Sermons Series 3:41, 24 June 2006
The Sevenfold Nature of Man
Biblical vs. Occultic Mysticism
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
"Yah'shua [said]: 'Love Yahweh your Elohim with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind'. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' All the Torah (Law) and the Neviim (Prophets) hang on these two commandments" (Matt.22:37-40, NIV).
We begin our study today on the sevenfold nature of man by reading the 'Two Great Summaries' by Yah'shua of the law and the prophets to remind us of the the grand, cosmic moving principle both of Yahweh Himself and of this Mishpachah. As we look at them we are immediately struck by serveral things.
Firstly, our love of the Elohim and our love of our neighbour involves the whole person - heart, soul and mind - the whole 'you'. In a word, our passion - the sum total of all that we are. Yahweh wants no part of us dissociated in our loving. He does not want our soul or 'being' divided up into parts or compartments. This pure, agapé love has no ultimate meaning unless there is total involvement of the self. And clearly, if the whole of the self is to be involved in worship and service there cannot be demonic entities in the way channelling off these precious spiritual resources elsewhere. To love fully means first of all to be delivered fully, and to be delivered fully means nothing less than total commitment. You cannot fulfil these two New Covenant Commissions, if I can call them that, until you have been willing to go all the way and surrender yourself, body and soul, to the Most High. Of course you have to start somewhere, and every act of surrender to Yahweh leads to move love in your life and more blessings.
Secondly, in order to love Yahweh and our neighbour in the correct manner there has to be what I call a 'hierarchy or order of love'. Love is not just a tap which you turn on when you love your neighbour and that is why we have the Ten Commandments and the rest of the mitzvot to show us the true order of loving and of being loved. There has to be a graded filter. I cannot, for example, in loving my neighbour suddenly love him with my whole sexuality or we would end up in hippie-like free love behaviour. Thus one of the 'filters' exludes all sexual love from anyone who is not our spouse. Remember, the two Great Commandments are summaries of ten governing principles which are themselves summaries of hundreds of other details or minutae. To love passionately and spontaneously therefore implies training and disciplining in all the commandments and perhaps could be compared to an irrigation system that ensures that the right amount of water arrives at the right places at the right time. This discipling can't be effected in a day. It requires 'raising' - it takes time and it takes authorities. And if that has raised some eyebrows, I need to explain.
The Torah requires that fathers teach their children daily. Yahweh's mind and heart need to be heard, seen, touched, felt and experienced on a daily basis and in normal conversation. It needs to be schooled into us in such a way that it becomes tangible, real and - above all - desirable. We can't have our secular life in one compartment and our spiritual in another - in Yahweh's system of things, everything is holy, everything is "Dedicated to Yahweh" (Ex.28:36; 39:30; 23:18). And what cannot be dedicated to Yahweh must be excluded. This means you can dedicate your car or a pen to Yahweh, but not a bottle of whisky or a porn magazine. You can dedicate your TV set to Him but not necessarily a TV channel. You can dedicate a lamb stew to Him but not a pork chop. You can dedicate your marriage unions to Him but not an act of fornication or adultery, or union during a wife's menstruation. You can dedicate your service to Him but not a demonic craving to be number #1 in your life. These are some illustrations.
Our children need to witness our passionate example - something deep in them needs to be touched and awakened so that they are moved by the same fire that drives all of Yahweh's people to serve others of their own free will. In short, the parents need to inspire their children by their own inspirational living. And to be inspirational, you have to be living your life unashamedly dedicated to Yahweh and to the full. You need to set a good example. For that reason I will respect a humanist or someone from a different religion who involves his whole passion, however deceived or wrong I think they may be, than a half-hearted, lukewarm Christian who is only going through the motions of a ritual life, living out his faith symbolically. That is why Yahweh despises lukewarmness and describes such half-hearted people as worthy only of being vomited out (Rev.3:16, NIV). Yahweh wants life because He is life. He wants your all because only then can He give you His all, because only then will you be in a position to receive it.
