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Sermons Series 3:21, 21 January 2006
Heirs of Mishpat
Yahweh's Goodness in Justice
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
I welcome you back to another Sabbath assembly in Yah'shua's Name with a prayer that we shall all be touched by Yahweh's goodness as we probe deeper to understand His Heart for us. Last week we looked at what it means to be 'good' and why Yah'shua insisted to the rich young elohim or ruler why Yahweh alone is immutably good and why it is we must go to Him and His Torah for a true understanding of goodness.
At some time or another, as we look around this evil, morally rotting world, we have wondered how it is that a good Elohim like Yahweh can possibly allow things to continue as they are. Though we know He will personally intervene at the end of the age and sweep all wickedness and suffering away, we often have to grapple with the immediate realities and try to make sense of them cosmically. And whilst I do not believe it is possible for finite man to get all the answers, let alone most of the answers, there are some fundamental truths we can grasp which will defuse the apparent confusion we have over what is happening around us.
When people begin to question the goodness of Yahweh because of the suffering they see around them, they are making a radical assumption about His Personhood. Other people question that a good Supreme Being can punish sin, let alone punish at all, because they equate punishment with something 'bad'. So they assume that a Divine Being who punishes must be bad.
Now when we go to a court of the land and a judge punishes a criminal by fining him or sending him to jail, we do not for one minute assume that the judge is 'bad', do we? Quite the opposite: a judge who sends a child molester or rapist to prison is considered righteous by us because he has made a right-ruling or a right judgement. We know - because it's common sense - that if we had no judges and if no one was punished for crime, that society would degenerate and become a less safe and happy place for us all. Why is it, therefore, that people somehow conclude that when Yahweh punishes the wicked that He somehow ceases to be good?
Yahweh's vindictive Justice belongs to Him as naturally as His goodness because both are necessary and the one does not exclude the other. You may remember the story of King David's rebellious young son Absalom who set about turning the peoples' hearts away from his father by being extra lenient as a judge. He diminished Torah and made offences to be of little or no consequence. Mind you, he had probably learned this trait from his father who was soft on his own children when it came to serious transgressions like rape and incest. David thought he was being 'good' in excusing his sons' wickedness when in fact he was following his own heart instead of Yahweh's. At some point he must have thought that he was being more 'just' by being soft and merciful, as he supposed. But was he just? Was he merciful? His so called 'justice' and 'mercy' were perversions of Yahweh's Justice and Mercy because they created sons like Absalom who rebelled against godly authority and started bloody civil wars that resulted in thousands of deaths and broken hearts. Man's justice and mercy is not good but Yahweh's always is.
Yahweh is not bad because He is just and He is not unrighteous because He is good. An infinitely good Being could not possibly intend or do anything that could be construed as 'not good'. Thus the psalmist could declare of the Most High: "You are good, and what you do is good" (Ps.119:68, NIV). Whatever Yahweh does however pleasant or painful, must therefore be good, mustn't it? If the beginning is good then the end must be good. Provided we have these two reference points - the beginning and the end - then whatever happens in-between will begin to make some sense to us.
To punish evil is good. We know it is. It's common sense. To leave men uncontrolled in their wickedness is unrighteous, unfair on everyone else, and bad because what one person does affects the others around them.
Let me give you an example. If you knew a pedophile was living in your neighbourhood, would you feel safe? Would you feel safe for your children? Would you like such an offender to roam freely? What about a murderer or a robber?
Which brings me to an important truth: we all affect one another. A bad law made by a bad government affects everyone. We all suffer together. Bad people in our community who are not dealt with by law are bad news for us all, making us feel unsafe and endangering our well-being. We want such people removed from our midst and dealt with appropriately - either rehabilitated or kept away from us. Be honest - that is what we want! And we are grateful that there are laws that exist to protect us and our children from such people and we are grateful when judges pass sentence and remove such from our midst.
