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Sermons Series 3:35, 15 April 2006
Yom haBikkurim 2006
Feast of Firstfruits and the Ruach haShleshi
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Brethren and sisters, I welcome you to this Sabbath assembly in Yah'shua's Name as we pause to consider the significance of the festival we shall be celebrating tonight and tomorrow, namely Yom haBikkurim or the Festival of Firstfruits. And with all the revelation that has been pouring in from the Garden, there is much new revelation I wish to share with you on this subject.
This evening we celebrate not only the resurrection of Yah'shua the Messiah but also the resurrection of the righteous! And remember, we are still celebrating Chag haMatzah or the Feast of Unleavened Bread. These three spring time feasts, all of which have now been fulfilled prophetically by Yah'shua, are interesting for many reasons - for not only do they signify new beginnings but they overlap one another: thus we celebrated our Passover Meal at the same time as the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, and this evening we celebrate the Feast of Firstfruits at the same time as the Feast of Unleavened Bread too. What this means is that Passover and Firstfruits have no meaning apart, and cannot be separated, from the Feast of Unleavened Bread - in other words, they are both intimately connected with getting sin out of our lives.
I hope you have all studied Galatians, chapter 5, as I challenged you at Pesach as we remind ourselves just what sins we are supposed to be getting out of us. Let's take a look at the last part of this epistle:
"Walk in the Ruach, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Ruach, and the Ruach against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Ruach, you are not under systems that pervert the Torah. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh. But the fruit of the Ruach is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no torah. And those who are Messiahs's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Ruach, let us also walk in the Ruach. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another" (Gal.5:16-26, NKJV & RSTNE).
For one whole week we eat bread without yeast and you will recall that the number 7 is the number of completion and of spiritual perfection. What this means is that spiritually we are supposed to pursue a Chag haMatazah not just for one week but every day of our lives. The whole of life is about getting rid of the leaven of sin. So please don't get the idea after Chag haMatzah is over that you can relax the hunt for leaven in your soul. If you do, you will have entirely missed the point as to what this festival is about. The physical abstinence of leavened products from our diet is supposed to jog our memories and and get us back into "sin-hunting" and "sin-excluding" mode in case we have become lax. And to help us along the the road, Yahweh has sent the Ruach haShanee in a special way.
Over the last three days we have been participating in feasts that are jam-packed with symbolism - lamb, wine, bitter herbs, matzah, candles, banners, and so on. Interest in the holiest symbol of all, the Menorah, has been mushrooming amongst our people. And here, at headquarters, I have sometimes poked my head around the meeting room door to hear discussions between family members on this incredible symbol of Yahweh's Universe - sometimes excited and sometimes very sober and meditative. There is tremendous activity here as people take up the challenge to get their lives right in preparation for even greater endowments that have been promised. A few days ago my wife was shown what Yahweh will do to the Garden in a very short while as she was a witness to an enormous inpouring of Light, brighter even than that which is currently in the White Garden. And I was also shown in vision that one particuar tree in the Garden will bear fruit this Yom haBikkurim. Our Father in Heaven is very pleased with us as we pursue righteousness with such passion and devotion, and has said so many times over the last few days.
The original Yom haBikkurim was a picture to the Israelite people of "a shadow of things to come" (Col.2:17). And exactly 50 days on from today we shall be celebrating a second harvest - Shavu'ot or Pentecost - which I shall speak more of then. You will have noticed that virtually all the symbols used in the festivals have an agricultural basis. This isn't just because the early Israelites were primarily farmers and the symbols were therefore easy for them to relate to and understand, but because Yahweh is Himself a farmer, the earth is the farm, and we are the crops. The symbolism of the Garden is likewise natural because Yahweh is an intensely natural Elohim. It was never His intention that we should congregate into vast, soulless cities, which were the invention of the antichrist Nimrod so that he could both consolidate his ungodly power as well as to spread acts of sin and lawlessness faster. Yahweh primarily wants a rural people, connected to the earth and to nature, where life may be touched and experienced. Thus Yahweh gives us a millennial picture of His people in these words: "Every man will sit under his own vine and under his own fig tree" (Mic.4:4, NIV).
