Personal From... A Personal Encounter with a Socialist

by Leonard V Johnson

Greetings, Brethren, Co-Workers, and Friends around the world. Welcome, Memphis, Tennessee; Guadalupe, Mexico; and Lima Duarte, Brazil! For this ── a beautiful 30th of December ── I want to bring you another Personal From… I hope you enjoy these, as I love sending them to you.

Last weekend, I had a one-on-one conversation with a self-proclaimed Democratic Socialist from Colombia who has been in the United States for approximately twenty-four years and holds a Green Card, currently residing in San Francisco. Now, Colombia is a Participatory democracy. Its president is Gustavo Urrego, and he is as left as you can get. He is affiliated with the Historic Pact for Colombia (2011-2025), a political and electoral coalition in Colombia with political parties and social movements with ideologies ranging from the center-left to left-wing and far-left.

She reminded me that “Left-Wing” is only a political ideology, and that that is not who she is. Yet, I spoke up and said, “Your political ideologies help influence your beliefs, values, and your actions.” She has a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS)! A term that describes such negative and hateful reactions to U.S. President Donald Trump that the person becomes irrational and disconnected from Trump’s true policies and positions on any given subject. As soon as she heard that I am pro-Trump, she began to badmouth and bash him, his policies, and his positions. Of course, she brought up Epstein and his supposed Trump files. Saying how Trump had slept with many underage girls. And I just calmly and politely as possible responded with, “Where’s your proof?” At one point in the often-heated yet controlled conversation, she began to speak very highly of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and the “wonderful work that she is doing for her state of New York.” I responded with, “Yes. I’m sure that you love the whole Squad.” I asked her to name one good thing that she has done for her state, and I think she responded with ── she introduced a bill for an anti-poverty policy proposal called “A Just Society.” I’m not quite sure. I really wasn’t listening here too closely. I, however, do know just what AOC stands for and what she would love for “America” to become. And I placed America in quotes here, because that was another of her “injustices.” That the United States of America dares to call itself America, when Colombia is in America as well. “It’s in Latin America,” she said. “Yes, indeed,” I said, “South America.” I don’t know if you’ve ever paid attention, but in my writings, I usually always put the “of” in italics when I write out the United States of America ── because the United States is part of America.

At another point in the conversation, I had asked her if she knew the definition of Socialism and how socialist countries fail. Her response was not the definition, but rather, “all countries fall.” Yes, indeed. I asked her again, “What’s the definition?” I gave her the definition of Socialism ── 

“any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods.” 1 

And I didn’t give it verbatim, but she got the gist. She waved the answer off with her hand. I then asked her how and in what way Socialism is better than Democracy. She responded with ── “it makes people’s lives better by eliminating inequality and provides welfare services to all” as if she was reading it from a cue card. Well… my response was, “Taking from the wealthy and redistributing it to the poor, just a step down from Communism.” I gave the classical answer. “O’ Communism is completely different than Socialism,” she said. Yes, but not by much. As Charlie Kirk said in a debate with college students, “It’s very tempting to want to be a Socialist, getting someone else to pay for something that you might want. Yes, free sounds good, until you have to pay for it. And if you think it’s expensive now, just wait until it’s free. There is a reason ── and it’s a very tempting ideology; it sounds very good in practice. We have seen time and time again, leaders try to paint societies as utopias. That man can be “perfected,” and that government, as a central body, can then fix the ills of societies. I understand it, and I sympathize with it. What would happen if America continues to go down this dangerous ideology? Look, we will have a country completely unrecognizable, and we must fight it at every single turn.” 2 And I suppose that this was my turn. And although I am not as eloquent in speech as Charlie Kirk was, I certainly made some points. And she did as well.

“The United States is a Capitalist Juggernaut!” she blurted out, sounding as if she had just recently watched CNN. In fact, I asked her where she receives her political news. I’m not sure that I got a direct answer, but it’s possibly from Facebook or TikTok. “Well,” she said, “I imagine that you only listen to right-wing propaganda.”  “No, I watch and read several different news sources, including a few that are not mainstream,” I answered.

At one point in the conversation, she reasoned that cocaine, methamphetamine, and even fentanyl should be made legal. With my eyes wide, staring at her, I just stayed quiet.

Then ── with the help of my wife ── the subject of annexation and conquest, also known as colonization, came up. And with my wife nodding her head in agreement, my Socialist friend went on to mention how the United States has been treating her Colombia. “Yes,” my wife chimed in, “look at what America did to the native Americans.” And our friend from San Francisco, “Indeed, they stole California, Texas, and New Mexico!” I began to realize that she really didn’t have anything educational to offer here; she was just finding things to complain about. When she first mentioned the relations between Colombia and the United States, I thought she was going to talk about our past relations, which have been relatively positive. 

The relationship between Colombia and the United States has its roots in the 19th century, evolving from cordial ties to a strategic partnership in the early 2000s. Key issues that have shaped this relationship include the fight against Communism, the War on Drugs, and counter-terrorism efforts. 3 I thought she was speaking about the growing rift between the nation’s first leftist president and President Donald Trump. But apparently, she was talking about something else. 

She asked me why I do not celebrate Christmas. “Because,” I said, “God’s word doesn’t want us to.” Without going into detail. She asked me if I was speaking of the Old Testament ── “Yes, both the Old and the New.” She explained that in Colombia, Christmas is celebrated on the 24th, known as Noche Buena, where families gather for food, drinks, and dancing. It includes 9 nights of novenas. Catholicism is a central part of the country's cultural and social fabric. She asked me what I celebrated ── and I named some of them, again without going into detail. “Feast of Tabernacles, Days of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Trumpets.” She looked completely dumbfounded. “O’ well… the Bible was written by men, and then translated over and over again,” she said. As my wife sat there beaming in agreement. So, I came to understand that she knew that Christianity is incompatible with Socialism. Socialism promotes a system of economic control and redistribution that completely contradicts God’s living word.

“And about God …” she began. And that’s where I stopped her. 

Speaking of Democratic Socialism, let’s segue into the subject of idols and idolatry.  Because Socialism can certainly be an idol to many. 

WHAT is your idol? What is it that you are truly dedicated to? Is it your family ── your wife or husband, your children, your home, your pool, your pets? Your ideology? What are you dedicated to? Is it the LORD God ── the family of God, which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ? Is it the LORD God above all else? Or is it your entertainment, your hobbies? What is it that keeps your mind most occupied? What most occupies your interest? Is it your friends ── is it the big city life? Is it people, is it things?

Surely, it’s not the LORD God ── is it? Most likely not. And, if it isn’t the LORD God, well… then… It’s an IDOL. You are breaking God’s commandments, first and foremost the first commandment, “’ You shall have no other gods before Me.’” – Exodus 20:3.

In the article Unless the Father Draws Him ── which we also have in audio, including audio in Swahili ── I give the definition of RELIGION.

