The Book Of Enoch

Should the Book of Enoch be in of the Bible?

In the Book of Jude, a verse regarding Enoch from the Book of Enoch is quoted (Jude 1:14-15).  For this reason, many have contended that the Book of Enoch should be in the Book of Truth (The Bible) as well.

However, merely quoting from a source is not sufficient to show that the entire source should be in the Book of Truth.  Jude the Jew also quotes from a lost source that appears to be the Assumption of Mose regarding the body of Moses (Jude 1:9).

There is only one known copy of the Assumption of Moses in existence.  It is from the sixth century AD, and it is incomplete – missing the section that Jude the Jew is presumed to be quoting from.  However, writers with access to this document before 200 AD like Origen wrote that the complete manuscript contained the quote found in the Book of Jude.

So, it is certain that the Assumption of Moses that Jude the Jew quotes should not be in the Book of Truth just because he quotes from it.  No part of the Book of Truth can ever be lost because the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) watches over the Indestructible Book to preserve it as He promised.

If one were to insist that the Assumption of Moses should be in the Book of Truth because of a single quote from it, then they would be insisting that the Father of Truth was liar who was not able to preserve His word through all generations as He promised.  The same thing would be true about any other source that was quoted but the source was not preserved.

Since the Assumption of Moses is not part of the Book of Truth, then why does Jude the Jew use this quote?  There are two reasons for this.

First, he is warning against false teachers that are bringing in teachings contrary to the Book of Truth to speak evil concerning Heavenly dignitaries – Angels (Jude 1:3-8).  He is using a quote from one of their own sources to convict them of their evil.

This is the same thing that Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka the Apostle Paul) did when he quoted the writings of the Greek poet Aratus to convict the Greak philosophers of their sin of idol worship at Mars Hills (Acts 17:28-30).  He also did this when he wrote to Titus the Gentile about Cretans that had gone astray (Titus 1:12-13).

The other reason was that the quote contained truth – just like the quotes that Paul the Jew had used.  However, acknowledging that a part is truth does not mean that the whole that it is taken from is truth.

When the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil) tempted Eve he used truth to lead her to believe a lie (Genesis 3:4-5).  Even the Father of Truth confirmed that that part of what he had said was truth (Genesis 3:22).

In the same way, Jude the Jew included this quote to reveal a truth that had not been revealed previously in the Book of Truth.  He could see that this quote was consistent with other passages in the Book of Truth.

Mose the Prophet of Truth was indeed buried in hidden grave by the Father of Truth (Deuteronomy 34:5-6).  Jude the Jew understood that the Father of Truth could have been counted as having done it Himself if he had commissioned Michael the Angel of Truth to do it, just a David was counted as taking Zion because he commissioned someone else to do it (2 Samuel 5:7-9).

Jude the Jew also knew that the Angel of the Father of Truth had been resisted by the Father of Lies concerning Joshua the Priest of Truth and the Angel of the Father of Truth had prevailed by saying “the Lord rebuke you” without bringing any accusation against the Father of Lies (Zechariah 3:1-5).  So, the quote concerning the Father of Lies resisting Michael the Angel of Truth burying the body of Moses the Prophet of Truth and Michael the Angel of Truth prevailing by saying “the Lord rebuke you” without bringing any accusation against the Father of Lies was consistent with the rest of the Book of Truth.

So, Jude the Jew included the quote from the Assumption of Moses because it was the one part of the book that contained truth.  This truth provided an example of how believers should handle encounters with the Father of Lies and Angels of Lies.

Are the same things true about the quote from the Book of Enoch?

So, when Jude the Jew went on to quote from the Book of Enoch, he  could have been using one of their own sources against them.  This is exactly what he had done before with his quote from the Assumption of Moses.

Jude the Jew knew that when the Father of Truth came with ten thousand of the Children of Truth when He came to give the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) to Moses the Prophet of Truth (Deuteronomy 33:1-3).  He knew that when the Man of Truth comes to bring judgment upon the Gentiles for their wickedness that the resurrected Children of Truth are going to carry out that judgment (Psalm 149:5-9).

So, Jude the Jew could see that this quote from the Book of Enoch was consistent with what had already been revealed in the Book of Truth just like his quote from the Assumption of Moses.  This quote also made this truth a little clearer.

