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Sermons Series 3:54, 9 September 2006
The Third Wave
Part 8: The Fires of Yahweh
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Click here for Part 7
I wonder if you're one of those persons who is fascinated by fire? I know I am. One of the things I have always enjoyed doing is watching the way the flames play and how things ignite. I've been thinking about fire again this last week and Yahweh has showed me some interesting things that I want to share with you today, fire being, as you know, the current theme of this set of sermons.
Since coming to Sweden and living in the countryside, and having formerly been a city person, I have had to learn a lot. I've had to learn how to chop down trees, dry and store firewood, and kindle it economically. I've had to learn about different types of wood, which types burn best and why. And I've had to learn how to stay ahead. For instance, it's no use running out of firewood when it's raining outside and you have a long trek to the barn to get some more. Though you might think it obvious, I soon learned that lighting even moderately damp wood can cause problems.
How do you light a damp piece of firewood? Well, there are two ways you can do it. Firstly, you can stand it in a draughty place where fresh air can blow through it. The air can be cold or warm, it doesn't matter, though obviously warmer air will dry it faster. If it's really hot, then you don't need such a draught. So in a way there are two other options within this first one - draught or heat. It may take days or weeks to dry wood out this way, depending on the weather conditions.
People who have sin problems, and especially those disconnected from their hearts, can metaphorically take years to dry out sufficiently before they are ready to be kindled and ignited by the love of Elohim. The elements of the weather are a bit like the trials and vicissitudes of life. Here in Sweden people cut their wood early in the spring and leave it outside in the open, sometimes with a tarpaulin covering it. Only after it has been dried for some weeks do they bring it inside and stack it up neatly in their barns for winter usage. Of course, if it rains while the wood is outside, then the process of drying can take longer.
The majority of people in the world are like that. People can wander through life rejecting Yah'shua until driven by harsh circumstances, often permitted by Him for the purpose, and finally swallow pride and say 'yes' to salvation because they tire of running. Sometimes people present themselves to Him as a whole tree trunk. Now who here has tried to set a whole tree trunk on fire? It's pretty hard, isn't it? The smaller the pieces of wood, the easier it is to light. That's why when you start a fire you either start with newspaper or tinder because this is easy to ignite.
Before we are ready to receive Yahweh He must first 'cut us down to size' and if we don't do this voluntarily, He will use situations in life to do so, situations that humble us and cut the foundation of pride from under our feet. You don't need me to list the kinds of catastrophes that reduce a person to size but He certainly uses them. And of course we usually complain saying: "Why me?" Believe me, there's always a reason.
But there is a second method to ignite a damp piece of firewood and I think you'll agree with me it's by far the best because it's fastest. If you want to get a piece of wet wood to ignite in just a few minutes put it into a blazing fire. The most stubbornly damp wood will soon have all the water in it vaporised out and be dry and crisp, first on the outside and then in its very centre. Indeed the outside will have caught fire even while it's still wet inside.
One of the surest ways for a 'damp' person whose heart is closed both to people and to Yahweh to have it opened, is to throw himself into a group of people who are burning with love for their Messiah and one another. And obviously the closer you put a piece of damp wood to a burning one, the quicker it will dry out and ignite. The burning wood will suffer loss briefly as it comes into contact with the damp wood, and its flame will diminish, but at length, when the damp wood is dry, both will burn even more brightly together. It is exactly the same with people. A 'damp' person, whose heart is closed, is naturally repulsive. Get close to that person and you will get drained. You will suffer 'loss' for a while as that person 'dries out' but once that person is kindled by the love of Messiah, you will both burn brighter. But be careful. A log that is only starting to catch fire can be put out by one that is soaking wet, which is why 'damp' people have to be put next to ones who are blazing. Also please note that if you cover a blazing log with a whole pile of wet ones the chances are that the blazing log will be put out. Clearly, if you have a whole fire of blazing logs, then you can put lots of wet ones on without the fire being put out. The mixture is crucial.