It takes many years to raise a child and it takes many years to raise a convert coming out of the world. It's not enough, as we have been seeing in our series of studies on the festivals, to have a change of heart and expect everything to be fine thereafter. That's like finding a water source with which to irrigate the desert but having no irrigation system. That's like having sunlight but no photosynthesis system in a plan to convert the light energy into chemical energy. With intelligence, planning and hard work, an irrigation system can be built that will turn the desert into productive farmland. But without this, it can go to waste. One of the great teachnological accomplishments of the Israelis has been their success in turning the desert into productive land. Everywhere they settle they make the desert fertile. This Yahweh loves. This Yahweh applauds. This Yahweh wants in us. He wants to give us the source of His love and passion but He expects the parents to prepare the irrigation system by following His instructions in Torah. And of course the parents need to have an irrigation system in place in their lives else it's all theory in the head, and when the children see that their parents aren't living what they are teaching, they will rightly see them as hypocrites and lose faith in both them and possibly Yahweh too.
However, before He accomplish His goal with us, there is one very important truth that has to be clearly understood, underlined, and repeated again and again, because without it we will not only fail but come under condemnation. So I am going to say this twice to you in the hope you will retain this as the first principle of this sermon: Whenever Yahweh gives you a fruit to eat from the Garden, He expects you to plant a new tree, look after it, and make it fruitful for the blessing of others. I repeat: Whenever Yahweh gives you a fruit to eat from the Garden, He expects you to plant a new true, look after it, and make it fruitful for the blessing of others. And the seed for that new tree is in the fruit. He makes this very clear, forcefully and even alarmingly clear, in the incident with the fig tree:
"Early in the morning, as He was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. Seeing a fig tree by the road, He went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then He said to it, 'May you never bear fruit again!' Immediately the tree withered" (Matt.21:18-19, NIV).
A person who is not bearing fruit is living for him- or herself only. He is loving himself but having little or no regard for his neighbour, and certainly precious little for His Heavenly Father. If you are shocked by Yah'shua's treatment of this tree - if you think this a display of supernatural bad-temper or irritation based on some fleshy impulse, then you are far away from understanding the truth.
I remember being favourably struck by a leader from another religion who always saved the seeds from the apples he ate and planted them. He understood the law of fruitfulness and certainly lived it to the full. Every seed has the potential for a tree, and every tree can bring forth fruit to bless others with.
The fruits of Yahweh are His gifts to you - love, happiness, peace, warmth, contentment, wisdom, loving-kindness, and so on. They are given freely on but one condition: that what you receive you use to serve others. It's the same with forgiveness for sin - Yahweh offers us free pardon through Yah'shua on condition that we forgive others the wrongs they to do us - on condition that we hold no debt-notes against them (Mt.6:12; Lk.11:4). In other words, there are no debt-collectors in the Kingdom of Heaven. Likewise, there are no trees or people in the Kingdom of Heaven who do not produce fruit. Fruitless trees are only fit for burning because they will whither away. That is why Yahweh did not design us to be celibate but instituted the principle of marriage in the Garden of Eden so that our first parents could be fruitful like the Garden around them. And let's be perfectly clear about something else - what Yah'shua did to that fig tree was to curse it, just like Yahweh cursed the creation because Adam and Eve spat in His face. Firstly, Eve went off alone without her head and covering and at first listened to, and then obeyed, the serpent. Then Adam went and listened to, and then obeyed, His wife! Everything was back-to-front. Yahweh gave our first parents everything they could possibly have wanted - they could do anything they wanted except to eat from one tree. There was only one rule or law in the Garden, which actually is even a summary of the Two Great Commandments that Yah'shua gave His disciples. And that law was, and still is: Do not partake of deadly things - things that lead to spiritual death. Do not yield to the desire to eat, know or experience evil in any degree, because the enemy of your souls will lace it with good things to conceal his ultimate, murderous design. Do not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of good and evil. Adhere to - eat only of - the good! Because Yahweh is good. Everything He made He pronounced 'good' in the seven days of creation.
