My faith is in The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and in Yeshua the Master Torah teacher and doer. He is the anointed one that came as the lamb, the bruised Messiah ben Joseph who will return as HaMashiach ben David, the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the...
King and High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek.
David wrote about Him...
We all have a choice to seek understanding (wisdom) of the gospel of thy Kingdom come. It's the good news that is the foundational teaching, preaching and instruction declared by Yeshua of Nazareth.
The journey is not a one time decision, it's a daily life choice, a Royal Priesthood journey when we choose to follow the High Priest and King Yeshua.
Do you know the Exodus 33 mercy lesson? Yeshua did!
I pray that helps explain why Yeshua questioned Nicodemus “the teacher of Israel” and expected him to understand what the Torah declares. Remember the question in John 3:10: “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Nicodemus was a educated Pharisee, a Torah teacher and a member of the Sanhedrin, but he did not understand the “kingdom of God” realm from above that God is full of compassion and grace, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth, forgiveness of iniquity, transgression and sin.
That conversation with a Pharisee points to God's eternal life resurrection promise from “above.”
But we have a choice to choose Almighty God's Kingdom ways and will for our lives if we repent and believe Yeshua-Jesus. His is the light shining throughout the narrative of the Bible both old and new and the Kingdom's latter day restoration is coming into full gear with Yeshua's life, teaching, trial, death and resurrection. His faith is coming back full circle from the pits of anti-semitism and replacement theology for a remnant.
The “good news” is that the Jew some call Jesus, is the Son of Man and that Moshiach. There aren't two Messiahs and recognizing Him in repentance is Kingdom of Heaven key to God's redemption. When He is called on by Jerusalem, He will return as Messiah King with the authority over the earth that Adam unwittingly gave up but the reality is there will be a battle for those that now seek to destroy the eretz land of Israel:
When He does, the Torah of God will be His covenant Kingdom constitution that will be taught to all “peoples, nations, and languages” and that teaching is the reason for the season of the millennium.
Do you remember Abraham?
Here's the record:
It's time to stand and boldly proclaim, repent and live like you're a child of God citizen.
Those that repent and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom get to follow God in faith as a friend of God like Abraham.
How do we know?
We know because the disciples preached the gospel of The Kingdom before they ever realized Jesus would actually give up His life as a freewill offering to defeat the sting of death from sin as promised from the beginning in Genesis 3:15.
The LORD has sworn
and will not change His mind,
“You are a priest forever according to
the order of Melchizedek.” Psalm 110:4Jesus (Yeshua) taught others about the kingdom priesthood assignment in the Tanach, the Hebrew Bible that Yeshua of Nazareth read and taught first seen in Exodus 19:5-6 during Shavuot.
That priesthood is a global ambassador assignment.
Moses ties it together in Deuteronomy 32:7-9 with reference to Genesis 11:5-9. This priesthood is linked to the covenant blessing for all nations promised to Abraham. Most of us don't connect all the jots and tittles here but Abraham was the tenth generation from Noah. He was alive and well during the time of Nimrod and the Tower of Babel crime scene that is linked to Genesis 12:3 "And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
The judgment at Babel's was confusion and dispersion as people were divided into 70 nations and that number 70 ties to the number of Jacob's family member's when they went down to Egypt.
In that way, the Priesthood assignment is linked to repairing the breach of Babel, that's the reason the Spirit of God poured out the gift of language (tongues) on Shavuot (Pentecost) described in Acts 2.
In that chapter, Peter explained that the Kingdom gospel of faith starts with repentance.
That repentance is teshuvah, and its goal is to turn back to the right road to serve Almighty God humbly and to walk God's way in His image not in prideful opposition like the days in Shinar with confusion. The lesson of Babel is they did not repent despite the judgment of the flood.
Repentance is the Torah way to victorious life led by the Holy Spirit, it requires a circumcised heart not pride to make a name for ourselves.
Repentance opens the door to restoration, healing, mercy and grace. A Torah walk in God's teaching and instruction is about thanksgiving and walking in God's ways, which is the image for mankind that Almighty God intended when He created us (please read Genesis 1:26-27).
A teshuvah circumcised heart allows us to help others learn God's set apart (holy) ways as ambassadors for the King, the risen Messiah that overcame the enemy of death with reborn life. That's why a big part of the gospel of God priesthood assignment is to understand the big message behind the Lord's Prayer in Matthew 6:5-15:
"Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven...
The LORD God's will is front and center in that prayer. It's the "Kingdom Come" good news (in Hebrew "besorah") gospel of God, the Restoration of All Things!
At the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua (Jesus) said the Kingdom of God restoration is near and not one jot or title has passed away from the law. That law is the Torah, it's The LORD's will, The LORD's constitution for His Kingdom on Earth as it is in Heaven.
We all have a choice to seek understanding (wisdom) of the gospel of thy Kingdom come. It's the good news that is the foundational teaching, preaching and instruction declared by Yeshua of Nazareth.
It's what Yeshua spoke of when He said:
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.
Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. John 15:7-11
Yeshua's commandments are to abide in (live) and keep the Father's commandments just as He kept them.
Are the Father's covenant commandments yours, or have you disowned them?
When Yeshua taught about abiding in love, the message is love for The Father and each other.
Yet, many want to define Thy Kingdom Come and God's will on our own terms like those in Shinar that built the Tower of Babel. That's why there are so many different denominational signs along any church road.
That should raise a question: what denomination do we see in the book of Acts?
What we must know is Yeshua taught that to start the Kingdom journey and abide in God's love, we must repent.
Again, in Hebrew to repent is the word is teshuvah, it's like a living sacrifice if you will, it requires we humble our hearts (circumcise) in love and return to hear God's voice, to walk in God's ways in His image just like the beginning (Genesis 1:26-27).
Seeking Almighty God's voice in my Scripture studies, I've realized the gospel of the Kingdom I thought I knew was misunderstood because I missed the Restoration of All Things! I thought of the gospel as a mind-set of belief, a turn in the road marked with a short prayer and a raised hand while every one else kept their eyes closed.
I used to think that the gospel was limited to the cross, but then I came to realize Jesus (Yeshua) never said that. The book of Mark says Yeshua proclaimed the "Gospel of God" and if we read carefully we see he never mentioned the cross, but repentance and belief in the gospel of God:
"Now after John was arrested, Yeshua came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15I had to stop and think about that gospel.
That required I had to reconsider Abraham. He entrusted his life journey to God. Abraham believed God and he did something about it. Abraham's life, both failure and success describes the "besorah" (good news) for the planet spoken by Almighty Elohim God and declared long before the cross.
That gospel was revealed in greater detail to the prophets including Nathan the first prophet who explained the kingdom gospel of God promise to David.
Paul wrote about that promise in Romans 1:1-2:
Paul, a servant of Messiah Yeshua, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures...
Yeshua tied Abraham to His ministry about it:
"Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad."" John 8:56
The Gospel of God is about the House of God, the Kingdom to Come, the Restoration of All Things!
Abraham was the first to believe and rejoice in it. Abraham was declared righteous, the record is Genesis 15:6:
Then he believed in The LORD; and He credited it to him as righteousness.
The LORD declared in Genesis 18:19 the belief assignment:
For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of The LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that The LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him.
As noted, Paul referenced Nathan.
Check out Nathan's prophecy written in 2 Samuel 7:10-17. Every person should read and study it carefully because it summarized the gospel of God about the family, God's children of House of God and the blessing promise to Abraham for Kingdom citizenship for all nations (that believe).
King David's response was a prayer. You can read it in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.
Despite what we may have heard, the Gospel of God does not start in the Newer Testament.
The gospel includes the House of God assignment. God's will is He wants a holy (set apart) nation to follow Him out of love, respect and awe. Almighty God declared it at Sinai.
It's woven in the House of God instruction, "you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." (see Exodus 19:5-8).
As noted, the House of God priesthood ambassador assignment starts with repentance from our ways to living life in God's image. It is front and center in the mercy and pardon recorded in Isaiah 55:3-9:
"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon."
To begin to understand the good news Gospel of God, we get to believe, return to get do what God asks of us, just as Yeshua did.
That means not to just regret what we know we've done wrong in the past, but to repent and return to walk in The Father's teaching and instruction in the ways of victorious Kingdom life. That teaching was outlined at Mount Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount.
Yeshua believed it and commanded do not think... not one iota, not a jot or tittle has passed away from God's instruction for gospel life in the Kingdom of God:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-19
That word fulfill does not mean finish off, it does not mean do away with, it means to fill up with meaning.
Fulfilling up with meaning is a big part of the gospel of God assignment for any believer with a circumcised heart inscribed with God's Torah for life. It's a choice, do you want to walk like a disciple in the dust of Rabbi Yeshua, out of love for what He did at the cross and in resurrection.
Yeshua took on death and prevailed over the iniquity of the planet that started in Eden by believing a lie, did God really say?
Yeshua, the lamb of God chose to take on death. Because of that, we get to choose the "I do" to follow His ways which are The Father's ways and be set apart - holy for The LORD out of love.
To do that, we need to realize the holy nation House of God that Almighty God seeks relationship with as His children have an assignment, it's the Royal Priesthood. We get to choose to live life in the ways of an ambassador in the royal priesthood order of Melchizedek.
A big part of the assignment is to be a beacon of light to a dark world ignoring God's voice thinking it's old.
That priestly duty is not limited to Sinai and it's not old, or hung on a cross. It's present and future because our unchanging Almighty God is looking for people who want to hear His voice and choose to walk a relationship of love.
That walk does not "earn" righteousness, for all have sinned. Righteousness belongs to God and His righteousness is bestowed by God's pardon and mercy though repentance.
In Romans 1:5-6 Paul wrote about the walk, the obedience of faith when called to follow King Messiah.
I used to think the obedience of faith stopped at the cross, like Nicodemus I did not understand that obedience in faith is about death to sin and restoration in an abundant, blessed new life in relationship.
Some say the Kingdom of God will come at any time with an escape hatch to a rapture cloud in heaven, but Yeshua never said that either. Yeshua spoke of repentance in the obedience of faith here and now... because the Kingdom is near! That's the gospel of God reason that Yeshua taught people to pray as a priest: "may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
That gospel truth is emphasized front and center in Revelation 5:10:
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.
Those words are from the critical assignment at Mount Sinai after coming out of Egypt:
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Exodus 19:5-6
The assignment is on earth, so my question is, how can one be in a kingdom and a priest to our Holy God without loving repentant response in obedience and in faith right here and now?
I believe that Yeshua wants to change our mind and heart about God's Gospel. He said so at the Sermon on the Mount where He connected the written words of God's Torah for the Kingdom of heaven on Earth from the Sermon on the Mount:
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law [Torah] until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19
Yeshua revealed another mystery of the gospel of the Kingdom of God in Jerusalem.
After the Sermon on the Mount while in Jerusalem, Yeshua declared a requirement to the crowds and His disciples. It's a declaration cry for the inhabitants of Jerusalem today to bless the one who will come in the name of The LORD.
The word "name" is literal and it includes reputation and living in God's image, believing and doing things in God's Kingdom ways in set apart relationship.
The name of The LORD prophecy is headed our way and we can be a part of it because we are living in Bible times. The book of life Yeshua taught is not dead or done away with and it's not Old.
Nearly 2,000 years ago, a Roman named Titus started the desolation of Jerusalem with destruction and mass murder in 70 AD. The Jewish people's last stand against Rome was against Emperor Hadrian. After the Bar Kohba revolt ended at Masada in 135AD, Hadrian thought he finished Titus' work when he erased the map and renamed the Promised Land.
He called it Syria Palaestina.
Hadrian thought he destroyed the name of the Holy Land and Hadrian's label still causes confusion.
Yet, Almighty God is faithful to His promise to Abraham, Issac and Jacob. The Jewish people began to return home after the Balfour Declaration declared the vision of a restored national homeland for the Jewish people. Wisely, they rejected Hadrian's name Palestine and chose the name God gave to Jacob, the family name of Israel.
Both Titus and Hadrian have dark legacies and they were seen again in Hitler's Holocaust of evil and hatred.
Today, that deception remains a clear and present danger in the form of a global goal for a Palestinian State whose radical leaders fund terrorism against Jewish people and Hadrian's goal to wipe Israel off the map, and ultimately erase God's gospel from the globe.
