The Missing Years in the Life of Christ
The four gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell of the life and ministry of Yahshua the Christ. The gospel of Matthew traces Him from His birth through His short sojourn in Egypt, then back to Nazareth, still as a baby.
He next appears in this gospel in chapter 3, at the time of His baptism, just before His 40 days of temptation at the beginning of His ministry. In Mark, the baptism, temptations and the beginning of His ministry, are all in Chapter 1. In John, as in Mark, His childhood is not covered; chapter 1 covers His baptism and the beginning of His ministry.
In Luke we have been given more details. Chapters 2 and 3 trace Him from the return to Nazareth through His baptism, temptations and the beginning of His ministry.
Luke 3:23 tells us Yahshua's ministry started at the age of thirty. Luke 2:41‑52 traces Him on one visit to Jerusalem when He was 12 years old. All four gospels are silent on the 18 years between His 12th and 30th years. Where was He, what was He doing during those years? It can be well demonstrated that He was absent from Palestine for at least part of this period, let's trace this absence.
Luke 1:36, 39‑56 tells us that Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, was a cousin of Mary the mother of Yahshua the Christ. There was a very close, friendly relationship between the two families. Immediately after the angel told Mary she was to bear Yahshua, she went to the home of her cousin Elizabeth and stayed in Elizabeth's home for about 3 months. It is only natural that this close friendship would endure throughout the years thereafter.
The law required that all the men and male children must come to Jerusalem at three feasts each year. Deuteronomy 16:16 states,
"Three times in a year shall all the males appear before Yahweh thy God in the place which He shall choose: in the feast of unleavened bread and in the feast of weeks and in the feast of tabernacles."
The feast of weeks was held 50 days after Passover, in our day is called Pentecost. The feast of tabernacles was a weeklong feast, the last of the fall festivals. The families of Yahshua and John the Baptist, had to bring them both to Jerusalem three times every year.
The families, being such good friends, surely met and the children must have played together on those occasions. So, Yahshua and John the Baptist were very well acquainted. Between Yahshua's 12th and 30th years, the Scriptures nowhere even hint Yahshua was in Palestine. We find evidence He was absent from Palestine throughout the greater part of that period.
John 1:29‑33 records the event of Yahshua being baptized by John the Baptist, in these words.
"The next day, John seeth Yahshua coming unto him and saith, Behold the Lamb of Yahweh, which taketh away the sins of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me, for He was before me. And John bare record saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode on Him. And I knew Him not."
John had received the vision by which he identified Yahshua as the Lamb of Yahweh.
However, he didn't recognize him as a person, a relative of his for he says, I knew Him not. If John the Baptist had seen his cousin Yahshua 3 times each year to that time, he certainly would have recognized Him. If Yahshua had been in Palestine during those 18 years, John surely would have seen Him. Therefore Yahshua must have been absent during those years.
This is not the only evidence of Yahshua's absence, for He was required to pay the stranger's tax. In the original Greek, Matthew 17:24‑27 reads,
"And they having arrived at Capernaum, the collectors of the didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does not your teacher pay the didrachma? He saith yes. And when they had come into the house, Yahshua anticipated him saying, Which to thee seems right Simon? The kings of the earth: from whom do they take custom or head tax? From their sons or from the aliens? To him said Peter, From the aliens. Yahshua said to him, Then the sons are exempt. But that we may not offend them, going to the sea cast thou a hook, and the first fish ascending take up; and opening the mouth of him, thou wilt find a stater; taking that, give it to them for Me and thee."
Here is clear proof that Yahshua was regarded as a stranger in the land. Remember, this took place at Capernaum, in His home district of Galilee. Note that the tax, which He was called upon to pay, the didrachma, was a head tax levied by the Romans on all strangers.
This tax of a didrachma, a Greek silver coin, was not the Jewish temple tax of a half shekel, paid by all who were of the Jewish religion. Merely to ask if He paid the temple tax would have been an insult as doubting His citizenship.
If this tax had been the temple tax, this was not levied on any alien, only on the Judeans. If this were the case Yahshua could not have said that this tax was levied on the aliens and the sons are exempt.
Therefore it was clearly the Roman didrachma head tax, levied only on strangers. Also notice how Yahshua said to pay it. A fish would be caught, having in its mouth a stater, which was another Greek coin. The Jewish temple tax could only be paid with a Jewish half‑shekel coin, not a coin issued by pagans.
