Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries Newsletter

Issue No. 07                                               India                                                           Aug. 2003

Festival of Tabernacles 2003

All of good will are welcome to come and rejoice in the Law of Yahweh during the festival of Tabernacles that  is scheduled to be held in Eluru, W.G. Dt. A.P. on Oct. 12 - 19, meetings will start Fri. night Oct. 10, for those coming from out of town. The meetings will be held at the Mothevari Satram, near the Old Bustand.  There are rooms for lodging at the premises with bathing and bathroom facilities.  Meals will be served throughout the Festival.    For more info. contact G.B. Benoni at:  8812-250404 or 235109.

Northeastern Yahweh believers

Until now this newsletter mainly went to those that call on Yahweh in Andhra Pradesh, as this is the only State in India that Yahweh worshippers were known of by me(bro. Matithyah).  But in the latter part of June, me and Pas. Y. Sunith Premanand from Hyderabad made a trip to far northeast India, to see some believers that we had made contact with.  We first went to the state of Manipur where we met with Pas. G. Israel and his congregation.  We spent Sabbath day with Pas. Israel and visited several other people from other congregations.  There are approximately 1000 poeple who call on Yahweh in the state of Manipur.  Pas. G. Israel had visited Pas. Sunith in Hyderabad about 10 years ago. 

After the pleasant visit in Manipur, Sunith and I traveled to the state of Mizoram, where we met with bro. J.H. Thangliana and congregation in the city of Aizawl.  I would estimate that there are approximately 1000 believers in Yahweh in Mizoram.  I met with a few other congregations and kept two Sabbath days in Mizoram before returning.

The Northeast is different from the rest of India in several ways.  The state of Mizoram is about 90% Christian and the customs are Christian.  Manipur is about 40% Christian, the Scheduled Tribes are all Christian whereas the upper castes are Hindu.  In the northeast whenever a boy and girl marry, the boy is expected to pay dowry to the girl.  In Manipur the dowry price is about 5000Rs. that the boy must pay.  While in these two states we hardly ever encountered a beggar or drunkard.  There were no people living on the streets of Imphal or Aizawl, no one openly used the side of the road for their toilet purposes even in village area's. 

It is the plans of bro. Matithyah to return to Mizoram for Unleavened Bread of 2004 and to Manipur for Pentecost.  It would be good for some local believers from Andhra Pradesh to visit the Northeast also.  If any would be interested in going, do contact bro. Matithyah at the address at the end of this newsletter.

Sacred Name Bible Translations

In the state of Mizoram a bro. Lalrea has translated the whole Bible into the Mizo language useing the Names of Yahweh and Yahshua.  He has written the text on paper and is now in the process of typesetting it into the computer, so maybe in a year or so he will have it ready for printing.

In Andhra Pradesh the Telugu Sacred Name translation is going forward steadily under the direction of bro. G.B. Benoni.  The books of Gen.-1Sam. and Dan. are completed.  We have obtained a copy of the book of  Matthew in the Hebrew language and it is being translated from the Hebrew by a friend in Vijayawada who knows Hebrew;  he is translating directly from Hebrew to Telugu.  If any would be interested in ordering a copy of the book of Matthew in Hebrew with its English translation, it can be ordered online at: nazarene.net.  A book that does an in-depth study of the Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek manuscripts of the N.T. can be viewed and downloaded at:  http://www.nazarene.net/textcrit.htm

Immersion(baptism) in Yahshua Messiah's Name(Doctrinal belief no. #6)

Baptism in Yahshua Messiah's Name is the most important act of one's life.  It is the ordinance by which a person enters into covenant with the Messiah and shows to the world that he or she is allowing Yahweh to cleanse them of all their sins through the sacrificial death of His Son Yahshua Messiah.  It has its origin in the immersion ceremony of the O.T.  Several ceremonies in the O.T. required one to bathe his flesh to be cleansed of physical or ceremonial defilement, see Lev. 15:5-22; 16:26,28; Num. 19:6,7,18.  In Lev. 17:15,16 we read, "...But if he wash (his clothes) not, nor bathe his flesh;  then he shall bear his iniquity." Physical and spiritual defilement was not cleansed until one had bathed himself in water.  Whenever John the Baptist and Yahshua Messiah came with the message to repent and be immersed (Mt.3:6;4:17;Lk.4:1) this was a familiar concept to the Jewish mind.  And many repented of their sins and were immersed in water, thus showing that they were allowing Yahweh to cleanse them of all their sins.  The people that were baptized by John and Yahshua in the early part of His ministry knew that Yahweh would cleanse them from their sins, but they needed to understand how Yahweh would cleanse them.  This is why Yahshua said in His parting words to His disciples, that they should go into all the world and baptize in the Name of, not just the Father, but of the Son also, and of the Holy Spirit, Mt. 28:19.  In the instances of baptisms in the book of Acts the people were only immersed in the Name of Yahshua Messiah(Acts 2:38;8:16;19:5), thus showing the importance of the Name of Yahshua at one's baptism ceremony.  The Name Yahshua means, "Yahweh's salvation" in Hebrew.  When someone willingly chooses to receive immersion in Yahshua Messiah's Name, they are showing that they believe that Yahweh will cleanse away all their sins through the life and death of His Son.  Whenever the call to repentance and baptism comes to someone, they have to decide whether to obey the call of Yahweh on their life or to ignore that call.  If they ignore the call, all their sins will remain upon their life record and they will be held accountable for them in the judgment, Acts 3:19.  All that have accepted the law of Yahweh as the standard of their life and have believed in Yahshua as the Savior of all mankind are candidates for baptism.

