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Sermons Series 3:29, 11 March 2006
Sexuality
A Question of Ownership
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
Brethren and sisters, my sermon to you this morning deals with a subject that is both very important as well as very controversial. A lot of the things I am going to talk to you today about aren't going to be liked and will provoke both gratitude and hostile reaction. For what I wish to share with you today is both the Scriptural teaching about sexuality and the revelation that Yahweh gave my wife and I a couple of months ago. I consider what I am about to share with you both sacred as well as entirely my own responsibility. Your challenge is to go to Scripture and to Yahweh Himself in prayer and find the truth out about it yourself. What I share today is the rule of this Mishpachah and, regarding the rules of sexuality, only this Mishpachah as far as what I expect is concerned. Those not of this Mishpachah must accept responsibility for what they teach and do. However what I am teaching you today is what I expect of all those who come under my headship. Over the next hour you will therefore be getting a crash course in sexuality as understood by this fellowship.
I have taught you before that sex is the act of marriage. In other words, the act of sexual intimacy, in its many forms - and I don't by that just mean full intercourse itself - is a contractual one. Godly sex is only permitted within a contract between a man and woman in the Name of Yah'shua in the presence of two or more witnesses and ratified by Yahweh though the Ruach haQodesh. The contract, covenant or vow must follow the prescriptions of New Covenant Torah. It cannot be between near relatives. Brothers and sisters may not marry and have sex. Parents and children may not marry and have sex. Indeed the Torah gives a list of who may marry who, and who may not (Lev.18). Torah describes what kosher or clean sex is and that includes abstaining during the time of a woman's menstruation (Lev.15:19-28; OB 222; 433). Any sex that occurs outside these limitations - and that includes sex between unmarried and uncovenanted people - is unkosher, dirty and demonic. Any sex outside the protective hedge of Yahweh's commandments in Torah ceases to be holy and becomes satanic. Simple as that.
The vast majority of people who come to me for deliverance ministry come with a bundle of demonic problems related to unclean sex. Indeed, it may be fairly said that impure sexual activity is one of the major issues of modern society and one of the issues that every Christian has to honestly face or be swallowed up by it. Ever more ungodly laws are being enacted by governments to protect that which is unholy, and to gag and imprison those who would raise a voice against it. It doesn't take much insight to know what spiritual forces are behind these laws which are packaged in such a way as to make them seem enlightened and compassionate when they are from the pit of hell itself. That is as it may be, as this is not our concern today, and the world must do as it pleases and accept the consequences. What people need to know are the spiritual legalities behind pure and impure sex, how to deal with demonic infestations because of impure sex, and how to keep on the path of holiness to Yahweh whilst at the same time making the best of, and fully enjoying, that which Yahweh has given to married people obedient to Torah. For it must be stated clearly that Yahweh is not a Gnostic or a Catholic teaching that physical things like sex are evil but has given this gift to mankind to be used wisely and for a blessing.
When people come and ask me what the 'do's' and 'don't' are concerning proper and improper sexual behaviour, before or after marriage, they usually want me to give them a modern Talmud. You can sit down with someone and go through what Torah permits and does not permit, and discuss what Yah'shua taught about lusting with the heart and lusting with the flesh (Mt.5:27-28; Prov.6:23-29). And these things are important. They build a correct foundation for life and show - when the Word is adhered to - a right mind and heart if the impulse behind such questioning is to honour Yahweh and not to find loopholes for demonic perversion. One man told me quite blatantly that if something isn't listed in Torah it's OK and a man must live by his own conscience thereafter. He deduced, amongst other things, that Torah condemns male homosexuality but not lesbianism and so he would not condemn same-sex activity between women. I did not agree with him and informed him that he was not listening to the Ruach, having pointed out some New Testament passages that did not agree with him. Arguing ping-pong fashion back and forth, pitting one scripture against another - often to defend a preconceived doctrine - does not, however, serve the interests of truth. It is correct that we be concerned with the minutiae of Torah but only when we have first got the cosmic view and purpose for it. And that is what I intend to dig into now.