Yahshua spoke of the kings of the earth collecting the tax. The priests, not by a king, collected the temple tax. So we see that Yahshua had been gone so long that, in His own home district of Galilee, He was not recognized as a local resident. He was asked to pay the stranger's tax, the didrachma.
If Yahshua was absent from Palestine for many years, between the age of 12 and 30, where was He during this time? The various enemies of Christianity have originated many legends about this. Some of the various forms of devil worship of Asia claim that He spent these years in their lamaseries in Tibet and in the ancient oasis in the Gobi desert, learning their teachings. OF ONE THING WE CAN BE SURE, HE WHO WAS YAHWEH IN THE FLESH DID NOT WASTE HIS TIME STUDYING DEVIL WORSHIP AMONG THE PAGANS! HE DIDNT BORROW ANY OF HIS TEACHINGS FROM THEM!
Where did He spend these years? Before we can go into this, we must lay a foundation for it. We must learn some facts, as background, which will show how likely our explanation is the true one.
A fairly prominent character in the New Testament is Joseph of Arimathea. Arimathea was 8 miles north of Jerusalem, the first stopping off place of northbound caravans and an important commercial center in its day. Matthew 27:57 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was wealthy, while Mark 15:43 and Luke 23:50‑51 tell us that he was an honorable counselor or member of the Great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem.
All four gospels praise him as a good man and Matthew and John further tell us that he was one of Yahshua's disciples. However, during Yahshua's life he remained a secret disciple, for fear of the Jews. The Jews would have persecuted Joseph much more savagely than just a poor nobody, had they known he was a follower of Yahshua the Christ.
This tradition is evidently well founded, for Matthew 27:57‑60 records that Joseph of Arimathea went to Pontius Pilate, asked for the body of Yahshua and was given it. He then buried Yahshua in his own tomb.
This seems like a highly dangerous thing to have done. This showed reverence for the remains of one who was so bitterly hated by the Jews and who had been condemned to be killed as a criminal.
There were two cemeteries outside Jerusalem reserved for the bodies of condemned criminals. Here was a man who, during Yahshua's lifetime, had not dared to openly admit that he was Yahshua's disciple. He now openly shows reverence and affection for the remains of the One they had killed that very day.
Pontius Pilate had consented to the murder of Yahshua, after officially adjudging Him completely innocent of any crime at all. He had done this astonishingly evil act to avoid offending the Jews.
It was unlikely that he would have authorized an honorable private funeral for Yahshua, if the leaders of the Jews had not consented to it. Only one explanation of this can be found.
Under both Jewish and Roman law, it was the duty of the nearest relatives to provide burial for anyone, regardless of how they died. Despite all their hatred, the Jewish authorities could hardly refuse permission to the uncle to bury his nephew. The Palestinian tradition of this relationship was probably correct.
What if Joseph of Arimathea was our Savior's uncle? Palestinian tradition is that his wealth came from being an importer of tin, from mines that he owned in Cornwall in the British Isles.
Naturally he would have frequently gone with his ships to Cornwall, to inspect his properties there. What would be more natural than he would take this wonderful nephew of his along. If this did occur, there must be some record or tradition of it in the place to which they went. Next, let us look for such evidence.
First, a little review of what was then known about the tin trade. The ancient writers agree that the Phoenicians were the earliest traders who brought tin from the islands beyond the Straits of Gibraltar. Without tin, it was impossible to make bronze. Copper alone, without tin to harden and strengthen it, was not good enough, so tin was very valuable.
The Bible states Solomon brought Apes and Peacocks to Jerusalem. These were not animals or birds. What were they?
Reference to the Apes and Peacocks is made in:
"...bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks." (1 Kings 10:22)
Silver and brass were not considered of great value in the days of Solomon. And every three years the navy of Tarshish came bringing with them gold and silver. They also brought ivory, "apes" and "peacocks." These last two do not refer to animals or birds, but rather, they are THE COMMERCIAL NAMES OF LEAD AND COPPER brought in the ships. From America!
In modern language we refer to animals or birds, but rather, they are the commercial names of Lead and Copper brought in the ships. In modern language we refer to iron as "pigs" so, too, in ancient times Lead was called "Apes" because of its peculiar formation and color, while Copper Ore, with its rich and changeable coloring, was called "Peacocks."
Ships of many other nations tried to follow the Phoenician galleys, to find where they were able to get tin. The Phoenicians were such expert sailors; they were usually able to get away from their pursuers.
