In Hebrews chapter five verses one through four we find the Apostle Paul comparing unconverted Jewry’s high priests to converted Jewry’s high priest and the respective “walks” (lifestyles) of those who followed them. Unconverted Jewry’s high priest, beginning with Moses’ brother Aaron, were chosen by God from among men so as to offer gifts and sacrifices for the sins of those people who were either “ignorant” of God’s Law or “out of the way” (vs 2), meaning those who knew the Law but routinely broke it. This included the priests themselves who, due to their own sins, had to offer up sacrifices for themselves (vs 3).

It is clear by this passage, along with a study of Old Testament Scriptures, that the moral standards for the Temple’s high priest was no higher than that of the people he led. The same was true for the lower level priests who served in the local synagogues which the Jews attended to hear the Scriptures read and taught. The Old Testament priesthood from top to bottom was both tribal and monarchial, meaning that priests were taken exclusively from the tribe of Levi and the priesthood was passed down from generation to generation. Old Testament history reveals that some of the priests were morally corrupt and actually unfit for the ministerial offices they occupied. A good example was a high priest named Eli whose sons–priests who served under him–were more corrupt than the people they served. Eli’s sin was that he refused to discipline his sons for their sinful ways. For this reason God used a child named Samuel to tell him that his family’s time in the high priest position would soon end. In one day both of his sons and Eli himself were killed. Their deaths brought an end to the era of the high priest position throughout Israel and ushered in the era of the prophets, beginning with Samuel (1 Samuel chs. 1-4).

During the era when the priesthood exercised nation-wide leadership over God’s Chosen People (the twelve tribes of Israel) the only moral difference between the priests, including the high priests, and the people they led was their respective status and the rituals that they performed. On the moral level, the priests, like many of the nation’s kings, were as morally corrupt as were the people. Though a remnant of Israelites were known to be morally upright, including some of the priests, all were guilty of sin on some level and had to follow the sacrificial law that had been instituted following the nation’s Mount Sinai debacle in which the people rejected God’s control over their lives through obedience to His Law.

Due to their rejection of God’s Ten Commandment Law that had been written on stone tablets and place in an ark, Moses was told to write ANOTHER LAW on animal skin. This was “the law that was added because of transgressions” mentioned in Galatians 3:19. This law was designed to last “until Shiloh (the Messiah) would come” (Gen. 49:10) to earth to rule Israel and those who would join her in true service to God. The added law involved animal sacrifice and blood usage to cover the sins of the people which took place once each year. The added law was the “handwriting of ordinances” that was “nailed to the cross” of Jesus Christ. Jesus announced the end of the sacrificial law during the Last Supper at which time He announced that henceforth HIS BLOOD AND HIS BODY WOULD BE THE ONLY SACRIFICE FOR MAN’S SINS. Nowhere do we find in the Holy Scriptures that God did away with His Ten Commandment Law. Only those who believe Satan’s false prophets embrace his all-grace-and-no-Law heresy.

Which brings us to the modern-day version of the priesthood which God designed to apply to ALL OF HIS PEOPLE WHO, AS THE (ONE AND ONLY) BODY OF CHRIST, WERE TO BE: “A SPIRITUAL HOUSE,” “A HOLY, ROYAL PRIESTHOOD,” A “CHOSEN GENERATION,” A “HOLY NATION” (1 Pet. 2:5,9/ TITUS 2:14). Today, that congregation is comprised of a few thousand saints scattered throughout the earth. This congregation of priests which consists of ALL who have been brought out of the darkness of man’s religion into God’s marvelous light. This church-wide command for total cleansing followed by a God-led, Law-centered walk is issued to ALL church leaders and ALL OF THEIR DISCIPLES –the entire global church body consisting of Law-keeping servants of the Lord. Jesus warned that very few salvation seekers would be found in that remnant body at any given time. As the time of His Second Advent, the number of true saints would become even smaller. He tells us that, at the end, even His Very Elect saints would be tempted to fall away from Him (Mat. 24:24).

Anciently, only the high priest could enter God’s Holy of Holies and meet with the King of Kings on a one-to One basis. Today ALL true saints can enter that holiest place at any time, anywhere as Jesus make clear to the woman at the well. The Apostle Peter noted that judgment is ongoing in the church, and that ONLY THE RIGHTEOUS WILL BE SAVED, AND THAT THEY WOULD BE SCARCE–FEW IN NUMBER (1 Pet. 4:17,18). Jesus noted the same Truth in Matthew 7:13,14. Many, He said, would enter the church through Satan’s door and walk the path that he designs for them, all the while believing that they were following the Lord. Only a few within the general church population, He noted, would receive eternal life. The many, He lamented, would be denied eternal life and would be destroyed. Note that the church contains both holy and unholy people, only a few of which are God’s true saints–His Very Elect. Read Who are God’s People? and “My People who are Called by My Name.” Key words–People and Called respectively.

