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Sermons Series 3:4, 26 September 2005
Shemini Atsereth 2005
Understanding Time and Timelessness
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
I welcome you to this eighth day of sacred assembly and special Sabbath (Num.29:35) following the last day of Sukkot, or Hoshana Rabbah which we celebrated yesterday. Yahweh has commanded His people Israel to remain with Him an extra day after Sukkot which is where we get the word atsereth from, meaning 'to tarry'. Today is also known as Simchat Torah or 'Rejoicing in Torah' and it is on this day that traditionally the annual cycle of daily and weekly Torah readings called Parsha readings end. The rabbis added an extra day to Shemini Atsereth and called it Simchat Torah but we follow the biblical teaching and combine the two as one as it was originally.
It is no accident that Sukkot is seven days long - one whole week. Seven is a perfect number, the number of completion, and typifies the creation of the world in seven days. So why an 'eighth' day tacked onto the end? Why has Yahweh given us this Shemini Atsereth? Because the eighth day is the day after time - it represents the end of all kinds of time - of days. It is not just the promise of redemption but its actual moment. It is the 'day beyond time', the 'day of eternity'.
What would the festivals mean to us if there were no Shemini Atsereth? They would then signify that our future was one of continuous mortality. The resurrection is not, however, merely the suspension of physical death - the resurrection is the transportation of human awareness into the eternal timeless sphere were Yahweh lives. And that sphere, brethren and sisters, is Gan Yahweh - the Garden of Yahweh. In that garden there is no time, no beginning and no ending. In that sphere the past, the present and the future is continually before you, and you are able to see and know as Yahweh knows. This is the sphere of the Eytz Chaim or Tree of Life. This Garden lies in the very heart or centre of the Elohim.
Our own hearts, which are our own gardens, are suspended between earth and heaven - between the outer world which you see with your physical eyes and touch with your physical hands, and the Garden of Yahweh where there is no time. Now everybody knows, because they have experienced it, that 'time' seems to move more slowly at certain times in our lives than others. When you are bored time seems to 'drag on', doesn't it? But when you are happy and having a 'good time', time seems to pass all too quickly. How often have you heard little children say: "Oh, must we go home now?" when the alotted time for some fun activity is over? The outer world is regulated by fixed time and by fixed clocks - time neither speeds up not slows down, as far as we know. But when you are in the heart we experience time in very different ways. In the human heart wherein is located your own personal garden, time can appear long or short.
Now as we know, physical bodies grow up pretty much according to a rigid biological program. Nine months gestation in the womb, infancy, childhood, teen years, adulthood and finally old age and death. Time is a monotonous and irresistable procession. A few months ago I watched a documentary about attempts by biochemists to slow down the aging process. All kinds of solutions were suggested. Some people were popping hundreds of pills every day. Others ate very strict and punative diets to remove what was believed to be chemicals that cause ageing. And others laid their hopes on finding an ageing gene which could perhaps be spliced out and make people live for ever. The conclusion of a panel of scientists was that this was all an unrealistic dream. We are going to die and we aren't going to appreciably lengthen life. Most people die before they reach 100, and the majority long before that. So our physical bodies more or less move along a constant path of time and then perish.
However, this is not true of personality, is it? As we all know, some people mature mentally and emotionally faster than others. Some people can enter old age never having really grown up at all. The inside is a very different world to the outside one. Some people are slow developers, some are late developers. Some people seem to 'hold out' against growing up because they prefer not being responsible. Some are held back by over-protective or abusive parents, some are emotionally suspended in time because of trauma, and some are brought up to that they become mature and wise at a very young age. And some, it would seem, simply seem to have that capacity from the very start. How else do we explain the geniuses like Mozart who was composing symphonies when he was a little boy? Yahweh gives people gifts, not randomly, but because He knows that the heart will choose the responsibilities of growing up and not hide. Thus he called Joseph, the eleventh son of Jacob, to be the tribal head. As we read in the story of Genesis, he had great organisational abilities. Whatever he did flourished and he became much sort after by Pottiphar and the governor of the prison he served time in. And finally, he was chosen by Pharaoh to be the Prime Minister of the most powerful nation of the time. The boy was gifted but not arbitrarily - Yahweh knew that he would use his talents for the good. And so one man achieved more in one lifetime than a 1,000 men not so gifted. Why? What was so special about Joseph?
The one thing that strikes you as you study the life of this lovely man was the great heart that he possessed. He was willing to endure oppession and injustice without turning to hate or bitterness. He cried for sure, he must have been depressed, he must have wondered at times where Yahweh was, but he never let his heart turn to evil. He chose instead to love in his suffering and use his gifts for the betterment of others - making Pottiphar successful, bettering the condiutions of fellow prisoners, making Pharaoh the physical saviour of the world in time of famine. He turned his adversity into good. And when his brothers finally paid a visit to Pharaoh's granneries in times of hunger, what did he do? Exact revenge? Did he want to kill his wicked brothers? No, he forgave them - and forgave them freely. He chose the path of love. Therefore he was called to be the head of Israel along with the Princes of Joseph-Ephraim after him. We read of him:
"From the time he put him in charge of his household and of all that he owned, Yahweh blessed the household of the Egyptian because of Joseph. The blessing of Yahweh was on everything Potiphar had, both in the house and in the field. So he left in Joseph's care everything he had; with Joseph in charge, he did not concern himself with anything except the food he ate" (Gen.39:4-6, NIV).
And what did this relief of responsiblity for his estate free Pottiphar to do? It enabled him to serve Pharaoh all the more. When we in our turn, as good deacons and deconesses, relieve those with high callings of the more more mundane things by faithfully serving them, we free them to do more of the work of Yahweh. But it has to be freely offered, of the heart. If Joseph had only been occupied with himself, what would have happened? The whole of the Bible would have turned out very differently. Joseph, you see, was a messiah-figure, a redeemer figure, which we see portrayed when he feeds his brothers at table, a type of the Last Supper.
Now we all know that when we brood and occupy ourselves with ourselves, that times goes slowly and the opportunity for mischief multiplies. A man of Yahweh occupies himself with the things of Yahweh and works hard. He forgets himself and serves. A good wife serves her husband and ministers to her children, not brooding on self-gain. When men and women occupy themselves profitably, no matter what their external circumstances (and we all saw what Joseph achieved while he was in jail), then time passes quickly and they are happy. The times of slavery passed quickly for Joseph because he threw his energies into serving those Yahweh has given him to serve and then, one day, very suddenly and completely unexpectedly, this slave boy found himself the second most important and powerful man in the nation of Egypt. Please not that he did not seek for a position of power or influence but he sought the most menial tasks to do. Those who seek to rule and lord it over others just aren't equipped. What do you suppose would have happened if, for example, Reuben - the orginal firstborn son - had been sold into slavery? Would he have had the qualities to become the Prime Minister of Egypt? Reuben was too busy killing by teeachery and committing adultery. What of Judah? He was too busy chasing after harlots. And when Joseph was offered the beautiful wife of Pottiphar by Satan, what did he do? He refused! He refused because He loved Yahweh and he loved His commandments. Joseph and Simchat Torah are one even though he predated the written Torah. He 'tarried' in his slavery in obedience to Yahweh, refused adultery, refused to lie, and obtained glory. He chose the Tree of Life and the garden of his heart became a beauitiful Eden for His Lord. There is no rulership without service.
There is a story about time contracting in the story of Joseph's father, Jacob, whom Joseph resembled very much. You will recall the story of Leah and Rachel. And you will recall how much he loved Rachel. You will recall how his father-in-law Laban was willing to give him Rachel for seven years of labour. What do we read? "So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her" (Gen.29:20, NIV). Notice that it is love that contracts time. Yahweh is love (1 Jn.4:8,16). Yahweh is the fullness of love. The more love there is, the more time contracts. And where there is fullness of love, there is no time! Yahweh is the Timeless One. He created time. He is Himself above time.
We should not be surprised, then, to discover that in the Garden of the Heart, that time does not quite 'behave' as it does in the external world. People who have lived lives of not being loved and who are then suddenly loved can experience sudden and wonderful transformations. Suddenly the world lights up for them and their character changes. People who were once dull spring into life, all because of love. And what is love? What is its guiding rail? It is not, as most in the world assume, just a deep emotional response. Love is not emotion, and not all emotion is love. Indeed, the most potent scripture that I know of in the Bible, that sums up what true love is, is to be found in the writings of John where he says:
"By this we know that we love the children of Elohim, when we love Elohim (God) and keep His commandments. For this is the love of Elohim, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of Elohim overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world -- our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Yah'shua is the Son of Elohim? (1 John 5:2-5, NKJV).
How do we know we are loving other people? When we love Yahweh-Elohim and obey Torah - the Law of Commandments. John emphasises that by repeating it twice and adds that the commandments are not a heavy burden at all for those who truly love but are light. Those who are truly born again naturally do these things. And what else are they? They are overcomers. They don't sit back and wait for Yahweh to do everything but they fight for their salvation. Paul said to Timothy: "Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses" (1 Tim.6:12-13, NIV). Fight the good fight of faith! Grab eternal life - we're called to do that once we have made public confession of our faith! Eat from the Tree of Life!
What did John say? Our faith is our victory in overcoming the world. How do we overcome? By truly believing - not passive faith, but active trusting, what the Hebrews call emunah. That word means more than our English word 'faith' but also 'stability' and 'steadfastness'. True faith does not keep changing direction, true faith grabs salvation and never lets it go. It keeps its eyes on the Author of salvation, Yah'shua, and yearns to obey the commandments. That is faith, not some vague, wishy-washy, laid back hope that Yahweh is going to do everything while we sit back and, as we suppose, have a good time.
Do you see now why today is two festivals-in-one? Do you see why it is both Shemini Atserah and Simchat Torah? To be in a state of timelessness doesn't mean to be in a state of inactivity or pursing personal pleasure. To be in a state of timelessness - the realm of Yahweh - means to be totally and actively dedicated to the Creator by being creative ourselves as His servants or deacons. It means to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness above all else in our lives. Yah'shua (Jesus) said:
"But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own" (Matt.6:33-34, NIV).
The moment you start worrying about tomorrow and seeking after your own happiness and pleasure, as you suppose, you move out of the sphere of timelessness and into the world where time is regimented. Then you step out of Shemini Atsereth you make yourself a prisoner of the world and of Satan. Yahweh knows your needs and promises to meet them - every simgle one of them - if you'll get yourself out of self (your own garden) and into His timeless Garden. Does that mean you stop interacting with the the outside world and enter a world of make-believe? By no means! I am not advocating a life of fantasy. We are to be throughly engaged in the reality of the outside world but we are not to let it govern our hearts. Our hearts have to be in the Hand of Yahweh - in His Garden - or else we end up worldly and prisoners of time.
What will your heart be like when you pass in death and into the world beyond? What will you have cultivated? What sort of character will you have? Will you be at peace in Yahweh's ways or will you still be slave of the world? For if you are a slave of the world, you will be in distress and torment in the next world where the external physical world no longer exists for you to realise fleshy ambition. What will that feel like? Fore those of you who have been nicotine addicts or alcoholics, try to imagine the day after you stopped drinking or smoking. You know what the cravings are like. In the world there is still the bottle and the cigarette to turn to but what will you do in a world where they aren't there? You will go insane because you will not be able to fulfil the urge. And then you will regret that you never overcame while you had the chance to on earth. You will regret that you trusted your own flesh and the lies of the demonic more than you did Yahweh's promise to heal you if you exerted your faith and sought for the Kingdom before all else. Seen in that light, are not Yahweh's ways in fact merciful and loving?
Love animates everything. And it is only able to do this because Love is contained within a vessel of Law or Torah. And Love and Law are built on a foundation of Truth. Truth is terra firma, solid reality, with spiritual gravity to hold everything in place. Where there is no Torah vessel, love spills and is wasted. Then love is in vain. Without Truth the vessel of Torah can't even rest on the ground but is upturned and spilled too, also going to waste.
The Garden of Yahweh is Love. The Garden of Yahweh is His Heart. And only faith will bring you there. Demons, however, do not want you to know this love - they do not want you to return to Eden. Therefore they do everything in their power to prevent your return. They offer, as a substitute, pure mind - intellectual power as its own lord. Thus there are many very small children emotionally in the world who rely on intellectual acumen to 'survive', as they suppose. But they don't because you can't survive, let alone live and prosper, without Love - Love in Torah. Satan managed to get Adam and Eve out of the original Garden by offering them head knowledge in the form of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil apart from love. He said: If you go this way (gnosis), you will become gods. And the occult has been perpetuating this lie ever since. Today there are hosts of demons dedicated to keeping you out of Gan Yahweh and out of the hearts of His servants who love. From the demoness Morena who convinces people that it's all imagination and not real, including a real and living Yah'shua (Jesus) who exists both in timelessless and, as a human, in our time - to the demoness Lilith who wants us to believe that patriarchy is evil and to let the 'divine female', so called, rule; from the two-faced demon Janus who splits us up into multiple personalities to cope with turning away from love and trusting in lies, to Satan himself and the demoness Kali who are simply out to destroy you and make you live for pain and suffering in a form of suicidal self-martyrdom, we face an array of enemies who want to keep us as far away from the original Paradise as possible, by either debunking it or diverting us with useless and harmful mental pursuits.
Today is Shemini Atsereth and Simchah Torah. Today is the promise that if you dedicate yourself to the timeless Garden of Yahweh's Kingdom and Righteousness by seeking the Tree of Life through overcoming - by an active fight against your fallen carnal tendencies, through faith in Yah'shua (Jesus) in heart-love and obedience to Torah as a right-response to that love, then you will prosper. It requires on your part the dedication and selflessness of Joseph of Egypt, of putting the Kingdom and others before yourself in obedience to your fathers and husbands who are themselves rightly submitted to Yahweh. When these things are in place and functioning - when your eye is on today and what you can do to serve today and to bless those whom you have been called to bless - then you are well on your way back to Paradise, the Garden of Yahweh. But to enter it in the next life you must first enter into it in this one. It is not something distant and unattainable but real, immediate and present, whether you see it or not. For out of it proceed the living waters of life. And once you partake of these waters, you will never thirst again. Amen.
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 7 March 2007
Last updated on 7 March 2007
Copyright ©2005 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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