Escape the 2nd Death by the Testimony of Jesus Christ and Bible Prophecy
Is Communion a False Ritual?
This is an Easy Way to See Christian Tradition Defies the Scripture!
Why is the "simplest" of things NOT understood by the Church Leaders?
This is a very easy way to tell there is something wrong in almost every church that claims to be followers of Jesus Christ.
First let's establish something foundational. This is specifically about what Jesus said. If you have any kind of negative or emotional reaction to what is about to be shared here, please consider that the focus is on the words of Messiah.
This is not about a personal opinion, but rather exactly removing all personal opinions except the opinion of the person of Jesus Christ, his disciples, the law, and the prophets, which combined are the opinion of Almighty Father God, called "The Word of the Lord". This is about exactly what the Scripture says.
Here's how Paul viewed this mindset:
If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud knowing nothing...
(1 Timothy 6.1-4).
Jesus said the following: "I can of Myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent Me (John 5:30). "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me (John 14.24). So we can know that the teachings of Christ were not his, but those of the Father.
Now let's look at something Jesus said while being tempted by the Devil:
And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God' " (Luke 4.3-4). Jesus was quoting Deuteronomy 8.3.
There are a few things we should take special note of: Every Word of God Matters, according to Jesus, and that God is the Father of Jesus. Also the word for Bread is Artos. Jesus said: "Man shall not live on ARTOS (bread) alone, but EVERY WORD of God (the Father). This bread referred to is bread with leaven. This is NOT unleavened bread.
If this were unleavened bread, then the word that would have been used would have been AZYMOS.
It really is that simple to know the difference between leavened and unleavened bread. Just look at any interlinear Bible, or a good concordance and you can know this as fast as you can find the source. This should take any partially trained Bible student about One Minute.
Now that we have established a few simple truths, according to the Scripture, let's apply them to the subject of communion, which is something almost every Christian Church practices. What we want to determine is if the church practice is a ritual, or what Jesus commanded when he said "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22.19).
As we move forward, consider this question:
Is it acceptable to claim you have placed your faith and trust in the Son of God only to change his words to form a practice that contradicts his words?
The answer to this seems simple. If you say you have faith in Jesus Christ as The Only Way to the Father, as it is written, then it doesn't make sense that you would change his words to suit your needs, unless you are being dishonest, or don't know any better.
In this day in age, where Bibles are in print everywhere, and the internet is flooded with great tools to study the Scripture, it isn't reasonable to have a different version of Jesus, unless you just want ANOTHER JESUS!
Do You Want "Another Jesus"?
It's Time Church People Consider Repentance!
So here we are 2,000 years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and most of us can't even get the bread right.
It's just crackers!
When the hour had come, Jesus sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then Jesus said to them, "With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes. And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:14-20).
The word for bread here is ARTOS. This is bread with leaven. If Jesus wanted his disciples to use unleavened bread, then he would have used the word AZYMOS.
Jesus did NOT say: I am the unleavened bread of life.
(John 6.29-35) Jesus answered and said to them,
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent."
Therefore they said to Jesus,
"What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.' "
Then Jesus said to them,
"Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
Then they said to Jesus, "Lord, give us this bread always."
And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me shall never hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst (John 6:29-35).
Everytime the word Bread appears in this passage, the word for Bread is Artos which means Bread with leaven. It's NOT unleavened bread or crackers.
This misuse of words from the Scripture is like a Magic trick. I call it Word Magick!
Take something that God said through one of his Prophets or Servants, and just invert it. Now all you have to do is keep repeating it inside your circle of influence and you cast a spell. Now everyone else repeats it and the spell advances.
You can find this issue all over the place in Christianity. It's in just about every Mainstream Doctrine.
For example, in keeping with the subject at hand, the term eucharisteō comes to mind.
Eucharisteō is the Greek word for "giving thanks", like Jesus uses in Luke 22.19. It is very interesting that in the Catholic Tradition, and other High Church settings, they use something that is not Bread at all, and call it the Eucharist. Instead of breaking bread, they say "Here take the give thanks (Eucharist)". I know that last quote doesn't make any sense, which is the point. That's what happens when you twist words from the Scripture into a new meaning (tradition).
