Solomon died and Rehoboam, his son, reigned over the tribes of the children of Israel.
But there is a problem.
God placed a penalty upon king Solomon. It was going to come to pass after Solomon died and this affects what happens with Rehoboam, Solomon's son.
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I Kings 11:4-9 For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord, and went not fully after the Lord, as did David his father.
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned from the Lord God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice,
And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the Lord commanded.
I Kings 11:11-13 Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept MY covenant and MY statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant.
Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father's sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son (Rehoboam) for David my servant's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake which I have chosen.
***
So after Solomon's death the kingdom will be divided.
I Kings 11:42-43 And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. And Solomon slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
Jeroboam had been anointed as future king of 10 tribes by God even while Solomon lived. For fear of Solomon, Jeroboam fled to Egypt. Now that Solomon is dead, Jeroboam is planning to return to Israel.
I Kings 11:26-28 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.
And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
I Kings 11:29-39 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces:
And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he, Rehoboam, shall have one tribe for MY servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken ME, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in MY ways, to do that which is right in Mine eyes, and to keep MY statutes and MY judgments, as did David his father.
Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept MY commandments and MY statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand (out of Rehoboam's hand), and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.
And unto his son (Rehoboam) will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before ME in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen ME to put MY name there.
And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
I Kings 11:39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.
Solomon sought to kill Jereboam.
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Jeroboam had been anointed as future king of 10 tribes by God even while Solomon lived. For fear of Solomon, Jeroboam fled to Egypt. Now that Solomon is dead, Jeroboam is planning to return to Israel.
I Kings 11:26-28 And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon's servant, whose mother's name was Zeruah, a widow woman, even he lifted up his hand against the king. And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father.
And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph.
***
God sends HIS prophet, Ahijah, to Jeroboam:
I Kings 11:29-39 And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field:
And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: (But he, Rehoboam, shall have one tribe for MY servant David's sake, and for Jerusalem's sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) Because that they have forsaken ME, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in MY ways, to do that which is right in Mine eyes, and to keep MY statutes and MY judgments, as did David his father.
God was going to give one tribe to Rehoboam.
Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom out of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant's sake, whom I chose, because he kept MY commandments and MY statutes: But I will take the kingdom out of his son's hand (out of Rehoboam's hand), and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes.
And unto his son (Rehoboam) will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before ME in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen ME to put MY name there.
And I will take thee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel.
What God says, HE will do, though we may not know "how" it can be.
God's promise to Jeroboam:
I Kings 11:38 And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in MY ways, and do that is right in MY sight, to keep MY statutes and MY commandments, as David MY servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee.
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I Kings 11:39 And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever.
Solomon sought to kill Jereboam.
I Kings 11:40 Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon.
***
I Kings 12:1-5 And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king.
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him.
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
And he (Rehoboam) said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.
And the people departed.
I Kings 12:6-8 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
But he (Rehoboam) forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
***
I Kings 12:12-17 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day.
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Wherefore the king (Rehoboam) hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the Lord, that HE might perform HIS saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
I Kings 12:21-24 And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men (180,000), which were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from ME. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
I Kings 12:25-27 Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusalem, then shall the heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah.
The reasoning of Jeroboam, by his own mind, is wrong, for God has said he, Jeroboam, will reign over 10 of the tribes of Israel. That which God said should have been Rehoboam's focal point, and that only.
And for us today it is the same: We ask ourselves: "What has God said about this ?" And we make ourselves focus on that which God has said.
In Jauary 2020, Pam Padgett heard the word, "podcasts", twice. She told me about this word and she tried to explain to me what a podcast is. Then I was very interesting in building a library of podcasts. (Verbal teachings)
But I got Pam sidetracked with radio broadcasts and for several hours we were checking on radio.
God got me, and Pam, back on the subject, "podcasts".
We quit pursuing radio.
We focused on that word which God gave to Pam. And everything in our thinking began to fall into place!
We must focus on that word which we have heard from God.
I Kings 12:28-30 Whereupon the king (Jeroboam) took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
And he set the one in Bethel, and the other put he in Dan.
I Kings 12:31-33 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
II Chronicles 11:14-15 For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest's office unto the Lord: And he (Jeroboam) ordained him priests for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made
And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) That they sent and called him.
And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying,
Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee.
And he (Rehoboam) said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me.
And the people departed.
***
I Kings 12:6-8 And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, and said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people?
And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever.
