The Lady of Kingdoms

After the Paris terrorist attacks, President Obama announced that this war is being waged against "universal values".  I think his choice of words could not have been more appropriate in describing, in particular, the city of Paris.  For decades France’s capital has been the bastion of the modern world’s decadence, where the lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life excelled above many other cities.  She rightly could have earned the title of the “virgin daughter of Babylon” and be called “the Lady of Kingdoms” (see Isaiah 47:1, 5).  Certainly the reaction of the western world, along with that of the United Nations, to her wound is still vibrating through their council chambers.

  

The four major kingdoms mentioned in Daniel 7:3-7, are all represented in the metropolis that is nicknamed the City of Lights (perhaps “glitter” would have been more appropriate). In Paris is also found the bedrock of modern democracy, and thus in 1886 the People of France gifted the United States with the Statue of Liberty built by the Eiffel Tower engineer.  This liberty, governmentally proclaimed, typically tends toward “doing what is right in your own eyes”, but herein lays the deception.  

The eyes of Man’s heart have been darkened by Sin and the nature of Satan’s kingdom.  The powers and the laws of sin and death are actually ruling not only Paris, but the rest of the world.  The values that Obama is speaking about are none other than Satan’s dictates to his slaves.  How can such a kingdom stand when YHVH has set in motion laws which govern “Sin”?  

No matter how ‘good’ sin tries to appear, through its religious and justice systems, the result, according to law, is death; there is no life in any of its good works.  Nowhere in the entire bible will you read about being blessed by sin, law is law.  Just a side note: we can never understand grace without law.  YHVH does not even have to bring judgment - it is a natural consequence of His law.  A very simple equation is, sin = death.  I might add, even for believers.

The western world’s civilization and culture have been labeled “Judeo-Christian”.  But in all fairness, European Christianity took on much of the Greco-Roman culture, in all of its aspects, and looked up to it to the point of even allowing it to influence Biblical interpretation. Both Judaism and Christianity by the mere definition of “religion” produced, at best, the “good fruit” which grows from the branch of religion, on the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Had Western Christianity’s values been sound and eternal, it would have produced a civilization of righteousness and justice (yet history has judged Europe for countless evils committed against the rest of humanity). Thus, instead, both Christianity and even Judaism, which is not untainted either, have actually left a legacy of moral bankruptcy. YHVH said that if His people go astray, and certainly many of the shepherds have led them that way, He would send the hunters (Jeremiah 16:16).  Thus it was only a few short decades ago that Paris was one of the greatest of all prizes given to Hitler by his mighty men, almost in a form of reenactment of Titus marching into Rome after destroying Jerusalem.   Now Islam’s jihadist hunters are descending on Paris and on the rest of Europe, US, Canada, Australia etc.  With the permission of the Almighty One of Israel they will establish sharia law, some of which Mohamed actually stole from the Hebrew bible.  

Will Judah and Ephraim now again experience what the Egyptians, Assyrians, the Babylonians, and the Romans committed against their ancestors?  Or will we repent as a nation and turn from our iniquity and sin? The only ones given the mandate to destroy the works of darkness is a united Israel and Judah.  But as long as jealousy, envy, strife and contention (and a lot more) continue to divide the two-house nation the hunters will continue to advance their YHVH-given mandate.   

The jihadists are knocking on the doors of many nations.  These are not “terrorists”, as the news media would like you to believe.  They are the hunters that carry out the curse promised by YHVH in (Malachi 4:5-6). They have a mission and commission from the Almighty Elohim.  Unless we see Who is actually behind them and the reason why they are in our midst, we will continue to rely on our own strength in order to try and defeat them.  Our warfare is not against flesh and blood.  But we do have to leave and flee from the kingdoms of this world (read Isaiah chapters 47 and 48), but live and be in Yeshua’s Kingdom here on earth (Colossians 1:13). 