Other records tell of one who could not shake off a Roman ship which followed him and who finally wrecked his own ship to avoid being traced to the source of the tin. This record tells how his countrymen reimbursed him for the loss of his ship, being grateful to him for his having protected the valuable secret at so great a cost.
Ezekiel 27:12, written about 595 B.C., mentions the tin trade of the ancient city of Tyre.
"Tarshish was thy merchant, by reason of the multitude of all kinds fiches: with silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded in thy fairs."
This tin trade originating in Britain was very ancient, going back to at least 1500 B.C. A tremendous amount of bronze (mistranslated brass in the King James Bible) was used in the construction and equipment of King Solomon's temple.
The tin mines of Cornwall probably supplied most of the tin for this bronze. Remember that Ezekiel mentioned tin and lead. Both of these metals as well as some copper were mined in Britain in those days. An ancient pig of lead has been found, bearing the stamp of Britannicus, the son of Claudius. This shows that the mining of lead in Britain was in progress during the time of Yahshua.
Despite all Phoenician efforts to keep it secret, the Greeks discovered the source of tin in Britain in the year 330 B.C. The Phoenician monopoly was broken. So in Yahshua's lifetime, his uncle Joseph of Arimathea was the owner of tin mines in Cornwall. Did he take the young Yahshua there?
The first tradition that he did so is found in Cornwall. In Baring Gould's Book of Cornwall he writes,
"Another Cornish tradition is to the effect that Joseph of Arimathea came in a boat to Cornwall and brought the boy Yahshua with him. The latter taught him how to extract tin and purge it of the wolfram. When the tin is flashed, then the tinner shouts Joseph was in the trade."
We find it again at Priddy, a little village lying at the top of the Mendip Hills, right in the center of the ancient lead and copper mines.
We next find the tradition that Yahshua was brought to Britain, at Somerset, by his uncle Joseph of Arimathea. The tradition says,
"They came in a ship of Tarshish to the Somerland, and sojourned in a place called Paradise."
The Summerland is Somerset. At the mouth of the Brue river, which runs down from Glastonbury, lies Burnham and Godney. Old ordinance survey maps give the name of the area around Burnham, Paradise. It is still known by that name.
Ancient writings have said that Glastonbury was once known as Paradise. About a mile from Glastonbury lies the village of Godney. Godney means God's marshlands. The Glastonbury traditions are more concerned with Yahshua's visit during His manhood.
Tradition also attests that much of Yahshua's sojourn in Britain was spent at or near Glastonbury. Later there was built at Glastonbury a great Abbey. For almost a thousand years the greatest kings, bishops, saints and heroes of the British race were buried there.
In its day it was the greatest abbey in Britain. Royal charters were signed in the church. King Cnut still in existence, the one signed by King Ina in 704 A.D. and one signs two of these there, in 1032 A.D. In 1184 A.D, the abbey buildings and the famous library of Glastonbury, covering a thousand years of history, was burned. Therefore, today we only have scattered references to these things in the works of various historians of the early days. However, there were many of these.
Taliesin the Druid, the great Welch prince and Bard of the sixth century wrote,
"Christ, the Word from the beginning, was from the beginning our teacher, and we never lost His teachings."
The great church historian, Hugh Paulinus de Cressy, writing in 1668 A.D. said,
"This, our land of Brittany, though called by the Romans another world, as being divided from the whole then discovered habitable earth, yet the riches of Divine mercy received the beams of the Son of Righteousness before many other countries nearer approaching to the place where He first rose."
Further support is lent to these ancient reports by what happened later, after Yahshua's crucifixion. The Jews bitterly persecuted the Christians, as we know. John 12:10‑11 tells how even during Yahshua's lifetime, the Jews plotted to murder Lazarus, because Yahshua had raised him from the dead.
Cardinal Baronius, a very careful church historian who was librarian to the Vatican, quotes a Vatican manuscript dated 35 A.D.
This manuscript reports that in that year the Jews had arrested Joseph of Arimathea, the Virgin Mary, Martha, and two other Christians. They were put in a boat and were set adrift in the Mediterranean without oars or sails. They finally reached land and went to Britain. Many early historians confirm this.
St. Gregory of Tours, in his history of the Franks written shortly before 600 A.D., Haleca, Archbishop of Saragossa and the Chronicon of Pseudo Dexter, all agree that Joseph of Arimathea was the first to preach the gospel of Christianity in Britain.
