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Month 10:8, Week 1:7 (Shibi'i/Sukkot), Year:Day 5937:274 AM
Gregorian Calendar: Wednesday 8 January 2014
Beyond the Rivers I
Revealing Yah's African Kingdom

First NCAY East Africa
Mission Conference, Kopanga, Kenya

    Introduction

    Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el to all the brethren and sisters in this First New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh East Africa Conference gathered together to worship our Eternal Father Yahweh-Elohim in the Name of His Belovèd Son Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)! The qodeshim (set-apart ones, saints) in Scandinavia and throughout the world send greetings and blessings to you on this special day and ask that the Heavens bless you all and fill this assembly place with with an outpouring of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit)! How we wish we could be with you today in the flesh even as we are with you in our spirits.

    Hard Working Ministers

    Your pastor, who labours hard among you day and night along with his dedicated team of Elders and other helpers, who has a passion for the Besorah (Gospel) that is inspirational to us all, and who has been through some severe trials recently, has asked me to speak to you today. That I am honoured to do.

    The First Prophetic World to East Africa

    I received two prophetic devarim (words) for you all back on the 16th and 18th December which I need to bring together for you today but before I do that may I first remind you of the prophetic word of our brother Gabriel Ljungstrand given to Him by Yahweh which in so many ways has become the foundation scripture of this Mission:

      "For then I will purify the lips of the peoples, that they may all call on Yahweh's Name, so serve Him shoulder to shoulder. From beyond the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia), My worshippers, even the daughter of My dispersed people, will bring My offering" (Zeph.3:9-10, ATOT).

    Kenya in the Bible

    We must begin here because it is important to know that this passage of Scripture is talking about you. It is a prophecy about the very last days here in Africa. But where does Yahweh specifically mean when He speaks of "beyond the rivers of Cush (Ethiopia)"? These are the rivers that flow from central Ahmar Mountains of Ethiopia eastwards and southeastwards into Somalia and Kenya: the Shebelle River, the Jubba River (which was once Kenya's eastern border with Somalia) that empties into the Indian Ocean near Kismayo, and the Lagh Dera River with its tributary the Ewaso Ng'iro which descends from Mount Kenya. These are the rivers of Cush that Yahweh is speaking of to the prophet Zephaniah. Whom is He calling to be His worshippers, to bring Him an offering? He is calling those who live beyond these rivers - in Kenya, Tanzania and beyond into the heartland of Africa. And it must begin here, in Kenya, for this is the first land "beyond the rivers of Cush". That is why this restoration and revival of Messianic Israel in Africa must begin here, and that is why He is anointing your people and why He is beginning to send people to you from near and far in this great continent.

    The Kingdom of Uncorruption in Africa

    Today I want to show you other great and marvelous prophecy in the Bible - a prophecy that is deliberately hidden to all but those with the Ruach (Spirit) in order to confuse those who are wise in their own eyes - that pertain to this people so that you may know what it is He is calling you to do before the return of His belovèd Son, Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ), when He establishes His thousand-year Kingdom of Shalom (Peace) and Khavod (Glory). This is a Kingdom that will one day cover the whole earth, embracing every kindred, people and tribe. Now this is not a Kingdom that can be inherited by flesh and blood, even as the Messiah Himself taught:

      "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Elohim (God); nor does corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Cor.15:50, NKJV)

    for this is a Kingdom of the resurrected sons and daughters of El Elyon, the Most High, who know no corruption. And what is their defining character in this prophecy from Zephaniah? They will have "purified lips", which means they will speak a pure language, the language of divine ahavah (love) and emet (truth). They will worship the Most High by His true Name, YAHWEH through His Son, 'YAHWEH SAVES', or Yah'shua, "whose name is Jealous" (Ex 34:14, NKJV)...not jealous as we are in our fallen state, but jealous as a Lover who guards His Belovèd possessively. With David we therefore affirm:

      "All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Yahweh, and shall glorify Your Name. For You are great, and do wondrous things. You alone are Elohim (God)" (Ps.86:9-10, NKJV).