One thing is certain about the inclusion of these quotes in the Book of Jude – they are not a mistake for this inclusion was inspired by the Father of Truth (2 Timothy 3:16).  Jude the Jew was only a scribe for the Spirit of Truth who is the author of all scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21).

So, it can be certain that Jude the Jew used the quote from the Book of Enoch for the same purposes that he had used the quote from the Assumption of Moses.  However, whether or not it should be in the Book of Truth still depends upon the book itself.

So, it is time to examine the Book of Enoch itself.

The first thing to examine is whether the contents of the Book of Enoch have been preserved as the Father of Truth promised to do with His Word.  If not, then like the Assumption of Moses, it is not part of the Book of Truth.

We have to begin with clarification of what we mean by the Book of Enoch because there were actually three books called that written at different times in different languages at different places.  They are commonly referred to as 1 Enoch, 2 Enoch, and 3 Enoch based on the order that they were written in.

The oldest fragment of 1 Enoch is from about 300 BC.  The earliest parts were written in Hebrew in Israel, but later parts were written in Aramaic.

The oldest reference to 2 Enoch is from around 100 AD.  It was reputed to be written in Greek outside of Israel, but the oldest known fragment is from about 800 AD in Slavic.

The oldest reference to 3 Enoch is after 135 AD.  It was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin at Babylon.

So, we can see that 1 Enoch is the only Book of Enoch that Jude the Jew could have been quoting.  The later two versions both build upon and contradict it.

The next thing to examine is the contents of 1 Enoch to compare it to the contents of the Book of Truth for consistency.   We will begin with how it is structured.

1 Enoch actually is composed of five separate books that collectively have 108 chapters.  We will give a brief synopsis of each book.

This arrangement of five books inside 1 Enoch is not problematic.  Psalms also has five books inside it – one for each book of the Law of Truth.

The first book is the Book of Watchers, and it has thirty-six chapters.  It is mostly concerned with fallen Angels called the Watchers and their efforts to corrupt mankind.

The second book is the Book of Parables of Enoch, and it has thirty-five chapters.  It contains three parables that tell of the judgment that will come upon the Watchers and the people that they have corrupted.  It ends with the final translation of Enoch into heaven and two other short visions that he had before being translated.

The third book is the Astronomical Book, and it has eleven chapters.  It contains details of a Solar calendar that Enoch had revealed to him as the correct calendar for determining the seasons.

The fourth book is the Book of Dream Visions, and it has eight chapters.  It has a series of dream visions that tell the history of the people of Israel starting with the flood of Noah and ending with the New Jerusalem.  Some dream visions with symbolic animals are interspersed through it.

The final book is the Epistle of Enoch, and it is eighteen chapters.  It is a series of warnings that Enoch leaves to his descendants before his translation that cover everything that is going to happen until he is reunited with them in the New Jerusalem.  It also has some details about the birth of his grandson Noah.

So, it can be seen that each of the five books that make 1 Enoch build upon the previous books.  The entirety of the legitimacy of the Book of Enoch stands or falls on the legitimacy of each of these books.

Now we will compare the contents of each book with the Book of Truth.

So, we will start with the Book of Watchers.  This is the book that Jude the Jew quotes.

In this book, a lot of Angels are named that are not otherwise found anywhere in the Book of Truth.  Some of these Heavenly dignitaries are reported to have schemed to overthrow the Father of Truth and are called the Watchers.

It says that one of these Angels of Lies called Gadreel deceived Eve.  It also says that sin was introduced through the line of Cain while the line of Seth remained righteous.

The Book of Truth says that a serpent that deceived Eve (2 Corinthians  11:3).  It says that serpent was the Father of Lies – not some other Angel of Lies (Revelation 12:9-10).

The Book of Truth says that the curse of sin came upon the entire line of Adam – not one of his sons (Genesis 3:17-19).  It says that sin came through Adam – not one of his sons (Romans 5:12-14).

The Book of Watchers continues to tell about how some of these Heavenly dignitaries proceeded to marry human women and produce giants as also found in the Book of Truth (Genesis 6:1-4).  It then tells of how the Father of Truth had Noah build an Ark that was three hundred cubits long as does the Book of Truth (Genesis 6:13-15).