I have learned a lot about people through observing fires. I have learned the things that I have shared with you this morning. People are complicated things. We are all also at different stages of sanctification or spiritual progress. Putting new or immature converts together with people who have serious issues can destroy those converts. Indeed, only Yahweh knows who can minister to who and when. Christians often make the mistake of believing that they should just throw themselves into a situation and let Yahweh take care of the rest. By embracing people off the street and lovingly bringing them into fellowship, whoever they are, whatever their issues or dispositions and attitudes may be, is believed to be the most loving and right thing to do. In fact, it is not only stupid but reckless and foolish because it omits one essential ingredient of true discipleship: listening to what Yahweh says. Judas effectively made such a satanic misjudgement when he criticised the women for using expensive burial ointment on Yah'shua when, he claimed, the money raised by selling it could have been used to bless the poor. What was Yah'shua's retort? He said that the poor were always with them but that He would soon be gone. Peter too tried to prevent Yah'shua from going up to Jerusalem to be crucified. His heart meant well but he was doing Satan's bidding. In other words, we must set heavenly priorities, and the only way you can do that is by listening to Yah'shua and doing what He says. You will remember Mary's 'better way' when Martha demanded assistance in the kitchen.
As a young Christian I often made this mistake. I went to soaking wet pieces of wood who called me for help even when they had no interest in getting dry. The more I helped them, the more they kept dousing themselves in the water of a sinful life. They had no intention of reforming. I wasted lots of time with such people, ignoring Yah'shua's instructions to 'move on' to someone who would respond - to a damp piece of firewood who wanted to be dried out and be ignited by Him. Satan will always send Christians people who are not interested in salvation, whose demons will accuse you of being 'unloving' if you ignore or neglect them. However, whether we are unloving or not can only judged by Yahweh Himself. If He tells me to go to Jim but not to John, both of whom are calling for my attention, then I am being loving because I am obeying Him and being a good steward of my resources, which includes my time. Either it was not John's time or he is the responsibility of someone else. The world, and its demonic spirit, will always accuse. It will always be there. It will always judge you and it will always be hypocritical. Our conscience, however, must be tuned to Yahweh, not to the spirit of the world.
Yahweh knows who His people are. He knows who will respond and who will not. He knows who will be saved and who will not. Yes, we are called to deliver the message of salvation to those who will refuse to be saved, but He does not cause us to linger when they say 'no'. He calls us to move on. It may be the wrong season for them to respond, in which case He will call us back to them again to deliver the same message, but only He knows the timing. In other words, the first and most important lesson a believer must learn is HOW TO LISTEN AND RESPOND to the Ruach haQodesh. Fail to learn this lesson, and you will squander your time, energy and resources doing the wrong things, however sincerely motivated, and waste your time and the time of others. It's in that way also that pieces of firewood once ablaze can so easily go out. There is order and balance in Yahweh's Kingdom. He knows what you can, and cannot, do at any one point in time. He also knows what you should and shouldn't do. As a minister I get lorry-loads of people coming to me for help. Yahweh tells me to send most away after an initial witness or pass them on to others because I simply don't have the resources to minister to them all except in a general way through preaching and writing articles. I have learned the importance of listening to Him and doing what He says. It saves everyone a lot of grief and misery even if it does provoke Satan to accuse you through others.
What exactly is this 'ignition' process? And are there counterfeits? The answer to the second question is, yes, there are counterfeits, and to the first - the ignition process comprises, first, an opening of the human heart so that the love surrounding it can enter it. In the analogy of the fire, it is a combination of human and divine love that gets the log ablaze. Sometimes it can happen alone between one man and Yahweh, as with Paul on the road to Damascus, though even then he had been prepared by his earlier contact with other Christians. Somewhere deep within the soul of Paul, something had been moved, such a Stephen's martyrdom, but was then subsequently buried deep under the crushing weight of Talmudic Judaism. Yahweh uses human agents to kindle people. He puts them alongside believers who are passionately on fire for Him. It's His method of spiritual parenting.
