The word enculturation is not the same as the words inculturation or acculturation . In order to understand this page, a bit of logic must be applied upfront, to avoid confusion. There are many from among the (Catholic; Orthodox; Protestant) COP Cultists who have humanist or formal educations, but who do not have the overwhelming empowerment and eternal wisdom of Messiah Yeshua, via the auspices of Ruach HaKodesh , which follows only after a death to the self.
Consequently, they do not fully appreciate these differences, but knowing the difference is key to a deeper understanding of all the things found under the Messianic Cross (and therefore within this work). That is why you will find such errors even in some English dictionaries, who were written by these same kind of people (or people–type).
Many of us have educational achievement plaques from the curriculum regurgitated credential mills of data memorization, but pure and transcendent wisdom comes only from above (James 3 :17). Messiah Yeshua, my Master, had no formal education, and was basically an itinerant construction worker (I was too). He schooled the PhD–level Pharisees, but they did not have the Spirit–inspired mental capacity to comprehend much if any of it; they were owned by Satan via pride–ego–emotion. Here is some topic relevant sociological detail:
Enculturation : The process by which people learn the dynamics of their surrounding culture and acquire values and norms appropriate or necessary to that culture and its worldviews. As part of this process, the influences that limit, direct, or shape the individual (whether deliberately or not) include parents, other adults, and peers. If successful, enculturation results in competence in the language, values, and rituals of the culture* .
Growing up in any culture, all humans go through the process of enculturation. This process is the way in which we obtain and transmit culture. It describes how each individual comes to terms with the already set ideals that their culture has established, and how each person adapts to prohibited behaviors and beliefs, which are proscribed , versus encouraged behaviors and beliefs which are prescribed .
Parents and other authority figures in young children's lives are usually the initiators of this process, steering the children toward activities and beliefs that will be socially accepted in their culture. Through this process these authority figures definitely shape the child's view on life. Enculturation results in the interpretation of these ideals established by our culture and the establishment of our own individual behaviors and beliefs. (Source: Lumen Learning )
Acculturation : A process by which the culture of an isolated society changes on contact with a different one; it is primarily about cultural assimilation. E.g: The first Americans who were sadistically conquered by weaponized colonizers and conquistadors from the Age of Sail .
Inculturation : The adaptation of Christian teachings in an unchristianized culture. This is a term that is generally used by Catholics, whereas Protestants, especially associated with the World Council of Churches, prefer to use the term contextual theology .
Relevant free resources that will expand the mind a little are: The Acculturation of American Indians {jstor} , and Red as an Apple: Native American Acculturation and Counseling With or Without Reservation {Wiley}, and Ancient DNA Adds Evidence Of Asian Ancestry For Native Americans {New Scientist} . What these teach us (among other things) is just how diverse our species is, globally and for millennia.
¶ The Monkey–See–Monkey–Do, Us–Against–Them, Darkness–Destined Masses!
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Or another title: Swallowing The Proverbial Kool–Aid Of Ones Culture! And this is why the understanding of enculturation is so massively vital to us humans. Psychology itself is the dissemination of enculturation; why we as individuals, and as collectives, do and do not do, stems from this root of psychology, and all psychology stems from the seeds of enculturation. The topic is just that profound and relevant to all other things processed through the human brain; all brains!
Spiritual enlightenment is the reason for the Messianic Cross; the goal of YHVH was to lead our species to it, as many as would volition to seek it with their whole hearts. The result of Spiritual enlightenment, which can only come via the Indwelling (of the) Holy Spirit, is to expose us (bit by bit) to a YHVH–level eye–view of the Cosmos, and then the sum of the corporeal world. It is to take us so far beyond the animal–man (the manimal ;-) so that when looking back in life/time, all we will see are shadows, for the light of YHVH is so stunningly bright!
And while the Messianic miracles seem to confound natural law, for which we all should take very seriously, it is cognitive bias to believe that a non–Earth alien could reach this planet from unimaginable distances and then hover silently in a space–worthy craft, and without any known propulsion or sound. And at the same time, cannot believe that YHVH in Human form ― The Creator of the Cosmos and all known natural laws ― cannot appear to walk on water or multiply food or ascend into the heavens.
But just as psychology is abused to debunk bad theology, that mental paradigm works both ways: One can debunk Dark Matter with the same logic. Indeed, the miraculous healing acts of Messiah Yeshua were never intended to be the solution to the onslaught of the mercilessness of corporeality; we Messianic disciples were indeed, empowered at a level sometimes greater than our Master, but that was about time and numbers and resources, not individual super–naturalism. Miracles were only to prove His divinity. Humans are not (yet) divine.
None of the disciples, post–Messianic Ascension, did anything supernatural, and indeed the only one that would even be relevant today would be the casting out of demons. But this would be purely non–physical, and the COP Cultists want (need) something that they can boast with/about. They are still carnal–primal; they are trapped in Satan's us–against–themism, and there, they can only replicate the anti-Messianic world, which hunger–lusts for self–supremacy and self–importance, which always leads to self-righteousness. Competitivism and adversarialism are among the many fruit–evidences of Satanic oppression.
Nonetheless, all this assumes that demon possession is still possible, knowing that demon oppression (itself) is a certainty. The outward evidence for demon oppression, versus possession, is at least, scripturally unknown to us. However, literally the sum of Earth–life is a testament and the empiricism of/to this reality, but as with Dark Matter, only those who are well–versed on the subject can truly fathom it.
When the scribes or disciples, who wrote about supernatural acts, by anyone other than Messiah Yeshua; these were embellishments for the locals they were penned for, not for any kind of proof that future generations of Messianic disciples would possess any supernatural powers. Yeshua cried out upon the Messianic Cross: It Is Finished! This signified that YHVH was finished with all corporeal acts on Earth, such as those written about in the Tanakh, and later the Messiah Scriptures, prior to the Messianic ascension. The next corporeal act will be Judgment Day!
The COP Cultists have spun a lot of vague theological ideas; however, not being guided internally by Ruach HaKodesh, they are instead, guided by Satan and crew, via the internal and external trinity's: Satan's Earthly Trinity Is Economics & Politics & Religion!!
But most of the human species lives in Spiritual darkness (Matt 7 :13–14; Luke 13 :24–28). They cannot see beyond their mammalian cages, and so they can only create a reality out of what they want and need to believe; what they can measure or sense . they create a self, mostly from pieces of their enculturation; their culture in close geographical proximity; even those highly educated.
They actually believe wholeheartedly that what they say or think, is all of reality. With blinders on always, they cannot see anything from a Spiritual standpoint, and so what they believe and say, becomes their sum reality: It has to! Most people live out the life they were given (or born into), without stopping to think if it is what they truly want, or more importantly, if it is the life that their Maker wants for them, or has created them for. They remain gullible to the forces of their enculturation, with pride as a glue to hold them there.
But pride itself is just a learned mentality; a learned psychology . The very mindset or mentality of dominionship cannot develop or process thoughts, which exist outside of their bias of being control freaks! Controlism becomes their natural state; from there all things thought about, must first go through the many filters of their self-importance and its need for domination and control.
From my childhood, the most notable thing was the absence of the word "pride" in the context of competitivism or achievement. I never heard: "I am proud of you!" Therefore, it did not become a part of my mentality or my identity. Self–pride is not intrinsic of the human condition; it is also a learned behavior, and like all that is learned, it becomes relevant or not, depending on how one is raised.
We see this shaping with language too. To this day, I never think of pride as anything but what it is; a manifestation of Satan that YHVH abhors. As a learned mentality it is a component of ego. I would be a bit offended if someone said: "I am proud of you!" But that is because of who/what I became; a Messianic disciple. And all disciples know of the inherent sin–evil nature of pride.
But most people merely accept whatever life–situation they inherit; they assume what was left behind for them by past generations or ancestors, is all there is, or all there can be. Then, they blindly consume the productions of that culture, including their religions, and thus, the gods those religions make and/or market. They do not take heed of the Messianic doctrine; they do not seek to live under the Messianic Cross.
Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them, otherwise you have no reward of your Father, which is in Heaven. Therefore, when you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Amen, I say unto you: They have their reward! But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does, that your alms may be in secret, and your Father which sees in secret, Himself shall reward you openly.
(Matt 6:1–8)
He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathers not with Me scatters abroad! Therefore I say unto you; all manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven unto men. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else, make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt, for the tree is known by his fruit!
(Matt 12:30–37) {cf. Gal 6 :7–8}
¶ Eternal Rewards: Surrendering Mammon For Forever Riches!
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The unforgivable sin is to mock YHVH; it is to understand that the incorporeal or Spiritual realm is real; that the Spirit of Messiah Yeshua exists, both in the greater world (the Holy Spirit in the world), and potentially can abide within us as the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), but then, treating our Supreme Creator as if YHVH exists only to service them. Doing so makes YHVH seem fickle or even taking sides, unto those who are watching such outward behavior.
For just one example, we can see this sin of mockery, with professional athletes or other "famous" people in the limelight, upon the ego starved stages of this life, who will copy one another, by kissing the sky, brandishing talismans, pointing or looking upward, or crossing themselves, or even praying in public, which is itself a terrifying mockery. Their perception of god is stunningly superficial, immature and very cartoon like. But the Spiritually blinded cannot be expected to see, what only Messianic disciples can see (Matt 13 ).
But here are people who live 100% anti-Messianic lives and lifestyles daily, and then, will go about acting as if they are tight with their Heavenly Father. Ironically, they do not know that Adonai Elohim even exists, and so they use the generic term god! And again, ironically so, for Satan is indeed the god of this world; this era; this age; this species (2Co 4 :1–5); and this life is the sum of the World for the masses. Satan's Earthly Trinity Is Economics & Politics & Religion!!
As faithful consumerists and devoted drones of that enculturation, they will therefore, mindlessly appeal, via Prayer , unto god (Satan) for all the things they want or expect to get, here and now, and within their assumed life, and then expect those gods to provide it all: Oh Great Celestial Retailer and Supreme Wish Fulfillment Granter! After all, my gods are always on my side! If god be for me who can be against me, am I right? Amen!
However, a precious few number of people will wake up one Earth day ― typically in the later years of life ― and realize they have been blindly following a script, written for them; not by them nor by their Maker, but rather, written by/from their circumstances such as time and place, and the relatively small group of people here before them and near them.
They are molded by their culture, not their Creator; they are culture–centric, not Christ–centric. And they will likely live and die, oblivious to what that even means. Thus, they see themselves as caring people, even when there is no proof, outside of their mind. They praise Jesus the Christ, even while they are destroying His planet with their destructive lifestyle choices. They follow Satan and crew with reckless abandon (e.g. the Car Cult ).
Perhaps they were shaken as they watched a parent fade away so mercilessly from old age; perhaps they witness others too who suffer terribly and for no real reason: The malevolence of corporeality, finally exposes itself, and the thought of any loving god allowing this, or even thinking of it to begin with, or to ever make it possible; this can no longer be obscured by the intangible promises of any theological production. At this life–stage, cold reality destroys youthful innocence and a hopeful future: They feel betrayed!
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of Earth all ones lifetime. (Innocents Abroad; Roughing It )
Mark Twain was surely a reader; however, most everything that is published, is written by a select few and (foremost) representative of those few. This is true with all we read (even the peer reviewed ). What Twain meant by this quote therefore, is that seeing life for yourself, through the personal experiences of travel, trials and hardship, is mind expanding; well beyond the world once brought to us locally, via the reading of books or periodicals, as important as those resources were/are.