However, the Book of Watchers says that these giants were also three hundred cubits tall and so they would not have died from a flood that only covered the highest point on Earth by fifteen cubits according to the Book of Truth (Genesis 7:17-20).  They would have been more than thirty times taller than the tallest giant mentioned in the Book of Truth (Deuteronomy 3:11).

The Book of Watchers also says that these giants were imprisoned in bottomless pit (abyss) while the Book of Truth says that they were killed in the flood like every thing else that had the breath of life in it (Genesis 7:21-23).  The Book of Truth says that only the Angels of Lies who sinned by fathering the giants were imprisoned beneath the Earth (2 Peter 2:4).

Now we will move to the Book of Parables.  It builds upon the Book of Watchers.

It not only tells of a final judgment on the Angels of Lies (the Watchers) but also about the judgements that are to come upon mankind as well.  It introduces “the Son of Man” as the Messiah in Heaven – as Daniel had written hundreds of years earlier (Daniel 7:13-14).

However, the Book of Parables also identifies Enoch as the Son of Man in some places.  It also implies that Enoch had been enthroned in Heaven before his birth on Earth.

It is based on this that 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch state that Enoch became an Angel of Truth called Metatron after he was translated off of the Earth.  This contradicts the Book of Truth that says the people and Angels of Truth are two different things (2 Peter 2:10-11).

The resurrected Children of Truth are only like the Angels of Truth in not marrying one another (Matthew 22:30).  They are given a body like that of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) – not Angels of Truth (Philippians 3:20-21)!

In fact, the Book of Parables appears to have been added much later to 1 Enoch.  Unlike the Book of Watchers, no fragment has ever been found at Qumran (the place of the Dead Sea Scrolls).

More than that, it is missing entirely from the earliest Greek translations of 1 Enoch that have been found.  There is no real evidence that it existed until about 300 AD.

This would mean that all copies of 1 Enoch are corrupted that contain it.  That would mean that the Book of Enoch was not preserved as the Father of Truth promised to do with His Word.

Now we will look at the Astronomical Book. It is tied to the words and deeds of Enoch in the previous two books.

The Astronomical Book contains a revelation that Enoch received that all months are thirty days long and there is an extra day after each set of three months to separate the seasons.  This allowed the same day of the year to always fall on the same day of the week.

This contradicts the calendar that the Father of Truth gave to Moses the Prophet of Truth.  It uses months that begin with each new moon – almost half of which are only twenty-nine days in length (Isaiah 66:23).

This calendar in the Book of Truth has years set by the month when the barley in Egypt is first ripe (Exodus 9:31-33).  This month is the first month of every year – which requires a leap month to be added every two or three years (Exodus 12:1-2).

Not only that, this 364-day calendar does not work in reality either.  The Essenes abandoned maintenance of The Astronomical Book when they found it snowing in what it said was summer after trying to use it for  almost two centuries.

So, we can be certain that the Astronomical Book is not from the Father of Truth.  He is never wrong about anything – ever!

Next, we will examine the Book of Dream Visions.  It is about Israel and the Watchers.

This book gives a history of the people of Israel all the way up to about 140 BC when the oldest fragment indicates that it was written.  It presents this history plus the final judgment as prophecy of Enoch.

It is not like the Book of Daniel – that told all of the events of the Maccabees several hundred years before any of them occurred.  It also does not mention any event after that until the final judgment - unlike Daniel who even gave the exact year that Messiah would be crucified (Daniel 9:25-27).

In fact, it makes no mention of the Messiah at all – unlike every single book in the Book of Truth.  It is not focused on Israel returning to the Father of Truth at the end of the Tribulation like the Book of Truth, but rather presents the Gentile nations like the Greeks being destroyed in a final judgment by the Father of Truth soon after the time of the Maccabees.

This obviously did not happen as it predicted.  In fact, there is not one single thing in the entire Book of Dream Visions to confirm that it is prophecy given to Enoch – or anyone else – by the Father of Truth.

It also does not mention one single reference to any of the terms of the Law of Truth in the Book of Dream Visions – or the entirety of 1 Enoch (The Book of Enoch).  These terms are referred to by every single book of the Prophets of Truth in the Original Covenant (Tanakh aka The Old Testament) as well as almost every single book of the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament).

Most of the material in the last chapters about the End Times was already written in the Book of Truth.  The majority of material that is different concerns the Watchers – the Heavenly dignitaries.