I think one of the reasons that modern man has such problems understanding the Bible is because he has become disconnected from nature. Nature is our second book of scripture and a second witness to the Bible. For the last year our people have been flooded with images of the Garden as this awareness os restored, enabling us to put down deeper spiritual roots and as a result tap deeper streams of living water. And the more we have become immersed in these symbols, the more connected we have become to our Heavenly Father. Yah'shua said:
"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. Each tree is recognised by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:43-45, NIV).
The language of the heart is always natural or agricultural. Over the months we have been cataloging the dozens of differemt fruits that are to be found in the Garden - their size, shape, colour (inside and outside), their effects emotionally, and their spiritual significance. By this means we are now able to connect people to their feelings and what is going on in their hearts far more precisely than we ordinarily would have done in the past. We are literally mapping the heart out by means of natural symbols which are all connected together into a divine matrix in the Menorah, and linking them to the different members of the Godhead and the moedim or appointments of Yahweh. The effortless way in which everything integrates is satisfying not just intellectually but primarily in the emotional and spiritual life.
We should therefore especially make note of the visual aids that Yahweh uses in Scripture and in personal revelation in teaching us spiritual principles. This evening's festival, Firstfruits, is obviously linked to an agricultural harvest offered to Yahweh and indicates a future small harvest of the first righteous souls. These 'firstfruits' among men and women are the 'firstborn', the earliest and best of the bigger harvest which symbolically comes 50 days later at Shavu'ot. And as far as this Mishpachah is concerned this secular year 2006, it represents the core leadership of this work who are human shadows of the Godhead who are being gathered and purged by fire in this year of purification. Next year at this time the second batch will be raised and so on until the Kingdom is fully organised not just numerically and structurally but, far more importantly, in terms of spiritual endowment.
Yesterday my wife was taken by Yahweh into a sacred place in the Garden in which she was prophetically shown the future. She was shown 12 men, the children of Yahweh in this end-time Sukkot dispensation, one of which was me, and 'in' each of the 12 men were other men. In this symbolism Yahweh showed her that the 12 end-time apostles would raise up spiritual sons who would raise up other spiritual sons until the 12 tribes were restored once again.
Thus these festivals are depictions of future realities which we have the great privilege of partaking in as they come to pass before our very eyes. All the holy days put together, as Eroll Müller puts it, "reveal the great master plan, and the great promise, which gives us hope".
Now I don't know about you, but I have never been so hopeful in all my life as I am today. As one of our family mottos runs: "Every day and in every way, getting better and better". And when that happens - when things just get better and better spiritually (for we should not necessarily measure improvement in terms outer things but inner) - then we know we are truly on the Way and that we have entered the stream of the moedim which is alive. The other motto, which you may also have come across, which is a bit more humorous - but makes a point about the kind of attitude that the firstborn sons and daughters of Yahweh must have - is as follows: Today we do the difficult; tomorrow, the impossible. Those who are looking for easy solutions to difficulties and problems are almost certainly not of the firstborn unless they have a change of heart after meeting the Holy One of Israel and become delivered from the lethargic and catatonic demons of this age.
The yearly observance of Yom haBikkurim reminds Yahweh's faithful disciples that Yah'shua was the firstfruits of the Resurrection and presented the first harvest of redeemed spirits from the Old Covenant dispensation to the Father. Thus we read:
"At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Yah'shua's resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Matt.27:51-53, NIV).
