The Nazarenes do not forbid the books of the Law, the prophets, and the writings.
They are approved of by the Jews, from whom the Nazarenes do not differ in anything.
And they profess all the dogmas pertaining to the prescriptions of the Law and to the customs of the Jews, except they also believe in the Messiah
Hymn 208
Rejoice, rejoice
The Nazarite faith has come
Rejoice, rejoice
Nations will survive,
Which were scattered,
Wandering in the wildernesses,
Through Your Word.
Rejoice, rejoice
The Nazarite faith has come
Rejoice, rejoice
Nations will survive
The darkness has ended
Be delightful and glad
All you nations.
We see many nations
Under the heavens
Being scattered
And sorrowfully singing.
Develop, develop,
Develop O Nazarite faith
Develop, develop,
Nations are thirsty
They want to drink from you
And be completely satisfied
Through Your Word.
1.We open this sermon with the Book of Deuteronomy 18:9-13: “When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
2. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
3. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.” – King James Version
4.In the last sermon we touched on the notion of a traditional religion; I was asking where one could locate this religion within the history of Yisra’el.
5.I once heard Advocate Sikhakhane saying it is unfortunate that we speak of our history which starts around the 1600s A.D. whereas other nations date their histories even back to the 2000s B.C.! This fact simply proves the extent to which we are ignorant about our history!
6.We are the progeny of Yisra’el who lived around 2047 B.C., the one who worshipped one God, Yahuah, the Creator of heaven and earth!
7.Our faith system is dated back to Avraham, Yitzhak and Yaakov, and it was formalised by Yahuah to the children of Yisra’el who were led by Moshe!
8.The event in which God descended from heaven to be seen by the whole nation occurred on Mount Sinai around 1447 B.C.!
9.When Yosef was taken into captivity in Kemet, he worshipped his fathers’ God, Yahuah! Even when Yaakov arrived in Kemet with his family, they worshipped Yahuah!
10.But when the children of Yisra’el were in Kemet for four hundred years, they ended up forgetting the faith system of their forebears and followed the religion of Kemet, venerating other gods!
11.When Yahuah delivered the children of Yisra’el from Kemet, He found them already other gods!
12.As we have said, around 1447 B.C., Yahuah descended upon Mount Sinai as He brought the laws and precepts that would govern the children of Yisra’el, Yahuah’s nation!
13.When Moshe advised the children of Yisra’el, in Deuteronomy 18:9-13, to desist from pagan practices which were an abomination to Yahuah; this happened when Yahuah had brought down the faith system under which the children of Yisra’el had to live!
14.The significant point in Moshe’s statement in Deuteronomy 18 is that Yahuah commanded the children of Yisra’el not to involve themselves in pagan practices which are an abomination to Him!
15.As Moshe said, those practices that were an abomination to Yahuah WERE PAGAN PRACTICES which are not cultural principles of the nation of Yisra’el.
16.Yahuah prohibited the nation of Yisra’el from getting involved in such practices because IT IS YAHUAH’S HOLY NATION!
17.That is why I constantly ask at what point these pagan practices, which are now called TRADITIONAL RELIGION emerged within nation of Yahuah.
18.Is there any other faith system, beside the one Yahuah gave to the children of Yisra’el upon Mount Sinai, that they ever had?
19.If there is any other faith system that they had, at what point did it come into existence – after or before the faith system that was brought down upon Mount Sinai?
20.In Exodus 22:20, we read: “He that sacrificeth unto any god, save unto the Lord only, he shall be utterly destroyed!” – KJV
21.On the other hand, in Psalm 106:28- 29, we read: “They joined themselves also unto Baalpeor, and ate the sacrifices of the dead. Thus they provoked him to anger with their inventions!” – KJV
22.If, in antiquity, around 1447 B.C., there existed nations that were not Yisra’el which engaged in divination, sacrifices to ancestral spirits and communication with strange spirits in their altars, how then did such practices sneak into the nation of Yisra’el which lived in accordance with Yahuah’s precepts?
