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Sermons Series 3:62, 28 October 2006
Authority
and the Council of Yah's Elohim
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
"Yahweh is so rich in mercy; He loved us so much that even though we were spiritually dead and doomed by our sins, He gave us back our lives again when He raised Messiah from the dead - only by His undeserved favour have we ever been saved - and lifted us up from the grave into glory along with Messiah, where we sit with Him in the heavenly realms - all because of what Messiah Yah'shua did" (Eph.2:4-6, Living Bible).
"All because of what Messiah Yah'shua did" is the theme throughout the New Testament as to the origin or our salvation and the hope of the resurrection and immortality to come. The same theme pervades the Old Testament - everything we have comes from Yahweh and everything will one day return to Him. In the New Testament Yahweh has handed over the Kingdom to the rulership of His Son. That same Testament tells us that when earth history has been consummated at the end of the Millennium, and all enemies of Yahweh have been subjugated, that Yah'shua will "turn the Kingdom over to Elohim the Father" (1 Cor.15:24, LB), like the 24 elders casting their crowns, denoting their kingdoms, before the feet of the Elohim (Rev.4:10-11). This reminds us that every good gift must return from whence it came - if Yah'shua returns His Kingdom to the Father, then it follows that we must return our 'kingdoms' to Him at some point too. The Hebraic version puts it this way:
"And then will be the end, when He [Yah'shua] delivers the Kingdom of Eloah the Father (Yahweh) when every ruler and every authority and all powers cease. For He will reign until He places all His enemies under His feet (Ps.110:1). And the last enemy (Aram. Ba'al D'baba = Heb. Ba'al Zebub), death, will be abolished. For He has subjected all under His feet. But when He says that everything has been made subject to Him (Ps.8:7), it is evident that He is excluded, who subjected all to Him. And when everything is subjected to Him, then the Son will be made subject to the One who subjected all to Him, that Eloah [Yahweh-Elohim] might be all in all" (1 Cor.15:24-28, HRV).
There are two 'types' of authority being spoken of here: first, the demonic, which the fallen angels will not return voluntarily, and so they must be subjugated by conquest - this also goes for men who have assumed authority they have not been given, or abused the authority they have received in order to oppress the righteous and each other; and second, the authority given to those who love and serve Yahweh. Either way, all designated authority must, in the end, return to the Most High, El Elyon, even that given by Him to the Son, Yah'shua. This includes the authority given to angels and to man to wage war against Yahweh's enemies. Today, the authority of Yah'shua is dispersed to many of His agents. First, to the Messiah. Second, to malakim or angels. And third, to man. Everyone operates in His own sphere of authority so long as there are enemies. What does this mean? Why do we need authority when there are enemies about? And why don't we need it when there are no enemies? Yah'shua declared:
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Ruach haQodesh, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt.28:18-20, NIV).
So here we have confirmation that Yahweh the Father gave Yah'shua the Son all - unrestricted - authority. In the Diplomatic Corps of most nations, someone who is given full authority to represent the King, President, Prime Minister or Government is known as a plenipotentiary. That authority or power is absolute. It's quite useless to try and go behind the plenipotentiary's back because to do so necessarily implies that you do not recognise the authority of the one who issued the authority in the first place. To sneak behind the plenipotentiary is to declare that the one issuing the authority lied and did not give full authority in the first place. In the establishment of Messianic Israel, Yahweh has appointed His Son Yah'shua as His Plenipotentiary. And Yah'shua in His turn has appointed husbands as the plenipotentiaries over their wives, pastors over their congregations, and apostles over the Messianic Community at large, and governments over the collection of taxes for the righteous economic maintenance of society and in maintaining righteous law and order. They are given all authority in their respective sphere provided they carry out the original instructions of the one issuing that authority. If, for example, the government of your country appoints a plenipotentiary to make peace with another country, and that plenipotentiary instead makes war, he has broken the terms of his appointment. The terms that Yahweh gave Yah'shua were that He should say and do everything that Yahweh told Him to do and say, and the terms that husbands and fathers are given by Yah'shua is that they say and do everything Yah'shua tells them to say and do to their wives and children. All authority is conditional and subject to the law made by the issuer of that authority, otherwise that authority is invalid, withdrawn, or perverted like the talents removed from the faithless servant and given to the ones who were true.
We who are husbands and fathers are plenipotentiaries of the King of kings and we have been given our assignments or stewardships. We have been given two kinds of assignment: (1) A general assignment that is common to all husbands and fathers which Yahweh has codified in Scripture; and (2) A specific assignment unique to our family and personal mission on earth.