Ephraim

Sarah Lives

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

This week’s Parasha title, Cha’yey Sarah (“Sarah’s Life”), has a greater significance than what may meet the eye.  You have heard the saying “Am Israel Chai” - “the people of Israel live”.   In recent years a new sound has been resounding – “Yosef Chai” - “Yosef is alive”.  Both Israel and Yosef’s lives are a declaration that “Sarah lives” as well.   A momentous scripture that always stands out when discussing the identity of the ‘seed’ of Abraham is found in Isaiah:  "Listen to Me, you who follow after righteousness, You who seek YHVH: Look to the rock from which you were hewn, and to the hole of the pit from which you were dug.  Look to Abraham your father, and to Sarah who bore you; for I called him “one” [echad], and blessed him and increased him" (Isaiah 51:1-2).  Notice that even though YHVH multiplies him, he still is “one”. Often the “oneness” suggested here is overlooked as a point of identity in this generation, as do the traits of ‘following after righteousness’ and ‘seeking YHVH’ which characterize the ‘chip off the old rock’ (Abraham and Sarah’s).  

  

Around 20 years ago or so, a man from India literally chanced by our house and told us that he had a school in his native land, where they taught the “Gospel from Abraham”.  We could hardly believe our ears!  It was a joy to encounter someone who understood the connection between Romans eleven’s “fullness of the nations” to the “fullness of nations” in Genesis 48:19.  But the identity message in Romans does not start there.  It actually begins in Romans 4 with Abraham, who was declared righteous because he believed that YHVH would bring forth life from a dead womb and that this life would be multiplied exceedingly. But the nation and the multitude of nations, which would be the staggering outcome of the promise, would still have but ‘one life’ - echad.  More specifically the life of the son, who was promised to Abraham through Sarah’s non-fertile womb – Isaac (see Romans 9: 6-9) - is mostly still hidden in the field of this world’s humanity. 

Why was YHVH so interested in a dead womb that could not produce an unfertilized egg/seed?  What did YHVH mean when He declared to Abraham, “I will return and Sarah will have a son” (Genesis 18:14; Romans 9:9).  Did He miraculously create an egg in the womb of Sarah?  Did He “give life to the dead and call those things which do not exist as though they did” (ref. Romans 4:17)?  Was Sarah a surrogate mother (i.e. ‘Sarah’s gate’, meaning her womb)? Is this why Elohim calls Israel His firstborn?  “Thus says YHVH: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn’” (Exodus 4:22).   

YHVH promised Abraham in a covenant, a one sided agreement I might add, that He would watch over this life and sow it, as a seed, in the earth.  In the eyes of YHVH this “life” had great significance, so much so that He compared it to a special treasure:  "For you are a holy people to YHVH your Elohim; YHVH your Elohim has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6 emphasis added).   YHVH’s hidden treasure is the “one” pearl of great price that Yeshua spoke about in his parable (see Math 13:46).  The writer of Revelation 21:21 confirms to whom Yeshua was referring, when he identified the twelve pearly gates of the city as the twelve tribes of Israel.  But in order to get His treasure, YHVH had to purchase the whole field, i.e. all humanity.   

“Doubtless You are our Father, though Abraham did not know us, and Israel does not recognize us. You, O YHVH, are our Father; our Redeemer from everlasting is Your name” (Isaiah 63:16).  YHVH has made a new covenant with His firstborn nation through which He will adopt them into son-ship by the working of His Spirit in the inner man.  The apostle, quoting from the prophets of old, repeated YHVH’s words:  "And it shall come to pass in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not My people,' There they shall be called ‘sons of the living Elohim’. Isaiah also cries out concerning Israel: ‘Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, the remnant will be saved’. For He will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness, because YHVH will make a short work upon the earth" (Romans 9:26-28; Hosea 1:9-10; Isaiah 10:22).

