MOnthly Newsletter October 2026

M O N T H LY T E A C H I N G N E W S L E T T E RO C T O B E R 2 0 2 6 · T H E E I G H T H M O N T H FIRST HARVEST MINISTRIES INTERNATIONAL◆THE APOSTOLIC ASSEMBLIES◆HISCOMINGKINGDOM.COM John Shane Vaughn  General Pastor, Founder, Apostolic OverseerFirst Harvest Ministries International T H I S M O N T H ’ S T E A C H I N G DO YOU HAVE THE HONESTY? A Letter for Christians Who Love the Messiah Enough to Ask Some Sincere Questions — No Matter What the Answer Is You love the Savior. You love Christmas morning and Easter Sunday. But have you ever asked who gave you these days — and whether He did? Open your Bible, set aside what you were taught, and follow the evidence wherever it leads. I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E 1. In Vain Do They Worship Me 2. What Is Wrong With Paganism? 3. Rebellion Is the Sin of Witchcraft 4. Who Stood Behind the Gods? 5. The Rebellion Before the Flood 6. You Cannot Sanctify the Forbidden 7. The Church Confesses It Borrowed 8. Halloween — The Night of the Dead 9. Christmas — Who Authorized It? 10. Easter — Why Did Passover Have to Go? 11. January First and May Day 12. Wrapped in Light C L A R I T Y F O R C O N F U S I O N◆T R U T H F O R L I E S◆L I G H T F O R D A R K N E S S T H E CLARION VOICE of Truth T H E V O I C E O F C L A R I T Y I N A C O N F U S E D R E L I G I O U S W O R L D B A question for every Christian who loves the Savior e warned — your life will change forever if you dare to read this letter with honest eyes and no preconceived ideas. Most people will not finish this letter. They will feel the heat of the first page, remember what they were taught as children, and close it. But if you are one of the few who still cares more about the truth than about your traditions, keep reading. I am going to PROVE what I say — from the Scriptures, from history, and from the mouths of the church's own witnesses. We are told all the time that "paganism is not Satanism." And you know something? I halfway agree. Only halfway. By the end of this letter you will understand why the other half is the half that matters. 1. In Vain Do They Worship Me Before we go one step further, read one verse with me. It is not my verse. It came out of the mouth of the Messiah Himself: “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” — Mark 7:7 Yes, I realize that you believe in your heart that you are worshipping Elohim in your Christian celebrations. I know you are sincere. I know the joy of Christmas morning feels holy, and the music of Easter Sunday stirs something deep in you. For forty years I felt the same. But this one scripture caused me to stop in my tracks. ◆ HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO WORSHIP IN VAIN? ◆ Look at who YAHSHUA was speaking to. Not pagans. Not atheists. Not Satanists. He was speaking to the most religious men in Israel — men who prayed, fasted, tithed, and guarded the traditions of their fathers with great devotion. They were not pretending. They were WORSHIPPING. He said so Himself: "in vain do they worship ME." Their worship was aimed at the right Person — and it was still in vain. VAIN means empty. Useless. Effort that comes to nothing. A man can pour out his heart, sing with all his strength, give generously, gather his family in love — and heaven can count it as NOTHING. Why? YAHSHUA gives the reason in the very next breath: “For laying aside the commandment of Elohim, ye hold the tradition of men... Full well ye reject the commandment of Elohim, that ye may keep your own tradition.” — Mark 7:8–9 There it is. Their worship was not empty because it lacked sincerity. It was empty because it was built on the commandments of men in the place of the commandment of Elohim. Sincerity did not save it. Tradition did not save it. Even aiming it at the right Person did not save it. You can worship the RIGHT Messiah, with a SINCERE heart, in the WRONG way — and He will call it VAIN. So carry this one question through every page that follows. Not "Do I love Him?" — I believe you do. The question is: "Did HE ask for this — or did men?" 2. What Is Wrong With Paganism? Let us start with the Satanists themselves, because they tell on themselves. The modern Church of Satan does not believe Satan exists. Read their own material. Its members are atheists. They do not pray to a devil. They do not believe in a devil. To them "Satan" is a SYMBOL — a symbol of the self. The individual is taught to regard himself as the center of his own universe, to be his own god, to be ruled by his own desires, with no commandment above him and no limitation upon him. So in that sense, I agree: Satanism is not the worship of Satan. The Satanist does not even believe in the god of his own religion. But stop and look at what they DO worship. THE SELF. MY