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[[File:yurt7moon.jpg|px250|right|thumb| The use of the lunar calendar for determining the time of the festival was simply a practical way of setting the date for people spread out over a large area. It also guaranteed they would be gathering during the full moon which was important because there | [[File:yurt7moon.jpg|px250|right|thumb| The use of the [[Calendars|lunar calendar]] for determining the time of the festival was simply a practical way of setting the date for people spread out over a large area. It also guaranteed they would be gathering during the full moon which was important because there were no electric lights nor flashlights. There are reasons for those who will understand. The '''Burning Bush Festival Website''' is [https://www.burningbushfestival.org https://www.burningbushfestival.org] <Br>'''Facebook''' [https://www.facebook.com/BurningBushFestival https://www.facebook.com/BurningBushFestival] and at <Br>'''Preparing you website''' link is [https://www.preparingyou.com/wiki/Burning_Bush_Festival https://www.preparingyou.com/wiki/Burning_Bush_Festival]. <Br>But to find out more join the '''[[Network]]'''. ]] | ||
== Feasts and festivals == | == Feasts and festivals == | ||
'''The Function of the Feast'''<Br> | '''The Function of the Feast'''<Br> | ||
[ | [https://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/18082403feasts.mp3 Download Recording] <Br><html><audio controls src="https://www.hisholychurch.net/audio/18082403feasts.mp3"></audio></html> | ||
The [[Feasts]] of [[Israel]] were in-gatherings and played an essential role in maintaining a free nation. Without these festivals, there was no practical way to bring a free nation together | The [[Feasts]] of [[Israel]] were in-gatherings and played an essential role in maintaining a free nation. Without these festivals, there was no practical way to bring a free nation together nor to create the voluntary [[social bonds]] in communities and the greater society as one nation under God which are essential for the functioning of a free and healthy state rooted in [[liberty]]. | ||
[[Israel]] was not a [[One purse]] commonwealth where everything belonged to the [[State]]. The power of the State remained with the people who stood, worked and occasionally fought together as a nation but remained individuals in a natural state of freedom with their | [[Israel]] was not a [[One purse]] commonwealth where everything belonged to the [[State]]. The power of the State remained with the people who stood, worked, and occasionally fought together as a nation but remained a [[network]] of individuals. | ||
Because rights are endowed upon individuals who desire to live in a natural state of liberty and freedom they must guard their neighbor's rights with the same passion they would guard their own.<Ref name="loven">{{loven}}</Ref> They were a kind of [[citizen]] of a nation who enjoyed rights "not connected with the organization or the administration of government" but because they were the ''government of, for and by the people''<Ref>"This [[Bible]] is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People."''' is attributed to the '''General Prologue to the [[John Wycliffe]] Bible translation of 1384.</Ref> they were "free from things public"<Ref>[[libera res publica]] </Ref>. | |||
There was no civilly enforceable contract to compel performance in that early [[republic]] because the status or state of the people was independent according to the nature of a [[republican form]] of government in its purest form.<Ref>See [[Republic]] vs [[Democracy]].</Ref> | There was no civilly enforceable contract to compel performance in that early [[republic]] because the status or state of the people was independent according to the nature of a [[republican form]] of government in its purest form.<Ref>See [[Republic]] vs [[Democracy]].</Ref> | ||
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There was no [[taxation]] in [[Israel]] and the only corporate form of government consisted of the [[Levites]] who were called and established by [[Moses]] to serve the ''tents of the congregation'' of the people and manage the [[sacrifice]] of the people through mutual ''living [[altars]] of [[clay and stone]]''. The [[tithe]] was provided to individual [[Levites]] of your choice "according to his service".<Ref>[[Numbers 7]]:5 Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the [[Levites]], to every man according to his service.</Ref> | There was no [[taxation]] in [[Israel]] and the only corporate form of government consisted of the [[Levites]] who were called and established by [[Moses]] to serve the ''tents of the congregation'' of the people and manage the [[sacrifice]] of the people through mutual ''living [[altars]] of [[clay and stone]]''. The [[tithe]] was provided to individual [[Levites]] of your choice "according to his service".<Ref>[[Numbers 7]]:5 Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the [[Levites]], to every man according to his service.</Ref> | ||
Since [[religion]]<Ref>[[Pure Religion]].</Ref> was how you cared for others within your community and society these gatherings were essential for the maintenance of a governmental system based on liberty. Each elder of each family was required, by common sense, to participate. | Since [[religion]]<Ref>[[Pure Religion]].</Ref> was how you cared for others within your community and society, these gatherings were essential for the maintenance of a governmental system based on liberty. Each elder of each family was required, by common sense, to participate. | ||
Making this system work was dependent on everyone working and doing their part. There was no central leader forcing everyone to pay their share. What you contributed and how you participated set the path for success or failure of society. | Making this system work was dependent on everyone working and doing their part. There was no central leader forcing everyone to pay their share. What you contributed and how you participated set the path for success or failure of society. | ||
