I marvel that more people are not totally embarrassed by the way the world of Christendom exacts money from the poor and peddles the Word of God like so much merchandise for sordid gain. It is an international disgrace. I will not mince words, so get ready for some startling revelations.
WHAT WE WILL LEARN
What is the real message of Malachi’s prophecy for believers today?
Did Paul finance his international ministry through the tithing system?
Is there even one example of Christians paying tithes in the Bible?
Why did Jesus not pay tithes or the Temple tax commanded by the Law of Moses?
Will you or anyone be "cursed with a curse" for not tithing?
THE SCRIPTURES KNOW NOTHING OF "CHRISTIAN TITHING"
Jesus Christ’s followers did not pay tithe to Him from farm products or herds; neither did His followers pay Him ten percent of their salaries from other sources of income. "Christian tithing" is an oxymoron—it is a contradiction of words. Nay, it is more: it is, in fact, a Christian hoax! "Christian tithing" is about as Scriptural as "Christian burnt offerings," "Christian stonings," or "Christian synagogues." The leaders of Christendom have bamboozled millions (billions) of unsuspecting laity into believing that "Christian tithing" is a Scriptural command from God Himself, and can easily be found and supported in the pages of Divine Scripture. Oh really?
Of the 613 laws contained in the first five books of the Bible written by Moses, why is it that aside from the ten commandments, "tithing" is virtually the only other law that the modern Church tries to retain? They retain it in name only, however, since there is nothing similar between Moses’ law of tithing" and "Christian tithing" except the aspect of ten percent. Christian tithing is an extra-biblical concept and doctrine—aside from the ten percent it has nothing in common with the tithing law of Moses, and was never practiced by the New Testament Church.
Not only is Christian tithing taught to be needful, it is taught as if it were a divine, binding LAW. But there is no such thing as a "Christian tithing law" in the New Testament Scriptures. It is a heresy, used by the Church, independent cults, and charlatans of every description, as a club to beat and threaten parishioners into surrendering ten percent of their salaries in obedience to this phantom law. All are forewarned that failure to pay this 10% Church tax will cause them to be "cursed with a CURSE!" There is indeed "a curse," but it is not God Who pronounces it.
NO TITHING IN THE CHURCH OF THE APOSTLES
We have Scriptural proof that no such law or custom as Christian tithing was taught or practiced in the Church by the early apostles. Their epistles are totally devoid of any such tithing custom or law. Gentile converts were never taught to tithe to anyone. Although the temple and priesthood in Jerusalem remained until 70 AD, not even Jewish converts were taught to give their tithes to the Apostles rather than to the temple priests.
In the Acts 15 Jerusalem Conference we find outlined what the apostles all agreed was necessary for the newly converted Gentiles to practice, and by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God, tithing is conspicuously missing. Some believing Pharisees wanted the apostles to teach the Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses (which certainly contained the law of tithing, Acts 15:5), but the apostles headed by Peter, James, and Paul would not hear of it (Acts 15:28-29)! Yet, what is one of the very first legislated duties taught to Gentile converts by the Church today? It is that they must tithe their annual salaries to the Church. Where did this unscriptural law of Christian tithing come from?
Notice this telling bit of history from the my Encyclopedia Britannica, "Tithes in Christendom—The earliest authentic example of anything like a law of the State enforcing payment appears to occur in the capitularies [ecclesiasticals] of Charlemagne at the end of the 8th or beginning of the 9th century. Tithes were by that enactment to be applied to the maintenance of the bishop, clergy, the poor, and the fabric of the church. In the course of time the principle of payment of tithes was extended FAR BEYOND its original intention. Thus they became transferable to laymen and saleable like ordinary property, in spite of the injunctions of the third Lateran Council; and they became payable OUT OF SOURCES OF INCOME [not just farming and herding, but other trades and occupations and salaries paid in the form of money] NOT ORIGINALLY TITHABLE." (1963, volume 22, page 253, ‘TITHES’).