The problems begin when we disagree as to what is good and what is bad. Some people think homosexuals are dangerous to the moral welfare of society, others think it doesn't matter, and other people think they are a valuable addition. Some people think witchcraft is dangerous, some that it doesn't matter, and others that it is good. And when these people make wrong judgements and society begins to suffer and cannot see - or refuse to see - the connection between their beliefs and practices and the resultant dysfunction in society, then they go into denial and start blaming Yahweh for the evils around them. They say that we should not follow such a 'bad God' or 'evil religion', and do their own thing. Their thinking is full of fallacies and illogic but because they want to deny their sinning, they blame-shift. Then good is called bad, and righteousness is called evil. The result is that more and more people suffer. Home life gets weakened, divorce rates soar, juvenile delinquency and crime rocket, drug abuse rises - in short, society begins to disintegrate. And then people come along and bewail: "How could a good God let this happen?"! And the answer is, it is rebellious men who have allowed it to happen because they would not adhere to the truth.
Part of the goodness of Yahweh is to make laws, and to these laws he has added threatenings. The design of these laws which we call Torah, and His purpose in upholding this Torah by punishing offenders, is to promote goodness and restrain evil for the benefit and good of society. When society votes in rulers who change these laws that promote evil and leave offenders of Yahweh's holiness unpunished, and instead punish those who uphold Torah, then they bring a curse upon themselves and the whole of society. The order that existed between the Sovereign Creator and His creatures disintegrates and anarchy and lawlessness result. Injustice worsens and people suffer more. "Why would a good God permit such suffering?" He permits our agency - we have a choice to obey or rebel. Would you like that choice to be removed? Most people wouldn't. The idea that Yahweh rules as an absolute theocratic dictator upsets most who would cry for the loss of their 'freedom of choice' - their 'democracy'. In their stupidity people want both freedom and dictatorship - they want a world of sin without suffering and punishment enforced by Yahweh. But it doesn't work that way. It has never worked that way. For crying out loud, people have tried every system imaginable without Yahweh - liberal democracy, fascism, communism, religious theocracies of different stripes, and they have all failed. So what's left? Well there's one thing man hasn't tried yet, and that is world-wide Satanism. He's choosing that right now and people will become even more miserable than they were under communism and nazism. And yes, they will cry out, as though they were innocent doves: "Why does a good God permit us to suffer so?" It will happen. Mark my words. And the Book of Revelation says they will curse Yahweh and want to die (Rev.16:9,11,21).
Only stubborn pride and rebellion creates such a mind frame. It is nothing new. It is as old as the first human couple who sought to excuse themselves when they disobeyed Yahweh's first Torah consisting of only one rule: Don't eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Don't try to live life in your own wisdom and strength because both are fatally flawed by that nasty spiritual virus called sin.
Brethren and sisters, punishment was never Yahweh's primary intention. He did not create a universe to be eternally in some sort of yin-yang balance between Justice (with punishment for rebellion) and Mercy (absolution from punishment through repentance). When Yahweh created, His sole purpose was to reveal and manifest His goodness. Did You know that He calls His own anger - His wrath - "His strange work ... His alien task"? (Isa.28:21, NIV) He never wanted to be angry - He never wanted to punish because His primary desire is to bless and show forth goodness. But the nature of rebellion and evil demands that He do this - this "strange work" of punishment, this "alien task" of making people suffer for their folly, because it is the only just, and fair, and good thing both for those who must live in the company of evil people but also ultimately for man's own good.
Yahweh's punishment is ultimately remedial even if initially it is not liked by the sinner who, in his folly and blindness, strikes back at the one punishing because he cannot see how the devil has ensnared him. This disagreeable "strange work" and "alien task" is not so much contrary to Yahweh's nature as against His first intention which was a world in which such chastisements would not be necessary. The original Garden of Eden had no such system of punishments because no laws had been broken. Man accepted His goodness and rejoiced in His bounty. Punishment was not in Yahweh's thinking or feeling. He hates to do it but is compelled to punish because of love and free agency.
It is naïve to believe that there is no punishment in love. There can only ever be no punishment in love if there is no free choice. And if there is no free choice, then there really isn't any love because that love is imposed. And imposed love is not love at all. True love is given freely and received freely. Everybody knows that but most people don't like to think through what that actually means in terms of personal responsibility.