The Yehudim (Jews) that survived Titus and Hadrian some 2,000 years were taken captive to Europe or escaped to areas like Russia, North Africa and corners of the Middle East. A remnant remained hiding away in the Galilee and other areas. Yet, the Jewish people survived and the prophecy from the "Prophet" like Moses proclaims the Kingdom of God will come when hearts are unlocked to this mystery of the good news of God:
For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Matthew 23:39Who is the one that is blessed?
Perhaps the most often untold truth is that Yeshua (Jesus) did not come to explain and teach the Torah.
That's why the thy Kingdom come gospel of God is so misunderstood and many say there has to be more as they seek the will of God for their lives.
The will of God is outlined in the Torah. It is infused with the will of the Father to restore the broken covenant between God and mankind that crashed and burned in Eden and again at the altar of the Golden calf.
Messiah's first trip purpose was to teach God's Torah, not a new religion.
Yeshua began the prophetic work to repair the life breach between heaven and earth and between Jew and Gentile, native born and sojourner. Yeshua's first trip revealed God's work to light it up for the priesthood assignment on this planet.
A hidden truth of the gospel story is that many Jewish people have remained faithful to the Kingdom constitution. As Paul said, it's their assignment from God:
Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? Much in every way.
To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? By no means! Let God be true though every one were a liar, as it is written,“That you may be justified in your words, and prevail when you are judged.” Romans 3:1-4
The Kingdom oracles, the Torah teaching of God is the template of the handbook for life in the Kingdom. It's not done way with, by no means, every jot and title remains.
It remains the eternal way, the instruction manual for priesthood life in the image of our Creator for all children of God that choose to love Him.
We can believe that because heaven and earth have not passed away.
Due to bad choices to ignore God's instruction, entropy and death entered Eden's Kingdom of God realm on earth and sin was set loose. At the same time, God revealed that He had a plan is to redeem mankind from our fallen state and restore His Kingdom on earth defiled by the choice to believe a lie from a thief that comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy.
The Kingdom of heaven assignment included Messiah's suffering as He born our iniquities against God, yet in resurrection, He crushed the head of the serpent (Genesis 3:15) fulfilling the first promise of Almighty God.
Within moments of confession of their sin, our Creator gave His summary outline to repair the breach. It was spoken some 6,000 years ago to the adversary:
"I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel."Four thousand years later, Messiah Yeshua, the son of Abraham and son of David born in the pain of childbirth in Bethlehem walked across Israel as "the prophet" promised by Moses in Deuteronomy 18:15-18.
Yeshua proclaimed and explained the heart of God's gospel. He arrived just as Isaiah promised as the bruised, pierced suffering servant Son of Man, not the nation of Israel, but the representative:
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5
Yeshua is the day four light of the world that crushed the head of the serpent's death plan for mankind to undo God's will for a royal priesthood to serve Him. And, just as Matthew 1 declares, Yeshua is the shoot, the branch of David promised in Isaiah 11:1-2
"There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD."
Yeshua is the Passover lamb that willfully took on death for mankind's sin that began in Eden fulfilling Genesis 3:15 and He is the High Priest in the Order of Melchizedek (Psalm 2:6-8; Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 5:5-10).
The good news He declared starts with our heavenly assignment to repent and do life God's way as it was intended from the beginning. Our image of God assignment is about loving God and others as God loves. That's the teaching in John 14:15, but there's more: our royal priesthood assignment is to teach others to repent and disciple them in God's ways.
If you choose to be a member of that priesthood, that means spreading the light of the Bible across the planet from Yeshua's bright light Torah perspective, not a new religion.
Because men like Marcion, Ignatius, Martyr, Melito, Tertullian, Augustine, Chrysostom and Constantine, many so-called church fathers misled the Gentile Greco Roman church as minds and hearts were led astray into a new religion called replacement theology.
Replacement theology is also called supersessionism. It's a church made religious doctrine that basically says, God changed His mind despite Malachi 3:6, disavowed His teaching and instruction for holy life including turning His back on His forever Sabbath and Feast Days because the Christian church superseded the nation of Israel, assuming their elect role as His chosen people.
The problem with that is the return in repentance is lost.
It's embedded in Malachi 3:7-18 "From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts..."
Replacement theology erases and rewrites the Bible's holy outline for the priesthood and it replaces the Sabbath and the feast days of The LORD with the days of the Baals (see Hosea 2:23).
It forgets the sanctification and holiness taught at Sinai is how God's children are to speak, act, walk and worship in a heart of love following the ways and appointed days of The LORD.
The good news is that today, those lies are coming out of the wormwood.
A remnant are realizing there has to be more, the book of life was not erased at the cross. They are being called out by God's Spirit and returning to the Torah of God that Yeshua taught and explained. They are hearing the messages of Isaiah 43:27, Ezekiel 20:4 and Lamentations 5:7 and understanding the words are about them.
This calling is part of the promise of a latter day restoration. Repentant return is becoming a reality that we can worship in God's ways because we get to and want to as The LORD Almighty writes His Torah on our heart (see Jeremiah 31:31-37).
Thank God, Isaiah 11:3-16 begins with the storyline of the return trip of our High Priest and King Messiah. The events that unroll in the scroll from that point on up to Isaiah 35 give us important details and Isaiah 35:10 sums up a Jubilee event not yet seen:
"And the ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."Before Yeshua of Nazareth volunteered for His trial, before He was bruised and beaten by the Romans, before He willingly gave His life blood on the Passover cross as the redemptive Son of Man to overcome death, he arrived in a synagogue in Nazareth one Sabbath day and opened a scroll at the bema in Nazareth.
Standing there He read what Isaiah had written and He revealed the High Priest's role about the good news of God's Jubilee plan for mankind.
You can read all about it in Luke 4:16-20:
"And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."
And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him."
Shortly after that, at the Sermon on the Mount, Yeshua taught everyone that would hear and do how to pray and participate in God's good news Jubilee to come.
The Spirit of the LORD rested on Yeshua. In the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, in the Spirit of counsel and might with the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD, Yeshua taught our Kingdom of God prayer assignment in Matthew 6:5-14:
Pray then like this:It's not hard to read, but many miss it as this prayer sums up what The Father purposed in Eden at creation and at Sinai... the good news is about God's will from heaven on earth in the Kingdom to come, not the other way around!
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil."
Yet religious replacement theology has gotten things backwards because we have inherited some lies (see Jeremiah 16:19).
Repentance is the beginning of the Emmaus road trip toward the priesthood, always has been, always will be.
Repentance is the beginning of the Emmaus road trip toward the priesthood, always has been, always will be.
Let's not start the walk of the way in Messiah only reciting a silent prayer, let's do it.
Almost 2,000 years ago, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin by the name of Nicodemus wanted to know the gospel truth. Yeshua told Nicodemus you must be born from above, but despite his life's work as a leading Torah teacher, Nicodemus did not understand the Torah but he wanted to understand:
“Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony.
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." John 3:10-15Are we like Nicodemus?
In evangelical Christianity, the phrase you must be “born again” to receive eternal life comes from the conversation with Nicodemus. John 3:3 is often translated as: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Yet, the old Greek manuscripts behind the new English translations read a bit differently:
“Unless someone (anōthen) is born from above, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
So, what did Jesus mean when He said born from above to see the kingdom?
Many think of "born again" as a moment of belief. After all, many sermons describe a salvation gospel that stops with belief and a sinner's prayer to avoid eternal hell fire and brimstone.
Many think of "born again" as a moment of belief. After all, many sermons describe a salvation gospel that stops with belief and a sinner's prayer to avoid eternal hell fire and brimstone.
That call is often a sermon's end that doesn't quite track with Jesus. The thing is demons believe in Jesus, you can read about that in two mind bending accounts described in Matthew 8:28-34 and Mark 1:23-28 so there has to be more than belief.
Yes, Almighty God The Father sent His Son Yeshua to fulfill the redeeming life offering for sin. We must believe that.
Yet, unlike the demons, we are to repent and turn back to God in a faith walk in His image. That faith includes the response in love to learn to do what The Lord has said is pleasing to Him. Repentance includes an inward change of heart, to do things God's way, to show we love The LORD by what we do for Him...
That's a part of the new covenant that doesn't stop at the cross. Jeremiah wrote what God has to say about it:
"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law [Torah] within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
If we want to really know The LORD we must realize that The LORD's teaching and instruction was given to an assembly whose first born had been saved at the first Passover in Egypt. Not only that, the Torah spoken at Shavuot was not only given to Jacob's family shackled in slavery.
The covenant at Sinai was given as a constitution, a covenant of life for every saved soul, including native born and sojourner alike to hear so we can all learn how to walk in relationship with the righteous Almighty God.
The disciple James provided a sobering commentary on that fact. He taught that salvation is a gift and holiness is learned. His admonition was: Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:21-22
The word He referenced is the word of God. James words follow the book of Exodus.
Some not all tend to ignore implanting God's good news process, but the love of The Father message must be understood to grasp the good news gospel of living for our Holy God, His way. That's why understanding the Exodus pattern is critical to any believer's learning process. In a believer’s walk, following Jesus is a matter of walking set apart in holiness, aka set apart to walk in God's image with a changed heart.
Our perception of the word holiness is misunderstood too. In the Bible holiness is not an abstract spiritual achievement, holiness is doing what is right, here and now. At Mount Sinai doing what is right was explained to Moses. The teaching from God there we call commandments is about doing the basics of righteousness:
- Do good, extend mercy.
- Honor our parents.
- Lend a hand, take care of people that need help.
- Pay people a fair wage on time.
- Deal with others with care and compassion.
- Respect people rich or poor.
Paul describes the process as sanctification, we must grow in obedience to God. Paul challenged people them to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. But take care, Paul did not say to “work for” salvation but to “work out” salvation.
Scripture teaches that we are saved not by our works but by God's grace. What we do is our response to that grace. In Romans 13:8-10 Paul wrote that love fulfills the Torah and how we should love our neighbors as ourselves. That message is from Sinai.
Go ahead, read James 2:14-26. The message is faith without works is dead.
There are other witnesses:
"All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3:16"Here is the endurance of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Revelation 14:12"Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Revelation 22:14
Those words are powerful.
Endurance (ὑπομονή) is about sustaining perseverance. The King James Bible renders the Greek in Revelation 14:12 as patience, but that olde English translation does not quite convey the heart of the message of sustaining steadfast endurance, aka choosing to keep the inheritance of God's voice that leads to the blessing in Revelation 22:14.
That's why it's important to dig deeper into what Yeshua said to Nicodemus to understand birth from above by the Spirit of God:
"No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him." John 3:13-15 NIV
Yeshua was explaining the gift of eternal life (the tree of life) is faith revealed in action, evidenced by His deed at the cross and revealed in resurrection.
Unlike the beliefs of demons, the faith of a saved soul includes holy, steadfast endurance. That's the healing straight path of holiness the New Testament declares:
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:12-14
As the book of James and the letter to Timothy explain, one who believes in the redeeming work of Messiah... chooses to do life God's way and in blessing.
The book of Revelation reveals that blessing includes getting to do the commandments of God.
The disciple John goes on to say that if you hear the calling of God, it's up to you to answer the call to believe, and do life God's way.
We shouldn't read John 3:16 out of context.
or the context we have to keep reading on to John 3:21:
"“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.” John 3:16-21
Practicing truth and faith in righteous deeds starts with belief. The learning process continues with living life God's way in Kingdom faith. It's all outlined in the Torah and that's what is taught by Jesus.
Nicodemus was missing what the Torah teaches about returning to God in repentance. It brings The Father's mercies and grace in forgiveness in line with the Tree of Life promise of resurrection embedded in the Torah.
Good deeds are proof of repentance and the way of Torah.
That's why the royal priesthood must function in the order of Melchizedek.
In the Greek manuscripts of John, "works" are translated from the Greek word "ergon" (ἔργον) meaning an act, deed, thing done. The good we do for others is set apart by Almighty God as holy and right. Good works shine a bright light on God's words of truth. It's no wonder that "light" has been a big time keyword in the Bible ever since the beginning.
What is that light? Psalm 119:105-106 gives us the answer, it's God's word:
"NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.The Psalmist ties God's word to how we act, aka how we walk and live life in God's image as God intended from the beginning. Did you know this description of God's word begins with the letter Nun?
The reason it that each Hebrew letter has an important embedded meaning.
It just so happens the letter "Nun" נ represents "faithfulness."
The psalm mentions feet and path. The word of God shows us the way of faithful restoration to Father God and to others.