It is not merely an incidental interest or hobby; it's not an ideology, or just something to “play” on Sunday, like one would go to a social club. Religion is your connection with the LORD God ── your relationship with God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Religion helps you to realize your greatest purpose for being born ── the very reason why you are here on planet Earth. The very purpose of your life. As well as how to properly live your life and how to reach your ultimate purpose.

The Right Goal 

The right goal in life ── is to pursue the very purpose of why the LORD God has put the breath of life in you ── it’s because you were born of God, to share in the very glory of creation, and to ultimately inherit divine nature, to be a GOD ── to create as they do, to accomplish what they accomplish, to truly enjoy what they enjoy ── true everlasting love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. 

No other goal in life is greater.

“’ But seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness, …’” – Matthew 6:33.

But look at you now. The Apostle James writes, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” – James 4:14. The most certain thing in this existence that we call “life” is what Benjamin Franklin was known to have said back in 1789, “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” WE ARE GOING TO DIE.

“And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” – Hebrews 9:27. 

Yet, the majority of people continue, day after day, month after month, and year after year, pumping this existence that we call “life” into themselves, with no more purpose than to try and be comfortable, or wealthy, or free from pain, and to please themselves with their five basic senses ── with their minds on the passing moments of the physical and the material things ── all of which will not last, all that will eventually be no more. 

Truly, truly, unless the LORD God’s holy and righteous character is being formed and developed in your mind ── in your innermost being ── replacing your carnal works of the flesh, which are: physical and spiritual adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, IDOLATRY, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness (and drunkenness not just from liquor or drugs, but also from false religions and false beliefs which leads to spiritual drunkenness, see: Revelation 18:3), revelries, and the like ── you will miss your ultimate goal. Because the LORD God’s greatest purpose is to create within you, during this lifetime, a new godly character, so that it can be perfected and that you may be gifted eternal life ── like God, self-containing, inherent LIFE.

Indeed, if Father God begins calling you, and you properly repent, and are properly baptized ── having hands laid upon you ── and receive the glorious gift of the Holy Spirit, placing within you their SPIRIT. Which enters into you their VERY LIFE ── begetting you as a child of God, yet unborn. What the majority of professing Christians call “being born again” should be termed “being begotten.”

Being born again actually means to be changed from mortal to immortal, from flesh and blood to SPIRIT. As God’s living word teaches us ──

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3) as His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him [God the Father] who called us by glory and virtue, 4) by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the DIVINE NATURE having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.” – 2 Peter 1:2-4.

However, of course, our old human nature remains, and we continue to make decisions whether to yield to the works of the flesh, or to resist them by yielding to our new nature ── GOD’S NATURE WITHIN US ── led by the glorious Spirit of God.

Now, you can only succeed and reach your ultimate goal if you continually keep your eyes on the goal. When you are crossing a street while looking at your iPhone, and you have not looked both ways before crossing, you may find yourself waking up in a hospital, saying, “It all happened so fast!” Crossing any street means ALWAYS BEING ALERT ── being vigilant every moment ── not what you may deem “important” on your iPhone. 

In the same manner ── God’s living word says ── “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, …” – 1 Peter 5:8, 9.

If you allow other interests, material pursuits, to steal away your mind and your heart, even for a few days, you are in grave danger of SPIRITUAL DEPLETION, that could easily let you wake up being plunged into “the lake which burns with fire and brimstone” – Revelation 21:7-8. Which is the second death.

We shouldn’t love anything or anyone greater than the LORD God! Our Lord Jesus teaches, “’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38) And he who does not take his cross [the mission in life that the LORD God bestows upon you] and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39) He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.’” – Matthew 10:37-39.

This is one reason why the LORD God does not want you to have any gods before Him. For your own sake, for your own interest, you must keep the LORD God above all. And you must communicate with the LORD God, study God’s living word, and be instructed by them. 

Instructed in what? In the Word of God, the Truth of God, and in the Plan of God! In the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. That we should live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. And those words to live by are in our “Instruction Manual” that our Creator God has brought about to instruct us how to LIVE and OPERATE this greatest piece of hardware ── the human body! We are to study this “Instruction Manual” to discover and learn what the LORD God deems is right and what is deemed wrong ── “’ I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you LIFE AND DEATH [speaking of the second death], blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, …’” – Deuteronomy 30:19. We must read, study, and learn from the LORD God in the Way of God. In the Way of RIGHTEOUSNESS. And we must devote our lives to living God’s Way.

Also, and this is mighty important as well, without regular and constant prayer to Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ, one cannot maintain God’s Spirit within. CHRIST IN YOU! And when God’s Spirit dwindles, the Apostle Paul had a phrase for that. Quench (1 Thessalonians 5:19). The glorious and divine attributes of God’s Spirit do flow through you as ‘rivers of living water.’ God’s Spirit should always be in motion. It should never stagnate within you. We should always be growing in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:14; 2 Peter 3:18). Because, as I’ve often said, and I probably heard this quoted from Albert Einstein, “Once you stop learning, you start dying.” And as I’ve mentioned to my dear Sister before, even if we are born into the very family of God after the first resurrection (God willing), we will still be learning! Learning should never cease!

Truly, truly, if God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, the things of God, the glorious knowledge of God, the Law of God, the love of God, the Way of God ── are always foremost on your mind, your thoughts, your interest ── and you are praying ‘without ceasing’ (1 Thessalonians 5:17), worshiping the Father ‘in spirit and truth’ then God’s Spirit will not be quenched. 

My friend, true spiritual mindedness is not just going to church on a Sunday, opening up a Bible and reading along with the minister, singing a hymn, then after services shaking everyone’s hand, then going home to watch Sunday afternoon football. Spiritual mindedness is not sentimentalism. It’s not something you do to show your neighbors that you are “a good guy.” It’s not just an emotional attitude. It’s not certain religious phrases that so many feel compelled to yell out in church services, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Many people speak very “righteously” and “religiously” ── yet whose hearts are far from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed a perfect spiritual being ── a man who never sinned (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:22), yet he did not go about using overly religious-sounding words. He was not effeminate. He was a powerful, virile man ── showing us that true manliness is different from this world’s definition of manliness ── yet He was kind, understanding, and gentle. He possessed LEADERSHIP and STRENGTH perfectly blended with Wisdom, proper judgment, knowledge, justice, longsuffering, compassion, and mercy. And His decisions totally and always yielded to complete obedience to FATHER GOD! And think on this… something that, unlike what Satan the Devil wants you to believe … with God’s Spirit within us, we too can achieve! (cf. John 16:33; 1 John 5:4; 1 Peter 5:8; Revelation 2:7). WE CAN OVERCOME!

Our Lord Jesus Christ is our example. We must imitate Him! 

