YHVH’s Original Twelve-Step Program

Genesis 29:32–35:18, The birth of the Jacob’s twelve sons and the meaning of their names. The Scriptures record that the gospel message was preached not only to the first century believers, but to ancient Israel (Heb 4:2), and to the Patriarchs (Gal 3:8) as well. Here is another example of this in the meanings of the names of the twelve sons of Jacob. His twelve sons were Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin (who was not born until Gen 35:18). The meanings of their names and the statements the Bible attaches to those meanings reveal YHVH’s glorious plan of salvation for mankind. The Scriptures call this message the good news or gospel.

12 twelve number laurel wreath

  • Reuben, Jacob’s first son, means “see or behold a son.” At the birth of her first son, Leah proclaimed “surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction” (Gen 29:32). The gospel message here is that YHVH Elohim saw the affliction of sinful man and gave us Yeshua, his Son.
  • Simeon means “hearing.” Leah named her second son thusly because “YHVH has heard that I was unloved” and she was hoping to receive her husband’s affection (Gen 29:33). The gospel message in this is that as a sinner, one comes to Yeshua in a lost and unloved state and separated from Elohim, and that when one hears about the Son (Yeshua the Messiah) in the gospel message, it’s at this point they receive the Father’s love.
  • Levi means “joined.” Leah named her next son this in the hopes that “now this time will my husband be joined to me” (Gen 29:34). With regard to the gospel, this can infer the union between redeemed believers and the Father and Son that occurs upon one’s salvation. The good news message is the reconciliation and union of man and Elohim through the atoning death of Yeshua and by the work of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life who helps us to conform our lives to the Word of Elohim.
  • Judah means “praise” or “now I will praise YHVH” (Gen 29:35). This is the response of the redeemed believer upon being joined to Yeshua as one is spiritually regenerated.
  • Dan means “judgment.” Rachel named Bilhah’s son Dan and exclaimed “Elohim has judged my case” (Gen 30:6). The gospel message is that when a new believer receives salvation from sin’s death penalty through Yeshua’s atoning blood, the Just Judges of the Universe’s sentence against sin has been lifted from them.
  • Naphtali means “wrestling,” upon his birth, Rachel proclaimed, “With great wrestlings have I wrestled” (Gen 30:8). This prophetically speaks of the believer’s life as he struggles against the world, flesh and the devil endeavoring to walk in a righteous and sin-free relationship with Elohim.
  • Gad means “troop or company.” At his birth, Leah exclaimed, “A troop comes” (Gen 30:11). This prophetically foretells the fellowship of believers as sons and daughters in the spiritual family of Elohim.
  • Asher means “happy,” for when he was born, Leah declared “I am happy and I will be called blessed.” (Gen 30:13). True inner happiness come to the redeemed believer who is now walking in right relationship with Elohim and in fellowship with other believers while together they pursue the hope of eternal life and inclusion in the kingdom of Elohim.
  • Issachar means “hire.” At his birth, Leah declared, “Elohim has given me my wages” (Gen 30:18). Once one is a part of the spiritual body of believers, one is equipped for works of service in advancing the kingdom of Elohim as a bondservant with the ultimate reward for a lifetime of service being eternal life and inclusion in the family of Elohim.
  • Zebulun means “dwelling, exalt and honor.” Upon the birth of her sixth son, Leah triumphantly proclaimed, “Elohim has endowed me with a good gift, and now my husband will dwell with me” (Gen 30:20). This speaks prophetically of the gift of eternal life YHVH has for those who faithfully serve him and the honor and exalted status they will have as the bride of King Yeshua the Messiah and as kings and priest in his eternal kingdom.
  • Joseph means “adding.When he was born, Rachel declared, “Elohim has taken away my reproach and YHVH shall add to me another son” (Gen 30:24). This can again be a prophetic reference to the expansion of Elohim’s spiritual family comprised of individuals who have been redeemed from the consequences and penalty of sin and who have become YHVH’s spiritual sons and daughters. This spiritual family will have its highest and fullest manifestation in the New Jerusalem heaven on earth.
  • Benjamin, which means “son of my right hand,” was born in Bethlehem (or Ephrath, Gen 35:18). This is a clear prophetic reference to Yeshua who sits at the right hand of YHVH, and to believers who are seated with Yeshua in heavenly places by faith (Eph 2:6). To be united with Yeshua in an eternal spiritual relationship ruling and reigning with him over his kingdom is the ultimate reward of the saints.It’s interesting to note that as she was dying, Rachel named her son Benoni meaning “son of my sorrow” and Jacob changed the name to Benjamin. It’s likely that Rachel died prematurely because of the curse Jacob unwittingly placed on her for hiding her father’s idols (Gen 31:32). Within the context of the meaning of the twelve patriarchs’ names pointing prophetically to the gospel message, it’s possible that there is a not so oblique allusion in the name Benoni to the sorrowful fate of idolators who refuse to accept Yeshua, the son of Elohim’s right hand, as their Redeemer and Lord. They will perish under Elohim’s hand of judgment, like Rachel (?), in the lake of fire, for we read that idolators will have no part in the New Jerusalem (Rev 22:15).