What is the 'cosmic' principle of sexuality? It is defined by a series of divine contracts, as I originally stated. From the first chapter of Genesis to the last chapter of Revelation we are presented with what I call the contract of ownership. The cosmic principle of all truth is a question of ownership and poses two fundamental questions: The first question is: Who owns me? And the second is: What do I own? The first defines the latter. And the only choice we have to make in life is this: Am I to be owned by Yahweh or by Satan? All choices reduce to this single choice between two ultimates - ownership by the Creator or ownership by the rebel angel Lucifer. All other ownerships subtend to this original ownership. If Yahweh owns me, then all that He gives me to own is rightly viewed not as outright ownership by me but as a stewardship. If I rent a building from the owner, then I become responsible for its day-to-day running and have a free hand. But at the end of the day I do not own the shop - the owner could, after the contract expires (or before if I break the terms of the contract) - demand the building back. I therefore own the building only for a fixed duration of time and provided I fulfil the terms of the lease. My ownership is not absolute but restricted.
The first thing we have to decide in our own minds and hearts is who owns our sexuality? Who owns our body? The answer, as Scripture unambiguously claims, is Yahweh. Our body and its sexuality - and indeed, its every function - belongs to Yahweh through His executive, Yah'shua. It is described as a Holy Temple furnished for use by the Ruach haQodesh (1 Cor.3:16; 6:19). Even our thoughts belong to Yahweh and we are instructed to make every thought captive to His Son's mind (2 Cor.10:5). But the reality of life is that we are fallen and have a nature which is far removed from the divine - it is called 'carnal' and 'sinful' and is devilish (e.g. 2 Pet.2:10,18). Like a wild horse it has to be tamed and brought under the dominion of its trainer - it must be removed from the sphere of lawlessness and brought under divine law or Torah. It has to be subjected, conquered and overcome - not by force, might, power or the whip - but by firmness in pure love (1 Cor.9:27).
The reality of our existence in this life is that it is, in fact, 99.99% unlikely that when we make a choice for Yahweh we will have automatically tamed the flesh and brought it into subjection overnight even though many evangelicals will tell you a lot of nonsense about 'instant sanctification'. The experience of almost everyone is that this taming takes time, effort, faith, trust, obedience, long-suffering, persistence and concentration. Because it cannot be achieved overnight, Yahweh has devised a plan whereby we can deal with it piecemeal. So long as we enter into a contractual arrangement with Him - an agreement, making ourselves bound by covenant to Him to be owned by Him in everything, He in His turn agrees to empower us to face and conquer these difficulties one step at a time. He partitions our issues and says: 'OK, this is the issue I want you to deal with now. We will focus on this one and I will keep the other ones at bay or removed under divine restraint. When you have overcome this particular issue by covenant, sacrifice and obedience, then we will move on to the next one, and so on, until you have fully overcome all of them and are fully delivered.'
This is how we work in deliverance ministry for every kind of issue. We enter covenants and receive empowerment from Him by grace - His undeserved loving kindness - not because we have 'earned' it but because of His sovereign will. We start by making a 'cosmic' covenant by declaring that Yahweh is our new Owner. The reality of what we are inside may reveal that we are anything but owned by Him, but the important thing is that we have placed ourselves under divine protection while we get things right. We become legally owned which is always the precursor to being actually owned as we yield more and more of our spiritual soul-territory to Him. What then follows is that He surfaces Issue #1 and says: 'Will you now covenant to give Issue #1 to me? Will you give me sovereignty over it?' If we agree and enter a sub-contract with Him, He then empowers us to engage this issue in battle until we have overcome.