But he (Rehoboam) forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him:
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Remember that God has pronounced a penalty upon Solomon because Solomon worshipped other gods, and God has determined that the kingdom will be divided, and God has ordained Jeroboam to rule over 10 tribes of Israel, and God has ordained that Rehoboam will rule over one tribe. God causes this to happen by the counsel of the young men as follows:
I Kings 12:9-11 And he (Rehoboam) said unto them, What counsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter?
10 And the young men that were grown up with him (with Rehoboam) spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father's loins.
And now whereas my father did lade you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
***
And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men's counsel that they gave him;
And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.
Wherefore the king (Rehoboam) hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the Lord, that HE might perform HIS saying, which the Lord spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents.
17 But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them.
The kingdom is now divided into Judah ruled by Rehoboam, Solomon's son ... and to Israel ruled by Jeroboam.
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I Kings 12:18-20 Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died.
Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem.
So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.
***
Rehoboam plans to go to war against Israel but God turns him through God's message delivered by God's prophet, Shemaiah:
But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying,
Thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to his house; for this thing is from ME. They hearkened therefore to the word of the Lord, and returned to depart, according to the word of the Lord.
***
Jeroboam causes the people to sin:
The reasoning of Jeroboam, by his own mind, is wrong, for God has said he, Jeroboam, will reign over 10 of the tribes of Israel. That which God said should have been Rehoboam's focal point, and that only.
And for us today it is the same: We ask ourselves: "What has God said about this ?" And we make ourselves focus on that which God has said.
In Jauary 2020, Pam Padgett heard the word, "podcasts", twice. She told me about this word and she tried to explain to me what a podcast is. Then I was very interesting in building a library of podcasts. (Verbal teachings)
But I got Pam sidetracked with radio broadcasts and for several hours we were checking on radio.
God got me, and Pam, back on the subject, "podcasts".
We quit pursuing radio.
We focused on that word which God gave to Pam. And everything in our thinking began to fall into place!
We must focus on that word which we have heard from God.
***
Jeroboam makes 2 calves of gold for gods:
Jeroboam focused on his idea that the people would return to Rehoboam if they had to go to Jerusalem to worship God so Jeroboam builds 2 golden calves to place in his cities for the people to worship without having to go to Jerusalem.
Jeroboam focused on his idea that the people would return to Rehoboam if they had to go to Jerusalem to worship God so Jeroboam builds 2 golden calves to place in his cities for the people to worship without having to go to Jerusalem.
I Kings 12:28-30 Whereupon the king (Jeroboam) took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.
30 And this thing became a sin: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.
Here is another serious problem. Jeroboam set up priests who were not of the sons of Levi, the tribe set up by God to deal with the covenant of God.
Today we have set up by Jesus for the NT church ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher. (Ephesians 4:11) We cannot add anything else to the NT church today, for to do so is to depart from the Bible. And if we depart from the Bible we set up "idols" in the church and cause the people to worship those idols just as they worshipped the 2 golden calves in the day of Jeroboam.
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Here is another serious problem. Jeroboam set up priests who were not of the sons of Levi, the tribe set up by God to deal with the covenant of God.
Today we have set up by Jesus for the NT church ministries of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher. (Ephesians 4:11) We cannot add anything else to the NT church today, for to do so is to depart from the Bible. And if we depart from the Bible we set up "idols" in the church and cause the people to worship those idols just as they worshipped the 2 golden calves in the day of Jeroboam.
I Kings 12:31-33 And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the golden calves that he had made: and he placed in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.
So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he (Jeroboam) offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
Jeroboam offered upon the alter. Jeroboam made himself a priest. He set up priests who were not Levites. Only the Levites were authorized by God for the work of the ministries of God in the Old Testament. Jeroboam was not a Levite either. None of these non-Levitates could do these works set up by Jeroboam.
The priests and Levites left the provinces of Jeroboam to go to Judah and Rehoboam because of the this.
This is a very great sin against God.
This type of thing happened to the apostle Paul where the Jews kept them from speaking to the Gentiles.
Paul speaks about the Jews doing this to the apostles of his day in I Thessalonians 2:16:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
This type of thing happened to the apostle Paul where the Jews kept them from speaking to the Gentiles.
Paul speaks about the Jews doing this to the apostles of his day in I Thessalonians 2:16:
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
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We see this today in chuches when they keep the ministers ordained by God for the work of the ministry out of the NT church and set themselves their own ministers by their own will and not by the will of God. It is exactly the same as Jeroboam did when he would not allow the Levites to function as priests and to offer offerings to God as God set up in the OT.
God speaks by Abijah the prophet:
God speaks by Abijah the prophet:
II Chronicles 13:4-9 And Abijah (the prophet of God) stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; Ought ye not to know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord.
7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with your golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
7 And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them.
8 And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the Lord in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with your golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods.
