Things are heating up in the Mid-East as Syria moves its scud launchers close to Israeli and Turkish borders. This is a key strategy that could result in fulfilling the Isaiah 17:1-3 prophecy about Damascus, the capital of Syria.

From the Complete Jewish Bible:
This is a prophecy about Dammesek: “Dammesek will soon stop being a city; it will become a heap of ruins. The cities of ‘Aro’er will be abandoned, given over to flocks lying down undisturbed. Efrayim will have no defenses, Dammesek will cease to rule, and Aram’s survivors will share the fate of Israel’s finest sons,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.

These are God’s words! And He says He will bring His Words to pass.

As someone recently pointed out, God gave a large tract of land to Israel (Eretz Yisra’el) to conquer and inhabit, but today she has but a portion of it, and even that small portion is being contested by her enemies. While the world looks on and encourages those around her, she is left to defend what little she has retained, and yet…every time Israel has a major battle with her Arab neighbors, she gains back some of her God-given land. If she had really strong leadership, she would never again swap any of that land for an elusive peace agreement…one that the Arab parties have no intention of keeping. Their only goal is to drive Israel completely out of her land.

As this all goes down, keep your hearts opened to the Holy Spirit, your prayers directed toward Israel, and your eyes looking up…

Baruch atem b’Shem, Yeshua!

Alright Talmidim (disciples/students), it’s time for another history lesson.  I’m aware that history is one of those subjects that you either love or hate.  Haha!  But in this case, our history really effects our future, and a proper understanding of Biblical history will greatly enhance our understanding of the Apostolic Scriptures.  I’d like to mention that if you haven’t yet read the “Covenant Series”, then please do so.  This study will build upon the foundational material that we presented there.  The basic summary of what we learned in that study was:

• Adonai promised Abraham innumerable descendents that would possess the Land of Canaan as an everlasting possession.
• In this covenant with Abraham, Adonai repeatedly envisioned a time when all nations would be shown favor by God through Abraham’s seed.
• The Exodus from Egypt was accomplished in order to fulfill God’s covenant to Abraham—Abraham’s descendents had indeed become a great nation in Egypt, and now God was bringing them out of bondage in order to begin possession of the promised Land of Canaan.
• On the way to the Land, God gave His Torah (Teaching) to the Descendents of Abraham.  This Torah described the righteous love life that God intends for all His people.
• Israel entered a covenant with God at Mt. Sinai concerning the Torah—the Sinaic Covenant is not the Torah itself, it’s an agreement concerning the Torah.
• This agreement stated that if Israel forsook Adonai’s Torah, then the Land of Promise would spew them out, and they would enter exile among the nations.
• The prophets repeatedly warned Israel concerning this impending judgement because  of Israel’s unfaithfulness to Adonai.  Eventually, Israel was scattered among the nations.
• But Adonai promised a New Covenant, that would differ from the Sinaic Covenant in that He would forgive Israel’s sins, remembering them no more, and that He would write His Torah upon Israel’s heart. 
• We studied this new covenant and it’s message in the Apostolic Writings.

We will now go back to the time just after King David’s reign, and see the very important events that transpired under the hand of his son, Solomon, and his descendents after him.  So with that said, let’s dig in.

History 101

After the glorious reign of King David, his son, Solomon, took the reigns of the Kingdom.  Solomon, you’ll remember, was the one that prayed for wisdom in order to be able to judge God’s people righteously, and for most of his life, he did just that.  However, Scripture tells us that Solomon transgressed the Torah’s instruction for kings not to multiply wives and horses unto themselves.  The Torah instructs us that if the king did this, their wives would turn their hearts from Adonai, and this is exactly what happened.  1 Kings 11 tells us:

“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned his heart after other gods:  and his heart was not perfect with Adonai his God, as was the heart of David his father.  For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites.  And Solomon did evil in the sight of Adonai, and went not fully after Adonai, as did David his father.  Then did Solomon build a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.  And lifewise did he for all this strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods.” (I Kings 11:4-8)

The next verses tell us that because Solomon did this thing, Adonai became furious with him.  Adonai pronounced a judgement upon Solomon, saying,

“…I will surely rend the kingdom from you, and will give it to you servant.  However, in your days I will not do it, for David My servant’s sake:  but I will rend it out of the hand of your son.  Howbeit, I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to your son for David My servant’s sake, and for Jerusalem’s sake which I have chosen.” (1 Kings 11:11-13)

God had promised David that He would not remove His descendents from the throne like He did with King Saul.  He had promised that if David’s descendents did not obey Him, He would chasten them, but He would not remove them.  We find God holding His promise to David here.  Though Solomon went after false gods, Adonai tempered His judgment for His servant David’s sake.  This judgment would not be a complete removal of the kingdom from Solomon, nor would it even occur in Solomon’s days; but would rather come upon Solomon’s son, Rehoboam. We find this story later in the chapter.

The Servant King

We find later in 1 Kings 11 the story of a young man named Jeroboam.  Jeroboam was a servant of Solomon’s.  The passage tells us that Jeroboam was an industrious young man, and therefore Solomon gave him charge of the house of Joseph.  Once when Jeroboam left Jerusalem, the prophet Ahijah found Jeroboam alone in a field.  Ahijah took a new garment, and ripped it in 12 pieces.  He then told Jeroboam to pick up 10 pieces, “for” Ahijah said, “Adonai, the God of Israel will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give 10 tribes to you.”(vs. 31)  Solomon, it was explained will retain one tribe [we’ll work out the math situation in a minute].  This one tribe would serve to provide “David My servant with a light always before Me in Jerusalem” (vs. 36).  God went on to tell Jeroboam, through Ahijah the prophet, that He would no afflict the seed of David forever, but when Solomon heard about this incident, He sought to kill Jeroboam.  As a result, Jeroboam fled to Egypt and waited until Solomon died. [1 Kings 11:26-40]