The "reformed church" just serves cracker bits.
4 Then YHWH said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you. And the people shall go out and gather a certain quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in My law or not. ... 8 Also Moses said, "[This shall be seen] when YHWH gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the YHWH hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what [are] we? Your complaints [are] not against us but against the YHWH." ... 12 "I have heard the complaints of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. And you shall know that I [am] YHWH your God.' " ... 15 So when the children of Israel saw [it], they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it [was]. And Moses said to them, "This [is] the bread which YHWH has given you to eat. ... 22 And so it was, on the sixth day, [that] they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. ... 29 "See! For YHWH has given you the Sabbath; therefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let every man remain in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day."
[Exodus 16:4, 8, 12, 15, 22, 29]
Who is the bread from heaven?
Jesus
The sin Jesus had to get out was our sin...not his sin. Jesus knew no sin!
For God has made Jesus to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5.21).
And what was one of those primary sins Jesus was coming against?
False Doctrine of the Religious Controllers
It's not the bread or the literal leaven in the bread that is evil, it is the sin (leaven) that is in your body (bread) that is contrary to God!
"How is it you do not understand that I did NOT speak to you concerning bread? But to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
(Mat 16:11-12).
Why Did Jesus Break the Bread?
We Should First Take Note that Jesus Did Not Eat the Bread
Jesus disciples would have clearly understood that Jesus was using bread and wine in a figurative sense at the Last Supper before his crucifixion.
It wouldn't be until the next day they understood there was a literal application that Jesus body (not bones) would be broken and his blood poured out for the sins of mankind.
The Breaking of the Body signifies the Breaking of Sin and the Penalty for Sin which is Death that ultimately lasts forever. This is called the Second Death Rev 2:11, Rev 20:6, Rev 20:14, Rev 21:8.
Prophecy Machine is primarily here to share with people how to Escape this Second Death.
Jesus said: Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (John 6.54). This "raise him up" reference to about the 1st Resurrection of 2 (two) resurrections (Revelation 20.6).
Our Messiah is not a cannibalist. He was first speaking figuratively for the purpose of presenting a future literal application, that was prophesied in the past.
The bread we are instructed to consume is to be like Christ and Break Sin and Death in our personal lives, as Jesus did this for all as the Father purposed to bring blessings to those who believe.
Jesus himself did not eat the bread, because he never sinned, but broke the leavened bread and gave it to his disciples to consume, that they might later understand the significance of how to follow him. What Jesus did do was partake in the ultimate literal application, willfully volunteering to go all the way to his death, dying to himself, heeding only the Father's Prophetic Words. Jesus did this to accomplish overcoming the death penalty that first began in Genesis 3.
Paul explains the significance of the broken body (not bones) of the Lord Jesus: Knowing that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that going forward we should not serve sin (Romans 6:6). This is first recognized at the initial point of faith in baptism, by putting off the self in death to your own ways, and putting on Christ to live in his ways of the Father (Galatians 3.27).
We account ourselves to be dead to sin, so that we might be alive in newness of life unto God (Romans 6:11). Our old man of sin is replaced by a New Man, which after [according to] God is created in righteousness and true holiness (Ephesians 4:24).
It is by the broken body of the Son of God that our body of sin, our inheritance from Adam, can be considered to be dead. When we place our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are committing our body of sin to likewise be crucified with Him. We ourselves now submit by faith to the spirit of God to also pick of the cross of self-denial and become true disciples (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Mark 10:21, Luke 9:23).
The Christian Leaders of the world today for the most part use crackers or wafers, which is unleavened. This simple misplaced ritual goes against what Jesus taught and perfectly modeled, showing just how far off the rails the train of Christianity has traveled.
Is this Defiance or Confusion or Both?
It's probably both, mixed with deception!
Here's my take on why this happens, beyond the fact that using crackers and wafers is nothing more than a tradition of men.
For the less focused Believer, they just don't read their Bibles, so how would they even know what the Scripture says? In this case they wouldn't even know they were following a tradition, and probably don't care, since they don't care to read the text they say they place their faith in.