Twain critics were the baited pets of the wealthy, who could afford a public voice, just like it is today: The concentration of media ownership and media bias is perennial. See the documentary: The Brainwashing of My Dad
¶ Breeding Bigots: The Generational Sin of Social Stratification!
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But this is the general idea, when using the terms enculturation , and the subsequent states of ethnocentrism and social stratification : It is simply the difference between learning about ones own culture, but remaining master of ones own perspective. Or swallowing it all whole and then vomiting it out for your offspring to feed upon; effectively grooming them to be yet another generation of bigots or anti-Messiahs.
Social stratification is satanism summarized; it represents the entrails of the many anti-Messiahs , who blindly, pridefully, and unchecked, pass it down to the next generation. Without YHVH Love , the bulk of the human species, actually enjoys molding their progeny into their own (anti-Messianic) image. Without a Messianic perspective to model, they can only pull from their immediate surroundings and experiences.
We master our own minds via the mind of Messiah Yeshua: that Oneness organically produces original and critical thinking, versus being controlled by ones culture; being shaped by ones micro experiences; the confinements of a credentialed formal education; to rarely if ever think outside the proverbial shoebox of enculturation, much less living outside it continuously, just like being the drones of the catastrophic Car Cult .
The bulk of humanity will remain in their cultural shoeboxes for life, oblivious to the much much greater things, beyond the box: They go along in a perpetual state of monkey–see–monkey–do, willingly, from cradle to grave (Matt 15 :13–14), as mindless automatons with few if any original thoughts or critical thinking skills. Horrifying!
Disciples of Messiah Yeshua have more (critical thinking based) original thoughts, weekly, than most humans will have in a lifetime; that is not an arrogance or boasting, because Messianic disciples do not suffer from carnal–primal competitivism or egocentrism. In other words, I care 100% what YHVH thinks of me, and 0% what the rest of all creation (on every planet in the Cosmos) thinks of me. I am looking forward to: Well done, good and faithful servant! (Matt 25 ): I care not, what humans think of me.
Notwithstanding, it is admittedly a bit terrifying to know about this reality; to then being forced to live among them (Earth humans), but powerless to do anything about it, while here. I often wish I could slap someone out of their Spiritual coma, but unfortunately, it does not work that way. The superpower of volition reigns unto death.
The natural man is limited to indoctrination and empiricism; conversely, we have the mind of our Master, Messiah Yeshua (1Co 1 :10 & 2:12–16; Phl 2 :1–8). Without Spiritual enlightenment, humans become little to nothing more, than what their culture makes them. As an example; for those in Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, being the best and bravest at Nagol
¶ Pride Is The Greatest Obstacle To Wisdom!!
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Even these writings will overwhelm them; after reading a paragraph or two, most are gone, and very few even make it to here; short attention span indeed, but more; this all seems to them like the ramblings of a madman. The Book of Revelations was also once thought to be the ramblings of a madman; my Master was thought to be out of His mind, or demon oppressed (Mark 3 :20–24). The set apart ones will always seem that; and be counter cultural unto the masses (2Co 6 :14–18): Hence, Disenculturation!
Notwithstanding, the Holy Spirit is enlightening; those still in darkness cannot comprehend the light (John 1 :1–5), but those enlightened by the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh), become overly and overtly hypersane (for the lack of a better English word).
But for the masses, anything written, which is outside of their limited micro experiences, will seem "out there!" Indeed! How can it not? My Master, Messiah Yeshua, was seen likewise (John 10 :19–20), and so this is uplifting (Matt 22 :14). We Messianic disciples, the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH ; we are crazy old men (like John on Pátmos ) to the atheistic, and to the anti-Messianic religious (esp. the COP Cultists), because they are collectively the World .
In the world of men, the very idea of reading many thousands of pages, borders on absurd. Nowadays, if it is not under 160 characters, it is too long for most (tl;dr or TLCR ), explaining why most in the West are simpleton and drone like; perhaps explaining why the highly educated West will "advance" the species into extinction.
Most people nowadays are online, only seeking content they can counter or reject, or join just–like–me gangs who thrive on me–first–ism . They will not exploit this global resource for data, which they can grow from Spiritually: Truth miners are a dying breed. But then, this is the Eschaton Era and such things were prophesied to be.
A short attention span is also a small factor of a larger trend of enculturation, which ironically was prophesied to occur in the Eschaton, by the bulk of humanity. Consumerism and capitalism does not require meditation, contemplation, sweat of the brow Labor , longsuffering, and/or Spiritual investigation, nor any topics that transcend the corporeal .
What I learned first about enculturation, I learned in the decade of 1970, and long before I even knew the word, enculturation! I did not study Sociology or Cultural Anthropology in a formal academic setting until 2009. It began as songs from (mostly European) rock artists such as with Pink Floyd's The Wall , and Jethro Tull's Aqualung , and Styx's Grand Illusion , just to name 3 of dozens. Anything from the US band Kansas too.
It was these musical resources that were opening my young eyes to what I would have never pondered otherwise, as a Missouri atheist hippie kid, with no computer (obviously) or even a television of my own. I spun the vinyl at home in my basement room, and with a pondering mind, I read nonfiction books from the public library; Sören Kierkegaard and Thomas Paine especially, but others too: Predestination indeed!
Once the Indwelling Holy Spirit yokes with our Soul (you have to die within to make room for Him); once we become one in/with Messiah, we attain Spiritual sight, and that reality enlightens us to life temporal (corporeality), as well as life eternal and life universal.
We look at all things through the lens of eternality , via the magnifying filter and clarity screen of scripture. From that reality, this life becomes little more than a speed bump in our eternal and everlasting course. But for the masses; this life is all there is, and therefore, all there will be, ever, thus explaining the extreme devotion to it.
¶ The Shoebox Analogy!
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Imagine you live inside a shoebox, unaware: You look around intently, study your surroundings, and over time you see more and more of your shoebox world. One day you realize that you have mastered the intricateness of almost all that is within that shoebox; you believe in the extent of your formal education, concerning the shoebox topics, which makes you an authority on the subject of many things.
Indeed, you feel unanimously aware; uniquely cognizant; fully educated, and thus proud of all your accomplishments, completed within the box. However, you die, never knowing you spent your entire life, inside of one shoebox: Reality involves a quintillion of them! But all you know in confined therein.
This reality does not necessarily make you a failure, for we cannot know what we cannot see. Or can we? The vast difference between corporeal awareness and Spiritual enlightenment, is profound. It is surely a positive thing to think critically and outside of the very narrow windows of the primate state; the proverbial Zoo enclosure.
That primate state is summarized in territorialism (patriotism; nationalism; ownerism; landlordism), social stratification, hierarchy, adversarialism, cultural bias , warmongering, competitivism, authoritarianism, and the sin of all sins, religious hierarchy (Matt 20 :25–28; Matt 23 :8–12; Luke 22 :25–30; James 4 :1–5), which is metastasized by the YHVH Monetizers .
Yes, this is a short list of some of the carnal–primal mammalian manifestations resulting from any primate study. Humans go from the sum world of a crib, then to homes, then to schools and neighborhoods, then to a nation, and finally to our solar system. We are earthlings: Good! But that is where it ends for most.
When you hear people imply this (or that) is just in our human nature, this is a fact; indeed, if any of your interpretations of scripture, do not align with the very created world of YHVH, then you are likely wrong. Elohim clearly created a natural order of things in all corporeal beings; biological imperatives necessary for the propagation of a species (and Physics generally).
Yet, the very purpose of the Propitiation (the main reason YHVH became flesh and dwelt among us), was to make it possible for the Holy Spirit to dwell inside of humans that are still sin capable; still unholy (Rom 5:8); still animal like. The result of this epoch is unimaginable to both animal and carnal–primal man; but we indeed should be Defying Gravity ⊛ .
We already know that the vast majority of the human race will never see the Kingdom of Heaven; the math of the Messiah (Matt 7 :13–23; Luke 13 :24–28): Broadway versus Narrow Way. What this means therefore, is that the planet we all live on, was and is, overrun by humans that are not just destined unto the Abyss forever, but are thus demon driven; this, from the age of accountability, until physical death. The Earth of YHVH is the collateral damage of that cold reality.
The author of Jude describes this incorporeal eternality, as the blackness of darkness forever (Jude 1 :11–13; John 3 :19–21; all of 2Pe 2 ); the extremes of empty outer space; the Abyss, utterly void of any materiality . Outer darkness already exists (always has, always will); Hell therefore, is not a place, but a condition; a state or status of existence, beginning on Earth and continuing into eternity. Spiritual darkness, while in human form, will merely transfer into literal darkness, post Judgment Day. Being cast into outer Darkness will be hellish indeed.
Nevertheless, it is still good that people become aware of how lifestyle choices affect other lifeforms on this tiny rock, third out from the sun. But all primates, be it human or gorilla, cannot see past their mental enclosures; this explains why they bulk of humanity lives a monkey–see–monkey–do existence of blind followship; they copy–mimic–parrot almost everything and everyone, and for their entire lives, and they actually want to, and they cannot believe it when someone is not as blindly indoctrinated by pop–culture, as they are. Fascinating! Horrifying!
This would be a fate worse than death for all disciples of Messiah Yeshua, but for the sheer masses of humanity; it is all they know. The man born blind cannot know what we, the eye sighted see, and so he will never miss it; nor will he ever comprehend it. Self awareness is good; other awareness is also good. Having a much richer awareness of all that is happening inside of your shoebox is very good. I see everything inside the shoebox, plus a million times more, on the outside of it. But the blind must not believe any of this; I would not, if I were them.
My Master, Teacher/Rabbi, and eternal Friend, taught many fundamental principles to those of us dedicated to hearing and seeing, from Him (Matt 13 :9–17); however, most people have no real and life altering experiences that result from The Great Exchange ⊛ . Instead, they remain as blinded followers of those in front of them; those who came before them; thus, they just guzzle the cultural Kool–Aid ; all that they have been blindly enculturated by and within: Everything within the shoebox! And religiously no less.
The religion of Christianity is just one of those shoebox productions; indeed, all religions are the mere byproducts of enculturation, education, indoctrination, socialization and normalization. YHVH came to Earth in human form (Messiah Yeshua) to expose the truth of religion, ritual, tradition, nationalism, patriotism, competitivism, adversarialism, all forms of racism, and generically, any mentality that stinks of/with us–against–themism (Luke 6 :26–36).
If a person owns a car (i.e. is a drone of the Car Cult ), these people are putting on a daily exhibition, unto YHVH and unto the Elect of YHVH, of a certain dedication to monkey–see–monkey–do living; a fate worse than death itself for all future resurrected Saints, but one that most people will blindly repeat tomorrow, fully unconscious or Spiritually blind of it; even the light of YHVH cannot, and will not, penetrate that pride bubble.
¶ The Change!
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Without The Change ⊛ , humans remain trapped in the products of their particular enculturation; any and all forms of us–against–themism rules their minds and hearts (and thus lifestyles). While the eternal and unconditional Love of YHVH causes us to also Love all of creation equally, the anti-Messianic human masses, are still stuck in carnal–primal mode; they are driven by anger–fear–rage; they are paranoid, vengeful, territorial, murderous, and simpleton; summarily they are primate like but with more apparent suave.
They seek distractions to mask the truth, getting lost in consumerism, materialism, and general capitalism, but therein, the cognitive dissonance lead many to depression, and/or literal distractions such substance abuse, and a host of other addiction types; even suicide as the final escape, and it too is an overwhelming emotional response.