How does one eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil? One goes to an impure source of wisdom under the deception that it will give us something 'more' than Yahweh offers. And we usually do this because we buy into that very old lie that Yahweh is holding something good back from us, which implies that He does not, in fact, love us but wants our loyalty and obedience only for some selfish reason which will somehow deprive us of happiness or our ability to realise our full potential. In short, this deadly tree offers us the illusiory promise of independence and self-government. The truth is, there is no such thing, as I have told you before many times. Self-independence simply moves you from Yahweh's Kingdom of Light and into Satan's Kingdom of Darkness. You simply exchange a loving and just Lord for a selfish and murderous one. We forfeit thousands of good trees, including the Tree of Life, for one poisonous one in making that 'declaration of independence'. Moreover, that bad tree, once its seed is planted in the garden of your soul, will turn that garden into a wasteland where darkness reigns by day as well as by night.
We have devoted much time over the last year discovering and sharing all that Yahweh has told us about the seven Ruachs or Spirits of Yahweh (Rev.1:4; 31:1; 4:5; 5:6; Prov.9:1). And we have much more to share with you about Them in our continuing expositions of the seven festivals. All seven Ruach's are female expressions of Yahweh's own heart, reflecting His own sevenfold nature. In each Ruach one of those natures is exemplified and amplified. By looking at each Ruach we see an aspect of His Heart revealed sequentially as we progressively surrender our beings to Him. From Passover to Tabernacles (Pesach to Sukkot), we come to a deeper understanding not only of who He is but also of His order. And we repeat this annually until we have learned the lessons contained within them and made the symbols into spiritual reality in our lives.
Naturally, as one would expect, we find Satan counterfeiting everything, so that the same sacred principles are repeated in his own dark order and inverted completely. Throughout the Middle East, from ancient times, we see this in, for example, the mystery pagan religions which frequently offered a sevenfold initiation into the demonic world, posing as light, and truth. The Sumerian cult of Inanna, also known as Ishtar and Astarte, the pagan 'mother goddess' or 'queen of heaven' (Jer.7:18; 44:17-19,25), has a sevenfold initiation known as the 'dance of the seven veils'. Concealed in modern times as a striptease act, it is, in fact, a sevenfold rape by Satan of the human soul though posing, predictably, as a seven-step spiral of astrological enlightenment. Many believe it was a seductive dance performed by Salome in front of Herodias and it may well have been that which induced Herodias to offer her anything she wanted, up to to half his kingdom (Mk.6:23), and which led to the death of John the Baptist. At any rate, it was carnal and devilish. A very potent and dangerous occultic initiation ceremony, based on a reversal of divine principles and used today in satanism, has been obscured by the entertainment makers in such movies as Indiana Jones and the Seven Veils.
So what is the heavenly truth about the sevenfold nature of man and of Yahweh and how has Satan perverted it? For those of you coming out of an occult background, as well as for those of you who know nothing about this, I think you will find today's discussion interesting, particularly as the corrupted occultic version has worked its way into Jewish mysticism, kabbalah and Judaism in general. To begin with, Satan has, of course redefined the Godhead and abstracted divine Persons in the Godhead into impersonal forces respresented by the cosmos itself, usually the planets. The effect of this has been to persuade people to worship an impersonal cosmos as Elohim instead of the Creator Himself, even leading them to believe that they, as part of the Cosmos, are somehow also 'God' or 'divine'. This false religion is called pantheism and is basis of many religious teachings including Hinduism, Buddhism, paganism and the New Age Movement. It should also be remembered that Satan has mutated his upside-down system in numerous ways, employed different names, and generally tries to sow confusion, but there is enough of the original dark blueprint left in all false religion for those who like to compare them to easily find unifying themes which is to be exploited by their proponents to promote a 'one world religion' based on these themes. You'll see the parallels later if I have time today.