My wife and I were discussing this subject a month ago and the Ruach haQodesh told her something interesting that I want to share. She asked the question: why is it that people turn away from Yahweh and from His people? Why don't they grit their teeth, face their sin issues and overcome so that everyone can be blessed? And the reason is that they are not seeking to love but to be loved. They love themselves more than they do others. And self-love, brethren and sisters, doesn't work, unless it is in the context of two things: (1) That we love Yahweh-Elohim with all our might, mind, heart and strength; and (2) That we love others to the same degree that we love ourselves.
Around this time one of my adopted daughters had quite a revelation from Yah'shua in the Garden. She was in contact with an abuse victim and her heart had gone out to her. She wanted to help because she hurt for this person, as she had herself been so badly hurt before her own deliverance. Now I had previously counselled her not to do this because she was too emotionally young and vulnerable but she had not listened. Her human rationalisations were: "But somebody has to help these people" and "Yahweh is big enough to protect me, isn't He?" Both of these statements were, of course, true: 'Yahweh is big enough to protect us' and, yes, 'somebody has to help these hurting people'. Someone who believes these things is further along the road of faith then someone who does not. Someone who loves is further along the path of sanctification than someone who doesn't love and doesn't care.
I told her to go to Yah'shua and He confirmed what I had told her before - that she wasn't mature enough in her heart yet. This perturbed her because her heart was full of love and she wanted to reach out and help this lost soul. As her father I informed her that it was my responsibility to minister to this abuse victim and that the time would come when I would be able to. The trouble is, the abuse victim didn't know me and was scared, so my daughter felt that as she was the only one this victim was prepared to trust, that Yahweh had sent her there to minister to her. And yet He had said no. Why? She protested: "My heart just hurts for these people!" And then came the crunch. I said to her: "You must love with Yahweh's love, not your own or you'll not be able to help but do even more damage". She was stunned. "But isn't all love Yahweh's?" When I said "No" she was even more stunned. "Ask Him," I insisted, "this is a very important question". There was a pause. "This is complicated!" she cried. "What did He reply?" I asked. "There is 'love' and there is 'pure love' which is His love." "Ask Him what impure love is," I told her. Yah'shua spoke to her and she said to me: "Impure love is our love - human love. And even though my intentions were good, it is still tainted from my flesh".
When we love from the flesh our motives for loving are corrupt. When we love with the pure love of Yahweh, we love without any kind of desire for self-affirmation, self-reward, wanting to feel good, or anything that has to so with 'self', because in Christ self is dead.
Any kind of self-absorption is tainted, impure love. Any kind of love that has as a motive, even if it is far in the background, like some sort of personal gain or reward, is not pure love and cannot but taint or corrupt the one we are trying to love and serve. We have to know ourselves and check out our reasons for loving people because if we are honest with ourselves and the flesh is still in control to whatever degree, then we love with strings attached and are seeking either some sort of self-glory - like enjoying the acclamations of others: "Oh how wonderful you are for loving this poor abuse victim!" - or some personal affirmation of self worth - like hearing a delivered abuse victim say: "Oh thank you for saving me!" I know a lot of people who are serving others because they are seeking praise and affirmations of self-worth to fill a vacuum in their hearts. This is dangerous and sinful because only Yah'shua can give self-worth! No-one else can - not a friend, parent, spouse, lover, client, or whatever - they may be able to stand in the gap for a while but because human love is imperfect it can never substitute for the Love of Yahweh.
None of this is said to discourage you for loving in your imperfection. And it is certainly not to imply that you should close your heart off and retreat for fear of damaging someone. In opening her heart open to this abuse victim she unknowingly admitted one of the victim's demons to the Garden which I had to immediately expel. As Yah'shua said, her intentions were good, but intentions are not good enough. There must also be obedience to high principles. Yahweh has called different people to do different jobs in the Body precisely because they are equipped to do those jobs. We all start immature and must grow. The important thing is to allow the little ones to first grow under the tutelage of parents until Yahweh calls them. That is why we have a Family or Mishpachah Order in Messianic Israel. It isn't there for fun, for the sake of hierarchical power, or to be a pain in the neck. There is order in the Kingdom to protect, nurture and bless others and ourselves and for no other reason. And remember, that sons and daughters will become fathers and mothers too with similar responsibilities in the right season.
