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Shalom brethren, friends and neighbors,
I bid each one of you peace in the name of our Father Yahweh
and His Son, Messiah Yashua. No doubt, this is the time of year
when many practice gift giving. Though Christmas is celebrated
by many Christians around the world as the anniversary date of
our Lord's birth, it likely is not the actual time of year when
Christ, the newborn King had arrived. I have pointed out before
that early Christians did not celebrate Christmas because the
real reason for celebrating Christ is found in recognizing the
importance and significance of His death. I had already established
an abundance of evidence in a recent Scroll to point out that
He was either born in late 5 BC or early 4 BC by the many evidences
scripture cites. Be that as it may, this is a time of year when
many families celebrate the memory of our Lord's birth and also
a time where many family gatherings bring loved ones together
sharing with one another. There certainly is nothing wrong with
our gathering and sharing and though many fundamentalist 'scrooges'
want to diminish the goodness and better nature of holiday festivities
by citing ancient pagan ritualism and the apparent symmetry of
pagan idolatries, I want to focus on the unique symmetry between
the Jewish celebration of Chanukah (Hanukkah) and the more contemporary
view and practice of Christmas love.
Roots of Christmas
The practice of chopping down a tree and nailing it up,
adorning it with various ornaments during the winter does have
its roots dating back thousands of years before Christ. These
particular celebrations were indeed pagan and many customs like
this have survived eons of time yet are today transformed into
a different celebration attributing to the birth of our Saviour.
God in the Old Testament warned His children not to practice
such pagan rituals and celebrations as the Gentiles did. Jeremiah
10:1-4 "Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto
you, O house of Israel: thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way
of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for
the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples
are vanities; for one cuts a tree out of the forest, the work
of the hands of the workman with the axe. They deck it with silver
and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers that
it moves not." These commands were a matter of law
for the Jews. But I see nothing wrong with changing the old and
corruptible for the new and relevant for we are now under the
"law of grace." It is as if Christ Himself
has given new meaning to all that we should celebrate with Him
being the new focus rather than worshipping trees, practicing
fertility rites or sacrificing to ancient idols. From that perspective,
I see no harm being done if the very purpose of our celebrations
have changed because of Christ.
Did you know that if you inverted just one letter in the phrase
"Christmas love" you end up with the message "Christ
was love?" Remember that God judges us by our heart and
what fills it. So therefore, 1 John 3:18-24 "My Little
children, let us not love in word, neither with the tongue;
but in deed and truth. Hereby shall we know that we
are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him: because
if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth
all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, we have boldness
toward God; and whatsoever we ask we receive of Him, because
we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing
in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we should believe
in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, even
as He gave us commandment. And he that keepeth His commandments
abideth in Him and He in him. And hereby we know that He abideth
in us, by the Spirit, which He gave us."
Paul also reminds us regarding these things in his letter to
the Colossians. 2:16-19 "Let no man therefore judge
you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new
moon or a Sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things
to come; but the body is Christ's. Let no man rob you of your
prize by a voluntary humility and worshipping of the angels,
dwelling in the things which he hath seen, vainly puffed up by
his fleshly mind, and not holding fast the Head, from whom all
the body, being supplied and knit together through the joints
and bands, increasing with the increase of God."
The Festival of Dedication
Whether you are a Christian Jew or Christian Gentile,
the "Festival of Lights" or "Festival of Dedication"
as it is called bears an important significance to believers
of both persuasions. This festival seems to correlate with Yashua
HaMashiach, also known as the Festival of Hanukkah. Though this
particular festival does not outwardly seem to be associated
with the timing of prophetic fulfillment as are so many other
Jewish festivals and traditions, Jesus did attend at least one
such festival as recorded in the book of John. John 10:22-23
"And it was the feast of the dedication at Jerusalem:
it was winter; and Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon's
porch."
I submit therefore if Jesus was allowed to celebrate with His
people during various festivals why should we allow supposed
fundamentalists to rob us of the love and charity commonly associated
with Christmas? It seems to me that more harm is done to the
innocence of a child when adults make an attempt to exclude certain
festivities and holidays for religious reasons. Parents should
therefore be more diligent to educate their children on the real
reason behind such seasons and festivals and avoid the fairytale
lies and images of characters like Santa Clause and the Easter
Bunny. I strongly feel that we do a great disservice to God and
harm our children's way of thinking when we begin brainwashing
them at such a young age with utter falsehoods. Better I say
it is to tell the truth from the beginning!
The Relevance of Hanukkah
According to my God fearing brethren of Christian Jewish faith,
Hanukkah carries a relevant message for Christians as well as
Jews. The more serious Bible students and disciples of Christ
should know that God's seven Festivals or 'Feasts' are a depiction
or prophetic foretelling of past events fulfilled and those still
yet to be realized. In our current timetable, there have been
four fulfillment's (festivals) leaving three yet to be completed.
