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Sermons Series 3:68, 9 December 2006
Self-Actualisation vs. Abandonment
Building Your Life According to the Tabernacle Pattern
Main Themes:
Minor Themes:
I am sure that you, like me, had subjects you didn't like at school and ones that you did. One of the ones I hated was mathematics and the reason was because, beyond a certain level, I just couldn't understand it. Up until then I had loved it - geometry and algebra were my favourites and I liked nothing better than sitting down with simultaneous equations and trying to solve them. But then, at a certain grade, I was introduced to Calculus and I just could not grasp it. I wanted to - desperately - because I wanted to understand Physics which requires a lot of Calculus, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't get it. As my peers dived into it and managed it, some effortlessly and some with a struggle, I grew frustrated, envious and, in the end, came to hate it. When at University I was forced to deal with it again in Physical Chemistry, it set off all my panic buttons and I just mentally froze. My Physical Chemistry tutorials were a nightmare, I couldn't get anything right, and I was relieved when that short course was over. To get by and pass my exams, I simply memorised the mathematical solutions and just reproduced them by rote, not understanding them at all.
I wonder if you have had an experience like that? It may not be mathematics but it might be in other things. I am sure you have. I know some people who memorise theology and imitate behaviour and just pretend to be Christians. And have you had the experience where you have struggled and struggled with something and then, suddenly, it has all 'clicked' and you get that welling up feeling of great joy? And not just with subjects like calculus: I have known of nominal Christians, acting out the Christian life, who, years later, met the living Messiah and became born again as real Christians.
Religion used to mean nothing to me once. I used to find it dull, boring and confining. It seemed to me like mere superstition and I decided that Science was the answer and would be my guide in life. And so it was for many years. I fell in love with Biology and Organic Chemistry and pursed them with the same zeal as I do my Father in Heaven today. And I loved it ... until I came to the theory of evolution and I could make no sense of it. I knew that almost everyone believed in it but it did not make logical sense to me. And try though I did to convince myself, buying dozens of books on Biological Evolution, it still made no sense. Unlike Calculus, though, which is rational, evolution is not. So here I was, with a major problem - I was an atheist, yet the central pillar of atheism - evolution - made no rational sense to me at all. It was preposterous that complex and intricate things could make themselves out of matter by chance over millions of years. And as more years have flowed by, the more ridiculous and farcical it has become. It's nothing more that a fairy tale. It meant that life must have had an intelligent origin, and whilst in the early years I 'cheated' by trying to pursue the 'extraterrestrial' explanation, namely, that earth had been seeded millions of years ago by aliens (a popular theme in many movies), it still did not answer the question as to where the hypothetical aliens came from. Many atheists who see through the evolution myth go for the alien alternative whilst admitting this does not solve the real problem or origins.
As a scientist and (now) an amateur theologian, one of my greatest pleasures is finding harmony in the cosmos. In recent years in particular, I have been quite delighted to see the science of Yahweh's reality and how everything seamlessly integrates. The last couple of years in particular have been a treasure trove of discovery in that regard. Almost every day now a stream of revelation is coming in where Yahweh reveals in detail how His Creation is ordered. Most excitingly, as numerous recent sermons will attest, He has been showing me the place of the sevenfold Ruach haQodesh or Heavenly Mother in His system. Everywhere I turn I find the same repeating pattern but each time a new aspect is revealed. I never dreamed in my wildest imagination when I was born again with the Ruach haRishon on 30 March 1977 that the spiritual cosmos would turn out to be so intricate yet simple, so beautiful yet plain, and so interconnected. What is even more amazing is how Elohim incarnated as man - the Creator of the Universe in that little baby of Bethlehem. Of Yah'shua our Messiah it is written in Scripture:
"For in Messiah all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form" (Col 2:9, NIV).