After the death of Solomon, Rehoboam, his son, took the throne over all Israel.  1 Kings 12 records for us that when Solomon died, Jeroboam returned from Egypt and approached Rehoboam the new king.  They mentioned that Solomon had, in his later years, put a grievous yoke on the neck of Israel, and they requested that he, Rehoboam, lighten the yoke.  Rehoboam told them to return in 3 days for his answer.  Rehoboam then took counsel with a group of aged men that encouraged him to lighten the yoke.  They mentioned that the people would be grateful and serve him forever.  However, Rehoboam took counsel with young men that grew up with him, which encouraged him to not only maintain the heavy yoke, but to add to it.  They counseled him to say, “my father put upon you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke:  my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!” (vs. 11)

At this, the people of Israel rejected Rehoboam’s kingship, saying, “What portion have we in David?  Neither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse [David]:  to your tents, O Israel!” (vs. 16)  But once the people heard that Jeroboam had returned from Egypt, they made him king over themselves—all except for the tribe of Judah (vs. 20).

Of course, when Rehoboam heard of this, he immediately began to make preparations for war, but Adonai sent a prophet named Shemaiah to Rehoboam instructing him not to fight, “for this thing is from Me.” (vs. 24) 

The rest of the chapter spells out that Jeroboam immediately turned away from the ways of Adonai as well!  He figured that if the people of his kingdom were to visit Jerusalem for the festivals, their hearts would turn back to Adonai and to Rehoboam, the grandson of David.  So he created two golden calves, placing one in Bethel, and the other on in Dan.  He made the exact same declaration that the children of Israel made concerning the golden calf in the Wilderness!  “Behold your gods, O Israel, which brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (vs. 28)  Unbelievable, huh?!  Jeroboam then made a new priesthood “from the lowest of the people” and new feast days!

10 + 1 = 12?

Ok, so math wasn’t the prophet’s strong suit!  Haha!  (Just kidding) What we’ve seen so far is that Jeroboam was given 10 northern tribes of Israel to rule.  These 10 tribes became known in the prophetic literature as the House of Israel.  The two remaining tribes in the south, Judah and Benjamin, became known as the House of Judah.  You’ll find references all through the prophets speaking of the House of Israel and the House of Judah.

Each of these two Houses had 19 kings.  In the north, none of them were righteous.  That’s right—al l 19 kings were wicked!  Most of the kings of the south were also wicked, however there was the occasional revival under certain kings like Josiah and Hezekiah.  Among the prophets, some prophets spoke only to the northern House of Israel, some spoke only to the southern House of Judah, and some travelled between the two.

The House of Judah to the south consisted of the large tribe of Judah, and the small tribe of Benjamin.  Benjamin, in essence, became swallowed up in Judah, so our Scriptures refer to the southern kingdom as “one tribe”.  But in fact, Judah consisted not only of Judahites and Benjaminites, but many Levites and those from among the 10 northern tribes that had a heart for Jerusalem.  We find this stated in 2 Chron. 11:14-17:

“For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem:  for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest’s office unto Adonai…And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek Adonai, God of Israel, came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto Adonai God of their fathers.  So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah…”

So we find here that the southern kingdom consisted not only of Judah and Benjamin, but those from every tribe that had a heart for the God of Israel.  They fled the wickedness of the north.  This is why we find in the later Babylonian Captivity a record of the House of Judah that returned to the Land of Israel, with men from all the various tribes.

We find throughout the prophets that the wickedness of the northern kingdom continued to worsen.  Eventually, in 1 Kings 17, we find the record that in King Hoshea’s 9^th year as king, the Assyrians took the House of Israel [also known as “Samaria” and “Ephraim”] captive [@ 722BC].  The Assyrians took these Israelite captives and spread them all over their empire, leaving only some that knew how to work the land.  They then took men from all the other nations that they had conquered, and they brought them into this northern region of Israel, Samaria.  This was in order to squelch an uprising from their subjects.  As far as cruel tyrannies go, it was smart.  The remnant of the ten tribes left in the north eventually intermarried with the gentiles brought in from the nations.  This created a half-bred Israel, known today as Samaritans.  This is why we find in the gospels that the jews despised Samaritans, because they considered them half-bred dogs [“dogs” being a common term for gentiles among the Judeans of the first century].

But Israel wasn’t alone in this captivity exercise.  Judah also eventually became exiled under the Babylonians [@ 586BC].  Unlike Israel’s captivity however, Judah was allowed to maintain a continuity of community in Babylon.  We’re familiar with these stories of Judah’s exiles through the stories of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego; and Esther and Mordechai.  But after 70 years of captivity, Judah was allowed to return to the Land of Israel again under the ministry of men like Nehemiah, Ezra, Haggai and Zechariah.  These men were all contemporaries that led Israel to a time of rebuilding in the Land.  Under their work, Jerusalem, and eventually the Temple, was rebuilt.

But the northern tribe of Israel never returned from captivity.  They were scattered far and wide among the nations and, in fact, to this day have never returned.  But that doesn’t mean God didn’t speak about this future return.  We looked at many of these promises in the Covenant Series.  God promised a time when Israel and Judah would be gathered from among the nations, eclipsing the very Exodus from Egypt in magnitude!  In our next lesson, we’re gonna explore a few more of the passages that we didn’t look at in the Covenant Series.  These passages will shed light on the concept of the Kingdom of Israel being reunited again.  Whereas under the hand of Rehoboam, because of his father, the Kingdom of Israel [aka. the Kingdom of Adonai] was divided; there will be a day when this Kingdom of God will be restored and David’s Dynasty will be established again!

Till next time!

