Tag Archives: Yeshua

The Kingdom of Heaven—Some Mysteries Revealed

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Matthew 13:1–58, Yeshua reveals some fundamental mysteries pertaining to the kingdom of heaven. 

Let’s systematically analyze this amazing chapter section-by-section to see if we can unlock some deep mysteries pertaining to the kingdom of Elohim.

In the Parable of the Sower, Yeshua reveals that he is sowing the seeds of the gospel message far and wide across the field of the world (v. 38). That seeds falls on all types of ground and there are external influences (i.e. the world, the flesh and the devil) that affect whether the seed will germinate and come to fruition or not. The bottom line is that the majority of seed gets destroyed along the way and fails to produce fruit.

Yeshua then explains the purpose of parables (see comments on v. 14). The main point of this discussion is that only those who are genuine and earnest truth seekers will find the deep spiritual truths of Yeshua’s kingdom behind his parables. These are the ones who have “eyes to see and ears to hear” who will eventually become part of his kingdom. All others will fall by the wayside having disqualified themselves by their lack of spiritual zeal and tenacity to enter into his kingdom.

Yeshua’s Parable of the Wheat and Tares is an expansion of one aspect of the of the previous parable. In the Parable of the Sower, bad seed (i.e. the sons of the wicked or the lawless/Torahless one, vv. 38 and 41) can also be sown by the enemy (the wicked one or the devil, v. 39) into the field in which the good seed on the good ground is sown. This means that of the seed that is sown there’s a reduction factor of four to one. Only one in four seeds or twenty-five percent Continue reading →

 

Called to the ministry? Here’s what to do…

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Do you have a ministry call on your life? If you’re a disciple of Yeshua, then you should. Yeshua has commissioned every saint to help fulfill the great commission to spread the gospel to the world. Below are some basic guidelines on how to know that you’re in the perfect will of Elohim for the ministry to which he has called you.

Matthew 10:5ff, Yeshua sent out. The Commissioning of the Twelve Disciples.

There are several steps one must go through when receiving a ministry commission from Yeshua. The following steps are based on Yeshua’s commissioning his disciples in Matthew 10. As modern-day disciples of Yeshua, we need to take these into consideration when assuming a ministry role. These are the requirements of his laborers who will work in his harvest field (see Matt 9:37 for context).

  • Yeshua calls one into the ministry (Matt 10:1). Some people go into the ministry as a career like any other job by their own choice. This is unbiblical. Involvement in Yeshua’s ministry is by his invitation only.
  • After calling one into the ministry, there is a time of training. This is the biblical norm. For some, it was five years (e.g. the Levites), or forty years (Moses and Joshua). David had a period of training before becoming king, as did Paul the apostle and Elisha. For Yeshua’s disciples, it was three-and-one-half years. The Matthew ten account is part of the disciples’ training program.
  • After calling them, Yeshua gives his disciples their marching orders by telling them where to go and not to go (Matt 10:5–6). They were to go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, although, later on Yeshua instructed them to go the Gentiles. Paul even taught in several places that the lost sheep of Israel were to be found among the Gentiles, as the ancient biblical prophets predicted they would be.
  • Yeshua then instructs them what their ministry was to be (Matt 10:7–8). They were to do exactly as Yeshua himself did: preach the gospel of repentance and the kingdom of Elohim, and to heal the sick.
  • He then gives them instructions pertaining to travel arrangements — what they were to take on their journey, where they were to stay, and how to act when encountering resistance (Matt 10:9–15). This includes lodging, food and financial remuneration. On the latter point, today many itinerant evangelists flagrantly violate Yeshua’s strictures in this regard and have become nothing more than travelling salesmen and peddlers always with their hands out for financial gain. They have simply become merchandisers of the gospel, sadly.
  • Next, Yeshua warns his disciples against persecution (Matt 10:16–26). He assumes that persecution would be a natural result of preaching the gospel. Conversely, it could be assumed that something is out of spiritual order when one preaches the gospel and persecution doesn’t occur. 
  • Yeshua then instructs his disciples about fear — who to fear and not to fear. They are to fear YHVH, not men (Matt 10:27–31). This is an important point, since preaching the gospel to the lost can be intimidating, which is why so few do it. Yeshua promises divine protection for his disciples who preach the gospel as he has instructed (Matt 10:29–30).
  • The workman is worthy of his hire. Yeshua promises spiritual rewards to those who preach the gospel (Matt 10:32–33).
  • For those who are called into Yeshua’s ministry, he demands total commitment. One must put Yeshua first above all other human relationships. For this, expect rejection from family and friends (Matt 10:34–39). 
  • Again, Yeshua holds out the promise of spiritual rewards for those who heed his call to become a disciple who works in his spiritual harvest field (Matt 10:39 cp. Matt 9:37).
 