Now I did not like correcting my daughter. It was "strange" and "alien" to me. I would rather have praised her for loving and wanting to help. And I did, as Yahweh did, but I had to remind her not to go rushing ahead and disobey earlier instructions to her not be become a self-appointed minister, because self-appointed ministers end up doing a lot of damage to themselves and others. Instead she should have come directly to me and taken my counsel instead of having to be corrected and having a demon expelled for going her own way.
Yes, brethren and sisters, it is complex. Sin makes things complex which is why those older and maturer in the Ruach must be allowed to do their job, as much as they would love to cut their younger wards loose to act independently in Yahweh. Like Moses, I wish that all Israel were prophets (Num.11:29) and yet that first generation of rebels and upstarts had to die off in the wilderness before the people were pure enough to enter the Promised Land under Joshua. It is the same with us - our carnal natures must die before we can help people in purity. That is why Yahweh has appointed rulers and ministers in the assemblies of Israel.
So, yes, punishment is an alien thing to Yahweh in terms of His original intention, and yes, it is necessary for the preservation of the good. Rotten apples that can't have the bad parts cut out have to be thrown out the basket so they don't rot the whole basket. It's not much fun doing it (especially when the ones called to do it get badmouthed for it) but it has to be done because Yahweh requires it for righteousness' sake. Yahweh, and those who love Him, find no pleasure whatsoever in the death of sinner (Ezek.33:11). They grieve for them.
Because Yahweh is good, we should expect instructions from Him on how to be good ourselves. "Good and upright is Yahweh; therefore He instructs sinners in His ways" (Ps.25:8, NIV). And how does He do that? He instructs through Torah. He instructs through the Ruach. And He instructs through spiritual fathers and mothers. His goodness impels Him to remove the punishment due to our crimes and to bestow benefits not due to our merits. "You are forgiving and good, O Yahweh, abounding in love to all who call to You" (Ps.25:8, NIV). He judges according to Torah but forgives when we flee to the Mediator, Yah'shua, who fulfilled Torah and obtain mercy and forgiveness from Him. Because He is good we can obtain comfort from Him in addressing Him, for being accepted by His beloved Son (Eph.1:6), because as it is written: "The eyes of Yahweh are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their cry" (Ps 34:15, NIV). His goodness urges us to know Him and have fellowship with Him: "Submit to Elohim and be at peace with him; in this way prosperity will come to you" (Job 22:21, NIV). His goodness is a comfort to us in all our afflictions. What can we fear from the conduct of Infinite Goodness? His hand is never heavy upon those who are humble before Him. He withholds nothing good from those who walk uprightly (Ps.84:11). And since Yahweh is love, love thinks no evil (1 Cor.13:5). Yahweh's goodness is our ground of assurance and happiness. So it follows that if Yahweh is good, nothing can be better.
If you have not yet started trusting in Him then I urge you to do so right away. Because He is good, He is a stronghold in the day of trouble, whether it be physical or spiritual (Nahum 1:7). He wants to help you and lead you into a better life - a life of safety, freedom and hope. No matter who you are or where you are - no matter whether you call yourself a Christian or something else - His goodness is reaching out to you now. He wants to give you a new future both now on earth here, and in the eternities.
"Praise Yahweh! Praise, O servants of Yahweh, praise the name of Yahweh. Let the name of Yahweh be praised, both now and forevermore. From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of Yahweh is to be praised" (Ps.113:1-3, NIV). Amen.
______
Acknowledgements
- Paul Mizzi, God's Goodness in 'Truth for Today' (Trinity Evangelical Church), Malta.
