Disclaimer: Keeping kosher observance does not
save atone our sins or this is not even an attempt by us to say you must
do this like some other cult based groups do, we advise based on scripture
because these are part of the commandments that Yahushua commanded us to obey (John 14:15) and it honours Yahushua Yahweh revealed in the flesh if you do obey Him. Salvation is only through Teshuvah
(Repentance, turning away from sin) and by the blood of Yahushua that was shed on
the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. We will use El's name in
this article interchangeably. We wish for you to pray to our mighty El
Yahushua and let Him guide you through the Ruach Kodesh what is required from
you to do to please Him. We simply offer these details here for your
information that it may benefit your life and so that you know the Hebrew roots
of our faith. it is offered on a take it or leave it basis, we obey Elohim
of our fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and try to best follow Him ourselves and
do what we can to please our Father in heaven. We only request that you at
least try and learn likewise, this is nothing to put you in legality or bondage,
obeying Yahweh is a pleasure not a bondage and in the end if you decide this is
not something you want to do then we still accept you as a brother in Yahweh
albeit not fully living according to His will and do not reject you based on what food you eat or what not
and whether you obey the Sabbaths or not, however how Yahweh feels is already
recorded in the Bible.
Prepared by
Messianic Rabbi Simon Altaf and Yesuto Ben Rod.
You can
contact Yeshuto on
yesuto856@yahoo.com
Rav Simon Altaf
can be contacted on
Shimoun63@yahoo.com
Some Terms used:
Apostolic writings (The disciples
writings of Jesus commonly known as the NT)
Tanakh (Hebrew Bible minus the
apostolic writings)
YHWH (God's personal name, we
pronounce it Yahuweh)
Teshuvah (Repentance, turning away
from sin)
Question
1) We are often told that “Yahushua (Jesus) did away with the Torah, and taught a superior
Torah and that we no longer need to do any of the commandments?
Answer) The Tanakh says:
Deuteronomy 13:1-5 "If a
prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a
wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to
you, saying, 'Let us go after other elohim (whom you have not known) and let
us serve them,' you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that
dreamer of dreams; for YHWH Eloheinu is testing you to find out if you love
YHWH Eloheinu with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow
YHWH Eloheinu and fear Him; and you shall keep His mitzvot, listen to His
voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. But that prophet or that dreamer of
dreams shall be put to death, because he has counseled rebellion against
YHWH Eloheinu who brought you from the land of Mitzrayim and redeemed you
from the house of slavery, to seduce you from the way in which YHWH
Eloheinu commanded you to walk.”
Since
Christians do rightly hold to the notion that Jesus is a prophet,
King and
priest as this is stated in scripture so what was the test for the false prophet
which is stated in Deuteronomy 13:1-5. If a prophet mislead people you will be
able to tell by what he teaches. Is this not how Christianity has been
judging others e.g. Muhammad the prophet of Islam and others who have claimed
prophethood status?
So the test
for a false prophet, is to see whether or not he taught the Torah. By this
definition the Messiah of Christianity (Or their representation of Him) cannot
be the true Messiah, or prophet according to the Tenakh. We know this is
not so since Jesus put a lot of emphasis on obeying our Father in heaven and
showed us how to do it too and He taught to obey His commandments John 14:15,
this was
a sign of true love not the love that is sold in Churches these days is empty
and devoid of the true teachings of our Messiah. Yahushua
did not teach a superior Torah but taught the same Torah and expounded it
correctly because the Rabbinic
Priests had hijacked the faith and put burdens (oral torah) on people to obey Rabbinic Torah
which was an oral form of Torah that the Jews believe must be followed or else
you could not enter the community of Israel.
Proverbs 30:6 Do not add
to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar.
Remember any doctrine that we make must measure up in the
Bible else we could be found liars when the Yahweh returns.
Question 2) You have heard it said, “The Torah is a yoke, a burden, and it was
only given to show that man is guilty. It is a curse and bondage?