What REALLY is the narrow gate?

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Matthew 7:13, Enter the narrow gate. Here Yeshua speaks of the straight gate and the narrow way that leads to life versus the wide and broad gate that leads to destruction. This narrow gate relates to Jacob’s dream of a ladder to heaven.

In Genesis 28:10–22, we have the account of Jacob’s dream of a ladder reaching into heaven. The dream greatly amazed Jacob and afterwards he concluded that he had experienced a divine encounter. He named the spot where he had the dream Beth El meaning “House of El (God),” and he concluded that this spot was “the gate of heaven” (verse 17). In Hebraic thought, “the ladder” to heaven is equivalent to the Tree of Life, which is another term for the Torah of Elohim. We know that Yeshua was the Torah-Word of Elohim made flesh ( John 1:1,14). Not only that, Yeshua likened himself to a ladder reaching to heaven (John 1:51). 

Furthermore, we see both Moses and Joshua describing the Torah-law of Elohim as a (narrow, by implication) path from which one must turn neither to the left nor to the right (Deut 5:32; 17:11, 20; 28:14; Josh 1:7; 23:6). In Proverbs, the path of wisdom (i.e. Torah) is also likened to a (narrow, by implication) path from which one must not turn either to the left or to the right (Prov 4:27). 

The term “gate” (or door) itself in Matthew 7:13 is a Hebraism referring to the means by which one enters into the Tabernacle or Temple of Elohim (Exod 27:14, 16; 32: 35:17; Ezek 40:3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13 etc.). The Tabernacle (or Mishkan) of Moses was representative of the pathway to redemption or salvation. Before actually entering the tabernacle, one encountered the altar of the red heifer, which is a prophetic picture of the cross of Yeshua. To enter the tabernacle, one passed through a multi-colored gate. One of the colors was crimson, which represented the blood of lamb on the door posts of the Israelites’ homes on Passover eve. After that, one would come to the brazen alter of sacrifice, which pictures the new believer dying daily, after the example of Yeshua on the cross, and daily ingesting of the “blood” and “body” of Yeshua (pictured by the Christian ritual of communion), the Lamb of Elohim. 

Yeshua fulfilled all these prophetic types and shadows. He said that he is the door or gate ( John 10:7, 9, 10) by which all must enter to have salvation (Acts 4:12), in order to have access to the Father in heaven (John 14:6). Yeshua told the rich young ruler that the Torah (both the Written Torah and Yeshua the Living Torah-Word of Elohim) was the path to eternal life (Matt 19:16–17). Moreover, the Torah points to Yeshua who was the “aim” or “goal” (not the “end” or “termination” of the Torah, as Rom 10:4 is often mistranslated as in most of our English Bibles) of the Torah who is the Living Torah-Word of YHVH ( John 1:1, 14). Yeshua said that he was the way (to the Father in heaven), the truth and the life ( John 14:6), and that the Word of Elohim is truth ( John 17:17). The only Word of Elohim that existed when Yeshua spoke these words was the Tanakh (or Old Testament).

Yeshua defined himself as the truth, so what is truth? How does Scripture define “truth”? In Psalm 119:142 and 151, David says that the Torah-law and Torah-commandments of Elohim are truth. It’s this simple! Any religious theology that attempts an end run head face into the truth of Torah. Period!

We see the concept of gates in the messianically prophetic verses of Psalm 118:19 and 20. Here the Messiah (Yeshua) is likened as gates of YHVH and gates of righteousness (Ps 119:172 defines “righteousness” as “all of thy Torah-commandments) which all the righteous shall enter.”