Shalom

We’re now going to dig into some of the foundation for the Kingdom of God.  As we do, I want to encourage you to allow the Scripture to speak for itself, and don’t attempt to allegorize it or make it squeeze into a pre-fitted theological box.  The Word of God says what it means.  As we proceed in this study, your idea of the Kingdom of God may be challenged, but I want to encourage you to continue reading, and perhaps you’ll find a fuller understanding of the Kingdom of God by the conclusion of this study.  So with that said, let’s get started!

Israel, a Kingdom of Priest

The first mention of a kingdom belonging to God in the Scripture is found in Exodus 19:6.  In this passage, God is promising that if Israel will obey His commandments, they would become a “special treasure” to Him, a “kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”   The combination of a kingdom and a priesthood is interesting.  We usually think of kingdoms in earthly terms.  Kingdoms have palaces, and armies, and land, etc.  But a priesthood is by definition a divine entity.  A priest is an intermediary between the Divine and the earthly.  So to have a Kingdom consisting of priests is to acknowledge that God’s Kingdom is not just an earthly one, nor is it just a national one; it’s a synthesis of both!

We read in the Psalms statements such as:

“Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever:  the scepter of Your Kingdom is a right scepter.” (Psa. 45:6)

“Adonai has prepared His throne in the heavens; and His kingdom rules over all.” (Psa. 103:19)

“They shall speak  of the glory of Your Kingdom, and talk of Your power; to make known to the sons of men His mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of His kingdom.  Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.” (Psa. 145:11-13)

It’s easy to see the divine nature of God’s Kingdom in passages such as these.  But Scripture doesn’t only speak of the Kingdom of God in esoterical terms; it’s also refers to the Kingdom of God in very tangible, visible terms.  Let’s look at that for bit.

David’s Promise

In the book of 2 Samuel, chapter 7, we find the record of Adonai’s promise to David concerning his kingdom.  David had been sitting in his house and began to ponder the fact that Adonai had given him many good gifts.  Yet, while David sat in his plush palaces, He lamented the fact that God’s Ark was dwelling in a tent.  David wanted to build God a House (Temple) as a proper resting place for the Ark of the Covenant.  In response, God sent the prophet Nathan with these words:

“Go and tell My servant David, Thus says the Lord, Shall you build Me a house to dwell in?  I have not dwelt in any house since the time that I brought up the children of Israel out of Egypt, even to this day, but have walked in a tent and in a tabernacle.  In all the places where I have walked with all the children of Israel, did I speak a word with any of the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to feed My people Israel, saying, Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?  Now therefore say to My servant David, Thus says Adonai of Hosts, I took you from the sheepcote, from following the sheep to be ruler over My people, over Israel:  and I was with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from your sight, and have made you a great name, like the name of the great men that are in the earth.  Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict them anymore, as before.  Since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel and have caused you to rest from all your enemies, I will also tell you that I will make you a house.  And when your days be fulfilled, and you shall sleep with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you [Solomon], which shall proceed out of your loins, and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build a house [the Temple] for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.  I will be his father, and he shall be My son.  If he commits iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men:  but My mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before you.  And your house and your kingdom shall be established for ever before you: your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:5-16)

Most of us are familiar with this story.  David is allowed to prepare the materials for the building of the Temple, but because he has been a man of war, He is not allowed to build the Temple itself.  His son, Solomon, is chosen to fulfill that task.  God promises David that his house (this refers to David’s Dynasty), his kingdom and his throne will be established forever!  These three terms are synonymous.  This is Hebrew poetry—your house, your kingdom & your throne.

But this story is more interesting when we compare it’s parallel passage found in 1 Chronicles 17.  I’m not going to quote it at length; I’ll just quote the pertinent verses to our discussion.

“And it shall come to pass, when your days are expired, when you must go to be with your fathers, that I will raise up your seed after you [Solomon], which shall be of your sons; and I will establish his kingdom.  He shall build Me a house, and I will establish His throne forever.  I will be his father, and he shall be My son; and I will not take My mercy away from him, as I took it from him that was before you.  But I will settle him in My House, and in My Kingdom forever:  and his throne shall be established forevermore.” (1 Chron. 17:11-14)

Did you catch that?  In the 2 Samuel passage, Adonai promised to establish David’s house and kingdom.  In the 1 Chronicles passage, the house and kingdom being established is Adonai’s!  This is because they are synonymous.  The Kingdom of Israel is the Kingdom of God!

This is seen again later in the book of 1 Chronicles.  We find in chapter 28 that David’s days are coming to a close and he calls Solomon his son, and begins to exhort him on being a king.  David wants to solidify Solomon’s claim to the throne, so he begins to exhort the people.  He says—

“And of all my sons, (for the Lord has given me many sons), He has chosen Solomon my son to sit upon the throne of the kingdom of the Lord over Israel.” (1 Chronicles 28:5)

Think about that—the throne of the kingdom of…God.  Yes, the kingdom of Israel is the Kingdom of God.  The next chapter restates it again as a fact.

“Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Lord as king instead of David his father, and prospered; and all Israel obeyed him.” (1 Chronicles 29:23)

Like a Mustard Seed

Have you ever thought through that before? 

Before the Fall in Genesis 3, God walked with Adam in the cool of the day.  The whole of creation was their playing field.  But once sin entered the physical realm, the presence of God was withdrawn from the earth, guarded by cherubim that kept man away.  But immediately God went to work to restore His dwelling with man again.

Under the administration of Moses, God commanded the people to build Him a Tabernacle “that I may dwell among them.” (Ex. 25:8)  God set apart a parcel of land that He instructed to be consecrated to Him.  His divine presence filled this parcel of land so intensely that Moses, who just spent 40 days with God on Mt. Sinai, couldn’t even enter the Tent.  But the tent wasn’t God’s ultimate plan.  It was a means to an end.  God’s ultimate plan is to fill the earth again with His dwelling!  But to get there, He separated a parcel of land.