Let's look at the General Assignment first. One of our first duties is to know Scripture. It also means that we are not allowed to use "private interpretation", meaning interpretation that is related to disposition, personality, demonic or fleshy urges, imagined needs and wants, or the psychic life, but the same kind of interpretation given by "holy men of Elohim [who] spoke as they were moved by the Ruach haQodesh" (2 Peter 1:21, NKJV). In short, immature men must seek guidance and counsel from maturer men of wisdom who are moved by the same Ruach that penned the Bible and who are therefore in agreement with every letter of it and who can understand its essentials. They must both be discipled by those who know more as well as pursue their own private investigation, so that they can find out the truth for themselves. The same principle exists in the secular field in education, medicine, and so on.
It is for this reason that Yah'shua has given the local assembly and Messianic Community as a whole teachers, pastors, apostles and other officers. It is also why we have three different Priesthood Orders within the Royal Melchizedek Priesthood: the Deaconate, the Eldership and the Patriarch-Apostles, which we call the Zadokian, Enochian and Patriarchal Orders, and the Marthaic, Miryamic and Matriarchal Orders for the women. Those of you familiar with the NCCG set-up (Olive Branch , p.xxviii, The New Covenant Priesthood Officers) will see the divine pattern more clearly in light of what has been happening this past year (see table below).
Priesthood Order |
Prieshtood Offices |
Festival |
Ruach |
Zadokian & Marthaic (Deacons) |
Stewards (Servants) |
Pesach (Passover) |
Rishon (1) |
Zadokian & Marthaic (Deacons) |
Teachers and Sub-Administrators |
Chag haMatzah (Unleavened Bread) |
Shanee (2) |
Zadokian & Marthaic (Deacons) |
Pastoral Assistants (Zadokian elohim) |
Yom haBikkurim (Firstfruits) |
Shleshi (3) |
Enochian & Miryamic (Elders) |
Teachers & Administrators |
Shavu'ot (Pentecost) |
Revee (4) |
Enochian & Miryamic (Elders) |
Missioners |
Yom Teruah (Trumpets) |
Chamashee (5) |
Enochian & Miryamic (Elders) |
Bishops & Pastors (Enochian elohim) |
Yom Kippur (Atonement) |
Sheshi (6) |
Patriarchal & Matriarchal |
Apostles & Evangelists (Patriarchal elohim) |
Sukkot (Tabernacles) |
Shegal haShabbat (7) |
Indeed, in the Messianic Community there will be persons at different stages of sanctification who can teach those steps that they have successfully passed through to those who have not passed through each of the seven steps themselves. And how will we know that they have passed through these steps and aren't just 'saying' that they have to maintain a position of power or privilege which they think they deserve or ought to have because of family connections or whatever? And the answer to that question is that the authority will be self-evident. Let us see how Yah'shua's authority was manifested to the people and why they followed Him:
"Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, 'What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.' And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region around Galilee" (Mark 1:27-28, NKJV).
"Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority" (Luke 4:31-33, NKJV).
There are the two principle authorities - authority against demonic powers - Yahweh's enemies - and authoritative teachings which minister to the hungry and thirsty soul. Two of the signs of authority in Yahweh's work will always therefore be spiritual power and powerful teaching that change lives for the better.
Now although Yah'shua had authority in the legal sense as an ordained Rabbi that allowed Him to freely preach and teach (which, incidentally, required that He be married), this was not the authority He was 'exercising' that drew people to Him. He did not wave a certificate signed by the Pharisees, Sadducees and Scribes. Now was it such a document that amazed the people? No. It was not some 'priesthood lineage' or 'ordination' that He was claiming that gave him 'authority' though He certainly possessed this too. He was not claiming to be in some sort of 'prophetic' or 'apostolic succession' by the 'laying on of hands' as Catholics and Mormons claim. And though He was a legitimate King in a royal blood line with the political authority to be the bona fide, de jure King of Israel (something which the upstart King Herod knew and which terrified him, inclining him to try and murder the infant Messiah), this is not something He used to win men's loyalty and obedience (though Judas wanted Him to). Indeed, He told Pilate that His Kingdom was not of this world system at all and that He had not come at this time to establish a political entity with Himself as temporal King. He was only interested in spiritual authority which is why all attempts at accusing Him of being seditious failed: He did not try to displace the Roman occupying power or set aside the corrupt priests until, in respect of the latter, He laid down His life and bought the right to be their King and Kinsman-Redeemer, and could hand over Kingdom authority to His apostles.
Yes, Yah'shua had temporal authority. There are men today walking this earth who are bona fide theocratic 'kings' or rulers who will rule both temporally and spiritually in the Millennial Kingdom of come. However, if any one them comes advertising a presumed authority and demanding obedience on the basis of that authority, he should not be recognised! Yah'shua had such authority but He did not advertise it. He drew men and women to himself by the obvious spiritual authority He had, and so must His apostles and pastors today. These are the 'credentials' which we are allowed to present provided we do not advertise them in such a way as to cajole or threaten people with retribution if they do not fall into line and obey. The only force that any of us is allowed to exercise is the power of genuine love in truth in bringing people into the Kingdom. Only once they are in it can the theocratic authority be exercised provided it is according to the apostolic pattern.