So Yeshua is the gate, or the straight way of life and truth, the door to salvation or redemption and the way to the Father in heaven. He is the Word of Elohim made flesh or the Living Torah (John 1:1, 14).

 

The Gospel Preached Through Noah and the Flood

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Genesis 6–8, Noah’s flood provides allegorical insights relating to end-times prophecy. In Matthew 24:37, Yeshua compares the end times to the days of Noah. The story of Noah has allegorical implications that give hints about end-times prophecy.

In 1 Peter 3:18–22, we learn that the story of Noah is also a picture of salvation and water baptism. Noah is a prophetic antetype of Yeshua.

To start with, Noah building the ark is a prophetic picture of the redeemed believer working out his own salvation (Phil 2:12), yet while doing so according to YHVH’s exact plans or specifications (e.g. repentance from sin, faith in Yeshua, baptism for the remission of sins, and faithful obedience to YHVH’s commandments).

Noah builds an ark of safety from Elohim’s wrath or judgments against sinful man. The ark is a metaphorical picture of the believer’s salvation, and Noah is a spiritual picture of Yeshua. The flood is also a picture of water baptism for the remission of sins, which ceremonially pictures the death of the old sinful man, and the birth of the new spiritual man (Rom 6:3–6). Water can both clean one of dirt and kill. The same water cleanses the repentant sinner but kills the unrepentant sinner. Unregenerated sinful or carnal men perished in the floodwaters in Noah’s day, while the new, redeemed man (as pictured by Noah and his family) who had found grace in the sight of Elohim (Gen 6:8) found refuge on the ark. While the flood is a judgment against sinful man who has violated the Torah-laws or divine instructions of YHVH, the ark is a picture of the grace that YHVH offers to those who will repent of their sins (i.e. Torahlessness, see 1 John 3:4) and will turn to him through Yeshua. Since Noah found grace in the eyes of YHVH because he was “perfect in his generations” (Gen 6:8, 9), he was spared from YHVH’s judgments against sin (or the wages of sin which is death, Rom 6:23). YHVH offers the same gift of grace to all men today (2 Pet 3:9).

The ark had three levels indicating the three levels of salvation rewards that YHVH offers to his saints, which is analogous to the three sections in the Tabernacle of Moses. The highest level where Noah lived is the section of the ark that was the closest to heaven, where YHVH abides, and is a picture of the kadosh hakadoshim (the holy of holies, also known as the d’veer meaning “oracle”), which was the place in the tabernacle from which Elohim spoke to the Moses and the Israelites. It is in that highest place that one hears Elohim’s instructions directly from him.

The unclean animals are a picture of lost and scattered Israelites returning to YHVH in the end times from the beast or heathen nations to where they have been scattered and where they have become like beasts of the field (Hos 2:16–19 cp. Acts 10:12, 28). In Peter’s vision of the sheet (Acts 10:12, 28), the Gentiles are likened to unclean animals that YHVH has redeemed (Acts 10:12, 28 cp. with the great and innumerable multitude of Rev 7:9, the lukewarm believers of Laodicea in Rev 3:14–21, the thief on the cross, and the foolish virgins in Yeshua’s parable in Matt 25:1–13). The clean animals may represent the 144,000 of Revelation 7 and 14, and who are those saints who have remained faithful in keeping YHVH’s Torah commandments, while at the same time maintaining faith in Yeshua the Messiah (Rev 12:17; 14:12).

Noah escaping the wrath of Elohim may be a antetype of the second exodus of end-times Israelites from the nations of the world. As a mixed multitude joined Israel in the exodus from Egypt, so even within Noah’s family there was a mixed multitude containing a spiritual tare; namely, Ham who later fell into sin (Gen 9:22–27) and become the father of the evil Nimrod (Gen 10). Even Yeshua had Judas, a tare, among his select group of disciples, and Yeshua teaches that the tares would coexist with the wheat up until the end times (Matt 13:24–30).

