(It is our policy not to divulge either the names or locations of those who write us, unless requested by the writer. Hebrew Roots reserves the right to condense letters to save space. Every effort will be made to retain the essence of the communication. Responses to the letters may be for clarification, or for the general edification of our readership and are not necessarily directed toward the person writing the letter.)

Dear Dean & Susan,
         There are not walls holding us anymore -- we read -- study -- anything we can get our hands on. It is like a whole new world, and we’re not afraid of asking or questioning anymore. We feel more free and open now and have learned more than we have in so many, many years.

                  JF

~

Shalom Aleichem JF,
         We are pleased to know that you and your spouse have once again been refreshed by God’s Spirit and are drawing close to our Father in heaven through study. Be sure your study is accompanied by fervent prayer for a discerning spirit so that you can separate right from wrong, truth from error.
         If you have been well grounded in the Faith, do not be too quick to change your views on a doctrine just because what someone teaches sounds good. But also realize that we must all guard against the pride of knowing ‘the truth’ and being unwilling to change a view when faced with overwhelming evidence. It is a very delicate balance. The important thing is to trust God; that He will reveal Himself to you as you are able to receive Him.
         Above all never argue with others about a doctrine or scripture. Honest and loving discussion is one thing, arguing to prove a point is another The latter only causes division and sometimes makes people unwilling to hear the truth because they have been forced to take such a strong posture on an incorrect position.
         “Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.”
(Gal. 5:26)
         “Put on therefore, ... bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, ... And let the peace of God rule in your hearts Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom
(Col. 3:12-16)

         As long as we seek our Father with a humble spirit and a contrite heart He will bless its in our quest. (Isa. 57:15)

                  May the shalom of God
                  be with you always.

                  DEW & SAW

Dear Dean and Susan,
         It was quite a pleasant surprise when we received your letter yesterday. We are fine and without serious complaint. We observed the Holy Days with brethren in the general area.

         You noticed that the concept of the centralized Home Office/Headquarters corporate church structure is being challenged by a lot of folks. Being forced to rely on Christ only is a scary thing sometimes, and may be a sacrifice.

         I believe you are right. These changes have no doubt been brought about by the Spirit of God working in the hearts of believers, and Christ in us will not be denied. We have too long denied the power of our King Jesus Christ to do a real work of salvation on Earth, and it may be that He just got tired of it all and weary with our exalted vanity and self righteousness. We ought to praise God for His mercy in all this. His sanctuary is being cleansed, I believe.

         Scripture indeed is the final authority. And the final authority for any and all doctrine ought to be scripture, with Christ as the main player and the Rock upon which we stand. Standing on doctrine, no matter how well-founded we think it is, comes short of standing on Christ, as our doctrine can then become our hip-pocket god. Deploying doctrines as gods is not an uncommon practice in general Christianity. but frequently this is especially true among Sabbath keepers. It is called Pharisaism and Christ will not long tolerate the ungodly practice.

                  PH

~

Shalom Aleichemn PH,
         Very well said. Let us stand together on the Rock that is Messiah instead of standing around arguing over doctrine.

                  May the shalom of God
                  be with you always.

                  DEW

Dear Dean & Susan,
         My sister and I were concerned about where we would get our tapes, etc. after coming out of ... recently. I believe this is of the Holy Spirit. May God bless this movement.

                  CJ

~

Shalom Aleichem CJ,
         Thank you for your support and prayers. As we said in our original letter, we are not starting a church organization. We encourage all of our readers to find local people with whom they can fellowship and to support that fellowship as they are able. Tapes are not a good substitute for fellowship. They are primarily for the purpose of being fed the Word of God in addition to weekly Sabbath services. It is our hope that we can be used to help our brethren to awaken their spirits to God’s Word and to deepen their faith in the Messiah Yeshua. We do not want to be a substitute for local fellowship.

                  May the shalom of God
                  be with you always,

                  DEW

Dear Mr. Wheelock,
         Can you please answer us, who ordained you? Was it God, or was it man?
         2nd question is in Luke 22:1. Passover and the Day of Unleavened Bread are one in the same self day, and Jesus kept the Passover at noon day in the light and not in the Dark. Then why do you keep the Passover the Jewish way, instead of the Christian way?
         It would seem to us, that anyone that does not follow Jesus example to us, violates the first commandment.
         In fact we have yet to find anyone associated with any religions that are not eating from the tree of good and evil.
         Please look at Luke 22:1 again.
         Did you know that from Passover at noon to Pentecost is exactly 1260 hours?

                  J&J

~

Shalom Aleichem J&J,
         Thank you for your letter and the questions you posed.
         You asked who ordained me, God or man? Let me answer by saying that the Spirit which indwells me (and you also if you are a true Believer) is that of God. The hands that were laid on me were those of a man. Who is to say if the ordination is of God or man? Only God can say. I do not claim any special privilege or knowledge because of my ordination, rather, I seek to serve my God, my Saviour and my brethren as best I can. We are all called to be ministers (Servants) of Yeshua HaMashiach (Jesus the Christ), and of each other, so in that respect we are all ordained of God if his Spirit dwells in us.
         If this publication does not serve Him who dwells on high, then I pray it will end quickly and completely. If it is serving him, then I pray that He will bless it by using it to help our brothers and sisters who are in such great spiritual need at this particular time.