Now obviously, even though the power and authority of Yah'shua was self-evident, not everybody accepted it. And the reason they did not accept it was (a) because of the power of choice - they exercised a 'negative vote' as was their right if they wanted to, and (b) because they were demonised and their demons stirred them to anger or hard-heartedness. Indeed, these people murdered Him in the end, just as they did the prophets before Him, and the apostles after Him. So obviously no everyone will accept the authority, plain though it is.
What of the spiritual authority given to men? Well, we have an added problem here, because for one thing, men are not sinless like Yah'shua was. His enemies could not find fault with Him, even if they desperately tried to, but it is not difficult to find fault with men. So we have men who are sinners and have faults. Some of them are kings and priests of the Most High. Some of them are spiritual babes barely out of Egypt and others are maturer and are coming towards the end of their desert walk and are preparing to enter the Promised Land, or have already done so. Remember this also: the firstborn, the bona fide kings, don't stop midway and say: "No further!" They may pause and resume but they don't set down permanent roots midway. They don't, for instance, stop after Yom haBikkurim and refuse to enter Torah obedience at Shavu'ot. They are not lawless by disposition but seek to be obedient and true. Certainly some think they aren't lawless but when put to the test, they rebel and are found wanting.
Everyone has to be tested at every stage. There are many whom Yahweh has called to be leaders of antinomian (lawless) churches in the Pentecostal Age whom He knows will go no further than their man-made traditions prevent them. He uses them to minister to the sheep who will likewise go no further. He knows how far every single soul will go and makes provision for them and assigns leaders over them. Thus a Baptist or a Pentecostal who is set-apart by Yahweh to be a pastor will receive His call through which ever Ruach he is submitted under - usually Rishon, Shanee and/or Shleshi. What about Catholics, Lutherans, and others who are far more steeped in the philosophies of men and the traditions of the world? That will depend whether they have received the New Birth or not, and not some psychic counterfeit or no 'birth' at all - if they have, they will have a measured and very limited authority so long as they are operating in Ruach. That authority may be rare, of course. And if the demonic is strong, then the Ruach will naturally depart. There is a time and season in which to repent, and if they do not, then as the demonic increases, so the Ruach decreases.
Next we come to our specific assignments. We have looked at authority in the general sense. However, every man is given authority over his wife and children, and his wife over his household as he directs. Once the general rule of Torah has been implemented, it is thereafter up to the husband to establish a law for his home and everything that Yahweh gives him. He is, amongst other things, the steward of his wealth. Torah teaches that part of this is due in tithes to support the ministry (ma'aser rishon or First Tithe), part to enable the family to provide for or attend the festivals (ma'aser sheni), and part to support the poor (ma'aser ani). You will remember this is done according to the shemittah cycle over a seven year period. The head of each household therefore has the responsibility to ensure that the ministry is supported by the First Tithe, he must ensure that enough is saved up for the festivals, and finally it is his responsibility to support the poor as he is moved by the Ruach haQodesh. This requires planning over a seven-year period, the tithing cycle beginning from the time that you became your own head of household or were converted. I would especially like you to notice how this seven year cycle fits the sevenfold pattern of the Ruach and festivals. I want you to especially note that in the seventh year, which corresponds to the rest of the Shegal haShabbat, that no tithe is paid at all:
Ma'aser (Tithe) |
1st yr Rishon Pesach |
2nd yr Shanee Matzah |
3rd yr Shleshi Bikkurim |
4th yr Revee Shavu'ot |
5th yr Chamshee Teruah |
6th yr Sheshi Kippur |
7th yr Shabbat Sukkot |
Priestly (Ma'aser Rishon) |
10% of 100% |
10% of 100% |
10% of 100% |
10% of 100% |
10% of 100% |
10% of 100% |
None |
Festival (Ma'aser sheni) |
10% of 90% |
10% of 90% |
None |
10% of 90% |
10% of 90% |
None |
None |
Poor (Ma'aser ani) |
None |
None |
10% of 90% |
None |
None |
10% of 90% |
None |
Total tithe |
19% |
19% |
19% |
19% |
19% |
19% |
None |
You will also remember that the tithe was never money but agricultural produce. For merchants who wished pay in money, a separate calculation had to be made involving the priest selling back his produce (Lev.27:30). (For a fuller explanation, see my sermon, The Treasury of Wealth: Yahweh's Financial Law, 13 December 2003).