Take a moment and study some of the men and women of God in the Old Testament ── Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Ruth, Moses, Esther, Jacob, Joseph, Rahab, David, Miriam, Daniel, Hannah, Elijah, Deborah, Elisha. They were all different from our Christ. And you and I are all different from our Christ. They, of course, had human nature, human weaknesses, and they all sinned, yet they all repented and strove to overcome. They were all men and women who had as their life’s goal their ultimate purpose for being alive. They were all guided by the LORD God; they all possessed leadership qualities (be sure to watch Personal From… Real Leadership), they all consecrated themselves to the OBEDIENCE and will of the LORD God.

Also, take a moment and study our beloved apostles Peter and Paul. They were different indeed when it came to their background, personality, and mission. Yet, they both had the same life’s goal ── the very reason why they were born. They were truly spiritual men, devoted to obeying the LORD God and serving mankind.

One thing to watch and guard against every moment of the day, the month, the year, is allowing a root of bitterness, of jealousy, of hatred, to take root. We should never allow ANYTHING, no matter how unjust, to make us sour and bitter. Because Satan the Devil will exploit this ── will use this to his advantage. It is a mental and spiritual poison that can spread within. Even our enemies, perceived or otherwise, we are to love. “’ But I say to you WHO HEAR: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28) bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you.’” – Luke 6:27-28. Though we should never condone their evils.

If you believe that someone has done you wrong, do not take revenge (Romans 12:19), do not get bitter about it ── take it immediately before the throne of grace, the throne of justice, the throne of mercy, and let the LORD God punish and correct them. Now, whether you believe me or not, I have come, by some 44 years of life experience, often learning the hard way, to have supreme and complete faith in the LORD God, and that they will never neglect in correcting me when I deserve it. God corrects those He loves ── 

“And [do not forget] the exhortation which speaks to you as to [children]: 

‘My [children], do not despise the chastening of the LORD Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6) For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every [child] whom He receives.’” – Hebrews 12:5-6.

Remember, Brothers and Sisters, one of God’s commandments is to remember always the GLORIOUS MASTER PLAN THAT GOD NOT ONLY HAS IN MIND FOR US ── BUT FOR ALL MANKIND! A SEVEN-THOUSAND-YEAR PLAN! (Exodus 20:8). The Sabbath is a significant representation of God's Plan!

How grateful we ought to be to Father God and our Lord Jesus Christ! Our hearts should be overflowing with love and gratitude to our great and awesome CREATOR GOD for their love toward us. Surely, most of us don’t fully grasp what a huge price He paid for us to make our calling possible. He wants us to change, to overcome, to build, to root out and pull down (I go into detail concerning this, ‘to root out and to pull down, To destroy and to throw down, To build and to plant’ in the sermon “’ Blow the Trumpet!’” Which we also have in audio, Spanish, Swahili, and Hebrew), and to grow in grace and in knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that we may share in His glory! □                  

Bibliography:

1) Webster, M. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, tenth edition, Merriam-Webster's Incorporated, 1996, pg. 1114. 

2) https://www.charliekirk.co.za/video/why-socialism-always-fails-charlie-kirk-debate-compilation/4680.

3) Wikipedia contributors. "Colombia–United States relations." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 17 Dec. 2025. Web. 27 Dec. 2025.   

God's Eternal Marks Upon His Covenant People (PART THREE)

by GC LaMar

Only until God the Father calls you, places upon you the gift of repentance, properly baptized, and has hands laid upon you ── receiving the glorious gift of God’s Spirit ── you will remain under Satan the Devil’s authority, regardless of your religious claims.

The very words of our Savior, Jesus Christ ──

“’ Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44) You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.’” – John 8:43-44.

Our Lord Jesus spoke those words to religious people who claimed to know God and that He is their Father. Yet, their outright incredulous disbelief and their disobedience to the LORD God revealed their true father: Satan the Devil.

Again, speaking to those people who claim to be religious ── “’ Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom [from] heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22) Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? 23) And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” – Matthew 7:21-23.

The Greek word for “iniquity” (from the King James Version) is anomia, which means “wickedness, lawlessness, lawless deeds.”

Most who claim to be “Christian” will be rejected by our Lord Jesus Christ, because they practice lawlessness. They are outright, or because of ignorance, rejecting the LORD God’s commandments──including His Sabbaths and Holy Days.

The Apostle Paul ── under divine inspiration, writing to his close companion, Titus ── “For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision [those that are Jewish], 11) whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. … 16) They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.” – Titus 1:10 11, 16. 

Again, the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, speaks about people claiming to be religious, yet in the end denying the very God they claim to worship ── they “[have] a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” – 2 Timothy 3:5.

A great many have a form of godliness ── they have a religious appearance ── but they deny the very power of God by either outright refusal, ignorance, or disobedience. In truth, they continue in their religiosity to remain spiritually dead, “belonging” to Satan the Devil. 

The LORD God’s People: Identified by Commandment Keeping

Our Lord Jesus Christ reveals to us in the Book of Revealing ── Revelation, the identity of His people toward the end of this present evil age: by them having within them the Spirit of God, and by their obedience to His commandments.

Romans 8:14 ── “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are [children] of God.”          

Revelation 12:17 ── “And the dragon [Satan the Devil] was enraged with the woman [Judah – the nation today called Israel], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring [the Church of God], who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” 

Revelation 14:12 ── “Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” 

The very nature of the universe is a pairing of positive and negative. Things are dual, and so will be the final conflict: good vs evil. Our Lord Jesus Christ’s people are clearly marked: ‘For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are children of God, along with those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.’ The two groups of people ── even today ── are clearly visible: those who obey the LORD God and those who do not, those who claim faith all the while rejecting obedience to God and the keeping of His commandments. 

Revelation 22:14 ── “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city [New Jerusalem].”   

The Seal of God

The Apostle John ── inspired by a vision while on the Isle of Patmos, was told to write in a book that the LORD God would begin sealing, on their foreheads, their people throughout these two thousand years of all the tribes of the children of Israel ── “Then I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God. And he cried with a loud voice to the four angels [more than likely the four demons that are ‘bound’ at the great river Euphrates that are waiting for God to release them, see Rev. 9:13-15] to whom it was granted [eventually] to harm the earth and the sea, 3) saying, ‘Do not harm the earth, the sea, or the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.’” – Revelation 7:2-3.

The seal of God marks ownership and divine protection ── spiritually marking throughout these last two thousand years 144,000 servants of God on their foreheads of all the tribes of the children of Israel: From Judah, Reuben, Gad, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph [Ephraim], and Benjamin.

Notice that Dan is not in this group. Dan is most likely the people of Ireland. And, they are sort of hard-headed, and sort of pugnacious – they want to fight, they want to argue. And at the present time – and for a long time – they have been totally bound up in bondage to the Roman Catholic Church. 

