Friday April 3rd at dusk marked the anniversary of the death of Yahshua on the cross as the precious Passover Lamb of God. For three days and three nights, corresponding to the sign of Jonah, the Son of God was in the bowels of the earth. Monday morning (tomorrow) will mark the time of His resurrection. (Easter NEVER coincides with the true Passover and resurrection of the Lord. This is by edict of the Roman Catholic Church.)
On this day when most of the "Christian" world is observing Easter celebrations I have found myself quietly contemplating the suffering, death, and resurrection of the Son of God. Yahshua came to set the captives free, and on this day corresponding to the period when Christ's body lay in the tomb I have had the opportunity to write to a young man in prison who invited me to share "truth" with him. I am reminded of the words of Paul:
I Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear...
Another inmate had shared some of my writings with this young man and he began writing to me asking questions and for more material to read. He was writing back to share more with me and ask for further writings. In his letter he told me his "religion" is Black Hebrew Israelite. He asked for my thoughts on this religion and for any material I have written that might help him to understand it better. I shared with him the following.
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Demarco, I am very happy to share with you for I also very much want you to be right with Yahweh even as I want for myself to be right with Yahweh. I desire always to speak the truth in love to every man, and to especially give assistance to those who come to me asking that I might help them to learn more about the ways of God. Yahweh also desires that you might know truth. He sent forth His Son Jesus Christ/Yahshua the Messiah that all men might know truth.
Regarding the Black Hebrew Israelite religion, I must will tell you plainly and in a spirit of love that they are not proclaiming the truth. I am in the process of writing a book on the Hebrew Roots movement right now. I am going to send you what I have written so far. However, the Black Hebrew Israelites are somewhat different from the Hebrew Roots movement I have been writing about. They are at heart a racist group that is promoting the idea that the true descendants of Abraham are the black people. Their message is one of racial superiority, and this is NOT the message Christ came to proclaim. The leaders of the Black Hebrew Israelites do not know Christ and they are not leading people to the only source of truth which is the Son of God Himself. He has said, “I am the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life. No man comes to the Father, but by me.”
There are many groups today who are teaching error. There are many who make race an issue. Are you aware that before there was the Black Hebrew Israelite movement there was the British Israelite movement? The British Israelites say that the British people, the white, Anglo-Saxon people of England, are the true Israel. The British Israelites are also wrong. Their beliefs are wrong. Their actions are wrong. Their hearts are wrong. Christ did not come to make one race of people feel superior to all others. In truth there is only one RACE of natural men. It is the Adamic race. We are all the descendants of Adam. Furthermore, we are all the descendants of Noah who lived 2,000 years after Adam was created. In the flood of Noah all flesh was destroyed other than Noah’s family which was aboard the ark. Every man alive today is a descendant of one of Noah’s three sons, either Shem, Japheth, or Ham. We are all related.
When men speak of race today, they are actually speaking of ethnic groups. There is one race of men, but many different ethnic groups which have been separated on the earth according to tongue and tribe and people and nation. In the book of Revelation we read:
Revelation 5:9-10
And they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy are You to take the book, and to break its seals; for You were slain, and did purchase for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. And You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth."
Demarco, the Bible tells us that all mankind can be made ONE in Christ.
Galatians 3:27-29
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Yahshua. If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to promise.
Consider what the apostle Paul is saying here. Any person, whether they are a Jew or a non-Jew, whether they are slave or free, whether they are male or female, if they have been joined to Christ then they are one. And if we are “in Christ” then in God’s sight we are Abraham’s seed, his offspring, and heirs of the promises made to Abraham.
The question of who are the true descendants of Abraham is not a racial question. It does not matter what ethnic group you or I were born into. We become Abraham’s seed by becoming one with Christ. So the question every man should be asking is “How do I become ONE with Christ?” We can find the answer in the following verses from the New Testament.
II Corinthians 13:5
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Yahshua Christ is in you - unless indeed you fail the test?
Romans 8:9-11
However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Yahshua from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.
II Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
Galatians 6:15
For in Christ Yahshua neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation.
Let us make this very simple and plain. Paul is telling us that the test of whether we belong to Christ, the test of whether we are truly one with Christ, is to examine ourselves and see if we have Christ’s Spirit dwelling in us. If we have been born again of the Spirit of Christ and have received His life, His Spirit dwelling inside of us, then we are His. If we have not been born again of the Spirit, then we do not belong to Him.
