Back in 2004 when I was serving in a ministry in Abeokuta, Ogun State, God said to me, “Pastors are thieves, churches are rubbers. The current system of the church is a system that made one man rich and every other person poor. I am going to shake the church and rearrange the order to its original plans and purpose”. Then in 2009, the Lord said to me, “I know no man as a Christian, and I know no man as a Muslim. I know every human being according to my image and according to likeness.”
When I started teaching about the wrong principles the church was teaching regarding Tithing, people were crucifying me including my friends who are Pastors. And one confronted me and questioned the validity of my teaching and of what authority I had to teach against the Bible. In his words, I don’t know what I was saying.
Before the likes of Pastor Creflo Dollar or Daddy Freeze started teaching about the errors in Tithing, I was teaching it both in the church I was Pastoring then and on Facebook. I lost friends over this teaching and I was called names. But I stood still because I heard God say to me, “Tithing is a covenant practice, not a religious obligation”.
I remember jumping on that revelation and wanting to start teaching it immediately but the Lord said to me, “The revelation is for the appointed time. Though it tarry, wait for it for it will surely come to pass”. One step at a time the Lord told me and back in December 2019, the Lord said to me, “I’m bringing an attack against the church and the church leaders all across the world. I’m shaking the church to the root of its foundation to remove the shafts from the wheat and expose the evil and the manipulators.”
Again when I spoke what God said to me, someone said “How can God be against His church when He said that I will build my church and the gate of hell cannot prevail against it?” Forgetting that the same God that was with the children of Israel at one time was against them and practically delivered them into the hands of their enemies. This event was recorded in Judges 2:14, “And the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and he sold them into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.” If God can do it then, He can do it now.
By January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the planet and the whole world was on lockdown. Businesses were down and all religious activities were restricted to homes; the real system of church according to Romans 16:4-5, “They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.”
The real system of the church is the system that meets in the house, which we know today as “House Fellowship” not the one that gathers millions of people together in one place at a time every week.
The real system of the church is a system in which all the members of the church have everything in common not the one in that one person has everything and the rest are struggling to survive. This was recorded in Acts 2:44, “And all who believed were together and had all things in common.”
The real system of the church is a system in which all the members sell their possessions, bring the proceeds to the church and share it equally among the members. This was recorded in Acts 2:45, “And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
The real system of the church is a system which all the members love one another honestly and sincerely. This was a laid down commandment by Jesus Christ Himself in John 13:34, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”
All the Kingdom of God’s principles that made up of the church of Jesus Christ we have abandoned and fixed our minds and teachings on the Tithing. No wonder Jesus Christ said in Matthew 23:23, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.”
The scribes and Pharisees in the days of Jesus Christ are the religious founders and the religious leaders in our day and He called them “hypocrites” meaning a cheat, pretenders and sanctimonious people. One who makes a show of being morally superior to other people. The question is, are they?
Giving Tithe or paying Tithe and still being evil towards your fellow human being is proof of our insensitivity, lack of wisdom and no sense of direction.
First of all, let me make it clear to us that Tithing is not a law, commandment or practice for the church. Tithing is a practice for the children of Israel in the Old Testament to take care of the tribe of Levi whom God had commanded not to work but to be first minister to God and secondly be in service to the people. Tithing was a system of taking care of them as a tribe and not just as Priests.
This was made clear in Numbers 18:21-25 “I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return for the work they do while serving at the tent of meeting. From now on the Israelites must not go near the tent of meeting, or they will bear the consequences of their sin and will die. It is the Levites who are to do the work at the tent of meeting and bear the responsibility for any offenses they commit against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites. Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the Israelites present as an offering to the Lord.That is why I said concerning them: ‘They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.’”
Tithe which was considered as a tenth part; one-tenth, a very small part or fraction of the Israelite’s profits was a small tax or levy that they gave to take care of the Levis who are in the service of the Lord and of the laws. It was a law for the Israelites as a tribe not a commandment for the church and it can either be given to the church or the charity.
Different institutions and organizations give it a title fitted for their outfit. While the church called it Tithes, the Muslims called it Zakat, the government called it Tax and the charity organizations called it Donation.
Muslims don’t have the tithe as Christians do but nearest equivalence is called Zakat which mandatory for rich people and is given annually, normally during Ramadan for more rewards but no bindings on the timing; on surplus assets, there are categories such as not on home, land etc.
Zakat is more in line with the original costume of give one-tenth of the yearly produce of land, which are animals, and personal work, paid for the support of the Temple and the Priests then and now the church and the clergy.
Tithe is the Hebrew word “Adar”, meaning to tithe. It is derived from the word signifying “ten,” which also means “to be rich.” What does it mean to be rich?
In Luke 12:13-21 it was recorded that, “Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.” And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’ “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
What does it mean to be rich toward God? In Psalm 41:1-3 it was said that “Blessed are those who have regard for the poor; the Lord delivers them in times of trouble. The Lord protects and preserves them— they are counted among the blessed in the land— he does not give them over to the desire of their foes. The Lord sustains them on their sickbed and restores them from their bed of illness.”