         I have looked at Luke 22:1 again as you have asked: “Now the feast of unleavened bread drew nigh, which is called the Passover.”

         Without going into a long dissertation here (God willing, we will deal with the issues of Passover well before it comes next year) let me refer you to two other scriptures that reference the same event:
         “And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve, And as they sat and did eat ...”
(Mark 14:16-18)

         “Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve.”
(Matt. 26:20)

         The simple and correct explanation to Luke 22:1 is that the generic name Passover was used to denote the entire festival which began on 10 Nisan with the selecting of the lamb, and continued through 21 Nisan which is the Last Day of Unleavened Bread. Otherwise we must repudiate both Matthew and Mark as being wrong when they say that Yeshua ate the Passover after dark. We cannot pick and choose which scriptures we wish to believe. Rather, we must study all of the pertinent scriptures and ask our Father to help us discern the truth. Scripture does not contradict itself so all three passages must be true.

         It seems evident that in the fourth paragraph you did not mean to strike out the word ‘not’. Thus, it seems you meant to say, that you have found no religions “that are not eating from the tree of good and evil”. If this is correct, then I am sorry you feel this way. Your hurt is evident and it must be deep. However, I pray that you will ask God to heal this judgmental spirit. This is a problem that is epidemic in the Church of God. Our Lord and Saviour Yeshua HaMashiach said.
         “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.”
(Matt. 7:1-2)
         For example if you wish to judge me for not agreeing about the meaning of Luke 22:1 and say that I am therefore “eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” and if later it turns out that I am correct and you are incorrect, does that mean that God will cause you to eat of the tree of the “knowledge of good and evil?” God forbid!

         Let us agree to disagree but let us not consign each other to the lake of fire or any other terrible judgment or fate. Let us leave those judgments to our merciful Father in heaven who forgives all sin through His son Yeshua HaMashiach. We can truly rejoice that God and Messiah are our judges and not each other In the meantime let us continue to “Study to show thyself approved unto God, ... rightly dividing the word of truth.”
(II Tim. 2:15)

         As to your last point, no, I was not aware that it was 1260 hours from noon on Passover to the beginning of the Day of Pentecost I am not sure what that means but it is an interesting piece of information since 1260 is an important prophetic number However, this would only be true when the day of Passover (14 Nisan) falls on a Wednesday, and holding to the position of the Sadducees that the Day of Pentecost always falls on a Sunday. I believe this was the case the year Yeshua was sacrificed.
         Thank you for this piece of information.

                  May the shalom of God,
                  be with you always,

                  DEW

Dear Dean and Susan,
         We hope all is well with you. As you know ... were here for Passover. What a wonderful time for all of us to share together. Lots of things were new to some of us but now we have a clearer view of Passover than ever before. All of us feel that we have been robbed of knowledge but not any more!
         We are all learning and hopefully growing and want more. Please put us on your mailing list for all items you have. We want to help you, so enclosed is a small gift.

                  RJ

~

Shalom Aleichem RJ,
         We thank our Father in heaven and His son Yeshua HaMashiach that you are growing in grace and knowledge. Now that you are no longer bound by the fetters of an organization, it may be easier for you to continue the spiritual growth that you began many years ago.

         This is not to say that what the various Churches of God teach is wrong. they generally do a good job of teaching basic doctrines. The problem has to do with the dogmas that tend to develop within a hierarchical church devoted to a strong leader. Here is what I believe happens. Early in his ministry, a strong leader develops a certain understanding of biblical doctrine that is, in large part, correct. He also (because of personality or circumstances, or situations in which he finds himself) tends to emphasize certain doctrines over others. One leader may emphasize observance of the law, another grace, another love, another righteous living and another prophecy. As a result, the ministry, or church organization, takes on a certain personality that directly reflects that of the leader and what he teaches. Over a period of time certain dogmas are added to the established doctrines. Dogmas are beliefs that are held by a church organization that are not based on actual scripture, but are based on the interpretation of scripture or the preference of the leadership. In reality they become church traditions. All churches have traditions, some good, some not so good.
         Later on, when a more complete understanding of those scriptures is gained, the hierarchical church may have a difficult time admitting that they might possibly have taught some error along with their great deal of truth. Now they become ‘apologists’, that is they seek to find reasons to stick with what they previously taught so that they do not have to admit that their version of doctrine, in their ‘one true church’, might have been partially in error.
         There is another ditch. and that is to run off and embrace false doctrine in order to receive the approval of other churches or other men. We also see this happening and, quite frankly, it is even more alarming. These people are intentionally jumping off of the road and into the ditch.
         But now, praise God, you are free from those types of bindings. However, this puts a much greater responsibility upon your shoulders since you cannot just say; “Well, this is what the church teaches so it must be correct.”
         “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
(Phil. 2:12-13)

         We wish to thank you for the gift you sent. It is through the generosity of people like you that this newsletter is being published. May God bless you as you have blessed us and...

                  May the shalom of God
                  be with you always,

                  DEW

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