Author: Lev-Tsiyon
Glossary of MLT Hebraic, Greek and English Terms For other terms and full details please see the Micropedia
A
Adon(ai) = Master, a pagan fertility god, Adonis; used by many Messianics but not MLT
(a)eon(ian) = 7 dispensation- or age-long time periods, not forever (see le-olam-va-ed)
Alef-Tav = Alpha-Omega, A-Z, first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet = Yah'shua
Amen = truly, let it be so, written Amein by some Messianics
Apocrypha = Hebraic Scriptures not a part of the Protestant canon (e.g. Baruch)
Anti-Messiah = Hebraic term for the end-time Antichrist or anyone opposed to the Messiah
antinomian = lawless Christian who disregards all or part of Torah/commandments
Ashkenazi Jew = East European Jew descended from the Turkic-Japhethite Khazars
Assembly = church, congregation, ekklesia, community, fellowship, koinonia, gathering
Azazel = the Yom Kippur scapegoat
B
Baal, Ba'al = any other master than Yahweh, usually demonic in MLT terminology
Bachor(im) = firstborn son(s)
Bar/Bat Mitzvah = Son/Daughter of Commandment, covenant to obey Torah at age 12
being = soul, the whole person (spirit and body), e.g. "my whole being"
Beit, bet, beth = house, e.g. Beit Yisrael (House of Israel), Beth Lechem (House of Bread)
Beit haMikdash = Yahweh's Temple in Yerushalayim
B'rit Chadashah = the New Covenant; B'rit Chadashah Scriptures = New Testament
B'rit Milah = circumcision - abolished in the B'rit Chadashah, replaced by Mikvah
C
canon = authoritative Scripture (Heb. qaneh, Gk. kanôn = measuring instrument)
Catechumen = a serious, covenanted investigator seeking Mikvah or Baptism in MLT
Chag haMatzah = Feast of Unleavened Bread, second of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Chavurat Bekorot = MLT's Priesthood Order, Holy Order and Assembly of the Firstborn
Cohen = priest; Cohen Gadol = High Priest (also spelled Kohen)
Council of Yah's elohim = the heavenly Assembly of the Firstborn or Chavurat Bekorot
D
demon = fallen malek or angel in rebellion against Yahweh (Heb. shad; see Êl-Shaddai)
derech = the Way, Path or Road - Yah'shua and the Gospel are the Way
Drash = moral or homiletic interpretation of Scripture - see PaRDeS
E
Echad = One, Union of two or more in one (as opposed to Yachid) - see Elohim
Echad Godhead Doctrine = Father Yahweh, Son Yah'shua and Sevenfold Ruach (Mother)
Êl, Eloah, Elah = God the Father, Yahweh
Êl-Elyon = Most High God, Yahweh
Êl-Shaddai = Master/Lord over all shads or demons
Elohim = God, the Godhead (Father, Son & Holy Spirit), lit. 'Mighty One(s)', 'Ruler(s)'
elohim = Israelite judges, rulers, angels or gods (false deities, idols, demons)
emunah = faith, actively trusting, clinging or adhering to (especially Yahweh or Yah'shua)
emet = truth, Yah'shua is the Emet
Ephraimite = descendant of the patriarch Ephraim and head of Messsianic Israel
F
Feasts of Yahweh = the 7 annual Moedim (Pesach, Chag haMatzah, Yom haBikkurim, Shavu'ot, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot)
G
Gan-Eden = Garden of Eden, Paradise and state of the purified heart in Messiah
goy(im) = nation(s), Israelites or gentiles not born in or converted to the Covenant
H
hallelu-Yah = praise Yah(weh)!