Answer)
But the Tanach says:
Deuteronomy 30:11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too
difficult for you or beyond your reach.
We are
guilty of putting false words in Yahweh's mouth because He said it is
not too difficult for us then why is it that most Christians insist it is too
difficult? The yoke was not Torah but the Rabbinates doctrines what they
called Oral Torah.
Psalm
119:174
Your
Torah is my delight.
What part
of His Torah (instructions) are a delight do we not understand?
Psalm 119:44-45
So shall I observe Your Torah
continually for ever and ever; and I will walk in liberty, for I have
sought Your precepts.
If we were to read Psalm 119 or the Tanakh
in general, one would think that the writers of the Tanakh were liars or
ignorant. How could they love YHWH's Torah so much, don't they know that it is a
burden on them and not a “delight”? The Tanakh teaches that the Torah is a gift
from El-Elyon and is freedom, a blessing, and life for those who submit to YHWH.
Contrary to what others teach, YHWH never expected His people to keep the
Torah perfectly, that is why He gave them the sacrificial system. To not
continue in the Torah, means to not obey the Torah, to totally disregard
the Torah, to not stay within the safeguards of Torah (which includes
repentance) as the followers of Jesus do today. It does not mean that if you sin
once you are completely condemned to eternal hell, so it's better to not
obey the Torah at all. Anybody who makes true teshuvah will have their
sins forgiven; their punishment is placed upon the Yom Kippur sacrifice, which
is the salvation sacrifice that Yahushua offered once. (NOTE:
Hebrews is all
about the Yom Kippur sacrifice!).
Jesus was offering His Torah, His yoke that is light,
Matthew 11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for
your souls.
Question 3) You have heard it said by believers, “Followers of the Messiah, do
not need to be circumcised, all that matters is circumcision of the
heart”. Circumcision was only for the Jews.
Answer)
But the Tanach says:
Genesis 17:11-14
“You
are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the
covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every
male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those
born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner-those who are
not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your
money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an
everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been
circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my
covenant.”
So circumcision was an everlasting covenant; it could not have been done
away with, it was given a long before Mount Sinai where the Torah was given
fully. But perhaps circumcision is only for the Jews now, and now Gentiles
do not have to join Israel's covenant to be in covenant with Elohim? This
is assuming that YHWH provided a way for Gentiles to come into covenant with
Elohim, without joining Israel (which is never taught in the Tanakh). So does
the Tanakh speak of Gentiles becoming part of a new entity (the Church), or do
they speak of them joining the covenant of Israel?
The reader should keep in mind that the Torah was not only given to the Jews
(the native-born) alone, but also to the Gentile (the stranger) who
wished to be IN covenant with YHWH, as the verses prove below:
Exodus 12:49 “The same Torah shall apply
to the native as to the
stranger who sojourns among you.”
Leviticus 24:22 “'There shall be one
standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the
native, for I am YHWH Eloheinu.
YHWH is
clear that He does not have double standards, anybody who wants to be
in covenant with YHWH, is to measure up to the same standards as the natives
(the Israelites). Concerning the future Temple that will be set up during the
Messianic Kingdom, it is written:
Ezekiel 44:9 "This is what Adonai YHWH
says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart AND FLESH is to
enter my Sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites."
Here YHWH
Himself made it clear that He expects the non-Jews aka gentiles to be circumcised in the
flesh. This is completely contrary to the Christian notion that circumcision is
only for the Jews, and it does not apply to the non-Jewish followers of the
Messiah, maybe just maybe we should stop believing lies for a change propagated
on the puplit.
There are no
time gaps and the false teaching of dispensationlism is only 200 years old that
does away with the precepts of the Torah and only embraces what these
theologians perceived to be right for them yet they fail to interpret Paul
correctly. The story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:13-24) is really about
Ephraim (Spiritually the Church) who went into Idolatry left His Father and then
later returns when His Father rejoices to bring Him back into the covenant.