It is not a question of race, or natural descent. It does not matter who your parents are, or who their parents were. What matters is if a man has the indwelling Spirit of Christ within them. This is the great need of every person, whether Jew or Gentile, whether male or female. They need to be born a second time; they need to experience a Spirit birth that they might have the life of God within them. If we have God’s Spirit within us, then in Yahweh’s eyes we have become the children of Abraham and heirs of the promises of God. This is what Yahshua told Nicodemus in the third chapter of John’s Gospel.
John 3:3-8
Yahshua answered him, "Most assuredly, I tell you, unless one is born again, he can't see the Kingdom of God." Nicodemus said to him, "How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born?" Yahshua answered, "Most assuredly I tell you, unless one is born of water and spirit, he can't enter into the Kingdom of God! That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Don't marvel that I said to you, 'You must be born again.' The wind blows where it wants to, and you hear its sound, but don't know where it comes from and where it is going. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit."
Demarco, when your mother gave birth to you, you were born of water. Just before a woman gives birth to a child her water breaks. The bag of waters that the baby has been suspended in inside the mother’s womb is broken and water comes out. Shortly after this the baby also comes out. This is what Yahshua referred to when He spoke of being “born of water.”
Christ said that this natural birth that all men and women experience is not enough. A man also needs to experience a spiritual birth. Even as a natural life was begun when the father’s seed was placed into the woman, so too we must receive the spiritual seed of Yahweh into our beings if we are to receive spiritual life. If you understand and believe this, then you should be asking, “How do I receive the seed of God within me?” “How can I be born of the Spirit.” The answer is very simple. We must confess to God that we recognize that we are dead spiritually. We must declare to Him that as much as we want to live righteously and desire to always do what is pleasing to Him, we realize that the ability to do so is not in us. We continue to do the wrong things even though we want to do the right things. This is what Paul confessed in the following Scripture.
Romans 7:14-25
So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate. But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can't. I want to do what is good, but I don't. I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. But if I do what I don't want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. I have discovered this principle of life - that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God's law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God's law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.
[New Living Translation]
Paul is speaking like the man he was BEFORE he was born of the Spirit. He testifies that BEFORE he was born again of the Spirit he knew what was right and wrong, but he found himself always doing the wrong thing. It was like he could not help himself. He was a slave to his evil desires. They ruled over him and he kept doing sinful things. Desperately he cries out, “Who will deliver me from this body of death? Who will free me from the bondage to sin?” He then responds, “Thank God! He has provided deliverance through His Son.”
So what has Christ done to deliver us from our slavery to sin and evil desires? First, He accepted the punishment we deserved. The Bible tells us “the wages of sin is death.” We have all sinned and we are all deserving of death. God declared that our sins could be paid in no other way than by death. In His mercy, however, He said someone else could die in our place. That person, however, could not be a sinner. They had to be holy and without any sin. Until Yahweh sent His only begotten Son to the earth there never had been a man who had not sinned. Yet of the Son of God we are told:
Hebrews 4:14-15
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Yahshua the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
The Son of God was tempted to lust, to steal, to covet, to lie, to act selfishly, and to rebel against His Father’s will, but He never gave into these temptations. He always did what was pleasing to His Father. He was therefore qualified to die in our place and accept the penalty for our sins. Yahshua went to the cross and freely laid down His life that we might be forgiven for our sins. He died in order that we might receive life.
Christ did not stop with this, however. If He had only died for our sins, we would be forgiven, but we would still be slaves to sin and continue to do evil things when we want to do things pleasing to God the Father. So Christ did something else. When He had risen from the dead He ascended to the right hand of His Father and He sent forth the Spirit of God to indwell the hearts and lives of all those who believe on Him and who accept His free gift of salvation.
Once you have accepted and confessed the gift of forgiveness that Christ has given to you, then all you need do is ask Yahweh to send forth His Spirit into your life that you might be born of the Spirit and have present within you the will and the power to overcome sin and do what is pleasing to God. Christ said:
Luke 11:9-13
“I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
Demarco, if you have not received the Spirit of Christ in your life then confess today to God that you believe His Son has died to pay for your sins. Thank Him for the precious gift of forgiveness. Then ask Him to send forth His Spirit into your heart that you might know the will of God and have the power within you to do it. Keep on praying, Keep on seeking, Keep on knocking, UNTIL you know that God has answered your prayer and sent forth His Spirit into your life.
When you have received the Spirit of Christ THEN you will truly be a son of Abraham and an heir to all of the promises of God.