To be rich is to be a giver every time all the time and to be rich towards God is to be of support to the poor these was what Malachi 3:8-10 was addressing when God said, “Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
Many people read this and concluded that the verses were addressing the church, but Malachi 3:8-10 was not written to or for the church, it was an address to the Priests which today are Bushops and Pastors, who are collecting the Tithes from the people and are not paying tithes themselves.
An act that was against the commandments of the Lord written in Numbers 18:25-32, “The Lord said to Moses, “Speak to the Levites and say to them: ‘When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the Lord’s offering. Your offering will be reckoned to you as grain from the threshing flooror juice from the winepress. In this way you also will present an offering to the Lord from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites. From these tithes you must give the Lord’s portion to Aaron the priest. You must present as the Lord’s portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.”
To understand Malachi 3:8-10, start reading from Malachi 2 that says, “And now, you priests, this warning is for you. If you do not listen, and if you do not resolve to honor my name,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will send a curse on you, and I will curse your blessings. Yes, I have already cursed them, because you have not resolved to honor me. “Because of you I will rebuke your descendants; I will smear on your faces the dung from your festival sacrifices, and you will be carried off with it. And you will know that I have sent you this warning so that my covenant with Levi may continue,” says the Lord Almighty.“My covenant was with him, a covenant of life and peace, and I gave them to him; this called for reverence and he revered me and stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth and nothing false was found on his lips. He walkedwith me in peace and uprightness, and turned many from sin. “For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, because he is the messenger of the Lord Almighty and people seek instruction from his mouth. But you have turned from the wayand by your teaching have caused many to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi,” says the Lord Almighty. “So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.”
The whole system of collecting either Tithes, Zakat, Tax or Donation had been bastardized. The collectors do all kinds of things with it for their own pleasure. While the some religious leaders live large on people’s Tithes, Zakat, the politicians embezzled the Tax Payers money and enrich themselves heavily with it and the Charity organizations keep ripping off with the Donations they are receiving from the hardworking poor people. And now Governments are increasing Taxes every now and then with the promise to take care of their citizens when in actual fact its to take care of themselves.
Note that most Zakat are given directly to the poor and nit to the Imams. But still, there are some Imam that collect it with the promise to give to whoever will need it but use the same to enrich themselves.
On the average, a single person pays close to three or four kinds of tithe every month. The religious organization they belong, the government, the charity organization they support and the individuals they support. That’s is multiple tithing or taxation.
From the religion stand point be it in Christianity or Islam, the basic principle in tithing or Zakat is the acknowledgement that everything rightly belongs to God, including a man’s property, and that men are only stewards. The tithe is a token brought to honour the Lord and to recognize Him as the owner of all. The same is true with the Taxation. From the government stand point the basic principle in Tax is the acknowledgment that everything rightly belongs to the government, including a man’s own property, that is why you pay for Land Use Charges even after paying the government tohave CofO on your landed property. The Tax is a token paid to remind yourself that you are not the owner of the land, the government is.
Tithe or tenth, the proportion of property devoted to religious uses from very early times. Instances of the use of tithes are found before the appointment of the Levitical tithes under the law. In biblical history the two prominent instances are
- Abram presents the tenth of all his property, or rather of the spoils of his victory, to Melchizedek.
The custom of tithing was common among Semitic peoples and antedated the Mosaic law.
Though it was recorded that Abraham gave to Melchizedek one-tenth of all the spoils taken from Chedorlaomer Gen 14:20, “And praise is to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.” What Abraham gave that was recorded as Tithe was a Tax according to the custom, not a religious obligation to invoke the blessings of the Lord because Abraham was already blessed according to Genesis 13:1-2, “So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him. Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and silver and gold.”
In Heb 7:4-10, it was said, “Just think how great he was: Even the patriarch Abraham gave him a tenth of the plunder! Now the law requires the descendants of Levi who become priests to collect a tenth from the people—that is, from their fellow Israelites—even though they also are descended from Abraham. This man, however, did not trace his descent from Levi, yet he collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. And without doubt, the lesser is blessed by the greater. In the one case, the tenth is collected by people who die; but in the other case, by him who is declared to be living. One might even say that Levi, who collects the tenth, paid the tenth through Abraham because when Melchizedek met Abraham, Levi was still in the body of his ancestor.”
How this is mentioned seems to indicate that it was an established custom. Meaning a traditional and widely accepted way of behaving or doing something specific to a particular society, place, or time.
- Jacob, after his vision at Luz, devoted a tenth of all his property to God in case he should re. Turn home in safety. Gen. 28:22.
Jacob’s vow adds weight to this view in Gen 28:20-22, “Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God and this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house, and of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”
The first enactment of the law in respect of tithe is the declaration that the tenth of all produce, as well as of flocks and cattle, belongs to Jehovah, and must be offered to him; that the tithe was to be paid in kind, or, if redeemed, with an addition of one fifth to its value. Lev. 27:30-33.
