Isn’t it neat how you can read passages over and again and suddenly see a connection that you haven’t seen before. Of course, it’s because the WORD is living, breathing and constantly moving to point us where we need to go, showing us what we need to see and speaking what we need to hear.
This morning we were reading in Exodus 39 and ran across the verses describing the turban for the High Priest, a one of a kind article for a one of a kind office. We noticed something that’s always been there . . . just hadn’t seen the connection before.
In Exodus 39:28 and following it speaks of the headdress of the High Priest. They were to fashion a gold plate, engrave it ‘HOLY TO YHVH’ and attach the gold plate to the turban with a ‘blue cord’ ( pathil tekeleth ) . Where else do we see a ‘blue cord’ ?
Numbers 15: 38 describes a ‘blue cord’ ( pathil tekeleth ) in the tzitzitot ( the tassels ) that are there to remind us to walk according to HIS ways and not our own, to be ‘HOLY TO YHVH’ .
We are not Levites or ‘sons of Aaron’, but we ARE priests after the order of Melchizedek – Yeshua – High Priest forever. We ARE a ‘kingdom of priests’, a holy nation ( Exo. 19:6, 1 Peter 2:5, Rev. 1:6 ) And we are to be in His image, the One Who is the perfect image of our Father ( 2 Cor 4:4 ) . HE is our example ( 1 Peter 2:21 ), literally a document to be copied exactly ( Gr – hupogrammos ) . And what document would that be ? The Word, for HE is the Living Word.
Yeshua kept the Sabbath, kept the feasts, walked according to the ways of His Father, and yes, wore the tzitziot with the ‘blue cord’. Why ? Because He was Jewish ? No. Because He was and is an obedient Son of the Father, the living, breathing Word of The Father ( the Word became flesh . . . John 1:1 ).
Matt 5:17 “ 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. 18 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. 19 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.”
If we are born again, then we are His children. We can either walk in Yeshua’s example of obedience or walk contrary to His example, which is disobedience.
The ‘blue cord’ . . . a picture of who we are in Messiah Yeshua . . . holy, set-apart . . . ‘a kingdom of priests, a holy nation, high priests after the order of Melchizedek, anointed and appointed by the Blood of the Lamb . . . the whole House of Israel.
Eph 2 11” . . . Therefore remember you were formerly Gentiles by birth . . . 12 remember that you were at that time separated from Messiah, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Messiah.
The wearing of the tzitziot reminds me I am a child of the covenant . . . and if a child, then an heir . . . and a joint heir with Messiah . . . HOLY TO YHVH.
Blessings & Shalom – Rhonda & Jerry
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Al
March 4, 2014 at 3:46 pm
Concerning the Seven Assemblies of Revelation:
Who are these that must suffer 10 days of tribulation (testing), all the while, not being chastised by Messiah for any wrong doing, with those who remain faithful unto death passing from death unto life? What happens to those who fail the test and don’t remain faithful unto death?
Revelation 2: 8-11
8 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Smyrna, write: ‘Here is the message from the First and the Last, who died and came alive again: 9 “I know how you are suffering and how poor you are (though in fact you are rich!), and I know the insults of those who call themselves Jews but aren’t — on the contrary, they are a synagogue of the Adversary. 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the Adversary is going to have some of you thrown in prison, in order to put you to the test; and you will face an ordeal for ten days. Remain faithful, even to the point of death; and I will give you life as your crown. 11 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities. He who wins the victory will not be hurt at all by the second death.”’
Who are these who have set before them an open door (by the Messiah who possess’ the Key of David) that no one can shut and consequently will not suffer the time of testing (tribulation)???
Revelation 3:7-13
7 “To the angel of the Messianic Community in Philadelphia, write: ‘Here is the message of HaKadosh, the True One, the one who has the key of David, who, if he opens something, no one else can shut it, and if he closes something, no one else can open it.[a] 8 “I know what you are “DOING”. Look, I have put in front of you an open door, and no one can shut it. I know that you have but little power, yet you have obeyed my message and have not disowned me. 9 Here, I will give you some from the synagogue of the Adversary, those who call themselves Jews but aren’t — on the contrary, they are lying — see, I will cause them to come and prostrate themselves at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you. 10 Because you did obey my message about persevering, I will keep you from the time of trial coming upon the whole world to put the people living on earth to the test. 11 I am coming soon; hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown. 12 I will make him who wins the victory a pillar in the Temple of my God, and he will never leave it. Also I will write on him the name of my God and the name of my God’s city, the new Yerushalayim coming down out of heaven from my God, and my own new name. 13 Those who have ears, let them hear what the Spirit is saying to the Messianic communities.”’