The Catholic Church knows its own history. Here is how tithing got back into the Church after being absent for nearly five centuries:
"As the Church expanded and various institutions arose, it became necessary to make laws which would insure the proper and permanent support of the clergy. The payment of tithes was adopted from the Old Law... The earliest positive legislation on the subject seems to be contained in the letter of the bishops assembled at Tours in 567 and the [canons] of the Council of Macon in 585."—The Catholic Encyclopedia.
They "extended" their base of tithe collecting to eventually include all forms of income. All Christian scholars know that although money was in wide use in ancient Israel, it was never a titheable commodity. But modern Christian pastors of God’s sheep don’t want tithes of goats or oil or corn—they want money—cold hard cash. God has a word to the "shepherds of the sheep," and it is the very same message that He had for the Levites in the book of Malachi. And it is this:
"My people have been lost sheep [Why? How did they get that way?] their SHEPHERDShave caused them to go astray" (Jer. 50:6).
Was Israel consciously aware of the fact that; they were being led astray by their spiritual leaders? Not most, and neither is the world of Christendom today aware that they are being lead astray by their spiritual leaders.
THE MYSTERY OF MALACHI REVEALED
It is the book of Malachi that today’s clergy uses as their main authority for promulgating the doctrine of "Christian tithing." Christian tithing means that everyone must give 10% of their gross income (which is in the form of MONEY, 99%+ of the time), or they will be "cursed with a curse." It will be well worth your time to read the real meaning of Malachi’s prophecy.
Mostly one will hear only three verses of Malachi quoted by those attempting to wrest a doctrine of Christian tithing from this prophecy.
Here are the "cursing" verses:
"Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed Me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed Thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed Me, even this whole nation" (Malachi 3:8-9).
Here is the "blessing" verse:
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat [bread] in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that thee shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi 3:10).
Their interpretation of these proof texts are as follows: Rob God of His ten percent of your salary and be CURSED, or pay God ten percent of your salary and be BLESSED.
Before we go any further, just who is cursing whom in this Malachi prophecy? Does God, indeed, say, "You are CURSED with a curse" (Mal. 3:9)? This definitely sounds as if it is GOD Who is doing the cursing, doesn’t it? But say, did you notice that the word "are" in your Bible is in italics? That means that the word was supplied by the translators and was not in the original manuscripts. Remove it, and the verse says: "You cursed…" rather than "You are cursed…"
Is it God, or Israel, who is doing the cursing in this verse?
The Sopherim (Jewish Scribes) understood this verse to say that it was Israel "cursing God" rather than "God cursing Israel." I have a few translations that make this correction:
"With the curse YOU are cursing [me], and me YOU are robbing—the nation in its entirety."
And:
"With a curse you curse Me, and Me you are defrauding—the nation, all of it" (Mal. 3:9, Concordant Version of The Old Testament).
We must always keep in mind that when the Bible says "tithes" it means products from the land—as grains and cattle. But when the Priests of Christendom say "tithes," it always means money. Because the clergy prefers to be paid in money, it therefore, became necessary to change the Biblical use of the word "tithes" to now include money. And if "money" can now be shown to be a tithable commodity, guess what? Abracadabra, hocus-pocus, open sesame—every believer, of every occupation in the whole world (not just the farmers as in the Law of Moses), now is required to pay ten percent of his income to the Church. They increased their base of productivity a hundred fold.
What then is the 21st Century application of this Malachi Prophecy? Are we now to tithe money? Let’s read Malachi 3:10 very carefully:
WHAT were they robbing God of? "tithes AND offerings." Tithes of what? Products from the land—grains and cattle.
WHERE were they to bring the tithes? To the "storehouse" [Hebrew: ‘garner’-- a granary for grain].
WHY did God want these tithes of the land brought to the "storehouse" (the granary)? "That there may be meat [bread] in Mine house [God’s house, Not the granary]."
If there is no spiritual application of these statements and we rather take them literally, there appears to be a contradiction here. Why should the people bring the tithes to the "storehouse" (a granary for storing grain) when what God wanted was "bread in His house," (the tabernacle/Temple, andnot the "storehouse")? The only food in God’s house—the tabernacle, was a dozen loaves of bread. And that bread was for the Priests only, not for the tribe of Levi. Since there were only twelve loaves of bread in the Tabernacle/Temple of God, are we to believe that the whole nation of Israel did not bring enough grain to the storehouse to make even twelve loaves of bread?
