ALL OR NOTHING

This past week, in prayer and sharing with others, the Spirit was pointing out that in order for the two houses of Israel to come together into the oneness of YHVH's life, each will have to be cleansed of everything that is not of Him. The House of Judah has tried to keep the Torah, while the House of Israel made a "go" at the righteousness of Faith. But each has fallen short of the goal that has been set before them; Judah has rejected the Messiah of Israel, and Ephraim the Torah of Moses. The solution seems quite obvious: both must come to the recognition of the whole counsel of YHVH, and dispense with that which isn't of Him (His Word).

Reading the book of Hebrews, I came across the following passage: "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Torah of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of Elohim, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29).

What stood out to me was the statement: "if anyone sets aside the Torah of Moses [he] dies without mercy"!! This is what Ephraim had done and has been reaping the consequences ever since. In addition, aside from rejecting Torah (which is the Word) he has also trampled underfoot the Son of Elohim by not living out His holiness.

Yeshua scolded the devoutly religious for observing the easy and less weighty Torah laws and neglecting the more substantial ones, around which they worked their way out somehow, thus rendering themselves hypocrites. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others" (Matthew 23:23).

Now, many in Christendom would maintain that they, on the other hand, are fulfilling the weightier matters, but in so doing often fail to take responsibility and attend to the other Torah requirements. Could it be this kind of attitude that the writer of Hebrews was addressing in the above scripture? We really cannot pick and choose when it comes to YHVH's Word, otherwise we could find ourselves "halting between two opinions" or, put another way, being "doubly minded". YHVH's Word made flesh - His Son - never made light of any of the commandments.

Another area of the Word that seems to be neglected, is the Word of Elohim spoken by the mouths of His holy prophets from of old. Daniel, in his repentance prayers emphasized this fact:

"We have sinned and committed iniquity; we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land" (Daniel 9:5-6).

If we reject or lay aside any aspect of YHVH's Word, we are committing a sin of which we need to repent not in thought and intent only, but also by deeds/actions. When we live by the power of the Spirit of Holiness, we will be living in the Spirit of the Word and thus we will know the Son of the Most High. The "Word" will become life in us and we will find ourselves fulfilling (that is doing) the Torah and the prophets.

Ephraim

IS YESHUA THE MESSIAH? II

In last week's letter I quoted from Dr Tabor's book the following assessment of the role of the Son of David: “When a descendent of David appears in the world, re-gathers the Tribes of Israel, disarms the nations of the world, restores the Temple with the Presence of YHVH, and sets up a world-wide government in which the TORAH is taught to all nations… then we will know who he is.” I then stressed that the above was and is in the process of being fulfilled through the "oneness in Spirit" of the Father and Son, but not without the absolutely essential foundations of redemption that He laid as the suffering Messiah (ref Isaiah 53).

In previous letters I had also made mention of the fact that the role of a kinsman redeemer is to give up his life for the sake of the brethren. Because Yeshua gave Himself to that task, YHVH raised Him up to a position of glory, so that He (YHVH) through His glorified Son could accomplish what He has spoken through the mouths of His prophets of old, especially regarding the restoration of the Kingdom.

In looking at the scriptural parameters for the Son of David, we discover that this righteous individual sits, with righteousness, justice, mercy and truth, upon the throne of David as He sets up a Kingdom that has no end (ref. Isaiah 9:7; 16:5). It is by an everlasting covenant, according to the “sure mercies of David” (Isaiah 55:3), by which His throne is established and guaranteed.

It was only when Yeshua was in position of absolute power and authority (see Rev. 5:12-14) that He was able to bestow upon His subjects the “new creation” life, characterized by His own nature with such traits as: Servitude to righteousness and holiness, reconciliation, son-ship, heir-ship and much more. Following Him, they are in a triumphal procession, while also being transformed into His image from glory to glory. However, this all could not have taken place, had not only Yeshua been the sacrificial lamb and suffering servant, but also His subjects needed to be in that position. Thus, His death is theirs, having to carry it in their bodies and be in all ways identified with His suffering. Without this foundation, they would not have been in a place to be supernaturally transformed, so that the Kingdom of the greater Son of David could inhabit them, rule their hearts and prepare them for that which will become evident in days to come.

Philippians 2:6-11 summarizes very concisely the metamorphic-transition, if you will, of Messiah, from the “suffering servant” to His role as King and Messiah Son of David, including the required prerequisites: …Who, being in the form of Elohim did not consider it robbery to be equal with Elohim, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore Elohim also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Yeshua every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Messiah Yeshua is lord, to the glory of Elohim the Father (refer also Revelation 5:12-13; 11:15, 17).

The apostle Paul, writing to Timothy says: "Remember that Yeshua the Messiah, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel" (2 Timothy 2:8). Here we see that Paul recognized Yeshua's Messiahship as being intrinsically linked to David's seed, and by implication to the inherent role of the prophesied descendant of that dynasty. Yeshua was declared king at His birth, and at His death. And while He is in a progressive process of future fulfillments of His role as Son of David, the parts that have already been fulfilled serve to reinforce the fact that that is who He is and was. What is more, as mentioned above, it is only because of the extent of His authority and power that He is able to "share" His throne with His own, now and into the future (ref. Revelation 5:10), when the latter will be seen “sitting on the throne of David” (ref. Jeremiah 17:25, 22:4).

As we honor this season of Pesach and Unleavened bread, let us also remember that we must pick up our stake and follow the Lamb (Matthew 16:24), keeping the commandments and the testimony of Yeshua the Messiah (ref. Revelation 12:17).

Ephraim and Rimona