In one human being the theotes or Deity or Godhead lives as though the whole of the universe converged onto one solitary Being who walked amongst us as a person like ourselves. That is quite a mind-boggling revelation. I saw a vision of this recently - I saw the earth, a little blue speck, in vision, and to the right the vast spiritual cosmos of Yahweh, and out of that cosmos came this extension or tube, as it were, that reached down to the earth and to the Elohim-Man - Yah'shua - and filled Him. This word Greek theotes essentially means the nature or structure of Elohim Himself. In other words, in this one Man, the Son of Yahweh, the entire nature or structure of the Godhead was manifest and lived.
All my life, since I became a believer, I have sought to understand more about this incredible revelation of Deity. We read further in Scripture:
"Therefore, since we are the offspring of Elohim, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature (Godhead) is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising" (Acts 17:29, NKJV).
One of mankind's great weaknesses has been the tendency to try and reduce Deity into human models, which quickly leads to idolatry. The tendency of the flesh is to bring Elohim down to our level of being and thinking which has led to graven images or to more sophisticated philosophical constructions like believing that man is himself Elohim, which leads to the vain and futile pantheistic worship of self and nature. What man cannot do, however, Yahweh-Elohim has done, in the very structure of His Creation both physically and spiritually:
"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead (Deity), so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew Elohim, they did not glorify Him as Elohim, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible Elohim into an image made like corruptible man" (Rom.1:20-23, NKJV).
One thing that has become abundantly clear to me over the years is that Yahweh's system and reality is nothing as the world imagines it to be. His thoughts and ways are just not ours because they are ultimately to large to grasp, but what is not impossible is our ability to keep on moving towards greater and greater understanding of Him. The only way to do this, though, is through the systematic relinquishing of the philosophies of the world as in their place we invite the Ruach to teach us of the Ultimate Reality which is both beyond us and within us. That reality lies in the redeemed heart which we know of as the Garden.
After the Last Passover Supper with His disciples, Yah'shua "went forth with His disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden in the which He entered, and His disciples" (Jn.18:1, KJV). This was the Garden of Gethsemane. Eventually, you will remember, He left the disciples and went farther into the garden alone for a time of solitary prayer. Perhaps, while there, He remembered how, long ago, He had walked in His first garden with Adam and Eve in beautiful fellowship. But then they had rebelled against His Word, and had to be expelled from the Garden of Eden, leaving Him alone there also (Gen.3:8). As He prayed in Gethsemane, he knew that it would be only a few hours before He would be buried in still another garden, one where a man had never been buried before (Jn.19:41). He would be carried to a new tomb prepared in a newly planted garden by the loving hands of Joseph and Nicodemus, but then He would be alone once again. He had walked alone in the first garden, seeking His own; then had knelt alone in the second garden, praying for His own; and finally, was buried alone in the third garden, after dying for His own.
All of us at different times have gone into gardens for solitude and meditation. Sometimes we have wanted to take others with us, who went with us for a while, and then departed, preferring the arid desert lands of sin. Yah'shua constantly beckons us into His Garden to fellowship with Him, a Garden prepared with loving care and paid for in great suffering. He came to seek and save that which was lost (Lk.19:10) and today makes intercession for those who trust and obey Him (Heb.7:25), thanks to the terrible price He paid for redemption through His blood (Eph.1:7). He died and was raised so that those who love Him will spend eternity in fellowship with Him in a beautiful garden city. Here flows a pure River of water of Life surrounded on both sides by the Tree of Life (Rev.22:1-2) where only goodness dwells.
One of my favourite places in Oxford where I used to live was the University Botanical Gardens. You could enter into greenhouses which had different climates and vegetation. Being a son of the tropics I naturally gravitated to the tropical greenhouse most, bathing in the hot, damp air. The smells in a tropical garden are intense and varied. There is something about gardens that is deeply embedded in our being which we brought with us when we were born from a much loftier world, and subconsciously we keep reaching back for that. One thing that was nice about the greenhouse was that there were no bothersome or dangerous animals - mosquitoes to steal your blood, no snakes in the undergrowth to bite you and inject you with venom, no predators spying on you. It was a controlled environment. I would sit on a bench in that greenhouse, close my eyes, and just absorb everything around in complete safety.