This was the temporal law given through Moses for the Old Covenant in the Holy Land. In the time period before this, when there was no theocratic nation because the patriarchs were nomads living amongst other nations, all Yahweh required was a tenth of the increase. Thus this is what Abraham paid to Melchizedek, King of Salem and the Cohen Gadol or High Priest of the Most High. Today we are under the New Covenant Royal Melchizedek Priesthood of Messiah and the same principle obtains - we are to pay a tenth of our increase to the Kingdom. This is to be divided amongst the local ministry and the apostolic and evangelistic ministry according to need. In the New Covenant we are to use the remaining 90% on our needs and then consecrate the remainder - what's left over - to the Kingdom as our conscience and the Ruach haQodesh lead us, this being every man's personal stewardship. These should include making provision for the annual Festivals and assisting the poor - first those within the Kingdom so that there is voluntary, non-compulsive equalisation of wealth; second, our biological family, believers and unbelievers alike, as Yahweh directs; and third, elsewhere as Yahweh directs. As for contributions within the Kingdom, this can be done through Assembly-organised programmes or privately, again as the Ruach moves a person. The keynote here is non-compulsion - an assembly cannot 'demand' a tithe but only appeal for it except in one instance, and that concerns the ministry or priesthood itself. Just as Old Covenant priests were obliged to tithe as part of their service, so must the New Covenant Priest.
The administering of tithes is therefore the family patriarch's personal responsibility. If he is a priest (Elder or Deacon) he will be asked if he has been living Yahweh's financial law faithfully to the best of his ability as a condition for continuing to hold his priesthood office for another year. This occurs during the annual Priesthood Weighing which happens just before Yom Kippur in the local congregations. This is one example of a temporal authority and responsibility that the fathers in Messianic Israel have. The interviewing Elder does not - and must not - demand a financial statement, but simply ask the interviewed priesthood member if he has been a true financial steward and faithful in his tithes to Yahweh's Kingdom or not. It is up to the presiding Elder to discern through the Ruach if he has told the truth and recommend priesthood renewal to the Pastorate or not. This financial law applies to those living in the world in the cities or countryside. In firstborn or proto-firstborn communities, a higher financial law of all things in common is lived where all things are given to the community and then deeded back according a patriarch's personal and family needs. If a person decides to leave the community, then the wealth he entered it with is returned to him, and any increase remains a part of the community and his reward is viewed as the benefits he has obtained privately and collectively during his stay in the community. All of these things will appear in MLT's new Constitution.
What of the spiritual? Firstly, the father-husband has the authority to interpret, teach and implement Yahweh's Law in his own household in harmony with the interpretation of the wider Mishpachah. Where the wider Mishpachah does not speak, he must seek personal revelation from Yahweh and interpret Torah for his family. He has the responsibility to teach his wife at home (1 Cor.14:35) - his spiritual father (if he has one) and the local assembly has the responsibility to teach him. And whilst women may receive ministry in the local assembly, with their fathers' or husbands' permission, the husband has the ultimate authority and responsibility to minister to her. The same goes for the children. The local assembly has children's schools called the Schools of Taphim. However, ultimate responsibility for teaching his children is the father's and the mother's, the mother passing her husband's teaching on to her children which their father has passed on to her. The local assembly then becomes an aid and tool for the father, but never a substitute for his authority or teaching. The stewardship for his wife and children belongs solely to him and he must answer before Yahweh as to how well he has done that job or not. The Assembly must never stand 'above' him in this stewardship because the Assembly is a gathering of fathers and their families, with a head father in the form of the pastor.
Most importantly of all, the father must walk in the Ruach so that his wife can safely obey and trust him. As the husband imitates Yah'shua, so she must imitate the Ruach haQodesh operating through him. If he fails to do this, then he cannot properly lead, and the wife is given an extra burden that Yahweh did not intend for her. If she has an unbelieving husband, then her burden is great indeed and here the local assembly becomes an indispensable aid, if her unbelieving husband gives her permission to avail herself of it. And whilst she was not created to have this leadership rôle over her children, it is one she is capable of carrying out when she finds herself in a disadvantaged and spiritually headless position, provided she has spiritual covering from somewhere.
As should be evident by now, authority and stewardship is both an individual and a collective affair. There are both individual and joint authorities and responsibilities. As a sign of true submission to Him, men are supposed to serve one another in the spheres of stewardship appointed to them (Eph.5:21). Both those who lead and those who are led serve one another. Yah'shua is rightly called the 'Servant King' and the 'Suffering Messiah' which the patriarchs are supposed to imitate. Thus Paul would write:
"Not that we lord it over your faith, but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm" (2 Cor.1:24-2:1, NIV).
True spiritual lordship is granted so that we can work with and on behalf of people for their benefit. We are given our respective headships and authority in order to elevate the welfare of those we preside over. Contrast this with the way the world behaves:
"Yah'shua said to them, 'The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in My trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as My Father conferred one on Me, so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:25-30, NIV).