The first step on the path to the Kingdom of God starts with teshuva (repentance) and that's when the relationship starts, it continues on in faithfulness. That's what this Psalm is teaching. That's what Yeshua taught Nicodemus in the Psalm 119 lesson.
Don't forget, even demons believe. Belief alone is not a stop sign on the Emmaus road to faithful life. The roadmap to the Kingdom of God continues by walking in the truth and light of the word of God and choosing to do so because you love The LORD.
The journey is not a one time decision, it's a daily life choice, a Royal Priesthood journey when we choose to follow the High Priest and King Yeshua.
Belief is an action word, faithfulness is a lifestyle that is grounded in acts of righteous obedience and holiness. Being faithful and set apart (holy) is Yeshua’s life, death and resurrection demonstration. If we are to follow in His footsteps in the Royal Priesthood (1 Peter 2:7-12) we must choose to walk in holy set apart ways.
That gospel is a very old message,
Moses outlined it in the sermons we now call the book of Deuteronomy. The Prophets zero in on it and they outline the problems of not walking in the way of the word of God.
No wonder Yeshua shouted "repent!" He proclaimed that door opener to kingdom living over again for righteous reason, He was declaring the prophecy of Isaiah 1:27:
"Zion shall be redeemed by justice, and those in her who repent, by righteousness."
Repentance engages redemption. God responds to repentance and forgives in mercy and grace when we repent and turn back to walk in the light of God's righteousness. Almighty God's mercy and redemption is available to everyone. Our response should be to turn back and keep the path of a righteous walk of the Royal Priesthood.
Yeshua proved His faithfulness by walking in sinless life and He was born again in resurrection as the first born on the appointed day of First Fruits.
Eternal life and resurrection can be yours too!
Yeshua knew that Almighty God gave Solomon great wisdom that's never changed. It too is a part of the gospel with a promise from the God of Israel to every humble God fearer and it's the same gospel Yeshua taught when He said repent because God described His plan to Solomon:
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." 2Chronicles 7:14
That land promise is not old and done away with either. Modern Israel is the proof that syncs perfectly with the Luke 11:1-4 teaching of Lord's Prayer: "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
We need to know God's forgiveness is granted by His justice as a response to our repentance by turning from our ways to God's ways. Repentance is the call of truth that requires we do something and humbly reexamine ourselves, pray, turn away from sin and return to God in teshuvah to walk in the light and truth of God's Kingdom ways.
Bottomline, believing in Jesus does not stop with a sinner's prayer.
The Bible is the proof, Almighty God makes a big promise to forgive sin but like all all relationships are a two way street.
Repentant faith continues with faith in action, not just belief.
How do you want to respond?
Do you understand that it's the Jewish people that brought the Messiah into the world?
That fact cannot be forgotten. He the lion of the tribe of Judah.
Not only that, the faith of the Jewish people brought the world the Bible, God's oracles to the world and after grave tribulation from Hitler's horrors, the Jewish people have brought healing back to the land promise given to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob although it was empty and void for nearly 2,000 years.
The Jewish people are proof that the Kingdom of God is near and the Jewish people are preparing it for Messiah's return whether one thinks it is the first trip or the second!
The ways of God are not new and the good news gospel of the Kingdom of God isn't new. The path remains the same: repent, turn away from sin and fearfully turn back to God. That's not a new religion, it's not a religion at all, it's fact.
Yeshua of Nazareth added weight to the Bible's urgent gospel message because "the Kingdom of God is near." Our responsibility is to choose to make the first move and that choice begins with repentance and then to walk in God's Kingdom ways.
The more that message of choice is proclaimed around the globe, the closer the Kingdom of Heaven led by Messiah Yeshua is to returning the light of God's word to this dark planet.
Do you know the Exodus 33 mercy lesson? Yeshua did!
Moses asked for God's forgiveness and wanted to continue on the journey back to the Promised Land with the assembly of the sons of Jacob and the sojourners with them. Many had sinned and broke their covenant with God with the golden calf. Yet, the life lesson on God's character is seen at the mountaintop immediately after the golden pagan idolatry leftover from Egypt broke the covenant everyone had just agreed to.
Do you remember what Moses asked of The LORD?
"Let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight."
Almighty God agreed with the request: "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."
There from that cloud of fire on the mountain, Almighty God said: “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”
The answer was for both of Moses' requests: go with us - and let me know your ways so I may know you.
Almighty God agreed with the request: "My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest."
There from that cloud of fire on the mountain, Almighty God said: “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.”
The answer was for both of Moses' requests: go with us - and let me know your ways so I may know you.
The Father of Heaven then outlined His Kingdom ways and His desire for us as redeemed children of God.
The gospel started at that mountaintop and Moses wrote everything he heard.
God's response to Moses included His teaching and instruction from above and Yeshua admonished Nicodemus about that because he should have known the Torah's compassion promise that will come with the new birth of resurrection life is the ultimate gift of forgiveness for mankind's iniquity, transgression and sin:
God's response to Moses included His teaching and instruction from above and Yeshua admonished Nicodemus about that because he should have known the Torah's compassion promise that will come with the new birth of resurrection life is the ultimate gift of forgiveness for mankind's iniquity, transgression and sin:
"The LORD descended in the cloud and stood there with him as he called upon the name of the LORD.
Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed,
'The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.'"Bottomline, if we repent and seek to follow the living Torah, aka the sinless way Yeshua walked anointed by the Holy Spirit, we follow in the footsteps of Messiah.
Rebirth as a child of God begins with repentance followed by God's forgiveness of the guilt of sin and our choice to walk in the journey of life to the kingdom of God.
Just like He taught Nicodemus, the path to being born again in resurrection is revealed in The Father's character. He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin!
I pray that helps explain why Yeshua questioned Nicodemus “the teacher of Israel” and expected him to understand what the Torah declares. Remember the question in John 3:10: “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things?
Nicodemus was a educated Pharisee, a Torah teacher and a member of the Sanhedrin, but he did not understand the “kingdom of God” realm from above that God is full of compassion and grace, slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness and truth, forgiveness of iniquity, transgression and sin.
Yet, Nicodemus had let some religious views distort God's gospel plan.
That conversation with a Pharisee points to God's eternal life resurrection promise from “above.”
There's another found in the book of Luke.
One Sabbath, when Yeshua went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, he healed a man there that suffered from dropsy.
The disorder is now called edema which is bodily swelling. It can be a sign of serious medical complications. When very serious, it can cause difficulty in breathing and requires immediate medical attention. Left untreated, it can produce more serious complications and can result in heart or kidney failure leading to death.
While there, Yeshua gave the Pharisees several parables. Yeshua wrapped up the meeting saying:
But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one dot of the Law to become void. Luke 16:17If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead. Luke 16:31
In the book of John, Yeshua addresses how God chose to deal with transgression, sin and death, with love!
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." John 3:16-17.
Why saved through Messiah as the only begotten Son?
Adam was the first man, yet he was not born. Adam was hand made, broke his relationship, everyone else has since except Yeshua. It was Israel's choice to disregard God's covenant at Sinai so they needed an intercessor. Moses gives us the big picture about that.
Adam was the first man, yet he was not born. Adam was hand made, broke his relationship, everyone else has since except Yeshua. It was Israel's choice to disregard God's covenant at Sinai so they needed an intercessor. Moses gives us the big picture about that.
Rewind for a moment and you'll see that after everyone agreed to God's covenant, people were too afraid to hear God's voice, thinking they would die, so they asked Moses to be their intercessor to declare God's words to them.
The intercessory plan of redemption actually started in the beginning.
Adam received the broth of life from God's Spirit. the Bible tells us our Creator literally blew life into him and created mankind to live in God's image. The problem is Eve made the decision to ignore God's instruction and darkened that image by believing a lie.
In doing so, Eve disrespected God and chose a prideful deception that says God's word is old and done away with.
Adam followed along. Some 3,600 year's later, The Lord God told Isaiah the prophet:
“Remember this and stand firm,The Master Rabbi Yeshua taught Nicodemus a Torah teacher of Israel the purpose of God's goal from the beginning. It's declared in Genesis 3:15, but Nicodemus struggled to see the light just like many others.
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose... Isaiah 46:8-10
We have all inherited lies in one way or another, so we are blind in some ways to Messiah's first coming as He properly taught Torah to Nicodemus about resurrection and the Kingdom of heaven on earth as it was intended for Adam and Eve.
Until Yeshua, how God would accomplish His purpose was a mystery, for most it remains even today.
The gospel plan was declared in Genesis 3:15 and Yeshua revealed the bruised heel purpose to Nicodemus. The proof is found in John 19:39.
Before that day...
"Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
Yeshua answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. John 3:9-15Despite some sermons many have heard, or New York Times best sellers you may have read, the Bible promises that the Kingdom of Heaven is coming back to planet earth.
There's not a rapture escape hatch flight in the sky to Heaven. Messiah Yeshua is the one worthy to open the seven seals in Revelation 5, not some antichrist.
Yeshua is the promised anointed King and High Priest that will return to rule from Jerusalem by God's Kingdom constitution and knock out sin, destroying the destroyers of the earth and rebuild Zion.
Revelation 6 describes the process is much like the plagues that fell on Egypt.
His High Priest role is to restore mankind to life in righteous relationship with our Creator. That goal will be complete when the head of the serpent is crushed just as it was stated in the beginning when God revealed the outline of His plan.
Whether you believe it or not, Yeshua is the Son of Man descended from heaven, the prophet like Moses that was lifted up just like the snake Moses put on a stake to save Israel and the sojourners with them. Yeshua was bruised and beaten for our transgressions, yet He is the living Son of Man raised in the eternal life promise of resurrection. He will rule as King forever as promised to David and to Daniel some 500 years later:
Whether you believe it or not, Yeshua is the Son of Man descended from heaven, the prophet like Moses that was lifted up just like the snake Moses put on a stake to save Israel and the sojourners with them. Yeshua was bruised and beaten for our transgressions, yet He is the living Son of Man raised in the eternal life promise of resurrection. He will rule as King forever as promised to David and to Daniel some 500 years later:
"But the holy [set apart] of the Highest One [the Son of Man] will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come."Daniel 7:18We all want to know, when will we see this forever kingdom and the end of the age of sin and death? That's the same question the disciples asked Yeshua. His answer was that Daniel told us it will be after a time of grave trouble and Yeshua backed up that end of age of sin prophecy in Matthew 24 and Mark 13:
"I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overpowering them until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints [bond-servants] of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. Daniel 7:21-22Jerusalem is the location that will clear up all the confusion of the gospel of The Kingdom to come.
Jerusalem was chosen by God. Jerusalem is the center of the conflict of good and the evil that opposes God's authority. The Old City is already a cup of reeling because Jerusalem is where our relationship with Almighty God will be restored back to the beginning.
The deceiver hates it, so does most of the U.N. There are more condemnations against Israel from the U.N. Assembly than any other country, and many more will come in the days ahead.
But we have a choice to choose Almighty God's Kingdom ways and will for our lives if we repent and believe Yeshua-Jesus. His is the light shining throughout the narrative of the Bible both old and new and the Kingdom's latter day restoration is coming into full gear with Yeshua's life, teaching, trial, death and resurrection. His faith is coming back full circle from the pits of anti-semitism and replacement theology for a remnant.
As a Jew and the Son of Man, He suffered, yet He was resurrected, born again in new life so it time to take a look at the resurrection of Israel and the Jewish people.
Did you know Yeshua is the Messiah to come declared in the daily Amidah prayers of faithful Jewish people that stand and pray: ""I believe with complete faith in the coming of Moshiach. And though he may tarry, I shall wait anticipating his arrival each day."
Do you stand with them?
The “good news” is that the Jew some call Jesus, is the Son of Man and that Moshiach. There aren't two Messiahs and recognizing Him in repentance is Kingdom of Heaven key to God's redemption. When He is called on by Jerusalem, He will return as Messiah King with the authority over the earth that Adam unwittingly gave up but the reality is there will be a battle for those that now seek to destroy the eretz land of Israel:
“And the nations were enraged, and Your wrath came, and the time came for the dead to be judged, and the time to reward Your bond-servants the prophets and the saints and those who fear Your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. Revelation 22:12The unchanging word of God reveals His lovingkindness in the Torah of our forgiving Father that thank God was never done away with on a Roman execution cross at Golgotha. Instead, God's mystery gospel plan revealed in the Torah is to remove sin with a glorious redeemed future from beginning to end. The resurrected redeemer King and High Priest in the order of Melchizedek will return as the “king of righteousness” to govern the world from the holy mountain on the throne of David in Jerusalem.