For two thousand years – even before Jesus Christ – were servants of God that are going to be in the glorious kingdom of God – and quoting from the King James Version – “ … These are they which [will come after] great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” Friends, these are people who will come AFTER tribulation – after trouble, in this end time - and, maybe not even in this end-time, maybe it had been in the Middle Ages (from the 5th to the 15th century), and the plagues which were all around–they were in tribulation.

But to me, the implication is, ‘don’t do any of these terrible things to the earth and the sea until we make sure they possess God’s Spirit.’ So, these people here ── throughout these nearly two thousand years, and even before, have obeyed the LORD God, have been in deep prayers before the LORD God, have properly repented and been baptized, and have had hands laid upon them ── receiving the glorious Holy Spirit of God, which is the seal upon their foreheads.

Revelation 9:1-12 ── “Then the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven [the atmosphere] to the earth. [Satan the Devil and his demons are being ejected from the atmosphere and being confined only to the earth!]. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. 2) And he opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. Then the sun and the air were darkened because of the smoke of the pit. 

3) Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. And to them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 4) They were commanded not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5) And they were not given authority to kill them, but to torment them for five months. Their torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. 6) In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them.”   

The LORD God’s seal protects His people from harm and destruction. Without this spiritual seal on your forehead ── the angels (more than likely the four demons that are ‘bound’ at the great river Euphrates) will be given permission to torment people for five months because they have been participating in outright disobedience to the LORD God!

Our Lord Jesus Christ Fulfilled the Law & the Prophets ── Not Abolished

Our Lord Jesus plainly says ── “’ DO NOT THINK that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets [the first five Books of Moses and the Books of the Prophets]. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18) For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away [surely a reference to Revelation 21:1], one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.’” – Matthew 5:17-18. 

He came to fulfill the prophecies that were spoken concerning Him.

Also, He kept and observed His seventh-day Sabbath and kept and celebrated His Holy Days ── providing for us His example. 

Luke 4:16 ── “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbaths day, and stood up to read.”   

John 7:2, 10, 14 ── “Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. …” – Minister Leonard Johnson speaks concerning why this phrase was said in that way in “Let Us Observe the Feast of Tabernacles!” 10) But when His brothers had gone up, then He also went up to the feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. … 14) Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught.” 

Our Lord Jesus kept His Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Day of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the ‘Last Great Day.’ He never suggested that His feasts were only temporary or would be abolished.

Our Lord Jesus continued ── “’ Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom [from] heaven; …’” – Matthew 5:19.

Our Lord Jesus came to fulfill (to complete, fill to the full, demonstrate the true meaning of) the Law ── not to abolish it. Anyone who breaks even one of His commandments has broken them all ── including the breaking of remembering and keeping the Sabbath holy, and the keeping and celebrating the Holy Days ── they will be called ‘least in the kingdom from heaven.’

Luke 16:17 ── “’ The law and the prophets were until John. …’” – The first five books of Moses and the books of the Prophets were until John the Baptist. “ … ‘Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it. 17) And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.’”  

The Apostle Paul explains ── “Do we then make void the law through faith? CERTAINLY NOT! On the contrary, we establish the law.” – Romans 3:31. 

Faith does not nullify the Law of God ── it establishes it. Faith produces good works ── obedience. 

The Apostle James ── inspired by God’s Spirit, explains ── “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11) For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the [whole] law.” – James 2:10-11.

We are all judged by the Law of God. Breaking any one point of the law ── including the breaking of the seventh-day Sabbath ── makes you guilty of breaking all of the commandments of God. 

The Church of God Continued Observance After Christ’s Resurrection 

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s apostles continued observing the holy Sabbath and keeping and celebrating the Holy Days even after the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ ──  

Acts 13:14 ── “But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.” 

Acts 13:42, 44 ── “So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. … 44) On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God.” 

So, the Gentiles of the city had asked the Apostle Paul if he would preach again the following Sabbath ── in the first century, Saturday was referred to as “dies Sāturnī” (Saturn’s Day), or rather in Greek, Ημέρα του Κρόνου “Imera tou Kronou” ── it was not Ημέρα του Ήλιου “Imera tou Iliou” – Sun’s Day. If the LORD God’s holy Sabbath had been changed to Sunday, the Apostle Paul had the perfect opportunity here to say to the Gentiles that it had been. Instead, he met with them the following Sabbath.

Acts 17:2 ── “Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.” 

Acts 18:4 ── “And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks [Gentiles].”

The Apostle Paul’s ── and to note: He was called “Saul” by our Lord Jesus in the Hebrew language, and was born to a devout Jewish family that was living in Tarsus, which is now a municipality and district of Mersin Province, Turkey ── custom was to keep and observe the holy Sabbath.

And even some 24 years after the death and glorious resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ ── the Apostle Paul, writing to the saints in ancient Corinth ── “Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us. 8) Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8. 

Sincerity and truth, being our Lord Jesus Christ! The Apostle Paul instructs the Gentile converts there in ancient Corinth to observe the feast ── speaking here of the Feast of Unleavened Bread ── not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread (our Lord Jesus is the bread, the bread of life) of sincerity and truth, for Jews and Gentiles alike. 

Acts 20:6 ── “But we sailed away from Philippi after the Days of Unleavened Bread, …” 

The Church of God that was there in Philippi ── a predominantly Gentile congregation ── observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread of the New Covenant, demonstrating continued keeping and observance by the early Church. □

to be continued ....  

God's Eternal Marks Upon His Covenant People (PART ONE)

by GC LaMar

From the beginning of God’s living word ── the Holy Bible ── to the Book of Revelation, the LORD God (the Elohim, the family of God – which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) has distinguished their people from all other nations through specific signs──sacred “marks” that identify them as belonging exclusively to them.

These signs transcend any religious rituals; they are divine appointments revealing a people’s wholehearted dedication to our Creator. 

Standing at the forefront of these identifying “marks” is the seventh-day Sabbath, including the seven annual Holy Days, which the LORD God established as perpetual “witnesses” between the LORD God and those people who truly belong to them. 

The Seventh-day Sabbath: An Eternal Covenant Sign

The Lord’s Sabbath represents the most emphasized identifying “mark” throughout God’s living word. God specifically designated it as a sign of His covenant relationship with His people ──

The LORD declares, speaking through the Prophet Moses ── “’ Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.’” – Exodus 31:13.

This verse alone unveils profound truths to us. The holy Sabbath functions as a sign. It “marks” the relationship between the LORD God and their people, and it extends throughout all generations without end. And, it identifies the LORD as the One who sanctifies ── which means, sets apart as holy people.

Verses 16 & 17 reinforce this truth ── “’ Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant [agreement]. 17) It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel FOREVER; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”

The word “perpetual” in Hebrew is ‘ ôlām, which means “everlasting, forever, eternity.”

The Seventh-day Sabbath as a Divine Test

The Lord GOD employs His Sabbath observance as a measure of genuine obedience and loyalty. Notice Ezekiel 20:12 ── “’ Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.’”     