Heylel = proper name of Satan or haSatan = the Adversary, the devil
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Hochmah = Wisdom, title of the 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
I
IDL = International Date Line, false man-made time division in Pacific Ocean
IDL Zone = Area between the true Divine Date Line (Lake Van/Eden) and the false one
Israeli = citizen of the modern Edomite-Khazar Republic of Israel (not Biblical Israel)
Israelite = citizen of biblical state of Israel or a modern follower of the Messiah
J
Jew = post-biblical term describing descendants of Edomite and Khazar converts to Judaism
Johannine = pertaining to the Apostle Yochanan (e.g. Gospel of John)
Josephite = descendant of the patriarch Joseph, the head of Messianic Israel
Judahite = a person in direct descent from the patriarch Judah, forefather of the Messiah
Judaism = a Talmudic-based religion rejecting Yah'shua the Messiah
Judean = a citizen of the Kingdom or Province of Judah until the 2nd Century diaspora
K
Kadosh la Yahweh = set-apart or dedicated to Yahweh, 'Holiness to the Lord', MLT motto
Karaites = Jews (from 700 AD) who reject the Talmud and accept only the Tanakh
kashrut = keeping kosher, food laws of Yahweh and correspinding lifestyle
Ketuvim = Writings or Hagiographa of the Tanakh
Khazar = a Turkic convert to Judaism ~700 AD forming the Ashkenazi Jewish community
kosher = clean foods authorised by Yahweh for human consumption
L
Lashon Hara = evil-speaking, gossip or slander
legalism = false route to salvation through works (self-salvation)
le-olam-va-ed = dispensation- or age-long, aeonian, not eternal, forever or for eternity
Lev = heart, as in Lev-Tsiyon = heart of Zion
Lev-Tsiyon = Heart of the Fortress [of Yahweh], Hebrew name of MLT's founder
M
Master = Lord, Sir, Adon(ai) - (one in authority, a ruler - a king, husband, prophet, judge)
Malak(im) = Angel(s), heavenly supernatural messenger(s)
manna = wafers of honey, bread from heaven (lit. 'what is this?')
matzah = unleavened bread, see Chag haMatzah
Menorah = 7-armed candlearbra = the 7 annual Moedim and 7-fold Ruach haQodesh
Messiah = Christ; Anti-Messiah = Antichrist
Messianic Community = Body of Christ, sum total of all true believers; all true fellowships
Messianic Israel = all who worship Yahweh, trust in Yah'shua, obey Torah and overcome
Messianic Jew = Messianic convert from Judaism still clinging to Talmudic traditions
Midrash = aggadic interpretation of scripture viâ Drash, a scriptural discussion
Mikvah = baptism by immersion of convert into Yah'shua or of wife into husband
Mishpachah = family: nuclear, congregational, tribal or the whole of Messianic Israel
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon = family of the heart of the fortress [of Yahweh]
Mishpat = right-ruling or judgement
mitzvah/mitzvot = commandment(s)
moed(im) = appointment(s) of Yahweh, 7 Annual Feasts, Sabbath and Rosh Chodesh
N
Nefilim, Nephilim = giant offspring of materialised demons and human women
Nevi'im = prophetic writings of the Old Testament or Tanakh
New Birth = spiritual conversion in the Ruach haRishon, being 'born again' with new heart
Nidah = a woman's menstruation period during which no intercourse is permitted
O
Olive Branch = collection of revelations, prophecies and visions published by MLT
P
Paraclete = Comforter, Advocate (NEB), Counsellor, Ruach haQodesh (Gk. paraklêtos)
PaRDeS = method of textual interpretation (homiletics) - see P'shat, Remez, Drash, Sod
Patriarch = a father who is head of his family, clan or tribe (lit. 'father-ruler')
Pentateuch = first five books of the Tanakh (Genesis-Deuteronomy), also called Torah
peribolaion = headcovering worn by daughters/wives in submission to fathers/husbands
Pesach = Passover, first of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Peshitta = an Aramaic version of the Bible
Prototrinitarianism = early, simplified MLT formulation of the Echad Godhead Doctrine
Prush(im) = Pharisee(s)
Pseudepigrapha = Non-canonical Hebrew writings additional to the Apocrypha
P'shat = literal, contextual, philological, exoteric, outer meaning of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Q
Qadosh Qadoshim = Holy of Holies, most sacred set-apart room of the Beit haMikdash
Qodesh, Kodesh = set-apart, holy (see Ruach haQodesh)
R
Rabbi = Teacher, term used by Messianic Jews and some Messianic Israelites = Pastor
Refuge, the 12 Cities of = divinely protected MLT fortresses during the 7-year Tribulation
Remez = hint or allegorical level of Hebraic understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Rosh Chodesh = monthly New Moon appointment of Yahweh
ruach = spirit of a person (lit.'breath')