He did the same thing with a people.  God’s intent has always been to redeem all mankind—every tribe, tongue and people group.  But to start this process, He chose a man—Abram.  To this man He made a promise of land to his descendents.  And He promised this man Abram that one day, from his seed, all nations of the earth would become blessed (accepted).  These children of Abraham were to become a kingdom of priest that would become a light to the nations.  They would eventually be sent forth among the nations proclaiming glad tidings that the seed has come, and all men are accepted once again!

And now we find, that God is working to restore His Divine Kingdom in the earth once again.  Among the descendents of Abraham, he chose a man—David.  And He promised this man a kingdom that would last forever.  He promised to “raise up” one of David’s descendents to sit on this throne and promised to establish this son’s Kingdom forever and ever!  Eventually, this kingdom of Israel (which is equivalent with the Kingdom of God) would grow and grow and fill the earth until the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of God Himself under the rulership of the eternal Son of David!  So yes, the Kingdom of God is the Kingdom of Israel, because God has a plan to establish His Divine Kingdom in the earth again through this Kingdom of Israel!

As we proceed in our study, we’ll find this become increasingly clear.  I’ll leave you with this passage:

“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon His Kingdom, to order and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even forever.  The zeal of Adonai of Hosts will perform this.” (Isa. 9:6-7)

Till next time!

Shalom–

Israel has lost nearly 23, 000 citizens through these years of growing into a solid, stable nation. She is a miracle, surrounded by evil wanting her demise. And while she must daily concentrate on staying alive and safe, her people have blessed the world with inventions and innovations, with brilliant scholars, and multi-talented richness in all the arts. She is an enigma, for no nation her size dwarfed on all sides by hate-filled Arabs bent on her destruction, has ever produced such a strong, determined people, able to thrive and offer so much to the rest of the world, even as the world offers her nothing back but condemnation and misunderstanding!

I offer my prayers for shalom and thank you for your greatest gift of all, Yeshua HaMashiach!

You are truly blessed and a blessing, Isra’el, Beloved of God, and a country that holds my heart in your hands!

Shalu Shalom, Yerushalayim, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Baruch atem b’Shem, Yeshua

There’s a verse in Galatians that just piqued my interest this morning … 6:16.  What does Paul mean by “the Israel of God“?  I realize he’s speaking to Jews who are still trying to prove their righteousness by circumcision of the flesh, but it’s interesting that he should use that phrase.

Response from John

Throughout the region of Galatia, just as in Aisa Minor, Paul was battling a group that he dubbed the ‘circumcision’ group. They were the Judaizers that Paul talks about.

In the Mishnah (I ‘think’ Sanhedrin 10b?)–the Mishnah is basically the ‘Oral Torah’ of the Pharisees written down-it says, “All Israel has a part in the World to Come, for it is written ‘Thy people are all righteous’” (quoting Isaiah 60:21). Now the verse in Isaiah is actually speaking of Israel’s future restoration. You know the chapter–”Arise, Shine, for your light has come, and the glory of Adonai has arisen upon you…” but the Pharisees interpreted this verse as simply stating a fact concerning Israel–all Israel is righteous. They believed that God was only in covenant with Israel (that’s true) and that if a man was born Jewish, and circumcised on the 8th day, he was automatically righteous unless he committed a sin that ‘cut him off’ from Israel. If he were ‘cut off’, he lost his righteous status. Furthermore, the covenants that God made with Israel, specifically the New Covenant that spoke of the gathering of the nations, were made with “the House of Israel and the House of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). So, the Pharisees (and we should acknowledge the young Saul among them) considered a man righteous because he was part of the Jewish nation, hence salvation, or righteousness, was based upon his ethnicity.

The Pharisees had no problem with Gentiles coming into covenant with God. It was easy–become Jewish!! And how does one become Jewish? Be circumcised! Now, there’s no such ‘conversion’ ritual in the Torah. Torah never says that a Gentile has to become circumcised to become Jewish. The Torah teaches that one has to be circumcised to enter the Temple, or eat a peace offering off the altar. This is why anyone wanting to eat the Passover had to be circumcised–the Passover lamb is a peace offering. But the Pharisees figured that if a man was going to become a part of Israel and obey the Torah to bring an offering 3 times a year at least (at the festivals), then he needs to be circumcised. So this conversion ritual developed to make a Gentile into a Jew. Once the Gentile 1)agreed to obey the written & oral Torah, 2)became circumcised, and 3)underwent a baptism, he was considered “an Israelite in every way” [Mishnah]. His first act was then to 4) offer a sin offering in the Temple.

When the Gentile was immersed (#3 above), he was considered “born again”–yes, it’s a Pharisaical term. “He went into the water a Gentile, but when he comes out, He’s an Israelite in every way” [same Mishnah reference as above]. This will make more sense of Nicodemus and Jesus’ discussion in John 3. Jesus says “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God”. Nicodemus understood what Jesus said, but it didn’t make sense to his pharisaical theology. Nicodemus was ALREADY Jewish-and had been his whole life–how could he be “born again”? Nicodemus answers Jesus in the same metaphorical manner of Jesus statement. “How can a man be born again when he is old? [How can a Jew be born again as a Jew? I'm old--i.e. I've been a Jew all my life]. Jesus responds, “Except a man be born of water (natural birth) AND of spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”. Jesus was correcting the Pharisaical theology. Even if one is Jewish, that’s not enough. He must be “born from above”.

So consider now Paul’s theology [don't worry, I'm getting to your question <smile>] while on his road to Damascus. He’s a Hebrew of Hebrews–a Pharisee trained at the feet of the great Sage Gamaliel. Suddenly, he’s staring into the face of Adonai, which asks why He is fighting against Him. This realization had to unravel Paul’s theology. Not only was he not in covenant with this God, he was actually his enemy!! Paul’s ethnic standing as a “Law abiding Jew” did nothing for him!! He was just as lost as a Gentile.