The waters that flooded the world gushed up from out of the bowels of the earth and rained down from heaven (Gen 7:11). Water can be a biblical metaphor for the spoken word (e.g. Deut 32:2; Eph 5:26); namely, it represents both the Word of Elohim from above, and the word (philosophies, thoughts, ideas, religions) of man that are counter to the Word of Elohim that have their source from below. In the last days, knowledge shall be increased, the devil shall spew out his mouth words or philosophies like a flood in an effort to spiritually drown the world and even the saints (Rev 12:15; Matt 24:14). Water can also be a judgment against men. YHVH will judge men for their words, philosophies and religions. Those who followed YHVH’s Word from heaven will be spared his wrath, while those who have subscribed to the words or philosophies of men from below will perish or be judged in a sea of men’s words that are often founded on doctrines of demons. Those who feed spiritually from the tree of knowledge (i.e. secular humanism and all the false religions and ideologies that have spawned from it) will die, while those who spiritually feed from the tree of life or the word of Noah (i.e. a prophetic picture Yeshua), the preacher of righteousness (i.e. the Torah, see Ps 119:172 and 2 Pet 2:5) will live. In the last days, the Word of YHVH will judge men, for when Yeshua returns to the earth on his white war stallion, the sword of the word of Elohim will be coming out of his mouth with which he will judge the nations (Rev 19:11–15). 

It rained 40 days. This is another picture of judgment, since biblically, forty is the number of trials, testing or spiritual refinement.

The ark came to “rest” (Heb. nuach meaning “repose, settle down, be quiet”) on the mountains Ararat (Gen 8:4). From there, Noah built an altar and begin to rule the earth. This is a prophetic picture of Yeshua, at his second advent, coming to Zion or the Temple Mount where he will have his temple and will establish his kingdom on earth, and it will be a time of peace on earth.

The word Ararat means “the curse is reversed.” The ark came to rest on Ararat during the Feast of Tabernacles or Sukkot. This is a prophetic picture of the saints coming to a place of spiritual rest at the beginning of the Millennium after the judgments of Elohim have been poured out on this earth against sin and the wicked have been destroyed.

The dove is a picture of the bride of Yeshua who follows the Spirit of Elohim. The dove coming from the top window of the ark symbolizes the bride of Yeshua coming back to earth from the first heaven to rule with Yeshua on earth. The dove left and came back on the seventh day—the Shabbat. This is a picture of the Millennium or the seventh millennia of man’s existence on earth. Several times in the story of Noah, it is mentioned about the dove finding rest or not finding rest. This is another picture of the Millennium—a time of rest for the saints or the bride of Yeshua (Heb 4:1–10).

The raven who feeds on carrion is a metaphor for the devil who feeds off of dead meat, and who is actively trying to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10) like a ravenous lion (1 Pet 5:8). Satan will be active at the end of the Millennium, as well, when he will be loosed from the pit for a short season from which he will go to incite Gog and Magog to come against Yeshua and the saints in Jerusalem (Rev 20:7–10).

Noah’s altar may well be a picture of the third temple (or Ezekiel’s temple, Ezek 40–48).

According to Christian commentator Matthew Henry, Noah’s ark was an early Christian metaphor for salvation and YHVH’s delivering his people form evil and judgment against wickedness. We see this allusion in 1 Peter 3:20–22 where the flood is a picture of salvation, deliverance by baptism and the resurrection of Yeshua.

The ark was covered with pitch, which is a picture of the redeemed believer being covered by the blood of Yeshua to keep the spiritual ark of his life from sinking under the judgment of Elohim against men’s sin. This truth of this imagery is revealed the Hebrew words for pitch and atonement,which share the same root word.

The name Noah means “rest.” Yeshua bids all who are heavy laden and need rest to come to him (Matt 11:28–30).

Noah was 600 years old when he went into the ark and the flood came. YHVH’s final judgment against wicked men will be at the end of the 6000 years of men’s rebellious tenure on this earth.

Noah didn’t leave the ark and set foot on the earth until YHVH bade him to do so (Gen 8:15). Likewise, Yeshua won’t return to the earth from heaven until the Father permits it.

The Noachic Covenant that Elohim made with all humanity (Gen 9:1) is a picture of the New Covenant being ratified in the Millennium with “all Israel.” No non-Israelites (i.e. no sinners) will be permitted to live, but will be burned up in the lake of fire at the end of the Millennium (Rev 20:11–15). 

