The Observance Of Passover

Do people have to keep Passover to be saved?

I have been keeping Passover (Pesach) for many years now.

I did not grow up keeping Passover, and did not even understand that it was an annual observance, until after I read the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament) for the first time, after I came into the House of Truth.  Before that, I had always thought that it was a one-time event, which had occurred when the Hebrews were delivered from the bondage of Egypt.

Strictly speaking that is true.  The original Passover was when who ever had the blood of the lamb on their door, their house was passed over when the first born were killed (Exodus 12:6-11).

However, I learned that they were commanded to commemorate that they were passed over, with an annual holiday called "Passover" (Exodus 12:42-43).

Still I saw no need to keep Passover, nor did I know anyone who did, nor did I have any clue how to keep Passover.

After many years, I felt lead by the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) to keep Passover .  So I started reading up on how to keep Passover.  At that same time, my wife told me that a friend of ours in our congregation had grown up keeping Passover.  So, he and his wife agreed to let us come over to their house, and keep Passover with them at their house.

I was excited, but nervous when the day came.  I had created my own Hagaddah, because I did not know where to get one at.  I had made my own Seder plate, because I did not know where to get one of those either.  I had learned how to cook everything as authentically as it was in ancient Egypt as possible.  I just did not want to get anything wrong.

When the Seder (the Passover ceremony) started, our friends were so gracious.  I had thought that it would be awkward to do, but it seemed so natural, like I had been doing it my whole life.  Also, it turned out to be a lot more fun than I would have thought, since it was such a solemn event that was being commemorated.

We ended our Seder with a hearty proclamation of "Next year in Jerusalem!".

After that, there was no going back.  Passover was an annual observation for my household from then on.

Overtime, the holidays from the Book of Truth totally replaced holidays with Pagan customs, like Easter.  Once we had tasted the better things that come from the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), those other things simply lost their appeal.

No one told us that we had to do these things.  We discovered them ourselves in the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament), and were lead to put them into practice by the Spirit of Truth.

Yet, since that time I have heard countless people say things like, the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) must keep Passover.  I have even heard some say, that no can be saved unless they keep Passover.

Are they right?  Do the Children of Truth have to keep Passover?

The best place to answer this question is by examining what the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) says about the observance of Passover.

First, circumcised men must observe Passover (Exodus 12:43-44).  Uncircumcised men must not observe Passover (Exodus 12:48).

So, Passover was observed again in the days of Joshua, after those born in the wilderness were circumcised (Joshua 5:5-10).

So, if men must observe Passover to be saved, then they must be circumcised to be saved.

Second, Passover must be observed in the place where the Father of Truth placed His name (Deuteronomy 16:5-7).  That place is Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:36).

So, King Hezekiah revived the observance of Passover again in Jerusalem after many years (2 Chronicles 30:1-5).  Years later, King Josiah revived the observance of Passover again in Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 35:17-19).  Then Ezra revived the observance of Passover again in Jerusalem, after the Jews returned from the captivity in Babylon (Ezra 6:18-19).

Centuries later, the parents of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) went to Jerusalem for the observance of Passover every year (Luke 2:41).  Then the Man of Truth went to Jerusalem for the observance of Passover when he was grown (John 2:13).

So, if people must observe Passover to be saved, then they must observe it in Jerusalem every year to be saved.

Third, Passover must be observed with sacrifices made by the priests and Levites (Numbers 28:16-24).  The priests and Levites must perform these sacrifices in the Temple (Deuteronomy 16:2-6).

So, King Hezekiah had to delay the observance of Passover to the second month, because the priests and Levites were not ready (2 Chronicles 30:1-3).   King Josiah had the priests and Levites kill the Passover lambs in the Temple in accordance with the Law of Truth (2 Chronicles 35:10-17).  Ezra had to delay the observance of Passover until after the Temple was rebuilt, so the priests and Levites could kill could kill the Passover lambs (Ezra 6:17-20).

So, if people must observe Passover to be saved, then the Temple must be in operation for them to be saved.
 
So, if people must observe Passover as prescribed by the Law of Truth to be saved, then no one has been able to be saved since the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. 

So, to say that people must observe Passover to be saved, is a thick slice of stupid with extra sauce on it.

Whoever says that we must observe Passover to be saved, is trusting in their own ability to keep the Law of Truth, instead of what the Man of Truth has done (Galatians 2:16).  They have fallen from grace (Galatians 5:4).

Whoever claims to be a teacher of the Law of Truth, and says that people must observe Passover in some matter other than what is written in the Law of Truth, which is the only way Passover can be observed without the Temple in operation, show that they plainly do not understand the Law of Truth (1 Timothy 1:5-7).

In fact, if the letter of the Law of Truth is going to be followed, then no one is saved, who observes Passover, because the Law of Truth would forbid them from doing so without the Temple in operation.

The truth is, that we cannot observe any of the Feasts of Truth as prescribed in the Law of Truth, without the Temple in operation.  We are playing with broken toys.

However, we can have a rehearsal of the Feasts of Truth that make up the acts of the Greatest Play Ever.  This is what Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul) did with congregation in Corinth (1 Corinthians 5:6-8).

Even this is completely optional, for we are completely saved by faith in the Man of Truth, without observing any of the Feasts of Truth (Colossians 2:10-16).

Still, there is great benefit in the observation of Passover, if we are doing so, because we are following the leading of the Spirit of the Law of Truth.  While the letter of the Law of Truth would kill us over the observation of Passover, the Spirit of the Law of Truth will give us life in the observation of Passover (2 Corinthians 3:6).

Passover has a significance for the Children of Truth, that is lacking for those who do not know the Man of Truth.  They are not just reliving deliverance from Egypt, but they are remembering their deliverance from sin by the Death of The Lamb.  They understand that the blood of The Lamb on the cross, will cause them to be passed over for destruction, just like the blood of the lamb on the door posts of the homes in Egypt, caused those homes to be passed over.  They are remembering the better Passover that came from the blood of the Man of Truth being shed on the cross.  They understand that they killed the Man of Truth, just like those passed over in Egypt killed the lamb.

They also understand the significance of the other two Feasts of Truth that occur with Passover.  They understand that removing the leaven from their homes, is really a rehearsal of the Man of Truth removing the sin from their hearts.  They understand that they should wish each other "Happy Firstfruits", because the raising of the First Fruits is about the raising of the Man of Truth from the dead.  They understand that a dead Man of Truth could not complete the work of their salvation, so he had to rise from the dead on Resurrection Sunday.

They experience the observance of Passover in a profound way, that can only come from knowing that the Man of Truth is their Passover lamb (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Rabbinic distort has robbed many Jews of the joy of Passover, because they do not understand that following the Man of Truth is a Jewish thing.   In like manner, many of the Children of Truth have been robbed of the joy of Passover, because they do not understand that the observation of Passover is not just a Jewish thing.  The real joy of the observation of Passover comes from following the Man of Truth.

So the observation of Passover has many benefits for the Children of Truth, but salvation is not one of them.  The observation of Passover did not bring us to salvation.  Salvation brought us to the observation of Passover.

People are saved when they come into the House of Truth.  They come into the House of Truth by the Lamb that takes away their sin, the Man of Truth (John 1:29).  They come into the House of Truth, when they believe the message of the observation of Passover, that the Father of Truth raised the Man of Truth from the dead, so he could be their risen King (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth!

The Most Important Thing

Is it more important to avoid Pagan customs, or to love people?

Many of the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) keep Pagan customs that came from idolatry, but they show real love to other people.

Does their keeping pagan customs in ignorance, mean that they do not love the Man of Truth?

It is evident that these Children of Truth love the Man of Truth, by the way that they take care of his forever family, even though they have not yet left off these pagan customs.

In fact, many of them are doing more to carry out the Great Commission given by the Man of Truth, than their detractors.  At least, they are willing to make a real effort to bring people into the House of Truth, unlike most of their detractors.  This is very important, because you have to start somewhere.  Their detractors have forgotten the simplicity of the Gospel.