Over the ensuing months and years, Paul began to review his Pharisaical theology and under the tutelage of Yeshua, learned that being ‘righteous’ was a matter of “faith”, not ethnicity. While re-reading Genesis, he noticed that Abraham was righteous while he was uncircumcised. On what basis? Faith. Habakkuk said, “the righteous shall live (be resurrected) by faith”. So what granted entrance to the World to Come? Faith. That was a game changer for Paul.

As Paul studied, he began to notice with new eyes, the Torah’s teaching on Gentiles! The Covenant of Abraham was all about the nations being “blessed” by the descendants of Abraham. According to Exodus (19), Israel was to be a priesthood. This means Israel would serve as Adonai’s servants to mediate to the nations! Isaiah said Israel would become a light to the nations! Explosions of Scripture changed his attitude to Gentiles. So when he heard of Peter’s experience with Cornelius, where the Spirit filled the Gentiles (though uncircumcised!!), that was it for Paul. Circumcision (i.e. Conversion) was not necessary for the Gentiles to enter the new covenant. God was not calling the Gentiles to become Jewish (as if that were possible anyway), he was calling them to have faith.

So Paul, apostle to the nations, preached a gospel of justification based upon faith. But his message was constantly plagued by this stinking ‘circumcision group’ who was going behind him teaching these new Gentile believers that if they were going to ‘be saved’ (cf. Acts 15:1), they had to accept circumcision.

This is what we find in Galatians. These Galatians were Gentiles that had believed Paul’s message of faith, but had been “bewitched”. Paul argued that no man is justified before God based on his deeds. Justification is only based upon faith. If these Galatians became circumcised because they believed they would gain righteousness before God by doing so, they were being deceived by the Pharisaical believers (Acts 15:1, 5). By putting their trust in an ethnic righteousness, they were stating that Messiah’s work wasn’t sufficient alone to ensure righteousness. In Paul’s eyes, this was a fall from grace. They no longer “faithed” in Jesus for righteousness, they “faithed” in a deed of the Law. But that deed (or ANY deed of the Law) was unable to make them righteous. Salvation, Paul argued, wasn’t based on the works of the Law (including circumcision). An unsaved Gentile that becomes circumcised became an unsaved Jew! What good did it do?! Jesus taught a new birth from above! An internal circumcision, made without human hands–this is what saves!

So with this argument in mind, Paul had a renewed sense of Israel as well. Israel was no longer identified by ethnicity. Paul’s personal testimony proved that. “For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; which is outward in the flesh [physically circumcised]: but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter [simply a physical thing].” (Rom 2:28-29)

Paul taught later in Romans that the unbelieving Israelites were branches that had been broken off and set carefully to the side, ready to be grafted back into the vine, once they believe; and that Gentiles from the nations which had believed had been grafted into the vine. In Paul’s new theology, the Vine of Israel consisted of both Jews and Gentiles with the common element of faith. Israel was faith-based, not ethnically-based. So the ‘Israel of God’ is a Pauline reference to this concept of Israel. In verse 12, Paul referenced those from the circumcision group who were pushing circumcision because they didn’t want to be persecuted by fellow Pharisees. These Pharisees believed that Jesus was Messiah, but they were catching flack from the Pharisees because of all these Gentiles that were claiming to be part of Israel without conversion. Paul had gone too far, they thought. Paul simply considered them “ashamed of the gospel”.

Make sense?  Ask again if something doesn’t make sense.

Shalom!

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The Gospel of the Kingdom—that’s a phrase we’ve heard over and over again, and yet we comprehend so little about it.  It’s been a source of debate and contention for millennia.  Is the Kingdom now, or future?  Is the Kingdom a national Jewish dominion, or a spiritual entity from above?  And what about the gospel?  What is the message of the Gospel?  That Jesus has died, been buried and resurrected?  These are all valid questions that we have about this topic, and it’s the purpose of this series to address these questions.

Years ago, a friend of mine pointed out to me that if you look at a tree, it’s full of branches reaching out in all directions; but as you follow those branches back to their source in the trunk, they all come together again.  This is true with the Kingdom of God as well.  There are both national and spiritual aspects to the Kingdom ofGod, and the Kingdom is both present and future.  If we attempt to search out truth only as seen on the outer branches, we’ll fall into error regarding central truths taught in the Scriptures, but if we trace the roots, or sources of those ideas, they all come back to the center in the ancient faith of our fathers.

So let’s look at the Scriptures a little closer as we study the Kingdom of God, and search out the meaning of the Gospel!

Gospel of the Kingdom of God

“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:  repent and believe the gospel’”. (Mark 1:14-15)

“And He said unto them, ‘I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore I am sent.  And He preached in the synagogues of Galilee.’” (Luke 4:43-44)

“And Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” (Mt. 9:35)

These few verses are just a sample of many verses throughout the gospels declaring that Jesus went forth preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom.  His message was the same as John the Baptist before Him, ‘Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand’ (compare Mt. 3:2 and Mt. 4:17).  Now what’s amazing to many of us is that the people didn’t scratch their heads and say, “what’s He talking about?”  “What’s the Kingdom of God?”  I mean we find this reaction later when Jesus gives a hard-to-understand message like, “you must eat My flesh and drink My blood”, but not here!  In fact, all signs point to the fact that the people understood the message of John the Baptist and Jesus.  And what’s more, later, when Jesus sent out the twelve in pairs throughout the towns and villages of Israel, the people seemed to understand their message of the Kingdom of God also.  In fact, let’s look at this record of the sending of the twelve a little closer and see what “gospel” they were preaching.