An example of such a sub-contract or sub-covenant is our sexuality. We yield or hand over our sexuality to Him - the pure and the impure, the good and the bad, and agree to let Him guide us in what to do, and wait for Him to give back what is holy. And the first thing we do is agree to live the outer requirements of Torah. We agree not to commit fornication (sex outside marriage), we agree to be faithful to our spouse not to have sex outside the marriage contract, we agree not to have intercourse during menstruation, we agree to start making our thoughts about sex captive to the mind of Messiah, and so on. We agree to the boundaries and we oblige ourselves to walk within those boundaries while we grapple with the spiritual issues when the demonic tries to drive us outside those boundaries. This involves identifying the lies society has taught us about marriage and sex, renouncing them, and then expelling the demonic behind them. It will often mean dealing with issues that have nothing directly to do with sexuality at all, like twisted beliefs about self-worth, the desire to be loved using sex as a symbolic substitute, and so on. It means taking responsibility for our choices, even if the surrounding circumstances were disadvantageous to us in the first place, and repenting for breaking Yahweh's Torah whether done deliberately or in ignorance. And by 'repent' I mean to feel godly sorrow in the heart for wilful rebellion and consciously making a choice to change direction. When that is done, what we are in fact doing is confirming that we are owned by Yahweh according to our original contract. Indeed, every choice we make subsequently, as we deal with the details of various issues, is simply a confirmation of the original covenant me made to be owned by our Creator. It's not as though we are making thousands of different unrelated choices - every subsequent choice is but making Yahweh's ownership of us a reality. When we are owned by Him the demons can't touch us. They have no legal grounds left. It is only when we reject Yahweh's ownership, at any level, and claim to be owned either by ourselves, by other people (apart from Yahweh, parents or a godly husband), false gods, demons or Satan himself, that the enemy has the legal grounds to harass us and to make our lives miserable. All forms of ownership, including the myth that we can determine our own future and path independently of Deity or anyone else, lead to demonic enslavement.
What I have to say now is not liked by the world because the world teaches a satanic doctrine which is the opposite of Yahweh's - a doctrine which exposes mankind to demonic enslavement like a house with its roof ripped off exposes its inhabitants to the wind, rain and snow. The truth is our roof - our covering - our protection.
In Yahweh's system - the divine system, the only safe system - everyone is owned by someone else. Not as chattel, not as disposable property, not as something that can be discarded when we get bored with it (as Satanism itself teaches), but as a stewardship under Yahweh and bounded by strict terms. These terms are that the owner shall love, cherish and protect the person owned in truth and holiness according to Divine Law.
There are, within Yahweh's system, two subtypes of ownership. The first is permanent ownership and is the ownership of wives by their husbands. Until a wife is owned, her sexuality will wander. The second is ownership with a time-limit, and that is the ownership by fathers of their children. The time-limit is as follows: when a father's daughter marries, all ownership rights pass to her new husband and the sub-contract of the father owning his daughter (which takes effect at conception, incidentally) ends, only to be re-instated if the husband dies leaving her single or abandons his wife in which case she comes back under her father's covering until she remarries or remains as a widow. If the father has died, or subsequently dies while she is a widow or divorced, then she comes under the protection of a near relative, usually the eldest son (her brother, though it may be half-brother) or whoever the father has appointed (like his brother, her uncle, for example, Esther and Mordecai). When it concerns a son, the moment he marries, he becomes his own head and owner under Yahweh, though the father still has certain rights prescribed by Torah akin to the honour owed to a zaqen or elder.
Now for most 21st century people, this sounds very archaic and primitive. However, it is no more archaic and primitive than people suddenly becoming bored with gravity and thinking they can defy it and outgrow it. But the only way to do this is to go and live in outer space in unnatural conditions where gravity - though not totally removed - is considerably diminished. And as we know from studies of astronauts in space, prolonged absence from the earth's natural surface gravity causes numerous biological problems and illnesses. So my answer to those who think this is archaic or primitive is to remind them that you can't escape from Yahweh's laws without being harmed and harmful to others. When, for instance, lawless Christians attempt to live a sexual life outside Yahweh's protective cover, claiming that Torah has been done away with by Yah'shua, and start experiencing marriage difficulties and demon problems, their usual reaction is to find excuses. When the problems persist then they are either driven to repentance and finally to Torah-obedience, which leads to Yahweh really owning them, or they abandon Yahweh and turn to paganism or atheism, and to ever greater demonic problems.