So, it is obvious to anyone who is not willfully blind that this book is the work of a Prophet of Lies.  The contents of it are not consistent with the Book of Truth nor does it pass the test that all prophetic books of the Book of Truth have passed – some short-term and medium-term prophecies that all came to pass to confirm that the long-term prophecies are from the Father of Truth.

Finally, we will look at the Epistle of Enoch.  It is a summary of the previous books.

It begins with a vision of ten weeks that cover the entire history of the world.  It says that seven of these weeks have already passed by the time of the Maccabees and the last three weeks were about events would happen right after the time of the Maccabees that would end in the final judgment.

The events of the first seven weeks had all happened by the time of the oldest fragment.  Not one single event of the final three weeks has happened yet.

This means that this vision of  “the complete history of world” has over two thousand years of history that it did not see coming.  Those events of the last three weeks did not follow the events of the first seven weeks as shown in the vision.

It then gives a short warning to live righteously in view of the events of the last three weeks that are coming upon the reader soon.  It then expounds upon predestination explaining that it is impossible for the reader to heed the warning.  Finally it ends with condemnation to the reader for not heeding the warning that they could not possibly heed.

It then gives a short description of the birth of Noah and how those who were predetermined to be the Children of Light will enter the New Jerusalem.  This last section is separated from the rest of the Epistle of Enoch in the manuscripts at Qumran by a blank line indicating that they were written in later by another person.

So, we must conclude that the Book of Enoch should not be in the Book of Truth.

It has not only failed the tests of consistency with the rest of the Book of Truth and preservation by the Father of Truth, but it also has failed the tests of fulfilled prophecies and being factually accurate.  Not even the Essenes at Qumran considered the Book of Enoch to be part of the Book of Truth.

All of the books of the Book of Truth were stored in separate caves from the other writings at Qumran.  The later fragments of the books of the Book of Enoch were found in caves where books that the Essenes suspected to be the work of false teachers were kept.  These scrolls were kept there until the name of the Father of Truth could be cut out of them, so they could be destroyed with damaging His name.

However, there are some other tests given by the Book of Truth that the Book of Enoch would fail as well.  These concerned the authorship of it.

The Book of Truth says that any book that is in it must be either the work of a Prophet of Truth or an Apostle of Truth (Ephesians 2:20).  Even though Enoch was a real Prophet of Truth, it is apparent that the author of the Book of Enoch was not him.

Even if Enoch had written the Book of Enoch, then there is another test that the Book of Enoch would fail.  Nothing written by Enoch could pass this test.

The Man of Truth said that salvation was of the Jews (John 4:22).  The Words of the Father of Truth were only committed to those marked as Jews by circumcision (Romans 3:1-2).

Enoch was the Gentile ancestor of Abraham (Luke 3:34-37).  Abraham was the father of circumcision that marked his descendants as Jews (Romans 4:12).

So, the Book of Enoch would fail this test of authorship as well that the Book of Truth requires.  The Book of Truth makes it plain that it cannot belong in the Book of Truth.

Therefore, we need to heed the warnings of the Apostles of Truth about the Book of Enoch.

Jude the Jew called those who spoke evil about Angels that they only knew about from the Book of Enoch - but had not seen themselves - corrupt deceivers (Jude 1:8-10).  He warned that the same judgement that these Teachers of Lies have been teaching about these Angels that they have spoken evil against is going to happen to them (Jude 1:11-13).

James the Jude warned that these Teachers of Lies were among those that Enoch had said would be destroyed when Messiah comes to bring judgment on the ungodly (Jude 1:14-16).  He warned they were among the mockers that the Apostles of Truth had warned would come in the last days before the Tribulation - who did not have the Spirit of Truth in them (Jude 1:17-19).

Peter the Jew (Sh’mon aka Simon aka Simeon aka Cephas aka The Apostle Peter) also warned that Teachers of Lies would rise up among the Children of Truth to later be destroyed with the rest of the wicked (2 Peter 2:1).  He warned that many of them would follow these Teachers of Lies to destruction and cause the Book of Truth to be spoken against (2 Peter 2:2).

Peter the Jew warned that these Teachers of Lies would do this to sell things to the Children of Truth because they would be covetous, but they would be destroyed in the end (2 Peter 2:3).  He warned that they would be destroyed in the future as surely as the ungodly had been destroyed in the past (2 Peter 2:4-6).