The focus of this series involves the difference between Old Testament and New Testament spiritual leadership and the people being led by them. Old Testament leadership positions were handed down from generation to generation. Spiritual leaders were often even more sinful than the people they led, all of whom were expected to sin and were therefore forced to offer annual blood sacrifices to cover the sins of the past year. Not having the Holy Spirit, they had only their own spiritual power to resist Satan’s temptations.

In Christ’s true church He assigns leadership roles to men who have proven their holiness through years of obedience to His Law. These men are assigned by Him to be examples for the people to learn from and to emulate (follow their lead). This is made clear in Ephesians 4:11-13 where we are told that Jesus assigns specific leaders to specific church offices for the purpose of “perfecting the saints for the work of the ministry and for the edifying of the body of Christ.” The church’s striving toward perfection is carried out “until we ALL come to the unity of THE (ONE AND ONLY) FAITH and of the knowledge of (the same knowledge as) the Son of God, unto a PERFECT MAN (church), until each person comes to the MEASURE OF THE STATURE OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST” (Eph. 4:11-13). This command includes both leaders and laity.

What we have been witnessing over the past several generations is leadership that, being ignorant of God’s “fine print” messages, is intent on leading the church away from the Lord as quickly and thoroughly as possible. This is being accomplished by preaching Satan’s various versions of the Holy Scriptures. By keeping themselves and their congregations ignorant of God’s deeper Truths, the churches hirelings have been ultimately successful. As the Scriptures tell us, this is not a new phenomenon. Paul addressed this same problem in his letter to the churches of Galatia (1:6-9) whose leaders were teaching the people “PERVERTED” VERSIONS OF GOD’S WORD. He found the same problem in the Corinthian Church about whom he wrote that if someone came to them preaching “another Jesus” (another version of His Truth) they would embrace the “new and improved” Jesus and obey his words (2 Cor. 11:4). Again, the problem has a long history among God’s people.

Satan’s new and improved version of God’s Truth is what brought Adam and Eve down, resulting in their being cast out of Eden. The same attitude toward God’s Word would later bring the entire world down, resulting its human population being drowned because the people would not listen to Noah’s righteous messages. Later, the same attitude brought down the 12 tribes of Israel, and is now bringing down the New Testament Church. The only real difference among the different apostasies (falling away from God) is time. All three eras rejected God’s rules of engagement by which He governs His people during every era. Even in the spiritual realm, the past often repeats itself.

Everything–leadership, laity, doctrines and customs–within professing Christendom is rapidly undergoing what I call “reverse evolution” in which the church is reverting to the ancient Israelite model of serving the one they believe is the Biblical God. Paul identifies this powerful being as “the god of this earth” (2 Cor. 4:4). In his (Satan’s) modern church system, both leadership and laity have embraced his ultra-popular sin-and-repent method of dealing with continuous sin which characterized their Israelite ancestors. As was the case then, modern-day church leaders are as vile and sinful as those they lead, all of whom believe that they are serving the Biblical God. Old Testament believers saved up their sins and unloaded them all at one time during an annual visit to the Temple in Jerusalem where they sacrificed an animal whose blood “took care of” the sins they had accumulated over the past year.

The new church program for sin removal has the people repenting once each week when they visit their local temple where the blood of Jesus supposedly erases the sins they have accumulated (“treasured up”–Rom. 2:5) since the previous visit. As one woman said following a sin dump, “Well, I’m good for another week.” A woman told my mother that sin was not a problem because “God will forgive you.” The Catholic sin-eradication system consists of dumping them on their “lady” named “Mary.” Not to be outdone, the Protestants also have a “lady” who makes their sins disappear. They call her “Grace.” Though their “ladies” have different names, the sin-removal process is the same and the present-day outcome of using that process is the same–real time spiritual death–which, if continued, will result in eternal death.

One need only review God’s treatment of the Law-rejecting, sin-embracing Israelites to see where the modern-day church and the nations that follow her lead are headed. He sent the Assyrians to slaughter, defeat and enslave the Israelites in 722 B.C. I predict that He will send the European Union to do the same thing to America, Britain and the Jews of the Middle-east within four to eight years, and for the same reason–SIN–THE TRANSGRESSION OF HIS LAW (1 JN. 3:4). Every nation calling itself “Christian” will suffer the same fate at the hands of the godless hoards whom God will send upon them. If we can take Him at His Word, it is not a matter of IF those so-called “Christian nations” will fall, it is a matter of WHEN. The signs of the times tell us that the answer to the WHEN question is SOON. For this reason the Lord tells us in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1 to “COME OUT OF HER (the Catholic/Protestant Religious System) AND BE SEPARATE (FROM HER); DO NOT TOUCH THAT UNCLEAN THING.” THEN, AND ONLY THEN, WILL HE BE ONE’S GOD AND ONE WILL BE HIS SON OR DAUGHTER. L.J.