To begin with, Satan has inverted and altered the Godhead in several ways. For those deep into his dark mysteries like hard-core satanists, he has simply co-opted the Father position for himself, and the 7 Ruachs he has replaced with his own 'brides' or 'consorts', 7 demonesses whom you have heard me speak of often. Including Lilith, Hecate, Jezebel, Choronzon and Morena. But for a different group of people, the soft-core neo-pagans, Wiccans, New Agers and others, he has created a slightly different system that directly mocks the Holy Order. In place of the Father there is a supreme mother known as the 'goddness' (in Hebrew, 'Elat) of which Astarte is the best known in the Semitic world, commonly called 'Maia' today, and the 'horned god' ('El) who is the inferior male consort, often called 'Pan' or something similar. In this system there is a double sevenfold - seven female 'deities' (presiding) and seven male (subservient) 'deities' known as the ba'aloth and ba'alim (female and male Baals or 'lords', respectively) in the Hebrew system because in occultic systems there must be perfect balance or equilibrium whether between female and male (yin-yang) or between good and evil.
Not so in Yahweh's. Yahweh's syetm is creative, and to be creative you need tension. For instance, water only flows from a high place to a low one naturally-speaking. The 'tension' or kinetic energy is supplied by the force of gravity. There are balances when at rest, but we are only to rest once in every seven time periods whether they be days of the week or sacred festivals. We are to work six days a week and rest on the Sabbath. We begin our wandering out of spiritual darkness represented by Egypt on the first festival of Pesach and "work out [our] salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil.2:12) for five more before we finally enter the Promised Land of complete deliverance and rest at Sukkot. The Book of Revelation accordingly speaks of seven successive overcomings, each of which brings a blessing, with the seventh one bringing total rest from striving to the soul (Rev.2:7,11,26; 3:5,12,21; 17:14; 21:7). These overcomings we attain by surrendering to Yah'shua by grappling with the carnal nature and handing over its claim to dominion to Him. The result is that He has full control in our lives.
In neopaganism and related philosophies and religions the exact opposite path is followed. By supposedly harnassing planetary 'rays' (in fact, demons), the initiate acquires 'power' and goes through a series of tests much as the mythical Hercules did in his various 'labours'. All the glory in this contest goes to self and the heavenly powers are merely servants in the process of the soul realising its inherent divinity or 'christ-self' as the New Age versions of counterfeit Christianity put it. We find twists of this occultic doctrine in the charismatic movement where it is often believed that the 'Holy Spirit' is a power 'deposited' with the believer to be 'used' for various purposes.
The goals of the neopagans are actually almost identical to those of Messianic Israelites. It's the means that are totally different. They speak of seven gifts - life, wisdom, fertility, beauty, dominion, wealth and peace - which they believe are mediated by the forces emanating from the heavenly bodies which they call the 'seven plantary powers'. These, they believe, supply the spiritual tools that enable a man to find enlightenment, full conscious-awareness or 'gnosis'. Modern-day Hebrew kabbalism is built on such principles which is borrowed from the Merkabah mystics whose doctrines and practices arose in Babylon during the Jewish exile. Like the Kabbalists who succeeded them in the Middle Ages, they taught and practiced a dangerous spiritual journey through various 'celestial hierarchies' to the very throne of God Himself. What they did not know, because their system was occultic in origin, was that their 'ascent' to God was in fact a descent to Satan. They built an occultic system, borrowed from Babylonian mysteries while in exile, and fused it with the symbol of Ezekiel's chariot (Heb. Merkavah). This same 'chariot' has been used by modern science fiction religionists to postulate various UFO theories, popularised by the fraudster Erich von Däniken in his best-selling book, Chariots of Fire, who lied about archeological finds to justify his theories. Ezekiel saw a representation of the heavenlies, which we will examine another time, but which had nothing to do with any 'mystical ascent' to Yahweh or UFOs.