 

The Deity of Yeshua

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The Preeminence and Deity of Yeshua

Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron the high priest, thrust a spear through Zimri the Israelite man and Cozbi the Midianite woman as they were bringing the curse of YHVH upon the nation of Israel by fornicating with each other within the camp of Israel. With the same righteous zeal as Phinehas, today’s righteous spiritual leaders must rise up and stand against secular philosophies that threaten to bring YHVH’s judgment upon redeemed Israel. In the face of evil in his day, David asked, “Who will rise up for me against the evildoers, or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Ps 94:16) The present issue relates to the dangerous and damnable trend within the body of redeemed Israelites believers to question and even deny the deity of Yeshua.

You’ve all heard the Christian axiom, “In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, and in everything else, charity.” What are the essentials of our faith that we must unite in, and around which we must draw the line in the sand and defend that turf until death?

As one who has been walking in the Torah for more than 40 years, who has spent time fellowshipping and ministering in both traditional Sunday Christian as well as Sabbatarian churches, and then pastoring and teaching in pro-Torah/Hebrew roots congregation for many years, it has become clear to me which issues are essential, and which are not. Those biblical truths that are salvational in nature are the essentials. These are the hills on which we must plant the flag of truth and be willing to defend at all costs! What are these immutable essentials?

  • YHVH Elohim (in Hebrew a plural word) is the Sovereign of the universe and the God of the Bible. He is one (Heb. echad, i.e. a compound unity), yet the Bible reveals the Godhead is comprised of three spiritual entities: the Father, the Spirit and the Son.
  • The Bible is the Word of Elohim from Genesis to Revelation.
  • The Torah is for all believers for all time.
  • Yeshua the Messiah, the Word of Elohim, is Elohim and is the Son of Elohim who was manifested incarnate on this earth being born of the virgin Mary. 
  • Yeshua lived a sinless life, died on the cross as an atonement for the sins of man, was buried and resurrected on the third day where he is now at the right hand of Elohim, and at the same time is on the throne of Elohim as Elohim.
  • Salvation is by the grace of Elohim through faith in Yeshua the Son of Elohim. As a result of one’s salvation, one will love Yeshua by keeping his commandments or word (the Torah), which will produce in his life the fruits of righteousness as defined by the Torah.

These are the essentials of our faith on which there can be no compromise. To take a weakened position on any of these issues is to begin down a spiritually slippery slope that can only lead to eternal separation from YHVH Elohim! Leaders must be quick to lift up the spiritual sword of the Word of Elohim against those who teach otherwise. In this brief treatise, I will deal with the major issues raised by those who want to diminish or eliminate the deity status of Yeshua the Messiah.

“The Earth Did Quake”

When the life of Yeshua, the divine Light of Elohim that pierced the spiritual darkness of this world, was being poured out while he was hanging dying on the cross, the earth was plunged into darkness (Matt 27:47). After Yeshua yielded up his spirit and died, the veil in Continue reading →

 

Torah Central—A New Paradigm From Which to View the Bible

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The Living and the Written Torah Is the Central Theme of the Bible

The Living and Written Torah is the dominant theme of the Bible. They are one in the same thing—totally unified and absolutely indivisible, which is why I used the singular verb is and not the plural are in the previous sentence. Another way to say this is that whole Bible is about Yeshua the Torah-Word of Elohim who was made flesh (John 1:1, 14). 

To illustrate this point, as we shall discuss later, we find this dominant theme prominently highlighted at the beginning, middle and end of the Scriptures. 

In this study, we will focus more heavily on the Written Torah, as opposed to Yeshua the Living Torah, although in our minds, without Yeshua, it’s impossible to fully understand, much less obey the Written Torah. Furthermore, it is only Yeshua, the Living Torah and not the Written Torah who is capable of saving us from our sins and giving us eternal life.

The Written Torah Defined

Let’s first define our terms. What does the word Torah mean as defined in the Bible? The primary meaning of the Hebrew word Torah, VRU< (Strong’s H8451, TWOT 910b) is “teaching, precept, instruction” and not law, although it is translated as such some 219 times in the Tanakh (Old Testament). What is the fuller meaning of the word Torah?