23.In Judges 2:11-15, we read: “And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served Baalim.
24. And they forsook the Lord God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of the people that were round about them, and bowed themselves unto them, and provoked the Lord to anger!
25. And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies!” – KJV
26.In Judges 3:5-7, we read: “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods!
27. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves!” – KJV
28.These and other passages provide us with an answer to the question around our tendency to speak of a traditional religion, African Spirituality though we are of the house of Yaakov!
29.The question is: where did the progeny of Yisra’el come across a traditional religion because our God who delivered our progenitors from the slavery of Kemet is the one called Yahuah? The answer is: WE ABANDONED YAHUAH AND ADOPTED PAGAN PRACTICES!
30.Nowadays, we teach the offspring of Yaakov that it should follow the religion of the gentiles, which we were never given by Yahuah, and abandon Yahuah our God who delivered us from Pharaoh’s slavery!
31.In the Book of Yirmiyahu 6:16, Yahuah said these words to the nation of Yisra’el:
32.“ Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein!” – KJV
33.We opposed Yahuah right from the beginning, saying that we would not ask ancient paths from the elders and we would not follow them so that we would acquire rest for our souls!
34.Even now we still oppose Yahuah our forebears’ God, saying we do not accept what He tells us!
44.Briefly, I wish to repeat our history as the progeny of Yaakov so that we may all come to know the truth, so that in future we may not claim that we did not know!
45.You have a right to abandon God and worship your gods; nobody can oppose you on that!
46.But do not teach the nation a fictitious historical account at the point of your apostasy and preach a gospel that undermines Yahuah our God with a view to detaching the people from Him!
47.Our faith system starts with Avraham, proceeds with Yitzhak and Yaakov. As we have pointed out, this faith system was formalised by Moshe after the God of our forebears had delivered our ancestors out of the slavery of Kemet!
48.Our faith system has one God who is the Creator of heaven and earth.
49.This faith system does not allow us to mix or equate Yahuah with other gods!
50.As the Hebrew nation, we do not have any other way of worshipping Yahuah other than the one Moshe gave to us!
51.Shembe even wrote that we will worship Yahuah by keeping His Law which He wrote through His servant Moshe!
52.Shembe said if we do so, our worship will be acceptable to Yahuah our God!
53.When Yahuah’s faith system had been formalised upon Mount Sinai, three kings of Yisra’el, Sha’ul, Dawid and Shelomoh led the nation according to the principles of heavenly faith system called Theocracy!
54.But King Shelomoh’s end was not pleasant as we read in the Book of 1 Kings 11:1-7 how King Shelomoh abandoned Yahuah!
55.Indeed, everything that Yahuah said would happen to King Shelomoh’s offspring actually came to pass!
56.After Shelomoh’s demise, the kingdom of Yisra’el was split into two dominions.
57.The kingdom of Yisra’el consisted of 10 houses, and that of Judah comprised two houses, Judah and Levi!
58.The kingdom of Yisra’el quickly forsook Yahuha and worshipped other gods!
59.Therefore, Yahuah abandoned them, and that resulted in the attack by the Assyrians; when they had defeated them, they scattered them in their colonies which included Babylonia.
60.This lad, Rabbi Akwetey, as I quoted him in the last sermon, is among those whose ancestors, after being conquered by Nebuchadnezzar, ended up in West Africa!
61.The kingdom of Judah survived for about 150 years after that of Yisra’el had ended!
62.The kingdom of Judah was later conquered by the Romans in 70 A.D. After defeating the Judahites, the Romans destroyed Moshe’s faith system with Creeds!
63.The Romans did not just do away with the Mosaic faith, but they employed various cunning ways to distort the history and national identity of the Hebrews!
64.In Psalm 83:3-5, we read: “They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, and consulted against thy hidden ones.