John 1:12-13
As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Do you understand what these words mean? It is not being born of a certain ethnic group that makes you a child of God and descendant of Abraham. It is not those born by the will of the flesh, or of the will of man who are God’s sons. It matters not if you were born a black man, a white man, of oriental descent, or any other ethnic group. It doesn’t matter if you are a descendant of Shem, Japheth, or of Ham. All that matters is that your are born of God’s seed through His Son Who died and rose again that He might send forth the Spirit of the Father into our hearts.
There are ways that you might know that you have received His Spirit. If the Spirit of Christ dwells in you, then you will begin exhibiting the characteristics of Christ’s life. These characteristics are referred to as “the fruit of the Spirit.” The apostle Paul lists these fruit in his letter to the church in Galatia.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Yahshua said we will recognize all men by their fruit. Demarco, there are men who want to be recognized by their skin color, or by their race, or by their genealogy, as if such things make them acceptable and favored in Yahweh’s sight. This is a great error. The Bible tells us that God looks on the heart of a man. He will judge every man according to the life he lives, not by who his parents were.
If God is truly your Father and you have been born again of His seed, your life will show it. When people are hateful you will demonstrate love in return. When others are angry you will respond with gentleness and patience. When people revile and insult you, you will respond by speaking a blessing to them. When people steal your coat, you will give them your shirt as well. In all ways you will reveal that your life has been changed to become like the Son of God who was reviled, insulted, lied about, and physically abused, yet in all these things He chose to forgive those who were treating Him with evil, and He died that even His enemies might have life.
Is this the type of life you are observing in the men who call themselves Black Hebrew Israelites? Do they love all men? Do they forgive those who mistreat them? Do they speak and act with love, with gentleness, with patience, with self-control? Are they peacemakers? Are they humble? It is these traits which reveal whether a person is a true son of God and a descendant of Abraham.
May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days,
Joseph Herrin
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It is a good time to be sharing about the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord. He did not die in vain. He has purchased to Himself men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. At this time Yahshua is reconciling a firstfruits company to His Father. Some of those whom He is calling are in prison. They may be of a different ethnic heritage than our own. Yet in Christ we can all be made one. Hallelujah!
This world is fracturing into divisions by race, religion, political affiliation, even sports teams. Yet as humanity is finding ever more reason to hate one another Yahshua is knitting the hearts of a remnant together as one man.
Ephesians 2:14-19
For he is our peace, who made both one, and broke down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in the flesh the hostility, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man of the two, making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, having killed the hostility thereby. He came and preached peace to you who were far off and to those who were near. For through him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God...
The days are growing darker. The world is coming unraveled, but it is at such a time that Yahshua will raise up a holy remnant. These will be purged, purified and refined. Their love will be pure, their faith strong, their lives pleasing unto the Father. This morning a received an e-mail from a brother in Christ that he invited me to share with the readers of this blog. It testifies of the lateness of the hour and what is coming to the nations, and specifically to America. Randall Bigbie wrote:
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A most prophetic thing happened to me last month, when I attended a military funeral, for a good friend and neighbor. I
wanted to share it with you, and your audience, to show once again that
our heavenly Father is speaking to us, and giving us warning of what is
to come.
I served in the Navy 1962 Special Forces UDT-21 Navy Frogman.
It is most gratifying, and humbling to attend a funeral of a fellow Conrad. The funeral included an Honor Guard and full ceremony. It was conducted inside the
burial building. Closing the service, the final words spoken then our
Flag was to be removed from the draped casket, folded in traditional
fashion and given to the family.
I was standing up, not siting down, as most people were, about ten feet from the casket. Two Honor guards were present, one stationed at the head of the casket, the other at the foot. As they removed the flag from the casket, they preceded to fold length ways, then folding in a triangle form, from right to left.
I noticed when they started to fold the triangle configuration, what was visible was ALL stripes. There was no blue or stars to the left of the flag. The Captain was within five feet of his men and did not notice, nor was I going to walk up and say something and disrupt the service.
As
he continued to fold, and they reached each other, and face to face,
the guard motioned him to back up, unfold as he did and start over.
Never saw that before Joseph
And that's what happened. They re-folded and started over, and presented it to the family.
Just yesterday, it hit me like a ton of bricks. Duh.. The un-folding of America. It could not have been more clear. Prophetic signs of the country I love, and am heartbroken over.
My friend is in a good place with no pain. I am grateful for that. A bitter sweet ending...
Blessings friend.
Randy Bigbie North Carolina
Parables Blog: www.parablesblog.blogspot.com
Mailing Address:
Joseph Herrin
P.O. Box 804
Montezuma, GA 31063
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