When He does, the Torah of God will be His covenant Kingdom constitution that will be taught to all “peoples, nations, and languages” and that teaching is the reason for the season of the millennium.
Do you remember Abraham?
He was God's friend because he did what God asked without hesitation. Abraham lived out his faith by what he did. Had he never stepped out of the Ur of the Chaldees, you would have never heard of him. That faith in action is what Jesus was teaching Nicodemus about when He said:
Yet, this gospel message from above about living in the light of the Word of God can get lost when you stop at the cross and do not understand the Son of Man in His First Fruits resurrection desires we all walk in the ways of new life empowered by the Spirit of God.
"But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God. John 3:21In our Creator’s timing and according to His master plan outlined in the Feasts of The Lord, the Kingdom of God will be restored on earth with Jerusalem as its Sukkot centerpiece. The stones that the Highest One is using to accomplish the New Jerusalem are His bond-servants walking in repentance and making the right choice as the children of God to hear God's voice and walk in faith as a friend under the teaching of the Messiah of Israel.
Yet, this gospel message from above about living in the light of the Word of God can get lost when you stop at the cross and do not understand the Son of Man in His First Fruits resurrection desires we all walk in the ways of new life empowered by the Spirit of God.
It's time to repent from replacement theology and religious theories of a future floating around on an escape cloud of bliss playing a harp or living in a mansion behind pearly gates guarded by Saint Peter. That's not the gospel kingdom promise found anywhere in the Bible Yeshua taught.
Matthew 24:14 tells us Jesus said that is Kingdom dependent on what we need to do, so I am doing it here:
Two thousand years ago, a Levite named John was born to preach repentance to all that would hear the priestly call in preparation to receive the humble Messiah that would teach Torah as the Kingdom ways from above. John the immerser (aka baptist) was chosen from the womb like Elijah to begin the restoration process of mankind through repentance to return to God's ways.
Matthew 24:14 tells us Jesus said that is Kingdom dependent on what we need to do, so I am doing it here:
“This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come."The Kingdom gospel is what Yeshua taught Nicodemus and the end is not global destruction, it's the end of the age of sin and rebellion against God's voice that will come with a grave price for those that continue to reject God's voice.
Two thousand years ago, a Levite named John was born to preach repentance to all that would hear the priestly call in preparation to receive the humble Messiah that would teach Torah as the Kingdom ways from above. John the immerser (aka baptist) was chosen from the womb like Elijah to begin the restoration process of mankind through repentance to return to God's ways.
The mikveh or baptism if you will that John was chosen for at the Jordan River is a picture of resurrection because Yeshua was given Adam's original assignment to have dominion over the earth in the Kingdom of God.
Matthew's account says: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations." The words "whole world" are from the Greek word "oikoumenē" and while it can be translated as "whole world" another meaning is hidden according to both Strong's and Thayer's Greek Lexicons. They both give a subtle reference to the Roman Empire.
During Yeshua's day, that evil empire of iron ruled people and land by dictatorial oppression from Rome's Caesars that started in 60BC. The Roman Empire included dominion over the "land" (eretz) of Israel after Pompey aka Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus marched into Jerusalem. He became famous as a Roman General.
Matthew's account says: "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations." The words "whole world" are from the Greek word "oikoumenē" and while it can be translated as "whole world" another meaning is hidden according to both Strong's and Thayer's Greek Lexicons. They both give a subtle reference to the Roman Empire.
During Yeshua's day, that evil empire of iron ruled people and land by dictatorial oppression from Rome's Caesars that started in 60BC. The Roman Empire included dominion over the "land" (eretz) of Israel after Pompey aka Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus marched into Jerusalem. He became famous as a Roman General.
Today, the oppressive bronze legs of Roman rule have morphed into the divided iron and clay toes of Islam's Shiite and Sunni Islamic kingdom with U.N. backing that has committed their own resolutions to constantly condemn Israel as the Sunni, enforce an abomination to Jewish prayer atop the Temple Mount.
Their religious goal is to rule it as their Noble Sanctuary just as Daniel explained the meaning of Nebuchadnezzar's nightmare to the ruler of Babylon:
"And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle." Daniel 2:41-42Not only that, despite the fact that Israel is the birthplace of Yeshua of Nazareth, today He is not widely known there as the Jewish Messiah, nor is His Torah observance and teaching like the prophet promised to Moses known to the majority of Christianity that believes Jesus tuned His back on the Jewish people and started a new religion as He upended the Sabbaths of The LORD. Even some Palestinians say he was a Palestinian born in Bethlehem and not a Jew.
But the teaching given to Nicodemus can not be forgotten.
In the manuscripts we now call the Gospels, Jesus never taught of converting anyone to a new replacement religion. Instead, He taught and explained the heart of the same Torah that God had given to Moses and promised to Jeremiah about the restoration of the heart of Ephraim and Judah:
In the manuscripts we now call the Gospels, Jesus never taught of converting anyone to a new replacement religion. Instead, He taught and explained the heart of the same Torah that God had given to Moses and promised to Jeremiah about the restoration of the heart of Ephraim and Judah:
I have heard Ephraim grieving, 'You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf; bring me back that I may be restored, for you are the LORD my God. For after I had turned away, I relented, and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh; I was ashamed, and I was confounded, because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he my darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, declares the LORD." Jeremiah 31:18-20
Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: "Once more they shall use these words in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes: "'The LORD bless you, O habitation of righteousness, O holy hill!' Jeremiah 31:23
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.
And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34Yeshua admonished righteousness and mercy found in the instruction of Moses when He said:
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied."Thinking the Sermon on the Mount was a new teaching, many miss the echo of Moses in Yeshua's words. It's as if people have been wearing a veil and can't see Yeshua in the Torah heart of the seasoning salt He taught or the light of doing the good deeds (mitzvah) of Torah by showing God's heart in healing others.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Matthew 5:6-8
The truth is mitzvah (good deeds) gives salt and light glory back to God:
"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet."
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16When Yeshua healed a leper, you need to know He kept the Torah's instruction explicitly: "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “This shall be the law of the leprous person for the day of his cleansing. He shall be brought to the priest, and the priest shall go out of the camp, and the priest shall look." Leviticus 14:1-3
Here's the record:
And Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.” Matthew 8:4Yeshua did not do away with the Torah, He did it. He focused others on keeping the commandments of God because it's the righteous "life" choice:
And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good.
If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” Matthew19:17Yeshua taught the pinnacle of the Torah with a focus on the prophets:
“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40An observant Jew to the written Torah, Yeshua kept it. That includes keeping the Sabbath and thank God He kept the festivals of The LORD. Have you read what He told the Samaritan woman?
“You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.” John 4:22Yeshua is the Jewish name for Jesus that means salvation and He taught the way of the heart in The Kingdom is to fulfill the whole Tanach (Hebrew Bible) with meaning, not finish it off at a cross:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.
Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-19Yeshua taught the heart of Torah righteousness is more important than some religious traditions:
"For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:20Traditions that hold up the ideals of Torah are forever.
The Son of Man's gospel of The Kingdom intertwines ruth and spirit, yet Kingdom preaching has been distorted and we have inherited some lies, but the light will shine in the darkness. Just as Daniel was promised, knowledge has increased. That knowledge is about God's Torah, its truth is being revealed to many among the nations, seeing it as the constitution of The Kingdom.
Today, Yeshua's words can be read by anyone for what they say thanks to the blessing of the printing press and they can be seen and heard virtually everywhere thanks to technology.
The truth is the Torah of God connects heaven to earth, always has always will. It's the written record of the voice of the Sovereign Creator of the Universe. Being a citizen of the Kingdom of God makes you and I accountable to His constitution.
It's time to stand and boldly proclaim, repent and live like you're a child of God citizen.
It is time to take hold of the shield of faith and put on the helmet of salvation. It's time to strap on the sword of truth and buckle up with righteousness because the fearful glory of the Messiah King is coming back to deal with the adversary as those that oppose The Father.
It's time to prepare hearts to understand and believe The Kingdom Come gospel promise and declare it just as Yeshua taught Nicodemus from the foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
This past week, I was blessed to hear a wonderful presentation on sharing the gospel and the next day I received this message from a dear friend who "follows" Yeshua and seeks to walk in "the way" of the Messiah's voice and relationship with The Father. She wrote:
It's time to prepare hearts to understand and believe The Kingdom Come gospel promise and declare it just as Yeshua taught Nicodemus from the foundation of the Hebrew Scriptures.
This past week, I was blessed to hear a wonderful presentation on sharing the gospel and the next day I received this message from a dear friend who "follows" Yeshua and seeks to walk in "the way" of the Messiah's voice and relationship with The Father. She wrote:
Have we reduced His voice to white noise?
"I keep catching myself striving to hear from God. Bear with me, I know that He speaks though his Word, for where would I be without that?
I know the heavens declare his glory, day after day they pour forth speech. I praise God for these. I just find myself hungering to hear him MORE! He is Immanuel. God with us. God with me! My ever constant companion. Assuming I were ever quiet, wouldn’t it be reasonable to expect to hear from my companion throughout the day, every day?
I use to think it was some level of spiritual maturity I needed to attain in order to hear His voice in this way. Maybe when I have uncovered every hidden sin and spent X amount of time reading my Bible and praying, then maybe I could hear him speak to me like that. Or, maybe if I would sit in silence for extended periods of times.
While all those things are probably good and even profitable for hearing him, I think I have made this altogether too complex. What if my striving is the very thing keeping me from what I desire? What if instead of me becoming ‘more’ to hear him, I need to become ‘less.’
“Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.” 1 Corinthians 8:1
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:3
Oh Lord, I fear the puffing up has clogged up my ears. In my ‘sound doctrine,’ have I put into a box what hearing from you is supposed to be like?
I remember when I first moved to California, I was totally taken by the mountains.
There was one specific spot where I struggled to keep my eyes on the road at all because of the majesty of the view. Completely breathtaking. Yet, after some time of driving that same stretch day after day, would you believe I forgot the mountains were even there? I didn’t notice them at all. Why?
Did the mountains lose their splendor? Oh, Lord, have I treated you like that mountain?
“He who has ears, let him hear!” Matthew 11:15 and Matthew 13:9
Oh, how that verse pierces me! He has given me all the equipment! I just haven’t been using it. I want to hear you God, how can I open my ears?
“For it was you who created my inward parts; You knit me together in my mother’s womb.” Psalm 139:13
Wait a minute! I was created for this! No created thing has to strive to do the very thing it was created for? You created me for relationship with you! This hunger to hear you, is from you! You love me! You designed me! All of me, all of my senses, with relationship with you as priority #1!
You are most definitely speaking to me!The LORD is speaking, yet our theologies can complicate our understanding of His voice as they often add or take away from the promise and purpose of the written Word of God to connect heaven and earth.
You are speaking to me so much, with everything in me and around me. You ARE pouring forth speech. You speak with such generosity, that we have considered it white noise, or ‘my imagination.’ Unclog my ears Lord Jesus! Scrub them clean from preconceived notions and lies that I have believed. Cleanse them from the noise of this world and the noise of my striving flesh.
Make me like a child, at peace just to be in my Daddy’s arms. No theology to complicate things... just the love of a Father and his daughter. You do not withhold your life giving words from me. You aren’t holding anything back from me. Thank you! My ears and all of my senses, all of me, look to you. Wide eyed and confident that I was made for this.
This song is playing in my head…
‘May we never lose our wonder! Wide eyed and mystified, may we be just like a child, staring at the beauty of our King!’
May it be so."
The awe and wonder of the promise of being born from above with the good news of the Kingdom of God is that the hope for the coming of our Messiah King to restore the planet and mankind in resurrection back to the beginning in a bond-servant's Father son, Father daughter relationship with God.
That's how it was intended from the beginning.
So listen up.
So listen up.