Today the Church is into many idolatries e.g. ordaining gay bishops, keeping
Easter that was forbidden (Ezekiel 8:12-18), keeping Christmas that is a pagan
festival, marrying homosexuals to name a few sins and aborting their children.
Christians observe Sunday
instead of Sabbath, Easter instead of Passover, and they completely ignore the
rest of the chukkim (Ordinances) of the Torah. Please don't turn Maran
into a false Messiah.
In order to proclaim
to be part of the Abrahamic covenant one must be circumcised in the flesh
this is what the requirement was set by YHWH Himself not man, you or me
have no right to set covenant conditions, they have already been
established. Abraham did
not need circumcision of the flesh for his salvation because he was saved by
faith through repentance and accepting what YHWH told him, the same way we do
not need circumcision for our salvation. In order to keep one of the
central feasts of YHWH today the Pesach (Passover) you are committing a sin if
you are not circumcised. If you keep the Pesach Seder then there is
no way around this ordinance.
Exodus 12:43-48 (43) And the Yahweh said to Moses and
Aaron, "This is the ordinance of the Passover: No foreigner shall
eat it. (44) "But every man's servant who is bought for money,
when you have circumcised him, then he may eat it. (48) "And when a
stranger (Foreigner) dwells with you and wants to keep the
Passover to the Yahweh, let all his males be circumcised, and then
let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as a native of the land. For
NO UNCIRCUMCISED person shall eat it.
Which part of YHWH's
commandment to BE circumcised do the body of Yahushua not understand?
If Yahushua taught to break this commandment then He would fail on being from God
(Deut 13:1-5) but we know that He emphasized keeping His commandments (John
14;15), these were not just two commandments like most Christians want to
believe (Matt 22:37-39), most Christians forget that He also quoted to the rich
guy like for like commandments from the Torah to OBEY God, (Matt 19:16-22) yet they want to
call Him a liar by denying that He cited these as valid commandments for all of
us are notorious for picking and choosing which commandment to
obey and which not to obey, this is extremely selfish attitude and dangerous
because it opens up room for rebellion to our Father in heaven. Remember
this is not a salvation issue but an issue of obeying God to be Holy
before Him. Are you obeying Moshiach or the church who wants to break
God's word and be found a liar before Him (Pro 30:6)?
If the so
called “New Testament”
says that physical Abrahamic circumcision is not for today [NOTE: In verses
like 1 Corinthians 7:18; Paul is clearly referring to a circumcision that is NOT
a commandment (verse 19). Paul was really referring to proselytism (which is
man-made), not Abrahamic circumcision (Acts 16:1-5). No one has the right to
annul YHWH's commandment but YHWH Himself but He does not abrogate verses. (Deut
4:2; Matt. 5:19).];
Christians who interpret the Apostolic Writings this way so that it is clearly
contradicting Tanakh on this matter, they effectively make it out to be not the
Words of YHWH. The bottom line is, if any message contradicts the message
of the Tanakh, IT CANNOT BE SCRIPTURE. Anybody twisting the clear message of the
Tanakh to fit their theology has gone astray and is not in line with YHWH.
If circumcision of
the flesh was annulled then there would be no need for Yahushua as a baby to be
circumcised but this is precisely what happened because it was on the 8th day
during circumcision that the child was named, in this case Yahushua or Yahu-shua,
Yahu is salvation.
Luke 2:21 And when eight
days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called
Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.
Yahushua validated
circumcision and Sabbath and does not forbid either to be annulled.
John 7:23 "If a man receives circumcision on the
Sabbath, so that the law of Moses should not be broken, are you angry with
Me because I made a man completely well on the Sabbath?
The early believers
were called Nazarenes and they kept Torah and OBEYED God and worshipped Yahushua
as Yahweh, they were also circumcised, they understood the issues better then many
Christians do today, for a foreigner circumcision should be of the heart
first leading later upon understanding of the circumcision of the flesh.
Deuteronomy 10:16 "Therefore circumcise the foreskin of your
heart, and be stiff-necked no longer.