Humans learn to sophisticate their mentalities with the show; they cleverly mask their carnality inside of personality, and even the culturally christianized Xians of Religianity can master playing social christianity, complete with its religious paraphernalia, ritual, tradition, holiday, and the brand name jargon of Christianese . They copy christianese, but never learn the language of Love !
However, the truth of their Soul status is revealed in their character, which exposes itself via action/inaction, or lifestyle. One can delude self with thoughts in the brain, but fortunately, my Master taught all His disciples (metaphorically) that the tree is known by the fruit it bears, and not what the tree thinks or says or believes that it is. We Are What We Do And No More!
Without YHVH–in–us , all that an individual can and will see, is only what is in front of them; Messiah Yeshua explained that the blind leaders of the blind will lead the followers into the proverbial ditch. In other words, without Spiritual Light (or Messiah wisdom, which comes to us only through the Indwelling Holy Spirit), people will stumble through life, harming themselves and then those they teach or lead, and even those who come after them, and copy–mimic–parrot them.
We, as the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH, differ in that we do not blindly swallow whatever our enculturation presents to us; we evaluate all things based first upon how YHVH created corporeality; how Earth functions and how our place upon it should be (stewardship); how our lifestyle and life decisions impact others.
Earth is our only corporeal home; our (human) bodies are the Temple of our Soul, and potentially the host of YHVH, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). YHVH only took on corporeal form inside of Messiah Yeshua, as far as we know, and so YHVH did experience what we do, but still depends upon us mortals, to do corporeal things for YHVH.
¶ Culture Cocooned Consciousness!
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When I was a boy, I could not understand why a blind person would even want to live, seeing nothing but black darkness for life: Or how those born mentally ill would want to continue in that state. But an elder explained that they were born that way; it is all they know; they have no other existence to compare it to.
The eye blind have no visual images or memories in their brain to miss; they have never seen an ocean sunset or a mountainscape, and so they do not miss what they cannot see or even conceive of. This is also true with Spiritual blindness or darkness .
Each of us live and die within a particular block of time; we also live in a particular place; a place that becomes the result of enculturation; a culmination of all the things left behind by former generations: politics, ethics, rituals, celebrations, traditions, technology, constructs, infrastructure, and so forth; even language shapes the way we think .
These items are not ranked or rated as good or evil, in and of themselves; we simply become what these forces shape us to be; good and evil can only be determined by the consequences or results of human action and inaction; measured by our reactions to what happens to us.
Most become their culture, as it was left to them; today it is capitalism, consumerism, money centrism, wealth hoarding, patriotism and nationalism, the Car Cult , materialism, education and employment (to name the major ones): It is community replaced with economy! All these things (these lifestyles) are just assumed, absorbed and then duplicated by the next generation, without any analysis of their individual or collective merits for any/all life on Earth.
This lifestyle mimesis is obvious to those with Spiritual eyes/ears, but the masses are (sadly and all too often) oblivious to it; they live in a fog of sorts: Comfortably numb ⊛ , they struggle for the legal tender ⊛ . Then one day ― typically in those elderly years for those few who make it there ― at least a fraction of our species will begin to realize the futility and meaninglessness of it all (Ecc 1 ), and that recognition, too often represents the beginning of the end for them.
For most of humanity, life is all about the me/here/now; there are no decisions based upon a global perspective (a celestial view); no lifestyle choices determined by how they affect everything and everyone; no real loving ones neighbor as themselves; no actions whatsoever, completed with only eternal rewards (Matt 6 ).
The Spiritually blind live for the now, because it is all they got; they fear death and live this life as a witness of that cold reality; they are willing to let die; to justify war; to kill; to allow the suffering of others so they can hoard as much as time and law will allow them. Conversely, the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH, live this life, primarily for the next.
Though we all experience enculturation, we do not have to remain molded to it: We still have volition , and so we can either remain in a blinded state, or we can travel the globe, as it were, and see how the rest of humanity does this thing called life. We can follow those in front of us or before us, or recreate our own path. We can monkey–see–monkey–do what we hear and see, or we can form original thoughts and critical thinking ideals. We can live like everyone around us, or live purposefully; to please our Master, Messiah Yeshua.
Of course, in travel, we will not always like what we find, because humans are bizarre creatures indeed, and as such, very different in our enculturation directives (e.g. the Etoro People ). Therefore, we must remain objective observers, while still administering our own values; those values however, can either be strengthened or weakened by such exposure. Globe trotting (during the eighties and nineties), I was eyewitness to many fascinating and educational experiences. Love for all humanity is what prevents Judging . And it is the norms of others cultures that can reshape how we see our own enculturation directives.
¶ Locus Of Transcendence!
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Since all of us, and all of this, are the collective creations of YHVH, it is of special interest, as a Disciple of Messiah Yeshua, the corporeal manifestation of our Adonai Elohim (YHVH in skin). I am blessed to experience a deeply personal, epochal, and eternal relationship with YHVH, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh). Messiah Yeshua was YHVH in the flesh , and the Holy Spirit is Adonai our Elohim: Who is and was and is to come (Rev 1 :8).
This connection is vastly more enlightening than even what Mark Twain experienced in his life and travels. No formal education can rival it. For I have been yoked into the priesthood of believers (1Pe 2 :4–10; Gal 3 :29); grafted into the Root (Rom 11 :16–22; John 17 :20–26); adopted into the Spirit; tethered to the Core, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit, who is Messiah Yeshua, our source and our resource.
I am not Jewish, which is really just a human created Ethnoreligious group designation; like race, it is a psychological segregation (Acts 17 :24–28). Rather, I am one individual human (among a few million, past, present and future) who is tethered to Elohim my Adonai, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit (John 14 :16–18; 1Jo 3 :23–24 & 4:12–16).
Like all Messianic disciples, I too am anti–religious; I am not a part of any religion business: Not Judaism or Christianity (nor any other), as they manifest in the World . My Spiritual status is not centered upon (or rooted in) any such human–made paradigms. Spiritual transformation is only Spiritual; it has (almost) nothing to do with corporeality (Rom 8 :6–7; 1Co 2 :14). The Cross was the death knell of/to organized religion, which Satan then doubled down on.
I went from being an Atheist to an Agnostic to a Protestant to an Anabaptist to a disciple of Messiah Yeshua, which transcends them all! As Protestant, I attended only one nondenominational, modernized religion business, for about three years: I met many interesting people and had great social experiences, and was even in their worship band; that was surely fun. But it was just religion.
I had only a few negative church experiences, but something greater was amiss; there was no Community, just attendance by a large group of otherwise strangers (or acquaintances) that merged most weekends at the building. It was not unity by family (though people like to throw the word "family" around a lot these days); it was what it was; a theater for entertaining masses of people a few weekend hours, with positive and encouraging monologues plus some music to corporately sing out emotions.
There was/is nothing wrong with the entertainment facet of the church businesses, in and of themselves, nor of their rituals (none of which have anything whatsoever to do with YHVH, by the way); however, people mistook church attendance, and the enabling thereof, with/for unity in Messiah; with yoking with one's eternal family. I associate with none of those people today; conversely, the Elect of YHVH are an eternal family unit (unity).
¶ When The Jesus Christ Avatar Became A Religion Cult!
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A few dozen decades after the Ascension of Messiah Yeshua , Satan refined and accelerated his onslaught against The One who sealed his eternal fate, by first making merchandise of Him; by making a mockery from among those who used His name; by obscuring the deeply personal relationship that replaced the impersonal religions of men, and their distant, unknown, conjured gods and goddesses. Once Messiah Yeshua was Anglicized ; then came the Christianization of the world, and most acceptingly from the time of Constantine onward.
But Messiah Yeshua was openly anti-religious, and condemned the religionists; mostly the Pharisees and their social bedfellows, the attorney class and the politicians (Luke 10 :25–29), at almost every opportunity; even to the point of His arrest and (ultimate) death on the Cross
Many throughout time even speculated that He did this on purpose, because it was so brazen and consistent, as a way to force prophesy (people still imply prophesy pushing concerning Israel). But Satan, the source of all the gods and goddesses of men throughout human history (Exo 15 :11), created his most prized religious system: Christendom : A slap to the face of his enemy, Messiah Yeshua.
As we move closer to our Heavenly Father (YHVH), we also move farther away from The World ; the worldly (the secularized masses). Scripture identifies the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH as peculiar people; set apart ones (Psa 4 :2–4; Jude 1 :1–3; Eph 2 :11–16): My Master said that we Messianic disciples would even be hated by the masses (Matt 10 :22; Matt 24 :9–14). We are not like the masses on Broadway (Matt 7 :13–23; Luke 13 :24–28): We will be different; we will seem strange; we will not fit in well with the secular masses that today surround us, religious or not, biblical or not, churched or dechurched or unchurched: That is the tell!
Verily, the Xians of Religianity who will read these very words, will not find the all familiar Christianese that they are accustomed to, or enculturated by, from the local church businesses they enable. YHVH will (thus) seem foreign to them: YHVH is always misrepresented by the money lovers (Matt 6 :19–24; Luke 16 :13–15).
YHVH is building a {co} labor force (Matt 9 :37), but the anti-Messianic religious are takers and controllers, not servants (Matt 13 :37–42) under any Lordship. They see (and market) YHVH as a butler or a banker; a celestial ointment to salve the wounds and fix the woes they bring upon themselves via their anti-Messianic lifestyles.
Like the Amish are perceived by the average American, the Elect of YHVH (the invisible church ) will be more of a sideshow than a routine participant or enabler of the culture: But the advantage of such peculiarity is easy recognition.
Such separation however, does not insure that every Amish (or anyone else for that matter) will see Heaven's Kingdom. Even so, the secular masses, for the most part, seek to coincide with their culture: Spiritually blinded, the masses are fully enculturated and shamelessly ethnocentric, and as such, they cannot be Messiah centric.
This is because they are not called out by YHVH, even though they may label themselves as Christian and consume religion productions: The Christian label is just another tag adopted culturally, but not transmitted Spiritually (Matt 15 :8). Without a Messiah centered or Messianic identity, people must/will seek identity in and from the World ; observation is all that is needed to see which one it is. But one first has to be empowered to see (Matt 13 :13–17; John 12 :40).
The temptations offered by organized religion, and the multifold productions of Christianity, have attenuated to become a part of the social expectations required to fit into a particular grouping or sect of society. Every culture has religions, and the westernized cultures in the last millennia are predominantly Christian, which is a tradition that citizens adopt, as a way to be accepted socially or culturally. They appeal to pride, ego and emotions, which are lures to catch those initially just hungry for understanding.
But to be radically transformed by the Indwelling Holy Spirit, as a consequence of unconditional surrender unto the supreme and eternal Lordship of Messiah Yeshua; well, that is another thing entirely, and far transcendent of mere church attendance, theological academics, or the consumption of (the sin of) religion in general.
Messiah Yeshua died to bring an end to the YHVH prostituting religion businesses, and restore and redeem us; to make possible, personal relationships that rival the Father and Son (John Seventeen ).
But Satan, wanting desperately to be a god, became one; the god of this world; the god of this race of beings; the god of this microcosm of the human timeline and test and experience (2Co 4 ). Satan commodified Elohim, via the power hungry religionists of all the religions, who merely capitalized Satan into one universal (English) word: God! Sifted like wheat indeed! (Luke 22 )
All Gods (gods) known by all religions, were and still are just Satan, masquerading as (a wannabe) Elohim. And the avatar of Jesus Christ is no different. The contrast between that avatar and Messiah Yeshua is as massive as the Grand Canyon; unless of course, one is Spirituality blind; even on the rim of it, they still cannot see anything.