    Assembled to Sing the Two Songs

    Yes, we are here assembled today to glorify that Name! Amen? Amen! And we are here to sing two songs which are one song even as it is written:

      "They sing the song of Moshe (Moses), the servant of Elohim (God), and the song of the Lamb, saying: 'Great and marvelous are Your works, Yahweh-Elohim Almighty! Just and true are Your ways, O King of the qodeshim (saints, set-apart ones)! Who shall not fear You, O Yahweh, and glorify Your Name? For You alone are qodesh (holy, set-apart). For all nations shall come and worship before You, for Your judgments have been manifested'" (Rev.15:3-4, NKJV).

    Come and Worship With Pure Lips

    What are these songs which are one song? They are the "song of Moses" which is our worship of the Most High through diligent obedience of the mitzvot (commandments), the daily application of Torah to our lives, our very life-style! And it is the "song of the Lamb", the salvation of our Master (Lord) and Deliverer (Redeemer) Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). We are assembled here as a people in Kenya (and in Tanzania next week) to do only one thing - to sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb, to proclaim the Eternal Elohim (God) enthroned in our hearts and in our deeds. We are here to worship with pure lips, with the pure language of Heaven.

    Beware of False Prophets

    But, O, what a contrast to those who will not worship the Most High! I think of those terrible people who tortured and murdered 67 innocent civilians at the al-Shabaab's mall in Nairobi last September. I think of all those who do not know Messiah at all, who choose either false gods or no gods at all. I think of believers who call themselves Christian but who refuse to worship the Most High by His true Name and who refuse to obey His mitzvot (commandments) because of the traditions of men peddling corrupted religion. Look at the unadulterated demonisation in the charismatic movement today, whose behaviour is openly pagan! You have these false ministers here in Africa too - I have seen them in Kenya and Nigeria, pretending to operate in the power of El Elyon but who are demonised and who impoverish and spiritually destroy the lives of their followers. They prove who they belong to by their lawlessness for there is no ultimate protection from lawless spirits for those who reject Yahweh's Torah!

    Origins of the Charismatic Movement

    So today I think of, and grieve over, those who claim to be believers and yet who, because they will not receive the whole emet (truth), are setting themselves up for deeper and deeper decepion. I fear what will befall them, as has happened to those false prophets and witchdoctors in the charismatic movement like Benny Hinn, Rick Joyner, Todd Bentley, and and hundreds of others, including Catholics, for "they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name" (Rev.14:11, NKJV). Do not be deceived by their lawlessness for there is no spiritual safety among them! They have deceived - and continue to deceive - millions of fleshy believers seeking a sensual, existential short-cut path to salvation. There are over 300 million of them now! They are rapidly becoming the Christian branch of Hindism and Shamanism. And it all began with false tongue-speaking.

    Todd Bentley, the lastest star of the charismatic movement, showing
    off his tattos, piercing and jewels which are forbidden in the Torah

    Remain Humble

    This call to Kenya, Tanzania and to the rest of Africa is being issued again through the pen of Zephaniah at this late hour as the world faces imminent judgment. This is not an easy time, brethren and sisters, and it will not be easy for you either. You have yet to be tried and tested in many things, so whilst I want to encourage and edify you today, I do not want you to lose your humility, or the simplicity of your faith, either. You are not going to become part of some giant awakening that will spread across the earth. Do not be deceived by the 'Kingdom Now' movement. Messiah will not be returning to a world converted to the Besorah (Gospel) but to a tiny remnant of the faithful numering in the thousands rather than the millions amidst billions of deceived and demonised souls. So don't get too 'heady' because of your high calling, remembering always that:

      "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud" (Prov.16:18-19, NKJV).

    We are Not a Messianic Toronto Movement

    There will be no messianic eqivalent of Toronto or Pensacola. This is about gathering the grapes of the Sukkot harvest, not collecting silos of chaff. Times are not going to get better, my friends, at least not in the outer world, which is why we must prepare our souls so that we are living victoriously in Yah'shua (Jesus), the One who died for us on the Cross at Calvary, as Messianic Evangelicals true to the biblical commission, and strictly Torah-obedient. I know that with me, with your Pastors and with your Elders, you are anxious that we fulfil the commission of the Master to "go therefore and make talmidim (disciples) of all the nations, baptising them in the Name of the Father (Yahweh) and of the Son (Yah'shua) and of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit), teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you" (Matt.28:19-20, NKJV). And that we shall do, Yah willing.