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Acceptance of personal responsibilities for yourself and your neighbor or the rejection through [[sloth]] and [[avarice]] of those religious duties by the people was the foundation of either a brotherhood of caring for one another in free communion or the collective corrupting through [[covet]]ousness of controlling despotic hearts. | Acceptance of personal responsibilities for yourself and your neighbor or the rejection through [[sloth]] and [[avarice]] of those religious duties by the people was the foundation of either a brotherhood of caring for one another in free communion or the collective corrupting through [[covet]]ousness of controlling despotic hearts. | ||
This [[Kingdom of God]] like all utopias depended on individual virtue and the nobility of character of every participant. Without the Character of God written on our ''hearts and minds'' there would be no salvation in this [[world]] nor the next. This [[Kingdom of God]] also depended upon a fundamental structure or pattern. | This [[Kingdom of God]], like all utopias, depended on individual virtue and the nobility of character of every participant. Without the Character of God written on our ''hearts and minds'' there would be no salvation in this [[world]] nor the next. This [[Kingdom of God]] also depended upon a fundamental structure or pattern. | ||
There was local [[charity]] provided through a [[daily ministration]] by way of the [[Church in the wilderness]] but in the case of calamity there could be a need for a national charitable [[network]] which could provide an emergency response. Each level of this [[priest]]ly public service was elected by the group they served in patterns of [[Tens]] with sometimes [[seven men]] elected by the people but appointed by the [[called out]] public [[servants]], the [[Levite]]s. They had no authority over anything except that which was [[freewill offerings|freely given]]. | There was local [[charity]] provided through a [[daily ministration]] by way of the [[Church in the wilderness]], but in the case of calamity there could be a need for a national charitable [[network]] which could provide an emergency response. Each level of this [[priest]]ly public service was elected by the group they served in patterns of [[Tens]] with sometimes [[seven men]] elected by the people but appointed by the [[called out]] public [[servants]], the [[Levite]]s. They had no authority over anything except that which was [[freewill offerings|freely given]]. | ||
Many of the ministers of this chain of national public service did not see each other on a regular basis. They did not meet every [[Sabbath]] because they lived farther and farther apart. As they were designated overseers in a voluntary [[network]] of service that covered a wider and wider area they called three festivals a year to keep the national network functioning and viable. | Many of the ministers of this chain of national public service did not see each other on a regular basis. They did not meet every [[Sabbath]] because they lived farther and farther apart. As they were designated overseers in a voluntary [[network]] of service that covered a wider and wider area, they called three festivals a year to keep the national network functioning and viable. | ||
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When many people faithfully came to these [[Feasts and festivals]] a secondary effect would occur which was equally important. | |||
=== Feasts of generations === | |||
When many people faithfully came to these [[Feasts and festivals]], a secondary effect would occur which was equally important. The [[family]] is the seed bed of society. | |||
Anything that weakens the family weakens the whole of society. | |||
Festivals allowed families to create familial bonds which would unite through the union of [[marriage]] because of the relationships that would spawn at these festivals. | |||
: '''His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.'''<Ref>Daniel 4:3 How great [are] his signs! and how mighty [are] his wonders! his kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion [is] from generation to generation. | |||
Daniel 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom [is] from generation to generation:</Ref> | |||
Generations and families could be united in ''familia'' networks of moral values and virtue far beyond the pattern of [[tens]]. | |||
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=== Pilgrimage Festivals === | === Pilgrimage Festivals === | ||
There were three gatherings often classified as Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים). The Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or [[Pentecost]]), and [[Sukkot]] (Tabernacles, Tents or Booths). During these festivals, the people would make a pilgrimage to the Tabernacle which moved to different tribal areas. This would keep everyone familiar with all | There were three gatherings often classified as Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים). The Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or [[Pentecost]]), and [[Sukkot]] (Tabernacles, Tents or Booths). During these festivals, the people would make a pilgrimage to the Tabernacle, which moved to different tribal areas. This would keep everyone familiar with all the territory of [[Israel]] and people in different parts of the nation or the world. | ||
Everyone could participate in festivities in conjunction with the services of the kohanim ("priests") at the Tabernacle. The Pesach or [[Passover]] did not really call for a ''pilgrimage'' except of the heart. It was a congregational festival. Friends and families would gather for an all-night meal with enough people to consume an entire lamb before morning. They were not to leave during the night although they were to be prepared to go. It was a gathering about sharing and the protection that the "[[Flesh and blood|blood of the lamb]]" offers those who will share. | Everyone could participate in festivities in conjunction with the services of the kohanim ("priests") at the Tabernacle. The Pesach, or [[Passover]], did not really call for a ''pilgrimage'' except of the heart. It was a congregational festival. Friends and families would gather for an all-night meal, with enough people to consume an entire lamb before morning. They were not to leave during the night, although they were to be prepared to go. It was a gathering about sharing and the protection that the "[[Flesh and blood|blood of the lamb]]" offers those who will share. | ||
