The Hypocrisy of Man-made Religions
By
Gary Primo
Nov. 25, 2017
From my perch, there seems to be a general awakening of in MSM churches to the fact that their churches do not follow the clear teachings of the Scriptures. I was pretty much forced into such churches when I was young, but as I grew older and began studying the Scriptures in advance of my confirmation, I noticed a number of discrepancies between the two. When I inquired about these discrepancies, the priest would give me no clear answer and only told me to read the Scriptures and find the answer myself. At the time I did not appreciate his answer too much, got disenchanted with the church and religion altogether and turned towards atheism. When that left me high and dry, I finally took up the challenge that priest made me. At approximately the age of 30, I set about to read the Scriptures for myself, from cover to cover. I took me over a year, but when completed, my main question was, “What happened to the early church I had just read about?” That was the beginning of an incredible journey of truth seeking that I have continued to maintain up to this very day. Part of this journey was the realization that all mainstream churches were nothing but man-made garbage; and that, if I wanted to learn all truth, the onus was on me to search and prove all things myself – whether they be true or false.
Anyone who has read my e-book, “The Christian Counterfeit; Constantine’s One World Religion” know that I see mainstream Christianity as merely Constantine’s version of a one world religion, that incorporated all the pagan religions within his empire into one state-sponsored religion. And, that Constantine established himself as the “god” that its followers worshipped, with his 324bc declaration that “No Roman citizen was to follow the customs and traditions of the Jews (i.e. the Laws of Yahuwah). And later, followed that declaration with another, “No Roman citizen was to keep the Jewish Sabbath or holy days”. At the root of these declarations were the non-believing Jews.
The worldly religions are and always were more political in nature than spiritual. The political forces saw religion as a way to gain absolute control over their subjects. There was no such thing as religious freedom. One either worshipped as the Emperor worshipped or faced torture and death.
One of the roles of HaMashiyack, Yahushua, was to call His faithful out of the worldly religious systems. His Apostles that followed after Yahushua, also continuously called out the hypocrisy of the mainstream religions – especially the Jewish religion. By their day, the Jewish religion no longer identified with the original Hebrew faith, but had taken on a life of its own – which their rabbis and other religious leaders created. Therefore, one can rightly call the present-day Jewish religion man-made, even though it originally came from Yahuwah. Perhaps, instead of “man-made” we can more rightly call it “man altered”. It is an undeniable fact that the Jews honour their own Talmud more than the Torah.
Yahushua minced no words in condemning their hypocrisy.
Matt. 15:1 - Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Yahushua from Jerusalem and asked,
2 - “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don’t wash their hands before they eat!”
3 - Yahushua replied, “And why do you break the command of Elohim for the sake of your tradition?
4 - For Elohim said, ‘Honor your father and mother and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
5 - But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is ‘devoted to Elohim,’
6 - They are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of Elohim for the sake of your tradition.
Talmud
[tahl-moo d, -muh d, tal-]
Spell Syllables
· Word Origin
noun
1.
the collection of Jewish law and tradition consisting of the Mishnahand the Gemara and being either the edition produced in Palestinea.d. c400 or the larger, more important one produced in Babyloniaa.d. c500.
2.
the Gemara.
Just as the Jews nullified the Torah teachings by their Talmud, so did mainstream Christianity nullify the commandments of Elohim via the New Testament. By translation and substitution, they altered the writings of the Apostles to correspond with all their previously held traditions. In the above verses, the Jews were condemning Yahushua of violating their traditions, and not necessarily the Law, as recorded in the Torah. Yahushua points out their hypocrisy to them. Traditions thus become the main failing of all the worldly religions, as they value their traditions above the word of Elohim.
Matt. 15:7 - You hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 - This people draws near unto me with their mouth, and honours me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 - But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Where the Jews drew on the Talmud to condemn the words and actions of Yahushua, Yahushua drew on the Torah to return their condemnation back onto them. Naturally, the New Testament assembly could not place such man-made traditions before the word of Elohim; and thus, they were also condemned by the non-believing Jews. It was precisely because of this that believing Jews were driven out of the synagogues and persecuted by the Jews. And afterwards, the Jews petitioned Roman Emperor to declare that the Messianic followers were of a faith separate from the Hebrew faith. In reality, it was the Messianic followers who faithfully followed the Torah, rather than the non-believing Jews, who valued their Talmud above the Law of Elohim.
However, it was no long before certain member within the new found faith, began emulating the Jews in conforming to their hypocrisy. The Apostle, Shaul, was moved to confront them of their hypocrisy.
Gal. 1: 6 - I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of HaMashiyack unto another gospel:
7 - Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of HaMashiyack.
8 - But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 - As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 - For do I now persuade men, or Elohim? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of HaMashiyack.
It is the mainstream Christian religion that Shaul is calling out here. This is the religion that Emperor Constantine created for his empire – a unification of all the varied religions within his empire – e.g. one world religion. And the Roman Catholic Religion has been pushing this theme ever since.
