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In previous articles I have made plain to our readers that there exists a "pattern" of worship which was given by God and to which Jesus and his Apostles adhered. Not only that, this same pattern of worship can be shown to have been taught to the first non-Jews who came to the knowledge of God through Jesus and his Apostles's ministry. Sadly, obedience to this pattern for worship has almost been totally replaced by the Gentile Church of the earliest centuries and few are aware of such tragic events. I guess what gets to me the most is that when such information is made aware to Christians, instead of a spirit of repentance and brokenness at the realization of such events, most seem ambivalent to such an occurrence. What escapes most sadly is the heart-felt realization that instead of loving God as He has instructed, we have brought "strange fire" before God and expect Him to accept it. If God had not desired to be "loved" and "worshipped" in a certain ways He would not have instructed us to do so. But God did. We as Christians fall prey to the erroneous concept that what is happening today is what the Holy Spirit is doing in the world and what He sanctions. Such could not be further from the truth. Our experience is not a measure of truth. Only "the truth" can be called "TRUTH". Unless our experience lines up with the Word of God, correctly interpreted, then we can be assured that our experience is not a guarantee of truth or that it is in reality pleasing to God.
A Christian's religious belief system, when tested and exposed to contradictory facts from Biblical languages, Biblical history, Biblical culture, and archeology, must in the Spirit of Truth and Repentance, be flexible enough to change
Just ask Nadab and Abihu. Their deaths in worship before God tell us unmistakenly that God does not tolerate nor accept "just any old worship". The message is startling in light of the fact that we have today over 2000 different denominations with little unity among them. As if that is not bad enough, unity in disobedience is not to be sought either. Obedience is better than any sacrifice. Again let me say, I am saddened to the deepest recesses of my heart and soul, when teaching such truths dug from years of intense study, only to be scoffed at by carnal believers who are basically Biblically uninformed, and who would rather rely on their experience instead of the Word of God as their measure of truth. Repentance in the face of disobedience is scarce today primarily because of an out-of-balance and distorted message of grace as espoused by mainline Christianity. Grace is not the antidote for disobedience in the light of truth. Repentance is. The very first words spoken by John the Baptist, Peter, as well as Jesus, as found in the New Testament is "repentance." Again sadly I have found as a Pastor that repentance is a doctrine only taught to beginner classes for new members in churches and not taught as a way of life. When shown that your experience is wrong and diametrically opposed to what the Scriptures say, the proper response is to rend our heart and turn to God in repentance. Anything thing less is definitely not the loving response God desires. In fact, failure to repent in the light of such Biblical knowledge that corrects our sinful experience is the mark of apostasy. It seems that most would rather be in good standing with their pastors and churches than with God. Such is crazy, but I fear our consciences are so seared in contemporary Christianity today that few can hear the message of the prophets God yet sends who cry aloud "repent for the Kingdom of God is near."
With that as a back-drop, and having understood that there is a pattern of worship, let us examine the pattern as it has come down to us. We cannot find the pattern of worship in Christianity, and not even in Messianic Christianity. Messianic Christianity comes closer than traditional Christianity, but close counts only in horseshoes. If you want to find and follow the pattern of worship for the non-Jew you must look to Old Testament as well as the New Testament and read it with a Hebrew perspective as well as look to the synagogue to find the liturgy as practiced by Jesus and those who came to God in his name. It is to this pattern we now turn.
Worship was celebrated in the synagogue in the mornings (shahrit service), the afternoons (minhah service), and the evenings (ma'ariv service). The basis for each of the three services was the recitation of the "shema" and "tefillah" ("the prayer" referring to the Amidah or the "standing prayer") and the reading of the Torah (qeri'at Torah) portion for that day. For reasons of time the Torah was read only in the mornings on Tuesday, Thursday, and the Sabbath. In addition to the three basic foundations for each service was the inclusion of "set" prayers as the following outline shows:
A. Shahrit (Morning Service)
2. Minhah (Afternoon Service)
3. Ma'ariv (Evening Service)
Once one is familiar with such information as presented here, and has studied the materials for himself, then you will see for yourself what Bet Emet is teaching to be true. After coming to such conclusions based upon personal study your first question must be: Why was I not told this before?
It is the greatest tragedy in the world to have spent your whole life in church only to find out after you die that you have followed a neo-pagan form of worship of the God of Israel. Millions and millions of good Christians are dying and meeting God unprepared for what they will hear: "depart from me I never knew you." You may thing that I flippantly used the above passage only to prove my point, but again what few realize is that the condition that elicits the above "departing from Jesus and God" is called iniquity in Matt. 7:21-23.
In conclusion let us look at the word in the Greek for "depart" as used in Matt. 7:21-23:
As Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 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?'
Please pay attention the this next verse and the Greek word used for "iniquity:"
And <2532> then <5119> will I profess <3670> (5692) unto them <846>, <3754> I never <3763> knew <1097> (5627) you <5209>: depart <672> (5720) from <575> me <1700>, ye that work <2038> (5740) iniquity <458>.
Let me say it another way:
And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice LAWLESSNESS'" (Matt. 7:21-23)!
The Greek word for iniquity is as follows:
BDB/Thayers # 458 458 anomia {an-om-ee'-ah} from 459; TDNT - 4:1085,646; n f AV - iniquity 12, unrighteousness 1, transgress the law + 4060 1, transgression of the law 1; 15
Let us look at the root word used:
BDB/Thayers # 459 459 anomos {an'-om-os} from 1 (as a negative particle) and 3551; TDNT - 4:1086,646; adj AV - without law 4, transgressor 2, wicked 2, lawless 1, unlawful 1; 10
Answer for yourself: Do you not see that Jesus is referring also to Gentiles who are ignorant of and who are destitute of the Mosaic Law?
Answer for yourself: Are you aware that these same laws and commandments contained in the Mosaic Law deal with non-Jews and how they are to worship according to the pattern I have telling you about? You are now!
Answer for yourself: Are you a violator of the Mosaic Law in areas such as worship by failing to observe the Biblical Festivals or do you practice your church's pagan holidays which have been re-made to look religious by having Jesus' name attached to them?
Answer for yourself: Are you a violator of the pattern of worship in giving your tithe to organizations and churches who are using the money in ways contrary to how God said it was to be used?
Let us not be mistaken that giving of our finances to religious purposes and various churches is a form of worship, and again the pattern for giving is repeated several times in the Jewish Scriptures. Failure to comply with such pattern for giving makes you a robber of God. Giving your 10% to a church and letting them spend it any way they choose is not obedience to the pattern of worship as contained in your Bible. It might be your experience, but your experience is not accepted by God. Sadly almost all Christian Churches violate this giving commandment and do so by justifying that the money is still used for good purposes. Close but no cigar. Goodly purposes NEVER substitute for Godly purposes.
First of all don't believe anything I said. But let this information stimulate your own study in order for you to discover the same truths as I did. Then and only then can you be assured you are obeying God in such an important area as worship.
If God has opened your mind thus far to what I am saying, then I urge you to begin a genuine STUDY of the Holy Bible. You may wish to begin reading carefully and thoughtfully through every word of the New Testament. Look key words up in their original languages in which the Bible was written (Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic). Only in this way will you find for yourself the hidden revelation and recover not only long lost spiritual truths but restore the "Pattern of Worship" for yourself and your family. If you need help call us at Bet Emet Ministries and we will teach you how to use the study aids available. Shalom.