In looking into scriptures this week, while writing this article, I made an amazing discovery in the epistle of Yaacov (James):  “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer (a maker, producer, author, doer, performer, one who obeys or fulfills the Torah) he is like a man observing his natural (genesis in Greek) face in a mirror;  for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind/type of man he was” (James 1:23-24).   The word that is translated “natural” is “genesis” in Greek, meaning origin, birth, and is used as birth, genealogy, or life.  When we look into the mirror of the Word of Elohim, do we see the origin of our birth/life?  Or do we walk away and forget who we are and the purpose, calling, and destiny that YHVH has ordained via covenant with our ancestor? As it is written, "But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year… Is anything too hard for YHVH? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son" (Genesis 17:21; 18:14).

Ephraim

Raised to be an Army

In one of the most frequently used end-time scriptures (Ezekiel 37), an entire nation is described being raised from graves of nonexistence and transformed into a mighty army. For what purpose has this army been resurrected? Who does this army consist of?  What kind of war is it to be fighting?  Is it standing on its feet today, being clothed again with its own identity as the prophet foretold?  “So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them [the dry bones of the whole house of Israel], and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army (Ezekiel 37:10).

There is a phenomenon happening in the earth today, the lost tribes of Israel known by their generic name of Ephraim, are reappearing out of every nation, tribe and people group in the earth.  This is just a very small remnant of the multitudes that are still waiting in the wings, or should I say still under YHVH’s prophetic wing.  As far as I know, at this point in time they are all coming out of some kind of Christian background although according to the prophets they are hidden in every nation.  They are carrying birthmarks of the faith of their father Abraham, their Messiah is Yeshua/Jesus and the anointing (breath) of the Spirit of Holiness is upon them.  But why “an army”?  Who have these ones been sent to fight?  Paul the Apostle gives some clear instructions to this army, when he tells them that: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through Elohim to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of Elohim, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Messiah” (2 Cor 10:3-5). And,  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places”  (Eph 6:12).

This Army is to be suited with armor, a sword and shield: “Therefore take up the whole armor of Elohim, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts [thoughts] of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of Elohim” (Eph 6:13-17).  This army’s Captain, Leader and King has come to destroy the works of the Devil and all his hosts: “For this purpose the Son of Elohim was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8), and now He is preparing this army to accomplish this mission.  Each soldier must respond by likewise preparing himself for the battle for dominion in the heavenlies. 

Satan knows YHVH’s kingdom order in the family of Adam and Noah, as it has already been laid out in the first book of the Tanach (Old Testament).  This Israelite army from the House of Judah and from the House of Israel/Ephraim, will be his main target, as the enemy knows that if they come together as one nation with one King, he will be defeated globally and YHVH’s dominion through this one nation will be over all of humanity. 

The Ephraimites are the priesthood of the Melchizedec army and their sanctification unto holiness is essential.  This is the first step into a corporate responsibility to rule in the heavenly places in and through our Messiah Yeshua. Here is what Yeshua says to the seven congregations:

"And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -- 'He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter's vessels' -- as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star” (Rev 2:26-28).

 "To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne” (Rev. 3:21).

 These scriptures were written to the congregations living outside the Land, but the qualifying mark is "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the all seven congregations" (Rev. 3:21-22).

We need an ear to hear like never before. “Hear oh Israel” is not just for the Jews, but also for all Israel, especially for the Redeemed Ephraimites.  We are given a window of time to consecrate ourselves as His priests, cleansing ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. “Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of Elohim” (2 Cor 7:1).  Who are we waiting for in order to accomplish this sanctification?  Peter says that YHVH has already given to us everything for life and godliness: “As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2Pet. 1:3-4).

Perfecting holiness is not some abstract and distant scriptural concept.  He is already in us, as His life is our life. The Spirit of the Holy One is just waiting for us to defeat our enemy by repenting from cooperating with it, and resisting it by believing and obeying the Truth.

We are not in basic training - we are in “on the job training” as Yeshua’s soldiers. Our weapons are not carnal, but we need to learn to use them. Ignorance is no excuse as - we have His military manual.  This warfare does not have to be sought for; it will come to you and is right in our own backyard where lust and various other thoughts gather to play.  As we head into this Shabbat remember “Let [us] the set apart ones, be joyful in glory; let them [us] sing aloud on their [our] beds [a resting place].  Let the high praises of Elohim be in their [our] mouth, and a two-edged sword in their [our] hand…” (Ps. 149:5-6).