Peter the Jew warned that these Teachers of Lies – who spoke evil of Angels– would be punished on Judgement Day (2 Peter 2:9-11).  He warned that they had never seen these Angels in a vision from the Spirit of Truth, but only knew what that they had learned about from another source - like the Book of Enoch - with a mind that was devoid of the Spirit of Truth (2 Peter 2:12).

Peter the Jew warned that these Teachers of Lies were in the congregations of the Children of Truth to deceive them due to their love of money but would be destroyed in the end (2 Peter 2:13-14).  He warned that like Balaam, they had once walked in the way of Truth, but had lost their minds when they turned from it to gain money (2 Peter 2:15-16).

Peter the Jew warned that since these Teachers of Lies no longer could bring the Word of Truth to the Children of Truth, then they would experience the judgment that they taught would happen to the Angels from the Book of Enoch (2 Peter 2:17).  He warned that they would face this judgment because they had spoke the Word of Lies to cause the Children of Truth to return to the sins that they had once escaped (2 Peter 2:18-19).

Paul the Jew warned that many of these Teachers of Lies were circumcised descendants of Israel, but they taught the Word of Lies from sources like the Book of Enoch because they wanted the Children of Truth to give them money (Titus 1:10-11).  He warned that the Word of Truth must be used to rebuke the Children of Truth who had been deceived by these Teachers of Lies -  who had appealed to the sinful desires of their flesh to turn them from the Word of Truth (Titus 1:12-13).

Paul the Jew warned that the Children of Truth need to treat Jewish fables - including the Book of Enoch - like the commandments of circumcised descendants of Israel that turned the Children of Truth away from the Word of Truth (Titus 1:14).  He said that these circumcised descendants of Israel taught these things because they did not know the Father of Truth – as their works proved (Titus 1:15-16).

These Apostles of Truth warned believers against the Book of Enoch - specifically quoting from it to make it plain - as well as many other sources from the Rabbis.  They warned that the Rabbis are liars and things like the Book of Enoch are no better than the Book of Mormon.

So, what should be in the Book of Truth?

The truth is that the Book of Truth has no missing books.  It contains the Incorruptible Word of Truth that the Father of Truth promised to preserve through the ages.

The Book of Truth contains two inseparable covenants.  These work together just like the four Gospels work together as a four-part harmony.

Those who teach the Book of Truth is incomplete or corrupted are teaching the Doctrine of Lies.  They are not teaching the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Those who preach using another book are preaching another gospel based on another Jesus -who is not the Man of Truth - that was given to the author by another spirit - that is not the Spirit of Truth.  They are often the hidden danger that in the midst of the congregations of the Children of Truth like a snake in the leaves.

Some of these deceivers have made the Messianic Mess.  Other deceivers have used the same tactics to turn many of the Children of Truth to Neo-paganism.

Other deceivers have used another tactic in the Great Deception that is causing many to turn from following the Man of Truth without even realizing it.  They have assaulted the Book of Truth through corrupted thought-for-thought translations that include one disturbing sentence that is not found in any original source document.

With so much deception, how can you protect yourself from being deceived?

Fortunately, once you learn a few simple rules it is not that hard to pick a good translation.  After that, you can learn to rightly divide the Word of Truth by following the rules for interpreting scripture that are laid out in the Book of Truth.

Once you have the Word of Truth available to study, you are ready to begin protecting yourself from deception.   The only other thing you need is the Spirit of Truth.

The Children of Truth can overcome all deception because the Spirit of Truth lives in them (Romans 8:9).  The Spirit of Truth is greater than the Spirits of Lies that are in the world that speak through the Prophets of Lies (1 John 4:1-4).

The Spirit of Truth will guide the Children of Truth into all truth and confirm the Word of Truth (John 16:13).  They just have to be willing to follow the leading of the Spirit of Truth (Galatians 5:16).

When the Children of Truth follow the Spirit of Truth, then they will not have mind ruled by their flesh that cannot keep the Law of Truth (Romans 8:4-8).  Instead, they will have the mind of the Man of Truth – who kept the Law of Truth in the way always intended by the Father of Truth (1 Peter 4:1-2).

The love of the Children of Truth for the Man of Truth will cause them to keep his commandments (John 14:15).  The more they keep his commandments, the more they will know him (John 14:21).

