The Lord God Himself gave directions to His people Israel and also to His New Testament Church along their way for what they had and still have to believe and do. It is written in Deut. 6:3-9:

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”This statement of faith we find confirmed once more in Deut. 11, from verse 18.

In the Hebrew text of the statement of faith, the last letter of the first word and the last letter of the last word in a sentence are written in capitals. It should not only be recited, but should be pronounced very consciously and reverently and accentuated clearly. Until this very day, the Jews are praying the “Sh’ma Israel” with this accentuation.

Israel should observe and obey what the Lord said, so that they may fare well in the land which God had promised to their fathers and that they are blessed.

Then comes the emphasis – and Israel should listen attentively – on the fact that the Lord God is One, followed by the command to love God with all one’s heart, and with all one’s soul, and with all one’s might. The words of God should abide in the hearts of His people. They should teach their children and grandchildren in their homes, along the way, when going to bed, and when getting up.

“And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” The Lord God had commanded: “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.” (Exo. 13:9).

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.” (Deut. 11:18).

Whoever goes into the prayer rooms at the wailing wall in Jerusalem can literally see how the men have the statement of faith fastened with leather straps on their hands and foreheads. Every house, even every hotel in Israel has the “Mezuzah” with the text of the statement of faith from Deut. 6:3-9 fixed at eye level on the right door post.

The statement of faith was and is the mark, the identifying sign of His people Israel.

Now we come to the New Testament: In Mark 12:29-32, Jesus answered the question about which was the first commandment: “… Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. … And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he …”

God does not exist in three entities; He did not change from one Person to three eternal persons. Neither in eternity nor in the Old Testament and also not in the New Testament do we find any mention of a triune God. The one God has remained the one God; to realize His plan of redemption, He has revealed Himself as Father in heaven, in His only begotten Son on earth, and by the Holy Spirit in the Church: God above us, God with us, God in us.

“Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” (Rom. 3:30).

“Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.” (Gal. 3:20).

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1. Tim. 1:17).

Likewise, we shall and may love the one and only God with all our soul, with all our heart, and with all our might, and shall love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Mk. 12:31).

However, already very early on, the enemy crept into the New Testament Church and has misled ever since. Both exist side by side: the true believers who remain in the true statement of faith of Jesus Christ and the apostles and also those who are part of the apostate Christendom. The confessions of faith – the one from Jerusalem and the other from Nicaea – exclude each other.

The confession of faith that the Holy Scripture testifies of remains the same in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. For all true children of God it is the only valid confession for faith, doctrine, baptism, Lord’s Supper. Indeed, for every biblical subject there is only one correct answer, and it is written in no catechism, only in the Bible.

Every Christian church and denomination has their own creed that is being believed and taught. But all of them are confessing the Nicene-Chalcedonian Creed, which is obligatory for them. In Revelation we read about the religious “mark,” which all people will be forced to accept. Finally, in the last unification in Rome, the final ruling will be made and whosoever does not submit to it has to expect to die as a martyr. With the mark – the sign of the last worldwide religious power – the pressure will be on.

The urgent warning is:

“If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation …” (Rev. 14:9-10).

The latest state of affairs is that 350 Protestant churches and denominations are united in the World Council of Churches. And the Vatican has declared very openly and explicitly that all Protestant churches are just Christian fellowships; the only church is said to be the Catholic Church by and in which all receive the full salvation of God. The full salvation of God is certainly not found in any church; it is solely in Jesus Christ and each individual has to accept and experience it personally. So, the daughter churches who did not experience the full salvation in Jesus Christ have no other choice but to return into the bosom of the mother church (Rev. 17).

They are all referring to the words in Jn. 17:21: “That they all may be one …,” and no one reads it in the context in which it is actually written and meant: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (v. 23) – God in Christ (2. Cor. 5:19) and Christ in us (Col. 1:27).

It cannot be repeated often enough that in the first centuries there were no popes, no cardinals, no organized church. Even if more than 100 different religious orientations were in existence, there was also always the Church of Jesus Christ, the little flock, which is no organisation, but the organism lead by the Spirit of God.

Only little by little did the Christian national churches, the Coptic, the Chaldean, the Syrian, the Egyptian, the Orthodox, and the Roman Catholic Church come into existence in the Roman Empire. However, all these churches were and are state churches and national churches, not the redeemed Church of Jesus Christ.

Since the Council of Nicaea, ad 325, and of Chalcedon, ad 381, there is the standardized, Trinitarian Nicene-Chalcedonian Creed, in which several statements of faith are the supporting pillars. All churches and denominations which have come into existence since the Reformation have also adopted it. And this creed that God exists in three eternal persons, which is called “apostolic” but in fact is not apostolic, will be forced upon all those in Christianity who until then have not yet accepted it.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.” (Rev. 13:16-18).

We shall not delve any deeper into this subject at this time, but we would like to include a part of an interesting article by Ludwig Schneider, a world-renowned Israeli journalist from Jerusalem who was pondering about the number 666 (pages 18 and 19).