Yah'shua the Bridegroom is the fire and we, the Bride, are the firewood. The same is true of literal marriage. The husband is the fire and the wife is the firewood. An unhappy mother will not usually raise happy children, but if her husband loves her, they will be kindled by the joy of their mother who is being filled by her husband.
Last week I spoke extensively on the three principle scriptural ages and how it is we as a Mishpachah are preparing for the first Tabernacles anointing. We are still in the Third Wave as I speak to you which will be going on for a little longer though it's almost over. We ended by looking at the various resurrections and saw that there were two different ones for believers - the first at the beginning of the Millennium and a second, purging one at the end of it - and at the same time as the resurrection of the unbelievers - for believers who have been unfaithful but who still trust and have not fully turned away from our Messiah. I also introduced you to the concept of purging fire and punitive fire for those of the second resurrection. Today we continue with that theme by reading from the fourth chapter of the Book of Malachi:
"'Surely the day is coming; it will burn like a furnace. All the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble, and that day that is coming will set them on fire,' says Yahweh-Elohim. 'Not a root or a branch will be left to them. But for you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall. Then you will trample down the wicked; they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day when I do these things,' says Yahweh-Elohim" (Mal.4:1-3, NIV).
The "day" of which Yahweh speaks is, of course, the Millennium. The apostle Peter also spoke of this time when he said:
"We have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19, NIV).
Yah'shua explains what this "morning star" is to the apostle John in the Book of Revelation:
"To him who overcomes and does My will to the end, I will give authority over the nations - 'He will rule them with an iron sceptre; He will dash them to pieces like pottery' - just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star" (Rev.2:26-29, NIV).
"I, Yah'shua, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the messianic community. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star" (Rev.22:16, NIV).
As "Yahweh-Elohim is a sun and shield" (Ps.84:11, NIV) to His people, according to the Psalmist, so also is He the "sun of righteousness" bringing healing. His Son Yah'shua is the "son of the morning" or the "morning star" who arises in the hearts of the children of the first resurrection, those who have overcome and do His will. These elect of Yahweh are given power over the nations to judge them, having authority from Yah'shua that Yah'shua has obtained from His Father Yahweh, when Yah'shua returns. Paul said:
"For the Master [Yah'shua] Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of Elohim, and the dead in Messiah will rise first" (1 Thess.4:16-17, NIV).
You will recall that Lucifer or Heylel, before he became haSatan (Satan) or the 'Adversary' to Yahweh, truth and righteousness, was known as the 'day star'. That is what the Hebrew heylel means which we have rendered, viâ Latin, into 'Lucifer' or 'light-bearer'. Heylel or Satan was the chief of the angels before he rebelled, and was a 'day star' or 'light-bringer'. Satan was the chief light-bearer of the angelic host who also are Yahweh's light-bearers. Satan still claims to be this even though he has been deposed and now only radiates counterfeit light with which to deceive the world. Today he is only the lord of darkness and condemned to the lake of fire, the fire that punishes.
Yah'shua alone is "the bright morning star", bringing with him light and truth to all those who will receive Him. To those who accept Him as Master and Deliverer, Yah'shua "will also give him the morning star". Yah'shua is both this "morning star" as well as its principle of light, and those who truly receive Him through overcoming obtain this principle of light in their beings. Because only He, not Satan, is the harbinger of eternal light and life.
So far we have seen Yahweh compared to the sun and Yah'shua to the "morning star" which of course is the planet Venus, the first 'star' to be seen at dusk and the last to be seen before the sun rises. What of the Ruach haQodesh? Well, you'll find it hard to identify Her without a Hebraic Tanakh or Old Testament because almost all of our Bibles obscure Her. So let's take a look and see is we can identity Her amongst the heavenly bodies:
"He is the Maker of the Bear and Orion, the Pleiades and the constellations of the south" (Job 9:9, NIV).
"Can you bind the beautiful Pleiades? Can you loose the cords of Orion?" (Job 38:31, NIV).