These mystics believe that through their own meditations, astral travel, and utilisation of various cosmic forces, they can climb a seven-stepped mountain to heaven, each step or sphere being associated with a state of enlightened consciousness to which they aspire. What they are doing is seeking self-realisation, the very opposite of Yahweh's universe and reality. For we are not trying to realise self but surrender it, and all its baneful ways, to Yahweh. For us, it is a journey of seven surrenderings of ego so that we can have Yah'shua will within us as Sovereign Lord. For the mystics, the goal is the discovery a mythical ultra-ego which happens to be Satan himself, the ultra-egotist and father of lies. It is the desire of the mystic to experience these different levels until he attains to the 'ultimate experience', total self-realisation. He is, in fact, an existentialist - his perception of truth is based on his own experience, and not necessarily on any ultimate reality outside himself. You might say that we, by contrast, are the 'Ultra-Realists', since we believe Yahweh is the 'Ultimate Reality'. The seven steps of the mystic are (1) imagination (dreams), (2) Reason, (3) Passion, (4) Bliss (love), (5) Divine courage, (6) Divine compassion, and (7) Divine knowledge or gnosis. All of which sounds very noble and altruistic but is based on a fatal lie: the exaltation of self and the exclusion of the true Elohim in the divine system of things. Thus they will 'love' in order to attain a gnostic enlightenment for themselves, rather then loving for love's sake and forgetting self, as Yah'shua taught. For them, like Kabbalists, Yahweh or an equivalent is merely an impersonal 'emanation', like waves coming mysteriously 'from' the ocean, but not a real Person with whom you have have an intimate relationship. To occultists, the various 'names' of 'God' are but different 'emanations' - El, Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai, and so forth
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1. The First or Rishon Principle
For the occultist, the lunar ray is the first enlightening principle which, they believe, manififests in dreams and psychic phenomena. Through the constructive use of their imagination, they believe that they will get the gift of life. The gift is associated with the Greek goddess Selene, Luna in the Roman system, Sîn in the Babylonian, or the moon.
The truth is that Life comes not from the exercise of our imagination or turning to demons posing as pagan moon deities, but as a free gift of Yahweh through trusting in Yah'shua. Physically, man is the bearer of the seed that leads to the production of new life in the form of children. He has not 'earned' it, however - he is born with it as a gift of Elohim. And whilst it is perfectly true that the moon does have an influence on us by virtue of its gravitational pull on the earth - in the tides, effecting biochemical activity of the body, and so on - its light and energy is derived from the sun, which it reflects. And the sun is itself a creation of Yahweh. So what Satan has done has chopped out Yahweh and taught the lie that there are inherent and independent powers in the heavenly bodies which we can co-opt through dreams and psychic phenomena to advance us spiritually.
Yahweh is the first or Rishon principle in man and without Him there is no life whatsoever. We obtain true Life through Yah'shua His Son through faith in His Name and by by surrendering our life to Him. By that means we are reborn and can start a new life and spiritual development in Him. We commemorate this principle at Pesach or Passover.
2. The Second or Shanee Principle
The second principle according to the occultist is Wisdom which he believes he can acquire through the 'Mercurial ray', Hermes in the Greek system, or Woden/Odin in the Germanic one. This, they believe, manifests in physical laws, DNA and communication systems in nature. The occultist believes he can acquire wisdom through ritual magic, learning and teaching the arcane arts.
Wisdom, however, is a gift of Yahweh and is mediated through the seven-fold Ruach haQodesh. It is acquired, first, by trusting and surrendering to Yahweh through Yah'shua by faith, and then by studying and diligently applying Yahweh's Law or Torah to daily living, teaching and witnessing to others, praying and worshipping Him. As the first principle is a bit like the supply of water, so the second is a bit like the irrigation system I spoke of earlier. The second stap is applied faith - use of the free gift acquired simply by trusting. The second is an obedient response to initialø faith, and is continuing faith. We commemorate this at Chag haMatzah or the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
The Third or Shleshi Principle
The third principle according to the occultist is Fertility which he believes is mediated by the 'Venusian ray', Aphrodite in the Greek system, Freya in the Germanic, and Ishtar in the Babylonian. It's from this we get the concept of the 'heavenly dancer', sacred prostitution, and similar things. This principle, they believe, manifests in nature through sexual selection, diversity and evolution. The occultist believes he can aquire sexual power or fertility through ritual sex (such as tantric yoga or satanic sexual abuse), music, art, ecstasy and inspiration.