The Hebrew word for festivals is 'Moadim.' The festival of Passover
was the first to be fulfilled where Jesus became the Passover
lamb because He was God's only Son offered up as a sacrifice
for our sins and hence became a sacrificial lamb. Accepting His
body as a sacrifice for our sins because He was without stain
or reproach (sin) is the fulfillment of the actual "Feast
of Unleavened Bread." The festival of Shavuot was for celebrating
the time when Yahweh (God our Father) gave the Jews the Torah
(Law) and this incidentally was fulfilled on the actual day of
Pentecost when God poured forth His promised Spirit upon us thereby
empowering all believing mankind to live according to "the
law of grace." These are the four prophetic fulfillments,
which have passed, three are yet to be completed. It seems clear
to me that we are on the threshold of the fifth fulfillment,
"The Feast of Trumpets" which according to Scripture
is representative of the "gathering up of saints.?
Hanukkah is rich with symbolism and tradition foretelling promised
events and confirming God's ultimate plan for His "called
children" who would be "chosen" through Yashua
HaMashiach, "Jesus" the Messiah." To better understand
why we should consider ourselves right at the threshold of the
end days when the saints will be gathered up, we need to look
at other aspects of history and see how they were represented
in the Bible.
One such clue to a sign for the end times was given by Jesus
and is recorded in the book of Matthew 24:15 "When ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the
holy place," (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
The Syrian King Antiochus Epiphanes (175-163-B.C) was defeated
by the Jews on the 25th of Kislev. Jews celebrate this day, for
the miracle from God that made such a defeat possible. Antiochus
Epiphanes literally means "god manifest" and this is
the man whom Jesus referred to as the likes of "Anti-Christ."
Antiochus therefore became the ultimate symbol of God's opposer
as "the man of sin" and it is this man whom does Daniel
the Prophet speak of as being responsible for "the abomination of desolation."
The same example and type is also what we still need to look
out for in the latter days, the days we are now in. The Apostle
Paul reiterates this coming event to the Thessalonians. 2 Thessalonians
2:3-4 “Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God,
or that is worshipped; so that he as God sits in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God.â€
If these two men (Antiochus and his predestined predecessor)
sitting upon a throne exalting themselves as god is not the "abomination of desolation"
that Jesus spoke of then what followed in Antiochus' reign of
terror against the Jews was and will be like the very abomination
Jesus referred to regarding the son of perdition in the "end
times."
Antiochus declared Judaism illegal and moved to pass strict laws
against Jewish worship and tradition. In his effort to stamp
out Judaism, he passed a prohibition on circumcision of the flesh,
the Sabbath observance was outlawed and even possession of the
Holy Scriptures warranted criminal punishment. He persecuted
Jewish families and murdered Jewish mothers and their children
when and where he found that circumcision was still being practiced.
In the face of stubborn resistance, he intensified his oppression
and later ordered his soldiers to set up a statue of the Greek
god Jupiter (also known as Zeus) in the Holy of Holies and sacrificed
pigs to it. This action led to a revolt by Mattathias (Matityahu)
a priest, and the Maccabees, so called after Judah who was nicknamed
Maccaheus, "The Hammer," because of his aggressive
fighting style. The Jews were so outraged and enflamed over the
loss of their religious rights and traditions that they fought
fiercely and bravely for nearly two years until the Syrians finally
relented and petitioned for peace.
In December 164 B.C. (the 25th day of Kislev) three years to
the day since the Syrians had begun sacrificing pigs at the Temple,
the Jewish rebels rededicated the Temple and brought sacrifices
in God's honor. Another miracle associated with this festival
occurred after the Jewish troops retook the Temple. They could
only find one cruse of uncontaminated olive oil necessary for
rededicating the Temple. The amount they found was sufficient
for only one day yet they needed a greater portion of oil to
last eight days for this ritual. But God being God, granted yet
another miracle to the Jews and it so happened that the small
quantity of oil they secured was sufficient to burn the full
eight days needed for the Temple to become cleansed. This event
became the very origin of the celebration of Hanukkah.
Each year, Jewish families gather and celebrate Hanukkah for
eight nights. The Hanukkah Menorah (Candleholder) is the traditional
object used in practicing this tradition. On each night, one
candle is lit beginning with the center candle. The center candle
is also known as the "servant candle" and it is used
to light the other candles on successive nights. The Menorah
is generally placed on a window ledge to publicize the divine
miracle of God's grace allowing anyone passing by to see it.
Jewish families generally gather for prayer and worship each
night a candle is lit. The Menorah is not used for any other
function other than for the celebration of Hanukkah.