It is those who do not keep the commandments of the Father of Truth who do not know Him (Matthew 7:21-23).  The more the Children of Truth love the Father of Truth the more they will keep His commandments (1 John 5:3).

The Children of Truth will be able to overcome the deception of the world because of their faith in the Man of Truth (1 John 5:4-5).  They will be able to overcome the Father of Lies by the Word of Truth in their mouths and the death of the Man of Truth because they love the Man of Truth more than their own lives (Revelation 12:9-11).

The Children of Truth will be able to stand against every deception of the Father of Lies when they put on all of the armor that the Father of Truth has provided them to fight against the Spirits of Lies (Ephesians 6:11-12).  Their sexual conduct will be protected by truth, their heart will set on doing what the Father of Truth says is right, they will be ready to bring the Good News to other people, their confidence in what the Father of Truth says will lead them to action that shields them from every attack of the Father of Lies, salvation will protect their minds, and they will be able to use the Word of Truth to attack the Spirit of Lies (Ephesians 6:13-17).

The Word of Truth will allow the Children of Truth to not be deceived by the Word of Lies that is empty and useless (2 Timothy 2:14-16).   It will allow them to discern between those who speak truth out of a sincere heart and those who speak lies out of a perverse heart (Hebrews 4:12).

When the Children of Truth hide the Word of Truth in their hearts, then they cannot be deceived into breaking the commandments of the Father of Truth (Psalm 119:10-11).  They will be not even be able to be deceived into departing from walking in truth by signs and wonders like everyone else (Matthew 24:24).

You will come into the House of Truth when you will make a commitment to obey the Man of Truth in everything because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).  Then the Spirit of Truth will live in you and witness to your spirit that you are a Child of Truth (Romans 8:14-16).  Then the Word of Truth will be able to live in your heart, so that you will not be deceived by things like the Book of Enoch (Colossians 3:16).

Come into the House of Truth!

 

The Church Lady

Are you following the Man of Truth or playing church?

Years ago, the church I was attending had a time for people to come down to the altar at the end of service to pray for their needs or the needs of other people.  One lady stood out particularly.

I never knew the name of this lady, but she always dressed up in clothes that let everyone know that she was a church lady.  So, I called her the church lady.

The other thing that stood out about the church lady was her prayers.  Every time there was an altar call she was down at the altar weeping loudly for the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) to save her husband.

Over time, I learned more about her husband through her loud prayers and the words that the other women would say to comfort her.  Her husband was basically what we would have called no-good growing up.

He would do things like gamble away the grocery money and leave their kids without food.  Yet, he always seemed to find a way to get cigarettes and alcohol.

He may have stolen those or bought them before he began gambling.  He hung out in smoky bars and sometimes went home with other women.

Still, he insisted that he loved his kids and would do something once in a while to show them.  So, he came to church one night to see them in the Easter play.

That Easter play shattered him.  As soon as it was over he was down at the altar begging God to forgive him and weeping over the terrible way he had treated his family.

He was a changed man after that.  His surrender to the Man of Truth was total and it showed in every area of his life.

His kids never went hungry again and he began to use his money for the Kingdom of the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD).  He was constantly reading the Book of Truth (The Bible) and making changes every time he found something that he needed to improve.

Everything began to change both in his home and outside of it.  He was determined that for his house, they were going to serve the Father of Truth.

A year later, the church lady divorced him.  This was not what she had expected him to do when she had been crying out at the altar.

Why was that?

As long as her husband behaved badly, then it was easy for the church lady to look more righteous than him.  She could use his bad behavior to beat him down with guilt.

The day his sins and guilt were washed away, the church lady lost her position as being more righteous than him.  When he started doing what the Book of Truth said for him to do, she was longer in charge of their house.

The church lady could no longer say that her husband was keeping her from doing what the Father of Truth wanted her to do.  She could no longer claim that she could not submit to her husband because he was telling her to do things contrary to the Book of Truth. 

The church lady had picked and chosen which commandments to keep, while her husband was determined to keep all of them.  She wanted just enough of the Man of Truth in her life to be esteemed by the other women in the church, while the Man of Truth was now the life of her husband.

Ultimately, the church lady was rebelling against the Man of Truth.  She did not really want him to be in charge of her life. 