And when the house of Israel rejected His sign, the Lord GOD expressed profound grief. Verse 13 ── “’ Yet the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness; they despised My judgments, ‘which, if a man does, he shall live by them’; and they greatly defiled My Sabbaths. …’” 

Truly, the defilement of His Sabbaths is tangible evidence of spiritual rebellion and covenant rejection. Keeping the LORD God’s Sabbaths holy demonstrates spiritual obedience to the authority of the LORD God, as both Creator and Sanctifier.

The LORD God commands ── “’ hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’” – Ezekiel 20:20. 

Now, to “hallow” means that you make the day holy, you set it apart from all other days. So, by keeping the Lord’s Sabbath holy, you visibly distinguish yourself from all those people who reject keeping the Lord’s Sabbath holy. This obedience to His command becomes public testimony of your covenant relationship with the LORD our God. 

Seven Annual Holy Days: Eternal Divine Appointments 

Besides the Lord’s weekly seventh-day Sabbath, the LORD God established seven annual Holy Days──also called “the feasts of the LORD.” They are not strictly Jewish holy days, or merely Jewish traditions, but are divinely appointed feasts established by the LORD God themselves for all of mankind.

We are introduced to them in Leviticus 23:1-2 ── “And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2) ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations [holy gatherings], these are My feasts.’”   

The LORD’s emphasis demands our attention! “’ these are My feasts’” ──they belong to the Lord GOD, and not to the Jewish people. They are “holy convocations” ──which means, sacred assemblies that are commanded by the LORD God. 

Leviticus 23 details for us all seven annual Holy Days

Leviticus 23:5 ── the LORD’s Passover. “On the fourteenth day of the first month.”

Leviticus 23:6-8 ── the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “On the fifteenth day of the same month.” 

Leviticus 23:15-21 ── the day of Pentecost/Firstfruits. “Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD.” 

Leviticus 23:23-25 ── the Feast of Trumpets. ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a Sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation.’

Leviticus 23:26-32 ── the Day of Atonement. “the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement.” It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall humble yourself before the LORD. 

Leviticus 23:33-36 ── the Feast of Tabernacles. “’ The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD.’” 

Leviticus 23:36, 39 ── the “Last Great Day.” “’ On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, … on the first day there shall be a sabbath-rest, and on the eighth day a sabbath-rest.’”

They are eternal statutes 

The LORD God over and over emphasizes that these Holy Days continue throughout all generations forever. The stand-out phrase, “it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings,” appears multiple times throughout Leviticus 23. Notice verses 14, 21, 31, and 41.

That stand-out phrase alone identifies them as eternal statues for the LORD God’s people, not temporary shadows or ceremonial practices that were abolished upon the cross. 

Obedience to the LORD God – the Foundation of our Identity & Love 

The keeping of the Lord’s Sabbaths and Holy Days flows from our hearts transformed by the love of God.

Our Lord Jesus Christ connected love directly with obedience to the LORD God ── 

“’ If you love Me, keep My commandments.’” – John 14:15.

“’ He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.’” – John 14:21. 

“ …’ If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24) He who does not love Me DOES NOT KEEP MY WORDS; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.’” – John 14:23, 24. 

So, obedience isn’t simply legalism, but rather a natural response of one’s heart transformed by divine love. One’s obedience to the LORD God becomes a visible witness and evidence of true faith.

Obedience to the LORD God is an Identity “Mark” 

The Apostle John ── under divine inspiration ── tells us of an identity “mark” ── “Now by THIS we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4) He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” – 1 John 2:3-4. 

The Apostle John leaves no ambiguity. The keeping of the LORD God’s commandments is how we ── and is witnessed to others ── know that we know the LORD God. Our very obedience to them identifies us as belonging to Him. Those who claim they know God and have a relationship with God while not obeying His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in them ── so says the LORD Almighty! 

The Apostle John adds, “Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit [that] He has given us.” – 1 John 3:24.

Also ── “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3) For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” -1 John 5:2-3. 

God’s Law Is Internal ── Not Written In Phylacteries or Mezuzahs

Our Lord Jesus Christ’s New Covenant includes God’s Commandments written in our hearts.

The Apostle Paul ── under divine inspiration ── tells us ── “’ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’” – Hebrews 8:10. 

God’s Law ── summed up with the Ten Commandments ── is not abolished, but rather they are spiritualized from physical external commands to spiritualized desires. The LORD God’s people are “marked” by having their Laws inscribed in their hearts ── producing the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The Apostle Paul reiterates ── “’ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.’” – Hebrews 10:16.

A Clear Distinction Between the LORD God’s People and the Children of Darkness 

Again, from the beginning, the LORD God has distinguished their people from all other nations. And this separation is not ethnic, or even cultural, but is a spiritual distinction based upon covenant obedience.

When the Prophet Moses had went up to God, the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, ‘Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: “‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; … 6) And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ …” – Exodus 19:5, 6.

He reiterated this in Deuteronomy 7:6 ── “’ For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.’”              

Yet, to be a holy people and a special treasure unto the LORD God is conditioned. ‘If you will indeed obey the Lord GOD's voice and keep His covenant.’

And, those that do, the Apostle Peter tells us, “ … you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” – 1 Peter 2:9. 

Grave Consequences for Rejecting the LORD God’s Signs 

The prophets of God describe for us that the rejection of the Lord’s Sabbaths and appointed times is spiritual adultery and the breaking of His covenant. Notice here the Prophet Ezekiel ──

Ezekiel 22:8 ── “’ You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths.’”   

Ezekiel 22:26 ── “’ Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.’” 

Ezekiel 23:37-38 ── “’ For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols, and even sacrificed their sons whom they bore to Me, passing them through the fire, to devour them. 38) Moreover they have done this to Me: They have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and profaned My Sabbaths.’” 

So, when the LORD God’s people reject the Lord’s Sabbaths, they profane His very name and obscure their identity as the chosen people of God. □

to be continued... 

Commentary: An Added Word ── Colossians 2:16-17

by Leonard V Johnson

Our Lord Jesus and the apostles certainly kept and celebrated the Sabbaths, along with all the God-ordained holy days. So, why do the overall majority of professing Christians not keep them?

While social pressure and the outright twisting of Scripture do play a role, the reason many overlook or do not see is that there are a few passages in God’s living word that have been intentionally mistranslated.

And sadly, because of religious traditions, and unrighteous deception among those who perish ── they have not the love of the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10), most people who are professing Christians simply do not care.

More than any other Scripture in God’s living word that I have personally heard quoted as “proof” that the feasts of the LORD have been done away is Colossians 2:16-17.

Here is the most popular translation of this passage ──  

“So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17) which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.)” – Colossians 2:16-17, NKJV.