    Every Member a Witness

    So we are also gathered here at Kopanga in Kenya, and next week in Kogaja in Tanzania, to sing the song of Moses and of the Lamb, worshipping the Father with pure lips and hearts, and to learn how to be better talmidim (disciples) ourselves so that we can in turn make other talmidim (disciples). Every member of the New Covenant Assemblies of Yahweh is a missionary! Our life blood is in evangelism for when we stop, we stagnate and die spiritually. So we have gathered today so that we may in turn be sent out, whether in our local communities or like Pastor Agoi and His evangelising team into the towns and villages of Kenya, or across the border into Tanzania, or wheresoever the Master sends them.

    African Believers Elsewhere in Scripture

    Now I promised you when I began this address to you today that I would tell you where else you are mentioned in Scripture, for it is not just in the writings of the prophet Zephaniah. I think this will surprise you as much as it surprised me when Yahweh woke me up at 1 o'clock one morning last month to tell me. Thanks to the restoration of the Hebraic version of the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament) being done in these last days we are able to restore lost keys of emet (truth) that have been denied us because of the errors of the Greek translators, so I am going to be reading what I hope is a known passage of Scripture a little differently to what is familiar to you. Let's read that passage now, which is my main theme today, with the corrected parts, and then we'll study it closely. You will, I know, be pleasantly surprised as well as challenged.

    Acts 8

    So turn with me, if you would, to chapter 8 of the Book of Acts beginning at verse 26. I am going to be reading from the New King James Version (NKJV) making corrections to the faulty Greek text which is the basis of this translation, and when it quotes from Isaiah chapter 53, verses 7-8, I will be citing that from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) because that was the 'Authorised Version of the Tanakh (Old Testament)' used by Greek-speaking believers at that time and is older than the Hebrew Masoretic text we use today. So let us carefully run through the passage and then I will explain it to you in detail. I have underscored the words I want you to pay especial attention to:

      "Now a malak (angel) of Yahweh spoke to [the apostle] Philip, saying, 'Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Yesushalayim (Jerusalem) to Gaza.' This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a believer/faithful one with great authority under Kandake (Candace) the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Yeshayahu (Isaiah) the prophet. Then the Ruach (Spirit) said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot. So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, 'Do you understand what you are reading?' And he said, 'How can I, unless someone guides me?' And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:

        "Like a sheep that is led to the slaughter-house
        Like a lamb that is dumb in front of its shearers,
        Like these He never opened His mouth.
        He has been humiliated and has no one to defend Him.
        Who will ever talk of His descendents
        Since His life on earth has been cut short?"
        (Is.53:7-8, LXX/JB)

      "So the believer/faithful one answered Philip and said, 'I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Yah'shua (Jesus) to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the believer/faithful one said, 'See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptised?' Then Philip said, 'If you believe with all your heart, you may.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is the Son of Elohim (God).' So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the believer/faithful one went down into the water, and he baptised him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) caught Philip away, so that the believer/faithful one saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus (Ashdod). And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea" (Acts 8:26-40, NKJV).

    The Ethiopian Official was Not a Eunuch

    I am sure that you will have noticed immediately that not only have I corrected the Divine Names but I have corrected the status of the Ethiopian Chief Treasurer, for your English and Swahili Bibles almost certainly say that this Ethiopian Treasury official of the Queen of Ethiopia was a eunuch - a castrated man. And neither was he a homosexual because he was a 'eunuch' as is claimed by 'gay' churches [1]. He was absolutely no such thing. And I will tell you why. There are two reasons - one a matter of Torah and the other a matter of translating either Hebrew or Aramaic into Greek.

    Why Was the Ethiopian Visiting Jerusalem?

    Now the text tell us that the Ethiopian official was going where? To Jerusalem. Why was he going there? He was going to Jerusalem to worship. Now back in those days an Ethiopian or Abyssinian could not get on an aeroplane at Addis Ababa and fly to Tel Aviv and then get a taxi to Jerusalem as we might do today. In those days such a journey was long, expensive and very dangerous indeed. There can only be one reason the Ethiopian Treasurer was traveling to Jerusalem and that was to attend one of the three mandatory annual feasts - one of the so-called Pilgrimage Feasts, namely, Pesach (Passover), Shavu'ot (Weeks, 'Pentecost') or Sukkot (Tabernacles, Booths) (Dt.16:16). We have no way of knowing which one of these he was attending but it would have been one of them. Those living very far away simply would not have made such a long and hazzardous journey for any other reason than attending one of these Torah-commanded festivals. The other moedim (appointments), as a follower of Yahweh, he would have celebrated back home in Ethiopia, in Askum, which was then its capital.

