Tradition is defined as the transmission of knowledge, opinion, customs, practices, etc. from generation to generation normally by word of mouth and by example. Man’s zeal for and dependence on tradition as a guide is extremely powerful. Man often reflects back on and consults the past when circumstances demand a decision and/or action in the present. However, as common sense and experience often reveal, the past is not always a good reference for dealing with real-time situations. The following is an excellent example of this truth.

I once read about a woman who, as a child, had watched her mother routinely cut off the end of a pork roast before cooking it. This ritual was performed every time she cooked that particular cut of meat. Finally the girl’s curiosity led her to ask her mother why she always cut off the end of the roast before placing it in the oven. He mother replied that she did so because her mother had always cut off the end of the roast before cooking it. But why did grandmother do that? the girl asked. Her mother did not know. So she asked her mother–the girl’s grandmother–why she always cut of the end of the roast before cooking it. The girl’s grandmother replied that she did so because her mother had always cut of the end of the roast. But like her daughter and granddaughter, she did not know why. So she asked her mother–the girl’s great grandmother–why she always cut of the end of the roast. Her reply was that the pan she used was too short to hold the entire roast.

Sometimes we do things simply because “that’s the way it has always been done.” The fact that the girl’s grandmother and mother owned pans long enough to hold entire roasts whose end did not need to be removed had not put an end to the ritual. Why? Because “that’s what mother always did.” For generations the women in the family had performed an act simply because it was traditional. In the minds of the family’s females, the practice was “written in stone” and therefore needed to be followed, not questioned. Though it no longer made sense, the practice had continued without question generation after generation. Having learned the truth of the matter, the women in the family discontinued the practice. It was no longer a tradition. However, if not for the girl’s question, the ritual might have continued indefinitely. Such is the power of tradition.

If only church people world would follow the pattern of the family mentioned above. If they would simply consult the source of their theological “truths” with an open mind they would come to the conclusion that many of them must be rejected. They would learn that many of their religious beliefs and practices are of heathen origin and are therefore abominations to the Lord. The source they need to consult is the Holy Bible whose Author arranged for It to be written by “holy men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21) and preserved for thousands of years so that, as the Apostle Paul told the church at Corinth, it’s Truths could be used to teach the church until the end of the age (1 Cor. 10:11)–the Laodicean Age in which we are now living. Yet, after thousands of years of believing and doing things that God commands us to reject, billions of people continue to embrace them because “that’s what my church has always taught.” It is for this reason church christianity differs so widely from Biblical Christianity. A list of many of those Satanic “truths” are listed on the website’s home page, each of which is discussed in a series which examines it in detail. For a free list of all series titles follow email me at lpj4142@gmail.com.

Sadly, the search for the source of many of churchdom’s beliefs and practices has not, is not and will not be undertaken by her parishioners until the world, including the church world, finds itself in the midst of the Great Tribulation. Then it will be too late. The church masses will “run to and fro in search of the Word of God and It will not be found” (Amos 8:12). There will be no “rapture” to save religious man from his self-inflicted spiritual wounds caused by his reliance on church traditions. So powerful is religious tradition that Jesus prophesied that on the Day of Judgment church people will stand before Him, call Him their Lord and remind Him of the wonderful works they had done in His name. To them He will say: “I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME YOU LAW-BREAKERS” (Mat. 7:21-23). Why? Because tradition declares that “the Law was nailed to the cross.” It was the law of animal sacrifice for the removal of sin (the “handwriting of ordinances” written by Moses) that was nailed to the cross of Christ. Reason this out: sin is defined as the breaking of the Law (1 Jn. 3:4). Where there is no Law, there is no sin (Rom. 5:13). Therefore, according to tradition, sin does not actually exist. For this reason, as a woman told my mother, “God doesn’t like (non-existent) sin, but He won’t do anything about it.” And the church shouts a hearty “AMEN.” Read Sin is a Choice. Key word–Choice. Only God’s Very Elect, Law-keeping remnant of holy, peculiar saints will escape the soon-coming time of terror, destruction and death Jesus describes as being worse than all of the calamities mankind has ever experienced COMBINED (Mat. 24:21).

Until billions of church people find themselves in the middle of hell on earth, they will zealously and fervently serve their god (1 Cor. 4:4), all the while “knowing” that heaven awaits where members of THE ___________(fill in the blank) CHURCH will live in mansions built beside golden streets where the sounds of harps accompanied by the voices of an angelic choir led by Elvis will fill the air with joyous music.

I wish for many things. I wish churchites were as zealous about God’s Truth as they are about church doctrine. I wish that they would study God’s Truth with a heart to believe what he reads and a will to obey it. I wish they would live in such a way that they would be taken to God’s place of safety where he would be protected and provided for during the 3 1/2 year period of terror and death soon to come upon the earth. I wish they would, at the end of that terrible time, rise to meet Jesus in the air, then descend with Him to the Mount of Olives from which they would accompany Him to Jerusalem and there assist Him in creating the Kingdom of God where He, His Father and Their saints will live forever in a paradise lighted by the glory of Father and Son. Read about the saints’ place of safety, the Three Resurrections and the Kingdom of God. Key words–Safety, Three and Kingdom respectively.

I wish I could convince the billions of Satan serving salvation seekers to study the Holy Scriptures instead of depending on their hirelings (Satan’s false prophets) to tell them what the Lord actually meant by what He recorded and preserved for those with eyes to see and ears to hear–HIS TRUTH (Jn. 17:17). Read The Sword of the Spirit. Key word–Sword. I wish church people’s zeal for Satan’s lies could be turned to zeal for God’s Truths. Hopefully they will have a change of heart upon their resurrection. Read about the second resurrection in the resurrection series. L.J.