This sacred festival of Yahweh has been twisted and perverted by Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Protestant churches into the so-called 'Easter' celebration when the early Catholics adopted some pagan fertility rites of the goddess Ishtar (Astarte). As Christianity has been progressively moved out of society, the original Easter roots have been left, leaving Easter eggs, Easter bunnies (all fertility symbols) and here (in Sweden) witches riding broomsticks. Yahweh is exposing these so-called 'Christianised' abominations and giving believers a stark choice: to become pagans or return to His true appointments. If you believe in the resurrection of the Lord Yah'shua, He expects you to observe Yom haBikkurim, not 'Easter'. To refuse to do so, when you have been traught the truth, is to reject His Word. And if you reject His Word, then you reject Him, and stand under condemnation. Of such people Yah'shua said:
"Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: 'These people honour Me [Yahweh] with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. They worship Me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' You have let go of the commands of Yahweh and are holding on to the traditions of men" (Mark 7:6-8, NIV).
Now this word bikkur - from which we get our festival, Yom haBikkurim - literally means 'hasty fruit' or 'firstfruit'. When we speak of a 'firstfruit' then we are speaking of an order or system. If there is a 'first' then obviously there must be a 'second' and possibly even a 'third'. And that, brethren and sisters, is the essence of Christian hope - to be called worthy in the next harvest of spirits, even as Paul wrote to the Romans:
"But if the Ruach of Him who raised Yah'shua from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Messiah from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Ruach who dwells in you" (Rom.8:11, NKJV).
From this and other passsages of Scripture it is evident that there are multiple resurrections of believers, not just one. Paul said:
"But Messiah has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits (bikkurim) of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Messiah all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Messiah, the firstfruits (bikkurim); then, when He comes, those who belong to Him" (1 Cor.15:20-24, NIV).
If Yah'shua is the bikkurim or firstfruits, then obviously this day - Yom haBikkurim - is also the Day of Messiah, or Yom haMashiach. Paul reminds us, does He not, that the "festival(s) ... are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is Messiah" (Col.2:16-17, NKJV). The Old Covenant celebrations of the moedim were but shadows of the living substance, who is Yah'shua.
Now obviously the thought that Yah'shua could somehow be the fulfilment of Yom haBikkurim is most offensive to Jews who have rejected their Messiah, and for this reason they have deliberately obscured the spring ordinances, which is why cannot go to the Talmudists for instruction about these things. It is not just a matter of a wrong spirit but a twisting of the Word. Why is it, do you suppose, that they omit Isaiah 53, the great Messianic Prophecy - which can only be referring to Yah'shua - from their Parsha readings at this time of year? We should not therefore be surprised to find the Jews downgrading or obfuscating Yom haBikkurim. So what do they do? They call the whole holiday season the Feast of Passover (even though that is only one day). It isn't - only the first day is. And Yom haBikkurim is an entirely different celebration.
Your memories are fresh from our celebration of Pesach. We continue to eat unleavened bread and now we gear up for Yom haBikkurim tonight. What, may I ask, are the 'traditional' Christians doing? It will depend, in part, on what denomination they belong to, but basically they will be doing similar things. Because it is spring (at least in the northern hemisphere), and new leaves are appearing on the trees, the children will be wearing spring outfits, all the while fidgeting through the long obligatory church service. Then after church great rejoicing begins as the children collect sweets (candy), chocolate bunnies, and hunt for colourful Easter eggs. After the Easter egg count, families come together for a large easter ham dinner. If enough grownups showed up for the festivities, the main table would be full and the children would be shunted off to anothere table all to themselves with no grownups looking over their shoulders. Contrast this with our Pesach table where the children are involved blowing the shofar, reading texts, and generally sharing with the grownups. Indeed we place a child between pairs of grownups so they are fully integrated and are being trained up in the ways they should be going. They are being served a diet of pure truth, they are learning lessons about discipleship, faith, courage, and many other things. What, I ask, do children learn from chasing Easter bunnies and eggs? What do they gain from this? Nothing. It's useless and it's training them up to be pagans so that if they do turn away from Christ later on in life (assuming they ever received Him) they will fall back on the raw pagan elements of Easter like all children do today, not to mention eating unkosher food. I thank Yahweh that I can raise my children in truth as well as give them a good time, for the truth is good!
