New Beginnings

Letter 180 (new beginnings) 09/05/03


In the letter that I wrote before Passover I mentioned that a new beginning seemed to be in the offing. Although I was not sure then what the nature of that new beginning would be, it is now becoming clearer and clearer that it has to do, yet again, with one more aspect of the Gospel of the Kingdom.

Twenty years ago, the Spirit brought a revelation of the faithfulness of the God of Israel to the covenant of multiplicity that He had made with our forefathers (see Gen 12:2; 13:16; 15:5; 17:2-6,16). This portion of the promise was to be fulfilled through Jacob’s son Ephraim (Gen. 48:19). While reading the blessing of Jacob to this adopted son (Ephraim), the revelation and understanding that came brought me into the knowledge of my own Hebraic ancestry. My soul responded as it did the day I was saved, ten years prior. I wept for joy and my heart was glad as from wine, just as the prophets foretold (see Zech. 10:7). In the course of these years many questions were answered, while I was making more and more discoveries about the importance of this identity restoration.

Various facets of the Two House teaching, the importance of our identity as First Born and our unity in the restored House of Jacob continued to occupy my time and energy. However, I repeatedly prayed not to get caught up in a single revelation, but to always be fed with “present truth”, as Peter put it (2 Peter 1:12). I believe YHVH has now answered my prayer, and a new beginning has been launched for me with what may be a shift from the “depth”(the earthy or natural) to the “height” (the life in Messiah) of Gospel reality.

As the Spirit continues to bring the revelation of redemption to light through the Torah and the Prophets many are waking up to their identity and to what it entails, and are forming organizations, assemblies, synagogues, house-groups etc. to promote this wonderful message. However, in spite of the blessing which is inherent in this knowledge, strife, contention, bickering and disputes, typical of our ancestral heritage, seem to be all too rife in the family. The hand of fellowship, which is being offered by those who are beginning to repent, often ends up being slapped and then rejection sets into an already wounded ‘Abrahamic’ soul. This has been a very painful subject, and one that we, and others, have travailed over in prayer. But as I stated above, YHVH set in order a new beginning, and thus, as exciting and important as YHVH’s plan for the redemption of the “old” creation is, it must not cast a shadow upon the glory of the “new creation” life in Messiah Yeshua.

Paul the Apostle was adamant about the difference between the natural and the spiritual realms. He describes his illustrious past as a zealous religious Jew, who was circumcised on the 8th day, was of the nation of Israel, even knew his tribal identity as a Benjaminite, was a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Torah, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the Ecclesia, as to righteousness which is in the law, was found blameless (ref. Phil. 3:5-6). But these words are immediately followed by the statement: “What things were gain to me, [the above list] these I have counted loss for sake of knowing Yeshua the Messiah…,” (Phil. 3:7-8). This was the punch line that put a crunch on my rediscovered Ephraimite heritage.

Paul was not afraid to admit weaknesses: He was a proud and zealous rabbi who persecuted the early believers and had them imprisoned, flogged and stoned to death, but one day, in the midst of these pursuits, he was ‘knocked off his high horse’ by Yeshua. His world was turned up side down and instead of persecuting the believers in Yeshua he now became one himself. He learnt what it meant to suffer for Yehsua’s sake, and so tells us about his experiences: Beatings (5 times, 39 lashes each time), stoning (3 times), hard labors, imprisonments, beaten with rods, shipwrecked, a night and a day in the deep, meeting up with robbers, beasts in the wilderness, being persecuted by his own countrymen because of his faith, at times he was without food, clothing or water, and suffered from cold and many other hardships (ref. 2 Cor. 11:22-27). However, through all of his troubles Paul’s zeal for introducing “present truth” to the body of believers never waned. He knew that the foolish boasting of all his woes would not, in itself, be profitable as a testimony (2 Cor. 11:21) and that only the quest of knowing Messiah Yeshua, through visions and revelations of His divine life within him, would suffice (ref. 2 Cor. 12:1).

The following words of Rabbi Saul of Tarsus spoke deeply into my heart: “What things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Messiah. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Messiah Yeshua my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Messiah and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Messiah, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Messiah Yeshua has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Messiah Yeshua. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in any thing you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule; let us be of the same mind” (ref. Phil. 3:7-15).

This must become our first priority too, as without this principal ‘ingredient’ nothing else is of any worth or substance, nor will it find fulfillment. It was the Father’s good pleasure to glorify His Son in and through a People that He called out of the loins of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In this generation we are this People; apprehended and chosen to overcome and destroy the works of the enemy (“principalities and powers in heavenly places”, Eph. 6:12), and to bring to light the glory of the New Covenant Gospel.