The gospel message in the names of the twelve tribes starts with Yeshua and ends with him, for he is the Aleph and the Tav (or the Alpha and Omega), the Beginning and the End, the Author and Finisher of our faith! Let’s give him the glory! Please pause and reflect on the higher spiritual message in these names. Selah.

Is it possible that the mind of man could have cleverly devised the meanings of these names and in the proper order, so they prophetically proclaim the gospel message about 1800 years before the birth of Yeshua? If this doesn’t loudly attest to the hand of Elohim at work in the writing of the Scriptures, then what does? If this doesn’t strengthen our faith, then what will?

In your own spiritual walk, where are you in this twelve-step prophetic scenario? In your spiritual walk have you passed through the reality of each of the twelve steps represented by the names of the twelve tribes of Israel? Perhaps this is the world’s original “twelve-step program”!

When the meanings Scriptures attaches to the names of the twelve tribes are combined, the following (gospel) message is proclaimed:

Behold or see the son. Surely YHVH has looked upon my affliction. YHVH has heard that I was unloved. My husband will be joined to me. I will praise YHVH. Elohim has judged my case. With great wrestlings have I wrestled. A troop comes. I am happy and I will be called blessed. Elohim has given me my wages. Elohim has endowed me with a good gift, now my husband will dwell with me. Elohim has taken away my reproach and he shall add to me another son who will be son of his right hand.

Is this your life story and spiritual testimony?

 

Salvation — What Is It and Do You Have It?

What is Salvation?

The dictionary defines the word salvation as “the deliverance from the power and effects of sin.” In a general sense, salvation is “preservation from harm, ruin or loss.” Relating the first definition, which is biblical in nature, to the second definition, which is generic in nature, we see that salvation is the deliverance or preservation from the power of sin, which causes harm, ruin or loss. Salvation and redemption are synonymous terms in biblical Hebraic thought. We will discuss the idea of redemption below.

So what is sin that it causes harm, ruin or loss, and what is being harmed or being lost such that we need deliverance? Very simply, Scripture (the Bible) defines sin as the violation of YHVH Elohim’s (the LORD God’s) Torah-laws (1 John 3:4). What is YHVH Elohim’s Torah-law? It is the instructions, precepts or teaching of YHVH as found in the first five books of the Bible, which can then be expanded to include the entire Bible or Word of YHVH. Man is commanded to live by every word found in Scripture (Deut 8:3; Matt 4:4). Man is to hear and do the Words of YHVH (Deut 6:4), place YHVH’s words in his heart (Deut 6:6), teach them to his children (Deut 6:7), and to make them the basis for all that he does and thinks (Deut 6:8). The words or laws of YHVH Elohim can be summed up as loving YHVH and loving one’s neighbor (Deut 6:5; Lev 19:18; Mark 12:30; John 14:15). The cornerstone of those laws is found in the well-known ten commandments as found in Exodus 20. They are…

  1. I am YHVH your Elohim.
  2. You shall have no other gods before me.
  3. You shall not take my name in vain.
  4. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it set-apart.
  5. Honor you father and mother.
  6. You shall not murder.
  7. You shall not commit adultery
  8. You shall not steal.
  9. You shall not lie.
  10. You shall not covet your that which belongs to your neighbor.

The first five statements constitute loving YHVH Elohim, while the last five constitute loving one’s fellow man. These ten statements are but the beginning of YHVH’s laws as outlined in Scripture, which if man break, man is guilty of sin. There are 613 such laws in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and more than 1050 in the Testimony of Yeshua (New Testament). This may seem like a lot of laws for man to have to follow, but in reality, it is nothing compared to the hundreds of law books that constitute the laws of most nations on earth. Whole law libraries are established to contain them all!

As civil governments have established laws to maintain order among the inhabitants of a society, and as all societies impose penalties upon its citizens for breaking those laws, the Continue reading

 

Overview of the Biblical Feasts

Leviticus 23

If you had to sum up the entire message of the Bible in one word what would it be? Probably words such as love, hope, salvation, eternal life or heaven are coming to your mind. But I challenge you to find a better word than the following: r-e-c-o-n-c-i-l-i-a-t-i-o-n. The dictionary defines reconciliation as “to restore to friendship or harmony, to settle or resolve a quarrel, to make consistent or congruous.” When man chose to rebel against YHVH and to give in to sin at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil at the very beginning he chose the path of separation from his Heavenly Father. Sin causes man to be separated from a totally holy, righteous and sinless Creator. Since that time YHVH has been endeavoring to reconcile man to himself. He has laid out criteria for man to follow for this to occur—for man to once again have a friendly, loving and intimate relationship with his Heavenly Father as did Adam before he sinned.