God does not contradict Himself, there needs to be something other than a need for enough grain from the whole nation of Israel to make twelve loaves of bread! Just what does God mean, "that there may be meat [bread] in Mine house?" Is God really reprimanding Christians of the 21st Century through Malachi’s prophecy to bring our checkbooks to church, "that there may be money in Mine house?" Yet this is the teaching of the Church regarding Malachi’s message. What is the Truth?
Does God ask Israel to bring all the tithes and offerings into the storehouse, or treasury, or granary, so that there will be "tithes and offerings in Mine house?" No. God says so, "that there may be meat in Mine house?" We know that they did not bring the tithes and offerings into the holy place of the tabernacle. Only bread was kept in the holy place. The "bread" in the holy place was a type of something future, just as everything that happened to Israel and all of their offerings and ceremonies were a type of something future (I Cor. 10:11). He must indeed be spiritual blind who cannot see that the "bread" in the holy place foreshadows "The True Bread of Life—Jesus Christ."
If God wanted more money in His house, why did Jesus do what He did in the House of God?
"And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the MONEY changers… and said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves" (Matt. 21:12-13).
THE CHRISTIAN INTERPRETATION OF BRINGING IN THE TITHE
The Christian interpretation of Malachi 3:10 is this: "Bring ye all the tithe MONEY and extra offerings of money to the church bank, that there may be money in the Church." Granted, they might not enunciate it that crudely, but that is what they teach. Ask virtually any pastor of any church, "How do I, starting today, actually obey this prophecy of Malachi to stop "robbing God of His tithes and offerings?" and he will tell you to write out a check in the name of his church, for 10% of your salary (plus an offering), and that check will then be deposited into the church bank account.
Then ask these same pastors what kind of blessings you will receive for obeying this procedure, and they will probably tell you stories where people received huge amounts of material goods and even huge amounts of more money. This is their interpretation of God "opening the windows of heaven and pouring out a blessing." And there are ministers by the tens of thousands at this very moment preparing more stories and more yarns on how blessed one will become in every imaginable physical, earthly, and material things for giving them (they would say, giving God) your money.
Is this really how God wants us of the 21st Century to apply Malachi’s prophecy to our lives? I speak as a fool.
This prophecy has absolutely nothing to do with tithing money to the Church.
Does God suggest somewhere in this prophecy that there isn’t enough "money in His house?" Is Jesus Christ coming back to this earth to judge these "priests" because the "people" failed to bring enough money to the storehouse so that there would be money in God’s house? Is it a lack of money that concerns God in this prophecy? No, it is both the people and the priests who have corrupted themselves according to this prophecy. But like always, God holds the priests to a much higher standard and therefore they receive the greater condemnation. There are two groups of judgments in this prophecy:
[1] "Behold I will send My Messenger… But who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall PURIFY the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness" (Mal. 3:1-3).
[2] "And I will come near to you to judgment [not just the priests, but many of the people as well]; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, says the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 3:5).
It is amazing how the clergy make most people think that the only thing of value in the book of Malachi are these three verses on "robbing God" and "receiving a blessing." There are four whole chapters in this book, and maybe it should behoove us to see what the rest of this book has to say. Here are just a few more things contained in Malachi:
"You offer polluted bread upon My altar… if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil…" (1:7-8).
"And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you… I will curse your blessings… Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your face…" (2:1-3).
"But you have departed out of the way… ye have corrupted the covenant of Levi… therefore I have also made you contemptible and base before all the people…" (2:8-9).
"Behold, I will send my Messenger… But who may abide the day of His coming… He is like a refiner’s fire [like the lake of fire] …And He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi… that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness" (3:13—See Isa. 6:29).
"Then they that feared the Lord spoke often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them… And they shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I made up my jewels; and I will spare them… Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serves God and him that serves Him not [‘Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world?’ I Cor. 6:2)]" (3:16-18).