During the family gatherings around Hanukkah, the children too
have something fun to do. Dreidl, a popular game using a four-sided
object, which spins like a top, has its own historic significance.
On each side of the toy a letter from the Hebrew alphabet is
printed. The letters are nun, gimmel, hay, shin, making the acronym,
'nes gadol haya sham' meaning, "a great miracle happened
there (Israel)." During historic periods of repression and
antagonism against the Jews when even their own language was
outlawed, the dreidl was used to secretly teach the Jewish children
their own language. This of course was a highly kept secret and
unknown to the oppressive authorities because they viewed the
dreidl as a simple child's game of chance.
The Menorah's Significance
The Menorah that is used exclusively for Hanukkah has
nine openings or branches for candles and is unlike the seven
branch Menorah used as the symbol of Israel. As I stated earlier,
the middle candle is known as the Servant candle and it is lit
first and then used to light each of the other candles on successive
nights. The seven branched Menorah was designed after the almond
tree while the Hanukkah Menorah's two extra branches are designed
from the olive tree foreshadowing Paul's (Sha'ul's) treatise
in Roman's 11:17-18 where he speaks of the wild olive tree representing
Gentiles being grafted into Israel. Romans 11:17-18 "But
if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild
olive, was grafted in among them, and did become partaker with
them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree; glory not
over the branches: but if thou glories, it is not thou that bears
the root, but the root thee."
The Old Testament prophets, Haggai and Zechariah, prophesied
the addition of two more lights on the Menorah in 520 BC indicating
that Yahweh (God our Father) would bring forth the "Headstone"
with jubilant praises crying, "grace unto it." The
special timing for this event was again the 24th of Kislev.
Zechariah 4:1-7 "And the angel that talked with me
came again, and waked me, as a man that is wakened out of his
sleep. And he said unto me, What sees thou? And I said, I have
seen, and, behold, a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl upon
the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven pipes
to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof; and two
olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the
other upon the left side thereof. And I answered and spake to
the angel that talked with me, saying, What are these, my lord?
Then the angel that talked with me answered and said unto me,
Knowest thou not what these are? And I said, No, my lord. Then
he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of Jehovah
unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my
Spirit, saith Jehovah of hosts. Who art thou, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain; and he shall bring
forth the top stone with shoutings of Grace, grace, unto it."
Haggai 2:18-19 "Consider, I pray you, from
this day and backward, from the four and twentieth day of the
ninth month, since the day that the foundation of Jehovah's temple
was laid, consider it. Is the seed yet in the barn? Yea, the
vine, and the fig-tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive-tree
have not brought forth; from this day will I bless you."
My devout and learned Jewish brethren say that the above
verses symbolically represent the addition of two more branches
to the standard seven, which represent Israel. These two wild
olive branches being added thereby making a total of nine further
represent these two added lights to the Menorah. This then became
the origin of the Hanukkah Menorah. Jesus (Yashua) therefore
is the very 'top stone' (Headstone) ushering in the prophesied
new age of grace as the 'Servant Lamp.' Did Jesus not become
the very Lamb of sacrifice for us making reconciliation with
God Almighty possible for the Jews and Gentiles? Jesus is described
as a "light unto the Gentiles" in the
book of Luke 2:30-32 "For mine eyes have seen thy
salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples;
A light for revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of thy
people Israel." Further, the book of Revelation
describes Jesus standing in the middle of the Menorah as the
very Servant Candle. In Revelations 1:16, John describes "his
countenance was like the sun shining in its strength." This
bears evidence then of yet another fulfillment where Jesus became
the very Servant Lamp in the middle of the Menorah.
The sages recorded in the Talmud, Yoma 43:3 that the death of
Simeon the Priest was delayed until he beheld the infant King,
Messiah Yashua. This is the same Priest indicated in the book
of Luke 2:25-30 "And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem
whose name was Simeon; and this man was righteous and devout,
looking for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Spirit was
upon him. And the Holy Spirit had revealed unto him, that
he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.
And he came in the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents
brought in the child Jesus, that they might do concerning him
after the custom of the law, (circumcision) then he received
him into his arms, and blessed God, and said, Now let thou
thy servant depart, Lord, According to thy word, in peace; For
mine eyes have seen thy salvation," The sages
further reveal that the Servant Lamp in the Menorah actually
went out and could not be relighted for the 40 years prior to
the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70AD. Therefore
accepting the accuracy of both recordings testifying to Simeon
the Priest, one learns that while Jesus lived among us as the
Servant Lamp and Light among the Gentiles, the traditional center
candle would not light during His ministry and the Apostolic
period following His death.
Though I am no fan of numerology, my Jewish brethren who subscribe
to Hebrew numerology ascribe to the number eight as a transcendent
number in the Hebrew tradition representing deity or 'a new beginning.'