We, who have been called out of this world for special service unto Yahuwah, are not to be man-pleasers. We are to please only Yahuwah. Yet, it is not so in any of the mainstream churches. We have a new, Eternal High Priest whose position cannot be terminated by death. We have no need of a man, or any religion, to dictate to us what we are to believe and what not to believe. We are not to be like the ancient Israelites who demanded of Moses to have a man stand between them and Yahuwah, when each and every one of us already have direct access to the Father through His High Priest, Yahushua. What need do we have for a man, when we have an Elohim who is eternally present to guide us into all truth?
In another e-book I have written, soon to be released, “Who is/was the Messiah?”, I draw the conclusion that Yahushua was/is the Elohim of the Old Testament, in that it was He who literally created the universe and always interacted with mankind since his creation. Therefore, since He came in the name of Yahuwah, that was the name He was known by since ancient times. When He was manifested in the flesh, His name was changed to Yahushua, and that name He glorified when He conquered death. When He returns, we are to know him by a new name, which no one yet knows. The altering of an individual’s name, in Old Testament times, seemed to be commonplace. Such a change usually occurred when a decision was made by that person to dedicate himself fully to the service of Yahuwah.
Even in this, mainstream Christianity has failed its followers. HaMashiyack’s name was never “Iesous” or “Jesus”. Iesous is a name that honours their former god, “Zeus”, to whom, through their traditions, they continue to honour. The name Jesus, is only 600 years old, and was not found in any translation of the Scriptures until approximately 400 years ago. Since it came from the name “Iesous”, it also honours Zeus. Most mainstream Christians whom I have mentioned this to have shrugged it off without a care because they value their traditions over the truth of Elohim.
The gospel that they follow is the gospel of men, not of Elohim. In this, both mainstream Christianity and Judaism are condemned and accursed. Let us not allow ourselves to fall into this trap and fall under the category of “man-pleasers” rather than striving to please Yahuwah.
Galatians 4:7 - Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of Elohim through HaMashiyack..
8 - Howbeit then, when you knew not Elohim, you did service unto them which by nature are no elohim.
9 - But now, after that you have known Elohim, or rather are known of Elohim, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage?
10 – You observe days, and months, and times, and years.
11 - I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
When we are first called and baptized, Yahuwah expects us to demonstrate our appreciation for the great calling He has elevated us to. We can no longer negate His word by our traditions. Shaul was appalled when He witnessed this apostasy occurring right before his eyes.
This time of year is certainly a challenge for most of us, who still have friends and loved ones who cannot see through the grand deception they are living in. Some whom I met in my former church (The Worldwide Church of God), have done exactly as those in Shaul’s time. Shaul’s feelings were the same as Yahuwah’s on the subject; he felt like all the energy he expended to convince them of the truth was in vain and a total waste of his time. We do not want Yahuwah to feel this way about us.
Some from my former church have also gone back to full Judaism, even denying HaMashiyack. Such are especially accursed.
2 Tim. 2:15 - Study to show thyself approved unto Elohim, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
16 - But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more unrighteousness.
How do we show ourselves approved to Yahuwah? By STUDYING (and PROVING) all things pertaining to Yahuwah as per his Word; and by NOT believing any man! My goal is NOT to draw any following unto myself, but to encourage all not to believe me, but to do your own studies (to show yourself approved unto Elohim). This is the ONLY way approved of by Yahuwah. When we do, Yahuwah honours our efforts by helping us see through all the hypocrisy, and to recognize the truth.
profane
[pruh-feyn, proh-]
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· Synonyms
· Examples
· Word Origin
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective
1.
characterized by irreverence or contempt for God or sacred principlesor things; irreligious.
2.
not devoted to holy or religious purposes; unconsecrated; secular(opposed to sacred ).
3.
unholy; heathen; pagan:
profane rites.
4.
not initiated into religious rites or mysteries, as persons.
5.
common or vulgar.
verb (used with object), profaned, profaning.
6.
to misuse (anything that should be held in reverence or respect);defile; debase; employ basely or unworthily.
7.
to treat (anything sacred) with irreverence or contempt; violate thesanctity of:
to profane a shrine.
A good example of profane are the various TV evangelists. They preach in a gorgeous auditorium or church, before a huge audience and fill their listeners’ heads with total garbage. And, the people eat it up like popcorn. What is it that draws such a crowd. Is it all the pomp and pageantry? Is it the charisma of the speaker? Is it that they are preaching what they want to hear – that they are true to the traditions of their fathers? Actually it is a combination of all of the above.
vain
[veyn]
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· Synonyms
· Examples
· Word Origin
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
adjective, vainer, vainest.
1.
excessively proud of or concerned about one's own appearance,qualities, achievements, etc.; conceited:
a vain dandy.