When the great Johannine split took place, the Messianic disciples rightfully retreated from the larger society, especially as it was being consumed ravenously by the masses of people who hunger–lust for the earthly power offered by Satan, via his religions; all of them. And though YHVH is not so small as to fit into any human enculturation boxes, the reason why YHVH chose that time and place and people, to manifest Self unto, was not random.
There are no human centered enculturation boxes that matter unto YHVH, and thus by direct connection, unto any of us who are tethered directly unto YHVH via the Indwelling Holy Spirit: I and the Father are One! All Messianic disciples, from the first to the last of us, are One with the Father. And our Father which art in Heaven, chose a particular path, of which we are devout to tread: Narrow Way!
We, the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH, are set apart; we let our (proverbial) light shine in the darkness of the Spiritually blind, via our lifestyles; our demonstration of something more akin to christian socialism , with simple living as a lifestyle choice and exposition ; all tempered by humility, confounded by compassion, peaceful from contentment, and empowered by unconditional Love (Matt 5 :14–16; Phl 2 :12–16; Eph 5 :8–13; 1Pe 2 :9–12).
¶ Enculturation Tainted Theology!
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At the great Johannine split, when the Messianic disciples moved slowly but surely away from the World , Satan was able to capture (or recapture) those who were once enlightened, and from them, Satan created this new religion that eventually came to be known of simply as Christendom; the COP Cultists. They spawn all others under the Abrahamic umbrella, and then beyond.
And this was accomplished primarily through enculturation directives. More specifically, via the Romans road; via westernism; Christianity became the false Messianic troupe. And like our Great Master on His way unto the Messianic Cross, humiliatingly draped in (or cloaked in) the garb of that enculturation epoch (Mark 15 ), it is the Greco–Roman enculturation paradigms that now define the West.
It is not that one enculturation paradigm (over any other) matters unto YHVH; but it is how and when the great Johannine split happened. And it was the human weaknesses of pride–ego–emotion, that Satan exploited, and still exploits, to make it so.
Division via denomination, and self-belief salvation, are among the most convoluted of theological products, solicited among the dens of thieves (organized religion businesses of any kind), via their proprietors; people who knowingly or unwittingly commodify and monetize YHVH; this is among the greatest sin acts, possible within the human condition. Beware the YHVH Monetizers !
The enculturation of biblical translation, as well as biblical interpretation, is clearly a byproduct of the enculturation that impacted it/them; i.e. the westernization of scripture and of Messiah Yeshua, all of which is now blindly accepted as christianity and Christendom. Read: The Enlightenment's Dark Side!
Men recognized the exploding followship of Christendom, and wanted to market (take tithe tax tap mine scam) that large pool of people; hence the need to rewrite scripture interpretatively, via the many copy and paste theological products, which created and sustains Bibliolatry .
But all of this was intended to exploit scripture to justify war and violence, materialism and capitalism; the legalized methodology of hoarding money resources and all the economic and political products which allow for the accumulation of Mammon as a weapon of/for self-empowerment.
The arrogance of theological prowess is disturbing, even to seasoned disciples of Messiah Yeshua; we can certainly relate to our first century Apostolic disciple–brethren, concerning this subject (and many others). Now of course, we are tightly secured, by and in, the Indwelling Holy Spirit, and yet, we also know that we are living in a special time in scriptural prophecy.
My Master said that if it were possible (and thankfully it is not: Matt 24 :22–25), that even the Elect of YHVH could be deceived. And for short periods of time, we certainly will be; however, ultimately, the Indwelling Holy Spirit will reset us, back on the path to The Way .
It is arrogant to think that one's own scriptural interpretations duplicated by other people in the past who serve mammon, and commodify and monetize YHVH, are anything but depraved. But these modern day theological copiers of the COP Cultists, will use many subtle manipulation methods to suck people into their worldview. Guilt, shame, and condemnation, are often employed; herein they will imply, but without outright saying it, that they are not burdened by guilt–shame–condemnation, however, you are; at least, they are banking on it being so.
After all, since most of humanity are (either) the atheistic, the agnostic, or the anti-Messianic religious, and not the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH, they can trick many many into listening to their theological spiel (or spell?).
And because one is experiencing guilt–shame–condemnation, let us correct the errors that are causing this, with our worldview, with our branded theological prowess. Whenever this tactic is used on us disciples of Messiah Yeshua, we never experience guilt–shame–condemnation, and so, it does not work on us (Rom 8 :1–9; John 3 :19–21).
In fact, when the guilt–shame–condemnation card is played on us disciples of Messiah Yeshua, we soon smell the sewage, and will not play along. However, as the Eschaton progresses in time, those more obvious tactics and the stench of deception, will become more obscured and difficult to discern, as Satan continually ups his game.
But the genuine inspiration and impartation that come to us disciples, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit, does not make us more theologically arrogant, but rather, drives us yet again to our knees before our only Messianic King. Thus, we do not theologically battle with anyone with our doctrine guns.
But theological arrogance also expands out, so as to explain why there can be christian hate groups. It sounds oxymoronic to anyone with only a cursory scriptural reading, and yet, such theological jungle gymnastics thrives among the many anti-Messiahs of the West.
The Elect of YHVH are apolitical; anti–denominational; anti–institutional; we are not pop–culture driven, and rarely even familiar with the secular productions of the atheistic or agnostic masses. However, the worldly churched are very comfortable and well–versed in all things worldly; this is how you know who is who; the tree is known by the fruit it bears.
The anti-Messianic religious are those who participate or adopt the religion of Christianity, but their motives for doing so, manifest in their covert, YHVH hating, anti stewardship lifestyle (the Parable of the Unjust Steward ). They are the Creator hater ― planet trashers!
There are human made hierarchies within all atheistic religions (via blind enculturation): The younger will develop a hunger for the power they see in the elders, and so they will endure the hierarchy, so that one day they can be The Executive Pastor (or whatever capitalist copied title they hunger for), while still others become like cult leaders, seeking an audience; a followship entourage. They unwittingly demonstrate their blind enculturation by how horrifyingly they monkey–see–monkey–do and copy–mimic–parrot the culture that truly shapes their heart mind Soul.
¶ The Messiah Culture!
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Conversely, the Indwelling Holy Spirit takes us disciples in the other direction entirely (Col 3 :12–13; 2Co 12 :9–11). Every Spiritually transformed, Heaven bound person, is not a follower of men, nor a leader of men; the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH follow Messiah Yeshua only (I repeat: Only).
If you want to witness actual Messiah–centric people ― as opposed to mere Christians which are everywhere ― you must seek them out, for the Elect of YHVH are not broadcasting on mass media, and only few are on the web, and none of us have handout donation links soliciting evermore money to feed that addiction (Matt 10 :7–8).
YHVH always provides the means well before the ministry service: If they need your money they are not YHVH servants. Warning: Do not receive the council of any money dependent religionists, who always leaven truth with deception for personal gain (Matt 16 :6–12; Mark 8 :15–21).
The (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH mimic the Master (Matt 23 :8–12; John 13 :12–17; Luke 6 :39–40); thus, the Elect are not among the rich and famous: the Elect can primarily be found among the poor; the rejected; the disenfranchised; the ugly; the disabled; the unwanted. We do not mimic cultural trends; but spiritual needs: We strategically place ourselves in these venues, for we are on Earth to be the hands and feet of our Master and paradigm for living, Messiah Yeshua.
The anti-Messianic religious live just like their enculturation teaches them to live, for they are Spiritually blind, and do not see this. They are religious, but absent of the Indwelling Holy Spirit, and as such, they are carnal religionists. For example, those who contend over which bible translation is the right one; these are among the distractions that Satan employs among the Christians he leads, and ironically, James warns us of just such people (James 3 :12–18 & 4:1–5).
Verily, these people are sedentary, Temple defying, YHVH planet haters (Rev 11 :18), who hunger–lust to perpetuate division, strife and discord (Pro 6 :14–19; 1Co 1 :10–11 & 3:1–3 & 12:22–27); sadly (but righteously), they will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.
Religionists never die to this life; they merely addendum god religion church bible to their preexisting anti-Messianic lifestyle, which is conquered by the sum of their respective enculturation; money making, materialism, consumerism, the byproducts of social stratification, ethnocentrism, planet destroying, and so on. They have not been crucified (Gal 2 :20); they cannot recognize the Voice of Truth. They listen only to what they already want to hear. They do not seek truth alone; they seek data that will enforce preexisting self-beliefs.
Whenever a person is dominated (only) by what YHVH thinks of them, they are oblivious to what other humans think of them; however, when a person is dominated by what other humans think of them, they are oblivious to what YHVH thinks of them: It is lifestyle (alone) that can expose which one it is. Everyone has beliefs; anyone can attend church services. Messiah Yeshua destroyed (crucified) the temples made of hands, exactly to make us naked before Him. Now you must live it in your daily lifestyle; no more hiding behind religions doors.
While the Elect of YHVH Sabbath daily, the westernized–monetized–christianized–industrialized, seek only to entertain themselves always. They are idle with (their idol) money, which they exploit to defy the Labor curse of YHVH. Capitalists mine the ego to shape the mind of the secular masses; hence, these automatons of consumerism and money addiction must also define Christianity from this paradigm.
The pandemic (and pathetic) Like Me desperation (witnessed today publicly via Social Media ) is also a demonstration of just how hungry people are about being judged: In spite of all sociocultural rhetoric on the subject ― from the "don't judge me" and "judge not lest ye be judged" proclaimed people ― most humans want to be judged; except, in the World they want to be judged favorably by other humans.
Such secular admiration is this model they aspire to, and desperately. They are conquered always by what other humans think of them, and this cold reality plays out on the social stages of life; a keep up w/the Joneses Darkness .
Everyone will face Judgment Day, but since the bulk of humanity will never have even a milligram of actual Faith, they do not actually believe in an afterlife (nor an eternal judgment), which explains why they live this life the way they do. For the bulk of humanity, a life of faithlessness will mean they will never once hear the Voice of Truth, not until Judgment Day. Without living Faith (as a verb), people will fearfully hoard resources (Matt 6 :19–34) and call it by some capitalistic or socially acceptable economic terminology.
¶ YHVH Has Set Apart The Faith Filled!
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(Psalm 4:3 ). As a veritable Hermit , a Monk is a unique path; for us it is an honorable one. It is rare for extraordinary people to be called by YHVH: those who are sensual; the beautiful; the handsome; the rich; the famous; these people are rarely called by YHVH (1Co 1 :26–29; James 2 :5), because even if they were called, they would not hear His voice (Matt 22 :14); they have their own voice (and legions of demons) drowning out the Voice of Truth.
Thus, it was/is to my advantage that I was not gifted in any way outwardly; I am thankful to be unremarkable; I am blessed with being simple and plain, and I will remain faithful until YHVH removes me from this mortal shell. Had I been rich and/or physically endowed, I would not have become YHVH centric by choice; in reviewing my past, I know this to be true (predestination?). I was formerly an atheistic person, and then an anti-Messianic religious person (protestant): I have personal experience in these the states of mind.
What I learned from the Indwelling Holy Spirit who enlightened scripture unto my heart/mind, was how the early teachers of Messiah was treated once they were hurting the profits of the other religious profiteers of that time; especially among the idol making businesses that flourished (2Co 6 :14–18).
But the christianized Xians of Religianity are fully yoked with and in the World , unconsciously; they are indeed worldly, but then just adopt and adapt the religion of Christianity into these anti-Messiahs carnal–primal existence, and as such, they logically must be critical of anyone who separates self from the worldly, or speaks of it.