The passage has an added word. This rendering suggests that the LORD's feasts were nothing more than “a shadow of things to come” and that now the substance is Christ. As in, the feasts of the LORD have no substance. Yet, this is not what the Apostle Paul was saying.

Let’s look at two other translations of this same passage ──

“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: 17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” – Colossians 2:16-17, KJV. 

“Let no one then, call you to account for what you eat or drink or in regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17) These are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.” – Colossians 2:16-17, Challoner-Rheims.

Both the above translations are closer than the New King James Version, yet they both have an added word that is not in the original Greek version. 

The added word is “is.” Accurate translations do not have the word “is.” Let’s examine The Interlinear Bible in regards to verse 17 ──  

3739 (ha), 1510 (estin), 4639 (skia), 3588 (tōn), 3195 (mellontōn), 3588 (to), 1161 (de), 4983 (sōma), 3588 (tou), 5547 (Christou) 

which are a shadow the things coming the however body [is] – of Christ 

(https://biblehub.com/interlinear/colossians/2.htm). 

It should be noted that 3588, original word: ὁ, ἡ, τό, is most often translated as “the.”

Notice that 3588 in the Strong’s Concordance is translated as “the” in Romans 7:4; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 12:27; and Ephesians 4:12. 

“ … the body of Christ, …”

Therefore, if all the translators were truthful and honest and consistent, they would all have translated Colossians 2:16-17 as ── 

“Therefore, do not allow anyone to judge you in eating or in drinking, or with regard to a festival, or new moon, or the Sabbaths. 17) Which are a foreshadow of the things that are coming, but the body of Christ.” – the New English Translation. 

In other words, let no one outside the body of Christ (the Church of God) judge you regarding the feasts of the LORD or the Sabbaths, but only the Church herself. The Apostle Paul is not saying that the feasts of the LORD have been done away with! 

Sadly, because most people don’t take the time to fervently study God’s living word and prove what it does or doesn’t say, those in the Roman Catholic Church and her daughter churches have been easily misled in regards to Colossians 2:16-17. 

Also, notice 1 Corinthians 5:8 ── the Apostle Paul writing to the Church in Corinth,  who were Gentile converts ──     

“Therefore let us keep the feast [the Feast of Unleavened Bread], not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

Certainly, instructing the true Christians that we are to continue keeping the feast, not under the rituals of the Old Covenant, but rather to keep the feast with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. The true meaning of the Days of Unleavened Bread is that for seven days we are symbolically showing that we are eating the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth, the unleavened bread which represents Jesus Christ at the Passover. And we are acknowledging – we need that BREAD OF LIFE to come into our being!

Another so-called “proof” text that Roman Catholics and their daughter churches tend to use is Galatians 4:8-10 ── 

“But then, indeed, when you [speaking here to likely mostly Gentile converts] did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9) But NOW after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you TURN AGAIN to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10) You observe days and months and seasons and years.”    

The ancient Galatians were heavily influenced by Roman culture and religion in the 1st century A.D. Comparatively little is known about Galatian religion, but it can be assumed that it was similar to that of most Celts. 1 Galatians practiced Celtic divination, which included augury, drawing lots, interpreting dreams and natural phenomena, and studying entrails. 

Cybele, the Great Mother, was the major goddess cult in Anatolia that the Galatians were involved with. In the 1st century BC/AD, the son of a Galatian tetrarch was made high priest of the indigenous Anatolian goddess, Ma, at Comana Pontica by Augustus, where he ruled the temple state. 2

“In a severe admonition, Paul warns them that they were in dire spiritual danger, because instead of obeying God, they were reverting back to their former pagan ways and blending their former pagan observances with their newly learned Christian Way of life. In so doing, they were beginning to turn their backs on God the Father and Jesus Christ. Paul strongly rebukes them. … It was readily apparent that the problem was not that the Galatians were forsaking Sunday and holiday-keeping and reverting back to keeping the Sabbath and holy days, as Orthodox theologians and ministers claim. In fact, quite the opposite was happening, …

What were they reverting to? They were going back to “observing [for themselves] days, and months, and times and years.” … it is not possible to take this phrase [verse 10] to mean that they were returning to the observance of God’s Sabbath, feasts, and holy days──or that they were following traditional Judaism. The phrase can only refer to pagan days, months, times,  and years, which they had formerly observed before they were converted.” 3 

Here is another mistranslation. The NKJV improperly translates Hebrews 4:9 ── 

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

And, because of this mistranslation, as well as many others, some do not properly understand that God’s living word does indeed command the keeping of the Sabbath weekly.

Since some claim that the holy Sabbath has been “nailed to the cross,” notice ── 

“There remains, therefore, Sabbath-keeping for the people of God.” – NET. 

“Because of this erroneous translation, and Protestant hostility against the seventh-day weekly Sabbath──the Fourth Commandment──in preference to Sunday, this verse is almost universally misinterpreted and misunderstood. … 

Today, mainstream ‘Christianity’ teaches that Christians are no longer required to observe the seventh-day Sabbath, because they deliberately misconstrue this verse to mean, “Christ has given them ‘rest’ (or, as some say, a ‘release’) from commandment-keeping. …

The phrase ‘shall ye keep your sabbaths’ is translated from the Greek phrase, sabbatieite ta sabbata ── which literally means, ‘you shall sabbathize the Sabbaths.’ The form of the Greek verb sabbatizo is the second person plural sabbatieite, which means, ‘ye shall keep’ ── ‘you all,’ meaning everyone shall keep the Sabbath.” 4

So… God’s living word is clear that our Lord Jesus and His apostles kept the weekly Sabbath – the seventh-day of the week – along with the feasts of the LORD, preached on the Sabbath, and that he indeed wrote, “There remains, therefore, Sabbath keeping for the people of God.”

Under divine inspiration, the Apostle Peter has warned ── 

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; 15) and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation ── as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, 16) as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” – 2 Peter 3:14-16. 

Sadly, far too many rely on mistranslations, and thus can be considered as one of the “untaught” that our beloved Apostle Peter speaks of. Brethren, those who are diligent can see through their mistranslations, their twisting of Scripture, and see and hear what God’s Spirit says – the living word of the Eternal One. □   

1) Wikipedia contributors. "Galatians (people)." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Jun. 2025. Web. 16 Sep. 2025. 

2) The Ohio University, The Herodotos Project - Ethnohistory of the Ancient World, OSU.EDU, Retrieved 16 Sept. 2025.

3) Coulter R. F., The Holy Bible In Its Original Order A New English Translation, Galatians 4:8-10 Correctly Explained, York Publishing Co., © 2009, pp. 1377, 1378.

4) Ibid. (3) The True Meaning of Sabbatismos, pg. 1319.  