In the outside world, though, this is not possible. In my jungle treks as a boy I never went without a stick or something to defend myself with. I remembered the pet cats of ours killed by snakes and of family friends who had been attacked by snakes, and of one or two who had died. Not that a stick would have been much good against a tiger or a python but mercifully the former was rare and I never saw either in their natural habitat. In this world you have to be on your guard. Animal predators are one thing but human predators are getting even more common. I read only the other day an article in the newspaper of a man who had been knifed to death while he was in the toilet in a cathedral. And we all know that terrorists may strike at any time and set off a small nuclear bomb in some Western city. People are keyed into such dangers, but few ever consider the spiritual dangers that face them, or take the steps to protect themselves, because they assume that what is invisible is not real.
It is a natural human instinct to seek safety. In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs he correctly points out that as human beings we have 5 basic needs in the physical world which he depicts as a pyramid, and the second level - after the ground-level physiological needs of breathing, food, water, sleep, excretion, and so forth - comes safety: security of body, of employment, of resources, of morality, of the family, of health and of property. The third level of need is that of love and belonging - of friendship, family and sexual intimacy. The fourth is esteem - self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others. And lastly, at the top of the pyramid, is what psychologist Maslow calls self-actualisation - morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, and acceptance of facts or reality. As far as secular models go it is quite a good one and recognises the basis needs of humanity. Where it fails is that it assumes we have to build this in our own strength. The idea of 'self-actualisation' is, in fact, only possible through Yahweh, because it is impossible to become fully human without Him.
This world and system is hardly conducive to self-actualisation. Western democratic societies have tried to create laws to allow for this self-actualisation. Various laws are designed to protect us against being harmed. You don't need me to tell you that overall they have failed. The reality is that this world is not safe no matter what kind of government is in power. Man has not learned the lesson that without Yahweh neither safety or self-actualisation is possible. For one thing, human beings were not designed for 'self'- but for community - a community on two levels: community or fellowship with Yahweh, and community of fellowship between those who have fellowship with Yahweh. And within the community of fellow human beings, He has created the institution of marriage which is supposed to be a divine reflection of the relationship between Yahweh and mankind. Indeed, He tells us in Scripture that the key to a proper understanding of heavenly relationship is marriage, for Yahweh likens His relationship to us as a marriage. In every way, human marriage was designed as both the most intimate meeting ground for human to human relationships and as a parallel life to our echad union with the Most High. The two are inseparable. He gives the family of parents and children as the training ground to get ready for this union. Our self-actualisation can only come about through marriage - the marriage of men to women and the union of man-and-wife with the Divine Elohim Family as our children are to us.
How, then, can we find safety on this world? The natural instinct of man is to be open and trust, not to be closed and suspicious. That is how small children are. They are born innocent, trusting and open and our hearts melt at this wonder - the wonder of actually being perfect and blameless - because this is what we deep down want ourselves. The only reason we close up and get suspicious, defensive and aggressive is because we come to realise that this world is not perfectly safe and that it is unwise to be completely open to it. And if we have not been trained to view it in the right way in an environment we know instinctively and experientially to be safe, we soon start taking steps to protect ourselves. This is a dilemma because it is not our natural state. The natural man and woman is open, loving, warm, receptive and trusting. It also begs the question as to why were born into such a horrible environment in the first place.
Well, I don't want to go into the second question today because this I have discussed at length already. We are here to be tested, to grow in faith, to mature and above all to trust and obey our Creator. From the very beginning Yahweh provided safety in this dimension of existence. He placed our first parents in a beautiful Garden in a state of innocence and gave them only one rule - don't seek to live by experiential knowledge of good and evil, symbolised by one tree which presents itself as a source of life and being. Rather, seek life through total trusting and surrender to the beneficence of Yahweh-Elohim.