Feasts, Spring

The set-apart appointed times (moedim) or divine rehearsals/gatherings (miqra kodesh) of YHVH are prophetic shadow-pictures or symbols of the steps man must take to be reconciled to his Heavenly Father. They are the complete plan of salvation or redemption rolled up into seven easy-to-understand steps. Though a child can understand these steps, the truths contained therein can at the same time be expanded and unfolded until one literally has rolled out before oneself the entire message of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation—a message that to the human comprehension is staggering, deep and rich beyond understanding. These feast days are literally the skeletal structure upon which the truths of the entire Bible hang. The message of redemption, sanctification, salvation, the atonement, glorification, eschatology, the history of Israel, the entire Gospel message, the covenants, the marriage of the Lamb, the bride of Messiah and Yeshua the Messiah are all prefigured within the glorious spiritual container of YHVH’s set apart feasts contained in seven steps—seven being the biblical number of divine perfection and completion.

Feasts, fall

Quite assuredly, without a deep, walking-it-out comprehension of the feast days of YHVH, no matter how learned one is in biblical understanding, or how academically astute and mentally acute in biblical erudition one may be, one will not have a deep understanding of those scriptural subjects listed above. How can one understand end-time events such as the second coming, the great tribulation and the rapture unless one understands the feast days from a deep Hebraic perspective? One simply cannot have just a knowledge of Greek, the Gospels, the Apostolic Scriptures along with a surface understanding (i.e., traditional Christian perspective) of the prophecies of the “Old Testament” and expect to understand eschatology (the study of end-time events) unless one immerses themselves in understanding and keeping the feast days of YHVH. One cannot throw out the foundation or the skeletal structure and expect to have a body of understanding that amounts to anything at all. Simple logic and common sense and the very truth and character of YHVH Elohim demands and dictates this so.

Continue reading

 

New Video: Tabernacle of Moses, the Hebraic Wedding & the Saints

The Tabernacle of Moses contains the seven-step outline of salvation for mankind and the wedding ceremony between Yeshua (Jesus) and his bride, the saints who love him and keep his commandments. This is a marriage made in heaven to last for eternity in the New Jerusalem. Watch this video to see how you can be part of it.

 

New Video: Tabernacle of Moses: An Aerial View

Why study and learn about the Tabernacle of Moses? What are its main themes? How is it like a gospel tract, and a blue print that the Creator is using to reach out to and to communicate with men? How does this ancient divinely-inspired structure impact your spiritual destiny? Watch this video and find out. Also please check out my other videos on the Tabernacle of Moses.

 

Welcome to the world of the Tabernacle of Moses

Exodus 25:8–9, A sanctuary … tabernacle. 

If you were the Creator of the universe, what means would you use to communicate with those that you had created through love in your likeness and image? In a remote way, it’s like a human standing over an anthill trying to communicate with the ants. How do you do it? Similarly, how does an all powerful, Spirit Being, loving Father in heaven relate to his mortal children who are but mere specks of dust without vaporizing them with his raw power? The difficulty is compounded when fearful humans don’t want to hear the voice of Elohim, which is what happened when YHVH Elohim’s voice thundered from Mount Sinai. The children of Israel begged him not to talk to them, lest they die. They asked the Almighty One to speak to them instead through Moses (Exod 20:19).

Taberncale-a 257142

When man sinned at the tree of knowledge, and YHVH kicked them out of the Garden of Eden, direct communications between man and his Maker were hampered, if not all but cut off. However, Elohim had a plan to restore the loving relationship he had with man before the rebellion. But if men refuse to hear you when you speak, what are you do?

To be certain, the Almighty doesn’t lack for ways to communicate with men. Man is without excuse when it comes to hearing Elohim, for even the heaven’s declare the glory of the Creator and the plans he has for mankind. The visible things of this creation shout loudly about the spiritual mysteries heaven desires to reveal to its earthly subjects. Furthermore, from time to time over the millennia, Elohim has chosen to speak directly to some select servants through dreams, visions, signs, wonders, angels, and even once through a donkey! But how does he speak to a whole nation, if that nation is plugging its ears and refusing to hear its Master’s voice?

Enter into the picture the Tabernacle of Moses, which was literally a three-dimensional gospel message tract. It is the visual demonstration of the whole message of the Bible in a building — the blueprint of the plan of redemption of wayward man. Continue reading

 

New Video: YHVH’s Plan of Salvation in the Seven Biblical Feasts

In this video, learn how the seven biblical feasts as outlined in Leviticus 23 are YHVH’s seven-step plan of salvation (or redemption) for mankind. They are the chronological template of the seven steps each one must take to go from being a slave to the world, flesh and the devil in the spiritual Egypt of this world to becoming a child of Elohim (God) forever in the New Jerusalem. The feasts show man how to be reconciled to our Father in heaven through Yeshua the Messiah.

Watch this video now at