    His Personal Scroll

    Not only was this man a believer but he was evidently a wealthy one because he possessed a copy of the Torah, or at least a portion of it. They did not have printing presses in those days and the only way to obtain a copy of the Scriptures would be to pay a small fortune to Hebrew scribe and get him to make you copy. We can be pretty sure he wasn't reading a translation because he was reading it aloud and the apostle Philip overheard him and recognised the text. He, was at any rate, sitting in a chariot reading a scroll of the prophet Isaiah, this wealthy nobleman from the Imperial Court of Ethiopia.

    The Ethiopian Cannot Have Been Castrated

    Now to his condition. All the English Bibles I know of, barring a few Messianic ones which know the emet (truth), say that the Ethiopian official was a castrated eunuch. Had he been a eunuch he would not only not have been allowed to attend the Pilgrim Festivals he would have been forbidden from becoming a convert Israelite and from worshipping in the Temple! Though Isaiah prophesies a time in the future - the New Covenant - when eunuchs who observe the Sabbath, do what pleases Yahweh, and hold fast to the B'rit (Covenant) may enjoy full admission to Israel (Is.55:4-5), at that time no such person would have been allowed to be a member of the Commonwealth of Israel, let alone participate in the moedim (appointments, festivals), no matter how wealthy or powerful they may have been. This is an indisputable fact.

    A Mistranslation of M'haimna

    That is the first point. The second point is that the word for 'eunuch' in Aramaic - m'haimna - and can mean one of two things - it can either mean a 'eunuch' or it can mean a 'believer' or 'faithful one'. Thus one Hebraic translation reads:

      "And he (Philip) arose, went and he met a believer who had come from Ethiopia..." (Ac.8:27, HRV).

    The Same Error in Matthew 19

    The Greek translator was faced with a choice, as so often he was, and as a result so many mistakes have passed into our Greek New Testaments, and it was this - was he to render the word m'haimna as 'eunuch' or 'believer'? This distinction is extremely critical elsewhere as in the following passage in the Gospel of Matthew which is where, I suspect, the translator made the fateful choice as you will see. In this discourse a discussion arises over the question of divorce where Yah'shua (Jesus) tightens up the lax Pharisaic Talmudic laws that allowed a man to divorce his wife on a whim. As in Islam today, a Jewish man could divorce his wife if she burned the supper or gave him a look he didn't like. Yah'shua (Jesus) strongly condemns these Rabbis and tells His talmidim (disciples) that a man may only divorce his wife if she commits adultery. He reminds them that in the beginning there was no divorce at all! The talmidim (disciples) are stunned and in shock over the strictness of Yahweh's Torah exclaim: "It is better not to marry!" (Ac.19:10, NKJV).

    Types of Believer

    They were wrong, of course. Marriage is everywhere promoted in Scripture and singleness strongly discouraged for it is a man's duty raise up a godly seed to Yahweh! Then Yah'shua (Jesus) said something, which the Greek translators misunderstood, and this bad translation has ever since been used as a pretext for various perversions in the Roman Catholic Church system, in some quarters of Protestantism and today in the Christian homosexual community. There never were monks, nuns or celibate priests in the Kingdom of Elohim (God)! Bearing these things in mind, I am now going to put both the possible meanings of the Aramaic word m'haimna in so that you can see how the passage can mean two very different things. Bear in mind that the words surrounding this word are chosen by the translators to best fit in with the meaning as they understand it:

      "But He said to them, "All cannot accept this saying, but only those to whom it has been given: For there are {eunuchs, faithful ones/believers} who were born thus from their mother's womb, and there are {eunuchs, faithful ones/believers} who were made {eunuchs, faithful ones/believers} by men, and there are {eunuchs, faithful ones/believers} who have made themselves {eunuchs, faithful ones/believers} for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He who is able to accept (it), let him accept (it)" (Matt.19:11-12, NKJV/NCV).

    The Private Parts are Sacred

    Now you have to understand that in the Torah castration is regarded as an abomination - indeed the Torah specifically says that if two men get into a fight and the wife of one of the men seizes the private parts of the man her husband is fighting so that he can no longer have children, that she is to have her hand cut off!