will. MY desire. MY authority. No commandment over me. Now where have we heard that before? “For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of El... I will be like the most High.” — Isaiah 14:13–14 FIVE TIMES the adversary said "I WILL." And in the garden he offered the same religion to Eve: "Ye shall be as gods" (Genesis 3:5). Not "ye shall worship me." Ye shall BE AS GODS — your own authority, your own law, your own judge of good and evil. That is the original Satanism. Not horns and candles. A creature setting its will above the will of its Creator. Satanism was never about worshipping a devil. It was always about REBELLION — putting MY will on the throne that belongs to YAHWEH. And once you see that, the question is no longer "Did they bow to Satan?" The question is "Did they bow to YAHWEH's commandment — or to their own?" So understand where this letter is going. The holidays are not the charge. They are the EVIDENCE. The charge is REBELLION — and it moves in three steps: ONE REBELLION IN HEAVEN Heavenly beings reject their appointed boundaries — Jude 6; 1 Enoch 6–15. TWO DECEPTION AMONG THE NATIONS Pagan worship is offered to devils — Deuteronomy 32:17; 1 Corinthians 10:20. THREE REBELLION DRESSED AS WORSHIP Man's tradition lifted above YAHWEH's commandment — Exodus 32:5; Mark 7:7–9. From heaven, to the nations, to the church calendar — one rebellion, three stages. 3. Rebellion Is the Sin of Witchcraft King Saul never stopped being religious. He never stopped talking about YAHWEH. He never stopped offering sacrifices. He simply decided which parts of the commandment he would keep, which parts he would change, and how he would dress up the difference. And then he called it worship. Samuel's answer is the foundation stone of this entire letter: “Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of YAHWEH, he hath also rejected thee from being king.” — 1 Samuel 15:22–23 READ IT AGAIN. Rebellion IS AS the sin of witchcraft. Stubbornness IS AS idolatry. YAHWEH does not wait for a man to draw a pentagram before He calls it witchcraft. He looks at a king offering sacrifices and calls it witchcraft — because the sacrifices were offered on Saul's terms instead of YAHWEH's. ◆ A MAN CAN BE DEEPLY RELIGIOUS AND STILL STAND IN REBELLION AGAINST THE VERY ELOHIM HE CLAIMS TO SERVE. ◆ So the issue is not sincerity. It is not beauty. It is not how old the custom is. The issue is AUTHORITY. Who has the right to decide how YAHWEH is worshipped — YAHWEH, or man? 4. Who Stood Behind the Gods? Now travel with me to ancient Rome. Jupiter ruled from the Capitoline Hill. Apollo had temples, priests, and oracles. Diana received sacrifices. Their images stood in the public squares and in private homes. Their festivals marked the calendar. Emperors received divine honors. Then the followers of YAHSHUA walked into that world and challenged the identity of the gods themselves. They were not gods. But neither were they merely imaginary. Moses had already told us what stood behind the idols: “They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger. They sacrificed unto devils, not to Eloah; to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.” — Deuteronomy 32:16–17 The worshipper thought he was honoring a god. YAHWEH says the sacrifice went to DEVILS. The Psalmist says Israel "sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils" (Psalm 106:37). And Paul carries the same truth straight into the New Testament: “But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to Elohim: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.” — 1 Corinthians 10:20–21 Notice: the pagan did not KNOW he was serving devils. He thought he was serving Jupiter. Paul did not care what the worshipper thought he was doing. Paul cared what was ACTUALLY receiving the worship. The name on the altar was never the truth. What stood BEHIND the altar was the truth. 5. The Rebellion Before the Flood Now go back further still. Before Rome. Before Greece. Before Babylon. “The sons of Elohim saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose... There were giants in the earth in those days.” — Genesis 6:2, 4 The Book of Enoch preserves the fuller account. Heavenly Watchers descended, took women, produced giants, and taught mankind forbidden arts that filled the earth with corruption (1 Enoch 6–11). Now notice the distinction Enoch makes, because it matters. The Watchers THEMSELVES were bound and imprisoned to await judgment (1 Enoch 10). But their giant offspring were something new — born of spirit and of flesh. When the giants died, the spirits that came out of their bodies were NOT bound. "They shall be called evil spirits upon the earth" (1 Enoch 15:8–9). They were left to roam — afflicting mankind and seeking the worship of men. Jude confirms the crime: "the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation" (Jude 6). Peter confirms the judgment: "Elohim spared not the angels that sinned" (2 Peter 2:4). And now hear the earliest Christian witnesses — men who lived under Roman rule, surrounded by the temples: Justin Martyr, writing around AD 150: “But the angels transgressed this appointment, and were captivated by love of women, and begat children who are those that are called demons; and besides, they afterwards subdued the human race to themselves... partly by teaching them to offer sacrifices, and incense, and libations.” — Justin Martyr, Second Apology, ch. 5 Athenagoras, writing around AD 177, makes the same distinction Enoch makes — the fallen angels on one hand, the spirits of the giants on the other: “These angels, then, who have fallen from heaven, and haunt the air and the earth, and are no longer able to rise to heavenly things, and the souls of the giants, which are the demons who wander about the world...” — Athenagoras, Plea for the Christians, ch. 25 And he tells us exactly what those spirits do: "They who draw men to idols, then, are the aforesaid demons, who are eager for the blood of the sacrifices" (ch. 26). Tertullian, writing around AD 197: “We are instructed, moreover, by our sacred books how from certain angels, who fell of their own free-will, there sprang a more wicked demon-brood...” — Tertullian, Apology, ch. 22 Three men. Three cities. One testimony: the gods of the nations were the children of a rebellion. So what was the sin of the Watchers? THEY LEFT THEIR APPOINTED ORDER. They crossed the boundaries YAHWEH set. They took what He had not authorized. They taught men to worship what He had not commanded. ◆ THE GODS OF THE NATIONS ARE THE CHILDREN OF A REBELLION — AND EVERY FEAST HELD IN THEIR HONOR IS HELD IN THE HONOR OF REBELLION. ◆ If Satanism is rebellion — and the gods of the nations ARE rebellion — then PAGANISM IS SATANISM. 6. You Cannot Sanctify the Forbidden Someone is already objecting: "Pastor, we don't worship those gods. We took their customs and gave them to Jesus!" YAHWEH saw you coming three thousand years ago. “Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them... and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. Thou shalt not do so unto YAHWEH thy Elohim: for every abomination to YAHWEH, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods... What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.” — Deuteronomy 12:30–32 READ THAT SLOWLY. YAHWEH did not only forbid worshipping their gods. He forbade worshipping HIM the way they worshipped THEIRS. "Even so will I do likewise" — and then do it UNTO YAHWEH — that is the exact thing He outlawed. That is the entire defense of the Christian holiday calendar, and YAHWEH condemned it by name before the first church was ever built. And Israel tried it anyway. Aaron made a golden calf — and then he did something that should terrify every church in America: “And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to YAHWEH.” — Exodus 32:5 Did Aaron announce a feast to Baal? NO. Did he announce a feast to the bull gods of Egypt? NO. WHOSE NAME DID HE PUT ON THE CELEBRATION? YAHWEH'S! The golden calf was not only a false god. It was FALSE WORSHIP OFFERED UNDER THE NAME OF THE TRUE ELOHIM — and three thousand men died that day (Exodus 32:28). Then Jeroboam did it again. He did not want his people going to Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, so he built his own altars and made his own feast: “So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Bethel the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel.” — 1 Kings 12:33 DEVISED OF HIS OWN HEART. A replacement feast. Close enough to YAHWEH's to feel familiar. Far enough from it to be his own. And YAHWEH called it "the sin of Jeroboam" for the rest of Israel's history. And if you think YAHWEH is only offended by counterfeits offered by kings, look inside the Tabernacle itself: “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before YAHWEH, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from YAHWEH, and devoured them, and they died before YAHWEH.” — Leviticus 10:1–2 These were not pagan priests in a Roman temple. They were the sons of the high priest, standing in the sanctuary, offering incense to the TRUE Elohim. Their whole crime is written in five words: WHICH HE COMMANDED THEM NOT. And Moses gave the reason: "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me" (Leviticus 10:3). YAHWEH does not have to accept an offering merely because someone offers it in His Name. SAUL REBELLION Kept what he liked and called it sacrifice — 1 Samuel 15. AARON A FEAST TO YAHWEH Put the true Name on a false feast — Exodus 32. JEROBOAM DEVISED OF HIS OWN HEART Invented a holy day of his own — 1 Kings 12. NADAB & ABIHU