Now hear this, and hear it clearly. A man cannot live a pure sexual life until He has surrendered full sovereignty of his sexuality to Yahweh, letting Yahweh define what pure sex is and teaching Him by the Ruach. A woman cannot live a pure sexual life until she has surrendered full sovereignty of her sexuality to her husband who is in Yahweh - who has Yahweh as a true owner - or both of them will be seeking after a kind of sex that is influenced and controlled by the demonic. To have pure sex a man and his wife must return to a state of innocence before Yahweh. To have pure sex a man and his wife must cease eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil and eat only from the Tree of Life. To have pure sex a man and his wife must totally and absolutely isolate their sexuality and sex life from all people and all things except themselves and the covering of Yahweh. It means that no sexual stimulus of any kind must be permitted to enter the Holy of Holies of their Marriage Chamber, and that means consecrating themselves and preparing themselves for holy or set-apart sex just as the Cohen Gadol or High Priest would prepare Himself before entering the Temple Holy of Holies and serve Yahweh there. As the priest washed himself outwardly and covered himself with priestly garments, so should husbands and wives prepare themselves for union by clothing themselves with holiness, and by washing themselves inwardly and outwardly.
Most people have this idea that sex begins when you excite certain organs manually or suddenly get the urge in your heart to do so. This is certainly a form of sex but it is the demonic kind. When the originating impulse is anything other than the pure love of Yahweh, then it's source is not set-apart or holy. It is lawless. It is demonic. If something in the outside world stimulates you - like a beautiful woman or a handsome man or a demonically-driven musical rhythm - and that arousal remains and you then express that arousal on your spouse, that is demonic. It is unconsecrated, unholy, because what you are doing is taking possession of something that isn't yours or is impure and you are bringing it into the Holy of Holies of your marriage chamber and serving it to your spouse. It could be a pornographic image, someone you have seen or touched who has aroused you, an embrace by someone you are not married to - it could be many things. But if the point of sexual arousal does not originate from the contract of ownership, or being owned, then the sexual impulse is adulterous and demonic.
There is a reason why Torah prohibits anyone from touching an unmarried or married woman except a husband, father, mother, brother or sister. That's an absolute rule. Today we live in a culture where nearly all distance of this kind has been abolished and we consider ourselves to be a much warmer and friendlier society. And that's a half-truth. It is good that people can get closer to one another and not be imprisoned in a loveless vacuum (something which a right relationship with Yahweh takes care of), but on the other hand it has opened a Pandora's Box of unkosher sexuality. Let's take hugging for example. I think hugging is a wonderful thing. But there are two forms of hugging - kosher and unkosher, pure and impure, non-sexual and sexual.
The same goes for dancing. Let me ask you women a question: have you ever been dancing with a man and as he has held you close and swung you around tightly in his grip - have you ever felt this sudden surge of excitement? A sudden rushing of energy in your body arising from the depths of your soul? That, ladies, is sexual. And when a dancing partner grips you firmly and swings you around he is claiming ownership of you. The sudden release of that passion within you is a response to an ownership claim. Indeed, you are agreeing to be owned by him subconsciously in a lawless way. The only person you should ever feel that way with is your husband. Now if you want to romantically dance with your husband and experience these waves of passion, do so and enjoy it, but don't you ever yield that to someone you aren't married to! Ever! Because when you yield, a spiritual transaction takes place, which in the Garden is symbolised by the giving by the woman to the man of a very precious white flower called her virginity. She may not have gone to bed with him and had intercourse or aroused him sexually by petting in any way, but she has done something on the spiritual which is equivalent. And she's not supposed to do that until she has entered into a lifelong betrothal covenant. That is why Torah does not permit touching, hugging, kissing, petting let alone intimate dancing, between couples who are not married, unless they are immediate family and cannot in any case marry, and know it. Those family members who know this and are in right covenant should not in any case experience sexual arousal for their siblings - it is only when their hearts and minds are lawless that there is a risk of this. Therefore physical contact is only a family affair and then under the regulation of the family head.