"And He shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse" (4:6)
MALACHI AND THE BREAD OF LIFE
Malachi contains a prophecy and information "for OUR admonition upon whom the ends of the world are come" (I Cor. 10:11). There is no tabernacle/temple administered by the priests of Levi today, nor for two thousand years. Malachi is not speaking to Christians about tithing money to the church. The literal physical circumstances extent in the Church in Malachi’s day is but a type, a shadow, of a spiritual reality for our day and for all those called since the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was from the tithes that the Priests of Levi selected the "sacrifices." There lies the problem for ancient Israel and the problem for the Church today.
Let me explain the problem with Israel and her priests in a nutshell:
God says: "I have LOVED you…" Israel asks: "wherein have you loved us?" (Mal. 1:2).
God said: "If then I be a Father, where is mine honour? My fear? O priests, that despise My name." The priests ask: "Wherein have we despised Thy name? (1:6).
God says: "Ye offer polluted bread upon Mine alter…" The priests ask: "Wherein have we polluted Thee?" (1:7).
God says: "And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? ,..the sick and the lame… is it not evil?" (1:8).
God says: "I have no pleasure in you… NEITHER WILL I ACCEPT AN OFFERING AT YOUR HAND" (1:10).
Let’s stop here a minute and consider what we have read. The Priests despise God’s name, and their sacrifices are, blind, sick and lame. And so God says He will not even accept their offering. So really, the people were tithing. But the quality of their tithes (from which they selected the sacrifices) was of an unacceptable quality. But was it this poor quality of sacrifices that really angered God? Not really. The sick and lame sacrifices were but a symptom of a much larger problem. God used their polluted sacrifices only as a physical, visual illustration to show them their sins and polluted hearts. For much of the remainder of this book, God unfolds to them their many sins and weaknesses.
God says: "Ye are gone away from Mine ordinance, and have not kept them. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you…" (3:7).
The priests ask: "Wherein shall we return?" (3:7).
God says: "In tithes and offering" (3:8).
God uses "tithes and offerings" to illustrate their attitude of mind and heart behind their giving. Tithes and offerings were all that God asked of the people to give Him. Everything else they could keep for themselves. But how much did they love God. How much did they appreciate God and all His goodness to them? What was their attitude of heart and mind toward God? Their "tithes and offerings" say it all: "You offer POLLUTED BREAD UPON MINE ALTAR" (1:7).
All that was included in their "tithes and offerings"—firstfruits, tithes of the land, tithes of the herds, and altar offerings of every sort, were to God: "polluted bread upon Mine altar." They gave offerings (they WERE TITHING), but they were totally unacceptable. "…NEITHER will I accept an offering at your hand" (1:10).
THE TYPE AND SHADOW IS FAR INFERIOR TO THE REALITY
Malachi was a "prophet." Moses was also a prophet, "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses" (Deut. 34:10). And Jesus Christ did not come to destroy the "prophets," but rather to "fulfill [the prophets]" (Matt. 5:17).
Under the Prophet Moses, God fed the nation of Israel bread in the wilderness.
"Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat" (John 6:31).
Under the Prophet Malachi God said they should bring the tithes into the storehouse so that there would be
"…meat in My house, and prove me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of HEAVEN, and pour you out A [keep in mind that this blessing is singular—a blessing]blessing that there shall not be room enough to receive IT [again, singular]" (Mal. 3:10).
This may well be one of the most misunderstood and wrongly preached verses in the Bible.
The word "meat" in this verse comes from a Hebrew word taraph, and means "to pluck off or pull to pieces; to supply with food (as in morsels)" (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary, p. 105, #2963).
From this pulling to pieces, plucking off, and morsels, comes the phrase "breaking bread." There undoubtedly was, more grains in the storehouse (to bake bread), than any other food commodity. Now then, listen and learn what I have to show you next, and you will know and understand more about the Old Testament Prophets than do most theologians. What did Jesus have to say to the Jews about the "bread from heaven" which they said their fathers ate in the desert?
"Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, [truly, truly], I say unto you, Moses gave you NOTTHAT BREAD FROM HEAVEN; but My Father gives you the TRUE BREAD from heaven. For the bread of God is HE which comes down from heaven and gives life unto the world" (John 6:32-33)!
What? How can Jesus say that?