"You [Yahweh] who turns justice into bitterness and cast righteousness to the ground -- He who made the Pleiades and Orion" (Amos 5:7-8, NIV).
The Bible only mentions 4-6 constellations but the Pleiades are prominent. It's a pity they are not known by their Hebrew name, Keymah, which they should have been translated as and not 'Pleiades' as you will see. Those of you who are astronomers will know that the Pleiades or Keymah is a cluster of feint stars in the constellation of Taurus enveloped in nebulous material about 300 light years from the sun. They are visible just before sunrise in the spring, like Venus. The Hebrews therefore associated them with the sweet influences and burgeoning of spring in contrast to Orion which is prominent in autumn (fall) which was associated with the ushering in of winter. Why do you suppose Yahweh challenged Job to "bind the beautiful Pleiades" and "loose the cords of Orion"? Where have we heard about 'binding and loosing' before? To the apostle Peter Yah'shua said:
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (Matt.16:19; cp. 18:18, NIV).
Now Messianics, as you know, have much to say about this topic of Halakhah. To 'bind and loose' or 'asar and se'ra in Aramaic (deó and lyó in Greek), are technical terms describing things forbidden or permitted by decision of the Scribes or Torah-teachers. Here Peter is being described by Yah'shua as the ideal New Covenant Torah-teacher to whom the sacred keys of knowledge and discipline, which had been misused by the Jewish Torah-teachers (Lk.11:52), are entrusted. So if you want to know what an ideal New Covenant Torah-teacher is like, read the two epistles of Peter! However, Peter was not the only ones given these keys for we read after Yah'shua's resurrection:
"Again Yah'shua said, 'Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.' And with that He breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Ruach haQodesh. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven" (John 20:21-23, NIV).
Thus the keys of 'binding and loosing', 'forgiving and not forgiving', belong not only to Peter and here the apostles, but by extension to the whole Messianic Community that has received a true endowment of the Ruach haQodesh, and specifically to her Judges, the sons of the Firstborn, the children of the First Resurrection. Which naturally brings us back to the Pleiades and Orion which Yahweh challenged Job to "bind" and "loose", respectively. What are the Pleiades? What is Keymah? Well, it should come as no surprise to you to learn that Keymah translates as 'seven stars' or as astronomers call them today, 'the seven sisters'. To me this speaks very convincingly of the sevenfold Ruach haQodesh.
Now the Ruach haQodesh, being the Seven Mothers, operate as an echad unity. Yahweh is saying to Job: "Can you bind the beautiful Seven Sisters - the Seven Mothers? Can you create and link together in perfect harmony their echad union?" With whom do they act in concert? Who is the binding power? Speaking of the Millennial world to come, the Tabernacles Age, Yahweh said to Isaiah:
"In that [millennial] day seven women will take hold of one man and say, 'We will eat our own food and provide our own clothes; only let us be called by your name (shem). Take away our disgrace!' In that day the Branch of Yahweh will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of the survivors in Israel" (Isa.4:1-3, NIV).
This is what happens after the end-time holocaust, the Great Tribulation. Seven women are asking one man to bind them to him - a man who has a shem or 'good name' - so that their disgrace may be taken away. What is that 'good name'? It is Yah'shua - the Morning Star! And because this is the beginning of the Millennium, this man is a part of the First Resurrection, the overcomers, the rulers, the elect of the Most High. They live after the pattern of the Most High Himself, binding seven women in holy echad even as Yahweh binds the sevenfold Ruach haQodesh to Himself. Yahweh asks Job if He can do this. Well, of course he can't. He can't do it on the divine level because he is not divine and he cannot do it on a human level because he lives in the Passover Age where only three Ruachs are manifest Rishon, Shanee and Shleshi. A man with this anointing can only bind three women, just as a man with the Pentecostal anointing can only bind four.