The parading of the self should be obvious, even to the Spiritually blind, such as witnessed in "church services" which are nothing more than ego stations on display. It is where the economic rutting takes place weekly; it is also where Main Character Syndrome is on stage. Still, I think about how Hollywood (and really, all secular writers) like to portray those dedicated to YHVH; I see the John the Baptist caricature; the filthy simpleton hobo who lives entirely different than the clean shaved, suit and tie capitalist; the new outward model of civility.
However, if you take away the luxuries and mammon advantages from the suit and tie guys (the Pharisee copiers among the religionists, or the Roman Emperor mimickers from among the worldly); you will see just how quickly they will become savage. Hungry, he will mercilessly murder you with his bare hands to take your share, for his metaphorical morsel of soup (Heb 12 :14–16): Indeed, that is what Mammon hoarding represents.
The anti-Messianic religious need to look, act, and live, just like the atheistic masses they truly belong to: Dressing like the world speaks for itself; driving cars is egocentric at its core, and one of the worst lifestyle testimonies in existence. The desperate need to fit–in, is that fruit on the tree for all to see.
It is truly enlightening to know how YHVH works among His creation: I am eternally thankful not to have been empowered by worldly ways and atheistic things. It always hurts when I hear a Prayer begging for the things that so often destroy Souls (1Ti 6 :6–10).
With rare exception, everyone who has made a decision to follow YHVH closely will (sooner or later in life) be a source of gossip; they will either be ridiculed, belittled, misrepresented, lied about, and even persecuted by the secular world that encompasses them (including kin, religious or not): Messiah Yeshua said it would be so.
We, the Elect of YHVH, are the proverbial Body of Messiah. It is awesome to know that YHVH has likened us also, to an army, a spouse, a building, a family, a flock, and a planting. The metaphors and parables of Messiah Yeshua were creative, inspiring, and memorable; I love them. We are gloriously created as individuals and thus, we are unique: There are many opportunities to serve the Master and those variations of talent are both intentional and necessary (1Co 12 :11–14). When we want to be someone else, we neglect the self that YHVH created in us.
¶ Red Letter Discipleship!
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We must surrender unconditionally unto the supreme Lordship of Messiah Yeshua (for real, not faking it), and from that moment on, our life is not our own. Consequently, it is impossible to be ruled by Love , via the Indwelling Holy Spirit, and then remain as you once were; as employees, consumerists, capitalists, or other like temporal lifestyles. Knowing what YHVH has planned for us in the Kingdom of Heaven, makes this temporal life analogous to a speed bump.
The fakes, the frauds, the wolves, the tares (chaff); these are easier to spot than one might think. The ultimate (or long–term) goal for the fakers and takers is that they get money, or some other power providing, earthly resource for their efforts (the "what's in it for me" mentality and lifestyle).
They purpose to avoid laboring by the sweat of the brow. Without the Indwelling, the humans are terminally lazy creatures indeed: The atheistic masses live lifestyles purpose driven to avoiding the Labor curse. And money economics is how that was achieved.
It is not always about money, especially for those who have enough money to do the things they want to do (and within economies that still accept that money). Naturally; there is never enough money for the atheistic, but there is a point where they hoard enough to gain all the power they are going to, via money.
While there is almost always a physical benefit or monetary reward (of some kind) for the faker/taker, there are other drives and addictive actions (besides money) that motivate the mind: E.g. coitus; promotion; praise; adoration; recognition; validation; credit; ego boost; self glory: It is these, which drive conformity , social status , and compliance . The empty Soul hungers; it is never satisfied (Pro 27 :20).
We, the Elect of YHVH, are (proverbially) not to allow our left hand to know what our right hand is doing, with regard to alms; giving; helping; serving (Matt 6 :1–4). It is not that we hide it from others, it is just that we do not do it for others. Our motive must be Messiah–centric (based upon eternal rewards) and not for any of the things of this world; this explains (in part) the importance of committing (or vowing) to chastity, poverty, and obedience.
We do not see poverty as a bad thing; being poor or poverty, only has a negative connotation among the money lovers (we call them capitalists today); one of the many justification products of the money exploiting hands in the pie , do nothing make nothing takers, that account for the bulk of humanity here in the Eschaton Era. Verily, there is a variety of different Christian views on poverty and wealth .
¶ Spiritually Transformed By YHVH, Not Socially Conformed By Convention!
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When the micro–experiences of the atheistic, and the anti-Messianic religious, are radically transformed into a glorious and massive perspective, our world is no longer small and seemingly pointless; instead, we have the mind of Messiah (1Co 1 :10 & 2:12–16; Phl 2 :1–5) and thus, the view of life universal: Twas blind but now I see, and that sight is immeasurably big. In that bigness, we become so small that it humbles us to this sheer bigness, which is YHVH.
The atheistic humans ― those who do not have the Indwelling Holy Spirit filling them to overflowing ― will therefore, seek to grow on the outside; a failed attempt at filling the void that only that Ruach HaKodesh can fulfill. Thus, they live on the outside, always seeking more and evermore; they hunger for bigger, better, grander and broader.
Ironically, they believe that such contentment is the death of ambition: Indeed (1Ti 6 :3–9). There is a sure connection between ambition and demonic oppression: Ambition, impatience, discontentment, attention hunger, passion, and anger, are synonymous: Peacelessness! (John 14 :25–27)
All humans, who have the Indwelling Holy Spirit, are motivated by Love–wisdom–humility, and driven to obedience; part of that transformation is to Labor by the sweat of the brow, with our hands, as a way to be closer to YHVH, both from an obedience standpoint, and because most everything that Messiah Yeshua uses to teach us and to guide us through, in this life (His many parables), are directly or indirectly connected to laboring, and the handling of the creation, and simple living (1Th 4 :8–12; Eph 4 ).
Messiah often used the way of nature in developing metaphor (Matt 13 & Mark 4 ); understanding metaphor (itself) is a necessary skill to understanding every inspired written word. We must be among, and engaged with the YHVH creation (the nature–scape versus the human–scape); we must breathe in the outdoors; we must handle the dirt and engage the trees and the plants, daily.
The natural world is the YHVH world; Adonai Elohim created the heavens and the earth, but the atheistic masses hate the natural world and will kill and steal and destroy it (John 10 :10), or avoid it, or contain it. They replace it with their own humanized world via urbanism ; they paved paradise, and put up a parking lot ⊛ . However, once transformed and Spiritually enlightened, one cannot remain separated from it: In wildness is the preservation of the world!
¶ Socially Constructed Alliances!
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The World (or worldly) are described as such, by Messiah Yeshua, because they are the (proverbial) blind leading the blind (Matt 15 :12–14); that is, their alliances are not centered on Messiah Yeshua, but are rather, centered on economic status, or race, or language, or politics, or nationality, or other purely social constructs (birds of a feather ). And social stratification is the unnatural outcome of that sin–evil.
Without real, eternal, Love bond relationships, humans must grasp whomever is in their proximity: For one example (among hundreds), they must/will assign the word "family" when referring to coworkers, teammates, or even church business co enablers (Matt 19 :27–30); relationships built around money.
As the Eschaton Era comes to its inevitable and prophesied end, the superficiality of the masses will normalize and intensify. People will rally around the new religion: Politics!. Adversarial politics is a sin–evil; a 2–Party system establishes and normalizes us–against–themism, which is fully anti–Messianic.
The Elect of YHVH do not mindlessly comply with social, cultural, political, economic, or traditionalist directives, which were already in place when we arrived on Earth: we are not enculturated drones of cultural paradigms, unless doing so just happens to shine the light of Messiah Yeshua unto a darkened world. Or, we are forced into them, like the corrupt money system.
Then came together unto Him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, which came from Jerusalem. And when they saw some of His Disciples eat bread defiled, that is to say, with unwashed hands, they found fault. For the Pharisees and all the Jews, except they wash their hands often, would not eat, holding the tradition of the elders. And when they came from the market, except they wash, they would not eat. And many other things there be, which they have received to hold: As the washing of cups and pots and brass vessels, and of tables. Then the Pharisees and scribes asked Him: Why do you and your Disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashed hands? He answered and said unto them:
Well has Isaiah prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written: 'This people honored Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me: Howbeit in vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men!' For laying aside the commandment of Elohim, you hold the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups, and many other such like things you do. Full well, you reject the commandment of Elohim, that you may keep your own tradition.
Corban , by whatsoever you might be profited by me, he shall be free. And you suffer him no more to do ought for his father or mother, making the word of Elohim of none effect through your tradition, which you have delivered: And many such like things do you!
Hearken unto Me, everyone of you, and understand: There is nothing from without a man, that entering into him, can defile him: But the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear! (Mark 7:1–16) {cf. Isa 29 :13–14; Exo 20 :12 & 21:17; Deut 5 :16; 1Jo 2 :8–10}
I am surprised the literalistic have not created, yet another division denomination called DHEM (Dirty Hand Eaters Ministries)! Washing your hands is a good idea; I recommend it. This was a lesson moment about blind followship; about blind enculturation. This was/is about gaining the ability to see and hear and understand: If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear! This was/is about transcending one's enculturation.
Messiah Yeshua was not anti–tradition, as much as He was about opening eyes and ears; opening one's consciousness to the much much greater world, beyond the doldrums of daily human life; indeed, to the confines of life on Earth versus elsewhere ion the Cosmos (for those who actually believe). But atheistic power–hungry people, lust to create laws and rules and ordinances, not because they serve any meaningful function, but so that they have a written excuse to lord over others.
They suffer from a God–Complex (and power hunger was Satan's downfall); they are driven to lord (power) over others. This is why Messiah Yeshua so opposed the Pharisees and the lawyers, for they both suffer from the same thing: Spiritual blindness and power–hunger: yep, the Law lords stuck in the mire of Law . They only want to be enforcers, but without any understanding of the spirit of any law, nor an interest in learning so. They want to bark the commandments, not live by or under them.
The Love of YHVH, installed with the Holy Spirit at the point of genuine unconditional surrender, brings a Spiritual enlightenment (or sight) that guides how we think, act, and thus live (Matt 7 :15–20; Acts 8 :14–24). The Love of YHVH compels us; constrains us. But they only build alliances that benefit them here/now.
We certainly do not need to oppose traditions if they are relevant, but we also do not want to enable dead traditions. E.g. Just because everyone around you is driving cars does not mean that you have to; it is a choice, and it is those choices that say much about what and who we are.
Those who can only follow those in front of them are the blind; they cannot fathom a lifestyle that is radically different from the only one they know: Thus, they are mere copies of their micro experiences; they fall into place; they blindly accept normalization and enculturation.
If you were to visit every COP Cultists church business, operating on the North American continent in 1810, you would find groupings based upon skin color, and then language, and then accent, as demarcations beyond denomination itself. In 2010, with racism no longer socially acceptable (for most), you find a greater mix, and even those with differing native tongues (i.e. Spanish) mixing; as the culture changed, so did this defining demographic.
¶ The Capitalist Mentality!
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The Eschaton Era is mammon centric; that is, everything and everyone is incarcerated inside the prison of money–hunger; we as a species, have been driven by peacelessness and its discontentment and ambition; thus, the atheistic masses must/will war, and live comfortably in social stratification ; indeed, in anything that the mind can imagine, just to divide over (James ). The self–superiority complex rules over the minds of the masses; it can make people psychopathic, and power always makes people stupid.
Within the capitalist mentality of today, where righteous is overruled by what is affordable, it is more defined by social status; the mainstream protestant evangelicals, and much of the catholic churches, makeup the lower–class to middle–class as one grouping, and the upper middle–class to the rich as another grouping: the very rich rarely mix with the very poor.