Yet, they are blind to the hidden danger that these Pagan customs impose.  They do not understand that these things, which are contrary to the Book of Truth, have been moved into Christianity through a subtle influence.  They do not understand that those, who brought these things into Christianity, operated subtly like a snake in the leaves.

They do not understand that these Pagan customs have been vainly adopted to fit the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament), by the same process that ruins of the Foundation of Idolatry were vainly placed under The Hijacked House.  They certainly do not understand that many of these Pagan customs are design to enslave them to the False Church of Rome, while others are meant to lead them into Neo-Paganism.

Many of the Children of Truth have never heard the warning of the Mensch who killed Christmas.  They do not understand that the Children of Truth need to be cleaning up the Christmas mess.  If they understood what Christmas is really about, then they would be escaping the Christmas trap.

These Children of Truth need sympathy, education, and prayer - not criticism.  They do not understand what they are doing.  They need heart knowledge.

There are two kinds of knowledge - and only one of them comes from being given facts.  These Children of Truth also need the Father of Truth to open their eyes, so they can have heart knowledge, instead of just head knowledge.  Those, who have heart knowledge about these things, should pray for the eyes of others to be opened, so that the head knowledge they pass on, can become heart knowledge.

Those, who understand with their heart, why the Children of Truth should not be involved in Pagan customs, should remember that abandoning Pagan customs does not bring people into the House of Truth.  They have forgotten that people are saved by faith, but grow by knowledge.

People must first come into the House of Truth, and then they can gain heart knowledge about Pagan customs.  After the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) is written on their hearts by the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), then these Pagan customs will feel as unnatural to them as wearing their socks in the shower.  They have to come to understand for themselves, that the Spirit of Truth is the Spirit of the Law.

So, those Children of Truth, who have left off observing these Pagan customs, need to have patience with those Children of Truth, who have yet to do so.  The process from head knowledge to heart knowledge was ten years for most of them.  They should not be angry, when others do not instantly get there, after a ten minute explanation. 

This anger is usually over people not just blindly believing that they need to abandon these Pagan customs - because the one informing them said so.  This is a spirit of pride, and it will lead the informer to destruction, if they continue in it (Proverbs 16:18).

They must seek to help people become stronger through love, and not try to impress others with how much they know (1 Corinthians 8:1).  They must be careful to avoid to falling into pride, as they try to help others move away from the Pagan customs (Galatians 6:1).  They need to learn how to operate out of love, instead of pride.

Love is patient with people, and gives people time to move from head knowledge to heart knowledge (1 Corinthians 13:4).   The Man of Truth gave those, who were knowingly deceiving others, time to repent, and then gave them a final opportunity to repent (Revelation 2:20-22).

They should give people the same grace that they would want others to give them.  Would they just take the word of someone else that the word "gullible" is not in the dictionary?

In like manner, the Book of Truth does not only not condemn people, for not just taking the word of other people, but it commands skepticism.

It says, that it is foolish to decide a matter, before hearing it out completely (Proverbs 18:13).  It says, that it wise to question what people say, and to listen to opposing opinions (Proverbs 18:17).

The Bereans were called more noble, because they looked into the Book of Truth themselves to confirm the message, instead of just taking the word of Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul) (Acts 17:10-11).  How much more so, when the source is not someone, who wrote half the books of the Renewed Covenant?

It says to not believe everything, which someone says came from the Spirit of Truth, but to test their message against what the Spirit of Truth, has already revealed in the Book of Truth (1 John 4:1-3).

This process from head knowledge to heart knowledge that might take the listener the same ten years that it took for the one telling them.

This process would probably go quicker, if many of the people telling to leave these Pagan practices, were not following another set of practices that are worse.

Many of their detractors complain about them following Pagan customs that are rooted in Babylon, while they are following Rabbinic customs that are rooted in Babylon.  They complain about emblems from Babylonian sun god worship like Christmas Trees, while not even considering the one that is on their own head.

Those following Pagan customs have been seeing the Renewed Covenant through distorted lenses, like those suffering from Rabbinic Distort. While those following Pagan customs are ignorant of who changed the Sabbath, those following Rabbinic customs are ignorant of the source of Jewish trouble.

These Rabbinic customs were made to replace the commandments of the Father of Truth (Mark 7:6-9).  These Rabbinic customs are designed to make the Word of Truth ineffective in the lives of those, who observe them (Mark 7:13).

These teachings of the Rabbis are the very doctrine, that the Man of Truth warned us to avoid like the deadly plague that it is (Matthew 16:6-12). 

How can they lead others away from Pagan customs rooted in Babylon, when they are blindly following Rabbinic customs rooted in Babylon (Luke 6:39)?  It would be very helpful, if their detractors removed the Rabbinic beam from their own eye, before trying to help others remove the Pagan speck from their eyes (Luke 6:41-42).

Their detractors would also do better in convincing Jewish people, who have not come into the House of Truth, that the Man of Truth was that Prophet of Truth, who Moses (Moishe) said that people must obey, if they obeyed the commandment of the Man of Truth, for the Children of Truth to not call each other Rabbi (Matthew 23:8).

Neither those keeping Pagan practices, nor their detractors, fully understand what is a Christian.  They have both been deceived by the doctrine of lies.

At least, those who ignorantly keep Pagan customs show real love to people.

These Rabbinic customs will prevent people from even showing real love to their own parents (Mark 7:10-12).

The Prophets of Truth say that showing real love for other people is greater than keeping any customs.

The Father of Truth says, that He even hates it when people keep His customs, if they do not show real love for other people (Isaiah 1:13-17).  He does not accepts keeping His customs as a substitute for showing real love for other people (Isaiah 58:5-7).  There is no value in keeping these customs, if they do not do what He delights in (Isaiah 66:3-4).

The Father of Truth commanded that they love other people as much as they love themselves (Leviticus 19:18).  

This commandment is only second to loving the Father of Truth above all things (Matthew 22:38-40).  This more important than any custom (Mark 12:29-33).

Make no mistake.  I am in no way saying that people should not avoid Pagan customs.

The Father of Truth want us to both show real love to other people, AND to avoid the pollution of this world, including Pagan and Rabbinic customs (James 1:27).

I want to walk in all of His ways, all of my days.  I want to be found walking in truth in all things.  I want to keep His commandment to do this (2 John 1:4).  There is nothing that I can do to bring greater joy to Him (3 John 1:4).

However, not all of His commandments are equal according to the Man of Truth, even though we should obey all of them (Matthew 23:23).  It is more important to keep the weightier matters of the Law of Truth, than the lessor matters of the Law of Truth.

As has already been shown, the Father of Truth esteems showing real love to other people, to be more important than even keeping His customs.  Those, who do not show real love to other people by doing what they can to take care of their physical needs, do not love the Father of Truth (1 John 3:16-18).

So, a person is better off to worship on Sunday, celebrate Christmas, and eat pigs, but show real love to other people, than to worship on the Sabbath, avoid Christmas, and only eat what the Father of Truth calls food, but neglect to show real love to other people.

Showing real love to other people is far more important that avoiding Pagan customs.  While people should do both, if they are only going to pick one, then they should pick showing real love to other people.

The truth is that I have looked diligently for an organization that takes care of widows and orphans in their distress, AND also teaches them to ONLY keep the customs commanded by the Father of Truth.  I have yet to find one.

I have found several organizations that take care of widows and orphans in their distress, but also teach them to keep Rabbinic customs.  This is probably worse than the organizations that take care of widows and orphans in their distress, but also teach them to keep Pagan customs.

Is there anyone out there, who will care of widows and orphans in their distress, and teach them to ONLY keep the customs of the Father of Truth?

Until I find such an organization, I will have to work with what is available.

What is NOT ACCEPTABLE is doing nothing to help widows and orphans in their distress.

It is also NOT ACCEPTABLE for an organization to only help widows and orphans with their temporary needs, but not with their eternal needs.  Showing people real love means telling them that they must come into the House of Truth.  Neglecting to tell them that they must come into the House of Truth, is hating them with the worst kind of hatred.