Yah'shua taught this after He had administered His last Passover Meal or 'Last Supper'. Here Yah'shua illustrated what His authority was given for. And what was it given for? It was given so that He could administer His body and blood, as represented by bread and wine, to His faithful followers, and specifically, those who were willing to stand by him in His trials. That body and blood represented His life energy and substance itself: He bequeathed His very life to those whom He served. And in a like manner, that is what He calls His appointed heads to do too - the apostles, pastors, husbands and fathers. They are called to voluntarily give of themselves, and because they are willing to sacrifice, so He gives them authority to lead with power. He gives them a collective Kingdom (Israel) and their own family kingdoms, just like Yahweh gave Yah'shua His own Kingdom - kingdoms within a kingdom within a kingdom.
He reminds those called to lead that they will have trials in abundance, for Satan naturally goes for the heads first. 'Strike the shepherd, and the flock scatters' (Mk.14:27). But if the men are imitating their shepherds and growing up to be shepherds themselves, then the enemy is far less likely to scatter the sheep if one perishes. We remember the apostles, and we remember Stephen (Ac.6-7) and Antipas (Rev.2:13), whose selfless and set-apart example inspires. Then the enemy meets a united front far more dangerous to him than any sole or lone shepherd. Worse for Him, is the Shepherd of our Souls, Yah'shua, when He is in charge - if Yahweh is our fortress and Yah'shua our covering just as wives and children have Yahweh as their fortress and their husbands and fathers as their covering - then the enemy doesn't stand a chance, and he can only then do what Yahweh specifically permits.
The divine principle of headship is about as anti-flesh as it can be. Divine authority is not the kind of authority that the world knows and seeks and yet secretly hates. It is why the world is constantly stirred up into rebellion, because it secretly loathes the false headships it has created and seeks to topple the authorities it has set up or to survive under their harsh rule. As Matthew reports the same or similar event recorded by Luke:
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matt.20:25-28, NIV).
There is a world of difference between the heavenly system and the worldly system of authority. There are also admixtures of it in a spectrum of confusion between these two poles. There are, for instance, those who love their leaders to serve them but who refuse to themselves serve, and vice versa - there are leaders who love to lead but not serve, who love those who serve them to be their slaves but who refuse to be slaves themselves (like the world system).
There is nothing that quite stirs up demonic wrath as when true authority is exercised. It must be remembered that demons are fallen angels who, like the faithful ones, were conferred authority by Yahweh. They still have that authority until their judgement at this Age's final Yom Kippur after Yah'shua's return. This presents us with a dilemma because they have broken their covenant and are abusing their power. In this dimension we therefore face conflicting authorities all the time and what that means is that we are compelled to simultaneously obey the true authority and rebel against the perverted one. To obey Yahweh you have to disobey Satan. To obey Yahweh you have to submit to Yahweh and rebel against Satan. All around you, wherever you go, are competing authorities. Wherever you are in the world, authorities will 'expect' certain things of you, good and evil. And if you refuse, it can provoke their wrath and sometimes retaliation to try and force you to submit to them. The apostle James said:
"Submit yourselves, then, to Elohim. Resist the devil" (James 4:7-8, NIV).
If you submit to Yahweh, Satan will oppose you. To continue to successfully submit to Yahweh means to simultaneously resist the devil. There is no such things as a passive Gospel. To submit to Yahweh implies fighting against the enemy. And if you don't, do you think the enemy will just go away? On the contrary, he is relentless. To live the Gospel as an overcomer always implies two parallel actions - surrendering to Yahweh and waging war against Satan! If you omit either of these, you will be defeated, because in this mortal sphere these two authorities are competing for the same space in men's souls.
The same is true in marriage. If a wife submits to her husband as Torah requires, then she must simultaneously resist, denounce and actively oppose any and every authority that other men try to impose on her. If you think about it, it's common sense. If she does not, for example, actively oppose the romantic or sexual advances of another man, then the question has to be asked: has she actually surrendered to her husband? Obviously not. She may think she has, but she has not. Torah says that a woman who does not resist rape by at least crying out, if she is able to, is agreeing to the rape and as is as guilty as the rapist (Dt.22:23-24). And the same is true in the divine sphere. If a believer claims to be surrendered to Yahweh but does not actively oppose the demands and influences of the evil spirits, then in truth she has not submitted to her husband. Then that believer is actually double-minded and playing a double game: for by not resisting the devil, he is in fact yielding to him, and attempting the impossible - surrendering to both! And you know as well as I do that a man cannot have two masters, for he will, as Yah'shua taught, love one and hate the other (Mt.6:24; Lk.16:13). This is both how believers start backsliding and marriages start falling apart. Then those couples who originally started by loving each other start first disliking each other and then hating each other. Then it becomes all too apparent as to who the master or mistress in ones life is.