It was only after our first parents moved out of the sphere of that simple, childlike trust, and started tasting the devil's life, that Yahweh had to make more rules. As the mystery of iniquity became deeper and stronger, yet more had to be given so that man could climb out of the darkness and return to the primitive yet full state of being that once had been. The Torah was given for this purpose. The commandments or mitzvot are actually the bricks of protection which together create a wall to separate out the world of darkness from that of light. The calling of every man of Yahweh is, through Yah'shua, to recreate the Garden of Eden within and a Garden of Eden without. The calling of these men of Yahweh is then to gather together as families to create an expanded Garden of Eden as community. The pattern Yahweh has given is precise. The way to this restored paradise is, as Yah'shua said, narrow, and hard to find. Satan seeks by every violent and crafty means possible to extinguish every attempt to create such Gardens of Refuge because he knows to such that the honest and heart will eagerly travel. He also knows, as Yah'shua testified, that "the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matt.11:12, NKJV), so He provides fortifications and defences, Yahweh Himself being the fortress.
What Yahweh does not do is dump a City of Refuge out of heaven and tell everyone to gather to it. That was what the Mormons believed. They believed that all they had to do was gather to a plot of land in Missouri that Yahweh had marked out and so long as they were there, they would be safe. Their enemies drove them out (after they had arrogantly claimed that their God would drive the Missourians out and forcibly seize their possessions). Their leaders used a whipping boy to explain their 'failure' and said it was because the people had messed up. So they moved to a plot of land in Illinois and did the same, and their enemies drove them out again. Some went to an island plot of land in Michigan and got driven out there too, and the rest went to a bigger plot of land in Utah, established themselves under a draconian dictatorship, and the Mormon Church there is what you have today. This is not how Yahweh builds Zion, however. What does He do then?
He starts with one man and puts him through the fire. He took Abraham, separated him out of the world system and a life of urban prosperity, and dropped him in the middle of nowhere in a land called Canaan and put him through the rigors of discipleship - of learning to hear His voice and to adhere faithfully to Yahweh in trust no matter what the obstacles. He allowed domestic problems, problems with neighbours, problems with lusty kings, and his faith was stretched and stretched. He turned the rocks of Abraham's heart into a fine powder by slow grinding until it was arable and ready to receive divine seeds. But He did not complete His work in this one man. He was a part of a succession of men with good and loyal women by their sides as helpmeets. He started with one family and raised up a successor in the firstborn rôle that I spoke to you about two weeks ago. He raised Isaac. And then he raised Jacob and made the family bigger, making it a family in 12 divisions. He made men, through the gristmill of suffering, "perfect in (their) generations" (Gen.6:9, NKJV), not all at once, but the moment they stopped leaning on the arm of flesh and started abandoning themselves to Him completely, as Jacob did finally when, with his large family, He wrestled with an angel at the River Jabbok and finally surrendered, just like his ancestor Job had done, and won. The victory did not consist of becoming a 'great and mighty one', as the world supposes 'achievement' to consist of, but of coming to both see and accept the reality of our true position:
"My ears had heard of You [Yahweh], but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5-6, NIV).
Up until then Job has been awfully cocky and Yahweh had to remind him of just how truly ignorant he was. Man - fleshy man - has an inflated sense of his own self-importance, of the infallibility of his Tree of Death-derived 'experience' and 'common sense', of his own reasoning powers, forgetting continually that Yahweh's thoughts are altogether higher than our own. He forgets that he is the clay and Yahweh is the potter. He forgets that he is absolutely not in control of his own destiny, even if he may deceive himself into thinking that he is - that he is the victim of powers altogether far bigger than himself, that what he thinks is 'freedom' is, in fact, a myth. We are like a caged animal in this world given the choice between which corners to sit, play and act in, as we seek to impress the world outside and await in vain for their accolades which, even if they do come, fade almost as quickly as they come.