They must come in the House of Truth by being born again (John 3:3).  They must come into the House of Truth by making a commitment to obey the Man of Truth in everything, because they believe that his Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  Someone must tell them how to come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:13-15).  The most important thing is, for someone to tell them how to come into the House of Truth (Ephesians 2:11-13)!

Come into the House of Truth!

The Hijacked House

How did Christians come to adopt Pagan customs?

I have had many discussion with the Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) about customs that most of them have adopted, which have no foundation in the Book of Truth (The Bible).

For example, some of them did not know when the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) was born.  They honestly thought, that it was on December 25th.  Some of them have even thought, that there is some command in the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) to celebrate his birthday on Christmas.

They did not even know that what is often called the Christmas Story, is not telling the same story about the birth of the Man of Truth as the Renewed Covenant .  They certainly had no idea about the story behind the story.

Some of them still even provoked the Satan Clause, to deceive their own children each year.

This is not just limited to Christmas, but to many other customs.  I have meant some, who honestly believed that Ash Wednesday was in the Renewed Covenant somewhere.  Some even thought, that Halloween is a Christian holiday, sanctioned by the Renewed Covenant.

They met on Sunday, because they did not know who changed the Sabbath.  Some did not even know, that they need to give one day a week to the Father of Truth.

One of the most common lies about how Christians adopted these customs, is that Saint Patrick taught people to do these things.

He did the very opposite, and practiced Celtic Christianity in its original form, which had absolutely none of these customs.  He taught people wish each other Happy Firstfruits, instead of Happy Easter.  He understood that keeping the customs given by the Father of Truth, instead of Pagan customs, is not just a Jewish thing.  He demonstrated how to fully carry out the Great Commission.

So how did all of these Pagan customs get adopted by Christians?

This can perhaps be best illustrated by the story of the hijacked house.

There once was a magnificent twenty-seven floor house in a city located in the dark and swampy land of the west, called The Beautiful House.  While the skies of The West Land were always overcast and gloomy, this house always glowed with light.  The Beautiful House was celebrated throughout the Earth for its beauty.

Each floor had a different number of rooms. Some had only one large room, while others had as many as twenty-eight rooms.

On the floors with more than one room, the size of the rooms varied greatly in size.  Still, every room of every floor was beautiful beyond compare.

The floors of each room were covered by beautiful long rugs, that never needed cleaning, and always looked brand new.  These long rugs formed strips of various widths, that covered the entire width of the floor.  Some rooms had a few long rugs, while others had many.

Each of the beautiful long rugs were formed by panels, scaled in length to the number of panels in the rug.  Each panel was the same width as the rug it helped form.  Some of the beautiful long rugs had a few long panels, while others had many short panels.  Many of  the panels formed a sort of mosaic of decorations from places both familiar and strange.  Yet others formed a sort of mosaic of decorations that were unlike any place on Earth.

The Beautiful House also had an a beautiful round glass elevator on the northern wall, that allowed access to any floor that one wished to go.  On each floor, there was a narrow hallway along the northern wall that gave access to each room.  In each room, there was a narrow walkway along the northern wall that gave access to each rug.  There was also a narrow band between rugs, where one walk to could reach any panel.

The Beautiful House was also celebrated for the transformation that it could bring to those, who spent a lot of time in it.  The sick were healed.  The insane were made sane.  The poor ceased to be poor.  Broken relationships were mended.  Every type of problem experienced by people could be solved, by them going into this house frequently.

Yet one man in this city, named Christian, questioned if The Beautiful House really belonged in their dark and swampy land of the west.  He could not help but notice, that the foundation under The Beautiful House did not match the house.

First, every floor of The Beautiful House had passages, entered via trapdoors hidden under some of the rugs.  Some hidden passages lead to other floors of The Beautiful House, but others lead to nowhere.  They just came to a dead end when they reached the foundation.  It seemed as if the foundation should have had somewhere for these passages to go.

Then there was the foundation itself.  It just did not fit The Beautiful House at all.  It was the wrong shape and size.  Some places, The Beautiful House hung over the foundation, while other places, the foundation extended far out from The Beautiful House.

Also, while The Beautiful House was all beauty and light, the foundation was all Gothic and dark.  Also, while the walls of the house was deep and strong, the foundation was shallow and weak.

The more Christian thought about it, the more sure he became, that The Beautiful House should be setting on a different foundation, than the one in a city located in the dark and swampy land of the west.

Christian decided to ask The Historian about this.  If anyone knew if The Beautiful House should be sitting on a different foundation, it was him.

The Historian told Christian that nobody had asked him this before, and he was not sure.  However, he promised go look in the archives, to see what they said about this.  He told Christian to return in three days, and he would let Christian know what he found.

Three days later, The Historian reported what he had found.

The foundation under The Beautiful House, were the ruins of the foundation that had been under the fortress of The Dark Lord, known as The Dreadful Citadel.  The Dark Lord had ruled over The West Land, from The Dreadful Citadel, before The Sent Ones led the West Landers in bringing an end to his brutal rule.

The Dreadful Citadel had been Gothic and dark in appearance.  It had not contained beautiful rooms, but dark and gloomy chambers.  It had not been a place of healing and hope, but a place of pain and despair.  Everyone dreaded being taken captive and imprisoned in The Dreadful Citadel.

After the rule of The Dark Lord came to an end, then his fortress was demolished, and The Beautiful House had been placed on the ruins of the foundation of The Dreadful Citadel.

The Historian also showed Christian a map of the foundation of The Dreadful Citadel, before it was mostly destroyed, and The Beautiful House was placed on it.  The foundation of The Dreadful Citadel had contained images of the idols that The Dark Lord had used to enslave the West Landers in fear and depravity, before The Sent Ones had brought them deliverance.  It also showed West Landers committing all kinds of wickedness in their worship of these idols.  The Dreadful Citadel had sat on The Foundation of Idolatry.

The Foundation of Idolatry had once been much thicker and stronger, but The Sent Ones had led the West Landers in destroy it.  They completely destroy the top surfaced that contained all of the images of idols and idol worship.

The Preachers, whom The Sent Ones raised up to continue their work after they died, were supposed to lead the West Landers in finishing the work of completely getting rid of The Foundation of Idolatry.  Instead, The Preachers let the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry remain in The West Land.  The ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry were the shallow and weak foundation, that The Beautiful House now sat upon.

Lastly, The Historian told Christian that there was an oral history, that was written long after the fact, that said that The Beautiful House had originally set on a magnificent structure in The Golden City at the center of The Center Land.  He told Christian if he went to The Golden City, then he should find The Sage, who as the wisest man in The Center Land.

So, Christian made a map of the bottom of The Beautiful House, and carefully noted the exact location where each passage met the foundation.  He then set out to see, if he could find the foundation that fit The Beautiful House in The Golden City at the center of The Center Land.

Soon he reached The Center Land, that was connected to the lands of the north, south, east and west, but it was by far the smallest of all lands.

The first thing he noticed, was the Center Landers were different from the people of all other lands.

The second thing he noticed, was that once he entered The Center Land, he was always going up as he moved towards The Golden City  In fact, the edge of The Center Land was raised a little higher than the lands connected to it, and he had to go up, just to enter The Center Land.

The third thing he noticed, was that as he traveled towards The Golden City, that the skies became clearer and brighter.

About two days after he had first entered The Center Land, he began to make out The Golden City in the distance.  As he made his way to The Golden City, it became apparent why it was named that.  The entire city was made from gold colored stone.

When Christian got close to The Golden City, he could see a magnificent structure rising up from the center of the city.  It was as beautiful as The Beautiful House, but the top of it looked flat and barren.

When he came to The Golden City, his heart raced.  Christian thought, surely this magnificent structure in the center of the city must be the long forgotten original foundation of The Beautiful House!

Christian decided that he needed to investigate further to be sure.