2.
proceeding from or showing pride in or concern about one'sappearance, qualities, etc.;
resulting from or displaying vanity :
He made some vain remarks about his accomplishments.
3.
ineffectual or unsuccessful; futile:
vain hopes; a vain effort; a vain war.
4.
without real significance, value, or importance; baseless or worthless:
vain pageantry; vain display.
5.
Archaic. senseless or foolish.
Idioms
6.
in vain,
a. without effect or avail; to no purpose:
lives lost in vain; to apologize in vain.
b. in an improper or irreverent manner:
to take God's name in vain.
Many, if not most people, are impressed by outward appearances. These TV evangelists put on a grand show and look very impressive in their $4,000 suits. Instead of trying to emulate Yahushua, their followers try to emulate the preacher. These people often attach false adoration towards the money these preachers hold, as if it were a blessing from Yahuwah. Which of the Apostles ever acted in this manner, or taught such a thing? They were told to take nothing with them; and that Yahuwah would provide them all that they needed to sustain them.
Have any of these television evangelists ever been whipped and beaten and thrown into prison for the preaching of the Word? No, only for sexually abusing parishioners and fraud! They are merely mimicking the same worldly religious concepts that people have been following since the days of Mystery Babylon. People basically do not want to bother to change; thus the lying preachers tell them that they are ok just as they are. They justify the lie by the decree made by the Council of Jerusalem that new converts need only to follow four rules (Laws).
Acts 15:19 - Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to Elohim:
20 - But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
The conflict here came over Shaul teaching that Gentiles need not be circumcised to enter into the faith. On this, all the Counsel came into full agreement. Why? Because it was circumcision of the heart that physical circumcision pictured! And, since it was Yahushua who circumcised our hearts on account of our faith, there was no further need to physically circumcise them. The things mentioned that they were to abstain from, were only meant for when they first entered the faith. What about the rest of the Law?
Acts 15: 21 - For Moses of old time has in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day.
Well, the Law of the Sabbath certainly seems to have been in effect at that time – even for the Gentiles. What about the rest of the Law? They would learn all those Laws in the synagogue every Sabbath. One could not rightly expect them to learn everything overnight.
And what do they lying preachers tell us – that the Law is done away?
Conclusion
Yahuwah is calling us all out of this worldly system of man-made religions, unto the only true faith in Yahushua HaMashiyack. The Way of Yahuwah is simple and easy for those who do not care what the world thinks of them. One needs only to sacrifice their time to diligently study the Word on their own and Yahuwah will show His approval by opening their eyes, mind and heart to all truth.
Scripture does indeed interpret scripture. Here a little, there a little. All truth does not necessarily come to us all at once; but slowly, over time. We were all spiritually blind in the beginning.
We do not need some fancy building or auditorium to worship in, as the whole world is Yahuwah’s temple. We do not need any man to dictate to us what we are to believe. We have only one Eternal High Priest and we need no man to access Him. We can freely do that on our own. We will be rewarded for our faith.
I have been at this now for approximately 37 years. Even throughout my 10 years in the WCG, I continued to study on my own, to ascertain whether what they were teaching was true or not. That was how I was able to recognize the hypocrisy of the new administration that took over that church and changed most of its teachings. They not only robbed their members financially, but spiritually as well. They may have added millions of dollars to their individual bank accounts, but they utterly destroyed that church from within, and led their followers down a false path. For this they will be forever accursed. All of mainstream Christianity falls under the same curse.
Yahuwah desired such a close personal relationship with the ancient Israelites also. However, they followed their human nature in wanting a man to stand between them and Yahuwah. Yahuwah granted them their wish; however, they even rebelled often against the man chosen to interact for them. Was that their whole purpose all along – to have someone between them and Yahuwah whom they could rebel against?
It is not supposed to be so amongst us. Does any among us still look to one man for all their teachings? Truth is to be found “here a little and there a little”. HaSatan has indeed woven an intricate web of deceit around the entire world; and breaking through it is no easy task. However, we need to be careful concerning grabbing onto one bit of truth and running with it as if that was the only thing missing. With each of my studies, I find new and exciting truths. I never tire of studying Yahuwah’s Word because of this reward. Any who diligently study the Word on their own, will also gain such a reward. This kind of reward is one that Yahuwah is eager to give to those who qualify by taking this initiative.
We have a supreme teacher before us, who lives forever, and knows the Father better than any man alive. What need do we have for a man to teach us anything. One of our prime duties before Yahuwah is to search and prove all things. In fact, He demands it of us. This should be the be all and end all of our spiritual journey. How can we rightly teach others the full truth when we do not even know it all ourselves? The best we can do is share the results of our studies and receive feedback as to whether we are on the right track or not. Do not be offend by any feedback but use it for a sounding board to test what you believe to be true.
Yahuwah loves a truth seeker. Therefore BE a truth seeker.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.