Epiphanius, an early "church father"
and writer, wrote of these Netzarim, whom he viewed as Judaizing heretics.
Nevertheless, he said about them:
"These heresies
. . . passing over the name of Jesus, did not call themselves Iessaians and
did not keep the name Jews; they did not call themselves Christians, but
Nazarenes, taking this name from the place Nazareth. But actually they
remained wholly Jewish and nothing else. For they use not only the New
Testament but also the Old, like the Jews. For the Legislation and the
Prophets and the Scriptures, which are called the Bible by the Jews, are
not rejected by them . . . They are not at all mindful of other things but
live according to the preaching of the Law as among the Jews: there is no
fault to find with them apart from the fact that they have come to believe
in Christ. For they also accept the resurrection of the dead and that
everything had its origin in God. They proclaim one God and his Son Jesus
Christ. They have a good mastery of the Hebrew language. For the entire Law
and the Prophets and what is called the Scriptures, I mention the poetical
books, Kings, Chronicles and Esther and all the others, are read by them in
Hebrew as is the case with the Jews, of course. Only in this respect they
differ from the Jews and Christians: with the Jews they do not agree
because of their belief in Christ, with the Christians [sic] because they
are trained in the Law, in circumcision, the Sabbath and other things" (see
Pritz, Nazarene Jewish Christianity, p.33-34).
Epiphanius considered these believers
who kept the Sabbath, Passover and the feasts as Jews since he could not reason
why they do these things.
"for they are rather Jews and
nothing else" (Panarion 29, 9:1)
The early Christians
were called Nazarenes, they were not cultic or Judaizers but were very Biblical
oriented concerning the idolatry around them.
Question 4) You have heard it said, “Sabbath and the Biblical festivals are for
the Jews, followers of Yahushua Jesus no longer have to observe YHWH's appointed times,”
Answer) But
the Tanach says concerning the future:
Ezekiel 44:24 "In any dispute, the priests are to serve as judges
and decide it according to my ordinances. They are to keep My laws
and My decrees for all My appointed feasts, and they are to
keep My Sabbaths holy."
Zechariah 14:16-19 "Then the survivors
from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year
after year to worship the King, YHWH Almighty, and to celebrate Sukkot.
If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem
to worship the King, YHWH Almighty, they will have no rain. If the
Egyptian people do not go up and take part, they will have no rain. YHWH
will bring on them the plague he inflicts on the nations that do not go
up to celebrate Sukkot. This will be the punishment of Egypt and the
punishment of all the nations that do not go up to celebrate
Sukkot."
Isaiah 66:22-24 "As the new heavens
and the new earth that I make will endure before me," declares YHWH, "so
will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and
from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down
before me," says YHWH . "And they will go out and look upon the dead
bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will
their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind."
Again note no bogus
time gaps as such claimed by dispensationalists who essentially deny YHWH's
commandments.
Daniel 7:25
“And he [The
Anti-messiah] shall speak proud words against the Most High, and intends to
change the appointed times and Torah; and they shall be
given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.”
YHWH has
made it clear that the Torah is still around and so are His appointed times. And YHWH clearly expects ALL MANKIND to observe His appointed times; these are not
optional and not only for the Jews as many Christians teach! It is also clear
that even after the New Heavens and New Earth come, they will be observing YHWH's appointed times. Obviously then, the commandments of YHWH's appointed
times are still for today, contrary to what institutionalized Christianity
teaches. It is also interesting to note that one of the characteristics of the
anti-Messiah is that he “intends to change the appointed times [Sabbath, New
moon, Passover, etc.] and Torah”! The ones who have done this already are
clearly the Muslims and as Christians we should be aware not to follow after
them. Constantine Christianity is also guilty of changing His appointed
times so beware not to follow after the idolatries of Roman Christianity.