The number seven is representative of 'perfect humanity.'
The comparison here is that the Hanukkah Menorah has eight candles
for deity with one central candle (ninth) being the Servant Candle.
The thinking here is that if perfect humanity represented by
the number seven can only receive life after the 'Servant Candle'
lights them then the Menorah having seven candles within the
nine can be interpreted as 'perfect humanity' made possible by
the imputed righteousness of God. This was made possible by the
work of God's Son being the Servant Candle.
Hanukah is a traditional Jewish celebration was later associated
with the abundance of Christ given as a gift to all humanity.
It represents God's unmerited kindness and empowering grace poured
out on the faithful remnants of both the Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Though Hanukkah was never traditionally associated with 'gift
giving,' practices have changed over time due to commercialization.
The same commercialization, which changed the intended meaning
of Christmas, has influenced many modern Jews to adopt a newer
tradition of gift giving by parents giving to each of their children
a special gift on each of the eight nights Hanukkah is celebrated.
This was most probably due to the close proximity of the Christmas
celebration to Hanukkah. Whether you are a child or an adult
in society, peer pressure always seems to win out and change
the context of our long held traditions and practices.
The Prophetic Significance of Dates and Numbers
There are some other numbers cited in history and scripture
that seems to lend credence to the methods employed in Hebrew
numerology. One thing is for certain, God does seem to use special
dates around critical events associated with the fulfillment
of ancient prophecies. At the tail end of the last scroll I published,
detailing an extensive study of Muslim occupation and control
of Jerusalem, I cited the event when the Europeans once again
gained control of the Holy City. This took place on December
9, 1917, which was the eve of Hanukkah, the 24th of Kislev. On
that date, General Allenby marched upon Jerusalem causing the
Turks to flee resulting in a bloodless victory. It is interesting
to note that the General's name in Arabic means 'Allah Beh' which
is defined as 'prophet of God.' This may be a mere coincidence
but the Holy City was delivered from captivity on that day. There
are many other associations one can make with numbers cited in
the historical text of Scripture. The eight days of Hanukkah
can also be mirrored to the eighth day after birth when an infant
is circumcised in accordance with Jewish tradition. There are
also eight different garments worn by Jewish priests and there
are eight days in the celebration of Passover. The 25th of Kislev
is also the date when the Tabernacle was finished in the wilderness
and coincidentally was the day that God blessed Noah with the
'rainbow of promise.' Christ's nine blessings in the 'Sermon
on the Mount' (Beatitudes) can be likened to the nine candles
of Hanukkah and the nine fold fruits of the Spirit indicated
in the book of Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of
the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control;
against such there is no law."
Even the shield of Israel represents a seven lamp Menorah
with two olive branches to either side indicating two more lamps.
Notice that the olive branches have only twelve leaves on each,
which together, represents the twenty-four thrones around Christ's
throne upon which the elders sit. These are the 'elders of Israel'
surrounding Christ who rule with Him. It is generally held that
of the twenty-four elders, twelve represents the twelve major
Patriarchs of the Old Testament and the other twelve are representative
of the twelve Apostles. The symbology here demonstrates that
all believers of Christ are 'one' under the Kippur (covering)
of the shed blood of our Saviour Jesus the Christ of God (Yashua).
So that GOD would be Remembered
I believe that these many parallels and symbolic indicators
became necessary so that in all things, God could be remembered.
It is these very symbologies inherit with many Jewish customs
and also Christian celebrations that keep Jews and Christians
inexorably tied together. Intended as it were for the sole purpose
of remembering God's unfathomable riches and glory and promises
kept through His divine works and the fulfilled works of His
obedient Son. It is through Christ and Christ alone that the
wild branches could be grafted together with the natural ones
making true shalom possible between us and also God. Here, the
Muslims could stand to learn from our kinship both Jews and Gentiles
can achieve in Christ. There are a plethora of lessons learned
from the long enduring and rich history of God's chosen people
and if it were not for the first relationship God had formed
with the Jews, we (Gentiles) would not be capable of understanding
so much about the divine character and love God has for us. We
therefore owe a large debt of gratitude to the devout Jews for
keeping and maintaining their traditions in remembrance of God
throughout their long history of suffering. For as Apostle Paul
put it, if God were able to cut away certain branches making
room for other branches to be grafted in, is He not also capable
of taking the original branches and put them together with the
unnatural ones He joined? Of course He is and that inevitably
makes us brethren of two different households having become one
under God's household.
Let us therefore lay aside our strong indifferences this holiday
season and remember what the reason is for our respective seasons.
Let forgiveness truly fill your heart, mind and attitude and
learn to share the love we each have for our Lord with one another
and without partiality or religious intolerance. God is partial
to no one and it is upon Him our very lives depend for eternal
existence. Let us therefore love one another from the heart.