The reality of life, and our quest for safety, is a choice between two Powers and two Trees - a choice between following Yahweh or Satan - and remember that 'Satan' is called many names - and between eating the Tree of Total Abandonment to Yahweh and the Tree of Experience, Common Sense, intellectual reasoning apart from Torah and Independence - between the Trees of Life and Death. What makes it difficult is that the Tree of Death appears to lead to the top of Maslow's pyramid and to self-actualisation - it all sounds so reasonable, logical and right. How many times have demons made their world-view seem to appear 'correct'? How many times has the 'veil' seemed to fall and the illusion spun by Lilith or Hecate, for example, seemed so 'obvious' and 'right'? And what has happened when Yahweh has shone His bright light of truth into that 'reasonableness' and it has turned out to be one horrible trick that leads to enslavement - enslavement to the sufficiency and glory of self? And what has happened when we have sallied forth into the world in that illusion of self-power and self-equipping and met the enemy hosts head on? How have we fared? Judging from the stories I have heard throughout from numerous people, it has been a bloody nose and more unhappiness. The Tree of Self-sufficiency doesn't work.
Over the last two weeks I have been watching some National Geographic movies about evolution. The graphic work and presentation was brilliant, and the reconstructions of extinct life from the fossils impressive. But as I listened to the commentators - who were ever so serious - about how everything made itself out of nothing, how a mystical force called evolution 'designed' new life forms with the sophistication of a genius, I had to laugh. It was foolishness based on man's pride - the "pride of life" (1 Jn.2:16, NKJV) - of man thinking he knows it all when in truth he is an idiot. Yet man swallows this lie - this gigantic fairy tale, and misses the obvious. The commentators know they are lying - they were forced to use words like 'creation', 'design' and 'intelligence' because there are no others - words that point inevitably back to a creative genius. And yet you don't have to be an evolutionist to indulge in such claptrap - everybody does because everybody thinks they know better because of 'experience' and 'common sense'. The best they can do is ridicule the obvious and call it superstitious 'religion' when the truth is they are even more religious and superstitious than those of us who believe and acknowledge Yahweh's truths. So why does man do this? He does it because of pride. He does it because he wants to be his own god, his own boss, his own ruler. He wants his own private truth as self-existent deity. So he becomes a polytheist and pantheist, worshipping himself, isolating himself, and engaging in perpetual warfare with the world ... and him- or herself.
About a week ago someone who is struggling with being open to the world and being dragged in two directions simultaneously, came to me for counsel. As I was praying for her I saw a vision of a Tree and next to it a very unusual rectangular tent with three sides but no roof. It was a tent that was open fully to the world. As I looked at this vision, Yahweh reminded me of the construction of the Tabernacle. What he was showing me was the spiritual 'tabernacle, 'tent' or 'temple' of this lady. It lacked the partition and veil to the Holy of Holies where Yahweh's Mercy Seat is supposed to be located, the partition and door to the Holy Place, and it had no roof or covering. It was in a Garden and therefore was within the walls of the Congregation of Israel. You will recall that the laver or bronze sea of fire was in this courtyard and that to enter the Holy Place one must immerse oneself in the fire of Yahweh's purification, as the Levitical Priests did and as all New Covenant Israel must now do, because we are called to be a Kingdom of Priests. There are few, however, who want to. Those who enter the Outer Court have entered covenants of obedience, as Israel did at the foot of Mount Sinai, under the anointing of the Ruach haRevee, but are now called to go farther -- into the Holy Place to be further consecrated.
This woman had planted herself next to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and was exposed to the kind of thinking that ancient Israel had prior to it being burned out of them in the wilderness. Yahweh, you will recall from last week, wants us to go straight to Him and not seek intermediaries. Like Moses, He wants everyone to be a prophet. Yahweh has created the Tabernacle system, first, for our safety, and second, to empower us so that the world cannot destroy us by violence. If we remain in the Outer Court, we will be picked off one by one by the enemy and, as it is recorded in the Book of Revelation, when the end-time Antichrist does this, there will be a great slaughter as naïve and lawless Christians wait to be whisked out of the world because of the pie-in-the-sky doctrine called the 'rapture' that does not require them to take responsibility for their lives and become overcomers. Yahweh says: "There is no Rapture - it's an escapist myth. Immerse yourself into the fire of total abandonment to me in the Laver outside the Holy of Holies and be consecrated to me as a Priest. Then bring your wife to yourself in the same way that you have abandoned yourself to Me, and enter the Holy Place together". Is that a radical doctrine? Yes, it is, but it is the truth. Why do you think Paul said:
"Wives, submit to your husbands as to Yah'shua (the Lord). For the husband is the head of the wife as Messiah is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour. Now as the Messianic Community (church) submits to the Messiah, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything" (Eph.5:22-24, NIV).