The only problem was that he could not get to base of the magnificent structure, because someone had built a wall completely around it.  To make matters worse, when Christian entered some of the openings in the wall, he found himself in an incredible maze.  He was only able to find his way back out, because he had the foresight to marked an arrow showing which way he had came from on each wall with chalk.

He was not sure what to do, after he had spent a few days looking for a way past the wall, but could not find one.  Then he remembered that The Historian had told him to seek out The Sage, if he needed help.

Soon, Christian found The Sage, who was famous in The Golden City.  He explained to The Sage about his quest to find the true foundation of The Beautiful House, his desire to investigate the magnificent structure to see if it was that foundation, and the wall that hemmed in the magnificent structure in the center of The Golden City.

The Sage promised to help him, if he could accompany Christian.  So the next day, The Sage showed Christian a hidden passage that gave him direct access to the base of the magnificent structure.  So they went through the passage, and were soon at the bottom of the magnificent structure.

As they walked around the bottom of the magnificent structure, they found a shaft for a round elevator on the north wall, that was the same width as one on The Beautiful House.   Also like The Beautiful House, there was only one opening per floor at the elevator shaft.

Christian realized that this structure was taller than The Beautiful House.  He counted that thirty-nine stories.  Also it somehow seemed older.  So, Christian decided to enter on the beginning floor to look for a passage to the top.

Christian discovered that the floor had a long hall way on the north side, and the doors of many rooms on it.  In fact, he counted fifty rooms, almost twice as many rooms as any floor of The Beautiful House.

When he entered the first room, he found that it was laid out with rugs in the exact same manner as The Beautiful House.  The rugs in like manner, were made of panels, just like The Beautiful House.

So, Christian began checking for trapdoors, and sure enough, there were trap doors under some of the rugs.   When he entered one of the passages under the trap door, he found that the passage soon started going upwards.   Soon he was using the passages to travel up towards the top of the magnificent structure.

By the time that he had reached the top of the magnificent structure, he had came to appreciate the complexity of it.  Although one floor had only one room, like some of the floors of The Beautiful House, one floor had one hundred and fifty rooms!

Next, Christian began comparing the location of passage openings on the top of the structure, to those on the map that he had made of the bottom of The Beautiful House.  He found that they were an exact match!  In fact, everything about the magnificent structure lined up with The Beautiful House.  He was sure that he had found the original foundation of The Beautiful House!

So, he went back down to the bottom, and reported to The Sage all that he had discovered.  The Sage then invited Christian to stay at his house that night, and they would discuss the magnificent structure and The Beautiful House.

After dinner, The Sage asked Christian to tell him everything that he knew about The Beautiful House, and everything he had discovered that day about the magnificent structure.  The Sage listened intensely to every detail and stroked his beard.

When he finished, The Sage told him that it all made sense.  Now, he would tell Christian about the hijacked house.

The Sage began by telling Christian, that the magnificent structure was called, The Foundation Of Holiness.

The Sage explained how The Builder had worked through the Center Landers over a period of more than a thousand years to build The Foundation of Holiness.  Those who led these efforts were called The Foretellers.  The materials for The Foundation of Holiness had came from The South Land, and The East Land, as well as The Center Land.

The Foretellers, who were appointed in different generations to build their part of The Foundation of Holiness, all spoke of a day when The Carpenter, the son of The Builder, would come down from Heaven, to cause a house to be built upon The Foundation of Holiness.

The Sage carefully explained that The Dark Lord had not just had sway over the West Landers, but over all the people of the Earth, including the Center Landers.  He also explained that The Dark Lord was not human, but was an immortal shape shifter.   He further explained how The Dark Lord had tried to prevent The Foundation of Holiness from being built, but could not.

After the last of The Foretellers died, The Dark Lord tried to destroy The Foundation of Holiness, but he could not prevail in that either.  The Builder had raised up The Scribes, from the last days of The Foretellers, to defend The Foundation of Holiness until The Carpenter caused a house to be built on it.

So instead, The Dark Lord convinced many of the Center Landers to build The Great Maze around the base of The Foundation of Holiness.  These Center Landers, who were called The Masters, then told everyone that The Great Maze was to protect The Foundation of Holiness, but they really built it to keep people from accessing The Foundation of Holiness themselves.

Soon, the Center Landers found it very difficult to gain entry into The Foundation of Holiness.  Instead, the Center Landers had to rely on The Masters to tell them what was in The Foundation of Holiness.  However, The Masters did not know themselves what was in The Foundation of Holiness, because they did not go into it very deeply.  Anyone that went into it deeply, understood what would happen when The Carpenter arrived.

After a few centuries, The Carpenter came down from Heaven to cause a house to be built upon The Foundation of Holiness.  The Carpenter began to inspire the Center Landers to really explore the Foundation of Holiness for themselves, and to prepare to build a house upon it.  He created passages that bypassed The Great Maze, so they could do this.

Soon The Masters realized that they were losing their control of the Center Landers to The Carpenter.  So, they worked with The Dark Lord in a plot to kill The Carpenter.

However, The Masters did not understand what they were really doing.  For even though, they managed to get The Carpenter killed by some West Landers, this was part of the plan, which was hidden in the rooms of The Foundation of Holiness.

Three days after they killed The Carpenter, The Builder raised him from the dead.  The Carpenter then commissioned The Sent Ones to build The Beautiful House on The Foundation of Holiness, and invite all the people of the Earth to come into The Beautiful House.  He then returned to Heaven, after giving one final instruction for The Sent Ones to wait in The Golden City for The Living Fire, who would help them overcome The Dark Lord.

After The Living Fire came to help them, The Sent Ones began building The Beautiful House upon The Foundation of Holiness.

However, The Masters continued to stir up trouble for The Sent Ones.  They did not like The Beautiful House, that The Sent Ones were building, for it reminded everyone, that they had been behind the death of The Carpenter.

The Masters also did what they could, to keep the Center Landers out of The Foundation of Holiness.  They had observed, that those who really explored The Foundation of Holiness, would invariably find one of the hidden passages, and end up in The Beautiful House.

So The Sent Ones went outside of The Center Lands to get help in building The Beautiful House.  Everywhere they went, they found that many people yearned to be free of the control of The Dark Lord.  This was especially true in The West Land.

So, they led the West Landers in bringing an end to his rule over them, and destroying The Dreadful Citadel.  The Sent Ones then led the West Landers up higher, by bringing them into The Beautiful House, that sat upon The Foundation of Holiness.

Thus, in less than seventy years, The Sent Ones built The Beautiful House on The Foundation of Holiness.  The materials for The Beautiful House came from The North Land and The West Land, along with The Center Land. 

After the last of The Sent Ones died, The Dark Lord discovered that he could not destroy The Beautiful House either.  The Builder had raised up defenders of it from among the Center Landers and West Landers, called The Preachers, who were assisted by The Living Fire.  So, he came up with a plot to keep The Beautiful House from fulfilling the purpose for which it was built, by causing The Preachers to not be able to understand that purpose.

First, The Dark Lord worked through The Masters to convince almost all of the Center Landers, that they did not want The Beautiful House in their land.  The Masters convinced most of the Center Landers, that all they really needed was The Foundation of Holiness, and they did not even need to bother going into that themselves.  The Masters told the Center Landers, that they alone understood how to navigate The Great Maze, and they would give them everything they needed from The Foundation of Holiness.

Next, The Dark Lord raised up a group among the West Landers that were similar to The Masters, called The Clergy.  The Clergy convinced the West Landers that they needed to rely on The Clergy to get what they needed from The Beautiful House, and give it to them.  The Clergy began stirring up resentment among the West Landers over having to go up to The Foundation of Holiness in order to come into The Beautiful House.  Soon, The Clergy raised up hatred among the West Landers against The Foundation of Holiness itself. 

Last, The Dark Lord got The Masters and The Clergy to work together to hijack The Beautiful House from The Foundation of Holiness, and place it on the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry instead.  The Masters convinced most of the Center Landers to release their ownership of The Beautiful House, and give it to The Clergy.

The Clergy then brought in a great army of West Landers to separate The Beautiful House from The Foundation of Holiness in the bright and clear land of the center, and place it on the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry in the dark and swampy land of the west.

So, The Beautiful House had sat on the wrong foundation for many centuries.  Even though the Center Landers had been scattered among all the people of the Earth, very few could recognize that this was The Beautiful House spoke of by The Foretellers.  Even though many people, particularly the West Landers went into The Beautiful House, they could not understand the true purpose of it, because that required The Foundation of Holiness.

Christian sat there stunned when The Sage finished.  He had been right about The Beautiful House having originally been built on a different foundation than the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry, but he had not understood why it bothered him.  He now understood that this had all been the work of The Living Fire.

So Christian asked The Sage, what could be done to return The Beautiful House to The Foundation of Holiness, so that the true purpose of The Beautiful House could be realized?

The Sage began his answer, by telling Christian his story.

He had been raised in The Golden City, and as a boy had found one of the hidden passages that bypassed The Great Maze.  He told about how he had explored The Foundation of Holiness, and realized that it a house had once sat upon it.

He had heard of The Beautiful House, for its fame went throughout the Earth, and thought that perhaps it was the house that had once sat upon The Foundation of Holiness.  So, he made a precise map of top of The Foundation of Holiness, including the exact placement of where the hidden passages came out.

He then traveled to the city that Christian was from in The West Land, to investigate.  He explored The Beautiful House, but could not see how it could have been connected to The Foundation of Holiness.

He was about to go home in despair, when he met The Historian.  The Historian told him, that there was a legend that The Beautiful House had came from The Center Land, but he had not looked into the archives to see if the legend was true.

So The Sage went back into The Beautiful House to examine the hidden passages, and map where they ended.  When he was done, he realized that the hidden passages that ended at the foundation of The Beautiful House, matched the location where the hidden passages came out on the top of The Foundation of Holiness.

So, he told his friend The Historian good-bye.  The Sage then returned to tell his people in the Center Land that he had found the house, which The Foretellers had spoken of in The Foundation of Holiness.

When he returned, he found that there was great resistance to this news.  Most simply chose to believe The Masters, without even looking into the matter for themselves.  However, he did manage to get a few of them to explore The Foundation of Holiness with him.  He then showed them how The Beautiful House fit all the clues that The Foretellers had left in The Foundation of Holiness.

Like Christian, he too longed for The Beautiful House to be taken off the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry, and placed again on The Foundation of Holiness.

So, he made numerous trips to both The Beautiful House and The Foundation of Holiness to see if they contained an answer.

Christian wanted to know, if he had found an answer.

The Sage said, that he had indeed.  The Beautiful House would be moved back to The Foundation of Holiness by The Carpenter, when the Center Landers asked him to do so.  This would not be resisted by the West Landers, because they would no longer desire to visit The Beautiful House.

The Sage explained that there were already West Landers, who were rebuilding The Foundation of Idolatry in a new location, to replace the one that laid in ruins under The Beautiful House.  They planned to rebuild The Dreadful Citadel for The Dark Lord as well.

The Sage went on to explain that The Dark Lord had once had such fortress in every land, and would have them again.  It was only the Faithful Few, like Christian, that had destroyed these fortresses, and were keeping The Dark Lord from rebuilding them.

However, The Carpenter will soon take the Faithful Few off the Earth, so that no one would stand in the way of The Dark Lord.  The Dark Lord would then raise up a man, who would do all of his will on the Earth.  Then the old fortresses would be raise up again.

This man would make a treaty with The Center Land, and then break that treaty when their guard was down.  He would then try to destroy the Center Landers off the face of the Earth.

After seven years of his oppression, when all becomes hopeless for the Center Landers, the people of The Golden City will cry out to The Carpenter to save them.  Then The Carpenter will come with an army of the Faithful Few to save them from The Dark Lord and his armies.

After the defeat of The Dark Lord, The Carpenter will then place The Beautiful House back on The Foundation of Holiness. Then The Beautiful House will be in position to begin to finish the purpose for which it was built.

The West Landers, and all people, will then despise the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry in their land, and finally remove them completely off the face of the Earth.  All of the Center Landers will be returned to The Center Land.  The Center Land will become the most prosperous country on Earth.  The Golden City will become the capital of the whole Earth.   The entire Earth will experience peace and prosperity that has never known, under the rule of The Carpenter and the Faithful Few.

Christian asked what he could do today.  Most of the Center Landers did not want The Beautiful House moved back to The Golden City, and most of the West Landers did not want to move The Beautiful House from the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry.

The Sage told him to visit both The Beautiful House and The Foundation of Holiness often.  He told Christian to follow those passages that he found that lead to the bottom of The Beautiful House to their origin in The Foundation of Holiness.  He told Christian to put the customs he found in The Foundation of Holiness into practice, and many mysterious things in The Beautiful House would start to make sense.  He told Christian to have nothing to do with anything from the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry, because they were senseless, and had absolutely nothing to do with The Beautiful House.

It is the same with us.

Christians came to adopt these pagan customs, that came from idolatry, by the subtle work of the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil).

The Father of Lies was able to accomplish this, by working through the Rabbis to get the Jewish people, particularly from Jerusalem, to put a maze of man made traditions around the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament), and to reject the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament).  He was able to accomplish this, by working with the clergy of the False Church of Rome to move the Renewed Covenant off the foundation of the Original Covenant, and onto the ruins of a foundation of idolatry.

We should realize that trying to put the Renewed Covenant upon any foundation, other than that of the Original Covenant, will not fit, any more than The Beautiful House would fit upon the ruins of The Foundation of Idolatry.  We should realize that we have been visiting a hijacked house, when we try to use the Renewed Covenant to justify the customs of Christmas, Ash Wednesday, Easter, Sunday worship, and the like, which are the ruins of a foundation of idolatry.  They simply do not fit the Renewed Covenant - and they never will.

Like Christian, we are being called to go up higher to the place created by the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), instead of trying to bring the work of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) down to the place, where we are used to living at.

Like Christian, we should abandon every custom that comes from the ruins of the idolatry, which our ancestors once practiced.  These practices are senseless, and have nothing to do with the Renewed Covenant.  Trying to make sense of the Renewed Covenant by using these customs, is a passage that leads to nowhere.
 
Like The Beautiful House was never meant to be separated from The Foundation of Holiness, so also there is no real separation between the Renewed Covenant and the Original Covenant.  There are countless passages in the Renewed Covenant that are connected to passages in the Original Covenant.  For example, the Book of Revelation has 640 references and allusions to passages in the Original Covenant.  We can never begin to understand the full purpose of the Renewed Covenant, without spending considerable time in the Original Covenant.

Like Christian, we have to learn by doing.  Many things in the Renewed Covenant will only start to make sense, after we put into practice the customs found in the Original Covenant.  These are the same customs, that the Apostles of Truth taught the Children of Truth to put into practice in the Renewed Covenant.  These are the same customs, that Saint Patrick taught people to put into practice.

We should follow the example of Saint Patrick.

Saint Patrick did everything he could to destroy the foundation of the idolatry of the Celts, but he did not live long enough to get rid of the ruins.  That would have required a concentrated effort over the course of several generations, but many in the generations after him wanted to keep those customs.

Saint Patrick did everything he could to teach people how to put into practice the customs found in the Original Covenant, so the Renewed Covenant would make more sense.  He was in no way responsible for the hijacked house.

Of course, Saint Patrick recognized, that it does not matter what customs people keep, unless they first come into the House of Truth.

They cannot come into the House of Truth by keeping the customs of the Original Covenant (Galatians 2:16).  They cannot come into the House of Truth by abandoning the customs from the ruins of idolatry, even though the Children of Truth are commanded to have nothing to do with them (Galatians 4:8-10).  The only right motivation for keeping the customs of the Original Covenant, instead of the customs from the ruins of idolatry, is a desire to walk in truth to please the Father of Truth, after they have come into the House of Truth (2 John 1:1-4).

They can only come into the House of Truth by making the Man of Truth their lord, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9)!

Come into the House of Truth!

 

The Hidden Hand of God

Where is the Father of Truth in the Book of Esther?

It has been observed that the name of the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), or any reference to Him, is not found in the book of Esther.  This is the reason that Martin Luther wanted it removed from the Book of Truth.  He maintained that since the Father of Truth did not appear in the text, then the Father of Truth was not part of the story of Esther.

Was Martin Luther right?

First of all, the name of the Father of Truth is in the book of Esther four times, and one of His many titles is in it once.  It is just hidden to the non-Hebrew reader.  If Martin Luther had bothered to learn to read Hebrew from the Jews, instead of persecuting the Jews, then he would have known that.

It is hidden as an acrostic each time in the original Hebrew.  In fact, some of the oldest Hebrew manuscript have the letters that make these acrostics twice as large as the rest of the letters, so the reader can see the name of the Father of Truth in the book of Esther.

In particular, the name of the Father of Truth is hidden in these phrases:  "All of the wives shall give" (Esther 1:20),  "Let Haman and the king come this day" (Esther 5:4), "This avails me nothing" (Esther 5:13), and "That there was evil determined against him" (Esther 7:7).

It is easiest to see the name of the Father of Truth in the phrase: "Let Haman and the king come this day" (Esther 5:4), where the acrostic is formed by the first letter of the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth words of the verse.  Remember that Hebrew is read right to left, so you count from the right.  They are the last four words of the first line on my device, but they might not be on your device.  Lastly, the letters that form the acrostic are easier to see, if you do not show the cantillation marks and the vowel points.

The title of the Father of Truth is hidden in the phrase: "Who is he and where is he" (Esther 7:5).

Despite the efforts of Martin Luther to remove Esther, and six books of the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament), they have all remained in the Book of Truth (The Bible), because it contains the incorruptible Word of Truth.

So even though the name and title of the Father of Truth are hidden in the Hebrew text of the book of Esther, it is still possible to see the hidden hand of the Father of Truth in the book of Esther.  The book of Esther is a story of the hidden hand of the Father of Truth in the affairs of men.

Not only is the name and title of the Father of Truth hidden in the book of Esther, but hidden things is a major theme in the book of Esther.

It was hidden, that Queen Esther was a Jew (Esther 2:20).  The plot of Bigthan and Teresh to kill King Ahasuerus, was hidden (Esther 2:21).  It remained hidden in the chronicles of the kings, that Mordecai had warned King Ahasuerus of the plot (Esther 2:22-23).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, that Haman sought to destroy the Jews (Esther 3:6-9).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, that Haman was the enemy of the Jews (Esther 3:10).  It was hidden from the people of the capital of the Persian Empire, that it was Haman, not King Ahasuerus, who wanted to annihilate the Jewish people throughout the Persian Empire (Esther 3:11-15).  It was hidden from Esther, why Mordecai was mourning in sackcloth (Esther 4:4-5).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus and Haman, what Esther wanted the king to do for her (Esther 5:3-8).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, that Haman intended to have Mordecai hanged (Esther 5:13-14).  It was hidden from Haman, that King Ahasuerus intended to honor Mordecai, instead of Haman (Esther 6:3-6).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, that Haman had sought to destroy Queen Esther (Esther 7:3-5).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, that Haman was seeking mercy from Queen Esther (Esther 7:7-8).  It was hidden from Esther, how King Ahasuerus could save the Jews from the irreversible decree to kill the Jews, that Haman had made in his name (Esther 8:3-6).  It was hidden from King Ahasuerus, what the Jews outside of the capital city were doing, and what more could be done in the capital city (Esther 9:11-12).

At the right time, everything that was hidden in the book of Esther was revealed.

Somethings were hidden to reveal the character of Mordecai.

When the plot of Bigthan and Teresh was revealed by Mordecai, it revealed his loyalty to King Ahasuerus (Esther 2:22).  When the king could not sleep and the chronicles of the kings was read, then it was revealed that Mordecai had not sought honor for saving King Ahasuerus (Esther 6:1-3).

Somethings were hidden to reveal the character of Esther.

When it was revealed that Mordecai was in sackcloth, because of the royal decree to destroy the Jews, then it was revealed that Esther was willing to lay down her life to save her people (Esther 4:6-16).

Somethings were hidden to reveal those, who intended to destroy the Jews.

Haman only showed his desire to kill the Jews, because he did not know that Queen Esther was a Jew (Esther 7:3-6).  Those throughout the Persian Empire, who hated the Jews, did not know that the law to destroy the Jews, had only served to identify them (Esther 9:1).

Somethings were hidden to bring about the destruction of those, who intended to destroy the Jews.

When it was revealed that King Ahasuerus was going to honor Mordecai, instead of Haman, then it revealed that Haman would be destroyed (Esther 6:10-13).  When it was revealed the Haman was the enemy of the Jews, then Haman became the enemy of King Ahasuerus (Esther 7:4-6).  When it was revealed that Haman sought to bring harm to Queen Esther, then King Ahasuerus became determine to bring harm to Haman (Esther 7:6-8).  When it was revealed that Haman sought to hang Mordecai, then Haman was hanged (Esther 7:9-10).  When it was revealed that Haman intended to destroy the Jews, then he was destroyed (Esther 8:5-7).  When the plot of Haman to destroy the Jews through a royal decree was revealed, then a royal decree was issued to destroy those, who hated the Jews (Esther 8:8-14).

When the request of Queen Esther was revealed, then King Ahasuerus became angry that some people sought to destroy the Jews (Esther 7:2-5).  It was revealed to the people of the capital city, that King Ahasuerus intended to destroy those, who sought to destroy the Jews (Esther 8:13-15).  When it was revealed that there were those outside of the capital city of the Persian Empire, who sought to destroy the Jews, then King Ahasuerus made sure that all, who sought to destroy the Jews, were destroyed (Esther 9:13-16).

The book of Esther shows the hidden hand of the Father of Truth.

This book shows, that the hidden hand of the Father of Truth does not just bring about the rise and fall of empires, but also guides the events of these empires to bring about His will. 

The hidden hand of the Father of Truth arranged for Esther to be placed in the harem of King Ahasuerus, because He knew that she would choose the path of true love.  The hidden hand of the Father of Truth arranged for her to be in a position to be chosen as queen, because He knew that Esther would be living to please the king.  The hidden hand of the Father of Truth put her there to become queen for such a time as this.

This book shows, that the hidden hand of the Father of Truth will always rise up against the spirit of anti-Jewism, that possesses people like Haman.  This book shows, that the hidden hand of the Father of Truth will one day bring about the end of anti-Jewism, like it did in the Persian Empire.

These things being hidden, and then revealed, was the hidden hand of the Father of Truth to preserve the Jewish people.

Mordecai understood, that it was the hidden hand of the Father of Truth to preserve the Jewish people, by destroying their enemies through Queen Esther (Esther 4:14).  Zeresh, the wife of Haman, and the friends of Haman, saw that the hidden hand of the Father of Truth would destroy Haman, to preserve the Jewish people (Esther 6:13).

The hidden hand of the Father of Truth exalted Mordecai, so the entire Persian government helped the Jews destroy those, who sought to destroy the Jews (Esther 9:2-3).

The hidden hand of the Father of Truth brought these things about to bring many people into the House of Truth.

The hidden hand of the Father of Truth caused many people to come into the House of Truth, by leaving their idolatry to become Jews through circumcision (Esther 8:17).   Many Gentiles came into the House of Truth to celebrate Purim, because they joined themselves to the Jews (Esther 9:26-28).

In the same way, the hidden hand of the Father of Truth has been bringing people into the House of Truth.

People do not come into the House of Truth through circumcision, which is a cut above the rest of the ways that people mark themselves physically.  They come into the House of Truth by the circumcision that is not made by human hands (Colossians 2:11-13).