One group will suffer 10 days of tribulation, with their fate determined by whether they remain faithful unto death or not.
The other group is ready to go into the Kingdom and will bypass the 10 day time of testing and tribulation the others will have to endure.
As far as timing goes, every believer from each of the 5 remaining assemblies, will fit into one of these two groups, or perish in the group they are currently in if they don’t address their condition. If we have dealt with our short comings here and now, as laid out in the letters to the seven assemblies, and have received Messiah the Lamb and Messiah the Word as one, we will be ready when He comes for us and the 10 day time of testing will not be necessary (Philadelphia). If we don’t deal with these things, and refuse to embrace Messiah in His fullness, we will have tribulation (testing) for 10 days, which basically means we will have to die or at the least be willing to die literally for Messiah-the Lamb and Messiah the Word, to be ushered into the Kingdom. This is not about perfection in the flesh, but rather His perfection in us, through obedience to His Word.
The assembly of Philadelphia will be taken on the Feast of Trumpets, bypassing the 10 day tribulation.
The assembly of Smyrna; of those who are faithful unto death, will join their brothers and sisters (Philadelphia) on Yom Kippur 10 days later, for the Marriage of Messiah to His Bride. Those of Smyrna who are not faithful unto death will fail the test.
What are the characteristics of the assembly of Philadelphia?
) Messiah finds no fault with them
) They obeyed Messiah the Word (I know what you are doing) and did not deny His name (have not disowned me-Messiah Yahshua the Lamb of Yah.
) They have none of the faults of the other assemblies
) Ushered into the Kingdom with no testing at the end
What are the characteristics of the assembly of Smyrna ?
) Messiah finds no fault with them
) They will be tested
) They will have to endure 10 days of tribulation and will receive the crown only “if” they endure unto death!
Exactly who are the Virgins in each group?
Philadelphia: Those who have an open door before them that none can shut= those who have the testimony of Messiah and keeps His commandments (Torah), both Judah (Jews) and Ephraim (Gentiles from the nations).
Revelation 3:8
“I know what you are “DOING”. Look, I have put in front of you an open door, and no one can shut it. I know that you have but little power, yet you have obeyed my message and have not disowned me.
These believers will also be guiltless of the transgressions listed for the other 5 assemblies; Ephesus, Pergamos, Thyratira, Sardis, and Laodicea.
Smyrna: These are those of Judah (Jews) and Ephraim (Christian Church) who have either the testimony of Messiah or keeps His Commandments, but, for the most part, not both. They do not embrace the Messiah in His fullness. These are those of Judah and Ephraim (the Christian Church) who have been blinded to the truth of either Messiah our Salvation (our sin sacrifice) or Messiah the Word (Torah). Messiah the Lamb and Messiah the Word are one and cannot be separated. These believers are pure in either extreme they hold to, but must be made whole before entering the Kingdom.
This needs a little explanation. We know that when Messiah was hung on the tree, that the Jews in part were blinded to the fact that Yahshua was Messiah the Lamb, by Yah Himself, and so it has been to this day. We also know that Ephraim (the Christian Church) has wrongfully been taught from the beginning of the 3rd century AD, that the Torah-Messiah the Word had been abolished. It is during this time of the Fall Feasts, at the end, when the eyes of both will be opened, and be reconciled to their brethren, and to Messiah the Bridegroom after the 10 days of tribulation, if they endure unto death. On that day (Yom Kippur-Ten days after The Feast of Trumpets) the assembly of Philadelphia and Smyrna will be one, with no distinction between the two=One Bride before the Bridegroom.
This groups (Smyrna) heart is pure toward Messiah, but through blindness, the Jews have been unable to see the Messiah as their sin sacrifice; Messiah the Lamb, our Salvation. This does not mean everyone who is an ethnic Jew will be included. Rather those whose hearts are pure to Yah, but have been blinded to the fact of Messiah Yahshua, The Lamb.