She wanted to follow the Man of Truth partially without obeying him in everything.  She wanted salvation without total surrender.

You see the church lady only wanted someone to play church with her.  She had never wanted a husband that would take his place as the head of the house.

You might be wondering, what does playing church mean?

Playing church is treating going to church like playing a sport.  When people play church, they do a lot of things similar to playing a sport.

When people are playing church, they replace the commandments of the Father of Truth with rules that make them appear to be winners.  Like some sports, the rules are sometimes obscure and open to interpretation.

When people are playing church, they are competing with other people who are also playing church.  Like every sport, they devised their own way to determine who is winning and who is losing.

When people are playing church, they seek to keep people out who will not play church with them.  Like some sports, they seek to keep out sincere people who want to do what is right.

When people are playing church, they are concerned about others seeing everything that raises their score but try to hide anything that will lower their score.  Like in many sports, they will try to look for technicalities that keep their score from being penalized for their mistakes.

When people are playing church, they try to recruit those who will raise their score and then begin teaching them how to win at playing their game.  Like many sport teams, the value of other people is based on how well they can play the game.

When people are playing church, they understand that it is a team sport, and their family is the core of their team.  Like any team sport, the score of the team depends on the performance of each team member – so each family member is pressured to appear to be perfect.

When people are playing church, they will pay tithes to get out of keeping commandments of the Father of Truth that they find inconvenient and uncomfortable.  Like many sport teams, they give large donations to the officials to gain the privilege of their members being above the law.

When people are playing church, they make a big deal over small matters of no eternal consequence while ignoring important things that are putting them in danger of eternal judgment.  Likewise many sports fans will make a big deal of all kinds of statistics about their favorite team while ignoring the actual score of the game.

When people are playing church, they will sometimes say things to intimidate the competition wrapped in pretty sounding phrases.  Like in many sports, they have their own version of trash talking.

When people are playing church, they start talking differently than they do in other settings.  Instead of speaking sports talk, they talk church talk that only other church people understand.

When people are playing church, they put on act at church so other people will think they are holy to hide their wicked thoughts and intentions.  Like many sports team seek to confuse their opponents with trick plays into believing that they are going to do one thing while they are really planning on doing the opposite.

When people are playing church, they are very focused on wearing beautiful attire to cover up their ugly hearts.  Like members of a sports team have special clothing to wear when they are playing their sport, people playing church have their special church clothes.

When people are playing church, they will make sure people know about any donation that they make to help the poor.  Like many sport teams, they want to make sure that people give them credit for the good that they do for others.

When people are playing church, they will make long prayers in a loud voice to let everyone know how holy they are.  Like many in sports, they loudly advertise how good they are at playing the game.

When people are playing church, they are very focused on church music with a style that fits inside their cultural box but is only played when they are playing church.  Like the fight song of a sports team, the church music is meant to let people know that the game has begun and to help keep the crowd engaged in the game.

When did people begin playing church?

People have been playing church before the first church building was ever built.  There is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10).

Hypocrites in the synagogues replaced the commandments of the Father of Truth with rules that made them appear to be winners (Mark 7:7-9).  They devised their own way to determine who is winning and who is losing (Romans 10:2-3).

The scribes and Pharisees sought to keep others out who would not play church with them but were sincere in their desire to what is right (Matthew 23:13).  They were concerned about others seeing everything that raised their score but tried to hide anything that lowered their score (Matthew 23:14).

The scribes and Pharisees recruited those who would raise their score and then began teaching them how to win at playing their game (Matthew 23:15).  They looked for technicalities that kept their score from being penalized for their mistakes (Matthew 23:16-22).

The scribes and Pharisees paid tithes to get out of keeping commandments that they found inconvenient and uncomfortable (Matthew 23:23).  They made a big deal over small matters of no eternal consequence while ignoring important things that were putting them in danger of eternal judgment (Matthew 23:24).

The scribes and Pharisees put on act so other people thought they were holy to hide their wicked thoughts and intentions (Matthew 23:25).  They wore beautiful attire to cover up their ugly hearts (Matthew 23:27-28).

These hypocrites made sure people knew about any donation that they made to help the poor (Matthew 6:2).  They made long prayers in a loud voice to let everyone know how holy they were (Matthew 6:5).

Is everyone in church playing church?