Yom haBikkurim is all about calling out the faithful. Historically, five important historical events occurred on this day. It was the day that the tayvah or ark of Noah came to rest on Mount Ararat (Gen. 8:4) when the human race was metaphorically 'resurrected'. It was the day that the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds (Ex.3:18; 5:3,14). It was the day that the Israelites ate the firstfruits of the Promised Land (Josh.5:10-12) after crossing the Jordan River and the day before Yahweh stopped supplying them with heavenly manna. It was the day that Haman, a type of the false Messiah, made an attempt to exterminate all the Judahites and Benjaminites in exile in Persia. And finally, it was the day that Yah'suha Himself celebrated by offering Himself as the bikkurim or firstfruits to all future generations.
Are these coincidences? I think not. If so, then the Bible is jam-packed with coincidences.
Yah'shua was not only the bikkurim of the Barley Harvest but the firstfruits or firstborn of Mary (Mt.1:23-25), the firstfruits of Yahweh the Father (Heb.1:6), the firstfruits of every creature (Col.1:15), the firstfruits of the dead (Rev.1:5), the firstfruits of many brethren (Rom.8:29), the firstfruits of those who are resurrected (1 Cor.15:20,23), the firstfruits of the creation of Yahweh (Rev.3:14) and is the pre-eminent One (Col.1:18). In every way Yah'shua is first!
Brethren and sisters, as you can see Yom haBikkurim is most important and it is a cause for celebration! The government of this festival is through the Ruach haSleshi, the third Heavenly Mother, who is also known as Gevurah meaning 'might' or 'strength'. Resurrection is no little thing - it is a HUGELY important cosmic event that began with Yah'shua and ends with every soul who receives Him as Messiah. And the resurrection power that was released to mankind and the whole cosmos is being dispensed today, as it has been every day since that momentous event, to all those who will receive it on the terms that it is given. And I speak not of physical resurrection, of course, which is a future event, but of spiritual. I speak of the restoring power of the resurrection of Yah'shua which is mediated by Ruach haShleshi.
I take it for granted that you all know what physical resurrection is before I explain how it works on the mental, emotional and spiritual planes. However, a brief word to those who may not. When we speak of resurrection we are primarily speaking of physical resurrection, and in the case of Yah'shua, the restoration to life of His dead, crucified body. However, it is more than that. When the resurrection power impacts the physical body, it not only brings it back to physical life again but also renders it immortal. The body cannot die. It possesses endless life, just as Yah'shua's does. Not only that, but it is free of all defects, it reflects in appearance the spiritual state of the person who is receiving it, and it cannot undergo aging or suffer physical pain or disease any more. It cannot be demonised either. Finally, and this is most important, the physical body and the rest of the system - emotional, psychic and spiritual - becomes totally integrated into one system. The parts become inseparable and that is what constitutes immortality.
Now if you contrast this with the current, mortal body there are obvious differences. What is not always so obvious, until someone dies or you yourself come close to death, is that the 'spiritual body' - that mind-heart-psyche-spirit composite - is only very tenuously connected to the physical body. Solomon knew this when he penned these words:
"Remember him - before the silver cord is severed, or the golden bowl is broken; before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, or the wheel broken at the well, and the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the ruach returns to Yahweh who gave it" (Eccl.12:6-7, NIV).
Now the 'silver cord' is well know to those who have seen it - it is a thin string made of what one might call, for want of a better word, 'spiritual plasma' that connects the physical body to the spiritual. When it is cut, you die, because the physical body becomes severed from the live-giving power of the Ruach which is in the heart or spirit. When occultists astrally project or do 'spirit travelling' into the second heaven their spirit leaves their physical body and roams the astral plane connected by this silver cord which is infinitely stretchable like a super elastic band. As you well know, Yahweh forbids this kind of activity because body and spirit are supposed to be one soul until death separates the two parts. Moreover, the second heaven or astral plane is totally demonic-controlled and what astrally projecting spirits 'see' is not reality but demonic theatre whose purpose is to deceive. When Yahweh speaks to His prophets, seers and revelators He does not take the spirit out of the body - I repeat, the integrity of the body-spirit is maintained. Paul wrote:
"Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from Yahweh. I know a man in Messiah who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know - Yahweh knows. And I know that this man - whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but Yahweh knows - was caught up to paradise. He heard inexpressible things, things that man is not permitted to tell" (2 Cor.12:1-5, NIV).