Ephraim

In My Opinion

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

I’m sure most of you have been keeping up with the news from Israel and the ongoing terrorist attacks occurring on a daily basis.  Some are calling this a ‘third intifada’.  But whether it is or not, it is much different than the previous ones.  There are a number of factors that are present today that did not exist just a few years ago.  Even though the overall objectives of Islam toward Israel and the western world have not changed, what has are conditions and world situation - dramatically so.  If you have not seen the DVD “Farewell Israel”, then I would highly recommend getting a copy.  One cannot even begin to understand what is going on without studying the history of Islam and its world view. 

Even though Israel has a powerful army, it has lost its just cause in the war waged in the diplomatic arena, and has been defeated by the “Islamic Justice".  The successful strategy of convincing the world that Israel doesn’t deserve to exist is backed up chiefly by a spirit of accusation.  The leaders of the Palestinians are calling this barrage of violence, the “settlers’ Intifada”. They would have the non-informed and naïve believe that they mean the Israeli residents of the settlements in Judea and Samaria (whose presence they say is obviously the ‘root of all evil’), but in reality that is not the case at all – by ‘settlements’ they mean the entire area of Israel, as was so clearly declared a few days ago by Arab students of Tel Aviv University.

 The situation in Syria with Russia and its allies, among whom are Cuba, Iran, and Hezbollah, coming in to help Assad has given the Palestinians new hope in their fight against Israel.  Russia is no longer troubled by the United States’ presence, as the U.S. have backed out of their support for Israel.  Sometime ago Obama announced that he ‘would do something about Israel’ before he leaves office.  And since Israel did not go along with the timetable that he set up for the formation of a Palestinian State, nor did Israel support the agreement that Kerry negotiated with Iran (to put it mildly), the payback has been the withdrawal of American support. 

Thus the momentum and tactics have changed to the point that there will be no one to support or stand by Israel.  How was this made possible? Simply by psychological warfare.  The focus has shifted from the number of deaths or wounded incurred by Israelis due to Palestinian terror, to how Israel is dealing with an individual Palestinian child, woman, or youth who was ‘shot dead’ for ‘allegedly’ carrying a knife, by an Israeli civilian, police, or soldier.   The international news media is almost in a frenzy to see an end to the ‘occupation’. They will therefore show endearing photos of a 13 year old Palestinian boy or girl, or any other young person’s face who was ‘shot dead’, thereby mindlessly demonizing Israel.  Three international TV news stations, for example, posted pictures of these youths with subtitles of “shot dead by Israel”.  This was followed by a repost about 120 who were killed in Nigeria by a bomb planted by jihadists. What do you think would have a greater impact on the viewers?  While among the victims there could have been 50 children, 50 mothers and many elderly, the impression left in most people’s minds is that of the innocent child, gunned down or shot dead by a Jew or an Israeli.  The imprint of a suicide bomber is nothing compared to a “child shot dead” or, as some put it, “executed”.  Isis’ decapitations of hundreds of men, women and children, Muslim and Christian, does not stimulate the passing of resolutions at the United Nations, and only very faint outcries, especially so in the Muslim world.  The big demonstration are always against Israel.   

The United Nations is poised to vote for a Palestinian State, the only thing holding it back is the political situation in the United States.  Canada just went down and now we wait to see what will happen in America.  If it looks like the right-center wing of the Republican Party will be able to pull off a victory over Obama and his successor, Obama will pull all the strings necessary in the United Nations to declare Gaza, Judea and Samaria an official state and give Israel an ultimatum to withdraw within a certain date.  This will be backed up by the present coalition in Syria.   We have to remember that even as far back as 1967 and 1973, the main interest that the United States had in helping Israel was their arms’ race against Russia (then Soviet Union) over strongholds in the Middle East.  That is no longer the case.   (Ezekiel 36)