“Then He called His twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.  And He sent them to preach the Kingdom of God, and to heal the sick…And they departed, and went through the towns preaching the gospel, and healing everywhere.” (Luke 9:1-2, 6)

Now just a few verses later, we find that upon their return, Jesus continued to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the people—

“And the apostles, when they were returned, told Him all that they had done.  And He took them, and went aside privately into a desert place belonging to the city called Bethsaida.  And the people, when they knew it, followed Him:  and He received them, and spoke unto them of the Kingdom of God, and healed them that had need of healing.”(Luke 9:10-11)

It was into this setting that the day wore on and the people became hungry.  Jesus fed the 5000 that day.  Then we come to verses 18-22:

“And it came to pass, as He was along praying, His disciples were with Him, and He asked them, ‘Whom do the people say that I am?’  They answered, ‘John the Baptist, but some say Elijah, and others say one of the old prophets is risen again.’  He said unto them, ‘But whom do you say that I am?’  Peter answered and said, ‘The Messiah of God’.  And He straightly charged them, and commanded them to tell no man that thing; saying, ‘the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day.’” (Luke 9:18-22)

What?!  Did you catch that?  Peter declares that Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), and Jesus charges, even commanding them, not to tell anybody that!  Well if this revelation of Jesus being the Messiah had just come out, and Jesus didn’t want that spread around, what in the world were the twelve just preaching in all the cities and villages of Israel?  They were preaching the Gospel (vs. 6), but it didn’t involve the fact that Jesus was the Messiah, or His death, burial or resurrection!  Curious, wouldn’t you say?

And not only that, after being told about the future work of the Cross, they still didn’t understand it!

“Let these sayings sink down into your ears:  for the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men.  But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not:  and they feared to ask Him of that saying.” (Lk. 9:44-45)

Let’s compare Luke’s account to some of the other gospel writers and see if their versions validate what Luke said—

“He said unto them, ‘Whom do you say that I am?’ And Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Messiah (Christ), the Son of the Living God’.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonas (son of Jonah): for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but My Father which is in heaven…Then charged He His disciples that they should tell no man that He was Jesus the Messiah.” (Mt. 16:15-17, 20)

Well, obviously Matthew believes the same story.  But notice the very next verse, where Matthew reveals that it wasn’t even until this time that Jesus started to tell His disciples about His future work:

“From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.  Then Peter took Him and began to rebuke Him, saying, ‘Be it far from you Lord:  this shall not be unto you’.  But He turned, and said unto Peter, ‘Get thee behind Me satan:  for you savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.’” (Mt. 16:21-23)

Wow.  Not only do we see that Jesus just now began to tell them about His future work on the Cross, but He got rebuked for it from Peter!  Haha!  Obviously, Peter wasn’t preaching that Jesus was the Messiah and His future death was going to remove their sins!  Haha!

Let’s check out Mark’s account, and see what he says—

“And He saith unto them, ‘But whom say you that I am?’  And Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah’.  And He charged them that they should tell no man of Him.  And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed and after three days rise again.” (Mk. 8:29-31)

There we have it.  Three gospels all saying the same thing—Jesus had sent His men out to preach the Gospel, the same gospel that He and John the Baptist before Him had preached, but obviously it didn’t declare His messiahship or his work on the Cross.  Doesn’t that strike you as strange?  I mean in our day, if I were to ask you what the Gospel is, you would list off the very things that Jesus just began to teach these men in these passages—Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection for the removal of our sins.  And to be sure, this is the central pillar of our gospel now!  But our Scriptures reveal that there was a gospel before this message ever came into being!  And this proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom was the purpose that Jesus had been sent! (Lk. 4:43)  If we don’t understand this message of the Kingdom of God, we’re missing the great context of our faith!

A Two-part Gospel

We find later in the gospels that Jesus added an element to the Gospel of the Kingdom that He had been preaching.  We find this recorded for us in Luke 24.

“And He said unto them, ‘These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms concerning Me.  Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, ‘Thus it is written that Christ must suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among the nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  And you are witnesses of these things.” (Lk. 24:44-48)

Notice here the same declaration in the Gospel of the Kingdom—Repent!  But now added to that message of repentance is the message of the remission of sins in His name.  This two-fold message must now be proclaimed among the nations!

And we see this in the book of Acts—

“But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the Kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” (Acts 8:12)

There’s the two-fold message:  the Kingdom of God (original message) and the name of Jesus Christ (remission of sins through Jesus)!

[Paul speaking to the elders at Ephesus] “Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ…And now, behold I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the Kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.” (Acts 20:21, 25)

There it is again—repentance and faith in Jesus.  Notice the consistent message of the Kingdom of God in John the Baptist, Jesus, His apostles, Philip and Paul.  This is not a fringe doctrine—it’s a central pillar to our faith.

Once again, we see the last verse in Acts echoing this same two-part message as it closes its witness to us—

“And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, preaching the Kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.” (Acts 28:30-31)

Can it become any clearer to us?  There is a two-fold message in the gospel.  We seem to have one side of the Gospel message down.  We preach the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus all over this planet, but that’s just half a message!  We’ve strayed from the message of the Kingdom of God.  Our preachers have long forgotten the context of this message.  Our commentaries work feverously on one half of the message, but the other half is just as important!  Jesus preached the Kingdom of God before He preached the message of the Cross.  So did His apostles!  Without the understanding of the Kingdom of God, the message of the Cross, as powerful as it is, loses some of its edge.  The message of the remission of sins was designed to be proclaimed in the context of the Gospel of the Kingdom.  We can spend our lives proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ and seeing a little fruit, or we can take the time to understand the greater context of the Kingdom of God so that we can bear greater fruit.

But there’s another incentive for us to rediscover the Gospel of the Kingdom—it must be preached to the nations before the end will come!