This is about guilt–shame–condemnation; class itself is just its byproduct; class itself is evermore fruit–evidence of Satan's control over the bulk of the humans species. The Kingdom–bound Elect of YHVH never participate in the church businesses, because they too are just the byproducts of class systems. Anything and everything that involves money, also involves Satan via Mammon service.
There is no such thing as social–class or economic–class or political–class among the Elect of YHVH; there are no money–rich people, among the People of YHVH, nor is there any fellowship with those committed to such worldly ways (2Co 6 :14–18; 1Jo 1 :1–4). The Elect of YHVH reprove and expose such darkness; we do not enable it or finance or consume it (Eph 5 :6–12; 2Ti 4 :1–4). The lesson from The Master: The tree is known by the fruit it bears!
Messiah Yeshua said that we either serve YHVH, or Mammon ; that we cannot do both; indeed, we do not do both. The Elect of YHVH are those (of us) conquered by the Indwelling Holy Spirit; that reality results in an entirely different perspective on life: We have the mind of Messiah (1Co 2 :10–16), via the literal heart of Messiah Yeshua, which is the Indwelling Holy Spirit.
We do not process all things through the money filter, as does the rest of the atheistic world; instead, we process all things through the Red Letters (John 6 :61–66). We are not westernized or Americanized people who mock YHVH via weekly church attendance: Lifestyle evangelism is not just another form of proselytizing; lifestyle is the fruit–evidence of the Indwelling Holy Spirit ruling within an individual.
¶ The Love Mentality!
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Put another way: The Elect of YHVH do not look at scripture through the filter of modernity, we look at modernity through the filter of scripture. We do not build homes based upon the cost of construction, but rather, by the cost to the environment. The worldly minded are primarily concerned with monetary costs; everything is thought about, first, in dollar increments; this is because the worldly do not have the advantage of the Indwelling Holy Spirit to think otherwise.
The tree is known by the fruit it bears. Even Buddhist Monks (including the current Dalai Lama ) embrace modernity. Capitalism is far more than an economic construct; it is a mentality: The Capitalist Mentality! It actually shapes how the brain thinks; how it processes data; how it interprets the world around it.
Everything and everyone is first, filtered or processed through its money worth; its actual or potential monetary value. And in like manner, so does The Love Mentality! The Love–centric, YHVH conquered, do not think, anything like the Faithless Loveless masses think; all Messianic disciples see things through Messiah glasses; we filter all things through scripture, in context. We are guided by Ruach HaKodesh in all things!
We, the Elect of YHVH, shine Light via our unity in community: This is a part of my past that I regret. Everyone has a different story; mine is rather simple. I lived for much of my life (the first three decades of it) as an atheist (Psa 14 :1; Heb 11 :6): I do not believe agnosticism even exists outside human imagination.
I got involved in Western Christianity ; specifically, evangelical nondenominational protestantism, in my mid thirties, but since I was never around any Messianic disciples, I really had no idea what to do: I had no Messianic examples to initially follow.
Therefore, I lived as I always had; as the rest of the anti-Messianic religious masses do today; they live as the rest of the worldly that they mimic and admire; those they seek to yoke and bond with, and to gain their acceptance. Without YHVH–in–us , the anti-Messianic religious are hungry for the approval of the atheistic masses, and as such, they squander their earthly life on earthly things. They copy the trends, the lifestyles, and the patterns set forth before them, no matter when or where they are living.
I was foolishly trying to find the Elect of YHVH from among the anti-Messianic religious (the churched), but I did not recognize this at the time. Today, I can see clearly, Saint Peter's catholics, as well as the protestants that came from the rebel–yell of Martin Luther.
Paul the Apostle is the lord of modern christendom, so I only rarely hear from the living disciples of Messiah Yeshua. We are deep into the Eschaton Era, so as human populations grow exponentially, those who are the future resurrected Saints of Adonai our Elohim, will dwindle to nearly zero, and then the end will come.
Back when I was newly single, my "marriage license recipient" abandoned me, then later divorced me; I had no choice in, nor any participation in the matter (1Co 7 :12–15): I was a thirties male, seeking to know "God" and was seeking a new wife from among those that attended church–businesses.
Of course, I doubt I ever even met a female who was among the Elect of YHVH (i.e. Saved, at that point in time anyway), and so of course, I found only trouble. This is because I was still fully immersed in worldly ways, even as a religious drone in that bondage (Gal 4 thru 5); ironically, the appropriate term here is an adherent : The church was in the world, and the world was in the church, and now I know they are synonymous.
Church businesses are customer–seeking temptation–stations, who mock YHVH via superficial fellowship, pop–culture musical worship, and meaningless or dead rituals. They are male–centrists, prostituting literally everything that Messiah Yeshua was trying to change, via the heart mind Soul , first of men, then everyone. The machismo that Satan exploited to control males, extended seamlessly into the religious realm. Saul of Tarsus was clearly shaped by his enculturation, and YHVH was never allowed to free him from it, at least during his recorded missions.
An overreaction to this very reality is what caused a machismo–driven or muscular Christianity , via a demonic pride–ego–emotion center. The subsequent refusal to recognize the Messiahs interactions with women , and how that should have impacted how women were treated since then, is only one example. Male humans exploited the bible as if it was their own authority, with their carnal–primal machismo paradigms, compelling them to further degrade and prostitute the words therein, so they could justify authoritarianism and dominion ; both are demonic.
But the idea of a female taking on the Messianic Cross, verily would not have been accepted by the males of that time, and indeed, nor even in ours. Nonetheless, YHVH works with us where we are as individuals, and not where we once were as enculturated groups. After all, benevolent sexism is still not an accurate reflection of Love.
¶ Radix Of Peace!
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Nevertheless, I am at peace; I am clear, which means that I have nothing whatsoever against anyone (Matt 5 :23–24; Mark 11 :25–26); there is not one person on Earth, which I have anything against: no anger; no resentment; no vengeance; no restitution; no dislike; no nothing. No one owes me anything; any assumed debts unto me, are forgiven as far as I am concerned. I am right with everyone from my end, but as with all relationships, I have zero control over anyone, except myself; those who hold anything against me, I am powerless to alter.
This is why a Monk; since I am abandoned by my wife, the rest made sense. I am celibate for life, and not seeking a wife (or a coitus partner): I made a marriage vow unto my Lord, which stands regardless of what my wife did or does. Thus, all females are "off limits" in that sense. I am only a brother seeking platonic friendships; a disciple of Messiah Yeshua; a servant witness for my Master: I am fully content with this. I am a "Jesus freak" and the worldly see us disciples of Messiah Yeshua, just that way. Well done (Matt 25 :23).
If I am not a freak to the masses then I am doing it wrong (John 15 :16–20). When we see (or compare) self to Messiah Yeshua, we are not only humbled, we soon experience a form of egolessness (the opposite of egocentrism , which is to be pride–centric; to be running on ego). Where ego reigns the Spirit is absent; where the Spirit reigns the ego is absent.
The westernized–monetized–christianized–industrialized, protestant evangelical, capitalistic, consumer centric church business that I once attended and enabled, was operated just like any corporation; they were yoked with the atheistic world (2Co 6 :14–18); had corporate executive titles, and a Board consisting of doctors, attorneys, and others among the wealth–class (James 1 :8–12 & 2:1–5; Jude 1 :16–21).
This pacifist Tekton , artist, author, and a tradesman (carpenter) and thus part of the Labor class, was never invited nor even considered, but ultimately that turned out good; it unintentionally mirrored my Master with the Pharisees and lawyers of His time/culture. Predestination indeed!
They held home bible studies hosted mostly in the large lavish homes of the wealthy; they of course, wanted to showcase that wealth (the very motive behind all the grandiose), and an audience of materialistic and capitalistic people like them, helped feed that unquenchable egotism. But this is just what blind enculturation looks like; those involved are oblivious to it, exactly because they are Spiritually blind.
These kind may be religious, but not (yet) radically transformed; redeemed; metamorphosized; death–to–self then born–again; Saved! But hey; I too was once westernized–monetized–christianized–industrialized; I mastered the theological productions of the COP Cultists, but especially that of the protestant evangelical cults. Now that I am free, I am rejected by religious men! And that's OK!
This is because the anti-Messianic religious ― who live as carbon copies of the secular world, which they mimic, consume, enable, and collaborate with ― must condemn the Elect of YHVH for not financially enabling their anti-Messianic lifestyle interests.
Monetization, commodification, adulteration, and money–hunger (or addiction) will drive the anti-Messianic religious, to treat the Elect of YHVH, just as the catholics and protestants did, when they beheaded or burned at the stake, people for not being "one of them" (see: Martyrs Mirror ).
Without the Indwelling Holy Spirit, Loveless mercilessness is all that remains, Christian or not; churched or not. Living in the Laodicean Era (the Eschaton Era), we are among the last dozen (or so) generations before the end of this human experiment. Scripture uses parables and metaphors to describe and define that timeline. Still, it is (either) a life altering discipleship, or, it is a religious addendum to ones otherwise secular lifestyle; it cannot be half baked.
The roots that make up the English words monastic; monasticism; monk , all share a basic theme: Oneness! We are all creations of One Creator; our Adonai Elohim (YHVH): We, the Elect of YHVH, are one with YHVH and with one another; the symbiosis of corporeality is a form of oneness.
Every time I read John 17 :20–23, it just breaks my heart, and I believe that anyone who deeply Loves YHVH, is affected strongly as well. When I hear (in my heart mind Soul ) the Lord praying to the Father: ... that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that You have sent Me.
Our Love for YHVH is the same as our Lords Love for us, and most importantly, it is our witness; our Love toward one another becomes the proof unto the world, that Messiah Yeshua was (and is) real, and not just another religious figure head; that Messiah Yeshua was sent by YHVH, and is not some fictional character; the stuff of one's imagination.
We, the Elect of YHVH, prove the reality of Messiah Yeshua, by how we Love: That is powerful; that is huge; that is humbling. But that can only manifest in lifestyle; Love is the substance of our actions and inactions: Love is a verb, as is the noumenon of faith (Heb 11 :1–6).
Matthew Henry Commentary (1Th 4:9–12): We should notice in others what is good, to their praise, that we may engage them to abound therein more and more. All who are taught of God are taught to love one another. The teaching of the Spirit exceeds the teachings of men; and men's teaching is vain and useless, unless God teach. Those remarkable for this or any other grace, need to increase therein, as well as to persevere to the end. It is very desirable to have a calm and quiet temper, and to be of a peaceable and quiet behaviour.
¶ The Ruach HaKodesh Species!
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The Elect of YHVH move slowly; carefully; peacefully: We seek only the approval of our Master. Conversely, the atheistic masses have no internal peace, and so they are driven by anticipation, haunted by ambition, and conquered by what other humans think of them. This fact is manifest all around us, with modernity metaphorically slamming the Creation of YHVH to the ground.
Hence, the atheistic (which always includes the anti-Messianic religious) move quickly; aimlessly; ravenously; dangerously: They pollute, maim, kill, and destroy with their many machines (cars and guns and such) in their atheistic pursuit of evermore things and never enough money and/or power (Matt 6 :19–24; Luke 16 :13–15).
Thus, it is hazardous for the Elect of YHVH to live among the atheistic masses, for we operate at different speeds; we are on different paths; not only in this life, but extending into life eternal. The Elect of YHVH only account for a fraction of humanity: Yeshua said: "Narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it." (Matt 7 :13–14): Narrow Way unto the Kingdom of Heaven, which is achieved via the Kingdom of YHVH (Luke 17 :20–21), begins with the Indwelling (of the) Holy Spirit, in the here and now.