Blood

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

The shofar and the trumpets have sounded and now we are on our way to Yom HaKippurim.  When we think of “Kippur” we mostly think about afflicting our souls with fasting, prayer, or reading scriptures all day.  Most do not like or tend to think about sacrifices and blood. But this is what the atonement is really all about - “blood”!   We don’t have a Temple and a Levitical Priesthood to give us a graphic example of what would have taken place on that day, being the only day in which the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy Holies and be before the Presence of YHVH, but not without blood.  It is the atoning blood that appeased the Creator, propitiating and thus allowing a human being into His presence.  But why blood?  Leviticus 17:14 points out: "For it is the life of all flesh. Its blood sustains its life. Therefore I said to the children of Israel, 'You shall not eat the blood of any flesh, for the life of all flesh is its blood’”. 

  

Why does Elohim need to be propitiated?  He is Spirit, sovereign, all -knowing, all-powerful and has created everything.  Why would He need to be appeased?  Or is there something else being placated?  Perhaps it can be found in Paul’s words when he uses the term “justified” or “vindicated”.  Both words point directly to “Law”.  Sin is a violation of Divine Law, thus it is actually Elohim’s Law that has to be satisfied, as we see over and over in both the Tabernacle and the Temple - the true usage of a sacrifice and the need for the blood to be placed before YHVH.  When He saw the blood, He forgave the guilty party and in the case of Israel, the entire nation. 

At Mount Sinai, at the “giving of the Law”, the nation stood before the awesome presence and saw and heard the words.  They agreed with those words and so intoned: “we will hear and do”.  From then on they were bound to the blessings and the curses, and became aware of the “laws of sin and death” and “guilt and shame”. 

  

How was it possible to live with a conscience that condemned us every time we violated one single aspect of the “thou shalts” or “thou shalt nots”?   We, as a nation, now became totally depended on the mercy of the Law Giver. But how did we experience this Law Giver at Sinai?  It was with fire, loud sounds, mountain quaking, lighting flashing, along with knees buckling under us from fear.   We could not even touch the Mountain, let alone the awesome Presence.

     

The Bible is one book that is full of YHVH’s interventions in the life of humanity and the creation.  Every day Man has face to face encounters with a living Elohim, but due to his blindness (actually not blindness, just looking in the dark), he is ignorant of YHVH’s presence and reality.  Job understood the darkness, and also the Psalmist when he wrote:     “If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there…  Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; the darkness and the light are both alike to You” (Psalm 139:8; 12).

Our spiritual enemy knows just how important blood is for the atonement of humanity.  And so he took it upon himself to make blood detestable, and irrelevant to redemption, using throughout history a variety of philosophical techniques and graphic images of blood, for example, war, violence and terror, in order to instill fear.  The consequence of that being that the shedding of blood solely means death not life.  Modern religions have tried to move as far away from anything that smacks of blood, especially tagging as outdated, immoral and inhuman blood sacrifices, pointing especially at the “Old Testament” covenants and Feast Days, all of which required blood sacrifices.  Modern man being still steeped in his own pride and self-righteousness, reels at the thought of God requiring a human sacrifice and blood.  He wants to appease God by some kind of good works that will remove the guilt of violating Elohim’s great Commandments and Laws, and also Elohim’s very words in regards to how He views “blood”.   There would be no “New Covenant” (or Renewed Covenant) without the “Torah of Moses” pointing out the requirement of blood for its implementation, nor would we have knowledge of “Sin” and its consequences. We would have no understanding of how YHVH sees “Sin” and what is required when His Laws are violated, and why blood is necessary for Him to grant forgiveness that leads to reconciliation and life.

Perhaps all the “blood moons” that we have been witnessing during the Feast Days are to remind us of “blood”, and the importance it has in the economy of the Almighty Creator of this world, and in our relationship to Him.  As “Hebrew Roots” believers, perhaps Yom Kippur makes for an opportune time to reading about and considering the “blood”, with special emphasis on Hebrews Chapters 9 and 10. 