Baruch HaShem (Blessed be His name)!
Who was Nicholas?
The death of the "old man" and birth of the "new
Man"
2 Corinthians 5:16-21 "Wherefore we henceforth
know no man after the flesh: even though we have known Christ
after the flesh, yet now we know him so no more. Wherefore
if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature: the old things
are passed away; behold, they are become new. But all things
are of God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and
gave unto us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God
was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not reckoning
unto them their trespasses, and having committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. We are ambassadors therefore on behalf
of Christ, as though God were entreating by us: we beseech you
on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to God. Him who knew no
sin he made to be sin on our behalf; that we might become the
righteousness of God in him."
I thought since this is the time of year when many people
share of themselves by sending out 'Christmas letters,' I would
for a change lay down my sword for a bit and share something
of my former self. I don't usually like talking about myself
unless there is a relevant witness to establish but a few have
recently commented, 'People want to know who you are and where
you came from so they can identify with you.' I guess the
following answers the 'who' but I am more less concerned with
the 'who' as I am 'what' You know the question begs, 'What am
I, Is this all that I am?' The following does indeed bear witness
therefore to the plans God had for this child of sin.
Amazing grace and a Miracle indeed!
To begin with, I should have never been born if it were
not for the insistence of my mother who was raped and left for
dead in the basement of a New York apartment building in the
winter of 59/60. After 33 days of being locked in a cool, damp
and dark basement with no windows or light, my mother who had
been raped was found in a very mal-nourished condition by the
local police authorities and arrangements were made to fly her
back to San Francisco, California via Military transport. She
was in critical condition for a number of weeks and many tests
were performed to help remedy her deteriorated condition. She
was only 15 years old at the time. When the Doctors announced
that she was pregnant and advised her that an abortion should
be considered because of her poor condition, she promptly told
the doctors where to shove it and exclaimed, "I'm having
this baby no matter what!" Even though there was a great
chance that both she and child might not survive the pregnancy
term and eventual birth, she by the grace of God decided to proceed.
After two months of treatment, she was allowed to stay on a farm
with her Godfearing grandparents who watched over her during
the time of her pregnancy. I was born on October 28, 1960 in
San Mateo, California.
A Loving Adoption as son
Later on, my mother had eventually married Kenneth Linton
Stivers after a failed marriage attempt replete with drunken
abuse. Now, she was with two children. Being the victim of such
abuse, the emotional scars ran deep and I developed a terrible
stuttering problem, which my newly adopted father, Ken Stivers
helped me overcome. By the time I was 4 years old, I was baptized
in a Lutheran Church but it was not long after that my father
pulled us out of that Church for reasons of apparent hypocrisy
and unresolved disagreement with the Priest. We never attended
Church again as a family except for funerals and weddings.
Hearing God for the first time
It was not until I was 5 years old living in Cheyenne,
Wyoming when I heard for the first time, the voice of God who
first warned me that the state of humanity was in grave danger
and almost all were dead. The voice assured me I was alive but
the world I was in was dead and dying. When I told my mother
of what the voice had told me, she simply replied, 'You have
quite an imagination son.' Nobody believed me so I pretty
much kept it to myself for years. This of course troubled me
and it was less than a week later after hearing the voice of
God, when I was struck down with Pneumonia and tonsil/adenoid
throat infection. I was in a coma for 4 or 5 days as my mother
remembers. They were afraid I was going to die as the pneumonia
took hold of me fast and my body ran with a high temperature
for days.
Early Visions of Judgment and Redemption
By the time I was 9 years old, I started having these
reoccurring dreams of judgment and condemnation making me feel
very frightened of my future and still trying to reason with
the voice I had heard earlier in my youth. I quite naturally
began to pray to God for understanding and protection but the
dreams continued for nearly two years as though they were an
instant re-play. There was a gap of peaceful silence for about
a year before I started having a different reoccurring dream
at age 12. This dream was different as I became overcoming and
was promised that one day I would soar where only eagles could
fly. The angel who appeared in this reoccurring dream assured
me that I would be overcoming and that he would teach me all
things. This second dream (vision) allowed me to feel at peace
that God was finally answering my prayer though I had no clue
what the future had in store for me.