Collectively, all atheistic people are sociopaths; that is, they exist (from cradle to grave) in a Loveless state; the opposite of Love is indifference and uncloaked indifference is just sociopathy. But this is because they have no way to Love , for YHVH is Love, and the Indwelling Holy Spirit is YHVH–in–us (Ruach HaKodesh).
Hence, the atheistic and the anti-Messianic religious are one in the same. This is because they are merely primates, and all primates are territorial ; proxemic ; driven by dominance hierarchy and self survival as carnal–primal drives; study human territoriality and social stratification .
People must and will justify all actions and thoughts as necessary: Thus, they can only live as unto the self, indifferent and/or oblivious to how their actions affect others around them (e.g. Anthropogenics ), but this is because they are Spiritually blind. They are enveloped in the many paradigms of self interest , and because of that blindness they cannot see it, and because of egocentrism they are indifferent or Loveless: they simply do not care.
¶ Stage Hypocrisy Exposed By Messiah Yeshua!
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The word hypocrisy basically means an actor on a stage; however, those who need these platforms of life that elevate them above all others, must and will therefore, focus more on the actor, than the stage, but you cannot have one without the other in this particular context. In ancient times the theaters were that central place where performances took place: To get on the stage and perform for an audience of passive consumers. Sound familiar?
The Greek word is hypokrites
Only, unlike a stage actor who is a real person playing a fake role on stage, the Pharisees were fake people playing real roles on societies stages: theaters, synagogues, temples, churches, or even street corners. Hence, the barrage of condemnation from my Master, Messiah Yeshua. Christendom Does Not Represent Messiah Yeshua!!
However, the actor is not merely an actor, for those who seek to be actors, are driven by ego as well, and even more so: Social Roles Do Not Define Character; Character Defines Social Roles!! Rev 21 ).
The pathological hunger to be the center of attention is what made the stage a reality to begin with, but we just assume the stages to be natural, because they have always been with us; that is blind enculturation. (E.g. How Amish Church ).
¶ Steeple Of Strife; Coliseum Of Compromise; Platform Of Platitude; Ecosphere Of Ego!
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Flock seekers are typically egotistic people who hunger for a stage and a followship. They need an entourage to feed their ever draining ego; they need to be the center of attention; a home stage to be looked up to; a podium to pound; they hunger–lust for authority. Indeed, Pauline Christianity is in many ways, analogous to (and causal of) bibliolatry .
Without the ever present Holy Spirit dwelling within, the otherwise empty Soul hungers and thirsts continuously for something to fill that "YHVH shaped" space within us all. And since the presence of the Indwelling Holy Spirit greatly humbles anyone and everyone; without that empowerment, the human is left to the brain; a carnal–primal machine, which runs only on anger–fear–rage, paranoia (and emotions in general), and ego: The ego being the most powerful of all human dynamics, most of the time.
This is why Earth itself is reacting to the human masses who spend the bulk of their existences feeding (or responding to) their ego in one way or another. Massive building projects are the stuff of ego; grandiose in itself, is but the fruit of an ever draining ego. Ambition and discontentment are destructive forces. We witness this same atheistic egotism in religion as well, from ancient grand catholic cathedrals to today's megachurches. Oh, but for the pure glory of Mountain Cathedrals ⊛ .
Therefore, Religiocentrism becomes normative because selecting a religion from the "menu of world religions" is also a feature of human ego. Messiah Yeshua did not intend to start yet another human religion; in fact, He was anti–religion, exposing the fraudulent Pharisees (and other purveyors of organized religion), and abolishing all human religions, as the veil was rent in twain (Matt 27 :50–53).
This "Epoch of Corporeality" also signified the death of religion as humans knew of it. From that point, forward, it was (and is) only possible to connect with YHVH, via the Indwelling Holy Spirit, One–on–one, as individuals. There are no more temples of YHVH; now, only we are the Temple . The Stage Productions (LLC) businesses are not connected to YHVH, even a little bit.
From that epoch of time, forward, YHVH only interacted with individual humans, via the tether of the Holy Spirit, and only as individuals took the propitiation of Messiah Yeshua most seriously in their lives. This is because religion was (itself) an act of ego; it was to select the "right" religion, which reduced it to a competition, much like the caregivers of the disciples who still saw things in that way (see: Matt 20 :20–26). Competition is a behavior learned from (and rooted in) predation .
The human ego is a pride junky; it is a pathological desperation to be noticed; to be the one at the top; to be the one in the center; to be the one. Humility is to avoid being noticed; to defer the stages of life. But the egocentric are just that; they cannot be YHVH centric, because they are driven by the god complex, which was Satan's downfall. But Satan did not join the church, he created it, and today he uses self-professing "Christians" to enable his agenda (in the name of Jesus).
Starting with (and even before) the catholic church, and continuing to this day, and in all religion businesses; those with Spiritual eyes and ears, witness the deception of these religion businesses; the idea that people can spend their lives trading time for Mammon (money), sharing a cut of that money with the Temple defying sedentary religionists they weekly enable, and then go to Heaven in the end.
But churches are little more than a ritualistic addendum to an otherwise anti-Messianic existence; the wanton monetization, commodification, and adulteration of YHVH, for which no other sin–act can rival. Today this as a very normalized process; it is called religion, but religion is anti-Messianic in every way. The Pharisaic businesses of religion are Satan's response to his eternal doom, which was secured by the Resurrection : an empty tomb marked Satan's doom!
¶ The Great Lie!
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The Elect of YHVH spend more time serving YHVH than they/we do serving mammon. The anti-Messianic religious spend most of their earthly existence serving mammon, and the churches provide for them (for only a few hours weekly) the illusion that attending church equals an eternity in Heaven. They convince their audience that salvation is a product that can be bought with a tithe and a self-belief. You merely chant the salvation prayer and, like any spell, you are magically Saved.
Yet, even the option to select a church business is part of the pride pathology; that pride of personal choice is but a manifestation of ego: Pride is the eternal doom of the masses on Broadway. The time spent consuming worldly products, including church business enabling, is the time YHVH expects of the Elect (the purpose behind the Parable of the Unjust Steward ).
The well–cloaked anger–fear–rage, which covertly dominates the secular masses, is so fascinating that if I had not experienced it, in person, I would struggle to believe it if the story were shared with me in the Kingdom of Heaven. I suspect when we (of modernity) try to tell our story to the ancients in the Kingdom of Heaven, they too, will struggle to believe it. We are aware of evil people, but to hold such disdain for progeny is just too hard to fathom, once you have been enlightened to see it.
Without being enlightened, the atheistic and the anti-Messianic religious, will live and die, utterly oblivious to their massively (and mercilessly) destructive lifestyles. Without that inner light, the masses grope in Darkness , and as such, their world is the size of a house; for the Elect of YHVH, our world is the larger than the galaxy. Indeed, we live entirely different existences upon this earth, and then beyond.
This is why it is important to be light unto a dark world; a lifestyle that is strongly recommended by our Master and Lord, Messiah Yeshua; however, as the end draws near even that effect is becoming futile. The curse of capitalism has rendered the masses, the slaves of materialistic consumerism; who are trapped in and by, blind enculturation, where religious adherence is itself, but a show on the social stage of life.
Obviously, we are long past the word–of–mouth evangelism that was instituted by Messiah Yeshua in 0030 AD (when no one knew His name), and once the B'rit Chadashah (the New Covenant testified), was refined and completed and widely distributed, there was no need for people to leave their walkable circle; therefore, what remains is Lifestyle evangelism (Matt 5 :13–16) as witnessed in the Americas via the Amish, as well as other simple living communities globally.
¶ Europeanized Monetized Westernized Industrialized Christianized!
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The Europeanization or westernization of Messiah Yeshua is clear to us disciples of today, with hindsight and Spiritual sight: And so is the eurocentrism that now shapes and defines the World . Scripture itself was the first product of compromise that monetization and commodification and adulteration infected; it all went downhill from there! Modern day evangelism is (unfortunately) a mere religion business recruitment marketing ploy: Proselytism renamed evangelism!
Naturally the money dependents must try to make distinctions here. Like church attendance itself, it is outward and thus, is a manifestation of works righteousness (Titus 3 :3–7). It is what some would call a Messiah Complex (or a God–Complex ; a hero complex; a rescuer complex), where egotistic religionists believe they have a higher calling than all the other mere peon mortals around them.
Both protestants and catholics were (and still are) more interested in Inculturation (not to be confused with Enculturation ) than they are of personal relationship building Communally , because an egalitarian Community makes us all equal and non–hierarchical, and most people cannot live that way: The Kingdom Way!
The Way is a Narrow Way path that always results in a nonconformity to the world , and a true, eternal, closer than a brother level of daily living, simply, and sharing equally, regardless of genetic ties (the Acts Koinonia summarized). Conversely, church professionals prefer to keep their flock of sheeple in their proverbial barns (John 10 :1–5; Matt 7 :13–23).
This is why individualism dominates all facets of life, and especially here in the Eschaton Era. This is why selective bigotry is accepted by the religionists; why compromise is a must for the money dependent; why true equality is a mystery to the Spiritually blind; why misogyny blossomed to make Pauline Christianity, the dominant production of a culturally inherited, male as head religion known of as Christendom, later mimicked by Islam.
Unfortunately, in the past, some have implied or even outright accused men who would join a religious sect as Monks, to be weak men who were afraid of many things; economic competition; hard labor; brutality; much of this depending upon the individual and the setting that individual lived within. More people were becoming nuns and priests during wartime than during peacetime, implicating a fear of war itself and thus seeking a safe place to hide.
There are also those who have emotional problems that make people reclusive or introverted. These ideas could explain why some religious professionals will commit heinously evil acts, such as pedophilia and other forms of sexual improprieties among priests and pastors and such, though they posed as trusted religionists, which the anti-Messianic religious blindly follow, and for reasons that have zero to do with a profound and epochal personal relationship with Father Adonai. But since organized religion is among the greatest manifestations of evil on Earth, one should expect such consequences from them.
For some, it was just a show of piety; to prove they were as devout as proclaimed; we see this same tendency with title giving among the mentally corporatist or capitalist religionists. These accusations might seem extreme, until we understand that there is a Spiritual component to this life, and incorporate that into long–term calculations (1Co 4 :1–5).
Apostolic succession no longer has any meaning (and perhaps it never did): We, the Elect of YHVH, are unified, not by genetics or bloodlines, but by the Spirit that dwells in us (Matt 12 :46–50; Mark 10 :28–31; Gal 3 :16–19). The tether of the Indwelling Holy Spirit is the only succession that YHVH recognizes, for all humanity has only 1 Father, who is King, Lord, President, CEO, Commander, and Master over all.
¶ Building A New Paradigm!
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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it (Santayana). / Insanity is repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results (Einstein). Agreed! Indeed, there is always hope; as one way of living fades, so another emerges. The solution may not be what some would want in the short term. However, destroying the natural world; segregating ecosystems with human–made obstacles; replacing the natural world with a people centric world; these cannot be sustained (they will not be).
The atheistic, in concert with the anti-Messianic religious, are hurried to bring about the events of the Eschaton Era, though they do not (indeed, cannot) see themselves as collaborators. Nominal Christians will believe they are going to Heaven, even as they are being cast far into the blackness of Darkness ; extreme outer space: The Abyss.
Avatar Dumb Cities ); a collective unity that Earth shares with its inhabitants. The Mycelial networks are vast and complex and awe inspiring; development covers over it all.