When people come into the House of Truth, then they become true Jews (Romans 2:28-29).  When they come into the House of Truth, then they join themselves to the Jews (Romans 11:24-25).

People come into the House of Truth, by surrendering rule of their life to the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-13).  They are able to come into the House of Truth, because of the hidden hand of the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 2:7-10).

Come into the House of Truth!

Wife Or Concubine?

What is the difference between a wife and a concubine?

I had read in the Book of Truth (The Bible) about wives and concubines.

Some men, like Noah, had a wife (Genesis 8:15-16).  Some men, like a certain Levite in days of the Judges, had a concubine (Judges 19:1).  Of course, some men, like King David, had both (2 Samuel 5:13).

I became curious about the difference between a wife and a concubine, but none of the religious professionals I asked, really gave me a satisfactory answer.  Some said, that "wife" and "concubine" were simply two words for the same thing.  Some said, that a wife was part of the family, but a concubine was just a sex slave, or even a mistress.  Some said, that a concubine was a second class wife, and the wife was over the concubines.

The truth is, that none of them really had an explanation that made sense.  If wives and concubines were the same thing, then why say some man had a wife and a concubine?  If the concubine was not part of the family, then why were the children they had considered part of the family?  If the wife was over the concubines, who were second class wives, then what about case where a man had only a concubine, or had no concubines, but more one than wife?  How could the concubine be a second class wife in the family, when she was the only woman married to the man?

It was obvious to me that there was some meaningful difference between a wife and concubine.  The Book of Truth never uses any word without a reason, and it bothered to distinguish between the two.  So, as I have had to do so many other times, I looked into this myself.

First, I confirmed that the Hebrew words translated as wife and concubine really are two different words, and not the same word, or variations of the same root word.  The Hebrew word for "wife" is not connected to the word for "concubine" in any meaningful way.  The word "concubine" never appears in the Renewed Covenant.

The word "wife" in Hebrew is simply the same word as "woman", just like in Greek.

The word "concubine" in Hebrew, "paligesh" is not associated with any other Hebrew word.  It is however, related to the Greek word for concubine, "pallakis".  They both appear to have came from the same foreign root word, which is probably a similar Aramaic phrase, "plag isha", that literally means, "half-wife".  They are also similar to an ancient Phoenician word, "palig", that means, "softness and pleasure".

In modern Hebrew, the word "paligesh" is used for a mistress.

The Greek word, "pallakis", is literally an in-house mistress.

When I lived in Greece, this was not uncommon.  In fact, the wife would often select a pallakis for her husband, when she went into menopause.  My landlady selected her best friend, who was considerably younger, because she trusted her to not try to run off with the family money.  The pallakis lived with them for a number of years.  Although, she did not still live with them when I was there, she did come over to visit them frequently.  We all ate dinner together more than once, since she was considered to be like family.

A similar word, "palagali", in ancient Sanskrit is used of a Sudra, which is a wife that is from a different caste than her husband.  Lastly, the ancient Chinese word for concubine, literally means "accepted one", because the children that she produced, were considered to be accepted as legitimate children of the man, unlike any children that he might have from a woman, who was not part of the household.

So, a concubine is definitely not the same as a wife, but neither is she the same as a mistress, or a prostitute.  She has a legitimate relationship with the man, but is lower in status than a wife.

A concubine can also be elevated to the status of a wife by the man.  For example, Keturah became the wife of Abraham (Abram) after Sarah (Sarai) died (Genesis 25:1-4).  She had previously been his concubine (1 Chronicles 1:32).

So, what is difference between a concubine and a wife, if they both can have a legitimate marriage relationship with the man, both can be sexually involved with the man,  both can produce legitimate children for the man, and both can part of the family of the man?

The difference is primarily in their marriage arrangement.

A wife comes into marriage through an agreement between her family, especially her father, and the man.  The man had to pay the father to marry their daughter.  This is why Jacob (Yah'acob aka Israel) had to pay Laban for Rebekah (Genesis 29:17-19).

So when a man marries a wife, it is joining two families together.  The family of the wife is now his family was well, and the family of the man was her family as well.  In fact, this has been codified into law in most cultures.

For example, under English common law, and later American law, the man and his wife had the same legal obligations to the father, mother, brothers and sisters of their spouse, as they did to their own father, mother, brothers, and sisters.  As far as the law was concerned, the father of the wife was the same as the father of the man to the man, and the same was true for the wife.  This extended to brothers, and sisters as well.  This is where the term in-laws comes from.  In fact, their father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were legally the same as their own father, mother, brother, and sister.

For example, the father of the wife was the father, in law, of the husband.  He was as legally obligated to take care of her father in his old age, as he was his own father.  The same was true for his wife concerning his father. 

Also, because two families were being joined together, the family of the wife could enforce the terms of the marriage contract, and even bring harm to the man, if he brought harm to his wife.  A man that beat his wife, was subject to being beaten by her father and brothers.  So the woman had protection of her rights, when she came into marriage as a wife.

In every sense, the life of the man and his wife are joined together by their marriage arrangement. They are partners working together to create a family, that will extend the family of both of their parents.

It is not so with concubines.  Their marriage is not about joining two families together, but only about joining a man to a woman for the purposes of sex, and giving legitimacy to any children that come from the concubine.

In the past, concubines were typically slaves, homeless orphans, runaways, prostitutes, or other disadvantaged women, who lacked the protection of a family, before marriage.  The husband did not pay anything to her father to marry her, and might have even been given the concubine by his wife.

For example, Jacob paid nothing to marry Bilhah (Genesis 30:2-4).  This is why Bilhah was called his concubine, but Rachel was only ever called his wife (Genesis 30:1-4).

The concubine had to try to make the best bargain she can with the man, when they made a marriage arrangement.  She had no one to enforce the agreement that they made, but had to rely on his honestly alone.  She had no one to protect her from being harmed by her husband, but had to hope for him to treat her kindly at all times.  The concubine was at the mercy of her husband at all times, and his treatment of her might have turned out to be entirely based on her performance, or his mood.

So, the life of a man and his concubine are not joined together in every sense by their marriage arrangement.  They are not partners working together to create a family, that will extend the family of both of their parents.

Still, being a concubine was usually much better for a woman, than without being part of any family at all.  The concubine was assured of some protection from her husband, particularly from other men, and her children were part of his family.  She had a home, and was not subject to being sold like a slave.  Most importantly, when her daughters married, they became wives, and not concubines.

So, a concubine was much better off than a slave, a homeless orphan, a runaway, a prostitute, or a disadvantaged woman.  It is not hard to see why women slaves and the like, did not protest being made into a concubine.

So, the question is this for the married men:  Are you married to a wife, or a concubine?

The sad truth is, that for many married men, the honest answer is you are married to a concubine - even among those who call themselves Christians.

The same question applies to married women:  Are you a wife, or a concubine?

The sad truth is, that for many married women, the honest answer is you are a concubine - even among those who call themselves Christians.

A man takes care of the family of his wife, especially her parents when they are old.  A wife takes care of the family of her husband, especially his parents when they are old.  When a man and his wife do not take care of each other's families, then he has married a concubine.

The Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) will not act like they have married a concubine, or they are a concubine, if their spouse has any family at all.  It is their responsibility to honor the parents of their spouse when they are old, as if they were their own parents.

They have a greater responsibility to support the parents of their spouse, who became their parents when they married, than they even do to give offerings (Mark 7:9-13).  If they do not do so, then they are worse than many of the Children of Lies (those who do not obey The Father of Truth because they do not love Him) (1 Timothy 5:4-8).

However, it does not end there.  What if neither one of them has any of their parents or siblings to take care of?  What if they are too far away from their parents and siblings to help, or even know if they need help?  Can the marriage still be that of a wife, instead of a concubine?

Remember that Keturah became the wife of Abraham, after Sarah died (Genesis 25:1).  She did this by taking care of the family of Abraham, Isaac (Yitzhak), in the place of Sarah.  When she became the wife of Abraham, she became responsible for taking care of his son by Sarah, and not just the children that she bore to Abraham as his concubine.  She was taking care of the family of her husband.