Fertility, however, is a free gift of Yahweh. It is acquired physically through birth and pre-programmed by Him into our genes and psyche. It did not 'evolve'. It is the power to reproduce. It all happens automatically after a few simple actions on our part. This same power is also given to us spiritually through Yah'shua who is the power of multiplcation. It is the gift of fruitfulness. Everything of us that we return to Yah'shua is multipled and then returned to us. The fruit of surrendering is multiplied love, multiplied life, multiplied passion. In Yah'shua things grow and grow, and multiply and multiply. We celebrate this each year at Yom haBikkurim or the Day of Firstfruits.
The Fourth or Revee Principle
The fourth principle according to the occultist is Beauty which he believes is mediated by the 'Solar ray', Helios in the Greek system and Shamash in the Babylonian. In the physical world, he claims, this is manifested in light, growth, warmth and daytime. The occultist believes he acquires spiritual beauty through enlightenment, love and harmony.
Beauty is likewise a gift from Yahweh that comes through Yah'shua the more and more we surrender to Him. It is not acquired by our own efforts and not by human love, but the love that comes from Yah'shua alone, He who loved us first and enables us to love in the first place. Yahweh lays emphasis on beauty of character before all else which comes only as we mirror Him through submission to His Son Yah'shua (1 Pet.3:4). We celebrate beauty each year at Shavu'ot or Pentecost - the harmony of Yahweh's divine principle in their divine order in Torah which, when written on the heart by the pen of the Ruach haQodesh, leads to inner beauty of soul..
The Fifth or Chamashee Principle
The fifth principle according to the occultist is Dominion which he belives is mediated by the 'Martial or Martian ray', Ares in the Greek system and Nirgal in the Babylonian. In the physical world, this manifests as fire, drout, hunting, war and sacrifice, and in the spiritual as self-discipline, courage and justice.
Dominion is also a biblical principle but in a much different way. Adam and all men have been given the 'dominion mandate', to rule over all creates on the earth and all plant life, and be a steward over it (Gen.1:26-30). But as far as he himself is concerned, all dominion or rulership is to be given to Yahweh through Yah'shua. Man is not to rule over himself but Yahweh is to be his King. And he is not to rule over other men unless Yahweh appoints him. He is, however, to rule over his flesh but not in his own strength, but Messiah's. He is to be a warrior, but in the spirit, using the weapons of the Ruach, not physical weapons of war. Our weapons are not carnal (2 Cor.10:4). The principle of dominion is remembered at Yom Teruah or the Day of Trumpets. It announces impending victory following successful warfare against the flesh and the invisible powers and principalities that oppose us and Yahweh (Eph.6:12).
The Sixth or Sheshi Principle
The sixth principle according to the occultist is Wealth which he believes is mediated by the 'Jovian or Jupiterian ray', Zeus in the Greek system, Thor in the Germanic and Marduk in the Babylonian. In the physical world, this manifests as rain, eating, abundance and friendship, and in the spiritual as mercy, generosity and compassion.
In the biblical system, all wealth is ultimately under the control of Yahweh and He apportions it even as He will. Spiritual wealth as understood by mercy, generosity and compassion all derive from Yah'shua - man does not possess these naturally, and such as he does possess when he is born comes from the Light of Messiah which is in everyone coming into the world (Jn.1:9). These are not qualities than can be earned but only received as gifts from El Elyon, the Most High. The principle of wealth is remembered in Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, because at time we are judged for our yeart's conduct to see whether the wealth we have acquired is carnal or spiritual, and whether we have used it for selfish or altruistic ends, in the service of man as god or Yahweh as the legitimate Owner of all things. Whatever comes from Yahweh has to be returned to Him, and is in its turned returned multiplied and overflowing (Ps.23:5).