It is easy to delude oneself if one is not actively implementing this twin policy of surrendering to Yahweh (or husband) and resisting the devil (or contending human authority). As I said, the devil hates true authority - it is guaranteed to enrage him. And if a believer starts getting angry or enraged then it is a sign that a demon is inhabiting his spiritual house. And if that is so, he needs to be greatly alarmed!
Now I mentioned earlier that one of the problems with human authority is the absence of perfection. Many conclude from this that they should take it into their own hands as to when they should stop surrendering or obeying. There are great risks here. One thinks, for example, of the tragedy of the battered housewife. There are many Christian wives who, in the face of evil husbands, just grit their teeth and do their best to survive their abuse. Anyone with any heart and knowledge of what Yahweh loves and hates knows that Yahweh does not want anyone treated this way. But how far should you submit before you take action like leaving? It is here that modern revelation, which amplifies on Biblical Torah, becomes helpful, especially in the absence of an extended family in large parts of the world where victims of abuse against ungodly authority can expect to turn and find some justice. Such a system exists in Africa and by and large works well. So what are the limits?
Firstly, we need to remember that Yahweh has instituted a system of accountability. The writer of Hebrews said:
"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you" (Heb.13:17, NIV).
Now I don't know how many Christian leaders have quoted this as a proof text to demand unquestioning, unqualified obedience. So first of all we need to identify who these leaders actually are. They're not just any old pastor, rabbi or priest from any old church or Messianic assembly. These are apostles called and endowed by Yahweh as Paul was, Pastors appointed by such apostles, and Elders appointed by such Pastors. They were not appointed by seminaries or popes. They weren't lawless but Torah-obedient, neither were they Judaisers who tried to reinvent the Old Covenant - or a Talmudic version of it - in New Covenant garb. They were Messianic Israelites. They were filled with the Shavu'ot anointing. They abided by every Word of Elohim and not just those that suited them. They did not invent their own doctrines and traditions. In other words, they had genuine authority, inwardly and outwardly. There 'apostolic tradition' was not an alien one cooked up in Rome, and then warmed up again after it had gone cold. Our obedience to leaders presupposes that these leaders were obedient to Yahweh and Torah and had been reborn by the Ruach haRishon and had moved through at least four of the seven endowments.
We must remember these things whenever we look at questions of human authority. How do we know they have not taken these leadership honours upon themselves but were "called by Elohim, just like Aaron"? (Heb.5:4, NIV) Well, we know he was called through Moses, just as the Pastors and Elders were called through the apostles. Both the apostles and the elders show very definite signs, just as Moses showed signs and Aaron when his calling was called into question - signs that are not just confined to the spiritual but are in the physical as well. You will recall the story of Aaron's rod which budded into life when it was put in the Tabernacle, whereas the rods of the pretenders to authority did not (Num.17). When Korah rebelled against Moses' headship and authority, what happened to him, and his followers? They were swallowed alive into the earth (Num.16). The signs that Yahweh gives when pretenders claim true authority which belongs only to those whom Yahweh has called is a matter of life and death, isn't it? Rebels start dying - sometimes suddenly and dramatically, sometimes gradually. So there is a sign for you - to challenge true authority is a matter of life and death - Yahweh starts taking them away, as He did the lives of Ananias and Saphira when they lied to the Ruach haQodesh and tried to cheat the apostles. You don't play around with true authority because it can cost you your life. Sometimes it may just be your health, as with Miriam when she challenged Moses' right to lead and became a leper. Now I could give you a long list of different signs that Yahweh has shown throughout history but we don't have time for that today. I have told you what signs follow those who believe and follow true authority, which includes driving out demons and authentic teaching that radically changes lives for the better - there are also many signs for those who rebel against or attack true authority: and since the most dramatic of these is death and illness, I mention these here. So if you want to know where a true, authoritative ministry is to be found, you'll find these things happening. I don't just mean these things are claimed - they actually happen. So there you are - some positive and negative signs. You really don't want to mess around with true authority. But neither also do you want to go chasing after ministries and churches without true authority where these signs aren't present because when the tribulations come, they will be powerless to do anything.
What about testing true authority? Do you have the right to do that? Absolutely. In fact, it is an obligation from Yahweh that you test as Paul admonished:
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Elohim" (Rom.12:2, NKJV).
The word 'prove' here (Gk. dokimazo) means to 'discern', 'examine' or 'try'. We are not to follow blindly. We can, and should, however, take a neutral stance while we are examining a claimed authority. I stress the word neutrality for it is highly dangerous to test in a spirit of disbelief, rebellion or disloyalty as Judas, Miriam and Korah did. There is a positive and a negative way to test. And remember, Yahweh will always give you adequate evidence for faith though never what the flesh demands or expects.