Likewise, Eprhaim (the Christian Church) has been taught, through the misunderstood writings of Paul, that the Torah=Messiah the Word has been abolished, which has been with us now for over 1700 years. The truth of Messiah the Word will be revealed to them, whose hearts are pure towards Yah, to the truth of Messiah Yahshua, The Word (Torah).
Both Judah and Ephraim will be tested unto death, for the purpose of making them whole and complete in Messiah. Both of these groups will be given the revelation of Messiah our salvation (the Lamb) and Messiah the Word (Torah), within that 10 day period of tribulation.
They will declare:
“Baruch Haba B’shem Adonai” which will bring the return of the Bridegroom-Messiah Yahshua on Yom Kippur to take His Bride.
There is one last thing that I had not really put together before:
Micah 7:1
7 What misery is mine! I am like one who gathers summer fruit at the gleaning of the vineyard; there is no cluster of grapes to eat, none of the early figs that I crave.
Yah desires (craves) the “early” fruit that matures early, are ready to be harvested, and are the sweetest and most desired by the Father. This represents the assembly of Philadelphia, those who have received the fullness of Messiah and have been judged worthy (by the Blood and Word of the Lamb) to bypass tribulation (testing). None of us should take this lightly and think we are automatically in this assembly. Better to humble ourselves before Yah and seek Him with everything that is in us and hold nothing back, seeing ourselves as who we are; unworthy before Him, humbled in our own sight, and walking humbly before Yah and His people.
This is not meant to be conclusive nor comprehensive. Rather, just a brief overview hitting on some of the major points.
PS:
I know what was written above is hard to swallow by the Christian Church and the Orthodox Jews. Though the walls of partition are being broken down, for the most part they are still in place. The good thing is they will come down in the very near future.
There is one thing I came to understand concerning Messiah our sin sacrifice (the Lamb) and Messiah the Word (Torah). Even as Yah split the Kingdom of Israel between North (Ephraim-The Christian Church) and South (Judah-The Jews) during the reign of Rehoboam, son of Solomon, so He also split the way they would worship Him. Through King Jeroboam, places of worship were set up in cities of the Northern Kingdom (the Christian Church), to keep the people from returning to Jerusalem, which is breaking the Torah. He also set up golden calf worship. He basically set up a system of pagan worship in the North, but did so in the name of YHWH. Judah (the Jews) on the other hand, kept the ways of Torah that Yah had established from the beginning. Rehoboam sought to reunify the Kingdom, but Yah said to leave it alone, that it was of Him.
We know that in the last days, Yah will bring back together the brothers that were divided on that day to be one in Eretz Yisrael. Not only will brothers be united but also that which the Jews held fast to which is Messiah the Word-Torah, while Ephraim (the Christian Church) will bring what they have held fast to which is Messiah our Salvation-the Lamb, our sin sacrifice. The two brothers will be one, in the land, even as the two functions of Messiah=Messiah our sin sacrifice and Messiah the Word-Torah will be one.
Scripture is not a book of dispensations, but rather an ongoing story if you will of working out His 7000 year plan for His people. He just blinded His people to this fact until these last days. These are the days of Elijah, to make Teshuvah (return) to the former things and bring about the restoration of all things.
Judgment and Covenant Renewal
4 [a]“Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire,” says the LORD Almighty. “Not a root or a branch will be left to them. 2 But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays. And you will go out and frolic like well-fed calves. 3 Then you will trample on the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I act,” says the LORD Almighty.
4 “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel.
5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”
This is the last chapter in the Tankh. It is a transitional scripture, linking that which would be perceived as old with that which would be perceived as new. Yah allowed this to be for two days. But we are now at the end of the sixth day and beginning of the seventh day and Yah will bring all of these things to pass before our very eyes. Hopefully His people will have the vision and understanding to know what He is doing.
Shalom and be blessed
prodigal101
March 8, 2014 at 12:06 pm
These are some intriguing thoughts. How do you fit this in with the concept of the ‘2nd Exodus’ referred to
by the Prophet Jeremiah ?