What, then, is Orion? It appears to be the very opposite of the Pleiades. Known as 'the Hunter', it contains two first magnitude stars - Betelguese (top left, red) and Rigel (bottom right, blue). There's an enormous range of colour and brightness of these and adjacent stars which reminds us of Paul's cosmological light similitude of the three resurrection degrees:
"The sun has one kind of splendour, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendour. So will it be with the resurrection of the dead" (1 Cor.15:41-42, NIV).
Could Orion have something to do with judgement (Yom Kippur) and the kind of resurrection we shall all have at the end of the Pentecost (Shavu'ot) Age? There are three 'classes' of heavenly body here - sun, moon and stars - which, as I suggested last week, correspond to the first and second resurrections of the saved, and lastly the resurrection of the unsaved prior to being punished. It seems to me that the Ruach you possess (or don't possess) determines the kind of resurrection you receive.
Let us now return to our original passage of scripture: "But for you who revere My Name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings". Well, what does the sun consist of? First, fire, and the fire sends out light. Of light we know a great deal, because this is one of the dominant themes in the writings of the apostle John who describes Yah'shua as "the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world" (John 1:9, NKJV). But not a lot is generally understood about fire amongst Christians for whom the word has almost negative connotations. Yet what does Moses tell us?
"Has any other people heard the voice of Elohim speaking out of FIRE, as you have, and lived? ... On earth He showed you His great FIRE, and you heard his words from out of the fire" (Deut.4:33,36, NIV).
Yes, Yahweh speaks out of fire. "For Yahweh your Elohim is a consuming fire, a jealous Elohim" (Deut.4:24, NIV). Yahweh is fiery, jealous and possessive - not as carnal mortals but as the Divine Lover and Husband of His allegorical Bride, Messianic Israel. He is not passive and remote but neither is He capricious nor arbitrary like the gods of the pagans. Yet speak of His fire and most Christians shudder. Why? It is because they have been brainwashed by the 'hellfire and brimstone' preachers who, lacking His passionate love to draw men and women into the Kingdom, prefer satanic methods like frightening them in in. Instead of sinking into the Heart of the Almighty and bathing in His redeeming fire, they can think only in terms of destructive fire. And when they come across true Christians who are filled with Yahweh's passionate fire all they know what to do is scream abusively. They have been brainwashed by the gnosticism of Catholicism which has anathematised most of Yahweh's creation and pronounced it carnal and unclean. Instead these men either hide in monasteries or pulpits and pretend to be very holy by their aestheticism, exalting celibacy and extreme self-denial. And yet when Yahweh revealed Himself to Israel in the Sinai wilderness it was not to frighten them. He did not come casting red-hot boulders and lava at them but neither did He come to mollycoddle them. He came to test and refine them. As we read in one of our recent Torah portions:
"When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, 'Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have Elohim speak to us or we will die.' Moses said to the people, 'Do not be afraid. Elohim has come to test you, so that the fear of Elohim will be with you to keep you from sinning.' The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where Elohim was" (Ex.20:18-21, NIV).
People are often surprised to learn that Yahweh is surrounded by "thick darkness" because they assume only Satan is. Yet this is not the same thing. Many times in the Garden of Yahweh when I have taken people to meet with Yah'shua we have moved from a region of light and into one of temporary darkness. And then, quite suddenly, the light bursts upon you and you are greeted by this awesome sight. Yahweh surrounds Himself in darkness for several reasons. The first and most obvious one is to protect us because no man can see Yahweh and live, because His brightness is so great that it would consume us. Second, it is to act as a barrier to the impure to dissuade them from coming further, because no unclean thing can dwell in His presence either. It is a veil and it is designed to protect us.
