were no sacrifices and no outward demands. Confused followers tried to be unified with both, and Babylon was the result. And it happens all the time. A pure Word comes forth and the religious nature of men cannot handle the change and/or freedom without some kind of "doing" or offering something to prove worthiness or display loyalty (like church attendance). But when Jerusalem was destroyed, God was pulling the plug on that old power source, for the death of his Son ended the need for religion. Period.
And today we have the same kind of mixture and confusion. Where did the Judeo-Christian mentality come from? Religious minds are always wanting to legislate the move of God and keep control of it, and we can tell by the epistles that battles were going on in the 1st century between those led by the Holy Spirit and those wanting to establish their own kingdoms (for God). But the big campaign came from Constantine in about the 3rd century A.D. The emperor was overtaken by the power of true conversions to Jesus Christ, even though he didn’t understand them. HE had not been converted, but he respected what he was seeing. He wanted to “knight” it (in my thinking) by making it the state religion; thus: “Christianity”. The “ity” announces a dead order: religion.
Religion is a group of concepts that a group of people agree to in their attempt to approach and appease God. Religion is not God, but becomes an idol (replacing Him), for honor is given to the establishment. Religion does not express love, but condemnation (the old letter-of-the-law way). Religion brings static performance, and doesn’t allow spontaneity. Religion mesmerizes, hypnotizes and brainwashes, keeping all followers boxed in and stagnant to their own thinking processes. But God is not confined to boxes and does His moving in the soul of mankind anyway, in secret, for God doesn’t speak through religion anymore.
What Constantine started became Roman Catholicism with its own established form and order. Though the hand of God had ripped the temple veil when Jesus was crucified, the Christian religion put it back up and put a paid priesthood at the helm. By the time the King James Bible was being put together (1611), there was enough governmental influence over the translators that there would be nothing allowed that would contradict any doctrines of the “mother” church. Hard to believe that so many people observe with awe all of the pomp and circumstance associated with Catholicism, while my view sees a procession of zombies who don’t know that they can have a relationship with God for free and they need do nothing to earn it! Jesus is the Savior of all, and all are covered in their time. (1Ti 4:10, 1Cor 15:23)
Yet all Christian denominations express form with dead agendas--regardless of how flamboyant their clergy may or may not dress. But to all of them: There is nothing new under the sun, and all such approaches to God are a re-run of a dead program that God killed. God doesn’t speak on the OCC (old covenant channel) anymore. The expressions of Sinai and the dead letter of the law have been swallowed up and fulfilled in a better way. In a higher way. Thank God! Trying to incorporate the Mosaic order with the Body of Christ brings confusion. This mixture contradicts itself. How can Christians offer honor to the 10 commandments when they spoke of another age?! We need not worry if no public displays are allowed of those commandments, for Moses is not our Savior! We have secret, powerful laws of the Spirit burning inside of us that will motivate us in all ways to please God. The outward could never change us anyway, but they did a good job of pointing fingers to keep us condemned. Under the old covenant, we would then have to go to the temple and offer a sacrifice. And this is the mind set of the Christian church because the old ways are dictating death. Life-after-death concepts present a god who will not forgive us if we don’t live a perfect life (whatever that is). This is condemnation, pure and simple, and Jesus did not come to condemn. (Luke 6:37, John 8:11, John 12:47)
The unforgiving god of the Christian religion is the product of the letter of the law. That god has conditional love and is NOT the Father of Jesus Christ. That hateful god spoken of so much by Christians is a mutated, corrupted version of the expression of God on Mt. Sinai. That expression was uniquely for the Hebrew people in their first visitation. They needed to see that visual display (even though it frightened them) so they would know there was a great power--a real God, the only God--who was caring for them, and that they need not fear man any longer. And it is interesting to note that Moses wasn’t afraid of God, although he was respectful and in awe. This is the difference between following a god from a distance who we have not had personal communication with, and having one-on-one fellowship with the Living God. Religion will keep us controlled and anxious (and fearful), but the real God will give us peace, mercy, and Love. This has been my true experience, and it is so much better than the old false concepts of God. Jesus is wonderful!!
Mt Sinai’s God retired from public speaking when he turned it over to Moses. Then Moses was silenced when the Son of God died, nailing all of the old to the cross. At Pentecost, Jesus gave Himself back to us as the Holy Spirit, and we need no sacrifices or outward laws anymore, for the 10 commandments were swallowed up into the heart of the Savior. Abiding with us, He speaks to us individually as He interfaces with our soul, and He is able to spark the flames of conviction in anything needing such. He corrects what is wrong (judges) in us, applying His righteousness (fairness and equity), and causes us to change our minds (repent) when needed. He is our teacher and leader, and will lead us into truth. (John, 14-16) Plus, He will never leave us or forsake us. (Matt 28:20,Heb 13:5) And the source of all of this is in the invisible--inside of us, in our soul and spirit make-up. Thankfully, all remembrances of Moses are phantoms of a time past. Let’s be rid of them and walk in this new age as the Church of Jesus Christ, unveiled and free--for all the world to see!
* all scriptures: Webster’s Bible Translation