65.They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance!” – KJV
66.This was a prophecy on future unity of the pagans who would treacherously do away with the nation of the Hebrews!
67.Indeed, this prophecy was fulfilled because they implemented what had been prophesied, and they still will!
68.When Yisra’el had been subjugated by the Romans, the names ‘Yisra’el’ and ‘Judah’ were done away with, and we were given the names ‘Negroes’ and ‘Bantus!’
69.The sect of Yeshua Ha’Mashiach, the Nazarite, was brought to an end and Yeshua was treacherously referred to as the founder of Christianity!
70.Blacks were compelled to follow this Christian religion which had been founded by whites in Rome!
71.All images of black Bible characters were whitewashed! Yeshua became Jesus!
72.There is undisputable evidence that Yeshua’s followers were Nazarites!
73.Here we quote a section of Jerome’s work, a scribe who was close to the Roman Catholic Pope. It reads thus:
74.“We shall now especially consider heretics who call themselves Nazarenes.
75. They are mainly Jews and nothing else! They make use not only of the New Testament, but they also use in a way the Old Testament of the Jews.
76.The Nazarenes do not forbid the books of the Law, the prophets, and the writings.
77.They are approved of by the Jews, from whom the Nazarenes do not differ in anything.
78.And they profess all the dogmas pertaining to the prescriptions of the Law and to the customs of the Jews, except they also believe in the Messiah.
79.They preach that there is but one god, and his son Jesus [Yahusha].
80. But they are very learned in the Hebrew language; for they, like the Jews, read the whole [TORAH] Law, then the Prophets.
81.They differ from the Jews because they believe in Messiah, and from the Christians in that they are to this day bound to the Jewish rites, such as circumcision, the Sabbath, and the other ceremonies.”
82.Some Christians tend to doubt that Yeshua’s sect was the Nazarites though they cannot explain how, in Acts 24:5, Sha’ul is called a leader of the Nazarenes!
83.This evidence alone is absolutely undisputable to the fact that the sect of the Nazarites was not just founded by Shembe, but there existed the Nazarites who were the followers of Yeshua among the tribe of Judah!
84.Shembe was sent by Yahuah to revive that sect just as he declares in one of his sermons, saying:
85.“In those days they will neglect observance of the Law [TORAH] of Yahuah, the one I HAVE BEEN SENT TO REVIVE.
86.They will trample over and ignore it, and their own laws and those of their idols which they will bring in here will prevail.”
87.The topic for this sermon is: Thy will be done on earth, as it is done in heaven.
88.What I intend clarifying is that we, as the black nation that resides here in South Africa, are the offspring of Yisra’el, being the tribe of Judah!
89.That is not just a belief, but it is a valid historical fact that pertains to these tribes, which has been confirmed by DNA test results!
90.Secondly, since the days of Avraham we just worship one God whose name is Yahuah, the Creator of heaven and earth! Our faith system was formalised by Moshe at Mount Sinai!
91.Secondly, as the nation of Yisra’el, we have never had any other faith system or a religion known as a TRADITIONAL RELIGION! We do not worship other gods except Yahuah!
92.Traditional religion emerged after we had abandoned Yahuah! Even this notion is not just a mere belief, but it is contained even in biblical history!
93.Since we have revealed earlier, in Deuteronomy 18, this is how Yahuah commanded the children of Yisra’el:
94.“ There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.
95. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord: and because of these abominations the Lord thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the Lord thy God.” – KJV
96.But the children of Yisra’el abandoned Yahuah and followed these pagan gods, an act THEY NOW REFER TO AS A TRADITIONAL RELIGION, or AFRICAN SPIRITUALITY!
97.In Judges 3:5-7, we read: “And the children of Israel dwelt among the Canaanites, Hittites, and Amorites, and Perizzites, and Hivites, and Jebusites. And they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their daughters to their sons, and served their gods. And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim and the groves.” – KJV
98.”And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and forgat the Lord their God, and served Baalim…!” – KJV
99.Today if the law of Yahuah prohibits us from mingling with mediums, it is assumed that one is opposing our cultural practices or a traditional religion!