Rapid Physical growth was later matched by my rapid Spiritual
growth
I don't recall hearing the voice of God again until much
later in my adult life but I can tell you that my childhood was
very different than most. I experienced radical physical maturity
in the summer between fifth and sixth grade and became a real
oddity among my peers having grown an unprecedented 5 inches
in 3 months and by the end of my elementary training, I was shaving
and started to grow alot of facial hair. I had a full grown beard
by the time I was in 8th grade and became even more rejected
by my peers but I excelled academically and was able to start
college when my peers were finishing their senior year in High
School. What is most memorable of my education were the many
challenges and debates I had with teachers and administrators
over "half-baked" truths and censored materials being
used to promote pride in American history rather than using the
mistakes of our past to teach us how to avoid repeating our bloody
history. I was one such student that would grieve over the material
in US History because I knew we were being fed lies and I often
so impressed my teachers with valid argument that I scored highly
in my GPA and was sometimes viewed as a young man possessing
great leadership ability. Later on in life, it became clear to
me that a latent, but rapid spiritual growth would only match
my rapid physical growth.
My Catholic Experiences and Wife of my youth
Fast forward to my days as a young adult and my first
experience with the Catholic Church... I fell in love with a
young Filipino girl four years older than myself. She was raised
Roman Catholic as are most Filipinos born in their own country.
When she accepted my proposal of marriage, she said it would
be on the condition that we could get married in the Catholic
Church. When we searched for a parish that could accommodate
us we found none that were able to do this unless I converted
myself to becoming a Catholic. Well, that was just not very scriptural
to me and God knew how much I loved Him. We ended up getting
married outside the religious order of man but my wife insisted
we play the role of hypocrites and attend Catholic Mass as often
as we could. Each time we visited family in Canada we always
had to attend the local Catholic services so as not to be an
offense to other family members.
After nearly five years of marriage, my wife became restless
and disenchanted in our marriage as I had devoted so much time
to my inspiring new career in management. I did like most men
do, I took for granted the things that made for a wholesome marriage
and did not consider her many pleas for more attention. The common
stresses associated with the desire for financial success out
weighed the more important need for healthy relationship. She
hooked up with a girl who did not have her best welfare in mind
and the two of them took off across Canada to a destination unknown
to me. In my despair and confusion, I pleaded with God to help
me after my in-laws rejected any request I made for assistance
in bringing her home. Except for my wife's father, I was not
well liked or trusted by the rest of the family. Prejudice ran
deep with their cultural and religious pride.
The Value of Prayer and fasting… A
Miracle Indeed!
Having no inclination to eat, I vowed to God that I would
not eat again until I had found my wife and brought her home.
I drank only coffee for the 15 days it took me to find her. Without
any direct information having only a clue that she might be in
Toronto, I set out by Bus across Canada to find her having taken
only the clothes on my back and a small Bible to comfort me on
my journey. The Word of God fed me and He started speaking to
me again convicting me of the reasons why she had left. I pleaded
in tears night and day while on the Bus for God to help me find
her so that I could set things straight and begin anew. Upon
arriving in a strange city (Toronto) where I had never before
been, I came out of the Bus depot and headed towards a subway
station across the street. I'd never been on a subway before
and was intimidated by all the people sprawling about this huge
city. Down below the city streets was a ticket station with a
large map of the subway system on the wall. I had no clue where
to begin but I knew that God was with me and so I pointed my
finger in the air toward the large map and chose a destination
to depart for. Upon arriving at the destination, I came out to
the above streets and saw a neighborhood of houses lining streets
approaching the shores of the Great Lake that Toronto is positioned
off of. I set out to walk these streets towards the Lake shore
turning only when the Spirit indicated and by the time I was
traveling down the third street from where I began, I found our
car (Honda Accord LX) parked in front of a duplex. The temperature
was about 20 degrees as it was winter and the winds blowing off
the Lake were fierce. Frozen and weak from my long fast, I stood
there in amazement that I had found our car within three hours
upon arriving in Toronto. While contemplating what I should do
next, my wife came around the corner of the duplex she was staying
in and as she walked down the snow drift in the front yard, she
saw me collapse to my knees giving praise to God for leading
me to her. She was shocked and amazed that I would come so far,
blindly searching for her. She spent several days helping me
to regain my strength and it was not long before we reconciled
and I was able to bring her back to the Northwest. It was this
experience that God first revealed His great power to me and
to this day He reminds me of the power of faith which I had in
Him during my weakest point. God taught me first before any,
the value of sincere prayer and fasting.
Discovering many contrasts
Over the years I made many observations of contrasts
between what scripture declared in the New Testament to what
was being taught by various Catholic priests. I rejected all
that was not scriptural but I was in no way a disciple of Christ
at this time in my life. In fact, I will admit that I had become
mediocre in faith becoming a hypocrite and began loosing my sense
of discernment over matters of religious virtue. There were so
many parallels of tradition and practice in the Catholic Church
with other religions that it became more and more difficult to
see any great difference between these divisive religions of
men. Whenever I would question Catholic doctrine and contrast
it with scripture, I would be met with various levels of ignorance
and indifference. I became very disillusioned with all religion
in general but did not forget the power of faith I had already
experienced. It was offensive to me that the Catholics believed
they were the only true Church when I could see that their Church
was more representative of idolatry and the Pope was more like
a Pharisee in all likeness. Who was he to declare himself to
be the Holy Father and Vicar of Christ? Jesus said, "Call no one your Father."
