WHY YESHUA CAME

June 25, 1999

When the angel Gabriel, who had been sent to earth by YHVH, arrived in a little Galilaean town called Nazareth he announced to a young girl that she was to conceive a son by Divine intervention. This young maiden was to name her baby Yeshua (salvation). Keep in mind that this was not the first time that YHVH, blessed-be-His-name, intervened in a woman's womb so as to bring forth His purposes.

Isaac's was another miraculous birth, as his mother and father were too old to have children. Not only was his mother too old, but she had also been barren all of her life. Jacob's mother, Rebecca, was barren too, and in need of the touch of the Spirit of the Father. And of course Jacob's beloved Rachel, who became the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, needed that healing touch as well.

However, the situation was a little more dramatic in Miriam's case, as she had not had sexual relationships with a man. Today we do not think much of the status of a virgin, but in those days a maiden could lose her life by stoning, if her husband found her to be without blood on the wedding day. In the case before us, YHVH Himself was to supply the life force that would become His only begotten Son. He therefore sent a messenger to announce the purpose for bringing forth this son at that time.

"You shall call his name Yeshua, which means salvation, and He would be great, and He will be called the Son of the Most High Elohim, He will be given the throne of His father David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, for His kingdom will have no end." (Luke 1:31-33).

It is not the promise that Yeshua would succeed to the throne of David which is puzzling, but rather the wording: "throne of His father David," is what makes this announcement somewhat curious. How could Yeshua be David's son, when we know that He was not of the sperm of natural man? His mother, who was Jewish, had relatives connected to the priesthood, which most likely made her a Levite (see Luke 1:36). Joseph, the man she was betrothed to, was of the seed of David (Luke 1:27). However, as you know, he had a bit of a problem with this bride of his, who (just happened) to be pregnant before their marriage was consummated. Being a righteous man, Joseph was ready to take the necessary steps and have her put away according to the Law. However, in another angelic visitation he was told to take Miriam as his wife. By doing so he in essence adopted the child that she was carrying, as his own. Thus, through adoption, Yeshua entered the lineage of David, who, in a very real and legal sense, became his (fore)father, just as we, who are sons of Abraham, become sons of Elohim through adoption (see Rom 8:15, 9:4; Gal. 4:5).

Why was it so important that Joseph adopt this child? Couldn't redemption have been accomplished anyway, say through a Levite, or a Benjamite or for that matter through a Syrian? As we know, Yeshua came to redeem a lost inheritance. Whose inheritance? His Father's. What or who belonged to His Father and had gotten lost, so as to be in need of redemption? At some time or another YHVH must have owned something. In the Torah we see the principle that all first fruit belong to Him (see Ex. 22:29-30, 23:16-19; Deu. 26:2 and many more). Because these first fruit belong to YHVH He places His name on them, marking them "for His name sake."

The following scriptures indicate that the entire nation of Israel was (and still is) YHVH's possession and inheritance. "But YHVH has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be His people, an inheritance as you are this day," (Deut. 4:20). "Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance, whom You brought out by Your mighty power and by Your outstretched arm," (Deut. 9:29). Not only were the people His inheritance, but so was a place called Mount Zion. "You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of Your inheritance, In the place, O YHVH, which You have made for Your own dwelling, The sanctuary, O YHVH, which Your hands have established" (Ex. 15;17).

In order for Yeshua to become the redeemer of His Father's inheritance, in this case Israel, He would have had to have a very specific legal status in the family. He could not be a son randomly chosen, from 'any old' family in humanity because YHVH is a law-giver, and everything that has been created in the heavens and the earth is governed by His laws. This is especially true concerning the laws of redemption. Regarding our justification we are not under Law, yet the Law should be under us, as it were, giving us a firm foundation!

In the book of Revelation we see YHVH the Mighty One sitting on His throne with a scroll in His hand (Rev. 5:1). It says about this scroll that it was inscribed on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. What was this seven-sealed document? It must have been extremely important, as the legal qualifications to open it were so high that no one could be found, in heaven or on earth, worthy of taking it and of opening its seals. The thought of no one qualifying was so grave, that it caused the prophet to weep uncontrollably. Most scholars agree that this scroll was the scroll of redemption. Such a scroll was seen when Jeremiah redeemed a piece of property by purchasing it (Jer.32). A scroll of redemption was usually written on both sides; the one side had the title deed to the property and the other, the qualifying requirements of its redeemer. Please notice that the Father had the scroll in His hand. He was like the judicial guardian over that inheritance, until the one qualified would come and take the scroll.