Hugh Paulinius de Cressy says, "Now the most eminent of the primitive disciples and who contributed most to this heavenly building, was St. Joseph of Arimathea and eleven of his companions along with him, among whom is reckoned his son of the same name.
These, toward the latter end of Nero's reign and before St. Peter and St. Paul were consummated by a glorious martyrdom. By the testimony of ancient records they were said to have entered this island because of its isolation, the benevolence of the British princes and freedom from Roman tyranny. This place was more opportune and better prepared for entertaining and learning the gospel of the kingdom, than almost any country under the Romans."
Various historians, of these early times, such as Gildas and William of Malmesbury, record that the British King Arviragus granted to Joseph of Arimathea a considerable area at Glastonbury. This was to be held forever, free from all taxes, as a site for a church and its accessory buildings and fields.
That this is no mere legend is proven by one of the greatest official records of all British history. After conquering England in the year 1066 A.D., William the Conqueror had a survey made of all the lands of the kingdom, as to what taxes had been paid.
This record called Domesday Booke was completed in 1088‑ A.D. and it contains this record. "The Domus Dei, in the great monastery of Glastonbury, called the secret of Yahweh. This Glastonbury church possesses in its own villa XII hides of land which have never paid tax." Note that this official record names this early church Domus Dei, the home of God, and the secret of Yahweh.
Joseph of Arimathea and his companions erected a mud and wattle church at Glastonbury. Among their first converts were members of the royal family, children of Aractious, cousin of King Arviragus of South Wales. Still existing royal charters granted by King Ina, dated 704 A.D., and by King Cnut dated 1032 A.D., attest that these kings in this church signed them.
Ancient records tell of its being preserved by a shell built around it of boards covered with lead. Later a stone building was erected, enclosing the original church. St. David erected a large stone church as an addition to this in 546 A.D. A record he made of this on a bronze tablet was still in place at the time of the seizure and dissolution of the monastery under orders from King Henry VIII.
Even in Ireland is found the tradition of Joseph of Arimathea having founded the Glastonbury church. St. Patrick, who had spent considerable time at Glastonbury and who returned there for the last years of his life, no doubt brought the record to Ireland.
This great abbey was the one destroyed by fire in 1184 A.D. Immediately thereafter, King Henry II of England issued a royal charter for the rebuilding of Glastonbury Abbey. The charter called the abbey, "The mother and burying place of the saints, founded by the very disciples of our Lord."
Well‑substantiated ancient records tell of the death and burial of Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury. The epitaph on his tombstone read,
"I came to the Britons after I buried the Christ. I taught, I rest."
Between 1345 A.D. and 1367 A.D., the body was placed in a silver casket with a beautiful stone sarcophagus, which was still in position in the year 1662 A.D., when the St. Joseph chapel containing it had become partially ruined.
Later, out of fear that Puritan fanaticism would result in it being destroyed as an object of idolatry, the sarcophagus was secretly removed by night to the parish churchyard. Saying that the initials J.A. carved on it stood for John Allen concealed its identity. Thus it escaped destruction.
In 1928, it was found nearly buried in the soil. It was removed into the church, in the north transept of the ancient St. Katherine's Chapel. Its construction indicates it was made to fit the silver casket. It bears the initials J.A., with a dacuceus between the initials.
The caduceus, a winged staff with two serpents twined around it, is used today as the emblem of physicians. Originally it was the badge of Mercury, the messenger of the Gods. Even today it has been assimilated into the symbolism of some Christian churches.
In our own times, the patriarchs of the eastern churches have a caduceus, not a crozier, carried before them in official processions. It was an official badge, which would not have been put on a mere common person's grave.
Therefore we see that not only ancient legends and ancient historical records, but the official acts and records of the kings of the middle ages, have recognized the close connection of Joseph of Arimathea, the uncle of Yahshua the Christ, with Cornwall and Glastonbury in Britain.
All of these lend strong support to the ancient legends and records of these places that it was here that Yahshua spent those 18 years of His life, which the Bible does not account for. Where else would we expect Him to go, but to what was to become the principal home of His own people Israel. (Taken, in part, from an article entitled The Missing Years in the Life of Christ, by Bertrand L. Comparet)
The Day of Vengeance
Luke, chapters 3 and 4 tell the beginning of Yahshua's ministry.