STRANGE FIRE Offered what He commanded not — Leviticus 10. Four witnesses. Four kinds of religious disobedience. Not one of them bowed to Baal. And when the northern kingdom was finally carried away, the Scripture writes their epitaph: “They feared YAHWEH, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.” — 2 Kings 17:33 They feared YAHWEH — AND served their own gods. Both at once. That is not a description of ancient Samaria. That is a description of the modern church. ◆ AARON INVENTED A FEAST AND CALLED IT YAHWEH'S. JEROBOAM INVENTED A FEAST OUT OF HIS OWN HEART. WHEN DID YAHWEH GIVE RELIGIOUS LEADERS THE RIGHT TO INVENT HIS HOLY DAYS? ◆ 7. The Church Confesses It Borrowed Now somebody says, "Pastor, you cannot prove the church took these customs from the pagans." I do not have to. The church admits it. In the year 601, Pope Gregory the Great sent instructions to the missionaries working among the pagan English. The letter is preserved by the monk Bede in his Ecclesiastical History (Book 1, ch. 30). Gregory told them NOT to destroy the pagan temples, but only the idols inside them — sprinkle the temples with holy water, set up altars, and keep the people coming to the same places. And because the people were accustomed, in his own words, to slaughter many oxen "in the sacrifices to devils," he ordered that "some solemnity must be exchanged for them" — Christian feast days in place of the pagan ones, so the people would keep feasting in the same places at the same seasons. READ THAT AGAIN. The bishop of Rome KNEW those were sacrifices to devils — and he chose to EXCHANGE the feast rather than END it. That is Deuteronomy 12:30 broken on purpose, in writing, by policy. FHMI accepts no authority from Rome — but we gladly call Rome as a witness against itself. And this was not a secret even in the earliest days. Tertullian, two hundred years before, was already grieving over Christians who had joined the pagan calendar: “The Saturnalia and New-year's and Midwinter's festivals and Matronalia are frequented by us!... Oh better fidelity of the nations to their own sect, which claims no solemnity of the Christians for itself!” — Tertullian, On Idolatry, ch. 14 The pagans would never keep a Christian feast. But the Christians were keeping the pagan ones — and calling it liberty. The church did not stumble into the pagan calendar by accident. It walked in on purpose — and wrote down why. ◆ WHO GAVE MAN THE AUTHORITY TO CHANGE THE WORSHIP OF YAHWEH? ◆ 8. Halloween — The Night of the Dead Start with the holiday on the calendar this very month. Historians still argue over how much of it descends from the old Celtic festival of the dead. I do not need to win that argument. Just look at what fills the night: witches, ghosts, skulls, séances, fortune telling, the dead walking. Now hear YAHWEH: “There shall not be found among you any one 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. For all that do these things are an abomination unto YAHWEH.” — Deuteronomy 18:10–12 Every item on that list is on display on October 31 — many of them in church parking lots under the name "Trunk or Treat." "Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them" (Ephesians 5:11). Not decorate with them. Not dress your children in them. REPROVE them. Halloween is not a harmless night of candy. It celebrates the very works YAHWEH calls abomination. 9. Christmas — Who Authorized It? "But Pastor, we are celebrating the birth of Jesus!" I understand what you SAY you are celebrating. My question is: WHO AUTHORIZED IT? Show me the verse where YAHWEH commanded an annual feast for the Messiah's birth. Show me the apostle who kept December 25. Show me where YAHSHUA told His disciples to keep it. You cannot — because it is not there. Here is what IS there. The earliest record of December 25 as the birthday of Christ is a Roman calendar from AD 354 — and the very same document marks December 25 as Natalis Invicti: the birthday of the Unconquered Sun. The week before belonged to the Saturnalia — feasting, gift-giving, candles, and revelry in honor of Saturn. The church did not find December 25 in the Bible. It found it on Rome's calendar. And YAHWEH warned us about the decorations, too: “Learn not the way of the heathen... For the customs of the people are vain: for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the axe. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not.” — Jeremiah 10:2–4 Meanwhile, YAHWEH DID give us an appointed time that tells the story of His Son coming to dwell among men. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (John 1:14) — the Greek says He TABERNACLED among us. The Feast of Tabernacles is commanded, eternal, and full of the Messiah (Leviticus 23:34–43; Zechariah 14:16). And Christianity abandoned the feast YAHWEH commanded to embrace the one Rome invented. Remember the verse that stopped me in my tracks? "In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). December 25 is not a commandment of Elohim. It is a commandment of men. ◆ THE QUESTION IS NOT WHETHER YOU LOVE YAHSHUA. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER LOVING HIM GIVES YOU PERMISSION TO REPLACE HIS FATHER'S APPOINTMENTS. ◆ 10. Easter — Why Did Passover Have to Go? YAHWEH gave Israel the Passover (Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:5). YAHSHUA kept it. He died as the Passover Lamb on the very day the lambs were slain. And Paul did not tell the believers to replace it — he told them to KEEP it: “For even Messiah our passover is sacrificed for us: therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven... but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.” — 1 Corinthians 5:7–8 So why did Passover have to go? The Emperor Constantine told us himself. After the Council of Nicaea in 325, he wrote to the churches explaining why the date of the resurrection feast must be cut loose from the Passover reckoning: "Let us then have nothing in common with the detestable Jewish crowd" (Eusebius, Life of Constantine, Book 3, ch. 18). Not "YAHWEH commanded it." Not "the apostles taught it." CONTEMPT. That is the stated reason the church abandoned the feast of the Lamb. And what took its place? Even the name testifies. The Venerable Bede, an English monk writing around 725, recorded that the month and its festival were named after a goddess the pagans called Eostre (The Reckoning of Time, ch. 15). A church monk — not a critic — telling you whose name is on the feast. Then go to the sunrise service. Ezekiel was taken in vision to the house of YAHWEH and shown the abominations that grieved Him most: “Then he brought me to the door of the gate of YAHWEH's house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz... and, behold, at the door of the temple of YAHWEH, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of YAHWEH, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.” — Ezekiel 8:14, 16 Weeping for a dead god in spring. Facing the rising sun at dawn. IN THE HOUSE OF YAHWEH. Ezekiel saw an Easter sunrise service twenty-six centuries before the first one was held — and YAHWEH called it "greater abominations" (Ezekiel 8:15). The church traded the Lamb's own feast for a sunrise on a goddess's holiday — and the man who made the trade told us it was out of contempt. 11. January First and May Day Now something so simple a child can see it. “This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” — Exodus 12:2 That month is ABIB (Exodus 13:4) — springtime, when the barley ripens and life returns. That is YAHWEH's New Year. January is named for Janus, the two-faced Roman god of doors and beginnings, looking backward and forward at once. Rome moved the start of its year to January 1 for the convenience of its consuls, and Julius Caesar fixed it there. Today the church will throw a party at midnight on December 31 — while most of its members could not tell you the name of the first month YAHWEH gave. I understand using the civil calendar to pay your bills. That is not the issue. The issue is that YAHWEH's New Year now needs an explanation, while Janus's New Year needs no defense. THAT IS THE GREAT REVERSAL. May Day carries the same mark. Rome kept the Floralia for the goddess Flora at the turn of April into May — the creation honored in the place of the Creator. “Who changed the truth of Elohim into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.” — Romans 1:25 YAHWEH already gave His people Firstfruits, Weeks, and Tabernacles to rejoice before HIM for the increase of the earth. We did not need to borrow Flora's. SEVENTH DAY NOT SUNDAY "The seventh day is the sabbath of YAHWEH thy Elohim" (Exodus 20:10). PASSOVER NOT EASTER The Lamb's own feast — "let us keep the feast" (1 Corinthians 5:8). TABERNACLES NOT CHRISTMAS The feast of the Word who tabernacled among us (John 1:14). ABIB NOT JANUARY "The beginning of months" (Exodus 12:2) — not the door-god's month. FIRSTFRUITS NOT MAY DAY Thank the Creator for the harvest — not the creation. ATONEMENT NOT HALLOWEEN The accuser removed and the captives set free — not a night of witches and the dead. YAHWEH never left His people without a calendar. Man replaced every appointment He made. 12. Wrapped in Light Now we come to the most dangerous part of all. Most people imagine deception must LOOK evil. They expect something dark and grotesque. But listen to Paul: “And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” — 2 Corinthians 11:14–15 Deception rarely arrives in darkness. It arrives in LIGHT. It comes with choirs and candles. With pageants and lights on the eaves. With children smiling at the foot of a tree. With