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.
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).
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).
1 comment:
Your article on the Father's Purpose has given me much food for thought and raises several questions. Thank you, Ephraim!
Shabbat Shalom
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