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up, and as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath Day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered to Him the book of the Prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of Yahweh is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of Yahweh.' And He closed the book, and He gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And He began to say unto them, 'This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
It is not noticed here that Yahshua purposely stopped in the middle of a verse to His quotation from Isaiah 61:1‑2; the latter verse reads "to proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh, And the day of vengeance of our Elohim: to comfort all that mourn."
This illustrates the extreme accuracy of the Bible. Yahshua was announcing His purpose at the beginning of His ministry, which was just the first part, "To proclaim the acceptable year of Yahweh," the offer of salvation and redemption. There was to be a gap of 19 centuries before commencement of the second part, "The Day of Vengeance of our EL" Both of these were "to comfort all that mourn."
This one verse of Isaiah included both the beginning and completion of Yahshua's work, redemption and vengeance; they cannot be separated except in time. For many centuries before "the day of vengeance of our El" the churches have preached the certainty of judgment of the wicked.
Now, in the generation which will see the execution of that judgment, most churches have discarded that idea, and they preach only the idea of an Almighty who is too kind to do anything harsh. They have stressed only the love of Yahshua, and ignored or denied His wrath.
But the goodness of Yahweh could not take the form of rewarding the wicked, while allowing the sufferings of the good to go unavenged. While our Elohim is patient and long suffering, to offer men full opportunity for repentance, there must be a limit to this. We are given one clue in 2nd Esdras 4:33‑37, And I answered and said,
"How long and when shall this be? and why are our years few and evil?"
And he answered me and said,
"You cannot hurry faster than the Most High: for you hurry for your own self but He who is above hurries for many Did not the souls of the upright ask about these things in their rooms, saying 'How long must I hope thus? And when will the harvest of our reward come?' And Jeremiel the archangel answered them and said, 'When the number of those who are like you is complete: for He has weighed the world in the balance, and has measured the times with a measure, and carefully counted the hours: and He will not move or disturb them until the prescribed measure is reached."'
So the reward of the good and the punishment of the wicked are only reserved to the Great Day of Yahweh Almighty, which we know to be rapidly approaching.
Both the Old and New Testaments clearly prophecy this Day of Wrath and Vengeance. For example, Jeremiah 10:10,
"But Yahweh is the true El, and an everlasting king: at His wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide His Judgment."
Micah 5:15,
"And I will execute vengeance in anger and fury upon the heathen, such as they have not heard."
Nahum 1:2,6,
"Yahweh is jealous, and Yahweh revengeth; Yahweh revengeth and is furious: Yahweh will take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. Who can stand before His indignation? And who can abide the fierceness of His anger? His fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by Him."
Isaiah 13:9‑11,
"Behold the Day of Yahweh cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land desolate: and He shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogance of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible."
Some people will try to laugh this off by saying,
"But that is all in the Old Testament, when they thought of Yahweh as cruel. But now we know that the gentle Yahshua will not take revenge for wickedness."
They only show that they don't know their New Testament, either. Consider these passages from the New Testament: Revelation 19:11,16,
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold! a white horse, and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True: And in righteousness He doth judge and make War. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and upon His head were many crowns; and He had a name written that no man knew, but He Himself. And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood; and His name is called The Word of Yahweh. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty Yahweh. And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a new name written: King of kings and Ruler of rulers."
Again, 2nd Thessalonians 1:7‑8,
"And to you who are troubled, rest with us, when Yahshua shall be revealed from Heaven with His mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not Yahweh, and that obey not the gospel of our Saviour Yahshua."
Remember that Yahshua is called "the Lamb of Yahweh": but this Lamb has all the power and authority of Yahweh Almighty: And it is this Lamb of Yahweh who returns to judge and punish the wicked in the Great Day of Yahweh Almighty. In John 5:22‑27 we read:
"For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son. And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also."
2nd Corinthians 5:10 tells us;
"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Yahshua, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." (See also Acts 10:40‑42; 17:31; 2nd Timothy 4:8; Romans 14:10)
We must not forget that unpunished wickedness grows always greater until it threatens the total destruction of all who are comparatively good. Look about you today.
Not only in the field of international relations, where THE COMMUNIST (Jewish) NATIONS ARE RAPIDLY BRINGING THE REST OF THE WORLD INTO THE MOST DEGRADING SLAVERY KNOWN TO HISTORY, WITH THE MURDER OF SCORES OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE BECAUSE THEY ARE CHRISTIANS (and now they are doing it with the guns of America just as they said they would in the protocols of Zion0, and this with the corrupt and evil connivance of many of the rulers of the Free World; but look also into the streets of your own city, where your life is no longer safe from the criminals who grow daily more vicious as the courts coddle and protect them. This was prophesied long ago.
