What idol worshipers have in common is a lust for wealth.

[Isaiah 3:14~15] He will even judge you rulers and leaders of his own nation. You destroyed his vineyard and filled your houses by robbing the poor. The LORD All-Powerful says, "You have crushed my people and rubbed in the dirt the faces of the poor."

[Matthew 7:15] Watch out for false prophets! They dress up like sheep, but inside they are wolves who have come to attack you.

The common purpose of idolaters is to take away the property of their followers. How do you view the church today? There are not one or two megachurches that boast a size larger than a factory. When they planted a church, they would have started with a few members in a new church of 10 pyeong. However, it now has tens of thousands of members and its fortune has grown significantly. Even now, they are forcing money to expand church buildings. So where did their wealth come from? The splendid buildings they built were the blood and sweat of the saints, and the saints' property was transferred to the church. He performed a great miracle of moving the wealth of the saints like moving mountains. They teach that tithing is God's law. Saints who donate money well say hello and ask them to sit in a good seat. But they teach that if you don't donate, you will be cursed by God. However, the Bible prophesied about them:

[Micah 3:1~5] Listen to me, you rulers of Israel! You know right from wrong, but you prefer to do evil instead of what is right. You skin my people alive. You strip off their flesh, break their bones, cook it all in a pot, and gulp it down. Someday you will beg the LORD to help you, but he will turn away because of your sins. You lying prophets promise security for anyone who gives you food, but disaster for anyone who refuses to feed you. Here is what the LORD says to you prophets:

So, are tithes and offerings God's law? Tithes were received by the priests of the tribe of Levi from other tribes for a living. When Israel entered the land of Canaan around 1500 BC, the tribe of Levi did not receive the land as an inheritance because they received the priesthood.

[Joshua 18:3~7] And the people of Levi won't get a single large region of the land like the other tribes. Instead, they will serve the LORD as priests.

The priest has an important duty to forgive the sins of the people. So God set aside a tenth of the other 11 tribes for the livelihood of the Levites.

[Numbers 18:21] "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.

Tithing is a tax levied on the 11 tribes of Israel, and if you do not pay it, you will be cursed by God. What happens if I don't pay tithing? The priests will leave the temple to earn money. Who then intercedes for the remission of sins? Without a priest who mediates sins between God and the people, it is impossible to come to God and receive forgiveness of sins. Therefore, tithing is very important.

[Malachi 3:7~10] Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you," says the LORD Almighty. "But you ask, 'How are we to return?' "Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. "But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' "In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse--the whole nation of you--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 you will not have room enough for it.

The way Israel, who kept the Old Testament law, can come to God is by giving tithes and offerings. The priests who received tithes and offerings brought Israel to God through mediation between God and the people. So what about the New Testament era? In the New Testament era, God's priests are believers who have received the Holy Spirit. Believers who receive the Holy Spirit become God's temple and at the same time become God's priests who intercede in the temple.

[1 Corinthians 3:16~17] All of you surely know that you are God's temple and that his Spirit lives in you. Together you are God's holy temple, and God will destroy anyone who destroys his temple

[Revelation 1:6] and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen

Therefore, in the New Testament era, all who are saved will become God's temple and priesthood. The saints who become priests wash away the sins and filth of those who come to the temple with the water of life (the word of God) that God gives them. That is how the priests lead them to God. Then, who will be responsible for the livelihood of the priests in the New Testament era? Should we also accept tithes and offerings as in the Old Testament? If all saved people are priests to serve God, who pays tithes? To this, Joshua said:

[Luke 12:27~30] Look how the wild flowers grow! They don't work hard to make heir clothes. But I tell you that Solomon with all his wealth wasn't as well clothed as one of these flowers. God gives such beauty to everything that grows in the fields, even though it is here today and thrown into a fire tomorrow. Won't he do even more for you? You have such little faith! Don't keep worrying about having something to eat or drink. Only people who don't know God are always worrying about such things. Your Father knows what you need.

The priests of the New Testament do not receive living expenses from others. Just as wild flowers live without human care, the priests of the New Testament live under God's care. The saints who became priests preach the word of God while doing their own work. The apostle Paul preached the word of God in the same way.

[Acts 18:2~3] where he met Aquila, a Jewish man from Pontus. Not long before this, Aquila had come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Emperor Claudius had ordered the Jewish people to leave Rome. Paul went to see Aquila and Priscilla and found out that they were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker too. So he stayed with them, and they worked together.

In the New Testament era, priests did not receive tithes, but lived on the money they received from their workplace and preached the word of God. Tithing is a cursed law practiced by idolaters. The word of God must be given free of charge.

[Isaiah 55:1~3] "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David.

[Revelation 22:17] The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" Everyone who hears this should say, "Come!" If you are thirsty, come! If you want life-giving water, come and take it. It's free!