To end today I want to share some amazing truths that Yahweh has revealed to us this last week, things which would be regarded as radical by most orthodox Christians but which perhaps some Messianics may appreciate. As I have underlined much today, fathers not only have much responsibility and accountability, but also many privileges and authorities granted by Yahweh. One authority which I almost never hear used is the authority of the collective body of spiritual fathers which is variously known as the Heavenly Council or Assembly of the Firstborn. They are spoken of in scripture as follows:
"El is greatly to be feared in the kahal (council) of the kiddushim (set-apart or holy ones), and to be held in reverence by them that are around Him" (Ps.89:7, RSTNE).
"But you have come to Har Tziyon (Mount Zion), and to the city of the living Elohim, the heavenly Yahrushalayim (Jerusalem), and to an innumerable multitude of heavenly malachim (angels), To the gathering and assembly of the bachorim (firstborn), that is enrolled in the shamayim (heavens), and to Yahweh the Shophet (Judge) of us all, and to the ruachim (spirits) of tzadikim (righteous ones) made perfect.." (Heb.12:22-23, RSTNE)
This council or heavenly assembly consists of the firstborn sons of Yahweh, the sons of the first resurrection about which we have spoken much recently. They are the 144,000 patriarchs spoken of in the Book of Revelation. They form the body of human elohim or rulers who are the judges of the millennial earth. They include all those who overcame from Adam to Abraham, Samuel, Elijah, David, John, Paul, Stephen, and the many 'greats' of the Bible. They are all echad or one and will one day constitute the second tier of the Elohim in the resurrection, after Yahweh, Yah'shua and the Seven Ruachs, and slightly above the faithful malakim or angels who today are a little above us. This body of men, and their wives who are in echad union with them, gather together wherever possible on earth just as they are gathered into one place in heaven. The drive to gather is specifically a firstborn one, the final harvest of Sukkot. They are the allegorical Bride of Yah'shua. Each father who is true enters into a special relationship or union with them and acts, feels and thinks in harmony with them. Such a father can and should invoke the blessings of the fathers on his family, literally and spiritually. And such blessings are powerful indeed. To be precise, they are the complete reverse of the curse found in Torah:
"I, Yahweh your Elohim, am a jealous Elohim, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me" (Ex.20:5a, NKJV).
Every Satanist father knows that he has power over his children. He knows the legalities. He knows that his iniquities bring curses on his children and demonises them. But how many Christians know the reverse? Well, they will have read the second part of this verse and some vague ideas of the blessedness of a righteous father:
"... but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments" (Ex.20:6b, NKJV)
or as other versions also interpret this:
"... And showing mercy unto the thousandth generation of them that love Me and keep My commandments" (Ibid., HRV - also see NIV).
Either way - whether thousands are blessed by the true fathers of Israel, or to the thousandth generation, the blessings are indeed great. This is an example of the grace that pours out of the heavens to those who fathers who are true, who may then themselves dispense this grace to those who accept their headship - wives, sons, daughters, servants - all.
As I was working with an SRA survivor last week, we came across the satanic counterfeit council which had programmed her mind to always think logically. Now whilst there is nothing wrong with logic, and it is indeed commendable to use it, logic cannot bring life. Logic is merely a system of analysis. It cannot, however, understand the heart and love of the Elohim. Yah'shua told us that the satanic council structure had to be replaced and, to use His words, "the Council of Yah's elohim" had to be set up in its place. Once this was done, by prayer, inviting Yahweh to do so, and the blessings of the fathers invoked, one of the most astonishing transformations that I have ever seen in my life occur to a person took place. Her whole body began to tremble and then wave after wave after wave of heavenly love began to pour in that lasted for hours and hours. There was a transformation of character the likes of which I have never experienced before. The ministry team picked it up intensely and we just bathed in it, soaking it up and rejoicing with her and praising Yahweh. Her eyes shone and her complexion changed into this mild and gentle radiance!
Why do you suppose - and I have to ask this question again - does Satan go to so much effort in either brutalising or feminising men? It is to deny both genders these extraordinary blessings. "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective" (James 5:16, NIV), the apostle James testifies. And it is powerful and effective, not because he is a superman possessed of magical power - but because he has chosen righteousness and obedience, in humble trust, Yahweh opens the floodgates of heaven. Faithfulness of Elohim-initiated and blessed covenants opens the windows of heaven! I wonder how seriously we actually take Yahweh's promises enough to actually act on them? Consider another promise made by Yah'shua:
"Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward" (Matt.10:41, NIV).
This is an example of the transference of blessings to those who have not laboured for them but because they have received a man who has been faithful. Yah'shua's parable of the labourers tells the same story.