This tenth is ordered to be assigned to the Levites as the reward of their service, and it is ordered further that they are themselves to dedicate to the Lord a tenth of these receipts, which is to be devoted to the maintenance of the high priest. Num. 18: 21-28. This legislation is modified or extended in the book of Deuteronomy, i. e. from thirty-eight to forty years later. Commands are given to the people-
- To bring their tithes, together with their votive (the desire or informal vow of a person to keep that special intention before God in prayer) and other offerrings and first fruits, to the chosen centre of worship, the metropolis, there to be eaten in festive celebration in company of their children, their servants and the Levites. Deut. 12: 5-18, “But you are to seek the place the Lord your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks. There, in the presence of the Lord your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the Lord your God has blessed you. You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the Lord your God is giving you. But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. Then to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the Lord. And there rejoice before the Lord your God—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns who have no allotment or inheritance of their own. Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you. Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer,according to the blessing the Lord your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it. But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water. You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and olive oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the Lord your God at the place the Lord your God will choose—you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levites from your towns—and you are to rejoice before the Lord your God in everything you put your hand to.”
This simple means you can chose to spend your tithes on yourself, your family, your neighbours and the poor and not necessarily given it to your religious organizations.
- All the produce of the soil was to be tithed every year, and these tithes, with the firstlings of the flock and herd, were to be eaten in the metropolis. Tithes in Israel not in the church consisted of one-tenth of all yearly produce and of the increase of flocks and cattle. This was declared to be sacred to Yahweh as rent or feudal fee to Him who was really the owner of the land. Certain scriptures suggest that these tithes consisted of one-tenth of all that remained after “the first of the firstfruits” and the priestly heave offering had been separated;
Ex 23:19, “Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.”
Deut 26:1, “When you have entered the land the Lordyour God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it,”
Since the law did not set the amount to be given as the firstfruits, some regard the tithing regulations as a defining of the amounts to be given. Others see the tithes as additional to the firstfruits. Jewish sources indicate that the second thought is true, and that the first thought is true, and that the “first of the generally amounted to one-fiftieth of
the produce.
- But in case of distance, permission is given to convert the produce into money, which is to be taken to the appointed place, and there laid out in the purchase of food for a festal celebration, in which the Levite is, by special command to be included, Deuteronomy 14:22-24, “Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and olive oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the Lordyour God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the Lord your God always. But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the Lordyour God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the Lord will choose to put his Name is so far away)”
- Then follows the direction that at the end of three years, all the tithe of that year is to be gathered and laid up within the gates and that a festival is to be held, of which the stranger, the fatherless and the widow together with the Levite are to partake. Deuteronomy 14:28-29, “At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.”
- Lastly, it is ordered that after taking the tithe in each third year, which is the year of tithing, an exculpatory declarationis to be made by every Israelites that he has done his best to fulfil thedivine command. Deut. 26: 12-14, “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. Then say to the Lord your God: “I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them. I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me.”
a. That one-tenth of the whole produce of the soil was to be assigned for the maintenance of the Levites.
b. That out of this the Levites were to dedicate a tenth to God for the poor and the needy in the church. Whether the person pay tithe or not.
c. That a tithe, in all probability a second tithe, was to be applied to festival purposes.
d. That in every third year, either this festival tithe or a third tenth was to be eaten in company with the poor and the Levites. These tithes in early times took the place of our modern taxes, as well as of gifts for the support of religious institutions and charity organizations.
For clarity, religious organizations are registered with the Corporate Afairs Commission as a charity organization out
In the Pentateuch, legislation as to tithes was as follows:
Lev 27:30-33. One-tenth of all produce (crops, fruit, oil, wine) and of all animals was to be devoted to the Lord. The tithe of the produce of the land could be redeemed if one-fifth of its value was added. The animal tithe was not redeemable. The increase of the herd was counted, and every tenth animal was reckoned holy to the Lord. This was in keeping with the pre-Sinaitic instruction to Israel that the firstlings of the flock belong to the Lord (Ex
13:12-13). Any attempt to replace a good with a bad was punishable by the forfeit of both (Lev
27:32-33). “Whatsoever passeth under rod” was assigned to the Levites, to do with as they pleased, since they had received no land (cf. Num 18:21-32) Out of this tithe, the Levites paid a tithe or heave offering to the priests. This had to be brought to the temple in Jerusalem. Neh 10:38 suggests that there was supervision of this division of tithes.
Deut 12:5-6, 11, 18 (cf. Amos 4:4). The festival tithe was one-tenth of the nine-tenths that remained. It had to be set apart and taken to Jerusalem. There it was eaten as a sacred meal by the offerer and his household, together with “the Levite within his gates.” If the distance was prohibitive, the tithes could be sold and the money used for the purchase of food or animals for offerings in Jerusalem (cf. Deut
14:22- 27).
- Deut 26:12-15; 14:28-29. The triennial or charity tithe given during the third year was for the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow.
Opinions differ regarding this third tithe. According to Josephus, it was a third tithe offered every third year, in which priests and Levites were obliged to participate. Others state that every third year the second, or festival tithe, was given to the poor at home instead of being taken to Jerusalem.
Payment of tithes was not forced; it was a matter of conscience before the Lord. The people were to perform these ordinances with all their heart and soul Deut 26:16, “The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.”