Despite all the modern doctrinal claims to the contrary, Yeshua (Jesus) NEVER claimed to be God (Yahweh) or God in the flesh. He did, however, on numerous occasions, claim to be the Messiah and the Son of God.

Initially, it was comprised of Hebrews who recognized that Yeshua was the promised Messiah of God. It met in homes and continued to keep God's Commandments while exploring and rejoicing in all the fulfilled Messianic prophecies, especially the final, sacrificial atonement for their sins. To the contrary, most churches today bear little resemblance to the original church, setting aside God's Commandments for their own doctrines and traditions.

Biblically speaking, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we cannot see." Hebrews 11. Many people have faith in God and believe in an eternal destiny in Heaven.  Others have faith in people or institutions of this world. The key to faith is the object. While anything in this world is subject to failure, God never fails. So the key to faith is the object of that faith.

Even those who do not believe in God have faith. If they didn't, they'd never drive down a two-lane road where the only thing keeping them from departing this earth is a thin yellow line. The only difference is the object of faith.

We all believe in something. Even believing in nothing is a belief. Generally, we tend to believe what is handed down to us or taught in lectures or sermons. Some beliefs are based on common sense, while others are rooted in worldly philosophies or religious doctrines.

Interestingly, most of the world, whether they believe in God or not, believes in five of His Ten Commandments, which promote respect, kindness, morality, ethics, and honesty.  

With SimplyGOD's emphasis on common sense instead of religious doctrines, we hope they will reconsider embracing the rest of them.

Heaven is a spiritual kingdom that we can, as spiritual beings, live in NOW. It has a Constitution consisting of the Ten Commandments and a hierarchy from least to greatest. 

At some point, our temporal bodies will fail, and we will find ourselves stepping into another, more permanent existence, and at a level commensurate with our spiritual growth and maturity.

Our mission is to help others live in that kingdom NOW and prepare them to inherit the top positions in Heaven for all eternity.

To many, hell is a dark place of torment where those who rejected God and His Son's atonement for their sins while on earth will spend eternity separated from Him and His Kingdom.

To me, hell is spending eternity ANYWHERE other than at the very top of Heaven.

God gave the Hebrews many ceremonial, communal, and dietary 'laws' after they escaped Egypt to help govern and guide their new desert-dwelling community, many of which are still beneficial today.

However, the Ten Commandments were given to all humanity as God's standards for life on earth. They sit above all other laws and are to be the foundation for every life on earth.

Sadly, the church has made what Yeshua calls the Comforter and Counselor in John 14 and 15 far too complicated. 

In Hebrew, it is called 'Ruach Ha Kodesh' or, correctly translated, the Spirit of Holiness, and its primary function is to draw you more deeply into the eternal things of God rather than the temporal things of earth. 

You can tell it is operating effectively in your life when you become more interested in the heart of God rather than the hand of God.

A single verse in 1 Thessalonians 4:17, which states that we will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, has many believing this will happen before the Great Tribulation. Rather than debate the timing, I offer this thought:

If God came to you and said, "I can take you out of the world before the Great Tribulation, and give you a nominal, mid-level position in Heaven, or I can use it to finish testing and refining your faith and give you the highest position. Which would you prefer?"

After a few thousand years staring up at the top, we might regret choosing the former.

If God could protect Noah in the flood, the three Hebrew children in the fiery furnace, and Daniel in the Lion's Den, he can protect us in the Great Tribulation.

The Gentiles welcomed his message of grace, mercy, and forgiveness, but rejected his message of submission and obedience to the Commandments of God; hence the need for his additional letters to the Gentile churches rebuking them for ongoing idolatry and immorality.

Given that most churches today still favor grace, mercy, and forgiveness over submission and obedience, I vote that Paul's mission was not ultimately successful.