Habakkuk 1:4 says,
"Therefore the law is slacked, and judgment doth never go forth: for the wicked surround the righteous; therefore wrong judgment proceedeth."
The situation has gone beyond the power of men to deal with it: men cannot agree upon the remedy, and politics is usually the substitution of one scoundrel for another.
So the wrath of Yahweh is the only hope for salvation of the good. Psalm 76:7‑9 says,
"Thou, even Thou art to be feared: and who may stand in Thy sight when once Thou art angry? Thou didst cause judgment to be heard from heaven; the earth feared, and was still. When Yahweh arose to judgment to save all the meek of the earth."
So it is the Lamb of Yahweh who comes with the most terrible judgment, to save us. Revelation 6:15‑17 tells it,
"And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman and every freeman, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the mountains and rocks, 'Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"'
For those of us who are suffering from these evils which always grow worse, there can be only one prayer: the last prayer written in the Bible, "Even so, come, Yahshua." (Revelation 22:20) (Taken, in part, from an article entitled The Day of Vengeance, by Bertrand L. Comparet)
Judgment Begins at the House of yahweh
One verse of the Bible was formerly quoted more often than it is today, even though today we are arriving at the time of its fulfillment. This verse is 1 Peter 4:17,
"For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begins at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?"
Strangely enough, this verse is almost always used by the Judeo-Christian ministers to threaten their own congregations with judgment and condemnation. This is as though it was the Christian who should be in fear of this judgment. Perhaps this does get more money in the offering that Sunday but, is this a correct use of the word of Yahweh? Let's examine the subject in detail.
This is a Christian nation. It was founded by Christians, who came to this continent when it was an untamed wilderness, peopled by fierce savages. They came here, as their own records tell us, to establish Christian communities where they could worship Yahweh without interference. Even today, although we have allowed the entrance of millions of people who hate our God and everything we hold sacred, yet the great majority of our people are still Christian.
Our people are not completely perfect, people were never sinlessly perfect at any time, that is why there was a need for Yahshua to come and save us by His sacrifice on the cross. His death and resurrection were not in vain.
Yahshua has cleansed us of the guilt of our sins, if He had not, then He would have died in vain. Yahweh's purpose can never fail. He has saved us from the judgment for our sins and redeemed us as His children, who had strayed like lost sheep. It isn't the Christians who need to fear the judgment. 1 John 4:17 tells us,
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as He is, so are we in this world."
It is still true that judgment must begin at the house of Yahweh but we see that it is not judgment upon the Christians. Who then, are to be judged among those who are found in this nation which is the household of Yahweh?
Those who hate our God, are loud in their denunciation of us for our supposed sins. These supposed sins consist mostly in not helping them to commit their own sins, on a scale as great and profitable as they desire. Should we hang our heads in shame and plead guilty to their accusations? Never!
Isaiah 54:17 gives the answer.
"No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of Yahweh, and their righteousness is of Me, saith Yahweh."
Yes, our righteousness is of Him. The righteousness which Yahweh imputed to Christians because Yahshua died and was resurrected to accomplish this very thing. Therefore, every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn.
In many places, the Bible tells us that Yahweh's judgment will fall upon the ungodly. Upon those who hate Him and refuse His sacrifice made for us upon the cross. One of these many verses is, 1 Samuel 2:10,
"The adversaries of Yahweh shall be broken to pieces; out of heaven shall He thunder upon them: Yahweh shall judge the ends of the earth."
There are many more verses to the same effect, those nations which are not Christian must face the final accounting for their wickedness. This is because they have refused to accept the salvation offered them by Yahshua. What can possibly remain except the judgment of complete justice? What a heavy penalty complete justice will require for their many centuries of continuous wickedness!
Then why are we told that judgment must begin at the house of Yahweh? There is time enough to get the other nations in their own turn, meanwhile let them stew in their own juice.
The household of Yahweh, His people the Anglo Saxon, Scandinavian, Germans, all Israelites, must be cleansed at the beginning of this period of judgment which we see already coming over the horizon. We must be made ready to receive Him. Since the Christians are not the people against whom the judgment is coming, then why does it begin with our own nation?
It begins here precisely because we have allowed those who hate our God to come here and live among us in great numbers. They ceaselessly attack every mention of the name of Yahshua.