Likewise, Avatar movies accurately represented the human lust for power, militantism and militarism, greed, planetary destruction, death, and the many justifications therein: The casual way that the militant backed corporations destroyed, was beyond APD ; it was/is raw evil.
But the blindly indoctrinated can only be what they are told and sold; Spiritually blind, they cannot stand on their foundation, which is Messiah Yeshua; they can only see the tiny world of their own enculturation, and then try to weave it into Scripture. But that always leads to cognitive dissonance, and that leads to evermore anger–fear–rage.
The Xians of Religianity , still trapped in the (enculturation tainted) theological briarpatch of Manifest Destiny , were therefore, almost forced to criticize Avatar . Cursed with us–against–themism, the infantile "my religion is better than yours" still haunts the fear stricken, carnal–primal driven, neighbor hating, Temple defying, Xians of Religianity : the anti-Messiahs .
¶ Enculturation As Cultural Anthropomorphism!
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All us–against–themism is a desperation search for self-importance; it is to hunger for superiority over others in order to gain some fickle sentiment of self-worth! All competitions, and competitivism in general, is the monkey–see–monkey–do, repetitive empirical evidence, supporting this overwhelming fact. All things that the monkey will see, they will do; they are monkeys!
The vast majority of humans are mere monkeys, and even though their thoughts and actions scream this out into the universe everyday, they do not have the Spiritual sight to see it; not in themselves and not in other monkeys. All they can understand is the ego tearing that they feel, being compared to monkeys. They cannot even fathom cultural anthropomorphism ,
Blind enculturation is not just enculturation; all humans are enculturated. We all learn our human environment from contact with other humans, especially when we are young; tabula rasa! But that too, is just a trait of the young; it is normal to be naive at first because we all come into this world with nothing programmed within us, other than base instincts. My fellow Messianic disciple was teaching a deep and abiding truth, to young and old alike. He said this about maturation:
When I was a child I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: Now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as also I am known. For now we abide in faith, hope, and charity; these three, but the greatest of these is charity {YHVH Love} . (1Co 13:11–13)
Charity was employed here for context; it was to differentiate between attachment (emotions of the brain), versus YHVH Love; Cross level Love; everlasting Love! We humans use the word love a lot and for many things. The logic here was to teach Love, manifest upon the Messianic Cross; how The Master said to those torturing Him and who caused His death: Father forgive them! He was dying (even) for those who were killing Him! This is Love! And such depth and totality is hard for the brain alone to grasp.
But once we mature physically, we should be seeking to transcend the things of our childhood; an immaturity in all things! We are surely shaped by the dictates of the culture we happen to be brought up in, and that is expected. But we should then work and study to learn, to go way beyond it all (1Th ; 2Ti ). We should no longer be like children; we must grow up! We must see past our enculturation paradigms, and become new creations.
He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that He might fulfill all things. And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastoral teachers; all for the perfecting of the Saints for their work of the {Messianic} ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah Yeshua, until we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of Elohim; unto perfection; unto the measure and stature of the fullness of Messiah Yeshua.
John 17 }
We who maturate via the Indwelling Holy Spirit (the Elect of YHVH), come to recognize that we are all the creations of The One Creator: YHVH! The human family, for good and for evil, are all YHVH creations, with YHVH as all our Heavenly Father. We know that the rest of all living beings belongs to The Father, and so does Earth and all the natural world that was here before us. Consequently, we live this life, based on that renewed reality. Conversely, the rest of the human species, continues onward, just like the primates they volition to remain most directly connected to.
As the Faithless Loveless masses merely selected Christianity from the sociocultural menu, they remain unregenerate, or not yet Spiritually metamorphosized; thus, they bring the same base fear, adversarialism, hierarchy, dominion, competitivism (and so forth), into their religion businesses, just as they do with all things, which in turn, shapes and influences them in the world.
The anger–fear–rage, and the hunger–lust to cut down, mine and tap, and rape and burn; to kill, to steal, and to destroy the YHVH creation, and replace it all with human–made things; to tap it dry; to dig and drill and bulldoze it; all for its money–rich resources; to commodify, adulterate, objectify, and monetize YHVH; to humanize space; these demonic passions and obsessions overwhelm the anti-Messianic masses, for they know not, what they do (Luke 23 :34).
The Spiritually blind cannot be expected to see (Rom 8 :7). They will assuredly figure all this out, in outer darkness, but while on Earth, there is no way for the (Spiritually) blind to see; no way for them to see it or learn it, while on Earth, apart from the Indwelling Holy Spirit enlightening them to it all, and few there be that find it.
Indeed, human history exposes the fact that every major urbanized area on Earth faded into dust (with rare exceptions excavated archaeologically): Humans cannot deforest the creation, slaughter the indigenous animal kingdom, cover the earth with concrete and buildings, pollute it, industrialize it, mine and tap it, and then expect to survive long–term into that future.
But this is the Eschaton Era, and thus, so is the theological battle, putting the (infinitesimal and inconspicuous) Elect of YHVH, in danger from the Xians of Religianity , who, alongside the rest of the secular world, are collectively the warriors of/for Satan. Collectively, they are The World .
¶ Christendom Versus The Elect Of YHVH!
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Humans were/are made from and for the natural world: for the forests; the soil; the streams; the lakes; to cooperate with nature; to learn to live with the wild animals, rather than destroying them, while being driven by fear, paranoia, ignorance, and evil.
Dominion and subdue in Genesis (Gen 1 :28) did not mean destruction or extinction or urbanization; the Genesis account means management and stewardship of the natural world; it means protection and propagation: to be fruitful and multiply, not subtract! Here in the Eschaton Era, the Elect of YHVH are so few that this task is handled primarily by the secularized scientific community (Read about WEIRD: Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic Science ).
However, as the end nears, powerful leadership will accelerate the actions of the masses, which will snowball to rapidly drive humanity into prophecies of the Eschaton. Humans were originally created to eat naturally and organically; to drink mineral laced water from pure aquifers and trapped clean rainwater . But those days are gone and the Eschaton Era is here.
YHVH created a perfect ecosystem; the garden of Eden paradigm : We were designed to eat from an abundance of trees, plants, and herbs. When the Soul is filled with living water and the bread of Life, fulfillment is assured and Simple living is its fruit (1Ti 6 :6–11).
We need to abandon these old, destructive paradigms; we must return to ancient but proven ways of living; simple living, where we plant, fish, farm, raise small animals, walk and hike and run and swim. We must maturate and quit following everyone else around us like children do (1Co 13 :9–13 & 14:20); we must transcend enculturation and recognize that we do not have to follow others; we can think for ourselves; via original thoughts and critical thinking, we can think outside the box; way outside; we should abandon our old life boxes altogether.
The effects of the car on societies is stunningly damaging to Earth, and its inhabitants; for humans, so is debt and usury , trinket bling, consumerism, and general Affluenza not commandments or life requirements: Indeed, they are (collectively and effectually) the prophesied anti-Messiahs via their lifestyles. Verily, YHVH is in the business of disenculturation.
That is how the Indwelling Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) works in us, then and today. You (and I) have a choice about how we live on Earth; please, let it be Messiah–centric. It is the beacon of light; the living testimony; lifestyle (not religion) is the barometer of our true Spiritual status.
Via hindsight, we know that the bulk of his society ignored the warnings of Noah, until it was too late; so too, will it be in the prophetic Eschaton Era (Matt 24 ; Heb 11 :6–7; 1Pe 3 :15–22). Pride is the eternal doom of the masses, and though they have been repeatedly warned , they will take Earth down with them anyway.
Thankfully for us purposed stewards of all YHVH created, there are plenty of other planets to serve out our eternality (Isa 65 :17; Rev 21 :1–5). The vacuum of empty space, far far beyond all star matter and its light, will be the unfortunate destiny for the Soul of the Broadway masses.
To mimic the lifestyle of my Master, Messiah Yeshua, I had to begin to speak and write in a way that was not a part of my original personality, which was initially shaped by capitalism and thus, I was all about false flattery at all times. As a budding young capitalist, marketing myself for mammon riches, my bible was How to Win Friends and Influence People!
The very idea of speaking out with pure truth, and to the point that I angered the organized religious establishment, as well as the secular world; well, this was just not a part of my cultural assimilation or Americanization .
Even when I went from an Atheist to Agnostic to Protestant, the church business professionals that I followed around like a fool, were also Faithless, Loveless, materialistic, egocentric, YHVH ignoring, money lovers and consumerist capitalists (anti-Messiahs ), and so I had no Messiah–centric human models at all.
What I learned and experienced, was that we were all there, participating in this organized religion business, for ourselves, and it had no connection whatsoever with the Creator of all. But even in that vat of perverse theological rendering, the Holy Spirit was able to work within, and without ever violating volition; that was a miracle! And worthy of much praise!
¶ Christianized But Not Metamorphosized!
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Indeed, being dominated by the Indwelling Holy Spirit for decades now; with such enlightenment, plus hindsight, it was/is easy to see worldly people who have only experienced cultural or socialized Christianity; they experience christianization, but not Spiritual transformation; they are never metamorphosized . The caterpillar dies on the ground, never knowing flight.
Christendom does not represent Messiah Yeshua! But when I was among only the churched (in the nineties), I was unaware of this reality. The Holy Spirit was providing many hints, but the desire to be obedient unto men (to fit–in), which is a learned mentality, is difficult to be freed from. We witness this compliance hunger with tattoos ; if I thought a tattoo would make another see Messiah Yeshua in me because of it, and would then desperately want to be a Messianic disciple themselves, I would get one today. But it just does not work that way.
Nevertheless, once I finally died to me and surrendered all of myself, over and unto the actual, living Lordship of my Master, Messiah Yeshua, the subsequent Indwelling Holy Spirit (only then) initiated transformation, which led to a Spiritual metamorphosis, just like the (metaphorical) metamorphosis from the caterpillar unto the butterfly: Everything changes! We become different beings altogether.
Spiritual metamorphosis is always painful; always radical; epochal; transformative: But it also develops into an entirely different existence, now and thus forever. This Spiritual molting is trying and uncomfortable and exposing, but also freeing and glorious, once completed. And, it is not possible without the Indwelling Holy Spirit entering into us and taking us over, and to the volitional extent that we allow it, daily (Luke 9 :23–27). Generic New Age spirituality has no connection with Adonai our Elohim.
Likewise, religion attendance is just a mere addendum to an otherwise anti-Messianic existence. The butterfly never again lives like the caterpillar; no, not even close. Only a faint remnant of the caterpillar remains. If you still participate in the Car Cult , as just one example among dozens, you are so far from the Messianic Cross; so consumed by your enculturation; it is highly unlikely you will acknowledge this during your Earth time (Luke 9 :1–5). But hope abounds within all who are driven by the Love of YHVH (Rom 8 ).
Until Adonai Elohim can release you from the bondage of your enculturation, you will remain a subject therein; indeed, you will be subjected to its forces, and altered because of it. It almost sounds as if it is not your fault, and in some ways, this is true; we are all shaped by forces that we do not even recognize as forces, until something shocking happens to us to compel us into circumstances, which aid us in gaining a radically new perspective; hence, the word culture shock .
But we all have the superpower of volition; the free will to seek truth for the sake of wisdom alone. We can choose to be led by our enculturation, or we can surrender our will over to a power, much wiser than we can ever be on our own: The Indwelling Holy Spirit! The mind of Messiah Yeshua (1Co 1 :10 & 2:12–16; Phl 2 :1–5) is our only goal; only then can we go from pride–ego–emotion, to Love–wisdom–humility; to a state of existence that will transcend the here and now, even while here, now!