The Hebrew and Greek words for baptize are tebelah(Heb.) and batptizo(Gk.), both words give the meaning of, making fully wet in water.  Sprinkling or other baptisms that do not fully immerse in water do not constitute a true Scriptural baptism, because they do not symbolize someone being fully cleansed of all sin, and thus a baptism that fully immerses is necessary.  Only the Name Yahshua means, "Yahweh's salvation" so this is the Name that baptisms should be performed in.  The name Jesus is a corruption of the Son of Yahweh's Name, thus for those that have been baptized in this corrupted Name, baptism in the true Name of Yahshua Messiah is necessary, for Yahshua told us to be perfect in our service to Him, Mt. 5:48.

Those who have entered into covenant with Messiah through baptism are now eligible to receive the ordinance of Yahshua's memorial supper, which is a reminder to us of the great Sacrifice that was made on man's behalf in the death of Yahweh's Own Son. 

For Good Health, Brown Rice or White Rice

Yahweh shows in the Scriptures that He is concerned with the health of man.  Without good health, man cannot enjoy life.  So Yahweh has given many health laws throughout the Bible.  In Jer. 6:16 we read, "Thus saith Yahweh, 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..." Lets apply this principle when it comes to the question of brown rice or white rice.

Below is a reprint of an article from, Hinduism Today, Nov/Dec 2001issue.

"Why Brown Rice is Healthier;  almost everyone eats White Rice - but should they?

Can you guess which highly processed and very popular food contributes to diabetes and, if it was'nt fortified with vitamins by the manufacturer, a deadly disease-beriberi?  That's right. It's white rice.

The vast majority of rice eaters won't touch brown rice. They consider it peasant's food or animal feed. Yet, the modern health food movement has proven unprocessed grains, including brown rice, to be healthier than their refined counterparts. Certainly, for thousands of years everyone ate brown rice, for the complex processing equipment needed to make white rice was invented only in 1860, in Scotland.

So what's the reason behind white rice anyway? Hinduism Today asked Tim O’ Donnell, vice president of sales and marketing at Lundberg Family Farms, a Californian company dedicated to organic rice. He said the main reason is shelf life. White rice keeps much longer than brown rice and therefore makes companies more money.  Over the last century, too, people have come to like the texture of white rice, as well as the shorter cooking time.

White rice got off to a rough start when, in 1897, it was found to be the cause of beriberi, a potentially deadly disease caused by lack of vitamin B1, which is stripped out in the processing.  Companies responded, under government pressure, by enriching the rice. They put back the naturally occurring vitamins, but not the nutrients called phytochemicals, which includes the all-important fiber. Another hazard of white rice is that it can contribute to diabetes. And, for those already diabetic, white rice is less safe than brown rice because it breaks down into glucose more quickly than brown rice, causing a more drastic insulin reaction...

All rice is brown rice before it is processed into white rice. This process strips out the life force of the rice along with most of the nutrients and almost all of the fiber. In order to compensate, 90 percent of American companies enrich white rice with powdered nutrients, in an attempt to replace some of what they took out. But, if the rice is rinsed before cooking, as it is in India, then the enrichment powder is lost. Many other nutrients are also removed in milling, the importance of which scientists are just beginning to understand. In the end, 55 percent of the original paddy rice remains."

The smaller shops in India do not carry brown rice, it has to be bought in bulk quantities at the rice mills.

Nutrient Comparison between fortified white rice and natural brown rice

Brown rice has 19% more protein than white rice, 349% more fiber, 86% more riboflavin(B2), 33% more Niacin(B3), 185% more vitamin B6, 144% more Folacin, 203% more vitamin E, 219% more magnesium, 147% more phosphorus, 139% more potassium, 37% more selenium, 25% more zinc.  Because of fortification white rice has 21% more thiamin(B1), but this is a powdered vitamin that is sprinkeled on the rice and it is largely lost if one rinses the rice before cooking.(figures taken from Hinduism Today, Nov/Dec 2001 issue)  Before supplementation, white rice has 400% less thiamin than brown rice.  Another report that I read from the George Mateljan foundation showed that unfortified white rice contains 60% less iron than brown rice and that fortified white rice still contains 30% less iron than brown rice.  Brown rice also provides us with rice bran which contains b-sitosterol, a naturally occurring substance which lowers blood cholesterol and reduces the risk of bowel cancer. Fiber in the diet helps to prevent constipation and may help to reduce the risk of developing bowel disorders including hemorrhoids and bowel cancer.

Contact Information:                                   

Assemblies of Yahweh Ministries  

G. B. Benoni  

Navabpet, Eluru 

W.G. Dt., A.P. 534001

telefax# - 8812-250404

yahweh@vsnl.com  (bro. Mattithyah)

www.sevendayweek.com

 "And He(Yahshua) said unto them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15,16