¹ The Levitical Priesthood was commanded to collect tithes. Upon the sacrifice of Christ, giving his life as a guarantee for all men, he established himself as the new everlasting priesthood. Therefore the Levitical Priesthood was cancelled, abolished, disannulled; and therefore so were its tithes. Tithing died with the Levitical priesthood; the only places tithing is referenced in the New Testament is the claim of the self-righteous Pharisee, and the explanation of its death in Hebrews 7 above.

The Apostle Paul instructed people to set aside funds from their excess, but that was to relieve the poor, particularly the large numbers of poor brothers in Jerusalem. Relieving the poor does not include supporting self-appointed pastors or to maintain an uncommanded temple or building. Jesus, Paul, and Peter all denied those who solicited money for preaching; and as Christ instructed his disciples: Freely (without pay) you have received, freely (without charge) give."Mat 10:8.

Tithes were not even a part of Christianity until hundreds of years after the death of the Apostles; they were never mentioned by any Council of the Roman sect until 1119. From Francis Howgill's writing:

None of the first eight general councils ever mention the name of tithes; but the ninth, held at Lateran, under pope Calixtus the second, in the year 1119, speaks of such as had been given to the Church by special consecration; for at that time, people believing that tithes ought to be given to the poor, gave them to the heads and rulers of religious houses, who disposed of them; keeping open house for the poor and strangers, and were esteemed holy and good treasurers for the poor, as is testified by Cassion. But the council held under pope Alexander the third, in the year 1180, seeing much given to the poor and little to the priests, made a decree to restrain peoples’ freedom. There was no law, canon, or constitution of any general council that commanded tithes, or expressly supposed them a duty, before that of Lateran, in the year 1215, under pope Innocent the third; at which time the pope’s power had grown great. And then the people had greater mind to give them to the poor than to the priests; which made Innocent cry out against those who gave their tithes and first fruits to the poor, and not to the priests, as heinous offenders. At a council held at Lyons, under pope Gregory the tenth, in the year 1274, it was constituted, that it should not thenceforth be lawful for men to give their tithes at their own pleasure, as they had before done, but that they should pay all to the mother church. The great decree which speaks most plainly of them was made at the council of Trent, under pope Pius the fourth, in the year 1560. It commanded tithes to be paid under penalties of excommunication. By what has been stated, it may be seen that tithes were not even reckoned as due for many hundreds of years after Christ; and that indeed they were never due in the Second Covenant, Christ having put an end to the first priesthood, with all its shadows and carnal ordinances.

Judaism's tithes were first decreed by the pope and then retained by covetous Protestant organizations. The early Quakers refused to pay tithes and suffered large fines, imprisonment, death, and even banishment from their homeland at the hands of the Protestant priests and magistrates.

Here are the many fallacies of tithes:

1. The Levitical priesthood is the only priesthood to be commanded by God to collect a tenth of the product of the land.
   Priesthoods before or after had no such command. To be a priest to collect tithes, you had to be a descendant of Levi.
   
2. Land limits tithing to grain, cattle, oil, fruit, etc. — the product of the land. God had distributed the land to all
   Jewish tribes except the Levites; so a portion of the land's production was commanded for the Levites, and to provide for the poor.
   The tithe was from the yield of the increase of the seed — the produce yielded. So carpenters, masons, store keepers, teachers, wagon makers, well diggers, fishermen, salesmen, tax collectors, soldiers, laborers on a farm, government employees, etc., all had absolutely no requirement to tithe.
3. Tithes were collected by Levite priests only in a named place selected and specified by the Lord.
4. Since the produce was food, the people were supposed to eat the food with their children, servants, and
   any Levites living within the boundaries of their lands, with thanksgiving and rejoicing to the Lord;
   and this celebratory thanksgiving meal was supposed to be eaten in a place specifically chosen by the Lord.
5. After eating in celebration to the Lord, any excess was to be placed in a storehouse, location chosen by the Lord,
   to be distributed by the Levite to the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless — the provision for the relief of the poor.
6. Money was not part of tithing — with one exception. If the distance to the location chosen by the Lord was too far to travel with the tithes of food, the food to be tithed was to be sold for money. Then the person was to travel to the location, with the money, buy whatever food he particularly enjoyed, and then eat the food in celebration as in #4 above.
7. MOST IMPORTANT: Christ eliminated and abolished the Levitical priesthood with its commandment of tithes. He alone, a member of the tribe of Judah, became the new, everlasting priest. So the commandment to collect tithes given to the Levitical priesthood was also eliminated. Christ eliminated tithing, just as he ended the ordinances and old covenant. Any minister who tries to collect tithes is an abomination, denying the everlasting priesthood of Jesus Christ, showing his ignorance of scriptures, lack of training or authorization by the Holy Spirit, and his covetous nature of a greedy wolf dressed is sheep's clothing.

The Mosaic Law was cancelled by Jesus, but there is an inner law on every man's heart, which is alive and has never been cancelled; and this inner law of God must observed and be fulfilled in us. Do we then render inoperative the law through faith? Absolutely not, instead we establish the law. The inner law on every man's heart, by which all men will be judged, only ends when a man's selfish spirit has been crucified on the inward cross of self-denial, and Christ Jesus is resurrected in him to totally control his thoughts, words, and deeds with the Law of the Spirit of Life. From the Word of the Lord within: "There are no laws when you are under complete control of the spirit; you walk in love in obedience as prompted — you don't walk in restricted flesh." See the footnote to Rom 3:28 for more understanding on why the moral laws must still be observed and are your schoolmaster until your thoughts, and words and deeds are under complete control of the Holy Spirit. The blind guides of Christendom point to this scripture and claim there is no longer any sin because all law has supposedly been done away with for anyone who believes in Jesus;* they conveniently overlook the New Testaments' many warnings of sin that completely disqualifies you for salvation or heaven, click to see. They also overlook that every man will be judged on his works and words, click to see.

*However, many Protestant sects in error claim that although the Mosaic Law with its ordinances is obsolete, you still must tithe; but tithing was an ordinance of the Levitical priesthood, created to administer the Mosaic Law, and it is also obsolete. The blind guides want your money, which the New Testament forbids!

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