Question 5) You have heard it said, “Jesus fulfilled all of the sacrifices, so
the sacrifices are no longer for today, and the sacrifices never accomplished
anything,”
Answer)
The Tanakh says concerning the future Temple in the Messianic Kingdom:
Ezekiel 45:17
"It will be the duty of the Prince to provide the burnt offerings,
grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and
the Sabbaths-at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He
will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings and
fellowship offerings to make RECONCILIATION for the
house of Israel."
Ezekiel 45:5
“There will be [another area] eight and one-third [miles] long and three
and one-third [miles] wide for the Levites who minister in the
Temple; it will be their possession for towns to live in.”
Jeremiah 30:9
“But they shall serve
YHWH their Elohim and David their King, whom I will raise up for
them.”
Ezekiel 34:23-24
"Then I will set over them
one Shepherd , My servant David, and he will feed them; he will
feed them himself and be their shepherd. And I, YHWH, will be their
Elohim, and My servant David will be prince among them; I YHWH have
spoken.”
Ezekiel
37-24-25 "My servant David will be king over them, and they will
all have one shepherd ; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My
statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to
Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it,
they, and their sons and their sons' sons, forever; and David My
servant will be their prince
forever.”
Ezekiel 45:22 "On that day the Prince is to provide a
bull as a sin offering for himself and for all the
people of the land."
There is a lot going on in these passages, which
completely contradict the Christian notion that “Jesus fulfilled the sacrifices,
and thus has done away with ALL of them.” Some even go so far as to say that to
offer sacrifices is anathema. Many Christians try to argue that these
future sacrifices are done in remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice. The problem with
this is, that these Scriptures clearly say that these sacrifices bring
reconciliation, and are not memorial sacrifices (A sin sacrifice does not remove
sin, it only reconciles the person back to Elohim).
Also take note that it is
the Levitical priesthood that returns, and not some new priesthood
[NOTE:
In Hebrews, Paul only speaks concerning the High Priesthood; not the rest of
the Priesthood]. And note the
mentioning of “David the Prince.” It is generally agreed upon in Christian and
Jewish circles, that these verses are speaking of the Messiah. We notice in the
last verse cited, that the Prince needs to bring a sin offering for himself.
Some think that a sinless man wouldn't need to offer sin sacrifices for himself.
But sin sacrifices are not always for when a person commits a sin. One example
is a mother giving birth, has to offer sin sacrifices. Or when a person touches
a dead body they have to offer a sin sacrifice. These instances of when a person
becomes unclean/defiled are not sins. Or else Elohim would be telling women to
sin when He said, “Be fruitful and multiply...”(Gen. 1:28). Being unclean
is not a sin, rather entering certain holy areas while in an unclean state is
a sin. For example Elohim said do not partake of sacrifices in an unclean
state. To do so would be a sin, because you are doing what Elohim said not to
do. So there are certain times when a person must offer a sin sacrifice,
even when there is no sin, like when a person becomes unclean. So by the
Prince offering sin sacrifices for Himself, this does not mean
that He has sinned.
[NOTE: Notice that the Prince seems to play the role
of the High Priest, exactly like Paul explains in Hebrews.]
Scripture that comes later cannot contradict the
initial Scriptures, scripture cannot be broken. Many in Christianity blindly
follow their interpretation of the Apostolic Writings and Jesus rather than the
intended meaning which can only be gleaned with the Tenakh in mind. They
would see that their interpretation of Jesus doesn't meet the requirements of
the Messiah, and that the message of the Apostolic Writings [once again,
their interpretation] is erroneous and full of holes.
Even when these
errors are presented, many Christians ignorantly respond, “We have a New
Covenant” or “We are no longer under the Law.” Sons of men, this is foolishness.
If this message of “New Covenant” was to contradict the message of the Tanakh (Especially the Tanakh's description of the New Covenant), do you honestly
believe it would be from YHWH? Do you even care to notice what the Tanakh says
about the New Covenant? The Torah will be written on the hearts of men,
so that they WILL keep and walk in His chukkim
(Dietary commandments, Sabbath, festivals, etc.), and
also notice that the New Covenant is made with the House of Israel,
not with some new entity known as “the Church.”