The Jews said that their fathers ate "bread from heaven."
Moses said that, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat."
But Jesus said, "Moses gave you NOT that bread from heaven; but My Father gives you the TRUE bread from heaven.
Is Jesus contradicting the very Word of God? No, a thousand times No: He is fulfilling the words of the prophets just as He said in Matt. 5:17.
The bread in the desert was only the type of bread from heaven, which in reality, and in fulfillment, pointed to Jesus Christ, the "TRUE bread from heaven." The same is true for Malachi. The "polluted bread" of Malachi is but the type of the unpolluted, pure, "TRUE bread from heaven,’ which is Jesus Christ. But to receive this "blessing from heaven," we must bring all our tithes, all that we have to offer God, into the storehouse so that there will be "meat [unpolluted bread] in Mine house."
Now then, does God want unpolluted animals? No. Does God want unpolluted produce from the land? No. Does God want unpolluted money? No. Well what kind of sacrifice does He want then? God wants you! All of you! You, yourself, are the sacrifice that God wants.
"I beseech [invitation, invocation, imploration, exhortation] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice holy [not polluted], acceptable [not like in Malachi where God says, ‘neither will Iaccept an offering at your hand’], unto God, which is your reasonable service" (Rom. 12:1).
As it is our ‘bodies’ that house our mind, heart, and spirit, we will also cover those attributes which are necessary in order for our "living sacrifice" to be acceptable unto the Lord.
Seriously, dear readers, of what value are physical material offerings to God, if the ones making the offerings are themselves, "polluted bread?" Does God really desire physical things? God has already created BILLIONS OF GALAXIES full of "physical things." Billions of galaxies do not fulfill God’s desire for the love, obedience, and admiration of children. God wants children. God wants children—Sons and Daughters in His Own image. But God will not accept children whose character is likened to "polluted bread."
We will cover the quality traits of spiritual character that God desires of all His sacrifices.
FIRST THE PHYSICAL AND THEN THE SPIRITUAL
"Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is SPIRITUAL" (I Cor. 15:46).
Now then, was that bread that the fathers ate in the desert the "TRUE bread from heaven?" No, it clearly was not, Jesus said it was not! And so, can we not see, can we not believe, can we not understand, that Jesus Christ IS
"…the TRUE bread from heaven. For the bread of God IS HE which comes down FROM HEAVEN and gives life unto the world" (John 6:32b-33).
Hold this thought ……
And now back to Malachi again:
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse that there may be meat [bread] in Mine house, and prove me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it" (Malachi, 3:10).
This is vital to understand: God does not berate the people or the priests for the lack of quantity in their tithes and offerings and sacrifices, but rather a lack of quality. Here is absolute Scriptural proof of what I say. They brought offerings, but why would God not accept their offerings? Because they offered "blind, lame and sick sacrifices." And why did they do that? Because they themselves were spiritually blind, lame and sick. There was quantity to their offerings, but not quality.
"And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? And if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? Offer it now unto your governor; will he be pleased with you, or accept your person? Says the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 1:8).
FINE FLOUR AND PURE FRANKINCENSE VS. POLLUTED BREAD
And how is it that God views these evil sacrifices:
"Ye [all of you] offer polluted bread upon mine altar…" (Ver. 7).
There is the whole ball of wax! And so it is in today’s Church. The problem is not a lack of money, but offering polluted bread upon the altar of God. God wants "Pure and Fine Bread":
"And you shall take fine flour, and bake twelve cakes… And you shall put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread… And it shall be Aaron’s and his sons’; [the priests] and they shall eat it in the holy place…" (Lev. 24:5-9).
Remember: first is the natural, the physical, and then comes the spiritual.
And so the children of Israel ate the "bread from heaven" in the wilderness. There was sufficient quantity, but it lacked quality. It did not possess the quality of True LIFE—they all DIED in the desert except for Caleb and Joshua in that generation. The spiritual fulfillment of this type of physical bread in the desert is that Jesus Christ is "The True Bread of LIFE." Likewise, the quantity of bread being offering by the priests on the altar of God was not the problem, but rather the quality of those offerings.