      "If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals (mabush), then you shall cut off her hand; your eye shall not pity her" (Deut.25:11-12, NKJV).

    This is the only mitzvah (commandment) in Torah where the cutting off of a hand is given in punishment. That is because a man's seed is sacred - it is his future generations.

    John the Baptist a Believer in the Womb

    So the idea that Yah'shua (Jesus) or His Father would praise someone who castrated themselves is absurd to say the least. So what did Yah'shua (Jesus) mean in His response to the question about divorce? He says that some people are born believers or faithful ones - they believe from the day they were born and need no conversion! Can you think of anyone in Scripture who is an example of this? We are told John the Baptist was filled with the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) while still in the womb of his mother Elizabeth and that he leaped with simcha (joy) within when he sensed the presence of his cousin Yah'shua (Jesus) in the womb of His mother Mary who was visiting Elizabeth:

      "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit). Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Master should come to me? For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for simcha (joy)'" (Luke 1:39-44, NKJV).

    Believers by Self-Conversion or Hearing Others Preach and Teach

    John the Baptist, the greatest prophet of all apart from the Messiah Himself, was a believer from birth, not a eunuch. Yah'shua (Jesus) also says "there are faithful ones which were made of man" (Mt.19:12, HRV) - in other words, they were either converts or were raised as believers! He didn't say that they were castrated by other men! And finally, the Master said that "there are faithful ones which are self-made faithful ones for the Kingdom of Heaven's sake" (Ibid.) as I was when I searched for the Besorah (Gospel) myself without being 'converted' by a preacher or raised in a Christian or Messianic home.

    The Homosexual Twisting of Matthew 19

    It's also amazing how the homosexual community twists this passage too [2]. They claim Messiah was not only endorsing homosexuality but infer that He was promoting it as a superior lifestyle by effectively rewording the passage to read:

      "For there are eunuchs/gays who were born thus from their mother's womb (i.e. born gay), and there are eunuchs/gays who were made eunuchs/gays by men, and there are eunuchs/gays who have made themselves eunuchs/gays for the kingdom of heaven's sake" (Matt.19:12, NKJV).

    The Ethiopian a True Believer

    I'll not say more about these things but leave you to think about them. The reason I bring this up today is because Scripture tells us that this Ethiopian official was a m'haimna - he was a 'faithful one', a true believer and not a eunuch or a homosexual! This believer - this Torah-obedient Israelite convert - was coming up to Jerusalem and to the temple to celebrate one of the three Pilgrim Festivals! He was an Israelite just as you and I are. He was not some poor castrated slave or homosexual but a nobleman in the court of the Queen of Ethiopia.

    The Ethiopian Nobleman as East African Messianic Israel

    Now the reason I am spending a lot of time polishing up the character of this Ethiopian official is because Yahweh told me that he is a prophetic type of you - of His people in East Africa and throughout the rest of the sub-Saharan Continent! I want you to know how Yahweh views you, because the way He views you - His Torah-faithful foillowers of the Son, Yah'shua (Jesus) - is the way He viewed that Ethiopian nobleman. I want you all to know that you existed symbolically in the loins of that nobleman as his modern day spiritual descendants - and who knows, maybe some of you are his literal blood descendents too. For we know that the blood of Judah flows in the veins of many of the tribes of eastern and southern Africa so that many of you are not only adopted members into the nation of Messianic Israel but some of you may be literally Israelites too!

    The Blood of Israel in Africa Today

    Amongst the Luhya people of Kenya there is a tradition of a person called Nakuti. Some of you may have heard this. Nakuti is known as Makeda in Ethiopia. She was a queen of a 350 year-long dynasty. According to the Kebra Negast, her mother was known as Queen Ismeni. She is perhaps best known as the Queen of Sheba, an intelligent and daring woman who loved emet (truth) and who journeyed to hear more of the great wisdom of King Solomon and to ask him lots of questions! She is spoken of by Yah'shua (Jesus) as "the Queen of the South" (Mt.12:42; Lk.11:31) as a woman who, like the Ninevites in Jonas' day, had more emunah (faith) than the Jews in His day! This is a great compliment.