Ruach Elohim = Spirit of God (the Spirit of the collective Godhead or Elohim)
Ruach haChamashee = 5th Ruach presides over Yom Teruah and Yom Chamashee
Ruach haQodesh = the Sevenfold Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost (lit. 'Set-Apart Breath')
Ruach haRevee = 4th Ruach presides over Shavu'ot, Yom Revee and Bar Mitzvah
Ruach haRishon = 1st Ruach presides over Pesach, Yom Rishon and the New Birth
Ruach haShanee = 2nd Ruach presides over Chag haMatzah and Yom Shanee
Ruach haSheshi = 6th Ruach presides over Yom Kippur and Yom Sheshi
Ruach haShleshi = 3rd Ruach presides over Yom haBikkurim, Yom Shleshi and Mikvah
S
Sabbath = Yom Shabbat (Friday to Saturday sunset, add 1 day in IDL Zone)
Satan = rebel archangel Heylel, father of lies, devil, chief demon (lit.'Adversary')
Sephardic Jew = West European Jew of mixed blood containing many Judahites
Septuagint = Greek translation of the Tanakh, LXX
Shegal haShabbat = 7th Ruach (Sabbath Queen) presides over Sukkot and Yom Shabbat
Shekinah = Divine Presence and Glory of Yahweh-Elohim
Set-apart = holy, sanctified, consecrated, dedicated, separated (to and by Yahweh)
Shabbat-Shabbaton = High Sabbath (e.g. Yom Kippur)
Shalom = heavenly peace, standard Hebraic greeting invoking Yahweh's peace
Shamash(im) = servant(s), deacon(s), attendant(s)
Shavu'ot = Pentecost or Weeks, fourth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Sheol = grave or pit, euphamism for Hades or hell - also see Tartarus
shofar = ram's horn, blown during Yahweh's Moedim
simcha = joy, keynote of Sukkot
Sod = mystical, anagogic, inner or esoteric understanding of Scripture - see PaRDeS
Sukkot = Tabernacles or Booths, seventh of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Synagogue = Greek word used by Jews and Messianics (but not MLT) for a meeting house
T
talmid(a) = male/female disciple or student
Talmud = scriptures, teachings and commentaries belonging to non-Messianic Judaism
Tanakh = acronym for Old Testament Scriptures - Torah, Nevi'im & Ketuvim
Tartarus = place of imprisonment under the earth for rebellious angels and Nephilim
teshuvah = repentance, remorse and contrition leading back to Torah obedience
Torah = Yahweh's teachings or Law; New Covenant Torah includes Yah'shua's teachings
Tribulation, the Great = the final 7 years of the present aeon when Anti-Messiah rules
Trinity = Catholic Godhead formula - see Echad Godhead Doctrine and Prototrinitarianism
Tsiyon = Zion, a fortress, a name of Jerusalem and a prominent hill
Tzitzit/Tizitziyot = tassel(s) worn by men in remembrance of Torah
U
Universalism = salvation of all at the cosmic Yovel, with different rewards and punishments
Y
Yachid = one, single person or item, as opposed to Echad (many in one, unity)
Yah'shua the Messiah = Jesus Christ (the Son)
Yahudah = Judah - see Judahite
Yahweh, Yah, YHWH = the true Name of our Heavenly Father, also carried by Yah'shua
Yahweh-Elohim = LORD God (the Father, Yahweh as Head of the Godhead or Elohim)
Yahweh haQatan = the sent Yahweh = Yah(weh)'shua, Malak of Yahweh's Presence
Yam Suf = Sea of Reeds, the true Israelite Exodus water crossing, not the Red Sea
Yarden = Jordan River (lit. 'meanderer')
Yerushalayim = Jerusalem
Yisrael = Israel (lit. 'ruling with Êl') = true believers under the New Covenant
Yom Chamashee = 5th day of the week (Thursday, Friday in IDL Zone)
Yom Din, Yom haDin = (the) Day of Judgement
Yom haBikkurim = Feast of Firstfruits, third of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Revee = 4th day of the week (Wednesday, Thursday in IDL Zone)
Yom Rishon = 1st day of the week (Sunday, Monday in IDL Zone)
Yom Kippur = Day of Atonement, sixth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yom Shabbat = 7th day of the week and Sabbath Rest (Saturday, Sunday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shanee = 2nd day of the week (Monday, Tuesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Sheshi = 6th day of the week (Friday, Saturday in IDL Zone)
Yom Shleshi = 3rd day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday in IDL Zone)
Yom Teruah = Day of Trumpets, fifth of the annual feasts of Yahweh
Yosef = Joseph - see Josephite
Yovel = Jubilee or Year of Jubilee
Z
Zaqen(im) = elder(s) of an assembly or congregation, or senior members of a community
Zoë Life = Greek term for spiritual life in the Messiah
Commonly Used MLT Abbreviations
For additional abbreviations and explanations, please see the Micropedia
A
Amp.V(er). = Amplified Version of the Bible
Aram. = Aramaic
AV = Authorised Version of the Bible - see KJV
B
BCAY = B'rit Chadashah Assembly of Yahweh - see NCCG
BoA = Books of Abraham (e.g. 1Abr., 2Abr., etc.)