They constantly strive to prohibit all mention of His name in the schools, in any public place or in governmental proceedings. They even want to remove those who fight against Yahweh in his own household.
No nation can be righteous with such people in its midst. Consequently, the judgment must begin in this nation in order to remove those who fight against Yahweh in His own household.
Psalm 1:5 tells us,
"Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. Note this is completely different from the judgment upon the other nation. Those nations who reject Yahweh and all His commandments, could never be called the congregation of the righteous. This speaks of a judgment which falls upon those who are sinners while they are among the congregation of the righteous.
Obviously, they couldn't be part of the congregation of the righteous, for then they would not be sinners. They are found among the congregation of the righteous, as an inassimilable, forever alien element among them. Having rejected Yahshua, they must therefore face the judgment they have earned. Yahshua tells us in John 12:48,
"He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
It should not be hard to identify those who must be removed by this judgment. Yahshua, as well as many of the prophets, tells that their rejection of Him leaves them no escape from judgment. Isaiah 3:9 completes the identification. It is very appropriate that this should come in verse nine, as nine is the number always associated with judgment in the Bible. This verse points out,
"The show of their countenance doth witness against them: and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hid it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves."
Today our nation is flooded with corrupting influences. Salacious movies and books, a false psychology taught in many of our schools, which undermines the confidence of the youth in their own parents.
"You {non‑Jews} resent us {Jews}, but you cannot clearly say why...Not so many years ago I used to hear that we were money‑grubbers and commercial materialists; now the complaint is being whispered around that no art and no profession is safe from Jewish invasion...
We shirk our patriotic duty in war time because we are pacifists by nature and tradition, and WE ARE THE ARCH‑PLOTTERS OF UNIVERSAL WARS AND THE CHIEF BENEFICIARIES OF THOSE WARS. We are at once the founders and leading adherents of capitalism and the chief perpetrators of the rebellion against capitalism.
Surely, history has nothing like us for versatility!...You accuse us of stirring up revolution in Moscow. Suppose we admit the charge. What of it?...You make much noise and fury about undue Jewish influence in your theaters and movie palaces. Very good; granted your complaint is well founded.
But WHAT IS THAT COMPARED TO OUR STAGGERING INFLUENCE IN YOUR CHURCHES, SCHOOLS, YOUR LAWS AND YOUR GOVERNMENT, AND THE VERY THOUGHTS YOU THINK EVERY DAY?...'
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion' which shows that we plotted to bring on the late World War. You believe that book. ALL RIGHT...WE WILL UNDERWRITE EVERY WORD OF IT. IT IS GENUINE AND AUTHENTIC. BUT WHAT IS THAT BESIDES THE UNQUESTIONABLE HISTORICAL CONSPIRACY WHICH WE HAVE CARRIED OUT, WHICH WE NEVER HAVE DENIED BECAUSE YOU NEVER HAD THE COURAGE TO CHARGE US WITH IT, AND OF WHICH THE FULL RECORD IS EXTANT FOR ANYBODY TO READ?
If you really are serious when you talk of Jewish plots, may I not direct your attention to one worth talking about? What use is it wasting words on the alleged CONTROL OF YOUR PUBLIC OPINION by Jewish financiers, newspaper owners, and movie magnates, when you might as well also justly accuse us of the proved control of your whole civilization...
You have not begun to appreciate the real depth of our guilt. WE ARE INTRUDERS. WE ARE SUBVERTERS. We have taken your natural world, your ideals, your destiny, and have played havoc with them. WE {Jews} HAVE BEEN AT THE BOTTOM OF NOT MERELY OF THE LATEST WAR {WWI} BUT OF NEARLY ALL YOUR WARS, NOT ONLY OF THE RUSSIAN BUT OF EVERY OTHER MAJOR REVOLUTION IN YOUR HISTORY. We have brought discord and confusion and frustration into your personal and public life. WE ARE STILL DOING IT. No one can tell how long we shall go on doing it...Who knows what great and glorious destiny might have been yours if we had left you alone.
But we did not leave you alone. We took you in hand and pulled down the beautiful and generous structure you had reared, and changed the whole course of your history. WE CONQUERED YOU as no empire of yours ever subjugated Africa or Asia. And we did it solely by the irresistible might of our spirit, with ideas, with propaganda...
Take the three principal revolutions in modern times, the French, the American and Russian. What are they but the triumph of the Jewish idea of social, political and economic justice? And the end is still a long way off. WE STILL DOMINATE YOU...
