I have no doubt after reading about king Cyrus and Nebuchadnezzar that Yahweh can use anything or anyone for His purpose.
However the Creator is clear in saying:
Deuteronomy 12:29-30, “...Be careful not to be ensnared into following them by asking about their gods, saying: How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do the same. You must not worship Yahweh your Father in their way..."
Yahchanan (John) 4:24, "Yahweh is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."
All through the Scriptures people are demonstrated as being in error for "following Yah" as they wish as opposed to what He says.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Come out of her, My people, so that you do not partake in her sins, and so that you do not receive of her plagues, For her sins have reached unto heaven, and Yahweh has remembered her iniquities!
We cant partake in this while saying we are doing the right thing, it would be falsehood.
Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey—whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to Righteousness?"
About Romans 14, one Paul kept the Feasts;
Acts 18:21, "But bade them farewell, saying; I must by all means keep this Feast (word #G1859) that comes in Yerusalem; but I will return again to you, if Yahweh wills. And he sailed from Ephesus."
Acts 20:16, "For Shaul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he hurried, so it would be possible for him to celebrate the Day of Pentecost (word#H4005) at Yerusalem."
4005 - pentékosté
pentékosté: fiftieth, Pentecost, the second of the three great Jewish feasts
Original Word: πεντηκοστή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pentékosté
Phonetic Spelling: (pen-tay-kos-tay')
Short Definition: Pentecost
Definition: Pentecost, a feast of the Jews, the fiftieth day after Passover
In his day the pharisee would threaten death who did not keep "holy" what day they said and how they said, eevn whn the priest Zecharyah brout them Scripture they did not budge, but rather killed him for honoring the Scripture as opposed to celebrating on the day a particular Rabbi had set while in Babylon (physical captivity) SO i think that passage is groosly misunderstood.
Even if my view on that is wrong, I have thoroughly studied, but im open to Scriptural based views, so say it is wrong, I can still not see Romans 14 being a justification to partake in pagan practices especially in the worship to Yah.
Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey—whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to Righteousness?"
1 Corinthians 10:21-22, "You cannot drink the cup of Yahweh and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of Yahweh's table and of the table of demons. Do we provoke Yahweh to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?"
Yes paganism is virtually everywhere, but for the honest seeker they do not use that as an excuse to partake in it,m but rather distance themselves from it.
1 Kepha 1:13-21, "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the undeserved pardon that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yahshua Messiah. As obedient children, do not conform to the former lusts you had when you lived in ignorance; But as He Who called you is holy, so you also become holy in all your conduct; Because it is written Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, Who, without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in reverence; Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver or gold, from your idolatrous way of life handed down to you by tradition from your forefathers; But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; Who truly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you; Who through Him we do believe in Yahweh, Who raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in Yahweh."
1 Yahchanan 2:15-17, "Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, with the lust that is in it; but he who does the will of Yahweh abides forever."
However the Creator is clear in saying:
Deuteronomy 12:29-30, “...Be careful not to be ensnared into following them by asking about their gods, saying: How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do the same. You must not worship Yahweh your Father in their way..."
Yahchanan (John) 4:24, "Yahweh is a Spirit and those who worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in truth."
All through the Scriptures people are demonstrated as being in error for "following Yah" as they wish as opposed to what He says.
Revelation 18:4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: Come out of her, My people, so that you do not partake in her sins, and so that you do not receive of her plagues, For her sins have reached unto heaven, and Yahweh has remembered her iniquities!
We cant partake in this while saying we are doing the right thing, it would be falsehood.
Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey—whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to Righteousness?"
About Romans 14, one Paul kept the Feasts;
Acts 18:21, "But bade them farewell, saying; I must by all means keep this Feast (word #G1859) that comes in Yerusalem; but I will return again to you, if Yahweh wills. And he sailed from Ephesus."
Acts 20:16, "For Shaul had decided to sail past Ephesus, so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he hurried, so it would be possible for him to celebrate the Day of Pentecost (word#H4005) at Yerusalem."
4005 - pentékosté
pentékosté: fiftieth, Pentecost, the second of the three great Jewish feasts
Original Word: πεντηκοστή, ῆς, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: pentékosté
Phonetic Spelling: (pen-tay-kos-tay')
Short Definition: Pentecost
Definition: Pentecost, a feast of the Jews, the fiftieth day after Passover
In his day the pharisee would threaten death who did not keep "holy" what day they said and how they said, eevn whn the priest Zecharyah brout them Scripture they did not budge, but rather killed him for honoring the Scripture as opposed to celebrating on the day a particular Rabbi had set while in Babylon (physical captivity) SO i think that passage is groosly misunderstood.
Even if my view on that is wrong, I have thoroughly studied, but im open to Scriptural based views, so say it is wrong, I can still not see Romans 14 being a justification to partake in pagan practices especially in the worship to Yah.
Romans 6:16, "Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves as servants to obey, his servants you are whom you obey—whether of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to Righteousness?"
1 Corinthians 10:21-22, "You cannot drink the cup of Yahweh and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of Yahweh's table and of the table of demons. Do we provoke Yahweh to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?"
Yes paganism is virtually everywhere, but for the honest seeker they do not use that as an excuse to partake in it,m but rather distance themselves from it.
1 Kepha 1:13-21, "Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the undeserved pardon that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Yahshua Messiah. As obedient children, do not conform to the former lusts you had when you lived in ignorance; But as He Who called you is holy, so you also become holy in all your conduct; Because it is written Be holy, for I am holy. And if you call on the Father, Who, without respect of persons judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your sojourning here in reverence; Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, such as silver or gold, from your idolatrous way of life handed down to you by tradition from your forefathers; But with the precious blood of Messiah, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; Who truly was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you; Who through Him we do believe in Yahweh, Who raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in Yahweh."
1 Yahchanan 2:15-17, "Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world: the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passes away, with the lust that is in it; but he who does the will of Yahweh abides forever."