Another Essential Proof to Recognize the True Church of God

HAVE you ever heard a sermon proving ── beyond a shadow of any doubt ── that Sunday is the Lord’s rest day, what the churches of this world call “the Lord’s Day”? Have you ever heard a sermon teach from one passage to another passage, and down even to another, PROVING AND CLARIFYING, that Sunday is the Lord’s Sabbath? If you have, please let me know in the comments section down below ── because I haven’t.

Well… you haven’t, and you can’t. 

Why?

Because there are none. 

Have you ever looked into this and proved it, researched it, sincerely ── without religious prejudice? Concerning which day of the week is truly to be ‘remembered and kept holy’!

Hundreds of Excuses

This world’s “Christian” churches are mighty proud of their pagan derived holidays. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, New Year’s Day, Halloween, St. Patrick’s Day, and even becoming popular ── Groundhog Day! Along with, of course, their “Lord’s Day.” A great many know that some keep and celebrate the Lord’s Sabbath on what is today called Saturday. I, myself, have had family members at our home ask me before, “Why do you keep God’s rest day on Saturday?” And, I proceeded to explain to them ── but they had no true interest. In fact, on our latest “A Morning Bible Study – Is God’s Spirit Within You?” I was called a moron because we believe in a God. 😢

Of course, I’ve seen large amounts of Sunday-going church literature claiming to PROVE, and absolutely substantiate their belief in resting on Sunday. In fact, looking through my office’s paperwork, I came across a letter sent to me from JW.org (they keep the Sabbath on Saturday), trying to invite me to “the annual commemoration of the death of Jesus Christ” back in 2021. They actually had the correct date for the Lord’s Passover. Some of their beliefs are in line with the true Church of God. Yet, sadly, the Jehovah’s Witnesses are gravely confused about a great many other truths of God.

Truly, every angle of attack against the LORD God’s true Sabbath Day, along with the annual Holy Days, has been hurled at us. One method ── like the algorithmic response you receive from Bing-- “the Sabbath as a command specifically for ancient Israel, not binding on Christians today.” O’, that’s one of their popular ones. Also, sadly, the Bible illiterates are led through corridors of Scriptures that twist and turn every which way to try and “prove” that all of the LORD God’s Law is “done away”! Which, they claim, includes the holy Sabbath. 

Or, they reason amongst themselves, “O’, that’s a Jewish thing.” People reason that you don’t have to keep the Sabbath if you’re not Jewish. Or, they reason about the International Date Line, or that not everyone’s Sabbath is the same, that it can be  ── and I love this line from The Godfather, “I know English. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, Saturday.” 

And those are only a few of the arguments I have personally heard being argued.

Most Important to Know

You, as a called begotten child of God, truly need to know the answer to these “arguments,” and you need to know that you know that the Lord’s holy Sabbath must be kept and observed faithfully, and that the Lord’s annual Holy Days must be kept and observed as well. 

You must prove ── again, beyond a shadow of doubt ── that the TEN COMMANDMENTS were commanded by the LORD God to be kept in the time of the Prophet Moses – and that they are and ever shall be in force on Earth. Also, that they never were considered part of the “law of Moses.” Rather, they are the LAW OF GOD ── the Lawgiver and Judge! A couple of articles of interest, “Under Law” or “Under Grace”? along with “Personal From… ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’”. You need to prove that “grace” does not mean that you have a “license to sin.” In other words, that you are free to disobey the LORD God! Since 2011, copious amounts of articles, booklets, sermons, and audios have been made available to God’s people on this subject! 

It's also important to think about proving the weekly time cycle. I speak of this very subject in “The Calendar That Christ Used.” The weekly cycle has not been broken or changed. You also need to prove, infallibly, and thoroughly, and once and for all ── don’t only take your minister’s word for it ── that our Lord Jesus Christ’s glorious RESURRECTION WAS NOT ON A SUNDAY! I speak of this in “The Firstfruits From the Earth” along with “‘The Firstfruits – Unto God’”.

A couple of years ago, we posted, “A Morning Bible Study – Are You Handling God’s Test?” along with ” ‘It is a sign’” ── that addresses which day is the Christian Sabbath. Minister Guy LaMar posted an article of great interest, “Saturday Sabbath with Jews and Sunday with Gentiles?” If you haven’t read these articles yet, then be sure to read them today ── and be sure to PRAY AND STUDY along with them!

I can remember riding my bicycle back in 1981 along Stayton Rd. in Oregon into Stayton to visit the library to look up information concerning the origin of Christmas and Sunday observance to help “prove” to myself their falsehoods. Be sure to read, if you haven’t yet, “ChristMas… Its Origin” along with “Who or What Is the BEAST That Rises Out of the Sea?”  

So, the other essential proof to recognize God’s True Church, is the keeping and celebrating the weekly ordained Sabbath, which identifies God’s true begotten people, and the keeping and celebrating of God’s annual Holy Days, which the LORD God gave the true Church of God ── and of which are continuing to be kept and observed TODAY. □ 

A Morning Bible Study ── The Days of Unleavened Bread (A Part of God's Master Plan)

by Leonard V Johnson

The most important ‘feast of the LORD’ will soon be here! The LORD’s Passover ── April 11th, beginning at sunset. Besides the weekly holy Sabbath, it is the first of the LORD God’s annual commanded feasts (Leviticus 23:5), it pictures for us the first of many steps in the LORD God’s (the Elohim; the family of God – which at this time consists of God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ) MASTER PLAN for the redemption of all mankind. It was Jesus Christ, “our Passover” (1 Corinthians 5:7), who was sacrificed for our past sins. Yet, just accepting the Lord and believing in Him, and His living sacrifice is not enough.

Once we have truly repented of our transgressions against the LORD God, been properly baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and having received the gift of the Holy Spirit ── we must continually have CHRIST IN US!

We must come out of this world and its religious institutions ──

“ …’ Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues.’” – Revelation 18:4.

Just as the children of Israel left ancient Egypt ── used in God’s living word as an analogy to represent the people of God’s bondage to sin. We must strive to PUT ON CHRIST! That is our part in the LORD God’s Master Plan.

The LORD God gave His begotten people the annual Feast of Unleavened Bread. The keeping and observance of this glorious feast impresses upon us the great need to daily imbibe within us God’s living Spirit. Let’s understand.

1) What feast did the LORD God command the children of Israel to proclaim, to keep, and celebrate immediately after the LORD’s Passover?

“’ And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; SEVEN DAYS you must eat unleavened BREAD.’” – Leviticus 23:6.

“’ So you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this same day I will have brought your armies out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS as an EVERLASTING ORDINANCE.’” – Exodus 12:17.

So, the children of Israel were to keep and observe this feast throughout all their generations as an everlasting ordinance.

2) How many days is the Feast of Unleavened Bread? Notice ──

“’ And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for SEVEN DAYS.’” – Numbers 28:17.

“’ The Feast of Unleavened Bread you shall keep. SEVEN DAYS you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you, in the appointed time of the month of Abib; for in the month of Abib you came out from Egypt.’” – Exodus 34:18.