These gatherings were festivals but allowed young people to develop relationships with people in other areas. There were also serious issues that could be brought up such as when the tribe of Reuben appeared to be setting up a system independent of the other tribes. The bonds of a free nation are not [[contract]]ual but relational. These Pilgrimage Festivals were essential to building personal relations and connecting all the people of a nation through a charitable [[network]] that could provide assistance in the case of misfortune or mishap but also relief and refuge in the event of catastrophes, calamities, and cataclysm. | These gatherings were festivals but allowed young people to develop relationships with people in other areas. There were also serious issues that could be brought up, such as when the tribe of Reuben appeared to be setting up a system independent of the other tribes. The bonds of a free nation are not [[contract]]ual but relational. These Pilgrimage Festivals were essential to building personal relations and connecting all the people of a nation through a charitable [[network]] that could provide assistance in the case of misfortune or mishap but also relief and refuge in the event of catastrophes, calamities, and cataclysm. | ||
== Pentecost and Shavuot == | == Pentecost and Shavuot == | ||
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The [[modern Church]] excuses the [[covet]]ing of their neighbor's goods as long as they do so through [[consent]] with their modern governments. They allow application to those governments to obtain [[benefits]] from men who call themselves [[benefactors]] but exercise authority one over the other. They have approved of the [[socialist]] state despite the words of Old and New Testaments.<Ref>Sacrificed to Idols, From the book [[THL|The Higher Liberty]], Sec. 50 - To heal our land. </Ref> | The [[modern Church]] excuses the [[covet]]ing of their neighbor's goods as long as they do so through [[consent]] with their modern governments. They allow application to those governments to obtain [[benefits]] from men who call themselves [[benefactors]] but exercise authority one over the other. They have approved of the [[socialist]] state despite the words of Old and New Testaments.<Ref>Sacrificed to Idols, From the book [[THL|The Higher Liberty]], Sec. 50 - To heal our land. </Ref> | ||
=== Sacrifices of worshippers === | |||
The apostles had been appointed a kingdom by Jesus Christ.<Ref>[[Luke 22]]:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my [[Father]] hath appointed unto me;</Ref> But they were not to be like the other governments who exercised authority in their service to the people.<Ref>[[Matthew 20]]:25; Mark 10:42; [[Luke 22]]:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors....</Ref> They still collected funds from the people and provide [[benefits]] to the people but this was all done by [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[charity]]. | The apostles had been appointed a kingdom by Jesus Christ.<Ref>[[Luke 22]]:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my [[Father]] hath appointed unto me;</Ref> But they were not to be like the other governments who exercised authority in their service to the people.<Ref>[[Matthew 20]]:25; Mark 10:42; [[Luke 22]]:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors....</Ref> They still collected funds from the people and provide [[benefits]] to the people but this was all done by [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[charity]]. | ||
This system required [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]] and a virtuous population that did not covet their neighbors' goods but actually loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Such true love is rare today and when we find it amongst the people, we must nurture it on a local and national level. This was the purpose of the feasts. | This system required [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]] and a virtuous population that did not covet their neighbors' goods, but actually loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Such true love is rare today and when we find it amongst the people, we must nurture it on a local and national level. This was the purpose of the feasts. | ||
The [[firstfruit|Day of the First Fruits]] was the last day of the [[Feasts and festivals|Feast]] of the Un[[leaven]] Bread and the first day on which individuals marked the [[firstfruits|first fruits]] of their labor to be offered. From that day they counted fifty days to [[Pentecost]], the [Festival of Weeks]. [[Pentecost]] was the feast for the Israelite nation called Shavuot.<Ref>[[Exodus 34]]:22</Ref> The Festival of Weeks was the completion of the [[Firstfruit|Day of the First Fruits]]. This day and Festival served several functions in their national government under God. It was their opportunity to offer to God and His servants (Bikkurim) the substance needed to serve the nation. This sacrificial giving was [[worship]] and the one who gave was a ''[[worship]]er''<Ref name="worshipnt">{{Worshipnt}}</Ref> in the sense of a ''servant'' or one who works as a slave or servant.<Ref>{{05647}} </Ref> | |||
Originally, the [[Temples|temple]] was a tent set up in different areas because it moved around. The living stones of that temple were the true living servants of liberty under God who were called the [[Levites]]. They had been the first to [[come out]] when [[Israel]] began to create a central bank to bind the people in the camp of the [[golden calf]].<Ref>Money vs [[Mammon]] Audio, and Text.</Ref> | Originally, the [[Temples|temple]] was a tent set up in different areas because it moved around. The living stones of that temple were the true living servants of liberty under God who were called the [[Levites]]. They had been the first to [[come out]] when [[Israel]] began to create a central bank to bind the people in the camp of the [[golden calf]].<Ref>Money vs [[Mammon]] Audio, and Text.</Ref> | ||
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These were not offices of power to rule over the people. Their government was composed of [[servants]] who served the ''tents of the congregations'' of the nation. Family was the core of the nation but in order to bind the people as a nation and be faithful to God, they could only bind them with love and honor. There is no other way if they were to remain a free people. These [[feasts]] allowed for that liberty under God and therefore it was called the [[kingdom of God]]. | These were not offices of power to rule over the people. Their government was composed of [[servants]] who served the ''tents of the congregations'' of the nation. Family was the core of the nation but in order to bind the people as a nation and be faithful to God, they could only bind them with love and honor. There is no other way if they were to remain a free people. These [[feasts]] allowed for that liberty under God and therefore it was called the [[kingdom of God]]. | ||
=== Worshippers of faith or force === | |||
They did not drop these funds in a central treasury but gave them to the minister of their choice who in turn took a share of what he received to the minister of his choice. Because you are dealing with a whole nation of people networking together through servants of servants of servants some of the servants of that nation come from locations that are farther and farther apart. | This was a feast for everyone and everyone who came was expected to contribute their [[freewill offerings]] to the minister of his choice. They were reminded that the alternative of these [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]] is that they will end up in the [[bondage]] of [[Egypt]] again like they were before. If they dd not cultivate the virtue of sharing and supporting the servants of their nations they would be [[Employ|enslaved again]]. | ||
They did not drop these funds in a central treasury like the [[Golden calf]] but gave them to the minister of their choice who in turn took a share of what he received to the minister of his choice. Because you are dealing with a whole nation of people networking together through servants of servants of servants some of the servants of that nation come from locations that are farther and farther apart. | |||
This distance creates a greater need for national gatherings in order to make these choices that will link the whole nation in that [[network]] of charity and mutual concern. It was also a time for people to meet others from other areas of the national network. Other bonds were created through marriage and friendships. Remember, these ministers of national charity were also the appeals courts manning [[cities of refuge]] to insure justice throughout the nations.<Ref>[[Numbers 35]]:6, [[Numbers 3]]5:25 </Ref> | This distance creates a greater need for national gatherings in order to make these choices that will link the whole nation in that [[network]] of charity and mutual concern. It was also a time for people to meet others from other areas of the national network. Other bonds were created through marriage and friendships. Remember, these ministers of national charity were also the appeals courts manning [[cities of refuge]] to insure justice throughout the nations.<Ref>[[Numbers 35]]:6, [[Numbers 3]]5:25 </Ref> | ||
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[[John the Baptist]] and his cousin [[Jesus]] was very clear that His government, like that of [[Moses]], was based on [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]]. Whatever you could afford to pay by your own choice was considered paid in full.<Ref>[[Luke 16]]:8, [[Matthew 18]]:31</Ref> Thousands chose the government appointed by Christ and were cast out of the government of the [[Pharisees]] and [[Herod]].<Ref>[[John 9]]:22-35</Ref> [[Early Christians]] did not go to any government that forced contributions from the people to obtain any benefit. If you had need you would go to church, not [[Caesar]], nor the [[Pharisees]]. | [[John the Baptist]] and his cousin [[Jesus]] was very clear that His government, like that of [[Moses]], was based on [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]]. Whatever you could afford to pay by your own choice was considered paid in full.<Ref>[[Luke 16]]:8, [[Matthew 18]]:31</Ref> Thousands chose the government appointed by Christ and were cast out of the government of the [[Pharisees]] and [[Herod]].<Ref>[[John 9]]:22-35</Ref> [[Early Christians]] did not go to any government that forced contributions from the people to obtain any benefit. If you had need you would go to church, not [[Caesar]], nor the [[Pharisees]]. | ||
[[Modern Christians]] covet<Ref>[[2 Peter 2]]:3</Ref> their neighbors' goods through legal systems of social [[welfare]] not unlike that [[corban]] condemned by Christ<Ref>The [[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]]</Ref>they create through their government. They then make applications to these governments and the men who call themselves benefactors. Now again they are entangled in the [[bondage]] of the [[world]]<Ref>[[Galatians 4]]:3, [[Galatians 5]]:1, [[2 Peter 2]]:20</Ref> through “covet means”.<Ref>“For we are opposed, around the world, by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy, that relies primarily on covet means for expanding its fear of influence... instead of armies by day,” John F. Kennedy Speech, April 27, 1961. American Newspaper Publishers Association. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY.</Ref> Had their ministers been serving Christ and tending to His weightier matters the people would not have returned to the bondage of Egypt.<Ref> To Enslave a Nation, and Laws, Loves, and Liberty, and [[Employ]] vs Enslave</Ref> | The [[choice]] for the [[social safety net]] of [[society]] has always been through the [[faith]], [[hope]] and [[charity]] of [[pure Religion]] or the [[force]], [[fear]], and [[fealty]] of the [[covetous practices]] of [[public religion]]. | ||
