Who Is Leading the Flock

[ravmoshe]

Apostles

Good point brother. pastors must be submitted to apostles and prophets/ visionaries in Yahweh;s order of divine givet. The global nature of their callings includes helping the struggling and yet faithful local shepherds.
rm

 

[ravmoshe]

Yes! Many of the 12 did. here is the evidence and some more insights into leaders and plural marriage.

Evidence of the Earliest Israelite Apostles having More Than One Wife
Below you will find 2 clear quotes/admissions from early “church fathers”; one from as early as 160 CE-AD, ADMITTING that JEWISH, or Messianic Israelite believers, commonly had more than one wife.
Calvin said Polygamy was "Exceedingly Prevalent among New Testament Believers”

Calvin believed polygamy was sinful. Nevertheless, he acknowledged its existence, not only in the Old Testament, but in the New Testament as well. In Calvin's commentary on 1Timothy 3:1-2, Calvin said polygamy-plural marriage was "exceedingly prevalent" among early New Testament believers. Evidently, this did not prevent them from becoming members of “the so called church.”

“The only true exposition, therefore, is that of Chrysostom, that in a bishop he expressly condemns polygamy, which at that time the Jews almost reckoned to be lawful. This corruption was borrowed by them partly from sinful imitation of the Fathers, (for they who read that Abraham, Jacob, David, and others of the same class, were married to more wives than one at the same time, thought that it was lawful for them also to do the same) and partly from neighboring nations; for the inhabitants of the East never observed that conscientiousness and fidelity in marriage which was proper. However that might be, polygamy-plural marriage was exceedingly prevalent among them and therefore with great propriety does Paul enjoin that a bishop should be free from this stain.”
(In other words, the Apostle Paul allegedly had the right to overrule Torah by disallowing leaders to have more than one wife. We know that simply cannot be; because if his words contradict YHWH’s Words, then Paul and the church are both found to be liars. As in most such cases however, it is the historic church’s wicked twisting and wrestling of Paul’s words, that turn them into antinomian diatribes.)

Justin Martyr Said “Many Jewish Christians Had Four or Five Wives”

Like Calvin, Justin Martyr (ce.160) was certainly no fan of polygamy-plural marriage. Nevertheless, he acknowledged its existence in the early New Testament church, perhaps mainly among New Testament Jewish Christians. He rebukes the Jews for allowing polygamy:

“Your imprudent and blind masters [i.e., Jewish teachers-rabbis] even until this time permit each man to have four or five wives. And if anyone sees a beautiful woman and desires to have her, they quote the doings of Jacob.” (Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter 134).

Justin continues: “If, then, the teaching of the prophets and of Himself moves you, it is better for you to follow God than your imprudent and blind masters, who even till this time permit each man to have four or five wives; and if anyone see a beautiful woman and desire to have her, they quote the doings of Jacob [called] Israel, and of the other patriarchs, and maintain that it is not wrong to do such things; for they are miserably ignorant in this matter. For, as I before said, certain dispensations of weighty mysteries were accomplished in each act of this sort [as in church dispensationalism, where the pagan church system wickedly attempts to replace the Jewish people as Israel, via false doctrines, such as the weekly 7th day Shabbat and plural marriage allegedly being no longer legal in YHWH’s eyes, having been replaced by Sunday worship and serial mandated church-state monogamy]. For in the accomplished, in order that you may thereby know that your teachers never looked at the divine motive which prompted each act, but only at the groveling and corrupting passions. Attend therefore to what I say.”

Martin Luther recognized that the church CANNOT teach on human sexuality.
Only Torah can! He encouraged a brother to add a second wife!
Martin Luther said: "Sola Scriptura, I cannot forbid a person to marry several wives, for it does not contradict Scripture." Luther granted Landgrave Phillip of Hesse a second wife and refused to follow the Catholic ban on patriarchal marriage.
Ref. Letter to the Chancellor Gregor Bruck January 13 1524. De wette 2.459.
How many Protestants, Lutherans and other non-Catholic church folks know the history of their religion? Most are still following Catholic law and that includes most Messianics and Nazarene Israelites too. Either it's Sola Scriptura, or it’s back to church; hot or cold, but please no more lukewarm Torah fans.

So those who arrogantly, or ignorantly claim to have FULLY come out of the “church system,” yet cling to a belief in mandated state-church serial monogamy as the only valid marriage arrangement as practiced in the west, where there is no separation of church and state on this issue, sadly are still deceived; rather, both church and state are complicit, one with the other, AGAINST YHWH, HIS TORAH, HIS REVEALED WILL AND HIS PEOPLE YISRAEL (that’s us folks). They have called abusive and archaic, what YHWH calls His loving instructions and guardianship for Israelite women, who choose a biblically alternative lifestyle.

Now choose ye this day whom you will serve. As for me and my house, we will serve YHWH. Yahoshua/Joshua 24:15.