I pray that we will be given more revelation-understanding about the blood that is required on the 10th day of the 7th month, called Yom HaKippurim.   

In His Unmerited Mercy and Love,  

Ephraim

Standing Before Entering

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

In this week’s Torah reading of NITZAVIM (Deut. 29:10 – 30:20) we find the chosen people “standing” before YHVH.  They have just received a reminder of the covenant and the awesome commands which enumerated the consequences of obedience and disobedience (the blessings and the curses).  But were they ready for the final commitment, which would catapult them into something so fearful, yet so promising as this covenant with the Elohim of their fathers?  The conditions were clear, and so was their inherent weakness (which would actually make meeting the requirements almost impossible).

How could YHVH subject these second generation wilderness men, women and children to such laws, when He already knew that they were born of the “sin nature”, and would obviously miss the mark of Torah and suffer the consequences, just like their parents?  Moses said to them:  “Yet to this day YHVH has not given you a heart to know, nor eyes to see, nor ears to hear” (Deut. 29:4). How unfair it all seemed, or was YHVH concealing His plan in the darkness of the “mystery of iniquity” (2^nd Thes.2:7, also Eph.2:1-2)? 

“YHVH has not yet given you...” In this short phrase we see that YHVH holds Himself responsible for the future success, or failure, of His plan.  Even after the flood YHVH declared that, “man’s heart is evil from his youth” (Gen. 8:21).  Because of this inherent condition, Moses, under the anointing of the Holy One, begins to prophesy the destiny of the Hebrew people:  “And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon you, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before you, and you call them to mind among all the nations, where YHVH your Elohim has driven you…” (Deut. 30:1). Before the Children of Israel had a chance to prove themselves or even make any kind of free will choice, YHVH already knew what would happen to them, because of the condition of their heart.

The covenant He made with the Patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, obligated YHVH to be accountable to His promises of blessings of land, and the fruitfulness that would multiply and spread to all nations through their seed. This “seed”, the people of Israel, were now in a position to be the recipients of the promises to their forefathers. But before entering the land YHVH is stating the conditions for the promises’ fulfillment.  Standing before YHVH, the Israelites were looking toward the land that they were about to enter, the land of milk and honey that was promised to their forefathers.  The said conditions for remaining in the land were now going to hang over their heads like a seething prophetic refining pot. "But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess” (Deut. 30:17-18).  YHVH was using these conditions as a tool to fulfill the original promises to the Patriarchs, and preparing the way for an even greater promise.

History reveals that YHVH was true to His word, even though the potential consequences of the covenant may be interpreted as negative and even disastrous (abounding in curses and not blessings).  Some may even venture to condemn the generations of our forefathers for failing to live up to the righteousness of the Torah.  YHVH, aware of these weaknesses, built into His covenant the sacrificial system for atonement and forgiveness of sin to be in effect year after year throughout the cycles of the feasts, in order to enable Him to fulfill the original covenant with the Patriarchs.  But did this present form of the (expanded) covenant take care of the condition of the heart?  Obviously we would have to answer: “no, it did not”. In fact, it did the very opposite, revealing the corruptness of the heart.  Yeshua pointed out this condition, as recorded in the Gospel of Mark: “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness; all these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (7:21-23).  This is why Yeshua describes the religious man as a white washed tomb: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.  Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Mat. 23:27-28).

How then was YHVH going to have a people that would become a holy nation (Ex. 19:6), and be His witness (Isa. 43:10,12), and for that matter, how were the promises to the fathers going to be fulfilled? As Moses continues to prophesy we are given one of the first glimpses into the mystery of the will of YHVH (ref. Eph. 1:9-10), and into a covenant that would once and for all deal with the condition of the heart:  “YHVH your Elohim will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live” (Deut. 30:6).  A door of hope was left open; the destiny of the people was sealed by the prophetic word. The irrevocable calling upon them as YHVH’s people could not fail.  YHVH said: “I WILL”, thus leaving no doubt that it was not going to be by the will of man, nor by might, nor by power but by the Spirit of the infallible Word/Torah of YHVH.