C
cp, cf = compare with
CB(Q) = Chavurat Bekorot
CEV = Contemporary English Version of the Bible
ch. = chapter
CJB = Complete Jewish Bible
CLNT = Concordant Literal New Testament
CYe = Council of Yah's elohim
E
Eng. = English
F
ff. = and onwards/forwards
fn = footnote
G
Gk. = Greek
GNB = Good News Bible - see TEV
H
Heb. = Hebrew, Hebraic
HEM = Holy Echad Marriage, eternal marriage
HO = Holy Order - see Chavurat Bekorot
HOC = Holy Order Collection of revelations - see OB
HRV = Hebraic-Roots Version of the Bible
I
ibid. = ibidem (lit. 'in the same place'), referring to a book previously cited
ICJC = Independent Church of Jesus Christ, earlier name of NCCF
ISRV = Institute for Scripture Research Version of the Bible
J
JB = Jerusalem Bible
JBP/Phillips = J.B.Phillips translation of the New Testament
JNT = Jewish New Testament
K
KJV = King James Version of the Bible - see AV
L
LB = Living Bible
lit. = literally or literature
LXX = Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT
M
MLT = Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon
Moff. = Moffatt translation of the Bible
MRC = Messianic Renewed Covenant Version of the NT
MS(S) = Manuscript(s)
N
NASB, NASV = New American Standard Bible/Version
NC&C = New Covenants & Commandments - see OB
NCCF = New Covenant Christian Fellowship, earlier name of NCCG
NCCG = New Covenant Church of God, earlier name of MLT - see BCAY
NCP = New Covenant Press, publishing arm of MLT
NCW = New Covenant Witness, MLT magazine
NEB = New English Bible
NIV = New International Version of the Bible
NKJV = New King James Version of the Bible
Nor. = Norwegian
NT = New Testament, B'rit Chadashah
NWT = New World Translation of the Bible, unreliable Jehovah's Witness version
O
OB = Olive Branch - see NC&C
op.cit. = opere citato (lit. in the work cited)
OT = Old Testament, Tanakh
P
p(p). = page(s)
pl. = plural - see s.
PWNC = Prophetic Words of the New Covenant, revelation cataloging system - see OB
Q
QED = quod erat demonstrandum (lit. which was shown to be proved)
R
RCF = Restoration Christian Fellowship, earlier name of ICJC
RhQ = Ruach haQodesh, Holy Spirit
RSTNE = Restoration Scriptures True Name Edition of the Bible
RSV = Revised Standard Version of the Bible
RV = Revised Version of the Bible
S
s. = singular - see pl.
S&G = Smith & Goodspeed Version of the Bible
T
TEV = Today's English Version of the Bible - see GNB
V
Vulg. = Biblia Vulgata, Latin Vulgate translation of the Bible
W
WEB = World English Bible
Glossary Copyright ©2007 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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This page was first created on 7 March 2007
Last updated on 7 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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