    Teachability and Humility

    Our Ethiopian Treasurer, like yourselves, was descended from this great and noble tradition of emunah (faith). And notice that the Ethiopian, like the Queen of Sheba, had that remarkable quality so absent today - he was TEACHABLE. And to be teachable means to possess humility; and to be humble means to be free of that devilish character-trait, pride.

    Wicked Ethiopia

    Like every nation, kindred and tongue, in Ethiopia then, as today, there was sin and there was righteousnes. And indeed in the days of Amos apostate Israel was compared to the wickedness that was Ethiopia in those days:

      "'Are you not like the people of Ethiopia to Me, O children of Israel' says Yahweh. 'Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of Yahweh-Elohim are on the sinful kingdom" (Amos 9:7-8, NKJV).

    Boastfulness in Descent

    The children of Israel, instead of relying on their emunah (faith) and Torah-obedient conduct to make them right with Yahweh, had rather been boasting and been confident that Yahweh would accept them purely on the basis of their being descended from Abraham, the Prince of Elohim (God), just as the Pharisees would later do in Yah'shua's (Jesus') day when He exposed them for their religious hypocrisy. The comparison is of apostate Israel who was now as remote from the knowledge and grace of Yahweh as pagan Ethiopia or Cush [3].

    Blessings Because of Righteous Ancestors

    Yahweh is no respector of persons (Rom.2:11), He has no favourites, no 'teacher's pets' because of their nation, race or religious calling so we must never assume that we are someone 'special'. If Yahweh has elected us to do something it's not because we are particulary good but because it's simply His decision in grace, perhaps because an ancestor like Abraham, David, the Queen of Sheba or the Ethiopian nobleman was righteous, and for their sake.

      "Therefore know that Yahweh your Elohim (God), He is Elohim (God), the faithful Elohim (God) who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His mitzvot (commandments); and He repays those who hate Him to their face, to destroy them" (Deut.7:9-10, NKJV).

    We Boast of Messiah

    We ride not only the curses of our ancestors (which we must break in blood of Messiah) but on their blessings too, blessings that carry forward "a thousand generations", so we have nothing to boast of, "except in the cross of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)" (Gal.6:14, NKJV). We shall gladly boast of Him, and of Him alone! Nevertheless, we are blessed because of the righteousness, which is by emunah (faith), of our ancestors like the Queen of Sheba, that Ethiopian nobleman and others like him. And that is why I speak of them to you today.

    The Queen of Sheba and the Blood of Israel in Africa

    The Queen of Sheba, tradition tells us in the Kebra Negast ('The Glory of Kings'), became one of the plural wives of Solomon and bore him a son, Menelik, who became the first Emperor of Ethiopia. Israelite blood from the tribes of Judah and Levi filtered throughout Ethiopia, down into Somalia and Kenya, and as far south as modern Zimbabwe where in the Buba clan of the Lemba tribe the priestly Y-chromosome gene of the priestly Levite tribe has been identified. Apparently many Israelite cohenim (priests) took African wives and so the blood of Israel has been spread throughout Africa. Indeed, the Lemba tribe possesses an artifact which is a replica of the Ark of the Covenant which they call ngoma lungundu, meaning 'the drum that thunders'. So truly the prophecy has been fulfilled that the seed of Abraham has mixed with all nations, blessing those nations!

      "Then the Malakh (Angel) of Yahweh called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, and said: 'By Myself I have sworn, says Yahweh, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son -- blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (Gen 22:15-19, NKJV).

    Don't Be Unequally Yoked

    Thus we see the cursing of becoming unequally yoked through marriage to unbelievers (2 Cor.6:14) but of the great blessing of marrying fellow believers from all the tribes and nations of the world! You only have to look at the genealogy of Messiah and modern-day Messianic Israelites to see that He had the blood of many nations in Him - Canaanite (Rahab) and Moabite (Ruth), and Egyptian (Asenath) in the seed of Joseph, to give but three examples. As a son of Joseph I know I have African-Egyptian ancestry and I am delighted by it! So I believe we will be gathering in Africans in whom the blood of Abraham is scattered in large numbers though we will probably never know who is who - and indeed we do not need to know lest we start boasting in the flesh. What matters - and is the proof of who we are - is that Yah'shua (Jesus) is Master of our hearts, that we obey His mitzvot (commandments) and that the fruits of the Ruach (Spirit) are in us.