The first thing that you need to recognize is that not everyone who is in every church is playing church.  Some are sincere in following the Man of Truth and some are not.

A church is often like a field that has both true wheat and false wheat (tares) sown in it (Matthew 13:24-26).  The Man of Truth will separate the true from the false in the judgment at the end of the age (Matthew 13:39-42).

Not all of the physical descendants of Israel are part of the Israel that keeps covenant with the Father of Truth (Romans 9:4-6).  In the same way, not everyone in a church is part of the church that keeps covenant with the Man of Truth.

You can tell who in the church is part of the Children of Truth by examining their actions to see who is obeying the commandment of the Man of Truth (Matthew 7:16-20).  It is not enough to call Him their lord – they must obey him as well (Luke 6:46).

You can know what is in their heart by listening to their words (Luke 6:43-45).  If they are seeking after the Kingdom of the Father of Truth, then they will be talking about the things of that kingdom because that is where their heart is at (Luke 12:31-34).

If they have hidden the Word of Truth in their heart so that they can keep the commandments of the Father of Truth, then they are going to be talking about the Word of Truth (Psalm 119:11-13).  If they are in love with the Man of Truth, then they are going to be talking about him because he is their greatest treasure (Colossians 3:1-4).

However, those only playing church will be loved by the world instead of being hated by the world like the Children of Truth, because they belong to the world (John 15:19).  Those playing church only want to talk about the things of this world like sports, and will not want to hear what the Word of God has to say about how to live their lives (1 John 4:5-6).

Those with a wicked heart will be focused on accumulating wealth on this Earth for their own pleasure, so they will constantly be talking about gaining money (Luke 16:10-14).  This love for money will cause them to stop keeping the commandments of the Father of Truth and eventually destroy them (1 Timothy 6:9-10).

So, how can you stop playing church? 

If you will judge if you have been playing church and repent if you have been, then the Father of Truth will not  need bring trouble upon you to get you to repent (1 Corinthians 11:30-32).  So, you must first examine your words and actions to see if you have been playing church (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Afterwards, you need to ask the Father of Truth to examine your heart (Psalm 26:2).  You need Him to search your heart to see if there is anything in there that would drive you to return to playing church and remove it from your heart if there is (Psalm 139:23-24).

After you have stopped playing church, then you will be able to clearly see how to really follow the Man of Truth (Psalm 26:3).  You will also be able to clearly see who else is playing church (Matthew 7:3-5).

You will then need to separate yourself from them (Psalm 26:4).  You do not want to be judged with those who seek for the favor of people by putting on a religious show to cover up their lack of love for other people (Luke 20:46-47).

You may even come to see that your entire congregation is playing church, and you must leave it (Psalm 26:5).  They might have financial prosperity, but their focus on that has blinded them to the poverty that playing church has brought to them (Revelation 3:17).

You must separate yourself from anyone who teaches that financial property is the proof of being like the Father of Truth (1 Timothy 6:4-5).  They encourage people to play church instead of really following the Man of Truth, so they can sell merchandise (2 Peter 2:1-3).

Perhaps you have been in a congregation where everyone is playing church that is led by religious professionals who encourage people to play church.  Perhaps you have sincerely thought you were following the Man of Truth because playing church is all that you have ever known.

Perhaps you are tired of the emptiness that playing church has brought to your life, because a full life does not come from owning an abundance of things (Luke 12:15).  Perhaps, you are ready to gain the true riches of finding your contentment in the Father of Truth that leaves you content as long as you have food, clothing, and shelter in this world (1 Timothy 6:6-8).

When you sincerely love the Man of Truth, then you will follow him fully and come to really know him (John 14:21).  You will obey the commandments of the Father of Truth when you really love Him (1 John 5:1-3).

You will no longer have a carnal mind that cannot obey the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) when the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) is leading you (Romans 8:4-7).  You will understand the Word of Truth because you will have the mind of the Man of Truth instead (1 Corinthians 2:12-16).

If you have been playing church, then it is time to stop playing church and to come into the House of Truth instead.  You will never find yourself playing church in the House of Truth.

You come into the House of Truth when you surrender control of everything to the Man of Truth because you believe the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-11).  Then you will experience the peace and grace that can never be experienced by playing church (Ephesians 6:23-24).

Come into the House of Truth!