The question is: What was written on the scroll? What were those regulations that qualified the Redeemer to take the scroll and open its seals? What does all of this have to do with us?
Ephraim

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell (shevet achim) together in unity…for in this Yahoveh commands the blessing "life eternal". (Ps. 133)

THE FATHER'S PURPOSE

June 18, 1999

Why did YHVH bring His only begotten Son into this world? Did He send Him to give His life and die for the purpose of starting a new religion called Christianity? Did Yeshua shed his blood in order to restore a religion called Judaism? Or better yet, did He come to combine the two into one religious expression called Judeo-Christianity? Why did the Father send the Son? In Luke chapter one we read the message which the angel Gabriel brought from YHVH to Miriam, and the word of prophecy which was uttered by Zachariah the priest, when filled with the Holy Spirit. Both announced the Father's purposes:
- To redeem His people (v. 68).
- To raise up a horn of salvation for us in the House of His servant David (v 69)
- To sit on the throne of His father David (v.32).
- To save us from our enemies, from those who hate us (v.71).
- To show mercy to our fathers (those who received no mercy - Lo-ruhamah, Hosea 1:6).
- To remember His holy covenant, which He swore to our father Abraham (vs. 72- 73), whereby He committed Himself to give him a land, to "make him" a nation and a blessing (Gen. 12:2-3).
To bring deliverance from our enemies, that we might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life (vs.74-75).
- To rule and reign in the House of Jacob forever, and there to set up an everlasting kingdom (v.33).
None of these objectives appear to have anything to do with religion, or with some other form of temple worship. Rather, Yeshua came to restore a relationship between His Father and us, His people. He also came to restore the House of Jacob, meaning the relationship between the Two Houses of Ephraim and Judah; to break down the enmity and jealousy between the brothers.
"Listen, O coastlands, to Me and take heed, you peoples from afar! YHVH has called Me from the womb; from the matrix of My mother He has made mention of My name," (Isa. 49:1). "You shall call His name Yeshua," (salvation) (Luke 1:31). "And now YHVH says, Who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel is gathered to Him… Indeed He says, `It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the nations, that You should be My salvation (Yeshuah) to the ends of the earth,'" (Isa 49:5-6). How were all these objectives to be fulfilled?
Before sin marred the relationship between YHVH and Adam, man was to be a servant and one who would "listen, watch and walk". After YHVH redeemed Israel from Egypt and slavery, they too, as a nation, were told the same thing: "Listen to My voice and walk in My ways." When Israel failed to do that, and missed the mark (sinned), YHVH gave them a religion, using the Aaronic Priesthood. Sin was the reason for religion. As long as we remain in sin we will always have a need for some religious expression. But what was YHVH's promise to the nation of Israel? "For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us," (Psa. 103:11-12). "But You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, for You have cast all my sins behind Your back," (Isa. 38:17). "I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins," (Isa.43:25). "And I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, everyone will invite his neighbor under his vine and under his fig tree,'" (Zech 3:10).
Notice that when sin and iniquity are removed, relationships are made possible. How did the Father accomplish this reconciliation? "Now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself, (Heb.9:26). Remember what John the Immerser declared when He saw Yeshua? "Behold the Lamb of Elohim that takes away the sin of the world," (John 1:29). "YHVH was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation," (2 Cor.5:19). "By Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross," (Col.1:20). This is why Paul insisted only on one thing: "For I determined not to know anything among you except Yeshua the Messiah and Him crucified," (1 Cor 2:2).

Yeshua died to atone for sin and to remove it altogether. How did He do this? By being offered on the cross as the perfect lamb for the sacrifice. He fulfilled every requirement of the religious system. In removing sin as far as the east is from the west, He removed the need for a religious system, and restored the priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek (ref. Hebrews 4:14-5:10; 7).This was the priesthood that all Israel was to partake of. By virtue of the Torah being inscribed on the heart, worship was to be in spirit and in truth (John 4:23), resulting in Divine relationships. For do you not know this about yourselves that you are a tabernacle of the Holy Spirit (ref. 1Cor.3:16), that Yeshua the Messiah dwells in you (ref. 2Cor.13:5), and that you have died and that your life is hidden in His, and that He is NOW your life (ref. Col.3:4, Gal.2:20)? Faith is what reveals this reality, but if we hold to an outward form of religion, we actually deny His presence within our Holy of Holies (our spirit). This will bring about the anti-Christ lie, which denies that Yeshua came in the flesh (the spirit-filled believer's flesh). John explains to us that the world is under the power of the evil one (1 John 5:19), meaning all of the world's political and religious institutions. In verse 21 he warns, "Children keep yourselves from idols". But "sandwiched" between those two verses is a powerful statement of truth: "We know that the Son of YHVH has come and has given us understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Yeshua the Messiah. This is the true Elohim and eternal life" (v.20).
Yeshua is restoring the "fallen Succah (booth) of David," by uniting a remnant of the Two Houses, and by being enthroned in the hearts of the individuals who form this remnant. Through the reunited House of Jacob (the nation Israel), He will administer the everlasting kingdom government to the rest of the nations. But we must come out of religion into Divine relationships and national identity. Be separate and wait for the Lord who will whistle for us to return to the land (ref.Zec.10:8), there to become a royal priesthood after the order of Melchizedek, and a holy nation. Thus the covenant that YHVH made with our father Abraham, to become a blessing to the rest of the nations, will be fulfilled.

Ephraim

Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together (shevet achim) in unity…for in this Ya'hovah commands the blessing "life eternal" (Ps. 133).