[[Modern Christians]] covet<Ref>[[2 Peter 2]]:3</Ref> their neighbors' goods through legal systems of social [[welfare]] not unlike that [[corban]] condemned by Christ<Ref>The [[Corban]] of the [[Pharisees]]</Ref>they create through their government. They then make applications to these governments and the men who call themselves [[benefactors]]. Now again they are [[entangled]] in the [[bondage]] of the [[world]]<Ref>[[Galatians 4]]:3, [[Galatians 5]]:1, [[2 Peter 2]]:20</Ref> through “covet means”.<Ref>“For we are opposed, around the world, by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy, that relies primarily on covet means for expanding its fear of influence... instead of armies by day,” John F. Kennedy Speech, April 27, 1961. American Newspaper Publishers Association. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY.</Ref> Had their ministers been serving Christ and tending to His weightier matters the people would not have returned to the bondage of Egypt.<Ref> To Enslave a Nation, and Laws, Loves, and Liberty, and [[Employ]] vs Enslave</Ref> | |||
Any government that does not rely on [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]] is not a government of God, Moses, or Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah. Those governments of the [[world]] created by men who [[covet]] their neighbor's goods and say let us have [[One purse|one purse]] and desire to eat at the table of rulers may do so at their peril. The states they create are allowed by God to punish the wicked who choose to reject God and create those systems. True Christians who believed in and loved Christ would not want to be a part of such system and they would turn around and seek to create the alternative which was the Church established by Christ.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:17, [[Proverbs 1]]:10, [[Proverbs 23]]:1, [[Psalms 69]]:22 , [[1 Samuel 8]]:7 , [[Romans 11]]:9, [[Acts 17]]:7 </Ref> | Any government that does not rely on [[Freewill offerings|free will offerings]] is not a government of God, Moses, or Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah. Those governments of the [[world]] created by men who [[covet]] their neighbor's goods and say let us have [[One purse|one purse]] and desire to eat at the table of rulers may do so at their peril. The states they create are allowed by God to punish the wicked who choose to reject God and create those systems. True Christians who believed in and loved Christ would not want to be a part of such system and they would turn around and seek to create the alternative which was the Church established by Christ.<Ref>[[Exodus 20]]:17, [[Proverbs 1]]:10, [[Proverbs 23]]:1, [[Psalms 69]]:22 , [[1 Samuel 8]]:7 , [[Romans 11]]:9, [[Acts 17]]:7 </Ref> | ||
Latest revision as of 10:28, 19 April 2024
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/BurningBushFestival and at
Preparing you website link is https://www.preparingyou.com/wiki/Burning_Bush_Festival.
But to find out more join the Network.
Feasts and festivals
The Function of the Feast
Download Recording
The Feasts of Israel were in-gatherings and played an essential role in maintaining a free nation. Without these festivals, there was no practical way to bring a free nation together nor to create the voluntary social bonds in communities and the greater society as one nation under God which are essential for the functioning of a free and healthy state rooted in liberty.
Israel was not a One purse commonwealth where everything belonged to the State. The power of the State remained with the people who stood, worked, and occasionally fought together as a nation but remained a network of individuals.
Because rights are endowed upon individuals who desire to live in a natural state of liberty and freedom they must guard their neighbor's rights with the same passion they would guard their own.[1] They were a kind of citizen of a nation who enjoyed rights "not connected with the organization or the administration of government" but because they were the government of, for and by the people[2] they were "free from things public"[3].
There was no civilly enforceable contract to compel performance in that early republic because the status or state of the people was independent according to the nature of a republican form of government in its purest form.[4]
There was no taxation in Israel and the only corporate form of government consisted of the Levites who were called and established by Moses to serve the tents of the congregation of the people and manage the sacrifice of the people through mutual living altars of clay and stone. The tithe was provided to individual Levites of your choice "according to his service".[5]
Since religion[6] was how you cared for others within your community and society, these gatherings were essential for the maintenance of a governmental system based on liberty. Each elder of each family was required, by common sense, to participate.
Making this system work was dependent on everyone working and doing their part. There was no central leader forcing everyone to pay their share. What you contributed and how you participated set the path for success or failure of society.
Acceptance of personal responsibilities for yourself and your neighbor or the rejection through sloth and avarice of those religious duties by the people was the foundation of either a brotherhood of caring for one another in free communion or the collective corrupting through covetousness of controlling despotic hearts.
This Kingdom of God, like all utopias, depended on individual virtue and the nobility of character of every participant. Without the Character of God written on our hearts and minds there would be no salvation in this world nor the next. This Kingdom of God also depended upon a fundamental structure or pattern.
There was local charity provided through a daily ministration by way of the Church in the wilderness, but in the case of calamity there could be a need for a national charitable network which could provide an emergency response. Each level of this priestly public service was elected by the group they served in patterns of Tens with sometimes seven men elected by the people but appointed by the called out public servants, the Levites. They had no authority over anything except that which was freely given.