100.But what is factual is that mediums were in existence even in antiquity in Kemet and other nations before Yahuah brought us His laws at Mount Sinai!
101.In the Book of Genesis 41:8, where Pharaoh’s dream, which Yosef interpreted, is the point of reference, it reads thus: “And it came to pass in the morning that his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the wise men thereof: and Pharaoh told them his dream; but there was none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh.” – KJV
103.On the other hand, in Exodus 7:11, where Moshe’s stuff that turned into a serpent is mentioned, we read: “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the MAGICIANS of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” – KJV
104.These passages bear witness to the notion that mediums existed even in antiquity among the nations that worshipped other gods!
105.Even this was the case, mediums have never been acceptable within Yahuah’s faith system!
106.In Leviticus 20:27, Yahuah says: “A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them!” – KJV
107.As we have explained earlier on, the first monarch of Yisra’el that first abandoned God was King Shelomoh.
108.In the Book of 1 Kings 11:1-7, it reads thus: “But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites.
109. Of the nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods!”
110. Solomon clave unto these in love. For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods!
111.And his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father!
112.For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.” – KJV
113.Yahuah’s wrath burned against Shelomoh because his heart was not perfect with Yahuah, the God of Yisra’el. Yahuah said to Shelomoh:
114.“ Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant!
115. Notwithstanding in thy days I will not do it for David thy father’s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son!”
116.In the last Shabbat sermon we said it is important to know the history of our faith system because immense treachery was crafted to teach us nonsense just for their benefit!
117.In 1884-1885, a huge whites-only conference was held in Belgium where white priests would be briefed on how they were to treat black people to which they would bring Christian gospel!
118.Among numerous shocking ways in which whites were to treat us, the following are among those they agreed upon:
119.“ You have to detach from them and make them disrespect everything which gives courage to affront us.
120. I make reference to their Mystic System and their war fetish – warfare protection.
121.And you must do everything in your power to make it disappear” so that they may not have courage to affront us with the support of familiar spirits!
122.Indeed, white priests preached this gospel around the notion that ancestral spirits are demons and that engaging with such spirits is a reflection of a superstitious belief that contradicts God’s law!
123.Our fellow believers were thoroughly convinced that ancestral or familiar spirits are, indeed, demons and that God forbids believers from involving themselves in ancestral veneration!
124.But nobody has ever wondered why, if we believe that we no longer live under the law of God, Christians should obey only this particular law.
125.Among Christians, refraining from engaging in ancestral worship has nothing to do with piety, but it is an indoctrination by white people so that masters may remain feared! At times biblical verses are utilised to deceive us!
126.We, Nazarites, are the ones that do not sacrifice to familiar spirits on the basis of keeping Yahuah’s Law, but nowhere does God say an ancestral spirit is a demonic entity!
127.This God who descended from heaven and abided among the children of Yisra’el has, nowadays, sent the angel to dwell among us so that she may teach us what we are supposed to do in order to enter the kingdom of heaven!
128.Whether one is a Nazarite, Christian, Muslim or an adherent of a traditional religion, if they are black they should reconcile with Yahuah by observing His precepts!
129.To those that are not willing to repent and regret having abandoned Yahuah, woe unto them!
130.But I and the Nazarites of God will serve Yahuah with my entire heart and my entire soul!
Hymn 89
1.Abide with us Lord
Till this day passes
We ask to be helped
We gaze unto you forever.
2. We have not yet reached
That land of joy
The angels are waiting
Where the sun never sets.
3.We are still overshadowed
From the land of joy
Where there is no light
From the sun of this galaxy.
4.Glory be unto you
On earth and in heaven
And amongst all Your Hosts
To you Father our God!
May the Lord bless what you have heard.