However, the leaders and elders shouldn't have any excuse. Many of them are even living off the gospel, getting paid a salary to know and preach the truth of the Bible. Some of them even get paid quite handsomely every week, like clockwork, they are paid to prepare a message for the people.
So the Pastors should know better, but most every one of them doesn't seem to know it, unless it's just that they don't want to admit they know? Maybe they don't use bread because they don't want dirty carpets? It's possible they don't want to break bread with their brothers and sister throughout the congregation...maybe because germs?
Or maybe they just like spreading deception?
Whatever the case, it is most interesting that the traditional practice of most churches even removes the "breaking" of the bread, much less the bread.
At this point you may be thinking: Why does any of this even matter? Why focus on the exact literal interpretation of words, and who even cares if it's bread or crackers, or wafers, or some priest's claim that the wafer literally becomes the flesh of Jesus?
Besides the fact that the text is supposed to be the basis of faith for a Disciple of Jesus Christ, the issue here with the Bread of Life is extremely prophetic. Prophecy foretold and fulfilled is actually how we are to properly interpret the Bible!
If you can't get the Bread right...you can't get Prophecy right. It's that simple!
Many people throw out questions like: Is it necessary to know this to be saved? Do I need this for salvation? These are common selfish questions. Either you care what your Savior says, or you don't.
Most everyone is following tradition, and therefore confused by anything else presented that doesn't match the tradition. This turns into defiance, probably as a primary result of pride, so they can't hear that maybe the tradition is deceptive, and stealing away a great prophetic truth that Jesus was teaching his disciples.
To top this off, the Bible Teachers over-complicate this issue of "What is Bread" by their misunderstanding of a crucial element of the story of Scripture. Put as simply as possible, since leaven is usually always "figuratively" referenced as sin, like in Jesus parables, there is this scholastic assumption across the board that leaven is ALWAYS evil. This translates to many teachers using this as a reason for misunderstanding that Jesus' intention, for what The Church calls communion, was in fact Bread WITH Leaven.
This is where things get a little more complicated, but I will do my best to describe why this matters, and more importantly how this ties into Prophecy.
For the sake of understanding exactly where we are going right now, the question is basically this:
Is Leaven always sin in the Bible?
NO. There are a couple of exceptions, and we'll see those in the next section.
Is leaven itself "literally" sin?
NO. It's a metaphor.
Prophecy: Jesus is the Manna
Jesus is the Manna Foreshadowed in Exodus 16
Jesus is the Greatest Man that Ever Lived, and now he is a life-giving spirit! That's saying a lot of the accomplishment of Christ. Has any other man accomplished this? Uhhhhhhh No!
Jesus is the only one prophesied to this place in history for God and mankind, and no one else has claimed to fulfil it except Jesus Christ.
Time Magazine has their Man of the Year. But Eternity and the Father of this Only Resurrected Begotten Son has the Man of Eternity. Son of God, Jesus, almost always called himself the Son of Man. And there is no one else like Him...the preeminent appointed to glory forever the Son of God.
There is a verse that says "the testimony of Jesus Christ is the spirit of prophecy" (Revelation 19.10). The most direct interpretation of the portion of the verse is the formal statements and actions of Jesus, given in the court of God's law amongst men, as it was prophesied in the Old Testament.
The Law...and the Prophets.
In the Creation Account of the first chapter of Genesis there is a reference to the two great lights and the stars, and how they work together for signs, seasons, days, and years. The word for seasons is mowed, which means appointed times. These appointed times at minimum are the framework of the Gospel message, and the "foretelling" of how God the Father was going "bring forth a son" for the purpose of salvation and discipleship into everlasting life.
This framework is the Father's Holy Days presented in Two seasons of harvest. Few understand this and how it's way at the very center of prophecy, and how the 2nd Harvest is yet to be fulfilled. This is to the credit and glory of God YHWH who has sent Jesus Christ.
If a Teacher or Pastor has a different version of Jesus than the one that YHWH prophesied, then it's Another Jesus.
Let's Ask The Law & Prophecy is Leaven is always sin?