Many of the ministers of this chain of national public service did not see each other on a regular basis. They did not meet every Sabbath because they lived farther and farther apart. As they were designated overseers in a voluntary network of service that covered a wider and wider area, they called three festivals a year to keep the national network functioning and viable.
Feasts of generations
When many people faithfully came to these Feasts and festivals, a secondary effect would occur which was equally important. The family is the seed bed of society.
Anything that weakens the family weakens the whole of society.
Festivals allowed families to create familial bonds which would unite through the union of marriage because of the relationships that would spawn at these festivals.
- His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.[7]
Generations and families could be united in familia networks of moral values and virtue far beyond the pattern of tens.
Pilgrimage Festivals
There were three gatherings often classified as Pilgrimage Festivals, in Hebrew Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים). The Shavuot (Feast of Weeks or Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles, Tents or Booths). During these festivals, the people would make a pilgrimage to the Tabernacle, which moved to different tribal areas. This would keep everyone familiar with all the territory of Israel and people in different parts of the nation or the world.
Everyone could participate in festivities in conjunction with the services of the kohanim ("priests") at the Tabernacle. The Pesach, or Passover, did not really call for a pilgrimage except of the heart. It was a congregational festival. Friends and families would gather for an all-night meal, with enough people to consume an entire lamb before morning. They were not to leave during the night, although they were to be prepared to go. It was a gathering about sharing and the protection that the "blood of the lamb" offers those who will share.
These gatherings were festivals but allowed young people to develop relationships with people in other areas. There were also serious issues that could be brought up, such as when the tribe of Reuben appeared to be setting up a system independent of the other tribes. The bonds of a free nation are not contractual but relational. These Pilgrimage Festivals were essential to building personal relations and connecting all the people of a nation through a charitable network that could provide assistance in the case of misfortune or mishap but also relief and refuge in the event of catastrophes, calamities, and cataclysm.
Pentecost and Shavuot
Israel's harvest festival of Shavuot commemorates God giving the Ten Commandments to Moses and the people at Mount Sinai fifty days after the Exodus. The modern Church often plays down the commandments, equating them to the law that was nailed to the cross. But it was the abuse of statutes of Moses by the government and doctrines of the Pharisees that was done away with by the cross. The same confusion they sowed about the commandments they fostered about the altars and feasts.
“And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.” Exodus 20:6, Deuteronomy 5:10
If this message of keeping the commandments of God is repeated over and over again in Old and New Testaments[8] we must ask can you have faith in Christ but not strive [9] to keep His commandments? We should be doing what Jesus said to do[10] in order to inherit eternal life in this life or the next.[11]
Jesus made it clear that we must strive to keep the commandments to inherit eternal life but we do read in John 3:15 “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” But John also talks about deeds by which we can gauge the truth of which a man truly believes and which is a liar.[12]
- John 3:17 “For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved... And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”
If a man's “deeds were evil” then we should know that they do not really believe nor do they love the light. How do we know if their deeds are evil? Do they keep the commandments or are they liars?[12]
Most professing Christians today do contrary to what Christ said to do and many ministers seem ignorant of some of the basic commanded instructions given by Christ to those who would be His Church. The modern Church certainly does not do what the early Church did nor do they seem to understand why it is important to follow those directives and precepts of Christ.
The modern Church excuses the coveting of their neighbor's goods as long as they do so through consent with their modern governments. They allow application to those governments to obtain benefits from men who call themselves benefactors but exercise authority one over the other. They have approved of the socialist state despite the words of Old and New Testaments.[13]
Sacrifices of worshippers
The apostles had been appointed a kingdom by Jesus Christ.[14] But they were not to be like the other governments who exercised authority in their service to the people.[15] They still collected funds from the people and provide benefits to the people but this was all done by faith, hope and charity.
This system required free will offerings and a virtuous population that did not covet their neighbors' goods, but actually loved their neighbor as they loved themselves. Such true love is rare today and when we find it amongst the people, we must nurture it on a local and national level. This was the purpose of the feasts.
The Day of the First Fruits was the last day of the Feast of the Unleaven Bread and the first day on which individuals marked the first fruits of their labor to be offered. From that day they counted fifty days to Pentecost, the [Festival of Weeks]. Pentecost was the feast for the Israelite nation called Shavuot.[16] The Festival of Weeks was the completion of the Day of the First Fruits. This day and Festival served several functions in their national government under God. It was their opportunity to offer to God and His servants (Bikkurim) the substance needed to serve the nation. This sacrificial giving was worship and the one who gave was a worshiper[17] in the sense of a servant or one who works as a slave or servant.[18]
Originally, the temple was a tent set up in different areas because it moved around. The living stones of that temple were the true living servants of liberty under God who were called the Levites. They had been the first to come out when Israel began to create a central bank to bind the people in the camp of the golden calf.[19]
Three times a year the people would meet as a people to deal with matters of the government of Israel. Since they did not gather to rule over each other what was the purpose of their gatherings? These times of giving the Fruits of your labor in a national charitable feast was the gathering of the people under the God of faith and charity.