The Lord God Himself gave directions to His people Israel and also to His New Testament Church along their way for what they had and still have to believe and do. It is written in Deut. 6:3-9:

“Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.”  This statement of faith we find confirmed once more in Deut. 11, from verse 18.

In the Hebrew text of the statement of faith, the last letter of the first word and the last letter of the last word in a sentence are written in capitals. It should not only be recited, but should be pronounced very consciously and reverently and accentuated clearly. Until this very day, the Jews are praying the “Sh’ma Israel” with this accentuation.

Israel should observe and obey what the Lord said, so that they may fare well in the land which God had promised to their fathers and that they are blessed.

Then comes the emphasis – and Israel should listen attentively – on the fact that the Lord God is One, followed by the command to love God with all one’s heart, and with all one’s soul, and with all one’s might. The words of God should abide in the hearts of His people. They should teach their children and grandchildren in their homes, along the way, when going to bed, and when getting up. 

“And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” The Lord God had commanded: “And it shall be for a sign unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the Lord’s law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the Lord brought thee out of Egypt.” (Exo. 13:9).

“Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.” (Deut. 11:18).

Whoever goes into the prayer rooms at the wailing wall in Jerusalem can literally see how the men have the statement of faith fastened with leather straps on their hands and foreheads. Every house, even every hotel in Israel has the “Mezuzah” with the text of the statement of faith from Deut. 6:3-9 fixed at eye level on the right door post.

The statement of faith was and is the mark, the identifying sign of His people Israel.

Now we come to the New Testament: In Mark 12:29-32, Jesus answered the question about which was the first commandment: “… Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. … And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he …”

God does not exist in three entities; He did not change from one Person to three eternal persons. Neither in eternity nor in the Old Testament and also not in the New Testament do we find any mention of a triune God. The one God has remained the one God; to realize His plan of redemption, He has revealed Himself as Father in heaven, in His only begotten Son on earth, and by the Holy Spirit in the Church: God above us, God with us, God in us.

“Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.” (Rom. 3:30).

“Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.” (Gal. 3:20).

“Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (1. Tim. 1:17).

Likewise, we shall and may love the one and only God with all our soul, with all our heart, and with all our might, and shall love our neighbour as we love ourselves (Mk. 12:31).

However, already very early on, the enemy crept into the New Testament Church and has misled ever since. Both exist side by side: the true believers who remain in the true statement of faith of Jesus Christ and the apostles and also those who are part of the apostate Christendom. The confessions of faith – the one from Jerusalem and the other from Nicaea – exclude each other.

The confession of faith that the Holy Scripture testifies of remains the same in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. For all true children of God it is the only valid confession for faith, doctrine, baptism, Lord’s Supper. Indeed, for every biblical subject there is only one correct answer, and it is written in no catechism, only in the Bible.

Every Christian church and denomination has their own creed that is being believed and taught. But all of them are confessing the Nicene-Chalcedonian Creed, which is obligatory for them. In Revelation we read about the religious “mark,” which all people will be forced to accept. Finally, in the last unification in Rome, the final ruling will be made and whosoever does not submit to it has to expect to die as a martyr. With the mark – the sign of the last worldwide religious power – the pressure will be on.

The urgent warning is:

“If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation …” (Rev. 14:9-10).

The latest state of affairs is that 350 Protestant churches and denominations are united in the World Council of Churches. And the Vatican has declared very openly and explicitly that all Protestant churches are just Christian fellowships; the only church is said to be the Catholic Church by and in which all receive the full salvation of God. The full salvation of God is certainly not found in any church; it is solely in Jesus Christ and each individual has to accept and experience it personally. So, the daughter churches who did not experience the full salvation in Jesus Christ have no other choice but to return into the bosom of the mother church (Rev. 17).

They are all referring to the words in Jn. 17:21: “That they all may be one …,” and no one reads it in the context in which it is actually written and meant: “I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (v. 23) – God in Christ (2. Cor. 5:19) and Christ in us (Col. 1:27).

It cannot be repeated often enough that in the first centuries there were no popes, no cardinals, no organized church. Even if more than 100 different religious orientations were in existence, there was also always the Church of Jesus Christ, the little flock, which is no organisation, but the organism lead by the Spirit of God.

Only little by little did the Christian national churches, the Coptic, the Chaldean, the Syrian, the Egyptian, the Orthodox, and the Roman Catholic Church come into existence in the Roman Empire. However, all these churches were and are state churches and national churches, not the redeemed Church of Jesus Christ.

Since the Council of Nicaea, ad 325, and of Chalcedon, ad 381, there is the standardized, Trinitarian Nicene-Chalcedonian Creed, in which several statements of faith are the supporting pillars. All churches and denominations which have come into existence since the Reformation have also adopted it. And this creed that God exists in three eternal persons, which is called “apostolic” but in fact is not apostolic, will be forced upon all those in Christianity who until then have not yet accepted it.

“And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.” (Rev. 13:16-18).

We shall not delve any deeper into this subject at this time, but we would like to include a part of an interesting article by Ludwig Schneider, a world-renowned Israeli journalist from Jerusalem who was pondering about the number 666 (pages 18 and 19).