Repetitious prayers and praying for the dead and praying to Mary
and dead saints when Jesus is supposed to be our only mediator
became very troubling. When I had learned that the Catholic Church
historically had been responsible for so much bloodshed and persecution
of the Jews, I could no longer enter such a place without crying
uncontrollably. There indeed was something at work in me but
it was not yet obvious to me that God was pulling me out.
Brokeness and Resolve
After 13 years of marriage and three beautiful children,
I lost my wife to suicide and soon after my life took a nosedive
of such magnitude that I was spiritually broken and in many pieces.
I sought out fellowship at a church behind our house, which was
a FourSquare denomination seeking healing and remedy to what
felt like utter hopelessness. This worked for a while and I was
brought back to a degree of health but it wasn't until I started
testing what the preacher said against what scripture taught
that I began to once again grow with faith and confidence. It
was also at this time that I started hearing God's voice again
welcoming me back into His fold. He literally began to teach
me from the scriptures and show me why all these contrasts I
knew had existed were so troubling to me all my life. He also
brought back remembrance of my selfish life and rebellion all
those prior years, which kept me in a state of continuos and
sorrowful repentance for nearly two years. I endured the deepest
of depressions and experienced the greatest humility I have ever
tasted. Truly, I became the prodigal son who had returned to
from where he came.
God assured me He would not forsake me as long as I did not forsake
Him. My will He would never take from me. In other words, He
made sure I understood that there was much work to do but it
would require great commitment on my part and I would not be
able to afford a selfish lifestyle of mediocrity and hypocrisy
any longer. I surrendered fully to God and soon after there was
a great personal storm wiping away all that was unnecessary and
over burdening in my life. When the storm was over, I had lost
my career, filed bankruptcy, foreclosed my house and ended up
taking my three young children to live aboard my 27-foot sailboat.
That was all that was left. Even the pride which I had maintained
all those years was completely destroyed and God revealed clearly
that was the source of my troubles; my pride.
A Peace that surpasses all understanding
I remember the first evening after moving aboard my little
boat with my three young children that "peace that
surpasses all understanding" came upon me and I
felt as though the world had been lifted off my shoulders. I
quite naturally adopted a lifestyle of continuos prayer and fasting
without being taught such things by religious men. I remember
often trekking down the beach near where my boat was moored to
sit atop a large boulder to pray and wait to hear God respond
to my many tears and I found myself weeping not for my life but
for so many who were being lead astray by selfish glories. It
was at this time when I can honestly say that I experienced a
true baptism of the Holy Spirit and then I began to record deep
insights and revelations, prayers and poetic praise in a diary
sharing them with my children as I began to grow in my relationship
with my Heavenly Father whom I had forsaken for so many years.
These diary entries soon became full-blown exhortations, which
I began sharing amongst a large Christian populous.
Coming out from among them
It wasn't until then I started realizing the very things
that Jesus promised His followers were coming to pass. Very soon,
the Pastors and Priests more and more hated me and they declared
I was a threat to the delicate balance of new believers in their
quaint little churches. I was no more accepted by the Protestant
denominations as I was the Catholics and it became clearer to
me the problem was not with me but with the religions of men
practicing all degrees of partiality and segregation. I soon
made another separation from the churches of men and pleaded
with God in tears, "Where am I to go and what am I to
do oh Lord?" His response was shocking to me at first
because I did not consider myself worthy of such a calling. God
said plainly, "Reach out to the outermost parts of
the earth Nicholas and draw my children near. Help to restore
their hearts back to me and find all your brethren for they are
scattered far and wide." Some weeks later His voice
responded to me again in prayer and He said, 'You are as
a sword is to a brave warrior. You have become a son to me and
it pleases me." I asked at this point, 'Who speaks
to me?' The voice simply replied, "I AM. I AM
the LORD your GOD. I AM." From that point forward,
I have been walking with great conviction and humility looking
forward to each day and what my Lord has in store. Yet, I am
met with much disbelief by others and jealousy in some. Some
of these things are recorded in the initial exhortations I recorded
and shared with various fellowships.
The vine began to bear its fruit
The first seventeen exhortations became a book entitled,
Apostasy Revealed and soon after its publication, I was invited
by Rita Williams to come aboard with her at Cephas Ministry to
help reach out to the lost and wandering souls who were wandering
through darkness having become disenchanted with their once favorite
churches. Rita not only read my book and found agreement but
she tested me for months to see if I was truly a genuine God
fearing man. The many Exhortations and Scrolls now published
on my website http://nicholasscrolls.cephasministry.com
are a continuation of the work which was started in my book.