One purpose was to fund the free government of God with free will offerings. This free will offering given according to the will of God the Father revealed in every heart was worship and those who gave in service to all were the worshipers of God. Three times a year the people gathered to pay their taxes to the government of God but unlike the governments of the world the people taxed themselves. The Levites were the government of the people and the people only chose to tithe to Levites who were men of service to their families and their congregations of families.[20]
It was also a time to organize the network of public servants that was essential in a free government. The local congregations of ten families confirmed their minister before the assembly. That minster got together with other ministers like himself and chose someone to be their minister. This pattern continued until you had all the ministers of the government chosen up to the high priest, who could be called the prime minister of their government. But again, these servant ministers were titular and did not exercise authority one over the other.
These were not offices of power to rule over the people. Their government was composed of servants who served the tents of the congregations of the nation. Family was the core of the nation but in order to bind the people as a nation and be faithful to God, they could only bind them with love and honor. There is no other way if they were to remain a free people. These feasts allowed for that liberty under God and therefore it was called the kingdom of God.
Worshippers of faith or force
This was a feast for everyone and everyone who came was expected to contribute their freewill offerings to the minister of his choice. They were reminded that the alternative of these free will offerings is that they will end up in the bondage of Egypt again like they were before. If they dd not cultivate the virtue of sharing and supporting the servants of their nations they would be enslaved again.
They did not drop these funds in a central treasury like the Golden calf but gave them to the minister of their choice who in turn took a share of what he received to the minister of his choice. Because you are dealing with a whole nation of people networking together through servants of servants of servants some of the servants of that nation come from locations that are farther and farther apart.
This distance creates a greater need for national gatherings in order to make these choices that will link the whole nation in that network of charity and mutual concern. It was also a time for people to meet others from other areas of the national network. Other bonds were created through marriage and friendships. Remember, these ministers of national charity were also the appeals courts manning cities of refuge to insure justice throughout the nations.[21]
The people that were in Jerusalem on the Pentecost 50 days after Christ's resurrection were there to pay their taxes or their tithe. They had two choices, stay with the baptism of Herod and the Pharisees or get the baptism of Christ which would get them kicked out of the system of Herod which had become a snare. The Pharisees were forcing the contributions based on their membership in their system of Corban which Jesus had already stated made the word of God to none effect.
John the Baptist and his cousin Jesus was very clear that His government, like that of Moses, was based on free will offerings. Whatever you could afford to pay by your own choice was considered paid in full.[22] Thousands chose the government appointed by Christ and were cast out of the government of the Pharisees and Herod.[23] Early Christians did not go to any government that forced contributions from the people to obtain any benefit. If you had need you would go to church, not Caesar, nor the Pharisees.
The choice for the social safety net of society has always been through the faith, hope and charity of pure Religion or the force, fear, and fealty of the covetous practices of public religion.
Modern Christians covet[24] their neighbors' goods through legal systems of social welfare not unlike that corban condemned by Christ[25]they create through their government. They then make applications to these governments and the men who call themselves benefactors. Now again they are entangled in the bondage of the world[26] through “covet means”.[27] Had their ministers been serving Christ and tending to His weightier matters the people would not have returned to the bondage of Egypt.[28]
Any government that does not rely on free will offerings is not a government of God, Moses, or Jesus Christ/Yeshua the Messiah. Those governments of the world created by men who covet their neighbor's goods and say let us have one purse and desire to eat at the table of rulers may do so at their peril. The states they create are allowed by God to punish the wicked who choose to reject God and create those systems. True Christians who believed in and loved Christ would not want to be a part of such system and they would turn around and seek to create the alternative which was the Church established by Christ.[29]
- ↑ Leviticus 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I [am] the LORD.
- Matthew 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
- Matthew 19:19 Honour thy father and [thy] mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Matthew 22:39 And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Mark 12:31 And the second [is] like, [namely] this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
- Luke 10:27 And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
- Romans 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if [there be] any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- Galatians 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, [even] in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
- James 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
- ↑ "This Bible is for the Government of the People, by the People, and for the People." is attributed to the General Prologue to the John Wycliffe Bible translation of 1384.
- ↑ libera res publica
- ↑ See Republic vs Democracy.
- ↑ Numbers 7:5 Take [it] of them, that they may be to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and thou shalt give them unto the Levites, to every man according to his service.
- ↑ Pure Religion.