Well the revelation of Yahweh to His people stirred up fear in them for sure such that they drew back and asked Moses to be their intermediary. Yahweh makes things difficult for us sometimes to surface our fleshy fears and so enable us to overcome them. He makes things difficult to see whether we will truly trust Him not to hurt or destroy us. He wants to burn away the satanic propaganda that He is some fearful monster who does not have our best interests at heart. Why otherwise would He say again and again to the Israelites: "Do not be afraid!" (e.g. Ex.14:13; Mt.10:28) Yahweh and Yah'shua say this over sixty times in the Bible. If He was trying to frighten us into submission, as His enemies teach, why would He repeatedly assure us and calm our fears down? It is our fleshy or carnal fear that Yahweh wants us to overcome, that unreasonable fear that is stirred up by the unknown and by the lies of the enemy. So what did Moses mean when he said: "Do not be afraid. Elohim has come to test you, so that the fear of Elohim will be with you to keep you from sinning" (Ex.20:20, NIV). It sounds as though He is saying: 'Don't be afraid, but be afraid of sinning'.
Obviously, there are two different kinds of fear, because the first makes us run FROM Yahweh whilst the second makes us run TO Him. The apostle John said: "perfect love drives out fear" (1 John 4:18, NIV) which tells us that true godly fear, when mature, is actually PERFECT LOVE. And if this true godly fear brings to pass perfect love, then it follows that the fire that Satan wants you to fear so much because it brings you TO Yahweh is the very thing you should be running straight into! Because the fire of Yahweh, when it dwells in us, is a blessing, not a cursing. The fire of Yahweh is His divine passion, the fire that dries out and ignites souls dampened by the fear of the world and the lies of Satan. This fire when it lives in our hearts leads us to want to please Him, not by compulsion, but by irresistible attraction - Satan hates this non-compulsive passion so much that he turns the hearts of men who do not follow Yahweh against it, to persecute it, and to snuff it out. He hates all life, light, and fire because it first and foremost exposes him and makes his kingdom of darkness shake. He will make the world believe that it is dangerous, destructive, 'cultic' - you name it, he'll find a scary word for it. He wants nothing better than to throw cold water onto it to put that fire out and leave its adherents lifeless, passive, indifferent and cold.
But it was because Moses had this fiery passion within his own heart that he was able to approach Yahweh fearlessly. If the fire of Yahweh makes us fearful and does not increase our faith then either something is wrong in our own hearts or our understanding of Yahweh. Or it maybe that people are talking about the wrong kind of fire - the punitive fire of hell - and scaring people off. Ministers who do that can expect a fearful judgement on themselves and there are plenty of those who talk about the 'love of God' but have never encountered it in their lives. Because of false doctrine, superstition and fear instead of love, punative fear has become the way of life of most Christians, making the kind of victorious living and unshakeable faith in Yahweh that we read of in His people in the Bible quite rare today. And ironically, those who call themselves Christians and who love to speak about Pentecost, tongues of fire and supernatural manifestations have, in most cases, never encountered this true fire, let alone met the Ruach haRevee. In fact it's amazing just how many people there are who call themselves Christians haven't met any of the seven Ruachs at all. Millions follow counterfeit spirits and belong to one of the greatest cultic deceptions in history. Millions believe in Elohim but do not follow Him because they do not trust Him. Even the demons believe - and shudder (Jas.2:19), so what is the difference between their faith and that of demons?
Every Ruach brings with Her the true fire of Yahweh. We have to learn about these one step at a time, starting with Rishon at Passover and ending with the Shegal haShabbat at Tabernacles. We have to teach the basics of Evangelical Protestantism first of all and get people rooted in the Rishon new-birth of Passover. That's why Yahweh told us in 1992 to throw out all our former teachings and start again. He warned us a year before that this would be happening:
"Thus says Yahweh: I am sending the [spiritual] fire I have promised to the New Covenant, says Yahweh, and I am burning My Church [spiritually] to see if she will stand. And if she stands then she shall go forth in power and holiness as My people, especially set apart to do a marvellous work and a wonder. But only those who have sacrificed for her shall be a part of her, for only such will possess the keys to minister salvation to those in bondage. These are the last minutes for this [third, Yom haBikkurim] degree of the Church's sanctification, and blessed are they who will enter now for they shall go forward as the standard-bearers" (Olive Branch 300:1-4; cp. 356; also see OB fn601,641).
