As the Mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15), Yeshua (Jesus) declared, "...I will build My congregation..." (Matt. 16:18). Initially, Yeshua's congregation consisted solely of a remnant of Israelites, including the 12 disciples and the 120 believers who entered into the New Covenant with God on Pentecost (Acts 2). 

After Yeshua's ascension, the Gospel—the Good News—was opened to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46, etc.). Over time, false Gentile converts infiltrated Yeshua's congregation (Jude 1:3-4), rose to positions of authority, and began teaching false doctrines (2 Tim. 4:1-4). They also mixed many pagan elements with the true faith—something Scripture explicitly forbids (Deut. 12:29-32; Jer. 10:1-5). 

Jude, a brother of Yeshua, warned, "...It was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Yeshua Messiah” (Jude 3-4). This infiltration led to the prophesied apostasy—the time of great "falling away" (2 Thess. 2:3–4)—during which false converts seized power, persecuted, killed, and scattered true believers, splitting Yeshua's congregation into two.

Around 100 AD, the Apostle John was imprisoned by the Romans on the Isle of Patmos off Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea. There, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:21-22), he wrote the Book of Revelation. God inspired him to write Revelation in highly symbolic language (Rev. 1:1), concealing the identity of true believers from false believers to protect them while revealing the identity of false believers to true believers to protect them spiritually (Matt. 13:10-17). 

One congregation is portrayed as a chaste virgin (2 Cor. 11:2), a remnant of Yeshua’s original congregation. The other is described as "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots. (Rev. 17:5). This description symbolizes the Catholic Church and her Protestant daughter Churches, whose spiritual roots extend back to the Babylonian Mystery Religion, a pagan cult. Together, they are known as mainstream Christianity. God symbolized them as harlots because they had been unfaithful to Him by breaking His commandments and, consequently, their covenant with Him.

The prophecy concerning the great harlot and her daughters in chapter 17 continues in chapter 18. Verse 4 states, "I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, My people, that you have no participation in her sins, and that you do not receive of her plagues." In Revelation chapters 8 through 11, these plagues are described as trumpet plagues that God brings to bear on one-third of the total population of the heavens and the earth. This demographic represents mainstream Christianity near the end of the age. David Barrett’s World Christian Encyclopedia is considered the most comprehensive source of data on Christian denominations worldwide. According to this source, mainstream Christianity reached approximately one-third of the world’s population around A.D. 1900 and has remained near that proportion since then. Encyclopaedia Britannica reports the same percentages.

As we approach the end of the age, we find ourselves in the midst of the “Greater Exodus.” After God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage through a series of plagues, He led them into the wilderness where He entered into a covenant with them contingent upon their obedience to His Torah, including His commandments, statutes, and judgments (Ex. 19:3). Likewise, today, God is delivering his people out of the spiritual bondage of mainstream Christianity and leading them into a spiritual wilderness through a series of plagues, where He is entering into a covenant that is also contingent upon obedience to His Torah (Ex. 19:3). In Revelation 18:4, God calls those among these congregations who are willing to repent,  saying, “Come out of her, My people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4). 

Today, we are witnessing a spiritual awakening among many people in mainstream Christianity. God is calling them to seek "the ancient paths" (Jer. 6:16) and return to the First-Century Hebraic Roots of the faith. This spirit-led, prophetic awakening has manifested itself in what is known as the Hebrew Roots Movement, through which God is calling "His people" to repentance.

James, another brother of Yeshua, wrote, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19-20). Again, Hebrew Roots believers understand these instructions as a call to encourage mainstream Christianity to repent.

Leviticus 19:17 states, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him.” This passage implies that failing to rebuke a brother or neighbor for sin can constitute hatred because that person may face condemnation on Judgment Day. Those who do not believe they are required to keep God’s Law often dismiss this teaching.

Regarding Salvation, we believe it is a two-step process: justification and sanctification. Justification is the one‑time act of accepting Messiah Yeshua as Savior, resulting in being “saved” from our “sins that are past” (Rom. 3:24–25). Sanctification is a lifelong process of keeping the Law through a living faith (James 2:17) and overcoming sin to the end (Rev. 2:7, etc.), at which point we "attain salvation." For more information on this important topic, read my short article: "Eternal Life: Harmonizing Yeshua and Paul on Works"

Stephen Otto

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​יהוה bless and keep you. יהוה make His face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. יהוה lift up His face toward you, and give you peace.