Which brings me to share with you one of those secrets I mentioned last week - a very glorious secret too. And the secret, which is actually spoken about everywhere in scripture and is only secret to those whose eyes have been blinded by the world and false systems of salvation, is that there are two paths to heaven. Both require faith in the Messiah because no man or woman comes to the Father except through Him. Everyone coming to Him on a one-to-one basis can be saved. But as the Seven Festivals testify, thereafter it is communal salvation - being saved or delivered together as a single Body - as a Messianic Bride, as a Council, Gathering and Assembly of the Firstborn. It is the high and the low road that I have spoken to you about before. The load road is the road full of people who say: "I trust in Yah'shua ... up to a point ... but the rest I am going to do my way by taking my own counsel and managing alone. I'll gather with other ego's of like mind and centre in my own feelings. In fact, Yah'shua is my own, private Messiah." The high road seeks the Way of the Fathers and beckons to those who see the folly of the egotistic approach which always leads of failure and which always forces such souls to face themselves in the fire of punishment prior to the second resurrection.
Yahweh has given authority to the fathers and to the Council of the Firstborn. It is both an intimate fellowship and a Heavenly Tribunal. I often appeal to it in my prayers when in deliverance work and wait on their decision, because Yahweh gives them that authority in heaven just as He gives it to fathers on earth. They are, after all, elohim - all of them - the Judges of Yahweh.
Satan, of course, creates fear of this system and accuses Yahweh of being misogynous, and he presents as his evidence the vast majority of men who think they can rule and do whatever they please. These macho men, as I call them, do not easily yield to the authority of any other man, except compelled to do so by force driven by fear. Their rebelliousness spawned rebellion amongst the women who declared their independence. Yes, the feminists are often right but their solution is wrong. The true leader is himself a part of a larger body in a female, submissive position to Yah'shua. And unless he is so, his legal authority brings not blessings but cursings, as we have seen.
Please, you fathers, bless your wives and children with the blessings of the fathers. Please, if you love Torah and seek to be obedient to it, and trust Yah'shua your Redeemer and love Yahweh with all your might, mind and strength, invite your family members to receive the inner Council of Yah's elohim. Do this for your families, see the love pour into them, and reap the limitless blessings of echad union is my prayer in Yah'shua's Name, Amen.
Postscript
The day after this sermon was prepared, an incredible event occurred here at Kadesh-biyqah. Having witnessed the amazing transformation in an SRA survivor after the Council of Yahweh's elohim was admitted, I was praying together with her and asked her if she would like to meet my fathers (Yahweh's elohim). When she expressed keen interest, after her own amazing transformation, Yah'shua appeared to her in vision riding a horse, something she had never seen before. His countenance was different this time, that of a warrior. He asked her to follow Him, which she did. Seconds later a vast army of men dressed in white appeared before her, thousands and thousands of them, which she immediately knew were the Council of Yahweh's elohim. Though I did not see the vision, I sensed their presence powerfully and began to cry with joy as though this were a homecoming for me. I knew them as intimate Mishpachah or family and sensed the great loneliness of earthly mortality apart from them, and longed to be with them again in the echad union I had known before mortality.
On the Sabbath I preached the sermon, and whilst preaching, a vision was opened to me, and I saw in symbolic form the 'Godhead', represented as a great sphere of intense light (with the Father, Son and Ruach haQodesh within it), and around them a great ring of the 144,000 men and their wives, rather like the planet Saturn in arrangement. Yahweh showed me as I preached the sermon you have just read that, establishing the Council of Yah's elohim in SRA victims would greatly simplify and shorten the period required for deliverance once the demonic council was removed. He also showed me that in non-SRA's - the vast majority of other people - had other 'councils' within them also consisting of family, peers and friends who formed a network of demon-controlled authority-soul-ties that keep them bound and falling back into old habits even after conversion. I saw with even greater clarity the importance of dissolving these false councils which occupy the rightful place owned by the Council of Yah's elohim so that the prophecy in Malachi might be filled, in which the hearts of the fathers are turned to the sons, and the sons to the fathers through the Spirit of Elijah (Mal.4:5-6). Those of the first resurrection approach this Council as 'sons' and as they are matured and pass through the seven endowments of the Ruach haQodesh, become fathers themselves. There is a time and season of induction into this body of human elohim which qualifies them to be father-heads in Messianic Israel.
A lively and Ruach-filled discussion took place during the sermon which was interrupted many times as Yahweh revealed new things to the people assembled. We got a foretaste of the continuing life Yahweh is sending us in the Sukkot endowment and rejoiced exceedingly. (Yom Shabbat/Saturday, 28 October 2006, pm).
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 19 March 2007
Last updated on 19 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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