Those who argue
that “we are no longer under the Torah,” do you not even care that the way you
interpret/apply this message is completely contrary to the Tanakh? A
Messiah that taught against and did away with the Torah of Moses, is a
false Messiah by the very definition. Any writer (Yes, not even Paul is
above the Tanakh's standard) that teaches that the Torah is not for today, is a
false messenger (because the Tanakh teaches the perpetuation of the
Torah). Jesus cannot come and annul what the Tanakh says concerning the test for
a false prophet and the requirements for the Messiah. So by Jesus, as some
Christians argue, coming and promoting His own teaching (as if it is superior)
over the instructions of YHWH (the Torah), He would have deemed Himself a False
Messiah. By Paul and the other apostles (as Churchianity says they did)
coming and saying that Shabbat, circumcision, and the appointed times are not
for today [even if they were only speaking concerning
the Gentiles, this is still contrary to Isaiah 56:1-8; and the message of “one
Torah for the native born and foreigner”], they have deemed
themselves false prophets (or apostles).
How do you judge sin when there is no Torah yet Paul said
it was by Torah that he knew sin?
Romans 3:20 Therefore by
the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law
is the knowledge of sin.
Since Christians want to use Paul to annul the Torah yet
Paul's letters were never considered scripture in the first century
because there were no Apostolic writings bound up in one nice big book containing 66
books.
Romans 2:13 (for not the
hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the
TORAH
will be justified;
Paul says it is not hearers of the law who are justified
but doers, are you a doer or just another hearer?
It is illogical to follow the message of the Apostolic
Writings as represented/interpreted by mainstream Christianity, as it clearly contradicts the Tanakh. By this representation of Jesus, His and His apostles' message
does not meet the requirement of the Tanakh but we know that this is simply
error in the Church who misinterpret the Apostolic writings.
So is Jesus really not the Messiah and are His Apostles
also false messengers? Or perhaps the followers of Jesus are
misinterpreting/misrepresenting Him and His Apostles?
Question 6) You are putting me in the law and
making me a slave to the law I am free in Jesus Christ.
Answer) Yahushua came
and said it this way, read the text very carefully;
Matthew 5:17-19
Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not
come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven
and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the
law till all is fulfilled. Whoever therefore breaks one of the
least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be
called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and
teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
In the "Aramaic" it is
absolutely crystal clear that Yahushua came to interpret and establish the Torah
correctly as the Rabbis had hijacked the written Torah into Oral and many other
legalisms; Those that teach you to break even one little commandment in
the Torah, yes you read that correct, he/she will be the least in the kingdom of
heaven. This means salvation is through the blood but since you refuse to
obey God in His other commandments then you will enter heaven and get the lowest
position and honour in heaven since you taught people to break His Holy Torah
and never obeyed yourself either.
Matthew
5:17-18
Do not think that I came to loosen the LAW
or the
Prophets; I did NOT come to loosen, but to put it on a
FIRM
FOUNDATION. [To interpret it correctly and establish it]
This is why Yahushua said:
Matthew 11:29-30
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. (30) "For My yoke
is easy and My burden is light.''
The use of the term yoke was understood differently in
Rabbinic Judaism. The Midrash speaks of the “Yoke of Torah”,
the “Yoke of God”
and the “Yoke of the Kingdom of heaven”.
Deuteronomy 5:29
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep
ALL My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children
FOREVER [in the Hebrew L’Olam V'ed]!
Yahweh expects us to try to do His holy Torah but if we
refuse then we have only ourselves to blame. Remember The Temple doe not
exist in Jerusalem is not an excuse, Yahushua the Messiah is our Temple who
fulfilled our sin offering the Yom Kippur. We should do what we can until
His return. We should stop perpetuating the lie that the Torah is
abolished. This is Constantine Christianity and a lot of Christians blame
each other but live in self denial and in disobedience themselves unfortunately
the Christians are the perfect picture of Ephraim who also lived in disobedience.