Well, that Church did not stand. It was burned away leaving only 6 souls. We had to leave the idols and fleshy inclinations of Egyptianised Christendom masquerading as true spirituality behind and learn anew. And then He had to take us step by painful step out of false belief and into true faith. We had to learn how to properly listen to Yahweh, for as the apostle James tells us, "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Elohim" (Rom.10:17, NKJV). That means tuning out of the flesh and the instruction of demons, false teachers and their traditions, and into the Scriptures and the sevenfold Ruach haQodesh. It means renouncing all illusion and accepting only the reality of Yahweh's universe.
As you will see from the handout that you have (see table below), which traces our 20 year history from our inception in 1986 to today, we have more or less followed a sevenfold unfolding ourselves. The time from 1999 to this year, when we became Torah-observant, and which has taken seven years, has seen the greatest changes. Indeed we are today almost totally unrecognisable to the way we were in 1986. Yahweh certainly changes! And it has been a very fiery time with periods of quiet in-between.
Festival |
Ruach |
Church/Assembly Development |
Passover |
Rishon |
Restoration Christian Fellowship (RCF) 1986-8 (2y) |
Unleav. Brd |
Shanee |
Independent Church of Jesus Christ (IC 1) 1988-90 (2y) |
Firstfruits 1F |
Shleshi |
Independent Church of Jesus Christ (IC 2) 1990-92 (2y) |
Pentecost 2F |
Revee |
New Covenant Christian Fellowship (NCCF) 1992-5 (3y) |
Trumpets |
Chamashee |
New Covenant Church of God (NCCG - 1) 1995-9 (4y) |
Atonement |
Sheshi |
New Covenant Church of God (NCCG - 2) 1999-2006 (7y) |
Tabernacles 3F |
Shegal |
Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) 2006- |
As we look through the history of Israel we see a picture of constant change. After the exile and return to Jerusalem of Judah, we read the following account in Ezra:
"When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of Yahweh, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise Yahweh, as prescribed by David king of Israel. With praise and thanksgiving they sang to Yahweh:
'He is good; his love to Israel endures forever.'
"And all the people gave a great shout of praise to Yahweh, because the foundation of the house of Yahweh was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. And the sound was heard far away" (Ezra 3:10-13, NIV).
Today we are a people of many new faces with but four of us remembering how it used to be in the fomer times. Unlike the Judahites who remembered the glory of the former temple of Jerusalem before the Babylonians destroyed it, and mourned, those four of us who remain have no such feelings about the past. For the thousands of new people with us today, this is all very new with nothing to compare with. They are simply happy to see the hand of Yahweh at work. We four, however, remember the 'old days' well and have no wish ever to return to them. To us this is a time of great celebration - or will be when Sukkot finally rolls along on 7 October. For as I said last time, not only will we be celebrating the fruits of the third wave and also our 20th anniversary, but also the return of many exiles of this Mishpachah. Satan has sought to destroy us through human and demonic instruments of stumbling, just as he tried to wipe out Judah through the Amalekite Haman - so I think Purim is going to have extra meaning for us in 2007.
I have much more to tell you about Yahweh's fire which will be my theme right throughout this Teshuvah season. We cannot lie back on our laurels yet because we have not won them. There is still repentance to be made and cleansing to be done. The enemy will attempt to frighten, discourage and scatter our people and those coming to us until the very last moment, until his own table of filth is fully overturned as Yahweh promised. We are also in a grave situation here financially with no heating system for the winter, as we rapidly move into autumn (fall). With the frosts now here, it will not be long before we freeze. Yahweh has promised to provide so we are trusting in Him to make good His Word. Expect Him to stretch everyone to the last minute and then see the showers of blessings!
I end today with words of praise to our Heavenly Father, taking up the refrain of King David who said:
"Taste and see that Yahweh is good;
blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him.
Fear Yahweh, you his set-apart ones,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek Yahweh lack no good thing."
Amen.
Click here for Part 9
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 18 March 2007
Last updated on 18 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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