My friends message reminded me of Jeremiah. He was given the big promise... knowing Almighty God, The LORD:
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:34The good news is humble Yeshua HaMashiach walked in and taught the perfect walk of The Kingdom bringing the Word of God to life as the heart of Torah in the flesh. Yeshua lived out God's instruction righteously and He was anointed by God's Spirit. In the priestly prayer to The Father about those He taught and others to follow He said:
I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. John 17:6
I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. John 17:14
Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. John 17:17
The Kingdom begins when we repent and our sin is forgiven and forgotten in gracious mercy and in lovingkindness. Because of that promise, Yeshua taught everyone to repent, to return to know God's heart declared to Moses:
And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth... Exodus 34:5-6 KJV
Because He loves The Father, Yeshua followed and taught the heart of The Father's teaching given on the mountain. Because of sin's curse which is death, the grave could not hold the sinless One and resurrection new life was given to Him with authority to pass on for the final redemption.
Yeshua experienced trial and tribulation for its highest purpose, and He overcame the death penalty of sin that mankind brought on himself by believing a deception that Almighty God held something back. Yeshua offered His righteous life in an exchange with goodness and truth for the iniquity of all.
Yeshua experienced trial and tribulation for its highest purpose, and He overcame the death penalty of sin that mankind brought on himself by believing a deception that Almighty God held something back. Yeshua offered His righteous life in an exchange with goodness and truth for the iniquity of all.
The Kingdom come good news is Yeshua lives!
Those that repent and believe the Gospel of the Kingdom get to follow God in faith as a friend of God like Abraham.
Today, you too can walk in loving obedience as a child of God and you can prepare others for the day Melek HaMashiach returns. Rest assured, He is coming in resurrection glory as King Messiah. He will fulfill the appointed Fall Feasts just as He filled the purpose of the Spring Feasts in Jerusalem two millennia ago.
When He returns in glory, the shofar will be heard on the day of Trumpets as it has for thousands of years. The rehearsals will end. Yeshua will restore the fallen tent of David and establish His throne in Jerusalem, yet His work will be greater that David's. That's what Nathan revealed to David.
David was the first anointed, chosen of God King of Israel. Yeshua is the chosen, anointed Messiah King of all creation, Judah and all nations.
There, in Israel just as the prophet Nathan promised David: "a son will build a house for God" (2 Samuel 7:10-17). That house today is being built with livings stones... they are led by the High Priest King that declares the constitution that defines God's heart in righteousness and forgiveness, it is called the Torah, the eternal Kingdom teaching of The Father.
Listen up, Nathan repeated God's promise in Messiah when he said: "I will be a Father to him and he will be a son to Me." (2 Samuel 7:14)
Yeshua never turned against His Father's ways.
When He returns in glory, the shofar will be heard on the day of Trumpets as it has for thousands of years. The rehearsals will end. Yeshua will restore the fallen tent of David and establish His throne in Jerusalem, yet His work will be greater that David's. That's what Nathan revealed to David.
David was the first anointed, chosen of God King of Israel. Yeshua is the chosen, anointed Messiah King of all creation, Judah and all nations.
There, in Israel just as the prophet Nathan promised David: "a son will build a house for God" (2 Samuel 7:10-17). That house today is being built with livings stones... they are led by the High Priest King that declares the constitution that defines God's heart in righteousness and forgiveness, it is called the Torah, the eternal Kingdom teaching of The Father.
Listen up, Nathan repeated God's promise in Messiah when he said: "I will be a Father to him and he will be a son to Me." (2 Samuel 7:14)
Yeshua never turned against His Father's ways.
Yeshua did not do away with the Torah like you may have heard, He did the opposite.
The reason, it is The Father's heaven to earth message, it's the instruction manual for kingdom life in the House of the God of Israel. Righteous children, whether native born or adopted are those that choose to obey The Father in love because they get to and want to.
That's the definition of a bond-servant.
That simple gospel may be hard to hear, difficult to grasp due to some misguided religious sermons about a new religion and an Old Testament, but Yeshua of Nazareth never started a new religion.
Believe it or not, Yeshua never attended Sunday school either.
That simple gospel may be hard to hear, difficult to grasp due to some misguided religious sermons about a new religion and an Old Testament, but Yeshua of Nazareth never started a new religion.
Believe it or not, Yeshua never attended Sunday school either.
His custom was was to go to synagogue to read and teach on the Sabbath (see Luke 4:16 for the proof text).
Yeshua revealed the meaning of living the life of Torah in the heart while teaching "the way" of life in the Kingdom of God. To understand this requires the Sermon on the Mount, so one day you'll find more here about that.
We can be pure in heart, we can hunger and thirst for righteous truth. We can be meek and peacemakers full of salt and light. "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48)
The Kingdom come gospel was declared by Jewish disciples.
Have you heard the real Gospel message they proclaimed?
One response to this question is that they preached on the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Gospel, another is that a person can receive salvation by "believing in" in Jesus, raising a hand and reciting a prayer.
Have you heard the real Gospel message they proclaimed?
One response to this question is that they preached on the death and resurrection of Jesus as the Gospel, another is that a person can receive salvation by "believing in" in Jesus, raising a hand and reciting a prayer.
Hold onto your pew, those are righteous right steps, but it's not the Kingdom gospel message they heard preached by Yeshua - Jesus.
How do we know?
We know because the disciples preached the gospel of The Kingdom before they ever realized Jesus would actually give up His life as a freewill offering to defeat the sting of death from sin as promised from the beginning in Genesis 3:15.
If we read their accounts, the disciples preached the gospel of The Kingdom before they ever witnessed the Passover trial or crucifixion.
They were sent out to preach the gospel of God before they saw Yeshua appear with them in glory after His First Fruits resurrection.
If look back at the accounts, the disciples did not understand what was going on.
So, what gospel were they preaching?
The same gospel they heard preached throughout the Galilee and in Judea and Samaria.
It was declared before Peter turned his back in fear denying he was a disciple of Yeshua in the darkness of the Passover trial. The disciples heard the gospel preached long before they received the outpouring of the Spirit of God on Shavuot (Pentecost) to empower them to declare the good news to all nations in all languages.
One record of the gospel of the kingdom of God before the cross is found in Luke 9:1-6:
Read Matthew, Mark, Luke or John for yourself and consider what that means:
One record of the gospel of the kingdom of God before the cross is found in Luke 9:1-6:
"And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal.
And he said to them, “Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them.”
And they departed and went through the villages, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere."Nowhere in the Jewish writings of the disciples now called the gospels, do we find any account about the disciples preaching to the crowds about a Passover trial, death on a cross or three days of death in the grave before the First Fruits resurrection, but it is a part of the Kingdom story, It has been one the beginning when it was revealed in Genesis 3:15.
Read Matthew, Mark, Luke or John for yourself and consider what that means:
- What gospel did John the Baptist preach? (Luke 3:18, Luke 16:16)
- What gospel did Yeshua preach while He walked through the Galilee, Samaria and what gospel did He teach at Jerusalem at The Temple? (Matthew 4:23, Mark 1:14, Luke 20:1)
- What gospel were the disciples sent out to preach? (Luke 9:6)
- What gospel is the great commission assignment? (Matthew 24:14, Mark 13:10, Mark 16:15)
From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:17
Now after John had been taken into custody, Yeshua came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel. Mark 1:14-15Repent does not just mean feeling sorry or expressing regret for sin in a one time prayer. It also means turn back, turn around and return to God's ways. The Hebrew word for repent is "teshuva" and it's a faith action, a process. That gospel was not a "new message."
Its true, the gospel that Yeshua of Nazareth began with the same message the prophet Ezekiel declared:
It's the gospel preached to Abraham noted in Galatians 3:8. Yeshua's gospel includes the restoration of the fallen tabernacle of David. To understand that, we must look back to the life and times of king David.
Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. Ezekiel 14:6
Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Ezekiel 18:30The gospel Yeshua declared was that the Kingdom of God was at hand and at the same time Yeshua confirmed the Torah's connection to The Gospel:
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it. But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law [Torah] to fail.” Luke 16:16-17A manuscript from the Newer Testament record from the Jews that followed Yeshua confirms that the gospel they proclaimed was preached to the children of Israel and the companion sojourners with them in Moses' time, but people rebelled and grumbled without faith against Moses, all that is except two witnesses: Joshua and Caleb. (See Numbers 13:1-33 and Numbers 14:1-44). The message in in the book of Hebrews:
"Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, "So I declared on oath in my anger, `They shall never enter my rest.'"
And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: "And on the seventh day God rested from all his work." And again in the passage above he says, "They shall never enter my rest."
It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience." Hebrews 4:1-6Believe it or not, "repentance" and the “restoration” of God's Kingdom as it was intended from the beginning is the good news gospel message that was preached to all that could hear and believe.
It's the gospel preached to Abraham noted in Galatians 3:8. Yeshua's gospel includes the restoration of the fallen tabernacle of David. To understand that, we must look back to the life and times of king David.
First, he was a humble shepherd and anointed, a man of God, he was a king not elected by the people like Saul, but he was chosen by God in power by the Spirit of God to be king:
Not only that, hold onto your hat, but you need to know that Jesus is the Jew is the one that chose Hanukkah, the feast of "dedication" to reveal the Father's promise of eternal life in resurrection to the crowds:
"So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David." 1Samuel 16:13When we look at this critical account from the book of Samuel, we can see it is a mirror image of John's "mikveh" duty like Samuel's at the Jordan River anointing in at the Jordan River:
"Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.” Luke 3:21-22It’s hard to fathom, but Jesus did not reveal to the crowds that heard Him preach after that day that He came to give His life on a Passover cross to accomplish God's goal to bind the death penalty of willful sin declared at Eden. In fact He did not tell them He was the Messiah. Instead, Yeshua waited on the Spirit of God to reveal this and He only told His closest disciples privately of the mystery of God's plan of redemption only days before He went up to Jerusalem before Passover to give His life as the Son of Man kinsman redeemer for mankind.
Not only that, hold onto your hat, but you need to know that Jesus is the Jew is the one that chose Hanukkah, the feast of "dedication" to reveal the Father's promise of eternal life in resurrection to the crowds:
It was the Feast of Hanukkah at Yerushalayim. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple, in Shlomo's porch.
The Yehudim therefore came around him and said to him, "How long will you hold us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Yeshua answered them, "I told you, and you don't believe. The works that I do in my Father's name, these testify about me. But you don't believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." John 10:22-30 HNVYou read it there, plain as day about the time and place:
"It was the Feast of Hanukkah at Yerushalayim. It was winter, and Yeshua was walking in the temple, in Shlomo's porch. " John 10:22Have you realized that in December, the Torah portion Genesis 41:1-44:17 is read, it's called "Miketz" and it's Sabbath reading falls within the eight days of Hanukkah most years?
The Hebrew meaning for Miketz is: "At the End."
This Genesis 41:1-44:17 parshah describes Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dreams of seven years of plenty followed by seven years of famine.
Whenever parshah Miketz coincides with the first Sabbath of Hanukkah, the traditional haftarah that is read is Zechariah 2:14–4:7 and when parshah Miketz coincides with the second Sabbath of Hanukkah the haftarah portion is 1 Kings 7:40–50.
Here's the thing you should know about that. The haftarah of Zechariah 2:14–4:7 includes the prophetic vision of Joshua (Yehoshua) the High Priest:
Here's the thing you should know about that. The haftarah of Zechariah 2:14–4:7 includes the prophetic vision of Joshua (Yehoshua) the High Priest:
And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. Zechariah 3:6-8When Parshah Miketz coincides with the second Sabbath of the eight days of Hanukkah, the haftarah portion read is 1 Kings 7:40–50. It tells us:
"So Solomon made all the vessels that were in the house of the LORD: the golden altar, the golden table for the bread of the Presence, the lamp stands of pure gold, five on the south side and five on the north, before the inner sanctuary; the flowers, the lamps, and the tongs, of gold; the cups, snuffers, basins, dishes for incense, and fire pans, of pure gold; and the sockets of gold, for the doors of the innermost part of the house, the Most Holy Place, and for the doors of the nave of the Temple. 1 Kings 7:48–50While walking in Solomon's porch Yeshua revealed this:
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. John 10:11
It was the dedication and considering that Hanukkah dedication, we need to see the lamp stands of pure gold represent God's Spirit outpouring before the end of the age and the return.
Regarding Hanukkah, I have to ask, will a darkness like Antiochus Epiphanes repeat before The Shepherd returns?
Hanukkah starts on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month and it is a big deal in the Kingdom to come... especially when you realize Haggai wrote these words hundred of years before the days of the Maccabees, long before the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV unleashed his horrific, murderous persecution of the Jews and his desecration of The Temple.