The rest of my witness and testimony is found throughout my website
and bears credible evidence that God is not dead words on paper
but He is a living Spirit and His Son's sacrifice was not in
vain but was necessary to show all mankind the way unto eternal
life with the Father. In a nutshell, I chose to become a true
disciple of Christ and in the process discovered that with His
abiding Spirit came great responsibility and certain gifts for
me to employ in reaching out to my scattered brethren. I eventually
understood that I became a scribe and a messenger and am of no
real significance to the world but am often perceived as a threat
to the pride religious men.
While on my journey across America to spread His living message
and warn the people of various religious castes to repent, My
Lord spoke to me clearly and said, "These people,
their hearts have become dull and they are hard of hearing. They
keep on hearing but do not understand and they think they see
but they are blind men. It is time once again to remind them
of their heresies and abominations. Speak to them o'son of man
and do not let them disregard you. I am with you."
Pressing on towards maturity
The rest of my story is self-evident and made available
for all to see, hear and read in the pages of our web ministry.
There is not much else to tell but that the Word not only defines
itself but also validates the faith of a believer. How far we
are willing to go to get the message across is up to us. We all
are most certainly held accountable for our witness and judgment
falls upon those who stray from God’s truth.
There does appear to be some evidence of absolutes but it is
not like what the pompous priests of religious institutions proclaim.
The absolutes are defined in the person of Christ Jesus and if
our example does not match the selfless pattern of His teachings
and example then we miss the mark and sin against GOD. When will
humanity mature enough to throw away their bottles of pabulum
and part-take in the meat, which is served at our Lord's table?
I cannot answer that question but I do know the right answer
exists in the acceptance and genuine appreciation for Christ's
selfless sacrifice. Do we not owe Him our very lives, which are
said to have been purchased and redeemed? Should we not all be
fixing our eyes completely on Jesus? When will men grow up to
be real God fearing men and when will the religious castes lay
down their pride and die to all their divisive nature and vain
precepts?
Sorry, I may have gotten carried away but that is my personal
testimony in brief. I'm sure that you can understand I am no
friend of divisive religion. I see it as a divisive tool to further
separate us from God. Jesus rebuked religion but embellished
faith. Faith is nothing more than an unwavering trust in God
the Father. Why is it so hard for so many to see that the Word
is the ultimate judge of these things? If our witness does not
match up to what the witness of God's Spirit granted us through
the Apostles... how can any call themselves Christian? I am not
satisfied with being a mere believer because the conviction that
God's Spirit brings has changed me into a different creature;
one that is not well liked by men who are filled with pride.
When a man rests his salvation on a simple confession in
the past and never does anything more to prove himself a doer
of God's Word then that man looses out on his reward.
Salvation is clearly a duty and a responsibility and if I shirked
my duty to proclaim these truths, then very much blood would
be on my hands. It is time therefore for all that believe to
repent. Let those who do not, remain as they are for the time
draws near. "We are in the last hours even moments
of the second day and soon, the morning of the third day will
dawn. What happens on the morning of the third day on sons of
men?" Questions the Spirit of God in me.
I think it best to wrap up this piece before I get carried
away again. This will be the last edition of volume II of the
Nicholas Scrolls. In January, God willing, we will begin volume
III. Just know that I wish each and every one of you the very
best that God has to offer in your life. We so often take for
granted the things, which come our way, and it is easy to forget
that "good things come from the Father above."
God wants to be remembered and yes, worshipped in Spirit and
truth. If you are among my Jewish brethren, I bid you Happy Hanukkah
and if you are among the Christian populous, I wish you a Merry
Christmas. If you give gifts during your respective celebrations,
I caution you only that you should avoid if at all possible,
becoming a slave to debt. Avoid the mass hysteria so commonly
associated with this time of year and the commercialization of
our historic traditions. To me, Christmas is intended for the
children and we should be careful to practice moderation in all
our giving and not overly extend ourselves. If you are like me
and can’t afford much more than the food at
your table, then give something of yourself in a different way.
There is always room for giving in our lives and I believe the
more we give of ourselves, the more blessed we become because
we end up giving to those who cannot give back in return. As
God has so freely given unto me the things that enrich our faith
in Christ, so I give unto you and wish you all a season of peace
and good will. To you and all men in whom God is well pleased,
shalom!
With all sincerity and love for the truth and our scattered
brethren abroad,
Nicholas A. Stivers, humbled God fearing man, scribe and messenger.
Author; Apostasy Revealed published 2003 by Mountainview
Publishing ISBN: 1-928602-92-4
http://nicholasscrolls.cephasministry.com/
http://abide-in-truth-events.cephasministry.com/
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