There is, in any case, holy dancing and unholy dancing. Close intimate dancing is between husband and wife only. All other forms of dancing are acts of worship to Yahweh and are within the context of formal worship. There is no intimate contact except perhaps brief hand contact. I will speak more of this another time. Ballroom dancing (except between husband and wife) and disco dancing are not lawful.
Most people have perverse views of sex and wonder why after conversion to Yah'shua their marriages still end up on the rocks. It is because they have never been taught the Biblical way of sexuality and have not unlearned the world's ways. And perversions don't just enter by way of sight or touch - they can do so by way of smell or sound too, including ungodly music and seductive words. Or it can simply be sitting back and fantasising which creates ungodly psychic soul-ties mediated by the demonic which are fornication or adultery on the spiritual plane whose unfolding can lead to the physical acts of fornication and adultery themselves or otherwise create barriers between spouses so they either don't unite at all or in an ungodly way.
A couple of months ago my wife and I discovered something quite remarkable. I was standing with her in tender embrace with my right arm around her back. As I grasped her tightly waves of ecstasy went up and down her body and she went limp with excitement and passion. We engaged in no 'overt' sexual activity - it was no more than an embrace - and yet it had the effects of the complete act of physical union. When we afterwards got to discussing what had happened, some profound spiritual insights were given to us by the Ruach. She told me that she did not have outward sexual thoughts about me at all but was purely aware of the consuming desire to be owned by me and to surrender to me. I, in my turn, told her that I had not been thinking outward sexual thoughts about her either, even though the circumstances were such that most people would have, but I was simply contemplating the innocence and purity that I saw in her eyes. As I held her tightly I was aware that I was claiming her to be my own in Yahweh and it was the combination of these things which had led to the totally non-physical moment of divine passion. A door to heaven had literally been opened and we were communing deeply in the Ruach.
Now I do not usually openly talk about such intimate things and I realise that this may unsettle some people who feel one should not talk in public in such a way. And ordinarily I must say I would completely agree with them. Such things are very private. I have, however, been given the stewardship to teach the truth about sexuality and to expose the lies in the world so I am bound, on occasion, to otherwise break this very important and necessary rule to do so. My purpose is not, in any case, to titillate anyone, but to get people to realise that pure, holy, godly, passionate and everlastingly fulfilling ecstasy - free of demonic lusts and perversions - can only be attained Yahweh's way. And that is the way of innocence and true ownership in agapé love.
I have to warn you in all soberness and urgency that what I have spoken about is not a little thing and that to ignore the real issue is to invite demonic anarchy into your homes which will destroy them. The demonic powers have increased steadily over the last half century and are reaching a crescendo of filthy sexual fervour in which all rationality and common sense is lost to an orgy of destructive madness. Do not try to handle the sexual force in your own power. Once you ride with the Whore of Babylon, as she rides the Beast in the Book of Revelation (Rev.17:7), you will be led by the nose and won't know what you are doing or where you are going. You will meet the same fate as her and be swallowed live by the Beast himself after she has fed all your children to him - your very own fruits. Now do you really want everything that is good and noble to be consumed this way? And do you want to be finally consumed yourself? If you love your life and love our Creator, get off that beast! Call out to Yahweh to take you and own you. And once you husbands are owned by Him and have His covering, then, you wives, go to your husbands be owned by him, and get a double covering. Then you will be snatched out of the reach of the Beast as Yah'shua's legal Bride, the woman Messianic Israel, in the Book of Revelation (Rev.12). Then your fruit will be spared and be consecrated to the good and give you much joy. 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 ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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