- ↑ Daniel 4:3 How great [are] his signs! and how mighty [are] his wonders! his kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion [is] from generation to generation. Daniel 4:34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the most High, and I praised and honoured him that liveth for ever, whose dominion [is] an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom [is] from generation to generation:
- ↑ Deuteronomy 7:9 , 11:1, 11:13, 11:22 , 19:9, 30:16. Joshua 22:5, Nehemiah 1:5, Psalms 119:127, Daniel 9:4, John 14:15, John 14:21, John 15:10, 1 John 5:-3, 2 John 1:6.
- ↑ Luke 13:24
- ↑ Matthew 19:16-17, Mark 10:17-19, Luke 10:25-28, Luke 18:18-20
- ↑ Mark 10:30
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 1 John 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- ↑ Sacrificed to Idols, From the book The Higher Liberty, Sec. 50 - To heal our land.
- ↑ Luke 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
- ↑ Matthew 20:25; Mark 10:42; Luke 22:25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors....
- ↑ Exodus 34:22
- ↑ Worship or not
- 2 Kings 10:19 Now therefore call unto me all the prophets of Baal, all his servants, and all his priests; let none be wanting: for I have a great sacrifice [to do] to Baal; whosoever shall be wanting, he shall not live. But Jehu did [it] in subtilty, to the intent that he might destroy the worshippers<05647 serve > of Baal. 20 And Jehu said, Proclaim a solemn assembly<06116 > for Baal. And they proclaimed [it].21 And Jehu sent through all Israel: and all the worshippers<05647 serve > of Baal came, so that there was not a man left that came not. And they came into the house of Baal; and the house of Baal was full from one end to another. 22 And he said unto him that [was] over the vestry, Bring forth vestments for all the worshippers<05647 serve > of Baal. And he brought them forth vestments. 23 And Jehu went, and Jehonadab the son of Rechab, into the house of Baal, and said unto the worshippers<05647 serve > of Baal, Search, and look that there be here with you none of the servants of the LORD, but the worshippers<05647 serve > of Baal only.
- John 4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true(228 alethinos) worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship(4353 proskunetes) him.
- John 9:31 Now we know that God heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of God, and doeth his will, him he heareth.
- Acts 19:35 And when the townclerk(1122 grammateus) had appeased the people, he said, [Ye] men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper<3511 serves temple> of the great goddess Diana, and of the [image] which fell down from Jupiter?
- Hebrews 10:1 ¶ For the law having a shadow of good things to come, [and] not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those [sacrifices there is] a remembrance again [made] of sins every year.
- ↑ 05647 ^דבע^ ‘abad \@aw-bad’\@ a primitive root AyinBeitDalet; v; AV-serve 227, do 15, till 9, servant 5, work 5, worshippers 5, service 4, dress 2, labour 2, ear 2, misc 14; 290
- 1) to work, serve
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a1) to labour, work, do work
- 1a2) to work for another, serve another by labour
- 1a) (Qal)
- 1a3) to serve as subjects
- 1a4) to serve (God)
- 1a5) to serve (with Levitical service)
- 1b) (Niphal)
- 1b1) to be worked, be tilled (of land)
- 1b2) to make oneself a servant
- 1c) (Pual) to be worked
- 1d) (Hiphil)
- 1d1) to compel to labour or work, cause to labour, cause to serve
- 1d2) to cause to serve as subjects
- 1e) (Hophal) to be led or enticed to serve
- Also see the verb 05648 ^דבע^ AyinBeitDalet;
- The word worshipper does not appear in the Old Testament except as a translation of abad which clearly means to serve. The word for worship is shachah. Study Aboda
- ע Ayin also U. Divine Providence "eye" or "fountain" of five states of kindness or severity. AlefYodNun or nothingness as opposed to AlefShin something [eye, watch] (Numeric value: 70)
- ב Beit Purpose: God's Dwelling Place Below - a house or God's house here. [household, in, into] (Numeric value: 2)
- ד Dalet Selflessness – Charity, back and forth or through a door or pathway, to enter like a fish (Numeric value: 4)
- 1) to work, serve
- ↑ Money vs Mammon Audio, and Text.
- ↑ Deuteronomy 16:10-17, Numbers 7:5
- ↑ Numbers 35:6, Numbers 35:25
- ↑ Luke 16:8, Matthew 18:31
- ↑ John 9:22-35
- ↑ 2 Peter 2:3
- ↑ The Corban of the Pharisees
- ↑ Galatians 4:3, Galatians 5:1, 2 Peter 2:20
- ↑ “For we are opposed, around the world, by a monolithic and ruthless conspiracy, that relies primarily on covet means for expanding its fear of influence... instead of armies by day,” John F. Kennedy Speech, April 27, 1961. American Newspaper Publishers Association. Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York, NY.
- ↑ To Enslave a Nation, and Laws, Loves, and Liberty, and Employ vs Enslave
- ↑ Exodus 20:17, Proverbs 1:10, Proverbs 23:1, Psalms 69:22 , 1 Samuel 8:7 , Romans 11:9, Acts 17:7