This was not, of course, Paul's experience so he did not know or understand the mechanism of entering paradise spiritually. This is, however, something we know and understand intimately because we enter Paradise - the Garden - on a daily basis today. I can tell you most affirmatively that we do not astrally project and neither do we enter into so-called 'altered states of consciousness', nor do we 'visualise' - all that is happening is that the Ruach is opening our hearts so that we can see into our own hearts and into the heart of the Elohim, which is Paradise. So I underline most boldly here, so that no one is in any doubt, astral projection is not of Yahweh and we are not to indulge in it. To do so is to open yourself up wide to demonic deception and attack. Our spirits do not leave our bodies and we are always and entirely conscious of our surroundings - we interact with our environment quite normally when we see these things, like talking to others. We are not in traces, nor do we behave in any other way than normally, except occasionally to lift our hearts up in praise and wonderment to the Most High. It is very, very important that we stress these things, especially as our critics and enemies are trying to paint a false picture to discredit us.
Now it is true that some people imagine they are in the Garden and give glowing accounts - they may even appear to be knowledgeable, having heard us talk while we experience these things or read the accounts we have written. However, they are invariably exaggerations, contain lies and fantasies, and do not connect to the people who are experiencing these things or to the Ruach who is giving them. People with fertile imaginations, not to mention demons who are more than happy to produce second-heaven astral counterfeits, can eaily fall into delusion. So beware and make sure you have someone who can discern and knows the Garden. Speak to the Misahpachah's Patriarchs and Matriarchs.
Now this silver cord - also called an astral cord - can be broken by Yahweh when He wills. When our life is over, Yahweh gently cuts it. He does, however, cut it in a more violent manner when He executes extremely evil people who will not repent, and occasionally gets His servants to do the same. You will have read accounts of our own experiences with satanists who have been sent to murder us and how they have been dispatched in this manner so I will not repeat that here, suffice to say that man cannot do this in his own will but only at the command of Yahweh. In reality, He is always in control, and not man.
That is the physical body and its connection to the spiritual. Solomon uses some metaphors to reinforce the manner of the breaking of this connection such as 'breaking the golden bowl', 'shattering the pitcher' at the spring or 'breaking the wheel' at the well which refer to other aspects of the life-and-death mechanism which I don't have time to go into today other than to point out that two of these are vessels that hold water which represents life and one is a turning mechanism ujsed at wells to draw water. John said:
"Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this He meant the Ruach haQodesh, whom those who believed in Him were later to receive" (John 7:38-39, NIV).
When the Ruach haQodesh ceases to operate in our bodies, the silver cord is severed and the body dies. At that point our own ruach or spirit returns to Yahweh, as Solomon noted. This is not, as the advocates of 'soul-sleeping' doctrine teach, just some impersonal force or energy but is the whole inner spiritual system including the divine energy from Yahweh - our spiritual bodies, organs, mechanisms, systems, and so on - in short, everything that is the essential you and me. All this leaves the lifeless body and returns to Yahweh for a preliminary judgment to determine whether it will reside in Paradise or on the spirit prison reserved for the unsaved and ungodly. You will remember that after His crucifixion Yah'shua visited the latter in order to preach to those who had died during the flood and before, as Peter writes:
"He [Yah'shua] was put to death in the body but made alive by the Ruach, through whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when Elohim waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built" (1 Peter 3:18-20, NIV).