In like manner, Bilhah changed from concubine to wife, by taking care of the family of Jacob, besides her own children by him.

Bilhah had been the handmaid of Rebekah (Genesis 29:29).  Rachel then gave Bilhah to Jacob, to bear children for Jacob on her behalf (Genesis 30:3).   Soon, Bilhah had two children by Jacob (Genesis 30:5-7).

Afterwards, Rachel had Joseph by Jacob (Genesis 30:22-24).  Then Rachel died giving birth to Benjamin (Genesis 35:16-18).  Bilhah was still the concubine of Jacob after this (Genesis 35:19-22).

Bilhah was with Jacob when he returned to take of his father, Isaac, until his father died (Genesis 35:25-29).  By the time that Joseph was seventeen, Bilhah was now the wife of Jacob, instead of his concubine (Genesis 37:2).  Bilhah became his wife, by being a mother to Joseph, after Rachel died (Genesis 37:10).

So, when a woman is the wife of her husband, instead of his concubine, they both take care of the family of each other, beyond their own children.

The thing is, that when a woman is one of the Children of Truth, she is never without a family, even if she grew up as an only child, and an orphan on the street.  She does have a father, the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD), to make sure that she is treated right (Romans 8:16).  She does have a brother, the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ), to make sure that she is treated right (Hebrews 2:9-12).

Her husband had better treat her right, or her Father will repay him for his mistreatment of her (Romans 12:9-19).  If he wants the Father of Truth to hear his prayers, then he had better treat His daughter with the respect of wife, as his partner in life to extend His family, instead treating her like a concubine (1 Peter 3:7).

Her husband had better be careful to always provide her with food, clothing, and sex, for he even has to provide these things for a concubine (Exodus 21:7-10). [

Her husband had better especially be careful, to never be physically abuse her, for her Father will avenge her (1 Thessalonians 4:3-6).  Her Brother is able and willing to afflict great pain upon her husband, and then kill him, if he continues in abusing his sister, after being given a period of time to repent (Revelation 2:20-23).

The Father of Truth knows how to deal with a bully, and her husband had better bully His daughter.

For example, in the congregation that I attend on the Sabbath, not long ago, a woman asked for prayer, that the Father of Truth would protect her and her children from her abusive husband.  I was leading prayer on that particular day, and the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) moved upon me.  So I prayed this out loud with boldness, "If he does not stop the abuse, then break his arm, so he cannot abuse them."

The next week, she reported that he had intended to abuse them, but had an accident, and broke his arm.  The doctor said, that it would months before he could resume using his arm.  I hope that he learns to control his temper, for the Father of Truth will do worse to him, if he resumes the abuse.

I do have sympathy for this man, because I have known what it was like to be constantly terrorized by the monster within, that brings about sudden fits of rage, causing a person to do things, that they sincerely regret afterwards.  Total surrender to the Man of Truth is the ONLY sure way to be free of this monster (John 8:32-36).   I sincerely hope that the man will choose deliverance, instead of destruction, for the Father of Truth does not desire to destroy him (2 Peter 3:9).

In like manner, when the man is one of the Children of Truth, he will pay for the right to be married to his wife, even if he is homeless, and penniless.  This is especially the case, if his wife is also one of the Children of Truth.

The man is to pay for her, by living a sacrificial life to take care of her, especially to pay her Father, if she is one of the Children of Truth (Romans 12:1).  He pays for the right to be married to his wife, by giving his life, so she can live with him, like the Man of Truth gave his life, so the Children of Truth could live with him (Ephesians 5:25).  He pays for her, by loving her as much as he does his own flesh (Ephesians 5:28-29).

His wife has no more right to give him cause to fornicate, by withholding her body from him, since she is being bought with a price, than the Children of Truth do to use their body to commit sin against the Father of Truth, since they have been bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:18-20).  Since the man is paying for her, she had better not defraud him of sex (1 Corinthians 7:2-5).  The Father of Truth will avenge the man on her for defrauding him, because this come from despising the Father of Truth (1 Thessalonians 4:6-8).

This means that his wife must give him the sex that is due him, when it is the right time for love.  Women who do not fulfill their promise by giving their husband what he is paying for, are liars and thieves.  Even a concubine, owes this to her husband by virtue of their marriage arrangement.  A wife should do more for her husband than a concubine.

She had better treat her husband as a wife, by giving him the respect that is due to him.

Her husband has bought the right to cancel her commitments (Numbers 30:6-8).  The wife will not be accountable to the Father of Truth for her commitments, if her husband cancels them, soon after he learns of them (Numbers 30:10-12).  Her husband will be held accountable to the Father of Truth, if he does not cancel them, soon after he learns of them, and then later prevents her from keeping them (Numbers 30:13-15).

So, a wife is to submit to the leadership of her husband, just as the Children of Truth are to submit to the leadership of the Man of Truth (Ephesians 5:22-24).  She has the same obligation to show respect to her husband, as her husband has to show love to her (Ephesians 5:33).

In fact, the wife is subject to the wishes of her husband, in the same way that her husband is to be subject the wishes of the Man of Truth, and the Man of Truth is subject to the wishes of the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 11:3).  She is especially not to dishonor her husband, by praying with her head unveiled, which is the sign of being under the authority of her husband (1 Corinthians 11:5-6). However, she does not dishonor her husband when she prays without a actual veil, if her hair is long enough to serve as a veil (1 Corinthians 11:15).

So, when comes to be showing respect to her husband, it matters what is on her head, as much as it does for her husband, so that he is showing respect to the Father of Truth.  The wife is to set an example of submitting to authority, for the Angels of Truth to see (1 Corinthians 11:10).

Even a concubine owes this to her husband, by virtue of their marriage agreement.  The wife is even more accountable for this than a concubine, because she has being bought with a price.

So, a man is to treat the woman he married as a wife, instead of a concubine, by paying the price of laying down his life for her every day.  In like manner, the woman he married is act like a wife, instead of a concubine, by going beyond minimal requirements expected of a concubine in the treatment of her husband.

The Father of Truth never intended for men to treat the woman that they married like a concubine, or the woman to act like a concubine to her husband, for He skillfully crafted woman to be a wife to the man (Genesis 2:23-25).   It was people, in their sinful state, that came up women being married as concubines, instead of wives (Genesis 22:23-24).

His desire for a woman is to be a wife to her husband, by doing far more for her husband than the minimum required of a concubine (Proverbs 31:10-12).  His desire for a man is treat the woman that he marries like a wife, by giving her far more than the minimum required by a concubine (Proverbs 31:28-31).

This is not some minor side issue. When a Child of Truth is married to an unbeliever, it is bigger than life and death. 

It is very important that a man, who has come into the House of Truth, to treat the woman he married, if she has not come into the House of Truth, like a wife, instead of a concubine.  It is very important that a woman, who has come into the House of Truth, to treat the man she married, if he has not come into the House of Truth, like she is his wife, instead of his concubine.  If the Children of Truth in a marriage like this will do this, then they might be able to bring their spouse into the House of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:12-16).

This is especially the case of a woman, who has come into the House of Truth, who is married to a man, who has not come into the House of Truth.  If she will act like his wife, instead of his concubine, she might be able to bring him into the House of Truth, even if he forbids her to say anything to him about the Word of Truth (1 Peter 3:1-3).  Her husband will notice the beauty of the Word of Truth, if she will adorn herself like Sarah, by acting like a wife, instead of a concubine (1 Peter 3:4-6).

There are two kinds of knowledge.  When a Child of Truth only speak the Word of Truth to their unbelieving spouse, then they are only giving their unbelieving spouse head knowledge.  When a Child of Truth lives out the Word of Truth, by how they treat their unbelieving spouse, then they are giving their unbelieving spouse heart knowledge.

This may be the only way that their spouse will come to understand with their heart, that total surrender to the Man of Truth, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead, is the only way for them to come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:9-10).

Come into the House of Truth!