Hanukkah starts on the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month and it is a big deal in the Kingdom to come... especially when you realize Haggai wrote these words hundred of years before the days of the Maccabees, long before the Syrian ruler Antiochus IV unleashed his horrific, murderous persecution of the Jews and his desecration of The Temple.
Haggai's prophecy was written one month after the word of the LORD came to the prophet Zechariah with God's call: "Return to me, says the LORD of hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts."
This promise was given in the 9th Biblical month, that's Kislev, usually December:
As we have seen, another John (aka John the immerser) was the mikveh man, he's "John the Baptist" and his Hebrew name is Yochanan. He preached repentance, the same message given to Zechariah and tied it to Isaiah 40:3.
John was not a Baptist, he was a Levite. At the place that Israel ended the exodus and entered the Promised Land at the Jordan River, this man Yochanan the Levite declared the lamb of God offering acceptable. Only Levites could say what offerings were acceptable.
"Consider from this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundation of the LORD’s temple was laid, consider:
Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you.”
The word of the LORD came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month, “Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms.
I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders." Haggai 2:18-22We should all thank God we can see the gospel account, John 10:22 reveals Hanukkah is a big deal.
As we have seen, another John (aka John the immerser) was the mikveh man, he's "John the Baptist" and his Hebrew name is Yochanan. He preached repentance, the same message given to Zechariah and tied it to Isaiah 40:3.
John was not a Baptist, he was a Levite. At the place that Israel ended the exodus and entered the Promised Land at the Jordan River, this man Yochanan the Levite declared the lamb of God offering acceptable. Only Levites could say what offerings were acceptable.
By declaring that, John prophesied of Yeshua's role that Yeshua explained to the Pharisees that winter day at Solomon's porch during Hannukkah.
I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. John 10:14-18
John's ministry was predicted in Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1. Yeshua told His disciples John was the greatest:
Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law [Torah] prophesied until John. Matthew 11:11-13
Behold is the reason Yeshua call John the the greatest. John the Levite revealed the purpose of the lamb of God in real time, not for the future like a Prophet or the Torah:
"The next day, he saw Yeshua coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29
When he spoke those words, Yochanan the Levite fulfilled his Levite responsibility as he was righteously declaring the lamb, just as Abraham had promised Isaac in place of his son as the acceptable sacrifice. Abraham told Isaac, God will provide:
"Abraham said, "God will provide himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son." So they both went together." Genesis 22:8At the Jordan River's living water mikveh immersion, Yochanan acted in Levite authority declaring the acceptable offering Abraham promised. The behold word of Yochanan about Yeshua was spoken in keeping Abraham's prophecy given to his son Issac.
Yeshua's response to John after he said he was worthy to immerse Yeshua was: "Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness."
There's no question, preparation for the destination of the Kingdom of God is Yeshua's gospel message.
Did you know about that gospel promise?
The foundation of that prophetic promise of Messiah and the Kingdom of God is revealed in 1Samuel 24:20 when the man chosen by men, king Saul, told the shepherd David "behold" because Saul knew David was the one chosen to be king by Almighty God:
The power of Nathan's message is amazing -- after all, people were healed in faith by Yeshua's touch and His words. Here is the Kingdom gospel that was prophesied in 2Samuel 7:11–16:
That day is coming. Get ready.
This promise is summed up in the narrative hinting about the Azazel goat of Yom Kippur by none other than Yeshua the Jew:
So, the gospel message of the Kingdom we need to tell others about is not limited to Yeshua's redeeming work at Passover, His Unleavened life and death, His raising up in glory resurrection on First Fruits, His going up to the right hand of The Father and His gifting of the Spirit on Shavuot.
His work of restoration does not end there. There's a resurrection plan ahead.
For now, we get to do as He did and walk in God's instruction and proclaim the forever promise of the restoration of the "Kingdom" that Jesus preached and taught to everyone.
His "Gospel" is the same "good news" any believer in the gospel can proclaim to the whole world now as we make disciples to teach others how to live in "The Kingdom" to come that Nathan declared to David.
The Bible's storyline of that gospel is amazing and it requires a difficult, but joyful journey of study and understanding of these promises in the root of the faith of the Messiah that is seen with the covenant promise of faith given Abraham of the Promised Land as the focal point of the Kingdom. The gospel is a blessing given for all nations.
If you have visited this website before now, you know most of the messages here are devoted to point to the Word of God as it points to Messiah and His Kingdom to come.
Messiah's gospel message of the promised restoration of the Kingdom is the one lesson we must all know and declare if the end of evil is to come in our time. The focus of the Word of God in on the whole gospel of the restoration of God's Kingdom on earth and it is the message that begins with Jesus loves me, Jesus loves you.
So love Him back as your King, repent and believe the good news that the Kingdom of God will be restored.
It's that simple, return to God's ways and He will return to you and bring redemption to earth. Turn your life around and open your Bible it shows you how to live in The Kingdom and believe in Messiah Yeshua.
Like the Shoah, the gospel started after an illegal, unwarranted arrest of the innocent:
But, if you see the truth and walk away from it or ignore it, or consider it old and done away with, hung on the cross, you will extinguish the fire of the Spirit of God's grace and lovingkindness. After all, if the Torah is done away with why is Jesus interceding on behalf of believers as the Great High Priest?
This is plainly declared in Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 5:5, Hebrews 5:10, Hebrews 6:20, Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 8:1 and Hebrews 9:11.
Yeshua's ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His intercession on behalf of believers as their Great High Priest is filling the Torah up with meaning, it does not do away with it.
Believers that believe God and know Yeshua as Messiah, but don’t know Him as High Priest must open their eyes to the gospel of the Kingdom way. So repent and walk in the Kingdom way taught by Yeshua in John 5:14 and John 8:10... "Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”"
It takes a heart of repentance to understand the gospel of Yeshua and choose to receive the promise of resurrection into eternal life in the Kingdom of God. So, if you love God, walk the way Yeshua walked in righteousness, be a disciple and do what He did in God's service and turn back to the Bible, all of it.
The Jewish disciple John (Yochanan) taught the simple reason we all need to return to a walk of righteousness:
The world does not know the Father sent His son on the righteous Torah mission or they choose to not believe it thinking He came to do away with Torah.
Pauls' warning is if we consider ourself as a believer,
yet we think Jesus did away with God's law we do not know the Gospel of God nor God's will for our life.
There are many who believe in Jesus, but many don't know Yeshua and the problem is He doesn't know us.
Jesus warned His disciples about the dilemma Paul and Peter wrote about. Jesus' words are found in Matthew 7:21-23:
The weighty matters of Torah are faith and pure heart. Yeshua taught that. Take a close look at Matthew chapter 5 and ask, do you believe?
The thing we forget is that God's grace,
is available because we have believed a lie.
Our response is keeping Yeshua's teaching is we get to live out the Word of God to the best of our ability. When we see the truth, we need to walk in it. Yeshua speaks plainly and simply about this as love:
The good news is that Yeshua came that we might see how we are to live and have eternal life.
What God has given, God has intended for the person next to you, that is why discipleship is a big part of Messiah's "Great Commission" because God is calling those of faith to make disciples and train others. Doing so is not easy, there is spiritual opposition and deception.
If you repent you will come out, you can know the King of Righteousness and show Him you love Him.
They both know the place God chose to place His name is Jerusalem, and it's the headquarters of the "forever" Kingdom of God.
Almighty God has promised to pour out His Spirit there again on the "House of David."
Like Moses at the Red Sea, Yeshua entered His time teaching and instruction with a mikveh.
When Yeshua stood at the Jordan River, before the immersion, despite His cousin John's objection, He told John the son of the Levite Zechariah something very important.
Those words "for us" connect that immersion moment to the righteous requirement for two witnesses found in God's Word.
There's no question, preparation for the destination of the Kingdom of God is Yeshua's gospel message.
Repentance is what was preached to the masses and that's the good news that starts with the command to repent, the righteous requirement given to the prophet Zechariah a month before Haggai's promise was given about Hanukkah.
This good news is the same gospel that was promised a thousand years earlier to David by Saul.
Did you know about that gospel promise?
The foundation of that prophetic promise of Messiah and the Kingdom of God is revealed in 1Samuel 24:20 when the man chosen by men, king Saul, told the shepherd David "behold" because Saul knew David was the one chosen to be king by Almighty God:
“And now, behold, I know that you shall surely be king, and that the kingdom of Israel shall be established in your hand.”Not long after Saul spoke those words to David, the prophet Nathan also revealed the prophetic word about God's plan to David. It was a picture of the Kingdom gospel Yeshua was preaching all across Israel to anyone that would hear and believe it.
The power of Nathan's message is amazing -- after all, people were healed in faith by Yeshua's touch and His words. Here is the Kingdom gospel that was prophesied in 2Samuel 7:11–16:
“The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you.
When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish His kingdom.
He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of His kingdom forever... Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever.”Nathan was obviously not speaking of David and God never breaks a promise.
David's earthy kingdom did not last forever because the Kingdom of God throne is for Messiah, the netzer or branch of David.
His name is Yeshua.
For a moment, try to imagine if you can, Yeshua walking through the Galilee declaring the same Kingdom promise. God gave Nathan (in Hebrew meaning "giver") the gospel of God (see Mark 1:14).
For a moment, try to imagine if you can, Yeshua walking through the Galilee declaring the same Kingdom promise. God gave Nathan (in Hebrew meaning "giver") the gospel of God (see Mark 1:14).
Yeshua is David's descendant of this promise.
During the gospel of God ministry of Jesus, Nathan's prophecy was in the limelight as the 1,500 year old “forever” promise that everyone, literally anyone living in Israel at that time knew by heart and waited for. The Jews were doing the right thing, looking for the coming of the son of David, the anointed Messiah King to restore The Kingdom of God and they all knew this promise was to fulfilled by Melech HaMoshiach.
Luke records the Spirit of God anointed Yeshua to preach this gospel:
The "forever" promise of the acceptable year of the Lord the prophet Isaiah had been given by God to proclaim was beginning. The prophecy Nathan gave to David was "near" to the ears and hearts of those that were afflicted by Roman occupation and rule.
For years and throughout the generations since king David, the Jewish people had held on to the prophetic promise given by Nathan and they waited for the good news of King Messiah spoken of so long ago, but many of them, like us forgot the storyline...
Before he was to serve as king, David was a shepherd, so Messiah must be too!
"I will raise up your offspring after you..."
Some "forget" that king David's descendant must first suffer then sit at the right hand of God before He would rule as King on Earth, but David knew this because he wrote a song about it:
He must first bear our iniquities, then give us peace and healing and guidance as the Torah shepherd King before the big end time battle of good and evil:
Yet, despite forgetful hearts and minds, The Lord has a gospel plan for the House of Israel and all those that will sojourn with them as companions:
Years before Yeshua's arrest by the Idumaean called Herod, whose father was an Edomite descendant of Esau, John’s priestly Levite message in the wilderness was aways simple: repent and turn back to God’s ways and His instruction.
This preaching from the prophet John came before Jesus ever revealed the mystery of His mission for the cross during the ultimate week of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua's death and third day resurrection in glory that week paved the way for the Spirit of God to indwell those that believe this just as the Spirit of God indwelled king David.
During the gospel of God ministry of Jesus, Nathan's prophecy was in the limelight as the 1,500 year old “forever” promise that everyone, literally anyone living in Israel at that time knew by heart and waited for. The Jews were doing the right thing, looking for the coming of the son of David, the anointed Messiah King to restore The Kingdom of God and they all knew this promise was to fulfilled by Melech HaMoshiach.
Luke records the Spirit of God anointed Yeshua to preach this gospel:
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19Try to imagine the scene on a hillside in Galilee…
The "forever" promise of the acceptable year of the Lord the prophet Isaiah had been given by God to proclaim was beginning. The prophecy Nathan gave to David was "near" to the ears and hearts of those that were afflicted by Roman occupation and rule.
For years and throughout the generations since king David, the Jewish people had held on to the prophetic promise given by Nathan and they waited for the good news of King Messiah spoken of so long ago, but many of them, like us forgot the storyline...
Before he was to serve as king, David was a shepherd, so Messiah must be too!
Some "forget" that king David's descendant must first suffer then sit at the right hand of God before He would rule as King on Earth, but David knew this because he wrote a song about it:
“Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. The Lord will stretch forth your strong scepter from Zion, saying, ‘Rule in the midst of Your enemies’... The Lord is at your right hand; he will crush kings on the day of his wrath. He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth." Psalm 110:1-2,5-6The "one" everyone waited for to do away with evil and judge the nations that rejected God's ways is none other than Melech HaMoshiach, King Messiah Yeshua in the line of David, and many still forget the prophetic words given in Isaiah 49 and Isaiah 53.
He must first bear our iniquities, then give us peace and healing and guidance as the Torah shepherd King before the big end time battle of good and evil:
"But he was pierced for our transgressions;Like many Jewish people today, the Jewish men we call the disciples at that time focused on the promise of the Messiah King only, not the way that requires suffering, a blood offering to cover sin and resurrection to glory and restoration of life as it was in Eden.
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all."
Yet, despite forgetful hearts and minds, The Lord has a gospel plan for the House of Israel and all those that will sojourn with them as companions:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will fulfill the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah. In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell securely. And this is the name by which it will be called: ‘The LORD is our righteousness.’" Jeremiah 33:14–16The coming of "the" King was known by many that gathered to hear the words of Yeshua because they knew David’s prayer of thanksgiving for the forever promise from Abba Father:
“Now therefore may it please you to bless the house of your servant, so that it may continue forever before you. For you, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with your blessing shall the house of your servant be blessed forever.”This is the "gospel" many haven't seen while reading Matthew 4:23 and 9:35:
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”Mark 1:14 recounts that this Kingdom preaching began after John (the Baptist) was arrested:
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”
“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”The gospel, the good news that can heal is to believe that the Kingdom of God is "at hand" and the Kingdom of heaven is the promise of God’s Kingdom returning to His good creation on earth -- so repent and be healed now.
Years before Yeshua's arrest by the Idumaean called Herod, whose father was an Edomite descendant of Esau, John’s priestly Levite message in the wilderness was aways simple: repent and turn back to God’s ways and His instruction.
This preaching from the prophet John came before Jesus ever revealed the mystery of His mission for the cross during the ultimate week of Unleavened Bread. Yeshua's death and third day resurrection in glory that week paved the way for the Spirit of God to indwell those that believe this just as the Spirit of God indwelled king David.
Yeshua’s unleavened minchah bread of life offering redeemed, renewed, and restored the Lord's Covenant given at Mount Sinai. That's the good news. Yeshua's offering created the way for redeemed people to be sanctified as a Royal Priesthood to be a holy people. His Passover memorial is our reminder to keep our Covenant with God holy. Hebrews 8:8-10 quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34 link to John 5:46-47 "For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
The Royal Priesthood points us back to Leviticus 6:17-18:
“It [minchah bread] shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of my food offerings. It is a thing most holy, like the sin offering and the guilt offering... Whatever touches them shall become holy.”It was after the third day, the great day of Shavuot, the same day the Torah Covenant at Mount Sinai was spoken that Yeshua-Jesus gave the Royal Priesthood assignment to His disciples with a great promise:
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”The "end" promised is not the end of the world as so many proclaim from a pulpit. It is the end of the divorce, the end of the exile of the Kingdom of God from earth and the end of Satan’s authority in death on this planet. The restoration of the Kingdom of God in resurrection is coming with Yeshua, the Melech HaMoshiach who is returning from the right hand of God as the anointed King on the appointed Fall Feast day in the acceptable year of the Lord.
That day is coming. Get ready.
This promise is summed up in the narrative hinting about the Azazel goat of Yom Kippur by none other than Yeshua the Jew:
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." Matthew 25:31-34Many nations still do not recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, embassies abound in Tel Aviv, yet one day Jerusalem will be the Kingdom capital city of the world as it was intended from the beginning. All nations will go there to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles and worship the King of Kings as promised in Zechariah 14:16-19.
So, the gospel message of the Kingdom we need to tell others about is not limited to Yeshua's redeeming work at Passover, His Unleavened life and death, His raising up in glory resurrection on First Fruits, His going up to the right hand of The Father and His gifting of the Spirit on Shavuot.
His work of restoration does not end there. There's a resurrection plan ahead.
For now, we get to do as He did and walk in God's instruction and proclaim the forever promise of the restoration of the "Kingdom" that Jesus preached and taught to everyone.
His "Gospel" is the same "good news" any believer in the gospel can proclaim to the whole world now as we make disciples to teach others how to live in "The Kingdom" to come that Nathan declared to David.
The Bible's storyline of that gospel is amazing and it requires a difficult, but joyful journey of study and understanding of these promises in the root of the faith of the Messiah that is seen with the covenant promise of faith given Abraham of the Promised Land as the focal point of the Kingdom. The gospel is a blessing given for all nations.
If you have visited this website before now, you know most of the messages here are devoted to point to the Word of God as it points to Messiah and His Kingdom to come.
Messiah's gospel message of the promised restoration of the Kingdom is the one lesson we must all know and declare if the end of evil is to come in our time. The focus of the Word of God in on the whole gospel of the restoration of God's Kingdom on earth and it is the message that begins with Jesus loves me, Jesus loves you.
So love Him back as your King, repent and believe the good news that the Kingdom of God will be restored.
It's that simple, return to God's ways and He will return to you and bring redemption to earth. Turn your life around and open your Bible it shows you how to live in The Kingdom and believe in Messiah Yeshua.
Like the Shoah, the gospel started after an illegal, unwarranted arrest of the innocent:
"Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." Mark 1:14-15 ESVThe Creator of the universe and this world wants you to believe Messiah Yeshua whether you be Jew or now-Jew. Repent and make Him your King and High Priest over your life so that your can walk in His righteousness and in the lovingkindness of Almighty God. With the Holy Spirit as your helper, you can walk in the way and know the Father through Messiah and understand the Torah He taught.
But, if you see the truth and walk away from it or ignore it, or consider it old and done away with, hung on the cross, you will extinguish the fire of the Spirit of God's grace and lovingkindness. After all, if the Torah is done away with why is Jesus interceding on behalf of believers as the Great High Priest?
This is plainly declared in Hebrews 2:17, Hebrews 4:14-15, Hebrews 5:5, Hebrews 5:10, Hebrews 6:20, Hebrews 7:26, Hebrews 8:1 and Hebrews 9:11.
Yeshua's ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His intercession on behalf of believers as their Great High Priest is filling the Torah up with meaning, it does not do away with it.
Believers that believe God and know Yeshua as Messiah, but don’t know Him as High Priest must open their eyes to the gospel of the Kingdom way. So repent and walk in the Kingdom way taught by Yeshua in John 5:14 and John 8:10... "Sin no more, that nothing worse may happen to you.” “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”"
"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.
Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace?" Hebrews 10:26-29The Jewish disciple Peter (aka Kepha) gives us a warning as a witness to the words of Yeshua: "For the time [is come] that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if [it] first [begin] at us, what shall the end [be] of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17
It takes a heart of repentance to understand the gospel of Yeshua and choose to receive the promise of resurrection into eternal life in the Kingdom of God. So, if you love God, walk the way Yeshua walked in righteousness, be a disciple and do what He did in God's service and turn back to the Bible, all of it.
The Jewish disciple John (Yochanan) taught the simple reason we all need to return to a walk of righteousness:
"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil." 1 John 3:7-8The destruction of the works of the devil is a part of the gospel promise to come in God's Kingdom. The works of the devil have no place in The Kingdom. The gospel preaches resurrection life in the Kingdom as a gift from God for those who by faith believe in Him through the words of Yeshua, sanctified in the truth of Scripture so that the world may know that Yeshua was sent by The Father.
In that way, we may know the Father in Him. This is the critical message of the "Priestly" prayer of Yeshua. You can read it in John 17 as "the lamb of God" humbly prepared for His trial and scourging before the Passover cross:
Remember the prayer... "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
God's word is truth, it is not abolished. He is eternal life and the way of life is to know the Father. Yeshua was not just praying for His disciples to know the truth of God's Word, He was also praying for you and me. It is important to look at His words as He prays:
Jesus prays, I do not pray for these alone but also for those who will believe in Me, He focuses on what is critical for eternal life that is possible when we know Him, not know about Him. And, He wants us to walk as he walked no matter what we call ourselves. Isaiah declares:
Eternal life is the eternal gift of righteous faith,
it's be the plan of God since the beginning. Adam would have never died.
Adam certainly still believed in God, but his unrighteous action turned his back as he fell out of faith. He could have interceded for Eve, but in his choice for unrighteousness he didn't and he blamed Eve instead.
“When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said,No one has known the Father like the Son, and the Son of God reveals the Father to those He chooses, so we must "seek" Messiah. Repent now and get to know Him. Knowing Him as Messiah King is the goal, not just knowledge of a cross. We must make His ways our life, that is a big part of repentance.
"Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. "I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.
While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth. "I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.
O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:1-26
Remember the prayer... "Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth."
God's word is truth, it is not abolished. He is eternal life and the way of life is to know the Father. Yeshua was not just praying for His disciples to know the truth of God's Word, He was also praying for you and me. It is important to look at His words as He prays:
“I do not pray that you should take them out of the world but that you should keep them from the evil one.”We are to be a lamp of light sanctified in the truth, we are to repent to be set apart in His Torah walk for everyone to see and we are to shine brightly teaching and building disciples.
Jesus prays, I do not pray for these alone but also for those who will believe in Me, He focuses on what is critical for eternal life that is possible when we know Him, not know about Him. And, He wants us to walk as he walked no matter what we call ourselves. Isaiah declares:
""One will say, 'I belong to the LORD'; another will call himself by the name of Jacob; still another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's' and will take the name Israel."The prayer Yeshua has prayed is for all people to repent and return to God to seek only His face as the first and the last, the King of 'all' Israel.
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god." Isaiah 44:5-6
it's be the plan of God since the beginning.
Adam certainly still believed in God, but his unrighteous action turned his back as he fell out of faith. He could have interceded for Eve, but in his choice for unrighteousness he didn't and he blamed Eve instead.
Paul includes righteousness as a part of the gospel of God he preached, but as Peter said people that lack Bible knowledge twist his words just as they do the Scriptures (please read 2 Peter 3:14-18).
Sin is defined as breach of faith committed against the God of Israel in turning away from following the LORD.
Sin is breaking the Torah of God. 1 John 3:4 says, “Sin is Torahlessness.”
John did not come up with that, he knew it from Leviticus 5:15, Leviticus 6:2, Numbers 5:6, Numbers 6:12, Numbers 5: 27, Deuteronomy 32:51, Joshua 7:1 and Joshua 22:16 among others.
Sin is a transgression of the Torah [law] of God, sin is an unrighteous act. Sin is turning away from the will of God to our own. Sin is in opposition to God’s teaching and instruction, against His will and constitution for kingdom life. Sin is not just changing our minds about what we believe. It is an open rebellion and disobedience to what God has declared is righteous.
Peter teaches us what we are to do:
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Messiah, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. 1 Peter 1 14-19
Sin can only be properly understood if we understand we are to live in the image of God since God is the holy one. God’s standard is what we are all obligated to obey as His children nd when we do not, we have sinned.
Jesus died to to redeem us from our sin, and His life teaches how to walk without sin. As we wal... do do not think one jot or tittle is done away with.
Hebrews 10:26-29 warns us if we only believe:
For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remains no more sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose you, shall he be thought worthy, who has trodden under foot the Son of God, and has counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing and has done despite unto the spirit of grace?
To repent means to turn, to walk away from our bad choices to do God's.
Repentance is a heart conviction to turn from wrongdoing and do what is right in God's eyes. I'd the start of the journey. We are not called to continue walk away from God's Kingdom ways. We are called to repent to do what is right, and honor Almighty God because we love Him.
We are not saved by our repenting, our repentance is what we do about salvation.
Many twist Paul's words in his letters thinking righteous faith stops with belief. That's Greek thinking.
Paul taught by the Lord's words given to Habakkuk the prophet in Romans 1:14-17:
“The righteous will live by faith." Habakkuk 2:4
Many take excepts from Paul's letters with verse snippets, but Paul gives a dire warning if we hold the truth of the gospel yet live in ungodliness and unrighteousness:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness." Romans 1:18Jesus is the worthy lamb of God because He talked and walked in the righteousness of Torah, all of it. Today, we call that His sinless life.
The world does not know the Father sent His son on the righteous Torah mission or they choose to not believe it thinking He came to do away with Torah.
yet we think Jesus did away with God's law
This is not to say, we can be saved by our attempts at righteousness, eternal life is a gift from the mercy and grace of God lived out through the Yeshua. He alone has walked sinless in the righteousness of Torah. We have to understand if we want to do what Jesus did.
There are many who believe in Jesus, but many don't know Yeshua and the problem is He doesn't know us.
Jesus warned His disciples about the dilemma Paul and Peter wrote about. Jesus' words are found in Matthew 7:21-23:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of Torahlessness.’.If we hold belief only but not truth in faith with a pure heart, it's not OK to walk in deliberate unrighteousness. We have a big problem... Jesus will say "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of Torahlessness.
“I never knew you.”
The weighty matters of Torah are faith and pure heart. Yeshua taught that. Take a close look at Matthew chapter 5 and ask, do you believe?
"Blessed [are] the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed [are] the pure in heart: for they shall see God." Matthew 5:7-8Yeshua also taught that we are to disciple others about repentance and the Torah [instruction of God] and He ties this teaching directly to the coming Kingdom.
In fact, just as He is teaching on mercy and grace, Yeshua says this about the teaching and instruction of the words of the Torah... if you do them and teach them you will be called "GREAT" in the Kingdom. Take another look at Matthew chapter 5 where find teaching about righteousness:
Remember, the story of a man's faith in action begins in Genesis with Abraham as does righteousness. Can you see that these go hand in hand if you believe The Lord?
When Yeshua return in the authority of Melech HaMoshiach, will He find us walking "in faith" like righteous Abraham who looked forward to the Messiah like John 8:56 tells us:
Take a look at the parable prophecy of the ten virgins that Jesus taught in Matthew 25. Remember the five foolish ones? The oil they were missing was the Spirit of God in a righteous life of faith and mercy. In neglect, they missed their opportunity, so we must not.
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I do not come to destroy, but to fulfill (fill up with meaning). For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all (law and prophets) be fulfilled.Praise God not one jot or tittle has passed and that Yeshua upheld the Torah or He would not be able to fulfill God's gospel promise from the beginning:
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:17-19
“I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel” Genesis 3:15Do you believe The Lord?
Remember, the story of a man's faith in action begins in Genesis with Abraham as does righteousness. Can you see that these go hand in hand if you believe The Lord?
"And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness." Genesis 15:6Take a look at the genealogy of Mary and Jesus given in Matthew. It begins with Abraham for a big reason.
When Yeshua return in the authority of Melech HaMoshiach, will He find us walking "in faith" like righteous Abraham who looked forward to the Messiah like John 8:56 tells us:
"Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."Or, will Yeshua arrive and find us neglecting His walk of righteousness, looking for oil for our lamps?
Take a look at the parable prophecy of the ten virgins that Jesus taught in Matthew 25. Remember the five foolish ones? The oil they were missing was the Spirit of God in a righteous life of faith and mercy. In neglect, they missed their opportunity, so we must not.
Can you imagine hearing the King saying, I never knew you, we never had a faith relationship?
We should concern ourselves with Bible basics, keeping the Sabbath of The Lord and His Feast Days, after all God does!
We should distinguish heathy "clean" foods from unclean things that are not good for our bodies.
We should concern ourselves with Bible basics, keeping the Sabbath of The Lord and His Feast Days, after all God does!
We should distinguish heathy "clean" foods from unclean things that are not good for our bodies.
These are the steps of Yeshua's walk, yet they are not more important than our relationship with The Father.
There's plenty of commentary on Bible basics throughout this website because of the gospel words and walk of Yeshua that many may have misunderstood. In Matthew 5, during His famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus broadcasts to the world... keep God’s instruction with our heart and our walk of love and teach others how to do the same. That is discipleship, that is how we demonstrate our love to God and to others.
There's plenty of commentary on Bible basics throughout this website because of the gospel words and walk of Yeshua that many may have misunderstood. In Matthew 5, during His famous "Sermon on the Mount," Jesus broadcasts to the world... keep God’s instruction with our heart and our walk of love and teach others how to do the same. That is discipleship, that is how we demonstrate our love to God and to others.
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Yeshua provides the covering, an atonement for our breaking of God's law (Torah) through His life blood offering. When we repent and make Yeshua the Lord of our life each day, forgiveness is God’s eternal mercy and love for us in action. God's law is Yeshua's command because he is the Son, they are one, in unity - they are echad.
Yeshua kept God's commandments, as they say, own it. He owned them.
Our response is keeping Yeshua's teaching is we get to live out the Word of God to the best of our ability. When we see the truth, we need to walk in it. Yeshua speaks plainly and simply about this as love:
"If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15How much do you love Him? Show Him and others.
The good news is that Yeshua came that we might see how we are to live and have eternal life.
The Kingdom gospel that He preached across the Holy land of Israel God's gospel and our faith. It is the good news of the gospel of the "whole" Bible that is the "forever" promise that Father God gave Nathan to deliver to David... it is about the Kingdom and the God's ways shown to us in the writings of the Torah. It's the Kingdom teaching of Messiah that is a part of the "Great Commission."
How much do you love Him, do you want to declare the gospel and teach others to repent and demonstrate love to Almighty God by walking in His ways?
Two thousand years ago, many people across Israel heard and saw Yeshua in person and many were healed. The gospel accounts of Matthew and Mark tell us many witnessed Him preach "the gospel of the Kingdom", but others did not recognize the time of His visitation as the humble shepherd servant of Isaiah 53. Yeshua knew that The Father's will was to fulfill the lamb of God life offering.
Like Isaac, He would willingly lay down his life in obedience to His Father.
The very heart of the Torah given for Moses to record and teach was revealed after everyone but the Levites broke their promise to do all that The Lord gave them to do in covenant at Mount Sinai.
Moses knew that their idol worship sin of the golden calf was just like Adam's sin in Eden.
Moses offered his life in exchange for the covenant breaking sin of those given the assignment to be a royal priesthood. Moses interceded on behalf of Israel and the sojourners with them. Moses told The Father, if you want to blot them out, blot me out.
It was then Moses learned our Heavenly Father's heart is merciful, full of grace, love and compassion, if you repent He will accept your heart. It takes no special knowledge to know, but it requires a decision, a response. Repent and return to God's ways or your guilty. Just look at Exodus 34:5-9:
“The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.” And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. And he said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, please let the Lord go in the midst of us, for it is a stiff-necked people, and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”There is an intimate relationship we can have with Almighty God through Messiah Yeshua who like Moses said, Father forgive them for what they do. He wasn't just speaking about the Centurions that beat Him, lashed Him and nailed His hands and feet to the cross.
Repentance and forgiveness gives us inheritance to become the children of a loving God, but we don't want to be found guilty.
If we love the LORD, our Kingdom of God citizenship responsibility is to show those who come in contact with us to see the image, the Spirit of God within us, someone who is wise, understanding, full of fortitude, caring, integrity, gracious, merciful, compassionate, long suffering, slow to anger and full of love.
The story of the Bible focuses on the people that went down to Egypt and were brought back up by Almighty God, but the thing is, while it was easy for God to get the people out of Egypt, it is not easy to get Egypt out of ourselves, God's ways are easy, the burden is light but we resist, we are stiff-necked, it takes work.
The story of the Bible focuses on the people that went down to Egypt and were brought back up by Almighty God, but the thing is, while it was easy for God to get the people out of Egypt, it is not easy to get Egypt out of ourselves, God's ways are easy, the burden is light but we resist, we are stiff-necked, it takes work.
What God has given, God has intended for the person next to you, that is why discipleship is a big part of Messiah's "Great Commission" because God is calling those of faith to make disciples and train others. Doing so is not easy, there is spiritual opposition and deception.
"And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." Mark 16:15We have all lived in Egypt as a slave to sin, but it is time to come out of "her" my people. Start the walk with a repentant step.
If you repent you will come out, you can know the King of Righteousness and show Him you love Him.
If you want to know Him, quit acting like an Egyptian.
Walk away from your slavery to sin and self. Accept what God wants to do for you empowered through your High Priest and King Messiah. Repent. Throw away your abominations of lust, adultery, divorce, fornication, anger, strife, rage, revenge, envy, resentment, manipulation, listlessness, depression, oppression, sorcery, hatred, greed, lying, violence, pride, dishonor, hatred, contempt, impatience, lust, envy, gluttony, narcissism, immorality and all other false self-centered idols of Egypt.
Repent and walk in the Kingdom way.
Repent and walk in the Kingdom way.
Accept what God wants you to do for Him. because you love God and others including the widow, the fatherless, the poor and the stranger with all of your heart. Walk with Him with all of your strength and soul. Serve Him by demonstrating your love to Him as He asks us to love others by telling them about the King.
Do the chosen work of a servant in God’s Kingdom, believe, repent and accept God's instruction each day, let other people know The Father has sent The Son and that He will return as King in the power of God for resurrection salvation to everyone who believes, repents and lives in faith:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith." Romans 1:16-17Embrace the role of a humble servant of God in the example given to us byYeshua in how He walked in Torah and in the way He preached "the Gospel" of God. When you do, you can have an impact on His return as King to end the abomination of sin on Earth.
How can we know? Jesus told us:
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD.”
The return is no anytime secret anytime as many think. Now you know act to look for.
"And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14This end of what? It's the new covenant promise: "for they will all know Me".
“But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law [Torah] within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:33-34Remember too, the world will not see Messiah arrive until the walls of Jerusalem hears these words:
The return is no anytime secret anytime as many think. Now you know act to look for.
Messiah carries that title of one who comes in the name of the LORD for a reason. He keeps the word of the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Moses, the God of Israel, the God Joshua and the God of David. Each had a personal relationship with the great "I AM."
Both Jewish people and Christians know this.
The relationship of Christian and Jew is being restored today, it's blessing. Jews in Jerusalem are beginning to call evangelical Christians blessed friends that love Israel and the Jewish people that come in the name of The Lord rejecting replacement theology.
They both know the place God chose to place His name is Jerusalem, and it's the headquarters of the "forever" Kingdom of God.
Almighty God has promised to pour out His Spirit there again on the "House of David."
A part of the gospel of God is the Jewish people have returned to Israel after nearly 2,000 years of exile and condemnation, sadly by many people that called themselves Christians. But the house of Judah has returned and Zechariah 12:10 gives a promise:
If you call yourself a "believer" it time to return to understand the full gospel of God message. It's about restoration, living as Yeshua lived just as he told the adulterous woman:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”The morning will be like the tears shed when Joseph wept when his brothers were restored. The next prophecy in Zechariah points us back to the prophet Nathan. Zechariah 12:11-14 reminds us the promise given to Nathan that he delivered to David, it includes Levi and even Shemei from the family of Saul and all other families:
“On that day the weeping in Jerusalem will be great, like the weeping of Hadad Rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. The land will mourn, each clan by itself, with their wives by themselves: the clan of the house of David and their wives, the clan of the house of Nathan and their wives, the clan of the house of Levi and their wives, the clan of Shimei and their wives, and all the rest of the clans and their wives.”What does this mean?
Consider a prayer: Please, God, guide me as to what I should do.
"She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more." John 8:11If you are not living in repentance, return to God's covenant, return to hear and do His word and walk in the faith of His Kingdom path declared by Messiah Yeshua.
Use your Torah lamp for your assignment in the Kingdom. As you do, take hold of a Jew (Zechariah 8:23) and do the same commandments Jesus the Jew taught and lived out (John 14:15).
God is a sovereign God. He is a loving God and He has provided a way to offer the world His salvation. You can walk in His gospel gift of life in the Kingdom. To start, consider carefully what your own life consists of, look at it and repent, ask the Father for His forgiveness and accept His gift of life, love, grace and supplication through Messiah Yeshua.
God is a sovereign God. He is a loving God and He has provided a way to offer the world His salvation. You can walk in His gospel gift of life in the Kingdom. To start, consider carefully what your own life consists of, look at it and repent, ask the Father for His forgiveness and accept His gift of life, love, grace and supplication through Messiah Yeshua.
Then follow the Messiah of Israel and do as He has done.
If you know you need to get your life right with God, don’t wait for tomorrow, get it right with Him right now and grab the robe of Messiah!
Shalom ya'll.
If you know you need to get your life right with God, don’t wait for tomorrow, get it right with Him right now and grab the robe of Messiah!
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.Today is the time, repent and walk the walk out of love, preach the gospel always and when needed use words.
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." John 3:16-17
Shalom ya'll.