Was it because the apostle was a misogynist - a woman-hater - as liberals and feminists have accused him of. That he said this? Was it because he wanted the men to have an egotistical power-trip like himself? Or was it because He knew the sacred pattern of the Tabernacle and what was needed for safety and happiness, things which he wasn't even allowed to discuss fully in public (Heb.9:5)? Was it because he was in the Truth and spoke by the power of the Ruach haQodesh in him, the same Ruach that caused him to pen that glorious discourse on love in the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians? When we face Biblical truths we have to make a decision to believe or not to believe. Do you believe that you, in your 'experience' and with your 'common sense', know better than this man of Yahweh, whose life was vindicated by miracles, and who sacrificed his life to beatings, stonings, imprisonment and finally decapitation? What will you choose to believe?
Well, one thing I can predict confidentially is that you won't know until you have taken the leap of faith. If you have entered the Outer Court in faith, that is good, and you have been rewarded for it. Will you now enter the Laver - the lake of fire - and let Yahweh burn the dross out of you so that you can 'see' and 'understand' the glory that He has for you - the safety and the protection - as you then, cleansed from doubt, enter the Holy Place and bask in its glory, as the 70 elders did as they stood behind Moses on the top of the Mount? Will you then go further and onto perfection, cross the curtain that separates the Holy of Holies from the Holy Place, and stand before Yahweh face-to-face as Moses did on top of Mount Sinai? Will you men abandon yourselves to Yahweh, and you women to your husbands as they do this? For everyone must do this privately in their homes before Yahweh will call you into the end-time Cities of Refuge. Nobody who has not been willing to go through the fire and overcome will even be allowed anywhere near these end-time places! Here we are, in one proto-firstborn community in Sweden where we have barely begun and what have we seen happen? What miracles have taken place here! Not only has Yahweh driven our enemies away and destroyed them, but he has done economic miracles here, like He said He would. He has done the 'impossible'! So what shall we do with these great blessings? Shall we stop and say, "No more!" like the Israelites did, and who had to wander for 40 years in the desert of affliction for their doubting? Shall we, having said "no", then rashly surge forward in our own half-repentance and self-regret and be defeated in battle as they were at Kadesh-barnea? Or shall we cast ourselves in abandon to Yahweh and do it His way, trusting His every Word?
Brethren and sisters, I know of no other ways. If I did I would tell you. Goodness, I have sought for them too, like most of us do - shortcuts, easier ways, ways less demanding, less painful, ways that will allow me just a vestige of self-sovereignty, but I have never found one. They all lead to the pit of despair. Moreover, you don't need to take my word for this. And you don't have to be here in this colony to know the truth and what it is Yahweh wants of you. Yahweh wants you to build spiritual islands where you are by getting your hearts right before Him - then He will call you to the place you are supposed to be physically. He wants you to let Him construct a Tabernacle plan in your heart with a Holy of Holies, a Holy Place, and an Outer Courtyard, and to admit those there who have the respective spiritual anointing. He wants you to be discriminating with those whom you soul-tie, just as He is, seeking out His people for prayer and praise. All this He wants you to do where you are, as you establish your spiritual borders, and prepare for the Messianic Israelite way of life in community with others.
The structure - the blueprint - for deliverance and glory was laid down Millennia ago. It needs no human 'improvements'. Just like scientists have tried to make better fruit flies by bombarding them with lethal rays to mutate DNA and have ended up with grotesque deformations, so Christians today have tried to irradiate the Word of Elohim with man-made philosophies to try and improve it, and in doing so have perverted everything. Man has made a cocktail of mutilations - weak and ineffective - that are useless to everyone. Like the artificially mutilated fruit fly with two legs sticking out of each eye that I saw a few days ago in a National Geographic film, man has blinded himself with his own vanity and self-sufficiency. He wants to build his own 'City of God' in his own fallen image and in his own authority, and is aiding and abetting the enemy of his soul in so doing.