    An Elder of the Lemba tribe, Zimbabwe

    The Queen of Sheba as a Type of the Bride of Messiah

    Before we return to our Ethiopian nobleman, a last word about the Queen of Sheba who is a type of the Body and Bride of Messiah - us. She traveled a huge distance in order to listen and learn. Since today we have started correcting some of our bad English translations, I think it important to correct another, and this time about women. No doubt you are familiar with the passage I am about to read out to you, which was given in the context of women wearing headcoverings to show proper submission to their husbands (since it denotes the spiritual covering of their husbands over them), to Yahweh when praying and prophesying, to signal malakim (angels) who they are, and also to avoid the confusion that can sometimes result from prophesying and speaking in tongues in the wrong way:

      "Let your women (gunaikes) keep silent in the messianic assemblies (churches), for they are not permitted to speak (lalein); but they are to be submissive, as the Torah (Law) also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak (lalein) in the messianic assembly (church)" (1 Cor.14:34-35, NKJV).

    Should Women Be Silent?

    This is not an instruction that all the sisters should be mute in assemblies such as this. Remember, the context is a wife's submission to her husband in all things, in the same way as to Messiah (Eph.5:22), as clearly indicated in Torah, and how to deal with tongue-speaking. The Greek word we translate as "women" in most English Bibles, gunaikes, can also mean "wives", which is clearly what is means here since the context is a wife's submission to her husband and not to all or other men (which would be adultery). Moreover, the Greek word we usually translate as "speak" in most English Bibles, lalein, literally means, "utter sounds that are incoherent and which are not understood by others". In other words, they are not to babble non-sensical gibberish such as is found in the charismatic churches because tongues is a known foreign language. As I told your Pastor last month, it is my prayer that when I one day visit you in person that I will be given the gift of tongues so that I can preach to you in Swahili! It is shameful - a disgrace - Paul tells us, to babble nonsense. Finally, a woman's chief instructor is her husband, not a Sabbath School Teacher or even her Pastor, and if she is uncertain about a teaching she obtains in an assembly, she should ask her husband at home. And if a husband doesn't know, he should ask his Pastor and study the matter out!

    The Queen of Sheba presenting herself before King Solomon's Court

    The Queen of Sheba Had Many Questions

    I am sure the Queen of Sheba was not mute. She asked her husband-to-be a lot of "hard questions" (2 Chron.9:1, NKJV) so you husbands had better do your homework because that is part of your responsibility as you are the heads of your wives. It is not her business to teach you because then she dishonours her head. So be a Solomon to her - get to work on your studies, become an habitual student of the Bible! And if you're a true man, you'll love your woman's questions, provided they are asked with respect and in humility, and not in a bossy spirit. Husbands are to love their wives as Yah'shua (Jesus) loves the Messianic Community, and wives are not to be bossy toward their husbands, but submit, even as we are all called to submit to Messiah as His allegorical 'wife'.

    Women May Teach and Preach

    So Paul is not here saying a woman cannot teach or preach to other men and women provided she is under the authority of her husband, being properly submitted, and has his approval, permission and blessing to do these things. That is the order of business in the Kingdom - learn from your ancestor the Queen of Sheba! [4]

    Sheba, as Solomon's wife, showing her husband proper respect

    Conclusion

    I have much more to say here next time, and in Tanzania next week, about our belovèd Ethiopian nobleman but we are out of time today. I would ask your Pastor to relay my second message, along with this one, next week in Tanzania as well as to you here in Kenya tomorrow or the day after. Yahweh has chosen you to be a humble, informed, love-filled people with pure lips to spread the fullness of the Besorah (Gospel) to the spiritual descendants in East Africa of the Queen of Sheba and the Ethiopian nobleman. For

      "you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a qadosh (holy, set-apart) nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of Elohim (God), who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy" (1 Peter 2:9-10, NKJV).

    Amen.

    Continued in Part 2

    Endnotes

    [1] 'Would Jesus Discriminate?' website, The early church welcomed a gay man, Jesus Metropolitan Community Church
    [2] 'Would Jesus Discriminate?' website, Jesus said some are born gay, Jesus Metropolitan Community Church
    [3] Black Hebrews & Jews: Fourteen Exegetical Errors Exposed
    [4] For a deeper study of this question, see Women in the New Testament Messianic Assemblies: A Look at Female Ministerial Rôles

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    Last updated on 5 January 2014

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