Were the first day and the seventh day set apart as “holy” days on which God’s people were to assemble together? Notice ──

“’ On the FIRST DAY there shall be a holy convocation, and on the SEVENTH DAY there shall be a holy convocation for you. No manner of work shall be done on them; but that which everyone must eat ── that only may be prepared by you.’” – Exodus 12:16.

The very first month of God’s sacred calendar – which the LORD God has preserved through the Jews, though they don’t keep it accurate ── is called Abib or Nisan in Hebrew. It corresponds to our pagan Gregorian calendar to the time that falls during March and April. March is named after the pagan god Mars. Interestingly enough, the Anglo-Saxons called April ēastre-monaþ ── which The Reckoning of Time states that this month ēastre is the root of the word Easter. Therefore, the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins the evening of the 14th immediately after the LORD’s Passover. It continues for seven days until the sunset of the 21st. Both the 15th and the 21st are holy Sabbaths ── annual “holy convocations.”

3) Were the children of Israel to have no leaven (speaking of bread with leavening in it; as in baking) in all their territory for those seven days? Notice ──

“’ You shall eat no leavened bread with it; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread with it, that is, the bread of affliction (for you came out of the land of Egypt in haste), that you may remember the day in which you came out of the land of Egypt all the days of your life. 4) And no leaven [speaking of bread with leavening in it; as in baking] shall be seen among you in all your territory for seven days, …’” – Deuteronomy 16:3-4.

So, that’s very clear. During the Days of Unleavened Bread, you are to eat – every day – at least some unleavened bread. And for those seven days you will not eat leavened bread. Now that’s all it said. It didn’t say, “Get down on your hands and knees and look for old cookie crumbs.” It just didn’t say it. It is not the Days of Unleavened Beer. You know, to make beer you have to have yeast. Yeast, the number one leavening agent in the history of mankind, always has been and will be. It is not the Days of Unleavened Wine. It is not the Days of Unleavened Toothpaste. Because some toothpastes have baking powder in them. A lot of people think, ‘Well, I’m not supposed to eat leavening.’ You’re not supposed to consume leavened bread. Didn’t we read that?

4) Is leaven ever used metaphorically in God’s living word?

Our Lord Jesus did speak of leaven metaphorically ──

“Now when His disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6) Then Jesus said to them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.’

7) And they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘Is it because we have taken no bread.’

8) But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, ‘O you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have brought no bread? 9) Do you not yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many baskets you took up? 10) Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?

11) How is it you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread? ── but to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’

12) Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” – Matthew 16:5-12.

The ‘doctrine’ of the Pharisees ──

• The importance of keeping rituals.

• The overwhelming desire to convert Gentiles.

• The Way to God was by obeying the physical Law.

• Extending Jewish practices into life outside the temple.

• Instilling greater piety in “the common people.”

To name but a few.

Additionally, they put significant weight on the “oral tradition,” or the traditions of the elders, believing this interpretive framework helped clarify the written Law. Ancient rabbinic sources and later compilations, such as portions of the Talmud, reflect the Pharisaic influence in codifying and teaching these traditions. This oral tradition functioned to address practical questions about Sabbath observance, dietary laws, ritual purity, and other facets of devotion.

Our Lord Jesus is showing us that His New Covenant does not match the old rites of the Pharisees, which required a lot of fasting. Our Lord Jesus taught against syncretism ── which is the mixing of beliefs, such as Judeo-Christianity.

Having a show of piety, without true holiness, is like leaven in that it gradually increases and spreads corruption, puffing up a person with vanity. Indeed, friends, the very nature of leaven (or, rather, yeast) is to change whatever it contacts. Yeast does its job slowly, secretly, and silently, but no one can deny its effect on bread. Yeast is microscopic in size, and only a little is kneaded into the dough. Yet, given time, the yeast will spread through all the dough.

The ’doctrine’ of the Sadducees ──

• Rejection of the Resurrection and Afterlife.

• Adherence to the Written Law.

• Temple Worship and Sacrificial System.

The Sadducees’ interactions with our Lord Jesus were marked by theological disagreements, particularly concerning their rejection of a resurrection. In Matthew 22:29-32, our Lord Jesus addresses their unbelief by affirming that there is a resurrection unto life and correcting their misunderstanding of His living word.

In Jewish tradition, the removal of all leaven, known as “bedikat chametz,” is a meticulous process that involves searching and ritualistically cleaning the home to ensure no leaven remains in the home. However, this practice greatly underscores the great importance of true obedience to the LORD God. In our Lord Jesus’ New Covenant, the concept of leaven is used by our Lord Jesus along with the apostles to WARN us against false doctrines and hypocrisy.

5) Does the LORD God specifically command the people of God to consume unleavened bread during this feast?

“’ Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the FIRST DAY you shall remove leaven [speaking of leavened bread] from your houses.’” – Exodus 12:15.

So, not only were the children of Israel to remove any leavened bread from their houses, they were also commanded to eat unleavened bread during the seven days of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Why some want to make this command complicated is beyond me! This act of eating a little bit of unleavened bread every day of the feast symbolizes the imbibing of CHRIST IN US!

6) Upon our proper repentance, proper baptism, and the laying on of hands, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit ── our Lord Jesus Christ’s sacrifice blots out all our past sins. And when the apostle Paul asks if we as true Christians should continue in sin ── he gives the answer!

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law [speaking of the Old Covenant] but under grace? Certainly not! 16) Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death [speaking of the second death], or of obedience leading to righteousness?” – Romans 6:15-16.

What was his admonishment for us to put on?

“But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” – Romans 13:14.

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ was tortured, beaten, and sacrificed so that mankind did not have to pay the penalty of eternal death ──

“For if by one man’s offense death [speaking of the second death; eternal death] reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life [eternal life] through the One, Jesus Christ.)” – Romans 5:13-17.

7) Did our beloved apostle Paul admonish us ── through the inspiration of God’s Spirit ── to keep and observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread?

“Therefore purge out the old leaven, …” ── recall what the old leaven he is speaking of. False doctrines. “ … that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8) Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” – 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.

The unleavened bread of sincerity and truth is JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD!

The Holy Days are all Christocentric! The Days of Unleavened Bread are pointing us to one thing – Jesus Christ! He is that unleavened bread of sincerity and truth!

The LORD God knows that to properly overcome and faithfully obey Them, we need Their spiritual help! We must eat unleavened bread every day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread to symbolize us imbibing the glorious Spirit of God ── Their mind, Their strength! □

Being Born Again (Sermon) - delivered by Minister Leonard Johnson

WHAT IT MEANS TO BE "BORN AGAIN"! If someone were to come to your door and ask, "Brother, have you been born again?" Would you know how to properly answer─ using God's living word!? Here in this sermon, Minister Leonard V. Johnson covers with you─ the answer. Using God's living word.