“And this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.” (Mt. 24:14)

Looking Back

It’s very possible that during this series, you’re going to hear a message of the Kingdom of God that you’ve never heard before.  The Kingdom of God was not a new idea that Jesus came up with.  God had been revealing His Kingdom from ancient time to men in the sun-soaked sands of Israel.  Through this study, we’re gonna dig into some of these revelations and learn some history along the way.  As we do, listen and try to understand the message that our Father reveals in its context.  Afterward, when we revisit the message presented in the gospels, things will begin to snap into place like you didn’t see before.  It’ll be a fun journey for all of us! 

Till next time—

Shalom!

I awoke from tear-stained dreams of grief and despair, to the dim light of dawn. Deep vermillion seeped into the indigo of the receding night sky and highlighted the waves of clouds overhead. A shiver ran through me as the red sun emerged and sent rays of light across the undersides of the clouds in a burst of brilliance and breathtaking splendor. How could this be? Time should have ended. The earth should have come to a stand still and dissolved from the endless tears I had shed. He was the One. He said so. I believed Him. Now He was gone.

The heavens came alive with pinks and flaming oranges streaking through deep purples and lavenders. Searing white gold outlined the clouds closely guarding the sun, and the sky exploded. I couldn’t breathe, but the world wasn’t coming to an end, it was… rejoicing! Birds flew to tree branches and their melodies swept through my heart strings, stirring my emotions into my own song of wonder. I dressed in haste and ran out the door.

Nothing prepared me for the endless notes of praise singing through the blades of grass as I ran to that awful place of finality. There should have been sadness and anguish, instead, the air reverberated with the harmonics of an invisible choir. I turned in circles in the center of blinding light.

And then His voice parted the mist. I stood in His rapturous presence unable to speak, while around me, the earth laughed out loud and the heavens resounded in triumphant ecstasy. All of creation could not contain the joy of seeing their Beloved alive!

Drained of strength and overcome with euphoric awe, I fell to my knees and hid my face in my hands. A whisper, soft as a summer zephyr, surrounded me and held me in quiet tenderness. “You must tell the others. I go to my Father, but I will be with all of you, soon.”

The scent of rose water, frankincense and myrrh lifted me to my feet before it drifted into the air. I stood, trembling, afraid to open my eyes. When I did, rays of sunlight bathed my room in a warm ethereal glow. Had it been just a dream? Tears formed, but when I turned my head, something cool and soft caressed my cheek. The heady fragrance of rose petals had me tossing the covers aside. I dressed in haste and ran out the door with a message that would turn the world upside down…

“He’s Alive!”
Matthew 28~Mark 16~Luke 24~John 20
© Pesach, 2012 Mid Stutsman

The feasts of the Lord—ah, what delight!  The closeness of community, the traditions passed down through generations, and oh the food!  It doesn’t get much better than this.  But the feasts are much more than excuses to get together and party—they’re divinely inspired times of spiritual maturity if one participates as instructed in the Scriptures!

For those unfamiliar with the feasts, they are all described in succession in the book of Leviticus, chapter 23.  This article will not cover all the festivals listed there, but we’ll begin to look at the Spring feast since we are currently in that very season.  So let’s explore—

“These are the feasts of the Lord, even holy convocations, which you shall proclaim in their seasons.  (Lev. 23:4)

Verse four above lays out the official proclamation for all the feasts that follow throughout the chapter.  Here, Adonai declares that these are the feasts (Heb. Moedim) of the Lord.  A moed (singular) is an appointed time, or a meeting.  Adonai goes on to clarify that they are to be holy convocations (Heb. Mikraei kodesh), meaning holy gatherings or sacred assemblies.  In other words, we are supposed to gather together on these specific days in holiness!  So consider this—our Heavenly Father has instructed us concerning His divine appointments.  Now if you got a message from an angel that said, “God would like you to meet Him at 5^th/Main at noon tomorrow, how many of us would be there?  All of us, right?!  Haha!  That’s what God does in Leviticus 23.  He essentially says, I’m making an appointment with you—write it on your calendars—because I want to meet with you.  So the instruction is given to proclaim, or declare the festivals in their seasons (same word moedim as earlier in the verse 4).  We are to call the assembly on the festival days so that everyone can come and convocate (gather).

Why would God do this?  Apparently, Adonai has a purpose behind this series of appointments that He wants us to consider.  So let’s begin to look at some of these feasts.

Adonai’s Passover

“In the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is Adonai’s Passover.  And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread unto Adonai:  seven days you must eat unleavened bread.  In the first day you shall have a holy convocation:  you shall do no civil work therein.  But you shall offer an offering made by fire unto Adonai for seven days:  in the seventh day is a holy convocation:  you shall do no civil work therein.”  (Lev. 23:5-8)

The list begins with the Festival known as Adonai’s Passover.  We find this festival first mentioned to us in Exodus 12.  Its setting is right in the middle of the Exodus story with plagues being poured out on Egypt.  God had called to the man, Moses, from the burning bush on top of Mt. Sinai.  He had instructed Moses to return to Egypt and instruct Pharoah to let His people go.  Pharoah’s hard heart resulted in 9 of the most insidious plagues being poured out upon the land of Egypt—each attacking a different god that the Egyptians worshipped.  Showing Himself sovereign over the false gods of Egypt, Adonai gave Pharoah one final chance to release His people, but Pharoah once again hardened his heart and refused.  The final response was the instruction concerning the Passover.

“Speak to all the congregation of Israel, and tell them that in the tenth day of the this month (the 1^st month) they shall take to them-everyone- a lamb, according to the house of their fathers [gathered by families], a lamb for a house.  And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbor next to his house take it according to the number of souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. [As the passage explains in a moment, the whole lamb had to be eaten overnight, so the appropriate number of people were to be gathered in a house that could eat the lamb in one night.]  Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year:  you shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:  and you shall keep it up until the fourteen day of the same month:  and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening.  And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, where they shall eat it.  And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.  Eat not of it raw, or boiled at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance (guts) thereof.  And you shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remains of it until the morning you shall burn with fire.  And thus shall you eat it, with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste:  it is Adonai’s Passover.  For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment:  I am Adonai.  And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where you are:  and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.  And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to Adonai throughout your generations; you shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever.”