And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD. If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of unleavened bread mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried. Besides the cakes, he shall offer [for] his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offering (Lev 7:11-13 KJV)
[Lev 23:10-22] 10 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'When you come into the land which I give to you, and reap its harvest, then you shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted on your behalf; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 'And you shall offer on that day, when you wave the sheaf, a male lamb of the first year, without blemish, as a burnt offering to the LORD. 13 'Its grain offering [shall be] two-tenths [of an ephah] of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering made by fire to the LORD, for a sweet aroma; and its drink offering [shall be] of wine, one-fourth of a hin. 14 'You shall eat neither bread nor parched grain nor fresh grain until the same day that you have brought an offering to your God; [it shall be] a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 15 'And you shall count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed. 16 'Count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall offer a new grain offering to the LORD. 17 'You shall bring from your dwellings two wave [loaves] of two-tenths [of an ephah]. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. [They are] the firstfruits to the LORD. 18 'And you shall offer with the bread seven lambs of the first year, without blemish, one young bull, and two rams. They shall be [as] a burnt offering to the LORD, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering made by fire for a sweet aroma to the LORD. 19 'Then you shall sacrifice one kid of the goats as a sin offering, and two male lambs of the first year as a sacrifice of a peace offering. 20 'The priest shall wave them with the bread of the firstfruits [as] a wave offering before the LORD, with the two lambs. They shall be holy to the LORD for the priest. 21 'And you shall proclaim on the same day [that] it is a holy convocation to you. You shall do no customary work [on it. It shall be] a statute forever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. 22 'When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not wholly reap the corners of your field when you reap, nor shall you gather any gleaning from your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am YHWH your God.' "
How Did Jesus Teach Us to Pray?
Notice the Bread in the Prayer
"Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him. In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." (Mat 6:8-15 NKJV)
Are you worshiping the Father God and Son of God of the Bible:
YHWH & Jesus (Yahowshuah).
Or are you worshipping the God and Son of God of Man's Tradition?
Then Jesus charged them, saying, "Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."
And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "It is because we have no bread."
But Jesus, being aware of it, said to them, "Why do you reason because you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? And having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up?"
They said to Him, "Twelve."
Then Jesus said: "Also, when I broke the seven for the four thousand, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take up?"
And they said, "Seven."
So He said to them, "How is it you do not understand?" (Mar 8:15-21)
What Does Communion Mean?
Let's Look at Man's Definition vs. the Bible
Does your pastor teach that Communion is something we do once a month, or once a quarter that involves crackers and grape juice, or a wafer and wine?
Is that what the Bible says?
The word koinonia is "sometimes" translated as communion in the Bible:
κοινωνία koinōnía, partnership, i.e. (literally) participation.
It's in the New Testament around 20 times and is translated like this:
fellowship (12x), communion (4x), communication (1x), distribution (1x), contribution (1x), to communicate (1x).
Isn't changing Jesus' communication Anti-Christ behavior? Just sayin'!
If you say you have fellowship with Christ, then don't change his words. When Jesus said: Do this in remembrance of me, he used leavened bread (ARTOS) not unleavened bread (AZYMOS).
ἄζυμος ázymos, ad'-zoo-mos; G106 from G1 (as a negative particle) and G2219; unleavened, i.e. (figuratively) uncorrupted; (in the neutral plural) specially (by implication) the Passover week:—unleavened (bread).
ζύμη zýmē, dzoo'-may; G2219 probably from G2204; ferment (as if boiling up):—leaven.
ἄρτος ártos, ar'-tos; G740 from G142; bread (as raised) or a loaf:—(shew-)bread, loaf.
For those who continue to insist that Bread with Leaven is always cast in a negative light, I suggest a topographical study of the Scripture with a little bit more of an open mind.
See לֶחֶם lechem, lekh'-em H3899 vs מַצָּה matstsâh, mats-tsaw' H4682
"And you shall set the showbread on the table before Me always. (Exodus 25:30)
"how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? (Matthew 12:4)
"how he went into the house of God [in the days] of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?" (Mark 2:26 NKJV)
"how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?" (Luke 6:4)
For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary; (Hebrews 9:2)
Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink [this] cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord (1Co 11:27).
We should just pay attention to what Jesus said and stop making stuff up, or quit following the traditions of men!