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It is amazing to me that this is exactly what we see happening today in the New Testament church.
Jesus ordained ministers for the NT church for the work of the ministry.
But men set up their churches by their own will, keeping the ministers ordained by God from speaking to the NT church.
Jesus ordained ministers for the NT church for the work of the ministry.
But men set up their churches by their own will, keeping the ministers ordained by God from speaking to the NT church.
The destructions that will come upon these churches today who are set up this way will be devastating and they will not escape the wrath of God because of their plan whereby the real ministers of God are kept from speaking in many of the churches today. And those who follow these destructions in churches will also suffer severe loss because they refused to love the truth of the scripture and depart from lies set up in their church groups.
That destruction is coming just as the apostle Paul said it would come in II Thessalonians 2.
10-12 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
And what is it they did today in perverted chuches?
They left the plan that was set up by God for the NT church by the New Testament Bible. They ordained their own men as ministers. They departed from the plan God set in the Bible for ministers and for the church. And they set up fairy tales for the church people to believe in place of Bible doctrine.
They left the plan that was set up by God for the NT church by the New Testament Bible. They ordained their own men as ministers. They departed from the plan God set in the Bible for ministers and for the church. And they set up fairy tales for the church people to believe in place of Bible doctrine.
But all of us have our Bibles and we can see for ourselves and each of us are accountable.
***
New Testament church:
After the death of the apostle Paul men changed the doctrines for the church and began to bring in various perversions to get people to follow them.
These things brought into the New Testament church were not written in the New Testament Bible, but where added by men.
Examples of these perversions in the churches today:
* Graven images of stone, plaster, oil paintings, stained glass of "saints", and such: Anything which is supposed to make the person feel emotions and feel "religious" by looking at works done by human hands.
* Worshipping their Church buildings: The meeting place is not the church. The church are those individuals to whom God has revealed Himself by HIS Spirit. Some people take pride in their church building which is made by human hands. This is not worshipping God in spirit. This is worshipping God in the flesh.
Luke 20:46 Beware of the scribes, which desire to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the markets, and the highest seats in the synagogues, and the chief rooms at feasts;
Examples of these perversions in the churches today:
* Graven images of stone, plaster, oil paintings, stained glass of "saints", and such: Anything which is supposed to make the person feel emotions and feel "religious" by looking at works done by human hands.
* Worshipping their Church buildings: The meeting place is not the church. The church are those individuals to whom God has revealed Himself by HIS Spirit. Some people take pride in their church building which is made by human hands. This is not worshipping God in spirit. This is worshipping God in the flesh.
* Add works to the church: (Not in Bible) Holy water, crossing themselves, wearing crosses or religious medallions, religious holidays such as Lent or Christmas.
* Setting up holy garments for ministers: There are no such things as specified garments for ministers in the New Testament Bible.
Matthew 23:5-10 Jesus said: But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
Matthew 23:5-10 Jesus said: But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.
* Calling themselves Reverend: No man in Bible called himself "Reverend". This must not be done today. Jesus called the New Testament church ministers: apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher (Ephesians 4:11)
There is no such thing in Bible as: pope, arch-bishop, cardinal... these titles were made up by men to honor themselves. We must not follow these or do these saying of men in religious settings. To follow these titles set up by men in churches is to set up idols in the church for the congregation to worship those men.
There is no such thing in Bible as: pope, arch-bishop, cardinal... these titles were made up by men to honor themselves. We must not follow these or do these saying of men in religious settings. To follow these titles set up by men in churches is to set up idols in the church for the congregation to worship those men.
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Jesus speaking to the woman of Samaria:
John 4:19-24 The woman saith unto Him (to Jesus), Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship HIM.
God is a Spirit: and they that worship HIM must worship HIM in spirit and in truth.
***
God tells us in the Holy Bible what we are to do when we come together as the church.
In this instruction for the New Testament church, God was free to speak though whom HE willed in the gathering and to speak by HIS Spirit.
***
We live in "perilous times" as the apostle Paul said it would be at the end. II Timothy 3.
Basically, if you cannot find the religious act in the New Testament Bible, you are under no obligation to do that act, it was instituted by men and not by God. And it is like an "idol" set up in the church by men and would even be a sin to do this thing which is not in the New Testament Bible.
Each of us are accountable for that which we choose to do in the gathering of the NT church and we will be judged in the day of judgment for that which we do.
Our choices must be according to that set forth in the New Testament Bible.
Each of us are accountable for that which we choose to do in the gathering of the NT church and we will be judged in the day of judgment for that which we do.
Our choices must be according to that set forth in the New Testament Bible.
*****