Wow, it’s no wonder why this feast speaks to us of our Master Yeshua (Jesus) so much.  When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching him at the Jordan, he declared, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn. 1:29, 36)  And Paul declared in 1 Corinthians—

“Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened.  For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” (1 Cor. 5:7)

We can deduce from this then that the Passover and it’s rituals, as detailed in Exodus 12, speak to us of Christ!  He is that lamb that was set aside from the 10^th day of Nisan (1^st month) unto the 14^th day, being scrutinized (examined) by the religious leaders of His day and found blameless.  He is the lamb that was slain so that His blood could provide protection for all who put their faith in its protective power.  He is the lamb that the Roman soldiers did not break the bones of “that the scripture should be fulfilled, ‘A bone of Him shall not be broken.’” (John 19:36)

We find in the Exodus 12 passage that one lamb was sufficient for the entire house.  In fact, an interesting statement is found in the passage.  Though Israel surely had thousands of lambs slaughtered on Passover (Josephus reports 600,000 in one Passover of the first century), the text uses the singular word “it” when instructing the slaying of the lamb.  “…the whole assembly of the congregation shall kill it (or him) in the evening…”  All of the thousands of lambs were seen as a singular lamb from God’s perspective.  One lamb for a house.  That’s also speaks of Messiah, whose one single sacrifice is sufficient for all those who join His house by faith in Him. 

Have you ever stopped to consider the logic behind these Passover instructions?  How does blood protect a household from the avenging hand of death?  We make sense of it theologically, but on that very first night, the anxiety had to be excruciating!  The people in the house had to have faith that the blood from their lamb was sufficient to protect them from certain death.  It’s the same for us—we have been commanded to place our trust in the sacrifice of a man that took place 2000 years before we existed.  And if we do trust that the blood of that sacrifice is sufficient, we too will escape the wrath to come!

So we see that Messiah is our Passover lamb.  We should notice also that this festival of Passover comes first in the line of appointed times.  This means that this is the first gate when approaching God.  Until we come to grips with the sacrifice of His Lamb on our behalf, there is no need to consider the appointed times beyond that.  God’s appointed time with every man begins with the saving, sacrificial work of His Son—Jesus Christ. 

But for those that do recognize the value in the Lamb’s sacrifice, and they do obey the instructions to apply that blood to the lintel posts of their house (or heart), they must be prepared for the immediate journey that will follow.  For on the same night that the passover lamb is slain and they eat of the sacrifice, they will leave their ‘Egypt experience’ for a new form of life following the footsteps of Adonai, the God of Israel.  For the ancient Israelites, they left their homes and followed a pillar of fire/cloud across the Red Sea and into the Promised Land; for us, we follow His leading through the fire/cloud of His Spirit that leads us into obedience.  And just like their first steps of obedience was immersion through the waters of the Red Sea, so our beginning steps in this faith walk is an immersion in water as well.  Our sins are forgiven based upon the blood of our slain Lamb, and then we are baptized in the water and begin our journey toward our promised land as well.

These were the pictures that Adonai was expressing through the Passover instructions.  It’s a picture of His Son and an appointed time in which we must participate in order to follow the God of Israel.  But we find in this passage that this Passover event wasn’t to be a one-time event.  The people of God were to celebrate the Passover every year in memorial of the events of the first Passover.  And we, as believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus Christ) have the same instruction!  After all, God did say that this was to be a memorial “throughout your generations forever”!

Do this in remembrance of Me

Normally, when we think of the words “Do this in remembrance of Me”, we picture a table at the front of our sanctuaries where the phrase is inscribed.  Jesus was giving us instruction to take communion in remembrance of Him, right?  Not exactly…  Now, don’t get me wrong, communion is great and anytime we think on the sacrifice of our Master, we’re better off, but that’s not what Jesus was talking about when He spoke these words.   Let’s look at what He said.

“Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called the Passover…then came the day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover must be killed.  And He sent Peter and John, saying, ‘Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat’…[Messiah instructs the men to find a certain man in a certain place and request his upper room for the Passover]…And you shall say unto the goodman of the house, ‘The Master says unto you, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat the Passover with My disciples’?  And He shall show you a large upper room furnished:  there make ready.  And they went, and found as He had said unto them: and they made ready the Passover.  And when the hour was come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him.  And He said unto them, ‘With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer…And He took the bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you:  this do in remembrance of Me.’  Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.’” (Luke 22:1, 7-8, 11-15, 19-20)

Now is there any doubt that the context of this statement was the Passover table?  Haha!  I thought not!  This passage states it over and over.  Jesus kept the Passover with the apostles explaining to them that the symbolism in the Passover Seder actually refers to Him!  His body is the unleavened bread that was broken.  His blood is the wine that we drink!  What’s more is that He knew He was about to die and be resurrected, and yet He instructed His disciples that as often as they kept the Passover, they were to do it in remembrance of Him!  The Word is God unchanging!  We are still to keep the Passover every year as a memorial of the work of Jesus on the Cross!  My brothers and sisters, this is our heritage that we’ve received by adoption into the Household of Israel!  We are to keep the Passover yearly and to do it with Jesus Christ as the essence!  The Passover speaks volumes about the New Covenant!

If you have never had the opportunity to experience a Passover Seder that focuses on the work of Messiah on your behalf, you should seek out that opportunity.  It’s an appointment with God where He can yearly teach you more and more truth about Himself!  But Passover is not the only appointment, God has set aside several more!  We’ll look at some of them next time!

Shalom!

Click Here: Joel Rosenberg

Baruch atem b’Shem, Yeshua

Messianic Jews Persecuted

Baruch atem b’Shem, Yeshua