sincere people telling you it is all for the glory of God. But beauty is not proof of obedience. Sincerity is not proof of truth. Popularity is not proof of divine approval. And antiquity is not proof of divine authority. I am not saying that every person keeping these days knowingly worships Satan. I am saying that conscious intention was never the test Scripture applies. Saul did not intend witchcraft. Aaron did not intend a feast to Apis. Jeroboam did not intend to call it idolatry. The question was always the same: WHOSE AUTHORITY GOVERNS YOUR WORSHIP? ◆ A MAN CAN WEAR A PENTAGRAM AND REFUSE THE COMMANDMENTS OF YAHWEH. HE CAN ALSO WEAR A CROSS AND REFUSE THEM. THE SYMBOL NEVER DECIDED HIS OBEDIENCE. ◆ When the church takes rebellion, dresses it in religious garments, and teaches its people to defend it rather than examine it by the Scriptures — it has wrapped Satanism in light. So here is the whole matter in one sentence from the apostles: "We ought to obey Elohim rather than men" (Acts 5:29). And here is the whole matter in one question from the Messiah: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” — Luke 6:46 Elijah stood on Mount Carmel before a nation that had never thrown away YAHWEH's Name. They had simply set Baal up beside Him. And he asked them the question I now ask you: “How long halt ye between two opinions? if YAHWEH be Elohim, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” — 1 Kings 18:21 I did not write this letter to ask whether you love Christmas. I wrote it to ask whether you love YAHWEH enough to OBEY Him. I did not write it to ask whether your traditions are beautiful. I wrote it to ask whether they carry His AUTHORITY. ◆ THE ISSUE WAS NEVER HOW RELIGIOUS REBELLION COULD BECOME. THE ISSUE IS WHETHER THE PEOPLE OF YAHWEH WILL FINALLY STOP REBELLING. ◆ The call has already gone out from heaven, and notice who it is addressed to: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” — Revelation 18:4 MY PEOPLE. Not the heathen — His people, standing inside a religious system that has borrowed its calendar from the gods of the nations. He is not asking you to make rebellion more religious. He is calling you OUT of it. Come out of the traditions that displace His commandments. Return to His Sabbath. Return to His Feasts. Return to His appointed times. Return to His government. Return to His authority. You had the honesty to read this letter to the end. Now have the courage to obey it. Satanism was never about horns and candles. It was always about one creature saying "I will" where YAHWEH has said "Thou shalt." Paganism wears a thousand faces — but under every mask is the same rebellion. Come out of her, my people. GO DEEPER THIS MONTH THE STORY YOU WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW — get the book on Amazon (search John Shane Vaughn), or watch the sermon by that title on YouTube at @FirstHarvestMinistries. Rightly Dividing the Word in the Season of Pagan Festivals — Romans 14:5 and Colossians 2:16 answered. The Trouble With Time — YAHWEH's calendar restored. The Spirit of the Law — why the war between Law and Grace never existed. Free ebooks at HisComingKingdom.com · Search the teaching archive at AskPastorVaughn.com Until He comes, John Shane Vaughn General Pastor, Founder, Apostolic Overseer First Harvest Ministries International • The Apostolic Assemblies of the House of Israel C O N T I N U E I N T H E W O R D Follow Pastor Vaughn & Receive More Teaching  Free Teaching & Books www.HisComingKingdom.com Find all of our FREE EBOOKS here. www.AskPastorVaughn.com Search Pastor Vaughn’s massive teaching archive. On Amazon: search John Shane Vaughn Every published book in one place — including Before the Beginning. ✚ Support This End-Time Work Ways to send your donation: CashApp$Drvaughn45 PayPaljthanv32@gmail.com VenmoShane-Vaughn-16 Zellebrothervaughn@gmail.com By MailFirst Harvest Ministries P.O. Box 2757 Bay St. Louis, MS 39521  Join Us Live LIVE Preaching every Sabbath 12:30 Central YouTube — @FirstHarvestMinistries Roku — download First Harvest Ministries Mobile App — First Harvest Ministries on the Play or Apple Store Live Zoom Bible Study every Friday 7:00 Central — link at HisComingKingdom.com ✉ Contact Pastor Vaughn Please feel free to contact Pastor Vaughn. Email: brothervaughn@gmail.com Mail: P.O. Box 2757 Bay St. Louis, MS 39521  Invite Pastor Vaughn Pastor John Shane Vaughn is available for your podcast or to speak at your events by request. Request him at www.HisComingKingdom.com “Hear, O Israel: YAHWEH our Elohim is one YAHWEH.” — Deuteronomy 6:4 John Shane Vaughn General Pastor, Founder, Apostolic Overseer • First Harvest Ministries International HisComingKingdom.com  •  TheTruthTv.tv  •  Waveland, Mississippi T HE AP OS T OL I C AS S E MB L I E S OF T HE HOUS E OF I S R AE L