The spiritual bread (the spiritual food for the people) being offering in the Church today is not lacking in quantity, but rather quality. There is "bread," yes, but it is "polluted bread." The opposite of "polluted" is "pure." God’s religion is PURE:
"PURE religion and UNDEFILED before God and the Facher is this, To visit the fatherless and widows IN THEIR AFFLICTION, and to keep himself UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD" (James 1:27).
This verse does not say: "Take ten percent of the Social Security checks and welfare checks of the "fatherless and widows IN THEIR AFFLICTION," and then take that money and spend it for all the "spotted materialism of this world." Yet that is exactly what all to many of today’s priests and ministers are doing. And furthermore, they shamelessly boast about their material possessions! They "love the world and the things that are in the world." And, therefore, is it little wonder that, "the love of the Father is not in them" (I John 2:15)? Neither do they have a "love of the Truth" (II Thes. 2:10).
God used a physical, outward, visible, type, of sick, lame, and blind sacrifices, which He then calls polluted bread to show Israel and their priests what He was really angry with, namely, their "polluted" hearts, minds, and spirits! Malachi’s prophecy is about the sin WITHIN, not sacrifices WITHOUT!
THE ENDTIME CHURCH AS PETER SAW IT
Peter describes the church in the latter days:
"But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable [destructive, fatal, disastrous, ruinous] heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction. And MANY shall follow their pernicious [lascivious, licentious, wanton] ways; by reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness [greed, lust] shall they with feigned words MAKE MERCHANDISE OF YOU" (II Pet. 2:1-3). Other renderings:
"Motivated by greed, they will exploit you with their counterfeit arguments" (Berkely Version).
"…in their lust they will exploit you with cunning arguments" (Moffatt Translation).
"In their greed for MONEY they will trade on your credulity with sheer fabrications"`(The New English Bible).
ALL PHYSICAL TYPES FORESHADOW SPIRITUAL REALITIES
Everything that happened in the Old Testament was a TYPE of future, spiritual things.
"Now ALL these things happened unto THEM for examples: and they were written for OUR admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come" (I Cor. 10:11).
And Malachi is no different. The people of Israel tithed sick, lame, and diseased animals to Levi. The Priests took those evil beasts and offered them as sacrifices to God. The reason that the people and the priests offered sick (polluted) sacrifices is because they themselves were sick and polluted with sins. Isaiah describes them well:
"Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? Ye will revolt more and more, THE WHOLE HEAD IS SICK and the whole heart is faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head THERE IS NO SOUNDNESS IN IT…" (Isa. 1:4-5).
Much of what the clergy disseminates from the pulpit as "wholesome spiritual food," God calls "polluted bread." And just WHY do they offered polluted bread? Because:
"O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? For out of the ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART, the MOUTH SPEAKS" (Matt. 12:34).
There it is! There is the message of Malachi! That is why Israel brought sick and blind sacrifices and that is why the priests did not correct them, but went ahead and offered them to God. Both the people and the priests were polluted in their hearts, and it is of the abundance of the heart that determines men’s actions.
Today’s "polluted bread" is served up in such doctrines as exact ten per cent of the parishioner’s salaries in the form of a church tax called, tithing. And the threat of eternal torture in fire if one does not follow the dictates of a specific denomination or religious teaching that is deemed necessary to avoid this eternal hellhole of terrorism.
The type and shadow of Jesus Christ, the True Bread of life, was the physical bread that Israel ate in the desert. The desert doesn’t produce enough food to sustain an army of people—it had to be supernaturally supplied by God. The desert and wilderness of our carnal nature does not produce enough spiritual food to sustain us either. Only the True Bread of LIFE from Heaven in the person of Jesus Christ can supply our spiritual needs. We must eat this spiritual bread in order to have spiritual life.
The sacrifices spoken of in Malachi were not suitable for God’s house. They offered
"POLLUTED BREAD" and we saw some of the many sins that that constituted this polluted bread. Here are the only sacrifices that are fit for God’s storehouse:
"The sacrifices of God are A BROKEN SPIRIT: a broken a CONTRITE HEART…" (Psalm 51:17).