Is it any wonder you resent us? We have put a clog upon your progress. We have imposed upon you an alien book {Scofield Bible} and alien faith {Judeo‑Christianity, a false Christianity} which is at cross‑purposes with your native spirit, which keeps you everlastingly ill‑at‑ease, and which you lack the spirit either to reject or to accept in full...
We have merely divided your soul, confused your impulses, paralyzed your desires...So why should you not resent us? If we were in your place we should probably dislike you more cordially than you do us. But we should make no bones about telling you why...
You Christians worry and complain about the Jew's influence in your civilization. We are, you say, an international people, a compact minority in your midst, with traditions, interests, aspirations and objectives distinct from your own. And you declare that this state of affairs is a measure of your orderly development; it muddles your destiny. I do not altogether see the danger.
Your world has always been ruled by minorities; and it seems to me a matter of indifference what remote origin and professed creed of the governing clique is. THE INFLUENCE, on the other hand, IS certainly THERE, and IT IS VASTLY GREATER AND MORE INSIDIOUS THAN YOU APPEAR TO REALIZE...
That is what puzzles and amuses and sometimes exasperates us about your game of Jew‑baiting. It sounds so portentous. You go about whispering terrifyingly of the hand of the Jew in this and that and the other thing. It makes us quake. WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THE INJURY WE DID WHEN WE IMPOSED UPON YOU OUR ALIEN FAITH AND TRADITIONS.
And then you specify and talk vaguely of Jewish financiers and Jewish motion picture promoters, and our terror dissolves in laughter. The Gentiles, we see with relief, WILL NEVER KNOW THE REAL BLACKNESS OF OUR CRIMES...You call us subversive, agitators, revolution mongers.
IT IS THE TRUTH, and I cower at your discovery...We undoubtedly had a sizable finger in the Lutheran Rebellion, and IT IS simply A FACT THAT WE WERE THE PRIME MOVERS IN THE BOURGEOIS DEMOCRATIC REVOLUTIONS OF THE CENTURY BEFORE LAST, BOTH IN FRANCE AND AMERICA.
If we were not, we did not know our own interests. The Republican revolutions of the 18th Century freed us of our age‑long political and social disabilities. They benefited us...You go on rattling of Jewish conspiracies and cite as instances the Great War and the Russian Revolution! Can you wonder that we Jews have always taken your anti‑Semites rather lightly, as long as they did not resort to violence?" (Marcus Eli Ravage (Big Destruction Hammer of God), member of the staff of the New York Tribune, "A Real Case Against the Jews," in Century Magazine, January‑February, 1928)
This list grows longer with liquor dealers who grow rich selling whiskey to youths. There is a well financed campaign to break down all moral standards in the coming generation.
Then there is politics, wherein nothing counts but winning public office, no matter what kind or degree of corruption is needed to win. There is merchandise sold by advertising, which cleverly contrives to mislead the buyer to expect better quality than he receives.
Surely none of this could have come from truly Christian sources, it is the antitheses of Christianity. Yet we find it here, wealthy, powerful, numerous and utterly corrupt. It is the work and congregation of the righteous.
This element must be removed before we can be ready to enter into the kingdom of Yahweh as the congregation of the righteous, the household of Yahweh. It is upon these aliens that the judgment falls, not upon us. It is this very process which Yahshua was describing to us in the parable of the tares among the wheat.
This is recorded in Matthew 13:24‑30, 36‑43, where Yahshua told us of the tares growing among the wheat, but being no part of it. The tares were the children of the devil. Yahshua also identified them in John chapter 9, living among Yahweh's own children, who must be weeded out to be burned in the fires of judgment.
When this is completed, we shall have a glorious nation which is truly fit to be the kingdom of Yahweh, the congregation of the righteous, with nothing remaining that can tarnish our glory. Yahshua concludes His explanation of the parable of the tares among the wheat, with the statement that as soon as the tares are removed,
"Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
The time of judgment is at hand. The tares themselves are publicly declaring their fear of the national resentment rising against them. They bitterly attack every attempt to reinstate the moral and political values of the day when this nation was morally great.
They attack all this as a movement of the extreme right. Be glad that you are extremely right, for only thus can you be in the company of Yahweh. Let judgment begin at the house of Yahweh as quickly as possible, so that we can be cleansed and made ready to receive our God, Yahweh! (Taken, in part, from an article entitled Judgment Begins at the House of Yahweh, by Bertrand L. Comparet)