According to Strong’s Expanded Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Torah, as already noted, signifies primarily direction, teaching, instruction (Prov 13:14). It is derived from the verb yarah/VRh meaning “to project, point out” (Strong’s H3384) and hence to point out or teach. The law of Elohim is that which points out or indicates His will to man…Seen against its background of the verb yarah, it becomes clear that Torah is much more than law or a set of rules. Torah is not restriction or hindrance, but instead the means whereby one can reach a goal or ideal.

Similarly, The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states that the word Torah means “teaching” whether it is the wise man instructing his son or Elohim instructing Israel. The wise give insight into all aspects of life so that the young may know how to conduct themselves and to live a long blessed life (Prov 3:1f). So too Elohim, motivated by love, reveals to man basic insights into how to live with each other and how to approach Elohim. Through the Torah, Elohim, shows his interest in all aspects of man’s life which is to be lived under his direction and care. The Torah of Elohim stands parallel to the word of YHVH. 

As already noted, the word Torah originates from the root word yarah vRH (Strong’s H3384), which also means “to flow as water, to lay or throw as in shooting an arrow; to point out as if aiming the finger to make a point, to teach.” Another cognate (related word) of the word Torah is the Hebrew word moreh (Strong’s H4175) which means “teacher or archer (as in one who shoots at a target).” Moreh vRun derives from the same Hebrew root word, yarah, as does the word Torah and signifies that law is the revelation of Elohim’s will (e.g. Isa 1:10). Therefore, when one is walking according to the Torah of YHVH Elohim, one is walking in the light of YHVH’s truth, which is hitting the mark of righteousness. Likewise, YHVH’s teachings or instructions are a river of life flowing from his throne aimed at hitting the mark of truth and righteousness. By contrast, the Hebrew word for sin is chata (Strong’s H2298) which means “to miss the mark,” i.e. transgressing the Torah as 1 John 3:4 states, Sin is the transgression of the Torah.

The meaning of word Torah when analyzed through its Paleo-Hebrew pictographic letters yields some interesting insights from yet another perspective that are worth noting. The definition of the word Torah VRu< from the Paleo-Hebrew is as follows:

  • Tav means “sign, seal, covenant.”
  • Vav means “nail, peg, secure, add.” 
  • Resh means “head, person, highest.” 
  • Hey means “behold, reveal.”

The meanings of the individual picture-letters when combined give us the following expanded understanding: 

  • The Torah is “the highest secure covenant revealed.”
  • The Torah is “the covenant or sign that reveals the secure head or highest person” (i.e. YHVH-Yeshua).

The Origin of Torah and Its Introduction into the World

The Torah predates Moses who gave the law to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai. There are many examples in both the books of Genesis and Exodus before Mount Sinai that YHVH’s servants both knew of and followed the Torah. That is another study and beyond Continue reading →

 

The blood of animals vs. the blood of Yeshua

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Hebrews 9:13–14, Purifying the flesh…cleansing your conscience. The Levitical sacrificial system was never able to atone for sin in the full sense. These sacrifices were effective only temporarily in that they had to be continually repeated.

In reality, these sacrifices never mitigated YHVH’s judgment against sin. The Levitical sacrifices simply covered over sin, so that the sinner could stand before Elohim without being consumed by his righteous judgments. But only Yeshua’s death could satisfy Elohim’s judgment against sin permanently in the life of the believer. Only his atoning sacrifice can thoroughly wash away our sins, remove the death penalty, which is the wages or penalty of sin, and cleanse the sinner of the guilty conscience which resides in his personal spirit, so that one could “serve the living Elohim” with a clean slate.

Sin can contaminate the spirit of man, which houses the conscience of man (2 Cor 7:1; see notes at Col 3:10). Only the blood of Yeshua can miraculously cleanse our soul (the mind, will and emotions) and spirit of a person and bring us to perfect holiness in the fear of Elohim (ibid.) This Yeshua did in a spiritual sense in the spiritual temple in heaven, which is greater than the physical temple on earth, which was a mere copy or shadow of the one in heaven (Heb 8:3–6).

The cleansing that the Levitical sacrificial system offered was physical and external, while the one Yeshua offers through the heavenly temple gives internal cleansing.