Notice that is was through His Heavenly Mother - the Ruach haQodesh - that He did this, She Who also brought Him to life. The dead are conscious and able to hear the Word of the Messiah preached to them, just as they are alive today. However, we are not able to communicate with them and we are expressly forbidden to do so by Torah so if someone dead appears to you (in your room or in a dream, for example), you can be absolutely sure it is a demon impersonating that dead person. They are kept in their sphere. We may occasionally be permitted to see the dead in vision and indeed we have seen them in the Garden, where they reside, but they cannot come to us and this does not happen often and communication between them and us is only as Yahweh will and is never under our control.
Having said that we are conscious after death in our spirit forms, this does not mean that we are inherantly immortal. We are only as immortal as Yahweh is. The further away our spirit goes from Him, the more mortal our spirits get. And were we to totally absence ourselves from Him in every respect. we would indeed cease to have life and become unconscious. I have seen such spirits in vision.
Now this is a huge subject on which I have spoken before and I only bring it up here since this is the Day of Resurrection and because I know people are accutely interested in the subject, as is natural, since we must all one day die. Yahweh has taught me much about this subject over the years so I am using this opportunity to update you on what I have learned and currently know, adding that I am still learning. I have noticed particularly that the degree of our spiritual 'aliveness' is a function of our spiritual fruitfulness. Yah'shua tells parables of men with talents and of an unfruitful fig tree which He curses because of its barrenness.
When we are unfruitful in the things of Yahweh - when we bury our talents, do nothing, and just stagnate, the Most High is not pleased. He has given His Life so that we can enjoy it - it is precious, it cost the Son of Man everything He had to restore and resurrect this life to those who have thrown it away through carelessness or direct rebellion. The reason demons are destroyed in the end is because they produce no fruit, like the cursed fig tree. Humans are no different. If we produce no fruit, then we have negated the purpose for which we were made and are worthy only to be cut off the vine tree and burned. Yahweh delights in fruitfulness and we are only fruitful when we love according to Torah and do not count the cost. Does that mean that some humans are finally annihilated? I don't know, is the truthful answer, but I am speculating that those who becomes sons of Perdition are (e.g. Jn.17:12). Hopefully that will not be too many. We must remain open-minded and teachable about these things as Yahweh continues to instruct us. We must only teach what we absolutely know and admit our ignorance in all the rest.
I said earlier that Yom haBikkurim and the resurrection is not just for tomorrow when we are physically resurrected but also for now. The resurrection power of Yah'shua is used today, often very dramatically, to mend broken spirits and hearts. We have witnessed many people who, shattered by satanic ritual abuse, thinking themselves totally beyond repair, have been wonderfully restored and made whole through this resurrection power. It doesn't matter what the enemy has done to you - whether he has fractured you into dozens of personalities, stolen your life force, mutilated your sense of worth, despoiled your sexuality, or whatever he may have done - for Yah'shua can, will, and does restore these things! We and many others stand as testators of this resurrection power, as destroyed people are made whole, happy and fruitful. Whatever Satan has managed to destroy in your lives, Yah'shua WILL restore, and bless you abundantly afterwards too, so that you can serve Him and your fellow man joyfully. There is nothing that the Enemy has taken which you cannot have back, and that includes physical life, for this in particular Yahweh will restore in the Millennium. If you have a loved one who was cut off prematurely by abortion, murder, disease, or whatever, they will be restored in the Millennium at the age at which they were cut off and be fathered and mothered to maturity and fullness in a world where there is no violence, pain or fear. You have Yahweh's promise of that so rejoice, stop mourning, look forward to that day, and get on with life today. Live life to the fullest in Yahweh!
This, then, is the Good News of Yom haBikkurim - the Good News of the physical resurrection and immortality to come, and the Good News of newness of life today and every day if you choose it. The Heavenly Mothers, sent by the Heavenly Father in Yah'shua's Name, stand ready to minister to, and bless, those who have broken hearts and contrite spirits who will honour Them. So it is my prayer that the Ruach haShleshi, whose Day of Firstfruits this is, will enter every receptive heart here and bless it, in Yah'shua's Name, Amen.
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 7 March 2007
Last updated on 7 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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