The Seventh, Shibah or Sabbath Principle
The seventh and final principle according to the occultist is Peace which he belives is mediated by the 'Saturnine ray', Kronos in the Greek system, Ea in the Babylonian, and Shiva in the Indian. In the physical world, he claims, this manifests as experience, rest, renewal, the night and time itself, and in the spiritual as liberation, freedom and Gnosis or Knowledge.
However, all peace or Shalom comes from Yahweh who is also known as Yahweh Shalom, or Yahweh our Peace. For the occultist, pagan and gnostic, salvation is through knowledge, but for the Christian it is by faith from beginning to end - from the first Rishon principle to the last Shibah or Shabbat (Sabbath) principle. Man cannot earn his salvation - he cannot work for it, or find liberation and freedom by his own efforts. These too are gifts of Yahweh. Shalom does not come through striving but surrendering. The principle of shalom is remembered each Sukkot or Festival of Booths, and indeed each seventh or Sabbath Day. And though it is great day of celebration, in which marriages are contracted, and people feast joyously, yet it is conducted in great inner peace. The spiritual war is over, the goal - marriage - has been obtained, and the soul is perfectly at peace - not by itself, but in Yahweh and in our marriage companions, and in the intimate fellowship of the Redeemed, the community of Messianic Israel.
True peace or Shalom is not about 'Gnosis' or 'knowledge' - Yahweh warned against this in the story of Eden when Eve charted an independent course from Yahweh and her husband Adam and followed the serpentine, demonic route to 'Gnosis' that was offered her in the form of a deadly fruit called the 'Knowledge of Good and Evil'. Since that day mankind, in rebellion against the Most High and only source of true Life, has been vigorously pursuing self-realisation and self-exaltation as the means to fulfilment and happiness. He has created, under demonic influence, many different systems of religion and philosophy which promise the original lie advanced by the snake in Eden. In rejecting Yahweh, His Torah, His Messiah, and his Covenant Nation, he has instead turned to himself - or to demonic powers lyingly promising self-glory, wealth, sex and power - and has pursued a course of self-worship and self-exaltation. He has created millions of mini-universes of independent truth, so-called, proclaiming that each man is his 'own truth' based solely on his own experience. Never mind that the same reality is experienced in different ways, re-interpreted, and proclaimed as a million different things by a million different people. Never mind that there is no 'harmony' outside each man's private spiritual universe, because when you are in love with yourself, and are a prisoner of the Narcissus complex, you only care about yourself anyway. "If it works for you, go for it", is the empty slogan of our time. Let every man seek his own god, be his own god, and act as though he were the independent ruler of his own private universe. The same tragic condition existed at the end of the period of the Judges where it is written: "In those days there was no sovereign in Israel - everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Josh.21:25, ISRV).
Reality is very different. Reality is that there is only one existence, one truth, one way, one life. The laws in one part of the universe are the same everywhere else in that universe. The laws built into our DNA coding, our human make-up, are identical in every human being, no matter what his race or origin. And human nature is the same in every man - fallen, predictable, vain, arrogant, self-seeking and destructive. Beyond man, yet seeking to be a part of Him, is a principle called Eternal Life, which man was designed for and may yet receive, and return to the state for which he was made. It is the only state that will make him happy, fulfilled, and at peace. The route to it is through a Divine Person, Yah'shua the Messiah, who is offering it to you today as His free gift if you will but come to Him, surrender your life and self-sovereignty, and receive it from Him. It can't be given by men or by churches, even though men and churches have a rôle in assisting you along the path. Yah'shua says:
"I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:6, NIV).
He also said:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matt.11:28-30, NIV).
That invitation is extended to you today if you have never truly received Him, so that you may enter the first or Rishon principle and get a real life - a life of living for Him and for others, as others live for Him and for you. Amen.
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 17 March 2007
Last updated on 17 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved