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Sermons Series 3:20, 14 January 2006
Seekers of Tov
The Hallmarks of Goodness and Nobility
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
"And when He had gone out into the way, there came one running, and bowed before Him, and asked Him, 'Good teacher (tov rabbi), what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life (chayim)?' And Yah'shua said to Him, 'Why do you call Me good (tov)? There is none good (tov) but Echad (One), that is, Yahweh" (Mark 10:17-18, RSTNE).
I am sure you have heard people use this scripture in response to someone saying that they are a 'good person'. Perhaps someone has called you good and you have retorted, remembering this passage, that only Yahweh is good? If you have done this, then I am sure your motive has been to not exalt yourself, which is a good thing, because self-exaltation is born of pride and always leads to a fall. Here we see Yah'shua apparently denying an accolade from the young rich ruler who was perfect in his Torah-obedience except for one thing: he coveted his wealth so much that it became an obstacle to eternal chayim or life to him.
Now we all know that Yah'shua is good. We also know that those to trust in Him and obey the commandments are called 'good' throughout the scriptures. Barnabas is described as a "good man, full of the Ruach haQodesh and faith" (Ac.11:24) and Yah'shua Himself said that "the good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him" (Matt.12:35, NIV). So whenever you do good deeds it because of a resident goodness in you.
What we perhaps don't realise is that in calling Yah'shua 'good' this young ruler or elohim was recognising Yah'shua's deity and confirming Yah'shua's own testimony when previously He had referred to Himself as the 'Good Shepherd" (Jn.10:11,14) for you will recall in Psalm 23 Yahweh Himself is referred to as David's "Shepherd" who provides all His needs.
In the light all that Yahweh has revealed to us in the Garden and what I have taught you about elohim and messiah from the Scriptures, it should come as no surprise for you to learn that our relationship and station as Yahweh's sons and daughters is far more intimate and family-like than might at first be supposed. In answering the rich young ruler in the way that He did, Yah'shua was not only confirming His deity and intimate relationship to the Divine Elohim Family or Godhead, but trying to tell him that his only hope was in reliance on Yahweh Himself who alone can give the eternal life that he came seeking for.
So what have we learned from this short passage? We have learned that self-effacement is acceptable provided it's purpose is to bring more glory to the One we serve. When others call us good and praise us it is right that we should deflect attention from ourselves to the One to whom all glory should be given, lest we become puffed up in our pride. However, this does not mean we should disclaim being good when we have been good, for then we are encouraging a lie as well as perhaps self-effacing ourselves for the purpose of getting attention. How devious we can be! False modesty is as bad as blatant arrogance. You've all seen it done. We have learned also that when someone acknowledges that we are good because of the good works we do, that it is a confirmation that we belong to the Family of the Elohim. And finally, we learn that that by being good we bear witness of the One whom we love and serve. Therefore being good, and encouraging others to be good, is most definitely something to be encouraged.
As we know both from the symbology of Scripture and our experience in the Garden, trees symbolise people, whether men, angels or Deity. As the Tree of Life, Yah'shua could very well be called the Tree of Goodness, and those who adhere to Him in faith are able to exclaim, like King David: "Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life" (Ps.23:6, NIV). Goodness and love pursue the good man and woman because like attracts like. We are to actively seek goodness - want it, cherish it, desire it. Thus Peter taught:
"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Master Yah'shua the Messiah. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins" (2 Peter 1:3-9, NIV).
Now I suppose we ought to really explain what we mean by a 'good person'. What does this word 'good' actually mean? I am sure you have your own ideas. As we have seen, our English word 'good' translates the Hebrew tov which literally means 'pleasant', 'joyful' and 'agreeable'. The New Testament takes this a little further in its use of the Greek words agathos (which means a physical or moral quality) and kalos (which means 'noble', 'honourable', 'admirable' and 'worthy'). These two adjectives are used interchangeably in the New Testament. But there is more to the concept of goodness than even this. As we know, the New Testament writers, and especially Paul, preferentially used the Septuagint (LXX) or Greek translation of the Old Testament which translated the Hebrew tov as agathosyné which means 'beneficence', or in other words, what which benefits others. A good person, then, behaves in such a way as to bring benefit and blessings to other people.
A good person, then, is one who is upstanding morally and possesses the kind of noble character that considers the well-being of others before self-interest. The mother of King Lemuel, who was the inspiration behind Proverbs 31 describes a "wife of noble character" (v.10) - that is, a good wife - as one who brings her husband "good, not harm, all the days of her life" (v.12, NIV) - not just some days, or even the majority of days, but all the days of her life. The rest of her sayings describe in great detail the ideal qualities of this good wife which is one of the standards the Bible gives to us (vv.10-31).
When we describe Yahweh as 'good' it is because He is morally perfect and gloriously generous. Indeed, the acknowledgement that Yahweh is good is the foundation of all Biblical thinking:
"For Yahweh is good and his love endures forever; His faithfulness continues through all generations" (Ps.100:5, NIV).
Indeed, you can't understand Him if this is not the first assumption you make. It is only when people start challenging His goodness that their faith - and ultimately, their life - starts falling apart. This often happens when they start judging Torah against the traditions and cultural norms of modern society. And when they don't match, they start thinking that either the Bible is uninspired or that Yahweh is somehow unenlightened or bad. Paul said: "We know that the Torah (law) is good if one uses it properly" (1 Tim 1:8, NIV) - "So then, the Torah (law) is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good" (Rom.7:12, NIV). Yahweh's Law - His Torah, His commandments are good precisely because they benefit those who obey them. Therefore it is rightly said that the goodness of Yahweh is the first principle of the Gospel of Yah'shua the Messiah. Yahweh is good just as Yahweh is love (1 Jn.4:8,16).
If Yahweh is good then all that He does, creates, commands, gives and approves is good. Indeed it is not possible to know what 'good' is without knowing who and what Yahweh is. Every definition of good apart from Yahweh is going to be either deficient or false. We must not define Yahweh in terms of what we think is good but the other way round - Yahweh and His Torah are the measure of all that is good. Yah'shua, then, was perfectly correct when He said that Yahweh alone is good, because all goodness is measured in terms of Him, including Yah'shua Himself. Yahweh alone, then, is good without qualification; and His Torah, which He gave to us, tells us what good living truly is. We can say, then, that man is only good - and things are only good - just so far as they conform to the will of Yahweh. Woe to them who invert the divine scale of values, giving the name of good to that which Yahweh calls evil, and vice versa (Is.5:20). Yahweh is no respector of political or religious correctness.
In our Heavenly Father's works are revealed His goodness in terms of His attributes of wisdom and power (Ps.104:24-31). "Elohim saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen.1:31, NIV). Contrary to what the Gnostics and others teach, the whole material order was good before the Fall. And everything that He blesses today is good:
"The Ruach clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which Elohim created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything Elohim created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of Elohim and prayer" (1 Tim.4:1-5, NIV).
Yahweh has already consecrated, set-apart and made holy the estate of marriage. Sex is not, as Gnostics, Catholics, and other teach, something dirty and impure. Some weeks ago in the garden Yah'shua was teaching one of my daughters about pure eros or sexual love. He explained to her that friendship and eros were different things - different kinds of love - and that Yahweh is in control of both if - and I underline the word 'if' - if they are done in truth. He continued by saying that if we believe in the lies that Satan says about sex - such as we can have sex with whomever we want, whenever we want - if we believe these lies then we deny Yahweh's control of our sex lives and so sex is not of Him but the devil.
Now the same principle is true of what we eat - and how this passage I have quoted has been abused by those who hate Yahweh's Torah! In the same way, we can eat whatever we want privided that Yahweh is in control of our eating habits. So the question is begged: how does Yahweh control our eating habits? Well He tells us through Paul to Timothy, doesn't He? He says: "nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of Elohim and prayer". Three elements put Yahweh in control of our eating patterns: First, thanksgiving - acknowledgement that He is the giver of our food. Second, we must pray over it - bless it. And thirdly, the food must be "consecrated by the Word". What does that mean? It means that only that which Torah consecrates or sets apart as food is actual food and good - everything else is not food in Yahweh's eyes, and therefore bad. Yahweh has provided a menu of all the kinds of things we can eat (Dt.14) - thereafter we are free to choose whatever we like from it and we must not refuse anyone the right to eat from that menu, just as we are not to deny people marriage if they want it and the sexual blessings of the marriage union, for these things are holy or set-apart by the Creator Himself.
Satan and his demons are, by definition, bad. They oppose everything that is good. Paul here calls "things taught by demons" (or "doctrines of demons") an attempt by Satan to make that which Yahweh has declared to be good and holy to be bad and disgusting. The doctrine of demons is a religious attempt by demons to try and get mankind to abstain from things on Yahweh's list of clean things, which have already been set-apart by the Word as kosher. Thus in these end-times we see, on a massive scale, an attempt to stop people marrying and to instead introduce substitute perversions. There are moves in some Western countries to abolish marriage altogether or to otherwise radically interfere with Yahweh's marriage laws. So if anyone tells you that it is a sin to eat kosher fish on Fridays, or that meat-eating is bad or cruel, then mark them down as liars because they are calling Yahweh bad by denying what He has consecrated as food in His Word as good. It is fine if you want to be a vegetarian for health reasons but to then declare that Yahweh has got it wrong, or that mankind can improve on His dietary laws, is blasphemy. Besides, we are commanded to eat meat on Yahweh's festivals, and Yah'shua set the example by eating them, including Passover lamb at the Last Supper.
I have selected this scripture simply to give an illustration of how people, influenced by demons who think they are being led by the Ruach haQodesh, try to unconsecrate Yahweh's Word. This mutilation of Scripture carries with it a sever penalty for we are not to alter His Word.
Two verses on another important issue is raised on the goodness of Yahweh and that is the goodness and set-apartness of His Sabbath. Do you remember how I told you four weeks ago how the word 'godly' actually means 'Sabbath-guarding piety'? Our Greek New Testaments read: "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly" (1 Tim.4:6-8, NIV). This terrible translation should read: "But rather refuse profane bubbe mysehs ('grandma's fairy-tales'), and exercise yourself rather by Shabbat-guarding piety" (Ibid., RSTN). Now this is two verses on from what we were reading about demonic doctrines of marriage and food in the last days. And how appropriate this verse is to our time where Sabbath-keeping has been almost totally ignored by Christendom who have, instead, chosen the day of sun-worship, Sunday. Worse, the European Union (EU) has now 'declared' by law that the first day of the week is now Monday, not Sunday, making the seventh day Sunday. Well, you and I know it is Saturday - the Bible tells us what the seventh day is - it's Saturday, and has been for 6,000 years. And it also says that Sabbath observance will be one of the signs and tests of Yahweh's true people in the end times so Paul's inclusion of it here in his letter to Timothy is highly appropriate. Look what the prophets had to say about this:
"Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the man who does this, the man who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps his hand from doing any evil" (Isa.56:1-2, NIV).
"And foreigners (non-Israelites) who bind themselves to Yahweh to serve Him, to love the name of Yahweh, and to worship him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant -- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer" (Isa.56:6-7, NIV).
"'If you keep your feet from breaking the Sabbath and from doing as you please on my holy day, if you call the Sabbath a delight and Yahweh's holy day honourable, and if you honour it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in Yahweh, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob'. The mouth of Yahweh has spoken" (Isa.58:13-14, NIV).
"'As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,' declares Yahweh, 'so will your name and descendants endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,' says Yahweh" (Isa.66:22-24, NIV).
Now I ask you this question: Has all mankind yet bowed down before Yahweh Most High? The answer is, No. If the Torah was supposedly abolished, and along with it the command to observe the Sabbath, 2,000 years ago at the time of Yah'shua, then in order for this scripture to have been fulfilled, all of mankind must have bowed down to Him. But we know, do we not, that mankind did not bow down before Yahweh 2,000 years. It is an incontestable fact. Therefore it can only mean that this is an event that has not taken place yet. Further, since it is enjoined by the same prophet - for all these are citations from Isaiah - then clearly we are supposed to be observing it now, and observance of it, as Paul says, is a true sign of piety and godliness. Because Yahweh has ordained it, and because Yahweh is good, then - like the acceptability and holiness of marriage and Yahweh's kosher menu - Sabbath-observance at the proper time - on the seventh day - Friday sunset to Saturday sunset - is also good.
If you believe in Yahweh, then you must believe that He is good. And if you believe that He is good, then everything He requires of us must be good. Indeed, by observing these things written in His Torah, in the right way, we shall ourselves become good - beloved of Yahweh. He has confirmed all of these things in the Garden and even told us there how to love Torah. And how did He tell us to do that? Simply He said: "Open your heart as you read it." Open your heart. Let Torah speak to you in His own love. Let His goodness be the determining factor in your life, the goodness which is all that He is and has spoken to us. When you do that, your life will not only be filled with His goodness but you will acquire a noble character and a shem - a name - a name of honour and goddness that is so much desired by the daughters of Zion that they will make any sacrifice to obtain it (Isa.4:1) and embrace that which the world, with its upside down values, scorns and rejects: the fullness of marriage according to the pattern of the sevenfold Ruach haQodesh.
"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of Yahweh forever" (Ps.23:6, NIV). Amen.
Comments from Readers
[1] "My beloved brother in Christ, I thank you very much for the enlightening article. I look forward to more such in the future. We cannot reject Paul and be a follower of Jesus. While commissioning His disciples to evangelise the world Jesus told them that whoever rejected them, in fact, rejected Him and whoevert rejected Him rejected His Father who had sent Him" (KG, India, 13 May 2015)
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 15 May 2015
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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