And in Psalm 34:18 David reverses the order:
"The lord is nigh unto them that are of a BROKEN HEART; and saves such as be of a CONTRITE SPIRIT."
It is all about attitude: REPENT, HUMBLE YOURSELF, and OBEY! Then follows the Blessing:
People always want to do physical things to prove their spirituality. But God doesn’t want your physical things. God wants a broken heart and a contrite spirit and a willingness to OBEY:
"Behold, to OBEY is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (I Sam. 15:22).
The sacrifices of a broken heart, a contrite spirit, and a willingness to always obey are always acceptable to God.
BRINGING GOD YOUR SPIRITUAL TITHES WILL REAP A SPIRITUAL BLESSING
"Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat [bread—pure and fine bread—not polluted bread of a carnal mind filled with evil deeds and doctrines], and prove Me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of HEAVEN[‘For the bread of God is He which come down from heaven… For I came down from heaven… I am the bread which came down from heaven… John 6:33, 38, 41]and pour you out a blessing [Jesus Christ, The Bread of Life is this blessing], that there shall not be room[‘Now unto Him that is able to do EXCEEDING ABUNDANTLY {Gk: SUPEREXCESSIVELY—superabundantly, superexceedingly, superaboundingly} ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK’ Eph. 3:20] to receive it" (Mal. 3:10).
God is saying to us: "Give Me your pure bread offerings of a "broken heart, contrite spirit, and attitude of obedience," and I will give you, "TheTRUE BREAD OF LIFE from HEAVEN."
Now there, dear reader, is a blessing beyond our ability to make "room to receive it." Jesus Christ is the True Bread in God’s house. Jesus Christ is the personification of LOVE, LIGHT AND LIFE. Jesus is the ultimate, the apex, the primer, the zenith, the HIGHEST OF EVERYTHING! Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life, The Hope of Glory, The Saviour of the World—all that we and the entirety of the universe will ever need for all eternity is found in Him! But God demands purity. All the polluted bread has got to go:
"Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called the SONS OF GOD: therefore the world knows us not, because it knew Him not.
Beloved, now are we the SONS of God, and it does not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
And every man that has this hope in him PURIFIES HIMSELF, even as He [Jesus] IS PURE" (I John 3:1-3).
And the priests of Christendom would have us believe that God’s message through Malachi is a quest for MORE MONEY! Unbelievable!
THE LESSON OF MALACHI FOR THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST
Obedience to the Law of Moses, the Sacrifices and the many Ordinances was to bring physical prosperity, safety from enemies, healthy children, and a long life in the land, followed by DEATH. Malachi brings us from obedience to physical laws in the land, all the way down to the return of Messiah in fiery judgment upon mankind. God never really did want animal sacrifices, but the sacrifices of a "broken and contrite heart and spirit."
God tells us through Malachi that we should bring all our tithes (spiritual tithes and offerings) to Him and He will bless us with a blessing that cannot be contained.
The physical tithes that were brought to the storehouse from which portions were sacrificed to God, brought temporary, physical blessings on Earth. For all those who will bring all their spiritual tithes and offering to God’s house, God promises One permanent, SPIRITUAL Blessing from heaven. Jesus Christ is that One and only True Bread of never-ending life.
WE OBEY A SPIRITUAL LAW AND OUR SACRIFICES ARE SPIRITUAL
As Christians are not under the Law of Moses in this New Testament dispensation, accordingly, the end-time fulfillment of Malachi does not pertain to the Law of Moses, which is the oldness of the letter rather the newness of the spirit. Just as there is no more sacrificing of animals at the Temple, likewise there is no tithing of animals at the Temple—nor is there tithing of any kind. Christians are not under the Law of Moses, nor a twisted, modified version of it.
"For the law of the SPIRIT of LIFE in Christ Jesus [this is not the Law of Moses] has made me FREE FROM THE LAW OF SIN AND DEATH" (Rom. 8:2).
The law of the letter "engraven in stone tablets" assuredly was a "dispensation of death and condemnation" (II Cor. 3:4-11). Here are but a few more sacrifices of the spirit which are always acceptable in God’s presence:
"…therefore will I offer in His tabernacle sacrifices of JOY…" (Ps. 26:6).