There is a reason that we study the Torah in detail every year, and it's so we can understand and embrace the Divine Pattern for our lives. This is not some Disneyland mental journey we make for our entertainment, or some nostalgic look into the past. We are concerned with the 'reality' of the world around us today and we want to bring Yahweh's Reality into it - first into ourselves as patriarchs, then to our wives, then to our children - and then as families we want to gather together with other families into a greater Tabernacle and there serve Yahweh our Elohim with all our might, mind and strength on the secure, rocky foundation of All Truth, and on that allow Him to plant the gardens of our heart. We don't want to forever wade through the sand-dunes of error, rebellion and useless suffering. If we're going to suffer, let it be of the kind that causes us to rejoice, as the apostle Peter wrote:
"In this [salvation] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Yah'shua the Messiah is revealed. Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Peter 1:6-9, NIV).
A little later on he remarks:
"For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of Yahweh. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before Yahweh" (1 Peter 2:19-20, NIV).
"Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. 'Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened.' But in your hearts set apart Yah'shua as Messiah. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Messiah may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is Elohim's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil" (1 Peter 3:13-18, NIV).
"If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise Yahweh that you bear that name. For it is time for judgement to begin with the family of Yahweh; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of Yahweh? And, 'If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?' So then, those who suffer according to Yahweh's will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good" (1 Peter 4:14-19, NIV).
What then shall we do practically? We shall abandon ourselves to Yah'shua and obey His commandments. We will get into the pattern of holy living - guarding the commandments by observing the weekly Sabbath, the monthly new moon, and the seven annual festivals, as we learn to walk in His rhythm of life. We shall grasp the grand harmony as we immerse ourselves more and more into His truth at every level of our being. We can, for instance, put on the gospel armour and understand what its Ruach-equipping really is day by day:
Gospel Armour |
Ruach haQodesh |
Day |
Mini-Festival |
Belt of truth |
Rishon |
Sunday (1) |
Pesach |
Breastplate of righteousness |
Shleshi |
Monday (2) |
Chag haMatzah |
Sandals of the gospel of peace |
Shanee |
Tuesday (3) |
Bikkurim |
Shield of faith |
Revee |
Wednesday (4) |
Shavu'ot |
Helmet of salvation |
Chamashee |
Thursday (5) |
Yom Teruah |
Sword of the Ruach = the Word of Elohim |
Sheshi |
Friday (6) |
Yom Kippur |
Praying and watchfulness |
Yachad/Shegal |
Sabbath (7) |
Sukkot |
Every Saturday evening, put on the belt of truth under the wings of the Ruach haRishon and immerse yourself in scriptures on truth, as you prepare your mini-Passover. On Sunday evening do the same with the breastplate of righteousness under Shleshi as you get the leaven of sin out of your life in your mini-Unleavened Bread; on Monday evening with the sandals of the gospel of peace with Shanee in your mini-Firstfruits; on Tuesday evening the shield of faith with Revee in your mini-Pentecost, rededicating yourself to Torah; Wednesday evening the helmet of salvation with Chamashee in your mini-Trumpets, as you get ready for Yah'shua's coming; Thursday evening the sword of the Ruach and Word with Sheshi in your mini-Day of Atonement as you examine your behaviour over the week; and on Friday evening, pray and be watchful with the Shegal haShabbat and celebrate your Tabernacles! And watch how Yahweh empowers you day by day as an overcomer!
Next Sabbath we gather to celebrate Hanukkah and even though it is not one of the compulsory festivals of Yahweh it has much to teach us. So I look forward to seeing you next week as we prepare ourselves for a special rededication of our temples. May Yahweh bless you all. 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 19 March 2007
Last updated on 19 March 2007
Copyright ©2006 Mishpachah Lev-Tsiyon (MLT) - All Rights Reserved
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