YHVH’s feast of Yom Teruah is ‘standing’ before us, ‘trumpeting’ the coming days of repentance.  However, without the laws given at Sinai we would not know what we are to be repenting of.  Paul writes in Romans: “Do we then make void the Law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (Romans 3:31).  How does a New Covenant believer establish (validate) the Law given at Sinai? The Greek word for establish (histemi) means: to make to stand, to stand. Thus not only were the people “standing”, “nitzavim”, but the Torah also was ‘standing’, right alongside them.  They could not enter the land promised without the Torah of Moses. So too, a New Covenant believer cannot fully enter into its promises without the Torah written on their hearts.

Without understanding the reason for YHVH giving us laws we will not know how we are to establish them.  Paul continues in Romans 3, explaining: “…for by the Law is the knowledge of sin” (v. 3b).  This sets the stage for true repentance.  Here is the example the apostle uses:  “What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet’" (Romans 7:7).  This absolute and invariable reality (as we noted above) makes us desperate for YHVH’s goodness that leads to repentance (see Romans 2:4) and the need for the ultimate atonement which was wrought through Messiah Yeshua, Who made it possible for the Torah to be etched into hearts of flesh.

Hag Same’ach and Shabbat Shalom,

Ephraim

Positive Harbingers

Shalom Fellow Israelite,

On 12^th of May 1948 a decision on the name of the newly formed State of Israel had to be voted on by ten council members. The choices were Yehuda, Tsyion, Tsabar, and Erets Yisrael.  Most assumed that it would be Yehuda, but a divine harbinger manifested in a last minute suggestion by David Ben Gurion, and that was the name “Yisrael”. Seven of the council members voted for that name, which was a prophetic sign of the future return of all the tribes of Israel.  The order of the restoration and return in Ezekiel 37 places Yehuda/Israel first, and thusly Yehuda’s dry stick became at that time a nation once again. 

Perhaps you are not aware that also in 1948 a contest was held by the temporary government for a national emblem.  One hundred and sixty four individuals submitted

450 ideas. The one chosen, which the State of Israel adopted, on February 10^th 1949, was designed by two brothers, Gabriel and Maxim Shamir. Their suggestion included the seven candle branch Menorah. The final draft, however, did not totally resemble the brothers’ original design, as the committee decided to incorporate a few other features into it and changed the shape of the Menorah to the one depicted in the Arch of Titus (in Rome).  The two olive branches which flank the Menorah, were meant as peace symbols, and only later were associated with Zechariah 4:11. I believe that this design was another harbinger of the restoration of the two sticks of Ezekiel 37:16.                                     

                            

In his book The Harbinger, Jonathan Cahn makes mention of the significance of trees in the Bible.  He specifically notes the two cited in Isaiah 9:10 - the sycamore and the cedar, both in relationship to the 9/11 terror attack in New York, as being symbolic of judgments upon the United States.  In an interview about his latest book, The Mystery of the Shemitah Unlocked, he noted how Shemitah years are associated with judgments and changes, both positive and negative.  The rise and fall of nations in connection to Shemitah is one example he brings up in this book.  Hence, if the USA is indeed spiraling down, and if that began in a Shemitah year (2001), what about the rise of the nation of Yehuda in 1917 (another Shemitah), or the reconstitution of the second stick/nation of Yosef/Ephraim in the current Shemitah?   Is the latter also a harbinger of this eventuality, with the first Yehuda-Yosef “United 2 Restore” group marching in the Jerusalem Succot parade last year and then with the convening of the first B’ney Yosef National Congress on Shavuot?   Is this the Shemitah year in which the second stick/nation of Joseph/Ephraim is beginning to bud?  By the same token, should many of the harbingers of judgment be also interpreted positively, in that YHVH is going to bring back and restore the whole House of Israel?  The branch of Yehuda in the national emblem is fully leafed, but what about the second branch in that national emblem, what should it look like at this time?  Here is my rendition:

Shabbat Shalom,

Ephraim