"Offer the sacrifices of RIGHTEOUSNESS, and put your trust in the Lord" (Ps. 4:5).
"And let them sacrifice the sacrifices of THANKSGIVING, and declare His works with REJOICING" (Ps. 107:22).
Yes, these are the sacrifices, these are the offerings, these are the tithes of a broken heart and a contrite spirit.
O what a clever piece of legislation the Church enacted when they changed a law regarding the tithing of farm products for the Levites only to a law that exacts ten per cent of EVERYTHING FROM EVERYBODY.
LOVE NOT THE WORLD NEITHER THE THINGS IN THE WORLD
Instead of following the Apostle Paul’s example of humility and service, all too many priests of Christendom have become the very personification of materialistic exhibitionism.
Once content with a good quality $200 watch, now they need a $2000 Rolex. Once happy with $300 suits, now they need $3000 suits. Once content with a brand new $30,000 car every year, now they need an $80,000 top-of-the-line luxury car. Once happy with a beautiful and roomy $150,000 home, now they need a $1,500,000 mansion on the hill. Once happy that the $500,000 mortgage on their church building got paid, now they need a $5,000,000 cathedral with gold-gilded everything. Once happy to fly first class everywhere they traveled, now they need their own private $10,000,000 executive jet. Just look at how many men of the cloth are building their own kingdoms on earth? And it seems like the next generation coming behind them have even greater appetites.
Granted, there are tens of thousands who do not believe it possible to aspire to such dizzying heights of materialism and are content to have sizably smaller kingdoms, but it is still the same foul spirit of lust, power, and worldly materialism at work in many of their lives. Teaching God’s people that it is God’s law that they must tithe ten percent of their salaries to the Church or God will curse them is not only unscriptural, it is a SIN!
Have you ever heard one of these prosperity ministers give a powerful sermon on I John 2:15:
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love 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."
MONEY AND THE BELIEVER
There is not one example of anyone tithing MONEY to anyone in the entirety of the Bible! The only reference to "money" with regards to tithing has absolutely nothing to do with paying tithes ON money. It is found in Deut. 14:24-26, which we shall now read in it’s entirety:
"And if the way be too long for thee [to the place where God placed His name to be worshipped, especially during the fall feast harvest of tabernacles] so that you are not able to carry it [the tithe of their farm produce] or if the place be too far from you, which the Lord your God shall choose to set His name there, when the Lord your God has blessed you: Then shall you turn it [the tithe of their farm produce] into money, and bind up the money in your hand, and shall go unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose: And you shall bestow that money[to the preachers? to the church? NO…] …for whatsoever thy soul lusts after [Heb: ‘for whatsoever your heart desires’], for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever your soul desires: and you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you, and your household."
Farm products could be sold and turned into money when long travel was necessary. But at the destination where God placed His name, the money was spent on food for the Levite, stranger, fatherless, poor, etc. It was not presented to the Levites as a monetary gift.
Here is an easy to understand Scripture explaining what the purpose of the tithe was:
"And the Levite, (because he has no part nor inheritance with you), and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, which are within your gates, shall come, and shall EAT[food from the land] and be satisfied; that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hand which you do" (Deut. 14:29).
The Church would prefer you not know the following:
The tradesmen who made the baskets for harvesting, did not tithe.
The cobblers, who made the shoes for the servants of the field, did not tithe.
The carpenters, who made the wagons used for harvesting the fields, did not tithe.
The potters, who made the jugs for carrying water to the servants in the fields, did not tithe.
The women, who made the garments for the field-workers, did not tithe.
And certainly, the servants who worked in the fields for wages, did not tithe.
Here are the simple facts regarding the Biblical teaching of tithing:
ONLY LANDOWNERS TITHED
ONLY PRODUCTS OF THE LAND WERE TITHED
ONLY LEVITES COULD RECEIVE THE TITHES
TITHING WAS A LAW OF MOSES
CHRISTIANS ARE NOT UNDER THE LAW OF MOSES!
Does anyone have a Scripture that contradicts what I have just said?
By the way, Jesus Christ was a carpenter by trade, and as such, JESUS DID NOT TITHE!
